First Look: Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Featured On Quarter

MUNISING, Mich. (WWJ) - The Upper Peninsula's Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is being immortalized on a U.S. quarter.

The landmark along Lake Superior was selected as part of the U.S. Mint's "America the Beautiful" quarters program.

The design for the back of the coin has an image of Chapel Rock, a towering monument-shaped rock on the east side of the park with a full-grown tree on the top.

The coin -- number 41 in a series of 56 coins depicting national parks and other national treasures -- is being debuted Wednesday during a special ceremony at Mather Elementary School in Munsing, the home of Pictured Rocks.

Established in 1966 as our first national lakeshore, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is a narrow strip of a park that hugs the Lake Superior coast for more than 40 miles. The shoreline consists of 200-foot-high colorful sandstone cliffs, numerous beaches and 300-foot-tall sand dunes. The shoreline is bordered by hardwood forests with numerous waterfalls, streams and lakes. The park is also home to abundant wildlife including black bears, deer, and porcupine, with bald eagles and peregrine falcons dotting the skies.