Stearns County Granite Collection

Stearns County is located in east-central Minnesota and has long been a source of building materials — both dimension stone and crushed aggregate. The star on the adjacent illustration approximates the location of St. Cloud, the GRANITE CITY.

St. Cloud red granite is the cornerstone of the Stearns collection.

Richmond granite displays a prominent rapakivi texture. Rapakivi texture is the geology term for today.

Reformatory granodiorite, the stuff of Graystone College legend.

Geological Overview

The three major geologic components of Stearns County, from the surface on down, are glacial deposits (MN Surficial Geology Collection), soft sedimentary rocks, and varied types of schists, gneisses, and granites. The Precambrian granites are the focus of this collection.

Stone Industry

For generations the stone industry in the form of “granite sheds” dotted the landscape of Stearns County, especially the St. Cloud area, and provided a sustainable livelihood. The industry peaked in the 30’s and 40’s. Today, Cold Spring Granite is the only dimension stone company still in operation. Dimension stone (stone cut to a given size) is used for a variety of purposes such as building facing stone, countertops, as well as landscape applications.

This collection contains six rock specimens from Stearns County. They include St. Cloud Red Granite, Reformatory granodiorite, Diabase, Rockville Granite, Richmond Granite, and a sample of saprolite.

This collection is useful to non-professionals who simply wish to learn more about the geology of the county. It is not intended to be a one-stop, comprehensive collection. It is useful to anyone with an interest in earth science or the county.

Rockville is a town with a history of hard rock quarrying.

This unique outcrop shape is the result of erosion of weathered bedrock. See saprolite.

Granite on the prairie.

Be sure to request your copy of the Stearns Granite Tour Guide. It's available at no additional charge with your Stearns County Granite Collection order.

PWP Links

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Minnesota Rock, Fossil & Mineral Specimens 1 • Minnesota Rock, Fossil & Mineral Specimens 2
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Copyright © 2000-2006 Bruce Goetteman. All Rights Reserved. To obtain copies of images, select the Field Guide Album on the Order Form.

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