The rocks and landforms exposed along Minnesota’s rugged North Shore of Lake Superior tell incredible stories about two chapters in Earth’s history. These stories can be summed up as tales of FIRE and ICE. The FIRE chapter describes a period of intense volcanic activity that occurred over 1 billion years ago when North America was attempting to split apart. The ICE story tells of how mile-thick glaciers carved the landscape and excavated the basin now occupied by Lake Superior over the past 2 million years. This 3-lecture webinar will illustrate these dramatic geological stories by highlighting the easily accessible rock exposures and landforms found in 15 of Minnesota’s North Shore state parks and waysides.

Lecture 1: The Geological History of Lake Superior – Born of Fire and Ice. Using basic terminology, this introductory lecture will describe the Earth processes and materials that allow us to understand the geologic features observed in the parks and interpret the volcanic and glacial stories they tell. 

Lecture 2: The Geology of Minnesota’s North Shore State Parks – Jay Cooke to Caribou River. This lecture will describe and interpret the geological highlights of the southern state parks – Jay Cooke, Silver Cliff, Gooseberry Falls, Split Rock Lighthouse, Tettegouche, Crosby-Manitou, and Caribou River. 

Lecture 3: The Geology of Minnesota’s North Shore State Parks – Sugarloaf Cove to Grand Portage. This lecture will describe and interpret the geological highlights of the northern state parks and waysides – Sugarloaf Cove, Cross River, Temperance River, Carlton Peak, Oberg Mountain, Cascade River, Judge CR Magney, and Grand Portage. 
 

Required Tools:

• A laptop/tablet with reliable internet connection.