The Spectacular Geology of Iron County and The Northern Highlands

We live and spend our vacations on an ancient subcontinent. It has been the subject of violent geological forces for billions of years. Significantly, the record of those events is right there to see on our exposed earth surface and in the records of those who mined the resulting metallic formations. Learn more in a free lecture sponsored by the library at 2:00PM on July 19, followed by an optional field trip on July 20.

Dick Thiede will present a free lecture on “The Spectacular Geology of Iron County and The Northern Highlands” on Friday, July 19 at 2:00 p.m. at the Mercer Public Library. We will journey through 4.5 billion years of our history with emphasis on the unlikely chain of events of the last 1.9 billion years that created vast mineral wealth and shaped our county and the whole subcontinent. In the lecture, we will look at rock samples which show evidence of the beginnings of multicellular life 1.9 billion years ago, the tremendous and violent volcanic activity which created precious metal deposits in our neighborhoods, and the repeated transitions from ocean to soaring mountain ranges.

We will discuss millions of years of “rock cycles” which are still occurring here. We pose the question, “If there were great mountain ranges here, where did they go?” (The answer is VERY surprising.)

On July 20th, we will tour the “in situ” rock evidence with famed geologist, Tom Fitz. We will observe vast lava flows, 3-billion-year-old rock outcrops, a continuous rock exposure which shows evidence of the beginnings of life, and the geological wonders of Copper Falls State Park. At Mellen, WI, we will study the results of an incredible tectonic explosion. The tour ends with an in-depth discussion of iron mining, past and future, at the newly restored Plumer Mine site near Pence, Wisconsin.

No registration is required to attend the lecture on July 19, and it is free and open to the public.

The field trip on July 20 is sponsored by Fe University. The tour fee of $40 per person includes a box lunch and bus transportation. Scholarships are available. The tour leaves at 9 AM from the Mercer Library and will last about 5 hours. There is a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 38 people on the tour. Please register in advance for the tour with Fe University by visiting their website at feuniversity.org/class/the-spectacular-geology-of-iron-county-and-the-northern-highlands/

For more information, call the Mercer Library at 715-476-2366.