study areas sturgeon river wi study area, michig

59 Pages·2011·5.21 MB·English

STUDIES RELATED TO WILDERNESS
STUDY AREAS
Depository
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STURGEON RIVER WI
STUDY AREA, MICHIG
GICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1465

Mineral Resources of the
^ Sturgeon River Wilderness Study Area,
Houghton and Baraga Counties,
Michigan
By W. F. CANNON and ELIZABETH R. KING, U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY,
* and by JAMES J. HILL and PETER C. MORY, U.S. BUREAU OF MINES
&
- STUDIES RELATED TO WILDERNESS STUDY AREAS
An evaluation of the mineral
potential of the area
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. WASHINGTON : 1980
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
CECIL D. ANDRUS, Secretary
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
H. William Menard Director
Library of Congress catalog-card No. 80-600000
For sale by Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
Washington, D.C. 20402
Stock Number 024-001-03259-7
STUDIES RELATED TO WILDERNESS
STUDY AREAS
In accordance with the provi
sions of the Wilderness Act (P.L.
88-577, September 3, 1964) and the
Joint Conference Report on Senate
Bill 4, 88th Congress, and as spe
cifically designated by P.L. 93-622,
January 3, 1975, the U.S. Geological
Survey and U.S. Bureau of Mines have
been conducting mineral surveys of
wilderness and primitive areas.
Studies and reports of all primitive
areas have been completed. Areas
officially designated as "wilder
ness," "wild," or "canoe" when the
act was passed were incorporated in
to the National Wilderness Preserva
tion System, and some of them are
presently being studied. The act
provided that areas under considera
tion for wilderness designation
should be studied for suitability
for incorporation into the Wilder
ness System. The mineral surveys
constitute one aspect of the suita
bility studies. This report dis
cusses the results of a mineral sur
vey of national forest land in the
Sturgeon River Wilderness study
area, Michigan, that is being con
sidered for wilderness designation
(P.L. 93-622, January 3, 1975). The
area studied is in the Ottawa Na
tional Forest in Houghton and Baraga
Counties in the Upper Peninsula of
Michigan.
*
*
CONTENTS
H -
Page
Summary -------------------- i
Introduction, by W. F. Cannon, James J. Hill,
and Peter C. Mory -------------- 2
Area description- ------------- 2
Present investigation ----------- 5
Geology and geophysical interpretation, by
W. F. Cannon and Elizabeth R. King- ----- 6
Introduction- --------------- 6
Physiography- --------------- 12
Lithology ----------------- 13
Pleistocene glacial deposits- ------ 14
Jacobsville Sandstone ---------- 15
Diabase dikes -------------- 15
Basalt- ----------------- 16
Michigamme Formation- ---------- 18
Stratigraphy and structure- -------- 19
Mineral-resource potential of known deposits,
by James J. Hill and Peter C. Mory- ----- 24
Land status ---------------- 24
Surface ownership ------------ 25
Mineral ownership ------------ 25
Mining activity -------------- 25
Prospecting activity- ----------- 27
Within the area ------------- 27
Silver Mountain ------------- 27
High-silica sand- ------------ 33
Stone ------------------ 37
Sand and gravel ------------- 37
Clay- ------------------ 38
Peat- ------------------ 38
Potential for undiscovered mineral deposits,
by W. F. Cannon, James J. Hill, and
Peter C. Mory ---------------- 42
Assessment by geologic environment- - - - - 42
Michigamme Formation- - --------- 42
Basalt and diabase dikes- -------- 43
Jacobsville Sandstone ---------- 43
Glacial deposits- ------------ 44
VI CONTENTS
Potential for undiscovered mineral deposits Con.
Assessment by geochemical survey- ----- 44
Soil samples- -------------- 44
Stream sediments- ------------ 45
Bedrock ----------------- 47
References cited- --------------- 48
ILLUSTRATIONS
Page
FIGURE 1. Index map showing study area - - - - 2
2, 3. Photographs showing:
2. Waterfalls on Sturgeon River - 3
3. Gorge downstream from falls- - 4
4. Map of study area showing locations
of sample sites- --------- 7
5. Aeromagnetic map of study area - - - 9
6. Regional aeromagnetic map- ----- 10
7. Regional Bouguer anomaly gravity map 11
8. Photograph showing a view of study
area from Silver Mountain- - - - - 13
9. Schematic geologic cross section in
study area ------------ 14
10. Bedrock geologic map of study area - 16
11. Photograph showing Pleistocene
glacial deposits along Sturgeon
River- -------------- 18
12. A typical aeromagnetic profile - - - 21
13. Density model of study area- - - - - 23
14-16. Maps showing:
14. Federal surface ownership in
study area- -------- 26
15. Federal mineral ownership in
study area- -------- 28
16. Prospects on Silver Mountain 31
17. Map and section of Silver Mountain
adit --------------- 33
18. Photograph showing Pleistocene
glacial deposits along
Sidnaw Creek ----------- 39
CONTENTS VII
TABLES
TABLE 1. Mineral ownership within and
adjacent to the Sturgeon River
Wilderness study Area ------- 29
2. Partial chemical analyses of samples
from the Sturgeon River Wilderness
Study Area- ------------ 34
3. Evaluation of glacial clay samples- - 40
4. Comparison of analyses of some
stream sediments and heavy
mineral pan concentrates- ----- 46
Inch-Pound equivalent ombinations Continued = .0353 cubic foot per second = 91.47 cubic feet per second per square mile [(ft3/s)/mi2] = 3.28 feet per day (hydraulic conductivity) (ft/d) = 5.28 feet per mile (ft/mi) .9113 foot per second (ft/s) 3.28 feet per second= 10.764 feet squared per day (ft2/d) (transmissivity) = 22.826 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) = 264.2 gallons per minute (gal/min) = 15.85 gallons per minute = 4.83 gallons per minute per foot [(gal/min) /ft] = 62.43 pounds per cubic foot (lb/ft3) = 2.048 pounds per square foot (lb/ft2) = .0142 pound per square inch (lb/in2) Temperature = 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (°F) = [(1.8x°C)+'32] degrees Fahrenheit
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N FACTORS Metric unit Specifi liter per second (L/s) cubic meter per second per square kilometer [(m3/s)/km2] meter per day (m/d) meter per kilometer (m/km) kilometer per hour (km/h) meter per second (m/s) meter squared per day (mVd) cubic meter per second (m?/s) cubic meter per minute (m3/min) liter per second (L/s) liter per second per meter [(L/s)/m] kilometer per hour (km/h) meter per second (m/s) gram per cubic centimeter (g/cm3) gram per square centimeter (g/cm2) gram per square centimeter degree Celsius (°C) degrees Celsius (temperature)
O
CONVERSI Inch-Pound equivalent Length = 0.03937 inch (in) = 3.28 feet (ft) = .62 mile (mi) Area = 10.76 square feet (ft2) = .386 square mile (mi2) = 2.47 acresVolume = 0.061 cubic inch (in3) = 61.03 cubic inches = 35.31 cubic feet (ft3) = .00081 acre-foot (acre-ft) = 810.7 acre-feet = 2.113 pints (pt) = 1.06 quarts (qt) = .26 gallon (gal) = .00026 million gallons (Mgal or 10« gal) = 6.290 barrels (bbl) (1 bbl = 42~gal) Weight = 0.035 ounce, avoirdupois (oz avdp) = .0022 pound, avoirdupois (Ib avdp) = 1.102 tons, short (2,000 Ib) = 0.9842 ton, long (2,240 Ib) cific combinations _ 0.96 atmosphere (atm) - .98 bar (0.9869 atm) = 35.3 cubic feet per second (fts/s)
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p
S
Metric unit millimeter (mm) meter (m) kilometer (km) square meter (m2) square kilometer (km2) hectare (ha) cubic centimeter (cm3) liter (L) cubic meter (m3) cubic meter cubic hectometer (hm3) liter liter liter cubic meter cubic meter gram (g) gram metric tons (t) metric tons kilogram per square centimeter (kg/cm2) kilogram per square . centimeter cubic meter per second (mVs) V