QUATERNARY STRATIGRAPHY OF MINNESOTA: STATEWIDE CROSS-SECTIONS

A comprehensive understanding of aquifer geometry and properties is necessary to optimally manage and protect groundwater – the drinking water source for a majority of Minnesotans. Production of Minnesota Geological Survey (MGS) County Geologic Atlases therefore is accelerating. Quaternary 3D mapping for atlas products utilizes field observations, geophysics, drilling, water-well records, geostatistics, and cross sections. To ensure that this 3D mapping is optimized and efficient, statewide lithological databases are continually being upgraded. Concurrently, Quaternary stratigraphic naming and correlation across the entire state is being further formalized and documented. This will provide a broader, statewide perspective on the stratigraphic relationships of Quaternary deposits. As part of this ongoing process we constructed the statewide cross sections presented here. This work was made possible by the Great Lakes Geologic Mapping Coalition, administered jointly with the U.S. Geological Survey.