Gooseberry Falls State Park is well known for it's five beautiful waterfalls and rocky lake superior shoreline. The Gooseberry River rolls over the 30-foot Upper Falls into a pool and then to the two-tiered Middle and Lower Falls before plunging 60 feet to the last pool which finally meanders through a valley to Lake Superior. Trails lead along the Lake Superior shoreline, the Gooseberry River, and the aspen, birch, and evergreen forests. As early as 1670, the Gooseberry River has appeared on explorers maps. By the 1890's, logging was the main use of the land. In 1900, the Nestor Logging Company built its headquarters at the river mouth. They also made a railway which carried the pines to the the lake which was then rafted to sawmills. In 1933, the state legislature authorized preservation of the area around Gooseberry Falls. Soon afterwards, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) crews went to work and created the state park which officially opened in 1937. There have been over 142 species of birds, ten species of amphibians and reptiles, and 46 species of mammals identified at the park. Some wildlife in particular that you may see are herring gulls, white-tailed deer, several species of Lake Superior salmon and trout, black bears, gray wolves, common loons, and ravens. Geologists believe that about one billion years ago, the earth began to split along the area now known as the North Shore. Lava flowed out onto the earth and cooled which then formed volcanic bedrock. Several of these lava flows can be seen at the Upper, Middle, and Lower Falls areas. These lava flows also created agates. About two million years ago, glaciers came into the region and 10,000 years ago they eventually melted into Lake Superior.