Baraga’s Cross
Minnesota
Find: Thomsonite, porphyry, exceptional amygdaloidal basalt, possible Lake Superior Agates
GPS: 47.54316, -90.89176
Nearest city: Duluth, MN
Recommended Vehicle: Any
Season: Accessible year round, Winter is likely to have significant snow, ice, and frigid temperatures.
Summary:
Father Baraga’s cross is a historical marker near the town of Schroeder, MN. It’s got a nice little parking area similar to a boat launch. It has especially clear water in the Summer. It falls within a very small region of the North Shore where thomsonite can be found - a rare zeolite with circular green and orange eyes.
If you visit the spot in October, you’ll have a chance to see salmon head upstream from Lake Superior up into the nearby river.
Video
Check out the video for a better look at what can be found when exploring this spot.
This spot is the 2nd spot marked in the timeline of the video.
3 Helpful Tools
Chest Waders
Chest waders are great to stay dry if you want to get in the lake.
Agate Scoop
An agate scoop is helpful to pick things up faster and farther away from you.
Classifier
A classifier is fun to sit with if you’re a fan of small agates and stones. One with a larger, 1-inch mesh would be what I’d pick.
A corner of a water tumbled host rock, with what appears to be thomsonite in it.
Here's an example of a higher grade thomsonite, partially polished. The nearby Thomsonite Inn has great pieces for sale and kindly let me take some photos.
Porphyry is abundant up here. The red feldspar grains in this one were big!
A salmon headed upstream. Fall of 2022
I met a fisherman who later caught one just upstream from me.