SLEEPING BEAR DUNES NATIONAL LAKESHORE: GEOLOGICAL FEATURES
This research reviews the geological characteristics of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, a component of the United States National Park Service. The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is located in Michigan, and stretches along approximately 35 miles of the northeastern coastline of Lake Michigan.
The most prominent features of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore are the massive sand dunes from which the park derives its name. The dunes were created through the actions of geological forces over thousands of years (Barnhardt, Jaffe, Kayen, & Cochrane, 2004). The geological forces that created the dunes, together with the geological forces that continue to affect the dunes at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore are discussed in the remainder of this paper, along with identifications of rock type found in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and the composition of the dunes.
Bedrock is the solid rock that lies beneath soil and other loose surface materials. The dunes at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore comprise a part of the soil and surface materials at the park. The dunes were created by glacial and other actions on the bedrock in the park area. Between the bedrock and the dunes on the surface of the park lie several layers of rocky materials that were deposited by glacier movements and water flow. There is a large variety of risk types included in the bedrock and the rocks associated with the later Quaternary deposits in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore boundaries (Hansel, Mickelson, Schneider, & Larsen, 1985).
The edge of the bedrock of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is comprised primarily of Antrim Shale. Antrim shale traps natural gas and extends inward from the lake shore under the Michigan peninsula. The larger concentration of bedrock underlying the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakesh...