The Grand Ledge area boasts some of the most extensive natural exposures of Pennsylvanian-age rocks in Michigan and some of the best bedrock exposures in this part of the state. Impressive ledges are exposed along the Grand River and in several old quarries in the vicinity of the town of Grand Ledge , Michigan. The ledges are preserved in Fitzgerald Park along the south side of the river and west of downtown Grand Ledge. Topographic Map of the Ledges area. Across the river in Oak Park , the ledges have long attracted climbers in the region. Several now inactive quarries of the American Vitrified Products Company, the Grand Ledge Clay Products Company, and the Grand Ledge Face Brick Company were the source of clay for the manufacture of bricks.

This is the only place within a short drive GVSU (~ 1 hr) where we can view a sequence of sedimentary rocks exposed at the surface. Here we can describe a variety of sedimentary rock types, sedimentary structures, fossils we can use in our descriptions and the sequence of layers that we observe to measure a stratigraphic section and interpret the changes in the depositional environment.

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