THE
DESCENT
The Journey Beneath the Surface
The moment water enters the earth, the landscape begins to leave its mark.
Layer by Layer
The Upper Peninsula was profoundly shaped by glaciers.
Around Marenisco, the landscape contains glacial till, sand and gravel deposits, including The Marenisco Moraine — geological evidence of the immense ice sheets that once moved across the region.
These deposits form part of the underground environment through which groundwater moves.
The deeper the journey goes, the more the surrounding geology matters.
ANCIENT GEOLOGY — LAKE SUPERIOR, MICHIGAN
A Landscape Older Than Memory
Beneath the glacial landscape lies some remarkably old geology.
USGS geological work in the Marenisco-Watersmeet region documents rocks including granite, gneiss, quartz-rich formations, metamorphic rocks and ancient volcanic rocks.
Among the formations documented in the broader region is the Jacobsville Sandstone, a quartz-rich sandstone formation associated with the ancient geology of the Lake Superior region.
This is not simply dirt beneath a forest. It is a geological record stretching back thousands of years.
Time Does the Work
As groundwater moves through the subsurface, water and rock interact.
Minerals can dissolve into the water.
The surrounding geology influences the water’s chemistry.
The result is not a formula created at a plant. It is a composition developed underground. Eventually, the water reaches the geological formations where groundwater is stored and transmitted.
The visible world is left behind.
GROUNDWATER + ROCK — NATURAL INTERACTION