Geology of Minnesota

UMM lies along the so-called "Great Lakes Tectonic Zone," a major geologic boundary (or suture zone) that resulted from a collision between a continental fragment (represented by the 3.6 billion year old Morton Gneiss and related rocks) and a greenstone terrane (2.7 billion year old volcanic and associated sedimentary rocks) about 2.6 billion years ago. This event occurred during the assembly of what is now the stable core of the North American continent. Glaciation during the last 2 million years left thick deposits of unconsolidated sediments on top of the much older continental "basement," and these deposits are what the campus is built on. In 1975, Morris was the epicenter of Minnesota's largest recorded earthquake (4.6 on the Richter scale).

The Minnesota Geological Survey has produced a number of short, informative articles describing various aspects of Minnesota's geology. You can view and download these documents (called Minnesota at a Glance) here. The state survey also publishes a wide variety of geologic maps, articles, and reports that are available for purchase and/or download.