Magnesian Escarpment

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The Magnesian escarpment is the most westerly of three prominent escarpments that run north-south in Wisconsin. [1] [2] [3] All three escarpments are formed by the edges of layers of sedimentary rocks. The easternmost and most prominent escarpment is the Niagara Escarpment formed where younger and harder layers of dolomite overlay softer sedimentary rocks. The Black River Escarpment is capped by another layer of relatively harder rocks, overlay older softer rocks. The rocks of the Magnesian layer overlay rocks of the Cambrian Period, the oldest sedimentary rocks that contain fossils.

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Limestone is a common type of carbonate sedimentary rock. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate. Limestone forms when these minerals precipitate out of water containing dissolved calcium. This can take place through both biological and nonbiological processes, though biological processes have likely been more important for the last 540 million years. Limestone often contains fossils, and these provide scientists with information on ancient environments and on the evolution of life.

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Sedimentary rock Rock formed by the deposition and subsequent cementation of material

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This glossary of geology is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to geology, its sub-disciplines, and related fields. For other terms related to the Earth sciences, see Glossary of geography terms.

Geography of Wisconsin Physical features of the state in the Midwestern United States.

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Enon Formation Jurassic-Cretaceous geological formation in the Uitenhage Group of South Africa

The Enon Formation is a geological formation found in the Eastern and Western Cape provinces in South Africa. It is the lowermost of the four formations found within the Uitenhage Group of the Algoa Basin, its type locality, where it has been measured at a maximum thickness of 480 metres (1,570 ft). Discontinuous outcrops are also found in the Worcester-Pletmos and Oudshoorn-Gamtoos Basins, including isolated occurrences in the Haasvlakte, Jubilee, and Soutpansvlakte Basins near the small town Bredasdorp.

The Black River Escarpment is a geological feature in Eastern Wisconsin. The escarpment runs parallel to and between the Niagara Escarpment and the Magnesian Escarpment. The escarpment marks the boundary between bedrock from Lower Magnesian limestone bedrock and earlier Black River limestone. The escarpment emerges from Green Bay, on Lake Michigan. The escarpment's boundaries are not always visible to the untrained eye, but are marked by cliffs in some regions.

Geology of Ontario

The geology of Ontario consists of the study of the rock formations in the most populated province of Canada. Ontario has some of the oldest rocks on Earth. It is made up of ancient Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rock and overlain by younger sedimentary rocks and soils.

The geology of Wisconsin includes Precambrian crystalline basement rock over three billion years old. A widespread marine environment during the Paleozoic flooded the region, depositing sedimentary rocks which cover most of the center and south of the state.

References

  1. Lawrence Martin (1965). The physical geography of Wisconsin. University of Wisconsin Press. p.  247. ISBN   978-0-299-03475-7 . Retrieved 2010-09-14. Black River Escarpment.
  2. "The Eastern Ridges and Lowlands of Wisconsin". Wisconsin Online. Archived from the original on 2010-09-14. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
  3. Gaither Merlin Randall (1954). "Ground water conditions in the sandstone aquifer of northwest Dane County, Wisconsin". University of Wisconsin. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-01.

Coordinates: 43°16′30″N89°29′05″W / 43.27500°N 89.48472°W / 43.27500; -89.48472