GSM Tours and Fields Trips in 2018

The following field trips and tours were completed in 2018.

Two 1.5-hour tours of the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory were organized by Dave Wilhelm and conducted by Lab personnel:

• Wednesday, April 25, 2018, with 11 participants.
• Wednesday, November 28, 2018, also with 11 participants.

During the first tour, we saw some models built for a ProPublica report being prepared on river levees and flooding; that report is here. Dave will organize future tours of this unique lab and its varied experiments each semester as member interest dictates. Look for Deborah Naffziger’s reports of two earlier tours of SAFL in the May, 2017 and February, 2018 Newsletters.

The University of Illinois Twin Cities Alumni Association arranged a visit to Eagle Lake Observatory on Friday, May 4, hosted by the Minnesota Astronomical Society. As there was room for additional participants, they generously invited GSM members and friends to join them, which about six did. We listened to a great talk on what can be seen in the night sky this year, including deep-sky objects (star clusters, nebulae, galaxies, etc.), given by amateur astronomer Suresh Sreenivasan, followed by a wonderful evening of viewing through a clear, cool sky. See photos of the GSM 2016 visit to this observatory here.

Dave Wilhelm arranged two tours of the St. Paul Water Treatment Plant, on Wednesday, May 23 at 1 PM and at 3 PM. Twenty five GSM members and their guests participated. Look for a report by Deborah Naffziger in the August, 2018 GSM Newsletter. Dave Wilhelm’s photos are here.

A field trip to Isle Royale National Park during June 18 through 24, 2018 was led by Erika Vye, Bill Rose, and Stephen Roblee. These are the same persons who led us on the superb Keweenaw Peninsula trip during July, 2015. Seventeen GSM members participated. This trip left on the Ranger III from Houghton, MI, spent 3 full days on Isle Royale, returning on the Ranger III on the fifth day. The sixth day was an overview of Keweenaw geology. While on Isle Royale, the Michigan Tech research vessel Agassiz took participants to many scenic and geologically interesting sites, allowing them to see the beauty and geology of Isle Royale from both land and water. The trip web site is here. An article by Matthew Schaut appears in the August, 2018 GSM Newsletter. Eight GSM members participated in a similar trip during June, 2017. Dave Wilhelm’s report of the 2017 trip is in the August, 2017 GSM Newsletter.

Mary Kay Arthur and Deborah Naffziger organized a field trip in the Thunder Bay, Ontario area during July, 2018, led by members of the Ontario Geological Survey. 29 GSM members and guests participated. OGS personnel were very eager to show us the highlights of geology in that area, and there was much to see. The organized trip spanned 3 days, from Thursday, July 19 through Saturday July 21. Here were the activities for each day:

• On July 19, we visited two amethyst mines. 1) In the morning, Diamond Willow Amethyst Mine allowed each of us to collect and fill a 2 gallon pail for $20-- $5 off their usual rate. They also had specimens etc. in their shop for sale at various rates. We also received a very nice talk on the history of the mine from its owner. Some of us hauled away large quantities of amethysts, while others were happy with just a piece or two – prices were prorated by the owners depending on the quantity taken. 2) In the afternoon, we visited Panorama Amethyst Mine. The owner and his assistants gave us very comprehensive, hands-on tour of their pit and many details of the geology of amethysts. We then collected specimens from material brought up from the mine. 
• On July 20, Mark Puumala and other geologists from the Ontario Geological Survey lead us to debris-site breccias from the 1850 million-years-ago Sudbury Impact event, the Kaministiquia River Valley and its Kakabeka Falls, evidence of the approach and retreat of the Superior Lobe Glaciation, and Midcontinent Rift Formations. 
• On July 21, Mark and other geologists from the Ontario Geological Survey lead us east to the formations of the Sibley Peninsula and its Sleeping Giant Provincial Park.
• While not an official part of this trip, many participants also spent a day touring historic Fort William, which covers the history of the North American fur trade as a living history trading post set in 1816 (with enactors in historically accurate costumes).

A field trip guide for July 20 & 21 is here. (This large pdf file downloads slowly.) Look for a trip summary by Deborah Naffziger in the February 2019 GSM Newsletter. Photos by Dave Wilhelm are here:

Day 0 & Day 5: Travelling to and from Thunder Bay

Day 1: Historic Fort William and Ouimet Canyon

Day 2: Diamond Willow and Panorama Amethyst Mines

Day 3: Geology of Thunder Bay and Kakabeka Falls

Day 4: Geology of the Sibley Peninsula

Randy Strobel organized a tour of the Faribault Energy Park at 4100 Park Avenue North, Faribault, MN 55021, planned for Friday, September 21. However, this tour was cancelled because recent storm damage closed the Energy Park. Randy plans to reschedule this tour after the Energy Park reopens. The tour is free and will last 2 hours. On this tour, we will see the workings of a natural gas fueled combined cycle power plant. This facility is 48 miles (1 hour) south of downtown Minneapolis.

Roger Benepe and Steve Willging conducted a Fossil Hunting Field Trip near Rockford, IA on Saturday, September 29, from 12 noon until 4 PM, attended by 28 participants. The location was the Fossil & Prairie Park Preserve (a county park with drinking water and nice restrooms) at 1227 215th Street, Rockford Iowa (west of town). Its website is: http://www.fossilcenter.com/FPParkmap.html . The distance from downtown Minneapolis is 160 miles (< 3 hours). The cost was $5/adult; free for participants high school age and under. Look for a report by William Stoltz in the November 2018 GSM Newsletter. Dave Wilhelm’s photos are here.

On Sunday, October 14 at 12 noon, Steve Erickson, Kate Clover, and Roger Benepe led 32 GSM members and guests on three snowy 90-minute walking tours of the building stones and architecture of downtown St. Paul, using the book Rocky Roots as the primary source.  A handout was provided. The tour started in the main lobby of the Science Museum of Minnesota, then went out to the deck overlooking the Mississippi River, to talk about the setting of St. Paul and big-picture geology. The tour covered a leisurely 1½-mile course from the Science Museum to Rice Park, then along St. Peter and Wabasha streets, including stops at St. Paul Library, Landmark Center, Hamms Building, Original Coney Island Bar, Assumption Church, Wells Fargo Building, and Ecolab Building, among others. They discussed the geology of the building stones, the architecture of the buildings, and the history of St. Paul and the State of Minnesota.  We saw many interesting features found in rocks and discussed how these are formed in geology.  Highlights included some spectacular examples of Morton Gneiss, cleanly cut and polished.  We saw examples of products from the Twin Cities Brick Company that went into many of the buildings in St. Paul.  The old “Brickyard”, now Lilydale Regional Park, was the site of several GSM fossil hunting field trips in the past. Look for a report by Kate in the November 2018 GSM Newsletter. Dave Wilhelm’s photos are here.