Ice Breaks Up at Apostle Islands Sea Caves
The webcam at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore snapped these images of the ice breaking up on Sunday.
The ice at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore – upon which nearly 140,000 visitors walked this year – has broken up. A University of Wisconsin webcam captured the ice-out on Sunday.
View the larger version (8 MB file).
A record number of people visited the lakeshore this winter, drawn by the spectacular ice caves that were accessible over the Lake Superior ice for the first time since 2009.
The National Park Service closed off access to the mainland sea caves in mid-March, citing deteriorating ice conditions and safety concerns. With tens of thousands visiting each weekend, park officials chose an early end to the season over a potentially disastrous one. As shown above, when the ice goes, it goes quickly.