Minnesota Ice
N
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of
snow exceeds its melting over many years, often centuries. Although the exact
causes have not been proven, an Ice Age is most likely the result of a complicated
combination of such things as solar output, tilt of the Earth's axis, distance of the
Earth from the Sun, position and height of the continents, ocean circulation, and
the composition of the atmosphere.
A glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight. An ice
sheet is a mass of glacier ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than
50,000 km² (20,000 mile²), thus also known as continental glacier.
Minnesota has been covered, at least in part, by an ice sheet numerous times
during the Quaternary Period of geologic time, meaning our state's landscape was
sculpted between 2,000,000 and 10,000 years ago. The ice moved into Minnesota
at different times from three separate glacial centers in Canada.
The gigantic Laurentide Ice Sheet, centered in what is now the Hudson Bay area, grew and retreated with climatic changes
throughout the most recent (Pleistocene Epoch) Ice Age. During the coldest periods, lobes of ice extended southward across the
upper Midwest. These episodes created Minnesota's diverse topography. It gave rise to thousands of lakes and rivers, which have
significantly influenced Minnesota's cultural, biological, and economic history. In Minnesota, the majority of the (kettle) lakes
reside in ground moraine and terminal moraine areas.
Minnesota’s glacial landscape is made up of four to six regions:
by geology:
1) the Superior Upland,
2) the Young Drift Plains,
3) the Dissected Till Plains,
4) the Driftless Area.
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or
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2)
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or by geography
Northeastern MN
South Central MN
Southwestern MN
Southeastern MN
Central MN
Northwestern MN
Read more: These are live websites. Ctrl & Click
Geology of Minnesota
Glacial History of Minnesota
Geography of Minnesota
Minnesota Land Features
Minnesota at a Glance: Glacial History
More Minnesota Geography
Four main Land Regions in Minnesota
Landscapes of Minnesota e-book Chapter 2
Go to the internet, then to www.alexandria.k12.mn.us
Minnesota: Land, Climate and Wildlife Chapter 2
Select Discovery Middle School, then Teacher Pages
Minnesota Ecological Regions
Go to Storhaug’ page, then Geology Unit, then Glacier Project
Unit Two Project
Name_______________________
Earth’s Changing Surface
Hour _______
Score _______
Goal: The goal is to develop an informational product from which to inform visitors to Minnesota about
how landforms were built and how they have affected development of the region. Since Minnesota has
been so directly influenced by glaciation, you will be learning about and explaining how our state was
sculpted by glaciers.
Role: For this project, each student will assume they are a Minnesota (geologic) tour guide. The tour
guide is an expert on Minnesota topography (i.e. how it looks/was formed) and wants to help visitors
enjoy and understand the geology of our state.
Audience: Tourists to Minnesota.
Situation: You have been asked to come up with a way to communicate your knowledge of Minnesota
landforms, how they came to be, and/or how they’ve affected a particular region(s) of the state.
Product: Each student will create an informational pamphlet, brochure, sign, poster, powerpoint, or
video, that maps out the chosen region(s) of the state: the landforms featured, how they formed, and
how their presence has affected the development and land use of the surrounding area.
Standards and criteria: An acceptable product will:
1) An introduction of yourself and what you do as a tour guide.
2) Include a readable/understandable typed or handwritten description of
The boys in class will chose from the even numbered regions,
the girls will chose from the odd numbers.
See regions listed on Storhaug’s teacher page.
3) Include a visual of the glaciated area(s) chosen.
two chosen areas.
4) Include an explanation of the relationship between the local glaciated landforms and present human activities.
5) Include a design to make the product attractive to visitors.
6) Include citations of the resources (website article titles) used to gather information.
7) No copying and pasting directly from websites. Write in your own words
Day 1 and 2: In class: R & D.
Log on and go to the internet,
*Pick two areas.
then to www.alexandria.k12.mn.us
*Figure out which web articles will work best.
Select Discovery Middle School,
* Learn about the area to become an expert on
then Teacher Pages,
Go to Storhaug’s page,
then Geology Unit, and finally to Glacier Project
its topography, and relationship to activities…
i.e. Read and take notes on the area.
Homework: Finish the product
Rubric (grading scale)
Name ________________________________ Hour ______
Project attractiveness
4
3
Exceptional-typed Adequate-typed
2
1
Below avg.-typed
Poor-typed
0
Copied
Handwritten-good Handwritten-okay Handwritten-poor
Shows
Shows
Shows
Shows
exceptional
adequate
developing
little
Not
understanding understanding understanding understanding included
Included parts
Introduction of yourself
as a glacial tourguide
4
3
2
1
0
Readable description
of two chosen glacial areas
4
3
2
1
0
Visual display-picture(s)
of glaciated land/landforms
4
3
2
1
0
Human activities in the area
as a result of glaciation
4
3
2
1
0
Article titles (no plagiarism)
from teacher page
4
3
2
1
0
Column totals-
Your points from above _______ will be doubled for scoring and recording in the gradebook = ________
Including your name and hour is worth 2 points = ________
Grand Total: Gradebook Points = __________ / 50
*Half credit if your project is turned in late! Start early. It takes an hour or two. You have 2 in class days. Due Jan. 6th
Excuses that have been made that won’t work include:
1) My dog ate it
2) I was sick/gone all weekend
5) I was out of paper
9) Left it at home
3) Couldn’t get to a computer
6) I didn’t know how to do it
10) Didn’t have a printer
13) Forgot my stuff at school
7) I was hunting
11) Didn’t have a flashdrive
4) My printer didn’t work
8) I was at a tournament
12) My computer crashed
Add your own: 14) ______________________________________________
Project Notes Page:
The space below should be used to take notes and become an expert on your two areas.
Things to learn could include but are not limited to:
1) Where your areas are located.
2) What your areas look like.
3) How glaciation caused the areas to look that way.
4) How the formation and appearance of the area has dictated the type of land use/human activity
Area # ____ Title: ______________________________
Area # ____ Title: _________________________________
Website article titles where you found your information:
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________