The Gem of Lake Superior

(Apologies for the hiatus.  I was moving and both time and internet were iffy)


The Lake Superior agate became Minnesota's State Gemstone in 1969.  It defeated some tough competition, including Binghamite and silkstone, jaspers rich in iron that reflect Minnesota's iron ranges; Thomsonite, found only in Minnesota along Lake Superior; and Pipestone, which was made into peace pipes by Indians in the area of the same name.  The Lake Superior agate was chosen because it was widespread throughout Minnesota, captured the importance of iron, and tells the story of Minnesota's geological history.  And I would add it's just plain pretty.

Prehistoric Origins: From Fire and Ice

Over a billion years ago, when all life was still microscopic and the atmosphere was just beginning to accumulate oxygen (thanks to a new innovation called photosynthesis), the area that would become Minnesota was splitting apart.  In the midst of the catastrophe, lava rich in iron flowed up from the fissure that would eventually become the trough of Lake Superior.

The massive lava flows cooled, fraught with small bubbles of water and carbon dioxide (these bubbles are called vesicles).  Groundwater eventually began to flow through the rock, carrying dissolved minerals (including ferric iron and quartz) that crystallized onto the inner walls of these bubbles in layers of a silica mineral called chalcedony.  Lake Superior agates are unique because their bands are red or orange, a color they picked up from the oxidized iron.

Over time, some of these agates were released from their bubble prisons by erosion of the softer lava around them.  Many more were scraped up by the glacial ice that arrived 15,000-10,000 years ago with the Great Ice Age. These were dragged south, tumbled and polished as they went along.

So You Want to Be a Collector

Agates are widespread in Minnesota, giving every Minnesotan (or interested visitor) a chance to collect.  On the surface they can be found in northeastern and central Minnesota into extreme northwestern Wisconsin, and underground they are expected to stretch even farther.  Because of their glacial rearrangement, as well as subsequent movement down streams and rivers, agates can be found in much of Minnesota.

While the shores of Lake Superior are often the most popular location to search for agates, these picked-over areas may or may not yield many finds.  Avid collectors have the best luck after a big storm, which tends to turn up new pebbles, and on a calm, sunny day when agates may be easily glimpsed through the still water.  Agates can also be found in a wide variety of rocky areas: lakes and streams, gravel pits, and rural gravel roads (usually made from local rock).  True hunters avoid granite or limestone and search more diligently in areas of basalt and quartz.  Even so, many agates are found by accident in fields and backyards.

What to Look For

Agates are sometimes hard to find, as their bands may not be visible.  They are generally round (molded in round bubbles in the lava), with pitted surfaces from other softer rock in the vesicles and a reddish or yellowish color from the iron.  Sometimes layers may have broken off, leaving a peeled appearance.

The most common type of agate is the fortification agate, which features concentric bands.  Rarer types include eye agate, which boasts round bands on the rock's surface, waterwashed agate, which has an almost perfectly smooth natural surface, and moss agate, which contains tree-branch shapes.  Most agates are pea-sized, but a few up to 20 Lbs (about the size of a bowling ball) have been found.  An agate that is greater than 2 Lbs with perfect shape, color, and banding is called an "all-timer."


You can learn more about agates and Minnesota's geological history at the Moose Lake Agate & Geological Center.

References/Credits

Dawn of the North

Though more common farther north, the northern lights (aurora borealis) may often be seen from Minnesota.

The term Aurora Borealis means "Dawn of the North"

The light of the northern lights comes from the sun.  As the sun rotates, its magnetic fields twist into knots, then release bursts of energy as solar wind--particles of plasma that hurtle outward and can reach the earth in about 40 hours.  These storms ebb and flow over about an 11-year cycle.  We are currently in a weaker solar cycle.

Southern Lights, as seen from the International Space Station

When the ejected particles reach our atmosphere, they are deflected by the earth's own magnetic field and drawn towards the poles.  Somewhere along the way they collide with molecules and atoms in the atmosphere, releasing their energy as light.  When plasma particles hit oxygen, they produce green or yellow light.  Interactions with nitrogen can release red, violet, or blue light, but colors are also influenced by altitude.  The dazzling light show may be accompanied by sound; the atmospheric collisions can produce crackling noises as they burst into light.


Native Americans have many myths and legends about the northern lights.  Some tribes believed they were spirits, or reflections from the fires of warriors or giants of the North.  The Ojibwe story of the northern lights tells part of the history of their people.  After a great flood ravaged the earth, the world was off-balance and left in darkness.  A race of people (now known as the "Mongols") prayed to God, the Great Manitou, to be saved from the darkness.  The Great Spirit took pity on them and promised to lead them to a "New Land"--but to get there they had to journey through the harsh northern wilderness.  The journey was long and dangerous in the darkness, so the people again prayed for help.  In response the Great Manitou placed giant, mountain-sized ice crystals on the top of the world to reflect the rays of the hidden sun, splitting them into the many colors that form the aurora borealis.  By this light, the people crossed into the new, fertile land and spread across the continent, ancestors of the many tribes of North America.

REFERENCES/CREDITS

The Story of Minnesota State Parks

...to protect and perpetuate extensive areas of the state possessing those resources which illustrate and exemplify Minnesota’s natural phenomena and to provide for the use, enjoyment, and understanding of such resources without impairment for the enjoyment and recreation of future generations. (Minn. Stat. §86A.05, subd. 2 (a))

Mississippi headwaters at Itasca State Park (photo by Tastocke)

I've been visiting Minnesota's State Parks since before I was born.  In total I've visited about 60 of the 67 State Parks.  Minnesota can trace its parks' history back to before the state itself was born in 1858.  The first State Park's beginnings stretch back to Schoolcraft's expeditions into the territory's interior, where on a summer day in 1832, he first glimpsed the unpretentious headwaters of the mighty Mississippi, naming the place Itasca from Latin veritas caput, or "true head."

The National Park system began in 1872 with the founding of Yellowstone, but the country took some time to define what this sort of park was or how it was to be managed.  State parks also had a fuzzy beginning.  Niagara Falls, founded in 1885, is popularly remembered as the first state park.  However, Georgia had a state-level park as early as 1825, and California was managing a system of parks at the state level from 1864.  

Minnehaha Falls,
From an 1878 resort guide

Minnesota attempted to join these state park pioneers in 1885, when it passed legislature to create a state-run park around Minnehaha Falls.  Legal battles delayed the land acquisition, and by the time the arguments were settled (in the state's favor) in 1889, Minnesota didn't have the money to buy the land.  The city of Minneapolis stepped in, bought the land, and took control of the park.

Not to be discouraged, Minnesota tried again just three years later.  The late 1800s marked the peak of logging in northern Minnesota, and many stands of native red pines were at risk.  Jacob Brower, a former legislator/railroader/newspaper man who was now an explorer mapping the headwaters first marked out by Schoolcraft, recognized the beauty of the area and the threat that could destroy it.  Brower took his proposal to the legislature, fighting for Itasca's protection.  In 1891, Itasca became Minnesota's first State Park.  

Brower later became Itasca's first Superintendent, then the first Parks Commissioner, working on developing Itasca until his death in 1905.  Itasca was first managed as a State Forest, while subsequent parks (Itasca was followed by Interstate State Park in 1895 and Minneopa State Park in 1905) were administered by the State Auditor.  In 1925 the Department of Conservation (later the DNR) was created to care for the system that had grown to ten parks. 

Itasca State Park set the tone for Minnesota's later State Parks.  In 1905, Douglas Lodge was built in the Rustic Style that marks this and later periods in state park architecture.  The lodge is not only the oldest building in the park system, but it is the first development of a recreation structure in a State Park.  Its construction set the stage for the recreational role of State Parks today.  Itasca and subsequent parks were hugely important during the Great Depression, as they were the sites of many CCC and WPA projects.  The Depression marked one of three park-founding peaks: ten State Parks were founded in 1937 (though many of these were first developed in the early 1930s), five in 1957 (with a rising population and popularity of the automobile), and eleven in 1963 (with greater park popularity and environmental concern).  The most recent State Park, Lake Vermilion, was established in 2010.  

Reflection Lake, St. Croix State Park.  Photo by William Wesen

Fun facts:

Minnesota State parks are relatively evenly spread across the State, so that any Minnesota resident may be within 50 miles of a park.  

Largest State Park:  St. Croix (34,037 acres)

Smallest State Park: Franz Jevne (118 acres)

Most visited State Park:  Fort Snelling (959.859 in 2012)

System includes 62 National Register Historic Districts and 4 National Historic Landmarks.

Itasca contains stands of red pine that are over 200 years old, and has 157 lakes within its almost 32,000 acres.

The Parks and Trails Council of Minnesota is responsible for acquiring over 10,000 acres of land for State Parks, including some critical areas the state did not have ready funds for.  

The State Parks System also includes State Recreation Areas, State Waysides, and State Trails.

Introduction

My favorite childhood memories are camping out in the woods in Northern Minnesota.  There's still nothing better to me than relaxing out under the trees, and if it's been too long, I start getting that wish-I-were-camping feeling.  The smell of the rain on the breeze, the dry cushion of pine needles on the ground, the sunlight filtered green through maple leaves.  What could be better?

I'm not in Minnesota right now--school and internships and things have taken me rather far from home, I'm afraid.  So this blog is dedicated to the outdoors of Minnesota, especially the State Parks.  I'm a bio major, so it might lean a little in the science direction, but it's basically going to be my thoughts of Minnesota while I'm far from home.

Named in honor of Pinus resinosa, the Red Pine, Minnesota's State tree.