McCarthy Beach State Park is a state park of Minnesota, USA, on the Sturgeon Lake chain near Hibbing. It is located in French Township, Saint Louis County.EcosystemThirty-three species of wildlife inhabit the park including white-tailed deer, black bears, timber wolves, chipmunks, red squirrels, raccoons, and several species of reptiles and amphibians. More than 175 species of birds also visit the area.The park protects a northern boreal forest with stands of red and white pine and leatherleaf-black spruce lowlands.GeologyThe glaciers that moved through the area gouged and tore at the bedrock, the cooled lava of ancient volcanoes. During that period, glaciers flowed south, retreated north, and flowed south again. The first glacier stopped where McCarthy Beach is now located. It left low rolling hills with steep sides called moraines. Between the hills, the glaciers gouged valleys and in the larger valleys, lakes were formed.
