OFR13-01, Preliminary Bedrock Geologic Map of the Pagami Creek Fire Area, Lake and Cook Counties, Northeastern Minnesota

Abstract

This geologic map encloses the area burned by the 2011 Pagami Creek forest fire—one of the largest in Minnesota history. It covers all or parts of fifteen 7.5-minute quadrangles, and lies within parts of the Superior National Forest and Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The map area contains bedrock units spanning a wide range of ages from Archean to Mesoproterozoic, and a generally thin and discontinuous cover of glacial sediment. The majority of the map portrays intrusive units of the Mesoproterozoic Duluth Complex, including portions of the anorthositic and layered series’. Although the map primarily depicts bedrock geology, some features of glacial origin are also portrayed. The map is considered preliminary largely because geologic mapping in the area by a number of authors is ongoing—a final version is likely to be published in coming years.