Carlton Peak

Carlton Peak[1] is a summit in the Sawtooth Mountains in southern Tofte Township, Cook County, in northeastern Minnesota in the United States. In 1848, Reuben B. Carlton of Fond du Lac, Minnesota, ascended the peak with Col. Charles Whittlesey, who was participating in a geological survey expedition. In appreciation, Whittlesey named the mountain in Carlton's honor.[2] Carlton Peak is now a Day Use area of Temperance River State Park and requires a valid Minnesota State Parks sticker per the sign on the road on the south side of the peak.

Geologic history

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Carlton Peak was formed about a billion years ago in the same period of volcanic activity that created the shoreline of Lake Superior, in northern Minnesota. During this period, several blocks of anorthosite poked through the magma. The magma eventually became the diabase on the shoreline; the anorthosite became Carlton Peak.[3][4][5]

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References

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  1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Carlton Peak
  2. ^ Warren Upham (1920). Minnesota Geographic Names: Their Origin and Historic Significance. Minnesota Historical Society. p. 147.
  3. ^ Wichman, Robert (September 20, 2014). "Minnesota's ancient history: Carlton Peak anorthosites". SC Times. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  4. ^ "Temperance River State Park: Snapshot virtual tour". Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  5. ^ "Carlton Peak: Superior National Forest" (PDF). Retrieved 10 February 2022.

47°35′00″N 90°51′37″W / 47.58333°N 90.86028°W / 47.58333; -90.86028