Third annual Keweenaw Geoheritage Tours to be July 25-28, 2016

Geologist Bill Rose points out some historic photographs of the copper mining era displayed in the Tamarack City Park during one stop on his 2015 Geotour on Copper Mining Waste of Lake Superior. The geotours will be offered for a third year July 25-28, 2016. (Photos by Keweenaw Now)

HOUGHTON -- The Keweenaw Peninsula is a place of natural beauty with a fascinating mining history. Join local experts Bill Rose and Erika Vye in reading the landscape to learn how the Copper Country came to be the way it is today. In July Erika and Bill will lead one-day field trips exploring one of four major events in Earth's history that make up the geology of the Keweenaw -- Lavas, the Keweenaw Fault, the Jacobsville Sandstone, and Copper Mining Waste.

Erika Vye, who recently completed her PhD in geology at Michigan Tech,  explains types of faults in the presentation "VISITING the KEWEENAW FAULT: GeoEducation and GeoTourism," that she and Bill Rose gave at the Houghton Keweenaw Conservation District annual meeting on April 21, 2016. Erika and Bill will lead a geotour on the Keweenaw Fault on July 26, 2016. 

This is the third year of day-long geotours on four of the five Geoelements of Keweenaw Geoheritage. Participants can expect to cover a lot of ground and be outside the entire day. 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 transportation to each site.

Pictured here after disembarking from the R/V Agassiz during one of the 2015 geotours are tour leader Bill Rose, far right, and Steve Trynoski of Bete Grise, who has participated in several geotours and shared his expertise on the region.

A schedule of the Geoheritage Tours is as follows:
July 25th - Lavas and the Keweenaw Rift
July 26th - The Keweenaw Fault
July 27th - Jacobsville Sandstone (Please note: This trip is full at this time.)
July 28th - Copper Mining Waste of Lake Superior

For more information, trip descriptions and registration, click here. 

Keweenaw Now participated in the 2015 geotour on Copper Mining Waste of Lake Superior. Here is a video clip from Bill Rose's introduction to the Torch Lake stamp sand:

During his July 30, 2015, geoheritage tour of copper mining waste in the Keweenaw, Bill Rose, Michigan Tech emeritus professor of geological studies, explains how stamp sand in Torch Lake forms man-made deltas. The tour group gathers near Torch Lake in Lake Linden, Michigan. Michigan Tech Professors Carol MacLennan and Charles Kerfoot accompany the tour and add their expertise. (Video by Keweenaw Now)*

More photos from 2015 geotour on Copper Mining Waste:

A walk along the Gay stamp sand included observation of mining ruins, such as this sluice where water carried the mining waste to Lake Superior.

A view of Lake Superior from the Gay stamp sands.

Erika Vye, center, is joined by van drivers for the tour -- Clare Seguin, left, elementary school teacher from Madison, Wis., and Keri Anderson, Michigan Tech geology researcher.

Tour group participants enjoy a picnic near the mouth of the Tobacco River in Keweenaw County, not far from the Gay stamp sands.

Aboard the Agassiz, Captain Steve Roblee explains safety precautions for the boat rides. Seated at left is Michigan Tech Professor Carol MacLennan, expert on the history of the area.

The remains of a historic dredge in Torch Lake, viewed from the Agassiz.

Local residents Eloise and Bill Haller enjoy the geotour, including the ride on the Agassiz research vessel. "I learned a lot about the stamp sands," Eloise said, "how they create dead zones and how fast they're moving down to Big Traverse -- and seeing the black stamp sands on one side (of the breakwater) and the white sands on the other side is dramatic."

This photo shows how the black stamp sands from Gay (at right) have been moving down the Lake Superior shore. They have begun to move around the breakwater at Big Traverse, threatening the clean sand on the other side.

* Editor's Note: More video clips from this 2015 geotour can be viewed in our Feb. 9, 2016, article on the Torch Lake Watershed project.

Carnegie Museum to host monthly Keweenaw Natural History Seminars beginning Sept. 30

HOUGHTON -- The Carnegie Museum of the Keweenaw (Houghton) will host Monthly Seminars about our local landscape on the third Tuesday of each month beginning Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014, through Tuesday, April 14, 2015, in the Community Room, downstairs at the Carnegie Museum. The museum opens at 6:30 p.m. for refreshments and introductions; a lecture and discussion will be from 7 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Dr. William Rose, Michigan Tech professor emeritus, Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences and organizer of these Keweenaw Natural History Seminars, will present the inaugural lecture, "Geoelements of the Keweenaw and Isle Royale," on Tuesday, Sept. 30.

Dr. William Rose talks about Keweenaw geology at a beach near Point Isabelle on Lake Superior during one of his July Geo-tours.* (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

"Isle Royale and the Keweenaw share almost identical geology, but have very different human occupation," Rose says. "Geoheritage is about how geology and earth science guide people's lives. Geoheritage is stronger here than almost all places. In spite of this, it is hard for most residents to describe how this works. For Keweenaw and Isle Royale there are five main elements of geoheritage. They can be described simply by five words:  Lavas, Sandstones, Fault, Glaciers and the big Lake. In this lecture I will describe how these five geoelements affect all of our lives here."

Rose has  developed a website which provides extensive basic documentation on Keweenaw Geoheritage. To reach that website, click here.

"The Keweenaw is very special, and it guides our lives," Rose notes. "The connection we feel is strongly influenced by our natural history, as well as our cultural history. In exploring our region’s natural history, we will ask, 'What are the elements of Keweenaw Natural History?' and 'How can the community discuss, participate and celebrate these elements?'"

Other Seminars in the series this fall include "The (un)natural history of Huron Creek, a working stream on the Keweenaw Peninsula" (Oct. 21) by Dr. Alex Mayer, Michigan Tech professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering; "Lake Superior’s natural history and future" (Nov. 18), with Dr. Sarah Green, Michigan Tech professor, Chemistry; and "Animal Elements of Keweenaw and Isle Royale" (Dec. 16) by Dr. Rolf Peterson, Michigan Tech research professor, School of Forest Resources and  Environmental Science.

Click here to read more about the Carnegie Museum seminar series.

* Editor's Note: Watch for an article on the July 25-26 Jacobsville Sandstone Geo-tour -- coming soon.