Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula is known as a place of natural beauty with a fascinating mining history. Join local expert Bill Rose to learn how to read this landscape and how it came to be the way it is today. The Copper Country has a strong geoheritage comprised of five major events in Earth’s history. Rose has designed five two-day field trips that address each of these specific themes. Participants can look forward to covering lots of ground and being outside all the time with travel by boat, van and short walks.
1. Lavas, July 21-22: This trip focuses on the Keweenaw’s black rocks and its deep earth volcanic past; the site of Earth’s largest lava outpourings. We will visit massive lava flows and learn how they shape and influence the Keweenaw Peninsula.
2. The Keweenaw Fault, July 23-24: This trip focuses on 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. This feature has shaped and beautified the Keweenaw but is no longer an active hazard.
3. Jacobsville Sandstone, July 25-26: 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. We will visit important fossils in the area, an ancient window to the origins of life on Earth.
4. Keweenaw Glacial Geology, July 28-29: The Keweenaw was recently covered with more than two miles of ice. Explore this glacial history and how the lake has evolved since glacial retreat and its strong influence on our landscape by eroding and shaping the area leaving us many gifts.
5. Lake Superior Today, July 30-31: The existence of a huge lake in the midst of North America makes for a very special environment greatly affecting weather and daily life. This trip focuses on understanding the active processes of the lake today, the current geological d physical settings. Human induced environmental changes are a strong focus of this trip.
Each two-day trip costs $325 and includes lunch. Full more information, trip highlights and registration please visit: Geoheritage Tours.
For specific questions email: keweenawgeology@gmail.com