Meet up with a 2.8 billion year old from Wisconsin

Looking to meet up with a 2.8 billion year old?

We found your match.

Your can turn the GIS app into an online dating site (albeit for seniors) by doing the following:

1.  Click here to open the Wisconsin Geology GIS map
2. Click the  "Filter" button near the upper right of the map, then toggle on the "Age Dated" filter. 

 

 

The mapped outcrops will then show only those that have been dated.  Click on those outcrops for a profile of each.

The oldest rock outcrops in Wisconsin are found in the central part of the state.  Just east of Marshfield, a gneiss outcrop has been dated around 2800 - 3000 million years old by a geologist named W. Randall Van Schmus.  Randy gets around and has dated a LOT of rocks around the country.

You'll see several outcrops dated by Van Schmus along the Black River in Clark and Jackson Counties, specifically near the Arbutus Dam.   You'll find rock outcrops older than 2000 million (2 billion) years old along the Wisconsin River in Wood and Portage Counties as well.  These are of course mapped on the Wisconsin Geology GIS app.  Love begins here (opens the GIS map).

Gold in them thar Wisconsin hills?

I'll strike up a conversation about geology with anyone who is interested.  Often, this conversation turns to gold.  Literally.  When people think "geology" they often want to talk about the most malleable metallic mineral.

Wisconsin is not known for it's gold mines.  Unlike the San Francisco 49ers, our football team's gold color is more reflective of cheese than of the metal.

Yet, one could  point to places in Wisconsin and say indeed, there is  gold in them thar hills!

How much gold, you ask?  Well, one mine in Rusk County Wisconsin produced 334,000 ounces of gold in 5 years (1993 - 1997), not to mention 3.3 million ounces of silver, plus copper to boot.  Reading this, you might be licking your pickaxe while singing "Silver and Gold" along with Yukon Cornelius while you book a trip to Wisco.

But wait, there's more.  Significant gold deposits have  been reported in Ashland and Marathon Counties as well.  Some deposits have names:  There is the "Northern Belle Mine" and the "Chicago Mine" between Drummond and Mellen in northern Wisconsin;  The "Reef Deposit" east of Wausau;  and the "Lynn Deposit" in Oneida County.    Of course, the gold in these deposits is not easily recovered.  These are "massive sulfide" deposits that would require expensive recovery operations.  Not to mention, the permitting process would be a nightmare and you'd face opposition from groups concerned about potential water pollution from this type of mine.  Want an example?  All of this is currently playing out with the "Back Forty" gold/copper mine just across Wisconsin's border in the U.P. of Michigan.

OK, so maybe you don't want to mine for gold using new-fangled technology or deal with modern-day politics, you just want to find gold the old-fashioned way: Panning.  There is hope.  Yes, you can pan for gold in Wisconsin and you might even find a little (just don't give up your day job and be sure to follow the rules).  One of the best sites to pan for gold in Wisconsin is at  Nugget Lake Park along Plum Creek in Pierce County.  The gold here may be associated with an impact crater known as the "Rock Elm Disturbance" formed during the Middle Ordovician Period somewhere between 430 and 455 million years ago. More on this crater in future blog posts.  Let's get back to the gold! 

So where does "X mark the spot"?  Right here on this blog, you'll find a treasure map:  Find gold on the Wisconsin Geology GIS web map by clicking here and then typing "Gold" into the search box in the upper left of the map.  You'll see a list of results; Clicking each result will bring you to the location in Wisconsin where gold may be found, including the examples given above.  Further, you have technology the old-timers could have only dreamed of:  The mapped locations include a popup with a link and Google Map directions.  Using our very own app, your smart phone will lead you right to paydirt!  You will be richly rewarded, though probably not in gold or other monetary form--your reward will most likely come from experiencing Wisconsin's great outdoors.  All that glitters is gold....in the form of Wisconsin's 15,000 sun-splashed lakes or the many other brilliant rocks and minerals you can find here. That's gold, Jerry!  Gold!

References:

• Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WiDNR), "Reclaimed Flambeau Mine" (web page) 
• Oneida County web site, the Lynn Deposit (web page).
• Aquila Resources, "Back Forty" mine web site 
• Wisconsin Geological & Natural History Survey (WGNHS) web site, minerals > gold page.

New! Click anywhere on the GIS map to view a summary of geologic features

The problem with geology maps you've seen before

Most geology maps have lots of colors and symbols representing various geologic units---too many, perhaps: Onlookers are constantly referring to the map legend, then back to the area of interest, legend, map, and back and forth your eyes go. 

Further, if you want to know something about surface versus bedrock geology, you have the added complication of using different maps altogether.  Most likely these "old school" paper-based maps are of different scales and areas of extent and it's hard to get a "big picture" view of the geology of an area.  Not to mention, the big paper maps are hard to use in the field -- especially a windy field.

This geology mapping project aims to be different.  Here's how:

Now you can just click on pretty much any location on the Wisconsin Geology online GIS map to open a popup showing a summary of geologic features for the spot clicked.

Here are three ways to access geology information from the Wisconsin Geology GIS map:

1. See a landform that looks interesting on the Wisco Geology GIS map?  Pick it and click it, and a popup will provide a summary of geologic information (bedrock and surficial) for that area.  Super interesting geology will eventually have links from the popup to a blog article.
2. Don't want to click and poke at the map so much?  Just press the "Info Summary" button in the top ribbon, then just zoom to an area of interest. Within your map view extent, you'll see a summary of geologic features along with any outcrops that might be in sight. These descriptions will update automatically as you pan or zoom around the map.  Nifty, huh? 
3. You know you can use the Wisconsin Geology GIS map on a smart phone, right?  Yep, you'll have gobs of geologic information at your fingertips while out in the field -- and the little blue dot knows where you are at all times, of course. While hiking, just tap the map to see what's around--and under--you.

This will take a while to compile

I'll have to compile information from dozens and dozens of geology maps and convert them into my specific GIS format to make this all work. It'll take a while.  As geologist J. David Love has said, "You can't do geology in a hurry."

This project overall is still in it's infancy, but since few people are even looking at this project, I thought I'd go ahead and publish this even as it's incomplete and I'm still testing this idea.

Areas that are completed with more refined, large-scale geologic map data summaries as of September 25, 2018 include the counties of:

• Brown
• Door
• Kewaunee
• Sheboygan

I suggest you try out the above counties first (look in the Green Bay area).

You can look at other parts of the state, but the summary information is based on a very generalized small scale maps and lacks detail. The polygons and boundaries are purposely transparent. If you are able to see polygon edges, please do not interpret them to be precise locations of geologic contacts.

In the near future, I will be compiling more detailed bedrock and surficial geology into this "summary" layer for the following areas:

• The Fox Valley area of Eastern Wisconsin
• Southeastern Wisconsin
• Northeastern Wisconsin
• Central Wisconsin including Marathon, Portage, and Wood Counties

Stay tuned!