Famously known as Porkies, the Porcupine Mountains are small mountains that spans across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The entire area is a part of the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. It was named in honor of the native Ojibwa settlers because of it was thought that their silhouette had the shape of a porcupine.
During a good portion of the 19th century, the Porcupine Mountains were a site of copper mining. One of the mines here is the famous Nonesuch Mine, an operation that lasted some 45 years from 1867 until 1912. Moreover, within the Porkies is a large group of old growth forest that is home to many black bears. This area is a famous tourist destination because of its natural beauty especially the Lake of the Clouds in the middle of the mountains.
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