Ferocious storm toppled a famous shoreline landmark earlier this month

Photo of the now-collapsed sea arch along the trail to Shovel Point at Tettegouche State Park. (Minnesota Department of Natural Resources)

An iconic sea stack that was adored by generations of tourists and nature photographers now is scattered in many pieces along the shoreline of Lake Superior -- all thanks to Mother Nature's wrath.

The sea stack that welcomed visitors to Tettegouche State Park in Silver Bay, Minnesota, was a national tourist attraction until it was destroyed by powerful wind-driven waves that toppled the ancient rock formation into the lake during the weekend of Nov. 30-Dec.1.

The integrity of the structure, said to be about 15-20 feet high and 8 feet in diameter, was compromised back in 2010 when the arch collapsed. Despite that, the stack stood as a landmark for nearly another decade.

All that was needed to collapse the structure was the perfect set up weather-wise, Nicole LoBiondo, an AccuWeather meteorologist, said, adding that the water and beach areas have little friction to diminish wind speeds due to fewer trees and obstacles.

The storm stirred "winds gusting 40 mph over areas along the lakeshore, and the wind blowing along a jagged shoreline had little in the way of natural obstacles to slow it down," LoBiondo said. She estimated that 10-foot waves crashed into the vulnerable rock structure and contributed to its demise.

According to LoBiondo, the shoreline is rocky and has plenty of cliffs and the water below can be influenced greatly by the weather.

"Looking at the terrain around Tettegouche State Park, where the sea stack collapsed, there is a significant drop in elevation from the park to the cool waters of Lake Superior," LoBiondo said.

The sea stack at Tettegouche State Park after it met its fate during a severe storm. (Instagram / dustin_lavigne_photography)

The elevation drops from around 1,300 feet above sea level in the nearby town of Finland, Minnesota, to just under 600 feet at the lakeshore.

Photos after the collapse show a few rocks jutting just above the lake's choppy waters, where the formation used to stand.

Winds were blowing from the northeast during the most intense portion of the storm, which meant the winds were blowing along the northeast to the southwest lakeshore, according to LoBiondo. This creates a perfect setup for northeast winds to funnel along the lakeshore, she explained.

For years, the sea stack had been a favorite subject for landscape said photographer Bryan Hansel.

"All of these ingredients were likely the cause of the collapse of this magnificent and picturesque structure," LoBiondo said.

An award-winning professional landscape photographer, Bryan Hansel, has more than 25 years of photography experience and has photographed the sea stack for years, even before the arc fell in 2010.

Photographer Bryan Hansel captured the sea stack when it still had its arch many years ago. (Bryan Hansel)

Hansel said he found out the sea stack had fallen when he was driving home from Thanksgiving with his family and they got stuck in a blizzard in Duluth, Minnesota.

"Once the main roads in Duluth were plowed, we were driving home to Grand Marais and stopped in Tettegouche State Park. The park naturalist told us that it had fallen down. It was surprising, and I had mixed feelings," Hansel told AccuWeather in an interview.

Some Instagram users had been taking significant risks in order to clinch the perfect photo at the location over the last couple of years, according to Hansel.

Photo of the sentinel left behind after the Tettegouche State Park sea arch collapsed in August 2010. (Minnesota Department of Natural Resources)

"When rock and water come together, water eventually wins," Hansel said.

"During big storms and in icy conditions, they were trying to photograph the sea stack from a narrow point of rock. It seemed like someone would eventually die doing that, so with the sea stack gone that danger has been alleviated," Hansel said.

The sea stack during winter with icicles dripping off of the ledges made for one of Hansel's finest images. (Bryan Hansel)

He said feels lucky to live in a place with such great beauty and hopes his photos of landmarks like the sea stack help people to fall in love with the area.

"I love photographing the Lake Superior shoreline near Grand Marais and the many lakes of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness," Hansel added.

Another shot of the ice-encased sea stack prior to its collapse. (Photo/Instagram user Dustin LaVigne)

Those who captured the stack and arc in its former glory have taken to social media in recent days to share their favorite images of the spectacle.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the weather conditions under which the arch of the sea stack collapsed in 2010. It did not collapse during a blizzard.

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