Journalist Jacqueline Kehoe highlights the little-known volcanic history of the region. Kehoe explains that approximately “1.1 billion years ago, the country was ripping apart and it was happening right through the Midwest…and the broken part of the country was right in Lake Superior.”
The massive “rip” stretches 1,300 miles and is known as the Midcontinent Rift. The volcanic rocks it left behind are distinct, and still visible at multiple sites along Lake Superior’s shoreline.
Kehoe says enthusiasts can find signs of the region’s prehistoric volcanic activity at Michigan’s Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, the Keweenaw Peninsula, Wisconsin’s Cooper Falls and Interstate Parks; and the Apostle Islands.
