White Deer Creek

Quick Facts:

Location: approximately 7.5 miles NW from Bergland.

Shuttle Length: 4.3 miles.

Character: Small drainage, small stream.

Indicated put-in elevation is approximately 1240'.

Take-out elevation is approximately 980'.

Thus total elevation change is approximately 260'.

Information (lat, lng, elev, total drop, run length, shuttle length) adjusted and/or verified from best manual extrapolation of online data (via maps.google.com, distance measuring tool, and other resources). 2009.01.29

This creek is a tributary of the Big Iron (which flows through White Pine and Silver City before reaching Lake Superior). While not having sustained gradient nor a multitude of complex drops (compared with other U.P. runs), there is a named waterfall and numerous evident rapids.

Drainage area above Deer Creek Falls is only about 2 square miles, so it may take unique circumstances to make it 'go'. Thus, this reach is being listed (with this as the 'put-in') almost exclusively for the possibility of going to have a look at this remote falls.

Slightly more realistically, it may be possible to start at the first bridge, 1.39 river miles downstream from the listed 'put-in'. A couple of fairly significant tributaries contribute to the flow (still only on the order of 5-6 square miles, so we're still talking tiny). If this potential put-in works, this elevation is ~1040', leaving a run of 2.87 miles and a total drop of 60', or 21 FPM. This may mean some class I-II rapids, or could be frittered away with little more than splishy-splash swiftwater. (Class/rating listed for this reach is completely conjecture.)

Downstream of the listed take-out, the next 5.5 miles are much lower gradient.

So . . . has anyone ever looked at this falls or this section of river? Leave a comment or report!