Mount Arvon in northern Michigan's Huron Mountains has always been considered the highest point in the state. Surprisingly, that high point has been replaced by a pile of mining waste from the Tilden Mine near Ishpeming.

The startling revelation was made by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and shared on reddit,

I emailed the NOAA about tracking snowfall on Mt. Arvon and they mentioned that the tailings pile from the Tilden Mine is actually the highest point in Michigan now, over 2000ft above sea level.

Further confirmation of the new high point comes from a November 2018 Facebook posting by the Marquette County Planning Division.

A tailings pile consists of

the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction (gangue) of an ore.

Mount Arvon is 1979 feet, so the Tilden Mine pile is now at least 21 feet higher, and the mine is active, meaning the pile, and our new high point will only grow higher. Have faith, Highpointers, Mount Arvon remains Michigan's naturally made high point.

The Tilden Mine mountain can be seen throughout Marquette County and it's less than two miles from the state's lowest point of elevation at around 300 feet above sea level, the Empire Mine pit.