The Northern Unit of Kettle Moraine State Forest sits about an hour north of Milwaukee. Begun with about 850 acres in 1936, this unit of the state forest is now about 30,000 acres. In October it lights up with autumn colors.
Moraines are the ridges of sand, silt and boulders left behind as glaciers retreated and melted. The moraines at Kettle Moraine rise 250 to 300 feet. They were so large here because two lobes of the last glaciation met here. What is now the Door County Peninsula stuck up above the glacier and split it into two lobes—the Green Bay lobe to the west and the Lake Michigan lobe to the east—and then they later pressed back together here.
The last major glaciation across the world which ended about 20,000 years ago left so many major effects across the state that it is named the Wisconsin Glaciation. The National Park Service administers the 1,200 mile National Ice Age Trail across the state. About 700 miles are currently protected through national, state and private lands, and Congress authorizes annual funds to purchase rights to complete the trail.
Other glacial features in Kettle Moraine include conical hills that were deposits of sand left by streams that cut through holes in the glacier and eskers which were deposited by streams that ran below glaciers.
The other namesake feature of the forest are kettles. Sometimes huge chucks of ice would break off the glacier and then get covered by sand and dirt. When the ice eventually melted huge depressions—or kettles—were left behind.
The National Park Service also administers the Ice Age Scientific Reserve which consists of nine locations in the state that preserve geological evidence of glaciation. In addition to the Northern Unit of Kettle Moraine State Forest, the Reserve also includes Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area. I’ll post some images from there next week.
This unit of Kettle Moraine State Forest protects the origins of the Milwaukee River. The State Forest protects waters and provides recreation on the waters including fishing and canoeing.
