Gitchie Manitou State Preserve and Sioux Quartzite

This video shows the Gitchie Manitou State Preserve and its Sioux Quartzite outcroppings.

Possible Guiding, Compelling and/or Anchoring Questions

• What makes this area of Iowa unique?
• How can the rocks be so old?
• How do we know the rocks are so old?

Classroom Suggestions

Students could:

• Compare the Sioux Quartzite to other rocks in Iowa and around the world.
• Work in groups to research how rocks are dated using different techniques (radioactivity and stratigraphy).
• Analyze data of rock ages in Iowa and around the world, while noting where rocks of different ages can be found relative to plate boundaries and mid-ocean ridges.
• Analyze rock sample of different ages from around the state.
• Identify patterns where rocks of different ages can be found.

Related Resources

• GeoScience World: Precambrian Sioux Quartzite at Gitchie Manitou State Preserve, Iowa: Background information on Gitchie Manitou and its Sioux Quartzite features. Click on “Chapter PDF” to access a readable version.
• PBS LearningMedia: The Geology of Iowa's Gitchie Manitou State Preserve: Student-friendly reading and discussion questions on Gitchie Manitou.
• Utah Geological Survey: How Do Geologists Know How Old a Rock Is?: Student-appropriate article on relative and absolute dating of rocks.
• University of Iowa IIHR: Iowa Geological Survey Interactive Maps: Includes various maps of Iowa geology, including county-level maps of rock formations.
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Age of Oceanic Lithosphere: Map of the age of Earth’s oceanic crust.
• Earth Magazine: When and How Did Plate Tectonics Begin on Earth?: Includes a map of the age of Earth’s continental crust.