Wikipedia:Scientific peer review/Geology of Minnesota

Geology of Minnesota

This article was recently completely re-written by User:Kablammo. I have perused through and taken facts from one of the main books used in the article, (when working on Minnesota) and it looks correct, however any input is welcome, scientific or copy-editorial (aka non-geologists welcome :) -Ravedave 05:35, 1 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Willow

This was really fun to read, although I mourned the absence of feldspars; gneiss is nice, but tectosilicates are the bee's knees. ;)

More seriously, the lead would benefit from fleshing out; for example, it'd be good to discuss the distribution and composition of the rocks as well as its history, as you do in the main text. Actually, even the main text could use a map showing the divisions given in the two reference works and giving a more "broad-brush" discussion of what kinds of rocks are found where. It was kind of hard for me to form a Big Picture from the individual sections on different regions. Please don't be discouraged; I loved the article, but I think you can aim even higher with it. :) Spread your wings, Willow 20:26, 1 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Fire and gneiss, will they suffice?

I was hoping to get by with the sin of poetry longer than I did. 'Twas not to be; the first copyeditor who wandered by changed it.[1] (In the words of Ogden Nash: "pooh".) I had thought the phrase was original and was disappointed to actually find a source: Dance of the Giant Continents. I like the metaphor: Imagine an elephants' mating dance: ponderous, consequential, and damaging to any smaller objects in the way.

On a more serious note: Thank you for your comments and suggestions. The piece does need fleshing out, particulary in the history section, and if we find someone who can make a map the text would be much clearer. It could use more pictures. Cliffs and waterfalls are nice, but there are other landforms. Most of all it needs the eye of one learned in the field, who can give a substantive critique and perhaps contribute more.

Thanks again. Kablammo 21:08, 1 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

2nd copy editor. I saw it, paused on it with my cursor, and let it live a bit longer...I still like "dance" better. I'll see what I can do about the pictures, but I can't help on the map. I have thought about emailing some of the writers of the books, to see if they would weigh in. -Ravedave 21:23, 1 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Kablammo,

I know what you mean! I love watching elephants ice skate, especially when they're in love: slow and sweet and infinitely graceful. Watching them at midnight on Lake Manjara, I feel in the presence of a great and sanctifying beauty. In this far more silly world, however, the typical elephant mating dance is done by the young bulls trying to tiptoe past the elderly male, as he starts to doze after two days of mating. ;) Sorry about the poetry; I do know just how you feel.

If there's no other way, I'd be happy to try to make some maps, if you could send me the coordinates of the outlines or a link to them. I wrote a suite of map projection software a while ago that might be suitable, although it's relatively primitive in its graphics. Lots of luck, Willow 21:38, 1 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Images

The Minnesota Geological Survey has excellent bedrock and quaternary geology maps as well as outstanding shaded relief images. I'm uncertain of their copyright policies but those images would be a good addition to this article. Drillerguy 19:47, 9 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]