Minnesota Underfoot Project
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For My Project, I went to Lake Minnetonka and drove around some of the numerous bays.I learned valuable information from many sources and only got lost once.

The plaque that is in the background was in front of Solberg Point.
The lake was frozen and covered with snow.





Contrary to popular belief, Lake Minnetonka is not in Minnetonka, it's close, but the nearest city is actually Excelsior.
Here are Directions to Excelsior from Mapquest.com:



For Those with compasses, the lake is located at 45° North and 93° 30’ W.


Lake Minnetonka is one of the biggest lakes in Minnesota, and has many bays and points. The lake was formed by the kettles and knobs left behind from the last glaciation, more specifically the Des Moines Lobe and the Superior Lobe retreating.
The area around the lake was once populated by Sioux indians, who named the Lake after one of their leaders, Me-ne-a-ton-ka. Lake Minnetonka was settled by Europeans in the 19th Century, which was followed by a few hotels and an onslaught of sewage into the lake.


There was no special reasoning behind my choosing Lake Minnetonka, except that it sounded failiar and it sounded closer than some other places I could have gone.

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I visited some places that were mentioned in the book, but when you're looking at the Lake, they're pretty much the same.


Part of the book mentioned that The Gray Freshwater Biological Institute, so on my trip I decided to stop by. Unfortuantely, after talking to the director, Mr. Brauer, I learned that the institute doesn't really exist anymore.

The U of MN took over the facility in 1974 for post-doctorate degrees and the newly named Freshwater Society focused primarily on education of freshwater. Then, in 95, the U of M gave the institute back to the Freshwater Society, and now they have private contractors working with the lake.


This is Don Brauer, the Director of the Freshwater Society.
You can learn more about the Society at freshwater.org


In conclusion, the lake was well, frozen, but a great part of Minnesota's Geologic History. The lake may have been more interesting if it wasn't frozen, and I if I wasn't a pessimist and did the project over winter break.