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VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP TO THE KEWEENAW PENINSULA, MICHIGAN - KEWEENAW WEEK 2003

     Keweenaw week is a week of field trips to the various waste rock dumps of mines on the Keweenaw peninsula (two field trips each morning and afternoon for six days) and underground collecting in the Caledonia mine; a reception at the Seaman Museum; lectures on various topics of the mines, their minerals and history; trips to view the historical remains in the area; a rock swap (local collectors selling specimens) and a weekend rock show; and a keynote address and auction. The club is able to secure permission to enter rock piles which are normally off limits to collecting.

 


The Wednesday evening rock swap/sale at the Quincy is one of three opportunities to buy specimens.


The mine dumps are bulldozed to provide fresh rock to search for minerals such as copper, datolite, mining artifacts (such as copper chips from the chiseling of mass copper) and micro mineral specimens  (This is at the Rockland mine site).


The Rockland site being searched with a metal detector.


People would search the piles visually (here one of the minerals sought was datolite nodules) and about two thirds of the collectors were using metal detectors to search for the copper specimens. Iroquois mine.


Most of the surface plants of the various mines has decayed, but some like this headframe/rockhouse south of Calumet still are standing. Note the inclined shaft to the right of the photograph. Most of the mines in this district had inclined shafts that followed the dip of the ore beds.


Some of the local guardians for Esrey Park on Lake Superior.

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