Calumet Glacial Landscapes

         For my science class on groundwater and glaciers, I visited three features in the Calumet Area that were shaped by glaciers and three of the ancient shorelines.

Cedar Lake

For my first trip, I traveled to Cedar Lake, which is the largest natural lake in northwest Indiana (Schoon, p. 23).  It is located in the Valparaiso Moraine (Schoon, p. 143). It was interesting to see because even though I live only about twenty minutes from Cedar Lake, I had never actually been there before.  The lake was created from glacial meltwaters (Schoon, p. 23).

My brother standing by the lake

Thornton Quarry

                The next place I visited was the Thornton Quarry in Illinois, which was quite the little adventure. 

I drove there with my dad to the north side of the quarry.  We parked on the opposite side of the street and ran across to take the following pictures.  I had to climb the fence and stick my hand above it to get shots without the fence in front, so I had a hard time seeing what I was taking a picture of, but I got some decent ones.

We walked above the expressway to take these pictures.

Over the expressway

Over the expressway zooming in closer

Then we traveled a little down the road and took some more.  It was muddy and there were stumps and bushes everywhere, making the going a little tough.  I tripped a couple times and walked into a few trees, but it was worth it for the view.  The quarry was pretty amazing to see.  The pictures look nice, but it was much cooler in person.

The Thornton Quarry is one of the largest commercial limestone quarries (Schoon, p. 6).  Coral reef and dolomite are mined at the quarry (Schoon, p. 13).  Dolomite has been a major resource in our area (Schoon, p. 14.)  The bottom of the quarry contains coral reefs, which were covered in water during the Glenwood phase of Lake Michigan (Schoon, p. 140).  When the lake decreased, rock emerged and a sandy beach was created (Schoon, p. 140).

Indiana Dunes

I also went to the Indiana Dunes with my family.   The Dunes are so neat because it is home to such a wide variety of plants and animals for such a relatively small area (Schoon, p. 7).  More than 1,045 plant species have been found there (Schoon, p. 216)!  While some people argue that the dunes should be preserved, others are against it because of the great resources it provides (Schoon, p. 216).  In the late 1800s, sand was taken from the dunes to fill in anywhere people saw a need (Schoon, p. 98).  Large amounts of sand were moved from the dunes for the building of the U.S. Steel’s Gary Woods (Schoon, p. 100).  After the Chicago Fire, sand was used to fill in part of Lake Michigan in order to expand the lakefront (Schoon, p. 98).  .  Tons of sand was still being removed from the dunes daily as late as 1953 (Schoon, 99).

My little brother trying to see birds.

My brother running up the dunes.

Heading back down the dunes

The three ancient shorelines of Lake Michigan are the Glenwood, the Calumet, and the Tolleston.  They have been altered by humans, but portions of them can still be seen (Schoon, p. 27).  Clay, sand, and pebbles deposited by glaciers created these shorelines (Schoon, p. 27).

The Glenwood shoreline was the first to form and is the highest of the three shorelines (Schoon, p. 28).  It formed during the Glenwood phases 14,000 to 12,000 years ago and reaches an elevation of 640 feet (Schoon, p. 28).  The first beaches formed were near Dyer and Shererville, near the Illinois state line (Schoon, p. 28).

Glenwood shoreline near Highway 30

Elevation showing evidence of ancient shorelines near Meyers Castle

The Calumet shoreline was about 20 feet lower than the Glenwood shoreline originally was (Schoon p. 32).  It is also smoother than the Glenwood shoreline (Schoon, p. 32).  Ridge Road in Lansing, Munster, and Highland is part of the Calumet shoreline (Schoon, p. 33).  

Rise in elevation along Ridge Road

Along Ridge Road in Highland

The Tolleston shoreline was created about 4,700 years ago and reached an elevation of 605 feet (Schoon, p. 35).  It goes through Chicago, Calumet City, Hammond, Gary, Ogden Dunes, Dune Acres, Beverly Shores, and Michigan City (Schoon, p. 35).  It can be seen along 169th street in Hammond (Schoon, p. 36).

Rise in elevation along 169th Street in Hammond

Elevated land, evidence of Tolleston shoreline along 196th Street

  References



Schoon, Kenneth J.. Calumet beginnings: ancient shorelines and settlements at the south end of Lake Michigan. Bloomington, Ind.: Quarry Books, an imprint of Indiana University Press, 2013. Print.