Iron Range


The term Iron Range refers collectively or individually to a number of elongated iron-ore mining districts around Lake Superior in the United States and Canada. Despite the word "range", the iron ranges are not mountain chains, but outcrops of Precambrian sedimentary formations containing high percentages of iron. These cherty iron ore deposits are Precambrian in age for the Vermilion Range, while middle Precambrian in age for the Mesabi and Cuyuna ranges, all in Minnesota. The Gogebic Range in Wisconsin and the Marquette Iron Range and Menominee Range in Michigan have similar characteristics and are of similar age. Natural ores and concentrates were produced from 1848 until the mid 1950s, when taconites and jaspers were concentrated and pelletized, and started to become the major source of iron production.
The far eastern area, containing the Duluth Complex along the shore of Lake Superior, and the far northern area, along the Canada–US border, of the region are not associated with iron ore mining. Due to its shape, the area is collectively referred to as the Arrowhead region of Minnesota. It consists of seven counties: Aitkin, Carlton, Cook, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake, and Saint Louis.

The Iron Range and its economy

From a geological perspective, the Iron Range in Minnesota includes these four major iron deposits:
Within Minnesota, "The Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation is a State Department, established by the legislature of 1941 to render public service through research and the actual development of all the state's resources both natural and human."
The Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board, known simply as "the I-triple-R-B" or Iron Range Resources, is an economic development agency funded partly by taxes levied by the state on taconite-producing companies and charged with creating jobs.

History

Geologically, the iron ranges in Minnesota belong to the Animikie Group. The geologic history of the formations containing iron are typical of banded iron formations worldwide.
Prior to the 19th century, Native American groups mined native copper on the Keweenaw Peninsula. William Austin Burt discovered iron ore in the Marquette Range near Negaunee, Michigan in 1844. Iron ore was quickly discovered on the Menominee Range in 1867, on the Gogebic Range in 1884, on the Vermilion Range in 1885, the Mesabi Range in 1890, and the Cuyuna Range in 1903.
Underground mines were developed to remove the valuable ore of most ranges. However, iron mining operations on the Mesabi and Cuyuna Ranges evolved into enormous open pit mines, where steam shovels and other industrial machines could remove massive amounts of ore. "Large-scale commercial production of magnetite taconite ore on the Mesabi Range started in 1956 at the Peter Mitchell Mine near Babbitt, Minnesota."

Cities

The Iron Range contains several smaller cities. Some of the more significant communities in the region include:
The area has a recognizably Italian, Slavic, and Scandinavian/Nordic heritage. A noticeable northern Minnesota accent is present in the area, especially among older people, hence the popular nickname, "Da Range." See also North Central American English. Ice hockey is a predominant sport in the region, which has produced several NHL players as well as all three members of the "Iron line" from the 1980 U.S.A. Hockey Miracle on Ice team.
Bob Dylan, who grew up in Hibbing, memorialized the Iron Range in the 1963 song "North Country Blues", a lament portraying hard times in the region. Presented in his 1964 album The Times They Are a-Changin', it includes such lines as:
The Iron Range is known for Cornish pasties stuffed with carrots, ground beef and potatoes. Pasties were an easy lunch for those working deep in the iron mines. Slovenian and Croatian immigrants brought the honey-nut bread called potica to the Iron Range region that is still served at Easter and Christmas in northern Minnesota.

Politics

The rural area has remained a Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party stronghold because of its history of a largely unionized workforce in the mining industry, the mainstay of the economy of the Iron Range. In 2004, John Kerry carried most of the counties in the region by a comfortable margin. This was perhaps aided by George W. Bush referring to the area as the "Iron Ridge" in a campaign speech. Barack Obama outperformed Kerry in 2008, carrying every county in the Iron Range. The area remains the greatest Democratic stronghold in Minnesota after the urban centers of Minneapolis and St. Paul. In 2016, Donald Trump's populist message enabled him to gain ground in the Iron Range, winning multiple counties and reducing the Democratic margins of victory in others.

Climate

The region is known for harsh winters, and pleasant summers. The average year-round temperature is in the 30s °F. Temperatures below −40 °F/°C occur somewhere in the region during most winters. For example, statistics from the Midwestern Regional Climate Center climate summaries , record that Virginia, MN has a mean annual temperature of 38 °F, with an average January low temperature of −6.2 °F and July high of 77.4 °F. Precipitation there averages 27 in annually and snowfall 53.2 in. Near Lake Superior, the temperature differences are somewhat less extreme, but due to its proximity to the lake annual snowfalls over 100 inches are common.