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SECTION 2 - THE LAND AND ITS PEOPLE THE LAND AND ITS PHYSICAL CONDITIONS The Roseville that we know today was shaped by ancient geology and climate, the power of glaciers, flowing water, plant and animal migrations, and by people. Native peoples used the area for thousands of years, and more recently European settlers arrived in the mid-Nineteenth century. A. Landscape History and Setting (Source: City of Roseville Natural Resource Management Plan - June 2002) Pre-Settlement History and Major Landscape Features Ancient features The City of Roseville is located in within 10 miles of downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul. The history of the city's landscape begins around 500 million 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 the Twin Cities area started about 2 million years ago and is known as the Quaternary Period. Prior to this, the landscape in the Roseville area was much different from the way it is today. Then deep valleys with steep sides were cut into the bedrock. Broad, rolling plateaus separated these deep valleys. Deposits left by the series of glacial advances in the last 2 million years have buried this landscape. Glacial landscapes. The topography of Roseville was shaped by the last period of glaciation, which came to a close about 10,000 years ago, and was called the "Wisconsin Stage". The glaciers sculpted the landscape, and 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 origin. As the name suggests, the Superior Lobe originated near the area that is now known as Lake Superior. This ice advance occurred about 20,000 years ago. Grantsburg Sub lobe deposits made later largely cover the Superior Lobe sediments. During the most recent ice advance, a major ice sheet moved from the northwest, through western and central Minnesota into central Iowa. While this occurred, the Grantsburg sublobe moved to the northeast through the Twin Cities approximately 16,000 to 12,000 years ago. As ice sheets to the west and northwest began to stagnate and Roseville Comprehensive Plan - 2002 Update The Land and its People - Page 1 of 30