Pipestone National Monument: Geologic resources inventory report
Graham JP. 2017. Pipestone National Monument: Geologic resources inventory report. Natural Resource Report. NPS/NRSS/GRD/NRR—2017/1512. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
This report synthesizes discussions from a scoping meeting held in 2008 and a follow-up conference call in 2016 (see Appendix A). Chapters of this report discuss the geologic setting, distinctive geologic features and processes within Pipestone National Monument, highlight geologic issues facing resource managers, describe the geologic history leading to the present-day landscape, and provide information about the previously completed GRI map data. A poster (in pocket) illustrates these data. Pipestone National Monument was established by Congress in 1937 to protect the historic pipestone quarries, considered sacred by many American Indians. Because of its cultural importance, archeological resources, and the Three Maidens petroglyphs, Pipestone National Monument was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. The monument’s 122 ha (301 ac) includes a north–south-trending ridge of Sioux Quartzite and a grassland landscape that includes a restored tallgrass prairie. Thin layers of soft red catlinite, or pipestone, are interbedded with the very hard, fractured Sioux Quartzite. Lacking quartz, catlinite can be easily carved into pipes and other objects. From 1,000 BCE to 700 CE, prehistoric inhabitants of the Great Plains traded pipestone to people living as far away as what is now Ohio, Kansas, and central North Dakota. The Yankton Sioux eventually controlled the quarries, and in 1858 The Treaty With The Yankton Sioux gave them unrestricted access to the pipestone. Forced onto a reservation 240 km (150 mi) to the west, the Yankton Sioux sold their claim in 1928 to the federal government. When Pipestone National Monument was established, quarrying rights were restored to the Indians.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Graham, John
- Date of Issue
- 2017-09
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- GRD , GRI , HTLN , NRSS , PIPE
- Keywords
- Catlinite, catlinite quarries, Eolian (wind) features and processes, flooding, Fluvial (river) features and processes, fractures, Geologic Features, Geologic Features and Processes, Geologic History, Geologic Processes, Geologic Resource Management Issues, Geologic Resources Division, Geologic Resources Inventory, glacial features and processes, GRD, GRI, joints, Map Units, Minnesota, National Park Service, NPS, petroglyphs, PIPE, Pipestone National Monument, reduction spots on Sioux Quartzite, Resource Management, rockfall, sedimentary features in Sioux Quartzite
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Geomorphology | Windblown Features and Processes , Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Geomorphology | Glacial Features and Processes , Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Geomorphology | Hillslope Features and Processes , Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Geomorphology | Stream/River Channel Characteristics , Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Paleontology | Paleontology