The Chippewa River flows through a valley which was carved, thousands of years ago, by a torrent of glacial meltwaters. As the glacier ice retreated north and the force of the current weakened, the valley was partially refilled by sand and gravel that had been carried downstream by the water.
The much-smaller postglacial river has since meandered back and forth across the wide valley floor, shaping terraces and oxbow channels like the one that surrounds Carson Park.
The old camp site on Pearsons Ridge is perched high above the Chippewa River and overlooks an unusually narrow stretch where the valley has been constricted by steep ledges of exposed sandstone.
The ridge is now quite densely wooded. During the Archaic period, when the climate was warmer and drier than today, this would have been oak savanna - open grassland with a smatter of oak and pine.
The area around Pearsons Ridge would have provided Archaic Indians with a number of natural resources. Located in the transition zone between northern hardwoods and sparsely forested prairie border, it would have featured plant and wildlife species native to both habitats. The gravel beds along the river were a good source of raw material for stone tools.
Finally, there was the river itself - a major waterway which must have served as an important canoe route through the wilderness.