University Archives recently completed scanning thousands of images of unique botanical, zoological, and geological materials that document Minnesota’s natural history.

The materials – which relate to the establishment of the Minnesota Geological and Natural History Survey in 1872 – include photographs of birds, moose, landscapes, wildflowers, and more. The collection even includes field notebooks and journals kept by officials and amateur naturalists.

“These materials haven’t been seen by anybody for 50 to 100 years,” said Erik Moore, University Archivist.

No longer. As part of the project, made possible by Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, the scanned images are now available to the public on the University Libraries UMedia website.