Geology can get buried in urban environments, but it is still there.  In Houghton the pattern of streets is influenced by geology. One great example is the road bending which occurs where roads cross the Scales Creek flow--one of several giant lava flows which cross through Houghton. The plan to make streets N and S is followed except where it was too much work. In this case the thick flow was a huge barrier for the road, so they bent the road or else they didn’t even try to build the road across the ridge of rock that blocked the way.

In Houghton there are many points of geologic interest, which we plan to interpret as EarthCache sites. We have identified more than thirty sites as walk and bike geosites for those who want to learn earth science while walking or biking the city trails and streets.

See our new website about this topic.  Do it at your home too!