Palisade Head

The Sonju Project
hosted by permission of Karl Wirth, Macalester College


The Sonju Project is a semester-long project for students in the Petrology course at the Geology Department of Macalester College.   The Sonju Lake Intrusion is a small intrusion in northern Minnesota that was emplaced during the formation of the Midcontinent Rift about 1.1 Ga. Students utilize petrography, mineral chemistry, whole-rock chemistry, and numerical modeling to study the origin and evolution of the Sonju Lake Intrusion.

Regional Geology A brief overview of the geology of the Keweenawan (1.1 Ga) Midcontinent Rift System with an emphasis on the North Shore region of Minnesota
Sonju Maps
Maps (topographic & geologic) of the Sonju Lake Intrusion and Finland Granophyre
Sonju Lithostratigraphy
A stratigraphic column through the intrusion showing sample locations
Photographs
Photographs of hand specimens and thin-sections from the Sonju Lake Intrusion
Geochemical Data
Mineral (SEM) and whole-rock (XRF) data
Project Materials & Info
Forms, charts, and useful links for students
Information for Faculty
Background information about the project and the petrology course at Macalester College

Site developed by Karl Wirth of Geology Department of Macalester College and hosted by permission at North Dakota State University (NDSU) Geosciences.