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Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey3817 Mineral Point Road, Madison, Wisconsin 53705 WisconsinGeologicalSurvey.org | 608.263.7389
James M. Robertson, State Geologist and Director
shale sand-stone
glacial sediment
dolostone & limestone
igneous & metamorphic rocks
M502 | 2011
UW - MADISON
GEOLOGYM U S E U M
Wisconsin’s geologic past
More information: To learn more about Wisconsin’s geologic past, visit www.WisconsinGeologicalSurvey.org.
Sources: Map and rock column modified from Roadside Geology of Wisconsin, Robert H. Dott and John W. Attig, 2004, courtesy of Mountain Press Publishing; cross section modified from Bedrock Geology Map of Wisconsin, M.G. Mudrey, Jr., B.A. Brown, and J.K. Greenberg, 1982, WGNHS map; fossil drawings from Common Paleozoic Fossils of Wisconsin, Ross H. Nehm and Bryan E. Bemis, 2002, WGNHS ES45; mammoths illustration by Susan Hunt.
UW Geology Museum 1215 West Dayton Street, Madison, WI 53706 GeologyMuseum.org | 608.262.2399
What’s under Milwaukee?Shown here are the kinds of rocks and fossils you would
find if you drilled a very deep hole below the city.
Changing landscapesFrom studying our rocks, we
know that at different times
in the past 2.8 billion years…
nMountains and volcanoes once stood tall in central Wisconsin
nA shallow sea covered nearly the entire state
nGlaciers plowed across Wisconsin, leaving behind broad, rolling hills
Slice of earth If you made a slice through the ground from
La Crosse to Milwaukee, this is what the rock layers would look like.
How old are the rocks?
A cold pastMany times during the past 2 million years, glaciers
covered much of the state. Woolly mammoths
migrated north as the glaciers melted.
Dinosaurs in Wisconsin?About 360 million years of the rock record are missing
here. Dinosaurs likely roamed this area, but any rock
that contained their bones has eroded away.
Wisconsin underwaterFor much of 140 million years, Wisconsin was covered
by shallow seas. The rocks from these time periods are
all rocks you could find forming on the sea floor today.
Shifting sandsJust like sand is found at the beach and in riverbeds
today, these sandy layers were laid down in those
kinds of places in the past.
Missing rock layersAbout 1 billion years of the rock record is missing
between these layers. Erosion wore down and
destroyed the rocks.
Wisconsin’s oldest rocksOur oldest rocks are about 2.8 billion years old and are
exposed in the central and northern parts of the state.
This map shows the age of the
uppermost rock layer you would
find if you dug down to solid rock.
Silurian
Precambrian
Quaternary
Devonian
rocks formed underw
ater
Ordovician
Cambrian
brachiopod
coral
trilo
bite
30,000 years old
416–444 million years old
488–501 million years old
444–488 million years old
missing rock layers1 BILLION YEARS
1.5–1.8 billion years old
359–416 million years old
missing rock layers360 MILLION YEARS
brachiopod
snai
l
stromatolite
trilo
bite
Precambrian1.0–2.8 billion years old
Silurian416–444 million
years old
Cambrian488–501 million years old
Ordovician444–488 million years old
La Crosse
Milwaukee
La Crosse
Devonian359–416 million years old
Wisconsin RiverOrdovician
Ordovician Silurian DevonianDevils Lake
1000 ft
–1000 ft
(sea level) 0Precambrian
Cambrian Milwaukee
