Inscription
GEOLOGY OF THE LAKE MILLE LACS REGION
Almost all the lakes in Minnesota were formed by glacial action. Many small lakes formed after the glaciers re-ceded and blocks of ice buried in the sediment melted, leaving holes, called kettles, that filled with water. Other lakes occupy basins that were scraped out of solid rock by glacial ice. Lake Superior is a prominent example of a lake bottom scoured by glacial ice. Lake Mille Lacs, by contrast, is not really in a basin. It is surrounded on the north, west, and south sides by a moraine—a ridge of sediment (silt, sand, gravel, and boulders) left along the edge of a glacier. With the land on the eastern shore also being of higher elevation, the moraine effectively dams the drainage to the south to form one of the largest lakes in the state.
The Mille Lacs moraine was formed about 15,000 years ago near the end of the last, or Wisconsin, glaciation, by a tongue-shaped lobe of ice called the Superior lobe, which flowed into the area from the northeast. This ice carried sediment derived from rock along the Superior basin and the North Shore, which was later deposited beneath the ice and at its margin. At its maximum, the Superior lobe extended beyond Minneapolis to the south and St. Cloud to the west. Its decline was punctuated by several minor re advances, such as the one that deposited the Mille Lacs moraine. About 12,000 years ago, another lobe of ice advanced from the northwest and overrode the northern part of the Mille Lacs moraine, sending its meltwater into Lake Mille Lacs. Once this influx of meltwater ended, precipitation and small streams maintained the water level in Lake Mille Lacs, much as they do today.
Minnesota Department of Transportation and the Minnesota Geological Survey. 1998
Details
| HM Number | HM2BIF |
|---|---|
| Additional Information | See the Geological Society of Minnesota's Web Page for this Marker for further info. |
| Series | This marker is part of the Minnesota Department of Highways series, and the Geological Society of Minnesota series. |
| Tags | |
| Historical Period | Pre Columbian |
| Historical Place | Other |
| Marker Type | Historic District |
| Marker Class | Historical Marker |
| Marker Style | Mounted |
| Marker Number | 306 |
| Year Placed | 1998 |
| Placed By | Geological Society of Minnesota, Minnesota Department of Transportation, Minnesota Geological Survey |
| Marker Condition | No reports yet |
| Date Added | Wednesday, September 19th, 2018 at 9:55pm PDT -07:00 |
Pictures
Photo Credits: [1] MARTHA DECKER [2] MARTHA DECKER [3] MARTHA DECKER
Locationbig map
| Location Description | Located in a small wayside on the east side of Lake Mille Lacs. It's a pretty little spot with a nice view of the lake, but sadly, the marker and its pedestal were badly vandalized with spray paint and graffiti. |
|---|---|
| UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 15T E 463639 N 5112406 |
| Decimal Degrees | 46.16426800, -93.47096800 |
| Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 46° 9.8561', W 93° 28.2581' |
| Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 46° 9' 51.3648" N, 93° 28' 15.4848" W |
| Driving Directions | Google Maps |
| Area Code(s) | 320 |
| Can be seen from road? | No |
| Is marker in the median? | No |
| Which side of the road? | Marker is on the right when traveling South |
| Closest Postal Address | At or near 42902 Vista Rd, Isle MN 56342, US |
| Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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