The Biggest Lava Flow on Earth (Might Be in Michigan)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 ก.พ. 2023
- About a billion years ago, huge volumes of lava covered northern Michigan. About 200 years ago, those lava flows gave rise to the first major, mechanized copper mine in North America. This is the story of the Greenstone Flow and the Cliff Mine in Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula.
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🎉 The thank-you section:
Special thanks to Dr. Laurel Woodruff (USGS) and Dr. Sean Gohman (Keweenaw National Historical Park Advisory Commission) for their review of this script and insight into the Greenstone Flow and the Cliff Mine.
Special thanks as well to Amanda Makela at 2nd Sandbar Productions for the gorgeous drone footage!
You can read the 1842 Treaty of La Point here, courtesy of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community: www.kbic-nsn.gov/index.php/go...
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#geology #upperpeninsula #history
Correction:
11:50 I dropped a word here. The Cliff has been considered the first major /copper/ mine in North America.
I'm a scientist who's moving to the UP this summer, and this is 100% the content I need on TH-cam. Thank you.
That's amazing! I hope the move goes well, and consider yourself welcomed. ☺️
Check out hog island camp ground, zoo across the street, plenty yo do and u camp right on the water
Please don’t come
Michigan ,black sands and obsidian in some areas. See how the over flow went north, Canada, can see on Google Earth.
@@scottskog2170 If you don't want scientists to move to the UP, why don't you tell Northern (or other employers) to stop hiring from the outside? I'm sure you have a surplus of unemployed chemistry PhDs in your area who need my job more than I do.
Or, I can't read your mind, maybe you discourage newcomers because you want all of your small towns to die out.
The enthusiasm you show for your subjects is contagious. Very well done
But do not forget to save up some of that enthusiasm for use later on when you are in your retirement :-)
Came here to say this!
Old retired USGS guy here. I love watching your videos - you’re so cheerful and enthusiastic about everything, your subjects are thoroughly researched, and your presentation is wonderful! You draw the viewers right in and show them how the earth sciences are such an important part of our history (and, of course, how awesomely cool geology is!). Well done, young lady, well done!!!
And now I want to add the UP to my list of places to go wander and hit rocks…
Thank you so much! I really appreciate that, and that's such a meaningful comment. 😊
Are you related to the USGS geologist Henry Rowland Cornwall, who died in 1997?
@@browngreen933 I don’t believe so, no.
Looking for gold?
Yooper here! I live near MTU, and I’m currently attending for Forestry after a some time as a geological engineer student. We also have one of the most extensive collections of minerals in our museum as well!
I recognized that cliff immediately from the thumbnail! "Isn't that Cliffton Cliff?!" My friend took me to Copper Harbor for a camping trip years ago and we hiked to the top of the cliff. I've gone back every summer since then. Absolutely stunning geography, ecosystem and history. Seeing cedar trees growing from bare rock cracks in the lava flow on the rugged shore of lake superior was mind blowing. How can they survive like that? Really magical place.
That’s a convenient name for a cliff
I'm the 30th thumbs up.
im the 40th from da Soo eh true Yooper
My Mom was born in Dearborn in 1937, her Dad worked at the Ford Plant-B. I never could get her to tell me much about Michigan, so thank you for your charming and fun to watch content. 😊
Aw, absolutely! I'm glad you're enjoying it.
Sad what Dearborn has become.
@@FeverDreamRemixcrazy, isn’t it?
@@FeverDreamRemix ?
My mother grew up in Lake Linden. For sixteen years my great grandfather worked in the mines during the copper rush. She moved to Green Bay Wisconsin my grandfather was a logger. The paper mill my grandfather got the wood for gave him a job. He worked there for about 40 plus years. I go up there often to find copper and agates.😊
My grandparents are from Calumet and lake linden.. born in 1927 .. I have family in bootjack now right on lake linden !
Parents are from L 'Anse, MI in the UP... I still have family there. My cousin's husband worked in the mines.
Love the enthusiasm for Michigan history. I've been a Michigander my whole life and never knew this!
The Gilded Age, Season One, which was created by Downton Abbey's Sir Julian Fellowes, has a character whose wealth came from the Cliff Mine. I was really surprised and impressed because I did not think that the Cliff Mine was widely known outside the Keweenaw. I certainly did not expect a British TV producer to know about it.
I watched that series and enjoyed it immensely. Could you please remind me which character obtained their wealth from the Cliff Mine? I can’t honestly recall.
@@DJ-nh6wq I can't remember her name but she was the one the others all shunned.
@@theresemalmberg955 I’m going to rewatch soon. It’s driving me crazy who she was.
Came back to give you an update. Her name was Mrs. Chamberlain..she was a widow.
Fellow Michigander here, and I just struck gold stumbling across your TH-cam channel! This is the first video that I am seeing, but I am certain I will watch many more. Your attention to detail, your passion and the quality that you put into this video is inspiring.
Me too. Parents from that area in the UP. I found this video amazing...
You make living in Michigan more exciting. Thanks for that. I'm always surprised to hear about our state's past.
I lived in Copper Harbor for a couple of years and easily my favorite place on earth. This is my favorite episode by far. Before this one, I couldn't pick a favorite as I loved them all equally.
Aw, thank you! That's really meaningful!
@@AlexisDahl Did you hear the story a few years back about the IRS investigating the amount of copper that has been actually mined in the area? The story went that orders of more copper was mined than they, the IRS, could account for during the last century.
@@terrywilder9 I've heard stories of silver and some gold found in a few of the mines along that Cliff Drive general Keweenaw area that wasn't reported so much officially.
@@jafinch78 The story that I seen was an IRS investigator claiming, if I recall correctly, was $100,000,000,000.00 in current USD being mined from 1910 onward, yet unaccounted for in the region.
This date could just as well been assumed though.
Because others have claimed a similar discrepancy between the indigenous populations use and the quantities that were mined in ancient times.
Something someone told me a few years back, before I heard any of this was of copper artifacts all over the middleast as being identified as coming from the area. I couldn't find much on this, however. But again there are some claiming that the Minoans and Cretes were actually making transatlantic crossings several millennia before Columbus and the Vikings and Trading with that local population.
Another story my brother told me, was of this somewhat seedy bar owner that would drive a small truck to some location on the Detroit River every Sunday. He would load up with what appeared as raw native copper and drive all the way to Chicago to sell it.
there is exposed bedrock up here that has runes and Minoan ships carved into it. evidence beats claims every time lol.@@terrywilder9
Love the drone perspective of this feature. The Mid Continent Rift is incredibly interesting. I knew the Rift ran through Michigan but I had absolutely no idea such vivid and expansive geological evidence of this ancient system was in Michigan!! Seriously, I think this area, with all the historical and natural elements, should be considered for designation as a World Heritage Site.
🕵😎...It prolly Already is...Afterall, We have Apostle Island, Isle Royale's 4 Gates, includingThe Rock. and The Painted Stones...🙂..not to.memtion.Big Bay..🙏💖💞
@@ArthurTheLibraryDetective sadly no site in Michigan is so designated; not even on the pending list.
It really should be. I am fascinated by the Midcontinent Rift. I read recently that rock from the rift was found in Texas, and both the rift and the rock are also a match for rock in Antarctica.
Great idea!
I had a course at Michigan Tech that had us read this book. Great history on the Cliff Mine.
Cradle to Grave: Life, Work, and Death at the Lake Superior Copper Mines
Written by Larry Lankton, my professor.
Oh, awesome! It sounds like a great read.
I agree! Strangers and Sojourners is another great book
Flying up central Michigan on a regular basis, I’ve always been curious about Michigans odd topography. After watching this it gives a clearer understanding. Thanks!
The cliff is still giving up its treasures even today. When they open each afternoon, people flock to the mine with metal detectors and find some beautiful copper and mineral specimens. Even some silver nuggets have been found recently. The UP has so many mineral resources that most of it has not even been tapped into yet.
There is a book about the silver. When Granholm was governor, she applied for access to them and was denied.
@@teresassparetime3110 Who has the "book?"
When what opens? What are you talking about?
Far northern Indiana resident here, we love to take a summer trip or two into Michigan every year because we'll Michigan just has a lot of cool stuff to see. Thanks for adding a few more places to our list.
Being from Michigan, I found this vid incredibly interesting! Thank you for the history lesson. Liked & Subscribed!
Another great, informative video, Thank You! The UP is loaded with copper, iron ore, and wood. This region literally helped build America with it's natural resources, and still does to this day!
Your excitement is contagious.
I live in Petoskey and absolutely love your content!! Easily in the Top 5channels that I share with other people!! Keep up the amazing work.
Thank you so much! That's an honor.
Dang, These stories you manage to dig up are fantastically fascinating. I too on my first time to the Keweenaw was driving down Cliff road. and was struck by that same view. I was just at the Cliff Bar admiring the view not a month ago. How you be leaving us hanging about Clifton.....The suspense is killing me. P.S. that yellow jacket pops...lol
Thank you! ☺️ I'm consistently surprised at how interesting ordinary-looking (or ordinary-ish) things are. Also, ha ha, the coat was a very intentional choice! 😂
@@AlexisDahl The black shirt and gray hat are excellent accent colors for the yellow coat. 😉
This video rocked! 😉😆
It's interesting that those early fissure mines produced wonderful big masses of copper. But they were limited in quantity and were labor intensive. It is counterintuitive but the mines in the amygdaloidal/vesicular basalts produced so much copper overall. Those basalts had mostly tiny pieces of copper but in such huge numbers that it was richer and easier to process than fissure copper.
Also, love your Maize colored coat.
Go Blue!
If you’re from Michigan and you haven’t gone for the scenic fall color drive on Brockway Mountain Drive, then you haven’t lived :^)
It really is worth trekking all the way out there to do so! 🍂
Gtk! Thank you!
The raptor migration in early Spring is an excellent time to go to Brockway Mtn Drive if you want to see these beautiful raptors gliding at eye level.
A friend & I used to try to be the first ones up there every year (you can tell if there's no tire tracks in the snow). We managed to be first like four years in a row.
Lake of the Clouds! Porcupine Mountains! Eating fresh picked thimble berries! Eating pasties!
If you're from Michigan and live in Michigan, you really don't have to go anywhere to experience the fall colors.
I have been to Cliff Mines to explore and rockhound a few times. Never knew the full extent of the geology. Nor, about the mine itself. It was fascinating to learn about the Greenstone lava flow and about how Cliff Mine came to be. Next time I go back, I will try to find more abandoned structures. I only saw a couple. This is a pretty area. Montreal Falls and the trail leading to it is amazing if you've never been. Every video I've had the pleasure of watching of yours is really, really good. I know we all say it, but keep up the great work 😀👍
Nicely done. Next time you're in Calumet, check out the library located within the high school. Here, a massive piece of copper can be seen. It's a cut slab of the C&H conglomerate and it stands about 4 feet tall and has to be 70% copper.
Your narration is brilliant and the material is very interesting, especially to us Michiganders! I had no idea copper chunks were that big!
My husband and I dive in Lake Superior. Seeing lava formations that have been carved from the waves sets this lake apart.
I was a keeper at the lighthouse in Eagle Harbor in the late 70s. Cliff View Drive was a great shortcut to town. Stories…
The end of the video was a real cliff hanger!
Having been born and raised in Michigan, I love so much about both Peninsulas, but the Upper is by far my favorite. I just subscribed to your channel ... thanks for the fascinating (and VERY well done!) content. Looking forward to more of the same:) God Bless
Born and raised in the UP. Treaty of LaPointe were my ancestors. I’ve learned so much from your podcasts. Sudbury meteorite is my favorite. Thank you
I love your videos, but they make me a little "homesick" for Michigan Tech.
My son and his friends use to climb those cliffs and camp at the top. Tech stayed in class till late May early June. They stayed up to total darkness around 1:30am. First light was at about 3:30am.
Once again you have fired my imagination and astounded me with knowledge about our beautiful region. Thank you so very much.
Alexis, I've lived in Michigan my entire life and STILL enjoy learning about it. I find your explorations very helpful. Keep up the good work. Just became a subscriber, cause you got me hooked.
One and a half million pounds of copper... at a certain point numbers get to big for me to visualize... and yep. This is well over that threshold. Kind of like the amount of lava that must have been there. Absolutely wild.
But you left a great cliffhanger with that ending! Can't wait for that video!
Ha ha, you and me both! I chuckled to myself when I put the Olympic-sized swimming pools comparison on there at one point because that number is /equally/ difficult to visualize. 😂
Also, thank you! I just got started video editing that one, and there are so many interesting moments. Should be a fun one!
For comparison the union pacific big boy steam locomotive with tender weighs almost 1,000,000 pounds
Having been there myself, and a Michigan native, I did not know about this volcanic activity. Thanks for posting this.
Hi Alexis
Really enjoy your videos on Keweenaw geology. I moved to Mohawk last year from California via Colorado. I too marveled at the “mountains” of the Keweenaw when I first saw them.
My wife and I are retired geologists, she got her Batchelor’s degree in Michigan. Our favorites are busman’s holidays. After years of vacationing in Ontario we decided to go to the upper peninsula and enjoyed the trip, probably even more.
I adore how excited you got over rocks
Love this channel. Your research on subjects is fascinating. Great job on another awesome video.
I absolutely love your videos about Michigan history! As much time as I've spent in the UP, I've never visited the Keweenaw. After watching all of your videos about it, I've definitely added it to my list of places to visit! Thank you for everything you do!
Thanks, Marc! It's one of my favorite UP regions to explore, for sure. I'm glad you've been enjoying the videos! 🙂
Plan on a few days minimum, you won't be bored!
Hey Alexis 👋🏼
I’m a retired firefighter who suffers from bouts of insomnia. Due to this I oftentimes find myself watching interesting videos here on TH-cam. Anyway I just stumbled across this video and it’s pretty fantastic. We moved to North Carolina when I retired in 2022, but still love Michigan and enjoy learning about our home state. I’m looking forward to watching more of your channel. You do amazing, informative and quite interesting work, thanks for sharing!
Cheers
Hey, thanks so much, Ted! I appreciate the kind words!
Copper Harbor in the last 10 years has become a major downhill mountain biking destination in the upper Midwest with 900 feet of vertical and surrounded by Lake Superior on 3 sides. Absolutely incredible downhill single track and jump lines for the highly skilled. The sport is bringing Copper Harbor back from the brink. Bars, restaurants, micro breweries, motels, camping and houses are popping up and being revitalized. Love Copper Harbor.
I really enjoy geography and geology and you tie these two together so well. I always look forward to your latest video release.
Great stuff Alexis, I went to MTU in the 1990's and never knew anything about this stuff . What a shame! Well I knew the Keewenaw was Copper Country but I love your story behind the story. I just dropped my eldest daughter to begin her MTU adventure this Fall. Now Im looking forward to visiting her and I'm motivated to see more of the Keweenaw then the library at MTU, which is where my 1990's was spent.
I moved to Michigan a decade ago out of necessity, and though its been 10 years I still haven't learned about or visited much of the state. Learning from someone like you who is discovering it all along the way with such joy finally makes me feel connected to the state I live in. Thank you.
Welcome! Michigan and the great lakes are amazing
Thank you for another interesting lesson in our geology and history! Your enthusiasm and presentation style are great.
Liked and subscribed! I grew up in Michigan before snow blowers were invented shoveling snow was the primary reason I left. But Michigan is a beautiful place and has many wonderful places.
Great Job! Your enthusiasm is contagious. It makes me smile watching you.
Cliff drive and the trails around is one of the best places to go for trail rides and hikes. Many good spots with good views!
What a wonderful thing to discover your channel..
back in my college days, a couple of us did some scavenging for copper in the cliff mine piles.. got a shoe box with some .. now it adds more the memory..
thank you!
I love hearing about my home! I moved to the Keweenaw 4 years ago for school after living in southeast Michigan my whole life. I came up here to become a geological engineer, unfortunately it didn’t pan out so I’m about to get my degree in forestry. However, the geological knowledge of the region is seared into my brain and has given me an edge in my courses!
It’s an amazing place and a well kept secret.
I enjoy your commentary on the copper mines and history of michigan geology. Thank you for your enthusiasm.
Alexis, I really enjoy your UP geology and history videos! Not only are they well made and informative, but your positive and upbeat nature makes them a lot of fun.
Fantastic videos! I always thought the rocks in the U.P. on the Lake Superior shoreline looked volcanic vs. Lake Huron in Mackinac and Chippewa Counties (which appear to be mostly limestone). I see the land around me differently now.
Excellent storytelling about a subject that could be boring as heck if you're not into "minerals and stuff." I'm so glad I just stumbled across your channel. Truly outstanding work!
Your blogs are always so fascinating. Thank you!
Your videos are amazing. I’ve never been to Michigan but I’m invested in the history
Hey, thanks! That means a lot. 🙂
Born and raised in Michigan and never knew about this fascinating geo stuff! This just popped up on my content and I watched it. Love your enthusiasm and well done research. I’m a subscriber now. Thank you and keep it going!💖
I am from the Midwest but live in Texas now and I never realized that such an enormous amount of copper was up there. The Native Americans mined the surface copper, the scrape pits as you described it but no where near the massive amount you described here (25 years worth). Thank you for this. I was aware of the mid-continent rift but never saw it laid out so clearly as you have depicted here. Well done.
they used fire and water to fracture the rock to get down to where they wanted to mine.
Love the science focus on Michigan. I used to think there wasnt much going on here but I was wrong.
You and me both! 🙂
Chuckle, having grown up mostly in the north western part of the lower peninsula, I had never considered Michigan flat ... though at Michigan Tech there in the Keweenaw, some of the locals called folks from the lower peninsula "Flatlanders." Granted, calling us "trolls" was far more common (my wife, a Yooper, still calls me a troll 🙂). Loved my time at Michigan Tech many years ago, and was was overwhelmed with a large wave of nostalgia, as I instantly recognized that cliff face at the beginning of the video. While at Michigan Tech, I and my friends explored much of the Keweenaw. One really cool place, now long gone, was the fire tower on the top of Mt. Bohemia. You really couldn't drive a car up there, but the walk was well worth it as the view from the tower was spectacular. I wonder what the view from the top of the ski resort that is now there, is like. Some day, I'm going to make it back to the Keweenaw, as it's still a special place to me.
I grew up just north of Detroit and I always joked that I should have made a t-shirt that said "I planted my flag at the summit of Mount Clemens" (near where I was raised). It's not at all an elevated part of the state. :)
Great overview. I spent 2 summers doing the field school at Cliff Mine and Clifton, very fun summers.
Ah, that's amazing! It sounds like an incredible (and probably tiring, ha) experience.
Love to see this video. Always eager for another!
I was born and raised in Michigan, and know shockingly little about it. Great video!!
Very well put together video. Definitely enjoyed the information and delivery. Keep,up the hood work.
I grew up in the Keweenaw Peninsula, and I don't even know this! Shows how good we do local history in the schools and stuff. My great uncle was huge in the copper mining history & research, but unfortunately, I didn't really get a whole lot of information from him on it before he passed away. It would've been really cool to find out more!
Another excellent, well-produced video, Alexa! The geology focus was well done, too! Keep up the good work!
Summers in the U.P. as a child lit my interest in geology through fossil hunting and collecting Lake Superior agates at Grand Marais. Because of it, I became a professional geologist and love all things geological. Now, 50+ years later, your videos remind me why I am so passionate about geology and how our planet came to be the way it is today. My congratulations.
Well done. Very insightful.
I LOVE this area, even spent six months on Isle Royale, this is a terrific fun video, it's always rewarding to further ones understanding of an area you really appreciate! I think you did a most outstanding job with this video, well presented, it was like history/geology/culture in one.
Another great video…Thank you for sharing!
Another great video! My family loves the Keweenaw! Such an amazing place to visit. And so much history we're still finding out about! Thank you! :)
You are a very good instructor, your videos are terrific and informative. Please keep up the good work. JOB WELL DONE.
Great subject, and video! Very interesting stuff.
Great videos! My uncle sold mining equipment for his whole life in that region and it took sixty years for me to understand why the mines were there! Thank you!
Great production. Thank you
Thanks Alexis, another great video! I remember climbing up those cliffs back in the 80's when I was at MTU.
This was very interesting! I love the passion and excitement you put into the video!
Great job. Your passion shines through.
I love this channel. So glad TH-cam had me stumble across it.
Hello from Wakefield Mi. Been to copper Harbor many time as well as the fort. Thanks for a great video. Keep up the Video's. 🙂
Thank you for filling me in. I'd heard of the Cliff mine in the UP, knew very little about this interesting piece of history.
Great video! Looking forward to the next installment.
This type of content is why I'm here. Subscribed. Thanks.
Thanks for the information! Always love watching your videos. 🥰
WOW Alexis, this was amazing! So interesting. Can’t wait to see more of your work. ❤
Love the enthusiasm and energy. Keep up the great work!
These videos are awesome! Keep making them.
Thank you, Alexis, for an informative and entertaining presentation of a remarkable piece of forgotten history in Michigan.
You're doing a great job, keep the videos coming.
Well done presentation. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing this as my Mother was born and raised in Calumet. I have visited the Quincy Mine when I was a kid... great stuff...
Can't wait to visit up north again, and visit the Cliff Mine area again with the knowledge from your video. You've also inspired me to do some research on my own. Thanks!!
Great video! Thank you.
Great video. You deserve two apples because you are such a super teacher.
I appreciate your VERY interesting presentation, Mrs. Alexis Dahl. I have learned something new AND exciting! And as I always say "If we're not learning at least one thing new every day then we're falling behind!"
Incredibly fascinating stuff! can't wait to see more!
You delivered that most fascinating and informative piece of geographic history quite well.
Splendid job, do keep up the great work.
I look forward to the next upload..
Your enthusiasm is cool.
Knowledge shared enthusiastically ! Thanks.