Keweenaw Geoheritage Tours by Water and Land – July 25-28th, 2016
Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula is a place of natural beauty with a fascinating mining history. Join local expert Bill Rose in reading the landscape to learn how the Copper Country came to be the way it is today. Each one-day field trip explores one of four major events in Earth’s history that make up the strong geoheritage of the Keweenaw – Lavas, the Keweenaw Fault, the Jacobsville Sandstone and Copper Mining Waste of Lake Superior. Participants can expect to cover a lot of ground and be outside all the time. Travel is a combination of van transport, short walks and trips aboard Michigan Tech’s research vessel, the Agassiz. Trips are limited by boat capacity to 17 people. Each day trip costs $145 and includes lunch and snacks, boat and van transport. For more information, trip descriptions and registration please visit www.geo.mtu.edu/KeweenawGeoheritage/KeweenawGeoheritage/Geotours.html.
For specific questions, please email Erika Vye at ecvye@mtu.edu.
Highlights include:
July 25th – Lavas and the Keweenaw Rift: This trip focuses on the Keweenaw’s black rocks and it’s volcanic past – the site of Earth’s largest lava outpourings. Visit the great lava reefs and related shipwrecks along the shoreline from Eagle Harbor to Copper Harbor, learn about the relationship between copper and lavas, walk the Lake Shore Traps on Manitou Island and visit the Greenstone lava flow – the largest lava flow on Earth!
July 26th – The Keweenaw Fault: This trip highlights the magnificent Keweenaw Fault, a massive thrust fault which split the peninsula lengthwise and uplifted rocks, including native copper, to a place where people could find it. Trace the Keweenaw Fault along the shoreline from Bete Gris to Keweenaw Point and visit gorgeous features shaped by the fault such as Gratiot Lake, the Trap Rock Valley, the mysterious Natural Wall, Hungarian Falls and the Pilgrim River Valley.
July 27th – Jacobsville Sandstone: The red rocks of the Keweenaw originate from the ancient, and once massive, Huron Mountains that eroded and filled the great valley of the Keweenaw Rift. View this stunning formation from a unique perspective via the lake. Visit the rocks on land at Point Isabelle and then by water from Grand Traverse passing Point Louis, Rabbit Island, Traverse Bay, and Rabbit Bay. The tour ends with a visit to the rock’s namesake, the quaint town of Jacobsville where we will meet with local historians and community members.
July 28th – Copper Mining Waste of Lake Superior Today: The Keweenaw’s recent mining past is a distinctly visible part of the landscape. Learn about the dynamic lake processes that have scattered mining waste in Lake Superior and inland lakes. Highlights include visits both on land and from the lakeside to the Gay and Torch Lake stamp sands.