Carlton Peak is a summit in the Sawtooth Mountains in southern

Tofte Township Tofte Township is one of the three townships of Cook County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 226 at the 2000 census. The unincorporated community of Tofte is located within the township. Geography According to the United States C ...

Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...

, in northeastern

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

in the United States. In 1848, Reuben B. Carlton of

Fond du Lac, Minnesota Fond du Lac is a neighborhood in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. Evergreen Memorial Highway (State Highway 23) serves as a main route in the community. The eastern terminus of State Highway 210 is in the Fond du Lac neighborhood near the Saint ...

, ascended the peak with Col. Charles Whittlesey, who was participating in a geological survey expedition. In appreciation, Whittlesey named the mountain in Carlton's honor. Carlton Peak is now a Day Use area of

Temperance River State Park Temperance River State Park is a state park of Minnesota, USA, located between the communities of Schroeder and Tofte on Highway 61 on the North Shore of Lake Superior. It has campsites, picnic areas, and hiking trails on both sides of the Tem ...

and requires a valid Minnesota State Parks sticker per the sign on the road on the south side of the peak.

Geologic history

Carlton Peak was formed about a billion years ago in the same period of volcanic activity that created the shoreline of Lake Superior, in northern Minnesota. During this period, several blocks of

anorthosite Anorthosite () is a phaneritic, intrusive igneous rock characterized by its composition: mostly plagioclase feldspar (90–100%), with a minimal mafic component (0–10%). Pyroxene, ilmenite, magnetite, and olivine are the mafic minerals most ...

poked through the magma. The magma eventually became the diabase on the shoreline; the anorthosite became Carlton Peak.

Gallery

File:Superior sunrise.jpg,

North Shore North Shore or Northshore may refer to: Geographic features Australia *North Shore (Sydney), a suburban region of Sydney **Electoral district of North Shore **North Shore railway line, Sydney *Noosa North Shore, Queensland * North Shore, New So ...

sunrise from Carlton Peak -

Superior National Forest Superior National Forest, part of the United States National Forest system, is located in the Arrowhead Region of the state of Minnesota between the Canada–United States border and the north shore of Lake Superior. The area is part of the grea ...

File:Superior National Forest - Copy.jpg, Carlton Peak color - Superior National Forest

References

Climbing areas of the United States Mountains of Cook County, Minnesota Mountains of Minnesota {{CookCountyMN-geo-stub