Great Lakes Rocks: 4 Billion Years of Geologic History in the Great Lakes Region

by Stephen E Kesler

Overview

The geologic story of the Great Lakes region is one of the most remarkable of any place on Earth. Great Lakes Rocks takes readers on this fascinating journey through geologic history, beginning with an investigation of the surface features—the hills and valleys, waterfalls and caves, and the Great Lakes themselves—that we encounter on a daily basis. From there the book digs deeper into the past, and readers learn about the amazing techniques geologists have used to reconstruct the events that shaped this region millions and even billions of years before humans set foot on Earth. Throughout, the book gives special attention to the link between the region’s geology and its modern history, including the impacts of geology on settlement patterns as well as the development of industries and the present-day economy. Other discussed topics include natural hazards that are geologic in nature, including earthquakes, floods, landslides, and coastal erosion, as well as information on rocks, minerals, and ancient life seen in fossils. Written for nonspecialist readers, this book provides a detailed but easy-to-follow introduction to the geology of the Great Lakes region, and it is an ideal fit for introductory geology courses, including those aimed at nonscience majors.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780472053803
Publisher:	University of Michigan Press
Publication date:	05/01/2019
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	489,968
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Stephen E. Kesler is Emeritus Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Michigan.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1 Introduction: Geologic Time Travel in the Great Lakes Region 1

Chapter 2 Landscaping the Continent: The Holocene and Anthropocene 15

Chapter 3 Freezing the Continent: Pleistocene Glaciation of the Great Lakes Region 45

Chapter 4 Flooding the Continent: Paleozoic-Mesozoic Sediments and the Michigan Basin 82

Chapter 5 Rifting the Continent: The Mesoproterozoic Midcontinent Rift and Grenville Province 124

Chapter 6 Building the Continent: Paleoproterozoic Basins, Mountains, and Meteorites 157

Chapter 7 Making a Craton: Archean Greenstone Belts and Granites 202

Chapter 8 Making the Crust: Solidification of the Hadean Magma Ocean 235

Chapter 9 Sustaining the Continent: Our Geologic Future 245

References 261

Index 307

Color section following page 184

Editorial Reviews

This book will surely appeal to a large audience, for it seems that nearly EVERYONE is interested in the ages and origins of rocks, fossils, and economic deposits. Glaciation, topography and water are additional topics of great historical interest. Kesler's book covers them all!”
—Richard W. Ojakangas, University of Minnesota Duluth

 “This new book on the geologic history of the Great Lakes Region is written in an easily readable and entertaining style. The specific examples of important geologic sites and the informative figures make this an important new reference on the geology of the region.”
—William B. Harrison, Michigan Geological Repository for Research and Education, Western Michigan University

From the Publisher