Eagle Mountain is the highest point in Minnesota, with an elevation of 2,301 feet. Interestingly it is only about 13 miles from Minnesota's lowest point, Lake Superior, at 602 feet above sea level.
This large uplift of land is part of the Canadian Shield, or Laurentian Plateau; it is the earth's largest area of exposed Archaean rock. Archean rocks are often heavily metamorphized (changed by extreme heat and/or pressure) deep-water sediments including volcanic sediments. Granitic rocks predominate throughout the crystalline remnants of the surviving Archean crust.
The metamorphic base rocks here are some of the earths oldest, from the Precambrian era, when the planet was in a much more molten state, some 4.5 billion to 540 million years ago.
Eagle Mountain and the rest of the Canadian Shield were once far below the earth's surface. Throughout the Precambrian period the region was a hotbed of volcanic activity, with mountains erupting and rising, some close to 40,000 feet high. This area of North America was the first to rise out of the sea and remain there against the later advances of the oceans.
With the passing of hundreds of millions of years the volcanic period passed and the topography was gradually eroded down to it's present state of comparatively low relief.
The bedrock here is not buried under layers of sedimentary rock as is common further south, much of it is near or at the surface. Glaciers scoured away earlier soils, and as is typical of the rest of the Canadian Shield the new topsoils are thin and poor, with much of the bedrock being exposed.
Eagle Mountain is part of the Misquah Hills, a range oriented east to west, south of Winchell Lake. In addition to the high point at Eagle, other notables include Lima Mountain (2238 ft), Gaskin Mountain (2245 ft), Brule Mountain (2226 ft) and Pine Mountain (2194 ft). This group of peaks is the highest for nearly a thousand miles in any direction, as well as the second-highest range of the Canadian Shield in the U.S., after the Adirondack Mountains.
To log this EarthCache do the following and send your results to the cache owner listed near the top of this page; click their name, then either the "Send Email" or "Send Message" links:
1. Using your GPSr record your observed elevation at the trailhead, then again at the posted coordinates. What is your actual elevation gain?
2. During your visit to the summit what evidence did you observe of the past volcanic or glacial activity of this area?
Although photos are not a requirement for logging this, any you may decide to include will be appreciated.
Eagle Mountain is located within the Superior National Forest/Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Please practice "Leave No Trace" ethics during your visit, and remember to fill out a self-issue visitors permit at the trail head before you start off on your hike. The trail up to the summit and back is about 7 miles round-trip, with many roots and rocks. The elevation isn't too bad, but gets noticeably steeper once you round Whale Lake and begin going up the mountain itself. Bring plenty of water for hydration. Thank you to the USFS/Tofte Ranger District for their cooperation in developing this EarthCache.
