MARQUETTE COUNTY -- On Thursday Michigan Tech University received huge, historic gifts in the form of earth history dating 1.8 billion years.
Researchers from MTU transported several boulders from Marquette County for its new boulder garden. Their new collection features a rock which geologists say is 1.8 billion years old. The rock was found at the McClure River Basin, and Marquette County gave Michigan Tech a permit to retrieve it."These rocks are 1.8 billion years old," said Cliffs geologist Alan Strandlie. "They represent a period in the Earth's history when the band iron formations were deposited in shallow seas."
Geologists say the rock formed due to the impact of the Sudbury Meteor Shower, but the collection doesn't end there. Cliffs Natural Resources also donated nine rocks from the Tilden Mine.
"This makes it possible for students everyday to see these very important events of Earth's history, recorded in boulders and we can move these boulders," said MTU professor Bill Rose. "So it's really exciting to be able to move them where there are lots of students interested in them."
Within the next two months, organizers plan to have a ceremony for the new garden which will display the boulders.
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