Page snapshot: Lists of supplemental and teaching resources for the geology of the midwestern U.S., sorted by topic.
Topics covered on this page: Geologic history; Fossils; Topography; Mineral resources; Glaciers; Energy; Climate; Earth hazards.
Credits: Most of the resources from this page come from the The Teacher-Friendly Guide to the Earth Science of the Midwestern US, edited by Mark D. Lucas, Robert M. Ross, and Andrielle N. Swaby (published in 2014 by the Paleontological Research Institution; currently out of print). The book was adapted for the web by Elizabeth J. Hermsen and Jonathan R. Hendricks in 2022.
Updates: Page last updated January 10, 2023.
Image above: "Mosquito Beach at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Lake Superior, Michigan." Photo by Mark Stacey (GPA Photo Archive on flickr, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license, image cropped and resized).
Disclaimer: Links to commercial websites (internet retailers, rock and mineral shops, informational websites that include a shop, etc.) do not constitute endorsement of their products.
Geologic history
Books, articles, and reports
Morey, G. B., and H. Dahlberg. 1995. Geology of Minnesota. State of Minnesota, Department of Natural Resources. PDF: http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/lands_minerals/geologyhandbook.pdf
Maps
AAPG. 1979. Great Lakes Geological Highway Map (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin). AAPG, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
AAPG. 1984. Northern Great Plains Geological Highway Map (North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota). AAPG, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Activities and teacher resources
Minnesota Geoloical Survey classroom materials (hosted by University of Minnesota): https://cse.umn.edu/mgs/classroom-materials
Fossils
General/multiple states
Books, articles, and reports
Holman, J. A. 2001. In quest of Great Lakes Ice Age vertebrates. Michigan State University Press, East Lansing, Michigan, 230 pp.
Websites
Websites from the Paleontological Research Institution & partners:
Cretaceous Atlas of Ancient Life, Western Interior Seaway (Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wyoming): https://www.cretaceousatlas.org/geology/
Pennsylvanian Atlas of Ancient Life, Midcontinent United States (Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas): https://pennsylvanianatlas.org/
Illinois
Phillips, T. L., M. J. Avcin, and D. Berggren. 1976. Fossil peat of the Illinois Basin: A guide to the study of coal balls of Pennsylvanian age. Illinois State Geological Survey, 39 pp. Read at Biodiversity Heritage Library: https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.62159
Shabica, C. W., and A. A. Hay, eds. 1997. Richardson’s guide to the fossil fauna of Mazon Creek. Northeastern Illinois University Press, Chicago, 308 pp.
Wittry, J. 2012. The Mazon Creek fossil fauna. Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois, in association with Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, 202 pp.
Wittry, J., and I. Glasspool. 2013. Pennsylvanian Age fossils of northeastern Illinois, USA. Flora of the Mazon Creek region. The Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois. PDF from the Field Museum: https://fieldguides.fieldmuseum.org/guides/guide/534
Wittry, J., and R. Rodriguez. 2018. Pennsylvanian Age fossils of northeastern Illinois, USA. Fossil shark egg cases of the Mazon Creek region. The Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois. PDF from the Field Museum: https://fieldguides.fieldmuseum.org/guides/guide/978
Iowa
Anderson, W. I. 1998. Iowa’s geological past: Three billion years of change. University of Iowa Press, Iowa City, 440 pp.
Rose, J. N. 1967. Fossils and rocks of eastern Iowa. A half-billion years of Iowa history. Iowa Geological Survey, Educational Series 1, 147 pp. PDF from State Library of Iowa: http://publications.iowa.gov/id/eprint/25584
Wolf, R. 1983. Fossils of Iowa: Field guide to Paleozoic deposits. Iowa State University Press, Ames, 212 pp. Reprinted 2006.
Michigan
Han, T. M., and B. Runnegar. 1992. Megascopic eukaryotic algae from the 2.1-billion-year-old Negaunee iron-formation, Michigan. Science 257: 232–235. [Technical] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1631544
Kesling, R. V. and R. B. Chilman. 1975. Strata and megafossils of the Middle Devonian Silica Formation. University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology Papers on Paleontology No. 8, 338 pp. [Reprinted 2012.]
Kchodl, J.J., and R. Chase. 2006. The complete guide to Michigan fossils. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, and Petoskey Publishing Co., Traverse City, 112 pp.
Mueller, B., and W. H. Wilde. 2004. The complete guide to Petoskey stones. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 80 pp.
Minnesota
Mossler, J., S. Benson, and A. C. Runkel. 1995. Minnesota at a glance: Fossil collecting in the Twin Cities area.. Minnesota Geological Survey. Download from the University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy: https://hdl.handle.net/11299/59440
Runkel, A.C. 2020. Minnesota at a glance: Paleozoic history of southeastern Minnesota-ancient tropical seas. Minnesota Geological Survey. Download from the University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy: https://hdl.handle.net/11299/59447
Sloan, R. 2005. Minnesota fossils and fossiliferous rocks. Published by the author, Winona, Minnesota, 218 pp.
Ohio
Books, articles, and reports
Feldmann, R.M., ed. 1995. Fossils of Ohio. Ohio Geological Survey Bulletin 70, 577 pp.
Lepper, B. T. 2006. Forensic mystery: The Burning Tree mastodon. Timeline 23(4): 22–31.
Meyer, D., and R. A. Davis. 2009. A sea without fish. Life in the Ordovician sea of the Cincinnati region. Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 346 pp.
Websites
Fossils in Ohio (Ohio Department of Natural Resources): https://ohiodnr.gov/discover-and-learn/safety-conservation/about-ODNR/geologic-survey/rocks-fossils-identification/fossils-in-ohio
The stratigraphy and fossils of the Upper Ordovician near Cincinnati, Ohio. (S. Holland, 2013, University of Georgia Stratigraphy Lab: http://strata.uga.edu/cincy/index.html
Wisconsin
Books, articles, and reports
Hagadorn, J. W., R. H. Dott, and D. Damrow. 2002. Stranded on an Late Cambrian shoreline: Medusae from central Wisconsin. Geology 30: 147–150. [Technical] https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2002)030<0147:SOALCS>2.0.CO;2
Nehm, R. H., and B. E. Bemis. 2002. Common Paleozoic fossils of Wisconsin. Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, Educational Series 45, 25 pp. PDF: https://wgnhs.wisc.edu/pubshare/ES045.pdf
Websites
Fossils of Wisconsin (Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey): https://wgnhs.wisc.edu/wisconsin-geology/fossils-of-wisconsin/
Topography
Major landscape features [of Wisconsin] (Wisconsin Geological & Natural History Survey): https://wgnhs.wisc.edu/wisconsin-geology/major-landscape-features/
Karst and sinkholes [of Wisconsin]. (Wisconsin Geological & Natural History): https://wgnhs.wisc.edu/water-environment/karst-sinkholes/
Mineral resources
Fluorite: Illinois' State Mineral. (Illinois State Geological Survey): https://isgs.illinois.edu/outreach/geology-resources/fluorite-illinois-state-mineral
Descriptions of Illinois Minerals (Illinois State Geological Survey): https://isgs.illinois.edu/outreach/geology-resources/descriptions-illinois-minerals
Minerals of Wisconsin (Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey): https://wgnhs.wisc.edu/wisconsin-geology/minerals-wisconsin/
Glaciers
Illinois
Lineback, J. A. 1979. Quaternary deposits of Illinois. Illinois State Geological Survey. PDF: https://isgs.illinois.edu/maps/statewide/quaternary-deposits-illinois-1979
Iowa
Iowa Pleistocene Snail Discus macclintocki, 2011. Iowa Department of Natural Resources. http://publications.iowa.gov/id/eprint/13218
Ohio
Snow, R. S., T. V. Lowell, and R. F. Rupp. 1991. A field guide: The Kelleys Island glacial grooves, subglackial erosion features on the Marblehead Peninsula, Carbonate Petrology, and associated paleontology. Ohio Journal of Science 91(1) 16-26. PDF: https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1505/ML15056A359.pdf
Minnesota
Glacial Lake Agassiz (North Dakota Geological Survey Notes 5 by John Bluemle): https://www.dmr.nd.gov/ndgs/ndnotes/Agassiz/
Wisconsin
Books, articles, and reports
Black, R. F. 1974. Geology of the Ice Age National Scientific Reserve fo Wisconsin. National Park Service Scientific Monograph No. 2. https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/science/2/index.htm
Mickelson, D. M., L J. Maher, Jr., and S. L. Simpson. 2011. Geology of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, 305 pp.
Websites
Ice Age geology [of Wisconsin] (Wisconsin Geological & Natural History Survey): https://wgnhs.wisc.edu/wisconsin-geology/ice-age/
Ice Age National Science Trail (Wisconsin): https://www.nps.gov/iatr/learn/nature/index.htm
Major landscape features [of Wisconsin] (Wisconsin Geological & Natural History Survey): https://wgnhs.wisc.edu/wisconsin-geology/major-landscape-features/
Maps
Hadley, D. W., and J. H. Pelham. 1976. Glacial deposits of Wisconsin, Sand and gravel resource potential. Map #10, WGNHS Publications. https://wgnhs.wisc.edu/catalog/publication/000385/resource/m061
Energy
General/multiple states
Benson, M. E., and A. B. Wilson. 2015. Frac sand in the United States—a geological overview. USGS Open-File Report 2015-1107, 78 pgs. PDF: https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20151107
Illinois
Abandoned mine lands (Illinois Department of Natural Resources): https://www2.illinois.gov/dnr/mines/AML/Pages/default.aspx
About oil and gas in Illinois (Illinois Department of Natural Resources): https://www2.illinois.gov/dnr/OilandGas/pages/aboutoilandgasinillinois.aspx
Illinois history (Illinois Petroleum Resources Board): https://iprb.org/industry-facts/illinois-history/
Oil fields in Illinois (Illinois State Geological Survey): https://isgs.illinois.edu/outreach/geology-resources/oil-fields-illinois
Ohio
Choi, C. Q. 2013. Fracking practices to blame for Ohio earthquakes. Live Science, September 4, 2013. https://www.livescience.com/39406-fracking-wasterwater-injection-caused-ohio-earthquakes.html
Fonticella, C. 2018. How acid mine drainage has affected southeast Ohio's waterways. The Post, February 7, 2018. http://projects.thepostathens.com/SpecialProjects/healing-the-scars/index.html
Wisconsin
Industrial sand mining overview (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources): https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Mines/Sand.html
Sand rush in Wisconsin (by Adam Voiland, NASA Earth Observatory): https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/91835/sand-rush-in-wisconsin
Climate
Websites
Climate impacts in the Midwest (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, via City of Chicago): https://climatechange.chicago.gov/climate-impacts/climate-impacts-midwest
Fourth National Climate Assessment [2018]: Midwest: https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/chapter/21/
National Climate Assessment 2014: Midwest: https://nca2014.globalchange.gov/highlights/regions/midwest
Why Does the U.S. Midwest Get So Many Severe Thunderstorms? (Cliff Mass Weather Blog Monday, 23 May 2011): https://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2011/05/why-does-midwest-us-get-so-many-severe.html
Great Lakes Interactive Climatology Map: https://glisa.umich.edu/climate-data/great-lakes-climatologies/
Midwestern Regional Climate Center: https://mrcc.purdue.edu/
The Climate Explorer: https://crt-climate-explorer.nemac.org/
Earth hazards
General Earth hazards
Books, articles, and reports
Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division, Michigan Department of State Police, and The Michigan Citizen-Community Emergency Response Coordinating Council. 2019. Michigan Hazard Mitigation Plan. MSP/EMHSD publication 106, 453 pp. PDF: https://www.michigan.gov/-/media/Project/Websites/msp/EMHSD/Publications/MHMP.pdf?rev=413bebf626fe450ca7a14aff78be314b
Websites
Climate and health in Minnesota (Minnesota Department of Health): https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/environment/climate/climate101.html
Disasters [Iowa] (Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management): https://homelandsecurity.iowa.gov/disasters/
Environmental Public Health [Indiana] (Indiana Department of Health): https://www.in.gov/health/eph/
Illinois Emergency Management Agency: https://www2.illinois.gov/iema/Pages/default.aspx
Natural disasters and severe weather (Minnesota Department of Health): https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/environment/emergency/natural/index.html
Ohio Department of Public Safety: https://publicsafety.ohio.gov/
Wisconsin Emergency Management: https://wem.wi.gov/
Radon
Radon fact sheet for Indiana (PDF): https://www.in.gov/health/files/RADON_FACT_SHEET_12-20-17_-_Indiana_focusedrevisedbyIB.pdf
Radon in homes (Minnesota Department of Health): https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/environment/air/radon/index.html
Radon in Ohio: https://radoninohio.com/state/ohio/
Radon information for Wisconsin (Wisconsin Department of Health Services): https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/radon/index.htm
Storms
The derecho of June 29, 2012 (S. Zubrick, National Weather Service, July 27, 2012): https://www.weather.gov/lwx/20120629svrwx