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6.544Mb Application/Pdf THE GEOLOGY OF THE DULUTH METROPOLITAN AREA View of business cen ter of Duluth, Minneso ta Point, and Duluth Harbor wilh Superior in the background. (Pholograph by co urlesy Dululh Chamber of Com merce.) UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA MINNESOTA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY GEORGE M. SCHWARTZ. DIRECTOR BULLETIN 33 THE GEOLOGY OF THE DULUTH METROPOLITAN AREA BY GEORGE M. SCHWARTZ MINNEAPOLIS . 1949 THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA PRESS PREFACE The Duluth area is one of the most interesting parts of lVlinnesota. It is also a critical area in determining the relationship between various rocks of Keweenawan age in the Lake Superior district. The area, there­ fore, has received more or less detailed study from time to time. :Most of these studies, however, referred only to special phases of the geology of the region and no general description has appeared since Winchell pub­ lished volume four of his final report, which contains a special chapter on the Duluth area.' The object of this project was to map the metropolitan area (see Fig­ nre 1) in as much detail as practicable, accompanied by such laboratory studies as seemed desirable. This work was followed by a compilation of all ayailable geological knowledge on the Duluth area into a readable summary for interested residents, as well as for engineers and others who need geological knowledge of the area in their work. The field work was begun in 1937, and the major portion of the field seasons through 1940 was spent in the Duluth area and adjacent portions of the region. Other projects, mostly a result of the war, interfered ,,,ith the completion of the field work and compilation of the results. The writer is indebted to many persons for innumerable courtesies during the work. The engineering staffs of St. Louis County and the city of Duluth furnished maps and information that aided greatly in the work. Dr. A. E. Sandberg and Mr. Ray Knutsen each served as field assistant for two years and much of the credit for the field work is due to them. Dr. Sandberg had preyiously spent a great deal of time on field work in connection with a thesis presented to the University of Cincin­ nati. Professor Thomas W. Chamberlin of the Uniwrsity of Minnesota. Duluth Branch, kindly prepared the chapter on economic geograph~' which is published under his name. The writer is especially indebted to his colleague, Professor Frank F. Grout, for continued suggestions and aclyice. GEORGE -;\I. SCHWARTZ CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF PUBLICATIONS ON THE GEOLOGY OF THE AREA 1852. Norwood ..J. G .. in n. D. Chen, Report Oil a Geological Surl'CY of Wis­ consin, Iowa and jJ1innesota (Washington. D.C.). 1879. Winchell. N. H. The Cuprifcrous Series at Dulllth (Eighth Annual Report of the Geological and Natural History S\lI'\'ey of Minnesota). , N. H. Winchell. Gculogy of Minnesota. 1899. v \'1 GEOLOGY OF THE DULUTH METROPOLITAN AREA 1880, Winchell, N. H. Prelimina'TY List of Rocks (Ninth Annual Report of the Geological and Natural History Survey of Minnesota). 1880. Sweet, S. T. "Geology of the Western Lake Superior District," Geology of Wisconsin, 3: 305-6~. 1881. Winchell, N. H. Preliminary List of Rocks (Tenth Annual Report of the Geological and Natural History Survey of Minnesota). 1884. Irving, R. D. The Copper-bearing Rocks of La/':e Superior (United States Geological Survey Monograph 5). 1893. Lawson, A. C. Sketch of the Coastal Topography of the North Side of Lake Superior (Twentieth Annual Report of the Geological and Natural History Survey of Minnesota). 1898. El£tman, A. H. "Geology of the Keweenawan Area in Northeastern Min­ nesota," American Geologist, ~1: 90-109. 175-88, and ~~: 131-49. 1899. Winchell, N. H. The Geology of Minnesota (Final Report of the Geological and Natural History Survey of Minnesota), Vol. 4. 1900. Winchell, N. H. The Geology of Minnesota, Vol. 5. 1911. Van Hise, C. R., and C. K. Leith. The Geology of the Lake Superior District (United States Geological Survey Monograph 52) . 1917. Leverett, F., and F. 'V. Sardeson. Surface Forrnations and Agricultural Con­ dition.s of Northeastern Minnesota (Minnesota Geological Survey Bulletin 13). 1918. Grout, F. F. "The Pegmatites of the Duluth Gabbro," Economic Geology, 13: 185-97. 1918. Grout, F. F. "The Lopolith; an Igneous Form Exemplified by the Duluth Gabbro," American Journal of Science, 46:516-~2. 1918. Grout, F. F. "Internal Structures of Igneous Rocks," Journal of Geology, ~6:481-99. 1918. Grout, F. F. "A Form of Multiple Rocks Diagrams," Journal of Geology, 26: 622-~5. 1918. Grout, F. F. "A Type of Igneous Differentiation," Journal of Geology, ~6:6~6-58. 1918. Harder, E. C., and A. W. Johnston. Preliminary Report on the Geology of Ea.st Central Minnesota (Minnesota Geological Survey Bulletin 15). 19~5. Schwartz, G. M. A Guidebook to Minnesota Trunk Highway No.1 (Min­ nesota Geological Survey Bulletin 20). 19~9. Leverett, F. Moraines and Shore Lines of the Lake Superior Region (United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 154-A). 1932. Leverett, F., and F. W. Sardeson. Quaternary Geology of Minnesota and Pa'Tts of Adjacent States (United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 161). , 1933. Grout, F. F. Duluth Rocks and Structures (Sixteenth International Geo­ logicai Congress, Guidebook, 27: 67-71). 1935. Guidebook, Ninth Annual Field Conference (Kansas Geological Society). 1935. Leith, C. K., R. J. Lund, and A. Leith. Pre-Carnbrian Rocks of the Lalu Superior Region (United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 184). 1935. Grout, F. F., and W. W. Longley. "Relations of Anorthosite to Granite," Journal of Geology, 48: 133-41. 1936. Merrill, James A. The Wonderland of Lal,e Superio'r (Burgess Publishing Company, Minneapolis)., " . 1938, Sandberg, A. E. "Section across the Keweenawan Lavas at Duluth, Bvlletm of the Geological Society of America, 49: 795-850. 1940. Schwartz, G.M., and A. E. Sandberg. "Rock Series in Diabase Sills at Duluth, Minnesota," Bulletin of the Geological Society of A. merica, 51: 113.5-72. 1941. Fackler, W. C. "Clastic Crevice Filling in the Keweenawan Lavas," Journal of Geology, 49: 550-56. ' PREFACE Vll 1942. Schwartz, G. J\tI. "Structures in the Thomson Formation," Economic Geology, 37:39-63. 1942. Schwartz, G. J\tI. "Concretions in the Thomson Formation," American J01~r­ nal of Science, 240:491-99. 1942. Schwartz, G. M. "Correlation and J\tIetamorphism of the Thomson Forma­ tion, Minnesota," Bulletin of the Geological Society of America. 53: 1001-20. 1943. Schwartz, G. M. "Metamorphism of Extrusives by Basic Intrusives in the Keweenawan of Minnesota," Bulletin of the Geological Society of A merica, 54:1211-26. 1947. Thiel, G. A. Geology and Underground TVaters of Northeastern Minnesota (Minnesota Geological Survey Bulletin 32). CONTENTS PREFACE..................................................... V ABSTRACT.................................................... 1 I. GENERAL FEATURES OF THE REGION. 3 II. ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY .................................. 9 III. DESCRIPTION OF THE FORMATIONS. .. 18 IV. GEOLOGIC STRUCTURE OF THE DULUTH AREA. .. 80 V. ORIGIN OF LAKE SUPERIOR. .. 82 VI. SUMMARY OF THE GEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE DULUTH RE- GION .................................................. 84 VII. GEOLOGY OF THE CITY OF DULUTH. .. 87 VIII. TOWNSHIP DESCRIPTIONS. .. 95 IX. ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. .. 1 'W INDEX ........................ " ............................. 1~)4 LIST OF FIGURES View of business center of Duluth. lHinnesota Point. and Duluth Harbor with Superior in the background .............. Frontispiece l. Ke~' map showing Duluth metropolitan area and adjacent area 4 2. Typical muskeg swamp on the glaciated Superior upland of the Duluth area .... 5 3. View of typical coast line formed by erosion of lava flows. 6 4. Sand dune, Minnesota Point. 7 5. View of a portion of Duluth Harbor with the business center in the background. .. 11 ix x GEOLOGY OF THE DLiLUTH METROPOLITAN AREA 6. Bedding plane cliff of graywacke; the opposite side is a joint plane 19 7. Trace of bedding dipping about 40° to the east on cleavage plane in slate indicating an east ward pitching fold. .. ~4 8. Flat anticline of slate pitching gently eastward, forming an anticlinal ridge ........................................... 26 9. Vein quartz formed along minor folds in phyllite .............. 26 10. Slate beds dipping south with nearly vertical flow and fracture cleavage, the latter emphasized by weathering.............. 27 11. Sketch of cleavage block of Thomson slate, Carlton. .. ~9 12. Sketch of folded cleavage block of slate. .. 29 13. Joints intersecting a bedding plane of graywacke. .. 31 14. Ely's Peak. .. 37 15. Contact of basalt flow and thin rhyolite flow at the base of the Endion sill. .. 47 16. Basalt dike in lava flow. .. 51 17. Banding in Duluth gabbro.................................. 55 18. Fond du Lac sandstone, St. Louis River ..................... , 66 19. Cross-bedding in Fond du Lac sandstone. .. 67 20. Glacial lake clay plain ..................................... , 71 21. Gravel of the highest beach of glacial Lake Duluth............. 71 22. Alluvial fan deposited in glacial Lake Duluth. .. 72 23. Gravel, sand, and varved silt in alluvial fan deposit. .. 72 24. Typical shore line of a lake on the Superior upland, Duluth area 74 25. Boulder till of the Highland terminal moraine. .. 74 26. Large glacial boulder. .. 75 27. Boulders in an area of ground moraine deposited by the Superior lobe ..................................................... 75 28. Glacial striae on recently uncovered diabase in road cut. .. 77 29. Graph of pebble and boulder counts. .. 78 CONTENTS Xl LIST OF PLATES 1. Strip maps showing sequence of beds alongshore from J\lesaba Avenue to beyond Lakewood ~. Strip maps showing sequence of beds alongshore from Duluth east city limits to near Knife River 3. Strip maps showing sequence of beds alongshore from Knife River to Two Harbors 4. l\Iap of glacial deposits of the Duluth metropolitan area 5. Geologic map of Township 48 North, Range 15 West 6. Geologic map of Township 48 North, Range 16 West 7. Geologic map of Township 48 North, Range 17 West 8.
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