The Blue Hills, named for the bluish color when viewed from a distance, is a range of elevated bedrock composed of hard red Barron Quartzite (metamorphosed sandstone). They were also called Paja Toyela by the Lakota and the Smoky Mountains by settlers. The geologic feature is called a monadnock, a remnant of an ancient mountain range - this one older than the Rocky Mountains. Today, the hills rise 600 feet above the surrounding landscape and stretch for 20 miles - from near Lac Court Oreille in Sawyer County in the north, to near Weyerhaeuser in Rusk County in the south. The Barron Quartzite rocks are approximately 1.7 billion years old. This quartzite, consisting of river and near-shore ocean sediment is similar in age and appearance to the quartzite that forms the Baraboo Hills and several other prominent uplands in central Wisconsin, Minnesota, and South Dakota. Some of these quartzite hills contain pipestone, and this can be found locally. It is a soft rock that is still quarried and carved into pipes and effigies by Native Americans.
A monadnock is an isolated mass of very hard and erosion-resistant rock rising above the surrounding land. Rib Mountain, near Wausau, is another monadnock in Wisconsin. The name originates from a formation found in New Hampshire - Mount Monadnock.
Ice covered all of the Blue Hills during the early advance of the Chippewa Lobe, though during the late advance, it seems that the ice wasn't as thick but didn't cover the tops of hills at the west end. Most hilltops have the Precambrian Barron Quartize near the surface, with just a thin layer of till or supraglacial sediment on top.
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Ice Age National Scenic Trail (IAT): The Ice Age Trail, a 1,100 plus-mile footpath across Wisconsin, traces the terminal edge of the last great Wisconsin glacier of the Ice Age. The glacial features found along its length offer an educational showplace of worldwide significance illustrating how the massive glaciers shaped the landscape. That, the beauty found along its entire length, and the unique opportunities for outdoor recreation, led to its establishment in 1980. The Ice Age Trail, managed by the National Park Service, is one of just eleven trails with such a designation in the nation.
Rail & Trail History: The 14.5-mile route of the Ice Age Trail between Haugen and Birchwood is on or next to three abandoned railroad corridors: 1) the main Spooner-Altoona Line of the Omaha; 2) the Omaha's Tuscobia Line; and, 3) the Soo Line Railroad's Blueberry Line. When the Tuscobia was abandoned in 1965, Hulda Hilfiker, who owned and operated a cheese factory south of Haugen with her husband Ernest, organized a group of citizens and urged then Governor Warren Knowles to give . . ." .. approval for a very worthwhile project. . . to be used as a scenic and historic trail, which could be enjoyed by nature-loving hikers, horse-back riders, snow-sledders and bicyclists, and would be a definite asset to the area." The State of Wisconsin acquired the 74-mile rail corridor, from Haugen to Park Falls, in November, 1966 for $20,000.
Tuscobia - The Name: The term 'Tuscobia' has a somewhat uncertain origin. Earlier spellings from the 1888 and 1903 Barron County Platbooks include tescobial and tescobia. The Ojibwa language uses the root 'tess'or 'tessa' as part of a larger word or phrase, all pertaining to being level' or 'flat.' This relates well to the terrain of the outwash plain here and the accepted meaning of Tuscobia: 'a flat or level place'.
Superior Lobe Chapter of the Ice Age Trail Alliance: The local Superior Lobe Chapter of the Ice Age Trail Alliance is an all-volunteer organization whose members are dedicated to maintaining, promoting, building, signing, protecting, and hiking along this trail segment.
Trail Management: Management of the trail is shared by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. National Park Service, and the Ice Age Trail Alliance, Inc. For a fuller explanation of the roles and responsibilities, see www.iceagetrail.org.
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Source: Geology of the Ice Age National Scenic Rrail by David M. Mickelson, Louis J. Maher Jr., and Susan L. Simpson , https://wgnhs.wisc.edu/pubshare/M142.pdf, AND the Intperetive Guide to the Tuscobia Segment of the Ice Age Trail from the Superior Lobe of the Ice Age Trail. Permission to use content and pictures from the interpretive guide from Sue Greenway, Chapter President.
Permission for this earthcache has been granted by Roy Kenast at the WI DNR.
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1. How far away fo you think the Blue Hills are?
2. How would you desribe the hills by color?
3. Why can you see the Blue Hills today based on local geology?