earth science

Lake Ellen Kimberlite

Lake Ellen Kimberlite is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Lake Ellen Kimberlite rather than just read about it. In short: Lake Ellen Kimberlite is a poorly exposed volcanic breccia located about 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Crystal Falls in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The first publication in 1981 describing the feature led to speculation that this or similar kimberlites in the area might have been the source of the diamonds discovered a century before in Wisconsin as well as a period of exploration by several minerals firms.

Key takeaways

Lake Ellen Kimberlite belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Lake Ellen Kimberlite to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Lake Ellen Kimberlite from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Lake Ellen Kimberlite is a poorly exposed volcanic breccia located about 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Crystal Falls in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The first publication in 1981 describing the feature led to speculation that this or similar kimberlites in the area might have been the source of the diamonds discovered a century before in Wisconsin as well as a period of exploration by several minerals firms. The kimberlite was discovered in 1971 when a logging road was bulldozed through the area exposing the unusual looking rock. The exposure consists of several small areas otherwise overlain by glacial till. Magnetic survey work done in 1956 depicts an elliptical positive anomaly 590 feet (180 m) long in an east–west direction and 390 feet (120 m) wide, which probably defines the limits of the pipe. The kimberlite is intruded into volcanic rocks of the Proterozoic Hemlock Formation. The exposed material is grayish green to reddish, iron-stained, highly weathered and consists of disaggregated rubbly fragments up to 10 inches (250 mm). It is generally accepted that the pipe was emplaced about 180 million years ago. Lake Ellen Kimberlite is popular with rock hounds as the classic indicator minerals (pyrope, magnesian ilmenite and chrome diopside) for kimberlite are easily found in the material, though few are of gem quality and size. While there was considerable interest in diamond exploration in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and northern Wisconsin for several years, no diamonds of commercial interest have been found.

See also Lamproite Elliott County Kimberlite

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Lake Ellen Kimberlite

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Lake Ellen Kimberlite claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Lake Ellen Kimberlite before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Lake Ellen Kimberlite ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Lake Ellen Kimberlite

In research: Lake Ellen Kimberlite appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Lake Ellen Kimberlite in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Lake Ellen Kimberlite is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Breccias, Diatremes of the United States, Geology of Michigan, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Lake Ellen Kimberlite outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Lake Ellen Kimberlite” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Lake Ellen Kimberlite in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Lake Ellen Kimberlite means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Lake Ellen Kimberlite out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Lake Ellen Kimberlite in simple terms?

Why does Lake Ellen Kimberlite matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Lake Ellen Kimberlite?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Lake Ellen Kimberlite.