2002 Draft Natural Resources Management

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2. LANDSCAPE HISTURY AND SETTING The natural resources of Roseville include the soiis, watcr, plants, animals and geople that are within the City. The particular resource elements present in the city and their patterns in the landscape are the result oi historical processes, including climate, hydrology, plant and animal migrations and interactions, and hurr�an decisions and activities. This section describes the role these interactions have played in determining the present day composition of natural communities and landscapes in Rosevillc. PRE-SETTLEMENT HISTORY AND MAJOR LANDSCAPE FEATURES Ancient features. The City of Roseville is located in withinl0 milcs of downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul. The history of the city's landscape begins around 500 millian years ago, when much of Minnesota was covered by water, and the sedimentary rock layers that lie under the city were formed. The last series of glacial advances into Ehe Twin Cities area started about 2 mi�lion years ago and is known as the Quaternary Period. Prior to this, the iandscape in the Roseville area was rnuch different frorn the way it is today. Then deep valleys with steep sides that were cut into bedrock characterized it. Broad, rolIing plateaus separated these deep val�eys. Dcposits left by the se�ies of glacial advances in the last 2 million years has buried this Iandscape. Glacial landscapes. The topo�'aphy of Roseville was shaped by the last period of glaciation, which came to a close about 10,040 years a�o, and was called the "Wisconsin Stage". The glaciers sculpted the landscape, artd left behind a variety of deposits, referred to as "drift". The glacial deposits at the surface in Roseville are largely associated with the Grantsburg Sublobe of the Des Moines lobe glacier, although there are some isolated deposits of Superior Lobe ongin. City of Roseville Parks Nntural Resource Mnnagement