Customer Reviews

Minnesota's Geology

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This is a nice little book on Minnesota's geological history, but it's not for everyone. Although it's accessible to those with a basic high school science education, it probably won't be an easy read; and unless you have a particular interest in geology, it probably won't be an interesting read either. For those who've had a little earth history and have an interest in geology, however, it is a nice summation of the geology of the state.

While many books on earth history and geology in general give the reader an understanding of the dynamics of structural geology, a sort of layer cake approach to how things got the way they are, this one focuses specifically on the state of Minnesota. It is more like a piece of the layer cake. Because this entails separation from the total picture for the purpose of more intensely defining a particular state, the authors make frequent reference to the whole by adding in information from the surrounding states and occasionally from Canada and the rest of the US to clarify the local geological picture. This is especially the case for periods of rock-time removed by erosion.

For the most part, except for glacial and more recent restructuring, the geological record revealed by Minnesota's visible and prospected sites is very old, dating largely to the Precambrian and a little later, depending upon location. This means that, while there are fossils--mostly those of invertebrates--there are no or at least no discovered dinosaur remains, among other things. Any that might have existed have been removed by the action of glaciers over the past million or so years. If you want to know, however, how the lakes in Minnesota arose, what caused some of the unusual land forms, how the deposits of minerals on which the mining industry depends were formed, and why the state has occasional earthquakes, this is the book for you.

The final chapters of the book divide the state into sections that share a degree of geologic history, particularly that of the last 10,000 to 15,000 years. The landforms are described, and the information that they give is put into perspective for the reader. Short trips with details of the topography, geology, and local history are presented so that individuals and families can actually go to representative geologic sites for each. Highway information and towns are named, sometimes even specific turns, which makes it a useful tour book. Teachers interested in taking their students on a field trip might also consider the book and some of its recommended reading for instruction in this endeavor. Some of the section chapters give almost blow by blow accounts of glacial advances and retreats in the region and describe specific morphology that suggests and illustrates them. Since I live in the Twin Cities, my favorite is the SE section of the state, which includes that city. Having studied paleontology in class at the University, I was fortunate to have taken some field trips in and around this area to find and identify fossiliferous formations bearing invertebrates by one of the authors cited in the book, Robert Sloan. It was a great treat.

I am using this book in conjunction with a naturalist class I am taking it is great... and highly recommended by others