Pebble Beach
Ontario
Find: Unakite, gneiss, fluorescent sodalite (Yooperlites), oolitic hematite jasper, epidote
GPS: 48.70712, -86.38665 (there’s also a South Access)
Nearest city: Sault Ste. Marie, ON
Recommended Vehicle: Any
Summary:
Pebble Beach is a sarcastically-named beach that will make its best effort to twist your ankles. Its “Pebbles” are actually large cobblestones of granite, gneiss, unakite, and much more more. It’s all the usual treasures you’d find around the shores of Lake Superior. I highly recommend boots with ankle support as opposed to the water shoes I had to wear in the beginning of the video below.
If you’re brave enough to go out onto the cobblestones at night with an ultraviolet flashlight, you may find one or two really special pieces that glow fluorescent orange under 365nm UV light.
There is also a South access that you will see me head towards in the video, marked by the large drainage culvert. You’ll run into a car gate, but there’s an informal parking area there and you just walk around the car gate to a long path down to the culvert.
Important: While this location doesn't appear to be within any protected land, there is a sign asking visitors not to take the rocks. Please be respectful and just take pics/video - you won’t want to hike these out anyways… lol.
Video Guide
Check out the video to best see what can be found when exploring this spot.
Highly recommended footwear. Just kidding.
One of the strange granites
A metamorphosed granite... unakite!
Granite/unakite still in an unknown black matrix.
This rock is a strange hybrid of the last two that I don't feel confident enough to identify.
The aforementioned drain culvert that marks the path down the hill to the South beach.
The rocks get gneisser as you go
See what I mean? This may be one of the most unique rocks I've found in 3 trips around Lake Superior.
Unforgettable sunset to cap the day off.
The sign I mentioned about collection.
A UV reactive rock, seemingly something metamorphic.
The fluorescent orange rock that I'd lean towards calling fluorescent sodalite. Down in the United States, people in the Upper Peninsula began referring to these as Yooperlites.
The same rock, without UV light to give you a sense of scale. This is by FAR the largest Yooperlite/sodalite I've personally come across.