Waterloo Quartzite Outcrops State Natural Area

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Waterloo Quartzite Outcrops consists of two separate geological features of Precambrian red quartzite and Paleozoic conglomerate rock. In the Waterloo Wildlife Area is a 24-acre island of Pella silty clay loam and abundant quartzite outcrops. The outcrops are comprised of quartzite breccia, a rough rock comprised of very angular fragments of gray and red quartzite within a matrix of white quartz. This same rock occurs in at least four different localities in the Baraboo Hills and was formerly a monadnock, an isolated knob or ridge, during Precambrian times. The breccia has much geological value since the other minerals besides quartz are of great interest for isotopic dating of the breccia along with estimating the temperature of its formation. The exact cause of the breakage, or brecciation, of the quartzite is still controversial. The woods contain large white, bur, and red oaks, shagbark hickory, ash, and basswood. Saplings include ironwood, hackberry, yellowbud hickory, and hawthorn. The groundlayer is dominated by wild leek. Waterloo Quartzite Outcrops is owned by the DNR and was designated a State Natural Area in 2010.