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LIBRARY CATALOGUE SLIPS.

United States. Dejxirlmcnt of the interior. ( U. S. geological survey.)

Uepartmeut of the iuterior | — | Monographs | of the | United
Stiites geological survey | Volume XXV | [Seal of the depart-
ment] I Washington | government printing office | 1895

Second title: United States geological survey | Charles D.
Walcott, director | — | The | glacial lake Agassiz | by | Warren
Uphaiu I [Vignette] |

Washington | government printing office | 1895

4°. XXIV, 658 pp. 38 pi.

tJpham (Warren).

United States geological survey | Charles D. Walcott, di-
rector I — I The I glacial lake Agassiz | by | Warren Upham |
[Vignette] |
Washington | government printing office | 1895

i°. XXIV, 058 pp. 38 pi.

[0NITEI> States. Department of the interior. {V. S. geoloi/ical survey. i
ilonograpii XXV.]

United States geological survey | Charles D. Walcott, di-
rector I — I The I glacial lake Agassiz | by | Warren Upham |
[Vignette] |

Washington | government printing office | 1895

40. XXIV, 668 pp. 38 pi.

[United States. Department of the interior. i,U. S. geolo<jical survey.)
Monograph XXV.]

^D^ERTISBJVtENT.

[Monograph XXV.]

The publications of the United States Geological Survey are issued in accordance with the statute
approved Mari-li 3, 1879, wliich declares that —

"The publicatiiiiia of the Geological Survey shall consist of the annual report of operations, geo-
logical and eoonouiic nia|is illustrating the resources and classification of the lauds, and reports upon
general and economic geology and paleontology. The annual report of operations of the Geological
Survey shall accompany the annual report of the Secretary of th(! luterior. All special memoirs and
reports of said Survey shall be issued in uniform quarto series if deemed necessary by the Director, but
otherwise in ordinary octavos. Three thousand copies of each shall be puldished for scientific exchauges
and for sale at thepriceof pulilication; and all literary .and cartographic materials received in exchange
shall be the property of the United States and form a part of the library of the organization : Aiul the
money resulting from the sale of sach publications shall be covered into the Treasury of the United
States."

The following joint resolution, referring to all govoruraont publications, was passed by Congress
July 7, 1882:

"That whenever any <locument or report shall be ordered printed by Congress, there shall be
printed, in addition to the number in each case stated, the ' usual number ' (1,900) of copies for binding
and distribution among those entitled to receive them."

Except in those cases in whicli an extra number of any publication has been supplied to the Sur-
vey by special resolution of Congress or has been ordered by the Secretary of the Interior, this office
has no copies for gratuitons distribution.

ANNUAL REPORTS.

I. First Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, by Clarence King. 1880. 8°. 79
pp. 1 ma]). — A preliminary report describing plan of organization and publications.

II. Second Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1880-'81, by J. W. Powell,

1882. S°. Iv, .588 p]). «2 pi. 1 map.

III. Third Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1881-'82, by .J. W. Powell.

1883. 8^. xviii, 564 pp. 67 pi. and maps.

IV. Fourth Annual Rei.ort of the United States Geological Survey, 1882-'83, by ,1. \V. Powell.

1884. 8". xxxii, 473 pp. 8.5 pi. and maps.

V. Fifth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1883-'84, by J. \V. Powell.

1885. 8'^. xxxvi, 469 pp. 58 pi. and maps.

VI. Sixth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1884-8.5, by .T. W. Powell.
1885. 8". xxix, 570 pp. 65 pi. and maps.

VII. Seventh Annual Rep<ut of the United States Geological Survey, 1885-'86, by .1. \Y. Powell.

1888. 8^'. XX, 656 pp. 71 pi. and maps.

VIII. Eighth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1886-'87, by .T. \V. Powell.

1889. 8". 2 v. xix, 474, xii ]ip. 53 pi. and maps; 1 p. 1. 475-1063 pp. 54-76 pi. and mjips.

IX. Ninth Annu,al Rci)ort of the United States (ieological Survev, 1887-'88, by .J. W. Powell.

1889. 8^'. xiii,717pp. 88 pi. and maps.

X. Tenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survev, 1888-'89, by .1. W. Powell.

1890. 8"^. 2v. XV, 774 pp. 98 pi. and maps; viii, 123 p]i.

XI. Eleventh Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1889-'90, by J. W. Powell.

1891. 8^. 2 V. XV, 7.57 jip. 66 pi. and maps; ix, 351pp. 30 pi. and maps.

XII. Twelfth Annual Report of the United States Geological Snrvey, 1890-'91, by .J. W. Powell.
1891. 8". 2 V. xiii, 675 pj). .53 pi. and maps; xviii, 576 pp. 146 ])1. and maps.

XIII. Thirteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survev, 1891-'92, by .1. W.
Powell. 1893. 8". 3 v. vii, 240 pp. 2 maps ; x, 372 pp. 105 pi. and maps; xi, 486 pp. 77 pi. and
maps.

XIV. Fourteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Snrvey, 1892-'93, by .1. W.
Powell. 1893. 8°. 2 v. vi, 321 pp. 1 pi. ; xx, ,597 pp. 74 pi.

XV. Fifteenth Annu.al Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1893-'94, by J. W. Powell.
1895. 8'^. xiv,755pp. 48 pi.

I

II ADVERTISEMENT.

MONOGRAPHS.

I. Lake Bonneville, by Grove Karl Gilbert. 1890. 4°. xx, 438x)p. .51 pi. Imap. Price $1.50.

II. Tertiary Hi.story of the Grauil Cafiou District, with atlas, bv Clarence E. Dutton, Capt., U. S. A
1882. 4°. xiv, 264 pp. 42 pi. and atlas of 24 sheets folio. Price $10.00.

III. Geolojiy of the Conistock Lode and the Washoe District, with atlas, by George F. Becker.
1882. 4°. sv, 422 pp. 7 pi. and atlas of 21 sheets folio. Price $11.00.

IV. Comstock Mining anil Miners, by Eliot Lord. 1883. 4°. xiv, 451 pp. 3 pi. Price $1.50.

V. The Copper-Bearing Kocks of L.ake Superior, by Roland Duer Irving. 1883. 4^^. xvi, 464
pp. 15 1. 29 pi. and maps. Price $1.85.

VI. Contribntions to the Knowledge of the Older Mesozoic Flora of Virginia, by William Morris
Fontaine. 1883. 4^^. xi, 144 pp. .54 1. 54 pi. Price $1.05.

VII. Silver-Lead Deposits of Eureka, Nevada, by Joseph Storv Curtis. 1884. 4°. xiii, 200 pp.
16 pi. Price $1.20.

VIII. Paleontology of the Eureka District, by Charles Doolittle Walcott. 1884. 4°. xiii, 298
pp. 24 1. 24 pi. Price $1.10.

IX. Brachiopoda and Lamellibranchiata of the Raritan Clays and Greensand Marls of New
Jersey, by Robert P. Whittield. 1885. 4". xx, 338 pp. 35 pi. 1 m.ap. Price $1.15.

X. Dinocerata. A Monograph of an Extinct Order of Gigantic Mammals, by Othniel Charles
Marsh. 1886. 4'-\ xviii, 243 pp. 56 1. .56 pi. Price $2.70.

XI. Geological History of Lake Lahontaii, a Onateruary Lake of Northwestern Nevada, by
Israel Cook Russell. 1885. 4':. xiv, 288 pp. 46 pi. and niajis. Price $1.75.

XII. Geology and Mining Industry of Leadville, Colorado, with atlas, by Samuel Franklin Em-
mons. 1886. 4'-\ ■ xxix, 770 pp. 45 pl.'aud atlas of 35 sheets folio. Price $8.40.

XIII. Geology of the Quicksilver Dejiosits of the P.acitic Slope, with atlas, bv George F. Becker.
1888. 4-^. xix, 486 pp. 7 pi. and atlas of 14 sheets folio. Price $2.00.

XIV. Fossil Fishes and Fossil Plants of the Triassic Rocks of New .Jersey and the Connecticut
Valley, by .John S. Newberry. 1888. 4°. xiv, 152 pp. 26 pi. Price $1.00. '

XV. The Potomac or Younger Mesozoic Flora, bv William Morris Fontaine. 1889. 4-', xiv,
377 pp. 180 pi. Text and plates biiund separately. Price $2..50.

XVI. The Paleozoic Pishes of North America, by John Strong Newberry. 1889. 4°. 340 pp.
53 pi. Price $1.00.

XVII. The Flora of the Dakota Gronji, a posthumous work, by Leo Lesquereux. Edited by F.
H. Knowltou. 1891. 4'^'. 400 pp. 66 id. Price .$1.10.

XVIII. Gasteropoda and Cei>halo]i(ida of the Raritan Clays and Grecns.and Marls of New Jersey,
by Robert P. Whittield. 1891. 4'. 402 p]). 50 pi. Price $1.00.

XIX. Th<> Penokee Iron-Bearing Series of Northern Wisconsin and Michigan, by Roland D.
Irving and C. R. Van Hisc. 1892. I"-", xix, .534 pp. Price $1.70.

XX. Geology of the Eureka District, Nevada, with an atlas, by Arnold Hague. 1892. 4'^. xvii,
419 pp. 8 pi. I'rice$5.25.

XXI. The Tertiary Rhynchophorous Coleoptera of the United States, by Samuel Hubbard Scud-
der. 1893. 4^'. xi, 206 ])p. 12 i)l. Price 90 cents.

XXII. A Maniuil of Topographic Methods, liy Henry Gannett, chief topographer. 1893. 4°.
XIV. 300])p. 18 pi. Price $1.00.

XXIII. Geology of the (ireeu Mountains in Massachusetts, by Raphael Pumpelly, T. Nelson Dale,
and J. E. W(dtt'. 1894. 4-^. xiv, 206 pp. 23 pi. Price $1.30.

XXIV. MoUusca and Crustacea of the Miocene Formations of New Jersey, by Robert Parr 'Whit-
field. 1894. 4°. 193 pp. 24 pi. Price 90 cents.

XXV. The Glacial Lake Agassiz, by Warren Upham. 1895. 4"=. xxiv, 658 pp. 38 pi. Price $1.70.

XXVI. Flora of the Amboy Clays, by John Strong Newberry ; a posthumous work, edited by
Arthur Hollick.

In ])reparation :

— The Geology of Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden counties, Massachusetts, by Benjamin

ICeudall Emerson.
— The Glacial Gravels of Maine and their associated deposits, by George H. Stone.
—Geology of the Denver Basin, Colorado, by S. F. Emmons, Wlutman Cross, and Geo. H. Eldridge.
— Sauropfida, by O. C. Marsh.
— Stegosanria, by O. C. Marsh.
— Broutotherida"., by O. C. Marsh.
— Report on Silver Cliff and Ten-Mile Mining Districts, Colorado, by S. F. Emmons.

BULLETINS.

1. On Hypersthene-Andesite and on Triclinic Pyroxene in Angitic Rocks, by Whitman Cross,
with a Geological Sketch of Buffalo Peaks, Colorado, by S. F. Ennnons. 1883. '8>^. 42 jjp. 2 pi.
Price 10 cents.

2. Gold and Silver Conversion Tables, giving the coining values of troy ounces of fine metal, etc.,
computed by Albert Williams, jr. 1883. 8'^. 8 pji. Price 5 cents.

3. On' the Fossil Faunas of the Upper Devonian, along the meridian of 76^ 30', from Tompkins
County, N. Y., to Bradford County, Pa., by Henry S. Williams. 1884. 8°. 36 pp. Price 5 cents.

4. On Mesozoic Fossils, by Charles A. White. 1884. 8^. 36 pp. 9 pi. Price 5 cents.

5. A Dictionary of Altitudes in the United States, compiled bv Henry Gannett. 1884. 8=. 325
pp. Price 20 cents.

ADVERTISEMENT. Ill

6. Elevations in the Dominion of Canada, by J. W. Spencer. 1884. 8°. 43 pp. Price 5 cents.

7. Mapoteca Geologica Americana. A C'atiilogue of Geolotjical Maps of America (North, and
Sonth), 1752-1881, in geographic and chronologic order, by Jules Marcou and John Belknap Marcou.

1884. 8°. 184 pp. Price 10 cents.

8. On Secondary Enlargements of Mineral Fragments in Certain Rocks, by R. D. Irving and C.
E. Van Hise. 1884. S^. .56 pp. 6 pi. Price 10 ceiits.

9. A report of work done in the Washington Laboratory during the fiscal year 1883-'84. F.W.
Clarke, chief chemist; T. M. Chatard, assistant chemist. 1884. S'~'. 40 pp. Price 5 cents.

10. (Jn tlie Cambrian Faunas of North America. Preliminary studies, by Charles Doolittle Wal-
cott. 1884. 8>^'. 74 pp. 10 pi. Price 5 cents.

11. On the Quaternary and Recent Mollusca of the Great Basin; with Descriptions of New
Forms, by R. Ellsworth Call. Introduced by a sketch of the Quaternary Lakes of the Great Basin,
by G. K. Gilbert. 1884. 8°. 66 i)p. 6 pi. ' Price 5 cents.

12. A Crystallographic Study of the Thinolite of Lake Lahontan, by Edward S. Dana. 1884. 8°.
34 pji. 3 pi. Price 5 cents.

13. Boundaries of the United States and of the several States and Territories, with a Historical
Sketch of the Territorial Changes, by Henry Gannett. 1885. 8°. 135 pp. Price 10 cents.

14. The Electrical and Magnetic Properties of the Iron-Carburets, l)y Carl Barns and Vincent
■ Stronhal. 1885. 8". 238 pp. Price 15 cents.

15. On the Mesozoic and Cenozoic Paleontology of California, by Charles A. White. 1885. 8°.
33 pp. Price 5 cents.

16. On the Higher Devonian Faunas of Ontario County, New York, by .John M. Clarke. 1885. 8°.
86 pp. 3 pi. Price 5 cents.

17. On the Development of Crystallization in the Igneous Rocks of Washoe, Nevada, with Notes
on the Geology of the District, by Arnold Hague and Joseph P. Iddings. 1885. S°. 44 pp. Price 5
cents.

18. On Marine Eocene, Fresh- water Miocene, and other Fossil Mollusca of Western North America,
by Charles A. White. 1885. 8'^. 26 pp. 3 pi. Price 5 cents.

19. Notes (m the Stratigraphy of California, by George F. Becker. 1885. 8". 28 pp. Price 5 cents.

20. Contributions to the Mineralogy of the Rocky Jlountaius, by Whitman Cross and W. F. Hille-
brand. 1885. 8^. 114 pp. 1 pi. Price' 10 cents.

21. The Lignites of the Great Sioux Reservation; a rejiort on the Region between the Grand
and Moreau Rivers, Dakota, by Bailey Willis. 1885. 8°. 16 pp. 5 jd. Price 5 cents.

22. On New Cretaceous Fossils from California, by Charles A. White. 1885. 8°. 25 pp. 5 pi.
Price 5 cents.

23. Observations on the .Jun(-tion between the Eastern Sandstone and the Keweenaw Series on
Keweenaw Point, Lake Superior, by R. D. Irving and T. C. Chamberlin. 1885. 8'^'. 124 pp. 17 pi.
Price 15 cents.

24. List of Marine Mollusca, comprising the Quaternary fossils and recent forms from American
Localities between Cape Hatteras and Cape Roqne, including the Bermudas, by William Healey Dall.

1885. S°. 336 pp. Price 25 cents.

25. The Present Technical Condition of the Steel Industry of the United States, by Phineas
Barnes, 1885. 8>-\ 85 pp. Price 10 cents.

26. Copper Smelting, by Henry M. Howe. 1885. 8°. 107 pp. Price 10 cents.

27. Report of work done in the Division of Chemistry and Physics, mainly during the fiscal year
1884-'85. 1886. 8°. 80 pp. Price 10 cents.

28. The Gabbros and Associated Hornldende Rocks occurring in the Neighborhood of Baltimore,
Md., by George Huntington Williams. 1886. 8'-. 78 pp. 4 ]d. Price 10 cents.

29. On the Fresh- water Invertebrates of the North American Jurassic, by Charles A. White. 1886.
8'^. 41 pp. 4 pi. Price 5 cents.

30. Second Contribution to the Studies on the Cambrian Faunas of North America, by Charles
Doolittle Walcott. 1886. 8". 369 pp. 33 pi. Price 25 cents.

31. Systematic Review of our Present Knowledge of Fossil Insects, including Myriajiods and
Arachnids, by Samuel Hubbard Scudder. 1886. 8^^. 128 pp. Price 15 cents.

32. Lists and Analyses of the Sliueral Springs of the United States; a Preliminary Study, by
Albert C. Peale. 1886. 8'^. 235 pp. Price 20 cents.

33. Notes on the Geology of Northern California, by J. S.Diller. 1886. 8^. 23 pp. Price 5 cents.

34. On the Relation of the Laramie Molluscau Fauna to that of the succeeding Fresh- water Eocene
and other groups, by Charles A. White. 1886. 8'-. 54 jip. 5 jil- Price 10 cents.

35. Physical Properties of the Iion-Carburets, by Cail Barus ami Vincent Stronhal. 1886. 8'-"'.
62 pp. Price 10 cents.

36. Subsidenceof Fine Solid Particles in Licjuids, by Carl Barus. 1886. 8". 58pp. Price lOcents.

37. Types of the Laramie Flora, by Lester F. AVard. 1887. 8^. 351pp. 57 pi. Price 25 cents.

38. PeridotiteofElliottCounty, Kentucky, by J. S.Diller. 1887. 8-\ 31pp. ipl. Price5ceut8.

39. The Upper Beaches and Deltas of the (ilacial Lake Agassiz, by Warren Uphani. 1887. S^.
84 pp. 1 pi. Price 10 cents.

40. Changes in River Courses in Washington Territo<-v due to Glaciatiou, by Bailcv Willis. 18,S7.
8°. 10 pp. 4 pi. Price 5 cents.

41. On the Fossil Faunas of the Upper Devonian — the Genesee Section, New York, by Henry S.
Williams. 1887. 8". 121 pp. 4 pi. Price 15 cents.

42. Report of work doiK^ in the Division of Chenustry and Physics, mainly during the fiscal year
•1885-'86. F. W. Clarke, chief chemist. 1887. 8". 152 pp. 1 pi. Price 15 cents.

IV ADVERTISEMENT.

43. Tertiary and Cretaceous Strata of thi' Tuscaloosa, Torabigbee, and Alabama Rivers, by Eugene
A. Smith anrt-Liiwrenco C. Johnson. 1887. 8^. 189 pp. 21 pi. Price 15 cents.

44. Bibliogriiphy of North American Geology for 188G, by Nelson H. Darton. 1887. S°. 35 pp.
Price 5 cents.

45. The Present Condition of Knowledge of the Geology of Texas, by Robert T. Hill. 1887. 8°.
94 pp. Price 10 cents.

46. Nature and Origin of I)oi)osits of Phosphate of Lime, by R. A. F. Penrose, Jr., with an Intro-
duction by N. S. Shaler. "lS8S. S-. 143 pp. Price 15 cents.

47. Analyses of Waters of the Yellowstone National Park, with an Account of the Methods of
Analysis employed, l)y Frauk Austin Gooch and James Edward Whitfield. 1888. 8"^. 84 pp. Price
10 cents.

48. On the Form and Position of the Sea Level, by Robert Simpson Woodward. 1888. 8'^. 88
pp. Price 10 cents.

49. Latitudes and Longitudes of Certain Points in Missouri, Kansas, and New Mexico, by Robert
Simpson Woodward. 1889. 8^^. 133 jip. Price 15 cents.

50. Formulas and Tables to Facilitate the Construction and Use of Maps, by Robert Simpson
Woodward. 1889. 8-\ 124 pp. Price 15 cents.

51. On Invertelirate Fossils from the Pacific Coast, by Charles Abiathar White. 1889. 8-. 102
pp. 14 pi. Price 15 cents.

.52. Subaerial Decay of Rocks and Origin of the Red Color of Certain Formatious. by Israel
Cook Russell. 1889. 8°.' 65 pp. 5 pi. Price 10 cents.

53. The Geology of Nantucket, by Nathaniel Southgate Shaler. 1889. 8. .55 ]ip. 10 pi. Price
10 cents.

54. On the Thernio-Electrie Measurcmeut of High Temperatures, by Carl Barus. 1889. S\
313 pp., incl. 1 pi. 11 pi. Price 25 cents.

.55. Report of work done in the Division of Chemistry and Physics, mainly during the fiscal
year 1886-'87. Frauk Wigglesworth Clarke, chief chemist. "l889. 8"^. 9fi pii. Pticc 10 cents.

56. Fossil Wood and Lignite of the Potomac Formation, by Frank Hall Knowltou. 1889. 8^.
72 pp. 7 pi. Price 10 cents.

,57. A Geological Keconnoissance in Southwestern Kansas, by Robert Hay. 1890. 8^. 49 pp.
2 pi. Price 5 cents.

58. The fJlacial Boundary iu Western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, by
George Frederick Wright, witli an introduction by Thomas Chrowder ChamV>erlin. 1890. 8'^. 112
pp. incl. 1 pi. 8 pi. Price 15 cents.

59. The Galibros and Associated Rocks in Delaware, by Frederick D. Chester. 1890. 8'^. 45
pp. 1 pi. Price 10 cents.

60. Report of work done iu the Division of Chemistry and Physics, mainly during the fiscal
year 1887-'88. F. W. Clarke, chief chemist. 1890. 8-. 174 pp. Price 15 cents.

61. Contributions to the Mineralogy ot the Pacific Coast, by William Harlow Melville and Wal-
demar Lindgren. 1890. 8"-. 40 pp. 3 pi. Price 5 cents.

62. The Greenstone Schist Areas of the Meuominee and Marquette Regions of Michigan, a con-
tribution to the subject of dynamic inetamoriihisin in eruptive rocks, liy George Huntington Williams,
with an introduction liy Roiand Duer Irving. 1N90. 8. 241pp. 10 )il. Price 30 cents.

63. A Bibliography of Paleozoic Crustacea from 1698 to 1889, including a list of North Amer-
ican species and a systematic arrangement of genera, by Anthony W. Vogdes. 1890. 8'^. 177 pp.
Price 15 cents.

64. A report of work done in the IMvisiou of Chemistry and Physics, mainly during the fiscal
year 18X8-'89. F. W. Clarke, chief chemist. 1890. 8>^\ 60 pp. Price 10 ceUts.

65. Stratigraphy of the Bituminous Coal Field of Peniisvlvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, by
Isr.ael C. White. 1891. 8\ 212 p]i. 11 ])1. Price 20 cents.

66. On a Group of Volcanic Rocks from the Tewan Mountains, New Mexico, and on the occur-
rence of Primary Quartz in certain Basalts, by Joseph Paxson Iddings. 1890. 8*^. 34 pp. Price 5
cents.

67. T!ie Relations of the Traps of the Newark System in th(^ New Jersey Region, by Nelson
Horatio Darton. 1890. 8'^\ 82 pp. Price 10 cents.

68. Earthquakes in California in 1889, by James Edward Keeler. 1890. S^. 25 pp. Price 5
cents.

69. A Classed and Annotated Biography of Fossil Insects, l>y Samuel Howard Scudder. 1890.
8°. 101pp. Price 15 oents.

70. A report on Astronomical Work of 1889 and 1890, by Robert Simpson Woo<hvar<I. 1890. 8^^.
79 pp. Price 10 cents.

71. Index to the Known Fossil Insects of the World, including Myriapods and Arachnids, by
Samuel Hubbard Scudder. 1891. 8"^. 744 \i\>. Price 50 cents.

72. Altitiidi's between Lake Superior and the Rocky Mountains, by Warren rpham. 1891. 8'^.
229 pp. Price 20 cents.

73. The Viscosity of .Solids, by Carl Barus. 1891. 8'-\ xii, 139 pp. 6 pi. Price 15 cents.

74. The Minerals of North Carolina, by Frederick Augustus (Jenth. 1891. 8-. 119 pp. Price
15 ceuts.

75. Record of North American Geology for 1SS7 to 1889, inclusive, by Nelson Horatio Darton.
1891. 8^. 173 j>p. Price 15 cents.

76. A Dictionary of .\ltitudes in the Fnitei". States (second edition), compiled by Henry Gannett,
chief topographer. 1891. 8^. 393 pxi. Price 25 cents.

ADVERTISEMENT. V

77. The Texan Permian and its Mesozoic types of Fossils, by Charles A. White. 1891. 8°. 51
pp. 4 pi. Price 10 cents.

78. A report of work done in the Division of Chemistry and Physics, mainly during the fiscal
year 1889-'90. F. W. Clarice, chief chemist. 1891. 8". 131 pp. Price 1.5 cents.

79. A Late Volcanic Eruption in Northern California and its peculiar lava, by ,J. (S. Diller.

80. Correlation papers — Devonian and Carboniferous, bv Henry Shaler Williams. 1891. 8°.
279 pp. Price 20 cents.

81. Correlation papers — Cambrian, by Charles Doolittle Wah-ott. 1891. 8' . 547 pp. 3 pi.
Price 25 cents.

82. Correlation papers— Cretaceous, by Charles A. AVhite. 1891. 8*^. '273 pp. 3 pi. Price 20
cents.

83. Correlation papers— Eocene, by William Bulloik Clark. 1891. 8". 173 pp. 2 pi. Price
15 cents.

84. Correlation papers— Neocene, by W. H. Dall and G. D. Harris. 1892. 8^. 349 pp. 3 pi.
Price 25 cents.

85. Correlation papers — The Newark System, by Israel Cook Russell. 1892. 8^. 344 pj). 13 pi.
Price 25 cents.

86. Correlation papers— A rchean and Algonkian, by C. R. Van Hise. 1892. 8^ . 549 pp. 12 pi.
Price 25 cents.

90. A report of work done in the Division of Cheniistrv and Physics, mainly durinf; the liscal
year 1890- '91. F. W. Clarke, chief chemist. 1892. 8°. 77 pp' Price 10 cents.

91. Record of North American Geology for 1890, by Nelson Horatio Darton. 1891. 8' . 88 pp.
Price 10 cents.

92. The Compressibility of Liquids, l)y Carl Barus. 1892. 8^'. 96 pp. 29 pi. Price 10 cents.

93. Some Insects of special interest from Florissant, Colorado, and other points in the Tertiaries
of Colorado and Utah, by Samuel Hubbard Scudder. 1892. 8". 35 pp. 3 pi. Price 5 cents.

94. The Mechanism of Solid Viscosity, by Carl Barus. 1892. 8=. 138 pp. Price 15 cents.

95. Earthquakes in California in 1890 and 1891, by Edward Singleton Holdeu. 1892. 8^. 31 ijp.
Price 5 cents.

96. The Volume Thermodynamics of Liquids, by Carl Barns. 1892. 8^. 100 pp. Price 10 cents.

97. TheMesozoicEchinodermataoftheUnitedStates, by W.B.Clark. 1893. 8^. 207 iip. 50 pi.
Price 20 cents.

98.' Flora of the Outlying Carboniferous Basins of Southwestern Missouri, bv David White.
1893. 8^^. 139 pp. 5 pi. Price 15 cents.

99. Record of North American Geology for 1891, by Nelson Horatio Darton. 1892. 8". 73 pp.
Price 10 cents.

100. Bibliography and Index of the Puldications of the U. S. Geological Survey, 1879-1892, by
Philip Creveling Warnian. 1893. 8^. 495 pj). Price 25 cents.

101. Insect Fauna of the Rhode Island Coal Field, by Samuel Hulibard Scudder. 1893. 8°.
27 pp. 2 pi. Price 5 cents.

102. A Catalogue and Bibliography of North American Mesozoic luvertebrata, by Cornelius
Breckinridge Boyle. 1892. 8'-. 315 pp. Price 25 cents.

103. High Temperature Work in Igneous Fusion and EI)ullition, chietiy in relation to pressure,
by Carl Barus. 1893. 8°. 57 pp. 9 pi. Price 10 cents.

104. Glaciatiou of the Yellowstone Valley north of the Park, by Walter Harvey Weed. 1893. 8°.
41 pp. 4 pi. Price 5 cents.

105. The Laramie and the overlying Livingstone Formation in Moutana, by AValtcr Harvey
Weed, with Report on Flora, by Frank Hall Kuowltou. 1893. 8' ' 68 pp. 6 pi. Price 10 cents.

106. The Colorado Formation and its Invertebrate Fauna, by T. W. Stanton. 1893. 8^'. 288
pp. 45 pi. Price 20 cents.

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To THE Director of the

United States Geological Survey,

Washington, D. C.
Washington, D. C, October, 1S95.

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

MONOGRAPHS

United States Geological Survey

VOLUME XXY

WASHINGTOI^

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1896

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SUUVEY

CHARLES D. WALCOTT, DIKECTOK

THE

GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ

BY

WARREN UPHAM

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

1895

CONTENTS.

Page.

Letter of transmittal xvii

Preface xix

Abstract op volume xxi

Chapter I. — Introduction 1

Basin of tlie Red River of the North aud of Lake Winnipeg 1

The Glacial Lake Agassiz 2

Relationship to the ice-sheet 3

Early observations of Lake Agassiz 6

Work reported in this monograph 7

Chapter II. — Topography of the basin of Lake Agassiz 14

Outlet, bed, and shores of Lake Agassiz 15

River Warren 15

The Red River Valley 19

Shore-lines 26

Deltas 27

Dunes 28

Wooded region of northern Minnesota and of Manitoba and Keewatin, partly covered

by this lake 29

Country bordering Lake Agassiz on the east 30

Giants Range 31

Mesabi Range 31

Mesabi and Itasca moraines 32

Leaf Hills 33

Country west of Lake Agassiz 34

The Coteau des Prairies 36

Ascent from the Red River Valley in North Dakota 39

The Manitoba escarpment 40

Pembina Mountain '. : 40

Tiger Hills 42

Riding and Duck mountains 42

Porcupine and Pasquia hills 43

Great Bear Hills 44

Forest and prairie ■ 44

Existing lakes within the area of Lake Agassiz 46

Lake Winnipeg 47

Lakes Manitoba and Winnipegosis 48

Rainy Lake 49

Lake of the Woods 49

Red Lake 49

V

VI

CONTENTS.

Chapter II. — Topography ok the basin of Lake Agassiz — Continued.

Rivers tributary to Lake Agassiz anil draining its area 50

Rainy and Winnijieg rivers 50

Red Lake River 52

Red River 54

Sheyenne River 56

Langs Valley 57

Pembina River 57

Assiuibolne River 58

Qu' Appelle and Souris rivers 59

Little Saskatchewan or Fairford River 61

Saskatchewan River 61

Smaller tributaries of Lake Winnipeg 62

Nelson River 62

Extension of the basin of Lake Agassiz by glacial lakes outflowing to it from the region of

the Peace and Athabasca rivers 63

Chapter III. — Geologic formations underlying the drift 65

Archean formations 65

The Archean area in Minnesota 66

Vicinity of the Lake of the Woods, Rainy Lake, and northward 67

Boundary of the Archean toward the west 67

Lower Silurian formations 68

Outcrops on Lake Winnipeg 69

East Selkirk 70

Lower Fort Garry 71

Stony Mountain 71

Little Stony Mountain 71

Stonewall 72

Upper Silurian and Devonian formations 72

Sections of artesian wells in Paleozoic strata 74

Well at Humboldt, Minn 74

Well at Grafton, N. Dak 77

Well at Rosenfeld, Manitoba 78

Well at Morden, Manitoba 81

Cretaceous formations 81

Marine sei ics of the Upper Missouri 81

In. the South Saskatchewan basin 82

Along the Manitoba escarpment 83

The brackish- and fresh-water Laramie formation 84

The wesoern plains a lacustrine and land area since the early part of the Laramie

epoch 85

Fort Pierre shales west of Lake Agassiz 86

Southwestern Minnesota and the Coteau des Prairies 86

Along the Sheyenne River 91

In the escarpment and plateau of Pembina Mountain 93

In western Manitoba and Assiniboia 97

Former extent of Cretaceous beds eastward on the area of Lake Agassiz 100

CONTENTS. VU

Chapter III. — Geologic formations underlying the drift — Continued. Pase.

Sources of the Cretaceous deposits 101

Denudation of tbe Cretaceous area 102

Erosion of the plains to a haselevel 102

Later erosion of the trough of Lake Agassiz 104

Chapter IV. — The Glacial period and its drift deposits 108

Review of the Glacial period in North America 108

The continental ice-sheet 110

Boundaries 110

Area and thickness 112

Laurentide and Cordilleran centers of outflow 119

Junction of the Laurentide and Cordilleran drift 120

Comparison with the present ice-sheet of Greenland 123

Recession of the ice-sheet 126

Latest glaciation far north 128

Glacial currents within the basin of Lake Agassiz 129

Table of courses of glacial striaj 129

Converging lobes of the ice-sheet in Minnesota and Manitoba 129

Transportation of bowlders 130

Drift deposits on the lacustrine area and the adjoining region 132

Derivation of the drift from preglacial residuary detritus and from glacial erosion. 132

Thickness of the drift 133

Till or bowlder-clay 134

Bowlders and gravel from Archean and Paleozoic formations 136

Northeastern limit of limestone drift 137

Localities of very abundant and large bowlders 137

Terminal moraines 139

Earlier moraines formed before the beginning of Lake Agassiz 141

Sixth or Waconia moraine 142

Moraines con tern poranous with Lake Agassiz 146

Seventh or Dovre moraine 147

Eighth or Fergus Falls moraine 158

Ninth or Leaf Hills moraine 163

Tenth or Itasca moraine 173

Eleventh or Mesabi moraine 177

Modified or assorted drift 179

Belt of modified drift between St. Paul and Winnijieg 181

Birds Hill and other eskers in Manitoba 183

Proportion of modified drift supplied to the deltas of Lake Agassiz 189

Influence of adjoining lakes or the sea ou the deposition of the drift 190

Chapter V. — History op Lake Agassiz 192

Two classes of Pleistocene lakes 192

Lakes Bonneville, Lahontan, and others iu the Great Basin 192

Lake Agassiz and other glacial lakes 1 94

Evidences of glacial lakes 195

Outlets 195

Erodedclifts 198

viii CONTENTS.

Chaptkk v. — HiSTOHY OF Lake Agassiz — Coutiuued. Page.

Evidences of glacial lakes — Continued.

Beaches 199

Deltas 200

Lacustrine sediments 201

Principal glacial lakes of the northern United States and of Canada 202

New England, Quebec, the eastern provinces, the Northeast Territory, and Labrador. . 202

Basins of the Laurentian lakes and of Hudson Bay 203

Basins of the Saskatchewan and the Red River of the North 205

British Columbia, Athabasca, and the Northwest Territory 206

Extension of Lake Agassiz with tlie departure of the ice-sheet 208

Stages of growth shown by moraines 210

Reduction to the present great lakes of Manitoba 216

Successive shore-lines of Lake Agassiz 221

Dependence of the lake levels on the erosion and changes of outlets 222

Progress of erosion by the River Warren 222

Later outlets northeastward 226

Dependence of lake levels on epeirogenic elevation 227

Depression of the continent shown by coastal submergence 229

Depression and rcelevation of the basin of Lake Agassiz shown by differentially

uplifted beaches 230

Improbable hypothesis of an outlet from Lake Agassiz to the Mackenzie River 231

Probable hypothesis of the discharge from the northeastward outlets being tributary

successively to the Mississippi and Hudson rivers 232

Division of the ice-sheet into parts east and west of Hudson Bay 233

Amount of differential elevation between Lake Traverse and Gladstone 234

Alternate stages of elevation and rest 235

Later and greater inclination of beaches along the base of Riding and Duck moun-
tains 235

Review of the epeirogenic uplifting 236

Molluscan fauna of Lake Agassiz 237

Measurements of time since the Glacial period 238

Short duration of Lake Agassiz 240

Comparison with postglacial lakes 240

Comparison with Lakes Bonneville and Lahontan 241

Brevity of time required for the formation of terminal moraines 242

Alternative interpretations, by T. C. Chamberlin 244

Volume of water received and discharged by Lake Agassiz 252

Fluvial dejjosits in the Red River Valley 253

Associated glacial lakes 254

The Laurentian lakes 255

Lake Minnesota 264

Lake Dakota 266

LakeSouris 267

Lake Saskatchewan 272

Glacial lakes of the Peace and Athabasca basins 274

CONTENTS. IX

Page.

Chapteu VI.— Beaches and deltas op the Herman stages 276

The upper or Herman beaches and deltas in Minnesota 278

From Lake Traverse east to Herman "'"

From Herman north to the Red River.: 28-

From the Red River north to Muskoda 284

Delta of the Buffalo River 290

From Muskoda north to the Sand Hill River 292

Delta of the Sand Hill River 298

Vicinity of Maple Lake -'""

Eastward to Red Lake and the Big Fork of Rainy River 303

Beltrami Island ^04

The upper or Herman beaches and deltas in North Dakota 306

From Lake Traverse northwest to Milnor 306

From Milnor north to Sheldon 312

Delta of the Sheyenne River 315

From Sheldon north to the Northern Pacific Railroad 317

From the Northern Pacific Railroad north to Galesburg 322

From Galesburg north to Larimore 326

Delta of the Elk Valley 333

Shore west of the Elk and Golden valleys 337

Beaches and islands east of the Elk and Golden valleys 345

From Gardar north to the Tongue River 354

Delta of the Pembina River 357

The upper or Herman beaches and deltas in Manitoba 363

From the international boundary to the vicinity of Neepawa 363

Delta of the Assiniboine River 370

Chapter VII. — Lower beaches with southward outflow 382

Beaches of the Norcross stages 383

From Lake Traverse to Norcross and Maple Lake, Minnesota 383

Through North Dakota, from Lake Traverse to the international boundary 388

Western Norcross shores in Manitoba 393

Beaches of the Tiutah stages 396

Eastern Tiutah shores, from Lake Traverse to Tintah and northward in Minnesota 396

Western Tintah shores in North Dakota 402

Western Tintah shores in Manitoba 404

Beaches of the Campbell stages 407

From Lake Traverse and Campbell north to the Tamarack River, in Minnesota 408

Campbell shores in North Dakota 414

Campbell shores in western Manitoba 422

Beaches of the McCauley ville stages 427

Eastern McCauley ville shores in Minnesota 428

Western McCauleyville shores in North Dakota 434

Western McCauleyville shores in Manitoba 439

Chapter VIII.— Beaches formed when Lake Agassiz outflowed northeastward 443

Beaches of the Blanchard stages 445

TheHillsboro beach 449

X CONTENTS.

Chapter VIII.— Beaches formed when Lake Agassiz outflowed northeastward— Cont'd . Page.

Beaches of the Emerado stages 454

Beaches of the Ojata stages 459

The Gladstooe beach 4g2

The Burnside beach 4g5

The Ossowa beach 4(5g

The Stonewall beach 4Yq

Beaches of the Ni verville stages 47j

Chapter IX.— Changes in the levels of the beaches 474

Northward ascent of the western shore-lines 474

Eastward ascent of the former lake levels 4g3

Rate of ascent greatest toward the north-northeast 485

Changes of levels nearly completed during the existence of Lake Agassiz 486

Causes of the changes of levels 4g7

Gravitation toward the ice-sheet 488

Changes in the temperature of the earth's crust 491

Epeirogenic movements apparently dependent on glaciation 492

Discussion of the relationship of the earth's crust to the interior 493

History of the doctrine of crust deformation by the ice- sheet 497

Tardiness in the beginning of the changes of levels of the Lake Agassiz basin 498

Pauses in the crustal uplift recorded by the series of beaches 499

Changes in levels of the beaches only a partial measure of the ice weight 500

Review of Pleistocene oscillations of land andsea 501

Preglacial elevation of North America shown by fjords and submarine river valleys 501

Late Glacial or Champlain submergence shown by the fossiliferous marine beds over-
lying the till 505

Reelevation closely following the departure of the ice-sheet 507

Oscillations associated with glaciation in other countries 509

Pleistocene oscillations independent of glaciation 512

Effects of ice accumulation on the sea-level 515

Probable relationship of epeirogenic movements throughout the world to glaciation 516

Epeirogenic movements independent of glaciation often combined with others due to

the ice weight and to its removal 520

Uplift of the basin of Lake Agassiz apparently attributable wholly to the departure of the

ice-sheet 521

Chapter X.— Artesian and common wells op the Red River Valley 523

Sources of the artesian waters 505

Freshwater from porous beds of the drift sheet 526

Saline and alkaline water from the Dakota sandstone 527

Relationship to the artesian wells of Devils Lake and the James River Valley 528

Relationship to artesian wells at Tower City and Grafton, N. Dak., Humboldt,

Minn., and Rosenfeld, Manitoba 535

Analyses of waters from wells, streams, and lakes in the Red River Valley and the adjoining

region 53g

Use of artesian water for irrigation 545

CONTENTS. XI

Chapter X. — Artesian and common wells of the Reo River Valley — Continued. Pago.

Notes of artesian anil common wells 548

Wells on the area of Lake Agassiz in Minnesota 550

Traverse County 550

Wilkin County 551

Clay County 555

Norman County 557

Polk County 559

Marshall County 562

Kittson County 564

Wells ou the area of Lake Agassiz in North Dakota 565

Richland County 565

Cass County 567

Traill County 570

Grand Forks County 573

Walsli County 574

Pembina County 575

Wells on the area of Lake Agassiz in Manitoba .576

Chapter XI. — Agricultural and material resources of the area op Lake Aga.ssiz... 582

Variety and distribution of the soils 583

Climatic couditions 592

Rainfall and snowfall .592

Fluctuations of lakes and streams 594

Temperature ri9S

Winds 600

Flora of the basin of the Red River of the North 601

Forest trees and shrubs 603

Causes of limitation of the forest 604

Prairie grasses and flowers 606

Development of agriculture 610

Wheat and other cereals 615

Hay, potatoes, flax, and other crops 621

Stock raising and dairying 624

Geologic resources 625

Gold 625

Building stone 626

Lime 626

Bricks 627

Salt 628

Lignite 629

Natural gas 631

Water power and manufactures 631

Appendix A. — Courses of glacial stri.e 633

Appendix B. — Notes op aboriginal earthworks within and near the area of Lake

Agassiz 643

Index 647

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page.

Plate I. Browns Valley, the outlet of Lake Agassiz by the River Warren (Frontispiece.)

II. Map showing the relatioushiji of Lake Agassiz to tlie drift-bearing area of North

America and to Lakes Bonneville and Lahontan 1

III. Map showing the areas of Lake Agassiz and of the ujjper Laurentian lakes 10

IV. Town of Browns Valley, Minn 16

V. Lake Traverse 18

VI. Upper Herman beach of Lake Agassiz 26

VII. The Lightning's Nest (dunes of the Sheyenne delta) 28

Vin. The Leaf Hills 34

IX. Map with altitudes of Lake Agassiz and adjoining country 36

X. Map with altitudes of the southern portion of Lake Agassiz, explored with leveling

in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Manitoba. 40

XI. Map of Rainy Lake and the Lake of the Woods 48

XII. Map of Red Lake and its vicinity 50

XIII. Map of drainage systems on the area of Lake Agassiz and adjoining country ,52

XIV. Map of the rock formations underlying the drift on the area of Lake Agassiz 65

XV. Sections of wells at Humboldt, Minn., Grafton, N. D.ik., and Rosenfeld and Morden,

Manitoba 74

XVI. Map of the glaciated area of North America 110

XVII. Map of the drift deposits on the southern portion of the basin of Lake Agassiz 132

XVIII. Map of Devils and Stump lakes 170

XIX. Map showing the extent of Lake Agassiz at the times of formation of the Fergus

Falls and Leaf Hills moraines 212

XX. Map showing the extent of Lake Agassiz at the times of formation of the Itasca and

Mesabi moraines 214

XXI. Map of the Glacial Lake Souris 268

XXII, Map of the southern portion of Lake Agassiz, explored with leveling in Minnesota,

North Dakota, and Manitoba, showing the location of Plates XXIII-XXXII 270

XXIII. Map of Lakes Traverse and Big Stone, and the shores of Lake Agassiz near its

mouth 280

XXIV. Map of the eastern shores of Lake Agassiz from Campbell north to Barnesville and its

vicinity 282

XXV. Map of the eastern beaches and deltas of Lake Agassiz from Muskoda north to the

Sand Hill River 2S)0

XXVI. Map of the eastern shores of Lake Agassiz, in the vicinity of Maple Lake and north-
ward 298

XXVII. Map showing the greater part of the Sheyenne delta of Lake Agassiz and contiguous

beaches 316

xm

Xiv ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page.
Plate XXVIII. Map of the western shores of Lake Agassiz from the vicinity of Wheatland

north to Portland and May ville 322

XXIX. Map of the western shores of Lake Agassiz and of the Elk Valley delta, in

Grand Forks County and parts of adjoining counties 334

XXX. Map of the western shores of Lake Agassiz and of the Pembina delta, from

Park River north to the international boundary 354

XXXI. Map of the western shores of Lake Agassiz from Morden and Thornhill north

to the Assiniboine River 364

XXXII. Map of the western shores of Lake Agassiz, in the vicinity of the Canadian

Pacific Railway and north to Orange Ridge 368

XXXIII. Map of the delta of the Assiniboine River 370

XXXIV. Map of the southern portion of Lake Agassiz, showing its extent in the lower

Campbell stage 408

XXXV. Map of the southern portion of Lake Agassiz, showing its extent in the lower

Blanchard stage 446

XXXVI. Map of the southern portion of Lake Agassiz, showing its extent in the Glad-
stone stage 462

XXXVII. Map showing the distribution and depths of artesian wells in the Red River

Valley .523

XXXVIII. Map of the southern portion of Lake Agassiz, showing areas of forest and

prairie 604

Fig. 1. Order of sections in townships of the United States and of Manitoba 11

2. Section across the Red River Valley on the latitude of Breckeuridge and Wahpeton. .. 22

3. Section across the Red River Valley on the latitude of Moorhead and Fargo 23

4. Section across the Red River Valley from Larimore and Grand Forks to Maple Lake.. 23

5. Section across the Rod River Valley on the international boundary 24

6. Typical section across a beach ridge of Lake Agassiz 26

7. Eroded terrace marking the shore of Lake Agassiz 26

8. Section across the Coteau des Prairies 38

9. Map of Birds Hill and its vicinity 184

10. Section of Birds Hill 185

11. Section across the delta of the Buffalo River 290

12. Section across the delta of the Sand Hill River 298

13. Section across the delta of the Sheyenne River 316

14. Section across the delta of tlie Elk Valley 334

15. Section across the delta of the Pembina River 358

16. Section across the delta of the Assiniboine River 373

17. Profile of the Campbell escarpment in section 6, Dundee, N. Dak 419

18. Profile of the Campbell escarpment 1 mile south of Mountain, N. Dak 420

19. Section across the Campl)ell embankment, in sections 20 and 21, T. 161, R. 55, N. Dak 421

20. Profile across beaches at and near Barnesville, Minn 429

21. Section of the Campbell and McCauleyville beaches, in sections33 and 34, Liberty, Minn. 431

22. Profile across beaches on the north line of Onstead and Godfrey, Minn., west of Maple

Lake 432

23. Profile across beaches at and near Wheatland, N. Dak 435

ILLUSTEATIONS. XV

Paga

Fig. 24. Profile across beaches at Hunter, N. Dak., and westward 435

25. Profile across beaches in the vicinity of Arvilla and Larimore, N. Dak 436

26. Profile across beaches at lukster, N. Dak., and westward 437

27. Profile across beaches at Park River, N. Dak., and westward 437

28. Section on the international boundary, south of ranges G and 5, Manitoba 439

29. Section across r.inges 6 and 5, Manitoba, 9 to 10 miles north of the international boundary. 440

30. Section on the south side of township 15, ranges 13 and 12, Manitoba, between Arden

and Gladstone 441

31. Diagram indicating the probable relationship of sources of artesian water at Grandin,

N. Dak 525

32. Section across the Red River Valley, showing the water supply of its fresh artesian

wells 527

33. Section from the Rooky Mountains to the Red River Valley, showing the water supply

of its saline artesian wells 527

34. Section showing the series of artesian wells from Devils Lake and Jamestown south-

ward to Yankton and Vermillion 532

35. Section showing the series of artesian wells from Harold eastward to Huron 532

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.

University of Chicago,

Chicago, III, March <S', 1S04.

Sir : 1 have the honor to transmit herewith, for pubhcation as a
monograph of the United States Geological Survey, the manuscript of
a report on the Ghicial Lake Agassiz, by Mr. Warren Upham. I am
confident that it will be welcomed by the scientific world as a valuable
contribution to the literature of North American glaciology.
Very respectfully,

T. C Chamberlin,

Geologist in Charge

To the Director United States Geological Survey.

XVll

MON XXV II

PREFACE.

In my work for the Geological and Natural History Survey of Minne-
sota, from 1879 to 1885, under the direction of Prof. N. H. Winchell, State
geologist, the highest shore-line of Lake Agassiz in that State was mapped
thi'ough its prairie portion, extending about 175 miles from Lake Traverse
eastward to Herman and thence northward to Maple Lake. During this
survey Mr. Horace V. Winchell was my efficient assistant as rodman in
leveling. The exploration showed that a very large lake occupied the Red
River Valley in the closing stage of the Glacial period, when the ice-sheet
was being melted away from this district. Terminal moraines of the ice-
sheet, forming- a series of eleven in consecutive order from south to north,
were also explored and mapped in Minnesota; and it was seen that the
glacial lake and moraines were intimately related as records of the recession
of the ice and the transition from the Pleistocene to the Recent or present
geologic period.

It became evident, however, that a satisfactory investigation of the
extent and history of Lake Agassiz must comprise both sides of the Red
River Valley. The United States Geological Survey therefore undertook
the more extended examination of this lake area, which was assigned to
me, as a member of the Glacial Division, vmder the direction of Prof T. C.
Chamberlin, for whose friendly counsel and constant interest in this work I
have the pleasure of recording here my great indebtedness. Suggestions
derived from the previous work for this Survey by Mr. G. K. Gilbert and
Mr. I. C. Russell on other Pleistocene lakes also aided me much in both the
field work and the study for preparing- this report.

Again, when the shore-lines of Lake Agassiz had been mapped through
North Dakota from Lake Traverse to the international boundary, it was
found that a comprehensive monograph of this subject could not be pre-
sented while the exploration was restricted by a political limit. Hence it

XX PREFACE.

was generously arranged by Director J. W. Powell, of this Survey, and
Director A. R. C. Selwyn, of the Geological and Natural History Survey
of Canada, that my work of mapping the Lake Agassiz shores, with
determination of their heights by leveling, should be continued tlu-ougli
the prairie region of southwestern Manitoba, which was done in the sum-
mer of 1887, the termination of my survey being near the southern end of
Riding Mountain. Important observations of the part of Lake Agassiz
adjoining the international boundary had been previously made by Dr.
George M. Dawson; arid during 1887 and subsequent years Mr. J. B.
Tyrrell, of the Canadian Geological Survey, has added much to the
explored extent of the shores of this glacial lake, tracing them northward
along the east side of the Riding and Duck mountains, and noting them in
isolated localities farther north to the Saskatchewan River. My work in
Manitoba being thus supplemented, this monograph is enabled to include
under its descriptions and discussion a continuous extent of nearly 700
miles of the ancient lake l)order.

The field work on Lake Agassiz for the United States Geological
Survey occupied four summers; and during three of these, in 1885 and
the two following years, I had the very satisfactory assistance of Mr.
Robert H. Young as rodman. The fourth summer of exploration, in 1889,
included no leveling, and was chiefly devoted to tracing the course of
terminal moraines adjacent to the area of Lake Agassiz. With two sum-
mers which I had spent in explorati(in of this lake while engaged on the
Minnesota Geological Survey, the work here reported comprises the field
observations of six years.

Study, writing, and preparation of maps and illustrations for this
report and three preliminary ofiicial publications relating to Lake Agassiz,
which are noticed in Chapter I, have required considerably more time than
was used in the collection of field notes. For so full opportunity to give
to this subject long-continued investigation and to present it in this volume,
my grateful thanks are due and are hereby respectfully tendered to the
Director and to the Geologist in Charge of the glacial investigations of this
Survey. W. U.

ABSTRACT OF VOLUME.

Chapter I: Introduction. — Lake Agassiz occupied the ba.sin of the Red Kiver of the North and of
Lake Winnipeg. Its northern barrier was the retreating ice-sheet of the Glacial period. That
a great lake had existeil here was recognized by Keating in 1823, iind later by Owen, Palliser,
Hind, Dawson, Warren, and N. H. Winchell.

It was named in 1879 to commemorate Louis Agassiz, who established the theory that the drift
was due to glaciation. Its southward outlet was named the River W.arren in 188.3. The work
here rejiortod comprises explorations performed for the geological surveys of Minnesota, the
United States, and Canada. Previous reports and papers relating to Lake Agassiz anrl its
dependence on the waning ice-sheet are noted.

Chapteb II: Topography of the isasin op Lake Agassiz. — The bed of this lake is the Hat Red
River Valley plain. Its channel of outlet by the River Warren is now occupied by lakes Traverse
and Big Stone and the Minnesota River. The shore-lines of Lake Agassiz are commonly marked
by beach ridges of gravel and sand a few feet high; loss frequently by an eroded escarpment
from 10 to 30 feet high. Several large deltas were formed contemporaneously with the highest
shore-line. East of Lake Agassiz is a somewhat higher wooded country, on which are the Giants
and Mesabi ranges and the morainic Leaf Hills. On the west are the Coteau des Prairies and the
Manitoba escarpment, the latter comprising the Pembina, Riding, and Duck mountains and
the Porcupine and Pasquia hills. Lake Agassiz is now represented by lakes Winnipeg, Mani-
toba, and Winnipegosis ; while Rainy Lake, the Lake of the Woods, and Red Lake lie within
its southeastern boundary. Its basin is drained by the Rainy, Winnipeg, Red, Assiniboine, and
Saskatchewan rivers, and others of smaller size. For some time, also. Lake Agassiz probably
received streams outflowing from glacial lakes in the basins of the Peace and Athabasca rivers.
The area of Lake Agassiz was approximately 110,000 sijuare miles, and the country tributary to
it was 350,000 to 500,000 square miles. The length of the lake was nearly 700 miles; its maxi-
mum width in Manitoba was probably more than 250 miles; and its maximum depth, during its
earliest and highest stage, was about 700 feet above the present level of Lake Winnipeg.

Chapter III : Geologic formations underlying the drift. — The bed rocks of this lacustrine area
comprise, in their order from east to west, Archean, Lower and Upper Silurian, Devonian, and
Cretaceous formations. Sections of the Paleozoic rocks are known by borings for artesian wells
at Humboldt, Minn., Grafton, N. Dak., and Rosenfeld and Mordon, Manitoba. Cretaceous strata
extend from Lake Agassiz westward across the plains to the Rocky Mountains. During the
Tertiary era these strata had been greatly denuded, being generally worn down to an almost flat
expanse. The vertical amount of the erosion was thousands of feet at the west and hundreds of
feet at the east, as shown by mountains and hills that were spared. Later erosion, during an
epeirogenic uplift closing the Tertiary and beginning the Quaternary era, removed the eastern
part of the Cretaceous beds, and thus formed the broad trough of the Red River Valley and of the
Manitoba lake region, which was the liasin of Lake Agassiz.

XXI

XXII ABSTEACT OF VOLUME.

Chapter IV : The Glacial period and its drift deposits. — TJio continental ice-sheet attained an
area of about 4,000,000 square miles, and had a maximum thickness, in its central portion, of
probably 1 to 2 miles. It extended from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the northern United
States to the Arctic Sea, probably enveloping the Rocky Mountains in the region of the Peace
River and northward. The closing stage of this glaciation was the time of existence of Lake
Agassiz. On the greater part of the lacustrine area the drift is from 100 to 300 feet thick, con-
sisting chiefly of till or bowlder-clay. A series of twelve terminal moraines is found in proceeding
from south to north and northeast in Minnesota and North Dakota. The last sis of those,
named the Dovre, Fergus Falls, Leaf Hills, Itasca, Mesabi, and Vermilion moraines, were contem-
poraneous with Lake Agassiz, besides probably others to be traced farther north. Birds Hill,
near Winnipeg, a remarkable esker, indicates that much drift was contained in the lower part
of the ice-sheet. The deltas of Lake Agassiz were formed chiefly of modified drift, brought by
streams from the receding ice. Very little transportation of bowlders and other drift was
effected by icebergs or floes on this lake.

Chapter V: History op Lake Agassiz. — The records of glacial lakes are their outlets across present
lines of watershed ; eroded clilfs, beach ridges, and deltas at the levels of the former outlets ; and
lacustrine sediments in the basin inclosed by the old shores. Lake Agassiz grew from south to
north as fast as the ice-sheet receded, forming its series of moraines. The outlet by the River
Warren was eroded to a depth of about 90 feet. Afterwards lower outlets were opened toward
the northeast. Probably the early northeastward outflow passed along the ice border and
through the upper Laurentian lakes to the Mississippi, then to the Hudson River, and later to
the much enlarged Gulf of St. Lawrence. Finally the outflow was tributary to Hudson Bay
when the ice had melted so far as to admit the sea to that basin. With the uncovering of the
course of the Nelson River, Lake Agassiz ceased to be held by the ice barrier, and became Lake
Winnipeg. Epeirogenic uplifting of the area of Lake Agassiz, increasing in vertical extent from
south to north, gave to its beaches a northward ascent, and caused the several shores of its south-
ern part to become double or multiple as they are traced northward. The molluscan fauna of
Lake Agassiz, so far as it has been discovered, consists of five fresh- water species. The amount
of the shore erosion of Lake Agassiz and the volume of its beaches, compared with the post-
glacial erosion and beach deposits of the present Great Lakes, have a ratio approximately as
one to ten. The duration of postglacial time is believed to have been from seven to ten thousand
years; of Lake Agassiz, probably not more than one thousand years.

Chapter VI: Bkaciies and deltas of the Herman stages. — These shore deposits are described
in detail. The earliest and highest beach, named from Herman, Minn., has been mapped, with
determination of its height by leveling, through an extent of about 17.t miles in Minnesota, from
Lake Traverse east to Herman, and thence north to Maple Lake. In 140 miles, from soiitli to
north, this shore-line ascends from 1,0.50 feet to 1,170 feet, approximately, above the sea. Neat
Maple Lake four lower beaches, successively about 8, 15, 30, and 45 feet below the highest, were
also formed daring the time of accumulation of the single Herman beach at the south ; and on the
west side of the lake in Manitoba the Herman series of beaches is increased to seven. In North
Dakota the uppermost Herman shore has a northward ascent of about 180 feet in the distance
of 224 miles from Lake Traverse to the international boundary, where its height is 1,230 feet
jibove the sea. At the latitude of Gladstone, iii Manitoba, 84 miles farther north, the altitude of
1,315 feet is attained by the second of the Herman shores, which is the highest one extending so
far. Six noteworthy deltas were brought into Lake Agassiz, contemporaneously with the for-
mation of the Herman beaches, by streams which were exceptionally supplied with much modi-
fied drift by the melting ice-sheet. These are the Buff.alo River and Sand Hill River deltas in

ABSTRACT OP VOLUME. XXIII

Minnesota, the Sheyenne, Elk Valley, and Pembina deltas in North Dakota, and the very large
delta of the Assiniboiue in Manitoba.

Chapter VII: Lower beaches with southward outflow.— Below the Herman shoio the south-
ern part of Lake Agassiz has four shore-lines, which receive names from Norcross, Tintah,
Campbell, and McCauleyvilla, in Minnesota. Portions of these shores have been traced with
leveling and are hero described. In the northern part of the area of my exploration the Nor-
cross and Tintah beaches are double, and the Campbell and McCauleyville beaches are each
represented by three. With the seven Herman shores recorded in Manitoba, Lake Agassiz had
thus at the north seventeen stages marked by successive beaches during its time of southward
discharge by the Eiver Warren. The upper Norcross shore rises from about 1,030 feet above
the sea at Lake Traverse to 1,215 feet on the latitude of Gladstone. In the same distance the
upper Tintah shore rises from 1,01.5 to 1,150 feet; the upper Campbell shore, from 990 to 1,080
feet; and the upper and lower McCauleyville shores, respectively, from 970 to 1,035 feet, and
from 960 to 1,012 feet, approximately, above the present sea-level.

Chapter VIII: Beaches formed when Lake Agassiz outflowed northbastwabd.— Fourteen
stages of Lake Agassiz are shown by beaches that were formed after the lake had fallen below
its southern outlet. These comprise, in descending order, three successive Blauchard beaches,
passing near Blanchard, N. Dak. ; the Hillsboro beach, and two Emerado and two Ojata beaches,
named likewise from towns in North Dakota ; and the Gladstone, Burnside, Ossowa, Stonewall,
and Niverville beaches, the last being double northward, named from places in Manitoba. These
shore-lines are as definitely marked by beach ridges, and occasionally by low eroded escarp-
ments, as the series belonging to the time of the Eiver Warren. Their northward ascent is
gradually diminished, until in the latest-formed Niverville beach it is only about 20 feet in
the distance of more than 200 miles from near Winnipeg and the southern part of Lake Win-
nipeg northward to the mouth of the Saskatchewan.

Chapter IX: Changes in the levels of the beaches. — The rate of northward ascent of the
originally level highest beach, within the area of my leveling, varies from about 6 inches per
mile near its southern end to about 1 foot per mile along the greater part of its extent to south-
ern Manitoba. On the east side of the Red River Valley the old shores are higher than on its
west side, the rate of ascent from west to east being about half as much as from south to north.
The direction of maximum ascent of the planes of the former lake levels is therefore toward
the north-northeast. Farther north several beaches of the series mapped by Tyrrell along the
bases of the Riding and Duck mountains have a northward rise of 2 to 3 feet per mile. These
changes of level were in progress and were nearly completed during the existence of Lake
Agassiz, as is shown by the gradual diminution in the northward ascent of the successive lower
beaches, until the latest and lowest differs only very slightly from perfect horizontality. Grav-
itation of Lake Agassiz toward the ice-sheet accounts for a small part of the present inclination
of the beaches. Changes in the temperature of the earth's crust due to the Glacial period and
its termination produced a still smaller effect, but this tended to give the opposite slope, or a
descent toward the north. Upward epeirogenio movements, resulting from the unburdening of
the land by the departure of the ice-sheet, were the chief element in the causes of the differen-
tial changes in the height of this basin. Flow of the plastic inner part of the earth's mass,
restoring isostasy, uplifted first the southern half of the area of Lake Agassiz, from Lake Trav-
erse to Gladstone ; next it raised the northern half of the lake area, while the region at the south
was almost at rest; and finally, during the Recent epoch, afterthe whole basin of Lake Agassiz
was passed by this wave-like permanent uplift, it has been elevating the basin of Hudson Bay,
where the movement still continues. Pleistocene oscillations of the land in many other parts

XXIV ABSTRACT OF VOLUME.

of the world have been independent of glaciation, or these have heen combined with movements
due to the accumulatiou of ice-sheets and to their removal ; but the upliftiug of the basins of
Lake Agassiz and Hudson Bay is apparently attributable vrhoily to the departure of the ice-
sheet.

Chaptkr X: Artesian and common wells of the Red River Valley.— Hundreds of artesian
wells, from 40 to 300 feet deep, have been obtained in the drift formations of the Red River Valley
plain, the axial lowest part of the Lake Agassiz basin. South of Crookston and Blanchard
they yield fresh water; but northward, to the border of Manitoba, their water is usually saline
and alkaline. The fresh water is derived from rainfall on the higher land adjoining this valley.
The saline matter is brought mostly by water flowing through the Dakota sandstone and issuing
into the drift of the Red River Valley upon tracts where this sandstone is the next underlying
formation. The saline and alkaline wells in the drift of this district are thus supplied, like the
deeper artesian wells penetrating the Cretaceous strata at Devils Lake and in the James River
Valley, from rainfall on the flanks of the Black Hills and Rocky Mountains. Analyses and
experience show that the saline and alkaline water is not suitable for use in irrigation. Sections
of many artesian and common wells on the area of Lake Agassiz are reported, with notes of the
characters of their water supply.

Chapter XI : Agricultural and materlal resources of the area of Lake Agassiz.— The fertility
of the soil and the climatic conditions of the prairie portion of this area make agriculture its
leading industry and source of wealth. Previous to its occupation by the present farming
population the rich pasturage and countless herds of buffaloes betokened the value of the land
for the cultivation of grain and for stock-raising. The annual wheat product of the six counties
in Minnesota and sis in North Dakota lying mainly within the Red River Valley is about 46,000,000
bushels, or on an average 285 bushels for each of the 161,049 people enumerated by the census of
1890 in these counties. Other crops which receive considerable attention are oats, barley, hay,
potatoes, and flax. The tendency is toward diversified farming, with stock-raising and dairying.
Magnesian limestones, which outcrop near Winnipeg, are used for building and the manufacture
of lime. Clay of the best quality for brickmaking is found along all the Red River Valley, and
this business is carried on in many places. The brines and natural gas occasionally supplied by
wells, and the lignite occurring in very thin layers in Cretaceous formations of this region, and
thence sparsely distributed in fragments through the drift, are not of economic importance.
Many streams within the area of Lake Agassiz, especially in the northeastern wooded country,
have valuable water powers, which are beginning to be utilized for mills and manufactures.

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

MONOGRAPH

MAP SUOMTNG THK H ELA TIOXSllIP OF LAKK AGASSI/ TO TIIK DRIFT-BKAKIXG AREA
OF NORTH .VAn-:KK"AANJ) TOL.VliKS BOX.N'EMLLE AND LAHOXTAX.

Scale . about 550 miles to aii inch .
Areas covered bvLandlcr during aie(^iaUTnnryJ!;ra | j (Juatei-iwrvLaltes Bonne\nllf aiij l.ahomaii arid theOlacial LakeAgSLSSiz

THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

By Warren Upham.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION.

BASIIf OF THE KED RIVER. OF THE NORTH AND OF EAKE

WINNIPEG.

The glacial lake which is the theme of this volume extended along the
Red River Valley and covered the lake country of Manitoba. Its situation
in the center of the continent, and its geographic relation to the cWft-
covered area and to lakes Bonneville and Lahontan, are displayed in
Plate II. Lake Agassiz was the largest of the many Pleistocene lakes of
North America, some of which were formed by the barrier of the ice-sheet
during its recession, while others were produced by increased rainfall in the
great western arid region that has no di'ainage to the sea.

Only a comparatively small fraction — about one-fifth — of the area of
Lake Agassiz lies within the United States, but this includes the greater
portion of its exactly explored shore-lines. A very large part of its area
in Canada, besides a considerable tract within its limits in northern Minne-
sota, is covered by forest, which makes it impracticable to trace there the
beach ridges and deltas, low escarpments of erosion, and other evidences of
this lake so continuously as has been done through the prairie region.
This great expanse of prairie, upon which the shore-lines have been accu-
rately and continuously mapped, comprises the Red River Valley and
adjoining higher land, and reaches north to the southern ends of lakes
Winnipeg and Manitoba and of Riding Mountain. Farther north tracts of
prairie, divided by woodlands and thickets, continue inten-uptedly along
the eastern base of Riding and Duck mountains, permitting considerable
parts of the ancient shores to be traced in that district.
MON XXV 1

2 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ

As this report necessarily treats of the topographic features of the
basin of the Red River and Lake Winnipeg, it has seemed desirable to
devote a chapter to the rock formations which underlie the glacial di'ift and
the old lake bed, with discussion of the preglacial erosion that gave the
general outlines of the Red River Valley plain and of the Manitoba escarp-
ment bounding it on the west. Though this part is presented somewhat
briefly, it is hoped that the reader will be able to obtain in it a compre-
hensive review of the entire geologic history of this area, and of its uplift
and sculpturing to the form of a basin, previous to the Ice age and the time
of Lake Agassiz.

The economic geology of this basin has received a large share of
attention during the progress of the field work and in the present volume.
Owing to the structure of the drift deposits and of the underlying rocks,
many artesian wells have been obtained in the Red River Valley, descrip-
tive notes of which are given, with analyses of their waters, and an expla-
nation of the sources, in part near and probably in part hundreds of miles
distant, from which the waters and their dissolved mineral matter are
derived. No commercially valuable deposits of ores, coal, natural gas, or
salt can be reported, but the northern part of the Red River Valley, in
Manitoba, has magnesian limestone of excellent quality for building pur-
poses and for the manufacture of lime, and the whole valley has plentiful
beds of clay, unsurpassed for brickmaking. The chief resources of this
extensive prairie region of Lake Agassiz, however, are found in its very
fertile soil and favorable climate for agriculture, and especially for wheat
raising.

THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

During the closing part of the latest completed division of geologic
time a vast lake stretched from the southern end of the Red River Valley
north to the Saskatchewan and Nelson rivers. The late date of its exist-
ence is known by the position of its shore-lines and deltas, which lie upon
the glacial drift and have nearly as perfect outlines as those of the present
shores of the Manitoba and Laurentian lakes or of the ocean. This ancient
lake, several times larger than Superior — indeed, exceeding the aggregate
area of the five great lakes tiibutary to the St. Lawrence — washed the east

EELATIONSHIP TO THE ICE-SHEET. 3

and west borders of the Red River Valley and the base of the Riding and
Duck mountains. Its surface during storms was raised into waves which
formed well-defined beach ridges of gravel and sand, and these are found
at many successive levels, showing that the area and depth of the lake
were gradually diminished. Before these deserted shores and the inclosed
lacustrine area were examined in the field work for this report, their char-
acter had been observed and was generally attributed to lake action by the
immigrant farmers, who in many instances selected the beach ridges as the
sites of their dwellings.

Intervals of small vertical amount divide the consecutive beaches,
from the highest to the lowest. Through the earher and probably greater
part of the duration of the lake it outflowed southward by the way of
Lake Traverse, Browns Valley, Big Stone Lake, and the Minnesota River
to the Mississippi. Seventeen shore-lines on the northern portion of the
lake area were formed contemporaneously with this southern outlet. Later
the lake was further reduced tlu'ough stages shown by fourteen shore-lines,
while it outflowed by successively lower avenues of discharge northeast-
ward. Finally it was reduced to lakes Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Winni-
pegosis, which are the lineal descendants and representatives of Lake
Agassiz.

RELATIOlSrSHIP TO THE ICE-SHEET.

The conditions to which Lake Agassiz owed its existence, however,
were very unlike those of the present time. It could not have been held in
a landlocked basin, for there has been no subsidence of the country between
this area and Hudson Bay since the Glacial period. Instead, the area of
Lake Agassiz and all the region northeastward to Hudson Bay and Strait
have experienced a gradual uplift during the time of the departure of the
ice-sheet and subsequently. As shown by the northwardly ascending
shore-lines of this lake and by fossiliferous marine beds overlying the
glacial drift on the lower country adjoining Hudson Bay and along the
Ottawa and St. Lawrence rivers, the vertical extent of this uplift was
greatest toward the north and east. It was little at Lake Traverse, but
amounted to 400 or 500 feet in Manitoba, and was approximately 500 to
600 feet on the southwest side of Hudson and James bays and upon all

4 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

the interior portion of the continent thence to Ottawa and Montreal. It is
evident, therefore, that no barrier of land held the lake which covered the
Red River Valley and a large part of Manitoba. Bnt a southward outlet
is found through which the lake flowed to the Mississippi, and no marine
fossils have been detected in or above the drift upon this area, from which
reasons it is certain that these ancient shore-lines were not produced by
subsidence of the land beneath the sea-level, followed by reelevation.
While the beaches and deltas here described are thus known to be
lacustrine, fossils have been discovered in them at only two localities, these
being shells of five species of fresh-water mollusks, occurring in beaches
that belong to the middle and later part of the lake's history.

From all these features of the former lake, when they are considered
in their relationship to the Glacial period and its drift deposits, we are led to
the conclusion that the northern barrier by which its water was held in was
a waning ice-sheet. The glacial striae, till, terminal moraines, and other drift
formations prove that the northern half of our continent has been enveloped
by a continuous mantle of ice stretching from the eastern shores of New
England and Canada west to the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific, and
from the northern part of the United States to the Arctic Sea. When this
ice-sheet was melted away, its border gradually withdrew from south to
north, and hydrographic basins descending northward were temporarily
occupied by glacial lakes, held by the ice barrier until its continued
retreat allowed free drainage of these basins in the direction of their slopes.
This explanation fully accounts for the presence of Lake Agassiz in the
basin of the Red River and of Lake Winnipeg during the recession of the
ice-sheet, for the scantiness of its fauna, and for the northward ascent of its
originally level shores, since the earth's crust had been depressed by the ice
burden, and was uplifted, in the preservation of its equilibrium, when the
ice-sheet departed.

The work of Gilbert, Chamberlin, Leverett, and others in the basins
of \he Laurentian lakes has proved that their formerly much higher levels,
marked by shore-lines similar to those of Lake Agassiz, were contempora-
neous with the departure of the ice-sheet and the formation of its recessional
moraines. Records of many other smaller glacial lakes have been observed

NAME IN MEMORY OF LOUIS AGASSIZ. 5

ujjon all the glaciated area of our continent from New England to British
Columbia. The ice-sheet of northwestern Europe also formed such lakes
during its final melting. Some of these lakes, pent up in valleys 2,000 to
3,000 feet above the sea, between the eastern side of the Scandinavian
Mountains and the remnant of the ice still covering eastern Sweden,
attained lengths of about 100 miles and depths of about 1,000 feet.^ In
Scotland, likewise, the famous Parallel Roads of Glen Roy are shown to be
the shores of successive stages of a lake held by the barrier of the waning
Scottish ice-sheet.^ The positions of the European glacial lakes, as of
those in North America, were determined by the areas of greatest thickness
of the ice and the manner of its recession.

When the Glacial period in North America was ending, as soon as the
border of the ice had receded beyond the watershed dividing the basins of
the Minnesota and Red rivers, it is evident that a lake, fed by the glacial
melting, stood at the foot of the ice fields and extended northward as they
withdi-ew along the Red River Valley to Lake Winnipeg, filling this Aalley
to the height of the lowest point over which an outlet could be found.
Until the ice barrier was so far melted upon the area between Lake
Winnipeg and Hudson Bay that this glacial lake began to be discharged
northeastward, its outlet was along the present course of the Minnesota
River. Because of its relation to the retreating continental ice-sheet, this
lake has been named in memory of Prof Louis Agassiz, the first prominent
advocate of the theory that the drift was produced hj land ice.^ Within
the past fifteen years the truth of this explanation of the drift has been
demonstrated by the recognition and detailed study of the morainic
deposits that were accumulated along the boundary of the ice-sheet from

'A. H. Hansen, in Nature, Vol. XXXIII, 1886, pp. 268, 269, 365.

'T. F. Jamieson, in Quart. ,Jour. Geol. Soc, Vol. XLVIII, 1892, pp. 5-28.

= Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Minnesota, Eighth Anuual Report, for the year 1879, pp. 84, 85.
(Jean Louis Eodolpbe Agassiz was horn in Motier, Switzerland, Way 28, 1807, and died in Cambridge,
Mass., December 14, 1873. His observations of the Swiss glaciers and his principal writings concerning
them and the glacial origin of the drift were during the years 1836 to 1846. In the autuiuu of 1846
Agassiz came to the United States, and tlie remainder of his life was mostly spent here in zoological
researches and in teaching in Harvard College, where be founded the Museum of Comjiarative
Zoology. The interests of science in this country were inestimably advanced by bis great iulhieuce
as a teacher and by his extensive writings in zoology, in which and the care of the museum his work
has been ably continued by his son, Alexander Agassiz. See the biography, Louis Agassiz: His Life
and Correspondence, edited by Elizabeth Cary Agassiz. 2 vols. 1885.)

6 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

southern New Englaud and Long Island to North Dakota and Assiniboia.
The characters of other drift deposits point with equal certainty to a vast
sheet of land ice as their cause; and the explanation accounts for this lake
in the Red River Valley, for similar lakes that were tributary to it from the
basins of the Som-is and South Saskatchewan rivers, and for the contempo-
raneous higher levels of the great lakes now discharged by the River St.
Lawrence.

EARLY OBSERVATIONS OF LAKE AGASSIZ.

The evidences of the former existence of a great lake in the Red
River Valley were observed in 1823 by Keating, the geologist of the first
scientific expedition to this district,^ in 1848 by Owen,^ in 1857 by Palhser,^
in 1858 by Hind,* and in 1873 by Dr. G. M. Dawson.' Each of these
geologists explored considerable tracts of the lacustrine area, recognizing its
limits in a few places ; and Hind especially described and mapped portions
of the lower beach ridges. Dr. Dawson's work was in connection with the
British North American Boundary Commission, and includes detailed notes
of the part of this area lying between the Lake of the "Woods and the
Pembina Mountain. Several references to these authors and quotations
£i-om their reports are presented in later pages of this volume.

The excavation of the valley occupied by Lakes Traverse and Big
Stone and the Minnesota River was first explained in 1868 by Gen. G. K.
Warren, who attributed it to the outflow from this ancient lake. He made
a careful sm-vey of this valley, and his maps and descriptions, with the
accompanying discussion of geologic questions, are most valuable contri-
butions to science.^ After his death, in commemoration of this work,

1 Narrative of an Expedition to the Source of St. Peters River, Lake Winnepeek, Lake of the
Woods, etc., performed in the year 1823, * * * under the command of Stephen H. Long, U. S.
Topographical Engineer. London, 1825. Vol. II, p. 3.

- Report of a Geological Survey of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota. Philadelphia, 1852. P. 178.

3 Journals, detailed reports, etc., presented to Parliament, 19th May, 1863, p. 41.

•• Report of the Assiniboiue and Saskatchewan Exploring Expedition. Toronto, 1859. Pp.39, 40,
167, 168.

^ Report on the Geology and Resources of the Region in the Vicinity of the Forty-ninth Parallel,
from the Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains. Montreal, 1875. P. 248.

6 "On certain physical features of the Upper Mississippi River," American Naturalist, Vol. II,
pp. 497-502, November, 1868. Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers, United States Army, for 1868,
pp. 307-314. "An essay concerning important physical features exhibited in the valley of the Min-
nesota River, .ind upon their signification," with maps; Report of Chief of Engineers, 1875. "Valley
of the Minnesota River and of the Mississippi River to the junction of the Ohio; its origin consid-

WORK EEPOETED IN THIS MONOGEAPH. 7

the glacial river that was the outlet of Lake Agassiz was named River
Warren/

That this lake existed because of the ban-ier of the receding ice-sheet
was first pointed out in 1872 by Prof N. H. Winchell.^

WORK REPORTED IN THIS MONOGRAPH.

The part of the area of Lake Agassiz which lies in Minnesota, so far
as it is prairie, was explored by the writer in 1879 and 1881, under the
direction of Prof N. H. Winchell, State geologist; and in the latter year
the highest or Herman beaches in that State, and small parts of lower
shore-lines, were carefully surveyed and mapped, their heights being
determined by leveling, with the assistance of Horace V. Winchell as
rodman. This work has been reported in publications of the Minnesota
Geological Survey.^ It is also used in this monograph, which comprises in
addition, for the part of the lake area in Minnesota, a large amount of later
observations made during my field work for the United States Geological
Survey, pertaining chiefly to the lower beaches, artesian wells in the Red
River Valley, and terminal moraines upon the region eastward to Red Lake,
Itcisca and Leech lakes, and Brainerd.

Exploration of the Lake Agassiz shore-lines, deltas, and associated
glacial and lacustrine formations was again entered upon by the writei',
for the United States Geological Siu-vey, in 1885, as a part of the woi'k of
the Glacial Division, under the direction of Prof T. C. Chamberlin. During
the years 1885 to 1887, inclusive, the upper or Herman beaches in North
Dakota, and extensive portions of the lower shores both in North Dakota
and Minnesota, were mapped and their altitudes ascertained continuously
by leveling, in which I was assisted by Robert H. Young. We traveled
mostly afoot for this surveying, our daily advance varying from 3 to 10

ered; depth of the bed rock," with maps; Report of Chief of Engineers, 1878, and Am. Jour. Sci. (3),
Vol. XVI, pp. 417-431, December, 1878. (General Warren died August 8, 1882.)

'Proc. A. A. A. S., Vol. XXXII, for 1883, pp. 213-231; also in Am. Jour. Sci. (3), Vol. XXVII,
Jan. and Feb., 1884; and Geology of Minnesota, Vol. I, p. 622.

-Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Minnesota, First Annual Report, for 1872, p. 63 ; and Sixth Annual
Report, for 1877, p. 31. Professor Winchell also explained in like manner the formerly higher levels
of the Laurentian lakes. Popular Science Monthly, June and July, 1873 ; and the same view is stated
by Prof. J. S. Newberry in the Report of the Geological Survey of Ohio, Vol. II, 1874, pp. 6, 8, and 51.

^Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Minnesota, Eighth Annual Report, for 1879, pp. 84-87; Eleventh
Annual Report, for 1882, pp. 137-153, with maj); and Final Report, Vols. I and II.

8 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

miles. A preliminary report of part of these observations was published
in 1887.^

By cooperation of the geological surveys of the United States and
Canada, a portion of my field work in 1887 was devoted to the examination
of the northward extension of the beaches of Lake Agassiz in Manitoba.
Traveling with horse and wagon, and assisted by Mr. Young, a somewhat
detailed exploration of this lacustrine area was continued about a hundi-ed
miles north from the international boundary, the most northern points
reached being Shoal Lake, between Lakes Winnipeg and Manitoba, and
Orange Ridge post-office, near the southeast end of Riding Mountain. The
mainlv wooded character of the country farther north makes continuous
leveling and tracing the beaches of this lake impracticable; and the same
condition limited my examination on the east to a naiTOw belt adjoining
the Red River. The western border of this portion of Lake Agassiz is
formed bv the Pembina Mountain, the Tiger Hills, the Brandon Hills, and
Riding Mountain ; and the mouth of the Assiniboine was at Brandon during
the highest stage of the lake. In this direction my observations were
extended west of the shore-line of Lake Agassiz to include the vicinit}^ of
the Assiniboine and the Canadian Pacific Railway to Griswold, the coru'se
of the Souris River below Plum Creek, Langs Valley, a glacial water-
"ui'se extending from the elbow of the Souris southeast to Pelican Lake
and the Pembina River, and the lower course of that river, by Avhieh a
large delta was deposited in the west margin of Lake Agassiz a few miles
south of the international boundary. The breadth of the comitry thus
ti'aversed from east to west is about 150 miles. A report of this woi'k has
been published by the Canadian Geological Survey.'

For all these surveys in the United States and Manitoba profiles of
the numerous railway lines crossing this district supplied reliable elevations
above the sea-level at their stations; and in manv instances they also show
distinctly their intersections of the beaches of this lake. These elevations
were taken as the data and reference points of my leveling, wliich was

' TJ. S. Geol. Survey Bulletin, No. 39. The Upper Beaches and Deltas of the Glacial Late Agassiz.
Pp. 84, -with map

-Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Annual Re])ort, new series, Vol. IV, for 1888-89, Part E,
Eeport of Exploration of the Glacial Lake Agassiz in Manitoba, pp. 156, with two maps and a plate
of sections.

DETEEMINATIONS OF ALTITUDES. 9

proved throughout its entire extent to be accurate within close approxima-
tion by its agreement with the railway surveys, the comparisons being
made at intervals varying from 20 to 40 or 50 miles. A very large number
of railway profiles, extending beyond the limits of Lake Agassiz to Lakes
Superior and Michigan and to the Pacific Ocean, were examined during
this work, and the altitudes of their stations, summits of grade, bridges,
and low and high water of the streams crossed, were tabulated for con-
venient reference and comparison, being uniformly referred to the sea-level
at mean tide. This, auxiliary part of the investigations relating to Lake
Agassiz has been separately published.^ In the present volume the alti-
tudes of the railway stations are noted on Pis. XXIII to XXXIII, which
give the detailed sm'veys of the lake beaches and deltas. For the whole
area of this glacial lake, so far as it has been explored with leveling and
is traversed by these railway surveys, their altitudes are noted on PI. X.

Exact or close agreements of several independent surveys from the
sea to this district, and of the profiles of the many intersecting lines of
railway in Minnesota, South and North Dakota, and Manitoba, give com-
plete assurance that these heights, and those determined therefrom by
leveling along a thousand miles or more of the shore-lines of Lake Agassiz,
are not only consistent together but also absolutely true within limits of
error probably nowhere exceeding 5 feet. Such exact detenninations of
the elevations of the beaches seem very important, because these deposits
which Avere formed along the level shores of the lake in its successive
stages are found at the present time to have a gradual ascent from south to
north, amounting, within the portion of the lake area surveyed h\ me, to
about a foot per mile in the highest and oldest beach, and gradually
diminishing- to a quarter or even an eighth part of this amount in the
lowest and latest of the beaches. Some interesting problems are thus
presented as to the relationship of these progressive changes of level,
when they' were produced, and their causes.

During the year of my exploration in Manitoba, and since that time,
important observations of the beaches of Lake Agassiz farther northward
along the Manitoba escarpment and near the mouth of the Saskatchewan

' U. S. Geol. Survey, Bulletin No. 72. Altitudes between Lake Superior and the Rocky Mountains.
1891. Pp. 229.

10 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

have been made during work for the Greological Survey of Canada by Mr.
J. B. Tyrrell.^ Notes of these additions to our knowledge of the glacial lake
are included in this monograph, and contribute much to the history of the
differential uplift of the lake area. Mr. Tyrrell finds that in northwestern
Manitoba the lower beaches formed during the time of southward outflow
of Lake Agassiz have been changed in height, so that they now ascend 2
to 3 feet per mile northward. Their changes of level are thus twice as
gi-eat as those of the higher and earlier beaches within the area of my
leveling, and they took place after the uplifting of the more southern part
of the lake area had nearly ceased.

The close relationship of Lake Agassiz and the uphft of its area with
the recession of the ice-sheet showed that this work would not be complete
without a special examination of the terminal moraines which form con-
spicuous belts of hilly drift upon the country both east and west of the
lacustrine area, and whose courses in the Red River Valley are commonly
marked only by a somewhat uneven or almost flat surface of till, with fre-
quent or often plentiful bowlders. Accordingly, in 1889 several months
were given to field work in tracing these moraines. The region explored
in North Dakota extended from the head of the Coteau des Prairies, west
of Lake Traverse, northward and northwestward to Devils Lake, Turtle
Mountain, the Souris River, and the Coteau du Missouri, in the northwestern
part of this State. On the other side of Lake Agassiz my field work in
1889 extended east to Lake Itasca and the upper part of the Mississippi.
With the account of these observations given in Chapter IV, brief notes
are also supplied from my earlier reports relating to the terminal moraines
in Minnesota.^

"Wliile my explorations and studies of Lake Agassiz have been in prog-
ress for the Minnesota, United States, and Canadian Geological Surveys,
I have presented portions of their results in various reports and papers, as

' Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Annual Report, new series, Vol. Ill, for 1887-88, Part
E, Notes to accompany a preliminary map of the Ridmg and Duck mountains in northwestern Mani-
toba, 16 pages, with map. Other papers by Mr. Tyrrell, including descriptions of portions of the
Lake Agassiz beaches, are "Post- Tertiary Deposits of Manitoba and the adjoining territories of north-
western Canada," Bulletin, G. S. A., Vol. 1, 1890, pp. 395-410, and "Pleistocene of the Winnipeg
Basin," Am. Geologist, Vol. VIII, pp. 19-28, July, 1891.

= Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Minn., Eighth and Ninth Annual Reports, for the years 1879 and
1880; and Final Report, Geology of Minnesota, Vol. I, 1884, and Vol. II, 1888.

PEELIMINARY PAPBES.

11

enumerated below in their chronologic order.^ These preliminary reports
and discussions bearing more or less directly on this subject have been
drawn from in many places during the preparation of the present work.

The map given in PL III shows the whole extent of Lake Agassiz,
and, for comparison with it, the upper great lakes that outflow by the St.
Lawrence. The courses of glacial strife and terminal moraines are also
shown, so far as they have been mapped ; but doubtless numerous moraines
in Canada remain to be filled in by future exploration. It should be
remarked, however, that the northern and northeastern boundaries of this
glacial lake probably can never be exactly determined, and must be laid
down in any attempt of this kind by estimation, for they were formed by
the receding ice-sheet instead of a land surface on which beaches would be
discoverable.

6

5

4

3

2

f

31

32

33

34

35

36

7

S

9

10

II

IZ

30

29

28

27

26

25

18

17

16

IS

14

13

13

20

21

22

23

24

19

20

21

22

Z1

24

18

17

16

15

14

13

30

23

ze

27

26

25

7

8

9

10

11

12

31

32

33

34

35

36

6

5

_4j

3

z

±

United States. M.-initoba.

Fig. 1 — Order of sections in townships.

Detailed descriptions of the beaches and deltas occupy three chapters
and are illustrated by a series of ten map plates (XXIII to XXXII), hav-

"' Preliminary report on the geology of central and western Minnesota," Geol. and Nat. Hist.
Survey of Minn., Eighth An. Rep., for 1879, pp. 70-125.

"Lake Agassiz: a chapter in glacial geology," Bulletin of the Minnesota Academy of Natural
Sciences, Vol. II, pp. 290-314, Jan., 1882; also in Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Minn., Eleventh An.
Eep., for 1882, pp. 137-153, with map.

"The Minnesota Valley in the Ice age," Proc. A. A. A. S., 1883, Vol. XXXII, pp. 213-231; also in
Am. Jour. Sci. (3), Vol. XXVII, pp. 31-42 and 104-111, Jan. and Feb., 1884.

Geology of Minnesota, Fiual Report, Vol. I, 1884, pp. 408, 442, 461, 484, 581, 622.

"The upper beaches and deltas of the glacial Lake Agassiz," Bulletin No. 39, U. S. Geol. Survey,
1887, pp. 84, with map.

"The recession of the ice-sheet in Minnesota in its relation to the gravel deposits overlying the
quartz implements found by Miss Babbitt at Little Falls, Minn.," Proc. Boston Soc. of Nat. Hist.,
Vol. XXIII, pp. 436-447, Dec, 1887.

Geology of Minnesota, Final Report, Vol. II, 1888, pp. 134,500,504,517-527,551,656,662,664-7.

"Glaciation of mountains in New England and New York," Appalachia, Vol. V, 1889, pp.
291-312; also in Am. Geologist, Vol. IV, Sept. and Oct., 1889.

"Probable causes of glaciation," appendix in Prof. G. F. Wright's Ice Age in North America,
1889, pp. 573-595.

"Report of exploration of the Glacial Lake Agassiz in Manitoba," Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey
of Canada, Annual Report, new series, Vol. IV, for 1888-89, Part E, 1890, pp. 156, with two maps and

12 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

ing the scale of 6 miles to an inch. Section lines are drawn on these maps,
which will enable the reader to refer readily to the localities designated in
the text by the numbers of the section, township, and range. For the con-
venience of those who may not be acquainted with the unlike systems
employed in the United States and in Manitoba for numbering the sections
of each township, fig. 1 is here inserted. Occasional reference to this
figure, with attention given to the township and range numbers noted on
the maps, will soon fix in one's memory the significance of these terms of
the land surveys.

a plate of sections. (The division of this report forming its pages 42-56, entitled "History of Lake
Agassiz,"' was reprinted in the Am. Geologist, Vol. VII, March and April, 1891.)

"Artesian wells in North and South Dakota," Am. Geologist, Vol. VI, pp. 211-221, Oct., 1890.

"On the cause of the Glacial period," Am. Geologist, Vol. VI, pp. 327-339 and 396, Dec, 1890.

"A review of the Quateruarj' era, with special reference to the deposits of flooded rivers," Am.
Jour. Sci. (3), Vol. XLI, pp. 33-52, .Jan., 1891.

"Glacial lakes in Canada," Bulletin, G. .S. A., Vol. II, 1891, pp. 243-276.

"Altitudes between Lake Superior aud the Rocky Mouutaius," Bulletin No. 72, U. S. Geol. Sur-
vey, 1891, pp. 229.

"The ice-sheet of Greenland," Am. Geologist, Vol. VIII, pp. 145-152, Sept., 1891.

"Criteria of englaoial and subglacial drift," Am. Geologist. Vol. VIII, pp. 376-385, Dec, 1891.

"Inequality of distribution of the euglacial drift," Bulletin, G. S. A., Vol. Ill, 1892, pp. 134-148.

"Relationship of the glacial lakes Warren, Algonquin, Iroquois, and Hudson-Champlain," Bul-
letin, G. S. A., Vol. Ill, 1892, pp. 484-487.

"The Champlain submergence," Bulletin, G. S. A., Vol. Ill, pp. 508-511.

"Conditions of accumulation of drumlins," Am. Geologist, Vol. X, pp. 339-362, Dec, 1892.

"Estimates of geologic time," Am. Jour. Sci. (3), Vol. XLV, pp. 209-220, March, 1893.

"Comparison of Pleistocene aud Present ice-sheets," Bulletin, G. S. A., Vol. IV, 1893, pp. 191-204.

"Beltrami Island of Lake Agassiz," Am. Geologist, Vol. XI, pp. 423-425, June, 1893.

"Englacial drift," Am. Geologist, Vol. XII, pp. 36-43, July, 1893.

"Epeirogenic movements associated with glaoiation," Am. Jour. Sci. (3), Vol. XLVI, pp. 114-121,
Aug., 1893.

"Evidences of the derivation of the kames, eskers, and moraines of the North American ice-
sheet chiefly from its euglacial drift," Bulletin, G. S. A., Vol. V, 1894, pp. 71-86.

" The succession of Pleistocene formations in the Mississippi and Nelson River basins," Bulletin,
G. S. A., Vol. V, 1894, pp. 87-100.

"Wave-like progress of an epeirogenic uplift," Journal of Geology, Vol. II, pp. 383-395, May-
June, 1894.

" Causes and conditions of glaciation," Am. Geologist, Vol. XIV, pp. 12-20, July, 1894.

" Tertiary and early Quaternary baseleveling in Minnesota, Manitoba, and northwestward," Am.
Geoliigist, Vol. XIV, pp. 235-246, Oct., 1894. (Abstract in Bulletin, G. S. A., Vol. VI, pp. 17-20,
Nov., 1894.)

"Departure of the ice-sheet from the Laurentian lakes," Bulletin, G. S. A., Vol. VI, pp. 21-27,
Nov., 1894.

"Quaternary time divisible in three periods, the Lafayette, Glacial, and Recent," Am. Natu-
ralist, Vol. XXVII, pp. 979-988, Dec, 1894.

"Preliminary report of field work duriug 1893 in northeastern Minnesota, chiefly relating to
the glacial drift," in the Twenty-second Annual Report of the Geol. Survey of Minnesota for 1893
(pub. 1894), pp. 18-66, with map and sections.

"Late Glacial or Champlain subsidence and reelevatlon of the St. Lawrence River basin," Am.
Jour. Sci. (3), Vol. XLIX, pp. 1-18, with map, Jan., 1895.

FUETHER WOEK EEOOMMENDED. 13

Many changes will be brought by coming years upon the areas thus
mapped, in the springing up of new villages, the organization and naming
of townships, and the construction of new lines and branches of railways.
It is to be hoped, also, that local observers, as teachers in the common
schools and in the colleges and universities of Fargo, Grand Forks, Winni-
peg, and other cities, will supplement the work herein described and
mapped by adding such portions of the lower shore-lines of Lake Agassiz
as have not yet been definitely traced. The sections of new artesian wells
should likewise be recorded and studied in comparison with the notes of
wells here reported.

CHAPTER II.

TOPOGRAPHY OF THE BASIN OF LAKE AGASSIZ.

The area that was covered by Lake Agassiz occupies the geographic
center of the North American continent. Its extent is approximately from
45° 30' to 55° of north latitude, and from 92° 30', on the international
boundary, to 106°, on the Saskatchewan River, of Avest longitude.

If we consider the contour of the entire continent, it is seen to include
on the east and west two mountainous regions and between them a compar-
atively flat expanse, at the middle of which Lake Agassiz lay. The eastern
mountainous tract stretches from Labrador southwestward to Alabama,
culminating in the Laurentide highlands north of the River St. Lawrence,
the White Mountains and the Adirondacks, the Grreen Mountains and the
Catskills, and the parallel Appalachian ranges farther southwest. The
summits of this mountain belt vary in elevation from a half mile to one
mile and slightlj^ more above the sea-level. On the west, a longer and
wider region of mountains, including generally tlu'ee or four lofty parallel
ranges, extends from the northern and southern coasts of Alaska south-
easterly and southerly through the Canadian Northwest Territory, British
Columbia, the western thhd of the United States, Mexico, and Central
America, to the Isthmus of Panama; and beyond this it continues south in
the great Andes range along the entire western coast of South America to
Cape Horn. In the United States this Cordilleran mountain Ijelt includes
the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada and Coast ranges, and its
highest summits are nearly 3 miles above the sea.

Lake Agassiz, situated on the central expanse between these moun-
tainous regions, was a fifth of a mile above the present sea-level. Where
the slow northward ascent from the Gulf of Mexico ceases at a distance of
1,100 miles from the Gulf and an elevation of about 1,100 feet, and is
succeeded farther north by a descending slope toward Hudson Bay, the

14

OUTLET BY THE ElVEE WARKEN. 15

barrier of the receding ice-sheet caused this glacial lake to till the Red
River Valley and to reach northward, as the ice front retreated, over the
region of Lakes Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Winnipegosis, until the continued
melting of the ice at last permitted it to be drained by the natural slope of
the land to the northeast, excepting its remnants, which form these lakes of
Manitoba.

outijEt, bed, and shores of lake agasstz.

river warren.

The lowest point of the watershed dividing the great areas that are
di-ained respectively to Hudson Bay and the Gulf of Mexico is between
Lakes Traverse and Big Stone, on the boundary line of Minnesota and
South Dakota. Its elevation above the ocean is 975 feet. Here an ancient
watercom-se, called Browns Valley (see the frontispiece and PI. IV),
which was occupied by the River Warren, outflowing from Lake Agassiz,
is eroded in the thick sheet of glacial drift to a depth of 100 to 125 feet,
with a width of about 1^ miles. The tops of its inclosing bluff's and the
general level of the adjoining country of undulating or moderately rolling-
till are about 1,100 feet above the sea. Portions of this channel contain
the long and narrow Lakes Traverse and Big Stone, the former outflowing
by the Bois des Sioux River and the Red River of the North to Lake
Winnipeg and Hudson Bay, and the latter by the Minnesota River to the
Mississippi. But this channel shows that subsequent to the deposition of
the di'ift a great river has flowed here across what is now one of the
principal watersheds of the continent.

The head stream of the Minnesota^ River, from which the State of
Minnesota receives its name, after flowing eastward about 20 miles from its
sources on the Coteau des Prairies, turns southei'ly at Browns Valley and
enters the northwest end of Big Stone Lake. Here, and in its whole
extent thence to its mouth, the Minnesota River occupies the channel of the
glacial River Warren. This valley or channel begins at the northern

'The aboriginal Dakota name, meaning " water nearly clear, but slightly clouded," or, poetically
translated, "sky-tinted water." (A. W. Williamson, in Thirteenth Annual Report, Geol. and Nat.
Hist. Survey of Minn., for 1884, p. 109. E. D. Neill, History of Miuuesota, 1858, p. xlvii. Nicollet's
Report, 1843, p. 69.)

16 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

part of Lake Traverse, and first extends southwest to the head of this
lake, thence southeast to Mankato, and next north and northeast to the
Mississippi at Fort Snelhng, its length being about 250 miles. Its width
varies from 1 to 4 miles, and its depth is from 100 to 225 feet. The
country through which it lies, as far as Carver, about 25 miles above its
junction with the Mississippi, is a nearly level expanse of till, only,
modei'ately undula,ting, with no prominent hills or notable depressions,
excepting this deep channel and those formed by its tributary streams.
Below Carver it intersects a belt of terminal moraine, composed of hilly
till. Its entire course is through a region of unmodified drift, which has
no exposures of solid rock upon its surface.

Bluff's in slopes from 20 to 40 degrees, and rising 100 to 200 feet to
the general level of the country, form the sides of this trough-like valley.
They have been produced by the washing- away of their base, leaving the
upper portion to fall down and thus take its steep slopes. The river in
deepening its channel has been constantly changing its course, so that its
current has been turned alternately against the opposite sides of its valley,
at some time undermining every portion of them. In a few places this
process is still going forward, but mainly the course of the Minnesota
River is in the bottom-land. Comparatively little excavation has been done
by the present river. As we approach its source it dwindles to a small
stream flowing through long lakes, and we finally pass to Lake Traverse,
which empties northward ; yet along the upper Minnesota and at the divide
between this and the Red River this valley or channel and its inclosing
bluff's are as remarkable as along the lower part of the Minnesota River.
It is thus clearly shown to have been the channel of outflow from a lake
formerly extending northward from Lake Traverse.

The Minnesota Valley in many places cuts tlu-ough the sheet of di-ift
and reaches the underlying rocks, which have frequent exposures along its
entire course below Big Stone Lake. This excavation shows that the
thickness of the general drift sheet upon this part of Minnesota averages
about 150 feet. The contour of the old rocks thus brought into view is
much more uneven than that of the drift. In the hundred miles from Big
Stone Lake to Fort Ridgely the strata are Archean gneisses and granites.

< s;
I- 5

O fl

5 5

I t;

THE MINNESOTA EIVEE VALLEY. 17

which often fill the entire valley, 1 to 2 miles wide, rising in a profusion of
knolls and hills 50 to 100 feet above the river. The depth eroded has been
limited here by the presence of these rocks, among which the river flows in
a winding course, crossing them at many places in rapids or falls.

From New Ulm to its mouth the river is at many places, bordered by
Cretaceous and Lower Silurian and Cambrian rocks, which are nearly
level in stratification. These vary in height from a few feet to 50 or rarely
75 or 100 feet above the river. From Mankato to Ottawa the river
occupies a valley cut in Shakopee limestone underlain by Jordan sandstone,
which form frequent bluffs upon both sides, 50 to 75 feet high. After
excavating the overlying 125 to 150 feet of till, the river here found a
former valley eroded by preglacial streams. Its bordering walls of rock,
varying from one-fourth of a mile to at least 2 miles apart, are in many
portions of this distance concealed by drift, which alone forms one or both
sides of the valley. The next point at which the river is seen to be
inclosed by rock walls is in its last 2 miles, where it flows between bluffs
of Trenton limestone underlain by St. Peter sandstone, 100 feet high and
about a mile apart. This also is a preglacial channel, its further continu-
ation being occupied by the Mississippi River. The only erosion effected
here by the Minnesota River has been to clear away a part of the drift
with which the valley was filled. Its depth at some earlier time was much
greater than now, ■ as shown by the salt well on the bottom-land of the
Minnesota at Belle Plaine, where 202 feet of stratified gravel, sand, and
clay were penetrated before reaching the rock.^ The bottom of the
preglacial channel there is thus at least 165 feet lower than the mouth of
the Minnesota River.

The height of Lake Traverse,^ in the range between its lowest and
highest stages, is 970 to 976 feet above the sea; the lowest point in Browns
Valley between this and Big Stone Lake is only 3 feet above the ordinary
stage of Lake Traverse; Big Stone Lake^ ranges from 962 to 967 feet

'Geology of Min., Vol. II, p. 134.

= A ti-iiuslation of the Dakota iiume (Williamson, 1. c, p. 108). "The lake has received its
present appellation from the circumstance that it is in a direction nearly transverse to that of the Big
Stone and Qui Parle lakes." Keating's Narrative, Vol. II, p. 2.

■'Translated from the Dakota (Williamson, 1. c, p. 105). The name probably alludes to the
conspicuous outcrops of granite found in the Minni'sota Valley 1 to 3 miles below the foot of the lake.

MON XXV 2

18 THE GLACIAL LAKJ} AGASSIZ.

above the sea, its ordinary stage being about 8 feet below that of Lake
Traverse ; and the mouth of the Minnesota River at extreme low water is
688 feet above the sea, the descent from Big Stone Lake to the mouth of
the river being 274 feet.

Lakes Traverse and Big Stone are from 1 to 1 J miles wide, mainly
occupjnng the entire area between the bases of the bluffs, which rise about
125 feet above them. Lake Traverse (PI. V) is 15 miles long; it is mostly
less than 10 feet deep, and its greatest depth probably does not reach 20
feet. Big Stone Lake is 26 miles long, and its greatest depth is reported to
be from 15 to 30 feet. The portion of the channel between these lakes
is widely known as Browns Valley. As we stand upon the bluffs here,
looking down on these long and naiTOw lakes in their trough-hke valley,
which extends across the 5 miles between them, where the basins of
Hudson Bay and the Gulf of Mexico are now divided, we have nearly the
scene wliich was presented when the melting ice-sheet of British America
was pouring its floods along this hollow. Then the entire extent of the
valley was doubtless filled every summer by a river which covered all the
present areas of flood plain, in many places occupying as great width as
these lakes.

Greneral WaiTen observed that Lake Traverse is due to partial siltmg
up of the channel since the outflow from the Red River basin ceased, the
Minnesota River at the south having brought in sufficient alluvium to form
a dam; wliile Big Stone Lake is similarly referred to the sediment brought
into the valley just below it by the Whetstone River. Fifteen ixiiles below
Big Stone Lake the Minnesota River flows through a marshy lake 4 miles
long and about a mile wide. This may b6 due to the accumulation of
allu^^um brought into the valley by the Pomme de Terre River, which
has its mouth about 2 miles below. Twenty-five miles from Big Stone
Lake the river enters Lac qui Parle, ^ which extends 8 miles, with a width
varying from one-fourth to three-fourths of a mile and a maximum depth
of 12 feet. This lake, as Greneral Warren suggested, has been formed by
a ban-ier of stratified sand and silt which the Lac qui Parle River has

'The French translation of the Dakota name, which is of uncertain origin (Williamson, 1. c,
p. 106).

''^m~

mm

3 *

LAKES TRAVERSE, BIG STONE, AND LAC QUI PARLE. 19

thrown across the valley. He also showed that Lake Pepin, on the
Mississippi, is dammed in the same way by the sediment of the Chippewa
River; and that Lake St. Croix and the last 30 miles of the Minnesota
River are similarly held as level backwater by the recent deposits of the
Mississippi.

The valleys of the Pomme de Terre and Chippewa rivers, 75 to 100
feet deep along most of their com-se and one-fonrth of a mile to 1 mile
in width, were probably avenues of di-ainage from the melting ice fields
in their noilhward retreat. Between these rivers, in the 22 miles from
Appleton to Montevideo, the glacial floods at first flowed in several
channels, which are excavated 40 to 80 feet below the general level of the
drift sheet, and vary from an eighth to a half of a mile in width. One of
these, starting from the bend of the Pomme de Terre River, IJ miles east
of Appleton, extends 15 miles sovitheast to the Chippewa River, near the
center of Tunsburg. This old channel is joined at Milan station by
another, which branches ofi" from the Minnesota Valley, running 4 miles
east-southeast; it is also joined at the northwest corner of Tunsburg by a
very notable channel which extends eastward from the middle of Lac qui
Parle. The latter channel, and its continuation in the old Pomme de Ten'e
Valley to the Chippewa River, are excavated nearly as deep as the channel
occupied by the Minnesota River. Its west portion holds a marsh generally
known as the "Big Slough." Lac qui Parle would have to be raised only
a few feet to tm-n it tln-ough this deserted valley. The only other localities
where we have proof that the floods of the River Warren at first ran in
several channels are 7 and 10 miles below Big Stone Lake, where isolated
remnants of the general sheet of till occur south of Odessa station and
again 3 miles southeast. Each of these former islands is about a mile long,
and rises 75 feet above the suiTounding lowland, or nearly as high as the
bluffs inclosing the valley, which here measures 4 miles across, having a
greater width than at any other point.

THE RED RIVER VALLEY.

Proceeding northward to the area of Lake Agassiz, whose outflow
formed this channel, the observer finds that the broad Avatercourse, with
its bluffs and the adjoining highland on each side, ends a few miles north

20 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

of Lake Traverse. There the country sinks gradually to a level not much
above the small Bois des Sioux River, which is the outlet of Lake Traverse,
flowing north 35 miles and emptying into the Red River of the North at
Breckem-idge and Wahpeton. The Red River, here turning abruptly from
its western course, flows thence north to Lake Winnipeg, 285 miles. These
streams occupy the axial depression of a vast plain of glacial drift and
lacustrine and fluvial deposits, 40 to 50 miles wide and more than 300
miles long, stretching from Lake Traverse to Lake Winnipeg. This
expanse, widely famed for the large harvests and superior quality of its
wheat, is commonly called the Red River Valley. It has a very uniform
continuous descent northward, averaging a little less than 1 foot per mile.
So slight an inclination is imperceptible to the eye, as is also the more
considerable ascent, usually 2 or 3 feet per mile, for the first 10 or 15 miles
to the east and west fi-om the Red River. This river flows along the lowest
portion of the plain, somewhat east of its central line, in a quite direct
general course from south to north, but meanders almost everywhere with
minor bends, which carry it alternately a half mile to 1 mile or more to
each side of its main course. Thus its length from Breckenridge and
Wahpeton to St. Vincent and Pembina, forming the boundary between
Minnesota and North Dakota, is 397 miles, according to the surveys of the
United States Engineer Corps, while the distance in a direct line is only
186 miles; yet the river nowhere deviates more than 5 or 6 miles from this
straight line.

The Red River has cut a channel 20 to 50 feet deep. It is bordered
by only few and narrow areas of bottom-land, instead of which its banks
usually rise steeply on one side and by moderate slopes on the other to the
lacustrine plain, which thence reaches nearly level 10 to 30 miles from the
river. Its tributaries cross the plain in similar channels, which, as also
the Red River, have occasional gullies connected with them, dry through
the most of the year, varying from a few hundred feet to a mile or more
in length. Between the drainage lines areas often 5 to 15 miles wide
remain unmarked by any water courses. The hig'hest portions of these
tracts are commonly from 2 to 5 feet above the lowest. The material of
the lower part of this valley plain, shown in the banks of the Red River

THE RED EIVEE VALLEY. 21

and i-eaching several miles from it (excepting a morainic belt of till crossing-
the river at Goose Rapids), is fine clayey silt, horizontally stratified; but
the south end and large areas of each side of the plain are mainly
unstratified bowlder-clay, which differs from the rolling or undulating till of
the adjoining region chiefly in having its surface nearly flat. Both these
formations are almost impervious to water, which therefore in the rainy
season fills their shallow depressions; but these are very rarely so deep as
to form permanent lakes. Even sloughs that continue marshy through the
summer are infrequent, but, where they do occur, cover large tracts, usually
several miles in extent.

In crossing the vast plain of the Red River Valley on clear days the
higher land at its sides and the groves along its rivers are first seen in the
distance as if their upper edges were raised a little above the horizon, with
a very narrow strip of sky below. The first appearance of the tree tops
thus somewhat resembles that of dense flocks of birds flying very low
several miles away. By rising a few feet, as from the ground to a wagon,
or by nearer approach, the outlines become clearly defined as a grove, with
a mere line of sky beneath it. This mirage is more or .less observable on
the valley plain nearly every sunshiny day of the spring, summer, and
autumn months, especially during the forenoon, when the lowest stratum
of the air, touching the surface of the ground, becomes heated sooner than
the strata above it.

A more complex and astonishing effect of mirage is often seen from
the somewhat higher land that forms the slopes on either side of the plain.
There, in looking across the flat valley a half hour to two hours after
sunrise of a hot day following a cool night, the groves and houses, villages
and grain elevators, loom up to twice or tlii'ice their true height, and places
ordinarily hidden from sight by the earth's curvature are brought into view.
Occasionally, too, these objects, as trees and houses, are seen double, being
repeated in an inverted position close above their real places, from which
they are sej^arated by a very narrow, fog-like belt. In its most perfect
development the mirage shows the upper and topsy-turvy portion of the
view quite as distinctly as the lower and true portion; and the two are
separated, when seen from land about a hundred feet above the plain, by

22

THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

an apparent vertical distance of 75 or 100 feet for objects at a distance of
6 or 8 miles, and 300 to 500 feet if the view is 15 to 20 miles away.
Iimnediately above the inverted images there runs a level false horizon,
which rises slightly as the view grows less distinct, until, as it fades and
vanishes, the inverted groves, lone trees, church spires, elevators, and houses
at last resemble rags and tatters hung along a taut line.

The traveler in the Red River Valley is reminded, in the same manner
as at sea, that the earth is round. The surface of the plain is seen only for
a distance of 3 or 4 miles; houses and grain stacks have their tops visible
first, after which, in approaching, they gradually come into full view; and
the highlands, 10 or 15 miles away, forming the side of the valley,
apparently lie beyond a wide depression, like a distant high coast.

1000

SOO

1000

SOO

¥iG. 2. — Section across the Ked River Valley on the latitude of Breckenridge and Wahpeton. Horizontal
scale, 20 miles to an inch : vertical scale, 1,000 feet to an inch.

At Breckem-idge and Wahpeton, 35 miles north of Lake Traverse, the
surface of this plain is 960 feet above the sea (fig. 2). In 17 miles east it
ascends to 1,080 feet at the highest beach of Lake Agassiz; and on the
west it rises in 28 miles to 1,065 feet at the con-esponding beach near
Wyndmere, beyond which for 8 miles farther west it maintains a level 2 to
5 feet below the crest of that beach.

At Moorhead and Fargo, 75 miles north of Lake Traverse, the sm-face
adjoining the Red River is 900 to 905 feet above the sea (fig. 3). In the
first 15 miles east it ascends about 60 feet. The highest beach of Lake
Agassiz here lies at Muskoda, 1 7 miles east of the Red River, on the slope
of a highland of till, which rises in a distance of 6 or 8 miles to an
elevation of 250 feet above the flat Red River Valley, having thus an

SECTIONS ACROSS THE RED RIVER VALLEY.

23

average ascent of 30 or 40 feet per mile. On the west the plain ascends
only 50 feet in the first 25 miles, beyond which it ascends within 7 miles
to 1,099 feet above the sea-level at the highest beach line, 4^ miles west of
Wheatland, and a similar' slope continues to a height of 1,200 feet at a
distance of 4 or 5 miles farther west.

Soo

je:' lom

Fig. 3.— Section across the Red River Valley on the latitude of Moorhead and Fargo. Horizontal scale, 20
miles to an inch ; vertical scale, 1,000 feet to an inch.

At Grrand Forks, where the Red Lake River joins the Red River, 150
miles north of Lake Traverse, the surface of the plain* is 830 feet above the
sea (fig. 4). In the first 20 miles east the ascent is about 75 feet. Thence
in 25 miles southeast there is a gradual rise of nearly 300 feet to the

Fie. 4.— Section across the Red River Valley from Larimoreand Grand Forks to Maple Lake. Horizontal
scale, 20 miles to an inch; vertical scale, 1,000 feet to an inch.

highest beach of Lake Agassiz, close west and north of Maple Lake; but
in a line passing due east the surface ascends only about 200 feet in an
equal distance, and continues at a lower elevation than this beach to the
east side of Red Lake, 100 miles from Grand Forks. On the west the
surface rises only 35 feet in the first 14 miles, beyond which it rises about

24

THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

300 feet in the next 19 miles to 1,162 feet above sea-level at the highest
beach of Lake Agassiz, 4J miles west of Larimore. The westward ascent
continues to 1,525 feet above the sea 12 miles west of this beach.

At St. Vincent and Pembina, near the international boundary, which is
224 miles north of Lake Traverse, the surface of the plain is 785 to 790
feet above the sea (fig. 5). Eastward on the boundary it is nearly level,
rising only a few feet in the first 10 miles. Thence an ascent of about 50
feet is made in 2 miles to the crest of a slight ridge. Farther east the
country is wooded, and many extensive tracts are tamarack swamps. The
Lake of the Woods, about 85 miles east from the Red River, is 1,060 feet
above the sea; and the highest land near the international boundary west
of this lake is approximately 1,090 feet. Continuing eastward along the

ISOO

loot

MAvei.

Fig. 5. — Section across the Red River Valley on the international boundary. Horizontal scale, 20 miles to
an inch ; vertical scale, 1,000 feet to an inch.

boundary, which here is formed by the Rainy River and Rainy Lake, the
elevation of the highest beach of Lake Agassiz is reached a short distance
east from the east end of Rainy Lake, more than 200 miles from the Red
River. Westward the surface rises about 40 feet in 15 miles from Pembina
to Neche, and 187 feet in the next 21 miles along the international
boundary to the base of the great Cretaceous escai-pment called Pembina
Mountain, which, within 2 miles farther west, ascends nearly 400 feet to
an elevation approximately 1,400 feet above the sea.

These sections give a good idea of the average width and elevation of
the flat plain to which the name Red RiA^er Valley seems to be properly
limited, both by topographic features and by the common usage of this
term. At a distance of 35 miles north of Lake Traverse its width is about

NORTHWARD DESCENT OF THE RED RIVER VALLEY. 25

45 miles, and its limits on each side are a slightly higher area of more
rolling contour. On the latitude of Moorhead and Fargo its width is about
40 miles, and it is bordered by prominent highlands Avhich rise 200 to 300
feet above this broad A^alley. On the latitude of Grand Forks its width is
nearly 50 miles, and it is bordered on the east by land that rises slowly 200
to 300 feet above the plain, while on the west the surface rises by moderate
slopes to a height of 600 to 700 feet. Where it is crossed by the interna-
tional boundary the width of this plain is 48 miles, its limit on the east
being a slightly higher and more undulating wooded region, Avhile on the
west it is a conspicuous terrace-like ascent of several hundi-ed feet. On
the average, for its extent within the United States, about one-third of the
width of the Red River Valley is in Minnesota and two-thirds in North
Dakota.

The northward slope of the lowest part of the Red River Valley,
along the course of the Bois des Sioux and Red rivers, from Lake Trav-
erse, 970 feet, to Lake Winnipeg, 710 feet above the sea, may thus be
said to be 260 feet in a distance of 320 miles, averaging about 10 inches
per mile. The valley proper, however, does not take on its distinctive
character in the first 10 or 15 miles of the course of the Bois des Sioux
River, but 10 miles farther east in Minnesota the same topographic features
that mark the Red River Valley continue south nearly to the latitude of
the southwest end of Lake Traverse. The elevation of this southern
extremity of the area of Lake Agassiz is 1,050 feet above the sea, being
90 feet above the surface at Breckenridge and Wahpeton, 43 miles distant
to the north, so that this part of the valley plain has a northward descent
of 2 feet per mile. Thence to Moorhead and Fargo the descent is IJ feet
per mile; next, for 75 miles to Grand Forks, it averages almost exactly 1
foot per mile; and in the 74 miles from Grand Forks to the international
boundary this axial lowest portion of the valley falls about 40 feet, or a
little more than 6 inches per mile. In the 60 miles thence to Winnipeg the
descent is about 35 feet, or 7 inches per mile, the surface there being 45
feet above Lake Winnipeg, about 35 miles distant.

26 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

SHORE-LINES.

Cousidered in relation to the general topography, the shore-lines of
Lake Agassiz are inconspicuous, though they are very distinctly traceable.
They are usiiallv marked by a beach deposit of gi-avel and sand, fonning
a continuous, smoothly rounded ridge, such as is found along the shores of
the ocean or of our gi-eat Laurentian lakes Avherever the land sinks in a
gently descending slope beneath the water level. The beach ridges of
Lake Agassiz (fig. 6) commonly rise 3 to 10 feet above the adjoining land

Till _,^--r.^^' -^'^^^.^^-^-^^b^-v:-: s^?^^ TiU,SU6HTiyc/fooeo.

iCifSL OFLAJTE ASASSI2.

Fig. 6 Typical aection across a beach ridge of Lake Agassiz. Scale, 100 feet to an inch.

on the side that was away from the lake, and 10 to 20 feet above the
adjoining land on the side where the lake lay. In breadth these ridges
vary from 10 to 25 or 30 rods. In some places they have been cut through
and can'ied away by streams, and occasionally they are interrupted for
a quarter or a half mile, or even 2 or 3 miles, where the outline of the
lake shore and the direction of the shore cuiTents prevented such accumu-
lation. Throughout almost the whole extent of Lake Agassiz examined
witliin the United States the regular outlines of the surface, its gentle slope
toward this lake, and its mateiial, which nearly everywhere is till, were very
favorable for the formation of beach deposits. Many beach ndges, record-

L£i^£Z. or LA/f£ /^6ASS/Z

°^'-'<*~'g'^l

Fig. 7. — Eroded terrace marking the shore of Lake Agassiz. Scale, 100 feet to an inch.

ing the successive reductions in the elevation and area of this lake, have
been traced in continuous, approximately parallel coui-ses along each side
of the Red River Valley. PI. YI shows an exceptionally massive beach
ridgre marking- the hio-hest shore-line of Lake Agassiz close northwest of
Maple Lake, about 20 miles east-southeast from Crookston, Minn.

Another type of shore-lines is presented where the lake has fonned a
terrace in the till (fig. 7), with no definite beach deposit, the Avork of tlie
waves haAaug been to erode and cany away rather than to accumulate. The

FJi :■ fif^mm.r.. . 'H^^^BIi^B

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UK *;i#::

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B^f /-r ■

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VV..-#:^' /■■■ ' ^^ ■■

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1 ■ ' ■ w
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'^■•^

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ifl^^^^K'-i'*

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(/I

SHORE-LINES AND DELTAS. 27

height of these steep, wave-cut slopes varies from 10 to 30 feet, Avhich is
indeed a very slight elevation in comparison with the cliffs of similar origin
on some portions of the shores of Lake Michigan and others of the Lau-
rentian lakes. No portions of the beach ridges, nor of these low, eroded
escarpments marking the margin of Lake Agassiz, are noteworthy objects
in the view from points so far away as 2 or 3 miles, but nearer at hand they
appear sufficiently impressive when the mind reverts to the receding ice-
sheet and this great glacial lake by which they were made.

DELTAS.

Sand and gravel deltas, so extensive as to be important features in the
topography, were formed in the edge of Lake Agassiz during its earliest
and highest stage by several of its tributary streams. Such deltas were
brought into the east side of the lake liy the Buffalo and Sand Hill rivers,
and into the west side by the Sheyenne, Pembina, and Assiniboine rivers.
They all consist for the greater part of modified drift, derived directly from
the ice-sheet in which it had been held; and another delta of this lake,
extending south from the Elk Valley, in North Dakota, was deposited by a
large glacial river, flowing where no river exists now.

The delta of the Buffalo River is well seen from the Northern Pacific
Railroad, on which the traveler going westward enters the delta area at
Muskoda and passes through it in the next 2^ miles. Its eastern border
bears a massive beach ridge, 15 feet thick, of coarse gravel and sand, which
marks the highest level of the lake; but the chief mass of the delta,
attaining a thickness of 25 to 75 feet, is stratified sand, with occasional
layers of fine gravel, as exhibited in the railroad cuts.

The Pembina River intersects the highest part of its delta, which rises
200 to 250 feet above the stream. Its eroded eastern border, carved in a
steep escarpment by the waves of Lake Agassiz while this lake fell to suc-
cessive lower stages, forms the "First Pembina Mountain," passing from
south to north and northwest by Walhalla as a very conspicuous wooded
bluff 100 to 175 feet above the flat prairie of the Red River Valley at its
base, with its crest 1,100 feet to nearly 1,200 feet above the sea.

28 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ,

DUNES.

Large tracts of the deltas tormed by the Sand Hill, Sheyenne, and
Assiniboine rivers have been heaped up by the wind in dunes or di-it'tiug-
sand hills, which vary in height from 25 to 100 feet. Their extremely
uneven contour, and their singular aspect, being partly covered by small
trees and bushes, but in many places wholly destitute of vegetation where
they are now gullied and drifted by the wind, make these hills a unique
element in the topography of the Red River basin. The worthlessness of
the dunes for agriculture is also in marked contrast with the great fertility
of the surrounding prairie, bvit they frequently include patches of good
pasturage in the intervening hollows.

On the delta of the Sand Hill River, dunes 25 to 75 feet high have
been formed in in-egular groups and series, scattered over a tract about a
mile wide and extending 3 or 4 miles south from the Sand Hill River,
besides a single isolated group on its north side. Their highest points are
1,180 to 1,200 feet above the sea.

Portions of the originally flat sand and gi'avel beds brought into Lake
Agassiz by the Sheyenne have been blo^^n into dunes, which vary from a
few feet to more than a hundred feet in height, and cover areas 5 to 15
miles long and 1 to 3 miles wide. Their summits are 1,100 to 1,150 feet
above the sea. The most southeastern of these large areas of conspicuous
sand hills of the Sheyenne delta lies close south of the Wild Rice River,
and is continued southeastward several miles by a lower belt of such
hillocks to a high isolated cluster of them called the "Lightning's Nest"
(PI. VII).

In Manitoba, wind-blown sand hills border the Assiniboine River in
many places along a distance of 60 miles, from near Brandon to near
Portage la Prairie, lying on the very extensive Assiniboine delta.

The time of formation of the dunes on all these deltas was probably
soon after the withdi-awal of Lake Agassiz, before vegetation had spread
over the surface. The winds could then erode more rapidly than now, and
heaped up these hills of sand in nearly their present size and height; but
it is evident also that their forms have been constantly undergoing slight
changes since that time.

.

Sii»^

■2=SSS

.^^^

■:f f/

S E

>- 2=

^ 2

J- J3

H "1

I

WOODED EEGION ON THE EAST AND NORTH. 29

WOODED REGION OP NORTHERN MINNESOTA AND OF MANITOBA AND KEEWATIN,

PARTLY COVERED BY THIS LAKE.

East from the flat prairie of the Red River Valley is the undulating'
and in part rolling and hilly wooded region of northern Minnesota and
eastern Manitoba. This is a difficult district for exploration, as the greater
part of it has neither settlement nor roads, excepting those of the scanty
population of Ojibway Indians, who maintain themselves chiefly by hunting
and fishing and live in nearly the same manner as when Beltrami crossed
this country from the Red River Valley to the Upper Mississippi River
seventy years ago. Their abodes are usually on the shores of lakes and
streams, which they navigate in birch-bark canoes; and this is the only
practicable means of travel for geologic exploration. Considerable tracts,
especially west of the Lake of the Woods and south to Red Lake, are
tamarack swamps, morasses, and quaking bogs, called "muskegs," which
extend many miles and can be crossed only when they are frozen in winter.
Northwest of Red Lake a large area, described and named Beltrami Island
in Chapter VI, rises to a maximum height of about 100 feet above the
hig'hest level of Lake Agassiz. Eastward from Beltrami Island a large tract
between Red Lake and the Rainy River, reaching to the Big and Little
Forks, lies 50 to 150 feet below the highest stage of Lake Agassiz; but
the northeastern part of this area may have been still covered by the
waning ice-sheet when the lake stood at that height. On account of the
impracticability of tracing the shores of Lake Agassiz through this wooded
and uninhabited region, the northeastern limits of this glacial lake, where
the shore in its successive stages passed from the land surface to the barrier
of the receding ice-sheet, remain undetermined.

The part of Keewatin north and northeast of Lake Winnipeg presents
no considerable elevations, but is mainly a broad, nearly flat expanse,
similar to the Red River Valley and the lake district of Manitoba, slowly
declining to the sea-level. Dr. Robert Bell writes of it as follows:

The region through which the upper two- thirds of the Nelson River flows maybe
described as a tolerably even Laureutian plain, sloping toward the sea at the rate of
about 2 feet in the mile. The river, for the first hundred miles from Great Playgreen
Lake, does not flow in a valley, but spreads itself by many channels over a consider-

30 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

able breadth of country. This tendency to give off "stray" channels is character-
istic of numerous rivers throughout the northern and comparatively level Laurentiau
regions, but it is perhaps more strongly marked in the Nelson than in any other. In
the above section of this stream the straggling channels are of all sizes, from mere
brooks up to large rivers. * * * The general aspect of the country * * * is
even or shghtly undulating, the highest points seldom rising more than 30 or 40 feet
above the general level.

The country adjoining the lower part of this river, according to the
same explorer, has a similar contoiu-, only moderately uneven; but the
channel of the river, excepting in the 10 miles next to its mouth, is deeply
eroded. Its inclosing bluffs vary in height from 100 to 200 feet between
Broad Rapid, where the river is approximately 125 feet above the sea, and
Gillams or Lower Seal Island, which is at the head of the tide, about 20
miles from Hudson Bay.^

COUNTRY BOEDERIlSrG LAKE AGASSIZ Ol^ THE EAST.

Northern Minnesota, from Maple, Red, and Rainy lakes east to the
high northwestern shore of Lake Superior and south to Mille Lacs and the
Leaf Hills, varies in its average height from the highest level of Lake
Agassiz to 600 feet above it, or from 1,200 to 1,800 feet above the sea. It
is mostly a moderately rolling or hilly country, abounding with little lakes
which fill its depressions. The watershed dividing the basin of Lake
Agassiz from the basins of Lake Superior and the Mississippi culminates
northeastward in the Giants Range and the Mesabi Range, and southwest-
ward in the Leaf Hills. These ranges of hills rise several hundred feet
above the average height of the disti-ict. Excepting its western border
from near Maple Lake southward, where it is in large part prame like the
adjacent Red River Valley, this district is covered with an almost unbroken
forest. Toward the east it forms a plateau, in part hilly and mountainous
and in part only moderately undulating or nearly flat, everywhere well
wooded and dotted with frequent small lakes, bordering the entne northern
shore of Lake Superior, above which it rises 600 to 1,000 feet; and thence a
downward slope, characterized by the same general features, stretches west

' Geol. Surrey of Canada, Eeports of Progress for 1877 to 1879.

THE GIANTS AND MESABI EANGES. 31

and north with gradually declining- surface to Lake Winnipeg and Hudson
Bay. The highest point of this plateau on the line of the Canadian Pacific
Railway is 1,584 feet above the sea, or 982 and 874 feet, respectively,
above Lakes Superior and Winnipeg.

Giants Range. — The Giants Range extends in a west-southwest course
from north of Gunflint Lake, on the international boundary, to the lakes
on the Embarras River, about 15 miles south of Vermilion Lake, and its
mostly lower continuation, forming the northern border of the Mesabi iron-
bearing belt, appears to reach to the falls of Prairie River and Pokegama
Falls, on the Mississippi. Southeast and south of Vermilion Lake, where
it has been called the Mesabi Range, Prof N. H. Winchell describes it as
"a distinct, narrow ridge, rising about 200 feet above the average level on
either side. It is intersected at several places by streams." Its elevation
there is mainly about 1,800 feet above the sea, but eastward it rises to
nearly 2,200 feet.

Mesabi Range.— Frohssor Winchell resti-icts the title "Mesabi Range" to
a more prominent and persistent belt of highland 5 to 15 miles south of the
foregoing, with which it is approximately parallel. The eastern and highest
part of its extent is commonly known by this name. "It is, however, broad
as well as high, and holds on its summit some of the largest lakes of tliis
part of the State, Brul^ Lake being one. It is characterized by bare rock,
alternating with peat bogs and muskegs, with scattered and stunted spruces.
* * * Its width is sometimes 15 miles, but generally from 4 to 6;
and in most places, especially north from Grand Marais and south from
Ogisldiie Muncie Lake, its rounded low crest is distinct and narrowed to
less than a mile." ^ The suimnits of the Mesabi Range and of outlying hills
near are 1,800 to 2,230 feet above the sea, including the highest points of
land in Minnesota. The latter elevation is that of hills adjoining the south
side of Winchell Lake, as determined by leveling for the Minnesota
Geological Survey. Near the international boundary the Mesabi Range
extends from south of Gunflint Lake eastward to South and North lakes
and the sovith side of Mountain Lake.

' Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Minnesota, Thirteenth Annual Report, for 1884, p. 22.

32 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

These ranges of hills cross the international boundary respectively
about 90 and 120 miles east of Rainy Lake, which, as before stated, was
the extreme eastern arm of the glacial Lake Agassiz at its highest stage,
unless that area was still ice-covered; and their western portions are
respectively 65 and 75 miles south-southeast of the east end of Rainy Lake.
They coincide nearly with the line of watershed dividing the basin of
Rainy Lake and River from that of Lake Superior; but this watershed
takes a less direct course, winding its way circuitously over this generally
uneven and hilly region. On the international boundary the belt between
the Giants and Mesabi ranges is drained partly through the former to Rainy
Lake and partly through the latter to Lake Superior; and the Embarras
River, which sends its waters to the St. Louis River and Lake Supei-ior, has
its source north of the northern range.

About Vermilion Lake and the upper EmbaiTas River the average
height of the country is 1,500 to 1,600 feet. Thence the surface falls
slowly westward to the vicinity of Pokegama Falls, Lake Winnebagoshish,
and Leech and Cass lakes, where the mean elevation is from 1,300 to 1,400
feet. Still farther west it rises to 1,500 and 1,600 feet about Lake Itasca
and the White Earth Agency. The hills of these areas consist of morainic
accumulations of glacial drift, and are not so high and massive as the
Giants and Mesabi ranges, which, near the international boundary and west
to the EmbaiTas River, are mostly projecting knobs and ridges of the bed-
rock.

Mesabi and Itasca moraines. — Drift hills and shoil ridges, having
heights from 50 to 200 feet or more, extend in an approximately east to
west belt, to which I have applied the name Mesabi moraine, from the lakes
of the Embarras River to Deer and Bowstring lakes and the northeast side
of Lake Winnebagoshish. Its continuation northwestward probably passes
to the prominent terminal moraine, 100 to 200 feet high, between the north
and south portions of Red Lake, east of the Nan-ows. Eastward from the
Embarras River, this morainic belt coincides in part with the Giants and
Mesabi ranges for a considerable distance, so that the elevations of rock
forming those heights are overspread and sometimes concealed by morainic

THE LEAF HILLS. 33

drift deposits ; but it appears to pass finally south of those ranges and to
reach the north shore of Lake Superior in the vicinity of Grand Portage.

An approximately parallel morainic belt, 12 to 25 miles distant to the
south and west, lies on the south side of Pokegama and Leech lakes and
reaches west to Itasca Lake, where it bends to a northerly course. Its very
irregular hills and ridges rise 50 to 250 feet above the adjoining lakes and
streams. This belt, especially prominent at the head of the Mississippi
River, I have called the Itasca moraine.^

Leaf Hills. — From Itasca Lake and the White Earth Agency the
surface gradually falls southward to Detroit, 1,364 feet above the sea.
Thence a mean elevation of 1,350 to 1,400 feet extends south through
Ottertail and Douglas counties along- the low plateau that forms the height
of land between the Red and Mississippi I'ivers, east of the south part of
Lake Agassiz. Upon this area, in southern Ottertail County, are the Leaf
Hills, whose highest portions rise 100 to 350 feet above the general level,
or 1,500 to 1,750 feet above the sea, being the most prominent morainic
accumulations found within the State of Minnesota. They reach in a
semicircle from Fergus Falls southeast to the south line of the county, and
thence east and northeast to East Leaf Lake, a total distance of 50 miles.
In the first 20 miles, or from Fergus Falls to the north side of Lake Claris-
tina, at the northwest corner of Douglas County, these morainic deposits
are divided into two or three belts of roughly hilly land, with intervening
areas of smoother contour. For the next 20 miles to the east and northeast
they form a range 5 to 3 miles wide, composed of very irregular, roughly
outlined hills, 100 to more than 300 feet high, widely known by the name
Leaf Mountains. Northeast of East Leaf Lake, where this moraine is
crossed by the road from Wadena to Ottertail Lake, its elevations rise
only about 100 feet and are named Leaf Hills, which seems a more
appropriate title and should include the highest part of the range. The
common name has currency because they are the only hills in this part of
Minnesota that are conspicuously seen at any great distance.

'Detailed descriptions of these and other moraines crossing the basin of Lake Agassiz are given
in Chapter IV.

MON XXV 3

34 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

The Leaf Hills are crossed northwest of Parkers Prairie by a road that
winds 3 or 4 miles among their knolls, hills, and short ridges, rising about
100 feet above the land on each side. Again, the road from Alexandria to
Clitherall crosses this range in the township of Leaf Mountain, the summit
of the road being near the south line of this township, about 1,525 feet
above the sea. The top of a hill a quarter of a mile east of the road
here, and about 125 feet higher, affords a fine view of these "mountains"
(PI. VIII), which westward and northeastward rise in most tumultuous
confusion 150 to 250 feet or more above the intervening depressions.
They are massive, though very irregular in contour, with steep slopes.
No prevailing trend is noticeable. Between them are inclosed frequent
lakes, which vary from a few rods to a mile in length, and one of the largest
lies at the northeast foot of this hill. The material is chiefly unmodified
drift, nearly like that which forms very extensive, gently undulating tracts
elsewhere. The principal difference is that rock fragments, large and
small, are generally much more numerous upon these hills, and occasionally
they occur in great abundance.

South of the Leaf Hills the country adjoining Lake Agassiz is an
expanse of smoothly undulating or rolling till, 1,200 to 1,075 feet above
the sea. So slight are its elevations and depressions, usually differing from
each other by 10 to 25 feet, that in an extensive prospect these inequalities
are lost sight of, and the land seems bounded by a level line at the horizon.
This contour extends south through Grant and Stevens counties, and thence
more than 100 miles southeast, descending on the average about a foot per
mile along the wide, slightly undulating basin of the Minnesota River,
which seems to be a continuation of the same topographic belt that forms
the Red River Valley.

COUNTRY WEST OF LAKE AGASSIZ.

Along the west side of the basins of the Minnesota River, of the Red
River Valley, and of Lakes Manitoba and Winnipegosis, the surface rises
from 200 or 300 to 1,000 feet above their slightly undulating or quite flat
belt of lowland. No other feature in the contour of the northwestern
States and adjoining British territory is more noteworthy, extended, and

t. L ■ .-AiHi^'ltr

OOTEAU DES PRAIRIES AND MANITOBA ESCARPMENT. 35

prominent than this, excepting perhaps the ascent along- the similar and
parallel Coteau du Missouri. The latter, however, lacks the accompani-
ment of such a continuous broad depression beside it. This wide valley,
occupied by Lakes Winnipeg, Manitoba, and others, and by the Red and
Minnesota rivers, varying in elevation from 710 to 1,100 feet above the
sea, is the base of the slowly ascending expanse of the great plains which
rise thence westward to a height somewhat exceeding 4,000 feet above the
sea-level at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, on the international boundary.
Most of this elevation is attained by a gradual slope, averaging 4 or 5 feet
per mile throughout the distance of 730 miles from the Red River to the
mountains; but at two lines, extending from south to north or north-
west, first on the west side of this valley and again in the Coteau du
Missouri, 100 to 200 miles farther west, the surface rises more rapidly sev-
eral hundred feet within a few miles by a terrace-like ascent. The first
was the western shore of Lake Agassiz, and continuing south and southeast
held the same relation to an earlier glacial lake which occupied the basin
of the Minnesota and Blue Earth rivers.

The southern portion of this line of elevation is the massive and high
Coteau des Prairies. Its lower continuation from the head of the Coteau
des Prairies, west of Lake Traverse, for the next 175 miles northward, bears
no name, and is scarcely more conspicuous, or in some parts even less so,
than the moderate ascent that forms the opposite border of the Red River
Valley in Minnesota. Farther north this line of higher land rises abruptly
300 to 500 feet in Pembina Mountain, and from 500 to 1,000 feet or more
in Riding and Duck mountains and the Porcupine and Pasquia hills. All
of these are successive parts of a A'-ery i-emarkable terrace-like escarpment,
called by Mr. J. B. Tp-rell the Manitoba escarpment,^ stretching from North
Dakota by the west side of Lakes Manitoba and Winnipegosis to the Sas-
katchewan River. Its portions thus differently named are divided by deep
and broad valleys eroded by intersecting sti'eams.

This whole belt of highland, reaching in a nearly direct north-north-
west course about 800 miles, may thus be considered in tlu-ee parts. At
the south a quarter of its length is the great plateau-like ridge of the

1 Am. Geologist, Vol. VIII, ijp. 19-28, July, 1891.

36 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Coteau des Prairies. Next, a nearly equal extent, is the less elevated high-
land that gradually rises west of the Red River Valley, between it and the
Sheyenne River and Devils Lake. The northern half is a somewhat inter-
rupted, mountain-like escarpment, lying mainly in Manitoba, whose top,
like the highland just mentioned, is the verge of plains that extend thence
westward, generally with a nearly level but slowly ascending surface,
excepting where they are channeled and irregularly sculptured by stream
erosion. Occasional groups of hills also rise above the average height of
these plains, as Turtle Mountain and others farther northwest. Beneath
their thin covering of drift these hilly tracts contain remnants of older for-
mations, of which the portions formerly continuous between these elevations
and on each side have been eroded and carried away.

The accompanying maps, which form Pis. IX and X, giving altitudes
as determined chiefly by railway surveys upon the area of Lake Agassiz
and the adjoining country, show the extent and height of the Manitoba
escarpment, of portions of the Coteau des Prairies and the Coteau du
Missouri, and of the region extending eastward from Lake Agassiz to
Hudson and James bays and the great Laurentian lakes.

THE COTEAU UES PRAIRIES.

A large area extending from south-southeast to north-northwest in
southwestern Minnesota and the northeast part of South Dakota, and ter-
minating on the west side of the south end of Lake Agassiz, has an eleva-
tion from 500 to 1,000 feet above the Minnesota River, and from 1,300 to
2,000 feet above the sea. Upon this highland district are the sources of
the Lac qui Parle, Yellow Medicine, Redwood, and Cottonwood rivers, trib-
utary to the Minnesota; of the Des Moines River; and of the Little Sioux
and Big Sioux rivers, tributary to the Missouri. The outermost of the series
of terminal moraines of the waning ice-sheet, denominated the Altamont
moraine, generally lies on the highest portion of this area, which extends
in Minnesota from southeastern Nobles County in a nearly north-north-
west course, passing west of Worthington, through southwestern Murray
County, the northeastern township of Pipestone County, and southwestern
Lincoln County, by the west ends of Lakes Benton, Shaokatan, and Hen-

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SECTION ACROSS THE COTEAU DES PRAIRIES. 37

dricks into South Dakota, where it continues in the same course tlu'ough
Deuel and Grant counties and the Sisseton and Wahpeton Indian Reserva-
tion. It thus reaches past the sources of the Big Sioux River, and farther
northward becomes the divide between the head streams of the Minnesota
and Wild Rice rivers on the east and tlie James River on the west. This
elevated tract, extending 200 miles, was called by the earliest French
explorers the Coteau des Prairies, meaning the Highland of the Prairies.
This name, according to Nicollet, alludes to its conspicuous appearance,
"looming as it were a distant shore," when viewed from the valleys of the
Minnesota and James rivers, as is very noticeable from the vicinity of Lakes
Traverse and Big Stone and from the highest points near the Minnesota
River for ^Jerhaps 20 miles below Big Stone Lake. Farther southeast this
title was applied to the first prominent ascent above the broad, gently
undulating expanse that reaches everywhere 20 or 30 miles from the Min-
nesota River.

In crossing the Coteau des Prairies from northeast to southwest there
is generally a very gradual, smooth slope, rising 100 to 300 feet in 5 to 15
miles. Then comes a steeper ascent, which amounts to 300 feet or more
within a width of 2 or 3 miles, coinciding through the greater part of its
extent with the tract of knoUy and hilly diift that forms the second or Gary
moraine. The average height beyond, sometimes after a slight descent,
continues to rise, but only slowly, amounting to 100 or 150 feet in crossing
the smoother, undulating or rolling area, 6 to 15 miles wide, between this
and the outer morainic range, which next rises 100 to 200 or 300 feet within
2 or 3 miles and forms the crest of the highland along nearly its whole
extent. West of this moraine in Minnesota the surface soon drops 50 to
li 0 feet, this descent being greatest at the south and diminishing north-
ward, and thence a smooth slope of till falls southwesterly some 200 feet
within 10 miles. Farther to the north, from Lake Hendricks nearly to
Goodwin, S. Dak., a gently undulating expanse of till, slightly lower than
this western belt of di'ift hills, extends from them westward, approximately
level, for a Avidth of several miles, beyond which a similar slope falls to the
southwest.

38

THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

On the Minnesota division of the Chicago and Northwestern Railway
the traveler gomg west enters the iiiner moraine belt of the Coteau at the
west edge of Minnesota, a little east of Grary, about 1,460 feet above the
sea (fig. 8). The line crosses this belt obliqiiely, occupying about 4 miles,
and ascending some 200 feet. Then 6 miles are moderately rolling, mainly
in smooth swells; and the next 6 miles, lying partly on each side of Alta-
mont, are among the knolls and small hills of the outer moraine, 1,750 to
1,950 feet above the sea; succeeded by a smooth, slightly undulating area
of till, which rises to the summit of this line near Goodwin, 2,000 feet
above the sea, extends thence nearly level to Kranzburg, and then descends
250 feet by a very gradual slope to Watertown.

I

'^ Branc/tes of is.c ^

ISOi

Fig. 8.— Section across the Coteau des Prairies in Yellow Medicine County, Minn., and Deuel and Codington counties,
S. Dak. Horizontal scale, 12 miles to an inch ; vertical scale, 1,000 feet to an inch.

The altitude of the Coteau des Prairies is due to the Upper Cretaceous
formations, here spared and left by preglacial erosion as a broad and high
ridge, upon which the drift deposits lie, rather than to extraordinary thick-
ness of the drift beyond that which it commonly has on the lowlands at
each side. The knolls and hillocks of the morainic belts rise 20 to 50 and
rarely 75 or 100 feet above the intervening hollows, and the thickness which
they add to the drift sheet of the Coteau des Prairies appears to be from 50
to 150 feet. That the prominence of this liighland is not due to these
morainic accumulations is shown in South Dakota at Goodwin and farther
north by the greater elevation that is reached within a distance of 2 to 5
miles by the smooth sheet of till at their west side, which there foiTQs the
watershed and beyond descends to the Big Sioux River.

Nearly a constant elevation, varying between 1,950 and 2,050 feet
above the sea, is maintained along the entire northern half of the Coteau

ASCENT WESTWAED IN NOETH DAKOTA. 39

des Prairies, lying in South Dakota. The north end of this highland,
called the Head of the Coteau des Prairies, is about 35 miles west-northwest
of Lake Traverse and the south end of Lake Agassiz. Within 5 or 6 miles
farther north there is a descent of nearly 800 feet to a level only about
1,200 feet above the sea. Along the continuation of this line northward,
instead of such a prominent massive ridge, bordered by much lower land
on each side, there is a more gradual ascent, attaining a third or half as
great elevation above the valley on the east, with only slight descent or
none thence westward to the Sheyenne and James rivers.

ASCENT FROM THE RED RIVER VALLEY IN NORTH DAKOTA.

From the Head of the" Coteau des Prairies for 140 miles north to the
latitude of Larimore and Devils Lake the highland bordering the west side
of the Red River Valley rises by such gentle slopes that it is not generally
seen conspicuously from the flat plain of this valley. Standing on the
upper beach of Lake Agassiz, the observer sees a smoothed surface
descending very slowly eastward within the area of this lake, and a
moderately undulating or rolling surface rising slowly toward the west.
Along most of this distance, however, the slope both to the east and west
is so slight that the view in each direction reaches only a few miles.

On the line of the Fargo and Southwestern Railroad the highest land
crossed between the west shore of Lake Agassiz and the Sheyenne River
is 1,190 feet above the sea; and between the Sheyenne and James rivers it
is about 1,400 feet above sea-level, or 500 feet above the central part of
the Red River Valley at Fargo.

The Northern Pacific Railroad attains a height of 1,440 feet between
the area of Lake Agassiz and the Sheyenne River, and the highest land
between that stream and the James River is approximately 1,500 feet,
being thus 600 feet above Fargo. By each of these lines the descent to
the James River is only about 100 feet.

Between Larimore and Devils Lake, at the northern end of this extent,
where the highland west of the Red River Valley rises less prominently
than in the Coteau des Prairies on the south or in Pembina Mountain on
the north, there is a slightly greater ascent than on the two preceding rail-
roads which cross its southern half At Larimore, near the highest western

40 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

shore of Lake Agassiz, the elevation of the Great Northern Railway is
1,134 feet, or about 300 feet above the plain of the Red River Valley at
Grand Forks. Thence the surface in the next 17 miles westward rises to
1,525 feet, and this elevation is maintained somewhat uniformly, nowhere
exceeding 1,535 feet nor falling below 1,450 feet, to the city of Devils
Lake, 1,464 feet above the sea, 60 miles west of Larimore.

THE MANITOBA ESCARPMENT.

A very remarkable series of highlands, forming the eastern limit of the
elevated plains of the northern part of North Dakota jand of western
Manitoba and the Saskatchewan region, extends in a north-northwest
course 400 miles, from the Pembina Mountain to the Pasquia Hills. Along
much of this distance a steep, mountain-like escarpment, which was the
west shore of Lake Agassiz, rises 500 to 1,000 feet above the bed of that
lake, now the low plain bordering the Red River and the great lakes of
Manitoba. Topographically, this line of conspicuous highlands is allied
with the Coteau des Prairies by their together forming the western ascent
from the broad, continuous valley plain, which in its southeast part passes
from the Red River Valley to the lowland of the basin of the Minnesota
River. Both the Coteau des Prairies and the Manitoba escarpment consist,
beneath their drift covering, of nearly liorizontal Cretaceous shales, whose
continuation has been removed by erosion on both sides of the Coteau, but
only east of the escarpment.

Pembina Mountain. — The southern end of the Pembina Mountain,
whei-e it is reduced to rounded hills, about 100 feet above the lowland at
their east base and 1,300 feet above the sea, is in section 30, township 158
north, range 56 west, between the south and middle branches of Park
River. Thence for the next 5 miles northward this ascent is merely a slope
that rises 50 or 60 feet, or in some portions only 30 or 40 feet, within a
quarter or half mile from east to west, succeeded beyond by a moder-
ately rolling surface with slower ascent westward. Along the west line of
townships 159 and 160 of range 56 this highland rises gradually in its
course from south to north, attaining an elevation about 1,500 feet alcove
the sea; and it holds this height quite uniformly northward to the Pembina
River, in the south part of township 163, range 57, about 5 miles south of

us. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY,

MONOGRAPH XXV. PL.X

MAP WITH ALTITUDES OF THE SOUTHERN PORTION OB^ LAKE A(iASSIZ EXPLORED

\VITII LEVELLING IN MINNESOTA. NORTH DAKOTA, AND MANITOBA.

Scale, abouL 42 miles Lo aviinch.
Area of Ltike A^assiz I I Altiliides in feet above the .sea I ""'° I

PEMBINA MOUNTAm. 41

the international boundary. It is a prominent wooded bluff, some 300 feet
high, extending in a verj' direct course from south to north or a few
degrees west of north. From its southern end to the Pembina River the
base of this escarpment is 1,200 to 1,225 feet above the sea. The width
occupied by its slope varies from a half mile to 2 or 3 miles, and from
its crest a treeless plateau, having a moderately rolling surface, stretches
with slow ascent westward. North of the Pembina River its crest sinks to
about 1,400 feet, and its base to about 1,025 feet, at the international
boundary.

Where the Pembina River cuts through this escarpment, entering the
area of Lake Agassiz, the eroded eastern front of its delta dejoosit fonns
another conspicuous bluff, about 200 feet high, falling in a steep, wooded
slope from 1,175 to 975 feet, approximately, above the sea-level. The
delta bluff, called the "First Pembina Mountain," is composed of sand and
gravel, and lies about 5 miles east of this more prolonged line of highland,
which is denominated in that vicinity the "Second Pembina Mountain."
The latter, throughout its entire extent both in North Dakota and Manitoba,
is caused by the outcrop of a continuous belt of almost level Cretaceous
strata, mostly overspread by glacial drift.

The ascent of this higliland on the international boundary, where it
occupies a width of about 1^ miles, is described by Dr. G. M. Dawson as
follows :

The eastern front of Pembina escarpment is very distinctly terraced, and tlie
summit of the plateau, even at its eastern edge, thickly covered with drift. The first
or lowest terrace, which is about one-third from the prairie level toward the top of
the escarpment, does not seem to preserve exactly the same altitude. On the boun-
dary line its height above the general prairie level was found to be about 90 feet, a
second terrace 260 feet, and that of the third level, or summit of the plateau, about
360 feet. The surface of the first terrace, which is here wide, is strewn with bowlders,
as is also that of the second terrace and plateau above. These are chiefly of Lauren-
tian gneiss and granite, but a few smaller ones of limestone occur. The banks of
ravines cutting the top of the plateau and draining westward into the Pembina Eiver
show in some places a great thickness of light-colored, yellowish, marly drift, with
few bowlders embedded in it.'

' Report on the Geology aud Resources of the Forty-ninth Parallel, from the Lake of the Woods to
the Rocky Mountains, 1875, i). 219.

42 . THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

In Manitoba this escarpment extends with a north-northwest course
by Mountain City and Thornhill to 6 miles east-southeast of Treherne, a
distance of about 50 miles With its extent in North Dakota, the whole
length of Pembina Mountain is approximately 80 miles. Its crest north of
the international boundary averages about 400 feet above its base, or 1,400
feet above the sea; but within a few miles farther west the rolling surface
of the highland rises 100 to 200 feet higher.

Northwestward fi'om Treherne the plateau of which Pembina Moun-
tain forms the eastern edge is inteiTupted across a distance of 65 miles to
Riding Mountain. This broad depression is occupied by the Assinibolne
Eiver and its tributaries, and by small streams on the northeast wlaich send
their waters to Lake Manitoba. The plateau, indeed, loses its regularity of
surface upon the country farther north and west, because it has been eroded
to the depth of several hundi-ed feet on tlie greater part of the Assiniboine
basin.

Tiger Hills. — The border of tlie plateau south of the Assiniboine,
reaching from close south of Treherne westerly 50 miles to the elbow of
the Souris River, is called the Tiger Hills.^ It is in-egularly sculptured in
steep, rounded, massive hills, and is overspread by drift deposits, consisting
partly of morainic accumulations. For a distance of 40 miles west from
the Pembina Mountain this belt occupies a width of 5 to 8 miles, upon
which the surface falls from south to north 300 to 400 feet. The country on
the south has an average elevation nearly the same as the summits of the
hills, which yet rise very prominently as seen from the lower region on the
north. The western part of the Tiger Hills, extending 10 or 12 miles east
and an equal distance west from the gorge that is cut through the range by
the Som'is, rises considerably above the adjoining nearly flat surface on each
side. The foot of the belt of hills there is 100 to 150 feet lower on the
north than on the south, and the Souris flows through it in a gorge 350 feet
deep. From this vicinity Hind apjjlied the name Blue Hills of the Som-is
to this belt, but that name is not used by the people of the district.

Riding and Duck mountains. — North of the Assiniboine River the eastern
outline of the continuation of this plateau is preserved in the prominent

' From the aboriginal name, which doubtless refers to the cougar or American panther {Felis
concolor L.).

EIDING AND DUCK MOUNTAINS. 43

elevations of Riding and Duck mountains, two remarkable wooded high-
lands, much alike in their general features and extent. The steep eastern
escarpment of each is about 50 miles long, that of Riding Mountain
trending from southeast to northwest and that of Duck Mountain having a
course a few degrees west of north. These elevations rise above the country-
adjoining the Assiniboine by a somewhat gradual slope, but they are
abruptly cut off on their northeast side by a precipitous descent. This
takes place on a line approximately parallel with Lakes Manitoba and
Winnipegosis, the former of these lakes being about 40 miles east of
Riding Mountain, while the south end of the latter is 25 miles east
of Duck Mountain. The crests of these highlands, according to Mr. J. B.
Tyrrell's measurements, ai-e respectively about 2,000 and 2,300 to 2,700
feet above the sea, the latter being the highest land in Manitoba; and the
-bases of their escarpments are about 1,200 to 1,500 feet above the sea, being
400 to 700 feet above the lakes on the east, whose height slightly exceeds
800 feet.

The reader is refen-ed to Mr. Tyrrell's map and descriptions of the
district of Riding and Duck mountains for details of its topography and
geology, and of the shore-lines of Lake Agassiz north of the limit of my
exploration.^

Porcupine and Pasquia hills. — Beyond Duck Mountain, after an inter-
ruption of about 30 miles across the basins of Swan and Woody rivers, this
line of highlands is continued in the Porcupine Mountain or hills, which
reach about 25 miles from south to north. These form a somewhat broken
plateau, similar with the preceding in its general features of steep acclivity
on the east and gentle descent westward. On their north side another gap,
about 20 miles wide, is occupied by the Red Deer and Overflowing rivers.

Next are the Pasquia Hills, whose eastern end is in line with Pembina,
Riding, and Duck mountains and the Porcupine Hills, being about 100
miles west from the mouth of the Saskatchewan. The Pasquia Hills extend
thence 150 miles westward, where they formed the southern shore of the
northwestern arm of Lake Agassiz, lying about 25 miles south of the

JGeol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Annual Report, new series, Vol. Ill, for 1^87-88, pp.
1-16 E, with a preliminary contour map. Bulletin, G. S. A., Vol. 1, 1890, pp. 395-410. Am. Geologist,
Vol. VIII, pp. 19-28, July, 1891.

44 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Saskatchewan River and parallel with it to the Birch Hills and the South
Saskatchewan. They are the northern escarpment limiting the irregularly
eroded country, which is here considered as an extension of the great plateau
of North Dakota and southern Manitoba and Assiniboia, thus holding the
same relation to the valley of the Saskatchewan that the Tiger Hills
sustain to the Assiniboine Valley.

Great Bear Hills. — On the north side of the Saskatchewan the Great
Bear Sand Hills, extending in a north-northwest course to the east end of
Lac la Rouge and to the Churchill River, are geographically a continuation
of the line of highlands thus described from the Coteau des Prairies and
Pembina Mountain to the Pasquia Hills, and they will probably be found
also to belong to the same geologic age. If this be true, they differ from
this great Cretaceous escarpment south of the Saskatchewan by being out-
lying remnants, separated from the broad Cretaceous area on the west by
a belt of Devonian limestones where these overlying beds have been eroded.
The amount of erosion west of the middle portion of this escarpment,
through North Dakota and in southern Manitoba, since the cycle of base-
leveling which spared the Turtle Mountain area, has been inconsiderable,
so that in general the surface is a great plain with a gradual ascent west-
ward. On the south the Cretaceous strata are deeply eroded west of the
Coteau des Prairies, exposing the underlying red quartzite, probably of
Keweenawan age, at the celebrated Pipestone quarry in southwestern Min-
nesota and at many localities thence westerly to the James River. Again,
in western Manitoba and northwestward, between the Assiniboine and Sas-
katchewan rivers, the Cretaceous strata are much denuded, though not worn
through, west of the highlands that form their eastern escarpment. Still
farther north, between the Saskatchewan and Churchill rivers, the denuda-
tion appears to have cut through the Cretaceous beds and to have left
remnants of their eastern portion.

FOREST AND PRAIEIB.

The area of Lake Agassiz is crossed by the southwestern boundary of
the forest that overspreads the greater part of British America and nearly
all of the eastern half of the United States. This boundary between forest

BOUNDAEY BETWEEN FOREST AND PEAIRIE. 45

and prairie (see PI. XXXVIII, Chapter XI), having an almost wholly tim-
bered region on its northeast side, and a region on its southwest side that
is chiefly grass land, without trees or shrubs, excepting in narrow belts
along the streams and occasional groves beside lakes, runs as follows : From
near the junction of the South and North Saskatchewan rivers it passes
southeasterly by the sources of the Red Deer and Assiniboine rivers and
over the southwestern slopes of Duck and Riding mountains to the south
end of Lakes Manitoba and Winnipeg. Thence it turns southward and
holds this course along the east side of the Red River and approximately
parallel with it, at a distance increasing from 15 to 50 miles from the river
for about 300 miles to the upper part of this stream, where it flows from
.east to west. It enters the United States about 15 miles east of Emerson
and St. Vincent and extends south-southeastward to the mouth of Thief
River, the sources of Poplar and Sand Hill rivers, and the White Earth
Agency, being at the last-named locality some 60 miles distant from the
Red River. Its course continues to the south by Detroit and Pelican Rapids
to Fergus Falls, where it crosses the Red River, and thence it runs south
east and east through the central part of the south half of Minnesota.

Grroves border the. greater part of Lakes Big Stone and Traverse, and
cover the islands of Big Stone Lake. But considerable portions of the
shores and bluffs of these lakes and the islands of Lake Traverse are
destitute of timber, or bear only bushes and small trees. The Bois des
Sioux River has no timber along the upper two-thirds of its course, but
below is fringed here and there by woods, from which it derives its name.
The Mustinka River, flowing into the north end of Lake Traverse; Rabbit
River, tributary to the Bois des Sioux; and the upper part of Wild Rice
River, in North Dakota, and of Elm River, tributaries of the Red River,
are also unwooded.

The Red River has no timber, or very little, for 20 miles east from its
bend at Breckenridge and Wahpeton. In the next 10 miles downstream it
has scattered groves of bur oak, ash, box elder, elm, and basswood, occupy-
ing perhaps one-fourth of this distance, while small poplars and willows
occasionally appear in the spaces between the groves. Thence to the north
this river is continuously fringed with timber, and its larger tributaries

4fi THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

have their course marked in the same way. The growth of wood is here
confined chiefly to the banks of the streams, which have cut hollows 20 to
40 feet deep in the broad lacustrine plain.

About a sixth part of the area of Lake Agassiz, and a larger propor-
tion (nearly the whole) of the adjoining country on the south and west,
are prairie, this term being commonly used to embrace all tracts destitute
of trees and shrubs, but well covered with grass. Groves of a few acres,
or sometimes a hundred acres or more, occur here and there upon this
prairie region beside lakes, and a narrow line of timber usually borders
streams, as just described along the Red River; but many lakes and creeks,
and even portions of the course of large streams, have neither bush nor
tree in sight, and occasionally none is visible in a view which ranges from
5 to 10 miles in all directions. The contour of the prairie is as varied as
that of the wooded region. Within the area of Lake Agassiz the surface
is almost absolutely level, but the adjoining prairie country is undiilating,
rolling, and hilly, haAang in some tracts a very rough surface of knolls,
hills, and ridges of morainic drift that rise steeply 25 to 100 feet or more
above the intervening hollows. The material of the greater part of all
these areas, whether forest or prairie, is closely alike, being till or unmodi-
fied glacial drift, showing no important diff"erences such as might cause the
growth of forest in one region and of only grass and herbage in another.
Chapter XI will include a discussion of the climatic conditions, as abun-
dance or lack of rainfall, and auxiliary causes, as prairie fires, by which the
limits of these diverse phases of veg'etation have been determined.

EXISTING LAKES WITHIN THE AREA OF LAKE AGASSIZ.

The glacial Lake Agassiz was gradually reduced in size, first by the
lowering- of its southward outlet, and afterwards by finding successively
lower outlets to the northeast, until, with the complete departure of the ice-
sheet, it shi'ank to its present representatives, the great lakes of Manitoba.
These are three in number. Lakes Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Winnipegosis.
With them are associated several others, comparatively small, as Cedar
Lake, through which the Saskatchewan -flows near its mouth; Lake

LAKE WINNIPEG. 47

Dauphin, south of Lake Winnipegosis and ti'ibutaiy to it ; and Lake St.
Martin, on the Fairford or Little Saskatchewan River, the outlet of Lakes
Manitoba and Winnipegosis.

Many other lakes of still smaller size, but ranging up to several miles
in extent, are scattered here and there on all this northern ^^art of the bed
of Lake Agassiz. Such small lakes are also frequent on its southeastern
part, in northern Minnesota, eastward from Roseau, Thief, Mud, and Maple
lakes, besides the three large lakes of that district, Rainy Lake, the Lake of
the Woods, and Red Lake.

Lake Winnipeg. — The length of Lake Winnipeg is about 250 miles,
trending from south-southeast to north-northwest, while the maximum
width of its southern part is about 25 miles, and of its northern part 60
miles. Its area is approximately 8,500 square miles, being intermediate in
extent between Lakes Ontario and Erie. Eighty-five miles from its south
end, Lake Winnipeg is reduced to a strait 2 to 4 miles wide, which extends
northwesterly 12 miles, terminating at the cape called Dog Head. The
narrowest part of the strait, scarcely exceeding a mile in width, is at this
cape. Here the strait opens into the northern and main portion of the
lake, which includes five-sixths of its area.

The elevation of Lake Winnipeg, determined by the survey for the
Canadian Pacific Railway, is 710 feet above the sea. Its depth, according
to Mr. J. Hoyes Panton, nowhere exceeds 65 feet. "The shallowness of
this comparatively large body of water," as Mr. Panton writes, "accounts
for its treacherous nature, and explains how on many occasions it has
proved a disastrous waterway to the freighting- boats of bygone days. As
you sit upon the deck of the steamer, threading its way among the islands,
you are surprised at the tortuous course made, when water seems on every
side and no shore near. So shallow is the lake that many places miles
from land are not covered with more than 6 or 7 feet of water. It is only
safe to experienced captains, thoroughly acquainted with the concealed
channels that afford a safe course at a distance from the shore." ^ On
account of this slight depth, the water of most parts of the lake is com-

i" Notes on the geology of some islands in Lake Winnipeg." Transactions of the Historical and
Scientific Society of Manitoba, January 28, 1886.

48 • THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

monly turbid with mud, stirred up by the waves from its shores and bed.^
Low land borders this lake along nearly its whole extent, and the highest
points on the shore or visible from it rarely attain an elevation of 50 feet.

Lakes Manitoba and Winnipegosis. — Lake Manitoba^ lies about 40 miles
west of the south half of Lake Winnipeg; and Lake Winnipegosis,^ sepa-
rated only about 2 miles from the north end of Lake Manitoba, lies mostly
40 to 50 miles west of the north half of Lake Winnipeg, but its most
northeast part is only 20 miles southwest from that lake. The length of
each of these lakes, measured in a straight line, is about 120 miles, trend-
ing in parallelism with Lake Winnipeg, from south-southeast to north-
northwest; and each of them covers an area of nearly 2,000 square miles.
Both are shallow in proportion to their size, and are surrounded by low ■
shores.

The maximum width of Lake Manitoba, about 28 miles, is at its south
end. Near its middle it is narrowed to a strait about a half mile wide and
2 miles long. Its northern part is of quite irregular form, and is nearly
intersected from the north by a long peninsula. This lake, according to
leveling by Mr. H. S. Treherne, is 809 feet above the sea, being thus
almost exactly 100 feet higher than Lake Winnipeg, to which it is tributary
by the Little Saskatchewan. The country between these lakes and from
Lake Manitoba west to Lake Dauphin and to Riding and Duck mountains
is low and approximately level, but has a general westward ascent, aver-
aging a few feet per mile.

The width of Lake Winnipegosis varies from 5 to 15 miles. Its
northern portion is bent to the west and south, terminating in Dawson
Bay, so that its length, following this course, is nearly 150 miles. Its
outlines, moreover, are very irregular, presenting a constantly varying

'"Lake Winnipeek receives its uame from the muddy or sallow appearance of its waters; We
signifies muddy, and Nepe water, in Chippewa." — Keating's Narrative of Long's Expedition, Vol. II,
p. 77.

-Meaning the "Narrows or Strait of the Manitou or Great Spirit," as I am informed by letters
from Prof. George Bryce and Mr. J. B. Tyrrell. This name was originally pronounced by white inhab-
itants nearly as by the Indians, with accents on the initial and final syllables; but during the past
ten years or more its almost universal pronunciation in English has been with only one accent, which
is laid on the next to the last syllable.

'Meaning "Little Winnipeg." — Hind's Narrative of the Canadian Exploring Expeditions, Vol.
11, p. 42.

RAINY LAKE AND THE LAKE OF THE WOODS. 49

succession of bays, capes, and islands. This lake outflows by Water Hen
Lake and River to Lake Manitoba, and has an elevation of 19 feet above
the latter, as determined by surveys for the Canadian Pacific Railway, or
828 feet above the sea.

Rainy Lake. — Two bodies of water of considerable size, namely. Rainy
Lake and the Lake of the Woods (PI. XI), lie on the northern boundary
of Minnesota, within the eastern part of the area of Lake Agassiz. The
length of Rainy Lake is slightly more than 50 miles, trending from east-
southeast to west-northwest, and its average width is about 5 miles, giving
it an area of 250 square miles, approximately. It is extremely diversified
by projecting points, numerous bays and narrow arms, and plentiful islands.
Its height above the sea is about 1,117 feet, and its maximum depth,
according to soundings by Dr. A. C. Lawson, is 110 feet.

Lake of the Woods. — The Lake of the Woods has a very irregular
form, nearly surrounding a large peninsula in its northern part, and
including many bays on the north and east, some of them connected with
the main lake only by narrow channels. A multitude of islands, large and
small, dot its surface, excepting in its southwest part, called Sand Hill
Lake, where it adjoins Minnesota. Measured from north to south or from
east to west, its maximum extent in either direction is 60 miles approxi-
mately, and its area is about 1,500 square miles. Its elevation, determined
by the Canadian Pacific Railway survey, is 1,060 feet above the sea, and
the maximum depth of its northern part, called Clear Water Lake, is stated
by Dr. G. M. Dawson to be 84 feet.

Bed Lake. — The largest lake lying wholly in Minnesota is Red Lake
(PI. XII), situated in the southeast edge of the area of Lake Agassiz, at a
distance of about 50 miles south from the Lake of the Woods. Its eleva-
tion, as determined by the Duluth and Winnipeg Railroad survey, is 1,172
feet above the sea, being about 40 feet below the adjacent portion of the
highest shore-line of the glacial lake. A strait about three-fourths of a.
mile wide divides Red Lake into two nearly equal parts, which trend from
east to west. The length of each part is somewhat more than 20 miles,
and of both together about 30 miles, while the maximum width of each is
about 10 miles. Its area is approximately 440 square miles. This lake
MON XXV 4

50 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

differs remarkably from all the preceding in its regular outlines, broken by
no capes nor bays, and in the complete absence of islands. The map plate
shows the various di-ift deposits adjoining Red Lake, as observed in a canoe
trip along its entire shore-line in September, 1885.

RIVERS TRIBUTARY TO LAKE AGASSIZ AND DRAINING ITS AREA.

The area of Lake Agassiz is drained to Lake Winnipeg chiefly by the
Winnipeg, Red, and Little Saskatchewan (or Fairford) rivers. On the north-
west this glacial lake also included the region crossed by the lower part of
the Saskatchewan. Flowing out from Lake Winnipeg, the united waters
of all these river .systems are carried by the Nelson to Hudson Bay.
PI. XIII is colored to show the several drainage areas of the Lake Agassiz
basin and adjoining country.

Rainy and Winnipeg rivers. — It seems probable that the recession of
the ice-sheet uncovered the entire course of the Rainy and Winnipeg rivers
before Lake Agassiz had fallen below the level of Rainy Lake. These are
upper and lower portions of the main trunk of the same I'iver system.
East of Rainy Lake a large tract tributary to it reaches nearly a hundred
miles on the international boundary, including ahnost countless lakes and
small streams.

Rainy River, about 80 miles long, connecting Rainy I^ake and the
Lake of the Woods, is a broad and majestic, deep stream, with an average
width of a sixth of a mile, flowing in general in a somewhat direct west-
northwest course. At the mouth of Rainy Lake it has rapids that fall
about 3 feet. Its principal falls are between Koochiching and Fort Frances,
situated opposite to each other on the south and north banks of the river,
a little more than 2 miles from Rainy Lake, where it descends 23 feet in
about a tenth of a mile. Manitou Rapids, about 35 miles from Rainy
Lake, are a short descent of about 2 feet, with outcropping rock in the
channel and banks. Six miles below these is the Long Sault, a mile in
length, estimated by Major Long to have "an aggregate descent of about
10 feet;"^ but subsequent leveling by S. J. Dawson shows that it probably

iKeating's Narrative of Long's Expedition, Vol. II, p. 230.

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.

MONOGRAPH XXV. PL. XII-

Mos^ Tamarack Su
i ^°'o.

R.36

T. 146

MAP OF RED LAKE AND ITS VICINITV.

us HI Ex a CO f

Scale, 6 miles lo an incli.

EAINY AND WINNIPEG EI VERS. 51

does not exceed two-thirds this amount. Excepting these rapids, Rainy
River has an average descent of only about 3 inches per mile, giving to the
ordinary low stage of water a very gentle current. It is navigable for large
steamboats from the Lake of the Woods to the foot of the Long Sault,
and thence to Rainy Lake it is navigated by a tug or propeller, towing
Mackinaw boats. The banks of the river are only 10 to 20 feet high, and
are fertile and heavily wooded, having commonly a clayey soil. The most
important tributaries of Rainy River are on its south side, and include the
Little I ork and the Big Fork or Bowstring River (whose mouths are
respectively about 15 and 21 miles from Rainy Lake), Black River (4 miles
below the Big Fork), and the Rapids or Winter Road River (about 12 miles
from the Lake of the Woods).

Winnipeg River, the outlet of the Lake of the Woods, has a length of
about 160 miles, flowing in a winding course to the northwest. Its total
descent is 350 feet, four-fifths of this being in the many falls and rapids
which occur along nearly its entire extent. These falls are divided by
portions with only a strong or gentle current, or by lake-like expansions of
the river where no current is perceptible. At Rat Portage the Winnipeg
flows out from the Lake of the Woods by two channels, which are divided
by Tunnel Island. Each channel descends about 16 feet, the eastern one
being called Hebes Falls, and the western one the Witches Caldron, which
opens into Winnipeg or Darlington Bay. After flowing about 8 miles
through this and other bays or lakes, the river enters the Dalles, passing
with a very swift current between perpendicular walls of granite. Beyond
the Dalles its banks and abundant islands along a distance of about 15
miles, as described by Keating, are clay slate, occasionally varying to mica-
schist. "The river expands considerably, being in some places several
miles wide. * * * Its cun-ent is swift, especially near the islands, but
it is free from i-ipples; we observed none of the foaming rapids which
characterize the lower part of the stream. The islands, which in some
places are countless, are generally small and of a form nearly square; from
the vertical stratification of the rock their banks are perpendicular; they
generally rise from 10 to 20 feet above the level of the water." Below this
belt of slate the river flows through a very picturesque region of granite,

52 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

gneiss, and schists, over many falls, cascades, and rapids, and tkrough
numerous lakes. In descending order these include Jacks Falls, the Upper
Falls, "which for beauty are second only to the Lower Falls;" Slave Falls,
"computed at 20 feet;" Lac du Bonnet, "about 15 miles long and from
600 yards to 4 miles in breadth," and the Lower Falls.^

On each side the country rises to a moderate elevation in low hills and
ridges, with frequent outcrops of the bed-rocks. The highest land crossed
by the Canadian Pacific Railway south of the Winnipeg River, from 18 to
28 miles west of Rat Portage, is about 200 feet above the Lake of the
Woods and about 550 feet above Lake Winnipeg, rising thus nearly to the
highest level of Lake Agassiz. English River, which flows through Lac
Seul, or Lonely Lake, is a large tributary of the Winnipeg from the east.
The only important affluent from the south is the Whitemouth River, drain-
ing a considerable area west of the Lake of the Woods. The water of
Winnipeg River is very clear, and is strongly contrasted with the muddy
water of Lake Winnipeg, with which it mingles at its mouth.

Red Lake River. — Originally the name Red River was apphed by the
Indians to the outlet of Red Lake, flowing westerly to Grand Forks and
thence northerly to Lake Winnipeg, and the sti-eam now called Red River
was known to them as the Ottertail River from Ottertail Lake to its junc-
tion with the Red Lake River. Belfcrami affirms, with poetic license, that
the aboriginal names of Red Lake and of its outflowing river, the latter
translated by him Bloody River, refer to the "blood of the slain" in the
wars between the Ojibways and Dakotas.- This stream is the largest trib-

'Keating's Narrative of Long's Expedition, Vol. II, pp. 82-102.

■^A Pilgrimage in Europe and America, leading to the discovery of the sources of the Mississippi
and Bloody River, Vol. II-, pp. 335-340. Also see Keating's Narrative of Long's Expedition, Vol.
II, p. 34.

Rev. J. A. Gilfillan, however, states that the Ojibway name of Red Lake perhaps alludes to
" reddish, fine gravel or sand along the shore in places, which in storms gets wrought into the v/ater
near the edges,'' or to the reddish color of streams flowing into the lake from bogs on its north side.
(Fifteenth Annual Report, Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Minnesota, for 1886, p. 460.)

D. D. Owen, in the description of his canoe journey down the Red River, writes of its junction
with the«Red Lake River at Grand Forks: "The Red Fork of Red River, which flows from Red Lake,
* * * is the stream to which the name of Red River properly belongs. The stream ■which we
navigated is known to the Indians by the name of Ottertail River. The color of the waters of Red
River proper also shows the origin of the name. They are of a reddish brown cast, and contrast
strongly with the whitish, milky appearance of the stream coming from Ottertail Lake, and which
henceforth assumes a darker hue." — Report of a Geological Survey of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minne-
sota, 1852, pp. 176, 177.

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EED LAKE EIVER AND THE GRAND MARAIS. 53

utary of the Red River from its east side. From Red Lake to the mouth
of Thief River it flows west-northwest about 40 miles, measured in a direct
line; next it flows south 16 miles to a point about 3 miles east of Red Lake
Falls; thence west-southwest 21 miles to Crookstou, and finally west and
northwest 23 miles to Grand Forks. Its entire length, not measuring
minor bends, is thus approximately 100 miles, but if the course of the river
were followed in all its meanderings this distance would be nearly doubled.
Its width varies mostly from 6 to 10 rods. At its mouth it has only about
half as great width as the Red River above their junction, but probably
can-ies an equal volume of water, as it flows with a much stronger current,
estimated between 2 and 3 miles per hour at the stage of ordinary low
water.

The Grand Marais, extending 22 miles from the Red Lake River near
Fisher to a point on the Red River 12 miles below Grand Forks, is a former
channel of the Red Lake River, now occupied by marshes, pools, and lake-
lets. The width of this, deserted chamiel or valley, measured between the
crests of its bluff's, varies commonly from 15 to 30 rods, rarely expanding to
a»quarter or third of a mile, and its depth below the general level of the
valley plain is mostly about 20 feet. It is only half as deep, and averages
probably not more than a fifth as wide, as the present river valley. During
times of abundant rains, and especially when the snow melts in the spring
a stream occupies the Grand Marais, but through the greater part of the
year it has no running water. In a similar manner the Wild Rice River of
Minnesota, along its lower portion, at first flowed in the present channel or
valley of the Marsh River, from which it has turned away about 2 miles
southeast of Ada to a more southerly course. Doubtless in each case a
smaller stream had previously begun the erosion of the channel into which
the river was diverted.

The fall of Red Lake River between Red Lake and Thief River is
73 feet, from l.,172 to 1,099 feet above the sea. Thence to its mouth it
descends 315 feet, averaging more than 5 feet per mile in its direct course.
Its banks and bed consist of glacial drift, excepting where this formation
is covered by alluvial deposits, and consequently the stream has acquired
a somewhat regular slope, broken, indeed, by frequent rapids where it runs

54 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

over cobbles and bowlders, but having no abrupt falls. The height of the
banks and of the adjoining country, which has a flat or slightly undulating
contour, is generally 30 to 40 feet above the river; but in the vicinity of
Red Lake Falls this stream and the Clear Water River, an important tribu-
tary to it from the southeast, have eroded their channels to the depth of
nearly 100 feet. The range of these rivers from low to high water at Red
Lake Falls is only 5 feet, and the descent of each is about 40 feet within

2 miles.

Bed River. — The Red River of the North, so named to distinguish it
from the Red River of Louisiana, has its source in a small lake about 1,550
feet above the sea, 13 miles west of Lake Itasca. It first flows south about
60 miles, measured in a direct line, passing in succession through Elbow,
Many Point, Round, Height of Land, Little Pine, Pine, and Rush lakes
to Ottertail Lake, this portion being commonly called Ottertail River. In
this distance it descends to 1,315 feet above the sea. The contour of the
adjoining country is rolling or hilly northward ^nd undulating or flat
southward.

Below Ottertail Lake this stream is called the Red River by this
report, following the example of Owen and the prevailing popular usage;
but it is still occasionally spoken of as Ottertail River to its junction with
the Bois des Sioux River at Bi'eckenridge and Wahpeton, 42 miles west of
Ottertail Lake.^ The descent in this distance is 372 feet, or about 5 feet
per mile, following the course of the stream. It is most rapid in the
vicinity of Fergus Falls, amounting to 80 feet in 3 miles, from 1,210 to
1,130 feet above the sea. Because of the numerous large lakes on the
upper part of the stream, its volume along this descent to Breckem-idge is
not greatly aff'ected by either heavy rains and snow melting or dry seasons.
At Fergus Falls the range from its lowest to its highest stage is only 2 or

3 feet. Its banks and bed are the hard, stony clay of the glacial drift,
affording a good foundation for dams and canals. From Ottertail Lake
to the border of Lake Agassiz, 9 miles southwest from Fergus Falls, the

'The Ojibways, according to Rev. J. A. Gilfillan (1. c, p. 463), thus apply the name Ottertail
River as far as to the Bois des Sioux; and the Red River thence northward is called by them Kitchi-
zibi (Great River).

THE RED RIVEE. 55

country is rolling and hilly, rising 50 to 100 feet above the river. Farther
west the flat or slightly undulating surface of the lacustrine area soon sinks,
so that the average height varies from 5 to 15 feet above the river in its
ordinary low stage, yet its banks are seldom or never ovei-flowed. The only
noteworthy ti-ibutary to the Red River between Ottertail Lake and Breck-
enridge is the Pelican River, which joins it from the north 3 miles west of
Fergus Falls. This stream, nearly 50 miles long in a straight line, flows
through a rolling and hilly region, receiving the waters of many lakes, of
which the largest are Detroit, Cormorant, Pelican, Lizzie, and Lida.

From its bend at Breckenridge and Wahpeton the Red River flows
north 285 miles, measured in a direct line, to Lake Winnipeg. Its course
through this distance has been already described in an earlier portion of
this chapter, treating of the Red River Valley. The entire length of the
Red River, measured thus in straight lines successively to the south, west,
and north, is about 390 miles; but in its meanderings, nowhere diverging
far from these lines, it flows nearly 700 miles. Its descent below Brecken-
ridge is 233 feet, and in total from its source to its mouth approximately
840 feet. All the way below McCauleyville and Fort Abercrombie, 15
miles north of Breckenridge, it is navigated by steamboats, barges, and
flatboats, but along the Goose Rapids, extending about 12 miles next below
the mouth of Goose River as measured in the meandering course of the
stream, the channel is obstructed by bowlders which forbid navigation
during low stages of water. A broad belt of till, formed by the united
Fergus Falls and Leaf Hills moraines, as described in Chapter IV, causes
these rapids. The width of this river in the United States varies from 6 to
20 rods, being in some places less than the length of the steamboats; but
north of the international boundary it is commonly 20 rods wide.

The range between the lowest and highest stages of the Red River
increases rapidly north of Breckenridge, becoming 32 feet at Moorhead and
Fargo, and attaining its maximum of 50 feet at Belmont. It continues
nearly at 40 feet from Grand Forks to the international boundary and to
Winnipeg. At Lower Fort Garry, 16 miles north of Winnipeg and about
20 miles from the mouth of the river, it is 35 feet; but beyond that point it
rapidly diminishes in approaching Lake Winnipeg. Floods rising nearly or

56 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

quite to the high- water line thus noted have been rare, occurring in 1826,
1852, 1860, 1861, and 1882. They are caused in the spring by the melting
of unusual supplies of snow and by accompanying heavy rains, and often
are increased by gorges of ice, which is usually broken up along the
southern upper portion of the river earlier than along its lower course.
These floods attain a height only a few feet below the level of the adjoining
prauie where that is highest, and along the greater part of the distance
between Grand Forks and Lower Fort Garry the banks are overflowed
and the flat land on each side of the river to a distance of 2 to 4 or 5 miles
from it is covered with water 1 to 5 feet or more in depth.

The noteworthy tributaries of the Red River on its east side, in their
order from south to north, are the Buffalo, Wild Rice, Marsh, Sand Hill,
Red Lake, Snake, and Tamarack rivers, the stream named Two Rivers for
its two branches which unite 3 miles above its mouth, and Joe, Roseau,
and Rat rivers; and on the west, the Bois des Sioux, Wild Rice, Sheyenne,
Elm, Goose, Turtle, Forest, Park, Pembina, Marais, Scratching or Boyne,
La Salle, and Assiniboine rivers. Excepting the Red Lake River, ah-eady
described, and the Sheyenne, Pembina, and Assiniboine rivers, all these are
small, the farthest portions of their areas of di-ainage being 40 to 75 miles
from the Red River. In summer droughts several of them, including the
Bois des Sioux, are dried up along the greater part of their course, contain-
ing only here and tliere pools in the deeper hollows of the channel.

Sheyenne Biver.—T\\e Sheyenne, having its sources near the great
southeastern bend of the Souris or Mouse River, in North Dakota, first
flows to the east nearly 100 miles, passing 10 miles south of Devils Lake;
next it flows south about 100 miles, to where it enters the area of Lake
Agassiz; and thence its course is eastward and northward, uniting with the
Red River 10 miles north of Fargo and Moorhead. Where it is crossed
by the Jamestown and Northern Railroad, south of the west end of Devils
Lake, its elevation is 1,410 feet above the sea. Thence it falls to 1^064
feet at Lisbon, and 857 feet at its mouth. Along its eastward and south-
ward course it flows through an undulating or rolling and occasionally hilly
region, in which its valley is eroded 100 to 200 feet deep. Within the area
of Lake Agassiz it has cut 50 to 75 feet into its delta, and beyond occupies

LANGS VALLEY AND THE PEMBINA RIVER. 57

a channel 20 to 30 feet below the flat lacustrine plain. This lower portion
of the river is mostly from 50 to 75 feet wide and 1 to 3 feet deep. The
Maple River, flowing south and then northeast, parallel with the Sheyenue,
joins this river about 8 miles from its mouth. The large valley of the
upper part of the Sheyenne River, and its extensive delta deposited in
Lake Agassiz, are attributable to a stream which was doubtless much larger
than the present Sheyenne, formed by drainage from the ice-sheet when it
terminated near Devils Lake. At that time, also, a glacial lake in the basin
of the Souris outflowed southeastward to the Sheyenne and James rivers.

Langs Valley. — During a later stage in the recession of the ice-sheet
the srlacial Lake Souris was extended west and north of Turtle Mountain
and finally found a lower outlet in southern Manitoba. Its outflowing river
ran southeasterly from the elbow of the Som-is, 18 miles southwest of its
mouth, to the Pembina River. Pelican Lake, 1 1 miles long from northwest
to southeast and about a mile wide, occupies a part of the channel of this
stream; and a distinct water course of similar width, called Langs Valley,^
eroded 110 to 150 feet below the general level, extends 11 miles between
this lake and the Souris. The highest portion of Langs Valley is 1,364
feet above the sea, and about 100 feet above the Souris at its elbow, and is
inclosed by bluff's 110 feet high. It is a channel similar to that of Lakes
Traverse and Big Stone and Browns Valley, eroded by the River Warren,
outflowing from Lake Agassiz.

Pembina River. — The Pembina River ^ flows from the northern part of
Turtle Mountain in a rather crooked easterly course through southern
Manitoba and the edge of North Dakota about 130 miles, measured in a
direct line, to its mouth at Pembina and St. Vincent. From its junction
with the outlet of Pelican Lake to Walhalla, at the base of the First
Pembina Mountain, its valley varies from 175 to 450 feet in depth. Rock
Lake and Swan Lake, on this part of the river, each several miles long and
from a half mile to 1 mile wide, are due to deposits brought into this valley
by tributaries after it ceased to be the avenue of drainage from the Souris

'Named for James LauR, Trbo was the first immigraut here, coming in 1880.

=This name is stated by Keating to be from the Ojil)wa.v word "aneiieniinan, which name has
been shortened and corrupted into Pembina," meaning- the fruit of the bush cranberry ( Viburnum
opulua, L.). — Narrative of Long's Expedition. Vol. II, p. 38.

58 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

basin. In crossing the Red River Valley the Pembina runs in a channel
only 20 to 40 feet deep. Its descent from the northern base of Tm-tle
Mountain to Walhalla is about 700 feet, and thence to its mouth 186 feet,
its junction with the Red River being 748 feet above the sea. Long or
White Mud River, Clear Water or Cypress River, and Tongue River are its
chief tributaries, all from the south side.

Assiniboine River. — The largest tributary of the Red River is the
Assiniboine, which di-ains a basin in Assiniboia, Manitoba, and North
Dakota, 300 miles wide fx-om south to north and 400 miles long from west
to east. From its source in the south edge of Saskatchewan, 50 miles
southwest of the Porcupine Hills, the Assiniboine flows south-southeasterly
200 miles, to a point about 50 miles below the mouth of the Qu'Appelle
and 40 miles west of Brandon; thence it flows easterly about 150 miles to
its mouth. Its height above sea-level at the mouth of the Qu'Appelle
is 1,264 feet; at the bridge of the Canadian Pacific Railway near Brandon,
1,161 feet; at the mouth of the Souris, about 1,075 feet; at Portage la
Prairie, 842 feet, and at its junction with the Red River in Wiiuiipeg, 724
feet. During its high stages of water the Assiniboine has been navigated
by steamboats to Fort Pelly, about 90 miles above the mouth of the
Qu'Appelle. Along this portion it varies from 10 to 25 rods in width.

The highest floods of the Assiniboine at Portage la Prairie .and along
a considerable distance eastward rise only 12 to 15 feet above its lowest
stage, but they then attain a height only a few feet below the highest
portions of the adjoining country, much of which is submerged. At this
extreme height, which the river reached and maintained from the 3d to the
15th of May, 1882, the only time of such high water since 1860 or 1861,
it overflowed near the former site of the fort of the Hudson's Bay Company,
2 miles southwest of Portage la Prairie, and a portion of its flood passed
north in shallow, winding watercourses to Lake Manitoba, making a
descent of about 40 feet in the distance of 15 miles between the river and
the lake. Near the same time Lake Manitoba also reached its highest
stage, about 8 feet above its lowest level, rising until it overflowed south-
ward across the east part of township. 13, range 6, and thence eastward
tln-ough the southern row of sections in township 13, range 5, falling

ASSmiBOINE, QU'APPELLE AND SOUEIS RIVERS. 59

10 feet in 15 miles to Long Lake, through which old channel of the
Assiniboine its waters were discharged into this river 20 miles east of
Portage la Prairie.^

The excavation of the Assiniboine basin, before mentioned in con-
nection with the description of Pembina, Riding, and Dnck mountains,
depressing much of its area hundreds of feet below the great plains
farther south, was effected by preglacial rivers. Over the irregular surface
thus sculptured a thick covering of glacial di-ift is spread somewhat uni-
formly, so that the preglacial contour is preserved in the broader outlines
of the country; but the smaller inequalities of the surface and the present
watercourses have been formed during Glacial and Recent time.

While Lake Agassiz held nearly its highest level, the Assiniboine
brought into its west side a vast delta, of gravel and sand, which extends
from Brandon 75 miles east to Portage la Prairie, and from Treheme,
Glenboro, and Milford 40 miles north to Gladstone and Neepawa. Its area
is fully 2,000 square miles, and its depth probably averages 50 feet, with a
maximum of about 200 feet.

Qu^Appelle and Souris rivers. — The Qu'Appelle or Calling- River and
the Souris or Mouse River are the largest tributaries of the Assiniboine.
Each of these streams has an interesting glacial history, which is recorded
in the topographic featm'es of their valleys and areas of drainage. The
Qu'Appelle Valley was eroded by the outlet of a glacial, lake in the basin
of the South Saskatchewan River. The description, map, and sections
given by Hind^ show that this valley is quite uniformly about 1 mile wide,
and is eroded from 110 to 350 feet below the general level of the region
through which it lies, this height being reached by steep bluffs on each
side. Its length from the elbow of the South Saskatchewan to its junction
with the Assiniboine is about 270 miles, the general course being a little
to the south of east. Of this extent the west end of the valley for about
12 miles is occupied by the River that Turns, and the remainder by the
Qu'Appelle, the summit or height of land in this channel at the divide

'Compare H. S. Treherne's description of this vicinity, "An ancient outlet of Lake Manitoba,"
Nintli Annual Report of the Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Minnesota, for 1880, pp. 388-392.

2 Report ot the Assiniboine and Saskatchewan Exploring Expedition, 1859, by Heury Youle Hind.

60 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

between these rivers being 85 feet above the South Saskatchewan, 440 feet
above the mouth of the Qu'Appelle, and 1,700 feet above the sea. The
inclosing bhiflfs are composed mainly of glacial drift, with only a few
exposures of the underlying Cretaceous rocks. The alluvial bottom land
of the Qu'Appelle is generally from a half mile to 1 mile wide, and through
it the river flows in a winding course, here and there passing- through.long
lakes. Like the similar lakes of the Pembina and Minnesota rivers, these
owe their existence to the recent deposits of tributaries, and show that the
bed of the glacial river was considerably lower- than that of the present
stream. The outflow of the Saskatchewan glacial lake, fed by the melting
ice fields of an immense area, reaching west to the Rocky Mountains, took
its course east by this trough-like channel or valley, entering the Assini-
boine at Fort Ellice and reaching the border of Lake Agassiz at Brandon.

Long or Last Moiintain Lake, about 50 miles long from south to north
and 1 to 2 miles Avide, lying north of the upper j^art of the QuAppelle
and tributary to it, occupies a similar glacial watercourse. The elevation
of Long Lake is 1,598 feet, being about 100 feet lower than the divide in
the channel from the elbow of the South Saskatchewan to the Qu'Appelle.
It seems probable that when the ice-sheet had receded so far north as to
allow the Saskatchewan Lake to extend to the district, northwest and north
of Long Lake, it there obtained some lower point of discharge and out-
flowed along the course of this lake, forsaking its former* outlet.^ Owing
to the changes in relative elevation which have taken place in the region of
Lake Agassiz since that time, this new outlet, or the earliest and highest
one of several successive outlets, across the watershed between the Sas-
katchewan basin and Long Lake, may now be found 50 or perhaps even
100 feet higher than the old channel to the head of the Qu'Appelle — that
is, 1,760 or 1,800 feet above the sea, the possible diff"erence being prob-
ably as much as a foot to each mile of the distance between the old and
new outlets.

Souris River, flowing circuitously southwestward from Assiniboia into
North Dakota and thence northeastwai'd into Manitoba, became tributary
to the.Assiniboine after the waters of the glacial lake in its own basin, at

'Report of the Assiniboine and Saskatchewan Exploring Expedition, 1859, pp. 28, 35, 118.

SASKATCHEWAN EIVER. 61

first flowing to the James and Sheyenne, had been wholly di*ained away by
its outlet tlu'ough Langs Valley and the Pembina River. The length of
the "Souris is nearly 400 miles, but it is only 5 to 10 rods wide along its
lower portion. In North Dakota its descent is approximately from 1,650 to
1,400 feet above the sea, and thence to its mouth it falls about 325 feet.

Little Saskatchewan or Fairford River. — An area that extends more than
200 miles west from Lake Wimiipeg and includes an equal distance in lati-
tude, from the most northern part of Lake Winnipegosis to the south end
of Lake Manitoba, is di-ained by the Little Saskatchewan or Fairford
River.^ Several small streams flow into the south end of Lake Manitoba,
and the Water Hen River, the outlet of Lake Winnipegosis, flows into its
north end. Four considerable streams are tributary to Lake Winnipegosis,
namely; Mossy River, the outlet of Lake Dauphin, flowing into its south
end, and the Swan, Red Deer, and Overflowing rivers at its northwest end.
Riding and Duck mountains form the southwestern boundary of this basin,
but the Porcupine Hills are entirely inclosed between the Swan and Red
Deer rivers, and the latter drains much of the plateau bordered by the
Pasquia Hills.

Saskatchewan River. — The lower part of the basin of the Saskatchewan,
next to its mouth, was latest occupied by the ice-sheet; but that area was
evidently relinquished by it, allowing this great river to take its present
course, before Lake Agassiz began to be drained northeastward. From the
most western sources of the Saskatchewan in the Rocky Mountains to its
mouth is a distance of more than 700 miles, and the maximum width of its
basin is about 350 miles. Its two branches, of nearly equal size, the North
and South Saskatchewan rivers, unite 230 miles west of Lake Winnipeg.
The elevation of the South Saskatchewan at Medicine Hat, where it is
crossed by the Canadian Pacific Railway, is 2,137 feet; at its elbow, 1,619
feet, approximately, and at its junction with the North Saskatchewan, about
1,200 feet. Cedar and Cross lakes, through which the Saskatchewan flows

' The portion of this river extending 10 miles, with a descent of about 15 feet, from Lake
Manitoba to Lake St. Martin, is commonly called the Fairford River, and the, lower portion, extend-
ing 31 miles and falling 85 feet to L.ike Winnipeg, is known as the Little Saskatchewan. — J. B.
Tyrrell, Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Annual Report, new series, Vol. IV, for 1888-89,
pp. 19-21A.

62 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

near its mouth, are apj^roximately 114 and 108 feet above Lake Winni-
peg, or 824 and 818 feet above the sea. Hind informs us that the name
Saskatchewan means "the river that runs swiftly;" and he states that in
the Grand Rapids, between Cross Lake and its mouth, it falls 43 feet in 2 J
miles.^ Its average descent per mile from Medicine Hat eastward is about
2 feet. The Saskatchewan and both its north and south branches for
several hundi'ed miles above their jimction vary commonly from a sixth
to a third of a mile in width, and during favorable stages of water are
navigated by steamboats from Cedar Lake to Edmonton, on the North
Saskatchewan, about 2,000 feet above the sea, and beyond the confluence
of the Bow and Belly rivers, which form the South Saskatchewan, 50 miles
west of Medicine Hat, at an elevation exceeding 2,200 feet. The chief
hindrances to their navigation in low stages are shifting sand bars, over
which they expand in some places to widths of a half mile to 1 mile, being
very shallow and divided by low sandy islands. The adjoining country
rises within a few miles from these rivers, or at the farthest 10 or 20 miles,
to an elevation 300 to 600 feet or more above them, excepting along the
last hundred miles of the Saskatchewan, where it flows through a broad
lowland region. There the highest parts of the country are only 50 to 100
feet above the river, and its shores are generally low and in many portions
swampy.

The smaller tributaries of Lake Winnipeg. — Besides the great affluents
of Lake Winnipeg, namely, the Winnipeg, Red, Little Saskatchewan, and
Saskatchewan rivers, about a dozen sti-eams, varying in length from 10
to 40 miles, enter its west side, and twenty or more of similar or somewhat
greater length enter its east side. Of the latter the largest are Berens and
Poplar rivers, each about 100 miles long. The recession of the ice-sheet
from southwest to northeast uncovered the entire region west of Lake
Winnipeg, and probably the whole of the country traversed by these
streams on the east, before its melting finally permitted the waters of the
Glacial Lake Agassiz to be di'ained to the level of this lake.

Nelson River. — The outlet of Lake Winnipeg, as before noted, is bor-
dered by no areas of highland along its course of about 400 miles to

' Report of the Assiniboine and Saskatchewan Exploring Expedition, 1859.

TRIBUTAEY AEEA IN THE MACKENZIE BASIN. 63

Hudson Bay. The upper half of the Nelson flows in a general direction
only a few degrees east of north, passing through Great and Little Play-
green, Pipestone, Cross, and Sipi-wesk lakes, to Split Lake; thence it turns
to the east for about 100 miles, passing through Gull Lake, and finally
takes a northeastward course along its lower 100 miles. According to Dr.
Bell's observation, Sipi-wesk Lake is approximately 570 feet above the sea,
or 140 feet below Lake Winnipeg; Split and Gull lakes are respectively
about 440 and 420 feet above the sea; and the descent in the next 48 miles,
to the foot of Broad Rapid, is nearly 300 feet. The Nelson is navigable
from the sea about 90 miles to the First Limestone Rapid, where the eleva-
tion is probably aboiit 50 feet above the sea-level.

About four-fifths of the region drained by the Nelson, including the
basins of the Red River of the North, the Little Saskatchewan, and the
Saskatchewan, and the greater part or possibly all of the basin of the
Rainy and Winnipeg river system, were uncovered from the ice-sheet and
were tributary to Lake Agassiz as early as the middle portion of the time
while it had its southward outlet. The waters of a large part of British
America were thus carried along the com-se of the Minnesota and the
Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. The basin of Lake Agassiz then
included approximately 350,000 square miles, of which nearly a third was
covered by the lake itself.

EXTENSIOK OF THE BASIN" OF LAKE AGASSIZ BY GLACIAL LAKES
OUTFLOWING TO IT FROM THE REGION OF THE PEACE ANT)
ATHABASCA RIVERS.

Furthermore, within the time after the ice-sheet had retreated beyond
the valley of the lower Saskatchewan, and before its melting ujjon Hudson
Bay and the adjoining country permitted Lake Agassiz to gain an outlet to
the northeast, it seems certain that the ice must have been melted upon
a large region north of the Saskatchewan basin, where drainage now
passes east by the Churchill and north by the Mackenzie, but was then
pent up in lakes by the ice barrier and caused to flow to the south. Lake
Agassiz thus received the waters of the upper Churchill, and of the basins
of the Athabasca and Peace rivers, the great head streams of the Mackenzie;

64 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

and the Churchill, and probably also the upper Mackenzie basin, continued
to be tributary to this lake tlu'ough all its lower stages of outflow to Hudson
Bay. With this addition, the area of the glacial lake basin was not less
than 500,000 square miles.

Extensive areas bordering the Peace River are described by Dr. G. M.
Dawson as "covered supei-ficially by fine, silty deposits, resembhng those
of the Red River Valley, and doubtless indicating a former great lake or
extension of the sea in the time immediately succeeding the Glacial period."
The exploration of ancient shore-lines is very difficult in that generally
forest-covered region, and it must be many years before the boundaries and
outlets of former bodies of water in the basins of the Peace and Athabasca
rivers can be mapped; but it may be predicted with reasonable confidence
that these basins, now drained to the Mackenzie and the Ai-ctic Ocean, will
some time be found to have contained glacial lakes outflowing southeast-
ward to Lake Agassiz. Probably the earliest outlet from the glacial lake
of the Peace River was across the watersheds to Lesser Slave Lake and
to the North Saskatchewan at its eastward bend, about 50 miles below
Edmonton; and the latest outflow from the Athabasca glacial lake appears
to have formed a channel across the Mackenzie and Churchill divide near
the famous Methy Portage.

' Descriptive Sketch of the Physical Geography and Geology of the Dominion of Canada,
1884, p. 32.

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CHAPTER III.

GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS UNDERLYING THE DRIFT.

Archean, Lower and Upper Silurian, Devonian, and Cretaceous forma-
tions succeed each other from east to west as the bed-rocks of the area of
Lake Agassiz (PL XIV). 'I'hey will be briefly described here in this order,
which is that of their age and supei'position, begimiing with the oldest and
lowest. Throughout large portions of this region, including the whole
district drained by the Red River in Minnesota, the underlying rocks are
covered by the glacial drift, and afford no outcrops ; but their character and
approximate boundaries on these tracts are inferred with much probability
from the nearest outcrops, from topographic features, from, the bowlders
and other material of the drift, and from sections shown by deep wells
which pass through the drift to the rocks beneath.

Intervening in stratigraphic order between the Archean and Silurian
systems are large areas of the Algonkian and Cambrian systems, as mapped
on PI. XIV for the country about the west part of Lake Superior; but the
Algonkian and Cambrian rocks probably have no outcrops on the Lake
Agassiz area.

ARCHEAN FORMATIONS.

On the east side of the south part of Lake Agassiz a belt of Ai'chean
rocks extends from the Minnesota River northeast and north, partly covered
west of Lake Superior by the Algonkian formations, through central and
northern Minnesota, where it widens into the m ain area of these rocks in
North America. This great Archean area stretches from Labrador and
the lower St. Lawrence southwest to Georgian Bay of Lake Hm-on, west
to Lakes Superior and Winnipeg, and thence northwest and north to the
Arctic Sea. Its western border was covered by Lake Agassiz from the
Lake of the Woods to the north end of Lake Winnipeg.

65

MON XXV 5

66 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

THK ARCHEAN AREA IN MINNESOTA.

The most soutliwesteru outcrops of Arclieau formations in Minnesota
are 10 to 20 miles southwest of the Minnesota River in Redwood and
Yellow Medicine counties, where small isolated exposures of granite, gneiss,
and schists occur. The deeply eroded valley of the Minnesota River,
channeled by the River Warren, outflowing from Lake Agassiz, cuts thi'ough
the drift sheet to the bed-rocks, which from Big Stone Lake to Little Rock
Creek, 4 miles below Fort Ridgely, are Archean gneisses, A^arying from a
granitoid to a schistose structure. In the next 13 miles no rocks older
than the Cretaceous are found. Then comes the last Archean outcrop, a
coarse granite, opposite to the southeast part of New Ulm, succeeded east-
ward by Algonkian conglomerate and quartzite. Observations of the strike
and dip of the Archean rocks exposed in this valley show that the axial
lines of their folds run mainly from southwest to northeast.

Central Minnesota has frequent Archean outcrops in Stearns, Benton,
and Morrison counties, including the valuable quarries of St. Cloud, Sauk
Rapids, and Watab. The greater part of this area is hornblendic granite,
and exhibits no laminated or gneissic structure. It has considerable variety
of texture as to its coarseness of grain and readiness to be quarried and
wrought into any required form. Mostly its color is light-gray, but upon
some extensive tracts it has a red tint similar to that of the celebrated
granite of Aberdeen, in Scotland. In other portions of this district, mica-
ceous granite, gneiss, and mica-schist are the common rocks, sometimes
associated with hornblendic granite. Their strike is usually to the north-
east or east-northeast. At Little Falls and Pike Rapids, on the Mississippi,
and for several miles to the south, Avest, and north, as also in northern Todd
County, and along the falls of the St. Louis above Fond du Lac, and thence
northeastward, is a group of rocks quite different from the foregoing, its
range of variation being from highly cleavable clay-slate, and from mica-
schist, inclosing many crystals of staurolite and sometimes garnet and iron
pyrites, to very compact, tough, and massive diorite. Comparing these
rocks Avith the divisions of the Archean recognized in Canada and elsewhere,
the granites and gneisses appear to represent the Laurentian, Avhile the
slate, staurolitic schist, and diorite are probably Keewatin.

THE AECHEAN AREA. 67

VICINITY OF THE LAKE OF THE WOODS, KAINY LAKE, A>D NORTHWARD.

Belts of granite, g-neiss, schists, quartzites, and slates, belonging- to the
Ai'chean group, alternate with one another, trending to the east or northeast,
along the international boundary from the Lake of the Woods to Lake
Superior. In the region about the Lake of the Woods they have been
described very fully by Dr. A. C. Lawson.^ The group is there di^'isible
into two systems, the older being- the Laurentian granitoid gneisses, and
the newer a series of schists, quartzites, and slates, named Ijy Lawson the
Keewatin series. In later publications by Dr. Lawson on the geology of
the Rainy Lake region,^ his descriptions show that subsequent to the
deposition of a measured thickness of 2 miles of mica-schists and granulitic
gneisses, named by him the Coutchiching series, well developed about
Rainy Lake, and of the Keewatin series north of Rainy Lake and about
the Lake of the Woods, the whole Archean group in this district, comprising
a vast thickness of sedimentary and volcanic rocks, and perhaps below
these including a part of the first-formed crust of the globe, was subjected
to metamorphism from the heat of the earth's interior, whereby the lowest
beds observed, to which the name Laurentian is restricted by Lawson, were
so fused that portions of them were extravasated through the overlying
Coutchiching and Keewatin beds. Sucli division remains yet to be worked
out for nearly all qf the Arcliean area east and north of Lake Winnipeg,
but is reported and mapped by Dr. Robert Bell in the country bordering
the Hayes and Nelson rivers.

BOUNDARY OF THE ARCHEAN TOWARD THE WEST.

Though the western boundary of the Archean area in Minnesota is
mainly covered by drift and by remnants of Cretaceous beds beneath the
drift, it is somewhat definitely known for a distance of 160 miles from New
Ulm west, northwest, and north, to the south end of Lake Agassiz. Cross-
ing the Minnesota River from the noi'th at New Ulm, it runs westerly about
40 miles, and thence northwesterly across Redwood, Yellow Medicine, and

'Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Annual Report, new series, Vol. I, 1885, Part CC.
2 Am. Jour. Soi. (3), Vol. XXXIII, ]>p. 473-180, June, 1887. Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Can-
ada, Annual Report, Vol. Ill, for 1887-88, Part F.

68 . THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Lac qui Parle counties almost parallel with the Minnesota River, but grad-
ually approaching neai'er to it and cm-ving north to the mouth of Big Stone
Lake. Thence, beneath a veneer of the Cretaceous shales and overlying
glacial di-ift, it passes north-northeasterly to the west part of Grant County,
where a well at Herman, 189 feet deep, encountered Archean rocks at a
depth of 132 feet. This well first went through 124 feet of till, and then
thi-ough 7 or 8 feet of fine-grained, buff maguesian limestone. The remain-
ing 57 feet were quartzose granite, -with red feldspar, white micaceous
quailzite, and mica-schist of several varieties.-^

Farther to the north, through Minnesota, this boundary is more con-
jectural because of the almost entire absence of exposures of the bed-rocks.
Entering the area of Lake Agassiz east of Red Lake, it turns to the north-
west and traverses a region wholly drift-covered, passing not far west of
the Lake of the Woods.

North of the international boundary this limit of the Ai'chean area
extends a little west of north to the south end of Lake Winnipeg, a few
miles east of the mouth of the Red River, and thence, continuing in the
same direction, it follows the east shore of Lake Winnipeg along its whole
extent to the mouth of the lake. The farther course of this line, accord-
ing to the observations of Sir John Richardson and later explorations by
Dr. Bell and others, of the Geological Survey of Canada, is west-northwest
from the mouth of Lake Winnipeg and the west side of Great Playgreen
Lake to the south side of Beaver Lake and Lac la Rouge, a distance of
275 miles, and thence it curves gradually to the northwest, crossuag the
Chm'chill at the north extremity of Isle k la Crosse Lake.

JLOWER SIIiUKIAN FOKISIATIONS.

In journeying from south to north along the Red River Valley, the
first rock exposures found are Lower Sikman strata, chiefly magnesian
limestones, which outcrop in Manitoba at numerous localities 12 to 20
miles north-northeast of Winnipeg, and similar outcrops, probably in part
of Upper Silurian age, which rise above the general surface of drift 5 to 20
miles northwesterly from Winnipeg and at about the same distances west of

'Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Minnesota, Sixth Annual Report, for 1877, p. 29; Final Report,
Vol. 11, 1888, p. 503.

THE LOWER SILUEIAN AREA. 69

the river. Farther north Lower Silurian rocks are exposed on many of the
islands of Lake Winnipeg and along its western shore, but no exposures of
the underlying Cambrian beds, which are peneti-ated by the artesian well
at Grafton, N. Dak., have been found in this region. Against the western
border of the folded and eroded Archean rocks the Lower Silurian forma-
tions repose with nearly horizontal stratification. Their general dip, vary-
ing from a few feet to 10 feet or more per mile, is westward, at right angles
with the axis of Lake Winnipeg and the line of junction of the Archean
and Paleozoic rocks.

Descriptions of the outcrops of Silimau and Devonian strata in Mani-
toba will prepare us to consider afterwards the sections of artesian wells
farther south, which give evidence that Silurian formations immediately
underlie the drift upon a large 'portion of the Red River Valley, on both
sides of the international boundary and of the river, where no rock expo-
sures exist.

Outcrops on Lake Winnipeg. — Near Grindstone Point, on the west side
of Lake Winnipeg, 60 miles north from the south end of the lake. Hind
observed a section of 18 feet of level limestone overlying 20 feet of sand-
stone, and refers it, upon the evidence of its fossils, to the Chazy epoch.^
Beds of limestone, shale, and sandstone are also described by Hind on Deer
Island, about 8 miles south of Grindstone Point, being apjDarently the same
strata as at that locality; and Panton reports an extensive outcrop of lime-
stone on the west part of Big Island, a few miles east from Deer Island,
and other exposures of the same on Punk Island, 3 or 4 miles to the north.
Black Bear Island, a few miles northwest from the Narrows at Dog Head,
and Berens or Swampy Island, about 40 miles farther north, also contain
low outcrops of limestone, which Panton, who refers them to the same
formation with the foregoing, found sparingly fossiliferous on the former
but richly so on the latter of these islands.^

'Eeport of the Assiuiboine and Saskatchewan Exploring Expedition, 1859, p. 8G. These beds
seem equivalent with the well-defined limestone stratum, about 30 feet thick, richly fossiliferous,
which has been commonly called the Trenton limestoue in southeastern Minnesota, but which is
recently referred by Mr. E. 0. Ulrich to the Chazy or perhaps the Black Eiver formation (Geol. and
Nat. Hist. Survey of Minn., Fourteenth Annual Report, for 1885, p. 57).

2 "Notes on the geology of some islands in Lake Winnipeg,'" by J. Hoyes Panton. Transactions
of the Historical and Scientific Society of Manitoba, January 28, 1886.

70 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

The basal sandstone of these sections is the lowest formation exposed
in this basin above the Archean rocks. It is regarded by Mr. J. B. Tyrrell,
of the Canadian Geological Survey, who has recently examined the lake
region of Manitoba, as of the same age with the Chazy limestone of New
York and the St. Peter sandstone of the Upper Mississippi. He reports
its thickness to be about 100 feet, consisting of "white quartzose sandstone,
with generally well-rounded grains, running down, at the bottom, into a
quartzose conglomerate." ^

The overlying limestone, called the Trenton formation by Whiteaves
and Tyrrell, appears to represent both the Trenton and Galena formations
of the Mississippi Valley. It is described by Tyrrell as "consisting at the
bottom of a mottled buif and gray dolomitic limestone, found at Big and
Swampy islands, etc., and probably also at East Selkirk, above which are
other hoiizontal and evenly bedded limestones and dolomites, amounting in
all to a few hundred feet, and all more or less rich in fossils."^

Next in ascending order, these authors identify the Hudson River
formation, the highest member of the Lower Silurian system, "represented
by less than 100 feet of fossiliferous shales and dolomites," at Stony Moun-
tain, at Clarks Point and Harbor, on the west shore of Lake Winnipeg, and,
10 miles south of the last-named locality, on the Little Saskatchewan River
from 1 to 3 miles above its mouth.

East Selkirk. — Dolomitic limestone, having a light-buff or cream color,
delicately and very in-egularly streaked and mottled with light yellowish
brown, is quarried in three localities near East Selkirk, on the Red River,
about 20 miles north-northeast of Winnipeg. It has been much disturbed
by glacial agencies, and most of the quarrying is of large detached blocks,
which have been removed slightly froin their original ^josition and are
embedded in the drift. In one of the excavations a thickness of 10 or 12
feet of the stone is seen in place, having a horizontal stratification, at an
elevation approximately 730 to 740 feet above the sea. It contains abun-

' "Three deep wells in Manitoba." Trans. Roy. Soc. Canada, Vol. IX, sec. 4, 1891, p. 91. Sum-
mary Report of the Geological Survey of Canada for 1891, p. 18.

-J. B. Tyrrell, as before cited. J. F. Whiteaves, "The Orthoceratidie of the Trenton limestone
of the Winnipeg Basin." Trans. Roy. Soc. Canada, Vol. IX, sec. 4, 1891, pp. 77-90.

LOWEE FORT GARRY AND STONY MOUNTAIN. 71

dant fossils, from which Mr. Whiteaves decides its age to be that of the
"Galena limestones of the west, equivalent to the Utica shales."^

Lower Fort Garry. — About 5 miles southwest from these quarries,
similar limestone is exposed on the west bank of the Red River, at Lower
Fort Garry, commonly called the "Stone fort," and along a distance of a
half mile to the south. It rises 15 to 20 feet above the river, its top being
about 730 feet above the sea. This also contains many fossils, among
which are several species, according to Panton, that are not found at East
Selkirk, but occur at Stony Mountain. The same formation has another
low exposure on the Red River, about 4 miles farther south. From the
former of these outcrops, close to the fort, Owen collected fossils which he
pronounced identical with those of the Upper Magnesian or Galena lime-
stone of Wisconsin and lowa.^

Stony Mountain. — Twelve miles north-northwest of Winnipeg, and an
equal distance west of Lower Fort Garry, is the hill called Stony Moun-
tain, well described by Panton as "like an island of limestone raised above
the surface of the surrounding prairie some 60 feet. * * * It is several
miles in circumference and resembles in outline the shape of a horseshoe.
The west and north sides are quite steep, and along the escarpments the
exposed edges of the strata are easily observed, while the east gradually
slopes to the prairie level." The highest beds at the quarries on the west
side of Stony Mountain are hard, brownish-gray, dolomitic limestone, about
40 feet thick (from 825 to 785 feet, approximately, above the sea), showing
only few and obscure fossils, chiefly corals; next is a reddish-gray lime-
stone, with clayey partings, about 10 feet, very fossiliferous, containing
many brachiopod shells ; and beneath these beds a well at the penitentiary
penetrated 60 feet of partially cherty shales, varying in color from yellow
to red.

Little Stony Mountain. — Eight miles south of Stony Mountain and 5
miles west-northwest of Winnipeg, an outcrop of limestone, known as
Little Stony Mountain, has been quarried for lime-burning. The surface
here rises 30 or 40 feet in a half mile, from east to west, to the limekiln and

' Descriptive Sketch of the Physical Geography anil Geology of the Domiuion of Canada, by A.
R. C. Selwyn and G. M. Dawson, 1884, p. 37.

2 Report of a Geological Survey of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota, 1852, p. 181.

72 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

quan-ies, wliicli are about 800 feet above tlie sea, and thence it holds
nearly this height westward. The limestone, shown to a depth of about
10 feet, is apparently the same as that forming the upper part of Stonj-
Mountain. It lies in beds mostly 1 to 2 feet thick, horizontal, or in part
dipping 1 to 2 degrees to the south-southwest.

Stonewall. — At Stonewall, 5 miles northwest of Stony Mountain, a hard
and cherty limestone has been extensively quaiiied, exposing a vertical
section of 1 7 feet. The upper layers of this rock to a thickness of 7 or 8
feet are white and fossiliferous, but it gi-adually changes below to a red
sti'atum which has no fossils.

From his study of the fossils collected in these outcrops on the Red
River and westward, Mr. Panton concludes that their ascending strati-
gi-aphic order is the same as their geogi-aphic order from east to west, and
wi'ites of the series as follows:

The Selkirk rock has a most comprehensive group of fossils, there being repre-
sentatives of several beds, but taking them as a whole the Trenton fossils are best
represented. The rocks at Lower Fort Garry seem to indicate a transition bed
between those of East Selkirk and the lower layer at Stony Mountain. They contain
forms common to both. The fossils of the lower layers at Stony Mountain bear a
marked resemblance to those found in the Hudson River group elsewhere, while
the higher dolomitic beds and those of Stonewall probably border on the Niagara
formation.'

UPPER SILURIAN AND DEVONIAN FORMATIONS.

West of these Lower Silurian strata, rocks of Devonian age, mostly
pale-gray or buff magnesian limestones, occur on Lakes Manitoba and
Winnipegosis, as reported in 1884 by Dr. G. M. Dawson; "and it is
probable," he wrote, "that the intervening formations will be found to be
extensively developed in the Lake Wiimipeg region as it is more fully
examined."^

Subsequent exploration of this region by Mr. J. B. Tyn-ell has resulted
in the discovery of Upper Silm-ian strata, containing fossils characteristic

'"Gleanings from outcrops of Silurian strata in the Eed River Valley." Transactions of the
Historical and Scientific Society of Manitoba, November 27, 1884.

•Descriptive Sketch of the Physical Geography and Geology of Canada, p. 37.

UPPER SILURIAN AND DEVONIAN AREAS, 73

of the Niagara formation, ou the lower part of the Saskatchewan River
and on the east side of Lakes Manitoba and Winnipegosis. In the gorge
of the Grand Rapids of the Saskatchewan this formation, according to
Tyrrell, "consists in its lower portion of about 60 feet of buff, yellow, and
white limestone, brecciated at the bottom and ripple-marked toward the
top. Some bands are highly fossiliferous. * * * The upper portion
of the formation consists of a considerable thickness of a compact or jiorous
dolomite, often containing many impressions of salt crystals. * * *
The highest beds at Stonewall may belong to this teiTane."^

Overlying the typical Niagara dolomites, Mr. Tyrrell finds, near the
northeastern angle of Lake Manitoba, "a few feet of thick-bedded stroma-
toporoid magnesian limestone holding Pycnostylus Guelpliensis," which he
thinks to be probably referable to the Guelph formation, next above the
Niagara in the Upper Silurian series.

The succeeding strata of this disti'ict, in ascending order, shown to be
soft shales in the sections of wells at Rosenfeld and Morden, have not been
found in outcrops. These beds doubtless represent higher formations of
Upper Silurian age and the base of the Devonian system, which latter
seems to be identified by fossils of the Morden section.

Devonian strata are reported by Tyrrell on the western shores and
islands of Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipegosis, being especially well
exhibited in the islands of Dawson Bay and of Swan Lake, which lies a
few miles south of this bay. Above an exposure of a few feet of red
shales, the Devonian series in these outcrops comprises 200 feet or more of
fossiliferous magnesian limestone, an overlying thickness of 50 to 70 feet
of calcareous shales, whose horizon is marked by many brine springs, and
higher beds of richly fossiliferous limestone.^

All the Paleozoic formations in the lake region of Manitoba, from the
St. Peter sandstone to the highest Devonian beds exposed, are stated by
Mr. Tyrrell to be "practically conformable and almost undisturbed through-

'"Three Deep Wells in Manitoba." Trans. Eoy. Soc. Canada, Vol. IX, sec. 4, 1891, p. 91.

*J. B. Tyrrell, paper before cited; also, Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Annual Report,
new series, Vol. IV, for 1888-89, pp. 21, 22A. J. F. Whiteaves, "Descriptions of some new or previ-
ously unrecorded species of fossils from the Devonian rocks of Manitoba," Trans. Roy. Soc. Canada,
Vol. VIII, sec. 4, pp. 93-110, witli seven plates.

74 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

out." At Point Wilkiiis, on the west side of Dawson Bay, the Dakota
sandstone, forming the base of the Cretaceous series which underlies the
drift farther west, was seen lying on the eroded surface of the horizontally
stratified Devonian limestones.

Along the Saskatchewan, Silurian, and Devonian strata, mainly lime-
stones, reach from Lake Winnipeg to Fort h la Corne, about 12 miles below
the junction of the south and north branches of this river. Thence to the
northwest and north, a belt of these rocks, in large part almost horizontally
bedded, skirts the west side of the Archean area to the Arctic Sea.

SECTIONS OF ARTESIAN WELLS IN PALEOZOIC STRATA.

Four deep borings for artesian water reveal the order and thickness of
the several members of the Paleozoic group forming the floor of the Red
River Valley .beneath the drift in the vicinity of the international boundary.
These wells, in their order from east to west, are situated at Humboldt in
Minnesota, Grafton in North Dakota, and Rosenfeld and Morden in Mani-
toba. Notes of their sections are presented in the following pages, and
their stratigraphic relationship is shown in PI. XV.

The well at Morden penetrates only to the base of the Devonian or
top of the Upper Silurian. The Rosenfeld well, entering the bed-rocks at
a horizon near that where the Morden well left off, gives apparently a
complete section of the Upper and Lower Silurian series, passing at its
bottom through the Lower Magnesian formation, which is the base of the
latter, lying next below the St. Peter sandstone. Another section of the
Lower Silurian formations, from the Galena and Trenton to the Lower
Magnesian, is supplied by the well at Humboldt; and the Grafton section,
besides duplicating that of Humboldt, passes nearly 300 feet beyond in
probably Upper Cambrian strata, referable to the Jordan, St. Lawrence,
and Dresbach formations of the St. Croix series.

WELL AT HUMBOLDT, MINN.

Humboldt is a station of the Great Northern Railway, about 7 miles
southeast of St. Vincent, at the farm of Mr. D. H. Valentine, on which this
well is situated. It is on the flat plain of the. Red River Valley, 6 miles

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.

_

MONOGRAPH XXV.

PL. XV.

MORDEN.

24 miles wo.st ofRosenfcld.

Surface, 978 iect above llif sea.

^

JV»(^07ldJfl»u(

31 feel

15

'fiP

16 feetTiU

DRIFT

31

2-t feet

O (irk shale

S£

Ft-Pienv.

-900

^

GRAFTON.

900-

^

IGO reel

3ii miles south-southwf st ot'Humbohil

^

Dark ffray
'mosCb'ca/m m>us

shales
Xiobrara.

ROSEN FELD. Surfac

e.025 feet above the sea .

^

30 miles iiurtlmesl ur Huraboldl

3

3 feet Sou

HUMBOLDT.

-800

^

Surl'ace.Ty^ feet above tlie sea

z^

25 fetit. Clay

Surface

,792 feel above the sea.

8O0 -

S

■'

an

-/ />*■ e Soil

25

~

^■

"'/S,Va„a ^

:=^^

38/ feet

-.;;:

^

ie

^

sandy clay

2W

S

■CRETACEOUS

1

nifeet
StnUified

J-t3 f'ceL

i

'i^

124 feel

-700 "/

^

tOS feet
Dark gray

— -^rAes. —

FtBenton

3S

day.duinginq
total beOiw [

0_R1_FT

g.

oT

Darker clay,
changing'
dow^nward
intoTiU

710 FcEZ Level

OF

;7^-

^-T

2'JS feet

r7

LAK£W/IVNIPEG\ 1
rao feet \ 1

"^

lis

(if

IOfl£ra\el

:i^.

25U feet
Da/Aer stratified

DRIFT

'''■-_

DRIFT

320

r^

131

^^

nriHaitiuii

cUly. chanqifta
to'TUU>e&w

' ~7

-600 3ao

1

eoteet

JO reetson
gruTdkaU

5

^

OftBov.lda^

62 feet

Gray shale

L?

no

170
180

?7f

'''^'!§LyUu.l,U.
containinq
salt -watir.

10 ft. Gravel

600-

390

too

■H2

S

izfheteray
3hafysaTid -

4

^

205
225

1

15 feet

Buff limestone
SftetRedsluUe

&°

ijj

Stona

233

2es

10 ftGrayshalv
30 feet
Bu/f'UmestoJu:

lofeet

192 rcet
UPPER
SILURIAN

27«

i

20 feet
Hard lUl

^

-500

1

78a reel

Red. arid gray
sfutlcswim

jsa feel 305

i

Gray sandy
shalf
30 feet

;|

^

295.feet

Cream- Colo red

500-

'DEVONIAN

tjS

ChtOkflintcstone

131 feet

1-^

maqnesian

pontus Umcstone

■whUe to reddish. )

Galena and

nz

limestone.

335

Tret Lion

■t'

Oalena and

limestone

Trenton

-rj

■"^

^

r^

-t.

te

^

-I—

— lOO

600

^

Si

1

160 feet

lied sandy

shaU-
Hudson tiin'r

■163

2.

20 feet
Quicksand

■fs feel

3S

317 reel
LOWER

-- r

438 ffi-t

LOWER
'SILURIAN

-lOO-

--

White coarse

SILURIA/V

■^-i-

sand

Ti£

500

^Slate "

I

413

^

-300 ^^-

1,-1.
rc
±s

sas

GO-*

%

Sandstone

60 feet
Red shale

WrlBlues/tale

2

I.

546

&

St5^eter
sandstone,
reddish and
white. Chazy.

S2 feel

Shales, red to

300-

r^

ei5

^

intPinksttaU

P

gray and given,
\nth Un-ers of

-200

v;

^;

49 feel

Gmy gravel.

J^

»-7it/e sand
and guartzitc.
Loiver Magnesi/ui

200-

^

305 feet

-^^

Jortimi sandstone

!^.

Cream- colored

ee*

sae

I^r"-

-^

ma^ruvian

r-€

46 feel

64-t

m

eft.Gneiss .r^rHFAN

lOnestone

lied shale

*£

Galena and
Trenton

7P0 /'I'l^l

110

S

t

-lOO

LOWER
SILURIAN

^

tea feet
CUiyryshale

2ae feet
UPPER
■CAMBRIAN

lOO-

A€yAt.?f_J"^ -5^^ 1 1

aoo

§i

35

Z:^

15 feet

Qj

— -

.^

Redstuufy

<

^-

::^

shale

Jg

'.^

E^

u

893
S03
SIS

tM

^nVresbadi sands.

on^

eis

rr:

a!

m

12 feel Granite ARCHEAN

-lOO

^

50 feet
Softwliite
sandstoni

a,
55

-lOO-

P25

-^

^

SOfiet

't;

Dark red
s?iaJc

a

575

^T-

25feet
Hod and

'00

■2

-200

lOOO

'020

i

green shale
.iO feet
GrwsfiaJe

0

-200-

I03S
1031

S

Jiedxcuiilvstmlef'^
2 f^ei Gram/.-

ARCHEAN

1

SECTIONS OF WELLS AT IlL'MBOLDT, ML\N; GHi\I<^TON, XD; AND ROSENFELD

AND MORDEN, MANITOBA.

BIEN a CO N V

THE HUMBOLDT ARTESIAN WELL. 75

east of the river and 5 miles south of the international boundary. The
elevation of the surface is 792 feet above the sea, being a few feet above
the highest flood stage of the Red River. On account of the saltness of its
water, an analysis of which is given in Chapter X, the well is not used.

Prof N. H. Winchell has- reported this section,^ shown by samples from
the boring, a summary of which is as follows:

Section of an artesian tcell, Humboldt, Minn.

Feet.
Soil and very fine sandy day, stratified 16

Moistei and darker, more impervious clay, apparently a downward continuation of
the foregoing, but probably including pebbles and bowlders, at least spar-
ingly, in its lower portion, being tbere bowlder-clay or till 124

Pebbly blue till, containing salt water in small quantity at 165 feet below the

surface 30

Drift gravel and sand, mainly a gray sand, but containing pebbles up to an inch
in diameter, mostly of limestone; supplying an abundant artesian flow of
salt water 10

Cream-colored magnesian limestone, of grain and texture like the Lower Magne-
sian in southeastern Minnesota [and equally like the Galena or Upper Mag-
nesian and Trenton formation in Manitoba], showing near its base some
intermixture of grains of white quartz 295

Sandstone, composed of rounded quartz grains, reddish in its upper part for 25
feet, white in its central part, from both of which the artesian flow of salt
water increased, and faintly reddish in its lowest 10 feet 71

Shales, varying in color from red and brown to gray and green, with occasional
siliceous layers that vary from white sand to slightly calcareous, grayish
quartzite 92

Gneiss or granite, composed of opaque gray quartz, flesh-colored orthoclase, also
a white feldspar and black mica, "evidently one of the Laurentiau granites
as seen at the Lake of the Woods," into which the boring extended 6

Total GU

Drift deposits here reach a depth of 180 feet, below which are 458 feet
of strata referable to the Trenton, Chazy, and Calciferous series of the
Lower Silurian system.

' Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Minnesota, Thirteenth Annual Report, for 1884, pp. 41-46.

76 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Next beneath the drift is a thick formation of magnesian limestone,
shown by comparison with the other wells to be the Galena and Trenton
strata, classed together as one formation under the second of these names
by Whiteaves and Tyn-ell, Avhich outcrops at a distance of 75 to 85 miles
northward, in the ^ncinity of Lower Fort Garry and East Selkirk, Mani-
toba. Its top and bottom at Humboldt, however, are respectively 612 and
317 feet above the sea, the entire formation here being thus beneath the
level of Lake Winnipeg. In southeastern Minnesota, southwestern Wis-
consin, and adjoining portions of Iowa and Illinois, the Galena and under-
lying Trenton limestones together range from 200 to 300 feet or more in
thickness.

The sandstone next below, having a thickness of 71 feet, is evidently
the equivalent of the St. Peter sandstone, referable to the Chazy epoch,
which in southeastern Minnesota underlies the Trenton limestone, and
ranges in thickness there from about 75 feet to 164 feet. Its continuation
in Wisconsin, as described by Chamberlin and Irving, averages probably
between 80 and 100 feet thick, varying from a maximmn of 212 feet down
to a fraction of 1 foot. In this and adjoining States, according to Il'^dug,
it is continuous "over a region whose diameters are 500 and 400 miles."^

Beneath tliis the Humboldt well penetrated 92 feet of shales, partly
arenaceous and calcareous, which con-espond to the Lower Magnesian or
Shakopee hmestone of southeastern Minnesota, ranging from 96 feet in
thickness at Shakopee to 200 feet in Houston Count}^, while in Wisconsin
it is from 65 to 250 feet thick. The reports of the geological surveys of
these States regard this formation as of Upper Cambrian age, but Walcott,
in his more recent review of the Cambi-ian,^ assigns the Lower Magnesian
limestone wholly or mainly to the base of the Lower Silurian system. Its
eastern equivalent is the Calciferous sandi-ock of New York.

The entu-e Cambrian and Algonkian systems are wanting in this sec-
tion, and the Lower Silurian strata rest directly on the Archean crystal-
line rocks.

' Geology of Wisconsin, Vol. I, pp. 145-150; Vol. II, p. 555.
= U. S. Geol. Survey, Bulletin Xo. 81, 1891, p. 363.

THE GEAFTON ARTESIAN WELL. 77

WELL AT GRAFTON, N. DAK.

The city of Grafton is also on the Red River Valley plain, being situ-
ated 12 miles west of the river and 40 miles south of the international
boundary, at an elevation of 825 feet above the sea. Its distance from
Humboldt is about 38 miles to the south-southwest. The following' record
of the boring here was made by the engineer in charge during the prog-
ress of the work, and was supplied to me by the mayor, Mr. J. Tombs, at
the time of my visit to Grafton in the survey of the shore-lines of Lake
Agassiz. It has been published by the Dakota commissioner of immi-
gration.^

Section of an artesian well, Grafton, JV. DaJc.

Feet.
Black loam 3

White clay 25

Blue clay 250

Hardpau 20

Limestone 137

Quicksaud 20

White, coarse sand 45

Slate , 3

Sandstone, yielding a copious flow of brackish water 25

Eed shale 60

Blue shale 16

Pink shale 11

Gray gravel 49

Eed shale 46

Soapstoue [clayey shale] 188

Sandstone, yielding a small flow of very salt water 5

Granite 12

Total 915

Glacial drift, doubtless mostly till, with a thin covering of lacustrine
and alluvial clay, reaches to the depth of 298 feet.

The limestone next encountered, with a thickness of 137 feet, evidently
is the lower portion of the thick formation of limestone of Galena and

' Resources of Dakota, 1887, p. 188.

78 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Trenton age, found next beneath the drift in the Humboldt well, its upper
part here having been lost by erosion.

The St. Peter sandstone occupies a thickness of 93 feet.

Red, blue, and pink shales, representing the Lower Magnesian forma-
tion, ensue, with a thickness of 87 feet.

The next stratum, 49 feet thick, is probably the equivalent of the
Jordan sandstone, the highest division in the St. Croix series of the Upper
Cambrian. Its thickness in southeastern Minnesota ranges from 40 to 116
feet, and in Wisconsin, Avhere it is known as the Madison sandstone, it is
from 30 to 60 feet thick.

The succeeding shales, having a thickness of 234 feet, appear to rep-
resent the St. Lawrence formation, the second in the St. Croix series, which
in southeastern Minnesota varies from 128 to 213 feet in thickness.

Beneath the shales, the thin bed of Avater-bearing sandstone, lying on
the granite, may be a trace of the Dresbach sandstone, a tliird division of
the St. Croix, wliich has a thickness of 50 to 80 feet or more in southeastern
Minnesota. The brine rising from this bed was analyzed by Prof Hemy
Montgomery, of the University of North Dakota, and was found to be
(more saline than sea water.

Samples of the borings in the lowest 12 feet were submitted to Prof
N. S. Shaler, who pronounced them to be granite or gneiss, being the
Archean bed of the ocean in wliich the overlying Paleozoic strata were
deposited.

The water used from this well is taken from the St. Peter sandstone,
the lower part of the bore having been filled. The diameter of the pipe is
G inches, and the flow, according to three measurements in 1886 and 1887,
during the first year after the completion of the well, was 800 gallons per
minute.

WELL AT ROSENFELD, MANITOBA.

Rosenfeld is situated 14 miles north of the international boundary and
11 miles west of the Red River, being 30 miles northwest of Humboldt,
and about 54 miles distant, in a direction slightly west of north, from
Grafton. Like Humboldt and Grafton, it is on the flat plain of the Red

THE EOSENFELD ARTESIAN WELL, 79

River Valley, and the elevation is the same as at Humboldt, within 1 foot,
the railway at Rosenfeld, 3 feet above the surface at the well, being- 796
feet above the sea. A summary of the section of this well, according to
records and samples of the boring supplied by Mr. W. E. Swan, who drilled
it,^ is as follows:

Section of mi artesian well, Rosenfeld, Manitoba.

Feet.

Black soil 4

Fine silt or clay, alluvial and lacustrine in its upper portion, but below probably

including a considerable thickness of bowlder-clay or till Ill

Sand and gravel 10

Bowlder-clay ("bardpan") 12

Bowlders 6

Gray shale . - 62

Cream- colored or buff limestone 15

Eed shale 5

Gray shale 10

Cream-colored limestone, beneath which was encountered a small artesian flow

of salt water 30

Fine gray sandstone or sandy shale 40

Chalky limestone, varying in color from white to pale greenish and reddish gray. 30
Eed shale, containing much subaugular quartz, in grains which are very irreg-
ular in size, some being quite coarse 160

Cream-colored magnesian limestone, beneath which came an additional artesian

flow of salt water 305

Eed shale, with much quartz in subangular grains 75

Soft sandstone, consisting of rounded and ijolished quartz grains, white, but
reddish in the drillings fi-om its upper portion, apparently because of
admixture of the overlying shale; yielding a large artesian flow of salt
water, the supply of which was increased to four times its previous quan-
tity 50

Dark-red shale, with greeuish^gray interlaminations 50

Eeddish and greenish shale 25

'Published by Prof. N. H. Winchell in the Fourteenth Annual Eeport of the Geol. and Nat. Hist.
Survey of Minnesota, for 1885, p. 15; and by Dr. G. M. Dawson, "On certain borings in Manitoba
and the Northwest Territory," Trans. Roy. Soc. Canada, Vol. IV, sec. 4, 1886, iip. 85-91. Dr. Dawson
supplements the brief record kept by Mr. Swan with many descriptive notes from his examination of
the samples; and his identificatiou of the lower formations, which this well has in common with the
Humboldt and Grafton wells, is here followed. The strata above the Galena limestone were referred
by Dawson wholly to the Hudson River epoch; but comparison witli the Morilen well indicates that
they probably include not ouly Hudson River beds, but also the Niagara and other Upper Silurian
formations, nearly or quite to the base of the Devonian.

80 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Feet.

Bluish and gray shale - 20

Eed shale or clay, inclosing much quartz sand 15

Granite or gneiss, chiefly composed of quartz and red feldspar in rather small

crystals 2

Total 1,037

Alluvial and lacustrine silts and drift deposits reach a depth of 143
feet, the top of the bed-rock being 60 feet below the level of Lake "Winnipeg.
Examining the succession of strata peneti'ated below, we confidently recog-
nize the thick limestone formation which extends between the depths of 495
and 800 feet as the same that is found with nearly as great thickness in the
Humboldt well. It is referable, as Dr. Dawson concludes, to the Galena
limestone, passing below into the Trenton. In the distance of 30 miles
from Humboldt this limestone sinks somewhat more than 300 feet, aver-
aging between 10 and 11 feet per mile. Comparison with the Grafton well,
in which the base of this formation lies 73 feet higher than at Hmnboldt,
indicates an approximately west-northwest direction for the maximum dip
of the strata here, so that probably they sink at about the same rate, nearly
11 feet per mile, in the distance of 24 miles from Rosenfeld west to Morden,
as from Humboldt northwest to Rosenfeld. -Such inclination from the top
of the section under the drift at Rosenfeld would coincide very nearly (as
shown in PI. XV) with the bottom of the Morden well, from which Mr.
Tyrrell reports fossils belonging to the lower part, probably the base, of
the Devonian series.

From these considerations, if appears that the 192 feet of shales, lime-
stones, and sandstone shown by this section next below the drift must
represent the whole Upper Silurian series of this district, and that the
lower 100 feet of this thickness are probably the Guelph and Niagara
formations. The lowest of these hmestones, 30 feet thick, seems to be the
equivalent of the limestone of Stonewall and the top of Stony Mountain.

The Lower Silurian series includes the next 160 feet of red shale,
belonging to the Hudson River formation; the 305 feet of Galena and
Trenton limestone; the underlying red shale and St. Peter sandstone,
together 125 feet thick; and, finally, 110 feet of shales, occupying the place
of the Lower Magnesian limestone.

THE CRETACEOUS AREA. 81

WELL AT MORDEN, MANITOBA.

Morden is due west of Rosenfeld at a distance of 24 miles, lying on
the border of the broad plain which extends from the Red River to the
Pembina Mountain. Its elevation is 978 feet above the sea. A well,
reported by Tyrrell, was drilled here to the depth of 600 feet, during the
winter and spring of 1889-90, with the hope of obtaining artesian water.
Its section was alluvial sand and fine gravel, 15 feet; till, 16 feet; gray
Cretaceous shales, referred to the base of the Fort Pierre formation and
the next lower Niobrara and Fort Benton formations, 289 feet; the
white Dakota sandstone, 92 feet; and red and gray shales, with porous
limestone, representing, as shown by their fossils, probably the base of the
Devonian system, 188 feet. The westward dip of the strata in the Hum-
boldt and Rosenfeld wells carries them beneath the bottom of the Morden
well. No artesian flow was obtained at Morden, but from the top of the
Dakota sandstone strongly saline water rose to within 6 feet of the surface.

CRETACEOUS FORMATIONS.

Cretaceous beds- lie on the west border of the Archean rocks in Min-
nesota ; and farther north, along the west side of the lower part of the Red
River Valley and of Lakes 'Manitoba and Winnipegosis, they rest upon, the
Lower and Upper Silurian and Devonian strata that form the floor of this
broad, flat valley, beneath its glacial, lacustrine, and fluvial deposits.
Thence northwestward to the Mackenzie and the ocean Cretaceous beds
border and overlie the west part of the Silurian and Devonian belt. West
of Lake Agassiz the Cretaceous area has a width of 600 to 700 miles,
including the entire region of the elevated plains, and terminating at the
east base of the Rocky Mountains.

Marine series of the Upper Missouri. — In the region of the Upper Mis-
souri River, formations belonging to the middle and later portions of the
Cretaceous period are well developed. Meek and Hayden there identified
five members of this system, in descending order as follows:^ The Fox
Hills formation, gray, feiTuginous, and yellowish sandstone, and arena-

' Report of tlie U. S. -Geological Survey of the Territories, 1870, p. 87.
MON XXV 6

82 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

ceous shales, 500 feet; the Fort Pierre formation, dark-gray and bklish
shales and plastic clays, 700 feet; the Niobi-ara formation, lead-gray
calcareous marl, passing down into light-yellowish and whitish limestone,
200 feet; the Fort Benton formation, dark-gray laminated shales and clays,
sometimes alternating near the upper part with seams and layers of soft
gray and light-colored limestone, 800 feet; and the Dakota formation,
yellowish, reddish, and occasionally white sandstone, with, at places, alter-
nations of various-colored shales and beds and seams of impure lignite, 400
feet. Leaves of dicotyledonous trees, including many genera still existing,
are found in the Dakota formation; also a few species of fresh-water or
brackish-water and marine shells. The formations here enumerated above
this are marine deposits, as shown by plentiful fossils throughout the
greater part of the series.

More recent classifications by King, White, and Eldridge unite the
two members of this series next above the Dakota, naming them together
the Colorado formation ; and in like manner the succeeding two still higher
are united and named the Montana formation.^ For the purpose of the
present chapter, however, it will be more convenient to use the older desig-
nations.

In the South Saskatchewan basin. — North of the international boundary,
the development of these portions of the Cretaceous system in the region
of the Bow and Belly rivers, which unite to form the South Saskatchewan,
is reported by Dr. George M. Dawson as follows : The Fox Hills sandstone,
in some parts of the district well defined as a massive yellowish sandstone,
but inconstant, 80 feet; the Fort Pierre formation, neutral-gray or brown-
ish to nearly black shales, marine, 750 feet; the Belly River formation, an
extensive fresh-water and brackish-water series, consisting of sandy argil-
htes and sandstones, the upper portion characteristically pale in tint, the
lower generally darker and yellowish or brownish, probably of the same-
age with the Niobrara formation, 910 feet; and lower dark shales, observed
on the upper part of Milk River, regarded as representing the Fort Benton
member of the Upper Missouri section, 800 feet. The lowest or Dakota
formation is not recognized in that district. Valuable beds of lignite are

' C. A.. White, " Correlation Papers — Cretaceous," U. S. Geological Survey, Bulletin No. 82.

THE MANITOBA ESCARPMENT, 83

found ill the Belly River series and at the base and top of the Fort Pierre
formation. "The Belly River series," Dawson writes, "appears to corre-
spond precisely to that occupying a similar stratigTaphical position on the
Peace River, and there designated the Dunvegan series. These indicate
the existence of a prolonged interval in the western Cretaceous area during
which the sea was more or less excluded from the region, and its place
occupied for long periods by lagoons or fresh- water lakes." ^

Along the Manitoba escarpment. — The Cretaceous series forming the
Manitoba escarpment and underlying its base has been recently studied
and described by Mr. J. B. Tyrrell, of the Canadian Geological Survey.^
He divides the Fort Pierre formation into two parts, naming the upper part,
about 500 feet in thickness, the Odanah series. This division "consists
almost entirely of greenish-gray clay shale, which, when wet and in place, is
soft enough to be easily Cut with a knife, but on diying becomes quite hard
and brittle. It occupies all the top of the Pembina and Riding mountains,
but farther north no exposures of this series were seen, the country
throughout being very thickly covered Avitli di-ift. No fossils of any Idnd
were found in this terrane."

The lower part of the Fort Pierre shales, named the Millwood series,
also mainly about 500 feet thick, and attaining a maximum of 664 feet in
the well bored at Deloraine, "consists of soft, dark-gi-ay clay shales, with
nodules of ironstone in which many species of typical Pierre fossils have
been found. The terrane is well exposed at Millwood, 18 miles above Fort
Ellice, on the Assiniboine River, and it may also be seen in the gorges cut
by the Ochre and Wilson rivers on the northeastern face of the Riding
Mountain, in the gorge of North Pine River in the Duck Mountain, and
* * * on the eastern face of Porcu^iine Mountain."

The Niobrara formation, as recognized by Tyn-ell in Ijorings on the
Vermillion River at the northeastern base of the Riding Mountain escarp-

' Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Report of Progress for 1882-83-84 ; and DeBcriptive
Sketch of the Physical Geography .ind Geology of Canada, 1884.

Sir William Dawson, White.ives, and Cope find the fossils of the Belly Kiver series " identical
with those of the Laramie." Am. Naturalist, Vol. XXI, p. 171, Felirnary, 1887.

2 "The Cretaceous of JIanitoba," Am. Jour. Sci. (3), Vol. XL, pp. 227-232, September, 1890; and
" Foramiuifera and R.idiolaria from the Cretaceous of Manitoba," Trans. Roy. Soc. Canada, Vol. VIII,
sec. 4, 1890, pp. 111-115.

84 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

ment, and at Mordeu and Deloraine/ varies in thickness from 128 to 545
feet. It comprises gray, principally calcareous shales, with "a band of
light-gray chalk, or mottled-gray chalk marl, about 200 feet in thickness,
outcropping along the foot of the Porcupine, Duck, and Riding mountains,
but lying below what is generally known as the Pembina escarpment on
the eastern face of the Pembina Mountain. * « * The Niobrara is
generally harder and more resistant than the terranes either above or below
it, and it often forms little abrupt cliffs in the midst of an otherwise gently
sloping country. It is, however, by the constant presence of great num-
bers of foraminifera that this terrane can be identified with the greatest ease
either in natural exposures or in the mud or small fragments of rock taken
from the wells bored with a percussion drill. These drillings, as a rule,
appear very uninviting to the geologist, but in the present case, when they
are carefully washed free from the impalpable clay that forms a large part
of their bulk, and examined under the microscope, they are found to deter-
mine the Niobrara horizon with almost as much accuracy as if good hand
specimens of the rock had been obtained."^

In these borings the Fort Benton formation is represented by a
stratum of gray shales, from 105 to 178 feet tliick, underlain by the
Dakota sandstone, which had a thickness of only 19 feet on the Vermillion
River, and, with interbedded shales, was foimd to be 92 feet thick at
Morden, resting in both these wells on Devonian strata. Elsewhere in this
district, outcrops of the Dakota sandstone, and wells penetrating it, show
that its thickness ranges from 50 to 150 feet.

The hrachish- and fresh-water Laramie formation. — The marine Creta-
ceous strata of the Upper Missouri country are overlain by the highest
member of this system, the Laramie formation, which was deposited in
brackish and fresh water. This series covers a broad belt in North Dakota
and Montana, and stretches southward to Mexico and northwestward into
Assiniboia and Alberta. It is also well developed, but with interruptions,
along the Mackenzie to the Arctic Sea. The paleontologic characters
of the Laramie beds caused it to be long held in dispute whether they

1 "Three Deep Wells in Manitoba," Trans. Roy. Soc. Canada, Vol. IX, sec. 4, 1891, pp. 91-104.
^Trails. Roy. Soc. Canada, Vol. VIII, sec. 4, 1890, p. 113.

THE LAEAMIB SEEIES. 85

should be classed with the Cretaceous or the Eocene, since they contain
reptilian fossils of Cretaceous types, mollusks allied j^artly with the Creta-
ceous and partly with the Eocene, and a flora resembling that of the
Miocene in Europe. From the presence of beds of lignite coal, the name
Lignitic was formerly often applied to this formation.

In the Missouri and Saskatchewan region the Laramie series consists
mainly of sandy shales and sandstones. The similar strata in the vicinity
of the Bow and Belly rivers, referred to the Laramie by Dawson, have a
thickness of 5,750 feet, and are wholly fresh-water deposits except near
their base. On the Missouri River this series ' reaches from near Bismarck
westward by Fort Union and across the Yellowstone to the Milk and
Musselshell rivers. At Sims, on the Northern Pacific Railroad, about 40
miles west of Bismarck, it contains a layer of lignite 8 feet thick, which is
extensively mined. Northward the Laramie series occupies the upper por-
tion of the basin of the Souris or Mouse River, and forms the Missouri
Coteau to the Canadian Pacific Railway and the South Saskatchewan, and
probably will be found continuous northwest along this coteau to the North
Saskatchewan. Near the base of Turtle Mountain, which beneath its thick
covering of drift is an extensive outlying area of Laramie strata, also on
the Souris, and on the Bow and Red Deer rivers, head streams of the
South Saskatchewan, the lower -part of this formation bears workable
seams of lignite, apparently on nearly the same horizon with the mine at
Sims, in the central part of North Dakota.

The western plains a lacustrine and land area since the early part of the
Laramie epoch. — Miocene conglomerate, sandstone, and sand}- clays, of
fluvial and lacustrine deposition, are found lying on the Laramie and other
Cretaceous formations in the Hand Hills, northeast of Red Deer River, and
in the Cy^jress Hills, between the South Saskatchewan and Milk ri^•ers.
They are remnants of strata that probably once thinlj^ overspread consid-
erable portions of the upper Saskatchewan region. Five hundred miles
southeast from the more southern of these localities an extensive area of
fresh-water Tertiary deposits, of Miocene and Pliocene age, begins on
White River, in the southwestern part of South Dakota, and reaches south-
ward throug'h Nebraska to western Kansas. No marine Tertiary formations

86 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

are known in this interior portion of the continent. Since the early stages
of the Laramie epoch, the bed of the Cretaceous ocean now forming the
great belt of plains that stretches west from the lake district of Manitoba,
the Red River Valley, and eastern Nebraska and Kansas, to the Rocky
Mountains, has not been submerged beneath the sea.

FORT PIERKE SHALES WEST OF LAKE AGASSIZ.

The ascent upon Cretaceous strata, at the south a massive ridge and at
the north a bold escarpment, on the western ' border of the valley in which
Lake Agassiz lay, called in successive portions the Coteau des Prairies,
Pembina, Riding, and Duck mountains, and the. Porcupine and Pasquia
hills, has mostly so thick and continuous a covering of glacial di-ift that
only few exposures of the underlying strata are seen, chiefly where chan-
nels have been eroded by streams. Thi'oughout their extent of 800 miles
the ridge and escarpment appear to consist .mainly of the Fort Pierre for-
mation, presenting a thickness of several hundred feet of dark shales, mostly
soft and somewhat sandy. Under the Fort Pierre beds are similar shales
belono-ino- to the Niobrara and Fort Benton formations, succeeded below by
the Dakota sandstone. The overlying drift varies commonly from 10 or 20
feet to more than 100 feet in depth.

Southwestern Minnesota and the Coteau des Prairies. — Outcrops of the
Cretaceous strata on the Coteau des Prairies, and in Minnesota east of this
highland, are rare and usually of small extent, both in area and in the
vertical thickness exposed; but these beds are also occasionally penetrated
by wells near the east base of the coteau, and at the mission school, IJ
miles north-northwest of the Sisseton Agency, on the eastern slope of the
coteau and about 1,500 feet above the sea, a well boring passed through
the drift and entered soft shale or clay, probably the lower part of the Fort
Pierre formation, at the depth of 138 feet. The outcrops mentioned east
of the Coteau des Prairies appear to belong mostly to the lower divisions
of the Upper Missouri series. They include sandstones of the Dakota
formation on the Cottonwood River, from its mouth to a distance ol 30
miles west, yielding numerous species of fossil leaves; beds of shale, with
thin seams of lignite and lignitic clay, occurring in the bluffs of the Minne-

THE FORT PIERRE SHALES. 87

sota River about 15 and 30 miles northwest of New Ulm, referred by Prof.
N. H. Winchell to the Fort Benton formation; similar deposits about 70
miles farther north, on the Sauk River in Stearns County, identified as this
formation by Meek; and shales, with layers of concretionary limestone, in
the Minnesota Valley, at the mouth of the Cottonwood, close to New Ulm,
which Professor Winchell refers provisionally to the Niobrara formation.
In the western outcrops on the Cottonwood, lignite-bearing shales and the
sandstone containing impressions uf leaves occur together, and the same is
true of tlie shales with limestone and the leaf-bearing- sandstone at the
mouth of this river; so that possibly all these beds on the Cottonwood and
Minnesota rivers may belong to one formation, which must then be the
Dakota, according to Lesquereux's determinations of its fossil leaves.

There is evidence, however, that the ocean extended east nearly across
Minnesota in later stages of the Cretaceous period, for Cretaceous fossils
and shale have been found in the glacial drift, apparently not far removed
from their original beds, at Lime Springs, Iowa, less than 5 miles south
from the south line of Fillmore County, Minn., including sharks' teeth
closely like Otodus appendiculahis Ag., bones, teeth, and scales of teleost
fishes, Ammonites (two species), Ostrea, Inocercunns, etc., regarded by Dr.
C. A. White as Upper Cretaceous, "as late as any yet recognized in any
part of North America."^ A hundi-ed and seventy-five miles northwest
from this locality a perfect tooth of Otodus appendicidatus Ag. has been
found on a sand bar near the mouth of Two Rivers, tributary to the
Mississippi, in Morrison County, Minn. Other sharks' teeth and fragments,
belonging to different species, have also been found in that vicinity and
on the south branch of Two Rivers, in Stearns County, at a distance of
about 8 miles to the southwest. These indicate that marine Cretaceous
beds, probably of the same age with the fossils at Lime Springs, underlie
the drift somewhere in central Minnesota; though it is possible that they
have been wholly eroded, their fossils being now contained in the drift. At
the mouth of Two Rivers, fresh-water shales, probably of similar middle
Cretaceous age with the lignite-bearing beds of the Sauk and Minnesota
rivers, are exposed to the height of a few feet above the level of the

I Proe. A. A. A. S., 1872, Vol. XXII, pp. 187-192.

88 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Mississippi, containing Margaritmia and TJnio, with a thin seam of lignite
and liguitic clay. All the Cretaceous deposits of western Minnesota, except
in the high Coteaii des Prairies, now exist only as a somewhat thin and
often discontinuous sheet, ranging in thickness up to maxima of probablv
nowhere more than 100 to 300 or 600 feet, on the Archean, Algonkian, and
Silurian rocks. They are doubtless remnants of the base of a considerable
thickness of strata, perhaps originally including the entii'e Cretaceous series
of the Northwest, from the Dakota to the Laramie.

A section of the drift and Cretaceous beds forming the eastern foot-
slope of the Coteau des Prairies is reported by Prof. N. H. Winchell from a
well at Tracy, about 60 miles west of New Ulm, 619 feet above the Min-
nesota River at that place, and 1,403 feet above the sea-level. Till extends
from the siu'face to the depth of 120 feet; next is fine gravel, largely of
limestone, 5 feet, including also fine sand and soil-like matter, believed by
Professor Winchell to be "a remnant of the old soil which accumulated on
the Cretaceous rocks during the Tertiary age;" iinder this is fine blue
clay, 20 feet; then a second bed of gravel, 20 feet, containing pebbles of
buff limestone and of gray and dark or reddish quartzite, also of gray
conglomerate or coarse sandstone, ranging in size from an inch in diameter
to sand grains, with much slag and traces of lignite, from which characters,
according to Professor Winchell, this bed "can be supposed to have
accumulated on the Cretaceous after the withdrawal of the Cretaceous
ocean, the slag coming from the combustion of the lignites contained in
the strata." From the bottom of this gravel, at the depth of 165 feet,
Cretaceous beds of clay, shale, and sandstone reach 525 feet, having a
prevailingly dark color for 446 feet, but mostly white for the lower 79 feet.
In descending order, they are fine blue clay, 12 feet; fine greenish-blue
sandstone, 20 feet; dark-gray shale, 213 feet; again, fine greenish-blue
sand, 60 feet; blue clay or shale, 43 feet; quartzitic white sandstone, with
concretionary pyrite, 32 feet; fine gray sandstone, 5 feet; again, blue clay
or shale, 30 feet; a second layer of quartzitic and pyritous white sandstone,
V feet; dark, unctuous, fine clay, 24 feet; white kaolinic clay, becoming-
reddish, then bluish and gritty, 8 feet; white and gray quartz sand, partly
cemented by pp-ite and mixed in its lower part with kaolinic clay, 18 feet;

SOUTHWESTERN MINNESOTA. 89

white kaolin, clouded with blue clay, and containing some grit, 25 feet;
and white quartzitic sandstone, 28 feet, containing kaolinic material in its
lower part, "apparently resulting from the decay of grains of feldspar
after deposition in the sandstone."^

The thickness of 446 feet of principally dark beds, lying between
1,238 and 792 feet above the sea, probably corresponds to the Fort Benton
shales and Dakota sandstone, containing lignite and impressions of leaves,
on the Cottonwood and Minnesota rivers, where their elevation is approxi-
mately 800 to 1,000 feet above the sea. Under these the thickness of 79
feet of mostly Avhite kaolinic clay or shale and sandstone, constituting the
base of the Dakota formation here, appears to be the same with the deposits
of white and greenish clay, often sandy and gritty, which lie in water-
worn hollows of the Cambrian strata along the lower part of the JMinuesota
River. These earliest Cretaceous' sediments were evidently derived from
erosion of decomposed surfaces of the adjoining Archean gneiss and granite.
Not all of this decayed and kaolinized rock was worn away then nor by
the later erosion of the Glacial period; for at many places in the Minnesota
Valley, along the distance of nearly 50 miles between Granite Falls and
Fort Ridgely, it forms the upper 10 to 20 or 30 feet of the Archean
outcrops. At 713 feet above the sea-level the Cretaceous deposits of Tracy
rest on reddish granite of Archean age, into which this well Avas drilled 34
feet, to a total depth of 724 feet.

In the village of Browns Valley, situated between Lakes Travei'se and
Big Stone, in the channel of which Lake Agassiz outflowed southward, a
well has been sunk to the depth of 465 feet, extending- from 975 to 510
feet, approximately, above the sea-level. The general surface on each
side of this valley or channel is about 1,100 feet above the sea, 125 feet of
glacial drift having been eroded above the site of the well. After passing
through an undetermined thickness of alluvial and drift deposits, this well
penetrates dark-bluish, hard clay or shale to the depth of 360 feet; a black
layer of lignitic shale, 2 feet; gravel and sand, alternating with layers of
blue clay, 58 feet; quartzitic sandstone, 5 feet, from above and beneath
which artesian flows of water are obtained; greenish, micaceous, and kaolinic

iGeol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Minuesota. Fourteenth Anun.al Report, for 1885, pp. 351-353.

90 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

shale or clay, 20 feet; and white aud gray sandy shale or sandstone, 20 feet,
in which the well stopped, not reaching the Archean rocks.^ These strata
above the source of the artesian water are probably equivalent to the dark
beds of the Ti-acy well, while the lower strata correspond to the white and
kaolinic lower beds there.

Comparing the elevations of the top of the kaolinic deposits in these
wells, there is seen to be a slight dip of the strata toward the north-north-
west, amounting to about 240 feet in the distance of 112 miles from Tracy
to Browns Valley. Another comparison is afforded by a well near Sleepy
Eye, which is -45 miles east of Tracy and 1,034 feet above the sea, pene-
trating 182 feet of drift; then 79 feet of white and gray Cretaceous clay,
containing one thin stratum of brownish-red clay, together corresponding
apparently to the lowest 79 feet of the Cretaceous beds in the Tracy well,
and lying, like those beds, on Archean red granite.^ These observations
indicate a slight westward dip, amounting to about 60 feet, in the Creta-
ceous . strata between Sleepy Eye and Tracy. The resultant inclination
satisfying both these sets of observations is a dip of about 3 feet per mile
to the northwest, being thus directed away from the ridge of Algonkian
quartzite, 1,300 to 1,700 feet above the sea, which outcrops in northern
Cottonwood County, on the east flank of the Coteau des Prairies, and in
Pipestone and Rock counties, on its west side.

Above the strata thus far described, a hard, gray, somewhat calcareous
and concretionary sandstone, probably representing the Niobrara formation,
is seen in a few low outcrops near Alta Vista, in the northeast corner of
Lincoln County, and within 7 miles eastward, having an elevation approxi-
mately 1,17.5 to 1,150 feet above the sea. These outcrops are 30 to 35
miles northwest from Tracy, and occupy nearly the same stratigraphic
horizon with the gravel bed, between 145 and 165 feet in depth, in the well
at that place. The only organic remains detected in this sandstone are
particles of lignite and traces of wood.

Clay or shale, containing fossils characteristic of the Fort Pierre and
Fox Hills formations, the upper members of the marine Cretaceous series,
has been encountered in numerous instances by wells in the same region,

' Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Minnesota, Fourteenth Annual Report, p. 14.
-Ibid., p. 15.

ALONG THE SHEYENXE RIVER. 91

within 7 miles north and 20 miles southeast from Alta Vista, along the foot
of the steep eastern ascent of the Coteau des Prairies, at elevations from
1,150 to 1,250 feet above the sea. Perhaps some of these wells have
reached Cretaceous strata in place; but others evidently have been wholly
in the glacial drift, containing disrupted and transported masses of Creta-
ceous shale with fossils. The frequency of these fossils in the drift indicates
that Upper Cretaceous marine strata originally covered much of this disti'ict
and supplied a large part of the drift, and that they probably iinderlie the
drift in the Coteau des Prairies. The list of fossils thus found includes
Baculites ovatus Say, Placent'iceras (^Ammonites) placenta Dekay, both these
represented by abundant specimens, chiefly fragments; Scaphites nicoUetii
Morton, Nuciila canceUata M. & H., and an Inoceramus which may be /.
prohlematicus Schlot.^ Twenty-five miles distant to the southwest and west
the cre^t of the Coteau des Prairies attains a height of 1,950 to 2,000 feet
above the sea, rising 800 feet above the outcrops and wells here noted.
This massive highland, beneath its mantle of drift, which probably varies
from 50 to 250 feet in thickness, doubtless consists mainly or wholly of the
Fort Pierre and Niobrara clays and shales, dipping very slightly to the
west and northwest. Because of the soft character of these beds, they are
not exposed in any projecting knob or ridge; and their resemblance in
material and color to the bowlder-clay or till, which is derived in large part
from them, makes their exposures less liable to be noticed if they are
anywhere cut into by ravines.

Alone/ the Sheyenne Biver. — The Fort Pierre shales have plentiful
exposures in the bluffs of the Sheyenne River, from where it flows by the
Cretaceous hills west and south of Devils and Stump lakes, covered partly
with morainic drift, as described in the next chapter, to the most southern
bend of this river, where it enters the area of Lake Agassiz. A sheet of
till, varying from 10 to 50 feet or niore in thickness, sometimes with over-
lying beds of gravel and sand, forms the upper part of the Sheyenne bluffs,
and their lower portion consists of the dark-gray, easily disintegrating,
sandy shales of this formation to heights varying from 50 to 175 feet above
the river. There are many excellent sections of both the shales and the

'Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Miniiesotn. Fiiinl Report, Vol. I, 1884, ji. 600.

92 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

drift, where the slope has been so lately underiuined that the shale forms
continuous cliffs from a few hundred feet to a quarter or half of a mile in
leng-th.

Fossils are infrequent, but would doubtless be detected in many places
by careful search. On the western slope of a hill, partially bared of drift
and consisting of this shale, near the west line of section 33, township 139
north, range 58 west, 8 miles south of Valley City and about IJ miles west
of the Sheyenne, I found Inoceranius sagensis Owen, fragments of other
lamellibranchs, and Baculites ovatus Say. These were on nearly the aver-
age level of the surrounding country, at a height of about 175 feet above
the river, or 1,350 feet above the sea.

In the vicinity of the southern bend of the Sheyenne are scanty
exposures of Cretaceous beds which contain lignite and may belong to
the Fort Benton formation. The lowest outcrop, situated just Avithin the

*

highest shore-line of Lake Agassiz, is in the southeast quarter of section
32, township 135, range 54, .about 20 rods west of Edward Bowden's
house. Here the east or right bank of the Sheyenne shows the following
section, in descending order : Soil and gray clay, with slight intermixture
of gravel, 2 to 3 feet; very coarse iron-rusty gravel, from 1 inch to 1 foot
thick, containing cobbles of limestone, granite, and a partly decayed gneiss,
of all sizes up to 6 and 12 inches in diameter; gray till, very compact, 1 to
IJ feet; fine gravel and sand, about G feet, containing in some portions
very plentiful flakes and fragments of lignite from an eighth of an inch to
2 or 3 inches long; and hard, dark-bluish Cretaceous shale, seen only
to the depth of a few feet and hidden below by the talus, containing near
its top a layer of lignite about 3 inches thick, at the height of 25 or 30
feet above the river, and approximately 1,060 feet above the sea. Springs
issue from the river bank, a few rods farther southeast, at the top of this
shale. Mr. Bowden reports another outcrop of a thin seam of lignite, per-
haps belonging to the same layer, some 8 miles distant from this toward
the south-southwest, occurring in a ravine tributary to the Sheyenne, about
a mile west of its most southern bend. From the second to the first of
these localities the river falls 20 feet, and these outcrops of lignite differ
little in their elevation above the sea-level.

PLATEAU OF PEMBINA MOUl^TAIK. 93

In the escarpment and plateau of Pembina ^fountain. — Sections cut by
the head streams of the Goose and Turtle rivers, in the highland between
the Red River Valley and Devils Lake, and the similar erosion of the
Pembina Mountain by the branches of Park River and by the Toiague,
Little Pembina, and Pembina rivers, show that; beneath the drift, this long
escarpment and the plateau which it bounds consist of dark, sandy shale,
horizontal or nearly so in stratification, and nearly uniform in character for
a great thickness. Gravel of this shale abounds in the channels of the
sti'eams for many miles east of the escarpment, and is found sparingly in
the drift southward to the Coteau des Prairies. It is commonly called
"slate" by the people of this region; but no portions observed possess
the hardness and texture deserving this name, and no slaty cleavage is
exhibited.

The highest outcrops of this formation seen by me, close to the west
shores of Lake Agassiz, are on the plateau that extends westward from the
top of the Pembina Mountain, where this is channeled by the North Branch
of Park River in the vicinity of Milton. Along a distance of 5 miles from
northwest to southeast through the north part of township 159 north, range
57 west, this stream cuts 75 to 125 feet into the shale, its top being 1,500
to 1,550 feet above the sea. It is overlain by only 5 to 25 feet of till,
which continues equally thin, as shown by watercourses and wells pene-
trating to the shale, for 15 to 30 miles westward and northwestward, and,
excepting two or three morainic belts, upon all the country southwest to
Devils Lake. The surface about Milton is moderately undulating and
rolling, with the crests of its higher jDortions 25 to 40 feet above the
depressions. From this plateau an irregular descent, amounting to about
100 feet per mile, occupies the east part of this township and the edge of
that next east, falling in 3 miles to the upper shore-line of Lake Agassiz,
which here is approximately 1,200 feet above the sea.

The deepest part of the gorge of the North Branch of Park River is in
sections 4, 9, and 10, township 159, range 57, where it is 125 to 150 feet
deep and from a quarter to a half of a mile wide, with numerous fine
exposures of the shale from the base to the top of the bluft's, exce})t the thin
capping of drift. In these places the stream, flowing at the base of the

94 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

bluff, removes the talus which elsewhere conceals its lower portion, and the
section rises with cliff-Hke steepness at an angle of 60° to 75°. Excepting
occasional thin beds, the whole thickness of the formation here exposed is
hard gray shale, more or less sandy, divided into layers from an eighth of
an inch to 2 or 3 inches thick, and much jointed, so that it crumbles into
small fragments on the weathered surface. Rarely a bed a few inches thick,
having the general dull-gray color, is harder and less jointed, owing to its
cementation by carbonate of lime; and occasionally the ordinary shale is
blackened by the deposition of iron rust and of manganese oxide as films
in the jointage seams, the thickness of the portion thus colored being usually
only a few inches, but in one place, half way up the north bluff, 3 or 4 feet.
Gypsum was observed only in minute crystals in thin fissures coinciding
with the planes of stratification, and in the form of satin spar, filling the
mold from which some shell, commonly Inoceramus, has been dissolved
away. FossiLs are ver}^ infrequent, but by careful seai-ch BacuUtes ovatus
Say and Scaphites nodosus Owen were found, each represented by a single
specimen; also numerous Inoceramus casts, mostly I. sagensis Owen, besides
casts and fragments of other lamellibranchs, not yet identified; and the
teeth of fishes, apparently Pachyrlmodus latimentimi Cope and Lamna mudgei
Cope, or a smaller species.^ The teeth occur somewhat plentifully in a
remarkably hard layer, 6 inches to a foot thick, about 50 feet above the
stream. With them this hard layer contains softer lumps, of somewhat
irregular form, from one-third to three-quarters of an inch in diameter,
of light-gray color inside, with a greenish exterior, which are probably
coprolites. The other fossils were found in the shale fragments forming
the talus, and their place in the section was not ascertained. Although
few, they supply decisive evidence that this is the Fort Pierre formation.

The lowest exposure of this shale observed along the course of the
Pembina Mountain in North Dakota is 21 miles north of the preceding, on
the Pembina River, at the "fish trap," a rude weir of brush and poles, in the
northeast corner of the northwest quarter of section 30, township 163,
rano-e 57. Here the river falls 7i feet in about 40 rods, its elevation being

■For aid in the identification of tbese fossils, and of those collected on the Pembina River, I am
indebted to Dr. C. A. White, of this .Survey.

FORT PIERRE FOSSILS. 95

estimated' about 1,060 feet above the sea. On each side, within a mile, the
plateau of the Pembina Mountain, which the river cuts through, rises 400 to
450 feet higher. A bluff 150 feet high ascends steeply from the fish trap
on the southwest side, and at the time of my first Adsit, in August, 1885, was
newly exposed by slides, being shown to he fissile, dark-gray shale to the
height of 100 feet, capped by glacial drift. The shale of this lower jjart of
the Fort Pierre formation is more sandy, softer, and darker than that of its
upper part, seen on the North Branch of Park River, and it further differs
noticeably in having few joints. It is horizontally laminated, and, where
it has been somewhat dried on the surface of the bluff', is easily separated
in layers from a quarter of an inch to 1 inch thick; Ijut at a depth of only
2 or 3 feet within its mass, where it is moist, no lamination is discernible.
In this shale crystals of selenite 2 or 3 inches long are frequent, and the
same mineral occurs in its crevices and seams. No lignite is found here,
nor in any of the other outcrops of this formation along the whole extent
of the Pembina Mountain to the south and north.

My second visit to this locality was made in August, 188G, to search for
fossils, though none were found the year before. Only the upper 20 feet of
the shale was visible in place at this later time, as the lower part, previously
exposed ahnost to the level of the nver, was concealed by the talus of fallen
shale and dinft. A portion of the shale beds 2 to 3 feet thick, about 10 feet
below their top in this section and 90 feet above the river, not distinctly
contrasted in color or texture with the beds above and below, was found
to have an odor resembling that of petroleum, and to contain sparingly,
on the planes of bedding, impressions of ScapJiites nicoUefii Morton, of
which about a dozen specimens were collected, and occasional casts and
fragments of Inoceramus and Ostrea species, one being probably Inoceramus
sagensis Owen. From a mass of shale in the talus numerous cycloid fish
scales, and a vertebral bone, If inches in diameter, belonging to some
selachian fish, were obtained. If the formation is level in its stratification
from south to north, as seems to be the case, this outcrop presents a portion
of it approximately 200 to 300 feet lower than the bottom of its exposures
on the North Branch of Park River.

96 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

About three-quarters of a mile east from the fish trap, this snale is
exposed to a height of 75 feet above the Pembina River in a bluff on its
northeast side. Its highest outcrop examined by me in this vicinity is
Heart Mound/ a peculiar hillock with very steep sides and smoothly
rounded top, situated on a broad, uneven terrace of Pembina Mountain,
near the center of section 6, township 163, range 57, 3^ miles north of the
fish trap and 2 miles south of the international boundary. The base and
top of this hillock are, respectively, about 1,360 and 1,390 feet above the
sea. Some have erroneously supposed it an artificial mound. Glacial
drift, containing granitic bowlders up to 4 or 5 feet in diameter, thinly
covers its northeast side; but the other sides and the crest of this knob
consist of shale similar to that on the North Branch of Park River, show-
ing that it is an outlier of the Fort Pierre beds that form higher land, drift-
covered, about a mile westward. Heart ]\Iound has been left thus isolated
by the erosion of these beds from the surrounding area.

The thickness of the Fort Pierre formation in the northeast part of
North Dakota, according to these observations, is at least 300 or 400 feet;
but it doubtless considerably exceeds this, for there is no indication that
these exposures mark its upper and lower limits. Wells in Langdon, 17
miles northwest of Milton and 1,610 feet above the sea, after passing
through only 12 to 15 feet of till, enter this shale. With the underlying
Niobrara and Fort Benton formations, which in this part of the State differ
little in lithologic characters from the Fort Pierre, a thickness of 1,403 feet
of dai;k-gray shales was penetrated by the Devils Lake artesian well
before reaching the top of the Dakota sandstone, which there is 39 feet
above the sea-level. In Fort Pierre outcrops on the North Branch of
Turtle River, 1^ miles north of Niagara and about 1,375 feet above the sea,
Baculites ovatus Say was found in abundance. The eroded eastern edge of
the Fort Pierre shale forms the long, high escarpment of the "Second"
Pembina Mountain, as the eroded border of the Pembina delta at Walhalla
forms the almost equally notable, though much shorter, "First Mountain."

'Commonly called by Engli8h-s]ieakiiig immigrants "the Indian Mound,'' but more properly
named as above, in accordance with the usage of the Trench voyagers and residents, who, probably
translating the aboriginal name, call this mound and the small area of prairie around it La Baie du
Cceur.

THE NIOBEARA FORMATION. 97

But till or bowlder-clay, containing frequent granitic bowlders up to 5 or
sometimes 8 feet in diameter, thinly covers the shale, so that good expos-
ures of it are rarely seen, excepting in the bluffs cut by streams.

In western Manitoba and Assinihoia. — Dr. George M. Dawson gives the
following summary of observations of the Cretaceous formations in the
district bordering the west side of Lake Agassiz north of the international
boundary, as obtained in the Geological Sm-vey of Canada:

The character and thickness of the different members of the Cretaceous in the
Manitoba region have not been worked out in detail, owing to the extent of the drift
covering and scarcity of sections. * * * In the flat country of the Eed River
Valley no exposures of the Cretaceous rocks are found, and it is below the alluvium
of this region that the older subdivisions probably occur. The western margin of
the valley is formed by the escarpment of the second prairie steppe, and here, in the
so-called Pembina Mountain, and in its continuation to the northwestward, the
Cretaceous beds are first met with. About 25 miles north of the forty-ninth j)arallel,
where the Boyue River cuts through the Pembina escarpment, beds clearly referable
to the Niobrara group are known to occur, and precisely resemble, both lithologically
and in their included fossils, those of the corresponding Nebraska division. The rock
is generally a cream-colored limestone, chiefly composed of shells of Inoveramus and
Ostrea conyesla, but in places a white chalky material, which under the microscope is
resolved into a mass of foraminiferal shells, coccoliths, and allied minute organisms.
This exposure, though probably small in extent, enables the outcrop of the Niobrara
to be defined at a point nearly 400 miles beyond the farthest northern locality known
previous to its discovery. Still farther north, along the outcrop of the Cretaceous,
at Swan River and Thunder Hill, west of Lake Winnipegosis, limestones and marls
containing fossils like those of the last-mentioned locality, and evidently of Niobrara
age, are again found, and other outcrops of these, and possibly of older beds, may
probably be discovered in this vicinity.

With these exceptions, however, the Cretaceous rocks known to occur between
the Eed Eiver Valley and the Lignite group of the Souris region belong exclusively to
the Pierre group of the Cretaceous, while the Fox Hill group, which should intervene
between this and the lignite-bearing series, has not in this district been recognized,
and is, not improbably, but feebly developed. The Pierre rocks * * * consist of
dark-colored grayish, bluish, or blackish shales, generally homogeneous in character
through great thicknesses, and seldom containing fossils of any kind, though frequently
charged with selenite crystals and hoMing nodular layers of poor limestone. Expos-
ures of these beds are found in the Pembina escarpment on the Pembina Eiver and
its tributaries, and on the Assiniboine, wliere the thick drift deposits have been cut
through. The clays or shales are generally quite characteristic in api)earance, and
MON XXV 7

98 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

where they are found it may be taken for granted that the lignite-bearing formation
has either been removed by deniadation or has from the first been wanting. Though
usually in appearance quite horizontal, these beds must have a slight westerly dii),
which carries them beneath the Lignite group of the Souris Eiver.'

Since this was written, Mr. J. B. Tyrrell lias examined the Fort Pierre,
Niobrara, and Lower Ci'etaceous formations in this district, as ah-eady cited,
and has determined their thicknesses, chiefly made known by deep well
borings. Rocks belonging to the Niobrara formation have also been
examined and described by Director Selwyn, of the Geological Survey of
Canada, on the southeast or right bank of the Assiniboine, in section 36,
township 8 north, range 11 west, about 4 miles east from the mouth of the
Cypress River, at an elevation approximately 950 feet above the sea. "The
outcrop extends along the bank of the river for about 500 yards, and con-
sists of beds of highly fossiliferous sandy limestones, brown freestone, and
dark, almost black, soft shales. The sandstone and limestone, when broken
or struck, emit a strong odor of petroleum."^

From my own notes of this locality I may add that the most conspicu-
ous sti'atum, in which some quarrying has been done, is a light-yellowish,
hard, sandy limestone, exposed from the lt>w-water line of the river to a
height of about 8 feet. It is horizontally stratified in layei's from an inch
to a foot in thickness. Fossil shells, chiefly Ostrea congesta Com-ad, occur
frequently tlu-oughout its whole thickness, being most abundant 3 or 4
feet below its top, where they sometimes form nine-tenths of the rock.
With these are occasional specimens of Belemnitella manitohensis, a species
recently described by Mr. Whiteaves.^ This stratum along the greater part
of its extent is overlain by till 20 feet or more in thickness, which in turn
is overlain by the delta deposits of gravel and sand that the Assiniboine
here brought into the west side of Lake Agassiz. But at the south end of
its exposure, where the limestone sinks beneath the river, it is seen to be
conformably overlain along a distance of some 25 rods by soft, dark shale,
probably the base of the Fort Pierre formation, portions of which contain

' Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Report of Progress for 1879-80, pp. 14, 15 A.

= Ibid., Annual Report, new series, Vol. I, for 1885, p. 38 A.

^Ibid., Contributions to Canadian Palaeontology, Vol. I, p. 189, PI. XXVI, 1889.

PILOT AND STAR MOUNDS. 99

very abundant casts of Inoceramus prohlematicus Schlot. Scales of fishes
are also found in both the limestone and shale. ^

The Tiger Hills, extending- westward from the north end of the Pem-
bina Mountain, consist of the Fort Pierre shales, eroded in massive rounded
elevations and overlain by drift from a few feet to 50 feet or more in thick-
ness, much of which has the rough contour and abundant bowlders char-
acteristic of terminal moraines. Thence southward to the international
boundary the shale is frequently encountered at moderate depths in digging
wells ; and here and there remnants of its highest beds form isolated hills,
which show that much erosion has taken place during a former baselevel-
ing of the surrounding plain country. Pilot Mound, in section 20, town-
ship 3, range 11, about a third of a mile in diameter at its base and rising
steeply 80 feet above the general level to a rounded summit about 1,630
feet above the sea, thus consists of the hard upper portion of this shale
formation, thinly covered with drift. Star Mound, a more massive and
moderately sloping elevation, situated in sections 22, 23, 26, and 27, town-
ship 1, range 10, about 15 miles southeast of Pilot Mound, is of the same
character. The base of this hill extends three-fourths of a mile from east
to west and a third of a mile or more from north to south ; and it rises
with a very regular oval form to a small plain 30 to 40 rods long from
east to west and half as wide at its top, which is 100 feet above the adjoin-
ing country and about 1,650 feet above sea-level.

At the Niobrara outcrop on the Assiniboine the base of the Fort Pierre
formation is about 950 feet above the sea ; on the Vermillion River it is
stated by Tyrrell to be at 1,205 feet ; and on the Swan River it is probably
not higher than 1,200 or 1,300 feet. Above these elevations the Fort Pierre
shales form the upper portion of Ridiiig and Duck mountains and of the
Porcupine and Pasquia hills, reaching to the depth of several hundi-ed feet
beneath the glacial drift along the entire course of this great escarpment.

The records of common and artesian wells in Chapter X contain
further notes of the Cretaceous formations underlying the drift on the Red

•My thanks are due to Mr. J. F, Whiteaves, of the Canadian Geological Survey, for his kind
assistance in the identification of these fossi Is. A series of the variable small Ostrea obtained at this
locality, and from the same formation on the Boyne and in the district of the Riding and Duck moun-
tains and northward, was submitted by him to Dr. C. A. White, who refers them to 0. (.■ovgesta Conrad.

100 . THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ,

River Valley plain south and southwest of the Silurian area. Tracts of the
Dakota sandstone probably supply the brackish water which is found by
many wells in this valley, similar to the water derived from this sandstone
by deep artesian wells at Tower City and Devils Lake, along the James
River, and on higher land in South Dakota west of the James Valley.

FORMER EXTENT OF CRETACEOUS BEDS EASTWARD ON THE AREA

OF LAKE AGASSIZ,

East from the foot of the highlands of Pembina, Riding, and Duck
mountains and the hills farther north. Cretaceous strata have not been
found, so far as I have learned, in Manitoba, nor in the region north and
northeast from Lake Winnipeg to Hudson Bay. It seems quite certain,
however, that Cretaceous beds continuous from this escarpment originally
extended east a considerable distance, probably so far as to cover the area
now occupied by Lake Winnipeg. As Hind and Dawson have pointed out,
it was by the erosion of their eastern portion that this steep line of high-
lands was formed ; ^ and it may be expected that thin remnants of them
will yet be found in central and eastern Manitoba.

The eastward continuation of the Cretaceous formations in southern
and central Minnesota, indicated by numerous outcrops, has been noticed in
the preceding pages. Further evidence of their former extent is afforded
in the north part of this State by Mr. Horace V. Winchell's discovery of
Cretaceous shales in place on the Little Fork of Rainy River, ^ and by the
frequent occurrence of lignite in the drift upon the country south of the
Lake of the Woods and between Rainy Lake and Vermilion Lake. Possi-
bly this lignite may be of interglacial age, like beds that are found between
deposits of till in southeastern Minnesota, in the basin of the Moose River,
tributary to James Bay, and in other places; but Prof N. H. Winchell
thinks that more probably its origin is from lignite-bearing Cretaceous

' H. Y. Hind, Report of the Assiniboine and Saskatchewan Exploring Expedition, Toronto, 1859,
pp. 168, 169; Narrative of the Canadian Exploring Expeditions, London, 1860, Vol. II, pp. 48,55, and
265. G. M. Dawson, Geology and Eeeources of the Forty-ninth Parallel, 1875, pp.253, 254.

2 Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Minnesota, Sixteenth Annual Report, for 1887, pp. 403-9, 431, 434.

SOUECES OF THE CRETACEOUS DEPOSITS. 101

strata such as outcrop on the Sauk and Minnesota rivers. Concerning- the
eastern hmits of Cretaceous beds in this State he writes :

A line drawn from the west end of Hunters Island, on the Canadian boundary
line, southward to Minneapolis, and thence southeastwardly through Eochester to
the Iowa State line, would, in general, separate that part of the State in which the
Cretaceous is not known to exist from that in which it does. It is not intended to
convey the idea that the whole State west of this line is spread over with the Creta-
ceous, because there are many places where the drift lies directly on the Silurian or
earlier rocks, but throughout this part of the State the Cretaceous exists at least in
patches, and perhaps once existed continuously.'

SOURCES OP THE CRETACEOUS DEPOSITS.

Deposits of Cretaceous clay are found in waterworn hollows of the
Lower Magnesian or Shakopee limestone forming the walls of the channel
or valley of the Minnesota River at numerous places in Blue Earth, Le
Sueur, and Nicollet counties. It is thus known that before the Cretaceous
period, when western Minnesota and the region of the Upper Missouri were
depressed and covered by the sea, a deep channel had been cut by some
river in the Lower Silurian and Cambrian strata of the Minnesota Valley ;
but the small width of this channel indicates that the stream then flowing
here, probably westward, was not larger than the present Minnesota River
This and many other streams of similar size, flowing into the Cretaceous
ocean as it spread to the east over the former land surface of Iowa, Minne-
sota, and Manitoba, contributed part of the detritus which made its vast
mass of sediments, probably averaging a quarter of a mile in depth over
most of its area. These beds could be supplied only by extensive and
deep denudation upon the land areas both west and east of the Cretaceous
mediterranean sea.

The very great disturbances of the region on the west in the elevation
of the Cordilleran Mountain ranges, since the Cretaceous period, make it
impossible to trace there the course of the larger tributaries to this sea.
On the east half of the continent the principal drainage system, carrying
its vast freight of detritus west to the Cretaceous ocean, is probably marked

' Bulletins of the Minnesota Academy of Natural Sciences, Vol. I, p. 348. Geology of Minne-
sota, Final Report, Vols. I and II.

102 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

by the chain of great lakes from Ontario to Superior, the west end of which
is close to the east border of the submerged belt. At that time, and
onward tln'ough the Tertiary era, much of this eastern land area appears
to have been elevated at least several hundred feet above its present level,
so that streams eroded the deep basins which are now occupied by these
lakes, but then had a continuous westward descent. It seems probable
also that other great tributaries may have flowed westward and southward
into the Cretaceous sea, bringing sediments eroded from the areas of Hud-
son Bay, Lake Athabasca, and Great Slave and Great Bear lakes. The
absence of Mesozoic and Tertiary formations on the east border of the con-
tinent north of the southern coast of New England shows that from the
Gulf of Maine to Labrador and Hudson Bay the land during these eras
stood higher above the sea-level than now. So long-continued high eleva-
tion, probably culminating at the beginning of the Glacial period, enabled
streams to erode the fjords of Maine, Newfoundland, and Labrador, the
gulf and estuary of the St. Lawrence, the deep channel of the Saguenay,
and the broad straits and bays dividing the lands of the Arctic archipelago
and separating them from Greenland.

DENUDATION OF THE CRETACEOUS AREA.

EROSION OF THE PLAINS TO A BASELEVEL.

Rains, rills and rivulets, creeks and rivers have been slowly but con-
stantly wearing away the Cretaceous formations since their elevation above
the sea and the drainage of the immense Laramie lake, which for a long
period covered much of their area. When these marine and lacustrine
deposits were first raised to be diy land, they had a monotonously flat sur-
face; and they probably extended east, as we have seen, over the entire
basin of the Red River of the North and' of the great lakes of Manitoba,
from which they now reach to the Rocky Mountains. The greater part of
the present Cretaceous area, though eroded far below its original surface,
is flat, undulating, or only moderately rolling, and conetHutes a broad
expanse of plains with very slow ascent westward. But here and there
isolated areas of much higher hilly land, as the Turtle Mountain, consist of
remnants of horizontal Cretaceous strata which elsewhere have suff'ered

DENUDATIOI^ OF THE WESTERN PLAINS. 103

clenudatioii over all the surrounding country. The plains have been
formed by the erosion of this vast area to a uniform baselevel, excepting
only the isolated hilly tracts of comparatively. small extent, which serve to
show that on the eastern part of the plains, in North Dakota and south-
western Manitoba, a thickness of not less than 500 to 1,000 feet of the
Laramie, Fox Hills, and Fort Pierre formations has been carried away.
Around the Highwood and Crazy mountains, in central Montana, accord-
ing to Prof. W. M. Davis^ and Dr. J. E. Wolff," the corresponding erosion
of the plains m horizontally bedded Cretaceous formations has been 3,000
to 5,000 feet.

When the depth and great extent of this denudation are compared with
those of the subsequent erosion which formed the Red River Valley and
the lowland adjoining the Manitoba lakes by the removal of the foraier
eastern part of the Cretaceous plains to the limit of the great escarpment
west of Lake Agassiz, the early baseleveling seems probably to have
occupied the Eocene and Miocene periods, with nearly all of the Pliocene,
comprising nine-tenths or a longer portion of the whole Tertiary era. Its
duration apparently coincided, as to both beginning and end, with the
Tertiary or Somerville cycle of partial baseleveling which Davis and
Wood have studied in Pennsylvania and northern New Jersey and believe
to have affected a large area of the other Eastern States.^ The termination
of the denudation forming the plains of the Cretaceous area, and their uplift
to undergo the erosion of the Red River Valley and of the present Assini-
boine and Saskatchewan valleys, were probably also contemporaneous with
the great epeirogenic* movement which in California, according to Mr. J. S.
Diller, ended a long cycle of baseleveling that had extended through the
whole of Cretaceous and Tertiary time, and raised a part of that base-
leveled district at the beginning of the Quaternary era to form the lofty

' Mining Industries of the United States, Tenth Census, Vol. XV, pp. 710, 737, 745.

-Notes on the Petrography of the Crazy Mountains and other localities in Montana Territory,
p. 16. Bull. Geol. Soc. Am., Vol. Ill, 1892, pp. 445-452.

'National Geographic Magazine, Vol. 1, 1889, pp. 183-253; Vol. 11, 1890, pp. 81-110. Proceedings,
Boston Society of Natural History, Vol. XXIV, 1889, pp. 365-423.

■•A term proposed by Gilbert, equis-alent with continent-making. "The process of monutain
formation is orogeny ; the process of contiueut formation is epeirogentj." U. S. Geol. Survey, Monograph
I, Lake Bonneville, 1890, p. 340.

104 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Sierra Nevada/ Again, the same record of long-continued baseleveling,
followed by uplift and a new cycle of rapid valley erosion, is found by
Powell and Dutton in the plateaus and Grand Canyon of the Colorado.^
The denudation above these plateaus, when compared with the studies thus
noted in other regions and with the total erosion of the canyon, seems to
have required not only the Eocene and Miocene periods but also most of
the Pliocene; for the ratio of the denudation to the canyon-cutting must
be nearly or quite as great as that between the duration of the entire
Tertiary era and the comparatively short time since its close. Instead of
referring the division of these parts of the history of the Grand Canyon
district to the beginning of the Pliocene, as was done provisionally by
Dutton, it may therefore mark the final stage of the Pliocene and the
inauguration of the Glacial period, with high elevation of all the northern
part of this continent and of the glaciated northwestern portion of Europe.^

LATER EROSION OF THE TROUGH OF LAKE AGASSIZ.

At the time of uplifting of the plains near the end of the Pliocene
period, this great baseleveled region appears to have stretched from the
Rocky Mountains to the Archean hills on the eastern border of Lake
Agassiz, and to have included also the expanse of flat or only moderately
undulating country which slowly falls from Lake Winnipeg and the upper
part of the Nelson River toward Hudson Bay. The Tertiary drainage of
this district, from the present sources of the Saskatchewan, Red, and Rainy
rivers to Hudson Bay and Strait, probably formed a gi-eat river flowing
through the Apjialachian-Laurentide mountain belt in the deep valley
which is now submerged to form this strait, and emptying into the Atlantic
between Labrador and Cape Farewell. The depression of the lower part
of this basin beneath the sea seems to me referable to the time of the cul-
mination and departure of the Quaternary ice-sheet. Between the Ter-

' U. S. Geol. Survey, Eighth Annual Report, pp. 428-432. Compare also articles hy Prof. Joseph
Le Conte, Am. Jour. Sci. (3), Vol. XIX, pp. 176-190, March, 1880; Vol. XXXIl, pp. 167-181, Sept., 1886;
Vol. XXXVIIl, pp. 257-263, Oct., 1889.

* Exploration of the Colorado River of the West, 1875. Geology of the eastern portion of the
Uinta Mountains, 1876. U. S. Geol. Survey, Monograph ll,Tertiary History of the Grand Cafion District,
1882. Am. Jour. Sci. (3), Vol. XXXII, pp. 170, 171, .Sept., 1886.

"Am. Geologist, Vol. VI, pp. 327-339, 396, Dec, 1890. Am. Jour. Sci. (3), Vol. XLl, pp. 33-52, Jan.,
1891 ; Vol. XLVI, pp. 114-121, Aug., 1893.

EROSION OF THE TROUGH OF LAKE AGASSIZ. 105

tiaiy baseleveling and this subsidence a widely extended epeirogenic uplift
of North America intervened. To this period of late Pliocene and early
Quaternary elevation belong the erosion of the canyons of the Colorado
and its tributaries, of the canyons on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada, and
much river channeling of the plains east of the Rocky Mountains.

The eastern margin of these plains, which probabl)" extended, as before
noted, over the whole area of Lake Agassiz, was then subjected to renewed
erosion, removing the mostly soft Cretaceous sti-ata upon a width of a
hundred miles or more and to a depth westward of several hundred feet.
Previous to this new cycle of active work by tlie streams, Riding and
Duck mountains stood above the general level, like Turtle Mountain and
other isolated high areas farther west; and the maximum depth of the late
stream-cutting by which the trough of the Red River Valley and Lake
Agassiz was formed is approximately measured by the height of the Pem-
bina Mountain escarpment, which rises 300 to 400 feet from its base to its
crest along its extent of about 80 miles. The greater part of this erosion
we must attribute to the probably long time of elevation preceding, and
finally at its climax producing, the ice-sheet of the Glacial period. So
far as can be discerned, the entire hydrographic basin of Lake Agassiz
may have continued, through all these vicissitudes of changes of levels,
excepting when it was wholly or partially ice-covered, to be drained in
the same north and northeast direction as during the Tertiary era and at
the present day.^

In the progress of denudation by the Tertiary baseleveling and by
the later erosion of the hollow which was to hold Lake Agassiz, some of
the Cretaceous strata have proved more durable than those next above
and below, and consequently have had a more important influence on the
topography. This is especially noteworthy in the case of the Fort Pieire
formation, which forms the upper and main part of the great escarpment
that borders the west side of Lake Agassiz from the Coteau des Prairies
north-northwest to the Saskatchewan River. East of the Red River Valley
in Minnesota the similar but less prominent ascending slope from the flat

■ Am. Geologist, Vol. XIV, pp. 235-246, Oct., 1894. Bulletin Geol. Soo. of America, Vol. VI, pp. 17-20,
•Nov., 1894.

106 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

valley plain doubtless also consists of Cretaceous shales, perhaps chiefly
the Niobrara and Fort Bentou formations, beneath the envelope of glacial
drift. Farther east and southeast, through northern and central Minnesota,
it seems certain that at least many Cretaceous knobs and hills thus far had
escaped the general Tertiary and early Pleistocene denudation, but most of
them were leveled during the Ice age and mingled with the glacial drift.
Westward from the Pembina and Manitoba escai-pment the Fort Pien-e
formation generally constituted the preglacial surface, and is now the floor
on which the drift lies, until it is succeeded by the Laramie series. This
again includes especially enduring beds, which have caused the preservation
of extensive outlying areas, as the Turtle Mountain and probably other
masses of hills farther north, situated many miles east of the principal
Laramie outcrop. In the same way that the Fort Pierre formation makes
the escarpment west of the valley of the Minnesota and Red rivers and the
Manitoba lakes, the Laramie beds, underlying the drift, make the greater
part of the equally prolonged terrace-like highland of the Coteau du Mis-
souri from South Dakota northwesterly^ through North Dakota, Assiniboia,
and Saskatchewan. Numerous outliers exist, however, east of the main
course of this coteau, in the region crossed by the North Saskatchewan
River.

The course of the preglacial rivers flowing from the Cretaceous area
west of Lake Agassiz, after the late Pliocene uplifting of the continent,
probably coincided approximately with the present avenues of di-ainage
throughout the region north of the international boundarj^, in the Assini-
boine, Saskatchewan, and Athabasca basins. In North and South Dakota,
the present channel of the Missouri River, as shown by Gen. G. K. Warren^
and by Prof J. E. Todd, dates only from the Glacial period, this great
stream having been turned aside by the ice-sheet to the west and south
from its preglacial course, which may have occupied the valley of the
James or Dakota River, nearly parallel with the Missouri of to-day, or
perhaps continued east to the most southern bend of the Souris River, or
to the Sheyenne and Red rivers. Professor Todd finds also in the topog-
raphy of that region evidence that in preglacial time the great tributaries
coming from the west to join this part of the Missouri, namely, the Cannon

•Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers, U. S. Army, for 1868, pp. 307-314.

THE PEEGLACIAL CONTOUE. 1()7

Ball River, the Grand and Jloreau rivers, then united, the Cheyenne, and
the White River, flowed east to the James Valley; and he is inclined to
believe that from that valley the great stream formed by these affluents
passed northeast to the Red River of the North and Hudson Bay.^ That
the greater part of the excavation of the trough of Lake Agassiz could be
accomplished by a river of such size during the Lafayette period of conti-
nental elevation, following the Pliocene period and inaugurating the Ice
age, may be readily believed when we compare it with the Lafayette
erosion of the Mississippi, which from Cairo southward, along an extent of
abc^ut 500 miles, formed a channel 200 to 300 feet deep and averaging 60
miles wide.^

Tertiary and early Quaternary erosion had sculptured the grand features
of the basin of Lake Agassiz, and its whole extent probably had approx-
imately the same contour immediately before the accumulation of the ice-
sheet as at the present time. The surface of the feldspathic Archean rocks
was doubtless in many places decomposed and kaolinized as it is now seen
where they are uncovered in the Minnesota Valley, and as such rocks are
frequently changed to a considerable depth in regions that have not been
glaciated. On these and all the other rock formations the ordinary disinte-
grating and eroding agencies of rain and frost had been acting through long
ages. Much of the loose material thus supplied had been carried by streams
to the sea, but certainly much also remained and was spread in general
with considerable evenness over the surface, collecting to the greatest depth
in valleys, while on i-idges or hilltops it would be thin or entirely washed
away. Except where it had been transported by streams and consequently
formed stratified deposits, the only fragments of rock held in this mass
would be from underlying or adjoining rocks. The surface then probably
had more small inequalities than now, due to the irregular action of the
processes of weathering and denudation, which are apt to spare here and
there isolated cliffs, ridges, and hillocks; but most of these minor features
of the topography have been obliterated by glacial erosion or buried under
the thick mantle of the drift.

'Proc, A. A. A. S., Vol. XXXIII, 1884, pp. 381-393, with map.

2 Am. Naturalist, Vol. XXVIII, pp. 979-988, Dec, 1894. Bulletin, Geol. Soc. of America, Vol. V, 1894
pp. 87-100. '

CHAPTER IV.

THE GLACIAL PERIOD AND ITS DRIFT DEPOSITS.

REVIEW OF THE GLACIAL, PERIOD IN NORTH AMERICA.

In the latest geologic period, immediately preceding the Recent and
present period in which we live, the north part of our continent was deeply
enveloped in snow and ice. Every year the snowfall was greater than
could be melted away in summer, and its depth gradually increased till its
lower portion was changed to compact ice by the pressure of its weight.
This pressure also caused the vast sheet of ice to move slowly outward
from the region of its greatest thickness toward its margin.

Among the proofs of this Glacial period, it is first to be observed that
the surface of the bed-rocks in the northern drift-covered portion of the
United States, and thence north to Hudson Bay and the Arctic Ocean, bears
fine scratches and markings, called strise, like those which are found
beneath the glaciers of the Alps. Only one cause is known which can
produce markings like these, and this is the rasping of stones and bowlders
frozen in the bottom of a moving mass of ice accumulated upon the land
in a solid sheet of great extent and depth. As these striae are found upon
the rocky surface of British America and our own coantry to a southern
limit that coincides approximately with the course of the Ohio and Missouri
rivers, we must conclude that an ice-sheet has covered these regions.

The superficial material that overlies the bed-rock within the northern
glaciated area has everywhere been plowed up and worked over hj the
slowly moving ice-sheet, and at its disappearance the greater part of this
glacial drift was left in a deposit of clay, sand, gravel, and bowlders,
mixed in a confused mass, which is called till. The thickness of the till
upon much of the bed of Lake Agassiz is from 50 to 200 feet, but in some
tracts it is only from 5 or 10 to 20 or 30 feet. Throughout nearly all of

108

EEVIEW OF THE GLACIAL PERIOD. 109

this lacustrine area lying in Minnesota and North Dakota it forms a sheet
of such great extent and thickness that exposures of the underlying older
rocks are very rare or wholly absent, none being known in the Minnesota
portion of the basin of the Red River.

By the directions in which the bowlders have been carried from their
original ledges, and by the courses of the glacial striae, it is known that
in the northern United States and the southern part of the Dominion of
Canada the ice moved in general from north to south. In the eastern
provinces and in New England its current was prevailingly southeastward,
and the border of the ice-sheet was pushed into the Atlantic. In the
region of the Great Lakes, and from the Laurentide highlands, James Bay,
and the south half of Hudson Bay westward nearly to the Rocky Moun-
tains, the ice-flow was mostly to the southwest and south. For example,
glacial currents moving southwestward spread upon eastern Minnesota a
red till, thus colored by the hema,tite, or anhydrous sesquioxide of iron,
contained in its portion eroded from the red quartzite, sandstone, and shales
of Lake Superior; but in western Minnesota the ice flowed southward
from Lake Winnipeg to Big Stone Lake and thence southeast into northern
Iowa, spreading a blue till, with many limestone bowlders derived from
outcrops of Silurian limestone strata near Winnipeg.

Besides the striae, till, and transportation of bowlders, another proof
that the drift was formed by vast sheets of land ice is supplied by terminal
moraines, or hills, knolls, and ridges of drift heaped along the ice border.
These moraines are found stretching in remarkably curved and looped
courses across the Northern States from Nantucket and Cape Cod to Noi'th
Dakota. The outermost bounds the areas that were overspread by the
ice-sheet during the late part of the Glacial period, which Professor Cham-
berlin has named its East Wisconsin stage ;^ and others mark the lines
where the ice border paused or readvanced during its subsequent general
recession.

'"Preliminary paper on the terminal moraine of the Second Glacial Epoch," by T. C. Cham-
berlin, in the Third Annual Report of the U. S. Geol. Survey, pp. 291-402. "Glacial phenomena of
North America," forming two chapters in J. Geikie'a The Great Ice Age, third edition, 1894, pp.
724-775, with maps.

110 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

THE CON'TINENTAT. ICE-SHEET.'

The relation of Lake Agassiz to the ice-sheet leads us to inquire more
particularly what were its boundaries, area, and thickness, its centers of
outflow, the manner of its final departure, and the areas probably occupied
by its latest remnants.

Boundaries. — The extreme southern limit of the glacial drift and of the
ice-sheet during- its gi'eatest extent, and the division between the earlier
drift, belonging to the Kansan and East lowan stages of the Glacial
period, and the later drift, belonging to its East Wisconsin stage, during
which Lake Agassiz existed, have been delineated by Professor Cham-
berlin," and are again here presented in PI. XVI, combining the results
obtained by many observers during the past twenty-five years. The
southern margin of the drift and of the maximum ice extension is shown
to lie wholly within the United States, excepting that it is indented at the
eastern foot of the Rocky Mountain range by an angle which barely
touches the forty -ninth parallel. Dr. Dawson's recent map of the extent
of the drift in the western part of Canada, however, places the aj^ex of this
angle south of the international boundary, along which he has had
exceptional opportunity for examination.^ But the limit of the ice-sheet in
the Wisconsin stage, or the time of formation of the outermost prominent
moraines, is found north of this boundary from the one hundred and fourth
to the one hundred and fourteenth meridian; that is, across southern
Assiniboia and Alberta, from the Coteau du Missouri to the Rocky
Mountains. The abundance of lakelets held in hollows of the drift and
the small amount of change in the drift contour since the departure of
the ice-sheet indicate that during' its time of accumulation of marffinal
moraines in these pro%'inces it reached south to the Wood Mountain and
Cypress Hills and to Lake Pakowki and the upper portion of Milk River.

'The greater part of this discussiou of the extent and thickness of the ice-sheet is from the
author's previously published articles, "Glacial Lakes iu Canada," Bulletin, G. S. A., Vol. II, 1891, jip.
243-274; and "Glaciatiou of Mountains in New England and New York," Appalachia, Vol. V, 1889, pp.
291-312 (also in the Am. Geologist, Vol. IV, Sept. and Oct., 1889).

=U. S. Geol. Survey, Seventh Annual Report, PI. VIII. The Great Ice Age, third edition, 1894,
PI. XV.

'Trans. Royal Society of Canada, Vol. VIII. sec. 4. 1890, PI. II.

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

MONOGRAPH XXV. PL. XVI.

57° LoTT-gitude 37" West from GreeiwvicK ^

us DiCN » CO NY

MAP OF THE GLACIATED AREA OF NOKTH AMERICA

Scale , abou-t 550 nailes to an iucli .

Areas covered b^Landlce during ti\eQiialcrji€iryEra Quaternary Lalte.s 13onr\eviUe .uiill-nluniLan ami IhcCllHCial L;ikcA^assiz

Glacial Currents known by Striae

a ^

Glacial Ciirreiils known b^HrLlt 'rrausportalioiiorollierwise inl'orrod

\ \ ^

Note. .- Th-^ dottfji-souOia-ii. part ofthe drift asrccu in. the- Missisaifipi tutcL Missouri rCv&r basins reptvse.Ttt.s tJit; dnt't
of tihe. ecbrlv Kctnscui. oJicl Kasi lowcin sta^ca ofgla'cintAxyn. Thr. norUimL honndarv of Uii.t tract notes Uifi
ext&i-t of ijie ie€-s?ieei alfJie Lime of beffifirting of lis ninf^aiThe-foT-mJjiff ni-JSastWCscoiisui stfi^e-

THE CONTIiSrENTAL ICE-SHEET. HI

Including this Canadian part of the southern hmit of the Wisconsin
stage of the ice-sheet, its course at the beginning of its time of formation
of the series of marginal moraines, several of which were formed contem-
poraneously with the existence of Lake Agassiz, may be briefly noted as
follows: From Nantucket, Marthas Vineyard, Block Island, and Long Island
it I'uns west-northwestward across northern New Jersey and northeastern
Pennsylvania, to an angle near Salamanca, N. Y., about 50 miles south of
Buffalo and the eastern end of Lake Erie; thence it passes southwestward
into southern Ohio; thence west-northwestward and northward in numerous
loops through Indiana, northeastern Illinois, and Wisconsin, to an angle
less than 75 miles southeast of the western end of Lake Superior; thence
southward to Des Moines, Iowa; thence north-northwestward to the head
of the Coteau des Prairies; again southward to the Missouri River and the
northeastern edge of Nebraska; thence northwestward, very irregularly
lobate, througli South Dakota and North Dakota, to Wood Mountain, in
the southern edge of Assiniboia; thence westward by the Cypress Hills
to the Rocky Mountains on the international boundary; and thence, in
lobes determined by the mountainous character of the country, across
northwestern Montana, the narrow northern extremity of Idaho, and the
northeastern edge and the central and western parts of Washington, to
the Pacific coast on the latitude of 48°, Puget Sound and the Strait of
Juan de Fuca being wholly inside the glaciated area.

Along the shores of British Columbia and southern Alaska the ice-
sheet pushed through gaps of the Coast Range and terminated in the sea
from the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Vancouver Island northwestward to
the vicinity of the Copper River and" Prince Williams Sound.^ But most
of Alaska and a portion of the adjacent Northwest Territory of Canada
had too little snowfall or were otherwise affected by climatic conditions
unfavorable for glaciation. The northwestern limit of the continental
ice-sheet, as determined by Russell,^ McConnelV and Dawson,* passes

•G. M. Dawson, in Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc, London, Vol. XXXVII, 1881. p. 278; Trans., Roy. Soc. of
Canada, Vol. VIII, sec. 4, 1890, PI. II

2 Bulletin, G. S. A., Vol. I, pp. 140, 146-148.

= Ibid.,p.544.

■iGeol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Annu.al Report, new series. Vol. III. for 1887-88, pp. 132 B
and 149 B.

112 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

northeastwardly from the Coast Ranges about Mount St. Elias, to cross
the Yukon and Pelly near the meridian 136° 15', and thence extends
nearly due north to the Arctic Ocean, close west of the mouth of the
Mackenzie.

The scanty observations which have been gathered in the Arctic
Archipelago concerning the transportation of drift from the Archean area
of the Northwest Territory northward to Baring Land, from the region of
the Coppermine River northward to Prince of Wales Strait, from North
Somerset 100 miles or more toward the northwest and northeast, and from
south to north in Smith Sound, ^ indicate that the greater part of this
archipelago was enveloped by the continental ice-sheet, and that from
Baffin Land,* North Devon, Ellesmere Land, and Grinnell Land it was
continuous eastward to the ice-sheet of Greenland.

On the Atlantic coast it filled Hudson Strait with an eastward
outflow, as determined by Dr. Robert Bell;^ Labrador was wholly ice-
covered, excepting the upper portion of the mountain range south of Cape
Chidley, which, 70 miles from the cape, attains an elevation of about
6,000 feet above the sea;'' Newfoundland, enveloped by the farthest east-
ward portion of this ice-sheet, was glaciated radially outward into the
ocean on the north, east, and south;* and thence southwestward the border
of the ice-sheet, passing beyond the shore-lines of Nova Scotia, New
Brunswick, and Maine, probably reached, at its time of maximum area, to
the irregular submarine ridges and plateaus of the Fishing Banks, which
consist of Tertiary strata, more or less overspread with morainic and
iceberg drift deposits, extending from Newfoundland to Cape Cod and
Nantucket.

Area and thickness. — The part of North America and outlying islands
which were covered by the ice-sheet and are now overspread with its drift
amount to about 4,000,000 square miles, as shown on PI. XVI. The

'Gr. M. Dawson, Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Annual Report, Vol. II, for 1886,
pp. 56-58 R.

'Geol. and Xat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Report of Progress, 1882-84, p. 36 DD ; Annual Report,
Vol. IV, for 1888-89, p. Ill E.

2 A. .S. Packard, Memoirs of the Boston Society of Natural History, Vol. 1, 1866, pp. 219,220; The
Labrador Coast, 1891.

"John Milne, Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc, London, Vol. XXX, 1874, pp. 725-728.

AEEA AND THICKNESS OF THE ICESHEET. 113

thickness of the ice-sheet, known by the Uniits of glaciation on mountains,
inci'eased from a few hundred feet in the vicinity of its border to about 1
mile at a distance of 200 to 250 miles inside the border, both in New-
England aiid in British Columbia; and from these data and from the
courses of glacial movement and distribution of the drift, it is computed to
have ranged from 1 to 2 miles or more — that is, from 5,000 to 10,000 or
12,000 feet — in its central portions. Probably two-thirds of a mile, or
about 3,500 feet, is an appi'oximate estimate of the average thickness,
or, in other words, mean depth of the ice-sheet at its stage of maximum
development. Since in its recession the ice became the barrier of Lake
Agassiz, and the probable influence of its mass in producing changes in
the relative levels of the land and of lakes and the sea will therefore be
considered in a later part of this report, we may profitably review here the
evidences that it attained so great extent and depth.

Measures of the thickness of the ice-sheet and of the rates of slope
of its surface in New England and New York are supj^lied by its drift and
strife on Mount Katahdin, the White Mountains, the Green Mountains, the
Adirondacks, and the Catskills.

Prof. C. H. Hitchcock,^ Prof C. E. Hamlin," and others have shown
that the upper limit of the drift on Mount Katahdin is about 4,700 feet
above the sea. The top of this mountain, which rises 500 feet higher, is
covered with fragments riven from the underlying rock by frost ; but it
appears to be destitute of drift, and probably formed an island projecting
out of the continental mer de glace during the stage of maximum glacia-
tion. If we compare the slope of the surface of the ice-sheet with the
present sea-level, the average ascent from the glacial border in the Atlantic
to Katahdin, across a probable distance of about 200 miles, was approxi-
mately 25 feet per mile. The greatest thickness attained by the ice upon
the country surrounding the base of Katalidin was about 4,000 feet, or
four-fifths of a mile.

The most noteworthy observations on the glaciation of the White
Mountains are those of Dr. Edward Hitchcock in 1841, marking the upper

'Sixth Anuual Report of the Secretary of the Maine Boartl of Agriculture, 1861.
"Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College, Vol. VII, 1881.

MON XXV 8

1 14 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

limit of the usual drift deposits, striae, and ice- worn ledges about 1,000 feet
below the top of Mount Washington ; and of his son, Prof. Charles H.
Hitchcock, who in 1875 found glacially transported bowlders on the very
summit of this mountain, 6,293 feet above the sea.^ The ice-sheet, there-
fore, at one time overtopped even this highest peak of the eastern portion
of its area. Very rare bowlders and small fragments of gneiss foreign to
Mount Washington, which in its upper part is andalusite mica, schist and
gneiss, occur above the limit of the ordinary drift action, as similar foreign
rock fragments are found very scantily on the high portion of Katahdin to
within 600 or 500 feet below its liighest point. But on Mount Washington
the drift fragments are scattered thus scantily quite to its summit, near
which Professor Hitchcock has obtained two bowlders, each weighing about
90 pounds. One of these is in the museum of Dai'tmouth College, and the
other in that of the Boston Society of Natural History. These bowlders
were transported by a glacial current moving from northwest to southeast,
and in the distance of probably 15 miles from their parent ledges to the
top of the mountain they were can'ied upward about 5,000 feet.

Before this discovery, while it was believed that Mount Washington
and adjacent portions of the same range rose above the ice-sheet at its time
of greatest thickness. Prof. James D. Dana had computed, fi-om the slope
of the ice surface thus known, and from the courses of striation and trans-
portation of bowlders in Canada, that the elevation of the surface of the
ice-sheet over the northern border of New England was about 8,000 feet,
and over the Canadian watershed between the St. Lawrence and Hudson
Bay 13,000 feet above the present sea-level, giving to the ice an average
thickness of about 5,000 feet in the region of the White Mountains, 6,500
feet on the international boundary, and not less than 12,000 feet on the
Laurentide highlands.^ It still appears to be true that the upper limit of
the ice-sheet was about 1,000 feet below the summit of Mount Washington
during the greater part of the Ice age, and that Dana's estimates of the
thickness of the ice farther north are very probable. There seem to be
good reasons for believing that the land at length sank beneath this heavy

'Geology of New Hampshire, Vol. Ill, 1878.

2Am. Jour. Sci. (3), Vol. V, pp. 198-211, March, 1873,

GLACIAL DRIFT ON MOUNT WASHINGTON. 115

burden ; and to that time I would refer the complete glacial envelopment of
Mount Washington, as well as the transportation of the highest, very scanty
di-ift on Katahdin. This depression of the earth's crust led to changes of
climate, from the rigorous conditions causing glaciation to mild temperatures
by which the ice was finally melted ; but at first the subsidence was perhaps
attended by an increase in the thickness of the ice, whose surface may have
been maintained by the snowfall during a short time, geologically speaking,
at its former altitude, while the area of the White Mountains sank the 1,000
feet which would envelop the top of Mount Washington in the ice-sheet.
The mountain was not thus ice-covered so long that the glacial cuiTent
could sweep away much of the abundant frost-i'iven dtibris, nor conspicu-
ously emboss any pi'ojecting knobs of rock, nor bring many bowlders .and
fragments of foreign drift. In the 220 miles from the terminal moraine of
Long Island, Marthas Vineyard, and Nantucket, north to Mount Washing-
ton, the slope of the ice surface therefore averaged in its maximum about
30 feet per mile, compared with the present sea-level and height of the
mountain, but was only about 25 feet per mile through the greater part of
the Glacial period. It is presumable, however, that in a process of subsid-
ence of the land, only the thickness of the ice-sheet, and not the slope of
its sm'face, was increased when the mountain became wholly ice-covered.

Supplementing the reports of the Geological Survey of Vermont, Mr.
Edward Hungerford published in 1868 a valuable paper on the glaciation of
the Green Mountains, ^ from which most of the following notes are derived,
their order being from north to south. Striae on the summit of Jay Peak,
4,018 feet above the sea, bear S. 40° E. Very large transported bowlders
occur on the top of Mount Mansfield, with strise bearing S. 23° to 28° E.
This mountain, the liighest in Vermont, attains the elevation of 4,430 feet.
Masses of quartz contained in the mica-schist of the top of Camels Hump,
4,088 feet in height, show fine lines of striation, noted in three places, S.
10° W., the same with variation to due south, and S. 35° E. It is also to
be remarked that the rounded northwest side of Camels Hump and its
jjrecipitous cliff on the south and southeast afford evidence of glacial

' Am. Jour. Sci. (2), Vol. XLV, pp. 1-5, Jan., 1868. These and other bearings noted in this volume
are referred to the astronomic meridian.

116 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

erosion. Killington Peak, 4,221 feet high, has similar rounded outlines,
forming a "well-defined northern stoss side;" and Mr. Hungerford observed
numerous small bowlders of foreign rock within 20 feet of the highest point.
He concludes that all these summits, the highest in Vermont, were enveloped
by the ice-sheet.

The glacial current crossed the Green Mountain range from northwest
to southeast and south. It transported bowlders of the Burlington red
sandstone across the range near Camels Hump, where they were carried
upward 3,000 feet above their source, and deposited them in the Quechee
Valley, near the Connecticut River, and in Hanover, N. H., about 60 miles
from their starting point.

The Adirondack group culminates in Mount Marcy or Tahawus, 5,344
feet above the sea; and Mount Mclntyre, at 5,113 feet, is next in elevation.
Mr. Verplanck Colvin, in charge of the Adirondack Survey, states that the
summit of Marcy is contrasted with the other high peaks in its being desti-
tute of glacial drift; but its embossed and rounded ledges, as he observes,
indicate glacial erosion there, although its stride have been obliterated by
weathering.^ This summit lies about 125 miles west and a few miles south
of Mount Washington, and its distance north from the terminal moraine on
Long and Staten islands is about 235 miles. The average slope of the sur-
face of the ice-sheet from its terinination to the Adirondack Mountains was,
therefore, not less than 23 feet per mile; and from the Catskills, where the
upper limit of glaciation is known, it was not less than 17 feet per mile.
How much it may have exceeded these figures can not be determined, but
what we know of Katahdin and Washington shows that the peak of Marcy
doubtless lacked only a little of rising above the ice-sheet at its time of
maximum thickness. In this connection it is to be remarked that the
change from a northward ascent of about 30 feet per mile south of
the Catskills to an average of 17 feet per mile, or shghtly more, for the
next 130 miles to the Adirondacks is analogous with the slopes of the
Greenland ice-sheet, and with the northward ascent of the ice -surface
assumed by Dana in the computation before mentioned, namely, an aver-

' Seventh Annual Report of the Topographical Survey of the Adirondack Region, to the
year 1879.

THE CATSKILL MOUNTAINS. 117

age of 10 feet per mile for the distance from the international boundary to
the watershed nortli of the St. Lawrence.

In New Jersey Prof John C. Smock's observations show that the
ice-sheet covered the highest point of the State, which lies near its most
northern angle, at an elevation of 1,804 feet. Its distance north from the
terminal moraine is about 31 miles: The New York Highlands and the
Shunemunk and Shawangunk mountains are also glaciated to their crests.
But in the Catskill Mountains Professor Smock finds that the glacial drift
and strife extend upward only to an elevation approximately 3,000 feet
above the sea.^ Their limit is thus 1,000 feet below the highest summits,
Slide Mountain, the culminating point of this group, having, according to
Guyot's determination, an altitude of 4,205 feet. The distance from Slide
Mountain south to the terminal moraine on Staten Island at the sea-level is
105 miles. The ice-sheet in this distance had an average slope of nearly
30 feet per mile, or slightly less than a third of a degree; and a consider-
able area of the Catskills rose above its surface at its time of maximum
thickness and extent.

Farther to the west the continental giacier stretched in a vast expanse,
unbroken by any projecting mountain or highland, to the basin of Lake
Agassiz, and, excepting a single group of hills which rose above it, I believe
that the same ice expanse continued to the Rocky Mountains, whose sum-
mits, as will be presently shown, appear also to have been wholly ice-
enveloped in the region of the Peace River and northward.

The upper portions of the Cypress Hills, in southwestern Assiniboia,
of the Hand Hills, in eastern Alberta, and of the Three Buttes or Sweet
Grass Hills, in the north edge of Montana, rose above the glaciation which
spread drift on all the surrounding country. Mr. R. G. McConnell writes
of this region as follows :

The western part of the Cypress Hills is entirely uuglaciated, and must have
formed an island in glacial times projecting about •lOO feet above the surface, as no
drift or other mark of glacial action was observed within that distance of the summit,
and as this part has a height of about 4,800 feet above the sea, this would give the
surface of the glacial sea or glacier, disregarding Post Tertiary changes in elevation,

1 Am. Jour. Sci. (3), Vol. XXV, pp. 339-350, May, 1883.

118 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

a height of 4,400 feet above the present sea-level. The Hand Hills are stated by Mr.
Tyrrell to be uuglaciated above a height of 3,400 feet,' and as these hills are situated
N. 40° W. from the western end of the Cypress Hills, at a distance of about 150
miles, a line connecting the bases of the driftless parts of the two plateaus would
incline toward the northwest at a rale of 6.7 feet per mile, and would have an average
elevation above the present surface of about 1,550 feet. Drift was also observed by
Dr. G. M. Dawson on the West Butte [of the Sweet Grass Hills] at an elevation of
4,660 feet, or 1,260 feet above the level at which it disappears in the Hand Hills,
which are in nearly the same meridian, and 260 feet above the same point in the
Cypress Hills. These differences in level, divided by the difference in latitude of
the several elevations, aft'ord evidence of a Post- Tertiary depression of the plains to
the north in this region,, relatively to those in the vicinity of the forty-ninth parallel,
of about 7.2 feet per mile. The glacial sea or continental glacier is also shown, by
subtracting the elevations given above from the present level of the surface, to have
had a maximum depth in the plains surrounding the Cypress Hills of 2,000 feet, and
to have averaged about 1,500 feet.^

On the Rocky Spring plateau, 25 miles west -southwest from the West
Butte, the upper limit of the drift is reported by Dr. Dawson to have an
elevation of about 4,100 feet. The descending slope of the ice-sheet thus
indicated for this distance is 22 feet per mile.

In New England, as before noted, we are indebted to Prof C. H.
Hitchcock for the proof that the ice-sheet enveloped the top of Mount
Washington, which has a height of 6,293 feet; and in British Columbia
Dr. George M. Dawson finds that it covered mountains 5,000 to 7,640 feet
high, and he estimates that its highest central part upon that province "had
an elevation of at least 7,000 feet above the mean elevation of the interior
plateau, which would be equivalent to an elevation of about 10,000 feet
above the present sea-level, or probably 11,000 feet above the sea-level
of the time."^ Between these eastern and western areas of great known
thickness of the ice, as determined by the height of glacial drift and strise
on mountains, probably the ice-sheet across the interior of Canada at one
time attained a thickness of a mile or more on a central belt several

' Mr. Tyrrell, in the later Annual Report of the Canadian Geol. Survey, Vol. II, for 1886,
p. 145 E, gives thia as " about 3,200 feet." [W. U.]

= Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Annual Report, new series. Vol. I, for 1885, pp. 75 and
76 C. Al.so see Dr. George M. Dawson's descriptions of the superficial deposits and glaciation of the
Bow and Belly rivers, ibid., Report of Progress for 1882-83-84, pp. 139-152 C.

^ Trans., Roy. Soc. Canada, Vol. VIII, sec. i, p. 28.

LAURENTIDE AND CORDILLERAN GLAOIEKS. 119

hundreds of miles wide, reaching from the Rocky Mountains and the
Upper Mackenzie to Reindeer Lake and Lake Winnipeg, the southwestern
part of Hudson Bay, James Bay, the Laurentide highlands, and the
southern part of Labrador.

This proposition, however, differs widely from the opinions of Mr. J. B.
Tyrrell, who thinks that a narrow unglaciated tract (designated on Pis. II
and XVI as a "debatable tract") borders the eastern base of the Rocky
Mountain range in Canada,^ and of Dr. Dawson, who doubts that an ice-
sheet has ever existed on a much wider area stretching from the Rocky
Mountains far eastward across the Peace and Saskatchewan plain country
nearly to Lake Athabasca and the lakes of Manitoba." It is needful,
therefore, that the evidences of glaciation in that district should be defi-
nitely and particularly stated. Without considering here the methods of
formation of the various drift deposits, it may make my views more readily
understood to add that I agree perfectly with Mr. Tyrrell in referring all
deposits of bowlder-clay or till directly to the agency of land ice, without
modification or aid by water; while Dr. Dawson, on the other hand, refers
all these deposits of till to a glacio-natant origin — that is, to deposition
from floating ice supplied from glaciers and borne over the till-covered
areas during their submei'gence by lakes or the sea.

LAURENTIDE AND CORDILLEEAN CENTERS OF OUTFLOW.

The prevailing courses of glaciation and dispersal of the drift lead me
to recognize, with Dr. Dawson, the existence of two central areas upon
which the ice was accumulated in greater depth than elsewhere, and from
which consequently it flowed outward on all sides.^ One of these areas

I Bulletin, G. S. A., Vol. I, pp. 396, 400, 401.

"Trans., Roy. Soc. Canada, Vol. VIII, sec. 4, pp. 54-74.

^ Dr. George M. Dawsen, Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Annual Report, new series, Vol.
II, for 1886, pp. 56-58 R; Geol. Magazine, (3), Vol. V, pp. 347-350, Aug., 1888; Am. Geologist, Vol. VI,
pp. 153-162, Sept., 1890; Transactions, Royal Society of Canada, Vol. VIII, sec. 4. 1890, pp. 3-74, with
five majis.

Compare with Dr. Robert Bell's opinion, based on his observations throughout the eastern two-
thirds of British America, that during the Ice age "the basin of Hudsons Bay may have formed a
sort of glacial reservoir, receiving streams of ice from the east, north, and northwest, and giving forth
the accumulated result as broad glaciers, mainly towards the south and southwest,'-' and also to the
northeast and east through Hudson Strait. Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Report of Progress
for 1882-83-84, pp. 36, 37 DD.

Also see an article by Prof. E. W. Clayjiole, on "Glaciers and glacial radiants in the Ice age,"
Am. Geologist, Vol. Ill, pp. 73-94, Feb., 1889.

120 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

embraced the Laurentide highlands, James Bay, a portion of Hudson Bay,
and the western part of the Archean region from Lakes Superior and
Winnipeg to Great Slave and Great Bear lakes. From this large north-
eastern or Laurentide center of outflow the ice-sheet crept southward,
eastward, and northward to the limits of glaciation before noted. West-
ward the ice from this area outflowed, as I beheve, to the limit of Archean
bowlders on or near the base of the Rocky Mountains, where I find, from
Dr. Dawson's observations of the drift in Alberta and on the Peace River,
that it abutted against and was confluent with ice outflowing eastward and
southeastward from the Rocky Mountains. The other area whence currents
of the ice-sheet flowed radially in everj^ direction was the northern central
part of British Columbia; and the portions of the ice-sheet pouring outward
respectively from these two centers have been named by Dawson the
Laurentide and Cordilleran glaciers. Toward the south, west, and north-
west the Cordilleran outflow extended to the boundaries of our glaciated
area; but eastward, pouring through passes of the Rocky Mountains, and
in the Peace River region probably overtopping the highest summits, which
there are only about 6,000 feet above the sea, the Cordilleran ice pushed
across a narrow belt adjoining the mountains to a maximum distance of
nearly a hundred miles, and there (on land about 2,500 feet above the sea)
became confluent with the Laurentide ice, the two united currents thence
passing in part to the south and in part to the north from the interior tract
where the confluent ice was thickest.

JUNCTION OF THE LAURENTIDE AND CORDILLERAN DRIFT.

Taking up the particular description of localities where the junction
of the Laurentide and Cordilleran drift has been observed, we may begin
at the international boundary and proceed northward. Laurentian erratics
and di-ift are stated by Dawson to extend quite to the foot of the Rocky
Mountains near the forty-ninth parallel, and to occur between the forty-
ninth and fiftieth parallels, "stranded on the surface of moraines produced
by the large local glaciers of the Rocky Mountains."^

In Montana, within 30 miles southward from the forty-ninth parallel,
Prof G. E. Culver finds that ice was accumulated so thickly west of the

1 Tran.s., Roy. Soo. Canada, Vol. VIII, sec. 4, p. 57 ; Am. Geologist, Vol. VI, p. 162, Sept., 1890.

JUNCTION OF LAUEENTIDB AND OOEDILLEEAN DRIFT. 121

main eastern range of the Rocky Mountains that it outflowed eastward
thi'ough the passes, carrying diorite bowlders from ledges west of the
watershed to a distance of several miles on the plains at the eastern base
of the mountains. No Laurentian drift was observed there, but in the
valley at the head of St. Marys River, a tributary of the Belly River, on
longitude 113° 30', 5 to 20 miles south of the international boundary,
shore-lines of a glacial lake, which was probably formed by the neighbor-
ing barrier of the Laurentide ice-sheet on the northeast, occur up to the
height of at least 800 feet above the present St. Marys lakes, or approx-
imately 5,400 feet above the sea.^

In the neighborhood of Calgary, which is the western limit of Lau-
rentian bowlders and till, Dawson reports somewhat farther westward a
deposit resembling bowlder-clay, in which the stones "are entirely those of
the mountains or sandstone blocks from the underlying beds." Accord-
ingly, he declares that the absence of Laurentian erratics west of Calgary
is probably to be accounted for "by the existence of Rocky Mountain
glaciers of sufficient size in this region to fend off the eastern glaciating
agent." Again, he mentions, west of Calgary, "heavy glacial striation in
a southward or southeastward direction * * * about 13 miles east of
the mountains, in a region of wide vallej^s and low foothills.""

On the Peace River, in its course close east of the Rocky Mountains,
and on its tributary, Piiie River, Dawson reports drift containing a large
proportion of "hard quartzite pebbles like the more resistant materials of
the axial range of the Rocky Mountains. These are mingled Avith a pre-
ponderating number of fragments of the softer sandstones of the country,
and embedded in a Avhitish or cream-colored silty clay, not unlike the
material representing the bowlder-clay over wide districts west of the
Rocky Mountains. No Laurentian or other fragments of eastern origin
were observed in this region." Continuing eastward, these drift deposits
become more conspicuous, attaining in jjlfices a thickness of 150 feet. On
reaching the D'Echafaud River, about 100 miles from the mountains,

'"Notes on a littlo-kuown region in northwestern Montana," Transactions, Wisconsin Academy
of Science, Arts, and Letters, Vol. VIII, pp. 187-205, with map, Dec 30, 1891.

'Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Report of Progress, 1882-84. pp. 146 C, 151 C; Annual
Report, new series. Vol. I, for 1885, p. 167 B.

122 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGAiSSIZ.

though "no change in the character of the drift deposits was noted,
* * * Laurentian pebbles and bowlders were for the first time seen
in considei'able abundance. * * * East of this point * * * the
surface is thickly covered with drift deposits, so much so that exposures
of the underlying- rocks are, as a rule, only found in the larger river
valleys."^ No better evidence could be desired by a glacialist, account-
ing for the formation of the bowlder-clay by the agency of land ice, to
demonstrate the confluence here of two currents of the ice, one flowing
eastward from the Cordilleran area and the other flowing westward from
the Archean area, whose nearest portion is on Lake Athabasca, about 400
miles distant.

Near the divide between the Liard and Yukon River systems, Dawson
found drift on the summit of an isolated mountain 4,300 feet above the sea
and about 1,000 feet above this part of the Pacific-Arctic watershed.^ This,
however, is on the west side of the Rocky Mountains proper, which, as
defined by Dawson, constitute the northeastern marginal range of the broad
mountainous Cordilleran belt. With this definition, the Rocky Mountains
are intersected by the Mackenzie River south and west of Great Bear Lake.

Farther northward the Laurentide or eastern portion of the ice-sheet
pushed northwestward to the extreme limit of the drift. "The till near the
lower ramparts of the Mackenzie," according to Mr. R. G. McConnell, "is
in approximately the same latitude as the northern boundary of the Archean
area on the east, and the gneissic bowlders which it contains must have
traveled either directly west or northwest in order to reach their present
situation." He therefore infers that "the ice from the Archean gathering
grounds to the east poured westward through the gaps and passes in the
eastern flanking ranges of the Rocky Mountains until it reached the barrier
formed by the main axial range, when, being unable to pass this, it was
deflected northwestward in a stream from 1,500 to 2,000 feet deep down the
valley of the Mackenzie and thence out to sea."^

All the testimony thus gathered concerning the line of junction and
the limits of the eastern and western drift seems to the present writer to

> Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Report of Progress, 1879-80, pi5. 139, 140 B.
■^ Ibid., Annual Report, Vol. Ill, for 1887-88, p. 119 B.
3 Bulletin, G. S. A., Vol. I, p. .543.

COMPARISON WITH THE GEEEJ^LAND ICE-SHEET. 123

amount to full and convincing' proof that the ice of the Laurentide and
Cordilleran areas of outflow became confluent, and at its culmination
stretched as one continuous ice-sheet from the Atlantic to the Pacific,
enveloping the northern portion of the Rocky Mountains in their compara-
tively low development within the basin of the Mackenzie and Peace
rivers, and overspreading the whole of the Dominion of Canada south-
ward, except the highest parts of the Rocky, Selkirk, and Coast' ranges.

COMPARISON WITH THE PRESENT ICE-SHEET OF GREENLAND.

An ice-sheet similar to that of North America in the Glacial pei'iod
now covers the Antarctic lands, and another is spread over the interior of
Greenland. The latter has been so far explored within the past ten years
by Nordenskjold, Peary, and Nansen as to give us a knowledge of its
slopes and the altitude of its surface, with which the ancient ice-sheets of
North America and Europe may be most instructively compared.

The first long journey on the Greenland ice-sheet was accomplished
by Nordenskjold in 1883, going eastward from Aulatsivik Fjord, close south
of Disco Bay, near latitude 68° 20' north. At a distance of about 73
miles from the head of this fjord and edge of the inland ice Nordenskjold
reached an altitude of 4,950 feet; and at a probable distance of 45 or 50
miles farther, crossed by Lapps on the peculiar snowshoes called "ski," the
barometers indicated a height of 6,386 feet. The average ascent of the ice
surface here in the first 73 miles, including the more rapid rise near the
margin, is about 68 feet per mile, or slightly less than three-quarters of a
degree; but in the next 45 miles of estimated distance it is reduced to 32
feet per mile, or about a third of a degree.^

A second important journey on the inland ice of Greenland was by
Lieut. R. E. Peary and Christian Maigaard in 1886, going east from the
head of Pakitsok Fjord, on the northeast part of Disco Bay, in latitude
69° 30' north. These explorers advanced to an estimated distance of
about 100 miles from the edge of the ice, attaining an altitude of about
7,500 feet.2

' Science, Vol. II, pp. 732-738, with map, Dec. 7, 1883. For the more accurate final computations
and estimates of distance.'! aud altitudes, see The First Crossing of Greenland, by F. Nansen, 1890, Vol.
I, pp. 494-499, with map ; Vol. II, pp. 467, 468.

• Bulletin of the American Geographical Society, Vol. XIX, 1887, pp. 261-289.

124 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Two years later, in 1888, Dr. Fridtjof Nanseu crossed this ice-sheet
from east to west between latitude 64° 10' and 64° 45' north. The width
of the ice here is about 275 miles, extending into the ocean on the east,
but terminating on the west about 14 miles from the head of Ameralik
Fjord and 70 miles from the outer coast-line. For the first 15 miles in the
ascent from the east, rising to the altitude of 1,000 meters, or 3,280 feet,
the average gradient was nearly 220 feet per mile. In the next 35 miles
an altitude of 2,000 meters, or 6,560 feet, was reached; and the average
gradient in this distance, between 15 and 50 miles from the margin of the
ice, was thus about 94 feet per mile, or a slope very slightly exceeding 1
degree. The highest part of the ice-sheet, about 112 miles from the point
of starting, was found to have an altitude of 2,718 meters, or about 8,920
feet. Its ascending slope, tlierefore, in the distance from 50 to 112 miles
was about 38 feet per mile. Thence descending westward, the gradients
are less steep, averaging about 25 feet per mile for nearly 100 miles to the
altitude of 2,000 meters, about 63 feet per mile for the next 52 miles of
distance and 1,000 meters of descent, and about 125 feet per mile for the
lower western border of the ice.^

Lieutenant Peary, in an expedition from Inglefield Gulf, near latitude
78°, on the northwest coast of Grreenland, starting early in May and
returning August 6, 1892, crossed the northwestern and northern parts of
this ice-sheet, reaching altitudes of 5,000 to 8,000 feet, and determining
approximately the northern boundary of the ice from Petermann Fjord to
the eastern coast at Independence Bay, in latitude 81° 37' and longitude
34° west from Greenwich.

In comparing the slopes and altitudes of the upper limits of glaciation
on mountains in Maine, New Hampshire, and New Yoi'k, with the«ice in
Greenland, we observe tlie remarkable contrast that the former show
gradients only about half as steep as the latter. Mount Washington, as
before noted, indicates an average gradient of only about 25 feet per mile
for the rise of the ice surface along a distance of 220 miles from its margin
during- the principal part of the Glacial period; to Mount Katahdin in
a similar distance it appears to have risen somewhat less steeply, or per-

' The First Crossing of Greenland, Vol. II, pp. 464-466, with section and maps.

GLACIATED AREAS UPLIFTED AS PLATEAUS. 125

haps nearly the same; and to the Catskills the apjiarent ascent was only
30 feet per mile for the distance of 100 miles from the ice border. But in
Greenland all of the four journeys on the inland ice find it to ascend
with much steeper slopes, attaining the altitude of the summit of Mount
Washington at distances which vary from 50 to 125 miles from its edge.
Nor does the less area of the Grreenland ice explain its steeper gradients,
for it probably has a length of more than 20 degrees from south to north,
or over 1,400 miles, with a width of 200 to 600 miles, and an area of
about 600,000 square miles, or one-seventh as much as the later ice-sheet
of North America.

Apparently the c(jiiditions for outflow of the ice from this area are
similar and equally favorable with those which prevailed on our continent
in the Glacial period. The comparison therefore suggests that the present
elevation of the glaciated portion of this continent is probably much
changed from that which it had during its epochs of glaciation. If the
North American ice-sheet during its stages of growth and culmination
attained steep slopes and high altitudes near its borders comparable
with the Greenland ice, the records of glaciation on our mountains show
that during the time of accumulation of the ice and until it attained its
maximum extent the glaciated area was uplifted as a high continental
plateau, with the same principal topographic features of mountains,
valleys, and general contour as in preglacial and postglacial times, but
having in its outer 100 or 200 miles slopes of probably 20 to 30 feet
per mile, descending from the jDlateau of the interior of the ice-enveloped
country to its margin.^

Similar uplifting seems also to have affected the glaciated northwestern
portion of Europe, for there, too, the slopes and height of the limits of the
drift resemble those of North America rather than the Greenland ice-sheet.
Prof. James Geikie finds that the surface of the ice which moved westward
from northern Scotland across the Minch and the Hebrides had a descent
of 25 feet per mile; "but slight as that incline was," he remarks, "it was
probably twice as great as the slope of the mer de glace that filled up the
German Ocean." ^ Mr. T. F. Jamieson therefore concludes that when the

' The Ice Age in North America, p. 595.

= Quart. Jour. Geol. Sou., Vol. XXXIV, p. G81, Nov., 1868.

126 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

ice-sheets of Scandinavia and Scotland were being accumulated tliese coun-
tries stood far above their present height, the maximum uplift being at least
equal to 4,080 feet, which is the depth of Sogne Fjord, the longest and
deepest fjord of Norway.^

At the end of the Glacial period, however, the glaciated regions are
known to have been mostly depressed somewhat below their present level.
This change seems to be well accounted for by the vast weight of the ice-
sheet itself, causing the land to sink finally beneath its load; and the
subsequent rise of the land is an expression of the buoyancy of the earth's
cnist when it had been relieved by the disappearance of the ice. The pre-
glacial elevation may well have produced a cool climate throughout the
year, with abundant snowfall and resulting ice accumulation; and the sub-
sidence of the burdened land would cause rapid melting of the ice upon its
borders and thence backward progressively over its whole area.

EECESSIOIS^ OF THE ICE-SHEET.

During the departure of the ice its melting was due to the inflvience
of sunshine and rains, the latter being doubtless brought then, as now, by
great storms sweeping across the continent in an eastward and northeast-
ward course. In consequence, the borders of the ice-sheet appear to have
been pushed back generally in the same northeastward direction, beginning
on the west in the region of the Missouri and upper Mississippi rivers and
of the Red River of the North, and yielding successively or almost con-
temporaneously the region of the Laurentian lakes. New England, and the
eastern provinces of Canada." Thus Lake Agassiz was formed in the Red
River Valley, and the basins of the Lam-entiau lakes became filled by
glacial lakes outflowing southwestward to the Mississippi, until the outlet
from Lake Ontario by the Mohawk and Hudson rivers was uncovered from
the ice. Along the valley of the St. Lawrence the glacial current, which
had before passed southeast transversely across it to the coast of New
England, was, during this recession of the border of the ice-sheet, deflected
toward the southwest, conforming to the law that the glacial motion near
the edge of the ice turned perpendicularly toward its boundary.

'Geol. Magazine (3), Vol. VIII, i>p. 387-392, Sept., 1891.

2 Compare Proc, A. A. A. S., Vol. XXXII, 1883, pp. 231-231 ; and Geology of Minnesota, Vol. I, p. 611.

RECESSION OF THE ICE-SHEET. 127

Extensive and thick beds of gravel, sand, and clay or fine silt, called
stratified or modified drift, were deposited along the avenues of drainage
from the glacial boundary, especially during its rapid final recession. The
dissolution of the ice, with accompanying rains, produced extraordinary
floods along all the rivers flowing away from the waning ice-sheet; and
these were heavily laden with detritus set free from the lower part of the
ice in which it had been held, and brought down by the rills and small and
large streams formed on the melting ice surface. Other portions of the
englacial drift were let down as an upper deposit of till, which lies in a
loose, unstratified mass upon the subglacial till or ground moraine. The
abundant deposition of drift, both stratified and unstratified, during the
final melting of the ice-sheet, was first brought into due prominence by
Prof James D. Dana,^ who denominated this the Champlain epoch, deriv-
ing the name from its marine beds adjoining Lake Champlain.

On the Atlantic Coast the Champlain subsidence of the land below its
present level is known, from fossihferous marine beds overlying the till, to
have been slight in northeastern Massachusetts, 150 to 230 feet in New
Hampshire and Maine, nothing or of small amount in Nova Scotia, but
considerable, with increase from east to west, along the lower St. Lawrence
Valley, being 375 feet opposite the Saguenay and 560 feet at Montreal,
but thence diminishing southward along Lake Champlain and westward in
the upper St. Lawrence and Ottawa valleys. The country southwest of
Hudson Bay sank 300 to 500 feet; Labrador, 1,000 to 1,500 feet; and
western Greenland and Grinnell Land, 1,000 to 2,000 feet. Again, in
British Columbia and the Queen Charlotte Islands Dr. Dawson and otliers
find proofs of submergence, ranging up to 200 or 300 feet, while the glacial
conditions still endured.

This closing stage of the Glacial period was immediately succeeded
by a time of great erosion of the valley deposits of stratified drift, as soon
as the continued glacial recession beyond the drainage areas of the rivers
cut off the supply of water and of drift that had been derived from the
melting ice. The resulting excavation of the glacial flood-plains has left
remnants of those deposits in conspicuous terraces along all our river val-

' Am. Jour. Sci. (3), A'ol. V, p. 198, aud various papers in Vol. X-

128 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

leys which lead southward within the glaciated region or on its southern
border; and postglacial time, extending to the present day, is therefore
named by Dana the Recent or Terrace epoch. It is to be remarked, how-
ever, that much of the terracing of the valley di-ift was doubtless done
speedily after the retreat of the ice from any basin, while yet adjacent
di-ainage areas on the north were receiving from it thick flood-plain depos-
its. The Glacial, Champlain, and Terrace epochs thus overlap, the second
being wholly and the third partially included within the Glacial or Pleis-
tocene period, if continental areas are considered; but for any limited
disti-ict, as a single river basin, the sculpturing of the terraces took place
chiefly after the departure of the ice beyond its watershed.

Latest glaciation far north. — In the latest stages of the glacial recession
the ice-sheet probably became divided into three remnants, one covering
northern British Columbia and contiguous portions of the Northwest Terri-
tory and Alaska, another occupying the region west, northwest, and north
of Hudson Bay, stretching northward to the large islands of the Arctic
Ocean, and a third covering Labrador and the country north of the St.
Lawrence. The present glaciers of British Columbia and southern Alaska,
the broad Malaspina glacier or ice-sheet, described by Russell, between the
St. Elias Range and the ocean, and the extensive ice-enveloped country
seen by Russell in the view northward from Mount St. Elias, estimated by
him to embrace not less than 30,000 square miles, are surviving repre-
sentatives of glaciation wliich probably has been continuous in that region
since the time of maximum extent and depth of the continental ice-sheet.^
From the second of these areas glacial cun-ents moved south-southwest-
wardly across the Churchill River and Reindeer and Athabasca lakes,
partly obliterating the earlier westward stria?, and southeastwardly across
Marble Island,, in the northwestern part of Hudson Bay. This division of
the North American ice-sheet is probably still represented by glaciers or a
small ice-sheet in Baffin Land, on the coast of Fox Channel, from which
its icebergs are carried southeastward mto Hudson Strait.^ Possibly the

1 National Geographic Magazine, Vol. Ill, pp. 53-203, -with 19 plates. May 29, 1891. Am. Jour.
Sci. (3), Vol. XLIII, pp. 169-182, with map, March. 1892. Am. Geologist, Vol. IX, pp. 322-336, May, 1892.

2 Dr. Robert Bell, Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Report of Progress for 1882-83-84,
p. 24 DD.

GLACIAL CURRENTS SHOWN BY STRI.E. 129

recession and final melting of the continental ice-sheet caused it to extend
over lands within the Arctic Circle which had not been covered by the ice
when it reached farthest south. From the melting of its last reriinants
moisture-laden winds doubtless have carried portions of it across Baffin
Bay and Davis Strait to be deposited again in the ice-sheet that still covers
the interior of Greenland.

GLACIAIi CURRENTS WITHIN THE BASIN" OP LAKE AGASSIZ.

Table of courses of glacial strice. — The directions of the currents of the
ice-sheet are shown by its tracks, the furrows and striae which bowlders
and gravel frozen in the base of the moving ice engraved upon the bed-
rocks over which they passed. From these courses of movement of the
ice, the areas of its thickest accumulation and consequent outflow are
known. In some districts, also, changes in the outlines of the ice border
and in its slopes and currents during its final retreat are indicated by
deflected glacial striae which run across the earlier courses. Occasionally
two or more sets of striae are found intersecting on the same rock surface,
but more frequently the earlier and later sets are preserved on separate
portions of the same or contiguous rock-outcrops.^ The testimony of
these records is so important concerning the barrier which held Lake
Agassiz that a table is presented as an appendix of this volume, noting
the courses of striae which have been reported upon all the country from
Hudson Bay, Lake Superior, and Minnesota westward and northward across
the basin of this glacial lake.

Converging lobes of the ice-sheet in Minnesota and Manitoba. — The south-
westward striation in northeastern. Minnesota and the southeastward
striation in the central and southern part of that State belong to two
convergently flowing lobes of the ice-sheet, partly corresponding to its
portions which earlier inclosed the driftless area of southwestern Wiscon-
sin and united in a continuous area of ice farther south The central

'A most valuable classification of the various types of glacial striation, planation, and emboss-
ment, with discussion of their methods of urigin and of their significance as evideuce of the prevail-
ing ice currents anil of deflections during the glacial recession, is given in Professor Chamberlin's
memoir, "The rock-scorings of the great ice invasions," Seventh Annual Report, U. S. Geol. Survey, for
1885-86, pp. 147-248, illustrated by .50 figures in the text, mostly engraved from photographs.

MON XXV 9

130 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

line of the western of these ice-lobes coincided nearly with the Red and
Minnesota rivers and the upper Des Moines, its southern end being near
Des Moines, in central Iowa. This may be named the Minnesota lobe of
the ice-sheet. Farther west the Dakota lobe stretched from the Souris
basin and the region of Turtle Mountain south across the east half of
North and South Dakota to Yankton, its central line being along the
valley of the James or Dakota River. In Manitoba the glacial cuiTents,
passing to the Minnesota and Dakota ice-lobes, moved to the south-
southeast and south, as noted at several localities on the Winnipeg River
above Lac du Bonnet, on Lakes Winnipeg, Winnipegosis, Manitoba, and
St. Martin, at Stonewall and Stony Mountain, and on the Assiniboine;
and these currents are remarkably contrasted with the southwestward
strise of the contiguous region of the Lake of the Woods and the country
extending thence east and north. These converging strise in western
and eastern Manitoba probably were engraved mostly during the reces-
sion of the glacial boundary, when Lake Agassiz was extended over the
greater part of the Red River Valley. On the east this lake appears
to have been bounded by a vast ice-lobe outflowing from the region of
Lake Superior and James Bay southwest and south to the Lake of the
Woods and Lake Itasca, representing the earlier convergent ice-lobes of
the northeastern and of the western and southern portions of Minnesota,
while on the west it was bounded by the representative of the Dakota
ice-lobe, then outflowing from the region of Lake Manitoba and Riding
Mountain southward to the terminal moraine of Pilot Knob, the north
side of Devils Lake, Tm-tle Mountain, and the Tiger, Brandon, and
Arrow hills.

I Transportation of hoiclders.—Neavlj everywhere the greater part of the
diift is derived from foiToations not far distant, varying from a few miles
to 25 or 50 miles away, in the direction from which the ice-sheet moved ;
but mingled with this material from comparatively near sources are other
portions, both of the fine detritus and of the small and large rock masses,
which have been transported longer distances, as the Archean bowlders of
northern Montana and the upper Saskatchewan district, derived from the
Archean belt east and north of Lake Winnipeg and about Reindeer Lake.

TRANSPOETATION OP BOWLDERS. 131

The least distance from the most western of these bowlders to the margin
of the Archean belt is about 550 miles. Otlier bowlders of Archean
origin which must have traveled nearly or quite as far occur in Kansas,
Missouri, and Illinois, on the southwestern part of the drift-bearing area of
the United States. The method of transportation of all these is believed
by the writer to have been wholly by the slow currents of land ice.

Dr. Robert Bell observes that the bowlders and pebbles of the drift
on the west coast of Hudson Bay, near the mouth of the Churchill, and on
the lower part of the Nelson, consist largely of rocks like those of the
opposite eastern coast of Hudson Bay, which is 500 miles distant.^ But
the farthest known transportation of rock fragments* in the drift, recorded
in part by Dr. Bell, whose observations are supplemented by my own, is
from James Bay southwest to North Dakota and Minnesota. The rock
thus recognized is a "dark gray, granular, siliceous felsite or graywacke,
* * * characterized by round spots, from the size of a pea to that of a
cricket ball or larger, of a lighter color than the rest of the rock, which
weather out into pits of the same form." It occurs in situ, as reported by
Dr. Bell, on Long Island, off Cape Jones, on the east coast of Hudson
Bay where it is narrowed to form James Bay, having there a southwest-
ward strike and probably continuing under the sea for some distance in
that direction. He notes that the abundance of pebbles and bowlders of
this rock is the most remaiJiable feature of the drift on the west coast of
James Bay and along the Attawapishkat, Albany, and Kenogami rivers,
and that its fragments have been found by him as far west as Lonely Lake
and southward to Lake Superior.^ Farther to the southwest and south I
have observed fragments of it, usually only a few inches but in some
instances a foot or more in diameter, occurring very rarely in the di'ift in
the northeastern part of North Dakota, where the largest piece ever found
by me was about 30 miles south of the international boundar}^ and 50
miles west of the- Red River, and at numerous localities in Mimiesota,
where it extends at least as far south as Steele County, 75 miles south of
St. Paul and 1,000 miles southwest of its outcrop north of James Bay.

■Geol. Survey of Canada, Report of Progress for 1878-79, pp. 22, 23 C.

^Gool. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Annual Report, new series, Vol. II, for 1886, p. 36 G.

132 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

DRIFT DEPOSITS ON THE LACUSTRINE AREA AND THE ADJOIN-
ING REGION.

The accompanying map (PI. XVII) exhibits the diverse formations of
drift, lacustrine, and alluvial deposits, described in this and. following chap-
ters, occurring within the somewhat thoroughly examined prairie portion
of Lake Agassiz, with considerable tracts of the adjoining country.

PI. Ill, in Chapter I, drawn on a smaller scale, shows a greater extent
of the terminal moraines, and the courses of glacial striae (as noted in
Appendix A), upon almost the entire hydrographic basin of Lake Agassiz,
with a large area eastward to Hudson Bay and the upper Laurentian lakes.

Derivation of the drift from preglacial residuary detritus and from glacial
erosion. — The loose superficial material provided by preglacial weathering
and stream erosion was generally plowed up and removed by the ice-sheet,
being carried forward in the direction of its motion and mingled with other
material similarly gathered along the path of the glacial current. Besides
the gravel and finer alluvial detritus of valleys and a mantle of residuary
clay, more or less enveloping all the country, occasional bowlders and rock
masses were supplied on the higher lands by the irregular action of the
preglacial denudation, ready to be borne along and deposited in the glacial
drift. But the ice-sheet commonly did more than to remove the loose
material before existing, as is shown by rock surfaces embossed, planed,
and striated by glacial erosion. In general, far the greater part of the
drift was thus worn off", and most of its bowlders were torn and plucked
away, from the rock floor over which the ice-sheet moved, grinding it with
the drift material contained in its basal portion under the pressure of the
enormous weight of thousands of feet of ice. The large proportion of
limestone present in the sand and finely powdered rock of the drift in
regions of limestone formations demonstrates, as Professor Chamberlin
has shown, that the drift was chiefly derived from glacial wearing of the
bed-rocks.^

' U. S. Geol. Survey, Third Annual Report, p. 312, and Sixth Annual Report, memoir by T. C.
Chamberlin and R. D. Salisbury, "The driftless area of the Upper Mississippi," pp. 241,247, 255;
and Am. Jour. Sci. (3), Vol. XXVII, p. 388, May, 1884. Compare "Composition of the till or bowlder-
clay," by W. O. Crosby, Proceedings of Boston Society of Natural History, Vol. XXV, 1890, pp. 115-140.

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.

MONOGRAPH XXV. PL. XVII.

JUl lUS SIEU tt CO '■

MAP OF THE ]m\¥T DEPOSITS ON THE SOIH^HERN PORTION OF THE BASIN OF LAKE AGASSIZ .

Sccile, about 'il? miles to aiiinch.

Till i 1 Terminal iMoraines M^ Modified Drift wUi Irat-ts ol' Till I I Deltas of Lake Agassiz I 1

Other Lncustrine ajid.\lluvial Deposits I I

THICKNESS OF THE DEIFT. 133

It should be added, however, that the depth of the glacial erosion waa
probably nowhere so great as to change the principal and grander topo-
graphic features of the preglacial contour. The most important influence
of glacial action upon the topography was usually the removal or partial
wearing away of comparatively small projecting knobs, and the filling up
of depressions and valleys, bringing the surface to a more uniform contour
than before the Ice age.

TJtickness of the drift. — The thickness of the sheet of superficial depos-
its overlying the bed-rock upon the area of Lake Agassiz is shown by
wells to vary from about 125 feet to 260 feet or more in Minnesota, com-
monly from 200 to 300 feet in North Dakota, and from 50 feet or less to
250 feet or more in Manitoba.

At Herman and Moorhead, Minn., the entire depth of the drift is found
to be, respectively, 124 and 220 feet. Several other deep wells in this State,
none of them apparently extending to the base of the drift, show its thick-
ness to be at least 260 feet at Campbell, 217 feet at Ada, 190 to 205 feet
near Crookston, 253 feet at South Angus, and 165 feet at St. Vincent.

Wells in North Dakota pass into the strata underlying the drift at the
depth of 220 feet in Fargo, 250 feet in Casselton, 310 feet near Grandin
and Kelso, and 298 feet at Grafton. A well at Grand Forks, 265 feet deep,
appears not to have reached the bottom of the drift.

In Manitoba the thickness of the drift at West Selkii'k is 65 feet ; in
Winnipeg and St. Boniface it varies from 30 to 80 feet ; near Niverville it
is from 65 to 100 feet ; in Dominion City, near Letellier, and on the Low
farm, west of Morris, it is at least 170 to 250 feet, and in West Lynne at
least 108 feet; at Rosenfeld it is 143 feet; near Carman it is about 100
feet; and 7 miles west of Portage la Prairie, 158 feet. From these records
it seems probable that the thickness of these deposits upon the flat plain of
the Red River Valley in Manitoba averages about 100 feet, considerably
exceeding this, to a maximum of 150 to 250 feet, along the central part
of this area south of the Assiniboine, but not probably averaging more
than 50 feet in the lower part of the valley between Winnipeg and Lake
Winnipeg, where the higher portions of the bed-rock rise to the suiface.
On the Archean area of the east part of Lake Agassiz plentiful rock-

134 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

outcrops occui- about Rainy Lake and the Lake of the Woods, westward
along tlie Canadian Pacific Railway nearly to the Whitemouth River, and
in the country east of Lake Winnipeg ; and it is probable that the average
thickness of the superficial deposits in that extensive district is not more
than 30 to 50 feet. West of Lake Agassiz many portions of the plateau
bordered by the Pembina Mountain and the Tiger Hills have onlya small
depth of drift, ranging from a few feet to 20 or 30 feet, but in some places
the drift appears to extend deeper, as shown by stream valleys, and its
average thickness may be 40 feet or more.

Southward from Devils Lake, upon the expanse crossed by the Shey-
enne and James rivers, the ch'ift covering its eastern portion, along the
Sheyenne, continues thin, varying from 10 or 20 to 50 feet or more; but
farther west, along the James, it is again of considerable depth, averaging
probably 100 feet, and ranging commonly from 50 to 150 feet on moder-
ately undulating tracts. Tlu-oughout this plain-like expanse, as generally
upon other parts of the country adjoining Lake Agassiz, the drift-sheet
receives an addition of probably 30 to 60 feet along the course of its
numerous admirably developed marginal moraines.

TILL OE BOWLDER-CLAY.

Till, also called bowlder-clay, constitutes the greater part of the entire
sheet of supei-ficial deposits, both within the area of Lake Agassiz and
upon the adjoining country. It usually lies on the striated bed-rock, and
upon large areas it reaches thence upward to the surface; but elsewhere
this unmodified glacial drift is covered by modified di'ift, the stratified
gravel, sand, and clay deposited by streams which flowed down from the
ice-sheet during its melting, or by lacustrine and fluvial sediments. Fully
half of the area of Lake Agassiz in Minnesota and North Dakota has a
surface of till. In the part of this lake area examined by me in Manitoba
its proportion is less, because much of this district is covered by the
Assiniboine delta and its associated lacustrine beds. Extensive tracts of
till, hosvever, occupy the surface on the north and east portions of the
Manitoba area, as north of Neepawa, on the east side of the Big Grass
Marsh, from the south end of Lake Manitoba eastward by Shoal Lake

TILL OE BOWLDER-CLAY. 135

nearly to the Red River and Winnipeg and south to the Canadian Pacific
Railway, from East Selkirk eastward along this railway, and 10 miles east
of Emerson, where the flat plain of the Red River Valley is bordered by
slightly higher land. Till also forms the surface of the terrace along the
foot of the Pembina Mountain escarpment between the international
boundary and Thomhill. Beneath the delta deposits of gravel and sand,
and along the central portion of the Red River Valley, where the surface
is commonly fine silt or clay, a sheet of till lies between these sediments
and the bed-rock.

The till is the du-ect deposit of the ice-sheet, as is shown by its
consisting of clay, sand, gravel, and bowlders, mingled indiscriminately in
an unstratified mass, without assortment or transportation by water. Very
finely pulverized rock, forming a stifi", compact, unctuous clay, is its prin-
cipal ingredient, whether at great depths or at the surface. It has a dark,
bluish-gray color, except in its upper portion, which is yellowish to a depth
that varies from 5 to 50 feet, but is most commonly between 15 and 30
feet. This difference in color is due to the influence of air .and water upon
the iron contained in this deposit, changing it in the upper part of the till
from protoxide combinations to hydrous sesquioxide. Another important
difference in the till is that its upper portion is commonly softer and easily
dug, while below there is a sudden change to a hai-d and compact deposit,
which must be picked and is far more expensive in excavating. The
probable cause of this difference in hardness was the pressure of the vast .
weight of the ice-sheet upon the subglacial till, while the upper part of
the till was contained in the ice and di'opped loosely at its melting. Upon
each side of Lake Agassiz the till has a moderately undulating and rolling
surface. Within the area that was covered by this lake it has a much
smoother and more even contour, and its upper portion, owing to its
manner of deposition in this body of water, sometimes shows an imperfect
stratification, with a scantier intermixture of bowlders and gravel. Yet
even where it has distinct lamination it usually is more like till than like
ordinary modified drift, and contains stones and gravel through its entire
mass.

136 'J^'HE GLAOIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

The chief characters of the englacial upper portion of the till, as
compai-ed with the subglacial lower portion, are its looser texture, its
more plentiful and larger bowlders, the prevailingly angular and suban-
gular shapes of its bowlders and smaller rock fragments, whereas the}" are
mostly worn smooth by glaciation in the lower till, and the usually more
gravelly and sandy and less clayey composition of the englacial till, owing
to the Avashing away of much of its finer material by superglacial drainage.
To these originally inherent characters we must add the very noticeable
postglacial change of color of the upper till already mentioned. This
change has generally extended through the englacial till, stopping at the
more impervious subglacial deposit. Between the two there is also fre-
quently a layer of subglacial stratified gravel and sand, from a few inches
to several feet thick. The extremes of thickness of the englacial till
appear to range from almost nothing or only a few feet for minima to
40 feet or more for its maxima near massive terminal moraines and where
gi-eat cuiTents of the ice-sheet converged.^

Rock fragments and other drift inclosed in the ice at a considerable
height above the ground were borne forward without attrition. The
higher part of the englacial drift is thought by the present writer to have
supplied most of the material forming the terminal moraines, which, there-
fore, have a remarkable profusion of bowlders and angular gravel. When
the ice-sheet was finally melted, its inclosed bowlders were dropped, and
they now lie frequently as conspicuous objects on both the lower and
higher parts of the land. Scattered here and there in solitude on an
expanse of prairie, or perched on the sides and tops of hills and moun-
tains, they at first suggest transportation and stranding by icebergs or
floe ice.

Bowlders and gravel from Arcliean and Paleozoic formations. — Bowlders
are frequent or plentiful in the till throughout the area of Lake Agassiz,
their abundance being nearly the same as in the least rocky parts of the
till of New England, New York, and the country surrounding the Lauren-
tian lakes. Their usual range in size extends up to a diameter of 4 or 5
feet; but in a few localities, especially in the course of morainic belts, they

' BuUetiu, G. S. A., Vol. Ill, pp. 134-148. Am. Geologist, Vol. VIII, pp. 376-385, Dec, 1891.

NORTHEASTERN LIMIT OF LIMESTONE DRIFT. 137

were observed of all sizes up to 10 or 12 feet cube. Generally as large a
proportion as 99 per cent of the bowlders exceeding 1 foot in diameter
consists of Archean granite, gneiss, and schists, being derived from the
Archean area on the northeast and north. With these are occasional lime-
stone blocks, derived from the belt of Paleozoic limestones, constituting on
the average perhaps nearly 1 per cent of the large rock fragments of the
drift. The bedded and jointed character of the limestones has prevented
their supplying nianj^ large bowlders in comparison with the more massive
crystalline Archean rocks, while yet usually about half of the smaller
cobbles and pebbles in the till and in gravel and sand deposits are from
these Paleozoic limestones. Upon the Cretaceous area a considerable pro-
portion of the gravel and cobbles is derived from the Fort Pierre shale,
but this formation supplies no large blocks.

Northeastern limit of limestone drift. — East of Lake Winnipeg and
northeast of a line drawn from this lake southeastward by Lac du Bonnet
on the Winnipeg River and across the Lake of the Wood's to the west end
of Rainy Lake and onward to Vermilion Lake, both bowlders and gravel
of limestone are absent or exceedingly rare. This line probably marks
the farthest extent ever attained by the glacial currents which moved
south-southeast in the vicinity of Winnipeg and at Black Bear Island, near
the Narrows of Lake Winnipeg, carrying debris from the limestone region
of the Manitoba lakes.

It is also very remarkable that the same line divides an area of very
thin drift on its northeast side from the area of very thick drift which
thence extends southwestward across all western Minnesota, the southern
part of Lake Agassiz, and the region of the Sheyenne and James rivers
to the Missouri Coteau.

Localities of very abundant and large bowlders. — The following localities
may be mentioned as having especially abundant bowlders : On the slope
of the Pembina Mountain, in township 3, range 6, Manitoba, between
Morden and Thornhill, very plentiful and large bowlders are spread upon
an area of several square miles, as noted in the description of the Tintah
beaches. The sides of Star Mound, Manitoba, especially those fticing the
north and northeast, are strewn vv-ith a multitude of Ijowlders, ucailx' all

138 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

granitic, of all sizes up to 5 feet in diameter or rarely larger. These
were probably combed out of the ice-sheet in its passage over this hill.
Comparatively few bowlders occur on the small flat area at its top. Pilot
Mound, an equally prominent hill seen from this in looking northwest, is,
like Star Mound, a knob of Cretaceous shale with thin covering of drift,
but it has no such unusual profusion of bowlders on its slopes. Rock
Lake, through "which the Pembina flows, derives its name from the remark-
able abundance of bowlders, mostly granitic, up to 6 feet or more in
diameter, bordering its shores ; and along a distance of 1 or 2 miles west
from this lake the Pembina Valley is much encumbered with bowlders,
which in some places are accumulated upon small morainic ridges and
knolls.

The largest bowlder observed within the area of Lake Agassiz south
of the international boundary has given name to White Rock station, in the
northeast corner of South Dakota, 11 miles north of Lake Traverse. This
bowlder, lying 50 feet west of the railway, at a distance of about 25 rods
north of the station, measures 18 by 12 feet, with a height of 5 J feet. It
is a medium-grained, massive, flesh-colored granite, weathering to a wliitish
gray.

Another bowlder of nearly equal size lies about 50 rods west of the
Herman beach, in or near section 12, township 140, range 46, Minnesota,
some 6 miles north of Muskoda. Its dimensions are 15 by 12 by 5 feet,
and its top is 1,095 feet above the sea. It is gneiss, minutely porphyritic,
with white feldspar crystals up to an eighth or a quarter of an inch long.

A somewhat larger block, exceeding any other noted during my survey
of Lake Agassiz and the adjoining region, lies in the northwest quarter
of section 9, township 1, range 4 east, Manitoba, on the low ridge 10 miles
east of Emerson. It is dark-gray gi'anitoid gneiss, 22 feet long, 8 to 14
feet wide, and projecting 2 to 5 feet above the surface. Among the other
plentiful bowlders of that Aacinity none was seen exceeding 7 or 8 feet in
dimensions. Like many of the smaller bowlders throughout this prairie
region, this block is surrounded by a slight depression 1 to 3 feet below
the adjoining groimd ; and a careful examination shows that some of its
projecting corners and edges are smoothly polished. These depressions

TWELVE TERMINAL MORAINES. 139

were formed by the trampling- and pawing- of buffaloes in rubbing on the
bowlders, which were thereby sometimes worn and polished as perfectly as
could be done by art. ^

TERMINAL MORAINES.

Exploration of the terminal moraines in the northeast edge of South
Dakota, accumulated on the west margin of the Minnesota lobe of the ice-
sheet, northward to the Head of the Coteau des Prairies, was included in
the work of the writer during 1880 for the Minnesota Geological Survey.
The three outer moraines are typically developed and distinctly separated
in that portion of their course, as well as through the adjoining southwest
part of Minnesota ; and from their description for this district ^ they have
been denominated by Professor Chamberlin the Altamont, Gary, and Ante-
lope moraines. Besides these, nine others, to a total of twelve in all (as
shown on Pis. Ill and XVII), lying along a large part of their extent in
successive order from south to north, and apparently marking consecutive
stages in a wavering recession of the ice-sheet, are recognized in Minnesota
and receive names in the annual and final reports of the State survey from
locahties where they are notably prominent or distinct. In western Min-
nesota they seem to constitute a simple series, each in order advancing from
south to north and northeast being of somewhat later formation than the
one preceding ; but in the central and eastern portions of the State, from
the Leaf Hills southeast to MinneapoHs and St. Paul, and in their course
eastward into northern Wisconsin, consecutive moraines are merged together,
and even the later are found overlapping the earlier in the series.

'Notes of the wide area over whicli such bowlders polished by buffaloes are found, and of
other traces of these animals still visible ou the prairies and plains, from which they have so recently
vanished, are given in Geology of Minnesota, Vol. II, p. 516.

Occasionally a bowlder worn by the rubbing of buffaloes has been pushed back and forth by
them while the surrounding hollow was being formed by their pawing and by the winds blowing
away the dust from it, until the rock has been thus undermined and lowered evidently at least 3 or 4
feet below its original position, so that its top now lies beneath the general level of the land. Among
several examples of this result seen by me, one may be noted which was found about 60 feet northwest
of the quarter-section stake between sections 26 and 35, Mekinock, Grand Forks County, N. Dak.
This bowlder, weighing several tons, measures about? feet in length and 5 feet in width, and stands
up U to 2 feet out of the ground; yet it is so situated in a bowl shaped hollow, 30 to 40 feet in
diameter and 3 feet or more in depth, that the top of the rock is 1+ feet below the uniform level sur-
face on all Bides around the hollow. It is a light-gray, rather coarse-grained hornblendic granite,
very compact and not affected by weathering; and its corners and edges are finely polished.

"Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Minnesota, Ninth Aunu.al Report, for 1880; Final Renort Vols
I and II. ' I , ■

140 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Farther to the west the terminal moraines of South Dakota, and of
North Dakota west of the James River and north to the Northern Pacific
Raihoad, have been mapped b}' Prof J. E. Todd for the United States
Geological Survey. To give a more complete \'iew of these moraines
through the region of Lake Agassiz, notes based on his map and several
published papers are included in the present monograph. My observations
of the outer moraines on the Coteau des Prairies from Iowa to the north-
east part of South Dakota and on the Coteau du Missouri in the northwest
part of North Dakota are thus connected and correlated through Professor
Todd's exploration of the successive boundaries of the intervening Dakota
lobe of the ice-sheet.

The moraines of the Tiger, Brandon, and Arrow hills in Manitoba,
mapped by the Avriter in 1887, seem probably contemporaneous with the
most northern morainic belts in Minnesota, and it is evident that in both
districts they belong- to the time of the uppermost in the series of the Her-
man beaches, the first and highest of the Avell-marked shore-lines of this
glacial lake. Though these moraines of southwestern Manitoba and north-
ern Minnesota are the tenth and eleventh,. the latest formed, in the series of
moraines here described, they mark a much earlier stage of the glacial
retreat than the terminal moraine observed by Dr. Robert Bell ^ as crossed
by the Hill, Nelson, and Churchill rivers, about midway between Lake
Winnipeg and Hudson Bay, which may well belong to the time of the
Campbell beaches or later, while the line of morainic islands reported by
Mr. A. P. Low" along an extent of about 200 miles from south to north
and north-northwest in James Bay was certainly formed after Lake Agassiz
began to outflow northeastward, perhaps after it was lowered to its present
representative. Lake Winnipeg.

The twelve moraines of Minnesota are doubtless correlative with the
similarly luiraerous moraines, partly simple, with approximately parallel
courses, and partly complicated in their arrangement by interblending
and overlapping, which have been recently traced by Mr. Frank Leverett,
passing southward from Wisconsin along- the east side of the driftless area

1 Bulletin, G. S. A., Vol. I, pp. 303, 306.

^Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Annual Report, new series, Vol. Ill, for 1887-88, pp.
25-36 J and 62 J.

MORAINES FORMED BEFORE LAKE AGASSIZ. 141

and running in great loops, the boundaries of lobes of the ice-sheet, across
Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. These are embraced within a strip of country
of similar width with that of Minnesota, Iowa, and the Dakotas, which,
though 200 or 300 miles wide, is yet only a minor part of the drift-covered
area of this continent. For the interior of this area the observations of
Bell and Low give us good assurance that nearly an equal profusion of
marginal moraines, recording step by step the wavering departure of the
ice-sheet, await exploration in all the region northeast and north from
Minnesota and the Great Lakes to Hudson Bay, and from northern Penn-
sylvania, New Jersey, Long Island, Marthas Vineyard, Nantucket, and
Cape Cod to the Laurentide highlands, north of Montreal and Quebec.

EARLIER MORAINES FORMED BEFORE THE SEGINXISG OF LAKE AOASSIZ.

When the North American ice-sheet attained its greatest area, and
during its later lowan and Wisconsin stages, its southern portion, from
Lake Erie to the Missouri River, consisted of vast lobes, one of which, at
the beginning of the Wisconsin stage of accumulation of moraines, reached
from central and western Minnesota south to central Iowa. This ]\Iinne-
sota lobe then ended near Des Moines, and its margin was marked by the
first or Altamont moraine, lying upon the Coteau des Prairies and in part
forming its crest. When the second or Gary moraine. was formed, it ter-
minated on the south at Mineral Ridge, in Boone County, Iowa. At the
time of the third or Antelope moraine it had farther retreated to Forest
City and Pilot Mound, in Hancock County, Iowa. The fourth or Kiester
moraine was formed when the southern extremity of the ice-lobe had
retreated across the south line of Minnesota and halted a few miles from
it in Freeborn and Faribault counties. The fifth or Elysian moraine, cross-
ing southern Lesueur County, Minn., marks the next halting place of the
ice. At the time of formation of the fifth moraine the south end of the
ice-lobe had been melted back 180 miles from its earlier extent, shown by
the Altamont moraine, and its southwest side, which at first rested on the
Coteau des Prairies, had retired 30 to 50 miles to the east side of Big Stone
Lake and the east part of Yellow Medicine County.

During its next stage of retreat the Minnesota ice-lobe was melted
away from the whole of Lesueur County, and its southeast extremity was

142 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

withdrawn to Waconia, in Carver County, where it again halted, forming
its sixth or Waconia moraine. This records the position of the front of
the ice-sheet immediately before its continued recession gave place for the
beginning of Lake Agassiz. It will therefore be described somewhat in
detail along its course adjacent to this glacial lake.

SIXTH OR WACONIA MORAINE.

Between the fifth and sixth moraines the southeast end of the Minne-
sota ice-lobe retreated from Elysian to Waconia, a distance of about 40
miles from south to north, uncovering the lower portion of the Minnesota
Valley and finally di-aining the glacial lake of the Blue Earth and Minne-
sota basins, which had outflowed southward in its highest, early stages by
Union Slough in Iowa to the East Des Moines River, and later to the east
by the Cannon River. The advance of the east side of this ice-lobe at the
time of the Kiester and Elysian moraines beyond its previous limit, by an
incursion from Wright County to Chisago County and the edge of Wiscon-
sin, had been followed by a withdrawal from the greater part of the area
thus acquired, until at the time of the sixth moraine the most eastern por-
tion of the ice margin was accumulating the prominent drift hills close east
and north of Elk River, in Sherbui-ne County. The glacial recession there
from east to west and southwest between the Elysian and Waconia moraines
appears to have been also about 40 miles. A long indentation of the ice-
sheet, between its Minnesota and Lake Superior lobes, was melted back
during the same interval, the apex of this reentrant angle being carried
from southeastern Stearns County 50 miles west to Lake Whipple and
Glenwood, in Pope County. But in some places the ice border north and
east of Waconia had probably retreated no more than a few miles, and on
the southwest side of the Minnesota lobe, in Redwood, Yellow Medicine,
Chippewa, Swift, and Big Stone counties, there was only slight recession of
the ice, and the Elysian and Waconia moraines seem to be blended, though
they form together only inconspicuous marginal deposits.^

' Geology of Minnesota, Vol. II, pp. 642, 625, 440, 463, 484, 487, 488, 233, 415, 105, 106 [Waconia], 128
166, 213, 516; Vol. I, pp. 606, 621. (These citations are in the order from east to west for the areas sev-
erally described in the chapters of the Minnesota reports treating of separate counties.)

THE SIXTH OR WACONIA MORAINE. 143

After passing northwest across Lake Traverse and the Head of the
Coteau des Prairies, the Waconia moraine aj^pears to be merged with the
two preceding- Elysian and Kiester moraines in the conspicuous belt of
drift hills that extends from the line dividing South and North Dakota
northward between Straubville and Crescent Hill, between Nicholson and
Oakes, and along the east side of Bear Creek, to the southeast part of
township 135, range 59. Thence it turns west and northwest a few miles,
beyond which it runs again northward tlirough the west part of township
136, range 59, the most northeastern of Lamoure County, where it forms
a narrow belt of knolls and hills, rising 40 to 60 feet above the nearly
level plain on each side.

In Barnes County, running 42 miles from south to north, this moraine
is distinct and well developed, being divided from the next earlier and later
moraines of the series by smoothl)' iindulating and in large part, nearly
level belts of till, which vary in width from 2 to 3 miles to a maximum of
about 8 miles on the west and 12 miles on the east, the separation from the
seventh or Dovi'e moraine being on the average the wider of the two.
The Waconia moraine enters Barnes County at the middle of the south
side of township 137, range 59, and curving northeastward passes through
sections 34, 26, and 24, in a belt of typical knolls and hills 25 to 75 feet
high, very rough in their outlines and profusely strewn with bowlders, to
the east line of this township, where the apex of a reentrant angle of this
belt almost touches the Dovre moraine, which rises to equal or greater
prominence in the adjoining township. A plain of overwashed gravel and
sand, deposited just outside the ice border in the indentation of the Waconia
moraine, is crossed by the road on the west line of sections 23, 14, and 11,
township 137, range 59, thinly covering the underlying till, which is occa-
sionally exposed, with its projecting bowlders, in slight depressions. Turn-
ing by a right angle, this moraine runs northwestward through sections 13,
11, and 3, rising 25 to 50 or 75 feet above the general level. In the north-
east quai'ter of section 3, a lake bed, wholly dry in August, 1889, lies at
the northeast base of these hills, and a belt about a half mile wide, next to
the north, is moderately rolling till, beyond which a second belt of morainic
hills similar to the foregoing and parallel with it, a fourth to a third of a

144 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

mile wide, runs northwestward through the southwest quarter of section 35,
township 138, range 59. This twofold condition of the Waconia moraine
is observable along a distance of 3 or 4 miles. In sections 32 and 29 the
moraine tiirns to the north and continues through the middle of the west
half of this township in hills and short south-to-north ridges 25 to 60 feet
above the adjoining nearly level inter-morainic surface of till. The width
of the hilly belt here and north-northeastward through sections 33, 28, 21,
and 22, township 139, range 59, is about a mile; but for the next 4 miles
north it expands to a width of 2 or 3 miles and is conspicuously displayed
in steep hills 50 to 150 feet high, to the apex of another reentrant angle in
sections 33 and 34, township 140, range 59, 2 to 3 miles south of Hobart.
Thence the moraine again turns by a right angle, taking a westward course,
parallel with the Northern Pacific Railroad and about 2 miles south of it,
through the south edge of township 140, range 60, where its hills cover
an average width of 1 mile and rise 50 to 75 feet above the smoothly
undulating expanse of till on each side.

The Northern Pacific Railroad crosses the Waconia moraine close
west of Eckelson, where it has a width of about a mile, marked by a
rolling and partly knolly contom-, with elevations 25 to 50 feet above the
hollows. Within a mile west of the morainic belt the railroad crosses an
ancient watercourse, a fourth to a half of a mile wide, extending from
north to south, occupied by a lake on the north side of the railroad and
by a marsh on the south. Both are bordered by bluffs which rise steeply
about 40 feet to the general level. This lake is one of a series that
extends 6 miles south-southwest, occupying portions of this old water-
course, but intervening portions and its farther continuation southward
are mostly filled with the glacial diift. Lake Eckelson and a series of
smaller lakes, reaching 5 miles south to Walker Lake, mark a second and
parallel watercourse, similarly enveloped in other portions by the general
drift sheet. The north end of a third series or chain of lakes of the same
kind, about 6 miles long, is crossed by the railroad a mile east of Sanborn;
and a fourth is indicated by a long lake extending south from the railroad
near Hobart. The first of these chains of lakes lies wholly outside the
Waconia moraine, but the others are crossed by the east-to-west portion of

THE SIXTH OR WAOONIA MORAINE. 145

this moraine south of Hobart, Sanborn, and Eckelson. They probably
have had a history hke that of the Spiritwood series of lakes, several
miles farther northwest, and of the similar chains of lakes extending from
north to south in Martin County, Minn., which are believed to occupy the
unfilled parts of preglacial or perhaps interglacial channels of drainage.^

Beyond Eckelson this moraine extends north-northwestward as a roll-
ing and knolly belt, inconspicuous in any distant view, to the southeast
part of township 142, range 61, about 10 miles east of Spiritwood Lake.
There it is moderately rolling and occasionally hilly, a third to a half of
a mile wide, with more bowlders than the adjoining lower and only
slightly undulating surface, both being till. Curving north-northeastward,
it passes through sections 14, 12, and 1 of this township, being well
marked in the east part of section 1 as a belt of low morainic knolls, a
quarter of a mile wide. OnwiJrd through the next 6 miles northeast to
the south part of section 11, township 143, range 60, this moraine forms a
belt, a half mile to 1 mile -^yide, of knolls and scattered steep hills, partly
composed of kame gravel and sand, with few bowlders, rising 40 to 75
feet above the general level, as conspicuously seen from Dazey. In sec-
tion 11 its course seems again to be deflected nearly by a right angle,
passing thence northwest and north through township 144, range 60, to
the vicinity of the Helena farm in section 29, township 145, range 60;
but along this distance it is marked only by a rolling contour, with no
prominent elevations.

Continuing northward tlirough Griggs County, the Waconia moraine
becomes gradually more knolly and hilly, with increasing proportion of
bowlders, to its magnificent development in townships 147 and 148, range
60, passing close east of Lake Sibley and west of the beautiful Lakes Addie
and Jessie, to Red Willow Lake. Along the distance of 10 miles adjoining
these lakes the irregularly piled masses of morainic di-ift, strewn with many
bowlders, rise 100 to 200 feet above the lakes, giving a measure of boldness
and even grandeur to the scenery, such as is rare in this plain and prairie
region. West of Lake Sibley the fine agricultural tract of Blooming
Prairie has a nearly level surface upon a width of about 10 miles, includ

' Geology of Minnesotii, Vol. I, pp. 479-485, with PI. 18.
MON XXV 10

146 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

ing township 146 and the south part of township 147, range 61, beyond
which, northward, this smooth area of lowland, dividing the Waconia and
Elysian moraines, narrows into a belt only about a mile wide in the south-
east part of township 148, range 61, called Colemans Valley. At the
north end of this valley, on the west side of Red Willow Lake, these
two moraines meet, and thence pass in a united morainic belt west and
northwest to the Washington Lakes, the Sheyenne River, and the Indian
reservation south of Devils Lake.

MORAINES CONTEMPORANEOUS WITH LAKE AGASSIZ.

The seventh or Dovre moraine marks a pause in the glacial recession
when the southeast end of the Minnesota ice-lobe rested on Kandiyohi
County. At this time Lake Agassiz had begun to exist, the south end of
the Red River Valley having been uncovered from the ice. Probably
nearly all of the southern half of Minnesota was then divested of its ice
mantle, while nearly all of the northern half was still ice-covered, the
glacial boundary across the State passing in an approximately east-to-west
course.

B}^ its next recessions the ice border was withdrawn to the eighth or
Ferg-us Falls moraine and the nintli or Leaf Hills moraine. These are
partly merged together in the prominent accumulations of the Leaf Hills,
which reach in a semicircle from Fergus Falls to the southeast, east, and
northeast, a distance of 50 miles, marking the southern limits of this ice-
lobe when it terminated half way between the south and north borders
of Minnesota. During the formation of the tenth or Itasca moraine, and
of the eleventh or Mesabi moraine, the ice border crossed the lake region
at the head of the Mississippi. Farther north the twelfth or Vermilion
moraine, discovered and mapped by the present writer in 1893 during
work for the Minnesota Geological Survey, passes by the south side of Ver-
milion, Pelican, and Net lakes. Later moi'aines, formed at times of halt or
readvance, interrupting the recession of the ice-sheet between northern
Minnesota and Hudson Bay, have been observed in only a few places;
but I believe that they exist and will be continuously mapped when the
glacial drift of that wooded and very scantily inhabited region shall be

MORAINES CONTEMPORANEOUS WITH LAKE AGASSIZ. 147

fully explored. The manj^ beaches of Lake Agassiz, all showing an ascent
northward when compared with the level of the present time, but with this
ascent gradually decreased during the successive stages of the lake, prob-
ably find their explanation in the manner of retreat of the ice in Canada,
interrupted there, as farther south, by pauses and the formation of moraines.
The following are notes* of the five moraines already mapped which
cross the expanse of Lake Agassiz, being conspicuous upon each side of
this lake, but faintly developed or lost on the lacustrine area:

SEVENTH OR DOVRE MORAINE,

The Dovre moraine is prominent in Stearns, Douglas, Pope, and
Kandiyohi counties, Minn. Its distinctive name is taken from its hills in
Dovre, Kandiyohi County, to which the southeast extremity of the Min-
nesota lobe of the ice-sheet had been withdrawn west-northwestward about
70 miles from Waconia during the interval between the sixth and seventh
moraines. In Pope and Douglas counties an area about 25 miles wide,
from Glenwood north to Miltona and Spruce Hill townships, was probably
uncovered by this glacial recession. But considerable portions of the ice
border in its general course at this time from east to west across central
Minnesota had receded only a few miles between these moraines. Indeed,
they seem to be merged together north of Richmond, in Stearns County,
and from Barsness, in Pope County, to Mount- Tom, about 9 miles north-
northeast of the Dovre Hills. Again, in Big Stone County, a single belt
of somewhat rolling till, 5 to 8 miles wide, seems representative of the
Elysian, Waconia, and Dovre moraines combined. In the wooded country
east from Little Falls, Minn., to the sources of the St. Croix River in Wis-
consin, this moraine has not been definitely traced.^

Crossing Richland and Sargent counties, in the southeast comer of
North Dakota, the Dovi-e moraine is well developed in knolls, hills, and
short ridges of till, covering a belt from a half mile to 2 miles in width, with
abundant bowlders and characteristically rough contour. On the south-
west side of Taylor Lake, near Hankinson railway sta'tion, these rough

'Geology of Minnesota, Vol. II, pp. 642, 625, 581-585,605, 446-448,464, 475-478,482-488 (Including
a general description of the characteristic features of the terminal moraines of Minnesota), 224-226
[Dovre], 233, 213; and Vol. I, p. 621. (The order of citation is geographical, from east to west.)

148 THE GLACIAL LA[<:E AGAS31Z.

di-ift hills rise to heights 50 to 150 feet above this lake, or 1,100 to 1,200
feet above the sea. Thence a bowlder-strewn, rolling', and knolly surface,
with numerous small lakes, extends west along the south side of the Great
Northern Railway to prominent morainic hills, 50 to 100 feet in height,
which extend about 7 miles from east to west close south of Greneseo and
Cayuga. In the east part of township 130, range 54, this moraine cui'ves
to the north, passing about a mile west of Cayuga and Ransom, and north-
northeastward through the northwest part of township 131, range 53.
From near the northwest corner of this township it runs to the northwest
diagonally across township 132, range 54, passing close west of Milnor,
where its knolls and hills are 20 to 50 feet high, with abundant bowlders.
The same northwestward course is continued tlirough Ransom County,
passing by Lisbon as a belt of knolls and hillocks crowning the southwest
bluff of the Sheyenne Valley, to the conspicuous morainic hills (including
"Bears Den Hillock") in the vicinity of Fort Riansom, rising 50 to 100 feet
above the general level and 250 to 300 feet above the river.

At the time of accumulation of these hills the ice-sheet had retreated
a few miles north from the Head of the Coteau des Prairies and 10 to 25
miles eastward from the moraine referred to the Kiester, Elysian, and
Waconia stages, near Straubville and Nicholson and along Bear Creek.
The northeastwardly sloping surface of the greater part of Sargent
County was covered by a glacial lake, whose silt beds, confluent south-
west^vard with those of Lake Dakota, are about 1,300 feet above the sea
from Sargent and Straubville southward into South Dakota, to Newark,
Kidder, and Burch, but decline eastward to about 1,250 feet on the south
side of Silver and Sprague lakes. The surface of this glacial lake was
1,300 feet, or probably at first 1,310 feet, above the present sea-level, its
outflow being southwestward across the bed of Lake Dakota to the James
River. The channel of this outlet is doubtless distinctly traceable. On
the north this lake received a large inflowing stream, the representative of
the present Sheyenne River, which brought the waters that were discharged
from the border of the receding ice-sheet and from the drainage of a con-
siderable belt of the adjoining land along all the distance northward to the
vicinity of Devils Lake and thence northwestward to the head of the Shey-

THE SEVENTH OE DOVEE MORAINE. 149

eniie. Even farther northwest, the glacial Lake Souris outflowed by this
stream, as previously at its beginning it had found outlet during the time
of the Elysian and Waconia moraines into the upper part of the James
River, flowing through Arrow Wood and Jim lakes to Lake Dakota, so
long as that lake existed.

This great affluent, which may be called the glacial Sheyenne River,
is marked b»y a flat or in part moderately undulating belt of stratified
gravel and sand, extending from the central part of the Fort Ransom
military reservation southward by Marshall and Nicholson. It includes a
width of 1^ miles to the west and an equal distance to the east of Mar-
shall, where it is bounded on each side by higher tracts of smooth till. Its
height above the sea at Marshall is 1,343 feet, and at Nicholson, where it
widens into the glacial lake of Sargent County, 1,309 feet. Two compar-
atively small channels, probably occupied by the stream in winter* when
glacial melting was at its minimum, were seen near the west side, on the
wide alluvial belt, about 1 J miles and 1 mile west of Marshall, each having
a width of an eighth of a mile and a depth of about 15 feet. One of these
channels, or the two interlocking and here and there separated by islands,
is commonly known as the Big Slough, and has an extent of many miles
from north to south.

During the recession of the ice from the compound moraine on the
west line of Sargent and Ransom counties to the Dovre moraine, before
described, the glacial lake grew as fast as the land became uncovered,
extending gradually east around the northern base of the Coteau des
Prairies to Skunk Lake (recently called Lake Tewaukon), northeast over
the smoothly undulating surface of till, very abundantly sprinkled with
bowlders, about Forman and Lake Kandiota, to the Stormy Lakes and
adjacent moraine near Milnor, and northward along the moraine and ice
front into Ransom County. Its depth at Forman was 50 feet; at Peny,
6 miles east, nearly 100 feet; and farther east and northeast, beside the
Dovre moraine, about 150 feet, if it continued tributary to the James
River through the whole time of this glacial retreat.

It is more probable, however, that when the recession of the ice vmcov-
ered Lake Tewaukon and the country eastward, an outlet was found in

150 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

that direction along the front of the ice-sheet and the Dovre moraine,
flowing- into Lake Agassiz in the northwest part of township 129, range 49.
The belt of stratified gravel and sand, 1 to 2 miles wide, which there and
for a distance of 15 miles southeastward constitutes the border of this
lacustrine area,^ seems to have been deposited by this great river, while
the ice-sheet lay on its northeast side, terminating where- the edge of this
level or somewhat undulating tract descends like a terrace and is bordered
by the slightly lower Herman and Norcross beaches. Since the deposition
of these stratified beds, the River Warren, outflowing from Lake Agassiz,
has eroded and carried away their continuation across an extent of several
miles southeast to a remnant of the same gravel and sand which, with
underlying till, forms the plateau cut by the Fargo and Southern (Chicago,
Milwaukee and St. Paul) Railway in the southeast part of township 128,
range 47, Traverse County, Minn., ab.out half way between White Rock
and Wheaton. The outline of the ice margin along the extreme south-
western edge of this glacial lake at the time of its accumulating the Dovre
moraine and forming the northeast bank of the glacial Sheyenne River at
its entrance to the area of Lake Agassiz may therefore be somewhat confi-
dently traced around the little plateau between the Bois des Sioux and
Mustinka rivers and southward by Wheaton to the rolling land about the
Tokua Lakes at Grraceville. The prominent morainic hills west of Taylor
Lake, according to this interpretation of our observations, were massed in
an angle of the ice margin, the usual place for plentiful drift accumulations.
Windy or Airy Mound, on the northern end or Head of the Coteau
des Prairies, close south of the line between North and South Dakota, is a
slight elevation above the general surface of this drift-covered Cretaceous
ridge. Its height is about 1,950 feet above the sea, and by estimate 100
feet lower than the crest of this ridge a few miles farther south. Thence
gentle slopes descend 750 feet to Sprague and Skunk lakes, near the north-
em base of this highland; and the whole view east, north, and west from
Windy Mound sweeps over a broad, nearly flat expanse of till and la,cus-
trine silt, ranging in altitude from 960 feet at Wahpeton to 1,250 feet at
Forman and 1,300 feet on the area of Lake Dakota adjoining the James

' U. S. Geol. Survey, Bulletin No. 39, pp. 38-10.

THE SEVENTH OR DOVRE MORAINE. 151

River. After extending as a continuous massive ridge nearly 200 miles
from south-southeast to north-northwest through southwestern Minnesota
and the northeast corner of South Dakota, with an elevation increasing
northward from 1,600 to 2,050 feet above the sea, the Coteau des Prairies
is thus terminated, and along the next 175 miles northward to the south
end of the Pembina Mountain escarpment no conspicuous rise of the sur-
face is observable from a great distance on the west side of Lake Agassiz
and the flat, low plain of the Red River Valley. There is, however, a
slow ascent of several hundi'ed feet from this lacustrine area west to the
plain-like expanse of Cretaceous shales and overlying drift, which rises
northward from 1,200 to 1,300 feet above the sea in Sargent County to
about 1,500 feet in the region surrounding Devils Lake.

Into thi.'S plain the Sheyenne and James rivers have cut narrow and
trough-like channels or valleys that vary from a third or a half of a mile
to commonly 1 mile and rarely 2 miles in width. These channels, like the
narrow morainic belts of knolls and low hills, are thus minor features of
the general topography. The Sheyenne channel or valley is 100 to 200
feet deep, mainly cut in the Cretaceous shales for its lower half or more,
though the faces of the bluffs are usually covered by a talus of drift, while
the James Valley, ranging from 75 to 125 feet in depth, is mostly eroded
in the drift sheet, there thicker than along the Sheyenne. From the vicin-
ity of Valley City northward by Cooperstown to De'sdls Lake, Langdon,
and a large part of southwestern Manitoba, stretching west from the crest
of the Pembina Mountain, the depth of the drift is only from 10 to 50 feet.
Over extensive tracts of Griggs and Cavalier counties it varies from 10 to
30 feet. Its average northward on this belt is small, not probably more
than as 1 to 4 or 6 in comparison with its thickness in the Red River
Valley, throughout western and southwestern Minnesota and on most parts
of the great Cretaceous ridge of the Coteau des Prairies.

Between the Dovre moraine and the compound moraine next west the
general level of the northwestern part of Sargent County and of south-
western Ransom County is diversified by three massive swells or hills, which,
like the surrounding nearly flat country, have a smooth surface of till.
One of these, rising 75 to 100 feet and extending 2 or 3 miles from south

152 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

to north, is in the west part of township 131, range 57, close west of Har-
lem. Another, also ti'ending with the meridian, lies 12 to 15 miles farther
north, between Marshall and Elliott, above which railway stations it rises
about 60 feet. The third is White Stone Hill, which extends about 4 miles
from east to west in the north part of township 132, range 56, having a
somewhat crescentric and oval form, convex to the south, with a height of
about 150 feet. None of these elevations consists of morainic drift, but
they seem to be due to the prominence of the underlying shale, which,
however, has no outcrops, the thickness and character of the drift being
nearly the same as on the suiTouuding intermorainic area.

Multitudes of bowlders, mostly Archean gneiss and granite, seldom
exceeding 3 feet in diameter, are scattered on the gently undulating expanse
of till north of the Head of the Coteau. The bowlder-strewn tract extends
west to Belle Plaine and 2 or 3 miles west of Forman, and northward
through townships 130 and 131, in ranges 54 and 55, occuppng an area
of about 150 square miles. The bowlders are fully fifty times more plen-
tiful than their average numbers on similarly smooth areas of till in western
Minnesota and North Dakota, their proportion being nearly the same as on
the morainic belts of this region. They may belong to morainic drift
which has been smoothed by a subsequent advance of the ice over it, hav-
ing been, perhaps, deposited during the time of the Kiester or Elysiau
moraines, and covered by a glacial advance at the time of the Waconia
moraine; or they may have been gathered in unusual numbers in the
englacial drift of this part of the ice-sheet, because of convergent currents
from the east and west, together with the influence of the liighland so near
on the south. Further observations seem needed for determining satisfac-
toril}^ the reasons for their abundance. They lie upon the central and
eastern part of the lacustrine area of Sargent County, unless that lake
became almost wholly drained away eastward, as is probable, before this
surface was uncovered from the ice.

The Dovi-e moraine extends north from its high hills in the Fort Ran-
som Reservation and forms a belt of lower rolling and knoUy till, with
plentiful bowlders, thi-ough sections 34, 27, and 22, township 136, range
58. On each side it is bounded bv flat tracts, about 50 feet lower than the

THE SEVENTH OR DOVRE MORAINE. 153

highest points of the moraine and 200 feet above the Sheyenne, that on
the west being till and that on the east stratified gravel and sand 1 to 2
miles wide, dividing the moraine from the trough-like Sheyenne channel or
valley. From near the center of this township the morainic belt, contin-
uing with inconspicuous development, passes northeastward across the
Sheyenne, and at the northeast corner of this township and in section 6 of
that next east the drift, heaped in a reentrant angle of the ice border, forms
Standing Rock Hill, rising 100 feet above the general level and about 300
feet above the river. Thence this moraine turns back by a right angle to
the west and northwest, recrossing the Sheyenne and rising in hills 50
to 100 feet high, through sections 34, 27, 28, 21, 20, and 17, township 137,
range 58, approaching within a mile of the equally prominent hills of the
Waconia moraine at its reentrant angle in the next township on the west.

Continuing thence to the north, the Dovre moraine is represented by a
narrow series of knolls, 20 to 30 or 40 feet above the general level, through
township 138, range 58, veering slightly to the east, and closely skirting
the west side of the Sheyemie Valley across the northern half of the town-
ship. Its di-ift covers the east slope and top, and its bowlders are strewn
abundantly on.the west slope of a hill of the Fort Pierre shale which rises
nearly on the line between sections 32 and 33, township 139, range 58, to a
height 50 feet above the average of the adjoining country, or about 225 feet
above the river. Thence the moraine appears to turn northeastward and
to lie concealed across a distance of about 4 miles beneath the hiffh flood-
plain of gravel and sand adjoining the Sheyenne, out of which the apex of
a sharply reentrant angle projects in two typically morainic hills about 40
feet high in or near section 12 of this township, some 2 miles east of the
river. Returning thence west-southwestward to the prominent and massive
hill in the north part of section 19 of this township 139, range 68, 2 miles
west of the river, abundant bowlders, apparently marking the course of the
ice front at the time of the Dovre moraine, are strewn over the east, north-
east, and southwest sides of this hill, which, however, is principall}- a
rounded projection or boss of the Fort Pierre shale, seen in the slight
ravines of its east side to 40 feet below its top. The higher part of its
southwesterly sloping but somewhat plateau-like top, less encumbered

154 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

with bowlders than its sides, is about 125 feet above the general level,
or 300 feet above the Sheyenne. In the view from this hill I traced
faint indications of the course of the Do\Te moraine in a curve passing
northwest, north, and northeast to the similarly prominent hill 2 miles
west-northwest of Valley City. The highest hills of the moraine in this
distance of 7 miles rise about 60 feet above the general level in sections 11
and 2, township 139, range 59. All the sui'face from this loop eastward 3
or 4 miles to the Sheyenne Valley is a very smooth, fertile tract, apparently
the flood-plain of the river when it flowed about 1 75 feet above its present
level, at the time of the retreat of the ice-sheet from this moraine.

In section 18, township 140, range 58, IJ miles north of the Northern
Pacific Railroad and slightly farther northwest of Valley City, a prominent
tract of morainic drift, probably owing part of its height to an underlying
hummock of the Cretaceous shale, rises 100 feet above the old gravel and
sand flood-plain of the Sheyenne on the east or about 300 feet above the
river. The surface of this elevation is abundantly strewn with bowlders
and is very irregularly broken by ravines, hillocks, and small ridges, trend-
ing from south to north to its highest point and thence trending toward the
west-northwest, indicating that there was here another reentrant angle
of the ice margin. Looking across the country west-northwestward, I ob-
served low knolls and ridges of this moraine, scarcely above the general
level, extending at least 2 or 3 miles; but no prominent hills are visible in
this direction. Two to 3 miles north of Hobart this moraine curves north-
ward, and passes as a narrow belt of knolly drift north and northeast through
the east half of township 141, range 59, and across the Slieyemie to the
northeast part of township 142, range 58, where it becomes partially merged
with the Fergus Falls moraine. Thence turning back by a right angle, it
recrosses the Sheyenne about a mile above the mouth of Bald Hill Creek
and extends northwestward along the east side of this creek. Its most
prominent portion, called Bald Hill, lies 5 miles east of Dazey and extends
along a distance of 2 miles or more from southeast to northwest, rising some
300 feet above the Sheyenne or fully 100 feet above the general level.

Tlu-ough Griggs County the Dovre moraine is very well developed
and forms especially conspicuous hills west and north of Cooperstown,

THE SEVENTH OE DOVRE MORAINE. 155

rising 75 to 160 feet above the adjoining country. From Bald Hill it
take.s a very straight course a little west of north for 15 miles to the center
of township 146, range 59, 2 to 3 miles west of Cooperstown, having
through this distance an average width of a mile and consisting of many
knolls and small hills of till, with abundant bowlders, rising 25 to 50 feet
above the nearly level surface on each side. Toward the west this belt is
bordered along much of its extent by an overwashed plain of gravel and
sand, about a mile wide, descending by a very gentle slope away from
the moraine, which thus has a very definite boundary; but on the east
there is a gradual change through a decreasingly knolly and rolling con-
tour to the slightly undulating expanse of intermorainic till, with only few
bowlders, which stretches 4 to 6 miles east to the Sheyenne Valley and 20
miles north between the moraine and the Sheyenne, from Bald Hill to the
scattered hills of a reentrant angle of this Dovre moraine 4 to 6 miles north
of Cooperstown.

About 5 miles farther north another angle of the moraine is marked
by the conspicuous hill called Butte Mashue, from the name of an Indian
Avho was buried in a mound on its summit. This hill, situated in the east
half of section 35, township 148, range 59, rises 150 or 175 feet above the
general level east and north, or nearly 350 feet above the Sheyenne River,
which is only 1 mile distant at the northeast. It is a typical morainic drift
hill of small area, irregularly knolly contour, and very abundant bowlders.
Its diameter of base is only a third to a half of a mile. On the township
line south of this section 35 there is a hollow a quarter of a mile wide,
through which a road runs from east to west, nearly 150 feet below the top
of the Butte Mashue. Iimaiediately to the south, in the north edge of sec-
tion 2, a very rocky and typically morainic north-to-south ridge rises about
125 feet; and thense a series of hills and short morainic ridges, 75 to 125
feet high, extends south to the irregularly scattered hills of similar heights
which occupy most of the area between Cooperstown a-nd Clear Lake.

Unusual numbers of limestone bowlders were observed in this vicinity
on the morainic hills and adjacent to them, including many 6 to 8 feet in
diameter, one mass 10 by 15 feet in dimensions, and another, seen close
east of the south-to-north road about a mile south of the Butte Mashue,

156 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

measuring 20 by 30 feet and projecting 1 to 2 feet above the surface, and
shown by digging to be more than 3 feet thick. All these are grayish-
yellow, very compact magnesian limestone, similar to that which is found
forming bowlders of equal abundance near Audubon and the White Earth
Agency in Becker County, Minn., and again on the massive morainic hills
near Fort Totten, on the south side of Devils Lake. In these localities
the limestone bowlders sometimes occur in equal or even greater numljers
than those of the Ai'chean rocks; but generally tlu-oughout this region the
proportion of such limestone masses in the drift is verj^ small, averaging
probably not more than a hundredth part of the large bowlders, though the
portions of the gravel of the drift supplied respectively by the limestone
and the Archean rocks are commonly about equal. They are like the out-
crops of magnesian limestone in the neighborhood of Winnipeg, in Mani-
toba, 165 to 180 miles distant to the north, which are its nearest natural
exposures.

West of Butte Mashue. the Dovre moraine is represented by knolls
and hills 25 to 75 feet high, which continue to the prominently rolling
land surrounding Norway Lake, in the northeast corner of township 147,
range 60. Next this moraine extends northward in an inconspicuous belt
of knolly and rolling till to low hills in or near section 23, township 149,
range 60 ; and thence, turning to the west-northwest, it holds this general
course through a distance of 30 miles to the Devils Heart Hill. It crosses
the Sheyenne River in the southeast part of township 150, range 61, and
forms a conspicuous belt of hills, 100 to 150 feet high, along the south side
of township 151, range 63, 4 to 5 miles south of Free Peoples Lake. A
lower but well-marked series of morainic hills and knolls, mostly 40 to 60
feet high, with very abundant bowlders, curves thence northwest and north,
passing through the center of township 151, range 64, to the Devils Heai-t.
Again, only a few rods north of the base of that hill, a typically iiTegular
belt of very rocky morainic knolls, 30 to 50 feet high, occupying a width
of only 20 or 30 rods, trends from east-southeast to west-northwest, and
forms the frontal line of the chief morainic tract bordering the south side
of Devils Lake (PI. XVIII). The Dovre moraine south of the Devils
Heart Hill would thus join a larger morainic tract on the north, which

DEVILS HEART HILL. 157

appears referable to the Fergus Falls and Leaf Hills moraines. At this
intersection there is heaped the largest and most remarkable kame that has
ever come under my observation, known by its aboriginal appellation as
the Devils Heart. This mound of gravel and sand appears to have been
deposited where a glacial river descended from the convergent slopes of
the ice-sheet to the open land contemporaneously with the accumulation
of the Dovre moraine.

Devils Heart Hill rises in steep slopes of 20° to 30°, being thus steep
on all sides excepting the south, where the otherwise nearly round-topped,
conical hill is somewhat drawn out into a naiTOw, more slowly descending
ridge; It consists of gravel and sand, mostly not showing pebbles on the
surface larger than IJ inches in diameter. A few bowlders, however, a
score or more in all, are seen on the sides of this hill to its top, and one
a foot long (the only one seen at the crest) is embedded in the gravel a
rod south of the highest point and less than 1 foot lower. The gravel is
of threefold origin, being derived in about equal proportions from granitic
and gneissic Archean rocks, from the Silurian limestones, and from the
Cretaceous shales. Nearly all of the. bowlders seen on the hill are granite
or gneiss, but two or three on its west side are limestone. It is situated in
section 4, township 151, range 64, about a mile southwest from the head of
Donahues Bay of Devils Lake. Its height above its base is about 175
feet, and above Devils Lake, according to Nicollet's barometric determina-
tion, 290 feet, which appears to be about 15 feet higher than Sullys Hill,
the culminating point of the very prominent hills of morainic till south of
Devils Lake. From the altitude of the lake, 1,430 to 1,484 feet above the
sea, as known by railway siu-veys, the top of the Devils Heart is approx-
imately 1,722 feet, and of Sullys Hill, 1,707 feet, above the sea.

The Dovre moraine is blended with the later Fergus Falls and Leaf
Hills moraines from the Devils Heart northwest and west by Fort Totten
and the Crow Hills to the northwest part of township 151, range 66, in the
west edge of the Indian reservation, where it again becomes a separate belt.
Thence it passes in a general west-northwestward course along the north
side of the Antelope Valley to the area of the glacial Lake Souris. Imme-
diately north of Oberon its Yevy irregular knolls, hills, and small short

158 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

ridges border the Minnewaukan branch of the Northern Pacific Raihoad
along a distance of 3 miles. Next to the north there is a width of nearly
2 miles of moderately undulating, smooth till, in the central part of which
is the disused Fort Totten station. Westward this smooth tract extends
about 2 miles, dividing the Dovre moraine on the south from the compound
Fergus Falls and Leaf Hills moraines on the north ; but beyond this it is
interrupted by morainic hills surrounding Long Lake, where the two belts
seem to be once more united. The further course of the Do^Te moraine
and its relationship with these later moraines upon the very scantily settled
country extending from Long Lake and Minnewaukan westward have not
been definitely traced and are laid down on the map (PI. XVII) only
in a provisional manner. It is probable that the Dovre moraine is well
developed 5 to 10 miles south of Rugby Junction, where the surface bears
numerous small lakes, and that it is also represented on the southeast part
of the Lake Souris area by swells about 60 feet above the general level,
seen 1 to 3 miles southeast of Berwick. The continuation of the ice border
thence northwest may have been apjDroximately coincident with the sand
hills lying on both sides of the Souris or Mouse River, in townships 157
and 158, ranges 75 and 76. Little Medicine Lodge, so named from its
being formerly the scene of dances of the Indians, with incantations of
their medicine men, is one of these dunes without vegetation, which rises
about 75 feet in height on the west bank of the Souris River, 5 miles north
of Towner.

EIGHTH OR FERGUS FALLS MORAINE.

The eighth and ninth or Fergus Falls and Leaf Hills moraines unite
in the south part of Ottertail County, Minn., to form the Leaf Hills, 100
to 350 feet high, which reach from Fergus Falls in a semicircle 50 miles
southeast, east, and northeast, to the Leaf Lakes. These are the most con-
spicuous morainic hills of this State ; and on accoimt of their prominence
above all the adjoining country they have been commonly called the Leaf
Mountains. Eastward from these hills the Fergus Falls moraine seems
to be merged with the Dovre moraine tln-ough Miltona and Spruce Hill,
in the northeast part of Douglas County, and through southwestern and
southern Todd County. Next it runs northward in a well-marked belt

THE EIGHTH OR FERGUS FALLS MORAINE. 159

of di-ift hills through the east edge of Todd County to the magnificent
development of this moraine, apparently united again with the ninth or
Leaf Hills moraine, about Fish Trap Lake and Lake Alexander, in north-
western Morrison County. Crossing to the east side of the Mississippi, the
Fergus Falls moraine passes south along the east side of this river's Glacial
flood-plain to Hole-in-the-Days Bluff and the massive hills east of Little
Falls, where it is probably combined with a reentrant angle of the Dovre
moraine. Thence it passes northeastward through the southeast part of
Crow Wing County, skirting the northwest side of Mille Lacs ; and curv-
ing next southeastward around this lake, it appears to be represented by
morainic hills observed in the southeast part of Aitkin County and in
northwestern Pine County. Northward from Fergus Falls, this moraine
passes by Lakes Lida and Lizzie to Detroit, the White Earth Agency, and
White Earth Lake ; and thence it turns nearly by a right angle west-north-
west to the Frenchmans Bluff, in township 143, range 43, Norman County,
west of which it enters the area of Lake Agassiz, close south of the Wild
Rice River. ^

The course of the ice front where it formed the northern barrier of
Lake Agassiz at the time of its accumulation of the eighth or Fergus Falls
moraine is marked by hilly and knoUy di-ift deposits, with plentiful bowl-
ders, both east and west of the lake near the latitude of 47° 10', which
passes 20 miles north of Fargo; by an unusual abundance of bowlders
near this latitude and farther north on portions of the slightly undulating
or nearly level till forming each side of the lacustrine area; and by a tract
of till several miles in width, probably representing both the eighth and
ninth or Fergus Falls and Leaf Hills moraines combined, which stretches
across the Red River Valley at Caledonia, from Ada, Rolette, and Beltrami
west to Reynolds, Buxton, Cummings, and Blanchard, constituting the bed
and banks of the river along the Groose Rapids. In Lake Agassiz the
morainic till was spread with a generally even surface, but it has many
small inequalities, the higher portions being 3 to 5 feet or rarely 10 feet
above adjoining hollows. Bowlders and gravel are plentiful on its surface,

•Geology of Minnesota, Vol. II, pp. 630, 642; 625; 581-585, 605; 563, 564, 571; 475, 477, 478, 488;
544-549 [Fergus Falls and the Leaf Hills] ; 647, 6.52. U. S. Geol. Survey, Bulletin No. 39, p. 33. (The
references are in geographic order, from east to west.J

160 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

this being the onl j inteiTuptiou of the lacustrine and alkivial clayey silt
which elsewhere continuously occupies the central part of the Red River
Valley plain from near Breckenridge to Winnipeg.

In North Dakota the Fergus Falls moraine passes southward in a loop
outlining a lobe of the ice-sheet which lay between Lake Agassiz and the
Sheyenne River. This lobe reached about 40 miles south from the latitude
of Caledonia, which marks approximately the apex of a glacial reentrant
angle in the Red River Valley, where the laving action of Lake Agassiz
appears to have caused the melting of the ice border to progress faster
than on the land surface at each side. Emerging from the lacustrine area,
on which its drift was leveled by the waves, the Fergus Falls moraine pre-
sents a prominently rolling surface of till west-southwest of Galesburg, and
forms tyi^ical morainic hills in the northwest part of township 142, range

53, 1 to 3 miles west of Erie, rising 50 to 75 feet above the intervening
hollows and the adjoining surface of smoothly undulating till westward,
and 100 feet or more above the highest shore of Lake Agassiz. Thence
the east boundary of the ice-lobe is marked by rolling and knolly till,
with plentiful bowlders, and by low kames of gravel and sand, occupying
generally a belt about 1 mile wide, which runs south-so uthwestward close
north and west of Ayr and southward across the Northern Pacific Railroad
1 to 2 miles east of Buffalo. In the northwest part of township 139, range

54, a few miles south of this railroad, this morainic belt, continuing with
similar features, turns to the west-southwest, crosses the Maple River, and
holds this course about a dozen miles, passing thi-ough sections 25 to 28
and 32 and 31, township 139, range 56. This portion defines the southern
extremity of the ice-lobe, the distance of its retreat from the Dovre moraine
at Taylor Lake and near Geneseo and Cayuga having been about 55 miles.
In Minnesota the recession of the ice from Dovre to the Leaf Hills was 60
miles, and along the Red River Valley it was approximately 100 miles
from the southeast corner of North Dakota to Caledonia.

Occasional kame knolls and small plateaus of gravel and sand, 15 to
25 feet high, were observed along a distance of a dozen miles south of the
end of this morainic loop, in townships 138 and 137, range 57, showing
where glacial streams had flowed down from the ice-sheet dui'ing Ls retreat

THE EIGHTH OE FEEGUS FALLS MOEAINE. 161

between the Dovre and Fergus Falls moraines, and there are small areas-
of undulating or nearly level gravel and sand associated with these kames.
With these exceptions, all the expanse there and southward between the
Dovre moraine and the area of Lake Agassiz consists of smoothly undu-
lating intermorainio till. A similar sheet of till also occupies the area 15
to 20 miles wide inclosed on the north between the sides of the raorainic
loop, from Tower City and Oriska to Page City, Hope, and Sherbrooke.

From sections 36, 25, and 26, township 139, range 57, the Fergus
Falls moraine takes a north-northwest course through section 14 in this
township, there and onward forming morainic hills 20 to 60 feet high,
strewn with abundant bowlders, to the Northern Pacific Railroad. Alta
station (having a side track for trains to pass each other, but no depot) is
situated near the middle of the morainic belt, which there has a width of
about 2 miles, consisting of very irregular drift hills 25 to 75 feet high,
with many bowlders. Thence the moraine extends nearly due north about
40 miles, with a width that varies from 1 to 3 miles, lying 2 to 8 miles east
of the Sheyenne River, and forming the watershed between the Sheyenne
and the Maple, to Pickert post-office, in section 7, township 146, range 56,
6 miles west of Sherbrooke. It is especially well developed and incloses
several lakelets in the west half of township 141, range 57. It also occu-
pies almost the entire west half of the next township northward, and in
its northwest corner is interlocked with a reentrant angle of the Dovi-e
moraine. Beyond this it runs slightly to the east of north, passing with a
width of about 3 miles through the middle of the north half of township
143, range 57, and onward through southwestern Steele County, where it
lies 6 to 9 miles west of Hope and Sherbrooke. The morainic knolls and
hills along this distance rise commonly 20 to 60 feet above the smoothly
undulating till on each side.

Massive hills of Cretaceous shale, overspread with a smooth surface of
till, are found in Barnes County, both west and east of the moraine, 5 to 10
miles north of Valley City and Alta. The largest of these hills or swells
extends nearly 4 miles from south to north in sections 32, 29, 20, and 17,
township 141, range 58, close east of the Sheyenne River, above which it
rises about 275 feet. Its height above the Glacial flood-plain of the Shey-
enne, a nearly level tract of gravel and sand on the east, about 3 miles
MON XXV 11

162 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

wide, is by estimate 76 feet. Thence this plain of stratified drift extends
south along the east side of the Sheyenne by Valley City and through
township 139, range 58, varying from 2 to 4 miles in width. In the west
half of section 25, township 142, range 58, a smaller swell or hill with such
smooth surface rises to nearly the same height, being likewise about 75 feet
above the plain of valley drift on the southeast and south. Against the
northeast edge of this smooth hill, the nucleus of which is doubtless Creta-
ceous shale, there are piled typical morainic accumulations, 50 to 100 feet
high, whose very uneven coutour and plentiful bowlders afford a remark-
able contrast. Another Cretaceous hill, called Pilot Mound, whose surface,
smoothly oval like a di'umlin, shows only the overlying till, rises in the
southeast quarter of section 2, township 141, range 57, to a height of 75 or
100 feet above the surrounding smooth expanse of till on all sides. The
base of this hill is about a third of a mile long from south to north, and its
width is about a quarter of a mile. Its sides and top have somewhat more
plentiful bowlders than the adjoining country, but no morainic accumula-
tions were observed nearer than the Fergus Falls moraine, which lies 2
miles distant to the west.

In the northwest part of Steele County the Fergus Falls moraine
turns to a north-northwest course, which it holds along an extent of about
25 miles to the southwest part of township 150, range 58, in Nelson
County, where it unites with the ninth or Leaf Hills moraine. In the
south edge of Nelson County the Fergus Falls moraine has a width of
about IJ miles, with its east boundary at the northeast corner of section
34, 3 miles east of Lee and the Sheyenne River. Its small knolls and
hillocks jof till, with abundant bowlders, there rise 20 to 40 feet above the
intervening hollows and the adjoining surface, which is moderately undu-
lating till, with few bowlders, having a height of 175 to 200 feet above the
Sheyenne.

Beyond township 150, range 58, the Fergus Falls and Leaf Hills
moraines are so indistinguishably combined in their prominent accumula-
tions south of Stump and Devils lakes, on the Big Butte, and northwest-
ward by Broken Bone Lake to the Turtle Mountain, that the two along this
extent of about 140 miles will be best considered together under the next
division of this subject.

THE LEAF HILLS. 163

NINTH OR LEAF HILLS MORAINE.

West of the Mississippi the Leaf Hills moraine passes through east'^vn
Cass County in a belt of knolly and hilly till, with extensive kame deposits
of gravel and sand, occupying together a width of 2 to 4 miles, extending
southwesterly by Crooked, White Fish, Pelican, Grull, and Sylvan lakes, to
the Crow Wing River about 10 miles west of Brainerd. Crossing to the
south side of the Crow Wing, it is merged with the Fergus Falls moraine
in the plexus of morainic accumulations suiTounding Lake Alexander and
Fish Trap Lake. Thence it passes west through the northern tier of town-
ships in Todd County to the Leaf Lakes in Ottertail County.^

The Leaf Hills,- extending southward and then westward from the
Leaf Lakes, through East Battle Lake, Folden, Eflfington, Leaf Mountain,
and Eagle Lake townships, are the combined Fergus Falls and Leaf Hills
moraines, like the great morainic belt south of Stump and Devils lakes, in
North Dakota. Beyond Eagle Lake the Leaf Hills moraine is again
separate, passing northwest and north in a well-marked belt, 1 to 3 miles
wide, of knolls, short ridges, and low hills of till, with abundant bowlders,
through Tordenskjold, Swerdrup, Maine, Star Lake, and Edna townships,
amid multitudes of lakes, to the prominent group of kames about 5 miles
northwest of Perham. A parallel belt of low morainic hills extends north-
northwestward from East Leaf Lake, passing a few miles east of Rush
Lake to the south end and east side of Pine Lake.^

In Becker County, according to my observations in 1889, these mo-
rainic belts become united and form conspicuous hills of till, with many
bowlders, denominated the Toad Mountains, which rise 100 to 200 feet
above the general level or 1,500 to 1,600 feet above the sea. Northward
this moraine has a width of 4 to 6 miles in low hillocks, little ridges, and
knolls, including much kame gravel and sand, in its course by Round,
Many Point, and Elbow lakes, and the extreme source of the Red River.
About Rock Island Lake and east of the Twin Lakes, in townships 143

1 Geology of Minnesota, Vol. II, 1888, pp. 581-584, 606; 564, 571, 572.

^Tlie name given by the Ojibways to this belt of hills signifies Rustling Leaf Mountain, and the
same name is by them also extended to the Leaf Lakes and River (Rev. J. A. Gillillan, in the Fifteenth
Annual Report, Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Minnesota, for 1886, p. 469).

= Geology of Minnesota, Vol. II, pp. 546-549.

164 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

and 144, range 39, on the road from White Earth to Red Lake, also south
of Mountain Lake, and at the east side of the Lower Rice Lake, the Leaf
Hills moraine is well developed, forming hills 50 to 75 feet and occasion-
ally 150 to 200 feet or more in height, profusely strewn with bowlders. It
continues north in a hilly belt several miles wide through range 39, by the
sources of Poplar and Hill rivers, to the south side of Lost River, in the
edge of the Red Lake Indian Reservation, where it turns shai-ply westward
on the southeastern Herman shore of Lake Agassiz, in the south edge of
township 150, range 40.

From this bend or angle of the moraine its belt of knoUy and hilly
or rolling drift, mainly till, with many bowlders, occupying a width of
about 5 miles, stretches west-southwesterly 25 miles, crossing Hill and
Poplar rivers, and passing by Badger Lake and other small lakes in the
vicinity of Erskine, at the head of Badger Creek. It includes much of
the large wooded tract, with very plentiful lakes, southeast and south of
Maple Lake, and enters the area of Lake Agassiz, where it loses its
unevenness of contour, between the west end of Maple Lake and the
Sand Hill River. This morainic belt, lying just outside and southeast of
Lake Agassiz, partially bordered its shore, and elsewhere was separated
from it only by a long tamarack swamp, and farther west by Maple Lake,
with an adjoining narrow strip of lowland.

Slopes of the ice sui-face descended towai'd the angle of its boundary
from extensive areas on the east, northeast, and north; and their conver-,
gent drainage formed an exceptionally large glacial river which was laden
with much gravel, sand, and fine silt, washed away from the englacial drift
that had become exposed on the thinned outer portion of the ice-sheet. A
well-defined watercourse, which carried this river from the glacial melting
at the time of formation of the moraine, starts from three lakelets in the
north half of section 34, township 150, range 40, near the apex of the
morainic angle, and was traced southwestward and southward to the Sand
Hill River, passing obliquely about 9 miles through the morainic belt and
7 miles beyond, across a moderately undulating expanse of till. In its first
3 miles, extending to the Hill River, in section 5, township 149, range 40,
the channel is two-thirds of a mile to 1^ miles wide, having a smooth and

THE NINTH OR LEAF HILLS MORAINE. 165

mostly flat bottom of stratified sand and gravel. Along its next 2 miles the
Hill River occupies its east side, and close west of this stream the central
part of the channel contains a kame or esker plateau of gravel and sand
which extends 2 miles from north to south, with a width of a quarter of a
mile or less, rising 40 to 50 feet above the bottom of the old watercourse,
a half mile wide, west of the plateau. Continuing south-southwestward 4
miles farther within the moraine, by the west end of a lake in section 24,
township 149, range 41, to the Poplar River, in the southwest quarter of
section 3, township 148, range 41, this channel is a marshy hollow, from 1
mile to only a third of a mile wide. Beyond the morainic belt, its next 2
miles, reaching south to Mcintosh, are now part of the valley of the Poplar
River; and its remaining 5 miles also extend nearly due south, uniting
with the Sand Hill River in section 10, township 147, range 41.

The glacial stream flowing through this channel undoubtedly con-
tributed a large share of the delta, chiefly composed of sand and fine silt,
which was accumulated where the Sand Hill River emptied into Lake
Agassiz, at a distance of about 20 miles to the west. Other portions of
this delta deposit, though probably far less in their aggregate amount,
were also brought by many small streams and rivulets which flowed down
from the melting ice-sheet along its edge lying near the Sand Hill River,
between this old watercourse and the place of disappearance of the moraine
in the lake.

On the area of Lake Agassiz the course of the ice front forming its
northern border at the time of the Leaf Hills moraine probably extended
westward from the vicinity of Maple Lake to Beltrami, the Goose Rapids
of the Red River, Buxton and Reynolds, and thence curved northwest-
ward, passing near Arvilla, Larimore, and McCanna, to the morainic islands
in the west edge of Lake Agassiz, forming the east side of the Elk and
Golden valleys. Abundant bowlders, many of them of large size, are
strewn upon the till which was the bed of the lake in the; part of this
course lying south of the Sand Hill River for 6 miles east of Beltrami.
Farther west, in crossing the central part of the Red River Valley, the
surface is till, containing plentiful small bowlders and gravel, and ha^dng
slight inequalities of contour, the small ridges and swells being 5 to 8 or

166 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

10 feet above adjoining depressions, remarkably in contrast with the very
flat surface of lacustrine and chiefly alluvial clay and fine silt, containing
no gravel or bowlders, which elsewhere is the axial lowest portion of this
valley plain, continuous, excepting on this belt, from Breckenridge and
McCauleyville to Winnipeg, with widths on each side of the river varying
from a few miles to 15 or 20 miles.

The belt of till here stretching from east to west across the valley has
a minimum breadth of about 10 miles, and probably comprises the mar-
ginal accumulations of the ice-sheet during its stages recorded by both the
Fergus Falls and Leaf Hills moraines. In the massive Leaf Hills and
again on the south side of Devils Lake these moraines are merged together;
and such a compound moraine appears also to have been amassed by the
ice-front in the deepest part of the bordering glacial lake. Upon this
broad tract the till deposited in Lake Agassiz rises 50 to 75 feet above the
top of the till along the center of the valley on the south and north, where
it has been overlain by later stratified silt. The moraine was not covered
by lacustrine silt, which is very scanty tlu-onghout the lake area, excepting
where great rivers brought in gravel and sand deltas and more widely
spread fine silt deposits of modified di-ift derived from the retreating ice-
sheet. Neither, on account of its height, has it become covered, subsequent
to the withdrawal of the lake, by the alluvium of the Red River and its
tributaries, although this sedimentation has filled the valley both above and
below almost to the height of the morainic belt.

Where the Red River cuts through this area of till its channel is
obstructed by many bowlders, which form the Goose Rapids, 12 miles long
in the winding course of the stream, next below the mouths of the Groose
and Marsh rivers. The descent of the Red River along the rapids and
onward to Belmont, a distance of 12 miles in due-north course, but about
twice as far by the meanderings of the river, is 24 feet in its stage of
lowest water, but only 14 feet in its highest floods. The plane of extreme
high water rises 40 feet above the extreme low stage at the head of the
rapids^ and nearly as much all the way from Fargo and Moorhead to Win-
nipeg; but at Belmont, close below the foot of the rapids, the floods attain
their greatest range in the entire valley, 50 feet.

THE NINTH OE LEAF HILLS MORAINE. 167

In North Dakota the ice ban'ier of Lake Agassiz during the accumu-
lation of the Leaf Hills moraine is believed to have curved to the north-
west, extending upon the area of till along the eastern side of the sand and
silt delta which reaches from McCanna 35 miles south to Portland. The
existence of this large delta, evidently due to drainage from the melting
ice-sheet without dependence on the aid of any of the present streams
having been deposited by a glacial river flowing southward from the Elk
Valley, implies that north of it the ice front was deeply incised. The
reentrant angle probably moved gradually toward the noi-th from near
Hatton to Larimore and McCanna and along the whole extent of the Elk
and Golden valleys, and the ice-lobes stretched southward on each side of
the delta, but were, like the angle, slowly undergoing change in their posi-
tion by a steady or mostly intermittent recession from south to north.

The islands of morainic till which rose above the surface of Lake
Agassiz at its highest stage along a distance of more than 30 miles east of
the Elk and Grolden valleys, between McCanna and Edinbm-g, were accu-
mulated during this time on the west margin of the Minnesota ice-lobe.
Their material and that of the beach ridges formed from their erosion were
derived from the north and northeast, and contain scarcely any Cretaceous
shale from the Pembina Mountain area. No glacial currents coming from
even a few degrees west of north seem to have contributed immediately to
the formation of this moraine, although during earlier stages of the glacia-
tion currents from the north-northwest mingled their di'ift with that from
the northeast upon this region. Numerous " detailed notes of the Elk and
Golden valleys and of the naiTOW series of morainic hills on their east side
are given in Chapter VI, in connection with the description of the asso-
ciated delta and beaches.

Rising from beneath the Elk Valley delta, which occupies the western
margin of Lake Agassiz between the Turtle and Goose rivers, the Leaf
Hills moraine seems to be represented by a succession of several more or
less morainic belts, formed on the southeastern side of the Dakota ice-lobe.
Subordinate stages of the glacial retreat are thus indicated, belonging to
the time of progressive accumulation of the delta and of the moraine
formed east of the Elk and Golden valleys, both of which, as well as the

168 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

valley itself aud the glacial river pouring southward in it, were gi'ad-
ually extended from south to north as the ice front with its deep indenta-
tion receded.

The most southeastern of these belts consists of somewhat rolling till
west of Golden Lake, in township 147, range 55, and includes the area of
very abundant bowlders which strew the bluifs of Fingals Creek or "Rocky
Run," in township 148, range 56. Thence a belt of morainic knolls and
hillocks, 10 to 40 feet high and occupying a width of half a mile, extends
northwestward through sections 34 and 27, township 149, range 57, and
rises in hills 50 to 75 feet above the general level in the southwest part of
township 150, range 57, with numerous lakelets in the adjoining depres-
sions. This moraine continues westward in knolls and hills 25 to 50 feet
high to its junction with the Fergus Falls moraine, in the southern part of
township 150, range 58, beyond which these two moraines seem to form a
compound series, in many places very conspicuously developed, to the west
part of the Turtle Mountain.

Other morainic tracts, probably all extending southward to join the
preceding east of its union with the Fergus Falls moraine, were observed
on the western shore of Lake Agassiz, as follows: First, somewhat rolling
and hilly till 8 to 10 miles south of Larimore; second, knolls and swells of
till, sprinkled with abundant bowlders, in the southwest part of Elm Grove
township, crossed by the Great Northern Railway between the Herman
beach and Shawnee station ; and, third, moderately rolling and occasionally
hilly till, with many bowlders, in the east part of Oakwood, forming a belt
2 to 3 miles wide, which lies about 3 miles west of the last and is crossed
by the railway at and east of Niagara.

Similar recessional morainic accumulations of till and bowlders were
also dropped on the western side of the Minnesota ice-lobe during its
retreat across the Red River Valley, where it was rapidly melted back by
the laving action of Lake Agassiz, between the chief stages of formation
of the ninth and tenth or Leaf Hills and Itasca moraines. In this class
may belong the remarkable profusion of bowlders found at a few points in
Gilby (township 153, range 63), one of which is commonly called "The
Island." Among other noteworthy localities of plentiful bowlders, the

STUMP AND DEVILS LAKE. 169

shores and bed of the Salt Lake of Park River, in section 36, Martin
(township 158, range 62), should be mentioned, from which a belt of occa-
sional bowlders in the lacustrine silt extends northward to the vicinity of
Glasston. This belt is perhaps again recognizable in Minnesota, on the
east side of the broad alluvial area adjoining the Red River, .where many
bowlders are spread on a flat or slightly undulating tract of till a few miles
wide, extending from Euclid south to Shirley, succeeded on the northeast
by silt and southward by till, with few bowlders.

Through the north half of township 150, range 59, the double Fergus
Falls and Leaf Hills moraine consists of swells, knolls, and hills, 20 to 50
or 60 feet high above the smoothly undulating surface of till on each side.
In the south half of this township the thickness of the sheet of till, extend-
ing as a plain toward the Sheyenne, is found to be only 10 to 20 feet, below
which the wells enter the Cretaceous shale, obtaining slightly brackish and
saline water. On the southern and western shores of Stump Lake, massive
hills, called the Blue Mountains, consisting superficially of morainic drift,
but probably ha^dng a nucleus of Cretaceous shale, rise 100 to 200 feet or
more above this lake, their highest points being 100 to 150 feet above the
plain on the south, which close to the hills is overwashed gravel and sand,
descending 10 or 20 feet in its width of a half mile to IJ miles. This is
succeeded upon a width of 2 or 3 miles next to the south by a very flat
expanse of till, the continuation of the same plain, profusely sprinkled with
bowlders, continuing to . the Sheyenne Valley, which here has a depth of
about 150 feet below the plain and a width of a half mile to 1 mile.

Along the entire south side of Devils Lake (PI. XVIII), extending
more than 30 miles from Jerusalem to Minnewaukan, this compound
morainic belt is magnificentlj" developed, in many portions forming hills,
knolls, and ridges of till, very rough in outline and bristling with multi-
tudes of bowlders, of all sizes tip to 10 feet in diameter, on a width that
varies from 1 to 5 miles. Most of these hills rise 50 to 150 feet above the
lake, and appear by their small area and glacial features to consist wholly
of di-ift; but Sully s Hill and others 2 to 6 miles east of Fort Totten consti-
tute massive ridges 200 to 275 feet above the lake, and nearlv equal heights
are reached by the Crow Hills, 4 to 6 miles west of Fort Totten. As was
stated of the similarly massive hills south of Stump Lake, these are prob-

170 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

ably in their central part the Fort Pierre shale, although no clear exposures
of it were found, so completely are the slopes and summits mantled with
their very rough morainic accumulations and innumerable bowlders. On
the lake shore near the Fort Totten landing, and on the hills along the
next 6 miles eastward, a large proportion of the bowlders consists of Silu-
rian dolomitic limestone, like the strata which outcrop near Winnipeg in
Manitoba. Limestone masses 5 to 10 feet in diameter are occasionally
found in great numbers with the Archean gi-anite and gneiss bowlders,
which elsewhere form on an average fully 99 per cent of the large bowl-
ders of North Dakota, so far as I have observed, excepting only in the
vicinity of Butte Mashue (p. 155), where again these limestone bowlders
are very abundant.

Perhaps the most striking feature of this morainic belt south of Devils
Lake is its overwashed gravel and sand, Avhich generally border the southern
side of the hills, descending from them in graceful slopes. This deposit is
most grandly exhibited between 3 and 4 miles east of the fort. The upper
edge of the overwashed slope, there consisting of gravel and sand, with
rounded and subangular cobbles of all sizes up to a foot in diameter, rests,
at about 225 feet above the lake, upon the southern sid-e of the morainic
hills, with their- vast accumulations of bowlders, which rise only from 5 or
10 to 40 feet higher. The gravel and sand form a flat tract that declines
from the moraine at the rate of 30 or 40 feet per mile ; and these fluvial
beds have a considerable thickness, as is shown by watercourses which
have become channeled to depths of 50 and even 100 feet without dis-
closing bowlders.

Devils Lake and Stump Lake were found by my leveling in August,
1887, respectively, 1,432 and 1,417 feet above the sea; but both were
depressed about 2 feet lower by the drought of the following two years.
These lakes, having very irregular outlines, with numerous windings and
long bays or arms, probably lie in valleys of a preglacial river and its trib-
utaries, elsewhere filled with drift. Devils Lake attains a maximum depth
of 75 or 80 feet in the eastern portion of its broadest area, and the north-
east arm of Stump Lake is said to be in ^ome places 100 feet deep. The
ancient watercourse appears to have flowed eastward directly to the Red
River Valley. Its obstruction by drift during the Glacial period, and the

3
03

BIG OR MAUVAIS BUTTE. 171

lobate outline of the ice-sheet in its retreat, with its morainic accumulations,
have given to the postglacial Sheyenne River its circuitous course far to
the south, over the Cretaceous plain, thinly covered by drift. The country
adjoining these lakes generally consists of the Fort Pierre shale to a height
10 to 25 feet above their levels, as is ascertained by wells, while in the
Big Butte, and probably also in the most massive of the hills on their
southern shores, the shale rises much higher. Both lakes are now without
outlets, but distinct beach lines, which are described in Chapter XI, in the
discussion of past climatic changes in this district, show that during the
recession of the ice they were raised nearly 25 feet above the present level
of Devils Lake, being then confluent, with an outlet from the southwestern
arm of Stump Lake southward to the Sheyenne.

West of Minnewaukan the compound Fergus Falls and Leaf Hills
moraine forms a belt, 2 or 3 miles wide, of low hills, ridges, and swells of
till, with plentiful bowlders, rising 25 to 50 or 75 feet, but inconspicuous
in any distant view, through the centi'al and northwest part of township
153, range 68 ; and thence curving noi'thward it passes through town-
ship 154, range 69, to the west and highest portion of the Big Butte, or
Mauvais Butte, as it is called by the French and Indians of Turtle Moun-
tain. This prominent massive ridge of high land extends 10 miles from
east to west and west-northwest, tlu-ough the north edge of township 154,
range 68, the northeast corner of the next township west, and the southern
third of township 155, range 69. Its eastern 6 miles, to the west side of
section 1, township 154, range 69, has a very smooth contour, and con-
sists superficially of till, with the scanty proportion of bowlders generally
observable on its lower areas. No morainic accumulations were seen on
this part of the Big Butte, and the drift-sheet here is doubtless of similar
depth (25 to 50 or 75 feet) as on the surrounding smoothly undulating
countiy, above which this ridge rises 150 to 200 feet, to a height 1,650 to
1,700 feet above the sea. Its top along this distance is nearly level or only
slightly undulating and rounded upon a width of 1 to 1 1 miles.

But the western 4 miles of the ridge is covered with irregular morainic
deposits and a wonderful profusion of bowlders, giving to it a very rough
contour, strongly in contrast with that on the east. A slight depression,
sinking to about 1,600 feet above the sea, intervenes between the smooth

172 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

and the moraiuic portions ; and the latter, to which the name Big Butte is
commonly limited, rises to 1,750 and 1,800 feet, or 250 to 300 feet above
its base, the culminating point being near its west end. This Cretaceous
highland, veneered with two diverse phases of the glacial drift, is situated
8 to 18 miles northwest of the west end of Devils Lake. Il appears to be
allied geographically and geologically with the highest of the hills south
of Devils and Stump lakes; and the northwestward continuation of the
old valley now filled by those lakes is probably represented along a dis-
tance of 30 miles north and north-northwest of the Big Butte by Ibsen,
Hurricane, Grass, Island, and Long lakes.

Beyond the Big Butte this morainic belt is well developed in knolls
and hills occupying a width of several miles, onl} moderately elevated
above the general level, through township 155, range 70, and about Horse
Shoe and Broken Bone lakes (the latter named from buffalo bones broken
for exti-acting the marrow in making pemmican), in township 156, range 71.
Next to the north of Limekiln and Broken Bone lakes and of Pleasant
Lake station and Rugby Junction, on the Great Northern Railway, an
extensive area is covered by morainic hills, with abundant bowlders, rising
50 to 100 feet or more above the intervening hollows and 100 to 150
feet above the smoothly undulating surface east, north, and west. This
morainic area, probably representing the combined Fergus Falls, Leaf
Hills, and Itasca moraines, extends about 15 miles north from the railway
to Island Lake and Ox Creek, and an equal or somewhat greater distance
from east to west across ranges 71, 72, and the east half of 73, pressing
close to the Bottineau branch railway in the northeast part of township
157, range 73, and terminating thence along a south-to-north line which
was. also the east shore of the glacial Lake Souris, passing about 4 miles
east of Round Lake and Barton. North of this remarkable development
of the moraines a smoothly undulating or only moderately rolling sur-
face of intermorainic till, with few bowlders, stretches from Island Lake
and Ox Creek across the next 15 miles to the southern base of Turtle
Mountain.

Gravel, sand, and silt, deposited in Lake Souris, extend from Dunseith
southwest to Willow City and the Souris River, excepting a belt of moder-

TUETLE MOUNTAIN. 173

ately undulating till, about a mile wide, with frequent bowlders, rising 10
feet above the surface eastward, which crosses the central part of township
160, range 74, in a north-northwest course, having a descent of 40 feet
within the tirst mile on its west side. The belt may represent the course
of the combined Fergus Falls and Leaf Hills moraine, across the eastern
margin of the ai'ea of Lake Souris, passing thence northward by Lords
Lake to Butte St. Paul, Bur Oak, and Bear Buttes, on the west part of the
Turtle Mountain area.

The highland of Turtle Mountain, extending about 40 miles on the
international boundary, with two-thirds as great width, diversified by
many subordinate hills and short ridges, 50 to 300 feet above adjoining
depressions, rises with a massive general form, suggesting, as seen from
some distant points of view, the rounded back of a turtle; but as seen
from the south or north its many hills and buttes present a serrated out-
line. Its altitude above the surrounding country is 300 to 800 feet, the
summits of its hig-hest hills being about 2,500 feet above the sea. Beneath
a veneering of glacial drift, which is in large part morainic and generally
strewn with many bowlders, averaging perhaps 50 to 75 feet in thickness.
Turtle Mountain consists of nearly horizontally bedded Laramie strata,
chiefly shales, with very thin seams of lignite. At or below the base of
this highland the fresh-water Laramie formation rests on the marine series,
which comprises the Fox Hills sandstone and Fort Pierre shale, the two
great shale formations being separated by a sandstone stratum which out-
crops on Ox Creek and Willow River, and on the Souris River between
Minot and its most southern bend.

TENTH OR ITASCA MORAINE.

On the south side of Pokegama and Leech lakes, and westward to
Little Man Trap Lake and the southern arms of Lake Itasca,^ the tenth

'This lake lias been called by the Ojibways, from time immemorial, Omusbkozo-Sagaiigun (Elk
Lake), according to Rev. J. A. Gilfillan in Fifteenth Annual Report, Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of
Minnesota, for 1886, p. 460. Its present name was given to it by Schoolcraft at the time of his
exploration of the sources of the Mississippi iu 1833. Rev. W. T. Boutwell, who was a member of
that expedition, -was asked by Schoolcraft to give the Latin -words meaning ''truth" and "head,'' and
from these words, Veritas and cajnit, the name was made by writing them together and cutting oft', like
Procrustes, the first and the last syllables. (Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Minnesota, Final Report,
Vol. I, p. 51. "A recent visit to Lake Itasca," by Warren Upbam, Bulletin of the Minnesota Academy
of Natural Sciences, Vol. Ill, pp. 284-292.)

174 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

or Itasca moraine occupies a width of 5 to 10 miles. Its hills of till, with
abundant bowlders, rise 25 to 50. feet above the hollows and frequent lakes,
and the elevation of the morainic belt averages 100 to 150 feet above the
general level of the country. Following the main watershed onward, it
bends to the northwest and north between Lake Itasca and the source of
the Red River, and continues northward past the west side of the Upper
Rice Lake to Clearwater Lake, about which it is well developed, and a
few miles farther north it enters the area of Lake Agassiz, some 10 miles
southwest of Red Lake.

The southern border of the Itasca moraine, where it is crossed by the
road from Park Rapids to Lake Itasca, is called Stony Ridge. It consists
of small ridges of till, trending from southeast to northwest, with very
plentiful bowlders, all Archean from the northeast and north, chiefly
granite and gneiss. No limestone bowlders were observed there; but in
the vicinity of the White Earth Agency and about Red Lake they form
a considerable proportion of the drift, ha\-ing been brought by glacial
currents from the region of Lakes Winnipeg and Manitoba. Very irregu-
larly grouped morainic hills, 50 to 100 feet high, rise on each side of the
road, which winds and climbs and descends over them, along a distance of
about 8 miles from Stony Ridge to Mr. Peter Turnbull's claim cabin, on
the southeast arm of Lake Itasca.

Many empty hollows 20 to 40 feet deep are seen beside this road,
being kettle-holes, as they are called, well known as characteristic of
morainic di-ift deposits. Several similar hollows, but of larger size and
greater depth, contain a series of picturesque little lakes, lying east of the
road, in descending order from south to north, the lowest having an outlet
to Lake Itasca by Mar}' Creek. These small lakes fill depressions of the
diift, and Lake Itasca doubtless owes its existence to greater thickness of
the drift in the valley at the mouth of the lake and for several miles down
the Mississippi, rather than to greater prominence of the underlying rock
there. But the great valley, 150 to 200 feet deep and 2 to 4 miles wide, in
which lie Lake Itasca and the Mississippi northward to Craig's crossing,
and to its rapids over bowlders in section 8, township 145, range 35, and
the similar but smaller valleys of the La Salle, Hennepin, and Schoolcraft

THE TENTH OR ITASCA MOEAINE. 175

rivers, successively tributary to tlie Mississippi from the south between
Lakes Itasca and Pemidji, existed as grand topographic features of the
country before the Glacial period, being then occupied by streams flowing
in the same northward direction as now.

The ice front forming the northern boundary of Lake Agassiz at the
time of accumulation of the Itasca moraine probably passed not far west
of Red and Roseau lakes to the vicinity of Winnipeg. The remarkable
group of eskers east of Birds Hill station of the Canadian Pacific Railway
was perhaps deposited at the angle where the border of the ice-sheet
turned back southwestward. In that course it seems to have reached
across the lake area to the bowlder-strewn escarpment of the Pembina
Mountain east of Thornhill, and beyond to have passed south along the
west shore of Lake Agassiz into North Dakota.

Its terminal moraine, about 50 miles south of the international bound-
ary, consists of two crescentic series of knolls and hills, with multitudes
of bowlders, in townships 155 and 156, ranges 56 and 57, crossed by the
head streams of Forest River and culminating in Pilot Knob.^ Thence
the front of this great ice-lobe appears to have extended westward to the
north side of Devils Lake, and north-northwestward by the east part of
Turtle Mountain, again entering Manitoba and passing along the moraine
of the west part of the Tiger Hills and of the Brandon and Arrow hills.

Upon the country east and north of Devils Lake the Itasca moraine
seems to be divided into several belts, which are marked by abundant
bowlders and by knolls and hillocks of till and others of kame gravel and
sand, sometimes occupying a width of a quarter of a mile, and rising only
10 to 25 feet above the adjoining surface of, smoothly undulating till, such
as are crossed by the railway within 2 miles west of Lakota and at two or
three places in township 153, ranges 62 and 63, north of the east part of
Devils Lake, and again forming tracts of notably rolling and hilly surface
from 1 to 6 miles in width, such as are crossed to the number of two or
three in a journey from Milton, Osnabrock, or Langdon southwest to
Devils Lake, and likewise in traveling from Devils Lake due north to the

'U. S. Geol. Survey, Bnlletin No. 39, pp. 61, 67-70. These very interesting moraiuic loops are
described in Chapter VI, in connection with the Herman shore-line west of the Elk and Golden
valleys.

176 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

international boundary. Both the narrow and the wide morainic belts
mentioned trend mainly from southeast to northwest, and were apparently
accumulated on the southwestern border of the ice-sheet during slight
pauses of its retreat, perhaps being all contemporaneous with the single
broad and massive Itasca moraine in northern Minnesota.

The outermost of these belts, varying from a half mile to 1 mile or
more in width, here and there marked by hills 50 to 100 feet high, but
more commonly by lower and often very scanty knolls and swells, passes
from east to west about 3 miles north of the city of Devils Lake, by the
south end of Dry Lake, through the northeast part of township 154, range
66, and thence by a somewhat devious course through the center of town-
ship 155, range 67 (there being on the west side of a chain of lakes which
occupies unfilled portions of the preglacial or interglacial channel of the
Mauvaise Coulee), and thi'ough the south half of township 156, range 68,
to the southwest side of Hurricane Lake, from which it runs westward,
becoming merged with the Leaf Hills moraine in the large morainic tract
north of Broken Bone Lake. The farther course of this belt forms a
south-to-north series of drift hills on the west shore of Long Lake, and it
is doubtless traceable thence northward to the Turtle Mountain. Probably
also one or more of the wide belts of rolling and hilly di'ift observed north-
east and north of Devils Lake continue westerly to the east part of this
massive highland, contributing to its morainic di-ift covering; but only
scanty morainic hillocks were seen in the vicinity of Rolla and, indeed,
along' the whole eastern and southern base of the mountain area.

The continuation of the Itasca moraine in southwestern Manitoba
extends northerly from the east end of Turtle Mountain, by Killaruey, to
the northern part of Pelican Lake, a distance of about 25 miles. Thence
it extends west-northwest 20 miles, forming the west pai-t of the Tiger
Hills in their extent along the north side of Langs Valley and the Souris
to township 7, range 19, where it again bends to the north and holds that
course 10 or 12 miles to the prominent Brandon Hills. Here again it turns
to the west, making a sharp angle, but within a few miles it sinks to the
general level of the adjoining country and loses its distinctive character.
Proceeding onward to the west about 20 miles, this moraine is next found

THE ELEVENTH OE MESABI MOEAINE. 177

on the north side of the Assiniboine a few miles northwest of Griswold,
and thence it takes a northwest course, lying mostly from 5 to 8 or 10 miles
northeast of the Assiniboine and approximately parallel with it to the
Arrow River and Bird Tail Creek, beyond which I have no definite infor-
mation of its farther com-se. On both sides of the Arrow River it rises in
prominent elevations, with characteristically rough contour and plentiful
bowlders, and this portion is called the Arrow Hills. The ascertained
extent of this moraine in Manitoba, known in successive parts as the Tiger,
Brandon, and Aitow hills, is about 125 miles. Its general course is north-
west, but within the Souris basin and that of the head streams of the
Pembina, on the north side of Turtle Mountain, it is deflected about 25
miles to the northeast. The ice-sheet was there indented by two reentrant
angles, one having its apex in the range of the Tiger Hills, near Poors
Lake, a few miles north of the north end of Pelican Lake, and the other in
the Brandon Hills. The glacial Lake Souris, dammed by the ice-sheet and
probably causing its indentations along the course of this moraine, then
filled the Souris basin and outflowed around the south side of Turtle Moun-
tain and Devils Lake, being tributary to Lake Agassiz by the Sheyeune.^

ELEVENTH OR MESA3I MORAINE.

The development of the Mesabi^ moraine, and of the foregoing mo-
raines, in northeastern j\Iinnesota eastward from the headwaters of the
Mississippi River, and the still more northern twelfth or Vermilion moraine,
I have described from. exploration during the year 1893 for the Greological
Survey of Minnesota.^ The Embarras River, in its passage tln-ough the
high granite belt of the Giants or Mesabi Range and the adjoining Mesabi

' Detailed descriptions of this moraine west of Pelican Lake, on the west part of the Tiger Hills
(which the Souris River intersects in a gorge 350 feet deep), and in the Brandon Hills and Arrow Hills,
are presented in the Annual Report of the Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, new series. Vol. IV,
for 1888-89, pp. 33-36 E.

''This word, recently often spelled Mesaba, is stated by Rev. J. A. Gilfillan to be the Ojibway
name of a giant of immense size who was a cannibal. The Ojibways at Grand Portage, according to
Prof. N. H. Winchell, represent this giant as buried beneath the hills of the Mesabi Range, the various
hills covering different members of his body. (Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Minnesota, Fifteenth
Annual Report, for 1886, p. 456.) The Giants Range and Mesabi Range, however, as these names are
now applied by Professor Winchell (see the preceding Chapter II, p. 31), are distinctly separate but
contiguous and parallel ranges of hills.

= Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Minn., Twenty-second Annual Report, for 1893 (pub. 1894), pp.
45-52, with map.

MON XXV 12

178 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

moraine, forms a series of six or seven long and narrow lakes, indicating
that a larger river flowed here during the recession of the ice-sheet, its
deeply eroded channel having since been partially filled by alluvium from
tributaries.

Continuing westward, the Mesabi moraine is apparently represented
by hilly drift deposits north of Pokegama Falls of the Mississippi, about
Bowstring Lake, the head of the Big Fork of Rainy River, and on the
northeast side of Lake Winuebagoshish. Thence it passes west and north-
west by the sources of Turtle River to the conspicuous morainic ridge of
till with multitudes of bowlders which forms the tongue of land, 9 miles
long and about 2 miles wide, between the south and north parts of Red
Lake, extending westward to the Narrows, with a height of 100 to 200
feet above the lake. At the NaiTOws this moraine sinks beneath the high-
est level of the glacial Lake Agassiz, and it forms no noteworthy knolls
or hills ^^sible from Red Lake toward the west or northwest.

The ice barrier of Lake Agassiz at the time of the Mesabi moraine
probably extended thence northwest and north across the area of Beltrami
Island (described in Chapter VI), and thence farther northward and west-
ward to the south ends of Lakes Winnipeg and Manitoba, giving to this
glacial lake a length of more than 300 miles. Morainic drift deposits,
with plentiful bowlders and typically rough contour, form the eastern
end of the Tiger Hills, in township 7, ranges 9 and 10, crossed by the
road running south from Treherne ; and this tract, clearly distinct from the
Itasca moraine, which forms the western end of this range of hills, appears
to mark where the southern extremity of the ice-lobe west of Lake Agassiz
still abutted on the north end of the Pembina Mountain escarpment and on
the liighland south of the Assiniboine delta during the accumulation of the
eleventh or Mesabi moraine. The highest portion of tliis delta west of
Brandon, the Big Slough, extending thence west from Alexander to Gris-
wold, and the gap by which the Souris River flows tlu-ough the Itasca
moraine, forming the western part of the Tiger Hills, between its elbow
and Gregory's mill, all bear testimony, as shown in the description of the
Assiniboine Delta in Chapter VI, that for some time the embayed portion
of this lake west of Treherne Avas held by this ice-lobe at a height con-

KAMES, ESKEES, AND VALLEY DRIFT. 179

siderably above that of the main body of the glacial lake with which
it became united by the recession of the ice-sheet. Farther toward the
northwest the glacial border, during the Mesabi stage, and probably
during several later stages of pause or readvance interrupting its general
retreat, rested on the highlands of the Riding and Duck mountains and the
Porcupine and Pasquia hills, and held on its west side the glacial Lake
Saskatchewan, which outflowed through the Qu'Appelle and Assiniboine
rivers to Lake Agassiz.

MODIFIED OK ASSORTED DRIFT.

The modified drift comprises sediments of gravel, sand, clay, and silt
that were derived directly from the ice-sheet, but were modified by cur-
rents of water, which assorted, transported, and deposited them. This class
of drift occurs in many diverse forms. Some of its beds were subglacial
and others were accumulated at the margin of the ice; but the writer
believes that far the greater part of the modified di'ift was englacial at the
time of the final melting, and was then washed away from the ice border
by the streams of its ablation and by rains.

McGee^ and Chainberlin^ have judiciously proposed the restriction of
the term kames to the knolls, hillocks, and short ridges of sand and gravel
which were heaped at the mouths of brooks and rivers where they left
their ice-walled channels and were spread out inore widely, thereby losing
their velocity and carrying power, on the adjoining land sm-face. These
deposits are frequent on many portions of the general drift-sheet, but are
most fully developed in connection with the terminal moraines.

Prolonged ridges of gravel and sand, or, in some tracts, of fine silt (as
described by McGee in northeastern Iowa), narrow and bordered by steep
slopes on each side, called eskers or osars, owe their form to deposition in
the channels of glacial rivers walled by ice, but, the author thinks, com-
monly open above to the sky.^ These peculiar ridges have a great develop-
ment in Ireland and Sweden, whence their names come, and in Maine,

' Report of the International Geological Congress, second session, Boulogne, 1881, p. 621.
2 U. S. Geol. Survey, Third Annual Report, for 1881-82, p. 299. Am. Jour. Sci. (3), Vol. XXVII,
p. 389, May, 1884.

^Proceedings, Boston Society of Natural History, Vol. XXV, 1891, pp. 238-242.

180 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

where series extending 100 to 150 miles have been described by Prof.
George H. Stone.' They are well exhibited also in the valleys of the Mer-
riniac and Connecticut rivers and elsewhere in New England, but are less
frequent on the nearly flat expanses which are drained to the Laurentian
lakes, to the Upper Mississippi, and to the Red River of the North. Occa-
sional plains or plateaus of gravel and sand, associated with the eskers,
and, like them, terminating in steep escarpments which descend to adjacent
lower land, were deposited in broad embayments of the waning ice border.

In the valleys of hilly and mountainous districts, and on certain belts
and tracts of nearly flat areas, the departiu-e of the ice-sheet supplied broad
flood-plains of gi-avel, sand, and clay, brought by the waters of the glacial
melting and of the accompanying abundant rains. These deposits, when
inclosed in valleys, are named valley drift, and are seen to slope with the
present sti-eams, but often somewhat more rapidly ; and they continue along
the coiu-se of the larger rivers to the sea or to the areas of lakes that were
pent up against the receding* ice-sheet, and there form deltas and farther off-
shore sediments. Since the departure of the ice, river erosion has carved
the valley drift into terraces, and the streams now flow far below their
levels of the closing poi'tion of the Ice age.

A very fine variety of the valley di-ift, especially where it contains some
glacially comminuted rock flour from calcareous formations, is called loess.
In the Mississippi and Missouri valleys and on the Rhine this deposit is
clearly in large part of glacial origin, being du-ectly supplied from the ice
melting; but veiy similar fluvial beds are now being formed by the Nile
and were formerly spread in great thickness by the rivers of China, where
the origin of the silt is referable wholly or chiefly to subaerial denudation.
The alluvium derived from erosion of the diift sheet and deposited by the
Red River along- its valley after Lake Agassiz was drained away resembles
the loess in fineness, in its occasionally inclosing fresh- water and land shells,
and in containing here and there small calcareous concretions.

' Proceedings, Boston Society of Natural History, Vol. XX, 1880, pp. 430-469, with map. Proc,
Am. Assoc, for Adv. of Science, Vol. XXIX, for 1880, pp. 510-519, with map. Am. Jour. Sci. (3), Vol.
XL, pp. 122-144, Aug., 1890.

TRACTS OF GRAVEL AND SAND. 181

BELT OF MODIFIED DRIFT BETWEEN ST. PAUL AND WINNIPEG.

Modified drift, consisting of stratified gravel and sand, with local de-
posits of clay, overlies the bed-rocks and the till, and generally forms the
surface, on an extensive area about the southwest part of the Lake of the
Woods and along the Rainy River. Southward similar deposits cover large
tracts in Mimiesota, reaching to the lakes at the sources of the Mississippi
and to the Leaf Hills, and thence southeastward to Minneapolis and St.
Paul. The contour of the greater part of these deposits is flat or moder-
ately undulating, and their surface varies in height from a few feet to 50
feet or rarely more above the adjoining lakes and streams. lu central
Minnesota these tracts of gravel and sand have an elevation that increases
from south to north, being 825 to 950 feet above sea-level in the vicinity of
Minneapolis and St. Paul, rising gradually to 1,200 feet in the distance of
about 100 miles northwest to Brainerd, and ranging from 1,350 to 1,500
feet between the Leaf Hills and Itasca Lake. Thence their surface sinks
to 1,150 and 1,075 feet in the vicinity of Rainy River and the Lake of the
Woods. West of this lake, gravel and sand cover most of the country for
nearly 75 miles to the upper part of the Roseau, Rat, and Seine rivers,
declining in this distance to about 900 feet above the sea. Northwestward
these deposits continue to a remarkable group of eskers and small plateaus
of gravel and sand, between 750 and 875 feet above the sea, 7 to 15 miles
east-northeast of Winnipeg, of which Birds Hill, beside the Canadian
Pacific Railway, is the most western and one of the most cons2)icuous.

This broad belt of country, characterized by extensive gravel and sand
deposits overlying the till, reaches from south-southeast to north-northwest
about 400 miles. From Red Lake, in Minnesota, north to the Rainy River,
the Lake of the Woods, and the vicinit}' of Winnipeg, it lies within the
area of Lake Agassiz. On each side this belt is bordered by areas of
nearly the same general elevation, which have mostly a surface of till ; and
it is to be remarked that the heights of the tracts of modified di-ift and till
are alike determined by that of the underlying rocks on which these super-
ficial deposits are spread as a sheet of slight depth in comparison with the
gradual change in then- elevation. The drift sheet on this belt, including
both the sand and gravel and tlie underlying deposits of till, jjrobabh'

182 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

vai-ies in its average thickness from 50 to 150 feet, while its central portion
rises 400 to 600 feet above its south and north ends. Though the greater
part of both the modified drift and till have only slight undulations, the
former being often nearly flat and the latter moderately uneven, other por-
tions are crossed by moraines wliich have a prominently knoUy and hilly
contour, rising usually 25 to 75 feet, or occasionally 100 to 200 feet, and
in the Leaf Hills 100 to 350 feet, above the adjoining country. In some
places the belts of morainic hills, consisting chiefly of till, with abundant
bowlders, are bordered on one side by tracts of stratified gravel and sand
which slope slowly downward from them and are merged in the extensive
plains or moderately undulating areas of this modified drift, showing that
a part of the gravel and sand was brought by streams that descended from
the ice-sheet dming the time of accumulation of its moraines. Besides
these overwash slopes (if modified drift, the morainic belts often include
kames, or knolls, hillocks, and short ridges of sand and gravel.

During the rapid melting of the ice in its times of retreat between
successive moraines the glacial streams attained their greatest extent and
volume, and brought proportionately extensive deposits of modified drift,
spreading it mainly in plains or moderately undulating tracts beyond the
ice margin, but here and there leaving long esker ridges of gravel and
sand, which were formed in their channels between walls of ice. The dis-
tribution of the modified di-ift thus found upon large tracts along a broad
belt from St. Paul to Winnipeg, while it is very scantily developed *on a-
still wider region of Minnesota, North Dakota, and Manitoba southwest of
this belt, and likewise is scanty or wanting on its northeast side in northern
Minnesota and about Rainy Lake and the northeast and north portions of
the Lake of the Woods, seems to be attributable to converging slopes of
the surface of the ice-sheet and the consequent convergence of its cuirents,
which brought an unusual amount of euglacial drift into the ice along this
belt, and by which also the streams produced in its melting were caused to
flow thither from extensive areas of the ice on the east and west. The
o-lacial strise of these adjoining areas show that on the east the course of
the motion and the descent of the surface of the ice-sheet were from north-
east to southwest, but that on the west the glacial current moved and the

BSKEES IX MANITOBA. 183

ice surface sloped toward the southeast. On the east drift Hmestone is
absent or very rare, because no limestone formations were crossed within
several hundred miles by that part of the ice-sheet; liut on the west the
drift, consisting chiefly of a thick sheet oi till, contains much fine limestone
detritus, sand and gravel, and frequent bowlders of limestone, borne south-
eastward from Manitoba over the Archean area of the southwest part of
the Lake of the Woods, of Rainy River, and of northern and central Min-
nesota. In the same directions with the slopes of the ice surface, which
are known from the courses of' the glacial striae and the transportation of
the drift, tlie streams of the glacial melting flowed convergently from the
east and west, from the ice over northern Minnesota and eastern Manitoba
on one side, and from that over the Red River Valley and western Mani-
toba on the other, toward this belt of plentiful superficial deposits of gravel
and sand.

Dr. George M. Dawson^ and Dr. A. C. Lawson^ have referred these
gravel and sand beds, observed by them only about the south part of the
Lake of the Woods and along Rainy River to the mouth of Rainy Lake,
within the area of Lake Agassiz, to lacustrine action. That explanation,
however, is inconsistent with the restriction of the deposits to a small part
of the area of this glacial lake, and with their continuation far to the south,
beyond the limit of the lake and upon a district that rises in part consider-
ably above it; while their distribution and character show that instead
they were derived, as indicated, directly from the ice-sheet and its inclosed
drift. They will be again noticed in coimection with the history of the
formation of Lake Agassiz, to be considered in the next chapter.

BIRDS HILL AND OTHER ESKERS IN MANITOBA.

Prominent eskers begin at Birds Hill, the first station of the Canadian
Pacific Railway northeast of Winnipeg, from which it is 7 miles distant, and
extend thence 7 or 8 miles east-noi-theast and an equal distance southeast,
as shown in the sketch map forming fig. 9. The southern and southeastern
portion of this group comprises many low ridges of gravel and sand 5

' Report on the Geology and Resonrces of the Region iu the Vicinity of the Forty-ninth Parallel,
pp. 203-218.

-Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Annual Report, new series, Vol. I, for 1885, pp. 131 and 139
CC; Vol. Ill, for 1887, pp. 174-176 F.

184

THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

to 15 feet liigli, trending from northwest to southeast; also somewhat
rounded mounds, as Oak Hummock, in the southeast quarter of section 12,
township 11, range 4 east, which rises about 30 feet above the adjoining
country, with its top approximately 810 feet above the sea; and occasion-
ally a massive and conspicuous hill, as Moose Nose, in sections 29 and 30,
township 11, range 5 east, which projects 60 feet above the average of
the nearly flat country around it, rising to about 840 feet above the sea.

Fig. 9. — Map of Birds Hill and its vicinity. Scale, 3 miles to an inch.

Toward the north, in sections 35 and 36, township 11, range 4 east, and
again from section 2, township 12, range 4 east, through a distance of 4
miles east-southeast to section 9, township 12, range 5 east, these deposits
of gravel and sand form plateaus a half mile to 1 mile wide, trending from
west to east, elevated 820 to 850 feet above the sea and 40 to 60 or 75 feet
above the adjoining low land, which on the north is a spruce and tamarack
swamp about 1 mile wide and 4 miles long from east to west. Next to the

SECTION OF BIRDS HILL. 185

north, these eskers again rise in plateaus, ridg-es, and hills in sections 19 to
22, township 12, range 5 east, culminating in Grriffiths Hill, in the northeast
quarter of section 19, about 875 feet above the sea, or a little more than
100 feet above the railway, 2 miles distant on the west. This whole group
of elevations is composed of gi-avel and sand, irregularly bedded, which
appear to be deposits formed near the mouths of glacial rivers where they
flowed between walls of ice, and were here and there divided by ice islands,
whose melting left these hills, ridges, and plateaus bounded by moderately
steep slopes and separated by intervening depressions. With the comple-
tion of the melting of the ice about and beneath these deposits they sank
to the bottom of Lake Agassiz, here about 500 feet deep; and tlie infre-
quent bowlders that are found scattered upon their surface were dropped
from floating ice. Toward the north, west, and southwest they are
bounded by the flat plain of the Red River Valley, 750 to 760 feet above

i

n

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<^^^^__Z^^:=r'^^r;lZr'-'ir^* -^ <=S • ^'ioit '^ Sf*6Tf^^/t€ SCAT re/9C/>. -Ot^e^ rMeMO/fTH£f?/^ \5ToP£' O^ TM>S
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Fig. 10. — Section of Birds Hill. Horizoutal acale, oiie-fourtli mile to an inch.

the sea, while toward the east and southeast they are connected with
plains and undulating tracts of gravel and sand which reach M'ith slow
and gradual ascent to the Lake of the Woods and into Minnesota.

An instructive section of Birds Hill (fig. 10) has been made in the
excavation of its gravel and sand for railway ballast. This massive esker
extends from the railway station about 1 mile east-southeast and thence a
half mile southeast, beyond which it is connected b}- a low ridge with the
plateau of sections 35 and 36, township 11, range 4 east. Its width is a
quarter to a half of a mile ; and its maximum height, one-third to two-thirds
of a mile from the station, is 45 to 50 feet above the railwa}^ and the flat
plain that extends thence west. The elevation of Birds Hill station is 759
feet, and of the crest of this hill 805 to 810 feet, above the sea. It has a
broadly rounded top, with gentle slopes on all sides. Along its northern
slope an excavation reaches three-fourths of a mile, varj-ing- in width from

186 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

10 to 25 rods and in depth from 10 to 30 feet. The top of the excavation
is about 20 feet below the crest of the hill. As thus exposed to view, the
greater part of this deposit is seen to be gravel, much of which is very
coarse, containing pebbles and rock fragments of all sizes up to IJ feet in
diameter, many of the smaller being Avell rounded, but the larger mostly
angular, with only slight marks of water wearing. In some portions near
the west end of this sectioii no interbedding- of coarser and finer layers of
the ton-ential esker gravel is noticeable for 10 feet or more vertically, the
spaces between the larger stones and cobbles being filled with finer gravel
and sand. Embedded in this coarse gravel on the south side of the exca-
vation I noted a mass of ordinary till, unstratified bowlder-clay, inclosing
gravel and bowlders in a solid matrix of somewhat sandy clay, wholly
bounded by definite but irregular outlines, its dimension vertically being
about 10 feet and its length 20 feet. No other mass of till, of either small
or large size, was observed in this entire section. It probably was derived
from the di-ift that was contained within the ice-sheet and finally overspread
its surface when the greater part of the thickness of the ice was melted.
From a sheet of drift thus deposited on the ice that formed the bank of the
glacial river this mass may ha^^e fallen into its channel. The eastern half
of the section includes much fine gravel and sand irregularly interbedded,
and along a considerable extent there the south side of the excavation, from
10 to 20 feet below its top, is clear sand. Paleozoic limestones make up
about three-fourths of the gravel, the remainder being Archean granites,
pfneiss, and schists. Some two hundred bowlders were found scattered
upon the area of the excavation; and they occur with nearly the same fre-
quency on other portions of this northern slope of the hill, but are rarely
found on its top and southern slope. They vary in size from 2 to 8 or 10
feet in length; nearly all are Arcliean, but a few of Paleozoic limestone,
up to 5 feet in length, were observed. None was seen inclosed within the
gravel and sand of the esker, and the workmen informed me that they
occur only on or near the surface. This hill was covered by Lake Agassiz,
and its bowlders were doubtless di-opped or stranded from bergs and floes
on this lake before the border of the ice-sheet had retreated from the
vicinity. Indeed, the occurrence of the bowlders chiefly on the northern

SECTION OF BURNS EIDGE. 187

slope seems to indicate that they were mostly sti'anded there while ice yet
remained beneath this deposit and prevented its entire submergence in the
lake. The thickness of this esker is at least nearly 100 feet; for a well 45
feet deep, dug at the bottom of the excavation, was wholly in the same
formation of gravel and sand. It is thus known to extend considerably
below the level of the Red River Valley plain, which consists of fluvial
and lacustrine clay underlain at a slight depth by till. A section across
the esker and plain (fig. 10) would show till abutting upon the edge of the
gravel and sand, indicating that both the stratified esker and the upper
part of the till were formed from englacial drift.

Smaller esker deposits were observed in townships 12 and 13, range 1
east, 10 to 20 miles northwest of Winnipeg. Beginning about 3 miles east
of Rosser, a narrow and occasionally interrupted belt of esker gravel and
sand, with frequent bowlders scattered on the surface, extends northwest
diagonally across sections 10, 16, and 20, the northeast corner of section
19, and the southwest part of section 30, township 12, and thence west-
ward through section 25 of the next township. Its highest portions rise
10 to 25 feet above the depressions of the moderately undulating surface
of till on each side and are 800 to 810 feet above the sea. Along a distance
of about a third of a mile in section 30 it has the form and character of an
ordinary beach ridge and is destitute of bowlders. A similar low esker
crosses sections 12 and 14, township 13, trending from southeast to north-
west; and others occur in the vicinity of the Grosse Isle, a name applied
to poplar groves in sections 17 and 18 of this township and in sections 12
and 13 of the next west.

From the east part of the Grrosse Isle a notable esker, known as Burns
Ridge, runs north-northwestward across sections 30 and 31, township 13,
range 1 east. Five miles west of Stonewall a section of this little beach-
like ridge was made in section 30 by the original line of the Canadian
Pacific Railway, which was abandoned for the more southern route by way
of Winnipeg. The esker is cut to a depth of 8 feet by the railway and to
12 feet in an excavation on the south side of the railway grade. A well
in the lowest part of this excavation goes 4 feet deeper, to a total of 16
feet below the crest of the ridgfe. The entire section consists of stratified

188 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

gravel aud sand, extending 8 feet above and at least as far below the gen-
eral level of the adjoining surface, and the visible width of the deposit is
about 30 rods. How much deeper it may extend, perhaps with increasing
width, is undetermined. Its gravel, which is nearly all limestone, contains
jDebbles up to 6 inches in diameter. No bowlders occur in this excavation,
and they are rare upon the surface of this and other such comparatively
broad and high j^ortions of this esker, none being sometimes seen along a
distance of several rods; but in its narrower and. slightl}^ lower portions, as
traced in its somewhat crooked course northward tlu'ough the next 1 h miles,
it. often is found to be sprinkled with frequent bowlders up to 3 or 4 feet in
diameter, mostly Archean. They appear to have been stranded, as at Birds
Hill, immediately after the ice walls inclosing the esker were melted, or
even during that process, and before the luelting of the ice under this
gravel and sand allowed the 'n'Tater of Lake Agassiz to submerge the more
massive portions of the ridge. Only a small depth of water, probably not
more than 30 or 50 feet at the most, would be required for this; and after-
ward the melting of the underlying ice gave to the lake here a dejith of
fully 500 feet. Farther to the north the esker sinks or is mei'ged in the
moderately undulating till which there forms the surface. The crest of
this peculiar ridge, approximately 800 to 805 feet above the sea, undulates
3 to 5 feet within short distances, not showing so much unifonnitj^ in eleva-
tion and directness in its coiu'se as are characteristic of beach ridges; and it
is the only instance observed in all mj exploration of Lake Agassiz where
a gi-avel formation nearly resembling a beach bears bowlders oia its surface.
Not a single bowlder has been anywhere found on or within the beaches of
this lake; nor have eskers like the Birds Hill group or like these of smaller
size and more stream-like courses been observed by me in an}- other part
of this lacustrine area, excepting the vicinit}^ of Red Lake, in Minnesota.
But eskers doubtless exist here and there tlu-oughout the belt of modified
di'ift that extends upon this area from Red Lake by the Lake of the Woods
to Birds Hill and Burns Ridge, and probably they continue north-north-
westerly upon the country between Lake AVinnipeg and Shoal Lake.

MODIFIED DRIFT FORMING DELTAS. 189

PEOPORTION OF MODIFIED DRIFT SUPPLIED TO THE DELTAS OF LAKE AGASSIZ.

Extensive contributions of iiuvial silt were received in Lake Agaseiz
from the englacial drift of the retreating ice both on the east and west;
and these deposits agree with the terminal moraines of that region in indi-
cating that against this great glacial lake the ice was melted back, faster
than on the adjoining land areas. On the eastern side of Lake Agassiz
only the Buffalo and Sand Hill rivers brought in noteworthy deltas, but
several other tributaries from the east are at the present time larger than
these. No topographic or other now existing causes for this difference are
discoverable, and we are left to the inference that during the vicissitudes
of the glacial recession exceptionally large streams poured down from the
ice surface, laden with its drift, to these deltas. Similar conditions seem
also to have been largely efficient in producing the four great deltas which I
have examined on the western side of Lake Agassiz, namely, the Sheyenne,
Elk Vallev, and Pembina deltas in North Dakota, and that of the Assini-
boine in Manitoba. Each of these demonstrably contains much tribute of
modified drift; that is, of drift brought directly from the ice by the rivulets,
brooks, and rivers formed in its melting.

It will be especially instructive to notice the Assiniboine delta of Lake
Agassiz and attempt to estimate its proportion of modified drift as distin-
guished from the alluvium of ordinary river erosion. This remarkable
delta of gravel and sand covers an area of about 2,000 square miles and
has an estimated average depth of at least 50 feet. Its volume is about 20
cubic miles, so that it exceeds the combined capacity of the Qu'Appelle
Valley, which was the outlet of the glacial Lake Saskatchewan, and of the
Assiniboine Valley from the movith of the Qu'Appelle to this delta. Each
of these valleys has an average width of about 1 mile, and their depth
probably averages 250 feet along their extent of about 350 miles, being
eroded in drift and the underlying soft Fort Pierre shales. This was doubt-
less a preglacial watercourse, which, like the Pembina and Minnesota
valleys, became only partly filled with drift. Much of the erosion of the
iipper Qu'Appelle Valley during the departure of the ice-sheet was effected
by its glacial river while it emptied into the Lake Souris, and probably the
lower valley and that of the Assiniboine were filled on the average only

190 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

to the extent of a third or half of their depth by the glacial drift. The
erosion of the valley, therefore, must have fallen far short of supph'ing-
the material of the Assiniboine delta, not to mention the fine silt and
clay which were carried into the lake l^eyond the gravel and sand delta
and may be of equal volume. Probably at least half of these lacustrine
deposits were modified drift brought down by streams from the melting
ice-sheet on the upper Assiniboine l)asin, north of the mouth of the Qu'Ap-
pelle, and swept forward by the strong current of the river until it reached
Lake Agassiz.

INFLUENCE OF ADJOINING LAKES OR THE SEA ON THE DEPOSI-
TION OF THE DRIFT.

From Nantucket and Cape Cod northeastward the ice-sheet, at its
greatest extent and dui'ing a considerable part of its time of recession,
terminated in the ocean. In the interior of the continent, too, it was
bounded during its recession l)y vast lakes filling the basins that are now
partly occupied by the great lakes of the St. Lawrence, Nelson, and Mac-
kenzie rivers. During all my examination of the shore-lines, deltas, and
bed of Lake Agassiz I have carefully studied the effects attributable to
the influence of this lake on the deposition of the di'ift, comparing its area,
the valley of the Red River of the North, with other portions of Minne-
sota, South and North Dakota, and Manitoba, which had a land sm-face
dm'ing the departure of the ice. Other glacial lakes of smaller size in
these States and this Canadian province have also come under my obser-
vation, besides portions of the drift deposited in the glacial precursors of
the Laurentian lakes; and on the Atlantic Coast I have made a detailed
examination of the marine drift of southeastern New Hampshire. The
more southern parts of the New England seaboard'which I have similarly
examined, including the coast from Boston to Plymouth, Cape Cod, Nan-
tucket, Marthas Vineyard, the Elizabeth Islands, Block Island, and Long
Island, appear to me to have stood at their present height or somewhat
hisfher durino: the maximum extension and the recession of their bi'oad
eastern lobe of the ice-sheet.

DEPOSITION OF THE ENGLACIAL DRIFT. 191

Upon all the areas thus studied by me where the ice-sheet was bor-
dered by great lakes or the sea, tracts of stratified sediments, as deltas of
gravel, sand, and silt, and somewhat more extensive deposits of finer silt
and clay, are found, and their distribution shows them to have been brought
into these bodies of water chiefly by rivers flowing from the melting ice.
But a large portion of the englacial and superglacial drift, corresponding to
that which fell as wholly unstratified till on land areas, was received from
the receding ice into these lakes or the sea Avith little change, being allowed
to fall to their bottom only very slightly modified by water action. Within
the area of Lake Agassiz and the other associated glacial lakes, very exten-
sive tracts, probably half or a larger part of their whole extent, have a
surface of till, which difters from its characters on the adjoining tracts that
were land during the ice retreat in having usually slight traces of stratifi-
cation within the 5 to 15 feet of the upper and englacial till, and in having
a more smooth and even contour.

Bowlders, gravel, sand, and clay are mingled in this englacial till in
the same proportion as on the country outside these glacial lakes. There
was generally no noteworthy transportation of bowlders or othei drift
by ice floes or bergs on these lakes ; nor was the fine clayey part of the
englacial drift washed away in any noteworthy amount from the sub-
merged and melting and receding ice margin by wave action, which would
have covered the till in front of the ice-sheet with beds of silt. Instead,
the englacial and finally superglacial di'ift that escaped the stream erosion
of the drainage from the glacial melting sank through the water to the
bottom as the ice gradually withdi'ew, and exhibits essentially the same
characters as on areas that were land, excepting its usually obscure traces
of stratification and its smoother surface.

CHAPTER V.
HISTORY OF LAKE AGASSIZ.

TWO CLASSES OF PLEISTOCENE LAKES.

Among the most important geologic records of the Pleistocene period
in America are the sediments and shore-lines of former lakes of great extent
which are now represented by lakes that occupy, excepting within the
basin of the St. Lawrence, only a small part of their ancient area. Lake
Bonneville, in the basin of Great Salt Lake, Utah, and Lake Lahontan,
in the basin of the Humboldt River and Pyramid Lake, Nevada, are con-
spicuous examples of one class of these Pleistocene lakes, formed by
increased rainfall, where now an arid climate limits the lakes to small areas,
with their surface far below the watersheds across which they would out-
flow to the sea. These are south of the glaciated area of the continent,
but they appear to have owed their existence to the changes of climate
by which the ice-sheet of the Glacial period was formed. Lake Agassiz
belongs to another class of these lakes, caused directly by the barrier of
the ice-sheet where this was accumulated on a noi'thwardly sloping laud
surface. Such glacial lakes were developed on a vast scale in the basins
of Lake Winnipeg and the Laurentiau lakes during the recession of the
ice border, when it was being gradually melted away by a warmer climate ;
and it is also evident that many small lakes of the same kind then flowed
southward over the lowest points of the present watersheds. Examples of
this class now existing are the little Meijelen See, pent up in a tributary
valley on the east side of the Great Aletsch glacier in the Alps, and similar
ice-dammed lakelets in Greenland.

LAKES BONNEVILLE, LAHONTAN, AND OTHERS IN THE GREAT BASIN.

Twice during the climatic changes of the Glacial and post-Glacial
periods, Lake Bonneville, described by Gilbert,^ and Lakes Lahontan and

'Lake Bonneville. By 6. K. Gilbert. Monographs of the U. S. Geol. Survey, Vol. I.
192

LAKES BONNEVILLE AND LAHONTAN. 193

Mono, described by Russell/ have risen nearly or quite to overflowing.
The climate of the Great Basin of interior di-ainage, which comprises the
areas of these lakes, was marked at these times by considerably greater
humidity than now, though to less degree than the present climate of the
eastern half of the United States. The humid epochs were divided by
■a long interval of aridity, in which, as Gilbert and Russell have shown,
the lakes were perhaps wholly evaporated, their soluble salt and alkaline
mineral matter becoming intermingled and covered with playa silts, so that
it could not be redissolved by the water of the lakes during their second
rise, which therefore may have been nearly fresh.

Lake Bonneville, the largest one of the many lakes which were formed
during the Pleistocene period in the Great Basin, covered at its maximum
stage an area of 19,750 square miles, lying mostly in northwestern Utah,
but extending also into the borders of Nevada and Idaho. It was about
ten times as large as its present representative, Great Salt Lake, which,
having a mean height of 4,208 feet above the sea, lies 1,000 feet below the
highest of the ancient shore-lines. The maximum depth of the Pleistocene
lake was about 1,050 feet, while that of Great Salt Lake, in its range from
the lowest to the highest stage within the past forty years, is from 36 to 49
feet. The hydrographic basin of Lake Bonneville comprised a fourth part
of the Great Basin, whose total area is estimated to be 210,000 square miles;
almost another quarter was tributary to the companion Lake Lahontan,
which attained an extent of 8,422 square miles, occupying a very irregular
tract of interlocking valleys among mountain ranges in western Nevada;
and the remaining half of this arid region held some twenty-five smaller
lakes, much exceeding, however, the saline lakes and playas to which they
are now reduced.

The first great i-ise of Lake Bonneville, lifting its level to within 90
feet of the lowest point of the inclosing watershed, is recorded by numer-
ous beaches, marking the oscillations of the lake level under the varying-
influence of secular climatic changes, and by a thick deposit of yellow

' Geological History of Lake Lahontau. By I. C. Russell. Mouograplis of the U. S. Geol. Survey,
Vol. XI. Quaternary History of Mono Valley, California. By i. C. Russell. Eighth Annual Report
of the XJ. S. Geol. Survey.

MON XXV 13

194 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

clay. A long interlacustrine epoch is known by overlying- alluvial gravel
and sand. The second rise of the lake reached the level of overflow
apparently after the water surface had been long held within 5 to 20 feet
below that level, forming a widely spread deposit of white marl and the
well-defined highest beach ridges and eroded cliifs, which Gilbert names
the Bonneville shore-line. The time required for the great amount of wave
work at this level would be made possible by long-continued underground
drainage from the lake tlu'ough the alluvial deposit of Cache Valley, over
which a slightly higher rise of the lake finally gained a superficial outflow
to the Columbia River, and then rapidly cut a channel 375 feet deep in the
alluvium to a sill of limestone. At this lower level, marked b}" the Provo
shore-line and deltas, the lake, was held for a long* time, perhajDs occasion-
ally interrupted by diy climate and fall, of the water too low to maintain
its outlet.

Glaciers descending the canyons on the w'est front of the Wasatch
Range attained their maximum extent, pushing their moraines into Lake
Bomieville, during the time of formation of the Provo shore-line. From.
these moraines, and from those of the Sierra Nevada extending into the
Pleistocene area of Lake Mono, the glaciation of the Cordilleran region is
known to have been contemporaneous with the epochs of humid climate
and extension of lakes in the Great Basin, the interlacustrine epoch being
attended probably with a nearly or quite complete departure of the glaciers
and ice-fields on the mountains.

LAKE AGASSIZ KUD OTHER GLACIAL LAKES.^

A glacial lake, according to my use of the term in this volume and
elsewhere, is a body of water bounded in part by a barrier of land ice.
The lake may be hemmed in by a glacier, as the Merjelen See, or by a
continental ice-sheet, as Lake Agassiz. And the same name is also appli-
cable to the lakelets, wholly bounded by ice, which are occasionally
formed, attaining a considerable depth and extent and appearing in the
same places during the summers of successive years, on the sm-face of

' The following descriptions and discussion of this class of Pleistocene lakes were originally pre-
sented in a paper before the Geological Society of America ("Glacial Lakes in Canada," Bulletin,
G. S. A., Vol. II, pp. 243-276).

EVIDENCES OP GLACIAL LAKES. 195

glaciers, as iu the Himalayan Range, or on an ice-sheet, as observed by
Nordenskjold in Greenland.

Very abundant and extensive development of glacial lakes attended
the recession of the ice-sheet in the northern United States and in Canada,
being due to the temporary damming of the waters of glacial melting and
of rains on areas where the land has a northward descent. While the ice-
sheet was melting away from south to north on such a slope, free drainage
was prevented, and a lake was formed, overflowing across the lowest point
of what is now the southern watershed of the basin. Many of these lakes
were of small extent and short duration, being soon, by the continued re-
treat of the ice, merged into larger glacial lakes, or permitted to flow away
where basins sloping northward are tributary to main river courses drain-
ing southward. Professor Chamberlin has well written of these lakes
fringing the ice-sheet:

They vary in areal extent from trivial valleys blocked by ice to the broad
expanses of the great basins. If an attempt were made to enumerate all instances,
great and small, and all stages, earlier and later, the list of localities and deposits
would swell, not by scores and hundreds, but by thousands.^

EVIDEISTCES OF GLACIAL LAKES.

Five principal evidences of the former existence of glacial lakes are
found, namely: (1) Their channels of outlet over the present watersheds;
(2) cliffs eroded along some portions of the shores by the lake waves; (3)
beach ridges of gravel and sand, often on the larger glacial lakes extend-
ing continuously through long distances; (4) delta deposits, mostly gravel
and sand, formed b}' inflowing streams; and (5) fine sediments spread
widely over the lacustrine area. A few words of general description may
be given to each of these before proceeding to notice the areas of some of
the more important glacial lakes formed by the waning North American
ice-sheet, and to trace in detail the stages of the growth of Lake Agassiz
and its final reduction to the present Lake Winnipeg.

Outlets. — Among the e^adences of glacial lakes, the one most invari-
ably recognizable and most definite in its testimony is the outlet showing

' Proc. A. A. A. S., Vol. XXXV, for 1886, p. 208.

196 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

distinct stream erosion across the rim dividing adjacent river basins, which
now in many instances send their waters respectively to the Gulf of Mex-
ico and to Hudson Bay or the Grulf of St. Lawrence. Obviously, water-
courses could exist in these positions only as the outlets of lakes which
were pent up by some barrier that is now removed. Shore-lines traceable
northward from these deserted channels must therefore belong to a lake,
and can not be regarded as the record of any marine submergence.

Closely associated with such channels crossing watersheds, and at the
same level, are the three following classes of proof cited, namely, eroded
cliffs, beach ridges, and deltas ; and below these shore records are the fine
lacustrine sediments. These are found in hydrographic basins which are
now drained by a continuous descent northward, presenting no indication
that any land bai-rier ever existed across their lower portions to form these
lakes, being afterward removed by erosion or by depression. The shore-
lines, as shown thus by wave-cut cliffs, wave-built beaches, and deltas
brought by inflowing rivers, extend far along both sides of the present
hydrographic basin, often rising slightly and regularly northward, instead
of sinking in that direction, as they would do if there had been a depres-
sion of the land at the north. When traced carefully with leveling, they
are found, sometimes after an extent of hundreds of miles, as on the glacial
Lake Agassiz and about the great lakes tributary to the St. Lawrence, to
terminate abruptly where the basin attains its greatest width. Hence it is
manifest that the barrier of these lakes could not have been land formerly
raised higher than now, but was the receding ice-sheet, against which the
land shores terminated.

On slopes descending in parallelism with the retiring ice border, drain-
age from it in many places flowed in channels from which the streams
became turned into new and more northerly courses as the ice retreated.
Several glacial river coiu'ses of this kind I have observed between the
Coteau des Prairies and the Minnesota River. ^ Others have been noted
by Gr. M. Dawson,^ McConnell, ^ fii^d Tyrrell,^ in various parts of Alberta

iGeol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Miunesota, Final Report, Vol. I, 1884, pp. 508,509,606.
•Report on the Geology and Resources of the Region in the Vicinity of the Forty-ninth Parallel,
1875, pp. 263-265; Geol. Survey of Canada, Report of Progress, for 1882-83-84, p. 150 C.

'Geol. Survey of Canada, Annual Report, new series, Vol. I, for 1885, pp. 21 C and 74 C.
^ Ibid.. Annu;U Report, new series. Vol. II, for 1886, pp. 43 E, 45 E, and 145, 146 E.

OUTLET VALLEYS HOLDING NAEEOW LAKES. 197

and Assiniboia. But these seldom were outlets of glacial lakes of large
size. It was only when extensive hydrographic basins were inclined toward
the ice-sheet that broad glacial lakes, as those named Lake Agassiz, Lake
Souris, Lake Saskatchewan, and the greatly enlarged Laurentian lakes
from Superior to Ontario, were held between the northwardly sloping land
and the waning ice-sheet, with long-continued outflow across the present
main watersheds of the continent.

The depth of erosion of these outlets varies from 50 feet or less to
150 feet or more. So far as known to me, they are cut through the easily
eroded drift deposits, and sometimes beneath these, on the extension of the
great plains in the Canadian Northwest, through Cretaceous shales or clays
and soft, unconsolidated sandstones, which could be easily worn away.
Nowhere is it . found that a glacial river has channeled deeply into the
harder rock formations. The time required for the work observed was
brief.

A noteworthy feature of many of the old watercourses which were
outlets of glacial lakes, then carrying a much greater volume of water
than now, is the occurrence of long and narrow lakes in such valleys, of
which Long Lake, in Assiniboia, lying on the west side of a high remnant
of the eroded Cretaceous strata called Last Mountain, is a conspicuous
example. This lake, occupying- one of the channels of outflow from the
glacial Lake Saskatchewan, which thence continued down the Qu'Ajjpelle
Valley, is about 50 miles long from south to north and 1 to 2 miles wide.
Its southern end is separated from the Qu'Appelle River by alluvial deposits
only a few feet above Long Lake, which have been brought into the valley
since its great glacial river ceased. Similarly the Qu'Appelle Valley has
been partly refilled by the postglacial deposits of its tributaries, and the
present stream in its course through the Fishing- Lakes flows at a level
about 60 feet above the ancient river bed. Other rivers which thus flow
through lakes produced by postglacial alluvium in the beds of the outlets
of glacial lakes are the James River, formerly the outlet of Lake Som-is ;
the Pembina River, which, with Langs Valley, aff'orded a later outlet from
Lake Souris, now marked by Pelican, Rock, and Swan lakes, besides sev-
eral other lakes of small size ; the Minnesota River, with Browns Valley,

198 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

b)- which Lake Ag-assiz outflowed, where now are Lakes Traverse, Big
Stone, and Lac qui Parle : the St. Croix River and Lake St. Croix, formerly
the course of drainage from the west part of Lake Superior when that
lake was held 500 feet higher than now by the barrier of the receding
ice-sheet; and the Illinois River, the outlet of the glacial Lake Michigan,
flowing' tlu'ough Lake Peoria.

Eroded cliffs. — This type of shore-lines, denominated sea cliff's by Gril-
bert, is developed where a glacial lake has formed a terrace, usually in the
unmodified glacial drift or till (see fig. 7, p. 26). Waves at these places
have been efficient to erode, by undercutting at the base of the terrace;
and shore currents have borne away the eroded material, excepting usiially
a considerable number of large bowlders. Only a small portion of the
shores of Lake Agassiz examined by me consists of these wave-cut slopes of
till; and they nowhere form conspicuous topographic features, their range
in height being from 5 or 10 to 30 feet. Much higher cliff's of till of simi-
lar origin exist on some parts of the shores of the present great lakes of
the St. Lawrence and Nelson rivers, where erosion has been in progress
ever sincB the time of the glacial recession. Scarboro Heights, on Lake
Ontario, near Toronto, extending 9 miles, with a height of 170 to 290 feet,
consisting of till and interglacial beds, are cliff's thus produced by post-
glacial lake erosion. The duration of the glacial lakes apjjears to have
been much shoi'ter than the postglacial epoch.

It is important, however, to note here that cliff's of preglacial erosion,
which remained as prominent escarpments through the vicissitudes of the
Ice age, became in some places the shores of glacial lakes. Of this class
are the bold highlands of Pembina, Riding, and Duck mountains, which
rise steeply 100 to 1,000 feet from the highest western shore-line of Lake
Agassiz to form the margin of a plateau that stretches with a moderately
undulatins: surface westwai-d. Even where this lake washed the bases of
the cliffs, it doubtless eroded them only to a slight extent. The horizontal
Cretaceous beds of this great escarpment originally extended eastward a
considerable distance, as believed by Hind and Dawson, probably so far as
to cover the areas now occupied by Lake Wimiipeg and the Lake of the
Woods; and we must attribute the ei'osion of their eastern portion, leaving

BEACH RIDGES. 199

this steep line of highlands, to river action during the time of epeirogenic
elevation which closed the Tertiary and introduced the Quaternary era, not
in any important degree to glaciation, and least of all to shore-cutting by
the glacial lake.

Beaches. — The course of the shore of a large glacial lake is usually
marked by a smoothly rounded beach ridge of gravel and sand (see PI.
VI and fig. 6, p. 26) wherever the land is a slope of till sinking slowly
beneath the ancient water-level. Like the shore accumulations of present
lakes and of the seacoast, the glacial lake beaches vary considerably in
size, having in any distance of 5 miles some portions 5 or 10 feet higher
than others, due to the unequal power of waves and currents at these parts
of the shore. Moderate slopes bordering the greater glacial lakes were
favorable for the formation of beach ridges, and such ground frequently
displays many beaches at successive levels which marked pauses in the
gi'adual elevation of the land when it was relieved of its ice burden, and in
the subsidence of the lake as its outlet became eroded deeper or as the
glacial retreat uncovered new and lower avenues of discharge.

Waves driven toward the shore by storms gathered the beach gravel
and sand from the deposit of till or other drift which was the lake bed,
and corresponding deposits of stratified clay, derived fi-om the same erosion
of the till, sank in the deeper part of the lake. But these sediments were
evidently of small amount and are not commonly noticeable on the sheet
of till which forms the greater part of the lacustrine areas. Where the
beaches cross delta deposits, especially the fine silt and clay that lie in
front of the delta gravel and sand, they are indistinctly developed or fail
entirely. On the other hand, the most massive and typical beach ridges,
often continuous several miles with remarkable uniformity of size, having
a central thickness of 10 to 15 feet and a total width of 20 to 30 rods, are
found on areas of till that rise with a gentle slope of 10 or 15 feet per
mile. Under the influence of irregular contours of the shore, however, the
beach deposits assume the form of bars, spits, hooks, loops, and terraces,
of which Grilbert has given a careful classification, with analysis of the
interactions of waves and currents by which they were made.\

' "The topographic features of lake shores:" Fifth Annual Report of the U. S. Geol. Survey,
1885, pp. 75-123; "Lake Bonneville:" Monographs of the U.S. Geol. Survey, Vol. 1, 1890, Chapter II.

200 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Deltas. — A broad expanse of water exposed along a distance of many
miles to strong winds is required for the formation of sufficiently large and
powerful waves to erode cliffs or accumulate well-defined beach ridges; but
the area of any glacial lake, small or large, may be partly occupied by
deltas brought into its margin by tributary streams. These deposits at the
mouths of small brooks are often only a few rods wide, while the deltas of
rivers, especially those supplied with much englacial di'ift from the melting
ice-sheet, sometimes extend many miles in a flat or moderately undulating-
plain of gravel and sand, lying at. the level which the surface of the lake
held during the accumulation of the delta, or within a few feet above or
below that level. But at the mouth of the river forming the delta it was
frequently built up in a fan-shaped mass to a considerable height, the head
of the alluvial slope being in some instances 50 feet or more above the
lake. The delta plain is generally bounded on its lakeward side by a
somewhat steep descent, partly due to the ordinary conditions of delta
formation, but often made more conspicuous by erosion of the outer por-
tion of its original area by waves and shore cm-rents when the lake fell to
loAver levels.

Winds in many places have channeled and heaped the surface of the
more extensive deltas, acting most efficiently as soon as they became un-
covered from the lake and before they could be overspread by vegetation;
and many of the resulting sand dunes (see PI. VII, p. 28), which frequently
range from 25 to 100 feet in height, though mainly covered by grass,
bushes, and trees, are still undergoing slight changes of their form by wind
erosion. All the dunes on the areas of the glacial lakes Agassiz, Dakota,
Souris, and Saskatchewan, occur on delta deposits; but the great tracts of
dunes about the south end of Lake Michigan belong wholly to beach accu-
mulations, l)eing sand derived from erosion of the eastern and western shores
of the lake, whence it has been borne southward by shore cun-ents, espe-
cially during northern gales. None of the beaches of our glacial lakes are
large enough to make dunes like those on Lake Michigan, though the size
and depth of Lake Agassiz, its great extent from south to north, and the
character of its shores, seem equally favorable for their accumulation. It

LAOUSTEINE SEDIMENTS. 201

is thus again indicated that tlie time occiipied by the recession of the ice-
sheet was comparatively brief.

Lacustrine sediments. — In front of the delta plains of gravel and sand,
the finer silt and clay brought into the glacial lake by the same tributaries
were spread over the lake bottom, covering the till on large tracts adjacent
to the great deltas. Only small contributions of fine sediment, usually
inappreciable, as before stated, on the greater part of the lake basin, were
supplied from the shore and sublittoral erosion of till, which yielded the
gravel and sand of the beaches; but some of these areas of wave ero-
sion, reaching a quarter of a mile off shore, are plentifully strewn with the
residual bowlders.

Because of their relation to the receding ice-sheet, the glacial lakes
might be expected to receive noticeable deposits, including bowlders, from
floating bergs and from floes of the ice foot which would be formed in
winter along their northern barrier. It is certain, however, that no
deposits which can be referred to such origin are spread generally over
the lake basins. Bowlders are absent or exceedingly rare in the beaches,
deltas, and finer lacustrine sediments. In a few places, however, I have
observed bowlders in considerable numbers on esker ridges of gravel and
sand (pp. 186, 188), where they were evidently brought and stranded by
floating ice masses from the melting ice border, whose distance could not
have exceeded a few miles at the farthest, and, indeed, probably was not
so much as 1 mile while the bowlders were being stranded.

Where terminal moraines cross a glacial lake, their knolly and hilly
contour, as deposited on land, is changed to a smoothed, slightly undulat-
ing surface, and their proportion of bowlders exposed to view is diminished.
The lake leveled the till that would otherwise have formed knobs and hills,
in which process many of its bowlders were covered.

After the drainage of the glacial lakes by the complete departure of
the ice-sheet, the lower portions of their basins, in depressions and along
the present river courses, have become filled to a considerable extent by
fluvial beds of fine silt. These are similar in material with the lacustrine
sediments bordering the deltas, from which they are distinguishable by,
their containing in some places shells like those now living in the shallow

202 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

lakes and streams of the region, remains of rushes and sedges and peaty
deposits, and occasionally branches and logs of wood, such as are floated
down by streams in their stages of flood. In the valley of the Red River
of the North these recent fluvial deposits have commonly greater thickness
and extent than the underlying silt of the glacial Lake Agassiz, which,
however, in some portions, as near the deltas of the Sheyenne and the
Assiniboine, occupies large areas.

PRINCIPAT. GLACIAL LAKES OF THE NORTHERN UNITED STATES

AND OF CANADA.

Netv England, Quebec, the eastern provinees, the Northeast Territory, and
Labrador. — Attending the retreat of the ice-sheet from New England, Que-
bec, and the eastern provinces, many glacial lakes of small size and short
duration were formed on areas declining toward the north or northwest,
as in the valley of the Contoocook River, in New Hampshire;' on the
western flanks of the Green Mountain range, in Vermont, where Mr. C. L.
Whittle informs me that delta deposits of such origin occur up to heights
of fully 2,000 feet; on head streams of the River St. John, in northern
Maine; and in southern Quebec, between the Atlantic-St. Lawrence water-
shed and the receding ice front. Fewer and still smaller glacial lakes,
usually leaving no well-marked records of their existence, doubtless also
attended the glacial reti-eat in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfound-
land, and Labrador. But soon the ocean-washed ice border was melted
back from the Gulf of St. Lawrence and along the broad St. Lawrence
Valley perhaps to Quebec, admitting the sea to the area of Lake Cham-
plain, which, with the Hudson Valley, had been occupied during the reces-
sion of the ice by a long and narrow glacial lake, extending fi'om near New
York City to near Montreal, caused by the southward elevation and north-
ward depression of the land.^

North of the St. Lawrence the receding ice opposed no barrier to
drainage from large areas until it withdrew across the height of land divid-
ing the St. Lawrence waters from those tributarv to James and Hudson

' Geology of New Hampshire, Vol. Ill, 1878, pp. 103-120.
•Bulletin, 6. S. A., Vol. I, p. 566; Vol. Ill, pp. 484-487.

BASINS OF THE LAURENTIAN LAKES. 203

bays, when upon the country around Lake Mistassini and upon many
other tracts glacial lakes of considerable size must have been formed. In
the exploration of that region traces of these former lakes, especially of
their channels crossing the watershed, should be carefully looked for, as
not the least important of our records of the Ice age.

Basins of the Laurentian lakes and of Hudson Bay. — As soon as the
border of the retreating ice-sheet was withdrawn across the various parts
of the watershed south of the Laurentian lakes, each considerable stream
valley and embayment between the height of land and the ice front held a
glacial lake. Doubtless hundreds of channels may be traced where these
lakes outflowed. But the continuing glacial retreat merged these minor
lakes into a few of large size, overflowing at the lowest passes. In the
States adjoining on the south, and in portions of Canada on the north, the
shores of these glacial representatives of the present Laurentian lakes are
recorded by eroded cliffs, beach ndges, deltas, and lacustrine sediments;
but along other portions of their Canadian boundaries, where they were
held in by the receding ice barrier on the northeast and north, the land
shows no shore erosion nor beach deposits.

The west part of Lake Superior stood about 500 feet higher than now,
and outflowed by the St. Croix River. Lake Michigan outflowed by the
low divide at Chicago to the Des Plaines and Illinois rivers. The glacial
Lake Erie was at first some 200 feet above the present level of this lake,
with overflow to the Wabash; but later it obtained lower outlets, the last
being by Chicago, after the glacial lakes Erie, Huron, Michigan, and
Superior had been merged into one expanse, which Spencer has named
Lake Warren. Lake O-ntario, or rather its glacial forerunner, named by
Spencer Lake Iroquois, becoming by the retreat of the ice separated and
distinct from the upper lakes, extended far to the north and northeast of
its present limits and poured its waters into the Hudson, at first by the
Mohawk and afterward by the way of Lake Champlain, while the continu-
ing glacial recession uncovered the country north of the Adirondacks and
along the great valley where it now outflows by the St. Lawrence.

The watershed which divides the upper St. Lawrence basin from the
ba.sin of James Bay is crossed by many channels of outflow from glacial

204 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

lakes pent up between that watershed and the departing ice-sheet on the
north. Kenogami or Long Lake, north of Lake Superior, having a length
of about 54 miles from northeast to southwest and a width mostly between
a half mile and 2 miles, forming the head of Kenogami River, tributary
to the Albany, occupies the channel of outlet from a glacial lake in the
Albany basin, passing southward by Trout Lake and Black River to Lake
Superior.* The elevation of Kenogami Lake, according to the survey
of the Canadian Pacific Railway, is 1,032 feet above the sea. Dr. Robert
Bell states in a letter that the summit crossed by the Height of Land
portage close south of this lake, and leading from it to Black River, is
about 70 feet higher, being therefore approximately 1,100 feet above the
sea. This portage "is about a half mile long, and is over an accumula-
tion of well-rounded bowlders, with gravel and earth filling the interspaces
in part; at other parts the bowlders are piled on each other quite naked.
The valley between the rocky walls is about half a mile wide. The sur-
face is somewhat level, and there is a subordinate valley or depression
sweeping around on the west side between the bulk of the accumulation of
bowlders and the rocky bluff" on that side." The ancient watercourse
thus described west of the portage is probably only a few feet above
Kenogami Lake, having very nearly the same elevation as the divide be-
tween the Missinaibi and Michipicoten rivers, some 150 miles distant to the
east. Both these low points of the watershed were doubtless occupied by
rivers outflowing from glacial lakes on the north during the recession of
the ice-sheet.

Missinaibi Lake, near the head of Missinaibi River, the western branch
of the Moose River system, is about 1,020 feet above the sea. This lake
"bears south 48° west, is 24 miles long, nearly straight, and varies from
a half mile to IJ miles in width."- Close southwest of Missinaibi Lake, in
the continuation of this glacial river course, is Crooked Lake, at an eleva-
tion of about 1,038 feet. "It is 8 J miles long, and averages less than a
quarter of a mile in width." Near the head of Crooked Lake, and only
a few feet above it, is the Height of Land portage, approximately 1,042

1 Geol. Survey of Canada, Report of Progress, 1871-72, p. 336.

2 Ibid., Report of Progress, 1875-76, p. 330.

saskatchewa:si and eed eiver basins. 205

feet above the sea, and thence descending toward Lake Superior the old
channel contains Dog Lake, having a height of about 1,026 feet, and Mat-
tagaming or Mattawagaming Lake, which, according to the Canadian
Pacific Railway survey, is 1,025 feet above sea-level.

When the Kenogami, Missinaibi, and other glacial lakes of the James
Bay region became merged in one of great extent, rivaling Lake Agassiz,
the outlet of this confluent lake probably crossed the low watershed south
of the eastern end of Lake Abittibi, passing- to Lac des Quinze and the
Ottawa River. The elevation of Lake Abittibi, according to observations
of the Canadian Geological Survey, is about 857 feet above the sea, and
the portage over the watershed rises only about 100 feet higher. Its pres-
ent altitude is thus nearly a hundred feet less than that of the Kenogami
and Missinaibi outlets, and it is probable that when the land was first
uncovered from the ice-sheet the Abittibi outlet was relatively lower than
the others by a much greater difference, and that with reference to the sea-
level it was much less elevated than now.

Basins of the Saskatchewan and the Bed Biver of the North. — Durino- the
recession of the ice-sheet from Alberta small glacial lakes doubtless existed
in the basins of the Bow and Belly rivers, outflowing from the former suc-
cessively by the Little Bow River and the Snake Valley, and from the
latter successively by the Verdigris, Etsi-kom, and Chin couldes, which
Dr. Dawson describes as remarkable abandoned river courses now carrying
little or no water. The glacial ch-ainage from the present sources of the
South Saskatchewan, and probably also of the North Saskatchewan and
Athabasca, was thus carried southeastward, in parallelism both with the
main Rocky Mountain range and with the retiring ice border, to the Milk
River, west and south of the Cypress Hills. Thd whole area of Alberta,
partly land sloping northeastward and partly ice sloping southwestward,
with glacial lakes here and there along the ice margin, seems then to have
been tributary to the Missouri and the Grulf of Mexico.^

From Lake Pakowki, through which this glacial drainage for a long
time flowed southward to the Milk River, the ice front must have been

' 6. M. Dawson, Report on the Geology and Resources of the Region in the vicinity of the Forty-
ninth Parallel, 1875; Geol. Survey of Canada, Rejiort of Progress ibr 1882-83-84, Part C. Compare
with Mr. J, B. Tyrrell's paper in Bulletin G. .S. A., Vol. I, pp. 401, 403.

206 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

withdrawn more than 200 miles to the east, past the Cypress Hills and
Wood Mountain, before a lower outlet from the Saskatchewan country
north of these highlands would be obtained by Twelve Mile Lake and
over the present continental watershed to Big Muddy Creek, which flows
through the northeastern corner of Montana to the Missouri. But only a
slight further retreat of the ice was sufficient to give still lower avenues of
drainage. As soon as the Missouri Coteau was uncovei'ed a glacial lake
occupying the valley of the South Saskatchewan, in the vicinity of its
elbow, outflowed by the way of Moose Jaw Creek, and tlu-ough a glacial
lake in the upper Souris or Mouse River basin, to the Missouri near Fort
Stevenson. Later the outflow from the Lake Saskatchewan may have
passed to the Lake Souris by way of the Wascana River, after flowing
through a glacial lake which probably extended from Regina 60 miles to
the westward in the upper Qu'Appelle basin.

Through the whole pei'iod of the existence of the Lake Souris, which
at first outflowed to the Missouri and afterward to Lake Agassiz, the glacial
lake in the basin of the South Saskatchewan, doubtless also at last includ-
ing the North Saskatchewan, was tributary to it, and the outlet of this
Lake Saskatchewan was transferred to lower courses as the border of the
ice-sheet receded from southwest to northeast. In the concluding part of
this chapter detailed descriptions of these glacial lakes, and of their succes-
sive channels of outflow to Lake Agassiz, will be presented.

Lake Agassiz, the largest of all the glacial lakes of North America,
occupying the basin of the Red River of the North and Lake Winu'peg,
covered extensive tracts of Minnesota and North Dakota, the greater part
of Manitoba, and a considerable area of eastern Saskatchewan and south-
western Keewatin. The history of this lake, which increased in area as
the ice-sheet decreased, forms the central theme of this chapter, succeeded
by reviews of the associated glacial lakes of large size, two of which, lying
in southern Minnesota and in South Dakota, had their brief existence before
Lake Agassiz, the others being contemporaneous with this lake and several
of them tributary to it.

British Columbia, Athabasca, and the Northwest Territory. — Light-colored
silt deposits, distinctly stratified and of considerable thickness, which seem

BRITISH COLUMBIA AND LAKE YUKON. 207

to me referable in some districts to glacial lakes and in others to river
floods supplied from the melting ice-sheet, are reported by Dr. G. M.
Dawson in many basins of the British Cordilleran region. His interpre-
tation of their origin, however, is by a marine submergence since the
latest glaciation of the region. No fossils, either of the sea or of fresh
water, are found, though they are abundant in postglacial marine beds of
the St. Lawrence Valley, on the southwestern side of Hudson Bay, and in
Greenland and Grrinnell Land ; but lakes of only moderate size tempora-
rily bordering the ice-sheet during its departvire would probably be desti-
tute of life, and this would certainly be true of rivers produced by the
glacial melting. These deposits occur, up to heights 2,300 to 2,700 feet
above the sea, in the basin of the Kootanie and upper Columbia, on the
interior plateau of British Columbia, on the northward extension of the
great plains crossed by the Peace River, and in the upper valleys of
the Stikine, Liard, and Yukon rivers.^

On the last-named river and the Lewes, tributary to it, Russell refers
the formation of silt beds, fully 200 feet thick, and of higher terraces, to a
glacial lake, named by him Lake Yukon, 150 miles long from north to
south, with a maximum width of about 10 miles and depth of between
500 and 600 feet ; and he suggests that this lake was probably caused by
a depression of the upper part of the Yukon basin by the weight of the
ice-sheet. The mouth of Lake Yukon, at its northern end, was near
the northwestern boundary of the ice-sheet at its maximum extension, the
whole lake being within the area that was ice-covered, as is known by
the limits of glacial drift and striae, which a- e first found in ascending the
Yukon near the Rink Rapids, approximately in latitude 62° 20' north and
longitude 136° 15' west, about 160 miles east of the line between British
America and Alaska. "

No other portion of the glaciated area of this continent presents a
more interesting or more difficult problem in Pleistocene geology than
these "white silts," as they are denominated b}' Dawson; and much fur-
ther field work and study will be needed to demonsti'ate the conditions of

'Reports of the Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada; Trans. Eoyal Society of Canada, Vol.
VIII, sec. 4, 1890, pp. 3-74, with five maps; Am. Geologist, Vol. VI, Sept., 1890, pp. 153-162; Nature,
Vol. XLII, Oct. 30, 1890, pp. 650-653.

-Bulletin G. S. A., Vol. I, pp. 140, 146-148,544.

208 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASglZ.

tlieii- deposition in each of the numerous basins in which they are found.
But I believe that uhimately they will be shown to be everywhere attribu-
table either to fluvial deposition attendant on the recession of the ice-sheet
or to deposition as deltas in glacial lakes which owed their existence to
ice dams or to depressions where the land had sunk beneath the ice weight
and has since been reelevated. For example, the Kootanie basin may
well have been filled by a glacial lake obstructed in the present course of
drainage by the retreating ice-sheet and outflowing by the way of Pack
River and Lake Pend d'Oreille, which Professor Chamberlin finds to have
been covered by the maximum advance of the ice, while gravel-bearing
floods from the glacial melting poured thence to the south and west.^
Ao-ain, the silts on the Peace River east of the Rocky Mountains seem
referable, as will be stated more fully on a later page, to a glacial lake
held by the ba'n-ier of the departing ice-sheet on the noi-th and northeast,
with outflow southeastward into Lake Agassiz.

EXTBNSIOl^ OF LAKE AGASSIZ WITH THE DEPARTURE OF THE

ICE-SHEET.

On the west side of Lake Agassiz the Dakota lobe of the ice-sheet,
from its junction with the Minnesota lobe near the Head of the Coteau
des Prairies, 25 miles west of Lake Traverse and Browns Valley, at the
beo-innina- of the moraine-forming or Wisconsin di^asion of the Glacial
period, reached about 200 miles south along the valley of the James or
Dakota River to Yankton and the Missouri ; but it was gradually dimin-
ished in its extent until, at the time of formation of the Kiester, Elysian,
Waconia, and Dovre moraines, it no longer retained its lobate outline.
While these moraines were being formed in Minnesota the southwestern
boundary of the ice-sheet in South and North Dakota passed from the
vicinity of Big Stone Lake and Lake Traverse northwesterly along
morainic belts which have been traced thi-ough Sargent, Ransom, Barnes,
and Grio-ors counties, N. Dak., and bv the som-ces of the James and
Sheyenne rivers. During the later stages, represented by the Fergus Falls
and Leaf Hills moraines, the Dakota ice front appears to have become

' U. S. Geol. Survey, Bulletin No. 40, p. 8.

EXTENSION FOLLOWING THE GLACIAL RETREAT. 209

again lobate, extending from the west shore of Lake Agassiz southward
and then westward and northward, between the lake area and the Sheyenne
River, to the prominent and typical moraines that are found south of
Stump and Devils lakes, on the Big Butte, about Broken Bone Lake and
northward, and on Turtle Mountain. In their remarkable development
these moraines are similar to the massive Leaf Hills, with which they seem
to have been contemporaneous. The laving action of Lake Agassiz caused
the thick portion of the ice-sheet filling the Red River Valley to melt back
somewhat faster than its thinner portions on the higher land areas at each
side.

The highest of the Herman beaches of Lake Agassiz extends in Min-
nesota, as traced in this survey, to the north side of Maple Lake, 20 miles
east-southeast of Crookston, and probably it continues thence into the for-
est region on the east, where it is impracticable to follow its course, to the
vicinity of Red Lake; and on the west it reaches through North Dakota
and at least 14 miles into Manitoba, terminating on the northern part of the
Pembina escarpment somewhere between Thornhill and its northern end,
that is, between 14 and 40 miles north of the international boundary. Be-
fore the formation of this beach was completed the ice-sheet had retired
from the lake ai'ea as far north as the beach extends. During pauses of
this glacial recession the Dovre, Fergus Falls, Leaf Hills, and Itasca mo-
raines were formed, showing a northward retreat of the ice border from the
Dovre moraine across a distance of about 150 miles in central Minnesota
and 150 to 200 miles in North Dakota and southern Manitoba, with a max-
imum of probably not less than 300 miles in the Red River Valley, where
Lake Agassiz produced a more rapid melting of the ice margin. Through
this time the River Warren, outflowing from this glacial lake, fed by abun-
dant ice-melting and rains, eroded a channel about 50 feet deep, approxi-
mately from 1,100 to 1,050 feet above the sea, or perhaps it eroded only
the lower half of that depth, in the moderately undulating sheet of till
which reached across the present valley of Lakes Traverse and Big Stone.
The shortness of the time thus indicated as probably occupied in the for-
mation of a single one of the beaches of Lake Agassiz, reafiirmed as it is
by the small amount of the littoral erosion and resulting beach deposits,
MON xxv 14

210 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

may well astonish us iu what it implies concerning the rapidity of the re-
cession of the ice-sheet, and the brevity, geologically speaking, of the stages
of pause or readvance when its moraines were accumulated.

Between the times of accumulation of the successive terminal moraines,
the ablation of the ice surface and the retreat of its border caused the por-
tion of the drift which had been inclosed within the ice-sheet to be rapidly
deposited on the land, partly as till and partly as stratified gravel, sand, and
clay, brought by the streams that were produced by the glacial melting.
Thus while the series of Herman beaches was being formed not only were
several large moraines amassed, but also much englacial till was spread
over the country between the moraines, and glacial rivers deposited a broad
belt of modified drift that stretches from central Minnesota to Red Lake
and the Lake of the Woods, and continues northward in Manitoba, as de-
scribed in pages 181-183. The most southeastern part of this prolonged
tract of plentiful modified drift, in the vicinity of St. Paul and Minneapolis
and northwestward to St. Cloud, belongs to a time previous to Lake Agas-
siz; the portion of these stratified beds between St. Cloud and Lake Itasca
represents the time of formation of the highest Herman beach; and the
deposition of their u(irthern half, continuing from the headwaters of the
Mississippi to the southwest part of the Lake of the Woods and to the Birds
Hill group of eskers, was contemporaneous with the lower Herman shores
of Lake Agassiz. Toward this belt great areas of the ice-slieet sloped con-
vergingly during- its maximum extension, and in the early part of its time of
recession rivers flowed thither from the ice-lobes on the northeast and north-
west until this glacial lake began to exist and to grow northward, occupying
the Red River Valley.

STAGES OF GROWTH SHOWN BY MORAINES.

The retreat of the ice between the Waconia and Dovre moraines (pp.
142, 147) began to uncover the southern end of the bed of Lake Agas-
siz, into which the inflowing glacial Sheyenne River, even at that early
stage, brought much gravel and sand. Tliis first delta deposit of the glacial
lake is spread along its southwestern margin from near Taylor Lake to the
bluff, in the northeast coi'ner of South Dakota, that overlooks the valley of

STAGES OF GROWTH SHOWN BY MORAINES. 211

Lake Traverse and tlie Bnis des Sioux River, about 4 miles southwest of
White Rock, lying 100 feet below this gravel and sand bluff. The same
high tract was at that time continuous also southeastward across the present
valley, which is 4 miles wide, to the plateau in Traverse County, Minn.,
between the Bois des Sioux and Mustinka rivers, which is crossed and cut
into by the railway in section 26, township 128, range 47. A thickness
of 12 feet of this delta of gravel and sand, having a surface 75 feet above
Lake Traverse, is shown by the railway excavation, without exposing its
plane of contact with the underlying till, which forms the basal part of the
plateau and extended, before its erosion by the outflow from Lake Agassiz,
in an inclined plane gradually rising to the bluff of till, 100 to 110 feet high,
east of the northern end of Lake Traverse. In this incipient stage, con-
temporaneous with the accumulation of the Dovre moraine. Lake Agassiz
stretched nearly 30 miles from northwest to southeast, with a width varying
from 1 to 2 or 3 miles, being probably widest in the vicinity of Wheaton,
Minn., at its southern end, where the River Warren flowed away south-
westward. The lake in this stage was little more than a broad expansion
of the glacial representative of the Sheyenne River, which deposited its
delta sediments along the edge of the lacustrine area, being walled in by
the front of the ice-sheet.

With the glacial recession thence to the Fergus Falls moraine (p. 158)
Lake Agassiz attained a length of about 120 miles from Lake Traverse
north to Ada, Caledonia, and Hillsboro, with a width of 40 to' 50 miles,
occupying thus an area of about 5,000 square miles (PI. XIX). Its depth
at Breckenridge and Wahpeton was approximately 100 feet; at Moorhead
and Fargo, 200 feet; and at Caledonia, 275 feet.

In the earliest part of this extension of the lake its outlet by the River
Warren seems to have been for a short time about 25 feet higher than dur-
ing the later and much longer part of this stage of recession of the ice and
growth of the lake, as is shown by the Milnor beach, a less distinct shore
deposit than the Herman beach and 20 to 25 feet above it, which was
observed near Milnor, N. Dak., and along a distance of about 10 miles thence
northwest to the Sheyenne, but was not recognized farther north nor in
Minnesota. The Sheyenne at the time of formation of the Milnor beach

212 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

had become established in the course which it now has to its debouchure
into Lake Agassiz at the present most southern bend of the river. Its large
delta there brought into the lake was already in progress of deposition dur-
ing the accumulation of the Milnor beach-ridges and partly supplied the
gravel and sand of which they are formed.

But the River Warren quickly cut down its channel to the base of
the earlier Sheyenne deposit of gravel and sand before described, lying
above the present valley of the Bois des Sioux, until it reached the harder
till, and there was stayed during the numerous stages of lacustrine extension
and glacial retreat which are represented by the single Hei'man beach of
this southern portion of the lake. The growth of the great Sheyenne delta
continued, aud the Buffalo delta was probably mostly completed, during
the withdrawal of the ice-sheet to the Fergus Falls moraine and its pause
or readvance by which that moraine was made. Through the same stage,
excepting its very short early portion, represented by the Milnor beach, and
for a long time afterward. Lake Agassiz held its Herman level, changing
only very slightly in this southern area by slow erosion of the outlet, but
experiencing northward a gradual uplifting of its basin, whereby its Her-
man beach, single at the south, becomes double and multiple in proceeding
to the north.

The next stage in the departure of the ice withdrew portions of its
border to the ninth or Leaf Hills moraine (p. 163), which is closely associ-
ated with the Fergus Falls moraine, the two being merged together through
much of their course. Lake Agassiz, therefore, gained only a small exten-
sion of its length and area (PI. XIX). The most notable change was the
formation of a nortliwestern bay of the lake, I'eaching in a reentrant angle
of the ice-sheet to Larimore and McCanna, which received the Elk Valley
delta, deposited by a large glacial river flowing from the depression on
the ice surface where the descending slopes of its Minnesota and Dakota
lobes met.

After these contiguous and partly combined moraines were formed,
the increasing wai'mth of the climate again pushed back the ice border
a long distance, until its retreat was temporarily interrupted at the line
marked by the tenth or Itasca moraine (p. 173). Advancing northward,

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.

MONOGRAPH XXV. PL. XIX.

JULIUS BIEN 8 CO ^

MAP SHOWINGTIffi E)a'ENT OF UKE AGASSIZ AT THE T&KS Oin'^ORMAT10NH)F T^^^

Scale, about 42 luiLea to aiiiitch.
Area of Lake A^assizconteinpoVaiieoiis vitli the Fergus Falls Moraine I I Area added al tlie time ot the Leaf Mills Moraine L

FergiLs Falls (eiglitlL) and Leaf Uills (ninth) Moraines H^l

STAGES OF GROWTH SHOWN BY MORAINES. 213

Lake Agassiz then expanded beyond the limit of the international boun-
dary, reaching probably to Winnipeg and Birds Hill (PL XX). The
entire area of this lake in North Dakota had become uncovered from the
ice, a lobe of which, however, remaining on the Pembina Mountain pla-
teau, closely bordered the shore along a distance of 50 miles south from
the Manitoba line. In northwestern Minnesota the lake washed the base
of ice cliffs that formed its eastern shore, beginning about 40 miles north
of Lake Itasca and running north-northwesterly, as I have supposed, to an
angle of the ice front at Birds Hill, from which a similar long, high coast of
ice appears to have stretched southwestward to the Pembina Mountain in
the vicinity of Thornhill, being the northwestern barrier of the widening
and deepening lake. The water surface was about 290 miles in length,
110 miles in maximum width, and approximately 16,000 square miles in
area; and the depth of water above St. Vincent, Pembina, and Emerson
was about 450 feet, while its maximum above the site of the city of Win-
nipeg was not less than 550 feet. The extent of the portion of the lake in
Manitoba at this time was probably about 3,600 square miles.

Once more the margin of the ice-sheet recedes, and next halts at the
eleventh or Mesabi moraine (p. 177), having relinquished the whole of its
area in North Dakota, but still lingering on a large tract of northern Min-
nesota, from Red Lake and Lake Winnebagoshish eastward to Lake Supe-
rior near the international boundary. The great glacial lake has now
extended north to the south end of Lakes Winnipeg and Manitoba, attain-
ing a length of about 325 miles, a maximum width of 130 miles from the
east end of the south half of Red Lake to Larimore, and an area not far
from 26,000 square miles, of which fully one-third was comprised in Mani-
toba (PI. XX). Its maximum depth, lying over the present mouth of the
Red River, was about 650 feet, and its depth above the south end of Lake
Manitoba was 525 feet, very nearly.

These estimates of depths, it is to be noted, are derived from the
determinations of the height of the shore-lines formed during the highest
Herman stage, with allowance for the known north-northeastward differ-
ential elevation of the basin since the old plane of the lake sm-face was
marked by the waves of storms. This earliest and highest level of Lake

214 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Agassiz (excepting ouly the uuimportant stage recorded by the Milnor
beach) extended north along the Pembina Mountain into Manitoba and
northeast to the south side of Red Lake, being contemporaneous with the
accumulation of the Fergus Falls, Leaf Hills, Itasca, and Mesabi moraines,
so that the single lacustrine plane of the uppermost in the series of the
Herman beaches covered, at its final stage of greatest extent, all of the
lake area to the latest of these moraines, which is the most northern one
that has been definitely traced and mapped across this area.

Yet again, and doubtless many times again, the ice-sheet was com-
pelled to retreat across spaces of varying widths, sturdily resisting the
encroachments of the warmer climate and of its product, the glacially
dammed lake, pausing here and there long enough to heap up moraines,
then shrinking and dissolving away from new tracts strewn with its drift
deposits. When future researches shall enroll the numbers and delineate
the courses of the probably many morainic belts lying still farther north,
it will be 250ssible to show the later stages of the gradual extension of this
lake along the great Cretaceous escarpment and over the great lakes of
Manitoba, across Rainy Lake, the Lake of the Woods, and the Winnipeg
River, over a large region east of Lake Winnipeg, and to some now
unknown distance down the Nelson River.

Step by step, as fast as the ice-sheet waned. Lake Agassiz grew. The
whole lacustrine area, as mapped provisionally for its northern and north-
eastern boimdaries on PI. Ill, was about 110,000 square miles or more,
considerably exceeding the combined areas of the great Laurentian lakes.
Although it was not entirely occupied by Lake Agassiz at any one stage
of its existence, the beaches and terminal moraines indicate that the lake,
during both its earlier and later stages, covered the greater part, probably
three-fourths, of this area.

The chief evidence of such great extension of the lake during the first
half of its history is the observed extent of the higher and earlier Herman
and Norcross beaches, which have been mapped from near Red Lake, Min-
nesota, southward to Lake Traverse, and thence northward thi'ough North
Dakota to Riding and Duck mountains in Manitoba, a distance of about

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.

MONOGRAPH XXV. PL. XX.

JULIUS BIEN a CO I-

MAP SHOWING THE EXTEOT OF I^AIffi .AOASSIZ AT TliK TIMES OF FORMATION OF THE ITASCA AND MESABI MORAINES.

Scale, about 42 miles to an inch.

Area of Lake Agassiz contemporaneous with (lie ItascaMoraine I I Area added at the Ihue of the Mesabi Moraine I I

Itascadeiithlarul iMesahi (eh-'NT-nlhlMoi-iiiueh I I

STAGES OF GEOWTH SHOWK BY MOKAINES. 215

700 miles. Delta sand deposits, brought into Lake Agassiz by the Sas-
katchewan and referable to the Herman, Norcross, and later stages, reach
from near Prince Albert, on the North Saskatchewan, about 40 miles west
of the fork of the North and South branches, through a distance of more
than 100 miles eastward to the head of the Seepanock Channel and the
one hundred and third meridian.^ The descent of the river in this distance
is approximately from 1,275 or 1,300 feet to 950 feet, and the elevation of
the west part of the delta is about 1,350 to 1,400 feet above the sea. As
early as the time of the lower beaches of the Herman series, therefore, the
recession of the ice-sheet had permitted the lake to extend along the whole
front of the Manitoba escarpment to the latitude of the north end of Lake
Winnipeg. The length of Lake Agassiz at that time was 550 miles or
more, and I believe that its average width was not less than 150 miles,
reaching east to the moraine which Mr. J. B. Tyrrell describes as forming
the eastern shores and islands of Lake Winnipeg, with a height of 100 feet
on Black Island.^ This moraine would then have been deposited in water
600 to 700 feet deep, bordering the ice margin; its knolly and irregular
accumulations of drift would not have been subjected to the leveling action
of the lake waves until the further melting of the ice opened avenues of
outflow to Hudson Bay and reduced the glacial lake nearly to the level of
Lake Winnipeg; and the latest change of the northward outlets may have
lowered the water surface so rapidly and to such vertical amount that it
left no distinct marks of erosion or shore-lines on the upper portion of the
moraine.

Before the successive northeastward outlets began to drain Lake Agas-
siz below its channel of southward discharge at Lakes Traverse and Big
Stone, the border of the ice-sheet had been gradually melted back from
Lake Winnipeg doubtless far toward Hudson Bay, and perhaps even its
thick central part, which occupied the basin of Hudson and James bays,
had so far disappeared as to admit the sea there. At a time of halt or read-
vance, interrupting this recession, another terminal moraine appears to have
been accumulated, crossing the Churchill and Nelson rivers, as observed

' Canadian Pacific Railway Report, 1880, pp. 14, 19.

2 " Pleistocene of the Winnipeg Basin," Am. Geologist, Vol. VIII, pp. 19-28, July, 1891.

216 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

by Dr. Robert Bell.^ If tliis belonged to the time of tlie Campbell or
McCauley\alle beaches, as seems most probable, the extent of the lake dur-
mg these later stages of southward outflow was even greater than I have
supposed it to be at the time of the Herman and Norcross beaches, and the
area occupied by Lake Agassiz in its numerous stages much exceeded
that of my map and estimate.

Measui-ed on the maps of this report, the portion of Lake Agassiz
comprised Avithin the limits of Minnesota has an area of apjjroximately
16,000 square miles, and its portion in North Dakota is 6,800 square miles,
very nearly, making together a tract of about 21,800 square miles in the
United States, probably all uncovered from the ice and occupied by the lake
during the time of formation of the Herman series of beaches. Within
the limits of Manitoba and adjacent parts of Saskatchewan and Keewatin
the extent attained by Lake Agassiz during its Herman and Norcross stages
was probably at least 65,000 square miles. Somewhat more than tlu-ee-
quarters of its expanse then was north of the international boundary, for
while the lake expanded northward with the recession of the ice-sheet, the
southern part of the basin was being uplifted and the lake was slowly cut-
ting down its outlet, so that it had already relinquished the margins of its
earliest, area in Minnesota and North Dakota.

During the stages of the lake represented by the Tintah, Campbell,
and McCauleyville beaches, probably its area occupied by water at one
time grew to exceed 100,000 square miles. Its southern portion, however,
was meanwhile diminishing, until at that late time of maximum size of
Lake Agassiz not more than a tenth or perhaps a fifteenth part of its
water surface was in the United States. The decrease was in width, not
in length, for at its maximum stage the outflow was doubtless still to the
south by the River Warren.

EEDUCTION TO THE PRESENT GREAT LAKES OF MANITOBA.

By the melting away of the ice-sheet from the country northeast of
Lake Agassiz this glacial lake at lengih (obtained successive outlets lower
than that through Lakes Traverse and Big Stone and the Mimiesota River.
Owing to the northeastward depression of the ice-laden area, the earliest of

1 Bulletin, G. S. A., Vol. I, pp. 303, 306.

BEACHES OBSBEVED BY ME. TYEEELL. 217

these outlets may have flowed to the east and south, passing along the
margin of the receding ice into Lake Superior, and thence into the Missis-
sippi by the way of the Chicago outlet of the glacial Lake Warren, as
Prof. J. W. Spencer has named the confluent glacial lake which is now
reduced and separated into parts as the five great lakes of the St. Law-
rence. After the glacial melting had proceeded so far as to open the great
area of Hudson and James bays to the entrance of the ocean, Lake Agassiz
was tributary for some time to this .inland sea by outlets higher than the
Nelson River, while the ice-sheet west of Hudson Bay was withdrawing
northward.

Some of the lowest and latest stages of Lake Agassiz during its de-
crease as it was drained away by its northeastern outlets, each in succes-
sion lower than the preceding, are shown by Mr. J. B. Tyrrell's observations
of beaches on Kettle Hill close south of Swan Lake, on the portage
between Lake Winnipegosis and Cedar Lake, and in the vicinity of the
Grand Rapids of the Saskatchewan.^ Between the time of formation of
the Stonewall beach and that of the Niverville beach the surface of Lake
Agassiz was lowered 45 or 50 feet, from a level slightly higher than Lake
Winnipegosis to one slightly lower than Lake Manitoba. The former of
these levels seems to be represented near the .mouth -of the Saskatchewan
by a beach 140 feet above Lake Winnipeg, or 850 feet above the sea; and
the latter becomes apparently double or triple, being represented by three
beach ridges, 95, 90, and 80 feet above Lake Winnipeg. These beaches,
if my correlation as thus stated is coiTCct, are nearly horizontal throughout
their observed extent of nearly 300 miles from south to north, and show
that the diff"erential northward uplift of the basin of Lake Agassiz was
almost completed before the ice barrier was melted back from the area
crossed by the Nelson River.

According to my correlation of the five shore-lines nioted by Mr. Tyr-
rell on Kettle Hill, successively, in descending order, 1,070, 1,015, 995, 955,
and 920 feet above the sea, the highest belongs to the Hillsboro stage«of
Lake Agassiz; the next two to the Emerado stage, there divided because
of northward uplifting of the land; while the lower two are, respectively,

' "Pleistocene of the Winnipeg Basin." Am. Geologist, Vol. A'lII. pp. 19-28, July. 1891.

218 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

the second of the Ojata beaches and the Gladstone beach. This locaHty is
about 235 miles north of the international boundary, being 150 miles north
from the latitude of Gladstone, Arden, and Neepawa, the most northern line
upon which my own explorations supply a comparison of the beaches and
determination of their northward ascent.

At the time of formation of the Hillsboro beach, which had been
already preceded by the three higher Blanchard levels of Lake Agassiz
since it first began to outflow northeastward, the lake surface thus appears
to have been about 140 and 240 feet, respectively, above the southern por-
tions of the present Lakes Manitoba and Winnipeg, and approximately 240
and 360 feet above the northern portions of Lakes Winnipegosis and Win-
nipeg, the northward ascent of the Hillsboro beach being nearly 120 feet
in the 150 miles between Gladstone and Kettle Hill. Lake Agassiz during
this stage stretched south in the Red River Valley about 15 miles beyond
Fargo and Moorhead; and its total length was probably not less than 650
miles, with a maximum width of about 200 miles.

During the formation of the two Emerado beaches the lake on the
latitude of Kettle Hill was about 185 and 165 feet, respectively, above the
northern part of Lake Winnipegosis, to which 118 feet should be added
for its depth above Lake Winnipeg, besides some undetermined amount of
present northeastward ascent of the plane of that lake surface in the dis-
tance of more than a hundred miles to the north end of Lake Winnipeg.
The Emerado level of Lake Agassiz began at the south about 5 miles
north of Moorhead and Fargo, and stretched probably 600 miles to the
north. Its width was little less than that of the Hillsboro stage; but the
northward uplifting of the lower Emerado beach between Gladstone and
Kettle Hill has been only 85 feet.

When the lake held its two Ojata stages and Gladstone stage, the
depth of water above Lake Winnipegosis was, successively, about 140, 125,
and 90 feet; and its extension southward in the Red River Valley was for
the lower Ojata beach to Caledonia, near the mouth of the Goose River,
and for the Gladstone beach to the vicinity of Belmont, N. Dak., about 20
miles south of Grand Forks. The portion of Lake Agassiz extending into
the United States at the Gladstone stage had a length of almost 100 miles;

BEACHES OBSERVED BY MR. TYRRELL. 219

and the total length of the glacial lake, then near the middle of its entire
tiine of northeastward outflow, was more than 500 miles, with probably
one-third as great width in its northern part. ' The amount of upward
tilting toward the north upon the area extending 150 miles from Gladstone
to Kettle Hill since the Grladstone beach was formed has been 40 or 45
feet. About twice as much tilting had occurred there between the times
of formation of the Hillsboro and Gladstone beaches as since the date of
the later one of these shore-lines. Lake Agassiz in its Gladstone stage
had become reduced probably to half of its earlier maximum extent.

Mossy portage, between Lake Winnipegosis and Cedar Lake, is about
60 miles northeast of Kettle Hill; and the Grand Rapids of the Saskatche-
wan, near its mouth, are about 25 miles farther east. Both these localities
are nearly on latitude 53° 10' north, being some 50 miles north of the
latitude of Kettle Hill and 285 miles north of the international boundary.
The summit of the eastern Mossy portage is described by Mr. Tyrrell as a
gi-avel ridge with crest 93 feet above Lake Winnipegosis or 921 feet above
the sea. It is doubtless a beach formed by Lake Agassiz when it stood
here at the level of about 910 feet. Descending southward to Lake Win-
nipegosis, the portage crosses another beach ridge with its crest 27 feet and
its base about 15 feet above this lake, and it is therefore clearly referable
to a level of Lake Agassiz about 845 feet above the sea. These stages of
the glacial lake are quite surely the same which made the Burnside and
Stonewall beaches near the south end of Lake Manitoba and the city of
Winnipeg. An escarpment crossed by the portage midway between these
beacli ridges appears to mark the position of the intermediate Ossowa shore.

The Burnside lake level reached south in the Red River Valley to
Grand Forks, and had an entire length of nearly 500 miles thence to the
latitude of 55° north, with a width from 150 to 175 miles in its northern
half Above the southern end of Lake Winnipeg the depth of Lake Agassiz
at this stage was 150 feet, and above its northern end about 200 feet.

The next lower level of Lake Agassiz, which is recorded by the Ossowa
shore-line, lacked only 15 miles of reaching to Grand Forks, and had almost
as great total length and width as the preceding. Its height above tlie
south ends of Lakes Manitoba and Winnipeg was about 30 and 130 feet,
respectively.

220 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

At the time represented by the Stonewall beach, lying next in descend-
ing order, the surface of Lake Agassiz was 10 to 20 or 25 feet above Lake
Manitoba, 6 to 15 or 20 feet above Lake Winnipegosis, and about 110 and
140 feet, respectively, above the southern and northern ends of Lake Win-
nipeg. It yet extended nearly 40 miles south of the international bound-
ary, to the vicinity of the mouth of Park River.

In receding' from the Stonewall to the Niver-sdlle sta^e Lake Agassiz
sank below Lakes Winnipegosis and Manitoba, which remain as two of the
three large remnants of this vast body of water. On the line of the tram-
way at the Grand Rapids of the Saskatchewan Mr. Tyrrell reports four
beach ridges of gravel and sand, as already noted, at the heights of 850,
805, 800, and 790 feet above the sea. The first is referable to the Stone-
wall stage, and the three others to the Niverville stage, which is here
compound, apparently on account of intermittent northward uplifting of
the country. Mr. Tyrrell informs me that the Niverville beach on Black
Island, in the southern part of Lake Winnipeg, is about 60 feet above the
lake. At the Grand Rapids, 175 miles northwest from Black Island, its
three ridges, in descending order, are 95, 90, and 80 feet above the lake,
showing that there was a northward uplift of 15 feet along this distance
during the Niverville stage, and that since then a further differential tilting-
of about 20 feet has taken place. The southern end of the Niver^^lle
level of Lake Agassiz was near Morris, Manitoba. It failed to reach into
the United States by a distance of about 25 miles, being the first stage of
this glacial lake that lay wholly in British America, and it was the latest
stage held by the ice barrier and recorded by a well-marked shore-line.
Lake Agassiz at this time, as during several preceding stages, reached far
north and northeast of Lake Winnipeg, and up to its latest year it may
have had an area of 20,000 or 30,000 square miles.

Finally the I'etreat of the ice-sheet uncovered the land across Avhich
the Nelson outflows from Lake Winnipeg to Hudson Bay. The existence
of the glacial lake was ended, and this largest of the great lakes of Mani-
toba was added to the number of its present representatives or descend-
ants. Dr. Bell's descriptions of the outlet of Lake Winnipeg and the

THIRTY-ONE SUCCESSIVE SHOKE-LINES. 221

topography of the adjoining country^ show that no barrier of land so high
as the Niverville beach can have been removed there by erosion. The
original level of Lake Winnipeg, due to the height of the land upon which
the Nelson River began to cut its channel in its present course, is doubtless
that of the well-defined beach observed by Hind between the mouths of
the Winnipeg and Red rivers, having "an elevation of 21 feet above the
present level of Lake Winnipeg."^ Traces of this shore-line will probably
be found at nearly the same height around the wliole lake.

SUCCESSIVE SHORE-IilNES OF XiAKE AGASSIZ.

In the southern part of the area of this glacial lake, within 75 miles
northward from its mouth at Lake Traverse, five principal beaches have
been observed, and in their descending order have been named, from
towns in Minnesota near which they are well exhibited, the Herman, Nor-
cross, Tintah, Campbell, and McCauleyville beaches. These shore-lines,
however, when traced farther north, are found to become double or mul-
tiple. The Herman beach in the vicinity of Maple Lake, Minnesota, is
divided into five beaches, four besides the highest having been formed
when the rise of the land, with the slight fall in the level of Lake Agassiz,
amounted, successively, to 8, 15, 30, and 45 feet on the east side of the lake
in that latitude. Still farther to the north, in Manitoba, we find seven
beaches corresponding to the single Herman beach at the southern outlet.
In like manner, the Norcross and Tintah beaches are each represented at
the north by two, and the Campbell and McCauleyville beaches each by
three distinct shore-lines, separated by slight vertical intervals. The north-
ern part of the lake has thus no less than seventeen shore-lines, which were
successively formed from the highest to the lowest during the time of the
southward outflow through Lakes Traverse and Big Stone and the Minne-
sota River to the Mississippi.

After the lake obtained its earliest outlet to the northeast, sinking
below Lake Traverse, it formed fourteen shore-lines. The first three of

' Chapter II, pp. 29 and 62.

° Narrative of the Canadian Eed River Exploring Expedition of 1857, and of the Assiniboine and
Saskatchewan Exploring Expedition of 1858, Vol. 1, p. 122.

222 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

these pass near Blauchard, N. Dak., and thence are denominated the
Blanchard beaches. The next in descending order is the Hillsboro beach,
the succeeding- two are the Emerado beaches, and the two next lower the
Ojata beaches, named similarly from other towns of this State. The
remaining six lower beaches are named from localities in Manitoba. In
the same descending order, they comprise the Gladstone, Burnside, Ossowa,
Stonewall, and Niverville beaches, the last being double. There are thus
in total thirty-one separate shore-lines of this lake in the northern portion
of its area explored by me ; and all of them, excepting the lowest, extend
south of the international boundary.

DEPENDENCE OF THE LAKE EEVEES ON THE EROSION AND

CHANGES OF OUTLETS.

PROGRESS OF EROSION BY THE RIVER WARREN

Through the greater part of the duration of Lake Agassiz its outlet
remained constantly in one position, and the stream of its overflow, named
the River Wai-ren, eroded during that time the remarkable valley, rather to
be described as a trough-like channel, mostly 1 to 2 miles wide and 150
to 230 feet deep, which is now occupied by Lakes Traverse and Big Stone
and the Minnesota River. There is evidence, however, in the terraces of
modified drift along the Minnesota Valley, that in large part its erosion
was efi'ected in preglacial time and during stages of retreat and readvance
of the ice-sheet previous to its final departure, when it was the ban-ier of
this glacial lake.^ The general surface of the moderately undulating diift
sheet, having swells 10 to 25 feet above its hollows, which stretches away
on each side from the top of the bluff's inclosing this valley at Lakes
Traverse and Big Stone, is about 1,100 feet above the sea, and the heights
of these lakes at their low stage of water are, respectively, 970 and 962
feet. Before the retreat of the ice uncovered this .tract, a channel 40 or
50 feet deep probably existed here, nearly or quite continuous, along the
course that was taken by the River Warren in its first discharge from
the incipient Lake Ag-assiz ; for this level, much below the even expanse

' "The Minnesota Valley in the Ice age," Proc, A. A. A. S., Vol. XXXII, for 1883, pp. 213-231.
Geology of Minnesota, Vols. I and II.

EROSION BY THE RIVER WARREN, 223

of cli-ift tlirough which the river flowed, is the height of the Herman beach,
which was the shore of the glacial lake at an early stage and through a
long time ensuing. The somewhat higher Milnor beach appears to have
been due to the temporary barrier interposed at first by the delta gi-avel
and sand of the glacial Sheyenne River, spread wholly across the southern
end of the lake at its beginning. Over this barrier, to the west of the line
between White Rock and Wheaton, the River Warren flowed for a short
time with rapids, speedily cutting it down 20 or 25 feet to the bed of
the previously existing channel along the distance of 50 miles above the
present sites of Lakes Traverse and Big Stone. This channel, whose depth
determined the level of the Herman beach while the lake expanded -with
the recession of the ice-sheet even to southern Manitoba, was, as I believe,
a vestige of a preglacial and possibly interglacial river course not wholly
filled by the drift deposits. Reasons for this belief are sufficiently stated
in the memoir on the Minnesota Valley before referred to, and in the
description of certain remarkable chains of lakes in Martin County, Minn.^

Nearly all the changes in the relative heights of Lake Agassiz and the
basin that held it, by which the Herman beach became fourfold and even
sevenfold in proceeding northward, must be ascribed to epeirogenic uplifting
of the land, with only a very small element of change in the lowering of
the lake level by erosion of its outlet. The southern portion of this shore-
line, as far to the north as the latitude of Moorhead and Fargo, is marked
by a single beach ridge, very definite in form and course, but not massive
in comparison with the present beaches of the ocean or of the great lakes
tributary to the St. Lawrence, the Nelson, and the Mackenzie. While Lake
Agassiz was forming the Herman beach, erosion probably lowered the chan-
nel of the River Warren and the level of the lake 5 or 10 feet. During
the same time a much greater differential northward uplift, presently to be
considered, was in progress.

From the level of the Herman beach to that of the Norcross beach
Lake Agassiz fell somewhat suddenly 15 or 20 feet. As this change of
level affected the southern part of the lake, adjoining its mouth, it is evi-
dent that between the dates of these shore-lines the River Warren eroded

I Geology of Minnesota, Vol. I, 1884, pp. 479-485.

224 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

its bed to thiis additional depth. Thi-ough a comparatively long time, rep-
resented by the Herman beach, this large outflowing river, bearing the
waters supplied by the progressive glacial melting upon a vast area, had
only deepened its channel slightly; but at the close of this stage the divi-
sion between it and the next following Norcross stage, though doubtless
only a short interval of time, was marked by a considerable increase of
depth of the channel. Why was the river able to erode so much faster
then than during the time of formation of the Herman beach, or of the
Norcross beach afterward, which likewise represents a nearly stationary
period in the progress of erosion of the Lake Traverse Valley? The
answer which seems best was suggested to me by Mr. G. K. Gilbert in
a letter dated February 3, 1888, as follows:

* * * Eetreat of the ice modified the geoid, and perhaps produced also a
crustal change, and in consequence the baselevel assumed a new attitude to the land.
The river adjusted its grade to the new conditions, and then remained stationary dur-
ing the formation of the Norcross beach.

The portion of Mr. Gilbert's explanation which we must appeal to is
that atti'ibuting the temporarily rapid erosion to a crustal change, that is, to
an uplifting of the region about the mouth of Lake Agassiz ; and this mieets
the case fully. There was, however, no apparent reason why the region of
Lake Traverse or the Minnesota Valley should be thus intermittently ele-
vated, so far as we can directly compare the change with the process of the
glacial retreat; and to what extent this movement affected the northern
portions of the lake area can only be ascertained by very exact compari-
son of the altitudes of the lowest Hennan and the highest Norcross beaches.

Rhythmic stages of elevation of the country across which the River
Warren flowed, intervening with pauses in the action of the uplifting forces,
are shown in succession by the Norcross beach, to which the erosion from
the level of the lake at the later part of its formation of the Herman beach
was about 20 feet; by the two Tintah beaches, to the first of which there
was further erosion of about 15 feet, and a similar amount more to the sec-
ond; by the Campbell beach, to which again the river still further cut down
its channel 15 or 20 feet; and by the McCauleyville beach, formed by the
lake when its channel of outlet was the bed of Lake Traverse, once more

EHYTHMIC UPLIFTS AND STAGES OF BEST. 225

15 to 20 feet below its preceding level. Each of these beaches records a
comparatively long pause in an uplifting of the land adjoining the mouth
and outlet of Lake Agassiz, which was periodically renewed during brief
stages of somewhat rapid inci*ease of elevation at no less than five times
while Lake Agassiz outflowed southward. The regularity or rhythm in the
sequence of these beaches, and their division by nearly equal vertical inter-
vals, were doubtless produced by rhythmic uplifts, alternating with longer
stages of nearly complete rest.

In total the rise of the country about Lake Traverse appears not to
have exceeded 90 feet during the time of existence of the River Warren,
and probably it was less. This river is not known to have formed alluvial
deposits along its course, building up its bed, but instead was apparently
cutting down its channel throughout the whole extent of the valley now
occupied by Lakes Traverse and Big Stone and the Minnesota River, finally
flowing at Belle Plaine, in the lower part of the Minnesota Valley, proba-
bly 150 feet below the present river and 140 feet below low water in the
Mississippi' at St. Paul.^ A considerable share of the total erosion of 90'
feet from the Herman to the McCauleyville beach is therefore probably
attributable to the descending slope and ordinary downward cutting of the
River Warren, independent of its stages of faster rate when the southern
part of the basin was being elevated. While these five slight uplifts, prob-
ably together not exceeding 90 feet and perhaps no more than 75 or 50
feet, took place at the south, a much larger number of elevatory move-
ments, mostly of similarly small amount, to be presently discussed, raised
the northern part of the lake basin 200 to 300 feet or more, their amount
becoming greater from south to north. The little depths that the River
Warren eroded during the several stationary stages of the southern end of
the lake basin harmonize well with the small volume of the beach deposits
and with the scanty amount of cliff'-cutting and other wave action on the
shores, all attesting the brevity of the time required for the work done.

1 "The Minnesota Valley in the Ice age," Proc, A. A. A. S., Vol. XXXII, for 1883, pp. 227-231.
MON XXV 15

226 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

LATER OUTLETS NORTHEASTWAED.

When the outlet of Lake Agassiz was changed and an avenue of dis-
charge toward the northeast was obtained, the south end of the lake at
first fell only 15 feet below the McCauleyville beach and the bed of Lake
Traverse. Its numerous stages, recorded by the shore-lines of the Avhole
tijne of northeastward outflow, until the retreat of the ice-sheet uncovered
the present course of the Nelson, were in succession each lower than the
preceding by the following amounts, as determined mostly by leveling on
the latitude of Gladstone, Manitoba, 308 miles north of Lake Traverse and
84 miles north of the international boundary: The first, second, and thud
Blauchard beaches, respectively, about 20, 15, and 15 feet; the Hillsboro
beach, 12 or 15 feet; the Emerado beach, about 30 feet; the Ojata beach,
25 feet; the Gladstone beach, 20 feet; the Bumside beach, again 20 feet;
the Ossowa beach, 15 feet; the Stonewall beach, 20 feet; and the Niverville
beach, 45 feet. Thence to the earliest level of Lake Winnipeg there was
again a fall of about 45 feet, and erosion by the Nelson River has since
lowered this lake about 20 feet.

As soon as the ice upon Hudson and James bays and the adjoining
country had so receded as to give to Lake Agassiz an outlet lower than the
River Warren, it began to be drained in that direction, perhaps flowing at
first across the watershed between the Poplar and Severn, and later along
lower courses, including the canoe route by the Hill and Hayes rivers.
Each of its successive outlets was probably eroded to a considerable depth,
being occupied by the outflowing river during the time of formation of two
or more beaches, until the retreat of the southeastern border of the portion
of the ice-sheet remaining west of Hudson Bay finally permitted di-ainage
to take the course of the Nelson, the ice-dammed Lake Agassiz being thus
changed to Lake Winnipeg. The northeastern outflow commenced when
the lake at the latitude of the south end of Lake Winnipeg stood about
1,000 feet above the present sea-level, and it was gradually lowered to 730
feet, when the Nelson, between its successive lakes, began to erode the
shallow channel of the upper part of its course.

Inspection of the series of vertical intervals between the successive
levels of the lake during its northeastern drainage suggests that probably

NORTHEASTWARD OUTLETS. 227

the earliest outlet in that direction was occupied during- the time of the
three Blanchard beaches and the Hillsboro beach, the channel being cut
down about 45 feet. The comparatively large interval above the Emerado
beach may be supposed to imply the transfer of the discharge to a new
outlet; and the series- of smaller intervals separating the next five beaches
may indicate that they all were formed while this channel was being cut
down about 100 feet. Another large fall of the lake, to the Niverville
beach, which is compound in its northern part, would again mark the occu-
pation of a new outlet. This, however, was soon abandoned for the still
lower course of the Nelson. Exact heights of these old river courses,
crossing present lines of Avatershed, and the depths of their erosion, will
doubtless be determined at some future time by exploration and leveling,
though probably not until after many years, on account of the difficulty of
carrying instrumental surveys through that wooded and uninhabited region.

DEPENDEIS^CE OF LAKE LEVELS ON EPEIROGENIC ELEVATION.'

The five or six distinct beaches that were formed by the southern part
of Lake Agassiz during its outflow southward are represented in the north-
ern part of its basin by seventeen separate shore-lines, which are marked
by definite beach ridges. The individual beaches at the south, being
traced northward, become double or triple, and the highest or Hei'man
beach expands into seven successive shore-lines. During the earlier years
of my exploration of this glacial lake I believed that this duplication and
multiplication of the beaches observed in advancing from south to north
was referable to the diminution of the attraction of the ice-sheet as its final
melting progressed. Gravitation of the lake toward the vast mass of the
ice, and its decrease with the glacial recession, I then supposed to be ade-
quate to explain the observed northward ascent of the beaches, amounting
for the highest Herman beach to 5 or 6 inches per mile for its first 50 miles
at the south, but thence increasing northward to 1 foot and 1^ feet per
mile; for the succeeding beaches, of gradually diminishing amount; and for
the McCauleyville beach, the latest formed during the southward outflow,

' For the detinition of this term, proposed by Gilbert, see page 103.

228 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

ranging from 1 inch per mile at the south to about 2^ inches per mile from
the international boundary to the latitude of Gladstone.

With further exploration and study, including the portion of the lake
area examined by me in Manitoba, I became convinced that this explana-
tion is inapplicable to the problem, because the highest beach of the Her-
man series (formed contemporaneously with the six large deltas which were
dependent for their fomiation on the accompanying retreat of the ice-sheet
supplying their sand and gravel) is found to be continuous along an extent
of nearly 250 miles from south to noith, reaching from Lake Traverse at
least to Thornhill, in Manitoba, across an area which has several prominent
moraines of recession, denoting important stages of decrease of the ice-
sheet. These moraines extend to the borders of Lake Agassiz, and the
ice front at the time of then- formation traversed the lake basin. There-
fore, if diminution of the ice-attraction Avere the principal cause of the
changes of the levels of the lake, we should expect the highest beach to
cease at the successive morainic belts, and another somewhat lower to take
its place thence northward.

For aid in the investigation of this and other movements of elevation
of the land following the departure of ice-sheets and the evaporation of
Lake Bonneville, Mr. R. S. Woodward, of the. United States Geological
Sm'vey, made a careful mathematical computation of the effects of such
masses of matter fonnerly existing upon portions of the earth's siu-face to
deform the geoid or level of the water of lakes or the sea.^ His result,
agreeing approximately ^with conclusions from similar computations by
European mathematicians and physicists, shows that the North American
ice-sheet, with its known area and its maximum probable thickness, would
be capable of drawing the level of Lake Agassiz upward to the north not
more than a quarter, or perhaps no more than an eighth or tenth, as much
as the ascent of the Herman beach. It is thus evident that we must look
to some other cause for explanation of these changes of level, and this is
found in a differential uplifting- of the lake basin, increasing in amount
from south to north upon all the area where we have determined the
heights of the beaches.

' U. S. Geol. Survey, Sixth Annual Report, pp. 291-300 ; and Bulletin No. 48, " Ou the form and posi-
tion of the sea-level."

ICE ATTRACTION AND EPEIKOGBNIC MOVEMENTS. 229

The departure of the sheets of land ice which spread drift formations
over the northern part of North America, northwestern Europe, and Pata-
gonia, was in each of these great and widely separated areas attended by
a depression of the land. While each of these ice-sheets was melting
away, the land on which it had lain was somewhat lower than now, and its
coasts were partially submerged by the sea. These are the only extensive
regions of the earth which have lately borne ice-sheets that have now
melted, and it seems* to be a most reasonable- inference that the vast weight
of their burdens of ice was an important element in the causes of their
subsidence. Since the disappearance of their ice-sheets, each of these con-
tinental areas has been uplifted, probably in large measure because of the
withdrawal of the ice-load. . In Europe these epeirogenic movements of
depression and reelevation seem to have been more nearly proportionate to
the volume and extent of tlae ice-sheet than on our continent. Both in
North and South America, other great epeirogenic movements, affecting
large areas which were never glaciated, have been in progress, apparently
during the same time and in close association with the oscillations of the
glaciated regions. In another chapter, treating more fully of the causes of
the changes in level of the beaches of Lake Agassiz, these complex move-
ments of our continent and other parts of the world during the Quaternary
era will be reviewed for the purpose of learning, -if possible, how and why
such subsidences and uplifts of great areas take place.

At present we need only to inquire what were the amounts of depres-
sion of the basin of Lake Agassiz and of contiguous parts of this continent,
since these would affect the history of this lake in its reduction from its
highest level to its lower shore-lines and to Lake Winnipeg; and what was
the manner of the reelevation, whether by regular and continued move-
ment, or by intermitteiit uplifting and stages of repose, and whether the
basin was uplifted.dififerentially as a whole or in successive poi'tions.

Depression of the continent shotvn hy coastal submergence. — Answering the
first part of these inquiries so far as we may by the known extent of oceanic
submergence of the land when it became uncovered from the ice, we have
the testimony of marine fossils in beds overlying the glacial drift, which
show that the country southwest of Hudson and James bays then stood

230 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

300 to 500 feet below its present level; that the Ottawa basin was de-
pressed 400 to 500 feet; the St. Lawrence Valley, about 250 feet at the
mouth of Lake Ontario, at least 560 feet at Montreal, and 375 feet opposite
the Saguenay ; and the country bordering the Gulf of St. Lawrence, about
200 feet at the Bay of Chaleurs, with diminishing- amount thence to the
east and south, ceasing in Nova Scotia and southeastern Massachusetts. In
the Mackenzie basin, evidences of marine submergence since the Glacial
period have not been found; but they are discovered, up to heights of 100
to 300 feet, on the Pacific coast of the di'ift-bearing area. It is probable,
however, that these elevations of marine deposits are not full measurements
of the depression under the ice-load. The nearly complete uplifting of the
basin of Lake Agassiz while the ice-sheet was retreating from it and was
still the barrier of the waning glacial lake proves that the reelevation
closely followed the departure of the ice, and suggests that in the districts of
these marine beds some uplifting may have been done "while the ice above
was becoming thin, but had not wholly disappeared, or at least before its
retreat had opened ways of ingress for the sea.

Depression and reelevation of the hasin of Lake Agassiz shown hy differen-
tially uplifted beaches. — If we next seek a measure of the subsidence of the
basin of Lake Agassiz while it was ice-burdened, no marine beds above
the drift in this district can aid in giving an answer, but we must look
to the known amount of northward uplifting of the once level beaches, and
from this differential elevation it seems well-nigh sure that the maximum
depression which this basin i;nderwent failed to sink its lowest part, the
shallow bed of Lake Winnipeg, to the sea-level. The central and northern
portion of the area of Lake Agassiz, where the great lakes of Manitoba are
now outspread, was depressed apparently 400 or 500 feet, carrying the pres-
ent shores of Lake Winnipeg down to an altitude of only 300 or 200 feet
above the sea; but the bed of this lake, which is less than 100 feet deep,
was still above the ocean. The amount of subsidence here is thus found
to be harmonious with that of other parts of our glaciated area which bor-
dered the oceans and Hudson Bay. As a whole, the ice-enveloped portion
of the continent is seen to have sunk slightly more in its central region than
on its boundaries. The vertical extent of the maximum known depression,

OUTLET TO MACKENZIE EIVER IMPROBABLE. 231

detennined by marine fossils of the Champlain epoch and by the incUned
beaches of this glacial lake, ranged from no subsidence in the greater
part of Nova Scotia to probably 600 feet at Montreal, nearly the same at
Ottawa and about James Bay, approximately 500 feet in Manitoba, none
or little on the Mackenzie, and from 300 to 100 feet, probably decreasing
from north to south, on the shores of the Queen Charlotte Islands and
British Columbia.

Some addition to these figures, but probably nowhere exceeding a
quarter or third more, is required to give the earlier extreme extent of the
subsidence of the ice-weighted land, thus including its rise before the ice
above had wholly melted, or before the sea was admitted to Hudson and
James bays, and to the St. Lawrence, Lake Champlain, and Ottawa val-
leys. But this small added amount was offset in part or entirely by the
effect of gravitation, which raised the levels of the ocean and lakes toward
the ice-sheet. These two causes of changing levels acted in conjunction
in their relationship to the series of shore-lines of Lake Agassiz, and to the
position and course of its outlets after it fell below the channel at Lake
Traverse; but the effect of ice attraction must be deducted from the total,
if we ask the extent of epeirogenic subsidence and reelevation, which there-
fore are probably closely expressed in the figures before stated, having a
maximum of 500 to 600 feet.

ImprohaUe hypothesis of an outlet from Lake Agassiz to the Mackenzie
Eiver.—We may therefore dismiss as untenable the supposition that the
outflow of Lake Agassiz, after falling below Lake Traverse and the Mc-
Cauleyville beach, and being still obstructed from going to Hudson Bay
by the presence of a large remnant of the ice-sheet there, could have
passed for a time across the divide between the Churchill and Athabasca
rivers, thus being discharged into the Mackenzie and the Arctic Ocean.
Such northwestward outflow would have crossed the present watershed
near the Methy portage, or by way of Wollaston or Hatchet Lake, which
has two outlets, one to the Churchill and the other to the Athabasca. The
altitude of tlie summit of the Methy portage, according to Richardson's
observations, with correction for the now better-known heights of Lake
Winnipeg and the Saskatchewan, appears to be about 1,750 feet above the

232 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

sea; and Methy Lake, at the head of a series of lakes and connecting
streams tributary to the Churchill, is about 50 feet lower. According to
Dr. Robert Bell, "there is said to be a continuous watercourse" near this
23ortag-e, passing from the Clearwater, a branch of the Athabasca, into the
Churchill basin ; ^ but its height forbids the inference that the waters of
Lake Agassiz ever outflowed there, for a subsidence of more than 700 feet
would be required to reduce Methy Lake and the divide in its vicinity to
the level of Lake Traverse. Instead, as was stated on page 64, it is my
belief that this channel was the outlet of a lake in the Athabasca basin,
dammed b}' the barrier of the receding ice-sheet on the north and thus
made tributary to Lake Agassiz. The other pass over the watershed, by
the way of Hatchet and Jackfish lakes, situated 300 to 375 miles north-
east of the Methy j^ortage, is probably 1,300 or 1,400 feet above the sea,
and presents nearly equal difficult)' to the hypothesis of an outlet from the
Winnipeg basin to the Mackenzie; but again there is much likelihood that
this course also served, at a later date, as an important avenue of inflow to
Lake Agassiz from the Athabasca glacial lake.

Probable hypothesis of the discharge from the northeastward outlet being
tributary successively to the Mississippi and Hudson rivers. — When the dis-
charge by the River Warren ceased, the new outlet flowed northeastward.
Perhaps, as before stated, it turned back for some time to the south along
the border of the waning ice-sheet, and thus still passed into the Mississippi
by the way of Lakes Superior and Michigan. Stranger yet, tlirough the
effect of subsidence, which greatly modified the conditions of di-ainage in
the Champlain epoch, as pointed out by Mr. Gilbert,^ this overflow, pre-
vented by the ice-barrier from going in the direction of the land slope to
Hvidson Bay, may have been later carried into the Atlantic by the Mohawk
and Hudson rivers; or, at a still later stage, it may have taken its course
past the mouth of Lake Ontario to the sea near the head of the greatly
enlarged Gulf of St. Lawrence, which then filled the St. Lawrence Valley,
the basin of Lake Champlain, and the Ottawa Valley to Allumette Island

' Bulletin, G. S. A., Vol. I, 1890, p. 291.

'"'The History of the Niagara River," Sixth Annual Report of the Commissioners of the State
Reservation at Niagara, for the year 1889, pp. 61-84, with maps (also in the Annual Report of the
Smithsonian Institution, 1890, pp. 231-257).

HYPOTHESIS OF NORTHEASTWARD OUTFLOW. 233

or higher/ Perhaps, last of all, before the glacial recession admitted the
sea to Hudson Bay, this discharge from Lake Agassiz, flowing through a
great glacial lake in the southwestern part of the basin of Hudson and
James bays, would find its lowest and final outlet to the south by the way
of Lakes Abittibi, des Quinae, and Temiscaming, then entering the Ottawa
arm of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It seems even possible that the vicissi-
tudes of the changing courses of drainage produced by the gradual retreat
of the ice may have included for the outflow from Lake Agassiz, after
it began to pass first northeastward, all of these four ultimate routes ; first,
by Chicago to the Mississippi; second, by the glacial Lakes Algonquin,
Lundy, and Iroquois, and the Mohawk and Hudson rivers, to the Atlantic;
third, by the lake portion of this route, and perhaps for some short time by
Lake Nipissing and the Mattawa River, to the head of the Gulf of St. Law-
rence, then filling the St. Lawrence Valley and a part of the Ottawa basin;
and fourth, by Lake Abittibi, crossing the lowest point of the watershed
between James Bay and the St. Lawrence. The known epeirogenic subsi-
dence of the Champlain epoch and the probable manner of recession of
the ice border from south to north make each and all of these courses,
diverting the northeastward outflow to the south, far more probable than
either of the coiu'ses before considered by which this glacial lake might be
supposed to send its overflow to the Mackenzie.

Division of the ice-sheet into parts east and ivest of Hudson Bay. — It seems
to me most probable, however, that long before the complete departure of
the ice-sheet it became melted in twain by the laving action of Lake Agas-
siz and of a great glacial lake in the southwestern and southern part of the
basin of Hudson Bay, and on its other side by the sea washing its ice-cliffs
in Hudson Strait and the northern part of Hudson Bay, so that the latest
general glaciation of our continent was confined to two areas, one east and
the other west of this vast mediterranean sea. Several of the lower shore-
lines of Lake Agassiz, formed during its northeastward drainage, if not
all of them, doubtless mark levels of outlets which flowed into this inland
sea, until the northward recession of the remnant of the ice-sheet on its
west side laid bare the course of the Nelson. Careful collection and study

' Am. Jour. Sci. (3). Vol. XLIX, pp. 1-18, with map, Jan., 1895.

234 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

of observations of the beariugs of glacial striae on all portions of Canada
to the far north, and examination of the lowest points of watersheds as to
their glacial river courses, will l)e the means of displacing these specula-
tions by definite knowledge and proofs of what were the fortunes of the
departing ice-sheet and of the late outlets of this lake.^

Amount of differential elevation between Lake Traverse and Gladstone. —
How the Red River Valley and the lake country of Manitoba were uplifted
from the late glacial or Champlain depression is told by the inclination of
the Lake Agassiz shore-lines. So far as exploration and determination
of the heights of the beaches have extended, including both my own and
Mr. Tyrrell's work, there is found to be a northward ascent of the old lake
levels, greatest in amount along the earlier and higher beaches, and dimin-
ishing almost to horizontality in the latest and lowest. Comparing the
heights of the beaches at or near the mouth of the lake with their heights
about 300 miles to the north, on the latitude of Gladstone, which is near
the northern limit of my observations, it is seen that the epeirogenic uplift-
ing of this part of the lake basin, increasing gradually from south to north,
and the fall of the lake surface, also greatest at the north on account of the
decreasing effect of gravitation toAvard the diminishing and receding ice-
sheet, were together approximately 265 feet in this distance, averaging
nearly 1 foot per mile, after the formation of the second Herman beach,
which is the highest found on that latitude. Of this combined uplift of the
land and fall of the lake, about 80 feet had taken place before the forma-
tion of the Norcross beach; 50 feet more before the upper Tintah beach;
about 45 feet more before the Campbell beach; and again some 25 feet
more before the McCauleyville beach; leaving only 65 feet of the whole
265 feet of changed level to take place after the lake began to outflow
northeastward, and it appears that all but about 20 feet of this remaining
change had been accomplished before the formation of the lowest or Niver-
ville beach. While the ice was departing from the country and still was
the barrier of the lake, this part of its basin was uplifted nearly to its

' Since this paragrapli was written the explorations of Mr. ,J. B. Tyrrell in the region from Lake
Athabasca northeast to the Chesterfield Inlet of Hudson Bay (Geol. Magazine, IV, Vol. I, pp. 394-399,
Sept., 1894) have given much support to this opinion. See also Professor Chamberlin"s map of the
North American ice-sheet, with indications of its centers and currents of outflow, in J. Geikie's Great
Ice Age, third ed., 1894, PI. XIV.

INCLINATION OF BEACHES. 235

present altitude, and the total amount of the differential elevation in this
extent of 300 miles, after subtracting' a quarter part for the probable or
possible effect of ice attraction, was about 200 feet.

Alternate stages of elevation and rest. — The considerable number of defi-
nite additional shore-lines observed in proceeding to the north indicates, like
the stages of erosion by the River Warren between the times of formation
of the beaches near Lake Traverse, that there were periods of compara-
tively rapid uplifting- which alternated with others of repose or of very slow
progress of the general epeirogenic movement. Vertical uplifts of 10 to
20 or 25 feet were many times repeated, and were separated by longer
intervals of rest. But the initiation of these stages of uplift was delayed
until long- after Lake Agassiz began to exist. The ice-sheet had retreated
from Lake Traverse to Manitoba, and three or four conspicuous moraines
of recession had been formed, while the lake level reposed undisturbed
during- the formation of the first and highest beach of the Herman series
and the accumulation of the contemporaneous deltas. Such tardiness in
the beginning- of the elevation of this area, as it is recorded by the inclined
shore-lines, implies, and, indeed, makes it almost certain, that very little
uplifting, if any, had taken place during the time of melting- away of the
ice above. If the restoration of the land to its wonted height had already
begun under the thinned edge of the ice, it would probably have gone
forward more promptly, while the Red River Valley was being gradually
occupied by Lake Agassiz, following- upon the retreat of the ice-front.

Later and greater inclination of beaches along the base of Biding and Duck
mountains. — On the area of 300 miles extent from south to north between
the mouth of the lake and Grladstone, the epeirogenic differential uplift was
mostly done before the times of formation of the Campbell and McCauley-
ville beaches, the last two belonging to the southward outlet; but farther to
the north, within the area at the base of the escarpment of Riding and Duck
mountains, where Mr. Tyrrell has mapped the beaches of this lake and
determined their heights, a very important differential elevation, amounting
to about 3 feet per mile along a distance of 50 miles between Valley and
Duck rivers — that is, between latitudes 51° 15' and 52° north — took place
after the Campbell and McCauley ville beaches were formed, since they are

236 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

thus remarkably changed from their original horizontality. It is clearly
shown here that the uplifting was not uniformly proportionate and regular
for the whole area of Lake Agassiz. The chief movements of elevation of
its southern and central part, as far to the north as Gladstone, seem not to
have extended farther, at least in their full proportion. The district next
to the north along an extent of 120 miles to Pine, Duck, and Swan rivers,
at the north end of Duck Mountain, was perhaps only so far disturbed by
these movements as was necessitated to connect the rise of the country
on the latitude of Gladstone with the continuing condition of maximum
subsidence on the latitude of the lower part of the Saskatchewan and
the north end of Lake Winnipeg. But there ensued in this district, after the
date of the Campbell beach, a great differential elevation, giving to these
late shore-lines two to three times more northward ascent than that of
the Herman beach from Lake Traverse to Gladstone; and the total change
in level of the highest observed beach, probably representing the upper
Norcross stage, situated at Pine River, on latitude 51° 50' to 52° north, is
approximately 400 feet as compared with this shore-line at Lake Traverse,
about 420 miles distant to the south. Nearly the whole uplift of the
northern part of the basin was accomplished, however, while the ice-sheet
was still a ban-ier of the lake, for the Niverville beach at the Grand Rapids
of the Saskatchewan is only slightly higher than on the Red River, 250
miles to the south.

Bevieu' of the epeirogenic uplifting. — After the recession of the ice from
its vicinity, the mouth of Lake Agassiz by the River Warren was uplifted
apparently at least 50 or 75 feet, and perhaps as much as 90 feet, by several
small stages of elevation, separated by comparatively long pauses. Thence
to the latitude of Gladstone, in a distance of 300 miles northward, such
small uplifts, increasing in number and in aggregate vertical amount from
south to north, raised the lake basin in southern Manitoba not less than 200
feet; and, in combination with the fall of the lake level northward, due to
decreasing ice attraction, the change in level was 265 feet. To these figures
we must add the uplift of the Lake Traverse region, which was probably
between 50 and 100 feet, to obtain the total epeirogenic elevation at
Gladstone. Later epeirogenic movements of the same kind raised a more

EEVIEW OF EPBIROGBmO UPLIFTING. 237

northern part of the basin, on the latitude of 52° north, about 400 feet, if
we neglect the fall of the lake level, in comparison with Lake Traverse.
At the same time, or possibly still later, the northern end of the area of
Lake Agassiz and the adjoining portion of the Churchill basin were uplifted
a similar amount. Last of all, when Lake Winnipeg and the Nelson River
had come into existence, the shores of Hudson and James bays were raised
300 to 500 feet from their temporary postglacial marine submergence.

The elevation of the eastern shore-lines of Lake Agassiz, in Minnesota,
exceeded that of the western shores, in North Dakota; and the ratio of this
eastward ascent of the old lake levels to their doubly greater northward
ascent implies that the tilting of this area was from south-southwest to
north-northeast. Again, at the north end of Duck Mountain, the west-to-
east portions of beaches observed by Mr. Tyrrell, between the Swan and
Duck rivers, show a similar eastward ascent, about half as much as the
northward rise along the eastern base of this highland. It thus appears
true of the greater tilting of that northern district also, after the formation
of the Campbell beach, that its maximum ascent was toward the north-
northeast; but, like the elevation between Lake Traverse and Gladstone,
this movement was doubtless of limited extent, so that the country adjoin-
ing Hudson Bay retained nearly or quite its maximum depression until the
somewhat later time ^^•hen the sea was admitted to that basin.

MOIiliUSCAN" FAUKA OF LAKE AGASSIZ.

Fossils have been found in the deposits of Lake Agassiz at two locali-
ties. They are all fresh-water shells of species now living in this district,
occurrinff in beach ridffes where excavations have been made to obtain
sand for masons' use. The Campbell beach, about 6 miles southwest of
Campbell, Minn., at an elevation approximately 985 feet above the sea, has
thus yielded shells of TJnio ellipsis Lea, a common species of the Upper
Mississippi region. In the Gladstone beach, a half mile northeast of Glad-
stone, Manitoba, about 875 feet above the sea and 165 feet above Lake
Winnipeg, four species occur in considerable abundance from 2 to 4 feet
below the surface, namely, Unio luteolus Lamarck, Sph(Brium striatinum

238 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Lara., Sphcerium sulcatum Lam., and (jryrauliis parvus Say. These species
from both locahties were kindly determined hy Prof. R. Ellsworth Call,
who states that Unio luteolus is one of the most widely distributed repre-
sentatives of the genus, its range being from Lake Winnipeg to Texas, east
to New York, and west to Montana. It is generally abundant in Minne-
sota. Both these species of Splicer'mm are reported by Dr. Dawson from
the Lake of the Woods and Pembina River; and the first is the most com-
mon species of its genus in ]\Iinnesota, while its range northward extends
atJeast to Great Playgreen Lake and York Factory, where it has been col-
lected by Dr. Bell. The Campbell beach was formed in the later part of
the time of the lake's southward outflow; and the Grladstone beach belouffs
to the middle portion of the time of its outflow toward the northeast, its
south end being then about 90 miles south of the international boundary.

MEASUREMENTS OF TIME SIIfCE THE GLACIAL PERIOD.

If the question be asked, How many thousand years ago did the reces-
sion of the ice-sheet take place, causing Lake Agassiz to fill the Red Rive*'
Valley and the basin of Lake Winnipeg? a reply is furnished by the com-
putations of Prof. N. H. Winchell,^ that approximately eight thousand years
have elapsed during the erosion of the postglacial gorge of the Mississippi
from Fort Snelling to the Falls of St. Anthony; of Dr. Edmund Andrews,^
that the erosion of the shores of Lake Michigan, and the resulting accumu-
lation of dune sand drifted to the southern end of that lake, can not have
occupied more than seven thousand five hundred years; of Prof. Gr. Fred-
erick Wright,^ that streams tributary to Lake Erie have taken a similar
length of time to cut their valleys and the gorges below their waterfalls;
of Mr. G. K. Gilbert,* that the gorge below Niagara Falls has required only
seven thousand years or less; and of Prof. B. K. Emerson,^ on the rate of

' Geology of Minnesota, Fifth Annual Report, for 1876; and Final Report, Vol. II, pp. 313-341.
Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc, Vol. XXXIV, 1878, pp. 886-801.

-Transactions of the Chicago Academy of Sciences, Vol. II. James C. Southall's Epoch of the
Mammoth and the Apparition of Man upon the Earth, 1878, Chapters XXII and XXIIl.

2 Am. Jour. Sci. (3), Vol. XXI, pp. 120-123, Feb., 1881; The Ice Age in North America, 1889, Chap-
ter XX.

* Proc. A. A. A. S., Vol. XXXV, for 1886, p. 222. " The History of the Niagara River," Sixth An. Rep.
of Commissioners of the State Reservation at Niagara, for 1889, iJp. 61-84.

>• Am. Jour. Sci. (3), Vol. XXXIV, pp. 404, 405, Nov., 1887.

MEASUEEMENTS OP POSTGLACIAL TIME. 239

deposition of modiiied di'ift in the Connecticut Valley at Northampton.
Mass., from which he believes that not more than ten thousand years have
elapsed since the Ice age.

Making- such inquiry also concerning the glaciation of Europe, we
find that in Wales and in Yorkshire, England, the amount of denxxdation of
limestone rocks on which bowlders lie has been regarded by Mr. D. Mack-
intosh as pi'oof that a period of not more than six thoxxsand years has
elapsed siixce the bowlders were left in their positions.^ The vex-tical
extent of this dexiudation, avei'aging about 6 inches, is nearly the same
with that observed in the southwest part of the Province of Quebec by Sir
William Logan and Dr. Robert Bell, where veins of quai'tz marked with
glacial striffi stand oxxt to various heights not exceeding 1 foot above the
weathei'ed sux'face of the inclosing limestone.^

Axiother indication that the final melting of the ice-sheet xxpon British
Amei-ica was separated by oxily a very sho^'t intei'val, geologically speak-
ing-, from the present time is seen in the wonderfxxlly perfect pi-esex'vation
of the glacial striation axxd polishing on the sxxrfaces of the more endui-ing
rocks. Of their character in one noteworthy district Dr. Bell writes as
follows: "On Pox'tland promontoiy, oix the east coast of Hudson's Bay, in
latitxxde 58°, and southward, the high, rocky hills are completely glaciated
and bare. The striae are as fresh-looking as if the ice had left them only
yesterday. When the sxxn bxxrsts xxpon these hills after they have been
wet by the rain, they glitter and shine like the tiixned roofs of the city of
Montx'eal."^ Again, Professor Ma,coxxn Avrites of the red Laurentiaxx gneiss
in the vicinity of Fort Chipewyan, at the west end of Lake Athabasca:
"The I'ocks around the foi't are all smoothed aixd polished by ice action.
When the suxx shines they glistexx like so much glass, and a persoxx walkixxg
upon them is iix constant danger of falliixg."* It seems impossible that
these rock exposures can have so well withstood weathei'ing in the severe
climate of those xxox-therix regioxis longer than a few thousand yeax's at the

'Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc, Vol. XXXIX, X883, iu Proceedings, pp. 67-69. Compare id., Vol. XLII,
X886, pp. 527-539.

-' Bulletin, G. S. A., Vol. I, 1889, p. 306.

3 Bulletin, G. S. A., Vol. I, p. .308.

^Geol. Survey of Canada, Report of Progress, 1875-76, p. 90.

240 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

most; and they even siiggest that remnants of the continental ice-sheet
may have Hngered there considerably later than the time, computed to be
six to eight thousand years ago, when its southern portion retreated.

SHORT DURATION OF LAKE AGASSIZ,

The foregoing measures of time, surprisingly short, whether we com-
pare them on the one hand with the period of authentic human history or
on the other with the long record of geology, carry us back to the date
when the ice-sheet was melting a.way from the- basins of the Upper Mis-
sissippi, of the Red River of the North, and of the Laurentian lakes. If
the postglacial epoch has been so short, we must infer that the final reces-
sion of the ice was very rapid and that its ban-ier between the Red River
Valley and Hudson Bay was soon melted away. Though Lake Agassiz
attained vast areal extent, its duration or extent in time was geologically
brief, as is shown by the small volume of its beach deposits and lacustrine
sediments in comparison with the Pleistocene lakes of the Great Basin
and with the amount of postglacial erosion and deposition on the shores
of the great lakes tributary to the St. Lawrence and Nelson rivers. The
geologic suddenness of the final melting of the ice-sheet, proved by the
brevity of existence of its attendant glacial lakes, presents scarcely less diffi-
culty for explanation of its causes and climatic conditions than the earlier
changes from mild or warm preglacial conditions. to prolonged cold and ice
accumulation.

Comparison with postglacial lakes. — The disappearance of the greater
part of the vast North American ice-sheet probably occupied not more
than two or tlii'ee thousand years ; and half of this time may measure the
duration of Lake Agassiz, with the formation of its beaches marking more
than thirty successive stages in the concurrent subsidence of its surface
and rise of the earth's crust. But even these short estimates may be too
long. The shores of Lake Michigan, similar with those of Lake Agassiz,
in the drift of which they are formed, in their north and south trends, and in
the adjoining dejjths of water, have suffered an amount of erosion by the
lake waves diu-ing postglacial time which very far exceeds the total erosion
that was effected upon the shores of Lake Agassiz during all its stages, the

SHORT DURATION OF LAKE AGASSIZ. 241

proportion between them being surely not less than ten to one ; and Lake
Michigan has a similarly greater amount of beach dejjosits, which upon
a large area about its south end are raised by the wind in conspicuous
dunes. This contrast, indeed, suggests that the duration of Lake Agassiz
and the recession of the ice-sheet from Lake Traverse to the lower part
of the Nelson River may have been included within less than one thousand
years.

Likewise, as Mr. Tyrrell remarks, beach ridges of larger size tnan
those of Lake Agassiz, and composed of coarser shingle, occur on each of
the three great lakes of Manitoba, although these lakes are far smaller than
their glacial predecessor and therefore surely have less powerful waves.

Comparison with Lakes Bonneville and LaJiontan. — During the first high
stage of Lake Bonneville, a fine, laminated, olive-gray clay, which weathers
to a pale-yellow color, was spread throughout all the lower parts of its
basin, ascending also in the shallower bays toward the upper shore-lines.
In two typical deep sections this member of the lacustrine sediments has
an exposed thickness, respectively, of 90 and 100 feet, but its base is not
seen. Again, during the second rise of this lake it deposited a similarly
widespread stratum of light-gray or cream-colored marl or calcareous clay,
weathering nearly white, and passing upward into a fine sand; and typical
sections show that this marl and associated sand range from 20 to 50 feet
or more in thickness. In like manner. Lake Lahontan during its two high-
water periods deposited over all its bed fine marly clays, which in the earlier
flood stage attained a thickness of more than 100 feet, their base not being
exposed by the deepest sections, and in the later stage an average of 60 to
75 feet. These thick sediments occupying the basins of the Pleistocene
lakes of Utah and Nevada indicate, like their great amount of shore ero-
sion and correspondingly massive beach deposits, that the term of existence
of these lakes during each of their high stages, and especially the first, far
exceeded that of Lake Agassiz. No such lacustrine beds are generally
spi-ead over the basin of this glacial lake, which upon large tracts, even of
its lower portion, as on and near the Red River, near the lower Assiniboine
between Poplar Point and Winnipeg, and adjacent to Lake Manitoba, Shoal
Lake, and Lake Winnipeg, consists of till, with frequent bowlders, the
MON XXV 16

242 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

direct product of the ice-sheet, very shghtly changed by its deposition in
the lake, and not covered by any aqueous sediments.

Only where tributaries entered this lake and brought, besides the ordi-
nary alluvium of their erosion, a much larger volume of modified drift from
the melting ice-sheet, were any important lacustrine sediments laid down;
and these appear in the form of extensive deltas of gravel and sand, with
fine silt spread over adjoining parts of the lake bottom. Other inflowing
streams, though in several instances important rivers, as the Red River
itself above Fergus Falls, the Wild Rice River of Minnesota, and the Red
Lake River, formed no noteworthy delta accumulations, which, however,
could not have failed to be conspicuously developed if the lake had long
remained at any of the levels of its many successive shore-lines. The sedi-
ments in Lakes Bonneville and Lahontan were evidently derived in large
part from wave erosion of their shores; but in the case of Lake Agassiz,
though its shores are the easily eroded drift, no appreciable lacustrine beds
were supplied from this source. The duration of Lake Agassiz was very
short in comparison with either of the Pleistocene humid epochs of the
Great Basin and Cordilleran mountain belt.

Brevity of time required for the formation of terminal moraines. — The
shortness of the existence of Lake Agassiz seems, at first thought, to pre-
sent a difficulty in the brevity of the time which would be allowed, if the
glacial lake endured only a thousand years or less, for the accumulation of
the moraines described in the preceding chapter. By the probable ratios
of time deduced from the extent of the upper Herman beach and the
sequence of all the lower and later beaches, we see that the formation of
even the great moraines of the Leaf Hills and of the south side of Devils
Lake could have occupied only a small fraction of the whole duration of
Lake Agassiz, perhaps not more than fifty or even twenty -five years for
amassing these morainic hills 100 to 350 feet high on a belt 3 to 5 miles
wide ! For the Dovre, Fergus Falls, Leaf Hills, and Itasca moraines were
apjDarently formed before the completion of the highest one in the series of
four principal beaches which unite in the Herman beach along" tlie southern
75 miles of Lake Agassiz. But this may be easily accepted when we recall
the rapidity of motion of the thick and wide glaciers of Greenland and

EAPID ACCUMULATION OF MORAINES. 243

Alaska, 30 to 100 feet per clay.' Doubtless the continental ice-sheet moved
faster than the glaciers of the Alps, but the waste from its border by melt-
ing must evidently have been less than the discharge of ice from these
Arctic glaciers where they terminate in the sea and are broken into bergs
and floated away.

The two factors on which the a-ccumulation of the temciinal moraines
depends are the rate of motion of the ice-sheet and the amount of the en-
glacial drift which was thus brought forward to its margin. In the region
of Lakes Benton, Shaokatan, and Hendricks, in southwestern Minnesota, we
have evidence that the drift contained within the ice amounted to a sheet
at least 40 feet thick. ^ As great volume of englacial drift is also indicated
in Manitoba by the relation of the Birds Hill esker to the adjoining sheet of
till.^ The inequalities in the aggregate mass of the drift fonning different
poi"tions of the morainic belts, causing these to rise in great prominence
upon some areas, while in other places they are low and scanty, seem due
to unequal distribution of this drift within the basal part of the ice-sheet.^
It was most abundant in those portions where g'lacial currents had con-
verged between the great lobes of the ice border during the time of maxi-
mum area of this ice-sheet, as from the vicinity of Minneapolis and Lake
Minnetonka northwestward to the Leaf Hills, to Lake Itasca, and to Birds
Hill, and in the country west and northwest of Cooperstown, N. Dak., to
the Washington Lakes, Devils Lake, the Big Butte, Broken Bone Lake, and
to Turtle Mountain. Upon these areas the morainic belts show a close
relationship, not only by their parallelism and the similar positions of

' Helland, iu Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc, Vol. XXXIII, 1877, p. 149. Nature, Dec. 29, 1887. Prestwich's
Geology, Vol. II, 1888, pp. 530-533. Prof. G. F. Wriglit, on the Muir Glacier, Am. .Jour. Sci. (3), Vol.
XXXIII, pp. 1-18, Jan., 1887, and Ice Age iu North America, Chapter III. The dally motion of the cen-
tral portion of the Muir glacier in 1886 was reijorted by Professor Wright, according to a series of
measurements, to he from 40 to 70 feet; hut in 1890, when the front of this glacier had fallen hack a
hsilf mile to two-thirds of a mile from its place four years earlier, more reliable measurements of its
motion by H. F. Reid (National Geographic Magazine, Vol. IV, pp. 19-84) and H. P. Gushing (Am.
Geologist, Vol. VIII, pp. 207-230.) show a maximum of only about 7 feet per day. In 1886 the ice front
projected into the Muir Inlet as a promontory, but in 1890 it was nearly straight. At each date the
length of the ice front was almost 2 miles and its height about 250 feetiabove the water of the inlet,
which is 600 feet deep. See a discussion of ''Recent changes in the Muir glacier," by S. Prentiss
Baldwin, Am. Geologist, Vol. XI, pp. 366-375, June, 1893.

^Geology of Minnesota. Ninth Annual Report, for 1880, pp. 322-326 ; Final Report, Vol. 1, 1884, pp.
603, 604.

^ Chapter IV, pp. 183-187.

■•Bulletiu, G. S. A., Vol. Ill, 1892, pp. 134-148 ; id.. Vol. V, 1894, pp. 71-86. Am. Geologist, Vol. VIII,
pp. 376-385, Dec, 1891 ; id.. Vol. XII, pp. 36-43, July, 1893.

244 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

reentrant angles of the ice border through several stages in its retreat, but
also by remarkably massive accumulations of drift in corresponding por-
tions of the successive moraines. If the average amount of englacial diift
thus supplied by the ice-sheet where its moraines are largest was equal to
a thickness of 40 feet, or even 20 or 10 feet, it will be seen that these
moraines would require, with a steep frontal gradient of the ice due to the
marginal melting and a consequent rate of glacial motion probably several
times faster than that of the Alpine glaciers, only a few decades of years
for their formation.

ALTERlSrATIVE INTERPRETATIOIirS.

By T. C. Chamberlln.

It would be remarkable indeed if in a discussion touching so many
vital phases of glacial history there should not arise some points on which
coworkers entertain different interpretations, even though their fundamental
views be in close harmony. In consideration of the partial responsibility
for this report resting upon the writer of this note, by reason of his official
relations to the investigation upon which it is based, Mr. Upham has gener-
ously urged that a statement of such of our differences of interpretation as
may be thought worthy of note be inserted in the text. The suggestions
here offered in response to this are made with the full recognition of the
fact that the investigator who has made a special study of the region is far
more likely to have reached the correct interpretation than one less inti-
mately familiar with all the facts. Nevertheless, alternative hypotheses
may be worthy of statement.

Mr. Upham's interpretation of the history of Lake Agassiz is based
upon the belief that all its deposits fall within that epoch near the close of
the Glacial period during which the earth's crust was either stationary or
differentially rising at the north. In harmony with this belief, the upper-
most or Herman beach is thought to represent the outline of the lake
during the entire period occupied by the ice in its retreat from the Dovre
moraine, lying close north of Lake Traverse, to the line of the Mesabi
moraine, which crosses northern Minnesota and Manitoba. This retreat

DISCUSSION BY PEOFESSOR CHAMBBRLIN. 245

of the ice involved, as is fully stated, tlie formation of a series of three
prominent terminal moraines, which represent either halts or readvances of
the ice front. The Herman beach overrides these moraines as they come
down into the borders of the lake basin. This clearly indicates that the
completion of the beach formation was subsequent to that of the moraines.
But Mr. Upham thinks that the beach was in process of formation through-
out the whole period occupied by the successive formation of the several
moraines and the intervening retreats of the ice. The descriptions of the
beach, however, clearly indicate that it is not very massive and is unac-
companied by any very considerable erosion. It furthermoi'e appears that
the southern portion is not very notably stronger than the northern portion,
and there is little inherent evidence that it is notably older. The natural,
if not necessary, inference from these facts, under the hypothesis of Mr.
Upham, is that the period occupied by the retreat of the ice and the forma-
tion of the moraines was short, and his inferences with reference to the
mode of the formation of the moraines take forms in harmony with this
conviction. These interpretations embrace some of the most radical phases
of glacial action, and hence the correctness of the conception that the rather
slender Herman beach represents the whole time occupied by the forma-
tion of the several moraines and the intervening retreats of the ice front
becomes a subject of the highest importance.

The present writer ventures to suggest that the whole history of Lake
Agassiz may not have fallen Avithin the period of stationary or rising crustal
movement, but that the early part of it may have taken place during the
latter portion of the period within which the crust was being depressed.
There is no difference of view respecting the former higher elevation of the
crust and a following depression, which was in turn followed by an eleva-
tion. The only question is whether the history of Lake Agassiz fell wholly
within the stationary and rising stages, or partly within the falling stage.
If the early part of the lake's history occurred while the crust was sinking,
the lake would be constantly expanding its borders, and hence its beach-
lines would be progressively buried by the advancing waters. In this
way it may be supposed that shore-lines contemporaneous with the several
moraines and with the stages represented by the inter-morainic till sheets

246 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

were formed, but were obliterated or buried by the advancing waters. It
may be further supposed that this advance continued until. after all the
adjacent moraines in Minnesota and North Dakota were formed, and that
it reached its maximum some little time later; and this may perhaps find
some support in the crustal movements of the Atlantic border regions. In
this way it is easy to understand how the uppermost or Herman beach
might have essentially the same strength in all parts of its length of about
250 miles from south to north, and might ride over the several moraines
with seeming impartiality and without notable variation in character. This
hypothesis also relieves the interpretation of the necessity of supposing- that
the retreat of the ice and the formation of the moraines was especially
rapid. It has the advantage of not being burdened with any hypothesis
at all regarding the rapidity or slowness of the formation of the moraines,
nor with any of the hypotheses necessary to account for the extraordinary
rapidity of morainic formation and glacial retreat which are postulated in
the foregoing pages.

Mr. Upham urges against this hypothesis the formation of the rather
lai'ge sand deltas around the border of the lake, which he thinks were
deposited contemporaneously with the existence of the ice on the adjacent
land, for without the presence of the ice in some cases, he urges, the stream
which produced the deltas could not have existed. It appears to the
present writer, however, that these deltas would have been formed in very
nearly the same way under either hypothesis. The chief difference between
the two hypotheses, so far as deltas are concerned, would lie in a possible
slight variation in the height of the delta surfaces. Under the hypothesis
just suggested, the gi-eater part of the material of the deltas must have
been deposited when the lake stood somewhat lower than its maximum.
The delta summits would not therefore originally have reached to the full
height of the uppermost or Herman beach. However, as the shore con-
tinued to advance, the streams would have continued to build up these
original deltas, and their later deposits, being contemporaneous with the
Herman beach, would have brought the deltas up to an accordant eleva-
tion, or at least would have tended to do so. An exception to this would
perhaps be found in the case of deltas whose rivers became extinct before

RATE OF GLACIAL MOTION. 247

the lake reached its maximum height, accepting the evidence that there
was at least- one such. In this case the summit of the delta would
doubtless be somewhat lower than it would have been if its formation had
been continued until the Herman beach was raised. But even in this case
the shore drift and the wind action that followed would modify the original
form and altitude of the delta, possibly to an extent sufficient to obscure
such limited differences as might distinguish the two hypotheses. It does
not seem, therefore, to the present writer that an argument of a demonstra-
tive nature can be based upon the deltas, because its validity must rest
upon the rather elusive differences in the heights of the deltas, since it
does not appear that it can rest upon the mere existence of the deltas.
Indeed, so far as the magnitude of the deltas is concerned, that hypothesis
which postulates the greater length of time in the formation of the sm-
rounding glacial drift is the more favorable to large deltas, especially to
large deltas of sand as distinguished from deltas of coarser material that
would be the normal result of exceptionally rapid melting.

The present writer does not agree with Mr. Upham in regard to a high
rate of glacial movement, although he formerly entertained much the same
view. A high rate of motion enters into the interpretation of the phe-
nomena under consideration as a factor in the explanation of the supposed
rapid production of the till under Mr. Upham's interpretation. If the
alternative interpretation be adopted, it is relatively immaterial what rate
of motion prevailed.

It is to be observed that a rapid movement of the ice is antagonistic
to a rapid retrea't, because the two are directly opposed to each other.
With given conditions of wastage the slower the ice movement the more
rapid the retreat. A rapid motion, however, would probably be helpful in
the rapid production and transportation of glacial debris, and so it might
shorten the time required to form the till sheets and the moraines.

In respect to the evidence drawn from existing Alaskan glaciers in
support of rapid motion, the present writer regards the measurement first
cited, assigning a rate of 70 feet per day, as untrustworthy. The later
measurement, by Dr. Reid, giving a rate of 7 feet per day, is believed to
be entitled to confidence, but even this rate is a maximum. The average

248 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

of the measured portions of the glacier is much less than 7 feet per day,
and certain mimeasured lateral lobes are nearly stagnant. It is further
to be observed that the Muir glacier is a trunk stream, the jomt product
of the ice streams draining a large area. Moreover, these descend from
mountain heights. They are therefore radically different frqm ice-sheets
which spread out in all directions on plains or jjlateaus.

The evidence cited from Greenland is selective and exceptional ; indeed,
selective and exceptional evidence is about the only class tliat can be cited
from Greenland. No average measurements, nor anything approaching
to average measurements, have been made. The high rates of move-
ment of the Jacobshaven glacier, as given by Helland, and of the Great
Karaiak glacier, as given by Drygalski, and other similar measurements,
are not at all questioned, but these are quite exceptional, and almost as far
as possible from being representative. They exhibit extraordinary move-
ments tln-ough deep, constricted straits, where the ice is forced by the vast
accumulations of great areas in the rear, and where the warm season
appears to exert its earliest and greatest effects. The amounts of ice dis-
charged in the form of bergs from these two glaciers is ver}^ much greater
than from any other known points on the ice front of Greenland. It is
perfectly obvious that the average border of the Greenland ice-sheet does
not move at a rate even distantly approximating that of these two straits.
If it did so, the whole coast of Greenland must be overwhelmed almost
immediately, because the competency of the summer heat of that region to
hold back the edge of the ice by melting- is very slight. Drygalski esti-
mated the annual sm-face melting at 7 feet. Even this is much greater
than the annual surface melting of the Inglefield Gulf region, judged by
that of 1894. While estimates are few, and even these may need much
qualification, it is nevertheless certain that the average movement of that
portion of the border of the Greenland ice-cap which lies upon the land is
extremely small. Of that poition which ends in the sea only a small frac-
tion has a high rate of motion, as is shown by the lack of activity in the
discharge of icebergs. When it is considered that the land border is very
much greater than the sea border, and that of the sea border a portion has

ENGLACIAL DEIFT. 249

a relatively slow movement, it will be evident that the average rate of
movement for the border of the great ice-sheet of Greenland can not be
high; and the average rate of this border is the nearest available analogue
to the border movement of the still more extended periphery of the ancient
American or Laurentian glacier.

The present writer also differs with Mr. Upham in his views respecting
the amount and distribiition of the englacial drift. That considerable debris
is borne in the basal portion of the ice is not questioned; indeed, the term
"englacial drift" was proposed by the present writer in recognition of its
importance. Our best evidence of the amount and distribution of this is
derived from the continental glacier of Greenland. It is there observed
that d(^bris prevails in the lower 50 or 75 feet of the ice-sheet, and occa-
sionally reaches up to 100 feet, or perhaps even 160 feet. The amount of
this debris, if it were let down directly upon the glacier's bottom by melting
in situ, without concentration by the forward motion of the ice, would be
measured by a very few feet, or by a fraction of a foot. The forward
motion of the ice concentrates this at its edge, so that it may there reach,
theoretically, any dimension, entirely without regard to its amount in any
given vertical section of the ice. The thickness of the deposit formed from
the englacial drift is quite as much dependent upon the, length of time dur-
ing which the edge of the ice remains at one line as upon the amount of
drift which the ice may carry in any given vertical section. No safe
inferences from the thickness of deposits of englacial drift can therefore be
drawn with reference to the amount of englacial material present in any
given portion of the glacier. If the ice were absolutely stagnant the
deposit of englacial drift would be precisely that which was held in the ice
above the point of deposit. If there was any forward motion of the
ice while it was being melted away, there would necessarily be a concen-
tration. If there be 1 foot of englacial debris in a given section, and the
ice moves forward 40 feet while the external heat causes a retreat of 1 foot,
the englacial deposit should be 40 feet deep. The thickness of the englacial
drift may therefore be quite as much an expression of prolonged time as of
a large content of debris within the ice.

250 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

The present writer differs with ]\Ir. Upham also in his conception of the
way in which the englacial di^ris becomes at length exposed and deposited.
Instead of rising toward the surface of the glacier, it is believed, on the
basis of observations in Greenland, to pursue a course nearly parallel with
the base, on the whole, and to come out at the extremity of the glacier.
To some slight extent it may become superglacial bv ablation, but onlv to
a limited degree. Consonant with this conception, it is believed that eskers
and similar formations of gravel are essentially subglacial or marginal.

These fundamental con.siderations add to the difficulty which the pres-
ent writer experiences in accepting the idea of the contemporaneity of the
Herman beach with the formation of so many important moraines and of
such massive sheets of till, together with so great a retreat of the ice margin.
This difficulty is enhanced by a comparison of the uppermost beach with
the lower ones, which are correlated with much less important glacial action,
and yet do not seem to be correspondingly inferior in magnitude.

The difficulty is somewhat relieved by the probability that while the
lake was glacier-bound on the north the surface was covered throughout a
large part of the year with ice, and during the rest by bergs and berg-
lets, and that, as a consequence, wind action was reduced to a minimum.
This may possibly be the line of solution of the problem. Mr. Upham,
however, finds but limited evidence of berg deposits. These need not be
great if the englacial debris was of small amount; but if it was large the
protection of the lake surface from wave action by bei'gs should find expres-
sion in very considerable berg deposits.

A further difficulty is presented by the slightness of the cutting down
of the outlet during the period of the Hennan beach. If, however, the
alternative hypothesis is adopted, the trench of 40 or 50 feet existing in
the di'ift plain previous to the formation of the Herman beach should per-
haps be regarded as the work of the outlet dui'ing the earlier part of the
glacial retreat, instead of being referred to preglacial or interglacial, or at
least preretreatal, times. The work done by the outlet and by the ice would
be thus brought more nearly into harmony.

In respect to the lowering of the outlet of Lake Agassiz b}" stages,
instead of steady progress, which has been previously discussed, it appears

LOWERING OF THE OUTLET. 251

to me worthy of sugg-estion that the rhythmical action may be due to a
rhythmical factor inherent in the mode of degradation of the river valley
below the outlet. Whenever the bed of a river is formed of material of
unequal resistance, it is scarcely possible for it to sink its channel by a
uniform downward cutting. If the bed is formed of horizontal strata, and
these have different degrees of resistance, it is almost inevitable that the
stream shall develop an alternation of levels and falls, expressing them-
selves by a succession of slack water and rapids, as is well known. Con-
sidered as a mode of excavation, the process is what miners would call
"stoping." When one of the stopes, in working up the river, reaches any
reservoir or lake that may lie in its course, it promptly lowers it to an
amount corresponding to the depth of the stope. If the bed of the river lies
upon drift, essentially the same mode is followed, but with some variation
in detail. The resistant factor in this case consists of transverse barriers,
such as may be formed by bowlder belts, heavy masses of till, aggregates
of coarse gravel, and similar inequalities of the deposit. These arrest the
down-cutting of the stream for a time and form rapids on their lower sides.
These rapids work away at the barrier in stope fashion. Meanwhile the
stretch of river above removes the less resisting material of its bottom
down to a gradation plane or to an actual base-level with reference to the
barrier. This brings about essentially the same condition of alternating
slack water and i-apids that arises in connection with horizontal strata.
When the barrier is cut through, erosion works rapidly up stream through
the soft material, and if a lake lies in its course there will follow a sudden
lowering. It is not in the nature of the case that a lake drained by a long
river flowing over horizontal beds or over drift should be lowered uniformly.
It does not seem necessary, therefore, to appeal to a series of sudden accel-
erations and halts in a movement of the crust to account for the rhythmical
drainage of Lake Agassiz and of the many other lakes that exhibit like
phenomena, unless there is independent evidence of such movements.

T. C. Chamberlin.

252 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

VOLUME OF WATER RECEIVED ANT) DISCHARGED BY LAKE AGASSIZ.

The present yearly discharge of water by the Nelson River is probably
equal to a depth of 10 to 15 inches upon its entire basin, which is approxi-
mately the same area that sent its di-ainage into Lake Agassiz and thi-oug-h
the River Warren and the later outlets of this lake to the sea. A half or
larger part of the yeai-ly rainfall and snowfall on this basin is returned to
the air by evaporation, leaving the volume stated to be earned into Hudson
Bay by the river. Thi'ough a few weeks in the spring the rapid snow
melting and accompanying rains raise all the streams and lakes which are
the feeders of the Nelson to their flood stage; and, in contrast, many of the
watercom'ses are dry in summer, autumn, and winter, and .the whole river
system is reduced to a small fraction of its previous maximum.

But when the ice-sheet was being melted away and Lake Agassiz
received its drainage, the volume of water annually discharged from this
area was far greater than now. Considering first the rainfall and snowfall
of that time, we must doubtless suppose that they somewhat exceeded their
present amount, while the evaporation was less. It may be estimated, there-
■fore, that the water thus received and discharged by Lake Agassiz each
year was equivalent to a uniform depth of 20 or 30 inches over all its
hydrographic basin.

A still larger tribute was derived from the glacial melting, which in a
thousand years, more or less, dissolved from this area the greater part of an
ice-sheet 2,000 to 6,000 or 8,000 feet thick. The average yearly melting
would therefore be equivalent to an added depth of 3 or 4 feet of water, or
36 to 48 inches, making, with the supply from precipitation, approximately
5 to 7 feet upon all the basin.

It thus appears that the inflow and outflow of Lake Agassiz were five
to eight times more than those of Lake Winnipeg. Instead of a flood dis-
charge during a few weeks in spring, the rapid ice-melting undoubtedly
maintained continuously tlu'ough the warm half of the year a larger out-
flow from Lake Agassiz than the spring stage of the Nelson River; but
during winters, when the glacial melting stopped, the discharge from the

FLUVIAL DEPOSITS, 253

glacial lake, excepting the part due to the capacity of the lake as a reser-
voir, was comparatively small. In the winter Lake Agassiz, becoming at
times mostly frozen over, like the present .great Laurentian lakes, would
be drawn down to a level several feet below its summer height, and the
great outflowing river, as it was during the warm weather, would become
reduced to a stream resembling the lowest stage of the Nelson.

FliUVIAIi DEPOSITS IN THE RED RIVER VALIiEY,

When the bed of Lake Agassiz was gradually uncovered from the
water of the receding lake, some parts of its central plain, tlrirough which
the Red River flows, probably remained as broad, shallow basins of water,
which that river and its tributaries have since filled with their fine clayey
alluvium. The similar clayey silt brought into Lake Agassiz by its delta-
forming affluents, the Buff'alo, Sand Hill, Sheyenne, Pembina, and Assini-
boine rivers, and others farther north, had been spread over large areas of
the lake-bed, but more extensive portions had a surface of till, with no such
lacustrine deposit. Over these formations much alluvium has been laid
down along all the avenues of drainage of the old lake-bed, and it has
filled depressions of the original surface, whether of lacustrine sediments
or of till, being distinguishable from the former only by its containing in
some places shells like those now living in the shallow lakes of the country
adjoining the area of Lake Agassiz, remains of rushes and sedges and peaty
deposits, as of the present marshes of the Red River Valley, and occasional
branches and logs of wood, such as are floated down by streams in their
stages of flood. Thus the occurrence of shells, rushes, and sedges in these
alluvial beds at McCauleyville, Minn., 32 and 45 feet below the surface, or
about 7 and 20 feet below the level of the Red River, of sheets of turf,
many fragments of decaying wood, and a log a foot in diameter at Glyn-
don, Minn., 13 to 35 feet below the surface, and numerous other observa-
tions of vegetation elsewhere along the Red River Valley in these beds,
demonstrate that Lake Agassiz had been di-ained away, and that the valley
was a land surface subject to overflow by the river at its stages of flood.

254 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Avlieu these remains were deposited.^ Even at the present time much of
the area of stratified clay that ahnost continuously forms the central part
of the valley plain is covered by the highest floods, and probably no por-
tion of it is more than 10 feet above the high- water line of the Red River
and its tributaries. The position of the thick beds of fine silt and clay in
the central depression of the Red River Valley shows that they were not
mainly deposited by the waters of Lake Agassiz, which must have spread
them somewhat equally over both the lower and higher parts of the lacus-
trine area, but instead appears to prove that at least their upper and gi-eater
part was brought by the rivers which flowed into this hoUow and along it
northward after the glacial lake was withdrawn.

ASSOCIATED GLACIAI. LAKES.

The review of the history of Lake Agassiz will be completed by bring-
ing into comparison with it the contemporaneous formation of great glacial
lakes on the northern borders of the United States and the adjoining south-
ern edge of Canada, and in its northwestern interior, from the city of Quebec
on the east to the elbows of the South and North Saskatchewan rivers and
to the head streams of the Mackenzie on the west. The glacially dammed
Laiu-entian lakes, and a very large extension of Lake Ontario or Iroquois,
and the later glacial Lake St. Lawrence, east to Quebec, northwest in the
Ottawa Valley, and south in the basin of Lake Champlain and the Hudson
Valley, were quite probabl}-, as before noticed, portions of the avenues of
outflow from Lake Agassiz after it had fallen below the Lake Traverse out-
let and before Hudson and James bays were so far uncovered from the
ice-sheet as to be occupied by the sea and receive the northeastward out-
flow of the Winnipeg and Saskatchewan basin. In Minnesota and South
and North Dakota prophecies -of Lake Agassiz had been given by the earlier
glacial lake of the area now drained by the Blue Earth and Minnesota
rivers, which may be named Lake Minnesota, and by a long and narrow
contemporaneous lake in the James River Valley, which Prof. J. E. Todd

'Geology of Minnesota, Vol. II, pp. 529, 530, 663, 664, 668, and 669. See notes of wells, Chapter
X, in McCauleyville, Wilkin County; Glyndon, Clay County; and Antlover, Polk County, Minn. ; and
in Johnstown, Grand Forks County, and near Grafton, Walsh County, N. Dak.

ASSOCIATED GLACIAL LAKES. 255

has explored and named Lake Dakota. Farther to the northwest the
glacial Lakes Souris and Saskatchewan were tributary to Lake Agassiz, and
had a most interesting history in their changes of outlets and relationship
to the Sheyenne, Pembina, and Assiniboine deltas of this lake. PI. Ill, in
Chapter I, shows on a small scale the position and extent of the glacial
Lakes Minnesota, Dakota, Souris, and Saskatchewan, with their relationship
to Lake Agassiz.

Even beyond the present continental watershed which divides the trib-
utaries of Hudson Bay from those of the Arctic Ocean, glacial lakes cover-
ing large areas now drained to the Mackenzie flowed into Lake Agassiz,
and portions of the courses of their outlets have been discovered. The
recession of the ice-sheet upon all the country from Quebec to the Peace
River pent up vast lakes in front of its steep and high barrier, until the
present lines of drainage along the slopes of the land were opened and the
Glacial and Champlain epochs were ended.

THE LAURENTIAN LAKES.

This term, which is a synonym for the five great lakes, Superior,
Huron, with Greorgian Bay, Michigan, Erie, and Ontario, outflowing by
the River St. Lawrence, may also include the smaller Lake Champlain,
tributary to the St. Lawrence by the River Sorel or Richelieu. During
the earlier stages of the glacial recession many small lakes were formed
along the northern side of the great watershed that separates the Missis-
sippi, Ohio, Susquehanna, Delaware, Hudson, and Connecticut rivers from
the St; Lawrence, with outflows to the south across each principal depres-
sion in the southern rim of the St. Lawrence basin. But at length, as the
ice further retreated, these became merged into a few large glacial lakes,
the precursors of the present great lakes of our northern frontier. Finally
there existed in succession two of these bodies of water, each much larger
than Lake Superior, but smaller than Lake Agassiz, which more especially
claim attention. They have been named by Prof. J. W. Spencer Lake
Warren and Lake Iroquois.^

' Proc. A. A. A. S., Vol. XXXVII, for 1888, pp. 197-199. " The Iroqaois beach : a chapter in the geo-
logical history of Lake Ontario," Trans. Royal Society of Canatla, Vol. VII, sec. 4, 1889, pp. 121-134,
with map; and "The deformation of Iroquois beach and birth of Lake Ontario," Am. Joiir. Sci. (3),
Vol. XL, pp. 443-451, Dec, 1890.

256 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

From the western part of the basin of Lake Superior a glacial lake
oiitflowed to the Mississippi at the lowest point of the present watershed
between the Bois Brul^ and St. Croix rivers, in northwestern Wisconsin.
The bed of the old outlet is 1,070 feet above the sea, or 468 feet above
Lake Superior, and it is bordered by bluffs of di-ift about 75 feet higli,
showing that when the course of outflow began here the West Superior
glacial lake was approximately 550 feet above the present lake level. The
divide in this former watercourse is a swamp, extending several miles in
a valley eroded 75 to 100 feet below the adjoining country, the distance
between its bluffs being mostly about 1 mile, but in the narrowest place
only about 1,000 feet. The highest part of the swamp at the divide is
1,070 feet above the sea, but it has probably been filled 20 or 25 feet since
the lake forsook this mouth, which was thus lowered by erosion to 450 feet,
approximately, above the present Lake Superior. Springs in the swamp,
outflowing partly to the Bois Bruld and partly to the St. Croix, are nearly
60 feet above the long and narrow Upper St. Croix Lake, which is 1,011
feet above the sea. This and the similar but larger Lake St. Croix (low
and high water 667 to 687 feet above the sea, with maximum depth of 25
feet at the stage of low water), tlirough Avhich the river of this name flows
near its mouth, lie in portions of the glacial river com'se which have now
become dammed at the upper lake by the gi'avel and sand deposits of trib-
utaries, and at the lower lake by those of the Mississippi, raising the level
of the mouth of the St. Croix since the departure of the ice reduced the
river to its present size.^

Silts referable to the Western Superior glacial lake are found near
Superior and Duluth, and its delta deposits and shore-lines are traceable
here and there along the northwestern shore of Lake Superior in Minne-
sota, but it may well be doubted whether they extend into Canadian terri-
tory. Before the ice-sheet had retreated so far as to uncover the region
about Port Ai'thur, its departure from Wisconsin and the greater part' of
Micliigan had probably permitted Lake Superior to become confluent with
Lake Michigan, thus forming the glacial Lake Wan-en, with outlet by Chi-
cago to the Des Plaines, Illinois, and Mississippi rivers. Like the beaches

' Geology of Minnesota, Vol. II, pp. 642, 643.

LAKE WARREN. 257

of Lake Agassiz, the shores of the Western Superior lake and of Lake
Warren show tliat the departure of the ice was attended by a northward
uplift of the lan-d.^

Lake Warren was probably contemporaneous with the maximum ex-
tension of Lake Agassiz, and it may have continued until that lake began
to outflow northeastward. It belonged to stages in the departure of the
ice-sheet which appear to have permitted confluent sheets of water to
stretch as a single lake from the western end of the basin of Lake Ontario
over the whole or the greater part of the four higher Laurentian lakes.
During the glacial retreat from Lake Michigan and the western portion
of Lake Erie each of these areas had an outlet to the Mississippi, that of
Lake Michigan crossing the height of land close west of Chicago, only 12
or 15 feet above the lake and approximately 595 feet above the sea, while
the outflow from Lake Erie passed over the lowest point of the watershed
between the Maumee and the Wabash, 770 feet above the present sea-level.
The departure of the ice from the southern peninsula of Michigan, how-
ever, gave to the glacial Lake Erie, with its extension northward over Lake
St. Clair and the southern end of Lake Huron, a lower outlet across the
watershed of the Shiawassee and Grand rivers, allowing the Western Erie
glacial lake to flow into the glacial Lake Michigan or Warren by a pass
whioli is now 729 feet above the sea. Soon after this the further recession
of the ice permitted Lake Warren to extend as one level through connect-
ing straits from Lakes Ontario and Erie to Lake Superior, discharging its
sm-plus waters by the Chicago outlet.

Subsequent stages of the glacial, recession, uncovering an outlet from
the Lake Ontario basin by Rome to the Mohawk and Hudson, and the
history of the Niagara River and of the glacial Lake Ontario or Iroquois,
have been ably discussed by Gilbert.^ On a difl'erent theory, not recog-

'The recent explorations of the ancient elevated shore-lines about Lake Superior and the northern
parts of Lakes Michigan and Huron by Dr. A. C. Lawson and Mr. F. B. Taylor, the earlier work by
Spencer, Gilbert, and others about Georgian Bay and Lakes Erie and Ontario, and the history of the
eight distinct large glacial lakes which successively, and in part contemporaneously, occupied the
basins of these Laurentian hikes, are reviewed by the present writer, with citations of the somewhat
voluminous literature of this subject, in the American Journal of Science (3), Vol. XLIX, pp. 1-18, with
map, Jan., 1895.

-"Changes of level of the Great Lakes,'" in The Forum, Vol. V, pp. 417-428, June, 1888; and
" History of the Niagara River," in Sistli Annual Report of the Commissioners of the State Reserva-
tion at Niagara, for 1889, pp. 61-84, with three maps (also in Smithsonian Annual Report, 1890).

MON XXV 17

258 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

uiziug au ice-shee-t and referring the high ancient beaches of this basin to
marine submergence, the same field has also been elaborately studied by
SjDencer.-' According to the glacial theory held by Gilbert, which seems to
me the true one, while the retiring ice-sheet still rested against the Adiron-
dack Mountains, and thence stretched across the St. Lawrence Valley to
the Laurentide highlands north of Montreal and Quebec, the glacial Lake
Iroquois, outflowing at Rome, formed a well-marked beach which Gilbert
has mapped, with determinations of its height by leveling, from the Niagara
River east to Rome and north to the vicinity of Watertown. The Canadian
portion of this beach, surrounding the western end of Lake Ontario and
running along its northern side to the vicinity of Belleville, has been simi-
larly traced by Spencer. The height of Lake Ontario is 247 feet, and that
of the old outlet crossing the watershed at Rome is 440 feet above the sea-
level. Thence the highest Iroquois beach, in its course adjacent to the
eastern end of Lake Ontario, has a gradual ascent of about 5 feet per mile
along a distance of 55 miles northward to the latitude of Watertown, where
the highest beach is 730 feet above the sea, showing that a differential uplift
of about 290 feet has taken place, in comparison with the Rome outlet.
From Rome westward to Rochester the beach has nearly the same height
with the outlet, but farther westward it descends to 385 feet above the sea
at Lewiston and 363 feet at Hamilton, at the western end of Lake Ontario.
Continuing along the beach north of the lake, the same elevation with the
Rome outlet is reached near Toronto, and thence east-northeastward an
uplift is found, similar to that before noted east of the lake, its amount
near Trenton and Belleville, above Rome, being about 240 feet.

Only two surfaces of former levels, which are supplied by the old
shores of Lakes Warren and Iroquois, conduct us from Chicago to Water-
town and the mouth of Lake Ontario. Between the level of Lake Warren,
at the eastern end of Lake Erie, and the latest level and highest beach of
Lake Iroquois, at the western end of Lake Ontario, while it outflowed at
Rome, there is a vertical fall of approximately 500 feet; and from the latest
in the series of several Iroquois beaches near Watertown, where they

'Papers liefore cited; also Am. Jour. Sci. (3), Vol. XLI, pp. 12-21 and 201-211, with maps, Jan. and
March, 1891.

LAKE IROQUOIS. 259

occupy a vertical range of about 80 feet, the lowest being the last formed,
corresponding to the highest beach at Hamilton, there is a fall of about
400 feet to the St. Lawrence at its outflow from Lake Ontario through the
Thousand Islands. These two levels, and the respective descents of 500
and 400 feet, bring us to the sea-level of the Champlain epoch, or time of
departure of the ice-sheet of the Glacial period, which was the barrier of
these glacial lakes; for fossiliferous marine beds overlying the till extend
inland along the St. Lawrence Valley to Ogdensburg and Brockville, close
below the Thousand Islands and at the same level, within a few feet, as
Lake Ontario. From Lake Warren to the Champlain ocean we thus have
an apparent descent of 900 feet. But the first and third of the levels
which are thus brought into close geographic correlation, namely. Lake
Warren, Lake Iroquois, and the sea, are separated chronologically by the
time of existence of the intermediate Lake Iroquois, and we must seek to
eliminate the changes of levels which occurred within that time.

If the earliest beach of Lake Iroquois had been taken for this com-
parison, there would have been probably about 150 feet more of fall from
the level of Lake Warren at the western end of Lake Ontario, and 80 feet
more of fall from Lake Iroquois to the sea. The 230 feet thus found meas-
ures the differential rise of the area of Lake Ontario during the early part
of the time between the dates of Lake Wan-en and of the sea at Ogdens-
burg. But this differential uplifting meanwhile affected the whole lake
region, extending westward over the area that had been occupied by the
glacial Lake Warren; and it is probable, as shown by the beaches of Lake
Agassiz, ithat the greater part — indeed, nearly all — of the 265 feet of
gradual change in levels between Chicago and the eastern end of Lake
Erie took place during the time of the glacial Lake Iroquois and previous
to the time of the sea-level in the St. Lawrence Valley, with which Chicago
and Lake Warren are compared. There was also a small amount of differ-
ential rise of the Ontario basin during the latter part of the time of the
glacial recession, between the formation of its latest beach with outflow by
Rome to the Mohawk and the complete departm'e of the ice, or more prob-
ably the melting of an avenue tlu'ough the ice-sheet, on the area crossed
by the St. Lawrence, to which the ocean was then extended. To carry

260 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

back our comparison of Chicago and Lake Warren with the sea-level to
the stage of the glacial recession when the Niagara and the Mohawk were
&st uncovered from the ice, we have then to subtract from the 900 feet of
apparent descent an undetermined amount, which probably exceeds 230
feet, and very likely may be .fully 300 feet. The height of the Chicago
outlet above the sea-level at the time of greatest extension of Lake Warren
is thus found to have been about 650 or 600 feet, which differs only slightly
from its present height of 595 feet. Chicago having had nearly the same
elevation as now, we learn from the shore-lines of Lake Warren that the
country adjoining the eastern end of Lake Erie was at that time depressed
more than 200 feet, while the region north of Lake Superior was about 500
feet lower than now. The Rome outlet of Lake Iroquois was at first 50 or
100 feet above the sea-level, and it was uplifted to about 300 feet above
the sea while it continued to be the outlet, and to probably 350 feet, lack-
ing less than 100 feet of its present height, by the time of the extension of
the sea to Ogdensburg and Brockville.

Before proceeding to consider the later great extension of Lake Iro-
quois we may glance rapidly over some of the explanations of the ancient
elevated shore-lines of the Laurentian lakes which have been offered by
successive writers. Mr. Thomas Roy, a civil engineer of Toronto, in a
paper communicated in 1837 by Lyell to the Geological Society of Lon-
don, regarded the body of water that formed the terraces and beach ridges
near Toronto as an immense lake, with surface at one time about 1,000 feet
above the sea, held in on all sides by formerly higher barriers of land.^ But
Lyell during his travels in this country in 1841-42 examined these shore-
lines with Mr. Roy and pronounced them to be of marine origin.^ In 1861
Prof E. J. Chapman attributed the deposition of drift in this lake region to
a marine submergence exceeding 1,500 feet; but he, like all subsequent
observers, was unable to find any marine fossils. The beach ridges he
referred to a very extensive fresh-water lake formed in a later epoch when
the land was uplifted, the lake being supposed to be held in by a greater
elevation of the country between the Adirondacks and the Laurentide high-

' Proceedings Geol. Soc. London, Vol. II, pp. 537, 538.
^Travels in North America, Vol. II, Chapter XX.

THEORIES OF EOY, LYELL, AND OTHERS. 261

lands.^ During- the same year Mr. Sandford Fleming published a detailed
description and map of the Davenport ridge and ten-ace, which are portions
of the highest Iroquois shore-line near Toronto, referring them to the
action of Lake Ontario when it stood "about 170 feet above its present
level." ^ The Gleological Survey of Canada, in its valuable Report of Prog-
ress to 1863, described these "ancient beaches, terraces, and ridges" on
pages 910 to 915, but presented no theory of their origin. In 1877 Mr.
George J. Hinde, in a paper on the glacial and interglacial strata of Scar-
boro Heights and other localities near Toronto, accounted for the drift by
the agency of ice-sheets during two great epochs of glaciation, separated
by a long- interglacial epoch which had a climate nearly like that of the
present time. The Laurentian lakes, at the close of the Glacial period,
according to this author, were much larger than now, as shown by the old
shore-lines; but he is not sure whether their barrier was the receding ice-
sheet or "accumulations of glacial debris which have since been removed."^
The southern high shore-lines of these lakes, in the United States, have
been regarded by Whittlesey, Newberry, Claypole, and Gilbert, as of fresh-
water formation, the lakes having been held higher than now by the ice-
sheet during- its departure; and Spencer and Taylor are the only recent
writers who have examined this region and believe the beaches to be sea
shores.*

None of these writers has studied the question, Wliere was the ice-
sheet latest a barrier across the St. Lawrence Valley? The directions of
glacial strise and transportation of di'ift answer that the ice-sheet in tliis
region during the closing stage of glaciation was thickest upon a belt
crossing the St. Lawrence nearly from east-southeast to west-northwest in

' Canadian Joarnal, new series, Vol. VI, pp. 221-229 and 497, 498.

2 Ibid., Vol. VI, pp. 247-253.

= Canadian Journal, new series, Vol. XV, pp. 388-413.

■•C. Whittlesey, "On the fresh-water glacial drift of the Northwestern States," 1864, pp. 17-22, in
Smithsonian Contributions, Vol. XV. J. S. Newberry, in Report of the Geological Survey of Ohio, Vol.
II, 1874, pp. 50-65, with three maps. E. W. Claypole, "The lake age in Ohio," pp. 42, with foui' mai)s,
in Trans. Geol. Soe. Edinburgh. 1887. G. K. Gilbert and J. W. Spencer, papers before cited.

Since this page was first written, Mr. F. B. Taylor has claimed a marine origin for some of the
ancient beaches about portions of these lakes, and for deltas in the Mohawk Valley ("The highest old
shore-line on Mackinac Island," Am. Jour. Sci. (3), Vol. XLIII, pp. 210-218, March, 1892; "The deltas
of the Mohawk," Am. Geologist, Vol. IX, pp. 344, 345, May, 1892; and later papers in the Am. Geologist,
Vols. XIII-XV, 1894-95).

262 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

the vicinity of Quebec. Thence its currents pushed up the valley by Mon-
treal, and also down the valley, filling the broad estuary of the river to the
gulf; and on that tract, at or below Quebec, doubtless the last remnant of
the ice barrier was melted away, allowing the sea ingress westward to Lake
Champlain, to the mouth of Lake Ontario, and to Allumette Island, in the
Ottawa. Previous to this, while an arm of the sea had been washing
the ice border and thus increasing its speed of retreat in the Gulf of St-.
Lawrence and west toward Quebec, the g-lacial lake's waves on the other
side of the narrowing ice belt in this valley had likewise hastened its
departure. Gradually this lake, which I have named Lake St. Lawrence, i
had extended beyond the basin of Lake Ontario to fill at length the lower
part of the Ottawa basin, probably to the mouth of the Mattawa, and it had
spread eastward around the northern side of the Adirondacks to Lake
Champlain and Montreal, and down the St. Lawrence Valley probably to
Quebec or farther, when the ice dam between it and the sea disappeared.
The glacial Lake St. Lawrence, until this time outflowing to the ocean by
the Hudson River, then ceased to exist; Lake Ontario became a separate
sheet of fresh water; and the sea, at a somewhat lower level than Lake St.
Lawrence had held, stretched to the Thousand Islands, where the St. Law-
rence River, at first only a few miles long and with scarcely perceptible
fall, discharged the outflow of Lake Ontario into the prolonged Gulf of
St. Lawrence.

Another branch of this theme needs to be added, telling the history of
the continuous Hudson and Lake Champlain Valley during the recession
of the ice-sheet, up to the time of this opening of its northern portion to the
ocean. The absence of marine fossils in beds overlying the glacial drift
on the shores of southern New England, Long Island, and New Jersey,
and the watercourses which extend from the terminal moraine on Long
Island southward across the adjacent modified diift plain and continue
beneath the sea-level of the Great South Bay and other bays between the
shore and its bordering long beaches, prove that this coast stood higher
than now when the ice-sheet here extended to its farthest limit. A
measure of this elevation of the seaboard in the vicinity of New York

' Am. Jour. Sci. (3), Vol. XLIX, pp. 1-18, with map, .Tan., 1895.

LAKE HUDSON-CHAMPLAIN. 263

during the Late Glacial or Champlain epoch is supplied, as I believe, by
the shallow submarine channel of the Hudson, which has been traced by
the soundings of the United States Coast Survey from about 12 miles off
Sandy Hook to a distance of about 90 miles southeast from the Hook.^ This
submerged channel, lying between the present mouth of the Hudson and
the very deep submarine fjord of this river, ranges from 10 to 15 fathoms
in depth, with an average width of IJ miles, along its extent of 80 miles,
the depth being measured from the top of its banks, which, with the adja-
cent sea-bed, are covered by 15 to 40 fathoms of water, increasing south-
eastward with the slope of this margin of the continental plateau.

During the whole or a considerable part of the time of the glacial
Lakes L-oquois and St, Lawrence, this area, stretching 100 miles south-
eastward from New York, was ^jrobably a land surface across which the
Hudson flowed with a slight descent to the sea. But northward from
the present mouth of the Hudson the land stood lower than now, and the
amount of its depression, beginning near the city of New York and
increasing from south to north, as shown by ten-aces and deltas of the
glacial Lake Hudson-Champlain, which were formed before this lake
became merged with Lake Iroquois, was nearly 180 feet at West Point,
275 feet at Catskill, and 340 feet at Albany and Schenectady." Farther to
the north, according to measurements by Baron de Geer of the altitudes
of the highest shore marks in the part of the St. Lawrence basin which
was filled l^y the glacial Lake St. Lawrence, formed by the union of the
two preceding, the depression was nearly 657 feet at- St. Albans, Vt; 640
feet on the north side of the Adirondacks, southeast of Moira, N. Y.;
625 feet on Mount Royal, at Montreal; and 718 feet on the hills a few
miles north of the city of Ottawa.^ From these figures, however, both
in the Hudson aul St. Lawrence basins, we must subtract the amount of
descent of the Hudson River, which in its channel outside the present

'A. Lindenkohl, Am. Jour. Soi. (3), Vol. XXIX, pp. 475-480, June, 1885, and Vol. XLI, pp. 489-499,
June, 1891. J. D. Dana, Am. Jour. Sci. (3), Vol. XL, pp. 425-437, Dec, 1890, -witli map reduced from a
chart of the U. S. Coast Survey.

2 J. S. Newberry, Popular Science Monthly, Vol. XIII, pp. 641-660, Oct., 1878. F. J. H. Merrill,
Am. Jour. Sci. (3), Vol. XLI, pp. 460^66, June, 1891. W. M. Davis, Proceedings, Boston Society of
Natural History, Vol. XXV, pp. 318-335, 1891. Warren Upham, Bulletin, G. S. A., Vol. I, 1890, p. 566;
Vol. II, 1891, p. 265.

'Proceedings, Boston Society of Natural History, Vol. XXV, 1802, pp. 454-477, with map.

264 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

harbor of New York may probably have been once 50 or 60 feet in its
length of about 100 miles. Before the time of disappearance of the ice-
barrier at Quebec this descent may have been diminished, or the seaboard
at New York may have sunk so as to bring the shore-line nearly to its
present position ; but the Hudson Valley meanwhile had been uplifted, so
that an outflow from Lake St. Lawrence crossed the low divide, now about
150 feet above the sea, between Lake Champlain and the Hudson. This
is known by the extension of fossiliferous marine deposits along the Lake
Champlain basin nearly to its southern end, while they are wholly wanting
along all the Hudson Valley. Indeed, the outflowing river from Lake St.
Lawrence or the Hudson during the subsequent postglacial epoch chan-
neled the lower part of this valley to a depth of about 100 feet below the
present sea-level, proving that the land there, as Merrill points out, stood
so much higher than now during some time after the ice retreated.

When Lake Iroquois ceased to outflow at Rome, and after intervening
stages of outlets existing for a shoi't time at successively lower levels north
of the Adirondacks began to occupy the Lake Champlain basin, outflowing
thence to the Hudson, its surface fell by these stages about 250 feet to the
glacial Lake Hudson-Champlain, which had doubtless reached northward
along the whole length of the Champlain basin. The level of the resulting
Lake St. Lawrence at the later time of ingress of the sea past Quebec fell
probably 50 feet or less to the sea-level. During these changes the out-
flow of Lake Agassiz may have passed in the ways before described to
the sea through the Hudson, and afterward to the enlarged Gulf of St.
Lawrence, if the sea had not previously come into Hudson Bay.

LAKE MINNESOTA.

Before Lake Agassiz commenced to exist, the receding Minnesota and
Dakota lobes of the ice-sheet had each given place to a large lake on the
central part of the area from which they withdrew. By the bamer of
the Minnesota ice-lobe a lake having an elevation of about 1,150 feet
above the sea was formed in southern Minnesota, in the basin of the
Blue Earth and Minnesota rivers, outflowing southward by way of Union
Slough to the East Fork of the Des Moines. In its maximum extent this
lake probably had a length of 160 miles, from AVaseca to Big Stone Lake,

LAKE MINNESOTA. 265

with a width of 40 miles in Blue Earth and Faribault counties, attaining-
an area of more than 3,000 square miles. The continued glacial recession
afterward opened lower outlets eastward to the Cannon River, and at the
time of the Waconia moraine had uncovered the lower part of the Minne-
sota Valley, permitting the lake to be wholly drained northeastward to the
Mississij^pi. ^ Its existence was thus ended previous to the beginning of
Lake Agassiz, which dates from the next ensuing Dovre moraine.

The modified drift from the retreating ice on the upper Minnesota basin
was deposited along the lower half of this valley, filling it with stratified
graved, sand, and clay to a depth 75 to 150 feet above the present river
from New Ulm to its mouth, which shows that at least this portion of the
valley had nearly its present form at the time of final recession of the ice-
sheet. It seems also probable that the upper part of the channel above
New Ulm, occupied by the River Warren at the time of the Herman
beaches, was already a distinctly marked topographic feature when the
ice retreated, so that the first outflow from Lake Agassiz took its course
at a level some 50 feet below the general surface adjoining Lakes Traverse
and Big Stone and Browns Valley.^ As long as streams poured into this
valley directly from the melting ice-sheet, its modified drift, gathered from
the ice in which it had beeu held, continued to increase in depth; but
when the ice had retreated beyond the limits of the Minnesota basin, the
water discharged here from Lake Agassiz brought no modified drift, and was
consequently a most powerful eroding agent. By this River Warren the
valley drift, so recently deposited, was mostly swept away, and the channel
was excavated to a depth much lower than the present river. But since
Lake Agassiz began to outflow northeastward, the Minnesota Valley and
that of the Mississippi below, carrying only a small fraction of their former
volume of water, have become considerabl}^ filled by alluvial gi-avel, sand,
clay, and silt, which have been brought in by tributaries, being spread for
the most part somewhat evenly along these valleys by their floods.^

'Geology of Minnesota, Vol. I, pp. 460,622,642.

'Compare with Geology of Minnesota, Vol. I, pp. 479-485, rlescribing the chains of lakes in
Martin County, Minn., which are apparently due to preglacial or interglacial watercourses that were
not wholly filled with drift. Several such chains of lakes are also found in the vicinity of Eokelson,
N. Dak. (Chapter IV, p. 144).

3"The Minnesota Valley in the Ice age," Proc. A. A. A.S., Vol. XXXII, for 1883, pp. 213-231; also
in Am. Jour. Sei. (3), Vol. XXVII, Jan. and Feb., 1884.

266 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

LAKE DAKOTA.

Prof. J. E. Todd supplies me the approximate outline of a lake named
by him Lake Dakota, which occupied the valley of the James or Dakota
River contemporaneously with the foregoing, reaching from Mitchell 170
miles north to Oakes and varying from 10 to 30 miles in width.^ It out-
flowed southward by the present course of the James to the Missoui'i. The
Dakota ice-lobe, which had filled this valley and in its recession formed the
northern shore of Lake Dakota, was not therefore the cause of this lake in
the same way that the 'lake in the Blue Earth and ]\Iinnesota basin and
Lake Agassiz owed their existence to the barrier of the ice-sheet in its
retreat. The bed of Lake Dakota has a nearly uniform elevation of 1,300
feet, or is within 10 feet below or above this, throughout its length; and
during the glacial recession it was covered by a lake whose shores have
now a height of about 1,300 to 1,350 feet, probably ascending slightly from
south to north as compared with the present sea-level. Professor Todd
states that the surface of this lacustrine area in its southern part, from
Mitchell to Redfield, is nearly flat till, but thence northward is sand and
loess-like silt, while considerable tracts of the eastern border of its north
part consist of low dunes.

The outflowing James River was cutting down its channel during the
retreat of the ice-lobe, and its erosion was so rapid as to prevent the north-
ern part of Lake Dakota from retaining suflicient depth to outflow eastward
into the south end of Lake Agassiz when the way was opened by the far-
ther departure of the ice, receding from the Head of the Coteau des Prai-
ries and beginning to uncover the Red River Valley. A large tract of the
sand and silt beds of Lake Dakota, and of a contiguous glacial lake formed
in Sargent County, N. Dak., at the time of the Dovre moraine (p. 148),
now sends its drainage to the Red River by the head stream of the Wild
Rice, which passes north of the Head of the Coteau and enters the area of
Lake Agassiz near Wyndmere. The lowest portion of the watershed on
this lacustrine deposit, over which the James River would flow east to the
Wild Rice River, is scarcely 10 feet above the general level of the James
Valley, or 25 feet above the present level of the James River, being at

•This lake is partially mapped by Prof. Todd in Proc. A. A. A. Si, Vol. XXXUI, 1884, p. 393.

LAKE DAKOTA. 267

Amherst, on the Aberdeen branch of the Grreat Northern Railway, 1,312
feet above the sea. The elevation of the upper portion of the lake beds in
the vicinity of Oakes, and the lack of evidence that the lake waves have
acted at any greater height upon the adjoining surfaces of undulating till
and morainic hills, lead to the conclusion that the highest shore-line of the
north end of Lake Dakota is not morjC than 1,345 feet above the sea, show-
ing that there was only a shallow expanse of water above the plain of
lacustrine silt. On the north the depth of the channel of the inflowing
James River, eroded apparently before the glacial retreat could permit an
eastward outlet into Lake Agassiz, indicates that the surfaces of land and
water in the James Valley had gained nearly their present relations, Lake
Dakota being already drained away, when the Wild Rice River and the
south end of the Red River Valley were uncovered by the recession of
the ice-sheet. It is evident, therefore, that the long area of Lake Dakota
has experienced only slight differential changes of level, at least in the
direction from south to north, since the departure of the ice. The James
River Valley is thus strongly contrasted with the northward uplifting, that
has affected the Red River Valley, as shown by the beaches of Lake
Agassiz, the highest of which rises from south to north about 6 inches per
mile for 30 or 40 miles at its south end, but a foot or more per mile within
40 miles farther north, and, indeed, has an average northward ascent of
about 1 foot per mile through an extent of 400 miles along the west side
of this lake in North Dakota and Manitoba.

LAKE SOURIS.

As Lake Agassiz gradually extended to the north, following the reced-
ing ice barrier, it received successively by three outlets the drainage of the
glacial lakes of the Saskatchewan and Souris basins. These streams took
the course of the Sheyenne, Pembina, and Assiniboine rivers, each bring-
ing an extensive delta deposit. With the first retreat of the ice from the
Missouri Coteau a glacial lake began to exist in the valley of the South
Saskatchewan in the vicinity of the elbow, probably outflowing at an early
time by the way of Moose Jaw Creek, and through a glacial lake in the
upper Souris basin, to the Missouri near Fort Stevenson. Later the out-,
flow from the Lake Saskatchewan may have passed to the Lake Souris by

268 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

way of the Wascana River, after passing tlu-ough a glacial lake which
probably extended from Regina 60 miles to the west in the upper Qu'Ap-
pelle basin. When the Dakota ice-lobe was melted back to the vicinity
of Devils Lake the drainage of Lake Souris passed southeast by the Big
Coulee, one of the head streams of the Sheyenne, flowing thence for some
time southward by the James River to Lake Dakota, but later eastward
and southward by the Sheyenne into Lake Agassiz. A manuscript report
of a reconnoissance in North Dakota by Maj. W. J. Twining, in 1869,
describes the valley of the Big Coulee as 125 feet deep and a third of a
mile wide, inclosing several shallow lakes along its course. " This great
valley," he writes, "preserves its character to within 12 miles of the Mouse
River, and connects through the clay and sand ridge with the open valley
of that stream."

The glacial Lake Souris (PI. XXI) occupied the basin of the Souris or
Mouse River from the most southern portion of this river's looj) in North
Dakota to its elbow in Manitoba, where it turns sharply northward and
passes through the Tiger Hills. North of the Somis basin an ai-m of this
lake extended along the Assiniboine from Griswold and Oak Lake to
some distance above the mouth of the Qu'Appelle; and the main body of
the lake was deeply indented on the east by the high oval area of Turtle
Mountain, an outlier of the lignite-bearing Laramie formation, which is
well developed on the upper part of the Souris River and forms, with over-
lying drift deposits, the massive terrace of the Coteau du Missom-i on the
west. The length of Lake Souris was about 170 miles, from latitude 48°
to latitude 50° 35', and its maximum width, north of Turtle Mountain, was
nearly 70 miles.

Until the ice-sheet west of Lake Agassiz had receded so far as to
uncover Turtle Mountain, the glacial lake in the Souris basin continued to
outflow by the Sheyenne and build up its delta. Next its outflow passed
north of Turtle Mountain by the Pembina, perhaps after taking for a brief
time the course of the Badger Creek, Lac des Roches, and the Mauvaise
Coulde to Devils Lake and the Sheyenne. The channel of outlet by
the Pembina, extending about 110 miles from the elbow of the Souris to the
Pembina delta of Lake Agassiz, is eroded 100 to 300 feet in depth, proba-
bly averaging 175 feet, along the greater part of its course, but it is from

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.

MONOGRAPH XXV. PL. XXI

s BitN a Co ^

Lake Ai'eas

MAP t)F THE GLACIAL LAKK SOUKIS.

Scale, 20 iiiilos lo an incli .

Delias I J Moi-aincs

.■lltiuides of Railway stiuions are noted in feet ahove the sen

LAKE SOUEIS.

269

300 to 450 feet deep, probably averaging 350 feet, along its last 25 miles.
It is cut tlu'ough the plateau of Fort Pierre shale that reaches westward
from the Pembina, Mountain escarpment. Outside of this valley the shale
is overlain by only a thin sheet of till, which varies generally from 10 to
30 or 40 feet in thickness; but the valley itself contains a considerably
greater depth of till. From Lakes Lome and Louise to its delta the Pem-
bina probably flows in its preglacial course, where its old valley became
partly filled with till, during the Glacial period. The topographic features
of this valley will be more fully shown by the following notes of approxi-
mate elevations referred to the sea-level, those of the first column being
in the bottom of the valley, and those of the second along the top of its
blixfi^s at the general level of the adjoining country.

Eleriations along the Pembina Valle;/ (outlet of Lake Souris).

Locality.

Distance

in miles

from tbe

elbow

of the

Souris.

Feet above
the sea for
bottom of
the valley
and surface
of water in
rivers and
lakes.

Feet above
the sea for
tipp of the
bluffs in-
closing the
valley.

Elbow of the Sonris, in a valley that has been eroded about 100 feet by the present
river iiowiug to the Assiniboine since the glacial Lake Souris ceased to outflow to
the Pembina by Langs Valley

Divide in Langs Valley, near the line between sections 31 and 32, township 5, range 17,
Manitoba, separating Langs Creek, flowing west to the Souris, and Duulops Creek,
flowing east to the Pembina, determined by railway survey

Bone Lake, 3 miles long and a half mile wide

Grass Lake

Pelican Lake, 10 miles long and about a mile wide, mostly 10 to 15 feet deep, but in its
deepest portions about 20 feet, rising 3 feet between its lowest and highest stages. .

Junction of outlet of Pelican Lake with the Pembina -

Lake Lome; area, about 1 mile square; maximum depth, about 8 feet

Lake Louise, of nearly the same area and maximum depth

Mouth of Badger Creek :

Rock Lake, 8 miles long and one-half to 1 mile wide; maximum depth, 10 feet'

Mouth of Clearwater River

At the Marringhurst bridge, on the north line of section 16, township 3, range 12,
Manitoba

Swan Lake, 5 miles long and 1 mile wide ; maximum depth, probably about 10 feet

At La Riviere, determined by railway survey

At crossing of the boundary commission road^

At crossing of tbe old Missouri trail

At the Mowbray bridge, on tbe line between sections 21 and 22, township 1, range 8,
Manitoba

On tbe international boundary

At the fish trap, section 30, township 163, range 57, North Dakota, 2 miles west of the
Pembina Mountain escarpment and 7 miles west of Walhalla

4
5- 8
10-11

11-21
22J

23-24

25-26
27

30-38
40

42
50-55
67
75
80

85
100

1,364
1,357
1,355

1,355
1,348
1,346
1,345
1.343
1,335
1,332

1,330
1,310
1,287
1,265
1,250

1,235
1,125

1,475
1,480
1,485

1, 485-1, 510
1.510
1,510
1,510
1,510

1, 510-1, 550
1,525

1,480
1,500
1,550
1,550
1,545

1,540
1,540

1, 400-1, 500

'Glenora prairie, north of Rock Lake, a slightly undulating exp.anse of modified drift, stratified gravel, and sand,
extending 6 miles from west to east and 2 to 3 miles wide, has an elevation of 1,510 to 1,500 feet, descending eastward with
tlie valley.

2 Dr. George M. Dawson notes a wide terrace here, in some places thickly strewn with bowlders, on the southwestern
side of the river and about 200 feet above it; and he refers its origin to preglacial erosion of the valley.

270 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

At the Mowbray bridge the bottom land is about an eighth of a mile
wide and 10 feet above the river. About 40 feet higher is a naiTow terrace
of modified drift, an eighth to a fourth of a mile wide, reaching along the
southern side of the river for li miles to the east, and also well shown in
many places on each side of the river for 6 miles or more both to the west
and east; but along much of this distance one or both sides of the valley
slope gradually from 100 or 75 feet above the river to the bottom land. The
higher portions of the sides or bluffs of the valley have steep slopes, rarely
interrupted by terraces. But a remarkably broad ten-ace or plateau, evi-
dently formed during the preglacial or interglacial erosion of this valley,
extends on its southern side 3 miles to the east from tlie IMowbraj^ bridge
and road, with a maximum width of about IJ miles, and an elevation of
1,450 to 1,425 feet above the sea, or about 200 feet above the river. A
lakelet half a mile long from east to west lies on the southern part of this
plateau at the foot of the bluff that rises thence about 100 feet to the
general level of the adjoining country. All the way for 25 miles from this
bridge to the Pembina delta, especially in the vicinity of the fish trap, tlie
river flows in a very picturesque valley, Avhose sides, rising steeply 300 to
450 feet, are roughly seamed and cleft by tributary ravines and gorges,
with here and there hills and small plateaus that have been left isolated by
the process of erosion. This valley has fi-equent exposures of the Fort
Pierre shales, which also, within a half mile to 1 mile back from the river,
form the high plateau tlu'ough which the river has cut its way The nar-
rowness and depth of the partially di-ift-filled valley indicate that its area
of drainage was no greater in preglacial time than now.

The mouth of Lake Souris where it first outflowed to Lake Agassiz by
the Big Coulee and the Sheyenne was approximately 1,600 to 1,500 feet
above the present sea-level, being gradually cut down about 100 feet by
the stream. But, on account of subsequent changes which are known to
have taken place in the relative elevation of the land and water surfaces in
this district, the shore-line of the northern part of the lake at the end of its
time of outflow to the Sheyenne would now have an elevation of about
1,600 feet at Langs Vallej^ Therefore, when its channel of discharge was
transferred to the new course by Pelican Lake and along the Pembina, the

LAKE SOUEIS AND LANGS VALLBT. 271

Lake Souris was suddenly lowered about 125 feet to the level of the top
of the bluffs of Langs Valle}^, and a further lowering of 110 feet was after-
ward effected by the gradual erosion of this valley. The lake was wholly
drained by this outlet, for the general level of the land adjoining the Souris
in the ^dcinity of the mouth of Plum Creek, which is the lowest portion of
the lake bed, is about 20 feet above the present divide in Langs Valley.
Since the waters of the Souris ceased to flow along this course, the sedi-
ments of gravel and sand brought by tributaries have filled portions of the
Pembina Valley 10 to 20 feet, forming the bamers of its shallow lakes;
and the divide in Langs Valley has been raised probably 10 feet by the
deposits of Dunlops Creek.

The ice-sheet was forming its moraine of the west part of the Tiger
Hills, and of the Brandon and Arrow hills, when Lake Souris began to out-
flow by the course of Langs Valley and the Pembina. The extent of Lake
Souris was then from the northern part of North Dakota along the Souris
and Assiniboine to the lower Qu'Appelle; and the Saskatchewan outflow
by its erosion of the Qu'Appelle Valley brought into this lake extensive
delta deposits of gravel and sand, which, with similar beds of modified drift
brought into it from the melting ice-sheet that was its northeastern ban'ier,
reach from the vicinity of Fort Ellice southeast to Oak Lake and Plum
Creek.

After the erosion of Langs Valley had lowered the Lake Som-is below
the level (about 1,390 feet) at which its outflow could pass instead to the
north and northeast by the way of Oak Lake and the Assiniboine, the ice
was withdrawn to the north side of the Assiniboine Valley east of Oak
Lake, and the deposition of the g^eat Assiniboine delta of Lake Agassiz
ensued. A width of onlv 3 miles of the morainic belt of the Tiger Hills,
extending along the north side of Langs Valley and the elbow of the
Souris, intervened between that stream and an expanse of till whose surface
is lower than the bottom of Langs Valley and descends with northeastward
slope to the Assiniboine. The crest of this moraine rises about 200 feet
above Langs Valley, but it had probably been cut through nearly or quite
to the level of that valley by drainage southward from a small lake formed
between the moraine and the receding ice within the angle between the

272 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

east-to-west range of the Tiger Hills and the noi'th- to-south range of
the Brandon Hills. With the withdrawal of the ice front across the Assini-
boine this gap through the moraine was soon channeled deeper, and the
Soui'is turned northward at its elbow, leaving its old channel of Langs
Valley and flowing- with more rapid descent to the Assiniboine in its pres-
ent course. The gap has been since ei'oded to a total depth of 350 feet;
and thence northward the Soiiris has cut a channel about 140 feet deep,
chiefly in till, which forms steep blufl's that in many places are now being
undermined by the stream. Erosion along this part of the Soui-is is still
proceeding rapidly, and the valley has a very new appearance.

LAKE SASKATCHEWAN.

Through the whole period of the existence of Lake Souris, which at
first outflowed to the Missouri and afterward to Lake Agassiz, the glacial
lake in the basin of the South Saskatchewan, doubtless also at last including
the North Saskatchewan, was tributary to it, and the outlet of this Lake
Saskatchewan was transferred to lower courses as the border of the ice-
sheet receded from southwest to northeast. When the upper part of the
QuAppelle became uncovered, but its lower portion remained enveloped
by the ice, the Saskatchewan outflow probably passed to Lake Souris suc-
cessively by the Moose Jaw Creek and the upper Souris, by the Wascana
and the Moose Mountain Creek, and by the Summerberry and Pipestone
creeks. Finally the whole length of the Qu'Appelle was uncovered, and
the great glacial river from Lake Saskatchewan flowed along the course of
this valley, which is similar to that of the Pembina in its width and depth
and the numerous lakes along its bottom. At first this river crossed the
divide between the River that Turns and the head of the Qu'Appelle,
where it eroded a trough-like channel like that of Browns and Langs
valleys; but later it probably found a lower outlet .farther north, flowing
southward to the Qu'Appelle through the valley of Long or Last Mountain
Lake.

The following table, compiled from Hind's report of the Assiniboine
and Saskatchewan exploring expedition, brings into view the remarkable
topographic features of the Qu'Appelle Valley, and shows the lengths and

LAKE SASKATCHEWAN.

273

maximiim depths of the lakes through which the river flows. Its elevations
are referred to sea-level, approxiraately, by comparison with the Canadian
Pacific Railway.

Elevations along the Qu'Appelle Valley (outlet of Lake Saskatchewan).

Locality.

Miles from
elbow of the
South Sas-
katchewan

Elbow of the South Saskatchewan.

Ponds on the Kiver that Turns

Height of land

Sand Hill or Eyebrow Lake

Buffalo Lake

Lake

Fourth Fishing Lake

Third Fishing Lake

Second Fishing Lake

First Fishing Lake

Crooked Lake

Round Lake

Mouth of the Qu'Appelle

7- 8

12

24- 28

58- 74

83- 84

135-144

144-149

150-153

154-160

198-203

218-223

268

Feet above
the sea.

1,619
1,686
1,704
1,685
1,635
1,624
1,604
1,503
1,501
1,500
1,389
1,364
1,264

Maximum

depths of

lakes in

feet.

*10

*20
•20
•15
54
57
48
66
36
30

Height of

bluffs in

feet.

140

110

110-140

116-150

190

185

270

270

275

300-350

300-320

310

220

* About.

The area that was occupied by the glacial Lake Saskatchewan during
its stages of outflow through the head stream of the Qu'Appelle, afterward
by Long Lake, and perhaps still later by the head stream of the Assini-
boine, extends from the base of the morainic Vermilion Hills, on the Mis-
souri Coteau, where it is cut through by the South Saskatchewan, some 25
miles above its elbow, to the eastern part of the Pasquia Hills, south of the
Cumberland House. At length the glacial recession opened the Lower
Saskatchewan Valley, and this lake fell to the level of Lake Agassiz, which
appears to have reached up the Saskatchewan to the vicinity of Prince
Albert, about 40 miles above the confluence of its north and south branches.
Before the ice dam between Lakes Saskatchewan and Agassiz was removed,
the former lake, as here described, had covered an area approximately 300
miles long and 25 to 75 miles wide.

It is to be added, however, that before the Saskatchewan Lake was
permitted by the glacial retreat to fill a part of the basin so far east as to
outflow into the Qu'Appelle, various bodies of water, dammed by the ice-
sheet, had existed in its upper portions, flowing southward, as noted in the
early part of this chapter, by Lake Pakowki and other courses. If we
MON XXV 18

274 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

could, by a ^asion of the past, see in detail all the successiA^e glacial lakes
of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Assiniboia, and the old rivers flowing from
them over the present watersheds, there would surely be revealed a very
complex history, which future glacialists can hope to discover only by
much patient exploration.

GLACIAL LAKES OF THE PEACE AND ATHABASCA BASINS.

In the preceding chapter I have shown that the ice-sheet probably
stretched as one continuous mer de glace from the Atlantic to the Pacific,
wholly covering the Rocky Mountains in then- low portion adjoining the
Peace River. Its thickness there may have been 3,000 to 5,000 feet,
and from this central part its surface sloped downward both to the south
and north. During the depai-ture of the ice, therefore, its southern border
in this region, as elsewhere along its entire extent across the continent,
retreated in general toward the north, with embayments here and there
between projecting ice-lobes. Thus there came a time when the Peace
River basin had become mostly or wholly uncovered from its icy mantle,
and held a lake shut in on the north by the receding glacial barrier. West
of the one hundred and seventeenth meridian, according to Dr. Gr. M. Daw-
son, the elevated plains which are intersected by the deep valleys of the
Peace and Smoky rivers and their tributaries are overspread by fine lacus-
trine silts lying on the glacial drift.^ The elevation of this silt-enveloped
country ranges from 2,000 to 2,500 feet above the sea, and it may be
merely a vast delta occupying but a small part of the fully expanded
Peace Lake.

The earliest outlet from this glacial lake probably flowed across the
present watershed between the Peace River and Lesser Slave Lake, which
is about 2,430 feet above the sea; and then, after passing tkrough a smaller
glacial lake, or confluent part of the Peace Lake, in the upper Athabasca
basin, it may have passed across the divide between the Tow-ti-now River
and the North Saskatchewan, on or near the trail from Athabasca Landing
to Edmonton. The height of this watershed is about 2,485 feet. Later
stages of the glacial retreat would give successively lower outlets, until the

1 Oeol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Report of Progress for 1879-80, p. 142 B; Trans., Royal
Society of Canada, Vol. VIII, sec. i, 1890, p. 47.

PEACE AND ATHABASCA GLACIAL LAKES, 275

depression of the watershed at the Methy portage probably afforded, as
remarked on a foregoing page, the lowest and latest channel of outflow
from the Mackenaie basin to Lake Agassiz.

The watercourse by which the Churchill, bringing the Peace and
Athabasca outflow, passed into the Saskatchewan, tributary to Lake Agas-
siz, begins at Frog portage and extends south-southeastward about 100
miles by a Lake of the Woods, Pelican, Heron, and Birch lakes. Great
and Ridge rivers, Beaver, Sturgeon, and Pine Island lakes, to the Sas-
katchewan at Cumberland House. This was the route of Franklin and
Richardson in 1820. The latter states that "by Beaver Lake and its cham
of waters Nelson River receives supplies from the very banks of the Mis-
sinippi or Churchill River. Indeed, the Beaver Lake chain, which lay in
our route, originates within a hundi-ed yards of the latter sti-eam." Frog
portage, at this locality, "is 380 paces long. The path leads through a low,
swampy wood, and over a flat tract of gneiss rising only a few feet above
the waters on each side." The further descriptions of their journey up the
Churchill, which "resembles a chain of lakes with many amis, more than
a river," and by Isle k la Crosse Lake, Deep River, Clear and Bufialo lakes,
and Methy River and Lake to Methy portage, indicate that this was at one
time the avenue of outflow from a glacial lake in the Mackenzie basin. Isle
k la Crosse, Clear, and Buflklo lakes, which, according to Macoun, have the
same level, being stagnant water, filled with green scum in summer, are
approxunately 1,500 feet above the sea; Methy Lake, 1,700 feet; the crest
of Methy portage, 1,760 feet, abundantly strewn with bowlders, probably
belonging to a belt of morainic drift; and Clearwater River, a tributary of
the Athabasca, at the north end of this portage, 1,100 feet. A very steep
descent is made to the Clearwater, which flows westward in a great valley,
formed by preglacial erosion, 2 to 3 miles wide.^

■Narrative of a journey to the shores of the Polar Sea, in the years 1819, 1820, 1821, and 1822, by
John Franklin, R. N., F. R. S. ; including an Appendix of Geognostical Observations by John Rich-
ardson, M. D., surgeon to the expedition.

Also, see Sir John Richardson's Arctic Expedition in Search of Sir John Franklin; and descrip-
tions of Methy portage and its vicinity, by Prof. John Macoun (Geol. Survey of Canada, Report of
Progress for 1875-76, pp. 94, 174) and by Dr. Robert Bell (Bulletin, G. S. A., Vol. I, p. 290).

The elevations stated are increased 200 feet above the estimates given by Richiirdson, which
addition (or perhaps 100 feet more) is required by comparison with reliable determinations of eleva-
tions on the Saskatchewan and Peace rivers.

CHAPTER VI.
BEACHES AND DELTAS OF THE HERMAN STAGES.

In tliis and the two following chapters the shore-lines of Lake Agassiz
are described in considerable detail, with notes of their altitude and of the
topographic features of their tracts marked by erosion, and of the more
extensive ti'acts where beach ridges were accumulated. The fullness and
convincing character of the evidence that these are the shore-lines of an
ancient lake of vast size, occupying the Red River Valley and the present
lake region of Manitoba, are thus impressively exhibited; and the diverse
phases of the results produced by waves and shore cun-ents are brought
into comparison.

Ten plates (XXIII to XXXII), on the scale of 6 miles to an inch,
covering consecutive areas as indicated on PI. XXII, display the definite
geographic location of the shores; and all their more remarkable portions
are described, with statement of the sections or often the quarter-sections
under consideration, in the text. The arrangement of the sections in each
township is shown in fig. 1, on page 11.

Many of the farmers whose houses are built on or near to the old
beaches have decided to theii- own satisfaction, as I learned by conversation
with them during the progi-ess of these surveys and levelings, that these
beach ridges of gravel and sand are the same as those of now existing lakes
of large size, and that consequently the flat Red River Valley so bounded
was once the bed of a great lake. These residents will be enabled by the
following descriptions and maps to trace the continuity of the shores seen
near their own homes to distances of many miles away and, indeed, around
all the prairie portion of the ancient lake.

With the progress of agriculture, which is rapidly bringing all this lake
bed into cultivation, certain features of the deserted shores that were very
distinct at the time of my examination will doubtless be obscured or oblit-
erated. Many of the groves here noticed as occun-ing along stream courses

276

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

MONOGRAPH XXV. PL.XXll

s eitN s ca N V

MAJ^ OF THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF LAIvE AGASSIZ EXPLORED WTII LEVELr.ING IN MINNESOTA,

NORTH DAIiOTA, AND MANITOBA, SHOWING THE LOCAITON OP PLATES XXm-XXXn.

Scale, about ^2 milfs to an inch.

Areaof Lake Agassiz I I Terminal Moraines LiciLJ

ANNUAL OSCILLATIONS. 277

or elsewhere in the neighborhood of the old shore-lines will probably cease
to exist within a century, or in some cases within a score of years. On the
other hand, many artificial groves surrounding farmhouses, and lines of trees
cultivated on the divisions of property or of adjacent fields, will probably
more than replace such loss, making the country more beautiful and less
liable to be stvept heavily by winds. But the extensive views enjoyed
by the writer and his assistant rodman as they advanced along the course
of the beaches, mapping them and determining their elevation, will be
then hindered by the cultivated groves, tree rows, and hedges. Only upon
a prauie country, such as this was when its shore-lines were first traced,
can the grandeur of the proofs of existence of glacial lakes, held by the
obstruction of the departing ice, be taken in by an unimpeded vision of
the smooth lake bottom on one side stretching out to a distance of 10 or 20
miles within sight, of the bordering beach, running as one unbroken ridge
of gravel and sand in a nearly direct course discernible for several miles,
and of the broad, slightly higher expanse of more undulating and knolly
glacial drift outside the lake area.

From these descriptions of the beach ridges and eroded shores of the
old lake, its levels at the time of formation of these shore-lines are deduci-
ble approximately. The elevations of the crests of the beach ridges, as
recorded in these notes, are commonly 5 to 10 feet, or rarely 15 feet or
more, above the level held by the lake when the beaches were heaped up
by the waves, chiefly during storms. Where the descents of the slopes of
these gravel and sand ridges are noted, the lake level was nearly always
below the depression which borders the landward side of the beach and
was near the foot of the lakeward slope. Cliifs eroded by the lake waves
give more definitely the plane of the water surface which cut into the base
of the eroded escarpment, usually consisting of till, undermining it and car-
rying away its material to form a very gently descending slope, which was
covered by the margin of the lake.

Fluctuations of the lake level, which doubtless rose in summer a few
feet higher than in winter, because of the A^ariations in the volume of water
supplied from the melting ice-sheet, have given a variability within limits
generally 5 feet and perhaps sometimes 8 or 10 feet apart to the heights of

278 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

the lake and of its shore deposits and planes of erosion in each of the more
than thirty stages which these shore-lines exhibit. The high-water surface
of the summers, however, had probably a nearly uniform elevation dm'iug
many years in each stage, producing therefore a beach or eroded line of
nearly constant height. On the other hand, the reduced lake level of the
winters, when the superficial melting of. the ice-sheet ceased and the lake
doubtless became mostly frozen over, was likewise at nearly the same ele-
vation from year to year; but the beach ridges formed by the strong wave
action of the autumn, winter, and spring storms, with the effects of the
di'ifting lake ice during the breaking up in spring, would be mostly washed
away by the ensuing high water of the summer, when the glacial melting
attained its maximum. As the result of these annual oscillations of the lake
sm-face, gravel and sand from the material eroded during the storms of
winter, both from bordering cliffs and from the shallow lake bed close along
the shore, have been chiefly preserved in beach deposits at the higher plane
of the fluctuation reached in summer.

Periodic oscillations occupying several years between successive max-
ima of the lake level were also probably caused by cycles of increase and
diminution in temperature and rainfall, with consequent irregularity in
the yearly amount of the glacial melting. The cycles of rise and fall
of the great Laurentian lakes have a somewhat uniform average length of
ten to twelve years, as stated in Chapter XI, the maximum heights of these
lakes being 5 to 6 feet above their lowest recorded stages. But, on account
of the great variation of the tribute received by Lake Agassiz from the
departing ice-sheet in the alternating warm and cold portions of each year,
probably its annual fluctuations of level equaled or exceeded the changes
of longer periods in the Laurentian lakes, which receive a somewhat steady
supply through all the seasons, but are raised by excess of rainfall during
a few years together and then lowered by a series of drier years.

THE UPPER OR HERMAN BEACHES AND DELTAS IN MINNESOTA.

Our description of the highest shore-lines of Lake Agassiz may well
begin at the mouth of this lake, the present site of the northern end of
Lake Traverse. Thence the uppermost or HeiTnan beach was traced

THE UPPEE OR HEEMAN BEAOHES AND DELTAS. 279

eastward and northeastward tln-ough Traverse County and the most north-
western township of Stevens County, Minn., to Herman, in Grant County,
nearly 20 miles east of Lake Traverse. From this place the Herman beach
runs nearly due north 132 miles to the north side of Maple Lake, in Polk
County, about 20 miles east-southeast of Crookston. Beyond Maple Lake
the course of this shore-line is known to be nearly east to the south side
of Red and Rainy lakes; but it passes through a wooded and 'uninhabited
country where it is impracticable to trace its course exactly and determine
its height by leveling.

Along the distance of about 160 miles, as measured by long, straight
lines, or about 175 miles, following the larger bends of the shore-line, from
Lake Traverse to Herman and Maple Lake, the boundary of Lake Agassiz
lies in a prairie region, mostly having a very smooth and regular surface,
which coiild not be surpassed in its adaptability for receiving and preserv-
ing a record of the old lake level. The Herman beach lines, single on the
southern part of the lake border, but double and even quadruple in Clay
County and northward, have been carefully mapped across this expanse of
prairie, and their heights have been determined by leveling. The principal
features of this series of beaches are described in the following pages.

Especial description is also given of the two chief delta deposits of
this part of the old lake border. These were brought into the lake, con-
temporaneously with the formation of the Herman beach, by the glacial
representatives of the Buffalo and Sand Hill rivers. They cover small
areas, in comparison with the Sheyemie, Elk Valley, Pembina, and Assini-
boine deltas on the west margin of this glacial lake.

FROM LAKE TRAVERSE EAST TO HERMAN.

(Pr.ATE XXIII.)

Within the first 4 miles eastward from the northeast end of Lake
Traverse the Herman shore of Lake Agassiz • is an eroded bluff of till,
rising from the south side of the Mustinka River to a height of 75 to 100
feet above the river and lake. The altitude of Lake Traverse at its low-
est and highest »stages is 970 and 976 feet above mean tide sea-level.
When the lake falls below 973 or 972 feet, which occurs during the dry

280 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

season neany every summer, it ceases to outflow by the Bois des Sioux,
aud that stream becomes reduced to a series of stagnant pools. The eroded
bluff noted, aud others of the same character lying- on each side of the
Bois des Sioux at a distance of 3 to 4 miles apart between Lake Traverse
and White Rock, were finished by the outflow of the glacial River War-
ren, but probably their erosion was begun by a stream outflowing here
from the Red River Valley during the Aftonian interglacial stage between
the Kansan and lowan stages of ice accumulation and extension.^

After following the old lake shore eastward to a distance of about 4
miles from Lake Traverse, the steep bluff gives place, in sections 2 and 11,
Walls, to a gentle slope of the surface, which allowed the accumulation of
a distinct beach ridge of gravel. Tliis is smoothly rounded, 15 to 20 rods
in width, bounded eastward on the side toward the ancient lake by a mod-
erately steep slope which descends 10 or 12 feet, the land 1 to 4 miles
distant northeastward within the area that was covered by the lake being
20 to 40 feet below this beach. On the other side this ridge is succeeded
by a slight depression 2 to 5 feet deep, beyond which the land soon rises
10 to 15 feet above the beach. The material of the beach is gravel, con-
taining pebbles up to 2 or 3 inches in diameter, but all the sui'face else-
where on each side is till. The crest of the beach here is 1,060 to 1,062
feet above the sea.

The beach next passes southeastward tln-ough sections 30 and 32,
Croke, having in places a maximum altitude of 1,067 feet, being piled
several feet above its average height.

Between 2 and 3 miles farther southeast, near the middle of section
9, Tara, the beach ridge sinks to the height of 1,057 feet. Its contour and
material, and those of the adjoining areas, are nearly the same as at the
locality first described. The width of the gravel beach here is 25 or 30
rods; the smoothed surface of till which descends thence northward is 10
to 20 feet lower in its first mile; on the south the sheet of till is at fii-st for
40 or 50 rods about 5 feet lower than the top of the beach, but beyond this

'Am. Geologist, Vol. XV, p. 281, May, 1895. The nomeuelature of these subdivisions of the
Glacial period -svas proposed by Prof. T. C. Chamberlin in Chapter XLII of James Geikie's "The
Great Ice Age," third edition, 1894, and more fully, first naming the Aftonian stage, in the Journal of
Geology, Vol. Ill, pp. 270-277, April-May, 1895.

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.

MONOGRAPH XXV. PL. XXIII.

MAP OF LAKES TRiVVERSE AND BIG STONE i\ND THE SHORES OF LAKE AGASSIZ NEAR ITS MOUTH.

Scale, G miles to an inch.

LakeiVx'ea w-ith Beaches

Delta

^■\.fffiftd4\s of Haifwd-v sfa/zons are noted in feet above the scxt .

THE UPPER OE HERMAN BEACHES. 281

it gradually rises to a height 10 to 25 and 50 feet above the beach. The
average height of its moderately undulating surface 6 miles to the south, at
Graceville, is nearly represented by the railroad at the depot there, 1,109
feet. Farther to the east, through this township, the crest of the beach
ranges from 1,057 to 1,062 feet.

For the next 3 miles eastward, lying in the northwest part of Leon-
ardsville, the beach is less conspicuous than usual, but in sections 8, 5, and
4 of this township the shore-line is again distinctly marked by a slight
terrace in the till, descending northward in a moderately steep slope 5 to
10 feet, rather than by the usual accumulation of gravel. The top of this
terrace is at 1,056 to 1,057 feet.

A few miles farther north, in the southeast part of section 24, Doleys-
mount, the beach is a low gravel ridge, 20 rods wide and 5 feet high above
the adjoining surface, its crest being 1,060 to 1,061 feet above the sea.

These determinations indicate that in Traverse County the sm-face of
Lake Agassiz during its maximum stage was very nearly 1,055 feet above
our present sea-level.

In the northwest corner of Stevens County this upper or Herman
beach is well displayed in the northwest quarter of section 19, Eldorado,
having an elevation of about 1,063 feet. Through section 18 it is 20 to 25
rods wide, with its crest at 1,063 to 1,066 feet, being a gently rounded
ridge of sand and gravel, containing pebbles up to 2 or 3 inches in diame-
ter. Its height is 7 to 10 feet above the land next west and 5 feet above
the depression next east. The surface on each side is till, slowly falling
westward and rising eastward.

In the southeast part of section 7 in the same township the crest of
the beach is at 1,067 to 1,070 feet. Here and onward the next 2 miles,
through the northwest quarter of section 8, the southeast part of section 5,
and the western and northern part of section 4, this formation is finely
exhibited in a ridge of gravel and sand 20 to 30 rods wide, 15 feet or more
above its base westward, where lay the glacial Lake Agassiz, and 8 to 10
feet above the depression eastward, which divides it from the higher, mod-
erately undulating expanse of till beyond. In the east part of section 5. its
elevation is 1,065 feet, and through section 4, 1,065 to 1,072 feet.

282 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

This beach near the middle of sectiou 15, Logau, Grant County, is
aboiit 30 rods wide, with a broad, nearly flat top, at 1,070 feet, having a
descent of about 15 feet on its northwest side to the area of Lake Agassiz
and half as much on the southeast, the surface thence rising very gradually
in the 1^ miles eastward to Herman. The beach ridge is gravel, the land
at each side till.

Elevations determined in this vicinity by the railway surveys are as
follows: Track at Herman, 1,072 feet above the sea; crest of the beach
about 1^ miles northwest of Herman, where it is exit by the railway, and
for 50 rods southwestward, 1,064 to 1,066 feet; depression, 40 rods wide,
next soiitheast at the railroad (lowest 20 rods from the top of the beach),
1,060 to 1,063 feet; surface of till at the southeastern snow fences of the
railroad, about a third of a mile southeast from the beach, 1,073 feet; at
the northwest end of the northwestern snow fences, about 25 rods north-
west from the highest part of the beach, 1,054 feet; and at the original
one hundred and eightieth mile post, about a quarter of a mile northwest
from the last, 1,049 feet.

FROM HERMAN NORTH TO THE RED RIVEK;

(PLATES XXIH AND XXIV.)

Severa;l farmhouses are built on the top of the Herman beach between
6 and 10 miles north of Herman. At Joseph Moses's house, in the north-
west quarter of section 18, Delaware, the crest of the beach ridge has a
height of 1,066 to 1,067 feet, and the piazza of the house is at 1,067 feet.
H. D. Kendall's house, at the east side of the southeast quarter of section
12, Gorton, on the western slope of this beach, is at 1,062 feet; while the
top of the beach ridge, about 25 rods east of Mr. Kendall's house, is at
1,067 feet.

Crest of the beach through the next IJ miles north from Mr. Moses's
house, along the west side of sections 18 and 7, Delaware, 1,066 to 1,068
feet. The beach for this distance is finely exhibited, having a width of
about 25 rods, rising 5 to 8 feet above the depression at its east side and
10 to 15 feet above the land west. L. I. Baker's house sill, in the south-
west quarter of section 6, same township, of same height with the top of
the beach ridge, on which it is built, 1,068 feet.

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.

MONOGRAPH XXV. PL. XXIV.

US DIEN a CO N Y.

MAP OF THE EASTERN SHORES OF LAKE AGASSI'/ FROM CAMPBELL NORTH TO BAR!SrES\TLLE,
COMPRISING WFLKLV COL'NTY, MlNNESOTA,>\ND PARTS OF.VIXIOINING COUNTIES.

Scale , 6 miles to an inch.

X.£Lke Area

Delta

Altitudes of rail i\ ay stations are noted in fpi-t abofc the sea

THE UPPEE OE HEEMAN BEACHES. 283

Beach in section 31, Elbow Lake, not so conspicuous as usual, 1,066
feet; in the southwest quarter of section 18, same township, at the house
of Henry Olson, a gracefully rounded low ridge, as elsewhere, composed of
gravel and sand, including pebbles up to 3 inches in diameter, 1,065 to
1,066 feet; at Mrs. John S. Ireland's, in the northwest quarter of the same
section 18, 1,070 feet; at Dr. J. M. Tucker's, in the northeast quarter of
section 2, North Ottawa, 1,071 feet; about a mile north of the last, near
the north side of section 35, Lawrence, 1,075 feet; and about a mile
farther north, also 1,075 feet. Through nearly the whole of this distance
it is a typical beach ridge of sand and gravel.

Crest of beach about 30 rods west of M. L. Adams's house, in the
northeast quarter of section 26, Lawrence, 1,075 feet, being 4 feet above
the land adjoining this ridge on the east and about 10 feet above the flat
land near on the west; in section 23, same township, 1,076 feet; and near
the south side of section 10, same township, 1,069 to 1,074 feet.

Extensive sloughs or marshes occur in section 36 and in sections 25
and 24, Lawrence, each being about a mile long, lying on the east side of
the beach ridge at Dr. Tucker's and reaching 2^ miles northward; the
elevation of these above sea-level is about 1,060 feet.

In the north part of section 10 and the south part of section 3, Law-
rence, this shore-line of Lake Agassiz is not marked as usual by a gravel
ridge, but by a somewhat abrupt ascent or terrace in the drift sheet of till,
the elevation of the top of which, composed partly of gravel, is 1,085 to
1,079 feet; base of this ten-ace and land westward, consisting of till,
slightly modified on the area of Lake Agassiz, 1,060 to 1,050 feet. This
escarpment, the eroded shore-line of the lake, passes about 40 rods west of
N. S. Denton's house, at the north side of section 10.

Beach in section 34, Western, the most southwest township of Otter-
tail County, near John F. Wentworth's, 1,070 to 1,075 feet; surface at
Mr. Wentworth's barn, 1,072 feet. Beach 25 rods east of Albert Cope-
land's house, in the southwest quarter of section 28, Western, 1,070 to
1,066 feet ; where it is crossed by the old road from Fergus Falls to Camp-
bell, near the northwest corner of this section 28, 1,072 feet; through the
next 2 miles iK)rth, finely developed, with nearly constant height, 1,072

284 THifi GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

feet, being 7 to 10 feet above the depression at its east side and 20 feet
above the area westward, which was covered by Lake Agassiz ; at Michael
J. Shortell's, section 9, same township, 1,073 feet; 1 mile farther north,
1,078 feet; and at A. J. Swift's, in the northwest quarter of section 4, 1,076
feet. The beach at Mr. Swift's and for half a mile farther north is well
exhibited, and, as in many other places, is bordered on its east side by a
narrow strij) of marsh.

Beach in the northeast quarter of section 33, township 132, range 44,

1.076 feet ; top of large aboriginal mound, situated on the beach here, 1,082
feet ; land 30 rods west, 1,060 feet ; lakelet 250 feet in diameter, about an
eighth of a mile northeast from the large mound, 1,051 feet.

Red River of the North, near the northeast comer of section 33, town-
ship 132, range 44, 1,014 feet ; on the line between this township and Buse,
1,041 feet; and at Dayton bridge, in the southwest quarter of section 20,
Buse, 1,064 feet, being 8 feet below the bridge. S. A. Austin's house
foundation in the southwest quarter of section 29, Buse, 1,147 feet. Old
grade for railroad at Dayton bridge, about 1,102 feet.

No noticeable delta was brought into Lake Agassiz by the Red River.

FROM THE RED RIVER NORTH TO MUSKODA.

(PLATES XXIV AND XXV.)

Crest of beach near the south side of section 21, township 132, range
44, 1,077 feet; in this section 21, an eighth of a mile north of the road
from Fergus Falls to Breckenridge, 1,079 feet; and for the next mile north,

1.077 to 1,080 feet. This is a typical beach ridge, gently rounded, com-
posed of sand and gravel, containing pebbles up to 3 inches in diameter;
its width is 30 to 40 rods, and its height above the very flat area on its Avest
side, which was covered by Lake Agassiz (usually somewhat marshy next
to the beach), is about 16 feet. On the east there is first a depression of 4
to 6 feet, succeeded within a fourth of a mile eastward by a gentle ascent,
which rises 5 to 10 or 15 feet above the beach. The material on each side
of the beach is till, slightly modified by the lake on the west. It is all
fertile prairie, beautifully green, or in many places yellow or pm-ple with
flowers during July and August, the months in which this survey was

THE UPPBE OR HEEMAN BEACHES. 285

made. In August, 1881, no liouses had been built on this beach, nor
within 1 mile from it, along its first 11 miles north from the Red River, the
first house found near the beach being in section 26, Akron, in Wilkin
County.

Beach at a low portion, probably in the southeast quarter of section 5,
township 132, range 44, 1,075 feet. A lake nearly a mile long lies on the
flat lowland about IJ miles west from this low part of the beach. The
elevation of this lake was estimated at 1,055 or 1,050 feet; it is only a few
feet lower than the general surface around it. Beach, probably near the
north side of this section 5, 1,078 feet On its east side here and for a half
mile both to the south and north is a slough, partly filled with good grass
and partly with rushes; its width is about a quarter of a mile, and its
elevation about 1,070 feet. The land west of the beach descends, within
1 or 2 miles, from 1,060 to 1,050 feet.

Beach at its lowest portion for this vicinit}^, about a half mile north of
the preceding and near the center of section 32, Carlisle, 1,070 to 1,068
feet, being only 2 feet above the marsh or slough on its east side. A rail-
road gi'ade, abandoned, lies a third of a mile east of this. Beach a fourth
of a mile farther north, 1,077 feet, and, about 1 mile north from its lowest
portion, 1,075 feet, cut by a ravine, the bottom of which is nearly at
1,063 feet. This ravine is some 30 rods west of the abandoned railroad
embankment.

Railroad grade where it crosses the beach, about a mile northwesterly
from the ravine mentioned, 1,077 feet. Beach here, 1,076 feet, being 8 to
10 feet above the slough on its east side, and having about the same height
above the mareh next to it westward. The material of the beach, shown
by the railroad embankment, which is made of it along a distance of a third
of a mile, is coarse gravel, with abundant pebbles of all sizes up to 6 inches
in diameter, fully half of them being limestone.

Crest of beach in the south half of section 23, Akron, 1,079 to 1,080
feet; in the northwest quarter of this section 23, 1,075 to 1,080 feet.
Through sections 14, 10, and 3, Akron, the beach does not have its ordi-
nary ridged form, but is mostly marked by a deposit of gravel and sand
lying upon a slope that rises gradually eastward. Its elevation here is

286 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

1,075 to 1,085 feet. In the southern part of this distance, probably in the
southwest quarter of section 14, the margin of the flat, somewhat marshy
area that appears to have been covered by Lake Agassiz is very definite at
1,075 feet, which thus was probably the height of the lake here.

Beach in the southwest quarter of section 34, Tanberg, composed of
gravel, nearly flat, 25 to 30 rods wide, 1,084 to 1,087 feet, bordered by a
depression of 2 to 5 feet on the east and by an expanse 10 to 15 feet lower
on the west. Beach in the northwest quarter of this section 34, also 1,084
to* 1,08 7 feet. Here the land next east does not present the usual slight
hollow dividing the beach ridge from the higher land eastward; instead is
a springy belt, mostly 1,089 feet, quite marshy, yet slowly rising 2 to 4
feet above the belt of beach gravel. Occasional hummocks, about 2 feet
above the general surface and covered with rank grass about 6 feet high,
form part of this belt of marsh and shaking bog. Next to the east is a
slough about 1,086 feet, or 3 feet below the springy tract, and this is suc-
ceeded by a surface of moderately undulating till, which rises gradually
eastward.

Sloughs, mostly filled with rushes and having areas of water all the
year, occupy a width of 1 to 2 miles next west of the shore-line and beach
of Lake Agassiz and extend nearly continuously 10 miles from south to
north, from the middle of Akron to the south edge of Prairie View Town-
ship. The elevation of this belt of sloughs is 1,080 to 1,050 feet, being
considerably lower on its west than on its east border. The liighest land
westward in the west part of Tanberg, between these marshes and Manstou,
is about 1,060 feet. Along most of this distance the ordinary beach ridge
is wanting.

Great Northern Railway track at Lawndale water tank, 1,089 feet.
Here a side-track has been laid, extending about a third of a mile north-
ward, with its northern end some 50 rods east of the main line, to take
ballast from the beach, which is well exhibited here and onward, having its
typical ridged form. The elevation of its crest is 1,091 to 1,094 feet. It
is composed of gravel and sand in about equal amounts, interstratified
mainly in level layers, but with these often obliquely laminated. Most of
the gravel is quite fine, and the coarsest gravel foimd here has pebbles only
2 to 3 inches in diameter. About half of it is limestone.

THE UPPER OR HERMAN BEACHES. 287

Beach ridge 1 mile farther north, 1,094 feet; three-fourths of a mile
north of the last and close south of a ravine, 1,099 feet. Beach about 3
miles north from Lawndale water tank, probably in the south part of section
16, Prairie View, not ridged, but a belt 25 rods wide, of gravel and sand,
on a slope of till that rises eastward, 1,080 to 1,102 feet. Beach, a ridge of
gravel and sand, a third of a mile north from the last, 1,105 feet. The
beach in section 9 of this township is spread more broadly than usual, its
higher parts being 1,095 to 1,107 feet. Here the beach deposits are crossed
obliquely by several broad depressions 10 to 15 feet deep, running south-
southwest. The depression east of all these banks of gravel and sand is
about 1,090 feet above the sea.

Entering Clay County, the elevation of this upper or Herman beach
at- the east side of section 33, Humboldt, is 1,100 feet above the sea. The
land thence for two-thirds of a mile east is low and smooth, not higher than
the beach. Beyond this the next third of a mile northeastward, in the
north part of section 34, is very rocky, with many bowlders up to 6 and
rai-ely 10 feet in diameter, the contour being moderately rolling 10 to 30
or 40 feet above the beach. Farther eastward here and through the next
15 miles north to the Northern Pacific Railroad, the moderately rolling or
smoothly hilly till rises 100 to 250 feet above this beach within the distance
of about 10 miles between it and the east line of the county.

Elevation of the crest of the beach ridge in the east half of section 28,
Humboldt, one-fourth to three-fourths of a mile south of Willow River,
1,098 to 1,100 feet In the 3 miles westward to Barnesville the area that
was covered by Lake Agassiz shows here and there bowlders projecting 1
to 2 feet above the surface, which is till, slightly smoothed by the lake.

Great Northern Railway track at Barnesville, 1,020 feet.

The beach for three-fourths of a mile north from Willow River consists
of a belt of gravel and sand, lying on an eastwardly ascending slope of till.
Through the next 1^ miles northward, in the northwest quarter of section
22 and in section 15, Humboldt, the shore of Lake Agassiz is not marked
by the usual beach of gravel and sand, but instead becomes a belt of
marshy and springy land 20 to 50 rods wide, rising by a gentle slope east-
ward, rough with many hummocks and hollows, in some portions forming
a quaking bog, in which horses and oxen attempting to cross are mired.

288 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

In the next 2 miles northwand, through sections 10 and 3, Humboldt,
the beach is nowhere well marked as a ridge, but is mainly a belt of gravel
and sand, lying on a slope of till, which gradually rises 30 or 40 feet higher
at the east. The lack of typical beach deposits on this shore through the
north half of this township is probably due to its sheltered situation in
the lee of islands on the northwest. The coiu'se of the shore currents,
determined by the prevailing winds, seems to have been southward, as on
the shores of Lake Michigan.

Highest part of southern island in the east edge of Lake Agassiz, in
the northeast quarter of section 5, Humboldt, extending northward into
Skree, 1,117 to 1,122 feet. This island was about 1 mile long from south
to north. Crest of beach on its west side, a well-developed ridge of gi-avel
near the middle of the north line of section 5, 1,095 feet; and for a third of a
mile north-northwest from this, 1,094 to 1,096 feet. On the east side of
the beach, as it continues northward, is a slough two-thirds of a mile long
from south to north and about 30 rods wide, 1,085 feet. This was evidently
filled by a lagoon, sheltered on the southeast by the island and separated
from the main lake by the beach. Toward the northeast it widened into a
shallow expanse of water 8 to 15 feet deep, about IJ miles wide, divided
from the broad lake on the. west by two islands and this beach or bar which
connected them. Lake Agassiz here appears to have stood at the height of
1,090 to 1,095 feet.

Top of the beach or bar in the north part of section 32, Skree, a broad
rounded ridge of gravel, with pebbles up to 3 or 4 inches in diameter, 1,103
feet, and through the next half mile, in the south half of section 29, 1,102
to 1,104 feet. Along part of this distance the beach ndge is bounded east-
ward by a steeper descent than usual, the land next east being 1,085 to
1,090 feet above the sea. This beach or bar continues northward in a
typical ridge through sections 29 and 20, same township.

Beach or bar at L. Williams's house, in the southeast quarter of section
20, Skree, 1,101 feet; a quarter of a mile farther north, 1,106 feet; three-
quarters of a mile north of Mr. Williams's, near the middle of the north
line of section 20, 1,110 feet, continuing a very definite ridge thi-ough the
south half of section 17, 1,109 to 1,110 feet.

ISLANDS NORTHEAST OF BAENESVILLE. 289

Near the middle of" this section 17 the beach deposit of gravel aud
saud ceases at the west side of the northern island, which was situated in
the east half of this section and extended also eastward in a long, low pro-
jection nearly across the south side of section 16, aud northward half way
across section 8. Highest part of this island, in or near the northeast
quarter of the northwest quarter of section 17, about 1,125 feet. The old
shore of the north half of this island has no beach ridge nor other deposits
of gravel and sand, but is plentifully strewn with large bowlders up to 5
and 10 feet in diameter, and many of these project 2 to 5 feet above the
general surface. The lake waves eroded here, and deposited the sand and
gravel gathered from this till as a beach a little farther south.

North and northeast from this northern island a lower expanse, nearly
level and in some portions marshy, resembling the broad, flat valley of the
Red River, extends IJ miles to the east shore of Lake Agassiz, its height
being 1,075 to 1,090 feet, or 10 to 25 feet below the surface of the ancient
lake. The distance between these islarids was 2 miles, and the distance
from the summit of the first to that of the second, nearly due north, 4 miles.
Each of them rose about 25 feet above Lake Agassiz. The strait between
them and the mainland eastward was 10 to 20 feet deep and from 1 to IJ
miles wide, excepting a narrow place near the southeast corner of section
16. East of the northern island the main shore of the lake was indented by
a bay a third to a lialf of a mile wide and about 10 feet deep, stretching 2 J
miles southeastward from the lakelet at the northwest comer of section 10
to the west part of section 23, Skree. The shore of the lake east of its
islands along this bay and northwesterly to the north line of this township
lacks the beach deposits which elsewhere distinguish it.

In its. continuation northwestward the shore-line of the old lake runs
diagonally across section 32, Hawley, where it again presents the anoma-
lous character of a very "springy and marshy belt, 20 to 40 rods wide, rough
with hummocks and in many places so deeply miry that it is dangerous for
teams. This boggy tract has a gentle descent westward, its lower portion
being about 1,085 feet, and its upper border, very nearly level across this
entire section, being 1,098 to 1,100 feet, which Avas almost exactly the height
of Lake Agassiz, as shown by its distinct beach of gravel and sand at the
MON XXV 19

290 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

south ana north. Next eastward rises a moderately undtilatiug slope of till,
strewn with abundant bowlders; and rarely a bowlder 2 to 5 feet in diam-
eter is seen on the springy land that marks the border of the ancient lake.

DELTA OF THE BUFFALO RIVEK.

(PLATE XXV.)

The delta brought into the east side of Lake Agassiz by tlie Buffalo
River extends about 5 miles southwestward from Muskoda, forming a con-
tinuously descending plain of stratified sand and fine gravel, declining from
1,100 feet near Muskoda to 1,073 feet at its southwestern limit in the north
part of section 34, Riverton. Here and northward along- a distance of 3
miles to the Bufi"alo River this delta plain is terminated by a steep slope,
25 to 40 feet high, like the face of a terrace. The outer poi-tion of the
original delta, beyond this line, has been carried away by the waves and
shore cuiTents of the lake when it stood at the lower levels marked by the
iNorcross and Tintali beaches, as shown in fig. 11.

lOOO

Fig. 11. — Section across the delta of the Bufialo Iliver. Horizoutal scale, one-hall' uiile to an inch.

Northern Pacific Railroad track at Muskoda, 1,090 feet. Thi-eshold
of church a quarter of a mile southeast from Muskoda depot, 1,113 feet.
Beach here and for a third of a mile south to the Buff"alo River, as also at
the excavation for the railroad, 25 rods north of the church, nearly uniform
elevation of its crest, 1,113 to 1,114 feet. The beach is 35 rods wide, rising
14 or 15 feet in a gentle swell above the edge of the delta of modified drift
on the west and descending the same amount to the depression at its east
side. It is made up of interstratified gravel and sand, the former prevail-
ing, including pebbles iip to 3 or 4 inches and rarely 6 or even 9 inches in
diameter, all waterworn. Half or two-thirds of these pebl^les and cobbles
are limestone. No bowlders occur here, nor are they found in any of the
beach deposits of Lake Agassiz.

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.

MONOGRAPH XXV. PL. XXV

L1US StEN a CO NY

MAP F THE Ei\STERN BEACHES AND DELTAS OF LAKE AGASSIZ PROM MrSKODA
NORTH THROTHIH CIvWAND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.TO THE SAND HH.I- RIVKH.

Scale, 6 miles loan inch.

Ijake Area

Dell;

Altitudes of TtaHwny statioixs are riofed in fi-ri ti/>,>\i- f/ic .-ieti

THE BUFFALO DELTA. 291

The area of the Buffah> deha extends 7 miles from north to south, with
a width of 2 to 3| miles Its average thickness is probably about 50 feet,
and its volume is therefore approximately one-sixth of a cubic mile. It
would make a' very sightly hill if its material were piled on the flat plain
of the Red River Valley, for it would cover a circle 2 miles in diameter and
rise to a peak about 900 feet high. Lying on the slope which rises east from
this valley, however, and being spread over a considerable area with com-
paratively little thickness, its mass does not especially command attention
until investigation reveals that it came almost wholly from drift that was
contained within the ice-sheet, being deposited here by the streams from
its melting.

The existence of well-defined and conspicuous delta deposits having
the altitude of the Herman beach, where the Buffalo and Sand Hill rivers
enter the east side of the area of Lake Agassiz, while no such deposits are
found where other streams of equal or larger size enter this area, as the
Red River, the Wild Rice, and the Red Lake River, seems explicable only
by the derivation of the gravel and sand forming these deltas mostly from
the englacial drift of the melting ice-sheet upon the adjacent area at the
east. Comparatively small tribute was brought into this glacial lake from
the erosion of the stream valleys after their areas became uncovered
from the ice, excepting where it received the very large rivers flowing from
other glacial lakes at the west. Here and there, because of irregularities
in the outline of the ice-sheet, by which the drainage of its surface was
poured down upon certain limited tracts and was discharged thence along
the courses of now existing streams, as the Buffalo and Sand Hill rivers,
and because the retreat of the ice was now rapid and anon was inteiTupted
by halt or readvance, with the accumulation of moraines, much of the
material which had been inclosed within the basal part of the ice-mass
seems to have been washed away by its streams and earned into Lake
Agassiz to form deltas.

When such glacial streams encountered no lake to receive their tribute,
and flowed far before reaching the sea, the gravel, sand, and fine silt or clay
which they brought were spread by the rivers along their courses as plains
of modified drift. In some instances, since the ice -sheet disappeared and

292 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

the draiuage from it ceased, these plains are left far from any important
stream. Similarly, on the west side of Lake Agassiz, a large delta extending
southward from the Elk Valley was deposited by a proportionally large
river flowing from the ice-sheet, but no considerable river now enters the
lake area there.

Opposite to the Buffalo delta, within a distance of about 30 miles to
the east, the ice front was indented by a great embayment or reentrant
angle at the time of formation of the eighth or Fergus Falls moraine.
While the ice border was receding from the seventh or Dovre to the Fergus
Falls moraine, the conditions of its melting were probably unfavorable for
the formation of deltas in this glacial lake; but during the accumulation
of the Fergus Falls moraine the drainage from the ice border converged
toward the Buffalo River and caused its delta to be formed. Again, when
the ice-sheet had retreated another stage and was forming its ninth or Leaf
Hills moraine, this indentation of the ice front, having fallen back about
40 miles northward from its former position, sent its glacial streams to the
Sand Hill River, and a second delta was brought into the lake.

In the same manner, the much larger Sheyenne, Elk Valley, Pembina,
and Assiniboine deltas, brought into Lake Agassiz from the west and hav-
ing likewise the height of the early Herman beaches, are referable chiefly
to the drainage from the melting ice-sheet, and in less measure to erosion
of the river valleys. The material of all the deltas of this lake is princi-
pally modified drift, rather than alluvium like that which the streams now
transport and spread over their bottom-lands at every stage of flood.

FROM MUSKODA NORTH TO THE SAND HILL RIVER.

(plate XXV.)

In the next 2 miles north of Muskoda the crest of the Herman beach
ridge ranges mainly from 1,113 to 1,125 feet above the sea; at its lowest
depression, about 1 mile north of Muskoda, its height is 1,105 feet; at
William Perkins's house, in the southeast quarter of section 30, Cromwell,
1,122 feet; an eighth to a third of a mile south-southeast from Mr. Per-
kins's, 1,130 feet. A nearly or quite continuous depression, from a fifth to

THE UPPER OR HERMAN BEACHES. 293

a third of a mile wide, lies at the east side of this beach, declining in eleva-
tion from 1,118 feet near Mr. Perkins's house to 1,100 feet at Muskoda.
This distance is about 3 miles.

The surface of Lake Agassiz in its maximum stage was, at Muskoda,
1,105 feet, very approximately, above our present sea-level. Within 5 to
10 miles northward its height seems to have been 1,110 to 1,115 feet.

Beach through the north half of section 30, Cromwell, 1,128 to 1,131
feet, and through the west part of sections 19 and 18, same township, 1,125
to 1,130 feet, composed of sand and fine gravel, not generally in a typical
ridge, but often with a depression 2 to 5 feet lower eastward and bounded
on the west by a descent of about 30 feet within an eighth of a luile. A
surface of slightl}^ undulating till rises very gradually from this beach
eastward.

Herman beach at a high portion in or near the southeast quarter of
section 1, township 140, range 46, 1,136 feet. For a mile next south from
this point it is a finely rounded ridge of gravel, rising northward from 1,130
to 1,136 feet. The depression at its east side is 4 to 6 feet lower; then the
surface gently rises at a quarter to a third of a mile from the beach to 1,135
or 1,140 feet, beyond which eastward this nearly level but slightly undu-
lating expanse of till rises only 5 or 10 feet per mile. Beach a fourth of
a mile north-northeast from the high point mentioned, probably in the
nortliAvest quarter of section 6, Cromwell, 1,128 to 1,127 feet. This is an
ordinary beach ridge of gravel and sand, with a depression of 2 or 3 feet
next east.

Near the south line of section 29, Keene, both the Herman and Nor-
cross beaches, here about two-thirds of a mile apart, are intersected by a
watercourse. At its north side the upper or Herman beach, near the east
line of section 29 and in the northwest quarter of section 28, consists of
two well-marked ridges of gravel and sand, some 30 rods apart and about
10 feet above the land eastward and between them. These ridges unite in
or near the southwest quarter of the southwest quarter of section 21, at the
height of 1,130 to 1,132 feet. Beach three- fourths of a mile farther north,
probablj' near the north line of section 21, a typical gravel ridge, 1,134 feet,
10 feet above the land next east; but a sixtli of a mile farther northeast this
beach ridge is depressed to 1,123 feet.

294 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

A lower beach, contemporaueous with the Herman beach fartlier south,
but foiinecl when the surface of the lake in this latitude had fallen slightly
from its highest level, is finely exhibited at a distance of one-third to two-
thirds of a mile west from the upper beach, through the 4 miles from the
south side of section 20 to the northeast corner of section 4, Keene. The
elevation of this secondary beach in the south pai-t of section 20 is 1,115
feet ; thence to a stream near the east line of the southeast quarter of sec-
tion 17, 1,118 to 1,123 feet; at each side of this stream, 1,118 feet; north-
ward, in the northwest part of section 16 and in the southwest quarter of
section 9, 1,118 to 1 121 feet; and in the north part of section 9, 1,121 to
1 127 feet.

Upper beach through the west part of section 10, Keene, 1,130 to
1,137 feet, increasing in height from south to north. This is a typical
beach ridge of gravel, with a rather abrupt descent on its east side to land
6 or 8 feet lower, which thence ascends with a slightly undulating sv;i'face
eastward. The elevation of the upper beach in this township, 1,123 to
1,137 feet, shows that the height of Lake Agassiz here, during its maxi-
mum stage, was about 1,120 feet. The secondary beach was made by the
lake after it had fallen 6 to 10 feet.

In section 3, Keene, the crest of the upper beach is at 1,134 to 1,137
feet, 10 feet above the land next east; and the top of the secondary Her-
man beach, parallel with this and aljout tln-ee-fotirths of a mile distant to
the northwest, in sections 4 and 34, is at 1,123 to 1,127 feet, being thus 10
feet lower than the highest parts of the eastei'u beach. Extensive sloughs,
inclosing lakelets, lie between these beaches in sections 34 and 35, Hagen,
at an elevation of 1,115 to 1,120 feet, but sinking northward to 1,105 feet.
The secondary beach continues to the northeast corner of section 26, declin-
ing in height northeastward as it approaches the South Branch of the WUd
Rice River, being at 1,125 to 1,115 feet.

Upper beach in section 35 and in the south part of section 25, Hagen,
1,140 to 1,142 feet. This is a typical beach ridge of sand and gravel,
about 30 rods wide, with the land next southeast 5 to 8 feet lower, and
divided from the secondary beach northwesterly by a slough about 1 mile
wide, this slough being at 1,115 to 1,105 feet.

THE UPPER OE HERMAN BEACHES. 295

Crest of beach at B. O. Helde's house, in the south half of the south-
west quarter of section 30, Ulen, 1,138 feet. The flat expan.se of the Red
River Valley reaches east on the South Branch of the Wild Rice River to
section 16, Hagen, probably being there about 975 feet above the sea, or
160 feet below this upper beach of Lake Agassiz, 4 or 5 miles southeast.

Beach through sections 30 and 29, Ulen, extending 1^ miles east-
northeast from Mr. Helde's to the South Branch of the Wild Rice River,
in a loAV, gently rounded ridge of gravel, 30 rods wide, 5 to 8 feet above
the area of till next southeast and about 15 feet above the surface close at
its northwest side, 1,138 to 1,142, mostly 1,140 feet.

South Branch of Wild Rice River, in the southwest quarter of section
21, Ulen, 1,095 feet. The beach is developed as a typical gravel ridge, in
or near the west half of section 16, Ulen, a half mile to IJ miles north of
the South Branch, with its crest at 1,140 to 1,143 feet; surface of till an
eighth to a quai-ter of a mile next east, 1,135 feet. Farther east the slightly
or moderately undulating expanse of till has an average ascent of about 10
feet a mile for 15 miles to the base of the high land at the White Earth
Agency, which is dimly visible, blue, close to the horizon. Westward the
surface gradually descends to the Norcross beach, nearly 60 feet lower,
which is the farthest land in sight in that direction, about 3 miles distant,
beyond which lies the flat Red River Valley.

Entering Norman County, an unusually high portion of the Herman
beach is found in or near the southeast quarter of the southeast quarter
of section 33, Home Lake, having its crest at 1,149 feet. It holds this
elevation for an extent of some 20 rods, on each side of which its height is
mostly from 1,139 to 1,145 feet. Its material is coarse gravel, principally
limestone, with pebbles and cobbles up to 4 and 6 inches in diameter.
Surface close east of this beach, 1,137 feet. A slight swell above the gen-
eral descending slope westward, about 2 miles distant, has a height very
nearly 1,125 feet. This maybe the continuation of the secondary beach
that was seen in Keene Township. It hides the view farther west, except
from the highest point of the beach (1,149 feet), where the distant belts of
timber along the Red and Wild Rice rivers are visible.

Beach at J. T. Huseby's house, in the northwest quarter of section 26,
Home Lake, 1,147 feet; tlu-ough 1^ miles next north, in the northwest

296 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

quarter of section 26 and the west part of section 23, forming a broad, low
ridge of gravel and sand, 1,145 to 1,149 feet. In or near sections 17 and
16, Flom, a prominent, massive hill, called "Frenchman's Bluff," of some-
what irregular form, composed of moi'ainic till, rises 150 feet or more above
tliis beach.

Through the west part of the noi'thwest quarter of section 14, Home
Lake, the beach is mostly a typical gravel ridge, with its crest at 1,147 to
1,152 feet. In the northwest quarter of section 11, same township, it
curves northeastward and attains an unusually massive development, its
crest being at 1,150 to 1,158 feet, rising 15 feet above the land next south-
east and 25 or 30 feet above the border of the area of Lake Agassiz at its
northwest side.

Crest of beach, a well-marked gravel ridge, near the southwest corner
of section 1, Home Lake, 1,156 feet, and an eighth of a mile east-northeast
from this, 1,150 feet. J. G. Aurdal's house, foundation, in the northeast
quarter of section 6, Flom, 1,148 feet. This is situated on the beach,
which here is a deposit of gravel and sand 8 feet or more in depth, lying
upon a slope of till that ascends southeastward. Anton Johnson's store,
foundation, on this beach, in the southeast quarter of section 31, Fosum,
1,142 feet. Creek flowing northwesterly between the last two, about 1,105
feet. Wild Rice River, 2 miles north of Johnson's store, approximately
1,050 feet.

Secondary Herman beach, a well-marked, broad, smoothly rounded
gravel ridge, extending from southwest to northeast, crossed by the town-
ship line road at the north side of the noi'theast quarter of the northwest
quarter of section 2, Home Lake, 1,137 feet. It is about 30 rods wide,
and rises 5 to 10 feet above the depression at its southeast side.

A broad belt of timber borders the Wild Rice River, lying mostly on
its north side, in Fosum and Wild Rice townships, and at the time of this
survey, in 1881, no road or bridge afforded a crossing here. Therefore
this series of levels was resumed north of the Wild Rice River by starting
from Rolette station of the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba (now the
Great Northern) Railway, 892 feet above the sea, near the middle of sec-
tion 17, Lockhart, about 1.^ miles north of the Lockhart farm. Proceeding

THE UPPER OR HERMAK BEACHES. 297

eastward from this point, the first observations of the upper beach were in
Waukon, Siindal, and Garfield townships.

This beacli is intersected by the Wild Rice River near the middle of
Fosum, and thence it passes north-northwesterly through the west part of
Waukon. In sections 7 and 6, Waukon, it is a low, smooth ridge of gravel
and sand about 25 rods wide, rising 5 to 10 feet. In the west half of this
section 6 and in section 36, Sundal, the old Pembina trail lies on it.

About 2 miles west of the upj)er beacli, a secondary Herman beach, of
similar material and contour, probably 20 feet lower, was observed a few
rods east of the stake at the middle of the north side of section 14, Strand,
having a height of (3 to 8 feet above its base, with a smaller ridge of sand
and gravel, 3 feet high above its base, close west of this stake. Again, a
half mile farther west, in the northeast corner of section 15, Strand, another
Herman beacli, probably 10 feet below the last, was noted, having a height
of 4 or 5 feet above its base.

Traveling northwestward along the Pembina trail, the tipper beach
ridge was not distinctly observed after leaving section 36, Sundal, imtil it
is again occupied .by the trail in section 9 of this township. The interven-
ing 3 miles are flat and nearly level. Probably the beach, less noticeable
than usual, lies within a half mile or 1 mile east of the trail here. In the
eastern part of section 9 this beach is aboiit 25 rods wide, rising 5 feet
from its east side, and descending' 10 feet to its' western base, which was
the margin of Lake Agassiz.

Thence the upper beach extends nearly due nortli through the east
edge of section 4, Sundal, and section 33, Garfield. In the east edge of
the southeast quarter of section 28 and the west edge of the northwest
quarter of section 27, Garfield, it is a typical ridge of gravel and sand,
with its crest 1,166 to 1,173 feet above the sea. There is a gradual descent
toward the west. The depression on the east is a sixth to a fourth of a
mile wide, sinking 6 to 10 feet below the beach. Farther eastward the
land is moderately undulating till, rising 20 to 30 feet above the beach and
bearing frequent groves of small poplars, bur oak, and canoe birch.

Water in the Sand Hill River at tlie ford of the old Pembina trail, in
the west part of section 28, Garfield, ordinary low stage, July 26, 1881,
1,071 feet.

298 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

DELTA OF THE SAND HILL RIVEE.

(PLATES XXV AND XXVI.)

When Lake Agassiz stood at its greatest height, the Sand Hill River
brought into its margin n delta 6 miles long from south to north and 3
miles wide, reaching- from the upjjer beach to the west side of Garfield and
Snndal townships (fig. 12). This deposit of stratified gravel and sand has
about an equal area and thickness with the delta of the Buffalo River at
Muskoda. Its surface descends slowly westward and is crossed by the
lower Herman and the Norcross shores, though these lake levels are not
generallv traceable. The Tintah shores pass along its western margin,
which in some portions was worn away to a low escarpment, steeper than
its original frontal slope, while tlie eroded sand and gravel, after being
carried some distance southward, l)ut not Avholly l^eyond the delta, were
deposited in beach ridges. Upon the delta plain many dunes of small and

fierman Beac/t

yy ^__^ ■■^:^^^^"~5Tff/)T/r/SO DSLTA, SAND >»/V/7 a«4l<«___Z^ \ o -^ _ _

lOOO

" ^^jts^^^^"^i^^^MMW=^MWM^

Fig. 12. — Section across the delta of the Sand Hill River. Horizontal scale, one-half mile to an inch.

large size, seen from a distance of 10 or 12 miles across the lower expanse
at the west, have been heaped up by the winds, probably mostly before
vegetation had spread over this area after the withdrawal of the glacial lake.
As was stated on page 291, in the description of the Buffalo delta,
both these river deposits in the edge of Lake Agassiz seem attributable to
conditions of the recession of the ice-sheet. Their gravel and sand were
doubtless mainly englacial drift and were brought into this lake by streams
which had gathered their freight upon the ice surface during the time of
formation of terminal moraines. One of these glacial rivers, supplying a
part or perhaps nearly all of the Sand Hill delta, flowed from an angle of
the ninth or Leaf Hills moraine in a channel which has been traced 16
miles to its junction with the Sand Hill River, as described on page 164.
Its sand and fine silt were carried more than 30 miles by the strong current

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

MONOGRAPH XXV. PL. XXVL

MAP OF THE EASTERN SHORES OF LAKE AGASSIZ IN THEA^CINm'OF MAPLE I.AKE ^\NO
NORTHWARD, IN POLIv AND MARSHALL COUNTIES, MI NNK SOTA .

Scale . 6 miles to an inch .

T.ake Area

Delia

AUitudes of rcUln-wy stations are noted in feet above the sea.

THE SAND HILL DELTA. 299

of tlie river in its irreg-ular course before they were deposited in Lake
Agassiz, where they at once settled to the bottom of the still water.

In the south half of section 32, Grarfield, and in a belt which thence
extends approximately north and south, the siirface of this delta, as it was
orig-inally deposited, falls toward the west with a slope of 25 or 30 feet in 1
mile, from 1,125 or 1,130 feet to about 1,100 feet above the sea. Beneath
this plane, however, channels have been eroded by the winds, and .sand hills
25 to 75 feet above it have been blown up in irregular groups and series,
scattered over a tract about a mile wide and extending 3 or 4 miles south-
ward from the Sand Hill River, in section 29, the northeast part of section
30, and in sections 31 and 32, Garfield, and reaching southward in sections
5 and 8, Sundal. The most southern of these hills is an isolated group
in the east part of the northeast quarter of section 18, Sundal. Another
isolated group lies north of the Sand Hill River, in the northwest quarter
of section 16, Garfield. These sand dunes are in part bare, being so fre-
quently drifted by the winds as to allow no foothold for vegetation ; other
portions are clothed with grass or with bushes and scanty dAvarfed trees,
including bur oak, the common aspen or poplar, cottonwood, green ash,
black cherry, and the frost grape.

Elevations of the highest points of these dunes, in order from south to
north, are approximately 1,190, 1,180, and 1,200 feet. The highest dune
appears to be in or near the east half of the northeast quai'ter of section
30, Garfield.

Second? y Herman beach, a smoothly rounded ridge of gravel and
sand 10 to 15 feet high above the adjacent level, 1,148 to 1,153 feet above
the sea, about three-fourths of a mile east of the old Pembina trail, in tlie
west half of sections 21 and 16, Garfield, extending 1^ miles north from
the Sand Hill River to tlie cluster of dunes in the northwest quarter of
section 16.

VICINITY OP MAPLE LAKE.

(PLATE XXVI.)

The ujjper Herman beach, the fii'st of the series which was formed in
the vicinity of Maple Lake contemporaneously witli the single Herman
beach farther south, runs approximately from south to north, through or

300 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

near the northeast corner of section 4, Garfield It is a smooth gravel
ridge, in some parts hidden by scattered groves, with its crest 1,165 to
1,175 feet above the sea. Farther east is a large area of woodland. The
second Herman beach, in the east part of section 5, this township, and sec-
tion 32, Godfrey, about a mile west from the upper beach, has a heiglit of
1,149 to 1,153 feet, being a ridge of gravel and sand about 40 rods wide,
with very gentle, prolonged slopes toward both the east and west. Natiu-al
si^rface at the northeast comer of section 32, Godfrey, 1,146 feet. Third
Herman beach, running north, in the northwest quarter of section 5, Gar-
field, and the west part of section 32, Godfrey, a half or two-thirds of a
mile west from the last, 1,130 to 1,135 feet, consisting of a distinct ridge
in its southern part, but farther north being a flat area of gravel and sand,
slightly elevated above the land next east.

Second Herman beach, a broad, low ridge of gravel and sand, extend-
ing north-northeast through section 28, Godfrey, from its southwest corner
to its north line, 1,148 to 1,150 feet. The northward continuation of this
beach is a low, flattened ridge, the western one of two parallel ridges of
gravel below that of the upper beach, extending northeasterly and north-
erly through or near the west edge of section 10, Godfrey, 1,150 to 1,154
feet. Through the next 3 miles in section 3, Godfrey, and in the east part
of sections 35 and 26 and the northwest quarter of section 25, Tilden, it is
a prominent' beach ridge, with its crest at 1,153 to 1,161 feet, somewhat
steep on its east side, which descends about 10 feet to a belt of lowland
and marsh that divides it from the parallel beach a quarter to a third of a
mile east.

The eastern one of these parallel beach ridges is only 8 or 10 feet below
the average elevation of the iipper beach. It probably marks a slight rise
of the land here ; but no corresponding beach formation has been observed
on this latitude in North Dakota. It is clearly continuous 8 miles, the first
4 miles extending northerly and the next 4 miles easterly. These parts are
connected in section 25, Tilden, by a graceful curve, that portion of this
beach and its extent thence eastward being known as the "Attix ridge,"
from Hemy and William Attix, brothers, who have built their houses upon
it. In its northward course, nearly tlu-ough the middle of sections 10 and

HEEMAN BEACHES I^EAE MAPLE LAKE. 301

4, Godfrey, its crest is at 1,158 to 1,163 feet; in the west edge of section
36, Tilden, and along its curved course to the northeast and east at the
west and north sides of section 25 and in the southeast part of section 24,
Tilden, 1,163 to 1,168 feet, and in sections 21 and 22, Grove Park, 1,171
to 1,173 feet. A slough, a third to a half of a mile wide, extends along
the east side of this beach in section 3, Godfrey, and in the southeast part
of Tilden, having a height of 1,155 to 1,160 feet.

Upper beach in the southwest quarter of section 11, Godfrey, forming
a plain of stratified gravel and sand a quarter or a third of a mile wide
from east to west, 1,168 to 1,173 feet. This beach near the south side of
section 1 1 becomes a distinct gravel ridge of the usual character, about 25
rods wide, with its crest at 1,173 feet, bordered by a slough 20 to 40 rods
wide at its east side. About a third of a mile farther southeast and some
50 rods west of the southwest extremity of Maple Lake, in section 14,
Godfrey, the elevation of this beach ridge is 1,175 to 1,178 feet.

Maple Lake, water surface July 28, 1881, 1,169 feet. This lake, 6
miles long and averaging about a half mile wide, has a maximum depth of
20 feet near its southwestern end, and is mainly 10 to 15 feet deep along
its central portion.

Upper beach, top of its well-marked gravel ridge in the east edge of
the northeast quarter of section 3, Godfrey, about 20 rods north of Mr.
Horton's, 1,180 feet. Beyond this point, through its next 2J miles, curving
from a northward to a northeastward and eastward course, this upper beach
of Lake Agassiz is magnificently exhibited, forming a massive, gently
rounded i-idge of gravel and sand about 30 rods across, with its crest 1,178
to 1,186 feet above the sea. A view of this beach ridge is given in PI. VI
(jjage 26), taken on its top, near the south line of the southeast quarter of
section 35, Tilden, and looking northeastward along its course. It is bor-
dered on the southeast side by a tract of slightly undulating till 10 to 15
feet lower, mostly covered with small timber and brush and holding fre-
quent sloughs and lakelets in its depressions. The top of the beach is not
wooded, but small trees and bushes originally encroached upon its slopes.
A road extends along the crest of its curving portion for a distance of
about a mile through section 36, Tilden.

302 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

The marsh which borders the northwest side of the northeast j^art of
Maple Lake shows a descent of 5 to 7 feet northwestward, or away from
the lake, in its width of 1 to li miles. Maple Lake is prevented from flow-
ing in this direction by a beaver dam near the lake. The creek draining
this marsh where it intersects the upper beach near the east line of the
northeast quarter of section 27, Grove Park, has a height of 1,163 feet.
Here the beach skirting the north side of the marsh is a flat deposit of
gravel and sand, a fourth to a half of a mile or more in width, highest next
to the marsh, above which it rises 5 to 8 feet in a moderate slope. Its ele-
vation in the north half of sections 26 and 27 is 1,169 to 1,172 feet, being
even 1 or 2 feet lower than the Attix ridge, which lies some two-thirds of a
mile farther north, in the south half of sections 21 and 22. This belt of
beach gravel and sand continues 6 miles in a nearly due-east course, and
beyond that it extends still eastward along the north side of a great tama-
rack swamp, which begins in section 34, Badger, and is said to be 8 miles
long. Maple Lake and this tamarack swamp hold the same relation to the
upper beach ridge, which was a barrier between them and Lake Agassiz
and which now wholly or partially obstructs the di'ainage of these areas.

Third Herman beach, a small ridge of gravel and sand, extending from
southwest to northeast, 8 to 10 rods wide, and rising 4 or 5 feet, crossed
by the Crookston road in the southwest quarter of section 23, Tilden, and
seen to reach at least a mile each way from this road, 1,146 to 1,149 feet.

Natural surface at the southeast corner of section 15, Tilden, 1,134 feet.

Fourth Herman beach, crossed by the road to Crookston and Red
Lake Falls near the center of the southeast quarter of this section 15,
1,132 to 1,134 feet. This is a well-marked gravel ridge, mainly single,
but twofold where it is crossed by this road. The distance of 1 mile here
between these third and fom-th Herman beaches consists of till, with a
nearly smooth surface, which has bowlders up to 3 and rarely 5 feet in
diameter quite numerously scattered over it. Southeastward from the third
to the first or upper beach the surface mostly is sand and gravel, with no
bowlders.

HERMAN BEACHES NEAE RED LAKE. 303

EASTWARD TO RED LAKE AND THE BIG FORK OF RAINY RIVER.

(PLATES III AND XII.)

A portion of a shore-line of Lake Agassiz, probably the highest in the
Herman series of beaches, has been observed on and near the southwest
line of the Red Lake Indian Reservation, between Hill and Lost rivers. It
was seen near the north side of sections 31 and 32, and in the central part
of sections 27 and 26, township 150, range 40, also for a mile or more
thence eastward in the reservation, being 15 to 20 miles east-northeast of
Maple Lake. The area is mostly prairie, and the beach is well exhibited.
In the southwest part of township 150, range 40, the beach ridge of coarse
gravel runs along the northern border of a roughly morainic belt, which is
a half to two-thirds of a mile wide. In sections 27 and 26, and onward in
the Red Lake Reservation, the beach is a typical gravel and sand ridge,
containing pebbles and cobbles, nearly all of Archean gneiss and crystal-
line schists, up to 6 and 8 inches in diameter. Its trend here for about 3
miles is nearly from west to east. On the south, within about 1 mile, is
a tyjncal morainic belt of many hillocks, knolls, and ridges, which cover a
width of several miles and rise 100 to 150 feet above the beach and the
low, nearly flat tract that was covered by Lake Agassiz on the north, con-
sisting in large part of marshes, through which the Lost and Clearwater
rivers flow westward in meandering courses.

About 25 miles farther east in the Red Lake Reservation the road
from Red Lake to White Earth crosses a beach of Lake Agassiz, which is
probably the highest, being a continuation of the foregoing. This beach
runs nearly from west to east, and is approximately 40 feet above Red
Lake, or 1,210 feet above the sea. It is a ridge of sand and fine gravel,
crossed by the road about 2 miles southwest from Big Rock Creek and
Shell Lake. A grove of red pines grows on the beach, but the till on each
side bears white pmes. Following the road to the southwest, a belt of
kames is entered about tliree-fourths of a mile from the beach, which con-
tinues to Sandy River, having a sm-face of many knolls and short ridges,
with no observable parallelism in their trends, the crests being 10 to 20 feet
above the inclosed hollows.

304 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

The most easteru observation of the upper shore-hue of Lake Agassiz
in northern Minnesota is by Mr. Horace V. AViuchell, on the Bowstring
River, more commonly known as the Big Fork of Rainy River, some 60
miles east of Red Lake. In his description of the asceut of this stream
Mr. Winchell writes as follows of the locality, probably about 1,250 feet
above the sea, where the surface changes from a smooth contour on the
north, indicating lacustrine action, to a more undulating and rolling con-
toui- on the south, above the level of Lake Agassiz :

At the eud of 7 J miles the foot of a rapid uearly one-lialf a mile long is reached.
At the foot of it is a bank of gravel and sand [iirobably the beach of Lake Agassiz].
It is a very different sort of bank from those seen below here. It is stratified, or par-
tially so, but not horizontally nor all in the same direction. It looks like a stratilied
river deposit. Under it crops out a little line bluish-gray clay, of which only a foot
or two can be seen. This is supposed to be Cretaceous. * * * There are many
limestone pebbles iu the bank above the clay, but no shale is seen in it.

This rapid is over an immense number of bowlders. Most of them are horn-
blendic gneiss, but other rocks are frequent. Many of the bowlders are large and
stick up several feet above the water. A short distance up the rapid is a small island
which seems to be made of bowlders and is covered with trees and bushes. * * *

Above the rapids qiaau titles of bowlders are seen, while below only a few were
encountered. The country does not seem to be of one general level, as before, but is
knolly. The banks are of sand and gravel and contain much more gravel than those
below the rapids. This is about 95 miles up the river, probably in township 62, range
25. It seems probable that the rapid mentioned above is on the boundary or shore of
the glacial Lake Agassiz, and that all of the river below this rapid is included in the
ancient basin.'

BELTRAMI ISLAND.

The recent survey for the Duluth and Winnipeg Railroad, passing
northwest by the east end of Red Lake and the southwest side of the Lake
of the Woods, shows that the former of these lakes lies about 40 feet and
the latter somewhat more than 150 feet below the highest level of Lake
Agassiz. The height of Red Lake above the sea is ascertained to be 1,172
feet, and of the Lake of the Woods, in its stages of low and high water,
1,057 to 1,063 feet. Northeast of Red Lake the Tamarack River drains a
lai'ge tract of tamarack, spruce, and arbor-vitse swamp, which reaches to

' Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Minnesota, Sixteentli Annual Report, for 1887, p. 434.

BELTRAMI ISLAND. 305

the divide between the Tamarack River and the West Branch of the Bow-
string River (more commonly called the Big Fork), tributary to Rainy
River, the height of the divide being only 15 to 20 feet above Red Lake.
Similar low swamp land forms nearly the whole northern and northwestern
shore of Red Lake and is crossed by this railroad survey continuously
along its first 18 miles beyond Red Lake; but at a distance of 29 miles
from the lake the profile shows an ascent crossing the highest beach of
Lake Agassiz, which there is 1,215 feet above tlie sea. The next 17 miles
of the profile extend across the northeastern edge of a large island of Lake
Agassiz, rising on that line to a maximum height of 1,283 feet, with a
moderately undulating drift-covered surface. In the next 15 miles, which
comprise the descent on a similar but smoother drift surface from the high-
est shore of Lake Agassiz to the War Road River, an affluent of the Lake
of the Woods, the profile crosses a succession of ten lower beaches of
Lake Agassiz, marking stages in the gradual uplifting of the land and
subsidence of the lake, their altitudes above the sea being 1,196, 1,172,
1,156, 1,143, 1,127, 1,116, 1,106, 1,099, 1,093, and 1,087 feet.

These data show that Lake Agassiz in its highest stage had a large
island northwest of Red Lake, comprising the headwaters of numerous
streams flowing outward from it to the Lake of the Woods, Rainy River,
Red Lake, the Red Lake River, and the Red River of the North. This
island had probably a diameter of 40 miles or more, with an area exceed-
ing 1,000 square miles, of which apparently more than half is in Beltrami
County, the portion farther west being chiefly in Marshall County, Minn.
For this tract, which had before been supposed to be comparatively low
and perhaps wholly beneath the highest level of Lake Agassiz, the name
Beltrami Island is proposed, in recognition of the exploration of the region
of Red Lake and the Julian or most northern sources of the Mississippi by
Beltrami in 1823.^ As Prof N. H. Winchell wrote in the historical sketch
here cited, this district "is still nearly as wild and uninhabited as when
Mr. Beltrami passed through it." The limits of Beltrami Island are shown
approximately on Pis. X, XXII, and other maps in this volume.^

1 Geology of Minnesota, Vol. I, 1884, pp. 44-50, with map.

■' Beltrami Island was first described in the American Geologist, Vol. XI, pp. 423-125, .Iiine, 1893;
and its earliest mapping was in the Twenty-second Annual Report of the Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey
of Minnesota, for 1893 (pub. 1894), Plate I.

MON XXV 20

306 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

This island lies in the course of northwestward and northward contin-
uation of the Mesabi or eleventh moraine of the series mapped in Minnesota,
which next east from the narrows of Red Lake, rises very prominently to a
height of 150 to 200 feet for a distance of about 10 miles upon the penin-
sula dividing the northern and southern parts of the lake. Like nearly the
entire western half or two-thirds of Minnesota, this whole region is deeply
drift-covered. No outcrops of the bed-rocks have yet been found on the
large portion of the Red River basin lying in Minnesota; but the conspic-
uous escarpment of Cretaceous shales, overspread by drift, along the Avest
border of the Red River Valley, wells penetrating to Cretaceous beds along
this great valley plain, and the topographic features of the land rising east-
ward from it with nearly the same rate of ascent as on the west, lead to the
belief that the eastern, like the western, border of this wide valley is foi'med
by an escarpment of Cretaceous shales beneath the drift, and that the mod-
erately elevated area of Beltrami Island consists of these shales enveloped
by the glacial and modified drift.

THE UPPER OR HERMATf BEACHES AlVB DEETAS IK NORTH

DAKOTA.

FKOM LAKE TRAVERSE NORTHWEST TO MILNOR.

(PLATES XXIII AND XXVII.)

From the soiithern extremity of Lake Agassiz, in section 18, Leon-
ardsville. Traverse County, Minn., the upper or Herman beach extends
northwestward 75 miles to the most southern bend of the Sheyenne River,
in Ransom County, N. Dak., and thence its course is nearly due north, but
with slight deflection westward, to the international boundary. The mouth
of Lake Agassiz was where now a slough 2 to 3 miles wide, with frequent
areas of open water, tributary to the Bois des Sioux River, stretches north-
ward from the northeast end of Lake Traverse. On the west side of this
slough and of Lake Traverse bluffs of till rise 100 to 125 feet; their tops
and the rolling surface of till which extends thence westward are 1,070 to
1,100 feet above the sea.

The beginning of the upper or Herman shore-line west of the Bois
des Sioux is in the northeast corner of South Dakota, in sections 10, 3, and

HEEMAN BEACH ENTERING NORTH DAKOTA. 307

4, township 128, range 48, nearly 2 miles soutli from the north line of the
Sisseton and Wahpeton Reservation. The ancient shoi'e rises with terrace-
like steepness 20 or 30 feet above the surface of undulating till which
borders it on the northeast. Its material is sand and gravel, with pebbles
up to IJ or 2 inches in diameter, about half of which are limestone.
Beyond its steep margin this deposit of gravel forms a belt about a mile
wide, approximately level, but with frequent short swells and low, flattened
ridges, 5 to 10 or 15 feet above the intervening depressions. Its elevation
is 1,060 to 1,070 feet above the sea, or from 90 to 100 feet above Lake
Traverse.

For its first 3 or 4 miles the terrace-like lakeward margin of this belt
of sand and gravel sweeps with a gentle curve westerly and northerly to a
point in the southwest quarter of section 34, townsliip 129, range 48, where
it turns quite abruptly, taking a nearly due-west course for the next 3 miles
to the west side of section 31 of this township.

In the northwest quarter of section 3, township 128, range 48, a third
of a mile east of W. J. Allen's house, the ascent at the margin of this
deposit is about 10 feet, to an elevation of 1,060 feet, approximately. Tlie
belt of sand and fine gravel is here about a half mile wide. Occasional
hummocks, rising 5 to 10 feet and 50 to 100 feet long, which were observed
on this part of the belt, appear to have been heaped up by the wind before
the protecting mantle of grass and other herbaceous vegetation was spread
over it.

Where this formation enters North Dakota, in the southeast quarter of
section 32, township 129, range 48, similar dunes, 1,075 to 1,080 feet above
the sea, have been excavated for use as plastering sand. Nearly all por-
tions of this tract, and even its dunes, are now covered with a black soil and
plentiful vegetation; but certain species preferring dry, sandy soil, as the
dwarf rose (Rosa arkansana Porter), grow in greater abundance on the sand
and gravel belt, and especially among its hummocks and hollows, than on
the flat or slightly undulating surface of till at each side.

The imier margin of this belt, marking the shore of Lake Agassiz at
its maximum stage, passes in its western course about 60 rods north of the
southeast corner of section 32 and turns again to the northwest near

308 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

the middle of the west side of section 31, township 129, range 48. At the
latter locality it is a low, wave-like ridge of sand and fine gravel, about
1,060 feet above the sea. On the south it is bordered by land 3 to 5 feet
lower for a width of IJ miles. J. R. Grimesey's well, 13 feet deep, at the
southwest corner of section 31, on this low tract outside the beach ridge,
encountered only very fine stratified sand, irregularly laminated and con-
taining numerous tubular limonitic concretions. Farther to the southwest
and west, a gently undulating surface of till, scarcely higher than the beach
of Lake Agassiz, stretches away several miles, beyond which the high-
land of the Coteau des Prairies is seen in the far distance.

The Herman beach crosses township 129, range 49, in a diagonal
course, entering it a half mile north of its southeast corner and running-
northwest to the north side of sections 5 and 6. In section 23 and the
northeast part of section 22, its elevation is about 1,055 feet, but its dunes
rise 3 or 4 feet higher. At the middle of the north side of section 16 it is
a ridge of sand and fine gravel about 8 rods wide, rising 4 to 6 feet above
the land on each side. Its crest here and for a mile to the southeast
and northwest is 1,060 to 1,065 feet above the sea. Northeastward the
surface falls about 20 feet in the first mile. On the southwest side of this
distinct beach ridge, a smooth, slightly undulating tract IJ to 2 miles wide,
extending through this township, consists of sand and fine clayey silt. Its
elevation varies from 1,055 to 1,080 feet, attaining the latter height in the
northwest part of the township. This belt, with its continuation southeast-
ward, previously described, was doubtless covered by Lake Agassiz before
the erosion of its outlet to the level of the Herman beach; but its stratified
sand and silt appear to be modified drift deposited by streams from the
melting ice-sheet. The glacial recession here was from southwest to north-
east, and this was probably an avenue of di-ainage during a short time, as
was shown on page 150, till the continued retreat of the ice left a consider-
able expanse of water, the begimiing of Lake Agassiz, between itself and
the shore.

In the north part of sections 5 and 6, township 129, range 49, and in
sections 31 and 32, township 130, range 49, this beach consists of two or

THE LIGHTNINGS NEST. 309

three parallel wave-like ridges of gravel and sand, divided hj depressions
an eighth to a quarter of a mile wide and 5 to 10 feet lower.

This belt reaches north to the Lightnings (or Thunders) Nest/ a mas-
sive dune of fine sand (PI. VII, p. 28), partly bare and now wind-blown,
but mostly covered with bushes and herbage, situated near the center of
section 30, township 130, range 49. Its base on the south is 1,060 feet and
its top 1,120 feet, approximately, above the sea. It covers a space about
a quarter of a mile in extent from southeast to northwest, with nearly as
great width, and rises in two summits of nearly equal height. The Light-
nings Nest is the most prominent in a series of dunes, elsewhere rising
only 10 to 30 feet, mostly grassed, which extends a mile or more to the
southeast and is traceable several luiles northwest to the east end of a very
conspicuous tract of dunes 50 to 100 feet above the adjacent level, with
summits at 1,100 to 1,150 feet above the sea, which stretches about 4 miles
hi a west-northwest course in the south part of township 131, range 50, 1
to 2 miles south of the Wild Rice River. By winds, eroding and drifting,
these sand hills were heaped up from the Hei'man beach and its associated
belt of modified drift, probably soon after the retreat of the ice, though
their forms have been constantly changing since that time.

Outside the area of Lake Agassiz, the southwest part of Richland
County is till, mostly undulating or moderately rolling, Ijut in part promi-
nentl}- hilly, with rough morainic contour and abundant bowlders. Taylor
Lake, approximately 1,050 feet above the sea, 2^ miles west of the Light-
nings Nest, is a very beautiful sheet of water, bordered by a sandy shore
and a large grove on the north, and by a shore of bowlders and morainic
hills 50 to 150 feet above the lake on the west. These hills and most of the
lakes farther west in this county have no timber. Northeastward the area
that was covered by Lake Agassiz is mostly smooth and nearly flat till,
with frequent marshy tracts called sloughs, liut with only very rare and
small lakelets.

Swan Lake, 3 miles long, reaches from section 3 to section 7, t(^wnship
130, range 51, having an estimated height of 1,070 feet above the sea, with

' A translation of the aboriginal Dakota name.

310 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

undulating till 6 to 10 feet higher on the northeast and 10 to 20 feet higher
on the south and west.

The Herman beach, a ridge of fine sand, 20 to 25 rods wide and about
3 feet high, near the south line of section 36, township 132, rang-e 52,
trends to the west-northwest, and has a height of 1,065 feet, approxi-
mately. On the north, the exceedingly flat plain of Lake Agassiz, sinking
very slowly northeastward, reaches as far as the eye can see. On the
south, flat land, covered by Lake Agassiz before the time of this beach,
continues IJ miles, ascending in that distance from 1,060 feet to about
1,080 feet, and moderately undulating till rises beyond to 1,100 and
1,125 feet.

One and a half miles north of this beach the Wild Rice River is
crossed by a bridge near the center of section 25, township 132, range 52.
The stream in its ordinary stage is 1 to 2 rods wide, with a depth of about

3 feet, and is filled with grass and rushes. Its bottom land, a sixth to a third
of a mile wide, is about 10 feet higher and is anniially overflowed by the
high water in spring. Its bluffs rise about 40 feet above the river at low
water, the elevation of their top and of the adjoining plain being, approxi-
mately, 1,050 feet. These bluffs and the surface from the Herman beach
north to Elk Creek are till, but the country about Wyndmere and south to
Elk Creek is stratified, fine clayey sand. Both formations have a very fer-
tile soil, unsurpassed for wheat and all crops proper to this latitude. Elk
Creek is a stream similar to the Wild Rice River, but smaller, and the widtlr
and depth of its valley are about two-thu'ds as great.

Northern Pacific, Fergus Falls and Black Hills Railroad, track at
Wyndmere, 1,062 feet above the sea; at the Herman beach, IJ miles west
of Wyndmere, track 1,066 feet, and crest of the beach 1,068 feet, rising 8
feet above the adjacent land 20 rods away both east and west; surface
along the raih-oad thence westward 8 miles, 1,062 to 1,066 feet, with Star
Lake, a third of a mile in diameter on this level area, only 2 or 3 feet below
the surrounding land close north of the railroad in section 5, township
132, range 52; a higher beach of Lake Agassiz, crossed 3 miles east of
Milnor, and therefore called the Milnor beach, crest and track, 1,085 feet,

4 or 5 feet above the adjoining land 10 rods away both east and west;

THE MILNOE BEACHES. 311

another beach ridge formed during the same stage of Lake Agassiz, a third
of a mile farther west, crest and grade, 1,086 feet; land close east, 1,081,
and west 1,087 feet; track at Milnor, 1,097 feet.

The Herman beach west and north of Wyndmere has an irregular sur-
face, with frequent hummocks of sand heaped 5 to 10 feet above adjacent
hollows. Most of these dunes are now grassed. From near Wyndmere
this beach, with frequent small dunes, extends north through the west edge
of township 133, range 61, and thence westerly to another tract of promi-
nent dunes 50 to 100 feet above the adjacent surface, with their top at 1,100
to 1,150 feet, which extends about 10 miles in a west-northwest course
from the southwest part of township 134, range 52, to the east part of town-
ship 134, range 54, terminating about 2 miles east of the Sheyenne River.
Like the similar high dunes south of the Wild Rice River, these are mainly
covered by herbage, bushes, and small trees; but many portions are now
being drifted by the winds, so that they are wholly destitute of ve getation.
These dunes mark the course of the Herman beach, here greatly increased
in volume by delta deposits from the Sheyenne River.

Morainic knolls and hills, rising 20 to 50 feet, with plentiful bowlders,
lie close west of Milnor, extending in a belt from southeast to northwest.
They are referred to the seventh or Dovre moraine, as described in Chapter
IV. Near Lisbon, about 15 miles northwest from Milnor, some of these
morainic hills are quite conspicuous, rising 100 feet or more above the sur-
rounding country.

Evidence of a stage of Lake Agassiz 20 or 30 feet higher than that of
the Herman beach is found, as before noticed, in many places along the
southern part of its boundary in North Dakota. The portion of this glacial
lake formed earliest by the recession of the ice seems to have reached from
Lake Traverse to the Sheyenne River, and its level appears to have been
then nearly that of the general surface and the top of the bluffs bordering
Lake Traverse. An explanation of the conditions probably producing this
Milnor stage of the incipient glacial lake, with the reasons why it was
limited to a comparatively short extent on the southwestern border of the
lake area, has been presented on pages 150 and 211.

312 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

FROM MILNOR NORTH TO SHELDON.

(PLATE XXVII.)

The highest level of Lake Agassiz near Milnor is marked by the Milnor
beach, already mentioned, where it is crossed by the railroad. This beach
is fine clayey sand, in somewhat irregular and inteiTupted low ridges and
terraces, abutting at the west on undulating till, which gradually rises 10
or 20 feet higher, while on the east a descent of 10 or 15 feet within about
20 rods is succeeded by a flat area, which thence sinks very slowly north-
eastward. The elevation of the Milnor beach at the railroad is 1,086 feet,
and at Mr. Gr. V. Dawson's house, at the middle of the east side of section
22, township 133, range 64, 1,092 feet. Its course between these points is
north-northwest, and this is continued to the mouth of a former channel of
the Sheyenne River, near the center of section 4 in this township, 3 miles
east from the most southern bend of the river.

During all the stages of Lake Agassiz the Sheyenne River brought
into it much sediment, carrying the clay farther than the sand and gravel,
which were laid down near the river's mouth. Extensive areas of these
originally flat beds have been changed by wind action to irregular groups
and belts of sand hills or dunes, which vary from a few feet to more than
100 feet in height above the surrounding level. Besides the large tract of
these dunes before described east of the Sheyenne River, others of even
greater extent and equally conspicuous border the river and reach 2 or 3
miles from it in the northeast part of township 135, range 54, and along its
next 15 miles.

Watercourses formerly occupied by this stream are found west of the
Milnor beach. One of them is marked by a sandy flat, which reaches
from the present course of the Sheyenne River, in section 1, township 133,
range 55, southeastward through township 133, range 54, to the vicinity
of Milnor. Another runs from near the middle of the southwest quarter of
section 32, township 134, range 54, about 1{ miles east- southeast to the
middle of section 4, township 133, range 54. This is a channel 30 to 50
rods wide, about 40 feet below a ridge of coarse gravel, which extends
along its northeast side, dividing it from the lower area that was covered
by Lake Agassiz and from the present valley of the river. The crest of the

THE MILNOE AND HERMAN BEACHES. 313

ridge is nearly flat upon a width oi 10 to 30 rods, and is 75 to 100 feet
above the river, being highest westward. It contains pebbles and cobbles
of all sizes up to 6 inches in diameter, about half being limestone and
nearly all the others granitic. This ridge or plateau of gravel is a remnant
of an old delta plain of the Sheyenne River, apparently deposited before
the formation of the Milnor beach, above which it rises some 40 or 50 feet,
which suggests that the deserted channel of that depth on its south side
was probably eroded during the Milnor stage of Lake Agassiz. Similar
gravel occurs on the side and verge of the bluff, 100 feet high, northwest
of the Sheyenne River, in the southwest quarter of section 29, township
134, range 54, but a rolling surface of till extends thence northwest.

The height of the Sheyenne River in section 32, township 134, range
54, is 1,039 feet above the sea; and on the west line of the northwest
quarter of section 29, township 135, range 54, 1,021 feet. Its bed through
these townships is mostly 4 to 6 rods wide, with water 1 to 2 or 3 feet
deep, and is strewn in many places with cobbles and bowlders up to 2 or 3
feet and rarely 6 or 8 feet in diameter. Its bottom land near the south
bend, about a third of a mile wide, is 15 or 20 feet above the ordinary low
stage of water, and during a term of fourteen years preceding this survey
in 1885 it had not been overflowed; but driftwood, found by the first
immigrants, proves that the river sometimes reaches this height. Bluff's
of till here, in the southwest corner of township 134, range 54, rise 100 to
125 feet above the stream.

Bluffs of till close west of the Sheyenne River, in section 20, township
134, range 54, 1,100 to 1,110 feet; moderately rolling till a quarter of a
mile farther west, 1,115 to 1,125 feet; same in sections 17 and 18, 1,090 to
1,130 feet; and on the east side of the river, in sections 21, 16, and 17,
1,085 to 1,075 feet, descending northeastward. Prominent swell of till
west of the Sheyenne River, in the southeast quarter of section 30, town-
ship 135, range 54, having four aboriginal mounds on its crest, 1,113 feet;
top of these mounds, 1,117 feet, very nearly. Highest portions of the area
of undulating till seen westward from this section 30, 3 or 4 miles distant,
1,125 to 1,150 feet.

314 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Surface at Chai-les G. Froemke's house, in the northwest quarter of
section 29, township 135, range 54, 1,075 feet; bottom land of the Shey-
enne River close west, 1,039 to 1,029 feet; ordinary low water of the
river, 1,021 feet.

Portion of area of Lake Agassiz, a strip a fourth to a third of a mile
wide, west of the Sheyenne River, in sections 32 and 6, a half mile to 2
miles south of Mr. Froemke's, 1,065 to 1,075 feet. Herman beach one-
fourth to two-thirds of a mile east of the Sheyenne River here and extend-
ing southeasterly toward the western limit of dunes in the east part of
township 134, range 54, 1,073 to 1,079 feet. Crest of this beach, a low
ridge of sand and fine gravel, at J. Altmann's house, near the middle of
section 20, township 135, range 54, 1,073 feet. Within 10 or 15 rods east
there is a descent of about 10 feet. This beach ridge runs north and
northeasterly to near the northeast corner of this section 20, and thence it
passes eastward about 3 miles, having an elevation of 1,075 to 1,065 feet
to where it is intersected by the Sheyenne River, near the northeast corner
of section 14. North of the river it continues about a half mile in section
12, its elevation being 1,065 to 1,070 feet, to the west end of a tract of
dunes 25 to 100 feet above their vicinity, with summits at 1,100 to 1.150
feet, which extends thence about 15 miles eastward. This Herman beach
was sufficient to turn the course of the Sheyenne River along its west and
north side for a distance of 8 miles, from section 9, township 134, range 54,
north and east to section 14, township 135, range 54, though it is only a
ridge of sand and gravel 5 to 10 feet higher than the smoothed area of till,
occasionally covered hj 1 to 3 feet of sand, which lies west of it and in
which the river has now cut its channel 50 to 60 feet deep.

Rolling surface of till in the south edge of section 9, township 135,
range 54, 25 to 40 rods north of the Sheyenne River, 1,080 to 1,090 feet.
Most of this section 9 is nearly level till at 1,080 to 1,085 feet, with occa-
sional large hollows 20 feet lower. It seems to have been smoothed by
Lake Agassiz at the time of the Milnor beach. Westward is slightly undu-
lating till, having an elevation of 1,085 to 1,125 feet for 2 or 3 miles, as fai-
as the si;rface lies within view.

THE SHBYENNE DELTA, 315

Herman beach in the noi'thwest quarter of section 10, township 135,
range 54, 1,075 to 1,080 feet. This is a deposit of gravel and sand
extending along the verge of the plateau of till just described in section 9.
Fifteen or 20 rods to the east the elevation is 1,065 feet, and it sinks slowly
thence eastward to about 1,050 feet at the west base of the dunes in sections
12 and 1 of this township.

Lakelet back of this beach, situated in the east edge of the southeast
quarter of section 4, township 135, range 54, about 50 rods long from south
to north, 1,060 feet, being 25 feet below the average of the adjacent
undulating till. Shallow lakelet 40 rods across, close east of the beach, a
quarter of a mile east from the northwest corner of section 3, also 1,0G0
feet; adjoining land, 1,065 to 1,070 feet, excepting on the west, where the
Herman beach has an elevation of 1,080 feet, with undulating till beyond
it a few feet higher.

Herman beach at the middle of the west side of section 34, township
136, range 54, Sheldon, 1,082 feet; surface 25 rods east, 1,070 feet, thence
descending slowly eastward. Here and for 1 J miles south, through section
3, this beach is a flattened ridge of sand and fine gravel, 25 or 30 rods wide,
with a depression 3 to .6 feet deep along its west side. In the northwest
quarter of section 28 its elevation is 1,080 feet.

Fargo and Southwestern Railroad track at Sheldon, 1,080 feet. Wells
in Sheldon village are 10 to 15 feet deep; in sandy clay, free from gravel
or bowlders, 6 to 10 feet, with sand below. These deposits belong to the
Herman beach, which is here spread upon a width of about a half mile.

DELTA OF THE SHEYENNE RIVER.

(PLATE XXVII.)

The delta deposited by the Sheyenne River in Lake Agassiz reaches
from the Lightnings Nest 50 miles northwest to the south bend of the Maple
River, and has a maximum width of nearly 30 miles to the northeast from
the south bend of the Sheyenne. It probably covers an area of 800 square
miles to an average depth of 40 feet, its voluijne being, therefore, about 6
cubic miles. Large tracts of this delta are channeled ])}• the winds and
heaped up in dunes, as before noted, which rise to heights of 25 to 100 feet

316

THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

or more above the average height of its expanse. Fig. 13 presents a section
crossinar this delta from east to west.

The deposition of the delta proper, and also of the fine lacustrine silt
extending beyond its plateau to the Red River, took place mainly during
the upper Herman stages. The plateau, gently descending eastward, is
crossed by the Herman and Norcross shore-lines, and in part by the Tintah
and Campbell shores on its eastern and southeastern border. From the
Maple River 8 miles east to Leonard, however, and thence southeasterly
about 25 miles, its margin has been eroded and changed to an abrupt
escarpment, or at least a somewhat steep slope, by the lake waves during
the Tintah, Campbell, and McCauleyville stages. This front of tlie delta,
75 to 25 feet above the flat low land of the Red River Valley adjoining its
base, decreases in prominence as it is followed southward. It passes close

Soo

FlQ. 13.— Section across the delta of the Sheyenno Tdver. Horizontal scale, 6 miles to an iuih.

north of Leonard and within a few miles west of Kindred, Walcott, Colfax,
and Barrett, gradually ceasing as a notable feature farther south.

A great portion, probably exceeding a half, of the Sheyenne delta, as
of all the other large deltas of this glacial lake, is modified drift, which
was brought down by glacial streams from the melting surface of the ice-
sheet. The coarser gravel and much sand that were supplied from the
ice to the head streams of the Sheyenne during the time of formation of
its delta were deposited along the outer side of the great moraines south
of Devils Lake; the finer gravel and a great volume of sand were carried
by the Sheyenne to this delta; and the finest silt and clay of the great
glacial river were spread in the quiet water of the lake, over a much larger
adjoining area of its bed, from near Breckenridge northward beyond the
mouth of the Sheyenne.

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

MONOGRAPH XXV. PL. XXVM.

s BifN a CO h

MAP SHOWIN& THE GREATER PART OF THE SHPTiT^NNK DELTA OF I^AIiK AGy\>SSIZ
AND CONTIGUOUS BEACHES, NORTH DAKOTA.

Scale, 6 miles to art iiuli.

Moi'aillc I i

Lake Aj^ea

Delta

AUitiules or 7Yd/nav stations cti'C iKilpd in f'cc^t trho\'i' I tip sen.

THE SHBYENNE DELTA. 317

Much alluvium was also supplied from tlie erosion of the Sheyenne
Valley, which, with that of the Big Coulee (the avenue of discharge from
the glacial Lake Souris to the Sheyenne and Lake Agassiz), probably
averages three-fourths of a mile in width and 150 feet in depth along a
distance of 200 miles. This channel is cut in the drift sheet, mainly till,
and in the underlying, easily eroded Cretaceous shales. The volume of the
material supplied from it would be equal, according to these estimates,
to about three-fourths of the Sheyenne delta, or perhaps three-eighths of
both the delta and the finer clayey sediments that were deposited farther
out in the lake. But the valley of the Sheyenne, in considerable portions
of its extent, was also a preglacial valley. If it retained in a considerable
degree its trough-like form beneath the ice-sheet, as was evidently true
of the Minnesota Valley,^ its erosion and its tribute to the Sheyeime delta
would be less than the proportion estimated.

PROM SHELDON NORTH TO THE NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD.

(PLATES XXVII AND XXVIII.)

The Herman beach, terrace-like, at Hugh Mcintosh's house, in the
south edge of the northwest quarter of section 8, Sheldon, has its crest
1,083 to 1,084 feet above the sea. His well, near the top of the beach, 22
feet deep, is soil and sandy clay to a depth of 7 feet, then sand 15 feet to
water. Till rises to the surface 20 rods farther west. About 30 rods east,
on land 10 feet lower, a well 10 feet deep is all caving sand below the black
soil, which is 1 or 2 feet deep.

Maple River in section 32, Highland, about 2 miles northeast from its
most southern bend, 1,019 feet. It is 20 to 40 feet wide and 1 to 3 feet
deep, with cobbles and bowlders in many portions of its channel. Herman
beach, a sand and gravel deposit, extending a quarter of a mile from south
to north on the verge of the bluff of till west of Maple River in the north-
west part of this section 22, 1,072 to 1,077 feet. In the north edge of the
northwest quarter of this section, the northeast corner of section 31, and
the east edge of section 30, it is a plateau-like tract a fourth of a mile wide,
with a subsoil of sand and fine gravel, 1,086 feet, from which both east and

I "The Minnesota Valley in the Ice age," Proc, A. A. A. S., Vol. XXXII, for 1883, pp. 213-231.
Geology of Minnesota, Vol. I, 1884, pp. 479-485,581; Vol. II, 1888, p. 134.

318 ■ THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

west a gentle slope falls 5 feet within 20 or 3(^ rods. In the northwest
quarter of section 20 and the west half of section 17, Highland, it is a
gracefully rounded ridge, 1,085 to 1,087 feet, with descent of about 5 feet
on its west side and 10 to 15 feet within as many rods on the east. The
surface east of the Maple River in this township has an elevation of 1,075
to 1,065 feet, declining toward the north and east. In the east half of
Pontiac, the next township on the west, a surface of till, moderately undu-
lating near the beach of Lake Agassiz, but prominently rolling at a distance
of 3 miles to the west, rises to 1,150 and 1,175 feet in the vicinity of the
Maple River above its south bend.

The Herman beach, a broad, flattened ridge of sand and gravel, passes
in a north-northeast course through the center of section 8, Highland, its
elevation being 1,083 feet. A smoothed surface of till, 1,082 to 1,087 feet,
with occasional sloughs in depressions 15 to 20 feet deep, occupies the west
half of this section 8 ; and close east of the beach a flat of till on the east
line of the section, at 1,065 to 1,070 feet, was the bed of the lake.

Continuing northeastward, the beach is offset a mile to the east, in
sections 4 and 3, Highland, so that the greater part of section 4 was a bay
of Lake Agassiz during its Herman stage, with bottom at 1,080 to 1,065
feet, inclosed on the west, north, and east by beach deposits. The highest
portion of the hook or spit east of this bay is in the southwest quarter of
section 3, 1,093 to 1,096 feet. It is composed of sand and fine gravel,
with pebbles mostly less than an inch, but occasionally 2 inches in diameter,
forming a smoothly rounded swell 30 to 40 rods wide. This cape, project-
ino- south and west a mile into the lake, was accumulated by the southward
drift of the beach material along the shore, caused by northern winds, as
is also observable at various other places on both the east and west shores
of this glacial lake and on both sides of Lake Michigan at the present time.

Herman beach in the west edge of section 26, Eldred, 1,094 feet. On
the east side of the beach here, near the center of this section, is a slough
filled with rushes and containing water all the year ; its elevation is about
1,065 feet, that of the land on its east side, in the east part of this section,
being about 1,075 feet. In the northeast quarter of section 34 the beach
is intersected by a sluggish creek, apparently formed by springs within a

THE UPPER OE HERMAN BEACHES. 319

half mile northwest, its ravine being fully 40 feet below the general level
of the beach and the laud westward. Again, in the southwest quarter of
section 26 the beach is cut by a dry channel, the outlet in rainy weather
from a small slough.

Through the west half of section 23, Eldred, the beach is a low,
smoothly rounded ridge of sand and fine gravel, about half of which is
limestone and the rest granite or other Archean rocks. As in the 3 miles
next southward, it is largely composed of fine gravel, and pebbles abound,
often covering half the surface of the knolls made by gophers. Most of the
pebbles are less than an inch in diameter, but some measure. 2 and a few
3 inches. The elevation of this beach ridge is 1,092 to 1,100 feet; on the
north line of this section its height is 1,099 feet. A broad depression 3 to
5 feet below the beach borders its west side. Toward the east there is a
descent of about 10 feet in 25 or 30 rods, and thence a gradual slope sinks
to 1,060 or 1,050 feet within 1 to IJ miles.

Undulating tdl in sections 22 and 15, Eldred, 1,095 to 1,110 feet; crests
of prominently rolling till in the west edge of section 11 and the south
part of section 10, 1,115 to 1,125 feet; thence northwestward lower undu-
lating till has an elevation of only 1,090 to 1,100 feet for nearly 2 miles,
and rises quite slowly beyond. This somewhat irregular contour has
caused considerable diversity in the development of the beach, so that its
deposits are massed in unusual amount in some places, while elsewhere
they are deficient or wholly wanting. In the southwest quarter of the
southwest quai'ter of section 14, Eldred, a swell of gravel, with pebbles up
to 2 inches or rarely 3 inches in diameter, rises to 1,105 feet, extending-
about 40 rods from south to north; and similar gravel, at 1,095 to 1,105
feet, occurs in the west part of the northwest quarter of section 23, west of
the distinct beach ridge. The northwest part of section 1 4 is a nearly flat
tract, having a subsoil of sand and fine gravel, with an elevation of 1,090
to 1,095 feet. A beach ridge extending south from the east side of a prom-
inent swell of till in the southwest quarter of section 11, at 1,086 to 1,089
feet, has a continuous depression of about 5 feet on its west side and is bor-
dered eastward by land 6 to 10 feet below its crest. In the northwest part,
of this section 11 and the southeast part of section 3 the shore of Lake

320 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Agassiz is marked by slight erosion in the rolhng and undulating- surface of
till rather than bv the usual beach denosits of travel and sand.

*/ J. o

Beyond this, a conspicuous beach ridge 25 to 40 rods wide, elevated
10 feet above the undulating till on its west side and Ijordered by a still
lower surface on the east, extends from the middle of the southwest quarter
of the southeast quarter of section 3, Eldi'ed, northwestward to near the
middle of the north line of the northwest quarter of this section, where it
is interrupted by a drainage gap about 20 feet below its crest. Thence this
massive beach ridge continues in a north-northeast course tlu'ough section
34, Howes, to near the middle of its north line. Its material is sand and
gravel, with pebbles up to 1 ^ inches in diameter. In section 3 its elevation
is 1,095 to 1,090 feet, and in section 34, 1,089 to 1,094 feet. It passes
onward as a very distinct and typical beach ridge, with the same north-
northeast course, through sections 27 and 22, Howes, having an elevation
of 1,087 to 1,095 feet in section 27 and 1,089 to 1,096 feet in section 22.
Its eastern slope in these sections descends 15 to 20 feet.

About a half mile west from this great beach ridge the east edge of
section 4 has irregular deposits of beach gravel and sand in swells and bars
5 feet above the general level, iind in the east edge of section 33, Howes,
a well-defined parallel beach begins, having a width of 20 to 25 rods and
elevation of 1,092 to 1,094 feet, with a depression 2 to 4 feet lower on the
west and descent of about 5 feet on the east. This western Herman beach
extends as a continuous ridge 2 miles to the north-northeast, excepting a
gap where it is intersected by a small stream in the northwest quarter of
section 27. Its material is sand and gravel, with pebbles up to 2 inches in
diameter, about half being limestone. Both tliis and the east beach have a
black soil a foot or more in depth, and are scarcely inferior to the adjoining
areas of till in productiveness. Farther west a slightly undulating or
nearly flat surface of till extends from a half mile to 1^ miles before it
rises above 1,095 feet, and the highest of its swells, seen 3 to 6 miles away
to the west and northwest, do not exceed 1,150 or 1,175 feet. The western
Herman beach on the north line of the northwest quarter of section 27 has
a height of 1,095 feet; about 6 rods to the south, 1,097 feet; and northeast-

THE UPPEE OR HERMAI^r BEACHES. 321

ward, ill section 22, 1,092 to 1,095 feet, to its junction with the eastern or
main beach in the east part of this section.

A lower Herman beach, formed after the lake level here had fallen
slightly, appears in the northwest edge of section 26, Howes, having its
crest at 1,072 to 1,075 feet; passing north-northeastward through the west
half of section 23, its elevation is 1,075 to 1,080 feet; through section 14,
1,080 to 1,087 feet, being highest near the center of this section; and in
the east part of sections 11 and 2 and onward to the southwest quarter of
section 36, Buffalo, 1,083 to 1,080 and 1,075 feet. Its maximum develop-
ment is in section 14, where it is a massive, smoothly rounded ridge of sand
and fine gravel, 30 rods wide, with a descent of 15 feet on each side. In
sections 26 and 23 it is bordered on the west by a continuous depression 4
to 8 feet below it; and through sections 14, 11, and 2, and in the southwest
quarter of section 36, a slough 3^ miles long, mown for its luxuriant marsh
hay, having an elevation of 1,067 to 1,072 feet, lies between this and the
main beach, a half mile farther west.

Floor of S. P. Gardner's house, in the northwest corner of section 27,
Howes, 1,096 feet.

Main Herman beach through the west edge of section 14, Howes,
1,096 to 1,093 feet, declining northward; in the west part of section 11,
1,093 to 1,095 feet; in section 2, 1,092 to 1,095 feet, changing from a north
to a north-northeast course; in the southeast edge of section 35 and the
northwest edge of section 36, Buffalo, 1,092 to 1,096 feet; and in the west
part of section 25, where it is cut by the Northern Pacific Railroad, 1,095
to 1,101 feet. At the railroad cut its crest is 1,099 to 1,101 feet, and the
track is 1,092 feet above the sea. Along this distance of 5 miles it is a
typical beach ridge of sand and gravel, with pebbles up to 2 inches and
occasionally 3 to 6 inches in diameter, about 30 rods wide, rising nearly 25
feet above the slough on the east, and bordered on the west by a continu-
ous depression, mostly about an eighth of a mile wide, 3 to 7 feet below its
crest. Slightly undulating till rises beyond to 1,125 and 1,140 feet within
1 or 1 J miles west, which is as far as the surface lies within view.

Northern Pacific Railroad track at Wheatland, 993 feet; on bridge
over creek in the east edge of section 25, Buffalo, 4 miles west of Wheat-

MON XXV 21

322 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

land and three-fifths of a mile east of the Herman beach, 1,076 feet; bed
of the creek, 1,057 feet; track at summit, 4^ miles west from the Herman
beach, same as the natural surface, 1,208 feet; and at Buffalo, a half mile
farther west, 1,202 feet.

FKOM THE NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD NORTH TO GALESBURG.

(PLATE XXVIII.)

The Herman beach, a broad, smoothly rounded, continuous ridge of
the same material and contour as southward, runs to the north-northeast for
the next 4 miles north from the Northern Pacific Railroad, with its crest at
1,097 to 1,100 feet, very constant in elevation. The descent of its east
slope is 15 or 20 feet in about 20 rods, and of its west slope about 5 feet.
Thence Avestward the surface is undulating till, in swells 10 to 15 feet above
the depressions, rising gradually to 1,150 and 1,200 feet above the sea at a
distance of 3 to 5 miles, the farthest seen in that direction. In a broad
view this area seems an almost flat j)lain.

Where this beach is cut by the branch of the Great Northern Railway
from Ripon to Hope, near the middle of the line between sections 32 and
33, Empire, its crest was 1,096 to 1,099 feet above the sea. It has been
excavated here for ballast to a distance of about 30 rods south from the
railway. It is mostly gravel ; the pebbles seldom exceed 2 inches in diam-
eter; about half is limestone, and the remainder granitic. The thickness of
this beach deposit is only 8 to 10 feet; its east slope falls 12 or 15 feet, and
its west slope 5 to 7 feet.

On the floor of this excavation, about 10 rods south from the railway,
in the upper foot of the till or bowlder-clay, under the gravel, numerous
bones of a mammoth were found in the year 1884. These included a tusk
11 feet long and 9 inches in diameter (tapering to 6 inches at the smaller
end, where it was broken off), three teeth, two vertebrae, and several other
bones. They were embedded in the top of the till, and the overlying beach
formation has yielded no bones, shells, or other fossils.

Southward from this locality the Hennan beach is double for a dis-
tance of about 4 miles. The secondary beach ridge east of that already
described is similar in size and material. Its south end is in the west part

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.

MONOGRAPH XXV. PL. XXVIII.

MAP OF THK WKSlliRN HHOKES OF I^KK AGASSIZ.FKOM THE VICINriY OF \VHi-:An^NL),

CASS COUNTY, NORTH TO P0R'JX/\N1) AND MAYVH.LE/mAlLJ. COUINTIXNORTH UiU^OTA.

Scale, (i nijlcs Lo ;ui inch

Lake Area i Ll Delia ! J

Altitudes of railway stations are noted in /'eel adotv the sea .

THE UPPEB OR HEEMAI^ BEACHES. 323

of section 19, Wheatland, a half mile east from the main beach, and it
passes thence north-northeastward through sections 18, 7, and the east
edge of section 6, having an elevation of 1,081 to 1,084 feet. It becomes
merged with the main beach in the southeast quarter of section 32, Empire.
Between these beach ridges is a depression, approximately 1,075 feet, partly
occupied by a grassy slough, which is all used as mowing land, having no
area of water or bog.

The Herman beach in the southwest quarter of section 28, Empire, at
a height of 1,094 to 1,096 feet, is not so distinct as usual, being intersected
by Swan Creek and having no well-marked depression along its west side.
Farther north in this section it is a ridge of the ordinary type, with its
crest at 1,096 to 1,098 feet. In section 21 it is narrowed to 8 or 10 rods
in width, but continues as a very distinct ridge with a slight ascent north-
ward, from 1,097 to 1,101 feet. Its east slope falls 15 to 20 feet in about
20 rods, and there is a depression of 3 to 6 feet on the west. Thence a
surface of undulating till, seeming nearly flat in a general view, rises gradu-
ally westward to about 1,150 feet at a distance of 2 or 3 miles.

This beach ridge passes onward through section 16 and the south part
of section 9, Empire, with an elevation of 1,095 to 1,100 feet; but, having
been followed thus continuously in a north-northeast course for more than
15 miles, it ceases in the east part of this section 9. Its north end abuts at
1,100 to 1,105 feet upon a terrace slope of till, which rises about 10 feet
higher. This forms the east boundary of a slightly undulating expanse of
till, which thence gradually rises to 1,150 and 1,200 feet in 2 to 5 miles
west and northwest. From section 9 northward through the east part of
section 4, and in the west edge of section 34 and the west part of sections
27, 22, and 15, Erie, passing close east of Erie railway station, the Her-
man shore of Lake Agassiz is marked by such a terrace or escarpment
formed by wave erosion, and the usual deposit of beach gravel and sand is
absent. The base of the escarpment is at 1,095 feet, approximately, and it
rises with a moderate slope 25 to 40 feet.

About a half mile east of this escarpment, however, lies a broad, low
ridge of beach sand and fine gravel, having an elevation of 1,085 to 1,090
feet. Its course is from the west part of section 10 north-northeast tlu-ough

324 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

sections 3 and 34, and nearly due north through the east edge of sections
27, 22, and 15. The descent eastward is more gentle than usual, falling
only 6 to 10 feet in a quarter of a mile, beyond which is a flat area of till.
On the west a depression 3 to 5 feet deep, partly occupied by a grassy
slough, intervenes between this beach ridge and the wave-cut escarpment.
On the north line of section 15 the crest of the ridge is at 1,092 feet; the
depression west, 1,088; the base of the escarpment, 1,092, and its top,
about 1,115 feet.

Great Northern Railway from Ripon to Portland, track at tank and
section house close south of Rush River, 1,094 feet; at Erie, 2 miles farther
north, 1,126 feet; summit about 1 mile north of Erie, 1,131 feet; South
Branch of the North Fork of Elm River, bridge, 1,081 feet; bed of creek,
1,062 feet; track at summit 1 mile north, 1,089 feet; at Oalesburg, 1,079
feet; North Branch of the North Fork of Elm River, bridge, 1,076 feet;
bed of creek, 1,063 feet; track at Clifford, 1,055 feet. At Erie and west-
ward the surface is prominently rolling till, which rises within 3 miles to a
height of 100 feet above the shore of Lake Agassiz.

In sections 10 and 3, Erie, the Herman beach is again well exhibited
in its usual character. On the north line of section 10 it is a gently
rounded ridge of sand and gravel, with pebbles up to 2 inches and rarely
3 or 4 inches in diameter, half being limestone; its width is about 20 rods;
the elevation of its crest is 1,106 feet, and the slopes fall 10 feet on the east
and 3 feet on the west. For the next mile northward, through the west
part of section 3, this beach ridge has a width of 10 to 15 rods; its elevation
is mostly 1,105 to 1,108 feet, with a depression 5 to 7 feet deep along its
west side; but in a few places the ridge itself is depressed to 1,099 feet.
Passing northward, this beach in the west half of section 34, Dows, is a
very smooth, gracefully rounded, wave-like swell, 30 to 40 rods wide,
1,108 to 1,112 feet in elevation, rising 15 feet above its east base and
having a depression of 3 to 5 feet on the west. A well in the northeast
quarter of the southwest quarter of section 34, on the top of this beach,
went through 12 feet of sand and gravel, going into till below. In the
southwest quarter of section 27 the beach continues with the same massive
development and nearly north course, its elevation being 1,111 to 1,115

THE UPPER OR HERMAN BEACHES. 325

feet. In the northwest quarter of this section it becomes a still broader
deposit of gravel and sand, a fourth to a third of a mile wide, with no
depression on its west side. Here its course is turned northwestward,
entering the southeast quarter of section 21 with an elevation of 1,109
feet; but it seems not to be distinctly traceable farther. About a half mile
west of this beach a plateau of till, 1,125 to 1,128 feet above the sea,
extends a third of a mile from southeast to northwest in the southeast
quai'ter of section 28; but for a mile south and west of this plateau, and
for 3 miles northwest, the surface of slightly undulating till averages only
1,105 to 1,120 feet.

The secondary Herman beach, already described in its course east of
the Erie escarpment of till, continues northward with an elevation of 1,095
feet, approximately, through the east half of sections 10 and 3, Erie, and
sections 34 and 27, Dows. In sections 22 and 16 this beach turns in a
gradual curve to the northwest and west, and its crest varies in height from
1,095 to 1,104 feet, being highest in or near the southeast corner of section
16. There it is a ridge of gravel and sand about 30 rods wide, rising 10
to 15 feet above its northeastern base and descending 6 to 10 feet on the
southwest to a nearly flat tract of moist mowing land fully a mile wide,
with a height of 1,090 to 1,095 feet. Through sections 17, 8, and 5 it
again curves to the northwest, north, and north-northeast, ha^dng an eleva-
tion of aliout 1,095 feet. In the north half of sections 5 and 4, Dows, a
smooth plain with sand subsoil extends a mile eastward from the east base
of this beach ridge, descending in this distance from 1,090 to 1,075 feet.

Continuation of this beach northward nearly through the middle of
section 32, Galesburg, 1,096 to 1,099 feet. It is a typical beach ridge of
fine gravel and sand, 8 to 10 feet above the land on its east side and having
a descent of about 5 feet westward, beyond which the surface of undulat-
ing till rises in 1 orl^ miles to 1,125 feet and in the next 2 miles to 1,175.
or 1,200 feet. A half mile east from this beach, and only 20 to 30 rods
west of the railroad, there is a parallel beach ridge of similar size and
material, at 1,090 to 1,092 feet. The former of these beaches, where it
crosses the south line of section 20, a fourth to a half mile west of Galesburg,
is spread in a broad, nearly flat deposit which rises westward from 1,096 to
1,101 feet. On the west it is bordered by a depression about 8 feet lower.

326 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

FROM GALESBURG NORTH TO LARIMORE.

(PLATES XXVIII AND XXIX.)

In section 20, Galesburg, the beach is about a third of a mile wide,
its higher western margin being at 1,097 to 1,102 feet. From its crest a
slope descends first somewhat steeply and then slowly to the amount of 20
or 25 feet in two-thirds of a mile eastward, having a subsoil of sand and
very fine gi-avel to a depth of 5 to 10 feet, imderlain by till, as is shown by
wells at Galesburg. Crest of this beach through the west half of section
17, 1,102 to 1,107 feet; in section 6, Galesburg, and in sections 32 and 29,
Norman, 1,115 to 1,125 feet, being 10 to 15 feet higher than on the south
and north; in sections 20 and 17, about 1,110 feet; in the southwest part
of section 8, 1,117 feet; westward through section 7 of this township, and
tlu'ough the northeast part of section 12, township 145, range 54, 1,112 to
1,117 feet. On the line between Traill and Steele counties, where the top
of the ridge is at 1,114 feet, it is a typical beach deposit about 25 rods
wide, composed of sand and gravel, with pebbles up to 2 or 3 inches in
diameter. Its course is due west, and the descent from crest to base on the
south is 6 or 8 feet, and northward 12 or 15 feet, beyond which a very
gentle slope sinks toward the northeast. A well on this beach, in the east
edge of the northwest quarter of section 12, township 145, range 54, went
through sand and fine gravel 13 feet, finding till below. Within a few
hundred feet farther west the beach is interrupted for a distance of about 1
mile by an area of till some 15 feet lower, with no beach deposits. It
reappears, however, as a typical beach ridge of gravel and sand for a dis-
tance of three-fourths of a mile in the northwest quarter of section 11 and
the northeast quarter of section 10, having an elevation of 1,114 to 1,112
feet, with a slough on its south side 6 to 8 feet lower.

Returning to the vicinity of Galesburg, a slightly higher beach, approx-
imately parallel with the foregoing, remains to be traced. It becomes
recognizable in the west edge of section 20, Galesburg, where the border
of the area of rolling till that extends thence westward bears occasional
deposits of gravel at 1,115 to 1,120 feet. In the east part of section 18 it
is a well-developed beach ridge of sand and fine gravel 30 to 50 rods wide,

THE UPPER OR HERMAN BEACHES. 327

with a depression on the west 4 to 6 feet below its top, which has an eleva-
tion of 1,120 to 1,123 feet. Northward in section 7, this beach, continuing
at 1,120 to 1,123 feet, is quite broad, without a distinctly ridged form, and
is indented from the east by a large slough, whose elevation is approximately
1,100 feet, including several acres of water free from grass and rushes-
Ci-est of beach in the southwest quarter of section 6, Galesburg, 1,122 to
1,126 feet; through sections 31 and 30, Norman, 1,125 to 1,129 feet; and
in the west half of section 19, 1,127 to 1,124 feet, sinking slightly from
south to north. The farther course of this shore is not marked by con-
tinuous beach deposits; but, following the contour line of 1,125 feet, it
must turn west in the southwest quarter of section 18, Norman, and extend
tlirough sections 13 to 6, township 145, range 54, to the South Branch of
Goose River.

Natural surface at the southwest corner of section 3, township 145,
range 54, a dozen rods west of the South Branch of Goose River, 1,104
feet. This stream, about 1,070 feet, is 8 to 20 feet wide and mostly 1 to 2
feet deep. Its bottom land, 5 to 10 feet above this stage of low water,
varies from 20 to 100 rods in width and is inclosed by bluffs rising 30 to
50 feet, increasing in height southwestward. The valley has no timber, the
largest wood growth being willows 5 to 8 feet high and 2 J inches or less
in diameter. With the aid of these, however, .beavers had constructed
dams, and were living on this stream when this survey was made in 1885,
one of their dams then occupied being found by my assistant, Mr. Robert
H. Young, in the west edge of section 10, township 145, range 54.

Floor of Hemy Bentley's barn, in the southwest corner of the southeast
quarter of section 6, township 145, range 54, on the Herman shore of Lake
Agassiz, 1,123 feet. This is a moderate slope, ascending 12 or 15 feet,
eroded in till, which from its top stretches westward about 2 miles in a
nearly level expanse. From the south side of section 6, such a low escarp-
ment, with its top at 1,120 to 1,123 feet, extends due north, or a few degrees
west of north, about 5 miles.

E. W. Palmer's house, in the northwest corner of the southwest quarter
of section 2, township 145, range 55, 1,145 feet. Well here, 27 feet deep:
soil and very hard gravel and sand, 2 feet; sand with occasional layei's of

328 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

fine gravel, 22 feet; and darker clayey quicksaud, 3 feet, with water. This
is on the west part, nearly at the crest, of an nnusually high beach of
this glacial lake, similar in elevation with the Milnor beach farther south.
Including its slopes, it has a width of 60 rods, the nearly flat crest being
40 rods across and in elevation 1,142 to 1,147 feet. The depression on the
west falls about 5 feet. In the north part of section 2 this sand and gravel
deposit has an iiTegular contour, not lying in a continuous ridge ; its highest
l^ortions vary from 1,145 to 1,152 feet. Southward from section 2 it is not
continuous, but is inteiTupted by wide depressions where the surface is till.
Beach gravel and sand appear, however, in some amount at Mr. Thomas
Ward's, in the southwest corner of section 11, township 145, range 55; also
in the southwest part of section 23, nearly 2 miles fai-ther south. Within 1
to 3 miles west from these sections an area of undulating and rolling till
rises to 1,200 and 1,250 feet.

Near the middle of the north half of section 23, township 146, range
55, the elevation of this beach is 1,142 to 1,144 feet. It is a ridge of gravel
and sand, extending a quarter of a mile from southeast to northwest, Avith
crest 15 feet above the surface on each side. Toward the east it descends
in a long slope, but more steeply westward. In section 14 this shore-line
curves westerly, the crests of its somewhat irregular beach deposits being
about 1,135 feet, with a descent of 10 to 15 feet in 25 rods east. Through
section 11 they range from 1,135 to 1,147 feet, being highest in the southeast
quarter of the section, where the descent eastward is 20 feet or more. These
beach deposits are sand and gravel, with pebbles up to IJ or 2 inches in
diameter, massed in flattened hillocks or swells, mostly ridged lengthwise
with the shore and occasionally inclosing hollows without outlet. The for-
mation has a width of a quarter of a mile or more in its northward course
through the west part of the east half of section 11. An undulating sur-
face of till rises slowly to the west, while on the east a verj^ smooth expanse
of till sinks slowly toward the Red River.

Herman beacli ridge, 30 rods wide, in or near the east edge of the
southeast quarter of section 2, township 146, range 55, 1,125 feet. Irreg-
ular accumulations of the higher beach a quarter of a mile fartlier west rise
approximately to 1,140 feet. These upper deposits and those described in

HEEMAN BEACH AT GOLDEN LAKE. 329

the last two paragraphs indicate that this area, which was covered by a
southwardly projecting lobe of the ice-sheet at the time of the accumula-
tion of the eighth or Fergus Falls moraine, experienced an earlier nplift
than adjacent tracts of the lake border, giving to this part of the earliest
and highest Herman beach an altitude 15 or 20 feet above the normal and
regular plane of the corresponding beach deposits on both the south and the
north.

Crest of the Herman beach, a definite ridge 25 to 30 or 40 rods wide,
through the east half of section 2, township 146, range 55, 1,122 to 1,135
feet, 10 to 15 feet above the land east, and with a depression of 6 to 8 feet
on the west. In the south part of section 35, township 147, range 55, the
beach ridge is merged in a flat eastwardly sloping area of sand and fine
gi'avel at 1,135 to 1,120 feet, underlain by till at the depth of a few feet.
The beach ridge reappears in the north part of this section 35 at 1,125 to
1,130 feet. '

Through sections 26 and 23, township 147, range 55, the Herman shore
is marked by swells and flattened ridges of sand and fine gravel at 1,130 to
1,143 feet, occupying a width of an eighth to a third of a mile, with a
depression of several feet along their west side. Four sloughs, at the ele-
vation of about 1,120 feet, lie within the east part of these beach deposits,
or on their east border, in the southeast quarter of section 23. In the south
part of section 14 this massive but iri-egular beach has an elevation of
1,132 feet on the east side of a large slough.

In the middle of section 14, township 147, range 55, the beach assumes
a definitely ridged form and extends thus northward along the east side of
Golden Lake, which owes its existence to this barrier. Crest of the beach,
through the center and north part of section 14, 1,132 to 1,137 feet; in
section 11, east of Golden Lake, 1,132 to 1,141 feet; and at Golden Lake
post-office, in the east edge of the southwest quarter of section 2, 1,138
feet. An eighth of a mile north from the south end of this lake the action
of its waves has eroded the greater part of the beach ridge. The material
of the beach exposed by an excavation near the post-office is coarse gravel,
with very abundant pebbles up to 3 inches and occasionally 4 to 6 inches
in diameter.

330 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Golden Lake water, July 28, 1885, 1,122 feet above the sea; highest
level reached by this lake in recent years, 1,128 feet. It is a beautiful
sheet of water, 1^ miles long and a quarter to a third of a mile wide. Its
west shore is moderately undulating till, with the highest swells 20 to 30
feet above the lake. In a few places its grassed bluffs rise steeply from the
Avater's edge 10 to 20 feet. Farther west the rolling surface of till, seen
for a distance of 3 or 4 miles, rises to 1,225 or 1,250 feet. This lake has no
trees on its margin, excepting two small cottonwoods, each about 25 feet
high, on its northwest shore; bushes grow in several places, mostly on the
east; but the greater part of the lake border, like all the surrounding
country, is prairie.

Beach ridge through the north part of section 2, township 147, range
55, 1,138 to 1,132 feet. In the south half of section 35, township 148,
range 55, it has been mostly eroded by a lake which borders this beach on
the east from the north part of section 2 to the north part of section 35,
having a length of 1 mile and a width of an eighth to a fourth of a mile.
The elevation of this lake is 1,104 feet It has no trees or bushes, except-
ing a few willows 4 to 6 feet high, near the middle of its west side, and is
wholly surrounded by hard, grassy shores. Crest of the beach west of
the north part of this lake, 1,140 to 1,142 feet, and through the south half
of section 26, 1,137 to 1,142 feet, similarly bordered on the east by two
lakelets, which have approximately the same height as the preceding, 1,104
feet. The land east of these three lakes is flat, 1,113 to 1,117 feet near
them, with a very gentle slope descending thence eastward.

More diff"use and irregular beach deposits in north-to-south swells and
short, massive ridges of gravel and sand, inclosing occasional hollows with
no oixtlets, some of which hold small ponds and sloughs, extend from the
north edge of section 26 northward through the west half of section 23,
township 148, range 55, with an elevation of about 1,135 feet. The
depression on the west is some 5 feet lower, and on the east there is a
descent of 10 feet from the crest to the base of the beach. Fingals Creek,
in the northwest corner of section 23, where it intersects the beach, has a
height of about 1,110 feet. Undulating and rolling till Avithin 3 or 4 miles
westward rises to 1,250 feet.

THE UPPER OE HEEMAN BEACHES. 331

Herman beach, tln-ough the west part of section 14, township 148,
range 55, 1,142 to 1,147 feet, being mainly a somewhat typical ridge, with
short swells of beach gravel and sand on its east side 10 to 15 feet lower,
inclosing hollows, but few or no sloughs. Two lakes at 1,110 feet, approxi-
mately, lie close east of this beach, near the center and in the northwest
quarter of this section. They are bordered on the east by land 10 feet
higher, from which a very gentle descent sinks toward the Red Rivei\

Continuation of this beach ridge northward through the east edge of
section 10, township 148, range 55, 1,142 to 1,146 feet, 3 to 5 feet above
the depression on its west side. On the east, three lakelets at 1,120 feet,
approximately, lie in the west edge of the northwest quarter of section 11,
each being about 20 rods long from south to north and 15 rods wide. Crest
of beach ridge, 30 to 40 rods wide, extending nearly due north through
the east edge of section 3, 1,144 to 1,150 feet; east base, about 1,125 feet;
depression on the west, 5 to 10 feet, nearly level upon a width of 40 rods;
beyond is an ascent of undulating and rolling till to 1,250 feet within 2 or
3 miles. In the southwest quarter of section 36, township 149, range 55,
Lind, this Herman shore is marked by irregular swells and massive short
ridges of gravel and sand, with occasional inclosed sloughs. This is suc-
ceeded by a half mile of the ordinary continuous single ridge, 1,147 to
1,150 feet.

Magnificent beach ridge, passing north-northwest through the east part
of sections 26 and 23, Lind, 1,147 to 1,150 feet. A road, which was formerly
an Indian trail, runs on its top here and for several miles northward. This
beach is composed of the usual sand and gravel, thickly filled with j^ebbles
up to 2 and rarely 4 inches in diameter. It forms a broad, wave-like ridge
30 to 40 rods wide, including the slopes. On its west side is a depression of
5 to 10 feet, 20 to 60 rods wide, which is moist grass land, excepting a small
reedy slough in the south edge of section 11. On the east side of this upper
Herman beach there is a very smooth slope descending 25 or 30 feet in as
many rods. Next is a nearly level belt 20 to 60 rods wide, increasing in
width from south to north, succeeded by a lower Herman beach ridge rising
8 to 10 feet, with its crest at 1,127 to 1,130 feet, or 20 feet below the upper
beach. These parallel Herman beaches are very finely developed thus for

332 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

nearly 6 miles, passing north through sections 23, 14, 11, and 2, Lind, and
the southwest part of section 35, township 150, range 55. High portion
of the upper beach in the south edge of section 14, 1,153 feet, and depres-
sion west, 1,142 feet; crest onward through this section, 1,153 to 1,149 feet.
In the north part of section 1 1 and the south edge of section 2 it is a few
feet lower, is irregular in height and outlines because of intersecting watei--
courses, and has a less continuous and shallower depression on its west side.
In section 2, however, both beach ridges are finely displayed, having the
same contour as sovithward. Crest of upper beach in sections 2 and 35,
1,152 to 1,155 feet; depression on the west, 8 to 15 feet, partly occupied
by a long slough. The northwest part of section 35, in the course of these
beaches, is lower smooth till, with no deposits of sand and gravel.

Goose River, near the north line of the northwest quarter of section
35, and the Little Groose River, in the north part of section 15, township
150, range 55, where they cross the ancient lake shore, are in valleys about
30 feet deep, eroded in till. Each consists of pools 5 to 7 feet deep and 10
to 20 feet wide, alternating with other portions so narrow that one may step
across them.

In the east part of the west half of section 26 and the southwest corner
of section 23, township 150, range 55, the upper Hennan shore is offset a
third of a mile east from the remainder of its course and consists of massive,
irreo-ular swells of till, partly overspread with gravel and sand, 1,152 to
1,160 feet. Among them are hollows 4 to 6 feet deep, without outlet, and
their entire belt, a quai'ter of a mile wide, is crossed by depressions as low
as 1,145 feet. Through section 22 this shore bears a typical beach ridge of
sand and gravel, 40 to 50 rods wide, 1,157 feet, with depression of 10 to 15
feet on the west; descent of the eastern slope, 20 to 25 feet in 30 or 40 rods.
In section 15 this upper beach, 1,152 to 1,157 feet, has a quite irregular
form, chiefly due to erosion by the Little Goose River and its small tribu-
taries. It is again exhibited in its ordinary type through section 10, being
a ridge 25 or 30 rods wide, with crest at 1,155 to 1,157 feet, 15 to 20 feet
above its east base and with a narrow depression of 4 to 8 feet on the west;
throuo-h the west part of section 3, township 150, range 55, and the west edge
of the southwest quarter of section 34, township 151, range 55, 1,157 to

THE ELK VALLEY DELTA. 333

1,159 feet, excepting gaps cut by small watercourses; and in the east edge
of the northeast quarter of section 33, 1,154 to 1,157 feet. Thirty rods
west from the northeast corner of this section 33 its elevation is 1,155 feet,
with slopes descending 12 feet eastward and 8 feet westward.

Lower Herman beach, a half mile to tlu-ee-fourths of a mile east of
the foregoing, in the west edge of sections 14 and 11 and the east edge
of section 3, township 150, range 55, 1,130 to 1,135 feet, from which there
is a descent of 5 feet to its west base and 10 feet to the east. From the
southeast quarter of section 34, township 151, range 55, this beach passes
northeasterly to Larimore.

Upper Herman beach, a well-defined ridge, running north through the
east part of section 28, township 151, range 55, 1,155 to 1,159 feet; thence
north-northwesterly thi'ough sections 21 and 16, 1,157 to 1,160 feet, and
through the southwest part of section 9, the northeast part of section 8, and
the southeast quarter of section 5, 1,157 to 1,162 feet. Wlaere it is crossed by
the Devils Lake line of the Great Northern Railway, in the south part of the
northeast quarter of section 5, about 4 J miles west of Larimore, its crest
was at 1,162 feet, 4 feet above the track, and it holds the same height for
about 50 rods northeastward. Two-fifths of a mile east from this beach
the railroad crosses a second beach deposit whose crest and the track are the
same, 1,146 feet.

DELTA OF THE ELK VALLEY.

(PLATE XXIX.)

Nearly level land reaches 4 miles westward from Larimore along the
Devils Lake railway line, averaging 1,130 feet above the sea, and varying
only 2 or 3 feet above and below this level. Beneath the rich black soil
here and elsewhere, all about Larimore, are stratified sand and fine silt free
from gravel. The beach ridges near this town are consequently composed
wholly of sand, quite in contrast with their usually coarser material.

The underlying beds consist largely of sand from the Fort Pierre
shale, and were derived probably in part from erosion by the head streams
of the Turtle and Goose rivers in this Cretaceous formation, which here
constitutes the highland west of Lake Agassiz, thinly covered by till.

334

THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Considerable channeliug of the valleys iu wliicli these streams flow appears
thus to have been accomplished before the laud was uplifted and the lake
receded to i ts Norcross and lower shores. This delta accmnulation, consist-
ing partly of alluvium from stream erosion after the departure of the ice,
but evidently in far larger measure of modified drift supplied by streams
from the melting ice in which it had been held, occupies a width of 6 to 12
miles, and stretches about 35 miles southward from McCanna, by Larimore,
Northwood, and Hatton, to the vicinity of Portland. Its thickness at
Larimore, as .shown in fig. 14, is 60 feet, and doubtless its average thick-
ness is as much as 30 or 40 feet upon its area of about 300 square miles.
It was deposited in the edge of Lake Agassiz during the first and second
Herman stages, for these shores marked by beach ridges, are above the

90i^

//<70-s-:^-.-j':i;

Fig. 14. — Section across tht- delta of the Elk Valley. Horizontal scale, 3 miles to an inch.

delta; but the third and fourth Herman beaches extend across it, passing
close east of Larimore. The Norcross and Tintah shore-lines lie near its
eastern boundary, for the greater part upon its edge, but it has not been
conspicuously eroded. Farther east the surface is mainly till for the next
15 miles or more, descending toward the Red River, which is bordered on
this latitude iu North Dakota by a belt of alluvial clay and silt only a few
miles wide.

A section of the beds forming this delta is furnished by the well at the
Sherman House, Larimore, which was dug 20 feet and bored 40 feet, as
follows: Soil, 2 feet; fine sandy and clayey silt, without coarse sand,
gravel, or stones, 5 feet; fine yellowish sand, with less clay, being mainly
siliceous, 13 feet; and dark sand, very soft to bore through, two-thirds

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.

MONOGRAPH XXV. PL. XXIX.

us euN tt CO r

MAP OF THE WESTORN SHORES OF J^KE AGASSIZJNCEUDING THE FXK VALLEY DELTA,
IN GRAND FORIvS COUNTY AND PARTS OF ^\DJ0IN1M; COl^nES,NOH'ni DAKOTA.

I^aJkre Area

Sciile, 6 miles to aji inch.

] DolLa i I

Moraines

AJlitHflPS of v(tn \\'(i\' stfitioTis itrc noird in f'cpl nhovc tfip sen ■

THE ELK VALLEY DELTA. 335

Cretaceous shale in particles up to a twentieth of an inch in diameter, 40
feet, with much water. Hard blue till was found at the bottom. The other
wells of this town are said to obtain their supply of water at a depth of
about 20 feet, in the upper part of this sand derived chiefly from shale. In
Northwood and Hatton, also, water is found at depths of only 10 to 20 feet
before reaching the base of the delta sand.

The volume of this extensive sand and silt delta is about 1^- or 2 cubic
miles. It occupies more than thrice the area of the delta of the Pembina
River, but is much shallower, so that they are nearly equal in their cubic
contents, or this is the smaller; and it has nine times or perhaps twelve
times the volume of either of the two deltas of this lake in Minnesota,
lying on the Buff"alo and Sand Hill rivers. Yet here no stream of signifi-
cant size enters the lake area. There are, indeed, not less than a dozen
small streams, the headwaters of the Turtle and Goose rivers, which
descend to the delta from the till-covered Cretaceous highland on the west;
but none of them has a large valley or extensive basin of ch-ainage, and it
would be difficult to decide which one of three or four is most worthy
of consideration. The delta, however, in its position, the outlines of its
extent, and the directions and rate of its slopes, seems independent of
them all.

Northward from Larimore and McCamia, where the surface of this
delta is highest, a very noteworthy topographic feature of the western
border of the lacustrine area has received the name of Elk Valley in its
southern portion, and in its northern continuation is called the Golden
Valley. These are parts of one continuous belt which was at first the
course of a glacial river, and afterward became a sound or strait extending
about 40 miles along the coast of Lake Agassiz at its highest stage. It
was divided from the main lake by a series of several small islands of
knoUy and hilly till, occasionally connected together by a low beach
embankment or bar, formed by the lake waves. The Elk Valley is com-
monly regarded as beginning at Larimore, but it may more strictly be said
to begin 9 miles farther north, at the most southern of its inclosing islands.
It extends north from Larimore 29 miles to Ramsey s Groves, on the North
Branch of the Forest River, with a width of about 4 miles for the greater

336 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

part of its extent, diminishing at the north to 2 miles. The narrower pro-
longation of this tract, known as the Golden Valley, varies from 2 miles to
only 1 mile in width along its course of 18 miles to the North Branch of
Park River, 1 to 2 miles west of Gardar. Originally the whole length
of this belt was called the Elk Valley, which seems to be a translation of
its aboriginal name; but the name Golden Valley, proposed for its north-
ern portion by the Ramsey brothers, living at Ramseys Groves, in Vernon
Township, has come into universal use for the narrow part of the valley
extending thence northward.

The Golden and Elk valleys have no river now running along their
continuous depression. Instead it is crossed by numerous streams which
form the Turtle, Park, and Forest rivers, descending from the highland
west of Lake Agassiz and finding their way between or through the
morainic islands east of the valley. But during the stage in the departure
of the ice-sheet when these islands were being accumulated on the western
margin of its Minnesota lobe, contemporaneous with the formation of the
Leaf Hills and with the completion of the prominent compound moraine
south of Devils Lake, a great river flowing from the melting ice-fields and
laden with their drift ran with a strong current in this long, nearly straight
valley, bringing to its debouchure into Lake Agassiz at McCanna the sand
and silt of this delta. A portion of its freight was even borne 35 miles
onward in the shallow water of the lake, forming the southern part of the
delta, which was probably held to the western side of the lake area by
the barrier of this ice-lobe. That the sand and silt were thus supplied
chiefly from the englacial di-ift, and only in small part from erosion by the
streams that now exist, is proved by the position of the axial thickest and
highest portion of the delta, separated from the western shore of Lake Agas-
siz by a broad, shallow depression hi which the numerous sources of the
Goose River are diverted from their eastward course and carried to the south
in a united stream. Whatever alluvium these tributaries have added to the
delta, both while the lake was here and since it was withdrawn, has been
insufiicient to raise their channels the small amount that would give them
passage across the delta in their normal com'se toward the east.

THE ELK AND GOLDEN VALLEYS. 337

SHORE WEST OF THE ELK AND GOLDEN VALLEYS.

(PLATES XXIX AND XXX.)

Througli section 32, Elm Grove, the upper beach runs northwesterly,
its elevation being 1,160 to 1,163 feet above the sea. Its material is coarse
gravel, with pebbles up to 6 inches in diameter, in part accumulated, as a
ridge 10 or 15 feet above the land at its base northeast and 5 to 8 feet
above its southwest base, and in part lying on the flank of swells of very
stony till, the crests of which are only 5 to 10 feet higher than the beach.
This till or morainic drift contains a multitude of granitic and limestone
bowlders up to li feet in diameter, bvit few or none of larger size. In the
rolling till which rises thence westward to 1,250 or 1,300 feet within 2
or 3 miles are many granitic bowlders up to 5 feet or more in diameter,
exceeding the usual proportion in the till of this region.

In the north edge of section 32 and the south part of section 29, Elm
Grove, this beach is the terrace-like border of a nearly level tract of sand
and gravel an eighth of a mile or more in width, at an elevation of 1,171 to
1,173 feet. The bordering slope is beach gravel, with its base at 1,155
to 1,158 feet; but the slow descent thence eastward is till, somewhat
eroded by wave action and having many small and large granitic bowlders
up to 4 or 6 feet in diameter strewn on the surface or partially covered
by the soil. In the northeast quarter of section 30 this upper Herman
beach is typically developed, being a gracefully rounded ridge of sand and
gravel, 25 or 30 rods wide; crest, 1,165 to 1,166 feet; foot of eastern slope,
1,150 feet; depression west, usually 2 to 5 feet, beyond which is a slowly
ascending area of smooth, undulating till.

Upper beach through section 19, Elm Grove, a low, rounded ridge of
sand and gravel about 25 rods wide; crest, 1,166 to 1,168 feet; base of its
east slope on the north line of this section, 1,158 feet. In the southwest
quarter of section 1 8 this beach is cut by the South Branch of the Turtle
River; its elevation in this section south of the stream is 1,167 to 1,168
feet. There is no considerable valley here, and the creek runs only in
spring or after uuusiial rains, being reduced to stagnant pools during the
rest of the year. Within 2 miles southeast, however, it becomes a living
MON XXV — '■ — 22

338 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

stream, fed by very cold spi'ings, and tlieuce to the secondary Herman
beach near Larimore it has cut a valley 50 to 90 feet deep.

Elm Grove, comprising- about 5 acres, is on this creek, a third of a mile
east of the upper Herman shore-line, which continues north-northwestward
tlu-ough the southwest part of section 18, Elm Grove ToAvnship, and the
northeast edge of section 13, Niagara, to the west side of Little Elm
Grove, 10 acres or more in extent, in the east part of section 12, Along
this distance of 1^ miles the surface presents a very favorable slope, from
1,150 to 1,200 feet elevation, on which a beach ridge or definite beach
deposits would usually be found well developed ; but the waves and cur-
rents of Lake Agassiz could not act efficiently here, because this area lay
in the lee of islands and of a wave-formed bar or beach several miles to
the east, which are the eastern boundary of the Elk Valley. Consequently
deposits of beach sand and gravel are scanty on the upper western shore
of Lake Agassiz here and for 40 miles northward along the extent of the
Elk and Golden valleys, east of which a narrow chain of islands and bars
rose above the surface of Lake Agassiz during its highest Herman stage.
Between the South Branch of Turtle River and Little Ehn Grove the
beach formation consists only of a thin covering of sand and gravel spread
on the sloping area of till, at an elevation from 1,160 to 1,175 feet. Sev-
eral of the small grassy channels eroded here, dry excepting in spring and
times of excessive rain, are almost completely paved with stones up to 1 or
2 feet in diameter, but few stones occur upon the adjoining surface of till.

From the Little Elm Grove the highest western shore of Lake Agassiz
(consisting of a similar slope of till ascending gently westward, with incon-
spicuous deposits of beach gravel and sand, not accumulated in any distinct
ridge, but probably recognizable almost continuously) extends northward
through sections 12 and 1, Niagara, and sections 31 and 30, Agnes, to the
central part of Bachelors Grove, which it passes through in the west half
of section 30. This grove borders the head stream of Turtle River for 1^
miles, with an average width of about a quarter of a mile, thus comprising
approximately 250 acres. It is dense woods, chiefly elm and basswood in
its east half, but nearly all bur oak for the west half Much bm- oak is
also found along several miles of this stream next westward, but it is not

HEEMAN SHORE WEST OF THE ELK VALLEY. 339

seen from the margin of Lake Agassiz, being hidden in the valley, 40 to
50 feet deep, which the stream has eroded in that area of undulating and
rolling till.

Herman beach, for the first mile or more north from Bachelors Grove,
passing through the northwest quarter of section 30 and the west edge of
section 19, Agnes, 1,165 to 1,170 feet. This is mostly a well-defined beach
ridge, 20 to 30 rods wide, composed of sand and gravel, with pebbles up
to 2 inches in diameter. It rises slowly to a height of 10 or 12 feet above
the flat land on the east and is bordered on the west by a depression of 1
to 3 feet, beyond which a smoothly undulating and rolling surface of till
rises to an elevation of 1,200 and 1,250 feet at a distance of 3 miles. In
the northwest quarter of this section 19 the beach deposit becomes complex,
consisting of several irregular ridges rising 5 to 8 feet above their bases,
1,167 to 1,170 feet above sea-level, with inclosed hollows, and the depres-
sion close west occasionally sinks to 1,155 feet.

Through sections 13 and 12, the southwest part of section 1, and in
section 2, Oakwood, to the grove on the north line of section 2 at the
junction of the north and south branches of Lost Creek, and thence north-
east and north through section 35, Elkmount, the Herman shore, between
1,160 and 1,170 feet, is not marked by any considerable deposits of gravel
and sand. Farther north this shore is distinguished not only by a notice-
able change in the topographic features along a nearly level line at 1,170
feet, dividing the very flat area of the glacial lake from the undulating and
rolling till on the west, but also by occasional beach deposits. Through
the south half of section 26, Elkmount, a somewhat typical beach ridge of
sand and gravel, 15 to 25 rods wide, with a depression of 3 to 6 feet on its
west side, runs north and northwest, its crest being at 1,175 to 1,170 feet,
declining from south to north. On the east its slope falls 5 to 10 feet in 10
to 20 rods; and thence a more gentle descent, with surface of sand and fine
gravel, sinks to 1,155 feet within an eighth of a mile. In the northwest
quarter of this section 26 the beach ridge ceases and is succeeded north-
ward by an expanse of nearly flat till, which along the north line of this
section sinks eastward from 1,175 to 1,155 feet.

340 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Elk Valley, for 1 2 miles from Elm Grove and McCanna north to the
Forest River, is nearly constant in elevation, which is 1,155 feet on its
west border and 1,1 o5 feet near its east side, its average width being about
4 miles.

Upper Herman beach, a definite and massive ridge of sand and fine
gravel, 25 to 40 rods wide, for a half mile south from the South Branch of
Forest River, in the west part of the northwest quarter of section 14, Elk-
mount, 1,173 to 1,178 feet, passing north and northwest, with a descent of
12 to 15 feet on the east and a depression of 4 to 8 feet on the west.

Beyond this branch of the Forest River, in the north half of section
lO, Elkmount, the beach ridge, similar in outluie, with its crest at 1,174 to
1,179 feet, is the site of an abandoned railway grade, on accotmt of which
its material is well exhibited. It is sand and gravel, and three-fourths of
the pebbles, mostly less than 2 inches in diameter, are dark-gray slaty
shale. Twenty miles to the south-southeast the same shale in small grains
makes fully two-thirds of a stratum of sand that extends from 20 to 60 feet
in depth in the well at the Sherman House, Larimore. Pebbles of it were
also observed in kame-like deposits of gravel and sand near Balaton, Lyon
County, in southwestern Minnesota. During the further exploration of the
western shore of Lake Agassiz this shale was discovered in place, and is
found to be the bed-rock, of Cretaceous age, which forms the conspicuous
escarpment of the Pembina Mountain, though even there it is generally
covered and concealed by drift.

Natural surface at the northwest corner of section 3, Elkmount, on the
line between Grand Forks and Walsh counties, 1,181 feet. The upper
Herman shoi-e passes north-northwesterly through this corner of section 3
and the east part of section 33, Medford, to the Middle Branch of Forest
River (farther east formerly called Salt River), which it reaches near the
center of the east half of section 28. It has only scanty deposits of beach
gravel and sand, nowhere forming a ridge; instead, the surface is mainly
till, very flat east of this shore, but undulating or rolling westward.

The South and Middle branches of Forest River occupy valleys 25 to
40 feet deep and 20 to 30 rods wide. They are bordered with groves, or at
least a continuous line of trees, along the greater part of their course.

SEMICIRCULAR MARGINAL MORAINES. 341

111 the northwest quarter of section 28 and the west part of section 21,
Medforcl, the highest shore-Hne of Lake Agassiz is very distinctly marked,
at 1,183 to 1,185 feet, by being the upper edge of a flat slope of till, proba-
bly with scanty deposits of gravel and sand, which sinks 20 to 30 feet in
the next half mile eastward. Farther east, for the width of 3 or 4 miles
across the Elk Valley, the surface elevation is 1,160 to 1,125 feet.

Just west of this shore-line a knolly belt of morainic drift, bearing a
marvelous profusion of bowlders, occupies a width of 25 to 50 rods, gener-
ally forming a single series of hillocks rising 15 to 30 or 35 feet. These
are strewn with bowlders of all sizes up to 5 feet and rarely 8 feet in
diameter, so plentiful that they cover a third or even half of the surface.
A few masses of limestone were observed, but fully 99 per cent of the
bowlders are Ai-chean granite and gneiss. This is the most eastern portion
of a semicircular moraine which appears to have been accumulated on the
eastern boundary of a lobe of the ice-sheet during a pause in its retreat.
From sections 21 and 28, Medford, this moraine continues, with nearly the
same features, south and southwest to the southeast quarter of section 32,
and thence west-southwest by Pilot Knob, in the northwest quarter of
section 5, Elkmount, to the west side of section 1, township 154, range 57,
and perhaps beyond. Its hills and knobs rise 25 to 75 feet above the gen-
eral level of the adjoining smoothly undulating till, their tops being 1,250
to 1,300 feet above the sea. To the north, northwest, and west it reaches,
with similar development, in a great curve convex to the northeast, along
an extent of 5 or 6 miles, to a cluster of prominent morainic hills rising 50
to 75 feet, situated in sections 2 and 3, Cleveland. This moraine matter
was doubtless englacial; among its multitude of both large and small rock
fragments a half hour's search failed to discover any marked with striae or
having faces planed by glaciation. On the west the area inclosed by this
curving moraine is very smooth, only slightly undulating till, at 1,185 to
1,250 feet, ascending slowly westward.

Another distinct morainic series, similar in its very knolly contour, in
its material (excepting a larger proportion of gravel, half of which is the
Cretaceous shale before described), and in the great abundance of bowl-
ders, nearly all granitic, branches from the preceding in the north part of

342 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

section 8, Medford, and sweeps northeast and north through the west half
of section 4, and thence northwest and west through sections 32, 29, and
19, Vernon, and sections 13 to 16, Norton, to a group of morainic hills
about 75 feet high, a mile northwest of Gait post-office. Between this
curved moraine and the nearly parallel northern part of the preceding, 4
miles distant to the south, the surface is very smooth, undulating till, rising
slowly toward the west.

These moraines, with their east base at 1,185 to 1,170 feet above the
sea, formed the west shore of Lake Agassiz at its highest stage for nearly
7 miles between the Middle and North branches of the Forest River. The
North Branch intersects this shore-line near the center of section 20, Ver-
non, close to the southwest end of Ramseys Grroves, which extend thence
about a mile along this watercourse in the north pai't of section 20 and the
southeast quarter of section 1 7. The stream in these sections has no valley,
only a channel 20 to 30 feet wide and 10 feet deep.

Grolden Valley, on the north line of sections 4 and 5, Vernon, has an
elevation of 1,185 to 1,195 feet, showing an ascent of 10 feet from east to
west in its width of 2 miles. About the same transverse slope, raising
tliewest side of this valley 10 or 15 feet above its east side, is found along
its whole extent of 1 8 miles, from the North Branch of Forest River to the
Middle and North branches of Park River. In the north half of Vernon,
and thence northward, the width of this valley varies from 1| miles to only
1 mile. It is flat, and consists mainly of clay, free from gravel; but wells
find gravel intermixed with the clay, probably till, at a depth of a few feet,
and about 20 feet from the surface they sometimes encounter a water-
bearing stratum of gravel, chiefly made up of Cretaceous shale.

Natural surface at the southwest corner of section 27, Golden, 1,191
feet. Highest part of Golden Valley south of the South Branch of Park
River, along the north line of sections 27, 28, and 29, in this township, 1,199
feet on the east to 1,211 feet on the west. Surface at schoolhouse on the
west side of the northwest quarter of section 21, 1,207 feet.

South Branch of Park River at the bridge near the middle of the
north line of section 21, Golden, 1,170 feet, approximately; bottom land
about a quarter of a mile wide, 10 to 15 feet above the stream; crest of

THE GOLDEN VALLEY. 343

the south bluff rismg to the flat belt of the Golden Valley, 1,191 to 1,209
feet, ascendmg westward; of the north bluff, 1,189 to 1,205 feet.

Golden Valley, on the north line of section 5, Golden, 1,195 to 1,205
feet; 2 miles farther north, on the north line of section 29, Lampton, 1,198
to 1,208 feet. In this northern part of the valley limited ti-acts of its flat
area are strewn with abundant bowlders up to 2 feet, and less frequently 3
or 4 feet, in diameter. They are probably where swells of till rose nearly
to the surface of the water in this strait of Lake Agassiz, so that its fine
portions were swept away by waves and currents, to be deposited elsewhere
in the valley as clayey silt, leaving the masses of rock which could not be
thus removed. Approaching the Middle Branch of Park River, the surface
of the Golden Valley continues very smooth and flat, but it ceases to have
a continuous ascent from east to west, some portions along the center being
depressed a few feet. Such a shallow hollow holds a slough about a mile
long from south to north and a half mile wide in its broadest part, at 1,193
feet, extending from the north edge of section 20 through the west part of
section 17, Lampton, in which a small area of water rem-ains throughout
the year. On each side of this slough, and for miles south and north, this
valley is a great hay meadow.

The west border of the Golden Valley was the most western shore of
Lake Agassiz in its highest stage, but it is only very scantily marked by
deposits of beach gravel and sand, because of its sheltered position on the
western and leeward side of this naiTow strait. From the middle of section
20, Vernon, this shore-line extends in a quite direct course a few degrees
west of north 11 miles tlu'ough the west part of sections 17, 8, and 5, in
this township, sections 32, 29, 20, 17, 8, and 5, Golden, and the east edge
of sections 31 and 30, Lampton. For the next 3 miles, in the east edge of
sections 19, 18, and 7, Lampton, it runs nearly due north. Thence it
turns to a northwesterly course through section 6 of this township, and
through section 31, Gardar. In this vicinity the Golden Valley terminates.

Bushes and trees clothe the slo2:)e on the west side of the Golden
Valley along its northern part, extending to the south line of Lampton;
but this ascent farther south, also the entire extent of the Golden Valley,

344 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

the drift hills forming its east border, and the vast plain of the Red River
Valley, are prairie, excepting that narrow belts of timber border the water-
courses.

Smoothly undulating till rises slowly from the west side of the southern
part of the Golden Valley; but in section 30, Lampton, rounded hills of till
attain a height about 100 feet above the valley, or 1,300 feet above the sea.
Thence northward a smooth slope ascends 50 to 60 feet, or in some por-
tions only 30 or 40 feet, within the first quarter or half of a mile to the
west, succeeded beyond by a moderately rolling surface with less ascent.

A terrace of beach sand and gravel, containing pebbles and cobbles
up to 6 inches in diameter, extends a third of a mile from southeast to
northwest, with a width of 5 to 30 rods, in the northwest quarter of section
33, Lampton, abutting on the west flank of the rolling and hilly deposits
of till which make the east border of the Golden Valley. It was formed
by currents entering this strait of Lake Agassiz from the north, eroding the
bordering hills in the east edge of sections 20 and 29, and thence sweep-
ing this sand and gravel southward. It marks the highest stage of Lake
Agassiz, having an elevation of 1,213 to 1,195 feet, declining from north to
south, and also sinking 1 or 2 feet from west to east in its width of 100
to 500 feet, being thus slightly higher along its verge than where it rests
upon the adjoining hilly till. '

Middle Branch of Park River near the middle of the south side of
section 5, Lampton, about 3 miles northwest of Edinburgh station, 1,185
feet above the sea; crest of the south bank of the very small valley of this
stream, rising to the flat Golden Valley, 1,192 feet on the east to 1,215 feet
on the west. The Golden Valley here shows thus a transverse ascent of
more than 20 feet in its width of about 1 mile. On the north line of sec-
tions 5 and 6, Lampton, the east edge of this valley has an elevation of
1,210 feet, and its west edge, 1,220 feet. About a half mile farther north
the height of this belt where it is crossed by a tributary of the Middle
Branch is 1,220 to 1,235 feet from east to west, being thus above the
highest level of Lake Agassiz.

BEACHES AND ISLANDS. 345

BEACHES AND ISLANDS EAST OF THE ELK AND GOLDEN VALLEYS.

(PLATES XXIX AND XXX.)

Returning about 4,5 miles south to Larimore, we have yet to describe
the beaches of Lake Agassiz and its islands of rolling and hilly morainic
till which divided the strait of the Elk and Golden valleys in Grand Forks
and Walsh counties from the main body of the lake.

The crests of the upper or first and the second Herman beaches before
described, respectively 4f and 4^ miles west of Larimore, are 1,162 and
1,146 feet above the sea. The third Herman beach, a third of a mile east
of Larimore depot, has its crest at 1,133 feet; and another beach belonging
to the same stage of Lake Agassiz, a third of a mile farther east, rises to
1,134 feet, with descent in 30 or 40 rods east 11 feet, and in the same
distance west 9 feet. The fourth Herman beach, consisting of four small
beach ridges crossed by the railway IJ to 2 miles east of Larimore, has
crests at 1,123 to 1,118 feet, with intervening hollows 3 to 5 feet deep.

The beach seen two-thirds of a mile east of Larimore passes north and
north-northwesterly through the east half of sections 7 and 6, Arvilla, and
the west half of sections 31 and 30, Hegton, into the southeast corner of
section 24, Elm Grove. North of the South Branch of Turtle River it is
not a typical ridge, Ijut a series of massive rounded swells of sand 10 to
15 feet high, with their crests at 1,135 to 1,140 feet.

A parallel beach ridge, a third to a half mile west of the foregoing,
mostly massive, with typical wave-like form, has an elevation of 1,133 feet
close east of Larimore; 1,144 feet at a cemetery close north of the South
Branch of Turtle River in or near the southwest corner of section 31, Heg-
ton; chiefly 1,137 to 1,140 feet in its course thence north-northwestei-ly
through sections 36 and 25, the west edge of section 24, and the east half
of section 14, Elm Grove; 1,142 to 1,145 feet in the west half of section
11, and 1,143 to 1,147 feet in the east edge of section 3 of this township.
Along the west edge of section 11, a duplication of this beach ridge, of the
same massive size, lying a half mile farther west, extends a mile south from
the North Branch of Turtle River, its crest being at 1,142 to 1,145 feet;
but thence southward the general elevation is aboixt 1,130 feet to the broad
tract of this height crossed by the railway west of Larimore, excepting

34B THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

that the Soiith Branch of Txirtle River has eroded a valley 40 to 75 feet
deep. The distance of IJ miles from Larimore north to this stream is a
gradually descending, smooth slope, but its northern bluiF rises steeply to
a height a few feet above that of Larimore.

Great Northern Railway at Larimore, 1,134 feet above the sea; at
McCanna, 1,140 feet; on the bridge over the North Branch of Turtle
River, 1,132 feet, 17 feet above the stream; at its summit, in the north-
east corner of section 22, Agnes, grade and natural surface, 1,164 feet; at
Orr's station, 1,098 feet.

Lower Herman beach, running northwesterly in the northeast part of
section 24, Elm Grove, 1,127 to 1,128 feet, with depression of 2 to 3 feet
on its Avest side; in section 13, 1,127 to 1,132 feet; in the west part of
section 12 and the northeast part of section 11, 1,130 to 1,135 feet, being
in these sections the easternmost in a succession of three beach ridges, the
two others of which are 10 feet higher; at E. C. D. Shortridge's house, in
the center of section 2, 1,137 feet, forming a broad, flat swell of sand and
fine gravel, with a depression of 3 to 5 feet on its west side; in the west
part of section 36, through sections 26 and 23, and the southwest edge of
section 14, Agnes, a continuous, well-defined beach ridge, 1,140 to 1,149
feet, with a descent of 10 to 15 feet on the east and a depression of about
5 feet on the west; in the east edge of the northeast quarter of section
15 and through the southeast quarter of section 10, Agnes, a deposit of sand
and fine gravel, with iiearly level top 20 to 30 rods wide, 1,145 to 1,149
feet, from which a slope falls 10 or 15 feet in 20 to 30 rods eastward, while
on the west it is bordered by a slough 5 to 20 rods wide, which is partly
permanent water and partly mowing land. It is to be noted that the
northern two-thirds of the beach here described for a distance of 8 miles
con'esponds in elevation with the two beaches close east of Larimore and
with their continuation northward to the North Branch of Turtle River,
marking the third Herman stage of Lake Agassiz; but that the southern
part records a slightly lower level of the lake, when it had fallen about 10
feet, or to its fourth Herman stage.

On the west side of this beach a smoothly undulating, broad swell of
till, which was an island in Lake Agassiz, lies in the west part of section 26

HERMAN BEACHES NORTH OF LAEIMORE. 347

and the east edge of section 27, Agnes, with a nearly level top of several
acres, at 1,182 to 1,190 feet. An aboriginal bnrial mound, raised 4 feet
and having a diameter of about 50 feet, is situated on the highest part of
this area. Such localities, overlooking an extensive and beautiful pano-
rama, were frequent!)- chosen for this use, as is shown by many mounds
on hilltops and on the margin of bluffs bordering deeply eroded valleys
throughout the Northwest.

North of this island the upper Hemian beach is represented in the
east part of the southeast quarter of section 22 and in the west half of
the southwest quarter of section 23, Agnes, by a wide tract of gravel and
sand deposits, in irregular ridges and swells rising 4 to 8 feet, mostly
trending from north to south, with their crests at 1,164 to 1,170 feet. Next
to the north it is a well-defined beach ridge, with crest rising from 1,163 to
1,168 feet in its course of a half mile from south to north through the east
edge of the northeast quarter of section 22.

In the southeast quarter of section 15, Agnes, the plain that descends
slowly toward the Red River on the east is divided from the Elk Valley on
the west by a low swell of till, having an elevation of 1,157 to 1,160 feet,
destitute of beach deposits. This is succeeded in the north part of this
section and the south part of section 10 by a second island which rose
above the highest level of the glacial lake, having a length of 1 mile from
south to north and averaging a quarter of a mile wide, its elevation in the
southwest quarter of the northeast quarter of section 15 being about 1,187
feet, on the line between these sections about 1,175 feet, and near the cen-
ter of section 10, at the north end of this irregular ridge, about 1,180 feet.
Its material is till, partially overspread in its south half by gravel, which
seems to have been brought by the currents and waves of Lake Agassiz
from the erosion of its northern portion.

The beach of Lake Agassiz during its highest stage extends north
from the north end of this island into the southwest quarter of section 3,
Agnes, where it is a ridge about 20 rods wide, with an elevation of 1,165
to 1,172 feet, composed of coarse gravel and sand, inclosing plentiful rock
fragments, chiefly granitic, up to 6 inches in diameter, most of which are
only very slightly waterworn. Its eastern slope descends 15 to 20 feet in

348 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

as many rods, and on the west an equal descent takes place within 8 or 10
rods. The steep western slope of this beach or bar, forming the east rim
of the strait that filled the Elk Valley, was due to storms on the broad
lake, rolling its Avaves upon the bar and carrying the sand and coarse
gravel upward and over its crest. Turning northwestward, this beach
passes into the northeast quarter of section 4, where it consists of irregular
accumulations of gravel and sand, occupying a width of an eighth to a
fourth of a mile, with their crests at 1,155 to 1,162 feet. In the north
edge of section 4 it again becomes a definite beach ridge of the same
material and contom- as in section 3, and thus passes northeast and north
tlu-ough section 33, Inkster, with its crest mostly at 1,165 to 1,172 feet, its
lowest part, about 1,162 feet, being near the center of the section. The
two islands before described, this beach or bar, and the long island next
northward are together commonly called "The Ridge," being the eastern
limit of the Elk Valley, which averages 4 miles wide, 1,150 to 1,140 feet
above the sea in its eastern and central portions, but rising with a trans-
verse slope to 1,160 feet on its western border.

A third island above the highest stage of Lake Agassiz, 3 miles long
from south to north and a quarter to a half mile wide, varying in elevation
along its highest part from 1,170 to 1,223 feet, reaches tlu'ough sections
28 and 21, the west half of section 16, and into the southwest corner of
section 9, Inkster. It is till, with somewhat uneven surface, bearing fre-
quent bowlders. Beach deposits occur on the east flank of this island in
section 21 at 1,155 to 1,165 feet, and from 1,155 feet a smooth slope of
sand and fine gravel falls slowly eastward along the east side of this
highland through the greater part of its extent.

In the southeast part of section 8, Inkster, irregular accumulations
of beach gravel, with crests at 1,170 to 1,175 feet, 10 to 15 feet above
the adjoining depressions of till, extend northward from the island just
described; and in the north part of this section 8 the beach sinks within an
eighth of a mile from 1,172 to 1,161 feet and changes to a broad, smooth
ridge, which thence passes northward through section 5 of this township,
in which it is intersected by the Forest River, and through the west half
of section 32, Eden, near the center of which it has tln-ee aboriginal

"THE RIDGE" AND "THE MOUNTAINS." 349

mounds, 6 to 8 feet in lieight, on its top. The material of tliis beach ridge
is fine gravel and sand. Its crest on the line between sections 8 and 5 has
an elevation of 1,161 feet; an eiglith of a mile north, at the verge of the
south bluff of Forest River, 1,155 feet ; for the first half mile from the bluff
north of this river, 1,152 to 1,157 feet; and at the mounds in section 32,
1,156 to 1,159 feet.

Another beach ridge, 20 rods wide, with descent of 10 feet on each
side in as many rods, formed during the same stage of Lake Agassiz, lies
a half to three-fourths of a mile west from the foregoing, in the northeast
quarter of section 6, Inkster. This is the highest land between the main
Forest River and its South Branch. It consists of sand and fine gravel, of
which a considerable proportion (about a sixth) is Cretaceous shale. The
maximum elevation of this ridge, 1,157 to 1,164 feet, is maintained for
50 or 60 rods, from which it sinks to 1,150 feet at each end.

From the north side of section 32, Eden, an island of rolling and hilly
morainic till above the highest level of Lake Agassiz, far larger than
any of these already described, extends, with the exception of two short
gaps, 20 miles northward, varying in width from a half mile to a little
more than 1 mile in its southern quarter and from 1^ to 2^ miles tlu'ough
the remainder of its extent. This hilly tract, commonly denominated "the
mountains," forms the east border of the Golden Valley. In the north
part of section 36, Vernon, it has a depression to about 1,180 feet, which
probably was a strait of the glacial lake in its highest stage, an eighth of
a mile wide and a few feet deep. Again, in the center of Golden Town-
ship, it is intersected by the South Branch of Park River, which has a
valley a quarter to a half of a mile wide and about 75 feet deep. The
stream in its course of IJ miles through this belt descends about 50 feet,
from 1,165 to 1,115 feet, approximately. It seems almost certain that a
depression slightly lower than the Golden Valley on the west originally
extended across this I'olling and hilly area where it is cut by this stream ;
but the erosion of its valley has undermined and removed portions of
adjoining hills and ridges, so that its inclosing bluffs now I'ise 50 to 100
feet, their highest points being about 1,225 feet above the sea, or 25 to
30 feet above the east edge of the Golden Valley. All these bluffs and

350 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

two plateaus left in the midst of the valley are till, yellowish near the top
and dark-bluish below.

The elevation of "the mountains" in their southern and narrower
portion, tlu-ough the west part of Eden and the northeast corner of Med-
ford, is 1,190 to 1,225 feet; through the east hah" of Vernon, 1,200 to
1,250 feet; in the south part of Golden, 1,200 to 1,260 feet, and tlu-ough
the north half of this township and the south half of Lampton, 1,200 to
1,275 feet, being highest in section 28 of the township last named, near
the northern end of this hilly tract. These prominent accumulations of
till, rising in the west edge of the lacustrine area, seem referable, as shown
in Chapter IV, to the ninth or Leaf Hills moraine. They appear to have
been formed on the western margin of the Minnesota lobe of the ice-sheet.
The east border of "the mountains," in section 20, Eden, falls some-
what steeply to about 1,135 feet, and thence a flat slope, with no beach
ridges, sinks slowly eastward. In the northeast quarter of section 7 in
this township a well-defined beach ridge 10 to 15 rods wide, composed of
sand and gravel, with pebbles up to 2 or 3 inches in diameter, extends 25
rods south from an eastern spur of the hilly till ; crest of this spur, about
1,195 feet; of the beach, 1,172 feet, with depression of 3 to 6 feet on the
west. Irregular beach accumulations, 10 to 20 feet lower, continue south-
ward nearly a half mile.

In section 30, Rushford, the eastern border of this rolling and hilly
area falls 75 feet or more within a third of a mile, to about 1,100 feet. Its
material is till, with scanty deposits of beach gravel and sand, not distinctly
accumulated in ridge form. About half way down this slope it shows in
some places a more abrupt escarpment, with steep descent of 15 or 20 feet.
The same features continue through section 19, except that a series of dis-
tinct beach deposits is observable about 25 rods east from the crest of the
slope, at 1,170 to 1,175 feet, probably formed during the second Herman
stage of Lake Agassiz. A descent of 125 feet takes place within a half
mile on the east side of "the mountains," near where it is cut by a large
but short ravine, in the southeast quai-ter of section 12, Vernon, falling
from 1,180 to 1,050 feet, approximately, with no well-defined shore-hnes
observable. A grove lies at the east base of this slope a third of a mile

HERMAN BEACHES NEAR PARK RIVER. 351

south of the ravine. In the northwest quarter of this section 12 and the
west edge of the southwest quarter of section 1, a well-developed beach,
in part consisting of two parallel low ridges, has an elevation of 1,170 to
1,177 feet,' and in the east edge of section 2, continuing northward, its
elevation is 1,177 to 1,184 feet. Its eastern slope falls to 1,170 feet within
10 or 20 rods.

Great Northern Railway at Park River depot, 998 feet above the sea;
natural surface at the southeast corner of section 23, Golden, on the road
leading west from Park River, 1,178 feet. The crest of the upper Her-
man beach, crossed by this road 10 rods west from the point named, is at
1,187 feet, but 20 rods southeast and northwest from the road its height is
1,192 feet. This is a typical beach ridge of sand and gravel, with pebbles
up to 2 or 3 inches in diameter, mostly limestone and granite. The Creta-
ceous shale before mentioned is very rare in the till of "the mountains"
and in the beaches formed along their east side, indicating that the east
limit of this shale is the Pembina Mountain and the western ascent of the
Golden Valley, and that the glacial currents by which the drift here was
deposited came only from the north and northeast, with no intermixture of
currents from west of north.

Highest beach on verge of south bluif of the South Branch of Park
River, in the southeast quarter of section 23, Golden, 1,188 to 1,192 feet,
with a basin-shaped hollow on its west side 20 feet lower, which changes
southward to a depression of about 5 feet. The river bluff is here freshly
undermined, showing the depth of the beach sand and gravel to be 5 to 10
feet, lying on till. Lower beach, a quarter of a mile farther east, extending
from northwest to southeast, in the southwest quarter of section 24, 1,167
to 1,170 feet.

Lower Herman beach, a massive ridge of gravel and sand, extending
in a curved course convex toward the east from the northeast quarter of
section 2, Golden, through the southeast part of section 35, Lampton, crest,
1,160 to 1,165 feet; through the northeast edge of section 36 and the south-
west comer of section 25, 40 to 50 rods wide, with slightly undulating
surface, 1,160 to 1,167 feet; near the middle of the east side of the south-

352 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

east quarter of section 26, 1,165 to l,l66 feet; and at the quarter-section
stake on the north side of this section 26, 1,163 feet.

Near the west Kne of section 23, Lampton, two Herman beaches abut
upon the east flank of the north end of "the mountains," and extend thence
north-northwesterly 2 miles to the Middle Branch of Park River. The
eastern one, a well-defined ridge of sand and fine gravel, passes close west
of the quarter-section stake between sections 15 and 10. The elevation of
its crest is 1,161 to 1,166 feet, with increase in height from south to north;
the descent on the east is 15 or 20 feet in as many rods, and the depression
on the west is 3 to 8 feet deep and 10 rods wide. The other beach ridge is
40 or 50 rods farther west, parallel with the preceding and similar in form
and material; its crest, rising slightly northward, is at 1,173 to 1,176 feet.
Another distinct beach lidge, but of smaller size, runs in a parallel course
through the east part of the southwest quarter of section 9, with its crest
at 1,185 to 1,187 feet. These appear to represent together the thu-d and
second Herman beaches of the series observed northwest of Maple Lake in
Minnesota and east and west of Larimore. The lowest Herman beach
in this vicinity passes as a well-marked ridge of gravel and sand tlirough
the west part of sections 11 and 2, Lampton, and the east part of sections
34, 27, and 22, Gardar, having a height of 1,145 to 1,150 feet, from which
there is a descent of 5 to 10 feet on the east and half as much on the west.
Upper Herman beach, northward from the north end of "the moun-
tains," forming in the northwest quarter of section 21 and the west part of
section 16, Lampton, a massive broad ridge, composed of sand and gravel,
with pebbles up to 4 or even 6 inches in diameter, crest, 1,197 to 1,207
feet rising highest northward, where the beach deposit overlies the eastern
slope of a wave-like swell of till that rises to 1,212 feet. Small beach
ridge, belonging to this stage, in the east edge of the southeast quarter of
section 8, Lampton, 1,202 to 1,207 feet. Surface at Evan Edwards's house,
in the west part of the southwest quarter of section 9, 1,197 feet, consisting
of sand and gravel of this beach to a depth of 10 feet, underlain by till,
yellowish in its first 6 feet and dark-bluish below. Summit of a smoothly
rounded hillock, probably till, but having few or no bowlders, in the east
edge of the northeast quarter of section 8, about 1,230 feet; train of beach

HEEMAN BEACHES NEAK GARDAE. 353

gravel and sand extending thence 30 rods southward, 1,217 feet, with
descent of 15 or 20 feet on each side.

Continuing beyond the Middle Branch of Park River, this highest
beach is well developed in a broad ridge running due north through the
west part of section 4, Lampton, with its crest at 1,202 to 1,208 feet. On
the east the surface falls 30 or 40 feet, and more slowly beyond, while
toward the west a descent of 10 feet is succeeded by a flat surface of till,
which rises slowly from the foot of the beach ridge to a swell at the heiglit
of 1,215 to 1,225 feet, a half mile away, forming the east boundary of the
Golden Valley. This beach is sand and gravel, with pebbles up to 6 inches
in diameter. About half of them are limestone; nearly all of the remain-
der are Archean granite, gneiss, and schists; scarcely one in two hundred
is Cretaceous shale. Through the west edge of section 33, Gardar, the
elevation of this excellent beach ridge is 1,202 to 1,205 feet, and in the
southwest edge of section 28 and the middle of the east edge of section
29, 1,202 to 1,197 feet, decreasmg in height and size northward. For a
half mile through the southwest quarter of section 33, a slight secondary
beach ridge, 4 to 9 feet lower, lies about 30 rods east from the foregoing;
its crest is at 1,198 to 1,195 feet, sinking a few feet from south to north;
it is divided from the higher beach by a continuous depression about 3
feet deep.

A very massive beach ridge, composed of sand and gravel, with peb-
bles and rock fragments, the largest only slightly waterworn, up to 6
inches in diameter, passes a few degrees west of north through the center
of section 20, Gardar, its crest in the south half of the section being at
1,208 to 1,215 feet, and in the north half 1,215 to 1,223 feet. On the
east is a descent of 20 to 30 feet within 25 to 40 rods, and on the west 10
or 12 feet from the highest part of the beach within 10 rods to a nearly
level area of till, 1,211 feet, which sinks 40 rods farther west to a long
slough, about 1,205 feet, parallel with the beach and a sixth of a mile wide.
Beyond this an undulating surface of till, partly covered with bushes and
small trees, rises to 1,250 or 1,275 feet within 2 miles, and then in smooth,
massive swells to 1,450 or 1,500 feet within the next 2 to 4 miles. These
are part of a plateau, thence rising more slowly westward, whose boundary
MON XXV 23

354 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

for the next 75 miles to the north-northwest is the conspicuous escarpment
called Pembina Mountain.

The north end of this massive beach bears on its crest an artificia
embankment 100 feet long from east to west and 20 feet wide, raised 2 feet
above the natvn-al surface, its top being 1,225 feet above the sea. This is
10 rods south from where the beach is cut to 1,210 feet by a wide gap, as
of some ancient watercourse. In the south edge of the southwest quar-
ter of section 17, Gardar, on the south bank of the North Branch of Park
River, about 10 rods east from the ford of the "Half-breed road," this beach
has an elevation of 1,220 feet.

North Branch of Park River at this ford, 10 to 15 feet wide and a few
inches deep, 1,203 feet. Surface at the village of Gardar, a mile east,
1,175 to 1,170 feet. Lower Herman beach, passing from south to north
along the east side of sections 20 and 17, Gardar, a thu'd of a mile west of
the village, about 1,185 feet.

FROM GARDAR NORTH TO THE TONGUE RIVER.

(PLATE XXX.)

Sections 17, 8, and 5, Gardar, rise from 1,190 and 1,200 feet on their
east side to 1,220 and 1,225 feet on the west, including, therefore, the
upper Herman shore of Lake Agassiz; but they present no considerable
deposits of beach gravel and sand. A swell of till, sprinkled with very
abundant bowlders, nearly all Archean granite and gneiss, up to 5 feet in
diameter, extends from south to north across the line between sections 8
and 5, having its crest at 1,215 feet, from which there is a steep descent of
10 or 12 feet to the west. Sloughs and pools of water, permanent through
the year, he in the west part of section 5, about 1,190 feet above the sea.

The South Branch of Cart Creek, in sections 31 and 32, Thingvalla,
is bordered by a belt of timber a half mile wide, but it has only a small
channel a few feet below the general surface, and is dry tlu'ough the greater
part of the year. Its alluvial gravel, like that of the Middle and North
branches of Park River, is mostly Cretaceous shale, derived from the
gorges eroded in this rock at the sources of these streams in the Pembina
Mountain.

us. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.

MONOGRAPH XXV. PL. XXX

MAP OF THE WTISTERX SHOIiES OF LAKE AGASSIZ, INCLIIDLXG THE PEMOINADKLTA.FKOM l'AIU( rmTH.WALSII COrXT^'.
NORTH TIUWlTGHl'EMBroAx\OT) CAVALIER COUNTIES.NORTH DAKOTA. TO THE LN'TEIWATIONAL BOUNDARY.

Scale. (Wiiilps to ail inch.

Lake x\j-ea I I Delia I 1 Moraines l_

Alfittu/es of R<iilw((v .sOt/toTiA- arc /loted in f'rvt above t/ir srti .

HBEMAN BEACHES ALONG PEMBINA MOUNTAIN. 355

Along the western border of Lake Agassiz here and northward into
Manitoba extends a prominent wooded bkifF, the escarpment of a treeless
plateau which from its crest stretches with slow ascent westward. This
escarpment, commonly called the Pembina Mountain (described in pages
40-42, 93-97), is a very marked feature in the topography for about 75
miles. It is caused by the outcrop, mostly overspread by glacial drift, of a
continuous belt of nearly horizontal Cretaceous shale, several hundred feet
thick, usually so hard and enduring that it is popularly termed "slate"
Its course coincides nearly with the west line of Gardar and Thingvalla
townships. Thence it continues in an almost straight course, a few degi'ees
west of north, to the international boundary, beyond which it runs north-
northwest nearly 50 miles to the vicinity of Treherne. The base of the
ascent is about 1,225 feet above the sea, and its crest approximately 1,500
feet, northward to the Pembina River, beyond which the base sinks to
1,150 and 1,100 feet and the crest to 1,400 and 1,300 feet. The width
occupied by the slope varies from a quarter to a half of a mile.

Natural surface at the quarter-section stake on the north side of section
32, Thingvalla, 1,178 feet above the sea. Sections 32, 29, and 20 of this
township are mostly till, smoothed by this glacial lake, the depressions hav-
ing been filled by leveling down the higher portions, where many bowlders
partially embedded testify of considerable erosion. A broad ridge of beach
sand and fine gravel 3 to 5 feet high extends from south to north tluough
the center of section 29, its crest being at 1,180 to 1,182 feet. This is the
thud in the series of four Herman beaches observed near Maple Lake, near
Larimore, and in Lampton. The higher beaches are probably also recog-
nizable 1 to 1 J miles farther west, near the base of the Pembina escarpment
or "second mountain," which is 1,220 to 1,230 feet above the sea; but it
is impracticable to trace their course and determine their exact elevation,
because woods reach from the base of this escarpment a half mile east,
where these beaches belong.

Fourth Herman beach, a broad, low swell of sand and gravel, extending
uorth-northwesterly through the east half of section 20, Thingvalla, 1,166 to
1,172 feet; through sections 17 and 8, an eighth to a quarter of a mile wide,
1,161 to 1,173 feet, having in some places a depth of at least 10 feet, as

356 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

shown by wells. On the north line of section 20, and again in the north
part of section 17, it is intersected by branches of Cart Creek, which occupy
valleys about 40 feet deep and an eighth to a quarter of a mile wide.
Brush and scattered trees grow in these valleys and on the area between
them. Toward the east a descent of 30 or 40 feet is made within the first
half mile; westward there is only a slight ascent, to about 1,200 feet, in 1
mile; then a more considerable slope, covered with Avoods, rises 20 to 40
feet to the base of the "second mountain," on or near the township line.

In the west part of section 8, and again near the northeast corner of
section 6, Thingvalla, this beach is intersected by the head streams of Wil-
low Creek, in valleys about 35 feet deep. On the north line of sections 5
and 6 of this township the fourth and third Herman beaches are merged
in an undulating tract of gravel and sand a half mile wide, which rises
from 1,160 feet on the east to 1,184 feet on the west. A well on the west
part of this belt found the beach deposit 6 feet thick, underlain by till,
which forms the slightly ascending surface next west.

Base of the second Pembina Mountain, in the east half of section 31,
township 161, range 56, 1,235 feet at the south to 1,220 feet northward,
coinciding nearly with the upper Herman shore of Lake Agassiz. William
Crombie's well, 24 feet deep, near the center of section 30, situated about
50 feet above the Tongue River, a few rods back from the verge of its north
bluff, was soil, 2 feet; gravel, nearly all Cretaceous shale, 8 feet; underlain
by gravel, nearly all granite and gneiss, with scarcely any intermixtm-e of
shale, containing pebbles and cobbles up to 4 inches in diameter, 14 feet,
yielding a permanent supply of water. This well is close to the base of
the "mountain," at an elevation of about 1,230 feet. Its bed of granite
gravel appears to be the upper beach, the overlying shale gravel being a
delta deposit brought by the Tongue River.

Surface at Young post-oflfice, in the northeast corner of the southwest
quarter of section 32, township 161, range 56, 1,192 feet. The well here,
14 feet deep, is wholly stratified gravel and sand, being a beach deposit of
the second and third stages in the Herman series. Third beach, about an
eighth of a mile east of Young post-office, a broad ridge of sand and fine
gravel, a few feet above the land on its west side, crest, 1,187 feet. Fourth

THE PEMBINA DELTA. 357

and lowest Herman beach, of similar form with the last, but larger, running
a few degrees west of north through the west edge of section 33, 1,173 to
1,175 feet, with depression of 1 to 5 feet on its west side and descent of
25 feet within 30 or 40 rods east.

Tongiae River, at bridge near the center of the south half of section 28,
township lf51, range 56, about 1,110 feet; bottom land, 10 feet higher; top
of the bluffs, about 1,150 feet. Gavins reek, in the south half of section
20, about 1,140 feet; valley, 40 feet deep, a sixth of a mile wide.

The lowest Herman beach forms a massive ridge of sand and fine
gravel in the northeast quarter of section 29 and the east part of sections
20 and 17, township IGl, range 56, with its crest at 1,175 to 1,180 feet.

DELTA OF THE PEMBINA RIVER.

(PLATE XXX.)

The largest tributary to the Red River in North Dakota is the Pembina
River, which has cut a valley about 400 feet deep and a mile wide in the
plateau of the second Pembina Mountain. During the recession of the ice-
sheet this stream was much larger than now, being for a time the outlet of
glacial lakes in the basins of the Souris and Saskatchewan rivers.' The
delta deposited in the margin of the glacial Lake Agassiz by the Pembina
River, swollen by a great affluent from the melting ice-fields at the north-
west, beyond the present limits of its basin, extends about 16 miles from
south to north and has an average width of about 5 miles, with a maximum
width of 7J miles and a maximum thickness exceeding 200 feet. Its mean
thickness is probabl}' not less than 150 feet, giving for its volume about 2t^
cubic miles, spread upon an area of 80 square miles. Four-fifths of this
delta lie south of the Pembina River, reaching nearly to the Tongue River.
Fig. 15 shows a section across this delta from east to west about 3 miles
south of Walhalla.

Its elevation in the northwest part of section 17, township 161, range
56, is 1,200 feet; thence northward it rises slowly in 2 miles to 1,225 feet
in the east part of section 6; and in sections 31 and 30, township 162, range

'Pages 267-274, foregoing. Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Minnesota, Ninth A.nnual Report,
for 1880, p. 342. Hind's Report of the Assiniboine and Saskatchewan Exploring Expedition, 1859, pp.
118 and 168.

358

THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

56, it varies from 1,220 to 1,227 feet. From this crest of the southern part
of the delta it slopes slowly east and northeast to 1,080 and 1,090 feet at
its eastern border, in sections 25, 24, and 13, which coincides neai'ly with
the east line of this township 1G2, range 56. Deep valleys, with frequent
tributary ravines, have been eroded in it by several small streams. West-
ward the delta reaches to the base of the second Pembina Mountain, the
belt, a half mile to 1 mile wide, next beyond the crest, only about 5 feet
lower, being a very flat, beautiful prairie, which rises slowly, like the crest,
from south to north. The elevation of this belt in section 18, township
161, range 56, is 1,190 to 1,195 feet, and at Mr. Henry GrofF's house, in the
middle of the east edge of section 36, township 162, range 57, 1,221 feet.
Farther west there is an ascent to about 1,240 feet at the base of the "sec-

/5£j$^_^co/70' femb/ha Afoon'fs/n t; 2 •»

?^

Fig. 15. — Section across the delta of the Pembina River. Horizuut:il scale, 2 miles to an inch.

ond mountain." Wells on this area penetrate only beds of sand and gravel,
easy to dig and needing to be curbed to prevent caving. A large propor-
tion, probably half, of the gravel is Cretaceous shale. Water is obtained
at depths varying from 25 to 60 feet.

The pai-t of the Pembina delta thus far described is divided from its
central and higher part, which is crossed by the section of fig. 15, by a
depression about a mile wide, through which a portion or the whole of the
river flowed during much of the time while this delta was being formed.
In the southwest corner of section 18, township 162, range 56, this depres-
sion is 1,205 feet above the sea, being 20 feet lower than the area on the
south. It extends eastward with a slow descent and rises westward to
1,215 feet close east of the Little Pembina River, in section 15, township
162, range 57. This stream flows tlu'ough the escarpment of the "second

THE PEMBINA DELTA. 359

mountain," in the sontheast quarter of section 22, about a mile south from
this lowest part of the divide on its east side. It here turns abruptly from
its eastern course, and tlience flows north-northwest along the base of the
"second mountain" to its junction with the Pembina River, thus leaving
the depression just described, which would seem to be its more natural
course, and taking in its stead a channel that is eroded tlu'ough a portion of
the delta 50 feet higher.

The most elevated point of this delta, as it now remains, is about
1,270 feet above the sea, near the northwest corner of section 11, township
162, range 57, east of the Little Pembina and south of the Pembina River,
and is nearly 300 feet above the junction of these streams, IJ miles distant
toward the northwest. Section 12 of this township and the west part of
section 7, township 162, range 56, slope from 1,225 feet on the south to
1,215 feet on the north; their southern part is the highest land crossed
between the depression before mentioned and the Pembina River by the
line dividing these townships. The level of Lake Agassiz in its highest
stage here was 1,220 or 1,225 feet above the sea, being 50 feet below the
top of the Pembina delta, as is shown by the beach line of this level, 1,226
feet, in the central part of this section 7, where an eastward descent begins.
This is the east verge of the nearly flat area of the delta in sections 12 and
7. Like all of this delta deposit, the material here is sand and gravel, cov-
ered by a fertile soil. A small proportion of the pebbles of this gravel is
limestone; a large part is Cretaceous shale; but more was derived from
Archean formations of granite and gneiss.

The second Herman beach, a ridge of the usual form, is crossed by the
road near the east side of the northeast quarter of section 7, township 162,
range 56, descending from 1,212 feet to about 1,200 feet in a distance of a
third or half of a mile from south to north.

William Roadhouse's well, 110 feet deep, in the northwest quarter of
section 8, township 162, range 56, at the elevation of 1,184 feet, is all strat-
ified sand and gravel, with pebbles up to 6 inches in diameter, fully half
Cretaceous shale. Water comes in coarse sand at the l:)ottom, filling- the
lowest 2 feet. Another well of the same description, but 137 feet deep.

360 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

is a mile farther east, at Wellington Stewart's house, in the southwest quarter
of section 4, 1,192 feet above the sea.

On the road from Olga to Walhalla the crest of the east margin of this
delta is crossed in the north part of section 33, Walhalla, about 2 miles
southeast from the village of this name. Its elevation is 1,190 to 1,196
feet above the sea. This is a beach accumulation, belonging to the third
Herman stage. Toward the west and southwest the undulating delta
plateau, mostly covered with bushes and occasional trees, is 10 to 30 feet
lower for a width of 1 to 1^ miles, averaging about 1,175 feet. Northeast
from the crest of this road a short descent is made to a praiiie terrace, 30
to 60 rods wide, varying in elevation from 1,182 to 1,169 feet, but mainly
within 2 feet above or below 1,175 feet. In general the verge of this
terrace is its lowest portion. Thence a very steep descent of 169 feet is
made on the road from 1,173 to 1,004 feet, this being the very conspicuous
wooded escarpment called the "first Pembina Mountain." It is the eroded
front of the great Pembina delta, the eastern part of which, originally
descending more moderately, has been swept away by the waves and shore
currents of the lake during its Norcross, Tintah, Campbell, and McCauley-
ville stages. From this section 33 the "first mountain" extends southeast
ta sections 13 and 24, township 162, range 56, and northwest across the
Pembina, passing close southwest of Walhalla and onward to sections 10
and 3, township 163, range 57. Its highest part is intersected by the Pem-
bina River, above which it rises on each side in bluffs of gravel and sand
200 to 250 feet high, with their crest a half mile to 1 mile apart. From
this upper portion the delta slopes down gradually toward the southeast
and toward the northeast and north, extending only 2 to 4 miles north of
the Pembina.^

' The first Pembina Mountain was visited liy D. D. Owen in 1848. He describes it as follows :
"Pembin.a Moimtain is, in fact, no mountain at all, nor yet a hill. It is a terrace of table-land, the
ancient shore of a great body of water that once filled the whole of the Eed River Valley. On its
summit it is quite level and extends so for about 5 miles westward to another terrace, the summit of
which, I was told, is level with the gre.at buffalo plains that stretch away towards the Missouri, the
hunting grounds of the Sioux and the half-breed jiopulatiou of Red River." — Report of a Geological
Survey of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesot.a, 1852, p. 178.

Both the first and second Pembina mountains were examined in 1857 by Palliser, who says of the
flat Red River Valley and the Pembina delta : " This plain, no doTibt, had formed at one time the bed
of a sheet of water, and the Pembina Hill, consisting of previously deposited materi.als, was its
western shore." — Journals, detailed reports, etc., presented to Parrliament, 19th May, 1863, p. 41.

THE PEMBINA DELTA. 361

Surface at the Bellevvie Hotel, Walhalla, 994 feet above the sea; at
the post-office, Mr. G. D. Lormg-'s store, 9G8 feet; Pembina River at the
bridge, a third of a mile east of Walhalla, low and high water, 934 to
943 feet.

Highest part of the Pembina delta north of the Pembina River in
sections 25 and 26, township 163, range 57, 1,210 to 1,230 feet, rising
slowly from east to west; in the west half of section 26 and the east edge
of section 27 it is depressed to 1,225 and 1,220 feet; but beyond this it
rises to 1,235 and 1,240 feet, next to the foot of the "second mountain."

Natural surface at the quarter-section stake on the north side of sec-
tion 26, township 163, range 57, 1,191 feet. Third Herman beach, crest
5 rods south of this stake, 1,197 feet, from which there is a descent in 5
rods south to 1,192 feet and in 15 -rods north to 1,180 feet. This beach
curves thence to the northwest and north, and in the opposite direction
runs east-southeast 2 miles to near the center of section 30, Walhalla,
where its elevation is approximately 1,192 feet. Other shore-lines of the
Herman group were not noticed north of the Pembina River.

In the gravel of this delta, as seen in the bluffs of the Pembina near
Walhalla and at noteworthy springs 2 miles to the south, on the south side
of the river, in the southwest corner of section 32, the pebbles of some beds
are mainly Cretaceous shale, of others mostly limestone, and of others
granite, gneiss, and dark trappean rocks. In the aggregate these three
classes have a nearly equal representation, and they are more commonly
intermingled in the same beds. The shale was doubtless chiefly derived
from the erosion of its strata along the glacial watercourse from the Lake
Souris, and was occasionally deposited in layers almost unmixed with
drift materials; but the other constituents of the gravel were derived from
the overlying drift and from the melting ice-sheet. White quartz and
moss agate are frequent, and bits of silicified wood occur rarely; but no
banded agates were found. Numerous pieces of lignite, rounded by water-
wearing, from 2 to 4 inches in diameter, noticed in this delta gravel at the
springs, have caused some to look for workable beds of this kind of coal
in the vicinity; but the proportion of these fi-agments is no greater than in
the glacial drift generally throughout this region and for hundi'eds of miles
to the south.

362 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

The deposition of tliis delta took place during the highest Herman
stage of Lake Agassiz It seems to have been very rapid, the supply of
sediments being so great that about the mouth of the Pembina Valley they
were accumulated in a fan-like sloping mass to a height of more than 50
feet above the lake level. When the recession of the ice-sheet caused the
cessation of its supply of modified drift, and permitted the Souris to flow, as
now, to the Assiniboine, the gi'owth of this delta ceased; and its subsequent
history is that of the deep channels cut through it by the Little Pembina
and the Pembina, and of the steep escarpment sculptured on its east side.
From the erosion of this first Pembina Mountain large amounts of gravel
and sand were swept southward, notably during the Campbell stages of the
lake, when they were deposited in a very massive curving beach ridge that
crosses the Tongue River in the west part of township 161, range 55, about
7 miles west of Cavalier. In the Herman stage, while the delta was being
accumulated, much fine clay and silt, brought by the same glacial river,
were carried farther and spread upon the lake bed along the central part
of the Red River Valley, perhaps extending in appreciable amount nearly
100 miles southward to the belt of till that reaches across the valley at
Caledonia and forms the Goose Rapids. But on the west side of the
lacustrine area this fine sediment is absent, probably because of currents
trending off"shore; and the surface is till both soiith and north of the
gravel and sand delta, as from Park River north to Gardar and Mountain
and nearly to the Tongue River, and from 2 miles north of the Pembina to
the international boundary and onward.

During the Glacial period the great valley of the Pembina River west
of its delta was only partially filled with drift, for its reexcavation, with the
channeling of Langs Valley, tributary to it from the glacial Lake Souris,
would have supplied as large a tribute to Lake Agassiz as the entire Pem-
bina delta and the fine silt and clay that are spread over the adjacent laka
bed. The volume of the delta, as before stated, is ajjproximatelj^ 2J cubic
miles. If an equal amount of fine silt were deposited beyond the delta,
both together would measure about the same as Langs Valley and the Pem-
bina Valley from the former mouth of Lake Souris to the delta, namely,
between 4 and 5 cubic miles.' But much of the Pembina delta and lacus-

' See pages 267-272, foregoing.

THE PEMBINA DELTA. 363

trine silt was doubtless supplied from the melting ice-sheet at the same time
with the deposition of the tracts of modified drift that border the valley
north of Rock and Swan lakes; so that the material derived from erosion
in this valley was considerably less than would be required to fill it. More-
over, it seems likely that the entire erosion of Langs Valley — that is, of the
portion of this watercourse extending from the Souris to Pelican Lake —
together with most of the valley along the extent of that lake, was effected
by the outflow from the Lake Souris during the time of formation of the
Pembina delta; and tliis large supply from erosion in tiie upper part of
the valley still further diminishes its probable amount along the course
of the river below. Thus it is clearly indicated that the Pembina Valley,
like the valleys of the Minnesota, Sheyenne, and Assiniboine rivers, was
eroded during preglacial time and was not entirely filled by the drift.
Comparing this delta with all the other conspicuous deltas of Lake Agassiz,
it seems indeed probable that more than half of its mass was supplied
directly from the englacial drift of the ice-sheet, and that less than half
came from erosion of the valley, which, therefore, along the lower and
deeper portion of its course appears not to have been much obstructed by
the glacial drift. From this it follows that the extensive high terraces
observed on the sides of the Pembina Valley in the vicinity of the Mow-
bray bridg-e and westward (page 270) are due to preglacial erosion in the
Cretaceous shales, owing to the action of the ice-sheet only their minor
features, together with the di-ift forming their surface.

THE UPPKR OR HERMAN BEACHES AKD DELTAS IN MANITOBA.

FROM THE INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY TO THE VICINITY OP NEEPAWA.

(PLATES XXX, XXXI, AND XXXII.)

The west shore of Lake Agassiz enters Manitoba 2 miles west of the
east line of range 5, at a distance of 36 miles from the Red River. On
the international boundary and for the next 10 miles northward the shores
of the highest stages of tlie lake wei'e on the steep wooded escarpment of
the Pembina Mountain, the base of which here is 1,100 to 1,150 feet
above the sea, rising slightly northward, and the verge of its top, 1,300 to

364 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

1,400 feet. This ascent, forming the steep face of the Pembina Mountain,
is made upon a width of about a quarter of a mile.

^Vliere the Pembina Mountain plateau is ascended by the Southwestern
Branch of the Canadian Paciiic Railway, and for a distance of about 4
miles south and 2 miles noi'th of this railway, the principal line of escarp-
ment is replaced by a moderate slope which is chiefly prairie. Across this
tract the Herman beaches of Lake Agassiz are well developed. In order
proceeding northward, the first point of examination of the highest beach
was near William H Oakley's house, in the south edge of the southwest
quarter of section 26, towns'hip 2, range 6. It is here a massive rounded
ridffe of g-ravel and sand, with descent of 12 to 15 feet in a distance of as
many rods both to the east and west from its crest, which is 1,253 feet
above the sea. Northward this beach, with similar outline, extends to
Francis J. Parker's house, which is built on its crest, having there also a
height of 1,253 feet, in the north edge of the northwest quarter of this
section. Westward from this beach is an undulating surface of till with
few bowlders. Half a mile farther north the beach is intersected by the
deep and broad ravine of Dead Horse or Cheval Creek. Beyond this
ravine the beach begins near Samuel B. Bowen's house. Its elevation 1 to
IJ miles north-northwest of Mr. Bowen's is 1,255 to 1,259 feet, and it is
there spread more broadlv than usual, having a nearly flat surface on a
width of 20 to 30 rods, bordered on the east by a descent of 10 or 15 feet
in 20 I'ods, and on the west by a descent of about 4 feet. The beach is
gravel and sand, with till on each side. It has nearly the same features
also a tliird of a mile farther north, near the center of section 10, township
3, ]-a.nge 6, where it is crossed by the road from ]\Iorden to Thornhill, the
elevation of its crest being 1,258 feet, l)ut the depression on the west is
reduced to onlj' 1 or 2 feet. In the same section this and lower beach
ridges are excavated beside the railway for ballast, and are found to consist
of sand and gravel, with pebbles seldom exceeding 2 or 3 inches in diame-
ter. About half of the pebbles are light-gray magnesian limestone and
about half Cretaceous shale, such as forms the Pembina Mountain, with
only a small proportion derived from Archean rocks. Thence the highest
shore continues north tlu'ough the east part of sections 16 and 21, township

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

MONOGRAPH XXV. PL. XXXI

MAP OF THE WESTERN SHORES OF LAKE AGASSIZ IX MANITOBA. FROM MORDEN
AND THORNHILL NORTH TO THE ASSINIIiOINE RIVER.

Scale, () miles to an iiicli.

Lake Area

He'll a

ANj.Ut.tJfs fi/' lietnway s/ations ciie in>!i'd in fcef. <ih<>\(' (he Roo. .

HERMAN BEACHES IN MANITOBA. 365

3, range 6, and in section 28 comes to the steep escarpment of Pembina
Mountain, with which it coincides along the next 30 miles north-northwest.
The elevation of this beach shows that it is the continuation of the highest
in the series of Herman beaches in Minnesota and North Dakota.

About a quarter of a mile east of tin foregoing is a parallel beach 15
to 20 feet lower, the second in the Herman series. Newton Lane's house,
next east of Mr. Oakley's, is built on its crest, 1,237 feet above the sea. It
there has a descent of 15 feet or morf within an eighth of a mile to the
east; but on the west the descent is only 1 or 2 feet or in part wanting, and
a nearly level surface of sand and gravel reaches west to the upper beach.
In section 10, township 3, range 6, at the road from Morden to Thornhill,
this second Herman beach has a height of 1,241 feet, and another beach at
1,247 feet lies between this and the highest, indicating similar conditions
in the fall of the lake level as on the northwest side of Maple Lake, in
Minnesota, where such an intervening beach also occurs.

Three small parallel beach ridges referable to the third stage in the
Herman series are crossed in the west pail of section 24, township 2, range
6, by the road leading northwest from Mountain City. The elevation of
their crests is 1,198, 1,202, and 1,205 feet. Two miles farther north, near
the center of section 35, in the same township, William Miller's house is
built on the highest of these, at an elevation of about 1,210 feet. His well,
16 feet deep, is gravel and sand to the depth of 12 feet, with till below.
Northward these beaches are traceable tlu-ough sections 2, 11, 15, and the
south part of section 22, township 3, range 6, to Bradshaws Creek, beyond
which they pass, with the other Herman and Norcross beaches, along the
Pembina Mountain escarpment.

The fourth Herman beach passes through Mountain City, in section
24, township 2, range 6, the post-office and the south end of the principal
street being on its crest, at 1,191 to 1,192 feet. Twenty -five rods farther
east, at the schoolhouse, is a less conspicuous parallel beach, at 1,183 to
1,184 feet. Both are terrace-like in form, having a descent of 3 to 5 feet
or more on the east, but only 1 to 2 feet or none on the west. The contin-
uation of this shore was also observed, like the preceding, through a
distance of 6 miles northward.

366 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

From section 28, township 3, range 6, the Herman shores of Lake
Agassiz coincide with the prominent escarpment of the Pembina Moun-
tain through a distance of 29 miles, passing in a nearly straight course
north-northwesterly to section 30, township 7, range 8, about 7 miles east-
southeast from Treherne. Along this distance the base of the escarpment
is 1,100 to 1,125 feet above the sea, and its crest about 1,400 feet. Seen
from this elevation, the great plain of the Red River Valley on the east,
when overshading clouds give to it in the distance a dark blue or azure
color, appears not unlike the vast expanse of the ocean as viewed from an
equal height a few miles inland. The highest shore of the glacial lake was
about half way up this ascent, and the lower Herman beaches and those of
the Norcross stage were between this and the base.

At the north end of the Pembina Mountain the Herman shores of
Lake Agassiz turned from a northward to a westward course, and at the
sharpest portion of this bend, in section 36, township 7, range 9, the cur-
rents along the shore, caused by storms, brought a large amount of gravel
and sand from their erosion on each side, and accumulated these deposits
in a massive ridge which juts out north-northwesterly a mile or more
from the curving line of the escai-jDment. This gravel and sand spit sinks
from nearly 1,300 feet above the sea at its south end, where it rests on
the adjoining highland, to about 1,125 feet, comprising deposits of the
successive Herman, Norcross, and Tintah stages of the lake.

Five to 6 miles farther west the Herman beaches are well exhibited in
the gradual ascent that rises to the Tiger Hills, 1 mile south of Treherne.
The highest beach here crosses the middle of the northwest quarter of
section 31, township 7, range 9, where it forms a swell of sand and gravel,
with pebbles mostly of Cretaceous shale, having its crest 1,272 to 1,273
feet above the sea. In some portions this reaches nearly flat an eighth of
a mile south to the base of the Tiger Hills, but elsewhere it is divided from
them by a depression of 3 to 5 feet. This appears to be the second (b) in
the series of Herman beaches, the first of this series (a and ad) not being
found here nor farther north. At the time when that uppermost beach of
Lake Agassiz was formed this locality and the country northward are
beheved to have been covered by the ice-sheet, its termination being at the

HEEMAN BEACHES NEAR TEEHERNB. 367

tract of morainic di'ift which overspreads the east part of the Tiger Hills,
as crossed in township 7, range 9, by the road to the south from Treherne.
About 20 and 50 rods north of the beach just described two inconspicuous
beach lines, terrace-like sand and gi-avel deposits, are found at 1,266 and
1,254 feet, referable to subdivisions [h^ and hb) of the second Herman
stage. A little farther north the third Herman beach is represented at
Irvine Scarrow's house, in the south edge of section 6, township 8, range 9.
This is a slight terrace with crest at 1,243 and 1,244 feet and descent of
4 or 5 feet on its north side. Mr. Scarrow's well, on this beach, 31 feet
deep, consists of black soil, 2 feet; interbedded sand and clay, 10 feet;
very coarse shale gravel, 5 feet ; beds of coarse and fine gravel and sand,
13 feet; and very hard dark bluish till at the bottom, dug into only 1 foot.
This well shows an accumulation of shore drift to a depth of 30 feet,
swept out by the currents of the lake from the curve where its beaches
turned westward. About an eighth of a mile north of Mr. Scarrow's house
another beach, also referable to the third Herman stage, descends from
1,236 and 1,238 feet at its crest to 1,230 feet at the base of its northward
slope. At the summit of the Manitoba and Southwestern Kailway, a mile
east of the Little Boyne River, and on the slope thence eastward, very
massive beach deposits are accumulated, due apparently to the same
action of northwestward ciu-rents from the northern end of the Pembina
Mountain. The summit of the railway is on such a beach, 1,217 to 1,220
feet above the sea, the fourth in the Herman series, forming a broad swell
from which a gentle slope falls on its northeast and southwest sides. Arthur
Willett's well here goes to a depth of 42 feet in beds of sand and gravel,
obtaining a plentiful supply of good water from their lower portion, with-
out reaching their bottom. A fifth of a mile farther east the railway cuts a
beach ridge with its crest at 1,211 feet, also referable to the fourth Herman
stage.

The Assiniboine delta occupies the western border of Lake Agassiz
from Treherne westward about 60 miles to Brandon, and thence north-
eastward about 35 miles to Neepawa. The shore of the lake along these
distances is not generally marked by a definite beach ridge, the absence of
which seems to be accounted for chiefly by the extreme shallowness of the

368 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

lake upou the delta, so tliat powerful waves were not di-iven ashore by
storms. The course of the highest shore between Treheme and Brandon,
belonging to the time of the second Herman beach, passes first west-
southwest along the foot of the Tiger Hills to the north and west side of
Campbell's Hill, in section 4, township 7, range 12 ; thence southwest and
south to the Cypress River, near Grange post-office, in section 18, town-
ship 6, range 12; thence west-northwestward to Oak Creek and along the
south side of this creek, within a mile or less from it, nearly to its mouth;
and, crossing the Souris in section 31, township 7, range 16, passes thence
northwest to Brandon. Beyond the Cypress a belt of till, moderately undu-
lating or in part nearly flat, from 2 or 3 to 10 miles wide, separates this
lake shore from the northern border of the Tiger Hills and the eastern
and northern base of the Brandon Hills. S. Martin's house, in the north-
east quarter of section 28, township 8, range 17, about 15 miles southeast
of Brandon, is built on a small beach ridge of sand and gravel extending
from southeast to northwest, only slightly below the highest stage of the
lake, which is marked by a moderately sloping parallel escarpment, about
10 feet high, eroded in till a half mile southwest of this beach. The
unusually smoothed surface of the till extending thence west and south
to the Brandon and Tiger Hills, on the area crossed by the Souris in its
course from Gregory's mill to the mouth of Black Creek, is probably
attributable to the deposition of its upper portion in a body of water held
between these hills and the northwardly retreating ice-sheet before this
area was drained to the level of Lake Agassiz by the retreat of the ice
from the east part of the Tiger Hills and the north end of the Pembina
Mountain.

In the south part of the city of Brandon the second Herman beach,
marking the stage bb of the table in Chapter IX, is a well-defined ridge of
sand and gi-avel along a distance of about a mile. It extends from east to
west, passing an eighth of a mile north of the court-house, and thence close
along the south side of Lome avenue from First to Fourth street. Between
Fourth and Sixth streets it is crossed by this avenue, and thence westward
lies close on its north side. Its structure is shown by sections where it is
intersected by Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth streets, exposing a thickness

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.

MONOGRAPH XXV. PL. XXXII.

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^^ ^- JULIUS BIEN 6 CO NV

MAI' OF THE n'ESTERN SHORES OF LAKE AGASSIZ IN THE \'l(TXrrY OK llll':
CANADIAN PAC'TFIC HAILA\"AV AND NORTH TO OHANGK UIDGE, MAXri'OI'.A.

Scale, 6 miles to .an inch.

Lake Ai-ea

Delia 777]

AUiUule.s of H,GJX\vciv stations ewe n-oted- in, fl-ei nhove tJic sea.

HERMAN BEACHES IN BRANDON. 369

of 10 feet of obliquely bedded sand and gravel, cOutaining abundant peb-
bles up to 2 inches and rarely cobbles 3 or 4 inches in diameter, about
two-tliirds being Paleozoic magnesian limestones, from one-tenth to one-
fourth Cretaceous shale, and the remainder mostly Archean granites and
schists. This beach ridge varies from 10 to 20 rods in width and from 5
to 10 feet or more in height, having a smoothly rounded, wave-like form.
The elevation of its crest near th^ court-house ranges from 1,260 to 1,269
feet above the sea, and at Eleventh and Twelfth streets it is 1,260 to
1,261 feet. No distinct beach ridge of the slightly higher Herman h stage
of Lake Agassiz was found in the vicinity of Brandon, but evidence of the
lake level in that stage is afforded in the southeast part of Brandon by
the delta plateau of coarse gravel and sand at the court-house and east-
ward, wliich is 1,270 to 1,282 feet above the sea, and by an old water-
course crossed 3 to 4 miles west of Brandon on the road to Kemnay, both
of which are more fully noticed in the description of the Assiniboine delta.
North of the Assiniboine the highest shore of Lake Agassiz passes
from Brandon east and east-northeast by Chater and Douglas, being on or
close below the verge of the plateau of till, overspread by delta gravel and
sand, which lies close north of the Canadian Pacific Railway. About a
mile north of Douglas station this shore is marked by a dune hillock, neax-ly
at the middle of the line oetween sections 10 and 11, township 11, range 17.
Thence its course is north-northeastward, and is indicated by an eroded
escarpment, extending 2 or 3 miles, with a height of 10 to 15 feet, and less
distinctly observable a few miles beyond. The base of this escarpment
where it crosses the south line of section 24 in this township is 1,269 feet
above the sea; and the surface at the schoolhouse, a sixth of a mile farther
west, is about 20 feet higher. All the area eastward is delta sand and
gravel; but the escarpment and the country rising thence slowly north-
westward are till. The continuation of this line between a moderately
rolling sm-face of till on the west, with plentiful bowlders and frequent
lakelets, and the slightly undulating sand and gravel delta on the east, with
low dunes on many parts of its area, passes north-northeasterly in range 16
across the west half of township 12 and the east half of township 13, and
thence north thi-ough the eastmost tier of sections in township 14, to Stony
MON XXV 24

370 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Creek. It evidently marks, at least approximately, the higliest shore of
the glacial lake; but it bears uo distinct beach ridge nor line of erosion,
partly because the lake was so shallow on the adjoining delta area, and partly
because the prevailing trends of the inequalities in the till surface run
nearly from east to west, transverse to the course of the shore currents and
di'ift by which beaches would be formed, thus intercepting the scanty
deposits of beach gravel and sand in their hollows, instead of permitting
them to be accumulated in a distinct ridge.

The Manitoba and Northwestern Railway crosses two beach ridges at
3f miles and 3 miles west of Neepawa, the crests of which are respectively
1,323 and 1,304 feet above the sea. These elevations indicate that they
belong to subdivisions of the second Herman stage, in the same manner
that this stage is represented by thi-ee beach lines at Treherne. Each of
thes'e ridges has a height of about 7 feet above the adjoining surface and
a width of 30 to 40 rods. They consist of sand and gravel, and the rail-
way company has therefore purchased a considerable tract occupied by
the lower one of them for its excavation and use as railway ballast. This
lower beach probably marks the same lake level as the beach observed at
Brandon, having there an elevation of 1,260 to 1,269 feet. Gravel and
sand brought into Lake Agassiz by Stony Creek seem to have contributed
to the conspicuous development of beach deposits here, while they are
wanting or less distinct upon most of the shore southward to Brandon and
also northward through the next 12 miles to where the Herman and Nor-
cross shores pass into the steep escarpment that forms the eastern face of
Riding Mountain.

DELTA OF THE ASSINIBOINE RIVEK.

(plate XXXIII.)

At Brandon the Assiniboine enters the area of Lake Agassiz, and thence
the gravel and sand delta of this tributary extends eastward 75 miles to
Portage la Prairie, northeastward 50 miles to Grladstone, and east-south-
eastward 80 miles to Almasippi post-office, 9 miles west of Carman. On
the northwest this delta is bordered by an expanse of moderately undu-
lating or rolling till which rises slowly above the ancient lake level and

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THE ASSINIBOINE DELTA. 371

stretches northwestward from Brandon, Chater, and Douglas to the Little
Saskatchewan and Oak rivers. From Brandon to Douglas the boundary of
the delta is close north of the Assiniboine and the Canadian Pacific Rail-
way; but at Douglas the line dividing the delta sand and gravel and the
adjoining surface of till turns north-northeastward and extends about 20
miles in a nearly direct course toward Neepawa, then bends northward in
the east part of townships 13 and 14, range 16, and crosses Stony Creek
a few miles west of Neepawa. Between Brandon and the mouth of the
Souris the delta reaches 3 or 4 miles southwest of the Assiniboine, beina:
there also bordered by a smoothly undulating or rolling tract of till, but
the morainic Brandon Hills rise prominently within a few miles farther
west. From the Souris east to the Cypress, a distance of nearly 25 miles,
the southern margin of the delta is similarly divided from the Tiger Hills
by a belt of undulating and rolling till which averages about 5 miles in
width. Farther to the east the delta deposits abut directly upon the north-
ern base of these hills from the Cypress River, by Holland and Treherne,
to the north end of the Pembina Mountain. Thence to the southeast the
head streams of the Boyne, after their descent from the plateaxx of the Pem-
bina Mountain, cross the southeastward extension of this delta to Almasippi.
This portion, however, is not probably a part of the delta as it was at first
deposited, but has been derived from the erosion of the eastern front of the
original delta by the waves of the lake in its later and successively lower
stages, being transported thence southward by shore cuiTents. The same
lacustrine action has doubtless extended the delta of gravel and sand gen-
erally 5 to 15 miles eastward beyond its original area, thereby giving its
eastern face a more gradual slope. As thus enlarged its east boundary
runs north from Almasippi to Portage la Prairie, curving eastward between
these places, and thence it passes west-northwest to near Gladstone, Arden,
and Neepawa. The eastern base of the delta, where it adjoins the flat
expanse of the Red River Valley and the country bordering the lower
Assiniboine and Lake Manitoba, has an elevation of 850 to 900 feet above
the sea; while the high delta plateau, which was submerged only about 50
feet or less by the lake when it was being deposited, and was in part shoals
and low islands, has an elevation of from 1,200 to 1,275 feet above the sea.

372 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

The western and southern hmits of the plateau are those akeady noted,
and on the east its boundary runs north and northwest from Treherne to
Sydney and Neepawa. The area of the plateau is about 1,300 square
miles, and the eastern slope adds to this fully two-thirds as much, making
the total area of this delta somewhat more than 2,000 square miles.

The thickness of the Assiniboine delta is seldom shown by wells,
which generally obtain a plentiful supply of water upon this area within
moderate depths,- ranging from 10 to 50 feet. In some localities, however,
near the great valley that the Assiniboine has cut tlirough the delta, the
plane of saturation probably lies much deeper, and wells must be sunk 100
feet or more to obtain water. Better measures of the depth of these gravel
and sand deposits are supplied by the valleys of the Assiniboine and other
streams, which are eroded in their deeper portions 100 to 200 feet below
the top of the delta plateau before reaching the underlying till. Deep
ravines are especially numerous on the northern part of the delta, where
many springs issue near the plane of junction between the porous gravel
and sand beds and the till, giving rise to the Squirrel, Pine, and Silver
creeks, which flow northeast to the White Mud Rivei". The descent of 200
to 300 feet made within a few miles upon the eastei'u face of the delta is a
fui-ther indication of its thickness, which reaches its maximum at the verge
of the plateau. In the vicinity of the outcrop of Niobrara beds on the
Assiniboine, in section 36, township 8, range 11, the thickness of the delta
gravel and sand appears to be about 200 feet; and it probably ranges from
100 to 200 feet along the outer limit of the plateau through the greater
part of its extent of more than 50 miles. The average thickness of this
very extensive delta is probably between 50 and 75 feet. Computing its
volume for an average of 50 feet on an area of 2,000 square miles, it is
found to be about 20 cubic miles.

Fig. 16 presents a section crossing the central part of the Assiniboine
delta, along the line of the Canadian Pacific Railway from Brandon to
Portage la Prairie.

Fifty miles east-southeast from Brandon the highest portions of the
surface of the delta south of the Assiniboine and east of the Cypress, where
it has not been heaped in sand hills by the wind, ai-e 1,225 to 1,240 feet

THE ASSmiBOINE DELTA.

373

above the sea, the latter being its elevation in a broad swell near the center
of section 24, township 8, range 11. Ten to 20 miles thence westward,
between Cypress River and Glenboro, the elevation of the slightlj^ undulat-
ing surface of the delta is mostly 1,235 to 1,245 feet, with frequent sloughs
and permanent ponds, up to a quarter of a mile or more in extent, lying at
1,225 to 1,235 feet. These ponds abound near Glenboro and for 4 miles
east. Along the Canadian Pacific Railway from Sydney westward, by
Melbourne, Carberry, and Sewell, to Douglas, 20 to 25 miles north of the
foregoing, the undulating delta ranges in elevation from 1,230 to 1,275
feet; and it holds the same height through 25 miles northward, to within 3
miles southeast of Neepawa. Adjoining the undulating and rolling area of
till which borders this part of its area on the west, its expanse of gravel

Fig. 16.— Section across the delta of the AssiDibnine River. Horizontal scale. 15 niilo.^ to an inch.

and sand slowly rises northward from 1,265 and 1,270 feet 2 to 3 miles
northeast of Douglas to 1,275 and 1,280 feet between Willow or Boggy
and Spring creeks. These elevations represent the plateau before men-
tioned, which forms the greater part of this delta.

While the extensive area of this plateau, reaching 50 miles from east
to west and nearly the same distance from north to south, is thus so uniform ■
in its elevation that its deposition must be attributed to stages of the lake
when its level was not much higher, probably those of the Herman beaches
b and hh near Treherne and Neepawa, there is a considerable tract lying
on both sides of the Assiniboine in the vicinity of Brandon and Kemnay
upon which delta deposits closely associated with this plateai; ascend from
a few feet to 125 feet above it in a distance of 12 or 15 miles from east to

374 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

west. A mile north of Brandon the bhiff on the north side of the Assini-
boine rises about 140 feet above the river to 1,300 feet, approximately,
above the sea. It consists of till to a height of 100 feet or more; but its
crest and the sm-face thence northward for 5 miles are mostly undulating
gravel and sand to a thickness of 10 to 20 feet, thinly covering the till,
which forms the surface farther north. Eastward this bluff, eroded by the
Assiniboine since the deposition of this stratified gravel and sand, extends
along the nort,h side of the railway by Chater and Douglas, having a
height of about 75 and 50 feet, respectively, at these stations, but declin-
ing only slightly in the elevation of its crest, which is 1,275 to 1,290 feet.
Delta gravel and sand, and on some portions fine silt, cover a width of 3
or 4 miles thence northward through the south half of townships 11 of
ranges 18 and 17, having an elevation at their northern limit 1,300 to
1,290 feet above the sea, beyond which the surface, gradually ascending
northward, is till. The most eastern point of this higher delta deposit is in
section 14, township 11, range 17. Measured thence to its western limit
on the north side of the Assiniboine, half way between Kemnay and
Alexander, its length is 24 miles. Its width north and south of Brandon is
about 12 miles. Through it the Assiniboine has eroded its valley, and has
carried it away, cutting also into the underlying till, upon a large area
from Brandon east to Chater and Douglas and thence south nearly to the
Brandon Hills.

South of the river, at the court-house, in the southeast part of Brandon,
very coarse gravel and sand of this higher part, of the Assiniboine delta,
containing waterworn cobbles up to 6 and 8 inches in diameter, form a pla-
teau mostly 1,270 to 1,275 feet above the sea, but rising to 1,282 feet at a
distance of 1 mile to the east. One and a half to 3 miles west of Brandon
a similar plateau varies in height from 1,290 to 1,305 feet. Between these
small plateaus or plains, which slope about 5 feet per mile to the east and
were once continuous, a former watercourse, diminishing from a half to a
quarter of a mile in width, passes southeast from the valley of the Assini-
boine through the south part of Brandon and thence continues east nearly
3 miles, opening in section 7 or 8, township 10, range 18, upon the broad
lower area eroded by the Assiniboine. The bed of this old channel is at

DUNES ON THE ASSINIBOINE DELTA. 375

1,250 to 1,255 feet, and it appears to have been eroded at the time of the
formation of the Herman beach hb in Brandon, when the level of Lake
Agassiz was approximately at this height. Three to 4 miles west of Bran-
don the road to Kemnay crosses another watercourse of similar character,
diminishing from IJ miles to a half mile in width within 2 miles from north-
west to southeast, passing from the Assiniboine Valley to the head of Bakers
or Stony Creek. Its bed, which is strewn with plentiful bowlders, showing
that the erosion here extended through the stratified gravel and sand to till,
is about 1,270 feet above the sea, and marks nearly the Herman h stage
of Lake Agassiz, being aboiit 30 and 40 feet, respectively, below the
adjoining areas of delta gravel and sand on the east and west. In 3 miles
westward to Kemnay this delta expanse rises 50 to 60 feet, and continues to
ascend more slowly in the next 3J miles to 1,390 and 1,400 feet in sections
1, 12, and 13, township 10, range 21. Thence the surface for the next 6
miles westward, about Alexander, including nearly all of this township and
the east edge of that next west, is till.

Many portions of the fine sand deposits of the Assiniboine delta have
been channeled and piled by the wind in dunes from 10 to 75 feet high,
mostly covered with bushes and a scanty growth of herbaceous plants, but
in part destitute of vegetation, which is prevented from obtaining a foot-
hold by the drifting of the sand. On the southeast part of this area these
sand hills, seldom exceeding 30 or 40 feet in height, occur in sections 1 to
4, township 7, range 7, and are thence frequent northward upon a width of
10 miles northeast of the Boyne and southeast of the Assiniboine. On the
north side of the Assiniboine the most eastern dunes extend to within 3
miles southwest of Portage la Prairie. Both these tracts lie on the lower
part of the eastern slope of the delta, and thence westward dunes are found
here and there over this entire slope. Even where no distinct hillocks and
ridges have been formed, the surface is often channeled and ridged in hol-
lows and elevations of a few feet, though now wholly grassed or covered
with bushes or small poplar groves. Upon the delta plateau tracts of
dunes, commonly raised 20 to 40 feet above the general level, interspersed
with occasional smooth areas where the original surface remains undis-
turbed, extend on the south side of the Assiniboine from the Cypress to

376 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

the Souris, occupying a width that varies from 1 to 5 miles. Their south-
em limit is about 4 miles north of Holland, 3 miles north of Cypress River
station, and 2 miles north of Grlenboro. One to 4 miles west of the mouth
of the Souris an isolated tract of dunes about 3 miles long from southeast
to northwest is crossed by Spring Creek near its mouth. North of the
Assiniboine much of its delta plateau is occupied by dunes, which extend
north to the White Mud River. Their most northern area is a belt that
reaches north of this stream through sections 12, 13, 24, and 25, township
15, range 15, to the junction of Hazel and Snake creeks. But the north-
western part of this plateau includes a belt of smooth and fertile land, sev-
eral miles wide, extending from Carberry north and northwest to the limit
of the delta. Also, from Douglas and Chater southeastward a belt of good
agricultural land, free from dunes upon a width of 3 to 5 miles, reaches 15
miles along the northeast side of the Assiniboine. On the extreme western
and highest part of this delta conspicuous sand hills rise 60 feet above the
adjoining sixrface, with their crests about 1,445 feet above the sea, in sec-
tions 6 and 7, township 10, range 20, 2 to 3 miles southwest of Kemna)^,
and lower hillocks of wind-blown sand continue from these 2 miles to the
southeast.

Within 6 miles from the dunes last noted, and from the boundary of
this Assiniboine delta, after crossing a belt of till that reaches about 3 miles
east and the same distance west from Alexander station, the Canadian
Pacific Railway, thence west to Griswold, Oak Lake, and Virdeu, lies upon
the delta which was brought into the Lake Souris by the Assiniboine. In
townships 9 and 10, range 22, and township 9, range 23, including the
vicinity of Griswold, this deposit consists of fine clayey silt and sand, hav-
ing a moderately undulating or rolling surface, with broad, smooth swells
elevated 10 to 30 feet above the depressions, their tops being 1,400 to 1,435
feet above the sea. Tlu-ee to 7 miles southwest of Griswold this delta has
been much channeled and uplifted by the wind in sand hills, which thence
continue 10 miles southeast along the north side of Plum Creek to section
11, township 8, range 22, 4 miles west of Plum Creek village. The crests of
these dunes are 1,420 to 1,430 feet above the sea, being 30 to 40 feet above the
adjoining sm-face. Nearly all of them are now covered by grass and bushes.

SOURIS DELTA AND THE BIG SLOUGH. 377

The Assiniboine delta of Lake Souris has a length of about 85 miles,
extending from the north end of this glacial lake south-southeasterly along
the Assiniboine to its eastward bend and beyond to Plum Creek and the
Souris River. Its width ranges from 5 to 25 miles, averaging about 12
miles. This delta is doubtless shallower than that of Lake Agassiz, but if
its average thickness is 25 feet upon this area of 1,000 square miles, its
volume is about 5 cubic miles.

An ancient watercourse, now occupied by a body of water called the
Big Slough, 13 miles long and mostly 20 to 50 rods wide, but in its west
part about three-fourths of a mile wide, extends from southwest to north-
east 9 miles tlu-ough this delta of Lake Souris and thence continues 4
miles east through an area of till. Its west end is 2 miles southwest of
Griswold and its east end about a half mile east of Alexander, its whole
extent being on the south side of the railwa}". Its elevation in the stages
of low and high water ranges from 1,385 to 1,388 feet, and its depth at low
water varies from 2 to 6 or 8 feet. The shores of the Bigr Slouch rise in
gentle slopes 15 to 20 feet in 20 to 30 rods, to the general level, not having
the usual steepness of banks undermined by streams; yet it doubtless
marks the course of a stream that outflowed at one time westward into
Lake Som-is from a small glacial lake north of the Brandon Hills, and of a
later stream that flowed in the opposite direction, eastward from the basin
of Lake Souris into the Brandon glacial lake, before that became merged
in Lake Agassiz by the departure of the ice-sheet. The succession of
events indicated by this channel, together with that of the present Souris
and with the great glacial watercourse of Langs Valley, is as follows:
Lake Souris outflowed eastward by Langs Valley, Pelican Lake, and the
Pembina River until the recedinof ice formed a lake north of the Tiffer
Hills and east of the Brandon Hills, which, outflowing south to the Som-is,
cut a deep gorge through the Tiger Hills moraine, where the Souris now
flows through it to the north. Similarly, north of the Brandon Hills, a
lake was probably held by the barrier of the ice during its recession from
Alexander east by Kemnay and Brandon, outflowing westward to the Lake
Souris by the course of the Big Slough. As soon as the continued glacial
recession left the Brandon Hills wholly uncovered from the ice, these lakes

378 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

on the east and north were merged in one, and the outflow from the lake so
formed passed south tlu-ough the Tiger Hills to Langs Valley until that
channel was cut down nearlj^ to 1,350 feet. During this stage of a contin-
uous lake east and north of the Brandon Hills, this independent part of
Lake Agassiz, before it was merged with the main body of this lake by the
recession of the ice from the east end of the Tiger Hills, received an exten-
sive delta, already described as the highest portion of the Assiniboine delta
in the vicinity of Brandon and Kemnay, consisting partly of modified drift
from the retreating ice and partly of fine sand and silt brought by a stream
then flowing east from the Lake Souris delta along the Big Slough. The
tribute of the latter is spread over an area of several square miles south-
west of Kemnay, and upon it are raised the conspicuous dunes of sections
6 and 7, township 10, range 20. With the retreat of the ice northward
from Treherne, the Brandon lake was lowered nearly 100 feet to the level
of Lake Agassiz in its Herman h stage. For a short time the Souris prob-
ably continued to flow southeastward through Langs Valley until the
deposition of the alluvium, perhaps 10 or 15 feet thick, brought into that
valley by Dunlops Creek, 4 miles east of the elbow of the Souris, raised a
barrier a few feet higher than the gap that had been cut through the Tiger
Hills north of the elbow, whereby the river was turned through this gap,
which it has since eroded 100 to 150 feet deeper.

The modified drift and alluvium that form the plain of coarse gravel
and sand sloping eastward from Kemnay to Brandon and reach along the
north side of the Assiniboine to Douglas were probably deposited mostly
while the barrier of the waning ice-sheet stretched from the Tiger Hills to
Riding Mountain, inclosing on its west side a lake that afterwards became
the bay of Lake Agassiz covering the Assiniboine delta, but was then held
about 100 feet above Lake Agassiz, to which it outflowed by the way of
Langs Valley and the Pembina. The deposition of this highest part of the
Assiniboine delta, lying above the Herman hh beach observed in Brandon,
appears to have been in progress through a considerable period, begimiing
when this Brandon glacial lake was held at an elevation of about 1,400
feet, and continuing while it was lowered nearly 150 feet. During this
time the Brandon Lake had tlu-ee outlets: first, from its two parts, respec-

THE BRANDON GLACIAL LAKE. 379

tively, westward by the Big Slough and southward across the Tiger Hills
moraine; second, from the whole lake, when these parts became confluent,
by the southward one of these outlets, namely, the gap where the Souris
now flows through the Tiger Hills; and, third, by confluence with Lake
Agassiz, when this was permitted by the recession of the ice. Much modi-
fied drift was probably brought into the Brandon Lake by drainage along
the course of the Little Saskatchewan, and it is significant that in the line
of continuation of the valley of that stream the plain between Kemnay
and Brandon is crossed by a broad watercourse, which was evidently
eroded after this lake became merged in Lake Agassiz, thereby falling
nearly 100 feet below its former level when outflowing through Langs
Valley, but before the Assiniboine had cut its broad valley through this
delta. More exactly, as before noted, this watercourse seems referable to
the Herman h stage of Lake Agassiz, and the similar watercourse about 20
feet lower, passing throvigh the west and south parts of Brandon, was prob-
ably formed during the Herman hh stage. During these two stages of the
lake the principal expanse of the Assiniboine delta was formed, Ijang only
slightly below the levels which the lake then had.

At the time of formation of the Herman hb beach the Assiniboine
had already eroded a deep and wide valley in its delta at Brandon, and
as Lake Agassiz sank to successive lower levels this erosion continued,
cutting at least the lower part of the great valley 200 to 300 feet deep, in
which this river flows above Brandon, and weai-ing its channel to a nearly
equal depth through its own delta. The Canadian Pacific Railway ci'osses
the Assiniboine about 2 miles east of Brandon, near the division between the
main area of its delta in Lake Agassiz and the deep portion of its ujjper
valley. There the high land on each side of the river recedes, allowing
the descent to the stream to be made by easy grades on each side and
supplying upon the gradual slope south of the river the beautiful site of
Brandon. No other point so favorable for this crossing exists within 60
miles to the east or west, where the river flows in a deeper and narrower
valley. The greater part of this delta was modified drift derived from the
melting ice-sheet on the upper part of the basin of the Assiniboine and on
Riding Mountain, being carried down from the latter area by the Bird-

380 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

tail Creek aud the Oak and Little Saskatchewan rivers (p. 190). It was
deposited in this delta chiefly during the early Herman stages of the lake,
as is indicated by the elevation of the outer part of its principal expanse;
and its deposition continued until the ice-sheet was melted away on Riding
Mountain and the upper Assiniboine. The erosion of the Assiniboine Valley
above Brandon also supplied a considerable part of the delta. During the
ensuing stages of Lake Agassiz, to those of Gladstone and Buruside,
the border of this great delta was undergoing erosion by the lake waves
and shore currents, by which its outer portion was spread in more gentle
slopes, extending farther into the lake, and much of it was swept southward
along the shore.

By this erosion of the sloping face of the delta, and especially by
earlier transportation into the deep water of the lake while the gravel and
sand were being deposited in its western embayment between the Tiger
Hills and Riding Mountain, a large expanse of fine clayey sediment of the
same origin with this delta was spread far into the lake, extending to
the east beyond the Red River and to the south beyond the international
boundary. This deposit of lacustrine silt covers the till from the eastern
and southeastern limits of the delta, as before defined, to the low ridge first
east of the Red River, about 10 miles east of Emerson, while similar sedi-
ments cover the central part of the Red River Valley southward to Goose
Rapids, more than 100 miles east-southeast from this delta. Toward the
north and northeast, lacustrine sediments and subsequent alluvial deposits
associated with the Assiniboine delta cover the nearly flat country north
from Burnside, Portage la Prairie, and High Bluff" to Lake Manitoba. On
this area the watershed between the Assiniboine and Lake Manitoba is very
low, and the river has sometimes ovei-flowed its low banks, sending part of
its floods north to the lake, which in turn in its highest stages has occa-
sionally become for a short time tributary to the lower part of this river.
But the transportation of the silt in the lake was of less extent in this
direction than to the east and south, as is shown by areas of till f)n both
sides of the Big Grass Marsh, west of Lake Manitoba, and from townships 13
and 14, range 5, southeast of this lake, eastward to Shoal Lake, Stonewall,
and Lower Fort Garry.

THE ASSINIBOINE DELTA. 381

Five to 10 miles west of Portage la Prairie till with frequent bowlders
forms the surface, or is underlain only to the depth of a few feet by the
sediments associated with this delta. Again, 10 miles farther west, the sandy
eastern slope of the delta in the vicinity of McGregor shows very rarely
projecting bowlders, the size of the few noticed being from 2 to 6 feet in
diameter. They probably lie on till that has been somewhat eroded by the
lake waves, so that these bowlders are not embedded in it as usual, while
the sand and silt afterward spread thereon the surface are not sufficiently
thick to conceal them. No bowlders were elsewhere seen on the general
surface of the delta and of the great area of associated lacustrine silt, nor in
any observed sections of these deposits.

CHAPTER VII.
LOWER BEACHES WITH SOUTHWARD OUTFLOW.

Extensive portions of the lower beaches that were formed while Lake
Agassiz outflowed to the south have been exactly mapped, with determina-
tion of their heights by leveling. These are described in the following
pages, the successive beaches being treated in their order from higher to
lower. Four well-defined levels of the glacial lake are exhibited by the
shore-lines of its southern part, which have been named, from localities of
their typical development in Minnesota, the Norcross, Tintah, Campbell, and
McCauleyville beaches. In advancing northward each of these beaches,
similarly with the uppermost or Herman series of beaches described in the
last chapter, is found to become subdivided into two or more separate and
distinct beaches or shore-lines.

The attempts here made to correlate these multiple northern shores of
Lake Agassiz with the fewer southern shore-lines rest on the determination
of many altitudes along the course of these former planes of the ancient
lake levels. The several shores, both at the south and north, were separated
from each other partly by the progressing erosion of the outlet, and partly
by the gradual decrease of the attraction of the lake by gravitation toward
the waning ice-sheet, but more by the intermittent uplifting of this part of
the earth's crust, due evidently to its relief from the pressure of the depart-
ing ice. Considerable ii-regularities in this uplifting would be expected, by
which the gradients of northward ascent of the beaches would be made
variable, being comparatively steep or changing abruptly in elevation in
some places, and elsewhere being of small amount or even showing a
reversal, that is, a descent toward the north. In this survey, however, I
have not discovered any remai'kable divergences or exceptions from an
approximate parallelism of the beaches. The northward ascent of the
highest beach in the Herman series, ranging from 6 to 18 inches per mile,

382

THE NOECEOSS BEACHES IN MINNESOTA, 383

is gradually diminished iu the successive lower shore-lines, each having
slightly less ascent than the preceding, to the McCauleyville beaches,
which rise 1 to 3 or 4 inches per mile. In all of these shore-lines the
rate of ascent is found to increase as one advances from south to north.

BEACHES or THE NORCEOSS STAGES.

FROM LAKE TRAVERSE TO NORCROSS AND MAPLE LAKE, MINNESOTA.

(plates XXIII TO XXVI.)

The Norcross shore-line of Lake Agassiz lies near the Herman shore
on the slope of eroded till which reaches about 4 miles east from the
northeast end of Lake Traverse. Thence eastward, from near the south
line of section 35, townsliip 127, range 47, Lake Agassiz was very shallow
during the Herman stage, and its fall of 20 feet, or, to sjjeak with more
correctness, the rise of the land to this amount, between the times of
formation of the Herman and Norcross shore-lines, caused the lake margin
to fall back about 6 miles from its most southern portion. The Norcross
beach, having a height of 1,043 feet above the sea, is crossed by the Fargo
and Southern branch of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway at
a distance of nearly 1 mile north of Dumont. It is here a very slight
ridge of gravel and sand, rising only 2 or 3 feet above the uniform slope
of the very flat expanse of till.

Within the next 3 miles to the east this beach becomes more con-
spicuous and has been excavated in several places to obtain sand for
masons' use. In section 12, Croke, it is a typical beach ridge about 25
rods wide, with a descent of 5 or 6 feet from its broadly rounded crest
toward the north and 2 or 3 feet toward the south. At an excavation near
the line between sections 11 and 12 its crest has a height of 1,045 feet.
The depth of the beach sand and fine gravel, containing pebbles up to an
inch in diameter, is 5 feet, with till beneath.

Thence the Norcross beach ridge, mostly 2 to 4 feet high, runs east
to Twelve Mile Creek, and beyond turns to the north and northeast. In
sections 32 and 33, Clifton, its height is 1,038 to 1,041 feet above the sea;

384 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

and in the northwest quarter of section 26, this township, 1,042 feet, with
descent of about 5 feet on each side. Crossing next the northwest part of
Logan, its crest is at 1,043 to 1,048 feet.

Between a half mile and 1 mile south of Norcross this beach is admi-
rably developed, the elevation of its higher portions being 1,045 to 1,048
feet, from which there is a descent of 3 to 5 feet eastward and of 10 feet
westward. It is a massive gravel and sand ridge, about 25 rods wide,
including its slopes, lying on till.

Nearly the same features characterize it also at Norcross station, where
its height is 1,041 feet. There is a depression 3 feet lower on the south-
east, and the surface 10 to 15 rods northwest from the top of the beach, on
the side where the lake was, has a height of 1,034 to 1,036 feet. Thence a
very smooth plain of till descends to Tintah, Campbell, and the Red River
at Breckem-idge. About 50 rods northeast from Norcx'oss station the beach
attains its greatest height in this village, 1,045 feet. It is a rounded low
ridge of sand and gravel, lying on an area of till, and closely resembles the
Herman beach, which lies nearly parallel with it at a distance of 3 miles
to the east.

Thence northward the com-se of the Norcross beach has been mapped,
mostly without leveling, to the Red River, which it crosses near the north-
east comer of section 31, township 132, range 44, in the west edge of
Ottertail County. Tlu-ough this extent of about 25 miles the Norcross
shore-line is marked almost continuously by a distinct beach ridge, 3 to 5
feet above the land on the east, and twice as high above the adjoining
surface at the west which was covered by the lake while this beach was
being formed. Its distance from the Herman beach on the east varies
mainly from 3 to 2 miles, but between 1 and 5 miles south of the Red
River the two beaches are only 1 mile apart.

Where the Norcross beach is crossed by the road from Fergus Falls to
Campbell, near the west line of section 29, Western, it has an elevation
very nearly 1,045 feet above the sea. It is a wave-like ridge of sand and
gravel, about 15 rods wide, with nearly flat surfaces of till or bowlder-
clay on each side. In crossing it the ascent from the east is about 5 feet
and the descent toward the west about 10 feet. In sections 19, 18, and 7,

THE NOECROSS BEACHES IN MINNESOTA. 385

Western, where this beach ridge runs nearly due north, the height of its
crest, according to my levehng, is 1,043 to 1,045 feet.

Continuing northward beyond the Red River, the Norcross shore-line
traverses the northeast corner of township 132, range 45, passing west of a
small lake whicli lies a mile south of the Northern Pacific, Fergus Falls
and Black Hills Railroad. Thence its course is nearly north-northwest
across the next two townships in this range; but in Tanberg and through
the next 10 miles to Humboldt (the next township east of Barnesville) it
runs in a nearly direct course only a few degrees west of north. On the
west side of the very remarkable marshy and springy belt which lies just
within the Herman shore-line in Akron and Tanberg, the Norcross beach
rises as a ridge of gravel and sand a few feet high, forming in considerable
part the boundary between the bogs, springs, and numerous watercom-ses
on the east and the firm land, capable of cultivation, on the west. In Tan-
berg it passes along the east border of sections 32, 29, 20, and 17, having
at its crest a height of 1,050 to 1,060 feet above the sea.

Close east of the Norcross beach ridge a large spring in the northwest
corner of the southwest quarter of section 28, Tanberg, having a diameter
of about 15 feet and depth of 10 feet, issues with so strong a current as to
throw up the sand at its bottom to a height of 2 or 3 feet into the water.
A creek 5 to 15 feet wide and 1 to 3 feet deep, in which many pickerel
live, flows from this spring southward along the east side of the beach
about a mile, then turning west into the southeast quarter of section 32,
where it sinks into the gravelly and sandy ground and is lost.

About 1^ miles east from Barnesville the Norcross beach is well
exhibited at D. D. Daniels's house, in the southeast quarter of section 20,
Humboldt, being a low, smoothly rounded ridge of gravel and sand, with
the elevation of 1,061 feet above the sea.

Through Riverton and in sections 35 and 26, township 140, range 46,
the eroded western border of the delta of the Buffalo River marks the
shore of Lake Agassiz at the time of the Norcross beach.

In the west part of section 24, township 140, range 46, and for 4 miles
northward, the Norcross beach lies only 1 mile to a half mile west of the
Herman beach, and is about 50 feet lower. The terrace-like area between
MON XXV 25

386 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

these beaches is strewn with occasional bowlders up to 6, 8, or 10 feet in
diameter and rarely of larger size, much more abundant than upon the
average surface of the till in this region, indicating that the surface there
has been considerably eroded by the waves of the lake.

The elevation of the foot of the western slope of the upper or Herman
beach along the north part of the east line oi township 140, range 46, is
1,095 to 1,100 feet. Crest of the Norcross beach in section 12 of this
township, 6 miles north of Muskoda, 1,080 feet, and along the distance of
3 miles tlu-ongh sections 13, 12, and 1 it varies from 1,075 to 1,085 feet.
In section 31, Keene, its height is 1,085 feet. Like the Herman beach, it
is a low, smoothly rounded ridge of gravel and sand, usually having a
depression of 3 to 5 feet or more at its east side.

Tlu'ough the west part of Keene the Norcross beach is 1 to 1^ miles
west of the upper beach. Thence it crosses Hagen in a north-northeast
course, lying 2 to 3 miles northwest and west of the upper beach. Its
height in these townships is approximately 1,080 feet.

Both the Herman and Norcross beaches in this northern part of Clay
County, between the Buffalo River and the South Branch of the Wild Rice,
have an altitude notably higher than would coincide with a uniform ascent
of these shores from Lake Traverse to Maple Lake. The normal height of
the Herman beach on this tract would be 15 to 20 feet below where that
beach is found; and the Norcross beach lies fully 10 feet above where it
would be expected. The uplift of the earth's crust here was disproportion-
ate by these amounts with its upward movement along the other explored
portions of the eastern shore of this glacial lake.

Proceeding onward tlu-ough Norman County, the position of the Nor-
cross beach is shown approximately on PI. XXV, but its course has not
been exactly mapped. Two small beach ridges, having nearly the same
height, probably belonging to the Norcross stages of this lake, were noted,
running nearly from south to north, in the east half of section 8, Wild
Rice Township. Again, on the north line of Norman County, in leveling
from Rolette eastward, a well-marked beach ridge, 10 to 15 rods wide,
with a depression of 4 to 5 feet on its east side, was crossed on the western
edge of the delta of the Sand Hill River, near the northeast corner of

THE NOECROSS BEACHES IN MINNESOTA. 387

Spring Creek Township. This beach, which appears to be one of the
upper Tintah shore-hues, has a height of 1,060 feet above the sea. About
a quarter of a mile farther east beach gravel and sand are spread in a some-
what flattened, broad ridge, at a height of 1,070 to 1,073 feet, bounded by a
hollow 2 or 3 feet lower on the east. This probably belonged to a slightly
hio'her Tintah beach of Lake Ao^assiz. The Norcross shore-lines are not
distinctly exhibited here on the very gradual ascent of the delta sand
deposit, which extends eastward across the next mile or more to tracts
of dunes.

On the Fosston branch of the Great Northern Railway, about 14 miles
north of the last described locality and on the same latitude with the east-
wardly curving Herman beaches north of Maple Lake, tlu-ee small beach
ridges are crossed about 2^ miles east of Benoit, the elevation of their
crests being successively 1,062, 1,069, and 1,069 feet in their order from
west to east. These probably represent the upper Tintah beach. One and
a quarter miles farther east a more massive beach is crossed, with its crest
at 1,092 feet, which is probably the lowest Norcross shore-line. Other
beach ridges crossed IJ miles and If miles east of the last, with crests
respectively at 1,114 and 1,120 feet, are apparently referable to upper
Norcross stages of the lake. The next beach noted on this railroad, three-
quarters of a mile farther east, at the height of 1,142 feet, belongs to the
lower portion of the Herman series.

In the southeast part of Lake Pleasant Township the lower Norcross
shore is marked by a belt of gravel and sand about half a mile wide,
extending from the southwest to the northeast and east, having an elevation
in section 27 of 1,083 to 1,095 feet.

My only further observation of shore-lines referable to the Norcross
stages of the eastern border of Lake Agassiz is within 1 to 2 miles west of
St. Hilaire, where indistinct lower Norcross beaches, at a height of about
1,090 feet, are crossed by the St. Hilaire branch of the Great Northern
Railway.

Thence northward the Norcross shores lie in a wooded country where
they can not pi-acticably be traced. From the altitudes of the region it is
known that, after passing northward and then eastward around the higher

388 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

district of tlie Beltrami Island, they curve east-southeasterly to the valley
of the Raiuy River and the vicinity of Rainy Lake, and thence sweep
back to the northwest and north across the hilly Archean region east of the
Lake of the Woods.

THKOUGH NORTH DAKOTA, FROM LAKE TRAVERSE TO THE INTERNATIONAL

BOUNDARY.

(plates XXIII AND XXVII-XXX.)

On and near the line between South and North Dakota, at a distance
of 3 to 7 miles west of White Rock and the Bois des Sioux, the Norcross
stages of Lake Agassiz formed no less than four separate and parallel beach
ridges of gravel and sand, 3 to 8 feet high, lying on a surface of till. In
section 1, township 128, range 48, South Dakota, where these small ridges
run to the northwest and north-northwest, the elevations of their crests in
order from west to east are, first, 1,045 to 1,048 feet above the sea; second,
1,043 to 1,045 feet; third, 1,033 feet; and, fourth, 1,030 feet. The highest
beach of this series passes about a half mile west of Mr. L. H. Foote's
house, which is in the southeast corner of this section; the second runs
about 40 rods west of this house ; and the third and fourth lie about a thu'd
of a mile and a half mile east of it, passing thence northward tlu-ough the
northeast corner of this section 1. Following these beach ridges in their
curvina: course to the northwest and west-northwest into section 28, town-
ship 129, range 48, the higher two are found to rise to 1,050 feet, and the
height of each of the lower two is increased by 10 feet. The continuations
of these shore-lines northwestward to the east side of the Lightnings Nest
and to the delta of the Sheyenne River have not been exactly traced. No
other tract of the Norcross shore of this sovithern part of Lake Agassiz, so
far as observed by this survey, is thus marked by several beach ridges.
The multiplication of their number here, which elsewhere is commonly
single along all the southern part of the lake, probably was due to a slight
intermittent elevation of this tract while the adjacent country was at rest,
until an uplift of the whole area about Lake Traverse led to the formation
of the Tintah beaches, the next lower in the descending series.

NORCROSS BEACHES IN NORTH DAKOTA. 389

The next definite observations of the Norcross sliore were on the
northern part of the Sheyenne delta. In the southwest corner of section
20, Helendale (the most northwestern township of Richland County), this
shore is marked by a low beach ridge, which runs to the north-northwest,
passing about 20 rods west of Mr. R. L. Porter's house. The crest of the
ridge rises 5 to 8 feet above the general surface of this sand delta, from
which it is distinguished by being somewhat more channeled and heaped
up by the winds into low dunes, 5 to 10 feet in height. Scattered cotton-
woods, growing either alone or in clumps of a few trees, are more frequent
along the course of the beach than on the adjoining tracts. About 5. miles
farther north, where this shore is crossed by the Fargo and Southwestern
Railroad, 3 to 4 miles west of Leonard, it bears three small beach ridges,
with crests at 1,062 to 1,065 feet. The most westerly and highest is about
18 rods wide, with a depression of 6 feet on the east and 5 feet on tlie west.

Thence northward across Cass County the contour of tlie western
border of Lake Agassiz shows that the Norcross shore-line runs nearly
parallel with the Herman beach, from which it is distant 1 to 3 miles east-
ward; but only small fragments of its course have been mapped.

Beginning in southwestern Traill County, near Clifford, the Norcross
shore has been traced nearly continuously more than 100 miles north to
the international boundary. About a mile northwest from Clifford it is
marked by a broad swell or ridge of sand and gravel, 1 to 2 feet above the
surface of till on the west. Its elevation is 1,072 feet above the sea. One
to 1^ miles farther north, in the south half of section 9, Norman, the shore •
deposit becomes a typical beach ridge, with crest at 1,075 to 1,077 feet,
having a hollow of 2 to 4 feet on the west and a descending slope on the
east which falls 30 feet in a third of a mile. Thence northward in section
4 of this township the shore forms an eroded cliff of till, 10 to 15 feet liigh,
with its base at 1,075 feet. In the next mile to the north, through section
33, township 146, range 53, the line of erosion is continued, crossing an
area of gravel and sand. The escarpment rises about 10 feet in 4 to 6 rods
from east to west, its base being at 1,073 to 1,075 feet, from which a smooth
slope of sand and fine gravel falls about 25 feet in two-thirds of a mile east-
ward. In the north part of section 20 two wells on this tract of modified

390 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

drift are respectively 22 feet and 31 feet deep, wholly in loose and caving
sand and grravel. Here and tlirousrh the west half of section 17 the Nor-
cross beach is a very finely developed ridge, rising 15 feet above its east
base and descending 4 or 5 feet on the west. The elevation of its crest is
1,087 to 1,091 feet. In the southeast part of section 7 an aboriginal mound,
5 feet high and 60 feet in diameter, is situated on the top of the beach ridge;
and two others of similar size were seen within a half mile to the southwest.

Thence the lake shore turns to a northwestward course for the next
5 miles, passing through the northeast comer of Primrose to the Middle
Branch of Goose River, which it crosses in the southwest part of section 27,
Enger. In the south half of section 2, Primrose, the crest of the beach,
there unusually massive, is 1,094 feet above the sea, with a descent of 10
feet in 20 to 30 rods eastward and of 5 feet in a shorter distance to the
west. Passing northward through Enger Township, this shore bears a typ-
ical beach ridge in sections 22, 15, 9, and 3, with crest at 1,080 to 1,085 feet

Across the large delta of sand and silt which extends from McCanna
and Larimore southward beyond Hatton, the Norcross shore is indistinct
in portions of its course, but elsewhere has a well-defined beach ridge.
Thi'ough sections 8 and 5, Garfield, close northeast of Hatton, the crest of
the beach is 1,078 feet above the sea, with descent of 6 or 7 feet in 15 rods
east and 2 to 3 feet in 10 rods west. In the west part of section 15, Wash-
ington, the beach has an elevation 1,083 feet, from wliich its eastern slope
falls 5 feet in 20 rods, and its western slope 3 feet to a slough 10 to 30 rods
wide, which is mown for hay. The material of the beach ridge is fine sand.
Three to 4 miles farther north, in sections 33 and 29, Pleasant View, the
irregular deposits of the Norcross beach are about 1,085 feet above the sea.
In the northwest corner of this township, passing through sections 7 and 6,
this shore has a finely developed beach ridge of sand and gravel, with crest
at 1,090 to 1,095 feet above the sea.

On the Devils Lake and Great Falls line of the Great Northern Rail-
way two Norcross beaches are crossed, about 3 and 3 J miles east of
Larimore, with their crests respectively at 1,092 and 1,080 feet. Tlu-ough
the next 4 miles northward these beach ridges appear to have lain on
opposite sides of the Turtle River and of its North Branch, causing these

NORCROSS BEACHES IN NORTH DAKOTA. 391

streams to take their southerly course instead of passing eastward in the
direction of the slope of the surface. Originally confined between the low
beach ridges, they have since eroded channels 50 to 75 feet deep in the
general sheet of till. In section 29, Hegton, the elevation of the upper
Norcross beach, lying west of the North Branch, is 1,106 feet. Along the
next 2 miles northward in sections 20 and 17 the crest of this beach varies
from 1,100 to 1,105 feet. It is intersected by the North Branch in the
southwest quarter of section 20. Remnants of the lower Norcross beach on
the east side of this stream in section 29 have an average height of 1,090
feet, above which they are partly heaped 10 to 15 feet in dunes.

The Norcross shore-line runs northward through the east part of Agnes
and Inkster townships. In sections 11 and 2, Agnes, the upper beach, a
fine ridg-e of gravel and sand, passes about 25 rods west of Orr's station, on
the Park River and Langdon branch of the Great Northern Railway. Its
crest here has a height of 1,102 to 1,105 feet. In sections 23 and 14, Ink-
ster, about a mile west of Inkster village, two Norcross beaches are dis-
tinctly developed, crossing a tract of gravel and sand. The crest of the
western ridge is at 1,092 to 1,097 feet and that of the eastern at 1,090 to
1,092 feet. Depressions 4 or 5 feet deep lie on the west side of each of
these ridges, which are about 50 rods apart. A half mile and 1 4 miles far-
ther west, two other well-marked beach ridges, running northward parallel
with the foregoing, belong to the lowest part of the Herman series. The
crest of the eastern one is at 1,113 to 1,122 feet, and of the western at
1,127 to 1,130 feet. It is to be remarked, however, that the Herman and
Norcross series of beaches here lie very near together, being less distinctly
separated than farther south and in general on most other parts of the
borders of the lake area.

In the east edge of section 10, Inkster, on the north side of the Forest
River, the upper Norcross beach is well developed, attaining a height of
1,100 to 1,102 feet. About 3 miles farther northwest it crosses the south
line of section 28, Eden, with an elevation of 1,107 feet. In sections 5
and 6 of this township it is marked only by a slightly more rapid descent
of the eroded surface of till, which is strewn with frequent bowlders.
Through Eden and the next 15 miles northward to the vicinity of Edinburg,

392 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

the Norcross shores on the eastern side of "the mountains" he mostly
within a half mile to 1 mile distant from the highest Herman shore. Upon
this somewhat steep slope, intersected by numerous ravines, neither the
Herman shores nor the Norcross shores are so distinctly traceable as usual,
either by beach deposits or by lines of erosion.

From the northern end of "the mountains," near Edinburg, the Nor-
cross shore-lines run north-northwestward, passing about 2 miles east of
Gardar, less than a mile west of the little village of Mountain, and about
1^ miles east of Young post-office. At the locality last named the upper
Norcross shore lies about a third of a mile east of the lowest Herman
beach, and is marked by a ridge of gravel and sand 10 to 20 rods wide,
with a depression of 1 to 4 feet on its west side and a descent of about
6 feet in a few rods to the east. Its crest has an elevation of 1,143 to
1,145 feet, being 30 feet lower than the adjacent Herman ridge.

The outer border of the j^lateau of the Pembina delta, forming the
"first Pembina Mountain," was the Norcross shore of Lake Agassiz. After
the Herman stages of this lake all its lower levels with southward outflow
washed the front of the Pembina delta, carrying away much of this deposit
southward and eastward, and producing the steep escarpment, mostly 100
to 175 feet high, by which it is bounded on the east.

On the more gradually sloping northern edge of this delta, 2 to 4 miles
west of Walhalla, a beach formed during the lower Norcross stage passes
from east-southeast to west-northwest. In the north half of section 23,
township 163, range 57, where its ci'est has an elevation of 1,135 to 1,140
feet, it is a broad, low ridge, chiefly of sand, with fine gravel, containing
pebbles tip to 1 or 2 inches in diameter. Most of the gravel is derived
from the Cretaceous shale of the Pembina Mountain, but a part is of lime-
stone and crystalline Archean rocks. A depression of 5 or 6 feet, 15 to 20
rods wide, lies on the southern side of the beach, away from the lake; and
its northern side falls off" into the lacustrine area with a gentle slope.

Two miles farther northwest the Norcross shore-lines, with the entire
Herman series, leaving the Pembina delta, sweep into the great Cretaceous
escarpment of the second Pembina Mountain, with which they coincide
thi'ough several miles northward, crossing the international boundary.

NOECEOSS BEACHES IN MANITOBA. 393

WESTERN NORCKOSS SHORES IN MANITOBA.
(plates xxx-xxxiii.)

Tlu'ough tOAvnship 1, range 5, the Norcross shores of Lake Agassiz He
on the escarpment of the Pembina Mountain, and the first observations of
their beaches were in sections 7, 18, and 19, township 2, range 5, where the
mountain wall is reduced to a gradual ascent in the vicinity of Mountain
City and Thornhill. About a half mile southeast of Mountain City the
upper Norcross beach is well displayed at John Borthwick's house, which is
built on its crest, 1,167 feet above the sea, in the southwest corner of section
19. Digging for wells here shows that the gravel and sand of the beach
extend only to a depth of 6 or 8 feet, there resting on the Fort Pierre shale.
From the crest of this beach ridge its slopes fall 8 or 10 feet within a few
rods on the east and about 4 feet on the west. It is bordered on the west
at this locality by a surface strewn with very abundant bowlders up to 5
feet or rarely more in diameter, nearly all being Archean granites, with
perhaps a third of 1 per cent of magnesian limestone. Generally, how-
ever, the surface in this vicinity has few or no bowlders; and a shallow
depth of ordinary till or of lacustrine deposits overlies the Cretaceous shale.
The second Norcross beach, also forming a distinct ridge, lies a third of a
mile farther east, with its crest about 1,150 feet above the sea. A large
excavation for sand to be used in plastering has been made in this ridge in
the south edffe of this section 19. A mile farther south John W. Stodders's
house is built on it at an elevation of 1,148 feet. His well, 12 feet deep,
passes through gravel and sand, 11 feet, and then enters the sliale, the top
of which, to a depth of 6 to 12 inches, is a hard, calcareous layer, including
nodules and veins of calc spar. Pieces of the hard surface of this layer
tlii-own out of the well were plainly marked with glacial striae,. The con-
tinuation of these beaches is traceable through the next 7 miles northward
across the Southwestern Branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway, passing
about 3 miles east of Thornhill to Bradshaw's Creek, beyond which to near
Treherne they again coincide with the Pembina Mountain escarpment.

About IJ miles east of the Little Boyne River, near Treherne, the
Manitoba and Southwestern Railway cuts the upper Norcross beach ridge,

394 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

the crest of which is 1,195 feet above the sea, with a descent of about 5
feet on the west and 10 feet on tlie east. A half mile farther east it cuts
the lower Norcross beach, with its crest at 1,167 feet, from which there is a
descent of 10 feet to the west and 15 feet to the east. This beach has been
extensively excavated for ballast, a spur track being run along its course a
quarter of a mile northwestward from the railway. The excavation, vary-
ing along this distance from 6 to 8 rods in width and from 5 to 15 feet in
depth, shows that the ridge is composed of interbedded sand and gravel,
the layers of sand constituting about half of the entire deposit. The
gravel layers differ in coarseness from those that contain no pebbles more
than 1 or 2 inches in diameter to others containing waterworn masses of
shale a foot across and Archean cobbles 6 inches in diameter. By esti-
mate, nearly nine-tenths of the gravel is the hard Fort Pierre shale which
makes up the principal mass of the Pembina Mountain, the Tiger Hills,
and Riding Mountain, this shale gravel being often almost unmixed with
other material; about a twentieth part consists of two classes of limestones,
derived in nearly equal proportions from the yellowish-gray arenaceous
limestone of Niobrara age, plentifully fossiliferous, which outcrops lieneath
this shale on the Bo;yme and Assiniboine rivers, and from the Paleozoic
limestones of the flat country about Lakes Manitoba and Winnipeg; and
the remaining twentieth is from the Archean rocks that lie east and north
of Lake Winnipeg. Continuing northwesterly and northerly, this massive
beach i-idge crosses sections 8 and 17 and the eastern edge of section 19,
township 8, i-ange 9, beyond which it is lost sight of on the undulating and
partly wind-blown surface of the Assiniboine delta.

The next definite observations of the Norcross shores of this lake are
near Neepawa, where the Manitoba and Northwestern Railway, a half mile
west of this station, crosses small beach ridges referable to the upper Nor-
cross stage, with their crests 1,223 to 1,225 feet above the sea. Close to
the west is an eroded escarpment of till 15 feet high, rising from 1,225
to 1,240 feet. On the other side of the station, between a half mile and
1 mile east from it, the railway crosses a surface of wind-blown sand with
hollows 2 to 4 feet deep, the crests of its low dunes being at 1,193 to 1,192
feet. These occupy the level belonging to the lower Norcross beach. The

NOECEOSS BEACHES IN MANITOBA. 395

bed of the railway here, formed of the sand of the Assiniboine delta,
further worn and redeposited by the lake waves, proves somewhat msecure
because of its liability to be channeled by the wind. The road leading
northward from Neepawa to Eden and Riding Mountain runs on the crest
of the upper Norcross beach ridge through the east part of sections 21 and
28, township 15, range 15, 3 to 5 miles north of the.railway, its crest there
having a nearly constant height of 1,223 feet, with a descent of 5 or 6 feet
from it to the east and half as much to the west. Thence this beach ridgre
continues north-northeasterly to the east part of section 23, township 16,
range 15, where it has an elevation of 1,225 to 1,230 feet, with width of
about 30 rods and descent of 10 to 15 feet on its east side. It next runs
north or slightly west of north to Thunder Creek, in the south part of town-
ship 17, beyond which its course, with that of the lower Norcross shore, is
along the steep ascent of Riding Mountain. In the journey from Eden
post-office (southwest quarter of section 22, township 16, range 15) to
Orange Ridge post-office (northwest quarter of section 32, township 16,
range 14) a nearly flat surface of till with frequent bowlders is crossed
upon the width of 3 miles between this lieach and the upper Campbell
beach, descending in that distance from 1,200 to 1,100 feet, approximately.
Bowlders are especially abundant within the first mile from the upper Nor-
cross beach, whence the erosion of the lake bed supplied its gravel and
sand. This even tract of till would seem most favorable for the accumula-
tion of the beaches belonging to stages of Lake Agassiz between its upper
Norcross and upper Campbell levels; but no beach ridge nor other deposit
of gravel and sand, nor line of erosion which sometimes takes the place of
these to mark a shore-line, was seen in the intervening distance. It seems
probable that not far south and north from this route of obseiwatiou the
lower Norcross and the two Tintah beaches will be found.

My study of the beaches of Lake Agassiz mapped by Mr. J. B. TyrrelP
on the eastern flanks of Riding- and Duck mountains leads me to correlate
the two highest gravel ridges near the Valley River, having elevations of
1,280 and 1,260 feet above the sea, with the upper and lower Norcross
beaches traced by me in North Dakota and southwestern Manitoba. The

' Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Annual Eeport, new series, Vol. Ill, for 1887-88, Part E.

396 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

ascent of these beaches in the 70 miles northward from the latitude of
Gladstone and Neepawa to the Valley River is about 75 feet, or very
closely 1 foot per mile, being slightly more than from the international
boundary to Neepawa.

On Shanty Creek, 20 miles farther north, these beaches, according to
Mr. Tyi-rell, are 1,365 and 1,319 feet above the sea, showing the very
remarkable northward ascents, respectively, of 85 and 59 feet, or about 4
and 3 feet per mile.

Along the next 25 miles north to the Pine River, where, according to
my correlation, the upper Norcross beach has a height of 1,440 feet,^ its
ascent continues at the rate of 3 feet per mile. This is the highest altitude
at which any beach of Lake Agassiz has been recorded. Its latitude is
51° 52" north, being 200 miles north of the international boundary. It is
422 miles north of Lake Traverse and the mouth of Lake Agassiz, in which
distance this shore has a total ascent of about 400 feet.

The significance of the more rapid northward rise of these shore-lines
and others below them in the district of Riding and Duck mountains than
along all the portion of the lake border explored by me farther south has
been pai-tly discussed in Chapter V, on the history of this lake, and will be
again considered in Chapter IX, on the changes in the levels of its beaches.

BEACHES OF THE TINTAH STAGES.

EASTERN TINTAH SHORES FROM LAKE TRAVERSE TO TINTAH AND NORTHWARD

IN MINNESOTA.

(PLATES XXIII-XXVI.)

The plateau, 3 to 4 miles across, which formed an island in Lake Agas-
siz, situated between Wheaton and the Mustinka River, on the southeast,
and the Bois des Sioux River and White Rock station, on the northwest,-
rising to an altitude of 1,040 to 1,055 feet, is encircled by the Herman,
Norcross, and Tintah shore-lines. This high tract has a base of till, but
the plain forming its top consists, to a depth of 10 to 20 feet or more, of

' St.ated to be 1,460 feet by Mr. Tvirell, in the Bulletin of the Geological Society of America,
Vol. I, 1890, p. 406; but later published by him as 1,440 feet in the Am. Geologist, Vol. VIII, p. 23,
July. 1891.

THE TINTAH BEACHES IN MINNESOTA. 397

delta sand and gravel, brought by the glacial representative of the Shey-
enne River, apparently at the time of formation of the Dovre moraine, when
the retiring ice-sheet began to uncover the edge of the area of Lake Agassiz
(p. 150). Previous to the lower Tiiitah stage of the lake, the River Warren,
outflowing by two broad channels, one south and the other west of this
plateau, had eroded the upper portion of the valleys, respectively 2 and 4
miles wide, which are occupied by the Mustinka and the Bois des Sioux.
At the time of the lower Tiiitah beach and during the later Campbell and
McCauleyville stages the River Warren outflowed wholly west of this
tract, completing the erosion of the valley of the Bois des Sioux from
White Rock south to Lake Traverse, where it now contains a great marsh
with numerous permanent areas of water 1 to 3 miles in length.

In the south half of section 2, township 128, range 47, at a distance of
about 1^ miles east of White Rock, the upper Tintali shore bears a welL
defined beach ridge of sand and gravel, lying on a surface of till. This
ridge is 15 to 20 rods wide, rising 3 feet above the surface on each side,
with its crest about 1,015 feet above the sea. Thence it was traced nearly
4 miles in a curving course to the northeast and east, passing through
sections 31 and 32, Taylor. At the center of section 31, Mr. Da\dd War-
riner's farm buildings are situated on its top, which has a height of 5 to 8
feet above the surface of till at the south and north. His well shows that
the beach gravel and sand reach to a depth of 10 feet. In this vicinity the
beach is somewhat irregular in its development and varies from 10 to 30
rods in width. Other irregular sand and gravel deposits belonging to this
shore-line were found extending from south to north in sections 21 and 16,
Taylor, lying on a tract of till slightly elevated above long sloughs on the
sovith and east.

Two very small beach ridges, from 1 to 3 feet high, consisting of sand
and gravel on a nearly flat surface of till, are crossed by the Evansville
and Tintah line of the Great Northern Railway, about 1^ miles and 1 mile
east of Tintah.^ The heights of their crests are respectively 1,010 and
1,007 feet above the sea. On the Minneapolis and Pacific Railway, 2 miles

'A Dakota name meaning prairie (A. W. Williamson in Thirteenth Annual Report, Geol. and
Nat. Hist. Survey of Minnesota, for 1884, p. 110).

398 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

fartlier north, these inconspicuous beach ridges pass abovit 1 mile and a half
mile east of Nash, their elevations being 1,012 and 1,010 feet. One to
2 miles onward, in sections 25 and 26, Chami^ion, both ridges are somewhat
more distinctly developed at 1,012 and 1,008 feet, each being 3 to 4 feet
high above the till on each side.

Thence northward between the Rabbit and Red Rivers the level of
these beaches was carefully followed with leveling across a very smooth
and flat expanse of till; but no distinct shore marks, either of ridged beach
deposits or of any noticeable erosion, were found. The shore passes almost
due north, lying from a half mile to 1 mile west of the east side of Brad-
ford, and crosses the Red River in the southeast part of township 132,
range 45, between 2 and 3 miles above its most southern bend.

Within a half mile to IJ miles north of the Red River two Tintah
beach ridges are well developed, consisting of gravel and sand which lie
on till. The eastern and higher ridge in the northwest quarter of section
26 and southwest quarter of section 23, township 132, range 45, vai-ies in
width from 10 to 25 rods; its crest is 1,019 to 1,023 feet above the sea,
and both its eastern and western slopes fall 3 to 7 feet. Thi-ee-quarters of a
mile to the west the crest of the lower ridge, which is of similar size, has
a height of 1,012 to 1,015 feet. Thi-ough the next 2 miles these beaches
are not distinctly traceable, and the surface consists of slightly undulating
till. In the east edge of section 4, this township, the upper shore-line again
bears a conspicuous gravel ridge, with crest at 1,020 to 1,022 feet, from
which within 10 rods there is a descent of 5 feet eastward and 6 to 8 feet
westward.

In the northeast corner of section 28, Andi-ea, the upper Tintah beach,
a typical gravel and sand ridge, has an elevation of 1,017 to 1,018 feet
above the sea. Along the next 2 miles northward, in sections 21 and 16, its
crest holds a nearly uniform height of 1,017 to 1,019 feet, being 3 to 4
feet above the hollow east of the beach, and 6 to 7 feet above the adjoining
surface on the west. Tlu-ough the west half of section 9 and the southwest
quarter of section 4 this beach is not distinctly a ridge, but is represented
by a somewhat broad tract of gravel and sand. In the east edge of sec-
tion 6, Andrea, about a mile west of the foregoing, the lower Tintah beach

THE TINTAH BEACHES IN MINNESOTA. 399

forms a massive gravel and saud ridge, with crest at 1,015 to 1,017 feet,
rising 10 feet above the adjoining area of till on each side; and it continues
north with the same conspicuous development through tlie east edge of
section 31 and the southeast quarter of section 30, Akron.

Across the next 3 miles both these beaches fail, and the surface in their
course is nearly flat till, with a thin covering of lacustrine silt, which is
apparently due to the action of the lake during the deposition of the
englacial till from the melting and receding ice-sheet.

Again, the upper Tintah beach has a very massive and higher devel-
opment in the southwest corner of section 8, Akron, and extends with a
width of" 30 to 40 rods and an elevation of 1,024 to 1,029 feet above the
sea along the east side of sections 7 and 6, the top of its ridge coincid-
ing' nearly with the south-to-north section line. Its maximum width and
height are attained at the quarter-section stake between sections 7 and 8.
On the east the descent from its crest is 3 to 6 feet, and on the west 10 to
15 feet within 20 rods. This gravel and sand beach passes onward, less
massive, but having a distinctly ridged form, through the western tier of
sections in Tanberg. In the east edge of sections 31 and 30 its elevation
is approximately 1,028 feet. In section 19 it is offset a quarter of a mile
to the west, and thence runs nearly due north 3 miles, being lost near the
center of section 6 in a marshy tract.

The lower Tintah beach also forms a conspicuous gravel ridge, nearly
parallel with the foregoing, at a distance of 1 mile to a half mile west,
beginning in the northeast quarter of section 12, township 134, range 46,
and running slightly west of north, with an elevation of 1,015 to 1^017 feet,
about 3 miles to the east part of section 25, Manston. There it is offset a
quarter of a mile to the east, and thence runs due north along the west line
of Tanberg, having a height of 1,016 to 1,018 feet, to the marshes in which,
like the upper Tintah beach, it is lost near the northwest corner of this
township.

Both the Tintah beaches were next identified in the vicinity of Barnes-
ville. On the northern border of a bowlder-strewn higher tract of till the
upper Tintah shore-line is marked in the south part of section 36, Barnes-
ville, at a distance of about a quarter of a mile east of the railway line to

400 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Breckeuridge, by a sand and gi-avel deposit several feet deep, which runs
from west to east. Thence this beach, having- a height of 1,030 to 1,035
feet above the sea, curves to the northeast and north, passing through the
city of Barnesville not far east of the railway station, and onward a little
east of north to section 7, Humboldt, where it bends northwestward. The
lower Tintah beach in Barnesville is a shallow, slightly ridged tract of
gravel and sand, resting on the general slope of till, above which it rises 1
to 2 feet on the east, while its western side falls 10 or 15 feet within 20 or
25 rods. It lies close west of the street which, runs north from the railway
station for a third of a mile to the bridge crossing the Willow River (also
called Whiskey Creek), beyond which the street itself occupies the beach.
Its height in the city is 1,015 to 1,018 feet. This shore, mostly marked
by a well-defined gravel ridge, runs north the next 2 miles, lying in the
west edge of sections 19 and 18, Humboldt, and then turns to the north-
northwest, passing through sections 12 and 1, Barnesville.

Thence northward the Tintah shore-lines in Minnesota have been traced
in only a few localities. Through Clay and Norman counties, however, to
the Sand Hill River, their position is shown approximately on PI. XXV,
in accordance with the general westward slope of the east border of this
lacustrine area.

As already noted in the description of the Norcross shore-Unes (p. 387),
two beaches observed on the western margin of the Sand Hill delta deposit,
at the heights of 1,060 and 1,070 to 1,073 feet, seem referable to the upper
Tintah stages of the glacial lake; and the continuations of these beaches
are crossed by the Fosstou Railway line at the elevations of 1,062 and 1,069
feet above the sea. Tlu-ee-fourths of a mile to 1 mile west of these, and
at a distance of nearly 2 miles east of Beuoit, this railway intersects two
less conspicuous beach ridges, with crests at 1,047 and 1,044 feet, which
are believed to mark the lower Tintah stages

These shore-lines are inconspicuous on the St. Hilaire railway branch,
but 3 to 5 miles northward several beach ridges were noted by Mr. E. C.
Davis in leveling for a proposed canal from the Red Lake River at Crooks-
ton to its southward bend at the mouth of the Thief River. A gravel ridge
probably belonging to the lower Tintah level of Lake Agassiz lies about
3 miles east of the Black River and has an elevation of 1,050 feet. The

TINTAH BEACHES NEAR EOSEAU LAKE. 401

upper Tintah shore was not recognized, but three gravel ridges, succes-
sively crossed at 2 miles, 2.} miles, and 4^^ miles northeast from the 1,050-
foot beach, with their crests respectively at 1,086, 1,088, and 1,092 feet,
appear to be lower Norcross beaches.

Farther to the north the Campbell shore-lines are the highest that have
been observed by me on the east side of Lake Agassiz; but information from
others gives approximately the course of the Tintah shores to the interna-
tional boundary and the south and west sides of the Lake of the Woods.

According to Mr. Charles Hallock, the road from Stephen to Roseau
Lake runs on a gravel ridge, apparently one of the Tintah beaches, in town-
ships 159 and 160, range 45, passing close along the northwest side of two
lakes Crossing the South Fork of Two Rivers about 2 miles northeast of
these lakes, the road is described as continuing for the next 15 miles upon
this beach ridge or another closely associated with it, lying 5 to 8 miles
southeast of the Great Roseau Swamp The beach forms a massive,
smoothly rounded ridge of sand and gravel, with pebbles and cobbles up
to 4 inches or more in diameter. Its width is 20 to 40 rods, with crest 5 to
10 feet above the adjoining surface of till, and it is in many places bordered
on the side that was away from the lake by narrow swampy tracts. A trail
which leaves this road before reaching Roseau Lake and passes east to the
Lake of the Woods at the mouth of War Road River is said to lie for
considerable portions of its extent on a beach ridge. This also doubtless
belongs to one of the Tintah stages, and is, indeed, quite likely the direct
continuation of the beach occupied by the Roseau road.

Dr. George M. Dawson has kindly supplied a manuscript profile of the
international boundary from the Lake of the Woods to the Red River, as
surveyed by the British Boundary Conunission, which shows four low ridges,
probably Tintah beaches. They are crossed successively at 12 miles, 22
miles, 24 miles, and 32 miles west of the Lake of the Woods, their crests
being, in the same order, 1,088 feet, 1,081 feet, again 1,081 feet, and 1,070
feet above the sea. The first and second of these ridges are respectively
about 5 miles east and 5 miles west of the crossing of the North Branch of
the Roseau River, and the fourth is 3 miles west of Pine River. The ele-
vation of the Lake of the Woods, varying at its stages of low and high
MON XXV 26

402 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

water from 1,057 to 1,063 feet above the sea, shows that this large lake was
first separated from the dimiuishmg expanse of the glacial Lake Agassiz
between the times of formation of the Tiutah and Campbell beaches.

WESTERN TINTAH SHORES IN NORTH DAKOTA.
(plates xxvii-xxx.)

In the northeast corner of South Dakota, two beach ridges, belonging
to the upper Tintah shore of this glacial lake, run north-northwestward
across the northeast part of section 6, township 128, range 47. The east-
em ridge is 20 to 30 rods wide, consisting of gravel and sand on the west-
wardly ascending surface of till. It has a height of 1,014 to 1,018 feet
above the sea, with a descent of about 15 feet on the east and of 3 to 6
feet on the west. A smaller parallel gravel ridge, rising 5 feet from its
eastern base and falling 1 to 3 feet toward the west, with crest at 1,015 to
1,021 feet, lies a quarter of a mile farther west. The eastern beach, curving
northwestward, was traced several miles into North Dakota, to the northeast
quarter of section 22, township 129, range 48, where its elevation is 1,015
to 1,018 feet. Thence it is probably continuous to two small beach ridges
that were observed, without determination of their height (known, however,
to be approximately 1,015 feet), in or near the north edge of section 34,
township 130, range 49, on the south side of a little creek which there
emerges from the sand area of the Sheyenne delta.

The Tintah shore-lines cross the eastern portion of this delta, but are
seldom ti-aceable, even on its smooth areas, and still less among its frequent
tracts of dunes. The altitudes of the Northern Pacific, Fergus Falls and
Black HiUs Railroad show that they cross this line 1 to 2 miles east of
Barney. Along the northern border of the delta they coincide with the
escarpment and slope descending from its plateau, which pass close north
of Leonard and thence extend 8 miles westward to the Maple River. On
the Fargo and Soiithwestern Railroad the upper Tintah level of Lake
Agassiz eroded an escarpment in the delta sand and gravel whose top has
an altitude of 1,034 feet above the sea; and the lower Tmtah shore bears
three beach ridges, 5 to 7 feet above the intervening hollows, with their
crests at 1,017, 1,016, and 1,014 feet.

TINTAH BEACHES IN NORTH DAKOTA. 403

Across an extent of nearly 60 miles next northward we have only
scanty observations of the Tintah shores, the most important being IJ
miles east of Clifford, where a well-detined gravel ridge upon an area of
till was seen along a distance of 2 miles fi-om south to north. Its crest has
an elevation of 1,040 to 1,045 feet above the sea, with descent of a few
feet on its west side and of 15 to 25 feet within 30 or 40 rods eastward.

From the South Branch of the Goose River, 10 miles north of Clifford,
a Tintah shore-line, marked in portions of its course by an eroded slope
and in other portions by a ridged beach deposit, passes to the north and
northeast through township 147, range 53, crossing the railway line from
Portland and Mayville to Larimore near the southwest corner of sec-
tion 2 and the North Branch of Goose River near the center of this section.
Here and onward to the north through tlie eastern tier of sections in
township 148, range 53, and to the north-northwest through the next two
townships of the same range, and onward to the Devils Lake line of the
Great Northern Railway and to the Turtle River, this shore lies mostly on
the eastern slope and near the border of the extensive delta of sand and
fine clayey silt brought into Lake Agassiz by the glacial river of the Elk
Valley. In section 14, Washington, and through several miles northward,
the shore bears a well-defined beach ridge, which in the southeast quarter
of section 34, Pleasant View, has been excavated to obtain sand for plas-
tering. In portions of sections 8 and 5, Pleasant View, and in section 31,
Chester, the beach deposit, with crest at 1,050 to 1,055 feet above the sea,
changes to a low, eroded escarpment of till 10 to 20 feet high, with its top
5 to 15 feet above the beach. The delta here extends nearly or quite to
the Tintah shore, which divides it from an eroded tract of till on the east.

North of the Turtle River, which is crossed by this shore-line 2 miles
west of Arvilla, it continues in the same north-northwestward course, cross-
ing an area of till. One mile east of Oit's station it is a distinct gravel
and sand ridge, and about three-quarters of a mile west of Inkster it has
two beach ridges, the crest of the western one being 1,070 to 1,072 feet
above the sea, and that of the lower and less massive eastern ridge 1,060
feet. In the east edge of section 28, Eden, the Tintah levels of Lake
Agassiz are shown by erosion upon the eastwardly sinking till slope. The

404 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

upper limit of the steelier eroded belt is at 1,062 to 1,070 feet, being about
20 feet above its base. Beyond this township, northward to the Pem-
bina delta, the courses of the Tintah shores, though not exactly traced, are
known very nearly from the rate of eastward descent of the land and from
the mapped course of the next succeeding Campbell beach. At one locality
a Tintah beach ridge was noted, near the middle of the line between sec-
tions 19 and 18, Kensington, about 2 miles northwest from the town of Park
River; but the next two miles or more northward have a rather irregularly
rolling surface, with no definite beach observable.

The Tintah shores are only a short distance below those of the Nor-
cross stages on the flanks of the Pembina delta and on the lower part of
the Pembina Mountain escarpment for several miles thence northward.

WESTERN TINTAH SHORES IN MANITOBA.

(PLATES XXX-XXXIII.)

In proceeding northward from the international boundary, the Tintah
beaches were first observed near the line between townships 1 and 2, range
5, lying on a terrace which forms the lower part of the Pembina Mountain.
On the boundary this terrace is about three-fourths of a mile wide, its
eastern margin being an escarpment that rises from 1,040 to 1,090 or 1,095
feet; and from its verge it gradually rises 25 to 35 feet in its width, so that
its western limit at the base of the main escarpment has a height of 1,120
to 1,125 feet. Its surface is till with plentiful bowlders, nearly all Archean,
up to 5 feet m diameter, mostly embedded or only projecting a foot or less;
but the slope on its east side consists of weathering and pulverized Cretace-
ous shale, which is thus shown to form the principal mass of the terrace,
beneath a thin mantle of till. In the distance of 6 miles northward across
township 1 this terrace widens to 2 miles, and its eastern verge sinks to
1,055 feet; but it is bordered by only a slight escarpment, about 15 feet
high, the base of which is thus at the same level as on the international
boundary. In its width of 2 miles it there rises about 90 feet to the base
of the mountain escarpment, at 1,140 to 1,150 feet. A quarter to a third of
a mile east of this escarpment a line of erosion rises from 1,110 to 1,125
feet, approximately, marking the upper Tintah shore. In the southeast

TINTAH BEACHES IN MANITOBA. 405

quarter of section 5, township 2, this shore bears scanty deposits of" beach
gravel and sand, with their crest at 1,110 to 1,115 feet. The lower Tintah
beach lies a third of a mile farther east, and is a distinct ridge of gravel
and sand with its crest at 1,083 to 1,085 feet, bordered on each side by till,
the surface of whicli is 5 feet lower on the east and 3 feet lower on the west.
Thomas Kennedy's well, 14 feet deep, in the northeast quarter of section 5,
township 2, range 5, found the till only 4 feet deep, underlain by the Fort
Pierre shale. This terrace doubtless owes its form, like the far more prom-
inent Pembina Mountain, to preglacial erosion of these Cretaceous beds.
It continues along the foot of the mountain, with a width of 1^ to 2 miles,
at least to the South Branch of Tobacco Creek, which crosses it near Miami
post-office, 25 miles north of the international boundary. Throughout its
whole extent it has a considerable ascent upon its width from east to west,
as in the localities noted. Much of its surface is till with many bowlders,
but some portions have no bowlders, such tracts being overspread ^^'itll
lacustrine gravel and sand, or perhaps occasionally consisting of Cretaceous
shale next below the soil, with no drift or lacustrine deposit.

A mile west of Morden the escarpment bordering this terrace has an
ascent of about 40 feet, with its top approximately 1,070 feet above the
sea. Within an eighth of a mile to the west is the lower Tintah beach, a
small ridge of gravel and sand which has been excavated for use in plaster-
ing, its crest being at 1,085 feet, nearly, with a descent of 5 or 6 feet from
it to the east and 2 or 3 feet to the west. It extends a considerable distance
nearly parallel with the verge of the terrace. The road tlience to Thorn-
hill ascends slowly in the next 2 miles across a somewhat uneven surface
on which eight or ten beach ridges are discernible, belonging to the upper
Tintah, Norcross, and Herman stages.

The most remarkable feature of this tract is its extraordinary abun-
dance of bowlders, nearly all Archeau, usually less than 5 feet in diameter,
but in many places ranging in size to 10 feet or more. Upon an area that
extends at least 1 to 2 miles both south and north of the road and railway
the surface is as thickly strewn with bowlders as are the most typical ter-
minal moraines seen by me in Minnesota and South and North Dakota.
Many of these rock masses, instead of being embedded in the drift, as is

400 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

generally the case in this region, project 2 to 3 or 4 feet above the surface,
or lie wholly on it with no poi*tion concealed. Here the ice-sheet probably
terminated, depositing these bowlders in the west margin of Lake Agassiz,
during the time of its accumulation of the tenninal moraine that forms the
Avest part of the Tiger Hills and the Brandon and Arrow hills.

About a mile south and west of Nelson, the lower Tintah beach ridge,
having- an elevation of 1,085 feet, apjjroximately, lies an eighth of a mile
west from the margin of the terrace; and the upper Tintah beach probably
extends along its west side, close to the base of the Pembina Mountain,
where the elevation is about 1,100 to 1,120 feet. The width of the terrace
here is about IJ miles.

A half mile east of the lower Norcross beach, near Treherne, the
upper Tintah shore seems to be indicated where it crosses the railway by
a line of erosion in the Assiniboine delta, with descent approximately from
1,140 to 1,120 feet.

On the profile of the Manitoba and Northwestern Railway the upper
and lower Tintah beaches are apparently shown about 3 miles and 5J miles
east-northeast of Neepawa, with their crests respectively at 1,158 feet and
in two ridges at 1,116 and 1,111 feet above the sea. Witliiu its next 3
miles northward the upper beach is represented by a tract of low dunes
extending through the east edge of township 15, range 15, to Snake Creek.
Thence the course of these shore-lines, as shown by the contour, is nearly
due north to the foot of the escarpment of Riding Mountain, in township 1 7.

Along the eastern base of Duck Mountain the Tintah shores of Lake
Agassiz have been observed by Mr. Tyrrell, according to my correlation of
the beaches shown on his map (see p. 395), as follows: The upper Tintah
beach, close north of the Valley River, at an elevation of 1,220 feet above
the sea; both the upper and lower Tintah beaches on Shanty Creek, respec-
tively, at 1,287 feet and 1,235 feet; and the upper of these beaches, extending
several miles between the Pine and Duck rivers, at 1,365 feet. In propor-
tion with the northward ascent of the upper Tintah beach thus indicated,
its height on the Pine River would be about 1,335 feet, and on the Duck
River, a dozen miles farther north, at latitude 52°, about 1,375 feet.

THE CAMPBELL BEACHES. 407

BEACHES OF THE CAMPBELIj STAGES.

The Campbell shore-lines have in general somewhat the most conspic-
uous development of all below the Herman series. They belong to stages
of Lake Agassiz much below its highest level, and furnish a very useful
record of the boundary and depth of this body of water, as shown on
PI. XXXIV, near the time when it ceased to outflow to the south at Lake
Traverse. Considerable portions of the lower and principal Campbell
shore are marked by a low, eroded escarpment in the general sheet of till;
and the aggregate length of such terracing- by this one level of the lake is
probably eqiial to that of the numerous shorter lines of escarpment formed
during all its other levels, both above and below. Probably the land
reposed without upward movement longer at this stage than at any other
in the history of the lake, unless the eai'liest and highest stage of the Her-
man series must be excepted. It is also to be remarked that no other shore
of Lake Agassiz bears at any place so extensive an embankment of beach
gravel and sand, transported a long distance by the action of waves and
coastal currents, as that swept southward from the Pembina delta during
the Campbell stages.

Between the rate of northward ascent of the uppermost Herman beach
and that of the Campbell beach there is a remarkable contrast. Along the
300 miles from the mouth of Lake Agassiz to Gladstone explored by me
the land had been considerably uplifted after the formation of the Herman
beach; but its level in all this extent has been only slightly changed since
the old lake shore was at the present site of the town of Campbell, in Min-
nesota. Farther to the north, however, on the east side of Duck Mountain,
a large amount of differential northward uplifting took place after the
Campbell stages of the lake. The rate per mile of northward ascent of
the Campbell beaches there exceeds that of the first and highest Herman
beach upon all the country south of Gladstone.

Unusual interest, therefore, appertains to the Campbell shores, and they
have been more fully mapped, especially in North Dakota, with leveling to
ascertain their height continuously, than any other of the successive boun-
daries of this glacial lake, whether belonging to its stages of southward or
of northeastward outflow, excepting only the Herman beaches.

408 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

FROM LAKE TRAVERSE AND CAMPBELL NORTH TO THE TAMARACK RIVER, IN

MINNESOTA.

(PLATES XXIII-XXVI.)

For a distance of about 18 miles north from the mouth of Lake Agassiz
the Campbell shore-line is within a half mile to 1 mile east of the marsh
with lakelets and of the Bois des Sioux River, through which Lake Trav-
erse outflows. Perhaps, however, it would be better, at this stage of the
decrease of Lake Agassiz in area and depth, to regard its mouth and
the beginning of the River Warren as transferred from Lake Traverse 12
miles north to the vicinity of White Rock.

Parting company with the Bois des Sioux 5 or 6 miles north of White
Rock, the Campbell shore runs northeastward across Campbell Township,
passing less than a mile north of Tenney station, on the Minneapolis and
Pacific Railway, and crossing the Breckenridge line of the Great Northern
. Railway at Campbell. Near the center of section 31, Campbell, it is recog-
nized by a beach ridge which has been excavated for masons' sand. On the
Minneapolis and Pacific Railway the crests of its scanty gravel and sand
deposits are 980 to 983 feet above the sea; and on the Aberdeen Branch of
the Great Northern Railway the top of the beach is at 989 feet, with
adjoining land on the northwest 5 feet lower. The vicinity of the town of
Cam^ibell, however, has no definite ridge. A half mile to 1 mile north
of Campbell the beach is dimly traceable, with crest at 984 to 986 feet,
rising only 2 to 3 feet above the general surface; and it has the same
inconspicuous development in its course thence nearly due north to the
Red River.

In the northeast part of Richardson this shore beai-s a well-defined
ridge of gravel and sand, which runs through the center of section 14 and
the east part of sections 11 and 2. It has been excavated in the southeast
quarter of section 11, showing pebbles up to IJ inches in diameter. The
crest of the beach ranges in height from 987 to 995 feet, from which there
is commonly a descent of 2 to 5 feet on the east and twice as much on the
west to the general siirface of till. This beach, about 30 rods Avide and 5
feet high, with its top at 992 to 995 feet, is crossed by the Northern Pacific,

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.

MONOGRAPH XXV. PL. XXXIV.

MAP OF THK SOl'THKHN PORTION OF LMiK AOASSIZ. SlIOWIXC. ITS KXTKXT IX THK

LOWFR CAMPBELL STAdK.
Scale , about 42 miles to aiiiiidi.

CAMPBELL BEACHES IN MINNESOTA. 409

Fergus Falls and Black Hills Railroad a quarter of a mile west of Everdell
station. Thence for the next 15 miles its course is a few degrees west of
north to the vicinity of Manston.

Through sections 15, 10, and 3, township 134, range 46, and northward
in Manston, the Campbell shore-line is mostly marked by a definite gravel
ridge, the land on each side being till. The ridge varies in elevation from
987 to 992 feet, attaining the latter height 1^ miles southeast of the village
of Manston, where it rises 6 or 7 feet from its east base and has a descent of
about 10 feet toward the west.

In Atherton this shore is intersected three times by the railway from
Breckenridge to Barnesville. A beach ridge, for the greater part scantily
and irregularly developed, passes northwestward across section 34 an-l the
railway. Thence curving to the north and northeast, it lies close west of
the railway for 2 miles, nearly to the Deerhorn Creek. About a quarter
of a mile south of this creek it again crosses the railway, from which a spur
track turns off to take gravel ballast from the ridge, its excavation being 6
to 10 feet deep. For the next 2 miles this upper Campbell beach runs
nearly parallel with the railway and close on its east side to the south part
of section 10; and thence, after its third crossing of the railway, it extends
3 miles nearly due north to a cemetery aboiit 1^ miles west of Barnesville.
The elevation of the beach crest in sections 15, 10, and 3, Atherton, and
also in the cemetery, is 990 to 992 feet above the sea, with a descent of 3
or 4 feet on the east and of 6 to 10 feet on the west.

A second beach ridge, of smaller size, a tenth to a quarter of a mile
west of this, with its crest 5 to 7 feet lower, about 985 feet, begins near
Atherton Station and is continuous, or nearly so, through section 15 and the
south part of section 10. The foot of the western slope of the lower ridge,
at 980 feet, indicates approximately the level of Lake Agassiz when it was
formed. A slight elevation of the land, probably amounting to 5 feet, had
apparently taken place between the times of formation of these two beaches.

Both the upper and the lower Campbell beaches are also well exhibited
2 to 3 miles north of Barnesville, near the railway bridge over Siebers Creek.
In the northwest corner of section 13, Barnesville, less than a quarter of a
mile south of this creek, the upper beach, forming an uTegular belt of

410 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ,

gravel and sand from 992 to 980 feet on the descending slope of till, is
crossed by the railway, and thence runs northward as a more definite ridge,
with crest at 992 to 995 feet, through the west half of section 12. The top
of the lower beach ridge, which lies an eighth of a mile to the west, run-
ning nearl}- along the west line of this section, is at 985 feet, with descent
of 2 or 3 feet eastward and about 10 feet westward.

Through the next four townships to the north, extending 24 miles, the
Campbell shore-hnes have not been exactly mapped, but their position is
known very nearl}^ by the general westward descent of the border of the
lacustrine area toward the flat Red River Valley plain which forms its cen-
tral part. Near the middle of this distance, hoAvever, on the Northern
Pacific Railroad, two beach ridges, belonging to the Campbell stages, lie
between 3 and S^ miles west of Muskoda. The railroad profile shows that
the elevation of the eastern one of these ridges is 1,004 feet above the sea,
with descent of 4 feet east and 1 1 feet west in its width of 30 rods, and
that the crest of the second ridge is at 1,000 feet, 7 feet above its east base,
while its west slope falls almost 20 feet, the whole width of this beach
being about 50 rods. The unusually massive development of the Campbell
beaches here, and of the closely associated McCauleyville beach, is due to
their derivation partly from the delta of the Buff'alo River, and in larger
part from exceptional erosion in the slope of till that formed the lake shore
northward. This slope is strewn with many bowlders, the remnants from
a considerable depth of till worn away by the lake waves.

In Hagen the Campbell shore is mainly traced by a line of erosion
forming a somewhat steep escarpment, from 5 or 10 to 25 feet in height,
near the foot of the slope of till which thence rises gradually toward the
east; but beach gravel and sand deposits mark its course where it crosses
the depression occupied by the South Branch of the Wild Rice River.
Likewise tlu-ough Rockwell this lake margin is an eroded till escarpment.

The shore again bears a well-defined gravel ridge in Lake Ida Town-
ship, passing from the southeast quarter of section 34 north-northeastward
across section 26 to the Wild Rice River, and thence nearly due north
through the west edge of sections 13, 12, and 1, there rising 6 to 8 feet
from its eastern base and descending 20 feet toward the west. The height

CAMPBELL BEACHES IN MINNESOTA. 411

above the sea was not exactly determined here, nor along the next 12 miles
of this shore northward, mostly marked by a low escarpment of till, in
Green Meadow and Spring Creek townships.

Close south of the Sand Hill River, in section 34, Liberty, the top of
this Campbell escarpment is 1,010 feet above the sea, being probably 10
feet higher than the lake level when it was made. It runs in a neaidy
due-north course, parallel with the well-developed McCauleyville beaches
which lie a half to two-thirds of a mile farther west. Continuing north-
ward through Liberty and Onstead townships and the southern two-thirds
of Kretchmarville, this shore-line is almost continuously a terrace cut in the
till, having a descent of 10 to 30 feet within as many rods. Numerous
residual bowlders are strewn upon a narrow belt below the terrace. Ero-
sion was in progress along the greater part of this terrace during both the
upper and lower Campbell stages of the lake; but a beach ridge of gravel
and sand, which was accumulated along its base during the lower stage,
extends through section 5, Onstead, and into the adjoining sections.

From the southeast part of section 9, Kretchmarville, the Campbell
shore takes a north-northeastward course for the next 10 miles to the south-
west corner of the township of Red Lake Falls and to the Red Lake River
Along this extent it bears a conspicuous beach deposit, on which several
farmhouses are built, their cellars being dug to the depth of 6 or 8 feet in
gravel and sand, while the surface on each side of the shore-line is till. For
the greater part of this distance there are two parallel beach ridges, usually
occupying together a width of about 50 rods. The crest of the eastern
and higher beach is 1,012 to 1,015 feet above the sea, and that of the lower
beach abovit 1,000 feet, varying from this only 1 or 2 feet. Each ridge has
a descent of 4 to 6 feet toward the east, and their western bases are respec-
tively at 995 and 985 feet, approximately. The upper and lower Campbell
levels of Lake Agassiz, which heaped up these beaches by their waves,
were very nearly at 1,000 and 990 feet.

In the west edge of section 30, Red Lake Falls, only the upper beach
ridge is present. Its width is about 30 rods, and its elevation varies from
1,013 to 1,020 feet, with descent of several feet eastward and 15 to 20 feet
to its western base. On the top of this prominent sand and gravel ridge.

412 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

about a quarter of a mile south from the Red Lake River and the north-
west corner of this section, he five dome-shaped artificial mounds, of grad-
ually increasing size in their order from south to north. The southernmost
is about 30 feet in diameter and 2 feet high; the second measures 50 feet
across and is 3 feet high; the third is slightly larger, with a height of 4
feet; the fourth is 70 feet in diameter and rises 6 feet above the beach; and
the most northern has a diameter of 80 feet and a height of about 8 feet.
These mounds, wliich were undoubtedly used for bm-ial, overlook a broad
prospect, especially toward the west, including many miles of the well-
wooded river valley.

Tlie St. Hilaire Branch of the Great Northern Railway crosses the
Campbell beach a half mile east of Black River, the crest of its gravel
ridge being 1,019 feet above the sea, with a descent of 6 feet toward
the east and about 10 feet westward. Within a few miles farther north the
line of the survey by Mr. Davis, mentioned on page 400, found the eleva-
tion of this beach 1,022 feet, from which its slopes fall 6 or 7 feet on each
side. Fai-ther northward its elevation has not been determined, but its
position has been accurately mapped. In townships 153, Bray, and 154,
range 45, it iims nearly due north as a prominent gi-avel ridge, passing
close west of the centers of these townships, and lying from 2 miles to 1
mile east of the old Pembina trail, which follows the McCauleyville beach.
But near the south line of Viking the Campbell beach turns slightly,
thence bearing north-northwestward, and for a few miles in the central and
northwest portions of Viking the trail runs on its top.

Along the greater part of its explored extent north of the Red Lake
River this shore is marked by a single large gravel ridge, 20 to 30 rods
wide, 5 feet or more above the adjoining surface of till on the east and 10
to 20 feet above its western edge; but in the northAvest part of Viking two
Campbell beaches, a quarter to a half mile apart, run from section 17 to
section 6, the western being less typically ridged and mostly 10 to 15 feet
lower than the eastern. On the top of the western beach, near the middle
of the west half of section 6 and a quarter of a mile south of the Snake
River, a conspicuous aboriginal mound was noted, having a diameter of 50
feet and a height of 6 feet. Only a few feet south from its edge a smaller

CAMPBELL BEACHES IN MINNESOTA. 413

mound, about 15 feet in diameter, rises 1.]- feet above the beach. • No other
earthworks were seen in this \acinity.

Snake River, where it intersects the Campbell and McCauleyville
beaches, has only stagnant pools in hollows of its bed during dry summers,
while the Middle and Tamarack rivers, next to the north, seldom or never
fail to carry running water, although reduced nearly to the size of brooks.
Just after crossing the Snake River the Pembina trail turns westward three-
fourths of a mile to the McCauleyville beach, on which it runs nearly all
the way for 15 miles northward. The Campbell shore, continuing in the
line of its western beach before described, passes almost due north along
the west side of Marsh Grove Township, and thence runs a little to the west
of north, bearing a fine ridge of gravel and sand, underlain and bordered
on each side by till. Its distance east from the Pembina trail is between 1
and 2 miles, to the Tamarack River. Beyond this stream the trail turns to
the northwest, diverging from these beaches, which continue to the north
and north-northwest.

Through Marshall County the Campbell shore lies nearly on the limits
of the chiefly prairie country on the west and of the wooded region on the
east. The beaches are mostly grassed, with no bushes or trees, but brush
and small poplars occupy much of the adjoining land on the west and
between these gravel ridges, and almost the entire area on the east bears
a small growth of poplars, where they have not been lately burned. At
a distance of 10 to 20 miles eastward a forest of many species begins,
comprising the common poplar or aspen, the large-toothed poplar, the
balsam poplar, cottonwood, canoe birch, black and bur oaks, white elm,
white and black ash, red and sugar maple, basswood, and the white, red,
and jack pines. In the swamps, and frequently on higher land, tamarack,
black spruce, and balsam fir grow in abundance, often festooned with
moss. Crossing Kittson County, the most northwestern in Minnesota, the
Tintah shore-lines extend here and there into heavily timbered tracts,
while the Campbell and McCauleyville beaches continue approximately
along the somewhat definite boundary dividing the woods and the prairie.

414 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

CAMPBELL SHORES IN NOKTH DAKOTA

(PLATES XXVII-XXX.)

Ou the west side of Lake Agassiz one of the Campbell shore-lines
begins to be marked by a beach ridge in the northwest corner of section 5,
township 128, range 47, Sonth Dakota, where it lies about 15 rods east of
L. H. Eldred's house, running in a north-northwesterly com-se and imme-
diately passing into North Dakota. The crest of this gravel ridge is 988
to 990 feet above the sea, with slopes that fall 12 feet to the east and 3 to
6 feet to the west, the surface on each side being till.

The Minneapolis and Pacific Railway and the Aberdeen Branch of the
Great Noi-thern Railway cross three Campbell beaches west of the Bois des
Sioux. Wider spaces separate the shore-lines here than elsewhere, because
the land is very nearly level and the lake had only a slight depth to a dis-
tance of several miles offshore. When the district was uplifted or the level
of the water fell away even 4 or 5 feet, the emerging belt varied from 1
to 3 miles in breadth. The most eastern of these beaches, lying Avitliin a
half mile east of Fairmouut, forms small, irregular ridges, with crests at

979 to 984 feet. The next, passing by De Villo station, has an elevation
of 987 feet; and the third, which is the continuation of the ridge at Mr.
Eldred's, runs northwestward nearly thi-ough the center of De Villo Town-
ship, rising 5 feet above the general level, with its crest at 993 feet. But
probably the earliest Campbell stage of Lake Agassiz here is represented
by a line of dunes only 3 to 5 feet in height, with crests at 995 to 997 feet,
crossed by these railways about 2 miles west of Oswald and Sonora. The
lake levels thus indicated range from 992 feet, very nearly, downward to

980 feet, or perhaps 2 or 3 feet lower.

Continuing northwestward, these shores converge, on account of the
increasing rate of westward ascent of the surface, as they approach the Shey-
enne delta. They cross the Northern Pacific, Fergus Falls and Black Hills
Raih'oad on the very gentle southeastward slope of the delta about 2 miles
west of Mooreton, but are not definitely traceable there. Eight miles far-
ther north the Campbell and upper McCauleyville shores begin to be
marked by the escarpment or steep slope, descending eastward 20 to 50
feet within about a mile, which forms the eastern border of the principal

CAMPBELL BEACHES IN NORTH DAKOTA. 415

plateau-like mass of the Sheyenne delta, having been sculptured by wave
erosion during these stages of the glacial lake. The same shore-lines con-
tinue near together along this frontal slope through a distance of 30 miles
to the north and northwest, passing about 3 miles west of Barrett, 1 to 2
miles west of Colfax, a similar distance southwest of Walcott, about 3 miles
southwest of Kindred, and 1 to 1^ miles north of Leonard. In many
places, however, the eroded surface as it was shaped by the lake waves has
been much changed since by the winds, which have heaped up its sand in
dunes 10 to 30 feet high.

Beyond the northern limit of the Sheyenne delta, near Leonard, the
border of the lacustrine area rises somewhat steeply from the Red River
Valley plain, and the lower and best-defined Campbell shore-lines are
mostly united or lie close together, whether marked by beaches or by an
eroded escarpment. This very finely developed margin of the old glacial
lake has been mapped, with determination of its height by leveling, through
all the distance from Leonard to the international boundary, about 175
miles.

The Fargo and Southwestern Railroad crosses the Campbell shore
close below the Tintali beaches and slightly more than a mile northeast of
Leonard, but it is not distinctly marked there, lying near the foot of the
northeastwardly declining slope of the Sheyenne delta. Its course is thence
west-northwest about 8 miles, crossing the Maple River, to the southeast
part of section 29, Walburg, where it turns to the north and holds mainly
a north-northeast course through the next 25 miles to Wheatland and
Arthur. About a quarter of a mile south of the Maj^le River the Camp-
bell shore is marked by an exceptionally massive beach ridge which passes
through a cemetery in the north part of section 3, Watson, its crest in the
cemetery and close westward behig 1,008 to 1,013 feet above the sea and
some 75 feet above the river. This ridge consists of sand and fine gravel,
largely derived from Cretaceous shales, with no pebbles exceeding 2 inches
in diameter. North of the narrow valley cut by this river the beach ridge
continues with an elevation of 1,006 to 1,009 feet for nearly 2 miles to its
northward bend, beyond which the shore along its next 2 or 3 miles, having
left the tliinned margin of the delta sand brought into Lake Agassiz by the

416 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Sheyenne, is traced as a low, eroded escarpment of till, 10 to 15 feet in
height, with base at 995 feet.

Four to 6 miles north of its bend the Campbell shore is compound
and irregularly developed, bearing three beach ridges of gravel and sand,
which rise 5 to 10 feet above the adjoining surface of till and range from
986 to 1,000 feet above the sea. The uppermost forms a northwardly
projecting spit in the southwest quarter of section 4, Walburg, on which
Mr. Luther Wyckoff 's well found sand and gravel to the depth of 10 feet
and till beneath. Along its course of 6 miles onward to Wheatland some
portions of this shore are marked by beach gravel, with crest at 992 to 995
feet; but commonly there is no beach deposit, its place being occupied by
a somewhat steep descent toward the east, falling from 990 or 995 feet to
about 975 feet, eroded in the general sheet of till. Below this a tract a
half mile or more in width is fine lacustrine silt, descending eastward with
less slope.

In the east part of Wheatland village the Northern Pacific Raih-oad
intersects the Campbell beach a quarter of a mile from the station. A
massive gi-avel and sand ridge here occupies a width of about 60 rods,
including its slopes, and rises 15 feet above the nearly level expanse thence
eastward. Its crest, at 994 feet, is 10 feet above the hollow, 40 rods wide,
on its west side. This ridge appears to have been formed during the lower
and more important of the Campbell stages of the glacial lake, when its
level was about 990 to 985 feet. The accompanying upper shore-line,
which should be looked for 10 to 15 feet higher, crosses section 15 between
2 and 3 miles north of Wheatland, where Mr. Joseph Fuller's house is built
on the top of its beach ridge, about 1,012 feet above the sea. His well
was dug 15 feet in sand and gravel, then passing into till.

North-northeastward from Wheatland the crest of the lower and prin-
cipal beach holds a nearly constant elevation, varying in the first 3 miles,
to Swan Creek, from 993 to 996 feet, with descent of 12 to 15 feet in 20
rods east, and usually 3 to 5 feet in 10 rods west. About two-thirds of its
gravel, which has pebbles and cobbles up to 4 inches in diameter, are lime-
stone; three-tenths, by estimate, are granite and other crystalline rocks;
while about a thirtieth part is Cretaceous shale. Looking east from this

CAMPBELL BEACHES IN ]SrOETH DAKOTA. 417

beach, one sees a very flat country, originally a monotonous prairie, which
is in view to a distance of about 10 miles, and is hidden beyond only by
the curvatui'e of the earth's surface. In the summer nearly all this expanse
is occupied by vast fields of wheat and oats, with frequent groups of sub-
stantial farm btiildings, some of them surrounded by trees. The thriving
towns of Everest, Casselton, and Amenia are seen in their order from south
to north; and at these and many smaller stations of both the Northern
Pacific and Great Northern Railways, also on some of the large farms,
elevators tower above the flat lands, waiting to be filled with their grain.
It is a most beautiful prospect, completely characteristic of the Red River
Valley.

Through the next 5 miles to the Rush River the same features of the
beach ridge continue, with elevation varying from 990 to 996 feet, except
that occasionally the gravel and sand deposit is replaced by an escarpment
of till, with crest at the same height as that of the beach, and having a
steep descent of 10 to 15 feet from west to east. For nearly 4 miles onward
after crossing this river (a puny stream, which is reduced to a series of
stagnant pools during summer droughts) the Campbell shore is a till
escarpment, as just described. Thence tkrough the next 3 miles, to the
town of Arthur, it is again a massive gravel and sand ridge, with elevation
of 994 to 998 feet. Along the middle part of this distance, in section 32,
Ai-thur, the descent from its crest westward, away from the lake area, is
3 to 5 feet, and its eastern slope falls. 10 to 15 feet to a slough or moist
tract, wholly mowing laud, beyond which, at a distance of an eighth to a
quarter of a mile from this beach, there is a lower beach ridge, probably
representing the highest of the McCauleyville stages, with crest at about
985 feet.

At Arthur the Campbell beach curves to a north and almost uoitli-
northwestward course. It passes about an eighth of a mile east of the rail-
way station, where its elevation is 994 to 997 feet above the sea, with slopes
descending 3 or 4 feet to the west and about 10 feet eastward. Thence
through 3 miles north the top of this gravel ridge varies from 996 to
1,002 feet. For the next 20 miles north-northwest, crossing the South
and North branches of the Elm River (very small streams, wholly dry or
MON XXV— — 27

418 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

chains of pools in summer), the Campbell shore is almost continuously an
escai-pment of till, as shown by fig. 7 on page 26, with its crest and the
level of the surface westward at 995 to 1,005 feet, from which a somewhat
steep slope falls 10 to 20 feet eastward. It passes about three-fourths of
a mile west of Hunter and 2 miles west of Greenfield. Along all this
distance the nearly parallel McCauleyville shore, 20 to 30 feet below the
top of the Campbell escarpment, lies about a mile, or in part only a half
mile, farther east.

From a mile east of Roseville the Campbell shore runs nearly due north
4 miles to the west edge of the town of Portland, where it is an escarpment
12 to 15 feet high, with its crest and base respectively about 1,000 feet
and 985 feet above the sea. The escaiiDment is eroded in the southern
extremity of the sand and silt delta which reaches from McCanna to Port-
land, deposited by a river flowing into Lake Agassiz from the Elk Valley
while lobes of the melting and retreating ice-sheet lay on each side. For
its next 8 miles this shore-line passes northeastward to Morgan Township,
in which it curves to the north and north-northwest; and thence it holds
the latter course, with only deviations of a few degrees, through a distance
of 75 miles north to the Pembina delta. Between Portland and Arvilla it
is mostly marked by a well-defined beach ridge of gravel and sand, lying
on till, at a distance of 2 to 3 miles east from the margin of the delta, which
coincides nearly with the Tintah shore-lines.

The Great Northern Railway crosses this I'idge three-fourths of a mile
east of Ai'villa, where it occupies a width of about 60 rods. Its crest has
an elevation of 1,014 feet, from which there is a descent of 23 feet to the
east and 9 feet to the west. Close south of the Turtle River, nearly 2 miles
farther north, its top is at 1,011 to 1,013 feet; and within the next mile
nortli of this stream its elevation is 1,007 to 1,010 feet. In the vicinity of
Ai-villa and through nearly 15 miles onward, passing thi-ough townships 152,
Hegton, and 153, range 54, both the Campbell and McCauleyville shores
bear conspicuous beach ridges, which are nearly parallel at a distance of
about a half mile apart.

In section 5, township 153, range 54, and for 6 miles thence northward
in Strabane and Inkster, passing a third of a mile east of Inkster station.

CAMPBELL SHORES IN NOETH DAKOTA. 419

the Campbell shore is a low escarpment in the general surface of till, with
crest at 1,018 to 1,026 feet, from which there is a somewhat steep descent
of 15 to 25 feet. A few miles farther north, however, this is changed to a
massive beach ridge of gravel and sand, which lies about a half mile west
of Conway station.

Beyond Conway, along a distance of about 35 miles of very direct
north-northwest course, this shore-line, passing tln-ough the west edge of
the town of Park River and close by the east side of the village of Moun-
tain, is almost uninterruptedly an eroded escarpment of till, with eastward
descent of 20 to 30 feet, or rarely 40 feet, within an eighth of a mile, or
often a less distance. At Park River the Campbell escarpment falls rather
abruptly from 1,035 feet to 1,015 feet above the sea; and thence a gentle
slope of till sinks about 15 feet lower in a half mile east to the McCauley-
ville beach and railway line. In the northwest comer of Dundee, 10 miles

VV,

• o . f"_- —

FiQ. 17.— Profile of the Campbell escarpment in section 6, Dundee. Scale, 100 feet to an inch.

north of Park River, the escarpment falls from 1,045 to 1,015 feet, being
steep for the upper half, which consists of till; then it descends more
slowly a few feet, also in till, with frequent bowlders; and its lower third
is a somewhat steep slope of beach sand and coarse gravel (fig. 17).

From its foot a smoothed surface of till sinks gradually eastward,
havinff an estimated descent of 100 feet within 3 miles. In section 2,
Gardar, the crest of the escarpment, at 1,045 feet, bears a slight ridge of
beach gravel and sand, 2 to 3 feet high above the surface of till on the
west; but the face of the escarpment, here falling 25 feet within 30 rods to
the east, is till inclosing plentiful bowlders of granite and gneiss. A few
miles farther north, at a distance of about 1 mile south of Mountain village,
the steep slope falls from 1,040 to 1,000 feet, and is covered with a beach
deposit of gravel and sand from 1,030 to 1,020 feet, while its higher portion
and a broader belt forming its foot, like the lower land extending eastward,

420 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

are till (fig. 18). At Mountain this shore descends 30 feet, from 1,045 to
1,015 feet, within a distance of about 25 rods. It is wholly till, with
no associated beach formation, as also are the more gentle slopes on
both sides, sinking toward the east and rising westward. During all the
Campbell stages of Lake Agassiz erosion was in progress iipon this long
escarpment; but in some localities the action of the waves in cutting away
and removing the till was temporarily changed, alternating with accumula-
tion of shore deposits of wave-brought gravel and sand.

Erosion of the base of the "first Pembina Mountain" — that is, the front
of the Pembina delta, along a distance of 6 miles to the southeast from
Walhalla — supplied an extraordinarily massive Campbell beach or embank-
ment, varying from a quarter of a mile to nearly 1 mile in width, which
extends 8 or 9 miles in a curving course, convex to the southeast, through
sections 5, 8, 17, 20, 29, and 30, township 161, range 55, and the south half

'W.

Fig. 18.— Profile of the Campbell escarpment 1 mile south of Mountain. Scale, 100 feet to an inch.

of section 25, the southeast quarter of section 26, and the west half of sec-
tion 35, township 161, range 56. This broad belt consists of gravel and
sand, 15 to 40 feet or more in depth, which were cai'ried southward by the
shore currents of Lake Agassiz in its Campbell stages, the greater portion
being transported 6 to 12 or 15 miles. A section crossing this deposit is
shown in fig. 19. The crest or somewhat plateau-like top of the embank-
ment in its course of 6 miles south of the Tongue River has an elevation
of 1,020 to 1,030 feet above the sea. In its narrower part, north of this
river, its crest ranges from 1,028 to 1,033 feet along the first mile from
the river; 1,030 to 1,035 feet along the next mile; and 1,(J35 to 1,045 feet,
averaging 1,040 feet, in its third and most northern mile, passing through
the southwest edge of section 29, township 162, range 55, where it becomes
an ordinary beach ridge only 20 to 30 rods wide, with descent of 15 feet
to the east and 5 feet to the west. The process of accumulation of the

CAMPBELL EMBANKMENT AND BEAOHES. 421

extensive embankment was by transportation of its material along- the shore
that is marked by this beach ridge, and by building- it thence out into the
lake in this long hook bent to the west, which grew gradually in length
and in height until it rose to the lake level, its growth afterward being by
additions to its width. From its eastern verge a slope of the same gravel
and sand falls 30 to 40 feet in a third or half of a mile, to a south-to-north
belt of dunes and sand ridges, 10 to 15 feet high, which appears to repre-
sent the McCauleyville beaches. West of this embankment a basin 15 to
40 feet below it, mostly consisting of fertile wheat land, well drained by the
Tongue River, extends 6 miles from south to north, with a maximum width
of about 3 miles, lying between the embankment and the southeastern bor-
der of the Pembina delta, which was the lake shore during the Norcross
and Tintah stages. The prevailing course of the coastal currents of Lake

97S.

S^Bi^/v>rAi£/i/T o^Saa/o & Fine G/9AveL~

Fia. 19.— Section across the Campbell embankment in sections 20 and 21, township 101, range 55. Horizontal scale,
one-third of a mile to an inch; vertical scale, 100 feet to an inch.

Agassiz, and of the transportation of its beach materid here and elsewhere,
on both its western and eastern sides, was from north to south, as now on
Lake Michigan, due then and now to the prevailing directions of the winds,
and especially of gales in severe storms, when the broader and higher
portions of the beaches were chiefly amassed.

At Walhalla and northwestward the Campbell shore-lines nin alono-
the base of the escarjiment of the Pembina delta, where its steep descent
is succeeded by a more gentle slope. Rev. John Scott's house, a half mile
west of Walhalla, and the houses of H. A. Mayo and John Harvey, respec-
tively about a half mile and 2 miles farther northwest, are on the principal
lower Campbell shore, which in part is a well-developed beach ridge, with
crest 1,030 to 1,035 feet above the sea, but mostly is a terrace eroded in
the delta deposit, falling from 1,040 to 1,020 feet, approximately. In the

422 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

northeast part of section 14, townshij) 163, range 57, about 3 miles north-
west of Walhalla, the upper Campljell shores form such a teiTace, which
falls from 1,075 to 1,035 feet; while a more moderate slope of sand and fine
gravel below, to 1,025 feet at the road running northwest from Walhalla,
jjrobably represents the lower Campbell stage.

Three miles farther northwest and about 1 mile south of the interna-
tional boundary a terrace of gravel and sand in the west part of section
34, township 164, range 57, marks the Campbell levels of the lake. The
front of the terrace rises steeply from 1,015 to 1,035 feet above the sea,
and its top has a further gentle ascent of 10 or 15 feet in its width of about
50 rods to where it abuts on the base of the lowest escarpment of the Pem-
bina Mountain, which rises from 1,050 to 1,100 feet. From the top of this
escarpment a terrace or plateau of till and iinderlpng Cretaceous shale
extends across a width of three-fourths of a mile west to the principal
Pembina escarpment. The upper Campbell level probably passed along
the top of the sand and gravel ten-ace, near the elevation of 1,045 feet; the
second level of the series was near the verge of this terrace, approximately
1,035 feet; and the third and lowest stage coincided with the lowest tliird
of its steep front.

CAMPBELL SHORES IN WESTEEN MANITOBA.

(PLATES XXX-XXXIII.)

Along the course of the Cretaceous terrace, thinly covered with till,
which borders the hase of the Pembina Mountain for at least 25 miles
northward from the international boundary, as described in connection with
the Tintah beaches, the upper Campbell shore-Hne, there having an eleva-
tion of 1,045 to 1,050 feet, coincides generally with the low escarpment
which forms the east margin of this terrace. A portion of the sculpturing
of this escarpment was doubtless done by the waves of the lake; but the
main outlines of the terrace as a bench intermediate between the expanse of
the Red River Valley and the high Pembina escarpment seem clearly attrib-
utable to subaerial erosion before the Ice age. The first locality where I
observed a distinct beach ridge of gravel and sand referable to this stage
is in section 3, township 4, range 6, a half mile west of Nelson, and thence

CAMPBELL BEACHES IN MANITOBA. 423

tlii'oug'h a distance of a mile or more north-northwestward. It lies close
east of the teiTace escai'pment, and has an estimated elevation at its crest
of 1,055 feet. In township 7, range 8, this shore is marked by a conspicu-
ous beach ridge, passing through sections 22, 27, and the east edge of 33,
lying an eighth to a half of a mile west of the Boyne River, with its crest
about 1,055 to 1,060 feet above the sea. The descent from the crest is 10
to 15 feet on the east and 5 to 8 feet on the west. The lake at this stage,
or at a slightly higher level, also cut an escarpment 15 to 20 feet high,
with its top at 1,075 feet, appi'oximately, which passes northwestward across
sections 28 and 29 of this township and northward through the east part
of sections 6 and 7, township 8, crossing the railway about 7 miles east of
Treherne.

The lower Campbell beach, in its course northward from the interna-
tional boundary, lies close east of the terrace face which was the upper
Campbell shore. In sections 2 and 11, township 1, range 5, the elevation
of its crest is 1,036 to 1,040 feet. On the west a nearly level surface
extends an eighth of a mile to the terrace. On the east a slope of beach
gravel and sand sinks to 1,028 feet in about 25 rods; and a similarly
descending surface of till continues to 1,015 feet in the next 25 rods,
beyond which there is a much slower descent eastward. The road on the
line between townships 1 and 2, range 5, crosses this shore about three-
eighths of a mile west of the northeast corner of section 34, township 1,
where it is marked by a typical beach ridge, with its crest at 1,034 feet,
from which there is a descent of 10 feet in 10 rods to the east and 3 or 4
feet in 10 rods to the west. This ridge was seen to hold nearly the same
outline and height through a distance of 1 mile or more to the south and a
half mile north to a small creek. About a half mile west of Morden, where
it has been considerably excavated for plastering sand, it has a nearly flat
top 10 to 20 rods wide, with ascent on this width from 1,030 to 1,040 feet,
approximately, resting on the base of the terrace escarpment. Five to 6
miles farther north the road from Nelson to Miami runs along the top of
this beach through the north half of section 3 and the southwest quarter
of section 10, township 4, range 6. It is there a broad, low ridge of sand
and gravel, 20 to 30 rods wide, the elevation of its crest being about 1,035

424 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

feet, or 10 feet above Nelson. Continuing northward, it crosses the north-
east quarter of section 6, township 5, rang-e 6, a mile west of Miami.

The course of these shore-lines was not traced across the Assiniboine
delta, but their elevation shows that they lie on its eastward slope, where
they are intersected by numerous ravines, and are doubtless obscured in
many places among- its dunes. On the Canadian Pacific Railway profile
three massive beach ridges, the two higher referable to the upper Campl^ell
stage and the third to the lower Campbell stage of the lake, are shown 3
miles to 2J miles west of Austin, their crests being, respectively, 1,087,
1,081, and 1,066 feet above the sea. These beaches are each about 30 rods
wide, with descents of 10 to 20 feet from their crests to their east bases and
half as much to the west.

On the Manitoba and Northwestern Railway the upper Campbell beach
is a very massive rounded ridge, 30 to 50 rods wide, along whose eastern
slope the railway runs about 3 miles, from the south side of section 6,
township 15, range 13, north-northwest to Arden. Before the railway was
built, the old trail from Winnipeg to the Saskatchewan River passed along
the top of this ridge the same distance and to a point about a mile north of
Arden, there leaving- it and turning to the west. This portion of the trail
was a good dry road tlu-oughout the year, being thus remarkably contrasted
with the deep mud along most of its extent during rainy seasons. Because
of this character of the road and the beauty of the smooth beach, which is
prairie, without tree or bush, but is bordered on each side by groves, this
avenue-like tract received its widely known name, the Beautiful Plain. It
is not flat, however, as the name seems to imply, for the crest of the beach
ridge, at Arden, 1,090 feet above the sea, and not varying more than a few
feet above or below this elcA'ation in its course through several miles south
and north, is 15 to 25 feet above the nearly straight margin of the woods
an eighth to a quarter of a mile east, and 7 to 10 feet above the more irreg-
ular margin of bushes and woods on the west, commonly 10 to 30 rods
distant. The bai-rier of this beach ridge was sufficient to turn the White
Mud River southward 3 miles along its west side. Iii a section cut .6 feet
deep close north of Arden, for the passage of the railway and in excavation
of ballast, the material of this beach is mainly fine gravel, with pebbles

BEAUTIFUL PLAIN AND ORANGE RIDGE. 425

only a quarter to a tliird of an inch in diameter, but also includes layers of
sand and coarser gravel, with pebbles up to 2 inches in diameter, of which
about three-fourths are from the Paleozoic formations of magnesian lime-
stone that occupy the country eastward to Lake Winnipeg and northward
to the Saskatchewan.

From Arden this beach extends north-northwest through the northeast
part of township 15 and nearly through the center of township 16, range
14. In the north half of township 16 it has in several places a naiTow,
terrace-like secondary beach on its eastern slope 5 to 10 feet below the
crest of the main beach; and it is closely bordered on the west by a low
escarpment of till which rises 5 to 10 feet above the beach ridge and forms
the margin of a flat or slightly uneven expanse of till that ascends slowly
westward. A post-office situated close west of this beach and escarpment,
in section 32, township 16, is named Orange Ridge, in allusion to the orange-
red lilies (Liliimi pliiladelphicimi L.) which grow in abundance on the sandy
and gravelly soil of the beach. The elevation of the Orange Ridge or
Beautiful Plain beach on the north line of the northeast quarter of section
32, township 16, is approximately 1,080 feet above the sea; and of the
escarpment on the west, which was eroded dviriug the early part of this
upper Campbell stage, 1,090 feet.

The lower Campbell beach is crossed by the railway near the south-
east corner of section 6, township 15, range 13, where the elevation of its
crest is 1,061 feet, with a descent of 8 feet in about 15 rods to the east and
5 feet in a few rods to the west. Through the next 15 miles northward it
lies a half to two-thirds of a mile east of the Beautiful Plain and Orange
Ridge. East of the latter, on the line between townships 16 and 17, range
14, the elevation of its crest is about 1,070 feet, with descent of 15 feet to
the east and 10 feet to the west.

The northward continuations of the Campbell beaches pass through
sections 5 and 8, township 17, range 14, to Thunder Creek, and thence a
few degrees west of north to the Big Grass River, in section 31 of this
township. Thence they traverse sections 6, 7, and 18, in township 18,
range 14, and the northeast part of township 18, range 15, where a swamp

426 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

on the west about 2 miles wide separates them from the base of Ridiug
Mountain.

Mr. TyiTell's observations and map of the beaches of Lake Agassiz
adjacent to the northern part of Riding Mountain and on the eastern and
northern sides of Duck Mountain, as correlated with my mapping from
Lake Traverse to the southern end of Riding Mountain, show the principal
Campbell shore, there probably the upper one, to be marked by a promi-
nent gravel ridge, which Mr. Tyrrell has traced through distances of many
miles.^ The elevation of this beach ridge where it crosses the Ochre River,
on latitude 50° 56', is 1,115 feet above the sea. On the Valley River,
about 30 miles farther northwest, its height is 1,135 feet. Twenty miles
thence northward, on Shanty Creek, this shore has two beach ridges,
respectively 1,180 and 1,190 feet above the sea. The lower one of these
beaches has been followed continuously 15 miles to the north, attain-
ing there an elevation of 1,225 feet. Nearly 20 miles farther north, the
elevation of the Campbell beach at its most northern observed locality,
on latitude 52°, is 1,290 feet, perhaps coiTesponding to its upper ridge on
Shanty Creek.

This well-defined, massive gravel ridge, double in portions of its course,
is doubtless the contini;ation of the similar beach which is called the Beau-
tiful Plain and Orange Ridge, ha^dng at Arden an elevation of 1,090 feet
above the sea. For the distance of about 70 miles north from Arden to
the Ochre and Valley rivers its ascent continues somewhat as froni the
international boundary to Arden, averaging two-thirds of a foot per mile.
But northward from Valley River to Duck River, in a distance of about
55 miles, between latitudes 51° 13' and 52°, this beach rises 146 feet, or
more than 2^ feet per mile. After the Campbell stages of Lake Agassiz,
the southern part of the lacustrine area was only slighth' uplifted; but the
region of Duck Mountain subsequently experienced a greater differential
uplift, increasing in amount from south to north, than that of the earliest
Herman beach farther south, where nearly all of its inclination had taken
place before the Campbell beaches were formed.

'Pages 395 and 406, this chapter. Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Annual Report, new
series, Vol. Ill, for 1887-88, Part E ; 16 pages, with map. Bulletin, G. S. A., Vol. I, 1890, pp. 395-410.
Am. Geologist, Vol. VIII, pp. 19-28, July, 1891.

THE M'CAULEYYILLE BEACHES. 427

BEACHES OF THE M'CAULBYVILLE STAGES.

The channel of the River Warren, outflowing from Lake Agassiz, had
been eroded below the level of Lakes Traverse and Big Stone when the
McCauleyville beaches began to be accumulated. Portions of the bottom
of the river-course are now the beds of these lakes, whose maximum depths
are reported to be respectively about 15 and 30 feet. In the vicinity of
White Rock the bottom of the River Warren, eroded in till, is 965 to 970
feet above the sea. Along the broad tract of marsh, Avith lakelets, between
White Rock and Lake Traverse, the depth of the alluvial swampy deposit
probably ranges from 10 to 15 feet, reaching down to the level of the
deepest part of the bed of Lake Traverse, approximately 955 feet above
the sea. This or a slightly greater depth of the channel continued between
Lakes Traverse and Big- Stone, where alluvium has since been brought in
by the head stream of the Minnesota River to tlie depth of 25 feet or more.
The bed of Big Stone Lake sinks to about 935 feet in its deepest part, and
the alluvium of the Whetstone River, which is spread along the Minnesota
Valley below this lake, has probably a corresponding thickness of at least
30 feet.

The southern portions of the McCauleyville shore-lines of Lake Agassiz
coincide nearly witli the levels of high and low water in Lake Traverse,
which are approximately 976 and 970 feet above the sea. The highest
yearly stage of the glacial lake attended the more rapid melting of the ice-
sheet in summer, while its Avinter stages doubtless fluctuated so low at
times as to reduce the depth of the River Warren to only a few feet. No
appreciable epeirogenic movement of the south part of the lacustrine area
appears to have taken place during the time of formation of the McCauley-
ville beaches; but northward, in Manitoba, the earth's crust was uplifted
15 to 50 feet within this time, as shown by its upper and lower shore-lines.

Along nearly all of their course the Campbell and McCauleyville
shores lie nearly parallel, and are only a few miles or mainly less than 1
mile apart, permitting both to be mapped, with determination of their
heights, from a single line of survey. The latter are 10 to 20 or 30 feet
below the former in their southern portion, but the vertical range of the
two series increases to 70 feet in southwestern Manitoba, while the highest

428 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

McCauleyville lieacli appears to lie 90 feet below the highest Campbell
beach at the northern end of Duck Mountain.

The McCaulej'^nlle shores are seldom marked by an eroded escarpment,
like that which characterizes the principal Camjibell shore through consid-
erable distances. Instead, they are traced by beach deposits, which are
generally well defined and often form a conspicuous ridge, vying in size
with au}' other beach of this lake.

EASTERN m'cAULEYVILLE SHORES IN MINNESOTA.

(PLATES XXIII-XXVI.)

Through a distance of 47 miles, from Lake Traverse north to the
southern edge of Mitchell, a few miles east of McCauleyville, the border
of Lake Agassiz at its lowest level of southward outflow is mapped on Pis.
XXIII and XXIV, the line being drawn on the second of these plates in
accordance with the elevations determined at each quarter-section corner
on east-to-west section lines by the Red River Valley Drainage Commission
of Minnesota in 1886. It is not exactly horizontal, however, but has a
descent from the known level of the lake at White Rock, about 970 feet
above the sea, to the level indicated by the beaches between j\IcCauleyville
and Barnesville, which is approximately 960 feet. Thus there appears to
have been a slight differential northward depression of this area, or else an
increase of the height of the land at Lake Traverse as compared with the
country northward, since Lake Agassiz ceased to outflow to the south.
These changes in relative elevations were opposite to those which were
intermittently in progress tlu'oughout all the explored portion of this glacial
lake during its whole history, giving to the shores their present northward
ascent. But the discordant movement reached no farther north, for beyond
Barnesville these shores on both sides of the lake rise continuously, though
very slowly, from 1 inch to 3 or 4 inches per mile, to the international
boundar}^.

In the southwest part of Mitchell a broad, curved embankment, which
may be called a hook, extends from the south part, of section 21, 2 miles
westward, and then about au equal distance southward, forming a plateau-
like tract a quarter of a mile to nearly 1 mile wide. The narrowed southern

M'GAULEYVILLE BEACHES IN MINNESOTA,

429

end of the hook lies about 3 miles east-northeast of McCauleyville. It
consists of gravel and sand that were borne from northeast to southwest
by the currents and waves of Lake Agassiz and were accumulated in this
broad deposit as a curved cape of its shore, which, on accQunt of the prom-
inence of this earliest portion observed by me, has been named tor the
neighboring pretty village of McCauleyville, on the Red River, opposite to
Fort Abercrombie. The elevation of its top is 960 to 970 feet above the
sea, being 5 to 10 feet or more above the general surface of till on the east,
while westward a flat plain of stratified clay and tine silt, 25 to 35 feet
below this beach, extends 3 miles to the Red River.

Following the McCauleyville shore northeastward 8 miles from the base
of this hook to the Deerhorn Creek, which it crosses about li miles south-
west of Atherton station, it is found to be marked chiefly by considerable

1000

Fig. 20. — Profile across beaches at and near Barneavillo, Minn. Horizontal scale, 2J miles to an inch.

erosion of the till, but not by a well-defined escarpment. At only two
localities, in the southwest corner of section 11, Mitchell, and again in the
southwest part of section 29, Atherton, short and inconspicuous beach ridges
occur, their crests being in each place 965 feet above the sea.

Beyond the Deerhorn Creek the course of this shore is nearly due
north for the next 10 miles, lying mostly about 1 mile west of the Camp-
bell beach. It runs nearly through the middle of section 4, Atherton, where
a small beach deposit has been dug for masons' sand; and in Barnesville it
passes 2 miles west of the town. Fig. 20 shows a profile crossing the east-
ern border of Lake Agassiz from west to east tlu-ough Barnesville. In the
southwest part of section 2, Barnesville, it forms a rather broad gravel and
sand ridge, rising to 966 feet above the sea, with springy and boggy ground
about 10 feet lower on each side.

430 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

One to 4 miles farther uorth, iu sections 34, 27, 22, 21, and 16, Elkton,
two McCauleyville beach ridges are distinctly developed, extending north-
northwesterly close alongside of the railway that runs from Barnesville to
Glyndon. The .upper beach has an elevation at its crest of 970 to 976
feet above the sea. It lies about an eighth of a mile east of the railway
and was seen to be continuous at least 3 miles, attaining its most massive
development and maximum height near Downer station, where its gravel,
8 to 10 feet in depth, has been largely excavated for railway ballast. The
lower beach is smaller, and in part consists of a belt of sand and gravel,
lying on the westwardly descending slope of till, without forming a definite
ridge, while other parts are ridged up 1 to 2 feet above the east margin of
the belt. Its gravel contains pebbles and cobbles up to 3 inches in diameter,
and the depth of this deposit ranges from 3 to 5 feet. The elevation of its
top is 964 to 966 feet, and its western base at 960 feet marks approximately
the lake level when this second beach was formed, probably 8 or 10 feet
lower than at the time of the higher beach.

About a mile north of Downer these shore-lines turn to a nearly due-
north course, leaving this line of the Great Northern Railway. On the
Northern Pacific Railroad they are united in a beach ridge that is crossed
5 miles east of Glyndon, having a width of about 20 rods, with descent of
3 feet to the east and 10 feet to the west from its crest, which is 983 feet
above the sea. Thence tln-ough a distance of about 20 miles to the north
the McCauleyville shore is not exactly traced, but is known to he close
west of the higher shore-lines, because the border of the lacustrine area
rises steeply eastward.

In Rockwell and Lake Ida townships a well-marked McCauleyville
beach ridge of gravel and sand, with till on each side, was traced several
miles, lying about a half mile west of the Campbell escarpment and beach.
Where it is crossed by the road on the north line of the northwest quarter
of section 26, Lake Ida, its width is about 30 rods, and its east and west
slopes fall respectively about 5 and 15 feet, its crest being 10 to 15 feet
lower than that of the similarly massive Campbell ridge, which is a half
mile distant to the east. The elevations of these ridges were not ascertained
by leveling, but are probably about 985 and 1,000 feet above the sea.

M'CAULEYVILLE BEACHES IN MINNESOTA. 431

My next observations of the McCauleyville beach are 10 to 15 miles
farther north, iu the townshij^s of Spring Creek and Liberty. A large
gravel and sand ridge, situated about two-thirds of a mile west of the
Campbell escarpment, runs from south to north along the east edges of
sections 9 and 4, Spring Creek, and sections 33 and 28, Liberty, to the
Sand Hill River. Mr. Jacob Stambaugh's house is built on the top of this
beach, in the northeast corner of section 33 ; and two aboriginal mounds,
each about 3 feet high, were noted on the same ridge, one close north and
the other a third of a mile south of this house, but no other Indian mounds
are known in the vicinity.

The following notes of elevations describe a section (fig. 21) drawn
from east to west, at Mr. Stambaugh's, across the Campbell and McCauley-
ville shore-lines. From the crest of the Campbell escai-pment of till, 1,010
feet above the sea, there is a descent westward to a hollow of till a third

c

Zcimp6e/I Escarpment El.

AfPCsu/eyv/Z/e Besc/res

s^l^B

lOOO

V*' -,— ~— *--^^ •:^-5ESr->^ —

r-oi~:-f .^"i^Tlr. -• i^ » ^-_- r'- -^o ^T^.sl-L^T'Ai-'

.950

Fig. 21 Section of the Campbell and McCauleyville beaches in sections 33 and 34, Liberty, Minn. Horizontal scale

one-fourth mile to an inch.

of a mile wide, extending from south to north, at 980 to 975 feet; and
west of this the McCauleyville beach ridge rises to 990 feet, holding tliis
elevation, within 1 or 2 feet of variation above or below it, for a dis-
tance of at least 2 miles. Next westward the beach falls about 15 feet
within 20 rods, and bears on its western border a secondary beach ridge,
which in its most definite portions rises 4 or 5 feet from the east and falls
about 10 feet on the west. The western base of this lower beach ridge is
970 feet above the sea, which represents very nearly the latest McCauley-
ville stage of Lake Agassiz, probably 10 to 12 feet below its earlier stage,
when the higher principal beach was accumulated.

For nearly 25 miles between the Sand Hill and Red Lake rivers the
McCauleyville shore has not been traced on the ground, but it is mapped
approximately on PI. XXVI, and is so shown by fig. 22, in accordance
with the known westward descent of the surface. It lies mostly about a

432 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ,

half mile west of the Campbell shore, but iu the viciuity of the Red Lake
River and for 10 miles northward their distance apart is 2 to 3 miles.

The Duluth and Manitoba Railroad crosses two McCauleyville beach
ridges, and runs a considerable distance on the eastern one, between three-
fourths of a mile and 2 miles west of the Black River. Then- crests are
about 995 feet and 990 feet above the sea. A quarter to a half of a mile
farther north the St. Hilaire Branch of the Great Northern Railway crosses
these gravel ridges, Ives station being on the course of the western ridge,
into which the railway cuts to the depth of a few feet. The crest of this
beach, which was followed by the old Pembina trail, is at 990 feet; and
that of the eastern beach, a third of a mile distant, is at 997 feet. Within
a mile or two farther north the profile of leveling by Mr. E. C. Davis

■1100

loeo

1900

Fio. 22.— Profile across beaches on the north line of Onstead and Godfrey, Minn., west of Maple Lake. Horizontal
scale, 2^ miles to an inch.

(p. 400) shows the McCauleyville beach at 996 feet. In this vicinity and
along the next 15 miles northward this beach is a conspicuous gravel
and sand ridge, mostly 20 to 30 rods wide, with slopes descending 5
feet or more to the east and 10 or 15 feet to the west. Throughout tliis
distance it afforded an excellent roadway for the Pembina trail, on which
during many years, until about 1870, long processions of Red River
carts, drawn by oxen, traveled from St. Paul and St. Cloud to Fort GaiTy
(now "Winnipeg), carrying provisions and supplies for the Hudsons Bay
Company, and returned laden with buffalo skins and furs.

Near the north hue of section 20, Numedal, the McCauleyville beach
ceases for the next few miles as a distinct ridge, and the Pembina trail
thence passes to the Campbell beaches, on which it rims through Viking,

EASTERN M'CAULETVILLE SHOEES. 433

the next township on the north. From the ford of the Snake River in the
northwest corner of Viking the trail deviates tlu-ee-fourths of a mile to
the. west, again taking its way along the crest of the McCauleyville ridge,
which is finely developed through the next 18 miles, to the north part of
Nelson Park Township. The farther course of this beach, however, was
not followed, as it extends into the borders of a more wooded or bushy and
swampy country.

The beach is intersected by the Middle and Tamarack rivers, respec-
tively, in the southern and northern edges of township 157, range 46,
Wright. Tlu'ough the south half of Nelson Park, lying next north, the
conspicuous beach ridge, rising 5 to 10 or 15 feet above the originally
unchanneled surface on the east, was a sufficient barrier to turn the Tama-
rack River from its normal westward course to one a little east of south
for 3 miles before it cut through the ridge. At the center of the township
of Nelson Park, where this river first comes to the beach from the east, the
Pembina trail departs from it to the northwest. In its extent of 25 miles
thence to Hallock, descending about 200 feet, this trail crosses several shore-
lines of Lake Agassiz which elsewhere in certain portions of their course
are very clearly defined; but no distinct beach ridge or eroded escarpment
was seen on the trail or on either side, although the surface is mostly a
gentle and regular slope of till, affording apparently very favorable condi-
tions for the formation of shore marks.

Beyond Nelson Park the general com'se of the McCauleyville shore
across Kittson County is to the north and north-northwest. It appears to
be represented on the north line of Minnesota, according to the profile of
the British Boundary Commission (p. 401), by a massive beach ridge with
crest 1,016 feet above the sea and 20 feet above the land on each side,
lying 20 miles east of the Red River. Within a short distance farther
north, in Manitoba, this shore probably turns east-southeastward for a
dozen miles or more, to cross the Roseau River near Pointe d'Orme (Elm
Point), on the international boundary. Thence it passes northward and
northeastward tlu-ough the wooded region of southeastern Manitoba to the
vicinity of Rennie station, on the Canadian Pacific Railway, and to the
Winnipeg River, which it crosses not far above the mouth of the English
River.

MON XXV 28

434 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

WESTERN m'cAULEYVILLE SHORES IN NORTH DAKOTA.

(PLATES XXVII-XXX.)

My most southern observations of the McCauleyville shore-hnes in
North Dakota are on the latitude of Wahpeton and northward, along the
eastern border of the Sheyenne delta. Two levels of Lake Agassiz are
indicated by the beaches and escarpments of these shores, the upper being
now about 970 feet and the lower about 960 feet above the sea. A beach
ridge formed by the lake at the upper level is crossed by the Northern
Pacific, Fergus Falls and Black Hills Railroad, about a third of a mile
west of Mooreton. Its width is about 30 rods, and the elevation of its crest
is 974 feet, with descents of 8 feet to the east and 3 feet to the west. This
shore continues north and northwest more than 30 miles along the base of
the frontal steep slope of the Sheyenne delta, the erosion of which was
completed by the lake waves during this stage. With the Campbell shores,
which also run along this border of the delta plateau, it passes 1 to 2 miles
west and southwest of Barrett, Colfax, Walcott, and Kindi-ed, and about 1 J
miles north of Leonard.

Sand and fine silt of the Sheyenne delta, however, extend to a distance
of several miles east of this plateau, partly as spread originally in the deep
central portion of the lake during the Herman stages, Avlien the delta was
formed, and partly as redeposited from the erosion of the delta front during
the later and lower stages. On this nearly flat tract of silt, at a distance
of IJ to 2 miles from the plateau front, the lower McCauleyville shore is
marked by a beach ridge, which through most of its observed extent of
about 15 miles has become a narrow belt of dunes, occupying a width
of 20 to 50 rods and rising 5 to 15 feet above the general level. This
belt, running from south to north, is crossed by the railway 2 J miles south
of Colfax, Thence it gradually curves northwestward, passing about a
half mile east of Colfax and Walcott, and is again crossed by the railway
3 miles northwest of Walcott. The land on each side of the beach and its
dunes has an elevation of 955 to 960 feet, which represents approximately
the former water surface.

As on the opposite portion of the east side of the lake, this latest shore-
line, formed during the time of southward outflow, now lies about 10 feet

M'CAULEYVILLE SHORES IN NORTH DAKOTA.

435

lower here than the present height of the Bois des Sionx Valley at White
Rock, which then was the mouth of Lake Agassiz. The northward depres-
sion of the intervening area or its southward uplift, inharmonious with the
epeirogenic movements of all other explored parts of the lake basin, was

30<»

/OO0-—.<^..^

Fig. 23. — Profile acruaa beachea at and uear Wheatland, N. Dak. Horizontal scaly, 2J milya to au inch.

about 3 inches per mile along its extent of 40 miles, taking place after the
flow of the River Warren ceased.

Northward from the Sheyenne delta, the McCauleyville shore tlii'ough
the next 30 miles lies within a mile, or mostly a half mile or less, to the
east of the Campbell shore, both passing close east of Wheatland and
Artluu'. Fig. 23 presents a profile crossing the western beaches of Lake
Agassiz on the Northern Pacific Railroad in the vicinity of Wheatland and
westward. About 2 miles south of Arthur these two shore-lines, each there
marked by a beach ridge, are only an eighth to a quarter of a mile apart.

f

■ •..-■ -,ci-.-»j;.

900

^.■1 ILL ;.- •.•■■----■.V-; ■-.-.:,■ ci-' •• ??^^^=^rr3^

Tig. 24.— Profile across beaches at Hunter, N. Dak., and westward. Horizontal scale, 2^ miles to an inch.

The crest of the lower ridge, which probably belongs to the upper McCau-
leyville stage, is 983 to 987 feet above the sea. Eight miles north of this
locality, the McCauleyville shore at Hunter is a low, eroded escarpment of
till, which falls from 980 to 965 feet, passing in a north-northwesterly

436 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

course a quarter of a mile east of the railway station and about 1 mile east
of the similarly eroded Campbell shore. Fig. 24 shows the westward
ascent of the border of the lacustrine area in the vicinity of Hunter.
Thence these shore-lines extend 15 miles north-northwest and 6 miles north
to Mayville and Portland, holding a distance of about 1 mile to 1^ miles
apart.

The upper McCauleyville shore, approximately 980 feet above the sea,
passes about a mile west and northwest of Mayville, but is not definitely
marked on the almost level surface of lacustrine silt. For 12 or 15 miles
in this part of its course, from 6 miles south to an equal distance northeast
of Mayville, the lower McCauleyville shore, on account of the very slow
descent of the land, lies probably 2 or 3 miles farther east, but it too is
only dimly traceable.

/co<y

9ee'

FiQ. 25. — Profile across beacUea iu the vicinity of Arvilla aud Lariuiore. N. Dak. Horizontal scale, 2J miles to an inch.

Continuing northward to the vicinity of Arvilla, the upper and lower
shore-lines converge, and on the Great Northei'n Railway, as shown on fig.
25, they together form a massive beach ridge, about 50 rods wide, with its
crest 991 feet above the sea, from which its slopes descend 18 feet to the
east and 8 feet to the west. This ridge lies a mile east of Arvilla, being
about a third of a mile east of the still more conspicuous Campbell beach.

Beyond Aiwilla the upper and principal McCauleyville shore is almost
continuously marked by a fine beach ridge of gravel and sand, 5 to 10 feet
above the adjoining surface of till on the west and east, thi-ough an extent
of more than 30 miles to Park River. In section 14, Hegton, 4 to 5 miles
north of Arvilla, the crest of this ridge is 995 feet above the sea, and other
determinations of its height in sections 27 and 16 of the next township on

M'CAULEYVILLB SHORES IF NORTH DAKOTA.

437

the north were 990 to 995 feet. In the southwest part of Strabane, passing
about a mile east of Inkster (fig. 26), its elevation is mostly 995 to 998
feet, rising 5 to 8 feet above the depression, a sixth of a mile wide, in the
surface of till on its west or landward side, while its lakeward slope falls
10 to 15 feet.

I

IZOO

I

The ffia/ge'an /s/and of lo
A^orainic Ti'/I 5

■s.

f

so<^

Fig. 2C Protile across beaches at Inkster, N. Dak., and (westward. Horizontal scale, 24 miles to an inch.

One and a half miles north of Inkster the upper McCauleyville beach
is crossed by the Langdon Branch of the Great Northern Railway close
south of its bridge over the Forest River. Its crest here is 996 feet above
the sea, with descents of 8 feet eastward and 5 feet westward. Thence it
runs close along the west side of the railway for a distance of about 8
miles, passing an eighth of a mile west of Conway station. Onward for

I

t:

1
S x;

W.

"r/ieA4e>unfaj/7s;'/s/an</^ g
ofAlot-ainic T/// vj 8

I

soo

Fig. 27 — Profile across be.iclies at Park River, N. Pak., and westward. Horizontal scale, 2i miles to an inch.

the next 8 miles to Park River (fig. 27), the railway is built on the top of the
beach ridge, which has an elevation of 996 to 998 feet. Thence along
the distance of about 25 miles to the Pembina delta, this shore, probably
marked throughout by a deposit of gravel and sand, lies about a half mile
east of the Campbell escarpment.

438 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

A belt of low dunes in sections 28, 21, and 16, township 161, range
65, running along the eastern base of the great Campbell embankment
that was built out to the soxith from the front of the Pembina delta, prob-
ably records the McCauleyville stages,' approximately at 1,000 to 980 feet.
North of the Tongue River the McCauleyville shores lie a third to a half
of a mile east of the Campbell embankment and beach ridge along a dis-
tance of 5 miles. Thence through the next 6 miles, extending northwest
to the Pembina River and Walhalla, they run along the base of the "first
Pembina Mountain," which is the very steep ascent, 100 to 175 feet high,
of the eroded east border of the Pembina delta plateau.

The road from Olga to Walhalla, coming down from this plateau about
a mile southeast of the Pembina River, crosses at its foot a teiTace of sand
and gravel, 30 to 50 rods wide, having an elevation of 1,000 to 1,004 feet
above the sea, which was formed during the upjjer McCaulej^ville stage.
The highest part of the terrace is where it rests against the "mountain,"
and its surface descends a few feet to its northeastei'u verge. There is
next a somewhat rapid slope to 985 feet at the bottom of a depression
about 15 rods wide, beyond which the road passes over the beautifully
developed lower McCauleyville beach. This ridge is 20 to 30 rods wide,
with smoothly rounded top at 990 to 993 feet, very level along a visible
distance of a third of a mile or more of its course from southeast to north-
west, but hidden farther away by trees and bushes scattered here and there
on its otherwise prairie surface. Its lake ward northeastern slope falls
about 20 feet within 25 rods, and from its base a slower descent continues
eastward.

All the land of this vicinity, including the plateau and front of the
delta, the terrace and beach ridge, the intervening hollow, and the flat
country on the east, consists of gravel, sand, and fine silt, belonging to the
delta as it was originally deposited, or as it has been worked over by
the lake waves during later stages. Indeed, proceeding eastward 30 miles
to the Red River at Pembina, St. Vincent, and Emerson, one crosses only
the fine silt which was of like origin with the delta, but was carried farther
into the lake, or the similar alluvial beds that have been laid down from
floods of the Pembina, Tongue, and Red rivers since Lake Agassiz was
di-ained away.

WESTERN M'OAULEYVILLE SHORES.

439

Between Walhalla and the international boundary the McCauleyville
shore-lines lie on the western margin of the flat expanse that stretches from
the Red River to the Pembina Mountain, being a quarter of a mile to 1
mile east of the first conspicuous westward ascent, as shown in fig. 28. In
section 2, township 163, range 57, about 2 miles south of the boundary,
they forin a tract of sand and fine gravel, 40 to 50 rods wide, drier than the
adjoining surface on the west and east, passing by Elm Point, the eastern
limit of the groves, at that place consisting mostly of large white elms,
which extend outward from the wooded Pembina escarpment along springy
water courses scarcely depressed below the general surface. The elevation
of this gravelly tract is 997 to 1,002 feet. It is not a distinct ridge or even
swell, and is recognizable chiefly by the contrast of its comparative dryness,

Pembina Mounfain
'merrt

SocA-

Fig. 28. — Section ou the international boundary, south of rangea G and 5, Manitoba. Horizontal ac.ole, 2^ miles to an inch.

which has caused it to be selected as the site of farmhouses. The adjoin-
ing moist and springy land on the east descends 15 or 20 feet in the first
third of a mile ; but thence the surface sinks very slowly to the axial lowest
part of the lake basin on this latitude, at the Red River, its gradients in
this distance being gradually diminished from 15 feet to only 2 or 3 feet
per mile.

WESTERN M CAULEYVILLE SHORES IN MANITOBA.

(PLATES XXX-XXXIIl.)

In the southwest quarter of section 12, townsliip 1, range 5, the upper
McCauleyville shore is indicated by very scanty deposits of fine gravel,
1,006 to 1,007 feet above the sea, from which there is a descent of 3 or 4
feet in 20 rods east. Tlii-ough the east half of section 23, the middle of

440 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

section 26, and the west half of section 35 of this township, two McCau-
leyville beaches are developed as small parallel ridges of gravel and sand.
The upper one has an elevation of 1,000 to 1,002 feet at its crest, from
which there is a descent of 1 to 2 feet within 2 or 3 rods to the west and 5
to 8 feet in 10 or 12 rods to the east. Thence a nearly level surface of till
with frequent bowlders occupies a width of 10 or 12 rods, and is succeeded
on the east by the second ridge, the western slope of which rises 2 or 3 feet
to its crest. This is about 5 feet lower than the upper beach, and has a
similar descent of 5 feet or more on its east side.

Fig. 29 presents a section crossing the McCauley%'ille and higher
beaches on the latitude of Mountain City, where the Pembina Mountain
ascends less steeply than throughout the greater part of its extent.

w.

i5oot~C'^rnl>ina Mounf-a.in

Fig. 29. — Section across ranges 6 and 5, Mauitoba, 9 to 10 miles north of the international boundary. Horizontal scale,
2J miles to an inch.

About a quarter of a mile east of Nelson the upper McCauleyville
shore is a line of erosion with a descent of 5 to 10 feet within a short
distance from west to east. Four miles thence to the north-northwest it is
a well-defined beach ridge running close to the bridge over Boyds Creek,
near the northeast corner of section 21, township 4, range 6; and it con-
tinues, but is less conspicuous, through the next 3 miles northward to the
church in the northeast corner of section 5, township? 5, range 6, a quarter
of a mile east of Miami post-office. Its crest at Boyds Creek is 8 to
10 feet, and at Miami 5 feet, above the more massive second or middle
McCauleyville beach, which lies a quarter to a half of a mile farther east,
passing north-northwesterly through the west edge of section 27, and the
east half of section 33, township 4, in which latter it is offset nearly a

M'CAULEYVILLE SHOEES IN MANITOBA.

441

quarter of a mile to the east, and tlirough the middle of section 4 and the
west half of section 9, township 5.

Three McCauleyville beach ridges are crossed by the Manitoba and
Northwestern Railway on the north side of sections 32 and 33, township
14, range 13, about 4, 4^, and 5 miles southeast of Arden, the elevations
of their crests being respectively 1,039, 1,029, and 1,016 feet above the
sea. Each of these rises about 5 feet above the surface on the east. They
continue as prominent gravel ridges north-northwestward through the west
half of township 15 and the southwest part of township Ifi, range 13, and
through the northeast part of township 16, the east half of township 17,
and the west half of township 18, range 14, to the vicinity of PhilHps's
ranch. The relationship of the Campbell, McCauleyville, and lower beaches
near Arden and eastward is shown in fig. 30.

5-8

FlH. 30.— Section on the south side of townships 15, ranges 13 and 12, Manitoba, between Arden and Clailstone. Hori
zontal scale, 2^ miles to an inch.

In township 15, range 13, next east of Arden, the most western and
upper one of the McCauleyville beaches is called Lowdons Ridge, from
Thomas Lowdon, whose house, the first built on it, is in the middle of the
east edge of section 30. The middle beach appears to be twofold in sec-
tions 20 and 29, Joshua Ritchie's house being built on one of its ridges and
the Rose schoolhouse, a quarter of a mile farther east, on the other. About
three-quarters of a mile east of the Rose Ridge is the lower McCauleyville
beach, on which the trail to Lake Dauphin runs northward through town-
ships 15 and 16. Lewis McGhie's house is built on the eastern slope of
this beach, in the northeast quarter of section 28, township 15. Lowdon's,
Ritchie's, and McGhie's wells, and others in this township on these beach
ridges, pass thi-ough gravel and sand 5 to 15 feet and through till below to

442 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

total depths of 30 to 40 feet, obtaining water in gravelly seams, from which
it usually rises 10 to 20 feet within a few hours, to its permanent level.

East and north of Duck Mountain beaches of the McCauleyville stages
are shown as follows by Mr. Tyrrell's map, according to my correlation with
these shores southward in Manitoba and North Dakota:

On the Vermilion River, which flows from the northeastern flank of
Riding Mountain to Lake Dauphin, the beach ridges of two of these stages
are mapped, the elevation of the lower one being noted as 1,068 feet above
the sea. Twelve miles to the northwest their elevations are 1,084 and
1,075 feet, at the north side of the Valley River, which flows from the gap
between the Riding and Duck mountains. Both these beaches are probably
represented by the upper shore-line farther south.

The higher beach was followed by Mr. Tyi-rell 20 miles thence north
to the Shanty Creek, but without further notation of its height. About 20
miles farther north, near the south side of Pine River, it is found at 1,175
feet. Fifteen miles onward, at latitude 52°, close south of Duck River,
the upper McCauleyville beach is 1,201 feet above the sea, having thus an
ascent of 117 feet in its course of 55 miles from the Valley River. Three
miles beyond the Duck River where it turns sharply westward, adjacent to
the base of the northeastern angle of Duck Mountain, its height is 1,198
feet. After a course of a few miles to the west the beach ridge of tliis
shore, or the foot of its eroded escarpment, was followed along the next 15
miles west-southwesterly, at the base of the steep mountain slope, by the
original location survey for the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Cur^-ing thence again to the north, this upper McCauleyville shore-
line, where it crosses the Swan River, about 30 miles west of its crossing
of the Duck River, is marked by a prominent gravel ridge or embankment
known as the "Square Plain," 1,160 feet above the sea. It is thus shown
that the former lake level has now an ascent here of a little more than a
foot per mile from west to east, or about half of its rate of ascent from
south to north in this district. The direction of the differential uplift, as in
the southern part of the lake area, was from south-soiithwest to north-
northeast, toward the region on which the ice-sheet had been thickest and
where it lingered latest as the barrier of Lake Agassiz.

CHAPTEE VIIL

BEACHES FORMED WHEN LAKE AGASSIZ OUTFLOWED

NORTHEASTWARD.

Fourteen shore-lines of Lake Agassiz have been traced, with determi-
nation of their heights, through portions of their extent, which he Ijelow
the McCauleyville beaches and were formed after the lake ceased to outflow
southward. The River Warren, no longer receiving the drainage from the
melting ice-sheet and from the rainfall of the vast basin of Lake Agassiz,
was suddenly reduced, when the lake obtained a lower northeastern outlet,
to the much smaller Minnesota River; and the alluvium of this stream
formed a watershed between Lakes Traverse and Big Stone, partially filling
the former channel of outflow from the glacial lake. Chapter V has already
considered the courses of the successive new avenues of outflow to the
northeast, probably at first flowing back southward along the border of
the retreating ice-sheet, and thus passing through the great Laurentian
lakes to the Mississippi, and later to the Hudson. Tliough the courses of
the northeastward outlets remain unexplored, the beaches marking the
stages of Lake Agassiz while tributary to them are found to be separated
only by vertical intervals varying- from 10 or 15 to 45 feet through all the
time of its reduction from the level of Lake Traverse and the McCauley-
ville beaches to Lake Winnipeg. On the latitude of the south end of Lake
Winnipeg the fall of the surface of the glacial lake during this time was
about 280 feet. Lake Winnipeg having stood at first above its present
height and having been since lowered 20 feet by the erosion of the Nelson
River.

The tlu-ee highest shore-lines on the area from which the lake receded
during its northeastward drainage are named the Blanchard beaches, and
the next five in descending order the Hillsboro, the two Emerado, and the
two Ojata beaches, from towns on or near their course in North Dakota.

443

444 . THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

The remaining six, enumerated in the same order, are designated, from
places of tlieir typical development in Manitoba, as the Gladstone, Burnside,
Ossowa, Stonewall, and two Niverville beaches. Like the shores marking
the higher stages of the lake while flowing southward, these beaches are
found to have a northward ascent, due to the differential uplifting of the
earth's crust. The gradual decrease of their ascent from a considerable
amount along the earlier and higher shore-lines to very little along the
latest and lowest shows that the northward uplifting was in progress while
the ice barrier was receding. It had been nearly completed before the
glacial recession uncovered the area traversed by the Nelson, changing
Lake Agassiz to Lake Winnipeg.

Beyond the limit of my survey, which was extended into Manitoba to
Gladstone and Orange Ridge and to the south ends of Lakes Manitoba and
Winnipeg, very interesting observations of the beaches east and northeast
of Riding and Duck mountains are supplied by Mr. J. B. Tyrrell in his
exploration of that district for the Canadian Geological Surve}^^ It is there
found that the earlier shore-lines of the series formed duiinff the northeast-
ern outflow were uplifted about a foot per mile from south to north for 150
miles northward from the latitude of Gladstone, and that this rate dimin-
ishes in the successively lower beaches. According to my correlation of
Mr. Tyrrell's observations with my own in southern Manitoba and south-
ward, the last shore-line known to have been formed by Lake Agassiz is
about 60 feet above the south end of Lake Winnipeg and 80 feet above its
north end, having thus a northward ascent of only 20 feet in a distance of
about 275 miles from south-southeast to north-noi-thwest. Here, too, as in
the earlier uplifting of the large region on the sovith, the upward movement
of the earth's crust was interrupted by stages of repose or of only very
slow progress, affording time for the accumulation of beach gravel and
sand; and these recognized shore marks are most numerous northward,
where the extent of the uplift was greatest. The Emerado beach thus
seems to be represented in Mr. Tyrrell's observations by two beaches on

'Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Cauada, Annual Report, new series, Vol. Ill, for 1887-88, Part E,
16 pages, with map. Bulletin, G. S. A., Vol. I, 1890, pp. 395-410. Am. Geologist, Vol. VIII, pp. 19-28,
July, 1891.

BEACHES WITH NORTHEASTWARD OUTFLOW. 445

Kettle Hill, near the south side of Swan Lake, separated by a vertical
interval of 20 feet; and the Niverville beach is subdivided into three at the
Grand Rapids of the Saskatchewan. Instead of the eleven or twelve shore-
lines observed by me in the United States and in southern Manitoba,
belonging to the time of northeastward outflow, Mr. Tyrrell therefore has
at least fourteen upon the country 150 to 200 miles farther north.

From the following detailed descriptions of the beach deposits of these
lower shores it will be seen that their magnitude and the distinctness of
their development are very similar to those of the earlier and higher shores
foimed during the stages of southern outflow. It should be noted, how-
ever, tliat on account of the favorable surtace of the lake bed in North
Dakota, consisting in large part of gently sloping till, they are more gener-
ally traceable there than on the Minnesota side of the Red River Valley,
where some extensive tracts, having mostly a surface of silt with smaller
areas of till, were traversed and cursorily examined without detecting dis-
tinct shore-lines. If they should be more thoroughly searched for on these
tracts, with leveling along their known height, as shown by their nearest
beaches observed elsewhere, doubtless some evidences of shore erosion or
deposition would be found almost continuous, though their character and
significance might not be otherwise recognizable with certainty; but it has
been impracticable to give the time for field work that would be required to
survey and map in this manner the exact course of these shores through
their whole extent. It is believed that the portions which have been
mapped with leveling, shown mostly on Pis. XXIII to XXXIII, inserted
in Chapter VI, are sufficient to show reliably the successive stages in the
concurrent uplifting of the land and subsidence of the lake.

BEACHES OF THE BLANCHARD STAGES.

Three successive levels of Lake Agassiz, or pauses in the crustal uplift
while the lake shore passed near Blanchard, N. Dak., seem to be indicated
by sand and gravel deposits which are crossed by the Duluth and Manitoba
Railroad 5 to 7 miles southeast of Euclid, Minn., and by the Manitoba and
Northwestern Railway near Midway station, Manitoba. The lowest of
these, however, has most definitely the form of a beach ridge, and the

446 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

stage of the lake to which it belongs, mapped on PL XXXV, is the only
one of the three which is generally marked plainly by a shore-line in
Minnesota and North Dakota.

With the description of the Blanchard beaches in Minnesota, closely
associated portions of the next lower or Hillsboro beach are also described
near Glyndon and frora 5 to 15 miles north of Crookston.

The principal and lowest Blanchard shore, having a height of about
925 feet, crosses the Red River close to Wolverton station, on the Great
Northern Railway, almost exactly halfway between Wahpeton and Moor-
head. Passing northward into Clay County, this shore is marked by a belt
of gravel and sand thinly spread upon a broad, gently rising swell of till
which is known as Pleasant Ridge, traceable in a nearly due-north course
about 15 miles through the west parts of Alliance, Elmwood, and Glyndon
townships. The South Branch of the Buffalo River flows nearly parallel
with it, at a distance of a half mile to 1 mile farther east. Shore currents,
carrying southward much of the gravel and sand derived from the shallow
wave erosion of the till along the northern part of the ridge, deposited it
in a rounded and partly almost flat tract a half mile to tlu-ee-fourths of
a mile wide in the northwest part of Alliance, having a height of 925 to
935 feet above the sea. Through Elmwood and Glyndon the beach depos-
its are narrow and scanty, lying on the western slope of Pleasant Ridge
and along its crest. At Sabin they are bounded on the west by a typical
beach slope, with its top at 930 feet, from which there is a descent of about
10 feet westward within 40 or 50 rods. In Glyndon the crest of the ridge
is in part a sand and gravel beach, extending north tln-ough the centers of
sections 32, 29, 20, and 17, declining slowly in height from 927 feet at the
south to 922 feet at the north. Where the continuation of this line crosses
the Northern Pacific Railroad the surface was a few feet below the Blanch-
ard level of Lake Agassiz, and no beach was accumulated.

A few miles south of this railroad a scanty lower beach deposit was
noted in sections 30 and 19, Glyndon, tln-ee-fourths of a mile west of the
preceding, with its crest at 919 to 921 feet. This represents the Hillsboro
stage of the lake, and, indeed, the formation of the main beach in tliis
township, as just described, seems referable to the time of recession of the
lake betyy^een the lower Blanchard and Hillsboro stages.

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.

MONOGRAPH XXV. PL. XXXV.

.tUnuS BiCN SCON

MAi' OF THK S0UTHF:RN POHTION OF LAKK AGASSIZ, SHOWING ITS EXTKN'I' IN THE

LOWEH ULANCHARD STAGK.

Scide, about 42 iiiilrs lo aiiiiicli.

V

BLANCHAED BEACHES IN MINNESOTA. 447

From Glyudou to the vicinity of Crookston the Blanchard shore is
mapped approximately in accordance with the known elevations and slope
of the land, but its beaches have not been examined.

About 5 miles northeast of Crookston, in the southern edge of section
3 and of the southwest quarter of section 2 in this township, a portion of
the Hillsboro shore-line extending a mile from east to west bears a well-
defined, rather wide beach ridge, which rises 5 to 15 feet above the adjoining
surface of till, with crest mostly 936 to 940 feet above the sea. S. M.
McKee's house is built on an exceptionally high part of this beach, at the
elevation of 944 feet, the thickness of its sand and gravel there being 20 feet.

One and a half miles northeast from this beach deposit the lowest
Blanchard shore in Parnell, the next township northward, bears a scarcely
higher beach ridge of gravel and sand, which rises 5 to 10 feet above the
adjacent till and extends northwestward across section 35, having an
elevation at its crest of 935 to 940 feet. Thence the Blanchard shore runs
due north or a few degrees west of north through Parnell and the next two
townships. It is marked along the greater part of this distance of 18 miles
by a definite beach ridge which varies in height from 938 to 946 feet. A
half mile to a quarter of a mile west from this beach a lower and smaller
gravel and sand ridge on the northward continuation of the Hillsboro shore,
with crest at 930 to 932 feet, was observed along a distance of abovit 4
miles, passing nearly through the center of section 4, Parnell, and sections
33, 28, and 21, Belgium.

The profile of the Duluth and Manitoba Railroad on the south line of
sections 35 and 34, Belgium, shows beach ridges of three Blanchard stages,
with then- crests at 962 feet, 954 feet, and 946 feet, in their order from east
to west. Again, about 8 miles farther north two or three small beach
ridges of gravel and sand, lying on the surface of till and separated by
successive intervals of about a mile, were noted between the lower Blanch-
ard and McCauleyville beaches. The Blanchard shore-lines on the east
side of Lake Agassiz have not been traced farther northward, but they are
known to lie close west of the McCauleyville shore in its north-northwest-
ward course across Marshall and Kittson counties, Miim., to the international
boundary.

448 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

lu Nortli Dakota the lowest Blancliard shore runs northwestward from
the Red River for its first 35 miles, passing close west of Davenport and
close east of Everest and Casselton, but it is not easily traceable across this
area of lacustrine silt associated with the Sheyenne delta. Next it extends
north about 40 miles, running- a few miles east of Amenia, Arthur, and
Hunter, and about 1^ miles east of Greenfield and Blanchard. The height
of this shore in the distance of 75 miles from the Red River to Blanchard,
ascends from 925 to 935 feet, approximately, above the sea-level. It crosses
the Goose River about 8 miles north of Blanchard, and thence runs several
miles northeastward, beyond which it curves to the north, passing about
3 miles west of Cummings and 1 mile west of Buxton, where it is marked
by a prominent beach ridge, with crest at 945 feet, very nearly. This
o-ravel and sand ridffe runs thence at least 15 miles northwestward. Near
the southwest corner of section 7, Michigan, about 11 miles northwest from
Buxton, its crest has an elevation of 942 to 945 feet. It there lies nearly 4
miles east of the principal McCanleyville beach, but within a few miles
farther northwest the distance between them is diminished to less than 2
miles. Thence they continue close together and nearly parallel through
their whole extent of about 80 miles northward in North Dakota; but this
part of the Blanchard shore has not been followed with leveling.

The shores formed during the middle and upper Blanchard stages of
Lake Agassiz have not been traced in North Dakota. Their elevations
determined in Minnesota and Manitoba, however, indicate that Greenfield
and Blanchard are situated on the middle shore or very near it. A single
observation of the upper shore, which passes about 2 miles west of Blanch-
ard, was obtained 7 miles farther north. It there is marked by a low
escarpment of till, which descends 3 or 4 feet from west to east, between
965 and 960 feet, along a south-to-north fine that is crossed by the railway
about a mile north of Murray station.

On the international boundary the Blanchard shore-lines enter Mani-
toba in the west part of township 1, range 4, passing near Kronsfeld, in
section 7 of this township, and extending north-northwest within about a
mile east of Morden; but they are not marked along this distance by distinct
beach deposits or lines of erosion. The lowest of these shore-hnes crosses

WESTERN BLANCHAED BEACHES. 449

the Canadian Pacific Railway a mile west of McGregor, where it forms a
slight swell on the gentle eastward slope of the Assiniboine delta. On the
Manitoba and Northwestern Railway tlu'ee Blanchard beaches appear to be
identifiable, being crossed successively 2 miles and three-fourths of a mile
west and 1 mile east of Midway. The upper two are nearly flat tracts
of fine gravel and sand, an eighth to a quarter of a mile wide, at 994 and
979 feet above the sea, each being bordered on the west by a depression of
about 2 feet and on the east by a gentle slope descending 4 or 5 feet. The
third and lowest is a beach ridge of the usual form, about 30 rods wide,
with a descent of 5 feet both to the east and west from its crest, which is
at 969 feet. After crossing the McCauleyville beaches on the way from
Arden to Gladstone the surface is wholly silt and sand, with fine gravel,
very flat, excepting these slight ridges and others at lower levels. In their
continuation northward, portions of the Blanchard beaches are noted on the
plats of the Dominion Land Surveys through townships 15 to 20, range 13.
The highest of the Blanchard shores is probably represented on Mr.
Tyrrell's map of the Riding and Duck mountains by two observations of
beach ridges, namely, on the Ochre River, about 8 miles south of Lake
Dauphin, at 1,025 feet above the sea; and on latitude 52°, close south of
the Duck River, at 1,151 feet. A few miles north of the Duck River the
second Blanchard beach, according to my correlation, is shown at the height
of' 1,135 feet; and the third and lowest beach formed during these stages
appears to be represented on the north side of Swan River, nearly 25 miles
farther west, by a beach approximately at 1,070 feet, being 100 feet liigher
than near Midway, on the latitude of Gladstone, about 160 miles distant to
the south-southeast.

THE HILIiSBORO BEACH.

My only observations of the shore-line in Minnesota which seems ref-
erable to the Hillsboro stage of Lake Agassiz, excepting as already noted
with the descriptions of the Blanchard beaches, were in Alma and Wanger
townships, Marshall County.

A somewhat broad beach ridge, 915 to 923 feet above the sea, consist-
ing of gravel and sand on an area of till, extends from a cemetery in the
MON XXV 29

450 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

northeast comer of section 26, Alma, northward through the east edge of
sections 23 and 14 to the Middle River. This deposit, however, is about
15 feet lower than would seem accordant with the Hillsboro beach 5 to 15
miles north of Crookston and on the opposite side of the lake in North
Dakota, while yet it is distinct from the next lower Emerado beach, which
was observed at its normal elevation a mile distant to the west. The low
position of the Hillsboro beach here may be due to its subdivision in
advancing from south to north, this beach being referable to a secondary
Hillsboro stage; otherwise it would imply a noteworthy and very excep-
tional irregularity in the crastal uplift.

Probably the same Hillsboro shore continues north through the dis-
tance of 6 miles to another beach ridge noted on the Tamarack River, in or
near the west edge of sections 13 and 12, Wanger. A search with leveling
to the south and north from these localities would quite surely prove this
shore to be traceable through long distances on the east side of the lake.

The elevation of the Hillsboro shore where it crosses the Red River,
near Holy Cross and Hickson stations, about 15 miles south of Moorhead
and Fargo, is approximately 915 feet. Thence its course in North Dakota
is first northwestward about 20 miles, passing by Horace, to Durbin, on
the Maple River. It here lies on an area of fine silt, and is not distinctly
marked either by a beach ridge or by erosion.

Along the northwest and north side of the Maple River, at an average
distance from it decreasing from 2 miles to 1 mile, a prolonged beach of
sand and fine silt (mapped on PI. XXVIH) was formed by erosion from the
margin of the Sheyenne delta and from the adjoining lake bed, and by
transportation toward the northeast and east, being thus built out into the
lake as a spit, during the Blanchard and Hillsboro stages. This spit, which
is sometimes called the Maple Ridge from its ijarallehsm with the Maple
River, is crossed by the Great Northern Railway 2 miles northwest of Dur-
bin. It is there a wave-like, massive swell about 50 rods wide, rising 10
feet above the flat expanse on each side, with its top 930 feet above the
sea, showing that this portion was formed during the time of the Blanchard
beach. Six miles to the northeast, where it is crossed by the Northern
Pacific Railroad at Greene, it has a width of 60 rods, with its crest at 919

THE HILLSBORO BEACH. 451

feet, from which its eastern slope descends 10 feet and its western slope
about 5 feet. This part of the Maple Ridge was accumulated by Lake
Agassiz at the stage of the Hillsboro beach, rising then only 2 or 3 feet
above the level of the lake. Following the ridge onward 9 miles farther to
the northeast and east, it is found to become broader and less definite, and
its height sinks slowly about 20 feet to 900 or 895 feet in the south edge of
section 13, Raymond, about a quarter of a mile north of the Maple River,
where it ceases to be traceable even as a slight swell above the general
level of the surrounding expanse of lacustrine and alluvial silt. Shore
currents appear to have come together from both the north and south along
this curved spit while the Bianchard and Hillsboro beaches were being
accumulated and during the fall of the lake surface below each of these
stages.

From the vicinity of Greene the Hillsboro shore-line rans northward
50 miles, passing about 3 miles west of Grandin and Kelso, IJ miles west
of Hillsboro, about three-fourths of a mile east of Cummings, and 1 mile
west of Buxton. Opposite to Grandin and Kelso it is marked by a typical
gravel and sand ridge, with slopes descending 10 feet on the east and 5 or
6 feet on the west to the adjoining surface of till. Mr. R. T. Kingman's
house, west of Hillsboro and close south of the Goose River, is built on
the crest of the Hillsboro beach ridge of gravel and sand, at an elevation of
about 920 feet above the sea. The slopes of this beach fall about 15 feet
toward the east and 5 feet westward. Within a quarter of a mile farther
west, an escarpment of till rises 10 feet, from 915 to 926 feet, a23proxi-
mately, having been cut by the waves of the lake when it stood a few feet
above its later level by which the beach ridge was deposited. One and a
half miles south of Mr. Kingman's the Hillsboro shore has no beach deposit,
being indicated only by an escarpment of till which rises 6 to 10 feet within
a distance of 15 to 20 rods from east to west.

A slightly higher shore-line, marked by an escarpment 6 to 8 feet high,
eroded in fine silt, was observed a mile west of each of these localities, being
thus traced about 2 miles southward from the Goose River.

Three pauses in the crustal uplift are thus shown near Hillsboro by
the former levels of Lake Agassiz, approximately at 925 or 928 feet, 920

452 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

feet, aud 915 feet, represented successively by the western escarpment of
silt, tlie eastern escarpment of till, and the shore deposit of sand and gravel
at Mr. Kingman's house. Elsewhere these stages seem to be united, unless
the lower one was also observed, as before noted, in Marshall County, Minn.

Where it is crossed by the Great Northern Railway, 2 miles south of
Cummings, the Hillsboro shore is an eroded escarpment of till, ascending
somewhat steeply 8 or 10 feet, with no considerable beach deposits. Con-
tinuing thence on the east side of the railway for 12 miles northward by
Cummings and Buxton, it is marked through nearly the entire distance by a
conspicuous beach ridge of gravel and sand, bordered on each side by till.
The crest of this beach is 925 to 930 feet above the sea, with an average
descent of 10 feet to the east and 5 feet to the west. At its next intersec-
tion by the railway, 1^ miles south of Reynolds, the gravel and sand of the
beach have been extensively excavated for railway ballast. The ridge
there is about 30 rods wide; the elevation of its crest is 928 feet, and its
slopes to the northeast and northwest fall respectively about 8 and 6 feet.

Through its further course of about 100 miles in North Dakota this
shore-line runs to the northwest and north-northwest, excepting that it
deviates to a north-northeastward course for 15 miles, between the North
Branch of Park River and Tongue River, turning thus aside to pass by the
Pembina delta. In section 27, Michigan, about 3 miles northwest of Rey-
nolds, the crest of its beach ridge is 926 feet above the sea, having a descent
of 6 feet eastward aud 3 feet westward. In section 16 of this township the
beach is a broad, flattened ridge of sand and fine gravel, about 40 rods
wide, with top at 923 to 926 feet. It slowly rises 10 feet above the flat
surface of till on the east, and descends 3 to 5 feet westward to a depression
which is partly a grassy slough mown for hay. Through its next mile
northwestward the shore is an escarpment of till, rising a few feet, with its
crest at 923 feet.

No exact determination of the height of the Hillsboro shore was obtained
along its next 25 miles to the southeast part of section 25, township 153,
range 54, about 2 miles west of Beans station, on the Duluth and Manitoba
Railroad, where the crest of its gravel and sand ridge is very nearly 930
feet above the sea. Again, about 20 miles farther north the beach ridge

THE HILLSBOEO BEACH. 453

of this shore has the same height, or 930 to 935 feet, in sections 25, 24, and
13, Rushford. Thence through an extent of about 50 miles to the inter-
national boundary, although the course of the Hillsboro shore is mapped
approximately on PI. XXX, its height is known by leveling in only one
place, near the center of section 15, Walhalla, about 2 J miles northeast of
Walhalla village, where the top of the beach is 940 feet above the sea,
rising 15 feet above its base 20 rods distant to the east and bordered by a
depression of 2 to 5 feet on the west.

The Hillsboro beach enters Manitoba near the middle of the south side
of range 4 and passes north-northwestward. It is not conspicuous on the
international boundary, but near the west line of section 21, township 1,
range 4, about a mile east of Blumenfeld, it is a noticeable ridge, with a
descent of 3 to 5 feet on the east, its crest being about 940 feet above the
sea. Its sand has there been excavated for use in plastering. Northward
it passes about a half mile east of Oesterwick, 1 J miles east of Morden, and
nearly 4 miles east of Miami, where Henry York's house is built on its
crest, at an elevation of about 950 feet. Thence its slopes descend*15 feet
in a short distance to the east and 5 feet or more to tlie west, the beach
being much larger than along most of its course. Mr. York's cellar and
well are in sand and fine gravel, but the lower land adjoining on each side
is till. Twelve miles farther north this beach passes near Mr. Field's house,
in the southeast quarter of section 4, township 7, range 6, about three-
fourths of a mile west of Almasippi post-office. The road from Carman to
Treherne there ascends a few feet, and in its next third of a mile northwest-
ward crosses a tract of sand with hollows 3 to 5 feet below its highest
portions, showing that it was formerly wind-blown. This beach deposit is
derived from the erosion of the eastern margin of the Assiniboine delta,
within a few miles to the north. On the road from Arden to Gladstone
this beach was not noticed, but it seems to be traceable on the township
plats northward nearly through the middle of townships 15, 16, and 17,
and through the west part of townships 18, 19, and 20, in range 12.

On the Swan River and its tributaries, north of Duck Mountain, the
Hillsboro beach, according to my correlation of Mr. Tyrrell's observations,
has been traced fragmentarily along a distance of 20 miles from east to

454 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

west, having an elevation of about 1,030 feet above the sea; and it was
again noted at the height of 1,070 feet some 30 miles farther northeast. On
Kettle Hill, close south of Swan Lake.

BEACHES or THE EMERADO STAGES.

The Emerado shore-line, approximately 885 feet above the sea, crosses
the Red River between Kragnes, Minn., and Harwood, N. Dak., a few miles
north of Moorhead and Fargo; but its course has not been traced for the
first 50 miles thence northward to the vicinity of Crookston, Minn., and
Reynolds, N. Dak. Tln-otigh both of these States it appears as a single
shore-line, and is perhaps the one most clearly traceable of all that belong
to the time of northeastward outflow. The crustal uplifting of this part
of the lake basin had become very slow at the time of formation of the
Emerado beach, but in Manitoba a somewhat rapid uplift was in progress,
increasing in amount from south to north, and two beaches there, separated
by a vertical interval of 10 to 20 feet, seem to represent the single beach
farther south.

In the west part of sections 17, 8, and 5, Ci'ookston, a beach ridge of
the Emerado stage was traced 2 miles in a nearly due-north course. Har-
vey Cook's house, in the south edge of section 8, is built on its top, which
ranges in height from 898 to 902 feet above the sea, having a descent of
10 or 12 feet on the west and half as much on the east. About a mile
northwest from the north end of this beach irregular and short gravel and
sand ridges, accumulated on an area of till, mark this shore on the Great
Northern Railway, and extend thence close along its east side 2 miles north-
ward to Shirley, the elevations of their crests being 905 to 910 feet.
Portions of these deposits have been excavated for railway ballast.

From 1 to 2 miles north of Shirley the Emerado beach is a typical
and continuous gravel ridge, with crest at 910 feet, approximately, rising
about 5 feet above the adjoining surface of till. Here and through the
next 3 miles northward the shore lies an eighth to a half of a mile east of
the railway. It continues in a nearly due-north course through the west
edge of Belgium and of township 153, range 46, passing li miles east of

THE BMERADO BEACHES. 455

Euclid and 4 miles east of Angus. In the southeast part of Angus Town-
ship and tlie southwest part of township 153, range 46, its beach deposits
of gravel are somewhat irregularly accumulated in three belts lying on an
area of till and separated by intervals of about 1 mile and a half mile in
order from east to west. The crests of these short gravel ridges vary in
elevation from 900 to 905 feet, their higher portions being usually 3 to 5
feet above the surface on their east side and 6 to 8 feet above the land
next west.

Twelve miles north of Angus a short beach ridge of gravel and sand,
having nearly the same height with the foregoing, was noted on the east
edge of section 1 5, McCrea, close south of a creek tributary to the Snake
River. Again, 4 to 5 miles farther north, a broad, irregular sand lieach,
with crest at 905 feet, being 3 to 5 feet above the general level, runs along
the east line of section 22, Alma. It reaches a mile or more south from the
Middle River, and is a mile west of the Hillsboro beach. Its surface has
been somewhat changed into small ridges and hollows by wind action at
some former time, but it is now wholly covered by grass. Thence the
Emerado shore runs nearly due north throug-h Wander and Auffsbura-,
townships 157 and 158, range 47, as shown by their contour; but it has not
been traced there nor in its farther course, which is slightly west of north
through Kittson County to the international boundary.

In North Dakota the Emerado shore-line runs nearly along the Great
Northern Railway by Harwood, Argusville, Gardner, and Grandin, and
within 1 to 1| miles east of Kelso, Alton, and Hillsboro; but most of its
course is not distinctly traceable on the flat surface of fine silt which is
crossed in this distance of 30 miles. Through the next tlu-ee townships
north of Hillsboro, passing Cummings and Buxton, it lies IJ to 2 miles
east of the railway, but approaches within about 1 mile at Reynolds. The
Emerado shore here traverses a large area of till, which reaches eastward
across the Red River Valley. On this more favorable surface it is doubt-
less clearly marked, like the next higher Hillsboro shore, by a well-defined
beach ridge, or in part by a low, eroded escarpment.

The railway intersects this beach ridge 1.^ miles north of Reynolds,
its crest being about 900 feet above the sea, with descent of 3 or 4 feet

456 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

to the southwest and 8 or 10 feet to the northeast. Thence the Emerado
shore runs north-northwesterly 70 miles tlu-ough Grand Forks and Walsh
counties. In sections 20 and 17, Allendale, 9 to 10 miles northwest of
Reynolds, it bears an excellent gravel ridge, which rises 10 feet from its
northeast base and 3 to 5 feet above the surface on the southwest, the land
on both sides being till. The elevation of its crest is 898 to 902 feet.

At Emerado, on the Devils Lake line of the Great Northern Railway,
this beach is crossed less than a quarter of a mile east of the station. Its
crest is 894 feet above the sea, being 10 feet above the adjacent surface of
till on the east ; but within the next mile, both to the southeast and north-
west, its height is mostly 895 to 900 feet. Two to 3 miles northwest, in
section 26, Mekinock, the crest of the beach lies at 897 to 900 feet, with a
descent of 5 to 8 feet eastward and half as much toward the west.

In sections 33, 32, and 29, Gilby, the Emerado beach ridge is mag-
nificently developed, passing close west of Beans station, on the Duluth
and Manitoba Railroad. The top of the beach has an elevation of 898 to
902 feet, with descents of about 10 feet in 15 or 20 rods east and 3 to 5
feet within 10 rods west to very flat expanses of till on each side. Again,
in sections 19 and 18, Gilby, it has the same character and elevation; but
in the northwest part of section 7 and on the west line of this township,
also thence northward 3 miles into section 25, Strabane, there is no beach
deposit, its place being taken by an escarpment of till, 6 to 8 feet high,
with its top at 900 to 902 feet. Northward from the northwest part of this
section 25, Strabane, the Emerado shore is again marked by the usital
ridged deposit of gravel and sand, with its crest very level, varying not
more than a foot above or below 901 feet in its extent of about 3 miles to
the Forest River.

Entering Walsh County, the crest of this beach ridge in sections 35
and 34, Ops, is still 901 feet above the sea, with descent thence of 6 or
7 feet in 6 rods northeastward and 4 feet in the same distance to the
southwest. Through sections 27, 22, 16, 9, and 4, Ops, it also holds very
constantly the same character and height, 900 to 902 feet, being a typical
ridge of sand and gravel, lying on till. In the east half of section 29,

THE EMBEADO BEACHES. 457

Prairie Center, its elevation is 903 feet, and it continues as a well-defined
gravel ridge, with crest at 901 to 903 feet, through tliis township, and at a
slightly greater lieiglit, 902 to 906 feet, through the west part of Fertile
and the east part of Dundee, crossing the South and Middle branches of
Park River.

In the southern part of Pembina County the Emerado shore curves to
a north-northeast course, passing by Crystal to Willow Creek, and thence
runs nearly north, crossing the Tongue River about a mile west of Cavalier.
Along a distance of 6 miles north from Willow Creek a low and broad
secondary beach ridge, or more likely in part an offshore sand deposit that
was formed a few feet beneath the lake surface, has an elevation of 890
to 895 feet, with slopes sinking a few feet below this on each side. The
adjoining surface is lacustrine silt, deposited in front of the Pembina
delta, and the ridge is fine sand which has been somewhat gullied and
hummocked by the wind, but is now all grassed.

Between the Tongue and Pembina rivers and onward to the inter-
national boundary this beach takes a northwestward course. Turning to
that direction about 2 miles northwest of Cavalier, it thence runs nearly
straight 10 miles to St. Joseph, being through the greater part of the dis-
tance a typical beach ridge of sand, with scanty layers of very fine gravel.
Its crest is mainly 892 to 898 feet above the sea, having a gradual ascent
from south to north ; but as it approaches St. Joseph and the Pembina
River its last 2 miles rise to 900 and even 905 feet. The slopes fall com-
monly 5 to 10 feet northeastward and 2 to 4 feet southwestward. The
depth of the beach deposit is the same as the fall of its eastern slope, with
hard and dark stratified clay beneath. In section 2, and again in section
13, township 162, range 55, lying 2 to 5 miles southeast of St. Joseph, this
beach widens into sandy tracts, each of which has a width of a quarter of
a mile or more and is slightly raised, like the typical narrower ridge, above
the adjacent surface of clayey lacustrine and alluvial silt.

About a mile north of the Pembina River the Emerado level of Lake
Agassiz formed a low escarpment of erosion, which passes north-northwest-
erly by the northeast corner of section 17, townsliip 163, range 55. Within

458 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

40 rods or less from west to east it descends about 10 feet, from 905 to
895 feet above the sea, approximately.

The Emerado beach crosses the international boundary about 1 J miles
east of the west line of range 3, Manitoba, passing thence northwestward.
In townships 1 and 2, range 4, the Mennonite villages of Rheinland, Neuen-
burg, and Eosenthal are partly built on it. At the windmill in Rheinland,
and thence along its course as seen for a half mile or more to the south-
southeast and north-northwest, this shore is marked by an ascent of 3 to 6
feet in as many rods from east to west; and from its crest, about 905 feet
above the sea, the surface extends nearly level westward. The beach
consists of loamy sand, while the adjoining land is fine lacustrine silt or
clay. On the Canadian Pacific Railway this beach is raised a few feet
above the general slope of the Assiniboine delta, passing in a west-north-
west course 2 miles east and 1 mile north of Bagot. The Manitoba and
Northwestern Railway crosses it 5 miles west of Gladstone, where it is a
ridffe about 30 rods wide, wind-blown in hollows 1 to 2 feet below the
crest, which is 927 to 929 feet above the sea, with descent of 5 feet from it
to the west and 12 to 15 feet to the east. A lower and less conspicuous
beach ridge, also belonging to this stage, lies three-fourths of a mile farther
east, with its crest at 916 feet. The Emerado beach continues north
through the east part of townships 15 to 19, range 12, and through the
center of township 20, to the east side of Lake Mary.

Two Emerado stages are again noted by Mr. Tyrrell, according to my
correlation, at the heights of 1,015 and 995 feet above the sea, as shown
by beaches on Kettle Hill, about 150 miles north of Gladstone. The upper
beach has an ascent of 95 feet in this distance, and the lower, 85 feet,
approximately.

The lower of these shores, which is the more strongly marked on
Kettle Hill, is probably also shown by a beach ridge mentioned by Tyrrell
near the Pine River, some 40 miles farther south, at a height of 960 feet
above the sea, as determined by the original location of the Canadian
Pacific Railway.

OJATA BEACHES IN MINNESOTA. 459

BEACHES OF THE OJATA STAGES.

The upper Ojata shore-line has an elevation between 870 and 875 feet
above the sea where it crosses the Red River near Perley, Minn., and
Noble, N. Dak., about 20 miles north of Moorhead and Fargo. Its course
in Minnesota has been mapped approximately for 25 miles through Norman
County, lyiiig from 2 to 6 miles east of the river, according to the contour
shown by the Drainage Survey; but it is not known how much of the shore
is there marked by any beach ridge or line of erosion. Probably a con-
siderable part is thus definitely traceable, especially northward, where the
surface is till.

After curving eastward, near the boundary between Norman and Polk
counties, to a distance of 10 miles from the Red River, this shore turns to
the north and north-northwest, crossing the east part of the great marsh
which is formed by the waters of the Sand Hill River and of many springs.
In the northeastern edge of this marsh it bears a conspicuous beach ridge,
which runs from near the center of section 10, township 147, range 47, 6
miles to the north side of section 18, Hammond. The crest of the dry
ridge of sand and gravel is 873 to 878 feet above the sea, and the surface
of the marsh adjoining it is about 3 feet lower on the east and 5 feet lower
on the west.

About 2 miles northwest from Crookston a large beach deposit of
gravel and sand on this shore-line is crossed by the Great Northern
Railway in sections 24 and 23, Lowell, and has been much excavated for
railway ballast. The elevation of its crest is 880 to 882 feet, and its thick-
ness is 3 to 5 feet, lying on till. The pebbles of the gravel seldom exceed
3 inches in diameter, and are mostly magnesian limestone, similar to the
strata which outcrop near Winnipeg.

The Drainage Survey shows that the farther course of this shore is
nearly due north for the next 40 miles, passing about 2 miles west of
Shirley, a mile west of Euclid, IJ miles east of Angus, about 3 miles east
of Warren, and 5 miles east of Argyle. Through the greater part of this
extent it lies on or near the western edge of the till, which is succeeded
toward the Red River by lacustrine and alluvial silt. In a few places the

460 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

shore is known to be indicated by erosion or by gravel and sand dejiosits,
bnt more commonly it is not clearly ti-aceable. It thence runs slightl)'
west of north to the international boundary, but has not been examined
along that distance of nearly 50 miles.

Lying about 10 feet below the preceding, the lower Ojata shore crosses
the Red River near Caledonia and the mouths of the Goose and Marsh
rivers, being there about 8(j5 feet above the sea. From 5 to 12 miles north-
ward in Minnesota it runs along the west margin of the great marsh of tlie
Sand Hill River. Onward through this State it must lie mostly 1 to 2 miles
west of the upper Ojata beach, though generally it is indistinct and its
course has been nowhere exactly noted.

Portions of the Ojata beaches in North Dakota have come under my
observation from the vicinity of Reynolds and Thompson north-northwest-
ward across Grand Forks and Walsh counties. The upper shore is not
clearly exhibited where it is crossed by the Great Northern Railway, about
2 miles south of Thompson, but the lower shore is marked by a beach ridge
of gravel and sand, which is crossed 1 mile north of this station. The crest
is about 868 feet above the sea, with descent of 6 to 8 feet from it toward
the northeast and 2 or 3 feet southwestward.

On the south line of section 36, Oakville, and of section 31, Brenna, 7
to 8 miles northwest from Thompson and 5 miles south of Ojata,^ the
heights of the crests of the well-developed upper and lower Ojata beaches
are respectively about 880 feet and 872 to 875 feet. One to 2 miles south-
eastward, however, these shore-lines have neither beach deposits nor any
notable erosion on the -smooth, gently sloping /surface of till.

The Great Northern Railway between Emerado and Ojata intersects
the crest of the upper Ojata shore-line a quarter of a mile west of the
northeast corner of section 8, Oakville, about 3 miles west of Ojata. It
consists of a somewhat prominent escarpment of till, which falls from west
to east at first 7 or 8 feet within 15 or 20 rods, and as much more within
the next third of a mile, its base being 862 to 865 feet above the sea, whence

•Meaning /oj-fc» in the Dakota or Sioux language, and referring, like Grand Forks, to the junc-
tion of the Red and Red Lake rivers (A. W. Williamson, in Thirteenth Annual Report, Geol. and
Nat. Hist. Survey of Minnesota, for 1884, p. 110).

OJATA BEACHES IN NORTH DAKOTA. 461

a very flat and almost level surface of till, with alkaline soil, extends east-
ward. The top of the escarpment is capped to the depth of a few feet with
beach gravel and sand, at 877 and 880 feet, deposited during the upper
Ojata stage of the lake, and the erosion of the steep slope below may have
been accomplished mostly during a lower and later portion of this stage.
A better interpretation, however, seems to be found in attributing the upper
gravel to the highest fluctuation of the lake when raised several feet by the
rapid glacial melting in the summer, the till below having been cut away
by the reduced water level in the winters, when it was lashed into powerful
waves by storms.

But a large share of the erosion of the less steep lower slope was done
by the lake during the lower Ojata stage. In the latest and lowest portion
of that stage there was also formed a discontinuous beach ridge of gravel
and sand, which lies in isolated, irregular accumulations a half mile east of
the escarpment, and rises 6 to 8 feet above the flat expanse on each side,
with crests at 870 feet, approximately. This fragmentary beach divides a
tract of till on the west which has suifered much erosion of its surface, being
therefore strewn with frequent or abundant bowlders, from another tract on
the east, where the upper pai't of the till to the depth of 5 to 10 feet or more,
still lying as it was deposited in Lake Agassiz, bears marks of imperfect
stratification, and has fewer bowlders and less gravel on the surface than at
a slight depth. Within 10 to 15 feet beneath the surface, as shown by
wells and the ravines of streams in the neighborhood of Ojata, the lacus-
trinely modified till, which was englacial, is succeeded below by the wholly
unstratified ground moraine. It is also to be noted that a thin layer of
lacustrine clayey sand and fine silt, doubtless derived chiefly from the ero-
sion of the escarpment on the west, is spread with a thickness varying from
a few inches to a few feet on much of the sui'face eastward from the lower
Ojata beach.

Ten to 15 miles northwest of Ojata the upper one of these two shore-
lines is well-marked in Gilby by a typical beach ridge of gravel and sand,
lying on or near the eastern limit of the till, beyond which lacustrine and
alluvial silt stretch east to the Red River. Mr. John Gilby's house, in the
southwest quarter of section 22, is built on the gravel beach, which thence

462 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

runs north-northwestward through the middle of section 9, a half mile east
of Gilby station, on the Duluth and Manitoba Railroad. The lower Ojata
shore lies about a mile farther east, but was not examined. The upper
shore extends from section 4, Gilby, into the southwest quarter of section
33, Milan, being there an escarpment 5 feet high, eroded on an area of fine
silt. Its base and crest are approximately 870 and 875 feet above the sea.
This shore passes about a mile west of Jolmstown, and the lower shore lies
close east of that railroad station.

A conspicuous beach ridge of gravel and sand, running nearlj^ along
the boundary between till on the west and silt on all the country eastward,
extends from the west half of section 36, in an almost straight course, a few
degrees west of north, 5 miles to the northwest corner of section 2, Ops,
having an elevation at its crest of 875 to 880 feet, with descent of 5 to 10
feet east and 2 to 5 feet west. A mile farther east a smaller ridge, about
10 feet lower, marks the second Ojata shore. Tlnrough the remaining 50
miles of its course northward to the international boundary the upper
shore-line is mapped approximately on Pl. XXX, conforming with the east-
ward descent of the land surface. It will probably be found easily trace-
able if followed by leveling.

Along the course of the Ojata shores, lying between the Emerado and
Gladstone beaches, no ridge of gravel and sand nor line of erosion was
observed where they were crossed on the international boundary and else-
where during my exploration in Manitoba, excepting a slight beach ridge,
3 to 5 feet high, which runs from Pomeroy, in section 19, township 5, range
4, north-northwest through the east part of townsliip 6, range 5, passing
about 2 miles west of Carman.

Mr. Tyi-rell notes the lower Ojata beach on Kettle Hill, if my correla-
tion is true, at the elevation of 955 feet above the sea.

THE GLADSTONE BEACH.

The extent of the southern part of Lake Agassiz at the time of for-
mation of the Gladstone beach is shown approximately on PI. XXXVI.

Crossing the Red River near Belmont, N. Dak., about 20 miles south
of Grand Forks, at a height approximately 845 feet above the sea, the

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.

MONOGRAPH XXV. PL. XXXVL

MAP OF THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF LAI\E AGASSIZ, SHOWING ITS EXTENT IN THE

GLADSTONE STAGE.
Scale , abimt h2 rniles to iis\ inch .

THE GLADSTONE BEACH. 463

Gladstone shore-Hue runs northward through Minnesota, mostly at a dis-
tance of about 15 miles east of the Red River. It crosses the Red Lake
River near the head of the Grand Marais, about a mile northwest of Fisher.

Thence northward for a distance of more than 25 miles to Warren
there is frequently found along the contour line of 840 feet a somewhat
more rapid descent from east to west than on the adjoining surface of fine
clayey silt at each side. This may be due mainly to erosion by the waves
of gi'eat storms, especially when the lake surface was lowered a few feet
on account of the diminished rate of melting of the ice-sheet during win-
ters. In part, however, there appears to have been formed along this
course an oftshoi'e deposit several feet thick, rising nearly to the lake level.
Such a broad ridge, with crest at 838 to 841 feet, runs northward through
the center of section 15 and the west half of section 10, Tabor, having a
descent of 1 to 3 feet eastward and of 3 to 5 feet westward within a third
of a mile from its top. Wells on this swell obtain good water at the
depth of 10 to 12 feet, in layers of sand from a quarter of an inch to 1
foot thick, inclosed in the fine stratified silt which, excepting these sandy
beds, is almost impervious to water.

In the northern part of Kittson County the old St. Paul trail, lying 12
to 14 miles east of the Red River, ran for 6 miles south-southeastward from
the international boundary on and near to the Gladstone beach, whose crest
there has a height of 858 to 863 feet above the sea. It is a ridge of gravel
and sand 10 to 30 rods wide, resting on till, to which its eastern slope falls
2 to 3 feet and its western slope 5 to 8 feet.

Through North Dakota the Gladstone shore has been mapped approx-
imately, passing from Belmont north-northwesterly by Merrifield, Kelleys,
and Voss, lying about 4 miles west of Grafton, 2 to 3 miles west of Auburn,
St. Thomas, and Glasston, about 4 miles west of Hamilton and Bathgate,
and 5 miles west of Neclie. In this distance of 100 miles the shore rises
from 845 to 857 feet, approximately, above the sea. Only small portions
of its course have been examined, these near Merrifield and 2 miles east of
Ojata being marked by slight erosion in the lacustrine and alluvial silt over
which it asses.

464 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

On the international boundary and for several miles thence to the
north-northwest the Gladstone beach is a prominent ridge, having an
ascent of 10 to 15 feet in a distance of 30 to 50 rods west from its base to
its crest, which is approximately 860 feet above the sea. The slightly
undulating surface of this shore deposit occupies a width of a quarter of
a mile or more, and thence westward there is no noteworthy descent, but a
nearly level expanse. In many shallow pits dug to obtain sand for masons'
use the material of the beach is shown to be fine sand, unmixed with
gravel, excepting that very rarely a pebble is found inclosed in it, the
largest being a half to two-thirds of an inch in diameter. This ridge
enters Manitoba about IJ miles west of Blumenort, and crosses sections
5, 7, and 18, township 1, range 2, to Kronsthal, which is situated upon
it. Northward it jjasses about a mile west of Lowestoft post-office and a
mile east of Carman. George Anderson's house is built on its crest in
the northeast quarter of section 31, township 6, range 4, 2 miles north-
northeast of Carman, at an elevation of 865 feet. It crosses the Canadian
Pacific Railway near the Rat Creek bridge, and is well developed along a
distance of several miles thence to the northwest, passing through the
southeast corner of section 12, township 12, range 9, where the elevation
of its crest is about 875 feet, with a descent of 4 to 6 feet to the northeast
and 1 to 3 feet to the southwest. Thence its course is along the southwest
side of the Squirrel Creek marsh and east of the chain of Dead Lakes (a
former channel of the White Mud River), which lie in sections 17, 18, and
19, township 14, range 11. A half mile east of Gladstone this shore is
marked by a line of erosion in the expanse of lacustrine silt, with slope
from 882 to 875 feet in a short distance, and by a small beach ridge of
sand with its crest at 878 feet. Continuing almost due noi-tli, this Glad-
stone shore-line, occasionally marked by beach gravel and sand, lies a half
mile to 1 mile west of the Big Grass Mai-sh, thi-ough townships 15, 16, and
17, range 11, the elevation of the marsh being, approximately, 865 feet,
and of Lake Agassiz here during this stage about 875 feet above the
present sea-level.

The Gladstone beach is noted by Mr. Tyrrell on Kettle Hill at 920
feet. Combined differential uplifting of the land and depression of the

GLADSTONE AND BUENSIDE BEACHES. 465

geoid siu'face of level, both due to removal of the ice-sheet, have amounted
to about 45 feet in the distance of 150 miles northward from Gladstone to
this locality.

THE BUENSIDB BEACH.

From its crossing- of the Red River at Grand Forks the Burnside shore
in Minnesota runs northeastward to the southwest corner of Tabor Town-
ship, and thence northward at a distance of 10 to 13 miles from the river
for about 70 miles to the south line of Manitoba. Although its course is
known approxinaately by the Drainage Survey and by railway leveling, no
portions of it distinctly showing marks of erosion or beach accumulation
have been observed in this State excepting close upon the international
boiindary. There it is found at "the Ridge," about 11 miles east of the
Red River and Emerson, which is a low, eroded escaii^ment extending
from south to north across the boundary. It consists of till with frequent
bowlders, nearly all Archean granites, gneiss, and schists. A deposit of
beach gravel and sand a few feet deep rests on the base of this slope, 835
to 840 feet above the sea.

Two miles northward, in the southwest quarter of section 15, town-
ship 1 , range 4 east, Manitoba, the Burnside beach is a typical gravel and
sand ridge 20 to 25 rods wide; its crest is 845 feet above the sea, and the
descent from it to the east is about 3 feet and to the west 6 or 7 feet.
About a mile farther north, near the southeast comer of section 21, the
elevation of this beach ridge is 844 feet, with a descent of 1 or 2 feet on
the east and 10 feet within 20 rods on the west. Another mile to the north
its elevation is 846 feet, with 2 feet descent east and 6 feet west in 6 rods;
next a sin-face of till, with many bowlders, falls about 5 feet in 40 rods to
the west; beyond this a tract of gravel and sand continues with the same
slope, falling from 835 to 830 feet, and is succeeded farther west by a
slowly descending surface of till. The beach ridge continues with similar
features through the east half of section 28, excepting a short distance
in the southeast quarter of this section, where it is replaced by a line of
erosion in the very rocky till. Through the next 3 miles the uneven con-
tour causes the beach ridge to he somewhat irregular in its course and size;
but it again attains its typical development in section 9, township 2, range
MON XXV 30

466 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

4 east, where it was excavated several years ago aloug a distance of a third
of a mile for railway ballast, a branch track nearly 8 miles long being laid
for its transportation to Dominion City. The crest of the beach at Charles
Aime's house, near the north end of this excavation, is 846 to 847 feet
above the sea, with a descent of 2 to 5 feet on the east and 6 to 8 feet in
8 to 12 rods west. Its width, including both slopes, is 16 to 30 rods, and
the maxinmm depth of the gravel and sand deposit is about 8 feet, lying
on till. The coarser portions of the gravel contain pebbles up to 3 inches
or rarely 6 inches or more in diameter. Nine-tenths or a larger propor-
tion of them are magnesian limestone, the remainder being almost wholly
Archean granite and gneiss. This shore-line continues north and north-
northeast by Green Ridge post-office and through the east part of townships
3 and 4, range 4 east, beyond which it has not been traced.

In North Dakota the course of the Burnside shore is known somewhat
nearly and has been di-awn provisionally on Pis. XXIX and XXX, in
accordance with the elevations ascertained by railway surveys; but, as
in Minnesota, no part of it has been observed to be clearly traceable by
either a continuous beach ridge or an eroded escarpment. It lies on the
wide, flat tract of silt which adjoins the Red River, a surface most unfavor-
able for the preservation of definite shore-lines; yet undoubtedly it can be
found and followed by careful search with leveling.

A few feet below the average Bm-nside level of Lake Agassiz marks
of wave action, perhaps belonging to the lowest fluctuations of the lake in
this stage, are somewhat indistinctly exhibited by an irregularly ridged
contour which was seen near Schurmeier and along the east side of the rail-
way thence northwestward to Manvel, also in the west edge of Manvel
village. These swells, extending parallel with the railway, rise 2 to 3
feet above the depressions on either side, their crests being 820 to 825 feet
above the sea. Proceeding northwest along the railway, which holds a
nearly level grade, no further noteworthy observations of this kind were
obtained for the next 12 miles to Ardoch, where again a beach-like swell
or very low ridge, 2 to 3 feet high and having a Avidth of 30 rods or more,
with crest at 826 to 827 feet, runs from south to north across the railway
about an eighth of a mile north of the station.

THE BUENSIDE BEACH IN MANITOBA. 467

This western Burnside shore enters Manitoba near Blumenort, 19 miles
west of the Red River, but it is not distinctly marked on the international
boundary. Passing northward about a mile east of Lowestoft and 3 miles
east of Cannan, it crosses the Carman Branch of the Manitoba and South-
western Railway at Maryland, where the elevation of the crest of its beach
ridge is 844 feet. About a mile north-northwest of Maryland this ridge
has been extensively excavated, its gravel and sand being used for railway
ballast. One and a half miles farther north it crosses the main line of
this railway about a mile west of Elm Creek station (the junction of the
branch), its crest there being at 845 feet, from which its slopes fall 10 feet
in 25 rods east and 7 feet in an equal distance west.

The Canadian Pacific Railway crosses this shore about halfway be-
tween Portage la Prairie and Burnside, and in the next 1(J miles of its
course, passing northwest nearly thi'ough the center of township 12, range
8, it is marked by a large gravel ridge, the crest of which, in the south part
of section 11, IJ to 2 miles north of Burnside, has an elevation of 858 to
860 feet, with descent from it of 6 to 10 feet northeastward and half as
much to the southwest. This beach is similarly prominent on the Manitoba
and Northwestern Railway, by which it is crossed and excavated for ballast
halfway between Westbourne and Woodside, its crest there being 860 to
862 feet above the sea. Along the next 40 miles the Burnside shore-line is
generally mai'ked by a well-developed beach ridge which is traceable on
the plats of" the Dominion Land Sui-veys parallel with the west shore of
Lake Manitoba and 4 to 5 miles distant from, it, passing about halfway
between the lak-e and the Big Grrass Marsh. It thus lies near the line
between ransres 9 and 10 as far north as to the east side of the lake in
sections 13 and 24, township 18, range 10, beyond which it runs north-
northwest.

Between the south ends of Lakes Manitoba and Winnipeg the country
about Shoal Lake was uncovered by the fall of Lake Agassiz from the
Gladstone to the Burnside beach, which latter is crossed by the Winnipeg
and Hudson Bay Railway near the southwest corner of section 36, town-
ship 14, range 2, about 3 miles south of Shoal Lake. The crest of the
beach is 860 feet above the sea, being 10 feet above Shoal Lake. Here its

468 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

course is from west to east along the verge of a nearly level expanse of
till reaching to the lake, to which its drainage is tributary. Two or 3 miles
farther east, where the road to Stonewall and Winnipeg crosses this beach,
it has a descent of 20 feet in 30 or 40 rods south from its crest, the whole
slope being gravel and sand, the combined shore deposits of the Bumside
and Ossowa stages of Lake Agassiz. Westward the beaches of these stages
are separated by a width of 1 to 2 miles, the Burnside beach lainning
southwest and west tlu-ough the south half of township 14, rang-e 3. Near
the west side of this township it curves northward, and thence passes north
and north-northwest between Shoal and Manitoba lakes. East of the road
before mentioned the course of this beach is northeastward across town-
ship 15, range 1 east, and township 16, range 2 east, to Pleasant Home
post-office. Numerous short beach ridges noted on the township plats
northwest of this beach, between it and Shoal Lake, were probably formed
during the Gladstone stage of Lake Agassiz where the highest parts of that
area rose above its level.

Passing over the eastern Mossy portage from Lake Winnipegosis to
Cedar Lake, on the Saskatchewan, Mr. Tyrrell found that the highest land
crossed is a gravel ridge with crest 921 feet above the sea, being 93 feet
above the first of these lakes. It probably is a beach belonging to a level
of Lake Agassiz near 910 feet, the same stage that formed the Burnside
shore-line farther south. This locality is about 70 miles northeast of
Kettle Hill, and the continuation of the Gladstone beach with the gradient
which it has from Gladstone to Kettle Hill would cany it at Mossy portage
85 or 40 feet above the Bm-nside level there.

THE OSSOWA BEACH.

Lake Agassiz at the time of the Ossowa beach extended into the
United States nearly 60 miles, but the only part of this shore which has
been recognized and examined south of the international boundary is an
extent of a few miles in Pembina County, N. Dak. In sections 21, 16,
and 17, township 162, range 52, close south of the Tongue River, at a
distance of 4 miles northeast from Hamilton, two or thi'ee parallel low,

THE OSSOWA BEACH. 469

beach-like ridges were observed, elevated 2 to 4 feet above the intervening
hollows and general surface, their height being between 815 and 820 feet
above the sea. They run from southeast to northwest, and their continu-
ation north of this river was noted at the same height 4 to 6 miles north-
westward in sections 36 and 25, Neche, about 2J miles east-northeast from
Bathgate. Both the ridges and the adjoining surface are fine silt.

Ossowa post-office, from which the shore-line takes its name, is situated
near the middle of the north half of section 27, township 13, range 4,
Manitoba, on a well-defined beach ridge which runs from west-southwest
to east-northeast through this township. Its crest varies in elevation from
843 to 848 feet, with descent of 3 to 8 feet on its north side and 12 to 15
feet on the south. The Canadian Pacific Railway was originally con-
structed from Stonewall due west to this beach, which it cut through in the
east edge of section 28. In the railway cut its material is wholly gravel,
in part very coarse, containing pebbles and subangular rock fragments up
to 4 inches and rarely 6 or 8 inches in diameter, of which fully nineteen-
twentieths are magnesian limestone. On each side the surface is till, with
plentiful bowlders, mostly Archean granite and gneiss, but including many
of this limestone, which is the underlying rock of the region. In the
north part of township 13, range 3, this beach curves to the south, east,
and northeast, and thence passes through the southeast part of town-
ship 14, range 3, and the north half of township 14, range 2, gradually
approaching and in some places joining the Burnside beach, with which
the Ossowa beach is approximately parallel, lying a half mile to 1 or 2
miles southeast of it onward to Pleasant Home.

The only other locality where a beach referable to this stage was
observed is on the top of Stony Mountain, on which a broad, smoothly
rounded ridge of gravel and sand extends nearly a quarter of a mile, and
is the site of some of the penitentiary buildings. Its crest is about 835
feet above the sea, and the top of the underlying limestone about 825 feet.

The western Ossowa shore-line crosses the international boundary 3
or 4 miles east of Gretna, and the eastern enters Minnesota about three-
quarters of a mile west of "the Ridge," but they are not there marked by
noteworthy beach deposits nor erosion.

470 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

North of Lake Winnipegosis, tlie Ossowa shore on the ascent of the
eastern Mossy portage, as described by Mr. Tyrrell, takes the form of an
escai-pment, with its crest 63 feet above this lake, or 891 feet above the sea.
It was probably eroded by the waves of Lake Agassiz when its surface
there was approximately at 875 feet, midway between its Burnside and
Stonewall levels at this locality.

THE STONEWALL BEACH.

In the town of Stonewall, Manitoba, the main street crosses a conspic-
uous beach ridge which runs from south-southwest to north-northeast a
third of a mile or more. Its crest is 820 to 825 feet above the sea, and its
depth is about 10 feet. Only 2 or 3 feet of till intervene between this
gravel and sand and the underlying limestone, which, thinly covered by
drift, rises in a swell here about 25 feet above the adjoining country a half
mile distant to the east and west. Beach deposits belonging to this stage
were not elsewhere observed in southern Manitoba, but they are doubtless
traceable from Stonewall northward through the west half of townships 14
and 15, range 2 east. Lake Agassiz, at the time of the Stonew;an beach,
probably extended on the flat Red River Valley to a distance of about
25 miles south of the international boundary, being some 15 feet deep at
Emerson, St. Vincent, and Pembina, while over the site of Winnipeg its
depth was about 60 feet.

A somewhat ridged eontoiir upon the otherwise very flat surface of fine
alluvial silt was noted 6 to 7 miles east of Hamilton and Bathgate, N. Dak.
The wave-like and almost beach-like undulations, rising 2 to 4 feet above
the depressions which separate them and above the general level, run north-
northwesterly through the east part of section 11 and the central part of
section 2, township 162, range 52, close southeast of the Tongue River.
Similar ccmtour was also noticed in the continuation of this course within a
few miles northward between the Tongue and Pembina rivers. The height
of this belt is about 805 feet above the sea.

On the eastern Mossj^ portage the crest of the Stonewall beach, as
observed by Mr. Tyrrell, is 27 feet above Lake Winnipegosis, or 855 feet

STONEWALL AND NIVEEVILLE BEACHES. 471

above the sea, being probably 10 feet higher than the level of Lake Agassiz
there when the beach was accumulated. Again, on the line of the tramway
at the Grand Rapids of the Saskatchewan, the same beach is found by Mr.
Tyrrell at the elevation of 850 feet; and he states that it is also well seen
at Point Brabant and other places along the east side of Lake Winnipegosis,
and that it probably is represented by the ridge in the grove behind Mani-
toba House, which is situated on the west shore of Lake Manitoba, close
south of the Narrows.

BEACHES OF THE NIVERVILLE STAGES.

The road on the east side of the Red River between Winnipeg and
Emerson crosses a beach ridge about a half mile southeast of Niverville.
It has a width of 15 rods, and its crest, 777 to 778 feet above the sea, is
raised about 4 feet above the adjoining surface of lacustrine silt on each
side. Beginning near Niverville station, it extends southeasterly at least a
mile. Another beach ridge of similar size, with its crest at 780 feet, is
crossed by this road a third of a mile farther south. This also runs
southeast, holding its ridged form a mile or more, beyond which it is less
distinct. Again, a few miles to the south from these, a beach ridge extends
along this road in a nearly due-south course across the southeast quarter of
section 17 and the east half of sections 8 and 5, townshijj 7, range 4 east.
It rises 2 to 4 feet above the land adjoining on each side, which is partly
sloughs, with water throughout the year, the elevation of the beach crest
being 782 to 784 feet. Other beach deposits at nearly the same elevation
occur a mile southwest of Otterburne; a few miles farther to the south in
the northeast part of township 5, range 3 east; and about a mile east of the
Red Rivei', opposite to Morris. At the last-named locality thej are exca-
vated for masons' sand. From the southern end of Lake Agassiz in this
stage, near Morris, Manitoba, its western shore extended north and north-
west to the vicinity of Starbuck, thence north and northeast to Little Stony
Mountain, 5 miles northwest of Winnipeg, and thence niearly due north,
passing between Stonewall and Stony Mountain and onward along the west
side of Lake Winnipeg, at a distance of a few miles from it. Gravelly and

472 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

sandy deposits at the base of Stony Mountain on its nortli and south sides
are attributable to erosion by the lake, there only a few feet deep, at the
time of formation of the Niverville beach. Its level was 15 to 20 feet
above the surface where the city of Winnipeg is built.

Numerous observations of the Niverville beach have been made by
Mr. Tyrrell on the shores and islands of Lake Winnipeg. Its occurrence
on Black Island, about 150 miles north of the international boundary, is
described by him as follows, excepting that his later determination of the
height of the beach as 60 feet above Lake Winnipeg is substituted instead
of his previous estimate, which was 20 feet lower:

At Ox Head, uear the northeastern extremity of Black Island, an ancient beach
is very conspicuous at about 60 feet above the water. On the south side of the island
the beach is marked by a line of sand dunes, and on the north side a sandy terrace
rises gently to a height of 60 feet and ends abruptly at the foot of a steep slope thickly
strewn with bowlders. On ascending this slope the land is found to rise to a height
of 100 feet above the lake and its summit to consist of an irregular aggregation of
knolls, thickly strewn with large bowlders of gneiss, very few or none being derived
from the immediately adjoining or underlying Keewatin schists. This ridge is the
summit of the Black Island moraine, which would seem to have been dropped here
when the higher parts of the island were above the surface of Lake Agassiz, as there
is no sign of water action on the moraine above the line of the 60-foot beach. It is
possible that the moraine may have been deposited about the water level, and that the
water afterwards rapidly receded to a height 60 feet above the present lake. ^

Instead of the view taken by Mr. Tyi-rell, however, concerning the
depth of Lake Agassiz here when the Black Island moraine was formed, I
believe that it was deposited in water 600 to 700 feet deep, bordering the
ice front, contemporaneously with the foi-mation of the Herman or Norcross
shore-Hnes. The morainic accumulations, lying thenceforward at the bot-
tom of Lake Agassiz, could not have been exposed to erosion by its waves
until the very late change of its northward outlets, by which the lake fell
about 50 feet between the Stonewall and Niverville beaches; and this
reduction appears to have taken place so quickly that no beach ridge nor
eroded escarpment was made on the upper part of Black Island.

At the Grand Rapids of the Saskatchewan, according to Mr. Tyrrell,
the tramway of the portage, which is some 4 miles from the mouth of the

' Am. Geologist, Vol. VIII, p. 25, July, 1891.

NIVEEVILLE BEACHES. 473

nver and extends about 1 mile, crosses three beach ridges of gravel and sand
that together represent the single Niverville beach farther south. Their
heights, in order from west to east, are 95, 90, and 80 feet above Lake
Winnipeg, or 805, 800, and 790 feet above the sea. Two Niverville stages
of Lake Agassiz, or we may say three, are thus shown to have been caused
here by the northward uplifting of the land, with intervals of 5 and 10 feet
between its stages of temporary repose.

All the shore-lines described in this chapter and in the two preceding
chapters must be referred to the glacial Lake Agassiz, held on its northern
side by the barrier of the waning ice-sheet; for the country north of Lake
Winnipeg presents no barrier of land through which the Nelson River has
cut its passage so high as the Niverville beach. Lake Winnipeg and its
outflowing stream have been lowered by erosion only about 20 feet from
the level of the beach noted by Hind thirty -five years ago.^

See Cha ter V, p. 221.

CHAPTER IX.
CHANGES IN THE LEVELS OF THE BEACHES.

THE NORTHWARD ASCENT OF THE WESTERN SHORE-LINES.

The successive shore-lines of Lake Agassiz are not parallel with each
other and with the present levels of the sea and of Lakes Winnipeg and
Manitoba, but have a gradual ascent from south to north, which is greatest
in the earlier and higher beaches and slowly diminishes through the lower
stages of the lake, being at last only slightly different from the level of
the j^resent time. On the west side of Lake Agassiz the elevations of its
beaches have been determined by my continuous leveling, referred to sea-
level by railway surveys, through a distance of more than 300 miles from
its mouth at Lake Traverse northward to near Riding Mountain in Mani-
toba; and the accompanying table, on page 476, shows approximately the
stages of the lake during the formation of these shore-lines in their rela-
tions to each other and to the present level. These stages of the water
surface have been assumed to coincide generally with the foot of the lake-
ward slope of the beach ridges, and with the base of the eroded shore
escarpments, the crests of the beaches having had a variable height from
5 to 15 feet above the lake, corresponding with their less or more massive
development, while the escarpments rose from the water's edge 10, 20, or
rarely 30 feet.

In this table the estimated stages of the lake are noted for comparison
at its mouth, where it outflowed l)y the River Warren at the north end of
Lake Traverse, and on four lines of latitude which are nearly equidistant
from each other, passing through Fargo, Grand Forks, Emerson, and Glad-
stone, respectively 75, 150, 224, and 308 miles north of Lake Traverse.
Though the fourth of these intervals is somewhat greater than the others,
it may still be considered equivalent to them in the observed elevations and
northward ascent of the lake shores, because, as will appeal- further on, the

474

NOETHWARD ASCENT OP THE BEACHES. 475

northward rise of the land and subsidence of the lake had their maximum
increase from south-southwest to north-northeast or nearly in that direction.
Therefore the more western course of these beaches in the northern part of
the area examined compensates approximately for the additional distance
between the third and fourth of these groups of observations.

The letters a h c d represent successive beaches along the northern
part of Lake Agassiz, which are merged in a single beach toward its south
end. Several of the beaches thus noted in a preliminary report^ are found
to become double in some parts of their northward extent, and a corre-
spondence in notation is here preserved by designating subordinate stages
by double letters, as cm, hh. There are also added the two stages of the
Tintah beaches which were discovered after the publication of that report.

The lake shore belonging to the highest or Herman stage a has now a
northward ascent of about 35 feet in the first 75 miles north from Lake
Traverse, about 60 feet in the second 75 miles, and about 80 feet in the
third distance of 74 miles to the international boundary. Its whole ascent
thus in 224 miles is 175 feet by a slope which increases from slightly less
than a half of a foot per mile in its southern third to slightly more than 1
foot per mile in its northern third. Througli six lower stages represented
by separate beaches northward, which seem to be imited in the single
Herman beach along the southern third of the lake, the northward ascent
is gradually diminished to approximately 30, 40, 60, and 70 feet in the four
poi-tious of the observed course of these shore-lines, amounting thus to 200
feet in about 300 miles. On the international boundary the lowest Herman
stage, dd, is about 55 feet below the Herman stage a, while the probable
erosion of the outlet and consequent lowering of the south end of the lake
between these stages appears not to have exceeded 10 feet.

Between the series of Herman beaches and the series of Norcross
beaches the River Warren eroded its chamiel about 15 feet; and the upper
Norcross shore ascends northward in these successive distances about 25,
35, 55, and 70 feet, amounting to 185 feet in the entire distance of 308
miles. In the most southern quarter its ascent is a third of a foot per
mile, and this gradually increases to nearly 1 foot per mile in the most

1 U. S. Geol. Survey, Bulletin No. 39, p. 20.

476

THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Stages of the glacial Lalce Agassiz^ western shore.

Beaches.

Month of
Lake Agas-
siz outtiow-

ing by tlie
River War-
ren, at the

north end
of Lake

Traverse.

On tbelutitiule
of Fargo and

Wbeathmd. N.

Dak., 75 miles

nortii of Lake

Traverse.

Ph

0 >

On the latitude
of Grand Forks

and Larimore,
N. Dak., 150

miles north of
Lake Traverse.

Ph

On the inter-
national boand-
ary, 224 miles
north of Lake
Traverse,

On the latitude
of Gladstone,
Arden, and
Neepawa, Man-
itoba, 308 miles
north of Lake
Traverse.

o m

2H

Herman beaches.

Norcross beaches .
Xintah beaches . . .

5"-

Campbell beaches <^aa.

b..

ra-
McCanleyvllle beaohea.< aa .

[b..

Blancharu beaches < & .

Hillsboro beach

Emerado beaches .

lb.

Ojata beaches-

Gladstone beach .

Bnrnside beach. .
Ossowa beach . . .
Stonewall beach.

Niverville beaches.

1,055

1.055

1,050

1,050

1,045

1,045

1,045

1,030

1,025

1,015

1,000

990

985

930

970

965

960

1(945)

(935)

(925)

(915)

(882)

(880)

(870)

(860)

(840)

(822)

(805)

(795)

(755)

(750)

1,090

1,090

1,085

1,085

1,080

1,075

1,075

1,055

1,050

1,035

1,017

1,000

995

988

977

971

965

9,50

940

928

918

5

(5)
(5)
(3)
(3)

1,150

1,145

1,135

1,132

1,125

1,117

1,115

1,090

1,080

1,065

1,045

1,015

1,010

1,000

987

981

975

960

948

935

923

890

885

875

865

845

827

95

90
85
82
80
72
70
60
55
50
45
25
25
20
17
16
15
(15)
(13)
(10)
(8)
(8)
(5)
(5)
(5)
(5)
(5)

1,230

1, 222

1,212

1,205

1,190

1,180

1,175

1,145

1,130

1,105

1,080

1,045

1,035

1,022

1,007

998

990

975

,960

947

935

902

897

887

877

857

837

817

805

175

167

162

155

145

135

130

115

105

90

80

55

50

42

37

33

30

(30)

(25)

(22)

(20)

(20)

(17)

(17)

(17)

(17)

(15)

(12)

(10)

1,315

1,295

1,275

1,255

1,245

1,215

1,185

1,150

1,120

1,080

1,070

1,055

1,035

1,023

1,012

995

980

965

953

920

915

905

895

875

855

835

820

775

770

265

245

230

210

200

185

160

135

120

90

85

75

65

58

52

(50)

(45)

(40)

(38)

(38)

(35)

(35)

(35)

(35)

(33)

(30)

(25)

(20)

(20)

'Figures in parentheses in the first column of elevations give approximately the heights which the stages of the lake
dnring its outflow northeastward would have h,id at Lake Traverse if the land there had been low enough to permit the
lake to extend south to its former outlet. From these estimated elevations tlie northward ascents of these stages, also in
parentheses, are obtained, so as to be directly compared with tlie northward ascents of the beaches that were formed while
the lake outflowed southward, showing the cliangea which were gradually taking place in the levels of the beaches of
Lake Agaaaiz during the whole time of its existence.

TABLES OF THE WESTERN BEACHES.

477

Stages of the glacial Lake Agassiz, tvestern shore.

[Contiuued by observations of Mr, J. B. Tyrrell in the region of Riding and Duck moiintaina and northward.'

i
1

1

On Valley River,

Manitoba, 375 miles

north of Lake

Traverse.

On Shanty Creek,

Manitolja,'395 milea

nortli of Lake

Traverse.

On Pine, Duck, and
Swan rivers, Man-
itoba, 420 to 440
miles north of
Lake Traverse.

On Kettle Hill, Man-
itoba, about 460
miles north of
Lake Traverse.

On Mo38y portage,
and at the Grand Rap-
ids of the Saskatche-
wan River, both in
the Province of
Saskatchewan, about
510 miles north of
Lake Traverse.

i

03
(D

■s

1

ca

a .
g

12;

gEB
P

' /a

■3
1
1

1

id

a >

a§
II

i

j

a .

O oj

as

(25

Id

i|

1

1

a .

§3
K

i

d
1-1

h

1

S6

II

ig
g o

1'

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

1,280
1,260
1,220

250
235
205

65
75
70

1,365
1,319
1,287
1,235
1,190
1,180

335
294
272
235
200
195

150
134
137"
115
110
. 110

1,440

410

225

1,365

350

215

1,290

300

210

1,135

150

65

1,084
1,075

114

110

49

52

n, 120

150

85

n,201

231

166

11,040

95

45

1,151
1,130

n.ioo

1,030

206
195
175
115

166
150
135
77

1,070

1,015

995

155
133
115

117
95
100

960

80

60

955
920

95
80

60
45

'

910
875
845
800
790

88
70
50
45
40

55

40

25

*>5

20

1 Estimated from its elevation of 1,025 feet on Ochre River.
* Estimated from its elevations on Valley and Pine rivers.

31,175 on Pine River; 1,201 on Duck River; 1,160 at Square Plain, Swan River.

■'Estimated approximately for the vicinity of the two preceding; about 1,075 feet at Oak Creek, on the north side of
Swan River.

478 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

uortliern quarter. These rates of ascent are slightly reduced in the second
Norcross stage, where the total ascent is 160 feet. While the outlet was
being eroded probably 5 feet between the Norcros& stages, the combined
rise of the land and decline of the lake level were about 10 feet on the
international boundary and 25 feet on the latitude of Gladstone. The lake
shore belonging to the Tintah stage a ascends about 20, 30, 40, and 45 feet
in the successive distances from south to north, amounting in total to 135
feet; in the same distances the Campbell a shore ascends about 10, 15, 30,
and 35 feet, in total 90 feet; the McCauleyville a shore ascends about 7, 10,
20, and 28 feet, in total 65 feet; and the McCauleyville h shore ascends about
5, 10, 15, and 22 feet, in total 52 feet. The erosion of tlie River Warren
from the Norcross a stage to the McCauleyville h stage, at the end of which
the southward outflow ceased, was about 70 feet; but the vertical distance
between the shore-lines of these stages on the latitude of Gladstone is
about 200 feet, the difference of 130 feet being attributable to the north-
ward rise of the land and the fall of the lake level on account of the
dimuiished attraction of the ice-sheet. The rate of northward ascent is
reduced to less than an inch per mile along the southern part of the lowest
McCauleyville shore, and to 3 or 4 inches per mile along its northern part,
the average being 2 inches.

From the time of this lowest beach, formed during the southward
outflow of Lake Agassiz, to the time* of the first beach, formed during its
northeastward outflow, the lake fell only about 15 feet. Thence there is
now a descent, on the latitude of Gladstone, of about 220 feet to the
Niverville beach, below which Lake Agassiz, while its northern barrier of
ice remained, fell about 45 feet more before it was reduced to Lake Winni-
peg. The northward ascent of these shore-lines of northeastward outlet
decreases only slightly in the distance of 75 or 80 miles examined north of
the international boundary, the change being approximately from 20 feet
to 15 feet or less — that is, to the rate of about 2 inches per mile. If these
stages of the lake had reached south to Lake Traverse, they would proba-
bly show a decrease from about 50 to 25 feet, or to 20 feet, in their total
northward ascent above the level of the present time along the distance of

NOETHWAED ASCENT OF THE BEACHES. 479

more than 300 miles from Lake Traverse to tlie south ends of Lakes Mani-
toba and Winnipeg. The whole descent, on the latitude of Gladstone,
between the lowest McCauleyville beach, where Lake Agassiz ceased to
outflow southward, and the original level of Lake Winnipeg, about 20 feet
above the present surface of that lake, is about 280 feet, of which probably
25 or 30 feet may be due to the northward rise of the land and diminution
of gravitation toward the ice-sheet, while about 250 feet are due to the
gradual lowering of Lake Agassiz by its successive northeastern outlets.

The depth of Lake Agassiz above the present surface of the south end
of Lake Winnipeg was about 600 feet during its higher Herman stages, 500
feet at the upper Norcross stage, 440 feet at the upper Tintah stage, 370 feet
at the upper Campbell stage, and 325 and 300 feet in the upper and lower
McCauleyville stages, being thus reduced to half of its earHer depth before
it ceased to flow to the south. During the lower stages of outflow to the
northeast the depth of Lake Agassiz above Lake Winnipeg decreased to
285 feet at the upper Blanchard stage, about 240 feet at the time of the
Hillsboro beach, 210 feet in the Emerado stage, and successively about 185,
165, 145, 130, 110, and 65 feet in the Ojata, Gladstone, Burnside, Ossowa,
Stonewall, and Niverville stages.

The greatest expansion of Lake Agassiz was perhaps reached before
the Herman series of beaches was completed, and it apparently was main-
tained during the greater part of the time of outflow by the River Warren;
but through the successive stages of outflow northeastward the lake was
diminished in area by nearly proportionate gradations as its depth decreased.
When it began to flow in this direction it probably still occupied about
half of its area that was attained during the formation of the Herman and
Norcross beaches; but, in compensation for loss on its western and southern
borders, it may have received meanwhile as great addition by growth
toward the north and northeast, thus retaining, until it ceased to outflow at
Lake Traverse, nearly its maximum extent.

Beyond the limits of my leveling, portions of nearly all the shore-Hnes
of Lake Agassiz below those of the Herman series have been observed by
Mr. J. B. Tyrrell, of the Canadian Geological Survey, at localities in north-
western Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan. From a careful comparison

480 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

of the elevation of the beaclies noted by Mr. Tyn'ell with those deteraiined
by my survey, I am enabled to correlate very satisfactorily the two sets of
shore-lines. The northern continuations of the successive lake levels from
the upper Norcross stage to the Niverville stages, inclusive, are thus identi-
fied upon a region lying 50 to 200 miles beyond the area examined by me.
This correlation has been tabularly presented on page 477, in juxtaposition
with the table showing how the shore-lines ascend along their extent from
Lake Traverse to Gladstone.

In the southern area of my exploration nearly equal distances divide
the several sections across the shore-lines which are compared together;
but upon the country described by Mr. Tyrrell the spaces dividing succes-
sive sections are of various lengths. Between the latitude of Gladstone and
the Valley River is a distance of 67 miles. Thence to Shanty Creek, the
next locality of numerous observations, there is an interval of only 20
miles. Notations of the heights of nine beaches near the Pine, Duck, and
Swan rivers are upon an area 25 to 45 miles farther north. In this group
the observations in the valley of the Swan River are 20 to 30 miles west
of the others, and therefore have, on account of the north-northeastward
du-ection of the ascent of the former lake levels, a nearer equivalence with
the elevations of beaches on the Pine River than on the Duck River. The
fourth series of beaches recorded is on Kettle Hill, close south of Swan
Lake, at a distance of some 20 or 25 miles north from the Duck River
and the northern end of Duck Mountain, and about 150 miles north from
the latitude of Gladstone. Finally, the fifth series was noted on Mossy
portage and at the Grand Rapids of the Saskatchewan, about 50 miles north
of the last.

As already stated in Chapters V and VIII, the beaches east and north
of Riding and Duck mountains are found to have a more rapid northward
ascent than along their southern portion traced by my leveling. It is also
very noteworthy that this large amount of differential uplifting was chiefly
done after the time of formation of the Campbell beaches, whereas nearly
all the uplifting of the area from the southern mouth of Lake Agassiz to
Gladstone had taken place earlier. During the first third or half of the
period of the entu-e duration of Lake Agassiz the southern and central part

PEOGEESSIVE UPLIFT FROM HOUTH TO NORTH. 481

of the lake basin, reaching north to Gladstone, had been raised nearly to
its present height. Then followed a time, during the second third of the
lake's existence, in which the district that includes Riding and Duck moun-
tains and extends north to the mouth of the Saskatchewan was being rapidly
uplifted. But this later northward and northeastward advance of the wave
of upheaval had passed beyond the Saskatchewan before Lake Agassiz
was reduced to Lake Winnipeg, as is shown by the nearly level Niverville
beaches, the latest formed while the ice barrier remained. The rise of the
land approximately to its present height is thus known to have followed
close upon the glacial recession by which the land was relieved of the ice
weight.

The remnants of the ice-sheet adjoining Hudson Bay were not melted
away until the Recent or post-Glacial epoch had begun in the northern
United States, their departure being possibly even nearer to the present
day than to the time of withdrawal of the ice barrier of Lake Agassiz.
Moving onward pari passu with the departure of the ice, the uplifting wave
of the earth's crust has raised the basin of Hudson Bay 300 to 500 feet
since the sea was admitted to it, and the upheaval there is not yet com-
pleted. Though doubtless slower than at first, it is still in progress,
according to Dr. Bell's observations, at a probable rate of 5 to 7 feet per
century.

Three stages of the elevation of this region from its Champlain subsid-
ence are thus indicated by the beaches of Lake Agassiz and the fossiliferous
marine beds overlying the till about Hudson Bay, the first extending from
Lake Traverse to Gladstone and the south end of Riding Mountain, the
second reaching thence probably to the northern and northeastern limits
of the area that was occupied by Lake Agassiz, and the third affecting
the basin of James and Hudson bays. On the conunon borders of these
contiguous areas the uplifts were of course interblended ; but it seems to
be clearly shown by the Campbell and Niverville beaches that there was
essential rest from the uplifting movement, with a permanence of height
nearly as now, upon the southern part of the basin of Lake Agassiz while
its northern part was rising, and afterward upon the whole of this basin
while the country surrounding Hudson Bay has been elevated. A wave of
MON XXV 31

482 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

permanent uplift lias advanced from near the southern border of the glaci-
ated area to its central jjortion, where the ice-sheet was thickest and where
it lingered in remnants probably long after its principal mass was melted.^

According to my correlation, the highest beach observed by Mr. Tyr-
rell east of Riding and Duck mountains belongs to the upper Norcross
stage of Lake Agassiz, which now has an ascent of 410 feet from its mouth,
near Lake Traverse, to Pine River, in a distance of about 420 miles. The
rate of ascent of this beach from the latitude of Gladstone to Valley River
is about 1 foot per mile, but thence for nearly 50 miles northward to Pine
River it somewhat exceeds 3 feet. The same I'ates of ascent continue, with
only slight changes in the Tintah and Campbell beaches, for the distances
from the latitude of Gladstone to the Valley and Pine rivers. This portion
of the western shore of Lake Agassiz had risen almost uniformly through-
out its extent while these beaches were being formed. It had been lifted
as a whole to the same amount as its southern part near Gladstone, but it
experienced scarcely any diiferential elevation or tilting until after the
formation of the Campbell beaches.

The rate of northward ascent of the upper McCauleyville beach is 9
inches per mile between Gladstone and the Valley River, and thence
northward for 55 miles to the Duck River it ascends a little more than
2 feet per mile. In the case of the upper Blanchard beach, the lowest
noted near the Valley River, these rates of ascent are respectively 8 inches
and 2 feet.

After Lake Agassiz began to outflow northeastward, the differential
northward uplifting of this district of the Riding and Duck mountains went
on rapidly, amounting probably to 70 feet within the distance of 50 miles
next northward from the Valley River during the time between the upper
Blanchard beach and the lower Emerado beach. The latter has an ascent
of only 60 feet in about 110 miles northward from Gladstone to the Pine
River, while in the next 40 miles north to Kettle Hill it rises, like the
preceding Hillsboro beach, 1 foot per mile.

Below these shore-lines the later lake levels have been changed com-
paratively little from their original horizontality. In the distance of 150

'Journal of Geology, Vol. II, jip. 383-395, May-Juue, 1894.

THE UPLIFT GRADUAL, WITHOUT FAULTING. 483

miles northward fi'om tlie latitude of Gladstone to Kettle Hill the lower
Ojata beach and the Gladstone beach ascend, respectively, 60 and 45 feet;
and in 200 miles from Gladstone to the Mossy portage and the mouth
of the Saskatchewan the successive ascents of the Burnside, Ossowa, and
Stonewall beaches are 55, 40, and 25 feet, or only about 3 inches to 1^
inches per mile.

The very regular northward rise of the beaches of this lake throughout
all their explored extent, nowhere having any abrupt changes of level,
indicates clearly that this region has not experienced violent orogenic dis-
turbance nor faulting since the departure of the ice-sheet. Its changes of
level, which have been of large amount, as shown by the tilted planes of the
former lake surfaces, took place gradually and continued through the entire
duration of the lake. They went forward most rapidly upon the areas
which had been latest bared from the retreating ice-sheet, and they were
essentially finished, bringing the basin to the same height and attitude
as now before the ice barrier was removed from the course of the Nelson
River. The continuity of the beaches and the slow and gradual changes
in their gradients prove that no faults or dislocations attended the uplifting,
tilting, and bending of the subjacent rock formations.

EASTWARD ASCENT OF THE FORMER LAKE liEVELS,

Exploration of the beaches formed on the east side of Lake Agassiz
has been mostly limited to Minnesota, because the eastern part of this lake
area in Manitoba is covered by forest and is almost wholly without settle-
ments or roads, so that for the present a survey of the shore-lines there is
impracticable. For the same reasons the upper shores in Minnesota have
not been exactly traced east of Maple Lake, which lies 20 miles east-
southeast of Crookston. Within the prairie area across Avhicli the highest
eastern shore has been surveyed and its elevation determined by leveling
its northward ascent is about 115 feet in 140 miles, from 1,055 feet above
the sea at Lake Traverse to 1,170 feet at the north side of Maple Lake. As
on the western shore of Lake Agassiz, the rate of ascent gradually increases
from south to north, ranging from 6 inches to 1 foot per mile in its southern

484 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

portion for about 75 miles, and from 1 foot to 16 inches per mile farther
north. Before the lake in Minnesota had fallen below its highest eastern
beach iu the south half of its explored extent the rise of the land and
diminution of attraction of the waning ice-sheet had caused a slightly lower
parallel beach, three-fourths of a mile to IJ miles distant, to be formed
through the northern third of Clay County; and this secondary beach,
sometimes double or triple, is observable at several places along the next
30 miles northward. At the northwest side of Maple Lake definite beach
ridges belonging to the Herman stages of Lake Agassiz lie successively
about 8, 15, 30, and 45 feet below its highest beach. Yet all these shore-
lines were formed while the relative heights of the land and the lake
continued stationary or with only slight change, not sufficient for the
formation of any secondary beach ridge, along a distance of some 75 miles
northward from Lake Traverse and Herman.

The Norcross beaches in Minnesota have been explored and their
height measured through the same extent of 140 miles, in which the upper
Norcross beach ascends northward about 65 feet by a slope that increases
slightly from south to north, averaging nearly 6 inches per mile. In like
manner the northward ascents of the Tintah, Campbell, and McCauleyville
beaches in Minnesota, and of the lower beaches formed on this east side of
the lake during its outflow to the northeast, show a gradual decrease nearly
as on the west in North Dakota and Manitoba.

But comparison of the western and eastern shores reveals another very
interesting feature of the levels of this glacial lake, namely, an ascent from
west to east similar to that from south to north, but of less amount and
diminishing in a similar ratio between the successive stages of the lake.
On the latitude of Larimore and Grand Forks the ascent of the highest
Herman stage of Lake Agassiz above a line now level is approximately
33 feet in about 70 miles from west to east, the rate per mile being very
nearly half as much as from south to north; and in the later Herman
stages it is diminished to about 30, 25, and 20 feet. On the Norcross
shore-lines this ascent toward the east is approximately 10 feet iu about 60
miles, and it is reduced in the McCauleyville stages to only 3 or 4 feet in
about 50 miles; yet it continues through all these stages approximately half

MAXIMUM ASCENT NOETH-NOETHEASTWAED. 485

as much per mile as the ascent toward the north. The rate of ascent east-
ward also increases, like that northward, in proceeding from south to north.
At the latitude of Wahpeton and Breckenridge, 35 miles north from the
mouth of Lake Agassiz, the ascent of its highest stage is 10 feet from west
to east in 45 miles; at the latitude of Fargo and Moorhead, 75 miles north
from the outlet, it is 15 feet in 50 miles; and at the latitude of Grand
Forks, 150 miles north from the outlet, it is 33 feet in 70 miles.

BATE OF ASCENT GREATEST TOWARD THE NORTH-NORTHEAST.

These observations that the corresponding beaches are higher on the
east than on the west side of the lake, taken in connection with the doubly
more rapid northward ascent of the west and east shores, indicate that the
changes in the relations of the land and surfaces of level during the exist-
ence of Lake Agassiz and through subsequent time have given to the
former levels of this glacial lake a maximum ascent from south-southwest
to north-northeast, its rate in this direction being somewhat greater than
that noted in following the shores in their nearly due-north course. The
maximum rates of northward ascent of about 1 foot per mile observed in
North Dakota and southern Manitoba, and of 1 foot to 1 6 inches per mile
in Minnesota, therefore belong to a lake level which in its northern por-
tion, within the limits of my exploration, differs from the present level by
an ascent of approximately IJ feet per mile toward the north-northeast.
Similar north-northeastward ascent continues through the successive lower
stages of the lake, in which its amount in southern Manitoba, between the
international boundary and Gladstone, is reduced to about 4 inches per
mile at the lowest stage of southward outflow; and it is scarcely 1 inch
per mile in the Niverville beaches along their whole observed extent of
about 260 miles from Morris, Manitoba, north to the mouth of the Sas-
katchewan. No more than 20 feet of differential northward uplift has
taken place within this distance since the course of the Nelson River was
uncovered by the I'eceding ice-sheet.

Preliminary descrijjtions and discussions of the uplifting of this basin
which have been given in the chapter on the history of Lake Agassiz

486 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

showed that the movement of elevation of the country at Late Traverse
after the ice above was melted probably did not exceed 90 feet; that thence
northward the rise of the land and sinking of the geoid level, as affected by
ice attraction, increased to a combined value of about 350 feet at Gladstone
and nearly 500 feet in the district of the northern part of Duck Mountain,
where, as in Noi'th Dakota and Minnesota, the maximum rate of ascent of
the beach planes is toward the north-northeast; and that probably thence
north to the Saskatchewan and the Churchill, northeast to Hudson Bay,
and east to James Bay, the Ottawa basin, and Montreal, the amount of
uplift, since the departure of the ice, of a very large central part of the
area which it had covered was somewhat uniformly 500 to 600 feet. It
has been also shown from Mr. Tyrrell's observations in the district of Riding
and Duck mountains that after the southern half of the lake area had been
raised almost to its present height, and while that country north to Glad-
stone lay nearly undisturbed, a great uplift of later date took place in
the next 100 miles to the north; and that, after both these movements, the
region of Hudson and James bays was still later raised, probably from its
maximum depression to its present height. Throughout the area of my
survey of the Lake Agassiz shore-lines, and northward along the Riding
and Duck mountains, the epeirogenic movement was a tilting with ascent
to the north-northeast, toward the region Avhere the ice-sheet had its greatest
thickness; but the more northern and northeastern part of this lake bed,
with a great adjoining central portion of the vast expanse which had been
ice-enveloped, were elevated to an approximately uniform amount. The
elevation progressed from south to north and northeast like a wave, per-
manently uplifting successive areas, excepting so far as the borders of each
necessarily shared in the movements of the contiguous tracts earlier or later
uplifted.

CHANGES OF LEVELS NEARLY COMPLETED DURING THE EXISTENCE

OF LAKE AGASSIZ.

Nearly the entire amount of the changes in the levels of the beaches
of Lake Agassiz was evidently contemporaneous with the existence of this
lake, taking place gradually, but apparently progi'essing comparatively fast

EARLY COMPLETION" OF THE UPLIFT. 487

between the stages marked by the formation of definite beaches, which
doubtless belong to times when these changes advanced very slowly or
were interrupted by intervals of repose. Great as were the combined
epeirogenic uplift and modification of the geoid surface of level, producing
a differential rise of the highest western shore of the lake in Manitoba to
the extent of 175 feet at the international boundary, 266 feet at the latitude
of Gladstone, and about 400 feet at the latitude of 51° 52' north on the
east side of Duck Mountain, 200 miles north of the international boundary,
in the relation of the land to the water level, as compared with the vicinity
of Lake Traverse, they were yet almost or perhaps quite completed before
the ice-sheet was so far withdrawn that it was no longer a barrier to prevent
free drainage from the basin of the Red River and Lake Winnipeg.

During the subsequent postglacial period, to the present time, only
very slight changes have taken place in the relative elevations of the part
of this area, where the heights of the beaches of Lake Agassiz have been
determined in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Manitoba; and these small
changes of level, shown by the Niverville beaches, have been merely a
continuation of the movements which accompanied the recession of the
ice-sheet and are recorded by the successive shore-lines of this lake.

CAUSES OF THE CHAIfGES OF LEVELS.

In attempting to discern the causes of the changes of levels shown
by the shore-lines of Lake Agassiz, three diverse agencies, which certainly
must have been factors working together to produce the observed results,
are to be studied with respect to the proportion contributed by each. They
are considered in the following order: (1) Gravitation of the water of Lake
Agassiz toward the ice-sheet; (2) changes in the temperature of the earth's
crust due to the ice-sheet, or, in other words, to the cold of the Glacial
period and the return of the warmer climate now enjoyed; (3) epeirogenic
movements, or downward and upward bending, often more or less accom-
panied with the formation of faults, affecting' large areas of the earth's
surface, which may be due («) to the imposed weight of the ice-sheet
and to its removal, or (h) to conditions and stresses of the earth's crust and
interior originating otherwise, as by secular cooling and contraction.

488 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

The order in which we shall thus examine these several parts of the
complex causation of the changes of levels is not, however, the order of
their importance or several shares in the work. The third agency, mani-
fested in obedience to the pressure of the ice and in resilience when relieved
from it, is found to have been the prinoipal factor, producing far the greater
part of the changes of levels. Its manifestation within the area of Lake
Agassiz during the Glacial and Recent periods on account of the other
conditions and stresses mentioned appears to be only a small element in
the problem; though, when thus originating, it is seen to have had great
importance in causing such changes in other parts of the world, and even in
parts of North America, contemporaneously with the uplifting of the basin
of this lake. The first agency noted is found to be a considerable factor,
working' in the same directions as the epeirogenic effects of the transient
ice weight, and contributing perhaps a fifth or a fourth as much toward the
changed relations of the water level and the land area. But the second
agency, upon investigation, proves to have been slight in its effect, and
within the basin of Lake Agassiz, so far as it availed, it was opposed to the
other two.

GRAVITATION TOWARD THE ICE-SHEET.

Consideration of the character of the changes in the levels of the
beaches, resulting in a greater ascent upon the northern part of the area
examined than farther south, and gradually approximating, tlu'ough the
successive stages of the lake, to parallelism with the present geoid surface
of level, led me in my earlier studies to attribute these changes almost
wholly to gravitation of the water of the lake toward the ice-sheet. The
cause of the present relations of the old shore-lines seemed to be discov-
ered in the explanation that at first this attraction had a large effect upon
the lake level because of the nearness of a great depth of ice on the east
in northern Minnesota and on the north in British America, but that after-
ward it was gradually diminished to a comparatively small influence when
the southern portion of the ice-sheet had been melted and the attracting
force proceeded from the region far north between Lake Winnipeg and
Hudson Bay.* Under this view the earth's crust was believed to be so

' Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Minnesota, Eleventh Annual Report, p. 152 ; U. S. Geol. Survey,
Bulletin No. 39, p. 18.

GRAVITATION TOWAED THE lOE-SHEET. 489

rigid that it was not depressed hj the vast weight of the ice nor raised
when relieved of that weight, and the changes were believed to consist
chiefly in the differential subsidence of the lake level, not in the differ-
ential elevation of the land basin.^ The general nniformity of these
changes in their direction and extent, and their probable completion during
the departure of the ice-sheet, seemed to accord with this hypothesis.
The exact comparison of the shore-lines siirveyed by me, with leveling, on
both the east and west sides of the lake, extending for its upper stages 140
miles from south to north in Minnesota and more than 300 miles from
south to north in North Dakota and southern Manitoba, shows no con-
siderable irregularity in the rates of northward and eastward ascent — that,
is, of north-northeastward ascent — of the former lake levels, which thus
seem to be attributable to gravitation toward the waning ice-sheet, rather
tlian to a progressive elevation of the land, for that would be expected to
present noteworthy irregularities upon so large an area. It is probable,
however, that close scrutiny of the shore-lines will disclose small diverg-
ences, within limits of a few feet, from the uniformity of slopes which
they should have for agreement with this explanation; and it is to be
noticed that the highest shores in the vicinity of Treherne, Brandon, and
Neepawa, Manitoba, have more nearly a northward than north-north-
eastward ascent; also that a slightly disproportionate increase in the ascent
of the highest Minnesota shore-line in the next 10 or 15 miles north of the
Buffalo River was ascribed to the proximity of a portion of the ice-sheet
on the east, where it was forming the Fergus Falls and Leaf Hills moraines.
Though it now appears true that the greater part of these changes of level
are due to the differential rise of the land, the gravitation of the lake
toward the ice-sheet certainly operated in conjunction with that cause,
contributing to the full extent of its competency in producing the results
observed.

Mr. R. S. Woodward, of the United States Geological Survey, has
worked out the mathematical problem of determining the effect of any

• Similar oscillations in tlie relative heights of sea and land, associated with glaciation, have been
thus ascribed to ice attraction by Atlhemar, in Revolutions de la Mer, 1840; by CroU, in Climate and
Time, 1875; and by Peuck, in Schvi^aukungen des Meeresspiegels, Jahrbuch der GeograiJhischen
Gesellschaft zu MUnchen, bd. VII, 1882.

490 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

added mass, as an ice-sheet, upon the eartli's surface, to distiu'b the levels
of the sea and of lakes.^ Assuming' an ice-sheet with a radial extent of 38°,
or about 2, GOO miles, and a central depth of 10,000 feet, from which the
depth decreases at first slowly and then more rapidly to its border, he finds
that the average slope witliiu 1 degree of the border of the ice would be
about 5 inches per mile, or less than one-third of the north-northeastward
ascent of the highest shore-lines of Lake Agassiz in the north part of the
area where they have been traced with leveling. If we compare the prem-
ises in this problem with the probable conditions affecting this glacial lake,
it seems sure that the North American ice-sheet in its maximum extent
covered not more than about one-fourth so great an area, its extent being
equivalent to a spherical circle with a radius of 1,200 or 1,300 miles; but,
on the other hand, it is probable that the maximum depth of this ice-
sheet somewhat exceeded 10,000 feet, and that the area of this great depth
was a belt extending' eastward from a few hundred miles north or northeast
of the south part of Lake Agassiz to a distance of about 1,000 miles east-
northeast, lying thus much i\earer than in the assumed ease of Mr. Wood-
ward's investigation. The smaller area and less total mass of the ice-sheet
attracting Lake Agassiz may have been offset by the nearer position of a
large part of its mass than in the assumption of the problem, so that
possibly its influence might be as great in producing an ascent of the lake
level above the level of the present time; but, if this mathematical inves-
tigation is reliable, gravitation of the lake toward its ice barrier could not
give to its highest shore a noi'thward ascent of more tlian a few inches per
mile, at the most not so much as half a foot, whereas its observed ascent
within the area of my leveling attains a maximum rate of 1 foot to 16
inches per mile, and this belongs to a north-northeastward ascent of fully
IJ feet per mile. A quarter part, or probably less, of the changes in the
levels of these beaches is therefore referable to ice attraction, while the

'U. S. Geol. Survey, Sixtli Annual Report, for 1884-85, pp. 291-300; aud Bulletin No. 48, "On the
form iind position of the sea level," 1888, p. 88. Compare also Prof. Edward Hull's computations,
" On the eifect of continental lands in altering the level of the adjoining oceans," Geol. Magazine (3),
Vol. V, pp. 113-115, March, 1888; "Polar ice-caps aud their influence in changing sea levels," by Sir
William Thomson, Trans., Geol. Society of Glasgow, Vol. VIII, 1888, pp. 322-340; and "The study of
the earth's figure by means of the pendulum," by E. D. Preston, Am. Jour. Sci. (3), Vol. XLI, pp.
445-460, June, 1891.

CRUSTAL CHANGES IN TEMPERATUEB. 491

remaining three-quarters, or a larger part, amounting at least to about 130
to 300 feet, from south to north, in southwestern Manitoba, belongs to a
differential elevation of the land.

CHANGES IN THE TEMPERATURE OF THE EARTH'S CRUST.

Among the conditions producing changes in the height and slopes of
the land on which Lake Agassiz lay are the cooling and contraction of the
earth's crust by the ice-sheet and glacial waters, and the subsequent warm-
ing and expansion owing to the amelioration of the climate. The supei^ficial
portion of the earth's crust in the Red River Valley has a temperature of
47° to 42° F., as shown by the water of artesian wells situated respectively
at Ada and Donaldson, Minn. ' But during the time when this district was
covered by the ice-sheet the temperature of the underlying land surface
was reduced to the freezing point, 32° F., and a similar lowering of tem-
perature may have affected the crust to a considerable depth, largely through
the influence of percolating water, causing a slight depression of the isogeo-
tlierms, with consequent contraction of the rocks and lowering- of the land
surface. By comparison with the present mean annual temperature of the
Red River Valley, ranging approximately from 41° at Lake Traverse to 33°
at Winnipeg, ^ it is evident that the artesian waters before noted receive part
of their heat from the earth's interior. In like manner probably the interior
heat kept the superficial portion of the earth's crust beneath the ice-sheet
as warm as 32°, at which temperature the earth's heat would be continually
melting the ice, though certainly at a very slow rate.

The differences in the temperatures of the earth's crust, due to the
ice-sheet and to water permeating downward from it, would not, therefore,
probably exceed 15° from that of the present time in the southern part of
the basin of Lake Agassiz, and would decrease to 10° at Donaldson, in
Kittson County, the most northwestern 'in Minnesota, and to even a less
amount at Winnijjeg. The extent to which these slight changes in the

' Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Minnesota, Eleventh Annual Report, pp. 147, 148. Detailed
descriptious of these wells are given in the next chapter.

- C. A. .Sohott in Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge, Vol. XXI, 1876 ; Atlas of the Tenth
Census of the United States; Report of the Department of Agriculture and Statistics of M.initoba
for 1882, p. 318. Also see Chapter XI for statements of the monthly and mean annual temperature at
this district.

492 ■ THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

crustal temperatures would depress the land while it was ice-covered and
raise it when the ice was withdrawn depends on the ratios of contraction
and expansion of the underlying rocks. These ratios have been experi-
mentally determined in the case of various building stones, and computations
therefrom indicate that only a very small amount of subsidence and eleva-
tion of the land could be caused in this way.^ The total elevation so
produced was probably not more than 50 feet in the southern part of the
Red River Valley, and not more than 30 feet at Winnipeg; and its slight
differential effect would be in the opposite direction to that which has given
to the beaches of Lake Agassiz their northward ascent. This element in
the causation of the changes of elevation appears to be comparatively
insignificant in itself, and its small component in the oscillation of the shore-
lines would be opposed to that for wliich we are seeking an explanation.

EPEIROGENIC MOVEMENTS APPARENTLY DEPENDENT ON GLACIATION.

It seems to be very clearly indicated by the gradual diminution in the
northward ascent of the beaches, until the lowest and latest have nearly
the level of the present time, that these progressive changes of elevation
were directly dependent upon the departure of the ice-sheet, with which
great geologic event they were contemporaneous. As already noted in
Chapter V and on a foregoing page of this chapter, these changes were so
directly proportionate with the glacial recession that the northward ascents
of the successive beaches were at first refen-ed to the diminishing gravi-
tation of the lake toward the ice-sheet; but, apart from the inadequacy of
this cause, determined by Mr. Woodward's investigations, the great extent
of the highest beach and its relation to terminal moraines marking stages in
the glacial recession sufficiently demonstrate that other causes contributed
even more than ice attraction to produce the changes observed in the levels
of the beaches.

There remain to be considered, as probable causes, first, the relation-
ship between the earth's crust and its interior which may have permitted a

' T. C. Chamberliu iq Sixth Annnal Report, U. S. Geol. Survey, p. 302, and in paper read before
the Philosophical Society, Washington, March 13, 188G; G. K. Gilbert in Am. .lonr. Sci. (3), Vol.
XXXI, p. 297, April, 1886, and in U. S. Geol. Survey, Monograph I, "Lake Bonneville," pp. 377,378.

EELATION OF THE EAETH'S CEUST AND INTEEIOR. 493

sinking of the crust beneath the vast weight of the ice-sheet and a reeleva-
tiou when that weight was removed, and, second, oscillations which may
have occurred without dependence on the glaciation. For the discrimination
of these movements it will be very instructive to notice the changes of
elevation that have been going forward at the same time in other parts
of the North American and European glaciated regions, and also in vari-
ous areas which were never thus ice-laden. If Lake Agassiz is found to
be an instance where nearly all these changes are apparently referable to
glaciation, there will be no lack of opportunity for comparing it with other
regions where the effects due to glaciation are combined with independent
crustal movements.

Discussion of the relationship of the eartli's crust to the interior. — My
former reference of the northward ascent of the beaches of Lake Agassiz
to ice attraction, with the assmnption that the earth was so rigid that its
form would not be changed by the load of the ice-sheet nor liy its removal,
seemed more probable because of the well-known physical and mathe-
matical researches of Hopkins, Thomson, Pratt, and Prof. G. H. Darwin,
who conclude that the earth is probably solid, with not less rigidity than
that of glass or of steel. In deference to their investigations, this con-
clusion is accepted and taught in recent text-books of geology by A.
Geikie and Le Conte ; ^ but in similarly recent text-books Prestwich and
Dana teach that the earth probably consists of a comparatively thin crust,
underlain by a molten interior, which may change within a moderate depth
to a great imcleal solid mass. Among other geologists and physicists who
have discussed the conditions of the earth's interior. King, ^ Shaler,^ and

' Since the publication of Le Conte's Elements of Geology, revised second edition, 1882, this
eminent geologist has abandoned tlie opinion here noted, and now believes "that the general
structure of the earth is that of a solid nucleus constituting nearly its whole mass, a solid crust of
inconsiderable comparative thicliness, and a subcrust liquid layer, either universal or over large
areas, separating the one from the other. » » * Also that the crust rests upon the subcrust liquid
as a floating body." American Geologist, Vol. IV, pp. 38^4, July, 1889; Am. Jour. Sci. (3), Vol.
XXXVIII, pp. 257-263, Oct., 1887; Elements of Geology, third edition, 1891, pp. 84-87, 264.

^U. S. Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel, Vol. I, Systematic Geology, 1878, pp. 117,
696-725.

^'Proc., Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., 1866, Vol. XI, pp. 8-15; 1868, Vol. XII, pp. 128-136; 1874, Vol.
XVII, pp. 288-292. Memoirs, Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., 1874, Vol. U, pp. 320-340. Scribuer's Magazine,
Vol. Ill, pp. 201-226, Feb., 1888.

494 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Reade^ believe it to be solid, while Whitney,"^ Button,^ Powell,'* Wads-
wortli,^ Crosby,*' Claypole,' Phillips,* Airy," Fisher," aud Jamieson"
believe that it is molten, or at least is surrounded by a molten layer,
and that the earth's crust floats in a condition of isostasy^^ or gravitational
equilibrium upon the heavier liquid or viscous mobile interior or layer
enveloping the interior, subject, however, to stresses and resulting defor-
mation because of the earth's contraction. The thickness of the crust,
according to this hypothesis, is variously estimated to be from 20 to 50
miles, or possibly 100 miles or more.

Another statement of the probable relationship of the earth's crust to
the interior, which seems to come between these diverse opinions and in
some measure to express the important features of each, is given as follows
by Gilbert, in his discussion of faults and displacements of the Wasatch
range and the area of Lake Bonneville :

We are forced to conclude that the mountain ranges of the Bonneville basin
and the valleys between them do not, with reference to each other, obey the law of
flotation.

It follows with equal cogency that the faults do not penetrate to a layer charac-
terized by fluidity or semi-fluidity, implying by these terms the power to flow under
small shearing strain, but terminate in a region of rigidity, implying by that term
the ability to withstand relatively large shearing strain. I conceive them to termi-
nate at the upper limit of the region of plasticity by pressure, implying by that
phrase that at and below a certain depth the rocks of the crust, however rigid, are

' The Origin of Mountain Ranges, 1886, pp. 6, 7, 256, 267, 270, etc. Philosophical Magazine, June,
1891 (also in Am. Geologist, Nov., 1891).

2 Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Mountain Building, 1871, pp. 77-87.

3 Penn Monthly, Vol. VII, pp. 364-378, and 417-431, May aud June, 1876. U. S. Geol. Survey, Fourth
Annual Report, pp. 183-198; Sixth Annual Report, pp. 195-198.

■I Science, Vol. Ill, pp. 480-482, April 18, 1884. The Forum, Vol. II, pp. 370-391, Dec, 1886.

^Am. Katuralist, Vol. XVIII, June, July, and August, 1884.

«Proc., Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., 1883, Vol. XXII, pp. 443-485. Geol. Magazine (2), Vol. X, 1883,
pp. 241-252.

■' Am. Naturalist, Vol. XIX, pp. 257-268, March, 1885. Am. Geologist, Vol. I, pp. 382-386, and Vol. II,
pp. 28-35, June and July, 1888.

8 Vesuvius, 1869, pp. 324, 329.

9 Nature, Vol. XVIII, pp. 41-44, May 9, 1878.

10 Physics of the Earth's Crust, 1881, pp. 223, 270, etc.

11 Geol. Magazine (3), Vol. IV, 1887, pp. 344-348.

I!' A term proposed by Capt. C. E. Button in a paper "On some of the greater problems of physical
geology," Bulletin of the Philosophical Society of Washington, Vol. XI, pp. 51-61, April 27, 1889. See
also an important discussion of this condition of the earth's crust, "The Gulf of Mexico as a measure
of isostasy," by W J McGee, in Am. Jour. Sci. (3), Vol. XLIV, pp. 177-192, Sept., 1892.

CONDITION OF THE INTEHIOE OF THE EARTH. 495

subject to such x3ressiire that their yieldiug under shearing strains exceeding the
elastic limit is not by fracture, but by iiow. I conceive the orogenic bloclis as con-
fluent with the subjacent layer, excepting such as may wedge out by the convergence
of fault planes.i

This view is closely allied with that which regards the interior as solid,
and, indeed, if I understand the authors holding' the doctrine of solidity,
forms a necessary postulate of their explanation of orogenic and epeiro-
genic movements. It is again well stated by Becker, who regards the earth
"as a solid mass of extremely high viscosity which would yield slowly to
relatively moderate forces of constant terrestrial direction and long dura-
tion, but which would probably yield almost imperceptibly to any force
of brief duration or ra2:)idly changing direction."" For such a condition,
however, which seems to me probably or possibly true for all the earth
excepting its volcanic areas, I should prefer, as more intelligible to ordi-
nary readers, to speak of the interior as plastic rather than as either solid
or liquid, though in its rigidity or resistance to change of form it may
equal or surpass the hardest rocks of the earth's surface.

In the present state of our knowledge, the elevation of the area of
Lake Agassiz, increasing in amount from south to north, during the depart-
ure of the ice-sheet, seems most clearly intelligible by supposing it to have
been an uplifting of the crust by the inflow of plastic if not perfectly
molten rock from districts outside the glaciated area, occurring probably
between the depths of 20 and 100 miles, in obedience to gravitation,
which, to preserve the condition of isostasy, Avould cause the crust, when
loaded by the ice-sheet, to sink and displace part of the plastic interior, and
when the ice-sheet was removed would cause the plastic rock to flow back
and raise the crust approximately to its former height.

It must be confessed that we have only a very inadequate knowledge
of the conditions which would result from the enormous pressure and high
temperature of the earth's interior; and wide diversity in specidations on
this subject will probably long continue. Professor Shaler, while holding
that the earth is mainly solid throughout, perhaps having in its most mobile
layer beneath the crust "a rigidity such as belongs to the metals of average

> U. S. Geol. Survey, Monograph I, Lake BonneviUe, 1890, pp. 358, 359.
''Bulletin, G. S. A., Vol. II, 1891, p. 70.

496 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

resistance to compression," yet is one of the earliest and most decided advo-
cates of the opinion that the weight of an ice-sheet may depress the area on
which it hes, and that the departure of the ice would be attended by reele-
vation. In comparison, however, with the physical conditions and laws
familiar to us upon the earth's surface, the subsidence and elevation of
extensive areas, as of nearly all glaciated regions, seem to demonstrate a
mobility of the earth's interior as if it were fused rock. The same conclu-
sion is indicated by volcanoes, which are probably the openings of molten
passages that communicate downward through the crust to a heavier melted
portion of the interior, thence deriving their supply of heat, while their
outpoured lavas consist largely or wholly of fused portions of the crust, the
phenomena of eruption being caused by the access of water to the upper
part of the molten rock, near the volcanic vent. But the great plications of
the strata in the formation of mountain chains evidently involve only the
upper part of the earth's crust, crumpled into smaller area in adapting itself
to the diminishing voluuie of the lower portion of the same crust, which,
with the nucleus, is undergoing contraction on account of the gradual loss
of its heat, and perhaps also on account of progressing solidification and
compression. There is in this process no dependence on the plastic or
perhaps molten condition of the interior, except as that seems to be necessary
for distortion of the earth, both of the crust and nucleus or mobile layer
enveloping the nucleus, whereby considerable shrinliage of volume can
take place before the accumulated stress becomes sufficient for the forma-
tion of a mountain chain. At the present time depressions and elevations,
probably caused by accumulating stresses, are slowly changing the relations
of land and sea upon many parts of the earth's surface. In the same way
the downward and upward movements which would be caused by the
burden of the ice-sheet and its removal are doubtless in many places com-
plicated by concomitant or subsequent movements thus due to deformation
under stresses, by which the elevation attributable to the departure of the
ice-sheet may be augmented or partly or wholly counteracted, giving much
irregularity to the glacial and postglacial oscillations of the land.

The area of Lake Bonneville has experienced changes of level since
the formation of its highest shore-line, which Mr. Gilbert finds to be in har-

CRUST DEFOEMATION BY THE ICE-SHEET. 497

mony with the explanation that they were due to the evaporation of the
lake and the consequent partial restoration of equilibrium by the underflow
of plastic rock; but he regards his observations as too incomplete to furnish
absolute proof of this hypothesis.' A supplementary and more satisfactory
test is supplied by this survey of Lake Agassiz. Debarred from referring
the northward ascent of the beaches of this glacial lake chiefly to ice
attraction, I regard my observations of their increasing rate of ascent in
proceeding from south to north, the gradual approximation in the lower
beaches toward horizontality, and the probable completion of these changes
in relative elevation during the existence of Lake Agassiz and the depart-
ure of the ice-sheet, as all strikingly accordant with this explanation, and,
indeed, as demonstrative of its truth. These changes in the levels of the
beaches of Lake Agassiz, partly pertaining to the lake itself and in larger
part to the crust of the earth, are thus believed still to be wholly referable
to the influence of the ice-sheet in its recession, with which they show
such remarkable correspondence in the direction, character, and gradual
decrease of the northward ascent. No irregularities of the differential
changes in elevation are found which seem to require other explanation, the
rise caused by the removal of the ice-sheet not being combined upon this
area, so far as can be detei'mined, with independent earth movements either
of elevation or depression.

History of the doctrine of crust deformation hy the ice-sheet. — Jamieson
appears to have been the first, in 1865, to suggest this view, which I
receive from him, that the submergence of glaciated lands when they
were loaded with ice has been caused directly by this load pressing down
the earth's crust upon its fused interior, and that the subsequent reeleva-
tion was a hydi'ostatic (or we may better say isostatic) uplifting of the
crust by underflow of the inner mass when the ice was melted away.^ Two

> Am. Jour. Sci. (3), Vol. XXXI, pp. 284-299, April, 1886. U. S. Geo!. Survey, Monograph I, Lake
Bonneville, 1890, pp. 379-392.

-Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc, Vol. XXI, p. 178. Later discussions of this subject by Mr. Jamieson are
in the Geological Magazine (2), Vol. IX, pp. 400-407 and 4,57-466, Sept. and Oct., 1882; and (3), Vol.
IV, pp. 344-348, Aug., 1887. In the article last cited he applies this explanation to the changes of the
beaches of Lake Agassiz, which up to that time I had attributed mainly to ice attraction. The same
principle, however, vras brought forward by Sir John Herschel in 1836, and had been advocated by
Prof. .James Hall, of New York, in 1859, in attributing to the weight of sediments the long-continued
subsidence of the areas on which they have been deposited in great thickness.

MON XXV 32

498 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

years later Whittlesey published a similar opiuiou.' lu 1868 Shaler referred
the subsidence of ice-covered areas to a supposed rise of isogeothermal lines
in the subjacent crust, oiDeratiug, in conjunction with the ice-sheet, to pro-
duce downward flexure;" but in 1874 and later he regards the depression as
due directly to the weight of the ice, and the reelevation as due to its
removal.^ The same view is advanced also by Chamberlin to account for
the basins of the Laurentian lakes, where he believes a considerable part of
the glacial depression to have been permanent/

Tardiness in the he (finning of the changes of levels of the Lake Agassiz
basin. — That the greater part of the changes of levels upon the area of
Lake Agassiz has been due to differential elevation of the earth's crust,
mstead of ice attraction, seems to be proved by the tardiness of their
beginning, as shown by the relationship of the highest beach of Lake
Agassiz to the contiguous terminal moraines formed on the adjacent land
areas during the recession of the ice-sheet, of which a detailed description
has been given in Chapter IV. The highest beach is continuous on the
east from Lake Traverse about 140 miles north to Maple Lake, which is as
far as exact exploration of it has been carried. On the west this shore-line
is unbroken along an extent of about 250 miles from south to north, reach-
ing into Manitoba. Now the adjacent Dovre, Fergus Falls, Leaf Hills, and
Itasca moraines appear to have been successively accumulated duiing the
time of formation of this single highest beach, which marks, through so
great distances and so large a portion of the glacial recession, a nearly or
quite unvarying stage of the lake and undisturbed repose of the earth's
crust. If diminishing gravitation of the water of the lake toward the ice-
sheet had been the chief cause, or even an element of large importance
among component causes, of the changes of levels of the beaches, the
surface of the lake must have fallen considerably in its northern portion

'Proc, A. A. A. S., Vol. XVI, pp. 92-97.

^Troc, Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. XII, pp. 128-136.

sproc, Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. XVII. pp. 288-292; Memoirs, Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. II,
pp. 335-340. Am. Jour. Sci. (3), Vol. XXXIII, pp.220, 221, March, 1887. Scribner's Magazine, Vol. I,
p. 259, March, 1887.

'Geology of Wisconsin, Vol. I, 1883, p. 290; Proc, A. A. A. S., Vol. XXXII, 1883, p. 212. The
problems of ice attraction and of deformation of the earth's crust have been further discussed by-
Professor Chamberlin before the Philosophical Society of Washington, March 13, 1886; and, jointly with
Professor Salisbury, in the Siitli Annual Report, U. S. Geol. Survey, pp. 291-304.

PAUSES IN" THE CEUSTAL UPLIFT. 499

because of the decreasing attraction, of the ice during the stages of its
retreat between these moraines. But the extent of the highest beach
shows that no appreciable changes of level took place while the ice-sheet
was being melted back 250 miles or more and was probably much reduced
in thickness upon a large area farther north, meanwhile, at times of halt in
its recession, or pei'haps of some readvance, accumulating the most massive
morainic deposits of this region. The stability of the crust had been main-
tained during this great reduction of the ice pressure; and when at length
an uplift ensued, the process was slow and marked by no paroxysmal
action, but progressed in a gradual manner, though yet with pauses, as was
also doubtless the method of the continued retreat of the ice.

Pauses in the crustal uplift recorded hy the series of beaches. — The suc-
cessive beaches of Lake Agassiz, numbering seventeen in its northern part
while the lake outflowed southward by the river Warren, and fourteen
while it outflowed northeastward, appear to have been formed dm-ing
pauses in the differential elevation of this area. Between the times of
formation of the beaches the uplift of the land was too rapid to be recorded
by wave erosion and beach deposits, and the definitely marked shore-lines
belong to stages of interruption or slower progress of this crustal uplift.

At the southern end of the lake each of the beaches, into which several
in their course from north to south become merged, may belong to a slowly
sinking lake surface, with change of 5 feet, or in some cases 10 feet, during
the accumulation of the single beach ridge; and the intervals of 10 or 15
feet between the levels held by the mouth of the lake while the beaches of
its southern part were being formed appear to represent times of exception-
ally rapid erosion because of comparatively fast elevation of that area and
of the country crossed by the River Warren. Along the course of this
stream, the present valley of the Minnesota River, no outcropping rocks
are found at so high levels that they would be touched by the continuation
of the planes of the upper beaches of Lake Agassiz, having in their
southern part a descent to the south of about a half of a foot per mile.
The River Warren cut its channel wholly in glacial di-ift, until during the
McCauleyville stages of the lake it reached the ledges of granitoid gneiss

500 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGAiSSIZ.

which outcrop in the bottom of the valley along a distance of several miles
next below Big Stone Lake.

Changes in levels of the beaches only a partial measure of the ice iveight. — If
the thickness of the ice-sheet upon the area of Lake Agassiz was a half
mile to IJ miles, as seems probable, increasing from south to north and
northeast, the crustal uplift measuring the inflow to this area of an equal
weight of plastic or molten rock would range from 880 feet, or a sixth of
a mile, at Lake Traverse, on the south, to 2,640 feet, or a half mile, at
the north end of Lake Winnipeg, on the assumption that the density of the
inflowing rock or magma were that of the upper portion of the earth's
crust. The density of ice is taken as 0.9, water being 1.0; and that of the
rocks forming the earth's surface is assumed to average 2.7, the earth's
mean density, determined by three independent methods with closely
accordant results, being about 5.5. But the mobile stratum next beneath
the solid crust is surely somewhat heavier than the crust. Comparison of
the earth's supei-ficial and mean densities indicates for this magma a proba-
ble density of 3.5 or more, which would reduce the computed uplift to 680
feet at the south, with increase of about 2 feet per mile northward to 2,040
feet, in round munbers 2,000 feet, at the mouth of Lake Winnipeg and
along the Nelson River, or less than these amounts if the density of the
uplifting magma was greater than 3.5. It is very probable that the sub-
sidence caused by the ice-sheet, depressing the crust below its preglacial
height, was more than Avould be thus strictly proportionate to the weight
added by the ice accumulation; but on the other hand it seems probable,
as shown by the northward ascent of the beaches of Lake Agassiz, that
only a minor fraction, perhaps nowhere within this basin exceeding one-
fom-th, of the weight of ice removed was compensated by the diflPerential
uplift of the land.

But could we well explain the facts of glacial striation and drift trans-
portation by assuming for the ic«-sheet a less thickness, as one-third of a
mile to 1 mile from sovith to north upon the lacustrine area, which may,
indeed, be nearer the truth, the rate of ascent of the shore-lines within the
area of my survey, resulting apparently from the departure of the ice,
would be closely in accordance with the hypothesis that the earth's crust is

PREGLACIAL ELEVATION SHOWN BY PJOKDS. 501

floating- in isostatic equilibrium upon a plastic or molten interior, though
the vertical extent of elevation of the whole basin is probably several hun-
dred feet less than would be expected as a full measure of the weight
removed. Even with the presumption that the uplift in its rate of increase
toward the north is only approximately half, and in its aggregate amount
only a qiiarter part, or less, of what computation would require, this
hypothesis still seems to aftbrd the best explanation that we are able to
offer for the northward ascent of these beaches, beyond such small por-
tion as can be referred to ice attraction. And it is to be observed that
glaciated areas generally show by their fjords that part of their depression
by the ice-sheet continues to the present time, not having been equaled by
the crustal elevation when the ice-sheet was dissolved.

REVIEW OP PLEISTOCENE OSCIEEATIONS OF LAND AND SEA.

Having thus examined the probable causes of the changes in relative
elevations within the area of Lake Agassiz, we shall gain much further
knowledge of the evidence supporting the hypothesis concerning the earth's
crust and interior, to which it has led us, by reviewing the oscillations that
have affected various other parts of the world contemporaneously with the
accumulation and disappearance of the Pleistocene ice-sheets. Fjords,
fossiliferoixs marine deposits, and migrations of animals and plants bear
important testimony of these vicissitudes of land and sea. It will be well
first to consider our own continent, and afterward to inquire whether South
America and Europe fared similarly.

PREGLACIAL ELEVATION OP NORTH AMERICA SHOWN BY FJORDS AND
SUBMARINE RIVER VALLEYS.

One of the most interesting fjords of North America is that of the
Saguenay, tributary to the St. Lawrence. Along a distance of about 50
miles the Saguenay is from 300 to 840 feet deep below the sea-level; its
adjoining cliffs rise abruptly in some places 1,500 feet above the water;
and the width of its wonderfully sublime and picturesque gorge varies from
about a mile to 1^ miles.' This fjord, like the many which indent our

'J. W. Dawson, Notes ou the Postplioceue Geology of Canada, 1872, p. 41.

502 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

eastern coast from Maine to Labrador and Greenland, and our western
coast from Puget Sound to the Arctic Ocean, was eroded by a stream that
flowed along- the bottom of the gorge when it was above the sea; and this
erosion was probably going forward in the epoch immediately preceding
the Ice age, for earlier subsidence during any period of much length,
geologically speaking, would have caused the submerged valley to be filled
with sediments. The preglacial elevation of the Saguenay region therefore
appears to have been at least about 1,000 feet greater than now.

Similarly it is proved by the fjords of Maine, the eastern Canadian
provinces, and Newfoundland, of Labrador and Greenland, of the Arctic
coasts of North America, and the archipelago west of Baffin Bay, and of
the Pacific coast from Alaska to Oregon, that the entii'e extent of the
North American glaciated area was considerably higher before than after
glaciation.

But the preglacial altitude of this area was much greater than the
depth of the fjords which indent its shores. It is more nearly, but proba-
bly still only partially, measured by river valleys and fjords which are now
entirely submerged beneath the ocean. The submarine border of the con-
tinental plateau to depths of more than 3,000 feet is cut by valleys or
channels which if raised above the sea-level would be fjords or canyons.
These can be no other than river courses eroded while the land stood much
higher than now; and its subsidence evidently took place in a late geologic
period, else the deposition of silt must have obliterated the chaiuiels. For
this continent a most impressive review of the evidences of its lately far
greater height, as shown by these submerged river courses, has been given
by Prof. J. W. Spencer.^

According to the United States Coast Siu'vey charts, as noted by
Spencer, the bottom of a submerged valley just outside the delta of the
Mississippi is found by soundings at the depth of 3,000 feet. This valley
is a few miles wide and is bounded by a plain of the sea bed from 900 to
1,200 feet above its floor. It thus appears that the country north of the
Gulf of Mexico has been raised for a short time to a height of not less than

'"The higli continental elevation preceding the Pleistocene period," Bulletin, 6. S. A., Vol. I,
1890, pp. 65-70; also in the Geol. Magazine (3), Vol, VII, pp. 208-213, May, 1890.

PREGLACIAL ELEVATION SHOWN BY FJORDS, 503

3,000 feet; and it is important to note in passing that an equal uplift would
wholly close the Strait of Florida, 2,064 to 3,000 feet deep, through which
the Gulf Stream now pours into the North Atlantic.

The continuation of the Hudson River Valley has been traced by
detailed hydrographic surveys to the edge of the steep continental slope at
a distance of about 105 miles from Sandy Hook. Its outermost 25 miles
are a submarine fjord 3 miles wide and from 900 to 2,250 feet in vertical
depth, measured from the crests of its banks, which, with the adjoining flat
area, decline from 300 to 600 feet below the present sea-level. The deepest
sounding in this fjord is 2,844 feet.^

In a similar position, just inside the bathy metric line of 100 fathoms
on the submerged margin of the continental plateau off the mouth of Dela-
ware Bay, the Coast Survey soundings reveal a short fjord which has a
depth of 396 fathoms, or 2,376 feet'

Again, the United States Coast Survey and British Admiralty charts,
as Spencer states, record submerged fjord outlets from the Gulf of Maine,
the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and Hudson Bay, respectively, 2,664 feet, 3,666
feet, and 2,040 feet below sea-level. The bed of the old Laurentian River
from the outer boundary of the Fishing Banks to the mouth of the Saguenay,
a distance of more than 800 miles, shown by Professor Spencer's map, is
reached by soundings 1,878 to 1,104 feet in depth.

Greenland is divided from the contiguous North American continent
and archipelago by a great valley of erosion which is estimated from sound-
ings and tidal records to have a mean depth of 2,510 feet below sea-level
for 680 miles through Davis Strait, 2,095 feet for 770 miles next northward
tlu'ough Baffin Bay, and 1,663 feet for the next 55 miles north tlirough
Smith Strait.^

On the Pacific coast of the United States Prof Joseph Le Conte has
shown that the islands south of Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, now sepa-
rated from the mainland and from each other by channels 20 to 30 miles

'A. Lindenkohl, Report of U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, for 1884, pp. 433-438; Am. .Tour. Sci.
(3), Vol. XXIX, pp. 475-480, June, 1885, and Vol. XLI, pp. 489-499, with map, June, 1891. J. D. Dana,
Am. Jour. Sci. (3), Vol. XL, pp. 42.5-437, Dec, 1890, with map reduced from U, S, Coast Survey chart.

2A. Lindenkohl, Am. Jour. Sci. (3), Vol, XLI, p. 498.

'Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge, Vol. XV, pp. 163, 164.

504 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

wide and 600 to 1,000 feet deep, were still a part of the mainland during
the late Pliocene and early Pleistocene periods.^

In laorthern California Prof Gleorge Davidson, of the United States Coast
Survey, as cited hj Spencer, reports three submarine valleys about 25, 12,
and 6 miles south of Cape Mendocino, sinking respectively 2,400, 3,120 and
2,700 feet below the sea-level where they cross the lOO-fathom line of the
marginal plateau." If the land here wei-e to rise 1,000 feet, these valleys
would be fjords with sides towering high above the water, but still descend-
ing beneath it to profound depths. The time of great elevation permitting
erosion of these and a large number of other submerged valleys of the
Californian coast is shown by Le Conte to have been the Pliocene period,
with culmination of the uplift in the early part of the Pleistocene.^

Farther to the north, Puget Sound and the series of sheltered channels
and sounds through which the steamboat passage is made to Glacier Bay,
Alaska, are submerged valleys of erosion, now filled by the sea, but sepa-
rated from the open ocean by thousands of islands, the continuation of the
Coast Range of mountains. From the depths of the channels and fjords
Dr. G. M. Dawson concludes that this area had a preglacial elevation at
least about 900 feet above the present sea-level during part or the whole
of the Pliocene period.*

The general absence of Pliocene formations along both the Atlantic
and Pacific coasts of North America indicates, as pointed out by Prof. C.
H. Hitchcock, that during this long period all of the continent north of the
Gulf of Mexico held a greater altitude, which from the evidence of these
submarine valleys is known to have culminated in an elevation at least
3,000 feet higher than that of the present time. Such plateau-like uplift
of the continent appears to have exerted so great influence on its meteoro-
logic conditions, bringing a cooler climate throughout the year, that it
finally became enveloped by ice-sheets to the southern limit of the glacial
strise, till, and moraines, stretching from Nantucket and Cape Cod to New
York City, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Bismarck, and thence westward to the

'Bulletin of the California Academy of Sciences, Vol. II, 1887, pp. 515-520.

2 Ibid., Vol. II, pp. 26.5-268.

^Bulletin, G. S. A., Vol. II, 1891, pp. 323-330.

■•Canadian Naturalist, new series, Vol. VIII, pp. 241-248, April, 1877.

CHAMPLAIjST SUBMEEGENCE SHOWlf BY MARINE BEDS. 505

Pacific somewhat south of Vancouver Island and Pviget Sound. The thick-
ness of the ice in the region of the White Mountains and Adirondacks was
about 1 mile; and Dana has shown, from the directions of striation and
transportation of the drift, that its central portion over the Laurentide
highlands between Montreal and Hudson Bay had probably a thickness
of fully 2 miles. In British Columbia, according to Dr. Gr. M. Dawson's
observations, it covered mountain summits 5,000 to 7,(140 feet above the sea.^

LATE GLACIAL OR CHAMPLAIN SUBMERGENCE SHOWN BY FOSSILIFEROUS MARINE

BEDS OVERLYING THE TILL.

While thus heavily ice-laden, nearly the whole glaciated area of North
America sank below its present level, but. for the most part only to a slight
amount in comparison with its previous elevation. Beginning at or near
a line drawn northeastward through New York City, Boston, and Nova
Scotia, the extent of the submergence of the land by the sea at the time
of the recession of the ice-sheet, as shown by fossiliferous marine deposits
overlying the till, increased from 150 feet in southeastern New Hampshire,
and 200 to 300 feet on the coast of Maine and New Brunswick, to 375 feet
on the St. Lawrence opposite to the mouth of the Saguenay, and 560 feet at
Montreal. It was 300 to 400 feet, increasing from south to north, in the
basin of Lake Champlain; about 275 feet at Ogdensburg, and 450 feet
near the city of Ottawa; and 300 to 500 feet, likewise increasing northward,
on the country southwest of James Bay.^ In Labrador the submergence
was of small amount at the south, adjacent to the Gulf of St. Lawrence
and Newfoimdland; but was about 1,500 feet at Nachvak, near latitude
59° N., according to Dr. Robert Bell;^ and in northern Greenland and in

' Geol. Magazine (3), Vol. VI, 1889, pp. 350-352. Transactions, Royal Society of Canada, Vol. VIII,
Sec. IV, 1890, pp. 31, 32.

2A. S. Packard, jr.. Memoirs, Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. I, pp. 231-262. J. W. Dawson, Notes
on the Postpliocene Geology of Canada; and Am. .lour. Sci. (3), Vol. XXV, 1883, pp. 200-202. C. H.
Hitchcock, Proc, A. A. A. S., Vol. XXII, 1873, pp. 169-175; Geology of New Hampshire, Vol. Ill, pp.
279-282; and Geol. Magazine (2), Vol. VI, 1879, pp. 248-250. G. H. Stone, Am. Jour. Sci. (3), Vol. XL,
pp. 122-144, Aug., 1890. R. Chalmers, Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada, Sec. IV, 1886, pp.
139-145. Baron Gerard de Geer, Am. Geologist, Vol. IX, pp. 247-249, April, 1892; and Proc, Boston
Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. XXV, 1892, pp. 454-477. Warren Upham, Proc, Boatou Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol.
XXIV, pp. 127-141, Dec, 1888; Am. Jour. Sci., May, 1889.

^Bulletin, G. S. A., Vol. I, 1890, p. 308.

506 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Grinnell Land it was from 1,000 to 2,000 feet, as shown by raised beach
deposits containing marine shells.'

That the land northward from Boston was so much lower while the
ice-sheet was being melted away is proved by the occurrence of fossil
shells of far northern range, including Yoldia (Lecla) arctica Gray, now
found living only in arctic seas where they receive muddy streams from
existing glaciers and from the Greenland ice-sheet. This species is plentiful
in the stratified clays resting on the till in the basin of James Bay, in the
St. Lawrence Valley, and in New Brunswick and Maine, extending south to
Portsmouth, N. H.

Scantier but yet conclusive proofs of the depression of British Colum-
bia under the ice load are found in the valley of the Fraser River and on
the Pacific coast, in Vancouver Island and the Queen Charlotte Islands.
Lamplugh has observed recent marine shells in a railway cutting on the
west bank of the Harrison River, near its junction with the Fraser, at an
elevation not less than 100 feet above the sea." At New Westminster, on
the Frazer, near its mouth, raised beaches inclosing fragments of marine
shells are reported by Bauerman about 30 feet above the river.^ Fossilif-
erovis mai'ine deposits found in the vicinity of Victoria and Nanaimo, in the
southeast part of Vancouver Island, at small elevations above the sea, are
believed by Dr. G. M. Dawson to have been formed at or near the wasting
edffe of the ice-sheet;* and near the naiddle of the northeast side of this
island two distinct deposits of till occur, with intervening beds of loess-like
silts, from which this author infers two times of glaciation, separated by an
interval during which the land was submerged from 100 to 200 feet.^
Again, in the northeast part of the Queen Charlotte Islands Dr. Dawson

'Quart. .Jour. Geol. Soc, Vol. XXXIV, 1878, pp. 66, 566. Geol. Magazine (3), Vol. I, 1884, p. 522.
A. W. Greely, Report on the U. S. Expedition to Latly Franklin Bay, Griunell Land, Vol. II, 1888, p. 57.

2Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc., Vol. XLII, 1886, pp. 284, 285.

3 Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Report of Progress for 1882-83-84, p. 33 B.

<6eoI. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Annual Report, new series. Vol. II, for 1886, p. 99 B ; Quart.
Jour. Geol. Soc., Vol. XXXIV, 1878, pp. 97, 98, and Vol. XXXVII, 1881, p. 279. Compare also Mr. G. W.
Lamplugh's observations of glacial shell beds at Esquimault, near Victoria, Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc,
Vol. XLII, 1886, pp. 276-284.

^Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Annual Report, new series, Vol. II, p. 105 B.

EEELEVATIOI^ FOLLOWING THE ICE DEPAETUEE. 507

finds evidence of submergence to the amount of 200 or 300 feet, while the
glacial conditions still endured.^

KEELEVATION CLOSELY FOLLOWING THE DEPARTURE OF THE ICE-SHEET.

From the Champlain submergence this continent, since the ice weight
depressing it was removed, has been uplifted to its present height. The
changes in the levels of the beaches of Lake Agassiz prove that in the
interior of the continent this movement closely followed the recession of
the ice; but on the shores of Hudson Bay the reelevation is still in prog-
ress, indicating that no long time has passed since large remnants of the
ice in that region melted away. On the Atlantic coast we have different
evidence of the rise of the land soon after the ice-sheet disappeared, and
the movement there, as also on the coast of British Columbia, resulted in
an elevation somewhat higher than now, so that the latest oscillation of
these regions has been a subsidence, which is still very slowly continuing.

The recent depression of the eastern seaboard is shown by submarine
stumps of trees, rooted where they grew, and by submerged peat bogs,
which prove that the whole coast from New Jersey to southern Greenland
has lately sunk to a moderate extent. The maximum known by these
observations is about 80 feet, at which depth a peat bed occurs under the
Tantramar salt marsh at the head of the Bay of Fundy." After the land
had recovered from the Champlain depression to its present level, or per-
haps to the higher stage noted, the temperature of the North Atlantic was
for a time somewhat warmer than now. Southern species of marine mol-
lusks were then able to extend northward to the Gulf of St. Lawrence;
but they have since become exterminated by a considerable refrigeration of

'Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Report of Progress for 1878-79, p. 95 B. Trans., Royal
Society of Canada, Vol. Vlll. Sec. IV, 1890, pp. 3-74. Important notes of recent changes in level of
the coast of British Columbia, of the State of Washington, and of southern Alaska, are given by
Dr. Dawson in the Canadian Naturalist, new series. Vol. VIII, pp. 241-248, April, 1877. He concludes
that this area had a preglaoial elevation at least about 900 feet above the present sea-level during
part or the whole of the Pliocene period, this being indicated by the fjords; that it was much
depressed during the Glacial period; and that in Postglacial time it has been reelevated to a height
probably 200 or 300 feet greater than now, followed by subsidence to the present level, the latest part
of this oscillation being a somewhat rapid depression of perhaps 10 or 15 feet during the latter part of
the last century — a movement which may still be slowly going on.

2 Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Annual Report, new series, Vol. IV, for 1888-89, pp. 42 A
and 10 N.

508 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

the sea along tlie coast iinrtli of Cape Cod, excepting isolated colonies.^
The coast had been reelevated soon aftei* the retreat of the ice-sheet and
before the southern mollusks migrated northward, for in the extensive lists
of the fossil fauna of the Champlain beds, also denominated in their two
principal phases the Leda clays and Saxicava sands, none of the southern
species is included, excepting perhaps the oyster in southwestern Maine."

Postglacial elevation of the country along the East Main coast of
Hudson Bay and on Hudson Strait is shown by conspicuous raised beaches,
according to Dr. Robert Bell, up to heights of at least 300 feet, while prob-
ably others much higher exist farther inland.^ In the region draining from
the southwest to James Bay Dr. Bell reports marine shells in stratified
beds overlying the glacial drift along the Moose, Mattagami, and Missinaibi
rivers up to about 300 feet above the sea;* along the Albany and Keno-
gami rivers up to a height of about 450 feet;^ and on the Attawapishkat to
about 500 feet above the sea." It is also evident that the shores of Hudson
and James bays are still undergoing elevation, this being proved by the
fresh appearance of the raised beaches, by driftwood far above the limit
of the highest waves in storms, and by the gradual shoaling of harbors.
The rate of emergence of the eastern coast is estimated by Bell to be
between 5 and 10 feet in a century; Outer Digges Island, at the entrance
of Hudson Strait, has risen 70 or 80 feet since it was inhabited by Eskimos;
and the rise of the mouths of the Churchill, Nelson, and Hayes rivers seems
to be similarly rapid, being estimated at about 7 feet in a hundred years.''

In British Columbia the reelevation following the Champlain depres-
sion was probably completed within a short time, geologically speaking,

iProc, Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. XXV, 1891-92, pp. 305-316; also Am. .Tour. Sci. (3), Vol. XLIII,
pp. 201-209, March, 1892.

2C. H. Hitchcock, "The geology of Portland," Proc, A. A. A. S., Vol. XXII, for 1873, pp. 163-175.
A. S. Packard, Jr., " Observations on the glacial phenomena of Labrador and Maine," Memoirs of the
Boston Society of Natural History, Vol. 1, 1865, pp. 210-262. J. W. Dawson, "Notes on the Postpliocene
geology of Canada," 1872, pp. 112 (from the Canadian Naturalist, new series. Vol. A'l).

=Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Report of Progress for 1877-78, p. 32 C ; for 1882-83-84,
p. 31 D.

■" Ibid., Report of Progress for 1875-76, p. 340 ; for 1877-78, p. 7 C.

5 Ibid., Report of Progress for 1871-72, p. 112; for 1875-76, p. 340; Annual Report, new series. Vol.
II, for 1886, pp. 34 and 38 G.

<! Ibid., Annual Report, Vol. II, p. 27 G.

' Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Report of Progress for 1877-78, pp. 32 C and 25 CC ; for
1878-79, p. 21 C ; for 1882-83-84, pp. 26, 30, 32 DD ; Annual Report, new series, Vol. I, for 1885, p. 11 DD.

OSCILLATIONS WITH GLACIATION IN OTHEE COUNTRIES. 509

after the continental ice-sheet was removed, for Dawson, as before cited,
finds that this region since then has stood higher than now, allowing forests
to grow on shores which have very recently become again submerged, as
on the eastern side of the continent. During the past hundred years, too,
a considerable subsidence has taken place, according to Dall, at a locality
known as Sinking Point, in Chalmers Bay, Prince William Sound, on the
south coast of Alaska; but all of that country west of the one hundred and
fiftieth meridian, to Bering Strait and the adjacent Siberian coast, is stated
by this author to be now rising at a somewhat rapid rate. Barnacles are
found on St. Michael's Island, Norton Sound, at least 15 feet above high
tide, and driftwood at many localities on Norton Bay and Sound is "piled
in winrows * * * far above the level which the most severe stonns
and the highest tides now attain, * * * much decayed, but still
preserving its shape." ^

OSCILLATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH GLACIATION IN OTHER COUNTRIES.

Two other areas of great extent, namely, Patagonia and northwestern
Europe, have been covered by ice-sheets which have disappeared; and a
brief consideration of their oscillations attending the ice accumulation and
following its departure will be useful in this discussion of the causes of the
Pleistocene earth movements of the basin of Lake Agassiz and of the North
American glaciated area.

The many intricate and deep fjords, chainiels, and sounds on the coast
of Patagonia, southern Chile, Tierra del Fuego, and the Falkland Islands,
prove that this part of the earth's crust has lately stood for a considerable
time at a much • higher level than now. This stage of elevation was fol-
lowed by the envelopment of the southern extremity of the continent by
an ice-sheet, which, according to the observations of Darwin and Agassiz,
spread its drift northward to latitude 42°, while local glaciers extended
farther north. When the ice melted away, the land was depressed lower
than now, and since then a reelevatiou has been in progress. Darwin states
that "the laud from the Rio Plata to Tierra del Fuego, a distance of 1,200
miles, has been raised in mass (and in Patagonia to a height of between 300

I Alaska and its Resources, 1870, pp. 465, 466.

510 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

and 400 feet) within the period of the now existing shells. The old and
weathered shells left on the surface of the upraised plain still partially
retain then- colors."^ Another evidence of the recency of the uplift is sup-
plied by the discovery by Agassiz of a saline lakelet about 150 feet above
the sea, in which several species of marine mollusks were found living,
identical with those of the neighboring seashores.^

Northwestern Europe also had a much greater altitude during the
later part of the Tertiary era, in which the land suffered vast denudation,
with erosion of fjords and channels that are now submerged hundreds and
even thousands of feet beneath the sea. About the northern parts of the
British Isles the depths of the submarine channels of the old land sm-face
are approximately from 500 to 800 or 1,000 feet.^* The Skager Rack, between
Denmark and Norway, has a depth of 2,580 feet, with a still deeper sub-
mero-ed valley running from it west and north to the abyssal Arctic Ocean.*
On the coast of Norway the depth of Christiania fjord below the sea-level
is 1,380 feet; of Hardanger fjord, 2,624 feet; and of Sogne fjord, the longest
in Norway, 4,080 feet.^ The preglacial altitude of these portions of the
European glaciated area was therefore from 1,000 to 4,000 feet higher than
now. Probably many, of these submarine channels are more or less filled
with the glacial drift, so that valleys originally descending continuously
toward the margin of the continental plateau have become in some portions
changed to inclosed basins. Another and more probable explanation of
the much greater depth of some of the fjords in their inland portion than
at their mouths is the depression of the country while it was ice-covered,
the coast having subsided much less than the interior.

At the close of the Ice age in Europe, as in America, the glaciated
areas were mostly depressed somewhat below their present height. The
supposed great submergence, however, up to 1,200 or 1,500 feet or more,
which has been claimed by British geologists for northern Wales, north-
western England, and a part of Ireland, on the evidence of marine shells

' Voyage of the Beagle, Chapter VIII.

2 Louis Agassiz : His Life and Correspondence, Vol. II, p. 716.

3 James Geikie, Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc, Vol. XXXIV, 1878, PI. XXXIII; The Great Ice Age,
2d ed., pp. 279-284, Pis. IX-XII.

■• Nature, Vol. XXIII, p. 393, with map of submarine contour.

6 T. F. Jamieson in Geol. Magazine (3), Vol. VIII, pp. 387-392, Sept., 1891.

OSCILLATIONS IN SCANDINAVIA. 511

and fragments of shells in glacially transported deposits, is shown by Belt,
Goodchild, Lewis, Kendall, and others, to be untenable. Indeed, these
fossils, not lying in the place where they were living, give no proof of any
depression of the land, since they have been brought by currents of the ice-
sheet moving across the bed of the Irish Sea. But it is clearly known by
other evidence, as raised beaches and fossiliferous marine sediments, that
large portions of Great Britain and Ireland were slightly depressed under
their burden of ice, and have been since uplifted to a vertical extent rang-
ing probably up to a maximum of about 300 feet.

In Scandinavia the valuable observations and studies of Baron Gerard
de Geer, of the Geological Survey of Sweden, have supplied lines of equal
depression of the land at the time of the melting away of the ice.^ This
region of greatest thickness of the European ice-sheet is found to have
been depressed to an increasing extent from the outer portions toward the
interior. The lowest limit of the submergence, at the southern extremity
of Sweden, is no more than 70 feet above the present sea-level, and in
northeastern Denmark it diminishes to zero; but northward it increases to
an observed amount of about 800 feet on the west shore of the Gulf of
Bothnia, near latitude 63°. Along the coast of Norway it ranges from 200
feet to nearly 600 feet, excepting far northward, near the North Cape,
where it decreases to about 100 feet. In proportion with this observed
range of the subsidence on the coasts of Scandinavia, its amount in the
center of the country was probably 1,000 feet.

A very interesting history of the postglacial oscillations of southern
Sweden has been also ascertained by Baron de Geer, which seems to be
closely like the postglacial earth movements of the northeastern border of
North America. As on our Atlantic coast, the uplift from the Champlain
submergence in that part of Sweden raised the country higher than now.
The extent of this uplift appears to have been about 100 feet on the area
between Denmark and Sweden, closing the entrance to the Baltic Sea,
which became for some time a great fresh-water lake. After this another
depression of that region ensued, opening a deeper passage into the Baltic

1 "Quaternary changes of level in Scandinavia," Bulletin, 6. S. A., Vol. Ill, 1892, pp. 65-68, with
map of the late glacial marine area in southern Sweden.

512 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

tlian uow, giviug to this brackish body of water a considerably higher
degree of saltness than at present, with the admission of several marine
mollusks, notably Litorina litorea Menke, which are found fossil in the beds
formed during this second and smaller submergence, but are not living in
the Baltic to-day. Thus far the movements of southei'n Sweden are par-
alleled by the postglacial oscillations of New England and eastern Canada;
but a second uplifting of this part of Sweden is now taking place, whereas
no corresponding movement has begun on our Atlantic border. It seems
to be suggested, however, that it may yet ensue. The subsidence has
ceased or become exceedingly slow in eastern New England, while it still
continues at a measm-able rate in New Jersey, in Caj^e Breton Island, and
in southern Greenland.

So extensive agreement on opposite sides of the Atlantic, and also in
Patagonia, in the oscillations of the land while it was ice-covered and since
the departure of the ice-sheets, has probably resulted from similar causes,
namely, the pressure of the ice weight and resilience of the earth's crust
when it was unburdened. The restoration of isostatic equilibrium in both
North America and Europe is attended by minor oscillations, the conditions
requisite for repose being overpassed by the early reelevation of outer por-
tions of each of these great glaciated areas.

In view of this harmony in the epeirogenic movements of the two
continents during the Glacial and Recent periods, it seems evident that the
close of the Ice age was not geologically long ago, for equilibrium of
the disturbed areas has not yet been restored. Fm-thermore, the parallelism
in the stages of progress toward repose indicates nearly the same time for
the end of the Glacial period on both continents, and approximate syn-
chronism in the pendulum-like series of postglacial oscillations.

PLEISTOCENE OSCILLATIONS INDEPENDENT OF GLACIATION.

In this class of changes are to be included, wholly or in part, the post-
glacial elevation of Grinnell Land and the northwestern coast of Greenland,
1,000 to 2,000 feet;^ post-Pliocene upward movements of 2,000 feet or

■ Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc, Vol. XXXIV, 1878, pp. 66 and 566. Geol. Mag. (3), Vol. I, 1884, p. 522.
A. W. Greely, Report of the U. S. Expedition to Lady Franklin Bay, Grinnell Land, Vol. II, 1888, p. 57.

OSCILLATION INDEPENDENT OF GLACIATION. 513

more in Jamaica and Cuba/ and of about 1,100 feet in Barbados;^ the
recent ujjlift of the coast of Peru at least 2,900 feet,' which in diminished
amount seems to extend along the whole range of the Andes ; * its probable
connection with the upheaval of the Cordilleras of North America, where
Le Conte^ and Diller'* believe that the elevatory movements reached their
greatest intensity in early Quaternary time, causing a rise of several
thousands of feet in the Sierra Nevada; and the apparently correlative
subsidence of a great area dotted with coral islands in the Pacific. The
Pleistocene iiplifts of the Andes and Rocky Mountains and of the West
Indies make it nearly certain that the Isthmus of Panama has been simi-
larly elevated during this period. On the line of the Panama Railway the-
highest land rises only 299 feet above the sea, and the highest on the pro-
posed route of the Nicaragua Canal is about 133 feet; while the Isthmvis
nowhere attains the height of 1,000 feet.^ It may be true, therefore,
that submergence of this istlnnus was one of the causes of the Glacial
period, the continuance of the equatorial oceanic current westward into the
Pacific having greatly diminished the Gulf Stream, which carries warmth
from the tropics to the northern Atlantic and northwestern Europe.

Pleistocene mountain-building is kiiown to have occurred on a most
massive scale in Asia, where the Himalayas, stretching 1,500 miles from
east to west, and towering 20,000 to 29,000 feet above the sea, are known
to have been formed in great part during this latest geologic period,^ con-

' J. 6. Sawkins, Keports on the Geology of Jamaica, 1869, pp. 22, 23, 307, 311, 324-329 ; W. 0. Crosby,
"On the mountains of eastern Cuba," Appalachia, Vol. Ill, pp. 129-142. Compare William M. Gabb's
memoir, "On the topography and geology of Santo Domingo," Trans., Am. Phil. Soc, Vol. XV, pp.
103-111.

2 "The geology of Barbados," by A. .1. Jukes-Browne and J. B. Harrison, Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc,
Vol. XLVII, pp. 197-250, Feb., 1891.

^ A. Agassiz, Proc., Am. Acad, of Arts and Sciences, Vol. XI, 1876, p. 287 ; and Bulletin of the Museum
of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College, Vol. Ill, pp. 287-290. Above this height, at which corals
are found attached to rocks, recent elevation of much greater amount seems to be indicated by
terraces, by saline deposits, and by the presence of eight species of AUorcheates, a marine genus of
Crustacea, in Lake Titicaca, 12,500 feet above the sea.

■* Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle, Cha^jter XVI.

<> Am. Jour. Sci. (3), Vol. XXXII, pp. 167-181, Sept., 1886 ; Vol. XXXVIII, pp. 257-263, Oct., 1889.

<^ U. S. Geol. Survey, Eighth Annual Report, for 1886-87, pp, 428-432.

' Charles Eieketts, "The cause of the Glacial period, with reference to the British Isles," Geol.
Magazine (2), Vol. II, 1875, pp. 573-580. A. R. Wallace, The Geographical Distribution of Animals, Vol.
I, p. 40.

"Manual of the Geology of India, by H. B. Medlicott and W. T. Blanford; Calcutta, 1879; Part
I, pp. Ivi, 372; Part II, ijp. 569-571, 667-669, 672-681.
HON XXV 33

514 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

temporaueously with the glaciation of North America, Europe, and portions
of the southern hemisphere. Within the same time the great table-land of
TMbet^ and much of central and northwestern Asia have been uplifted; the
tract extending from the Black and Caspian seas northeast to the Arctic
Ocean has risen to form a land surface ; and the deep basin of Lake Baikal
probably has been formed in connection with these crustal movements.
Accompanying the formation of the Himalayas, there has been doubtless
much disturbance by faults, local uplifts, and here and there plication of
strata along the whole complex east to northwest and west mountain sys-
tem of Oceanica, Asia, Europe, and northern Africa, from New Guinea, the
Suuda Islands, Anam, and Siam, to the Caucasus, Carpathians, Balkans,
Apennines, Alps, Pyrenees, and Atlas mountains, stretching quite across
the Eastern Hemisphere ; but the greater part of the relief from the previ-
ously existing deformation of the earth was doubtless along the central part
of the belt, in the colossal Himalayan range. In like manner the North
American Cordilleras and the Andes, reaching in one continuous moun-
tain system from the Arctic Circle to Cape Horn, have experienced within
the same period great disturbances, as already noted, similar to those of the
mountains of southern Europe and the adjacent part of Africa. With this
American orographic belt is also probably to be associated the mountain
system, consisting largely of volcanoes now active, which forms the Aleutian
Islands, Kamchatka, the Kurile Islands, Japan, Formosa, the Philippines,
Borneo, and Celebes, lying nearly in the same great circle with the Andes
and Rocky mountains, and with them continuous in an arc of about 240°.
Along two lines transverse to each other, one having an extent of half and
the other of two-thirds of the earth's circumference, the great lateral pres-
sures of the earth's crust which probably caused the elevation and glaciation
of extensive areas during the Pleistocene period have been relieved by
plication, faults, and uplifts in the processes of the formation of mountain
ranges.

Asia had no extensive ice-sheet like those of Europe and North Amer-
ica, probably because a sufficient elevation was not attained there until the
Himalayas and Thibet were uplifted in the Glacial period. The southern

■Ibid., Part II, pp. 585, 586, 669-672.

CHANGES OF THE SEA DUE TO ICE ACCUMULATION, 515

latitude of the Himalayan rauge aud the position of Thibet and Mongolia
in an arid and partly rainless belt, which stretches thence west to the
Sahara, forbade their glaciation; but from these recently uplifted Asiatic
table-lands and mountains the most extensive Pleistocene stratified deposits
in the world have been brought down by rivers and spread in the vast low
plains of Siberia, eastern China, and northern India, sloping gently toward
the sea, into which the finer part of this alluvium is carried. All the puz-
zling features of the Chinese loess formation,^ reaching to great elevations
with such thickness aud slopes of its surface that it could not be so accumu-
lated as alluvium of flooded streams under the present conditions, seem to
be readily explained by referring its deposition to annual floods from
immense snow melting dm'ing the European and North American Glacial
period upon the gradually rising central part of the Asiatic continent,
which consists largely of easily erosible strata, and had in pre-Glacial time
become extensively disintegrated by weathering under a dry climate.

EFFECTS OF ICE ACCUMULATION ON THE SEA-LEVEL.

During the Grlacial period significant changes of the sea-level were
caused, first, by abstraction of water from the ocean and its deposition on
the land as snow, which under pressure made the vast ice-sheets; and,
second, by ice attraction of the ocean, lowering it still further, except in the
vicinity of glaciated lands. An area of about 4,000,000 square miles in
North America and another of about 2,000,000 square miles in Europe
were covered by ice-sheets, which in their maximum extent had 2jrobably
an average thickness of a half or two-thirds of a mile, or perhaps even of 1
mile. Disregarding the accumulation of ice-sheets of smaller extent, which
probably or possibly existed at the same time in parts of Asia and of the
southern hemisphere, as also the glaciers of mountain districts, the lowering
of the ocean surface, which covers approximately 145,000,000 square miles,
would slightly exceed 100 feet, if the mean depth of the ice accumulation
was a half mile. More probably the sea over the whole globe was thus

'Baron RichthofenjGeol. Magazine (2), Vol. IX, 1882, pp. 293-305. J. D. Whitney, Am. Naturalist,
Vol. XI, pp. 705-713, Dec, 1877. R. Pumpelly, Am. Jour. Scl. (3), Vol. XVII, pp. 133-144, Feb., 1879.
E. W. Hilgard, Am. Jour. Sci. (3), Vol. XVIII, pp. 106-112, Aug., 1879.

516 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

dejiressed fully 150 feet, which would correspond to an average of about
3,600 feet of ice ou the glaciated areas of North America and Europe.

For the second factor in causing such changes, Mr. Woodward's compu-
tations before cited indicate that gravitation toward the ice would further
depress the ocean probably 25 to 75 feet within the tropics and in the
southern hemispliere, while it would raise the level enough near the borders
of the ice-sheets to counterbalance approximately the depression due to the
diminution of the ocean's volume, and would lift portions of the North
Atlantic and of the Arctic Sea })erlia])s 200 or 300 feet higher than now.
Stream erosion while the sea was lowered to supply the ice of the Glacial
period may explain the indentations of the southeastern coast of the United
States, as Pamlico and Albemarle sounds, besides similar inlets in many
other parts of the world; but the excavation of Chesapeake and Delaware
bays seems more proljably referable, at least in part, to the time of pre-
glacial elevation, with the channeling of the now submerged Hudson fjord.

PKOBABLE RELATIONSHIP OF EPEIKOGENIC MOVEMENTS THROUGH-
OUT THE AVORLD TO GLACIATION.

In view of the extensive Pleistocene oscillations of land and sea both
in glaciated and unglaciated regions, it seems a reasonable conclusion that,
while some of these movements, as those affecting the beaches of Lake
Agassiz, have resulted directly from the accumulation and dissolution of
ice-sheets, more generally, when the wliole area of the earth is considered,
they have been independent of glaciation. May not such movements of
the earth's crust, then, have elevated large portions of continents, as the
northern half of North America and the northwestern part of Europe, either
together or in alternation, to heights like those of the present snow-lines on
mountain ranges, until these plateaus became deeply channeled by fjords
and afterward covered by ice-sheets"? For the recentness of the Ice age,
believed to have ended in the region of Lake Agassiz and the Laurentian
lakes not more than 10,000 to 6,000 years ago,^ forbids our referring the
glacial climate to conditions lirought aboiit by a period of increased eccen-
tricity of the earth's orbit from 240,000 to 80,000 years ago, which has been

> See Chapter V, pp. 238-240.

CAUSE OF THE ICE AGE. 517

SO fibly maintained by CroU and (leikie; and some otlier adeqnate canse
or causes must be sought for the glaciation of these great continental areas
and otlier districts of smaller extent, botli in tlie northern and southern
hemispheres, during- the Pleistocene period.

The principal cause of the Ice age seems to the writer to be probably
found b}^ the clew supplied in the relations already stated of the earth's
crust and interior whereby they become somewhat distorted from the
splieroidal form while the process of contraction goes forward, the lateral
pressure bearing down some portions of the earth's surface and uplifting
other extensive areas. The protuberant plateaias, swept o^'er by moisture-
laden winds, would be the gatliering grounds of vast ice-sheets. A similar
explanation of the Glacial period was long ago proposed by Lyell and
Dana, but without referring the elevatory movements to the earth's defor-
mation by contraction and accumulating lateral pressure \\'hile approaching
an epoch of mountain-building, which fundamental principle was first sug-
gested to me in an article from the pen of Prof. W. 0. Crosby on the origin
and relations of continents and ocean basins.'

During the periods immediately preceding great plications and short-
ening of segments of the earth's crust involved in the formation of lofty
mountain ranges, the broad crustal movements causing glaciation would be
most widespread and attain their maximum vertical extent. The accumu-
lation of ice-sheets may have brought about the depression of their areas,
witli corresponding elevation of other plateaus, which in turn would become
ice-covered, so that the epochs of glaciation of the Northern and Southern
hemispheres, or of North America and Europe, may have alternated with
each otlier.^ More probably, however, as shown by the observations and
studies of Salisbury, Geikie, Chamberlin, the present writer, and others,
the glaciations of North America and Europe were approximately synchro-
nous ; and even the successive stages of the Ice age on these two continents

'Proc, BostoQ Soc. Nat. Hist., 1883, Vol. XXII, pp. 455-400.

^Compare the opinions of Capt. F. W. Hiittori, cited in A. Gcikio's Text-book of Geology, 2d ed.,
p. 912, that the former gre.iter extension of glaciers in New Zealand was cansed by an increase in the
elevation of the land, and that it belonged to a much earlier time than the Ice age in the northern
hemisphere, probably to the Pliocene period.

518 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

have a remarkable parallelism, which probably indicates a similar sequence
of events on the opposite sides of the North Atlantic.^

"Wlien the building up of a great range of mountains ensued, which
may have been initiated and accelerated by the repeated depressions under
ice weight and consequent transfers of the earth's deformation from one
region to another, the accumulated stress in the earth's crust with develop-
ment of immense lateral pressvire would be diminished below the limit of
its competency to cause glaciation.

It seems probal)le that the rate of the earth's contraction has been
somewhat uniform throughout the vast ages known to us by the researches
of geology ; but the corrugation of the earth's surface in mountain-building
has been much more rapid in some epochs than in others, and between the
times of formation of great mountain ranges there have been long intervals
of quietude.' The slowly progressing contraction of the globe has been
uninterrupted, and in some way the cooled outer part of the crust which
has not shared in this diminution of volume has been able to accommodate
itself to the slninking inner mass. As stated in previous pages, this has
probably resulted in distortion of the earth's form, both of the whole thick-
ness of the crust and of the plastic or molten interior, within moderate
limits, during the periods of quiet, until so much lateral pressure has been
accumulated as to compress, fold, and uplift the strata of a mountain range.

In attributing the severe climate of the Glacial period to great uplifts of
the areas glaciated through such deformation preparatory to the process
of mountain-building, it is distinctly implied that Pleistocene time has been
at first exceptionally marked by such broad crustal movements and has
since gained comparative rest from the lateral stress to which they were
due by equally exceptional plication, uplifts, and faults, in the birth and
growth of mountains. Further, it is implied also that stress in the earth's
crust had been gradually increasing through long previous time, while the
processes of mountain-building failed to keep pace with contraction, but

'E. D. Salisbury, Am. .Jour. Sci. (3), Vol. XXXV, pp. 401-407, May, 1888. James Geikie and T. C.
Chamberlin, The Great Ice Age, third ed., 1894 ; Journal of Geology, Vol. Ill, pp. 241-277, April-May,
1895. Warren Upham, Am. Naturalist, Vol. XXIX, pp. 235-241, March, 1895; Am. Geologist, Vol. XV,
pp.273-295. May, 1895.

''Dana's Mauual of Geology, 3d ed., p. 795. Prestwich's Geology, Vol. I, Chapter XVII.

CAUSE OF THE ICE AGE. 519

were still sufficient to keep the earth's deformation less than is required to
produce glaciation; for no evidences of intense and widely extended glacial
conditions are found in the great series of Tertiary and Mesozoic forma-
tions, representing the earth's history thi-ough probably ten to fifteen million
years. And, indeed, these conclusions, drawn from the Pleistocene period
and the absence of glaciation through vast eras preceding, accord well with
the known age and stages of growth of mountain ranges that have been
formed during these eras. No period since the close of Paleozoic time has
been more characterized by mountain-building than the comparatively short
Pleistocene, whose duration may probably be included within 100,000 or
150,000 years.

Elevation of broad areas, as half of North America and half of Europe,
either synchronously or, less probably for these companion continental
regions adjoining the North Atlantic, in alternation, to such heights that
their precipitation of moisture throughout the year was nearly all snow,
gradually forming ice-sheets of great thickness, seems consistent with
the conditions of the earth's crust and interior which are indicated by the
changes in the levels of the beaches of Lake Agassiz. A plastic interior
or molten magma beneath the solid crust accounts for the uplift of the area
of this glacial lake, with its gradual increase from south to north, and also
appears, in connection with contraction of the earth and the formation of
moxintain ranges, to afford an adequate explanation of glaciation. It is
probable that the great uplifts which are thus supposed to have caused ice
accumulation were very slow in their progress, and that their effect upon
extensive continental areas was so distributed that the maximum changes
in slope on their borders would nowhere exceed 20 or 30 feet or at the
most 50 or 75 feet per mile, while perhaps some portions of the uplifted
region would receive no change of slope. And the subsidence beneath the
weight of accumulated ice was probably slow, though apparently much
faster than the processes of preglacial and interglacial elevation, and was
similarly distributed, no limited district being greatly changed. Excepting
the areas where disturbances of mountain-building or extraordinary rising
or sinking of mountain ranges were associated with these movements, the
contour of the country, with its valleys, hills, and mountains, remained in

520 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

general the same from preglacial time, through the Ice age, to the present,
with only changes of slope, commonly small in any limited tract, which, in
long distances, allowed great upheavals and depressions. The elevation of
the central part of glaciated areas, with downward slopes on all sides,
favored the outward flow of the ice-sheets and their erosion and transpor-
tation of the drift. But mountains and hills jutted upward in ridges and
peaks within the moving ice-sheets, as they now stand forth in bold relief
above the lowlands; and the ice, with its inclosed di'ift, was pushed around
and over them, some portions being deflected on either side, and usually a
larger part being earned upward across their tops.

EPEIR06ENIC MOVEMENTS INDEPENDENT OF GLACIATION OFTEN COMBINED V/ITH
OTHERS DUE TO THE ICE WEIGHT AND TO ITS REMOVAL.

The foregoing review of the Pleistocene epeirogenic movements of
various parts of the world shows that many of them have affected coun-
tries Avhich never were glaciated. In these areas the}^ have been mostly
or wholly without any demonstrable relationship to glaciation. Again, in
counti'ies which have become ice-covered, we learn from fjords and sub-
merged river valleys that great epeirogenic elevation of the land preceded
the accumulation of the ice-sheets. These movements also were evidently
independent of glaciation, not being caused by it, though, on the other
hand, the writer lielieves that they were the cause of the ice accumulation
and of its resulting drift deposits. The more extended epeirogenic move-
ments of the earth within the Pleistocene period have probably arisen from
the relationship of the earth's crust and interior, and in areas of suffi-
ciently high latitudes, and in mountain districts, they have here and there
produced epochs of glaciation.

While so widespread earth movements not due to glaciation have been
taking place throughout this period, it is evident that some of them would
probably be in progress in glaciated countries at the same time with the ice
accumulation and after the departm'e of the ice-sheets, being combined in
their effects with other crustal movements due to the weighting of the crust
by the ice-load, and to its relief by the ice-melting. Thus, for example,
while we may refer the rise of the greater part of North America from the

UPLIFT HEBE DUE TO DEPARTURE OF THE ICE. 521

Late Glacial or Champlaiu subsidence to the resilience of the earth's crust
on account of the departure of the ice, the uplifting of northern Labrador
and of northern Greenland and Grinnell Land has been too great in verti-
cal extent to be proportionate with the probable thickness of the ice-sheet
on those areas. Their uplifting has been in its greater part probably due
to a movement independent of glaciation.

Epeirogenic movements of regions which have not been ice-covered
seem in some instances referable to a transfer of disturbances from glaciated
districts. Accompanying the subsidence of ice-loaded tracts, there were
doubtless uplifts of contiguous regions, perhaps sometimes including outer
portions of the country glaciated. For example, the upheaval of the St.
Elias range and of its foothills, found by Russell to have taken place sub-
sequent to a long and severe glaciation of that region,^ may very probably
have been correlative with the Champlain subsidence ending the Glacial
period in the northern United States.

UPLIFT OF THE BASI3^^ OF LAKE AGASSIZ APPARENTLY ATTRIBUTA-
BLE WHOLLY TO THE DEPARTURE OF THE ICE-SHEET.

Within the basin of the glacial Lake Agassiz I believe that high pre-
glacial altitude, affecting likewise all the North American glaciated area,
was terminated by tlie depression of the land while it was ice-burdened.
All the movements which this basin has since experienced, as recorded by
the changes of levels of the beaches, seem to have resulted from the tend-
ency of the earth's crust to regain equilibrium, after the ice melted away,
by a moderate uplift, with inflow of the plastic or molten magma beneath.
The very regular gradation in the differential uplifting of tlie old shore-
lines, and its progress almost to completion while this lake was still held by
an ice barrier, accord well witli this explanation. No element of epeiro-
genic disturbance is known here which is not readily accounted for by this
hypothesis. The explanation is found to be adequate and applicable to all
the features of the progressive changes in the levels of the beaches. The
very small component which could be ascribed to postglacial change in the

' "Mount St. Elias and its glaciers," Am. Jour. Sci. (3), Vol. XLIII, pp. 1G9-182, with map, March,
1892. -

522 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

temperature of this part of the earth's crust on account of the departure of
the ice would be practically insignificant in comparison with the direct
effects of the removal of the ice weight; and its small proportion in the
whole result would be to diminish instead of to increase its amount. Upon
this district, therefore, it seems well-nigh certain that no other important
movement of elevation or of depression has taken place in connection with
that dependent on relief from the previously existing ice load.

But a fraction of the changes in the levels of this basin was due to
the diminution and final cessation of the ice attraction in its effect to draw
water surfaces and the geoid level upward in the direction of the ice mass.
The proportion of this element may apparently have been as large as a
sixth or a quarter of the measured changes of levels; but its supposed
amount, so far as I am able to indicate it, is derived from estimates of the
volume of the ice-sheet, rather than from a discrimination of this part from
that due to elevation of the land. The two agencies of change were nearly
synchronous in their action upon the levels of the old shores, their eflPects
were distributed in the same manner in their relationship to time and space,
and both had almost ceased within this basin when the ice barrier of the
glacial lake was melted away.

After progressively uplifting the area of Lake Agassiz, first chiefly in
its southern half and afterward mostly at the north, but nearly ending their
work here while the glacial lake yet existed, these agencies have since been
elevating the basin of Hudson and James bays. The latter part of their
labor remains unfinished, but during each century approaches considerably
toward its completion, which will fully restore equilibrium or isostasy to
this portion of the earth's crust.

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.

MONOGRAPH XXV. PL. XXXVI

s eiEN a CO '

NL\P SHO>VlNG 'nil-: OISTHIBin'IOX .\ND !)I':i>TUS OK .MH'KSIAN Wi:iJ.S IN Till': UKU UlSV.n VAIJ.l-:^'.

Scak-, about VJ niUes to nii incli.

Artesian Veils wholiv u\ \\u- \^v\U "'.*\\ Ailnsiaii W.-lls and otlicr Horiii£s rp<-H'hiuo lo U\c IV-d |{orks iV*oi

/j(^//ffLS r'ljf nt}ff(J ill ti-ft bt^lnw fju- .snrthcc. tor flicir n:J<ifjnii.\Jn/> in tJif st-a Jcx-fi, sff* Plfiio X .

CHAPTER X.

ARTESIAN AND COMMON WELLS OF THE RED RIVER

VALLEY.

On the broad, fertile plain called the Red River Valley, which was the
central and deepest portion of the bed of the glacial Lake Agassiz, many
artesian wells have been obtained within the thick drift sheet, deriving their
supply of water from porous beds or veins of sand and gravel beneath, and
frequently between, deposits of bowlder-clay or till. The depths of these
wells vary from 40 feet, or rai'ely less, to about 250 feet, or rarely 300 feet,
while a few others penetrate deeper, passing into the underlying Cretaceous
beds, or northward into Silurian strata. The height to which the water is
capable of rising above the surface of the ground is often only a few feet
and seldom more than 25 to 50 feet. Hundreds of these flowing wells,
commonly 1 to 2 inches in diameter of pipe, are in use on farms, at grain
elevators, and for the supply of towns, on both the Minnesota and North
Dakota sides of the Red River. Their distribution and range of depth,
both in the United States and in Manitoba, are shown in PI. XXXVII.
Some tracts of considerable area within this valley, however, fail to find
artesian water, but even these generally encounter water-bearing layers at
depths corresponding with those of the artesian wells, from which water
rises nearly to the surface.

Common wells throughout the whole area of Lake Agassiz and upon
the adjoining country usually obtain a supply of water sufficient for ordi-
nary farm and domestic uses within depths ranging from 10 feet to 50 feet
or occasionally more. But the quality of their water, as also of the
artesian wells, is often disagreeable. The fame of the Red River Valley
for its large harvests of "No. 1 hard" wheat, averaging 20 bushels to the
acre, is nearly equaled by the unenviable reputation of the water sup-
plied by its wells. The drift here contains much of the carbonates and
sulphates of lime and magnesia, derived from the Cretaceous strata which

523

524 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

covered this area and were plowed up by the ice-sheet, mixed with much
di'ift from the region of granites, gneiss, and crystalHne schists on the
northeast, and redeposited as till. The soluble alkaline ingredients of
the soil impregnate all the waters of wells, springs, and streams in this
region ; and in the dry season they are often seen forming a white or gray
efflorescence on the surface of the land, resembling frost, sometimes a
quarter of an inch thick, being the residue from the evaporation of mois-
ture rising through the porous ground.^

Wheat thrives better where the soil contains a considerable proportion
of these alkaline salts, so that their presence throughout the Red River
Valley is one principal cause of its superiority in wheat raising; and this,
grown year after year, gradually takes away these ingredients and pre-
pares the land for other crops. But their etfect as dissolved everywhere
in wells and streams partly offsets this benefit, and makes the water of all
this region objectionably hard, and sometimes in wells and springs notice-
ably bitter or salt.

The hardness of the water, on account of which it will not dissolve
soap, is produced by the carbonates of lime and magnesia, which it has
taken up in soaking through the ground. The best way to provide water
satisfactory for washing with soap is by collecting the rain from roofs. By
the construction of cisterns, this soft water, which also is preferable for
drinking and cooking, may be kept constantly on hand, there being gener-
all}^ a good supply of rain in all seasons excepting winter, when it falls as
snow.

The water of streams and wells in this district contains a small pro-
portion of the alkaline sulphates of lime, soda, magnesia, and potassa, and
carbonate of soda, though not usually enough to be perceptible to the

'An analysis, by Prof. James A. Dodge, of an "alkali '' efflorescence from a surface of till in
Murray County, southwestern Minnesota, showed it to be a hydrous sulphate of magnesia, with
slight traces of soda, potash, and lime. The proportions of sulphur trioxlde and magnesia were the
.same as in epsomite (epsom salt), but it had less than half the percentage of water of crystallization
required by epsomite. (Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Minnesota, Tenth Annual Report, for 1881,
p. 202.)

Efflorescent saline matter from one of the alkaline lakes of the Missouri Coteau, analyzed by
Dr. G. M. Dawson, contained of sulphate of magnesia, 49.06 per cent; sulphate of soda, 47. 7S per
cent; and cliloride of sodium, O.7.") jier cent. A similar saline incrustation from the Souris Valley,
examined qualitatively by Dr. Dawson, showed only the magnesic and sodic sulphates. (Geology
and Kesources of the Forty-ninth Parallel, p. 293.)

SOURCES OF THE ARTESIAN WATER SUPPLY.

525

taste. These waters, however, more readily than pure water, decompose
the wooden curbing, which, being the most convenient and cheapest
material, is too commonly used in this region, destitute of stone quarries.
The wooden well-curbing, which is commonly pine, soon contaminates the
water, and when such wells are left stagnant or only drawn from slightly,
the water becomes too foul in smell and taste to be drunk, even by cattle,
and it may be the cause of sickness, as intestinal diseases and typhoid
fevers, before reaching this stage. Let such wells be pumped so as to fill
them with new water every day, and these offensive qualities are princi-
pally removed. If bricks, stone, or cement pipe are used for lining wells,
and the water in them is frequently renewed by being largely di-awn from,

I

Boo

7eo-

60(A

I

I

i

?

I

'tACUSr^"^£^=^ Ar^o ■= Al L Uu/AL ~CIA yS 1^=^^

^yjr-Z'Xic'::^^:.-^

ry'S}=-J^A'r£ff^0^A.9i^!i ^\4AY£rffis^ ano.'.'.

:£fiCLOSiN6 -~j=^.

_^V£INS),or. SAND. .AN^D -GffA^ ve-i.' ■'. >_

b;."",-'"'.'.-"''; v;~:

'■•-.'d7'^';-;' o''':<s

>^''Li;''i'-'.'''.".''.'.'^^^W-:--^r^'-'.».''.o'''-i'^^'.',w;^' ''''•'

Fia. 31,— Diagram indicating the jtrobable relationsliip of aoiircea of ai-tesian water at Grandin, N. Dak.

it is generally wholesome and palatable, and is well adapted for nearly all
uses, excepting for washing with soap, as before mentioned, and for steam
boilers, in which the large amount of scale deposited from it in evaporation
is objectionable.^

SOURCES OF THE ARTESIAN WATERS.

The narrow areas that may be sometimes occupied by the sand and
gravel layers in the drift sheet yielding artesian water, or the thin and in
some places entirely deficient condition of these layers, is illustrated by the

'See two articles by Prof. N. H. WiuebBll. on "The water supply of the Red River Valley,"
Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Minnesota, Sixth Annual Report, for 1877, pp. 0-42, and Niuth Annual
Report, for 1880, pp. 166-174.

526 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

diffei'eut depths at which a flow of water was first encountered by four
wells in the village of Grandiu, N. Dak. These wells, whose probable
relationship in their supplies of water may be nearly as shown in fig. 31,
are on an area only about 50 rods in extent, and their several depths are
105 feet, 158 feet, 187 feet, and 248 feet. Either the upper water-bearing
beds here are narrow, like a stream course, so that they were not found by
the deeper wells, or, if they exist as sheets of great width as well as length,
they are in some parts thinned out, allowing the impervious till above to
rest on that below. The experience in well-boring here is representative
of inequalities in depths of flowing wells near together in many other
places. More frequently, however, water is obtained from a nearly uni-
form depth throughout a considerable area, and it is then evidently derived
from a single broadly continuous stratum.

FRESH WATER FROM POROUS BEDS OF THE DRIFT SHEET.

Though the water-bearing gravel and sand inclosed between deposits
of till often occur in narrow veins or in beds which sometimes thin out,
even near where they yield copious artesian flows, they must have a great
extent in the direction from which the water supply is received, descending
from levels higher than the Red River Valley plana, where the flowing
wells are situated. At least, this must be the case where the water is fresh
or only very slightly saline, as at Grandin and in all the southern part of
the valley as far northward as the vicinity of Crookston, in Minnesota, and
Blanchard, in North Dakota, and in a large district of Manitoba, including
Winnipeg and the Mennonite reserve east of the Red River.

Upon the higher lands adjoining both sides of this valley the water of
rains is partly absorbed by percolation into the drift sheet, chiefly tlu-ough
the most sandy and gravelly layers. Thence it passes in these porous
veins and beds downward to the valley plain, where it is heavily pressed
by the head of water filling their upper portions. When a boring pene-
trates the impervious overlying beds of alluvial and lacustrine clay and
of till the water usually rises with a strong flow above the surface (fig. 32).
If the height and pressure of its head are inadequate for this, it rises in the

SALINE WATEE FEOM THE DAKOTA SANDSTONE.

527

pipe to a permaneut level, below wliicli iu most cases it cau not be lowered
by pumping, as a continual supply is received from the distant portions
of the subterranean reservoir.

SALINE AND ALKALINE WATEK FROM THE DAKOTA SANDSTONE.

North of Crookston and Blanchard to the international boundary and
in the south edge of Manitoba the water of the artesian wells, almost with-
out exception, tastes distinctly saline and alkaline. It seems very probable

I300

lOOC

loo

Fig. 32.— Section across the Red Eiver Valley, showiug the water supply of its fresb artesian wells. Horizontal scale,
15 miles to an inch.

that the water-bearing beds of that large portion of the Red River Valley
differ widely in the origin of their water supply from the foregoing. Instead
of deriving their water, like the fresh artesian wells, from rainfall upon
higher parts of the drift surface contiguous to the Red River Valley, there
seem to be good reasons for beUeving that the brackish water is mainly

Baset^tfieffocAy Ainn^.

Cretaceous Series

The 6rea-t Plains

^ Surfaced o/'G/ac/a/ Or/ff

COTSAU &

Fig. 33 — Section from the Rocky Mountains to the Red River Valley, showing the water supply of its saline artesian
wells. Horizontal scale, 150 miles to an inch.

from the Dakota sandstone, which forms the base of the Cretaceous series in
the upper Missouri, Assiniboine, and Saskatchewan basins, coming tln-ough
that sandstone from its outcrops on the flanks of the Rocky Mountains
and Black Hills, and permeating upward into the drift of the Red River
Valley from areas where this sandstone is the underlying bed-rock (fig. 33).
That the saline artesian waters found within the basin of Lake Agassiz

528 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

come from these distant sources is indicated by the artesian wells obtained
farther west in North and South Dakota, which also need to be somewhat
particularly described here, since they are intimately related with the saline
springs and flowing wells of the Red River Valley.

Belationshl]) to the artesian wells of Devils Lake and the James Biver
Valley. — Deep artesian wells of somewhat saline and alkaline water, like
that of the part of the Red River Valley just described, are obtained on a
belt that extends across North and South Dakota from Devils Lake to
Yankton and Vermillion, including the greater part of the James River
basin. Wherever borings along this belt have i^enetrated to the Dakota
sandstone, the lowest Cretaceous formation in the upper Missom-i region,
artesian water has been found. Probably as many as 200 wells have been
bored, then- depths ranging from 900 to 1,550 feet, except in the southern
part of the James and Vermillion valleys, where many wells are only 600
to 750 feet deep, and a few, the farthest southeast, are between 300 and
400 feet in depth. These wells are mostly 5 or 6 inches in diameter, and their
strong pressure, commonly trom 50 to 175 pounds per square inch at the
surface, makes them valuable not only for fire hydrants but also to furnish
power for manufacturing purposes. Several wells have been bored at
Aberdeen, and five years ago fifteen wells were in use in Yankton. The
pressure of the wells in Yankton is sufficient to raise the water 129 feet,
and in numerous places along the middle portion of the James River Valley,
as Huron, Redfield, and Aberdeen, the pressure con-esj^onds to a rise of more
than 400 feet above the surface.

The sections of these deep wells in North Dakota and on the high
land between the James and Missouri rivers in South Dakota include,
beneath the di-ift, the Fort Pierre, Niobrara, and Fort Benton divisions of
the Cretaceous series; but along the lower part of the James River and
on the Vermillion erosion during the Tertiary era removed the upper
portion of these beds, leaving only the Fort Benton shales or a part of
that formation over the Dakota sandstone.

At Devils Lake, Avhere an artesian well was bored in 1889, about 6
feet above the depot, or 1,470 feet above the sea, the section was as follows:

SECTIONS OF ARTESIAN WELLS. 529

Section of well at Devils Lake,

Feet.

Glacial drift, till as on the surface 25

Dark shale, nearly alike through its whole thickness, including the Port Pierre

and Fort Benton formations, with no noticeable calcareous beds at the

intermediate Niobrara horizon 1, 403

Gravel, of granitic iiebbles up to a half inch in diameter, firmly cemented Avith

nodular pyrite 3

Dakota sandstone, or rather a bed of loose sand, very fine, white, or light gray,

the base of which was not reached 80

Total 1, 511

From the sandstone, at the depth of 1,470 feet, brackish artesian
water came up with a rush, but sand soon filled the pipe so that the supply
became small. It is from this level that the present flow comes, through
narrow slits cut in 'the pipe. The boring was continued 40 feet deeper,
but no such strong flow was obtained below. In July, 1889, when the
well was completed, it supplied 1,800 ban-els of water in twenty -four
hours, or about 40 gallons per minute, the diameter of the pipe being 8
inches, reduced to 3.^ in the lower portion. The stream flowing away was
then turbid Avith the exceedingly fine particles of sand brought up from
the bottom.

The Jamestown well, bored in the winter of 1886-87, about 8 feet
below the depot, or 1,400 feet above the sea, went tlu-ough a similar sec-
tion of about 1,400 feet of shales, with no distinctly different portion to
indicate the place of the Niobrara fonnation.

At Deloraine, in Manitoba, 1,644 feet above the sea, situated close
northwest of the Turtle Mountain and about 100 miles northwest from the
city of Devils Lake, an unsuccessful boring- for an artesian well has found,
under a thickness of 94 feet of glacial di-ift, a somewhat uniform section of
shales, largely calcareous in their lower half, extending to the total depth
of 1,800 feet, according to Mr. J. B. Tyrrell, of the Geological Survey of
Canada.^ At that depth, which was bored during the years 1888 to 1890,
the top of the Dakota sandstone had not been reached, so that it is known
to be at least nearly 200 feet lower than at Devils Lake and more than
156 feet below the sea-level.

1 Trans., Roy. Soc. Canada, Vol. IX, Sec. IV, 1891, pp. 91-97.
MON XXV 34

530

THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Artesian ivelU deriving water from tlie Dakota sandstone in North and Soidh Dakota.

Locality.

Devils Lake . .
Jamestown . - .

Oakes

EUendale

Britton

Columbia

Andover

Groton

Aberdeen

Ipawich

Mellette

Ashton

Doland

Eedfleld

Faulkton

Hitchcock

Huron

Miller

Highmore

Harold

"Woonsocket . .

Letclier

Mitchell

Plankinton . . .

Kimball

Vermillion

MeckliDg

Yankton

Tyndall

Fort Eandall .

Distance on latitude
and longitude from
the southeast corner
of South Dakota.

North.

390

305

252

243

228

216

202

204

206

204

186

174

167

166

176

148

130

140

141

141

108

97

84

85

87

20

23

27

34

Miles.

119

110

80

101

72

92

72

82

101

127

101

101

81

103

132

97

88

126

148

163

91

85

79

102

126

24

31

46

71

106

Depth.

Feet.

1,511

1,476

944

1,087

1,004

965

1,070

960

908

1,270

900

915

950

900

1,210

950

863

1,148

1,552

1,453

750

600

600

750

1,068

365

338

610

730

600

Pressure

at surface

per square

inch.

Head above
surface,
computed
from pres-
sure.

Pounds.

95

125

175

90

'187

175
70

175

175
175
125
25
80
153

140
95
15

Altitudes above the sea.

288

404
208
432
404
162

404
404
288
58
185
353

56

323
219
35

Source of
water in
upjter part
of the Da-
kota sand-
stone.

Feet.

0
—76
378
362
350
339
406
344
392
260
400
381
405
395
363
389
424
439
338
348
558
700
701
778
720
785
818
586
688
660

Surface,

railroad at

statlou.

Feet.
1,464
1,408
1,322
1,449
1,354
1,304
1,476
1,304
1,300
1,530
1,300
1,296
1,355
1,295
1,573
1,339
1,287
1,587
1,890
1,801
1,308
1,300
1,301
1,528
1,788
1,150
1,156
1,196

Head, com-
puted from
pressure.

1,619

1,737

1,708
1,684
1,736
1,704
1,692

1,411

21,260

1,743
],691
1,875
1,948
1,986
1,661

1,851
2,007
1,185

1,325

1,364

> The pressure reported at Ashton is 100 or 125 pounds less than would be expected in proportion with other localities,
and at Groton it is somewhat more. The discrepancy of the latter, however, is no greater than may be due to the superior
permeability of the water-bearing stratum.

^Approximate altitude of high water of the Missouri River at Fort Randall.

For the greater part of my notes of the artesian wells of South
Dakota, also of EUendale and Oakes, in North Dakota, I am indebted to
"Resources of Dakota," publi.shed by the Territorial commissioner of
immigration in 1887, and to recent correspondence with Prof Gr. E. Culver,
then of the University of South Dakota, and with Prof C. W. Hall, of
the University of Minnesota. These data, with those obtained by me at
Devils Lake and Jamestown, I have placed in tabular form for convenient
comparison, showing (1 and 2) the distances of the localities north and

ARTESIAN WELLS IN NOETH AND SOUTH DAKOTA. 531

west from the mouth of the Big Sioux River at the southeast corner of
South Dakota ; (3) depths of the wells ; (4) their pressure at the surface,
wherever it has been obtainable, in pounds per square inch ; (5) the con-e-
sponding height or head to which the water would rise above the surface ;
(6) the altitude, with reference to the sea-level, of the source of the arte-
sian water in the Dakota sandstone ; (7) the altitude of the surface ; and
(8) the height of the computed head of water above the sea.

The flow of water from the Dakota sandstone at Devils Lake is found
exactly at the sea-level, but the top of the sandstone formation is 39 feet
higher. At Jamestown the flow rises from a depth of 76 feet below the sea-
level, indicating that the top of the Dakota sandstone there sinks slightly
lower than at Devils Lake. Along the distance of 8.5 miles from north
to south between these points its level is probably nearly constant, and
borings at intervening towns, as New Rockford and Carnngton, will doxibt-
less find artesian water at or slightly below the sea-level. Farther south
the top of the sandstone and its water supply are found throughout a
large district of South Dakota and the south edge of North Dakota at
a plane from 250 to 450 feet above the sea. Continuing still southward,
from Woonsocket to the Missouri River the water-bearing stratum rises to
altitudes from 558 to 818 feet above the sea, the highest levels being at
Meckling and Vermillion, the most southeastern localities of this list.

The same southeastward ascent of the Dakota sandstone reaches to
its outcrops on the southwest side of the Missouri in Dakota County, Nebr.,
whence its name is derived, opposite to the southeast corner of South
Dakota. There, and at other extensive outcrops in western Iowa and east-
ern Nebraska, having approximately the same elevations as the surface at
Vermillion and Yankton, the water coursing through this sandstone finds
outlet in springs; and these avenues of discharge explain the gradual
reduction in the altitude of the head of water above the sea-level as the
series of wells is followed from north to south and from west to east.
Somewhat uniform altitudes of 1,619 to 1,743 feet are recorded as the
heights to which water would rise in pipes for all the wells where pressure
is reported, from Jamestown to Huron and Woonsocket, excepting those
west of Huron, which will be considered later, and the well at Ashton,

532

THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

where the reported pressure is probably eiToneous, lacking 100 pounds or
more of its triie amount. At Hitchcock the head of water has a computed
altitude of 1,743 feet above the sea; 18 miles to the south, at Huron, it
is 1,691 feet; 22 miles farther south, at Woonsocket, it is 1,661 feet; and
81 miles still farther south, at Yankton, it is only 1,325 feet. Fig. 34 illus-

Fig. 34. — Section showing the series of artesian wells from De\ils Lake and Jamestown southward to Yankton and
Vermillion. Horizontal scale, 75 miles to an inch.

trates this relationship of the series of artesian wells extending from north
to south in the James River Valley.

Equally distinct gradients of the plane of water head are found descend-
ing from west to east on and near the latitudes of Huron and Yankton.
Thus at Harold, 75 miles west of Hm'on, the head is 1,986 feet above the
sea; at Highmore, 15 miles east of Harold, it is 1,948 feet; at Miller it

Fig. 35. — Section showing the series of artesian wells from Harold eastward to Huron. Horizontal scale, 15 mileB to
an inch.

has declined 73 feet in a distance of 22 miles farther to the east; and in
the 38 miles thence to Huron it falls 184 feet more. The relationship of the
wells at these places is shown in Fig. 35. From Kimball to Plankinton, in
24 miles from west to east, the water head declines 156 feet-. Between Fort
Randall and Yankton, in a distance of 60 miles from west to east, this plane

ARTESIAN WELLS IN NORTH AND SOUTH DAKOTA. 533

descends at least 40 feet, but the descent is more if the well at Fort Ean-
dall is at a considerable height above the Missouri River. In 26 miles from
Tyndall eastward to Yankton, the water head sinks probably 150 or 200
feet. In the next 22 miles eastward to Vermillion the descent is 140 feet.
This feature of the artesian water supply is caused, as before stated, by its
outlets through springs in outcrops of the Dakota sandstone, which begin
30 to 40 miles southeast of Vermillion and extend thence southeast and
south.

All the eastern outcrops of the Dakota sandstone are lower than the
upper portions of the James River basin and the wells farther west at High-
more and Harold. These outcrops, therefore, can not be the sources from
which the sandstone receives its artesian water, but, as we have seen, they
are the avenues of its natural outflow. We must look instead to the western
outcrops of this formation, where it skirts the Black Hills and exposes its
upturned edges along the base of the Rocky Mountain ranges, for the areas
upon whicli the water is carried downward into the sandstone. Thence we
know this stratum to be continuous beneath the plains to the James River
Valley, for there are no nearer or other inlets from which the copious sup-
ply of the artesian wells can come. At a plane of similar or greater depth
an artesian reservoir exists beneath much, if not all, of the country west-
ward to the mountains. The gradients of the altitudes to which the water
of wells is capable of rising along east-to-west lines in South Dakota, as at
Huron, Miller, and Highmore, are approximately the same as the average
westward ascent of the country, demonstrating this western origin of the
water supply, and indicating that such wells may be obtained upon an
extensive region of the arid plains.

The quantities of alkaline matter and salt dissolved in the water of these
wells usually give it a brackish taste, and make it unfit for drinlcing by
people and for ordinary domestic uses; but it is drunk freely by cattle and
horses, with no unfavorable effects. These mineral ingredients seem to have
been derived from the Cretaceous shales, and probably in part from beds
in the Dakota formation, with which the water has been in contact durinsr
its slow percolation hundreds of miles through the sandstone. They are
the same in kind and similar in amount with the mineral matter of Devils

534 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Lake, concentrated by evaporation without outlet from the water of inflow-
ing streams and springs, which bring vevj small amounts of these salts
dissolved from the drift and Cretaceous shale of the adjoining country.

Much shale gravel and detritus, rich in sulphates, are present in the
glacial drift over nearly the entire Red River basin, and the percolating
rain water found by the fresh artesian wells in the di-ift of the southern
and northern ends of the Red River Valley has acquired minute quantities
of alkaline and saline matter. But where its proportion is large, as in the
brackish water of the wells from Crookston and Blanchard northward to
the edge of Manitoba, it seems impossible that so remarkable difi'erence
can be due to diversity in the material of the di-ift, or to longer time and
better opportunity afforded to the water for such impregnation while perco-
lating tlu'ough porous beds or veins in the di-ift. The saline and alkaline
artesian waters of the drift gravel and sand along this central portion of
the Red River Valley therefore appear to be received mainly from the
same Dakota sandstone which supplies the deep wells of the James River
Valley.

Several wells in the vicinity of Casselton, Blanchard, and Mayville,
ranging from 317 to 404 feet in depth, pass tlu'Ough the drift and enter a
very fine white sandstone, probably the Dakota formation, from which they
obtain flows of brackish water. About a dozen miles east of Blanchard
the drift was found to have a total thickness of 310 feet, below which a
boring went 107 feet into exceedingly fine white sandstone, finding, how-
ever, no artesian water, apparently because of the very close texture of the
rock. The top of the sandstone in these wells is 650 to 575 feet above
the sea. If it is the Dakota sandstone, as seems probable and nearly cer-
tain, it has an ascent of about 600 feet in 75 miles east from the meridian
of Devils Lake and Jamestown, rising in its approach toward the Silurian,
Cambrian, and Archean areas of Minnesota and Manitoba. Along a line
about 1 3 miles north of the international boundary the top of the Dakota
sandstone ascends eastward from a depth at Deloraine exceeding 156 feet
below the sea-level to a depth of only 320 feet below the surface at Morden,
where it is encountered 658 feet above the sea.^ The Dakota sandstone

'J. B. Tyrrell, "Three deep wells in Manitoba," Trans., Roy. Soc. Canada, Vol. IX, Sec. IV, 1891,
pp. 91-104.

SOURCES OF SALT IN ARTESIAN WELLS. 535

there rises more than 800 feet iu a distance of 106 miles from west to east.
It appears thus to be the bed rock, on which the drift is deposited, beneath
extensive tracts in the middle part and on the western border of the Red
River Valley, discharging there its alkaline and saline artesian water into
the permeable beds of gravel and sand in the drift sheet, whence it rises in
the brackish wells of that district.

Relationship to artesian wells at Totver City and Grafton, N. Dak., Hum-
boldt, Minn., and Morden (not artesian) and Bosenfeld, Manitoba. — An artesian
well at Tower City, 50 miles east of Jamestown, is 4 feet lower than the
depot, behig 1,168 feet above the sea. Its depth is 670 feet, through drift,
163 feet; Cretaceous shales, with occasional beds of sandstone, 502 feet;
and quicksand, into which the boring advanced only 5 feet. Salty and
alkaline water outflows 9^ gallons per minute, and is capable of rising 33
feet above the surface. The scanty flow and low head of this well suggest
that the water-bearing stratum may be inclosed within the Fort Benton
shales ; but its altitude, 500 feet above the sea-level, accords with that of the
sandstone reached by wells at Blanchard and Mayville, so that more prob-
ably it is the top of the Dakota formation. The plane of the head of water
supplied from this formation would show a marked descent northeastward,
as is thus indicated at Tower City, still more distinctly at Morden (page
81), and in less degree at Devils Lake, in comparison with Jamestown
and Ellendale, if there are abundant natural outlets of this artesian water
along the Red River Valley, as appears to be true, by springs rising through
the drift. These brackish springs occur on many of the streams tributary
to the Red River both in North Dakota and Minnesota, the most remark-
able being on Forest and Park rivers, which therefore were formerly called
the Big and Little Salt rivers.^

Beneath the central part and western side of the Red River Valley,
the Dakota sandstone, forming the base of the great Cretaceous series which
is penetrated by the wells at Deloraine, Devils Lake, and Jamestown,
probably abuts in many places, with horizontal or only slightly inclined
stratification, upon the eroded western edges of the similarly almost hori-
zontally bedded Silurian rocks. Undoubtedly a part of the salt contained

'Translations of their Ojibway names, according to Eev. J. A. Gilfillan, Fifteenth Annual Report,
Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Minnesota, for 1886. p. 463.

536 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

in the water of the artesian wells in the drift of the Red River Valley, as
well as of its saline springs, has been supplied directly from tlie underlying
Silurian formations, which, as stated in Chapter III, yield an artesian flow
of brackish water at Grafton, N. Dak , and flows of rather strong brine at
Humboldt, Minn., and Rosenfeld, Manitoba. The relationship of these
rocks to the adjacent Dakota sandstone suggests a question whether possi-
bly some of the salt in the water of this sandstone at Morden, Tower City,
Devils Lake, and along the James River Valley may have come from the
same source. The gradients of the head of the artesian wells of North and
South Dakota show, however, by their descent toward the east and south-
east, that the currents of water running through the Dakota sandstone come
from tlie Rocky Mountains and Black Hills, and that they find egress by
springs in the Red River Valley and in the valley of the Missouri south-
east of Yankton. On account of the greater weight of saline than of fresh
water, this subterranean drainage of the vast western plains may have con-
tribvited much to the quantity and strength of the brine contained in the
deep reservoir of the Silurian strata beneath the bed of Lake Agassiz. It
seems to me, therefore, more likely that the Dakota sandstone has been
chiefly a giver rather than a recipient of salt, in its relation to the Silurian
formations penetrated by the Humboldt and Rosenfeld wells.

ANALYSES OF WATERS FR03I WEEES, STREAMS, AND EAKES IN THE
RED RIVER VALEEY AND THE ADJOINING REGION.

The following analyses show the composition of the mineral matter
which had been held in solution and was left after evaporation by the
waters of several wells, streams, and lakes in this region. The first column
in each analysis gives the proportion of the several ingredients to the
weight of the natural water in parts per million. In the second column
their percentages are stated, and the third notes the weight of each in
grains per standard gallon of the United States, containing 231 cubic
inches. Nos. 1, 3 to 7, and 10 to 12 were analyzed under the direction of
Prof. James A. Dodge, of the University of Minnesota, by his assistants,

ANALYSES OF ARTESIAN WATERS.

537

Mr. C. F. Sidener^ and Prof. William A. Noyes." No. 2 was analyzed by
Mr. Gr. Clu-istian Hoffman,' and Nos. 8 and 9 by Mr. Frank D. Adams,* of
the Geological Sm-vey of Canada. The hardness of these waters, when
noted, is in degrees of Wanklyn's scale.

1. Brine from, the artesian ivell at Humboldt, Minn. (pagA 74-76).

Ingredients dissolved in the water.

Silica

Alumina

Carbonate of iron

Siilpli.ite of lime

Sulphate of magnesia .
Carbonate of magnesia
Cliloride of magnesium
Chloride of calcium . . .
Chloride of potassium .
Chloride of sodium. . . .
Phosphoric acid

Total

Parts per
million.

208.5

40.9

18.5

1, 990. 2

1, 236. 4
1,347.5
1, 567. 6

2, 684. 0
724.3

47, 402. 5
Traces.

57, 220. 4

Percent-
age.

0.4
0.1

3.5
2.1
2.4
2.7
4.7
1.3
82.8

100.0

Grains per
gallon.

12.15

2.38

1.08

110. 08

71.12

78.60

91.44

1.56. 55

42.26

2, 764. 99

3, 336. 65

The proportion of common salt in the total dissolved solids of this
water is 82.8 per cent, or about five-sixths. "This gives it," as Prof N. H.
Winchell remarks, "more than the average per cent of chloride of sodium
found in the Michigan brines, while the total solid matter in solution is
only from one-third to one-half as much."^

'Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Minnesota, Thirteenth Annual Report, pp. 43, 98, 101, 102 (Nos. 1,
10, and 11); and Fourteenth Annual Report, p. .345 (No. 4). Am. Geologist, Vol. VI, p. 218 (No. 3).

^Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Minnesota, Eleventh Annual Report, pp. 172-175 (Nos. 5, 6, 7,
and 12).

^Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Annual Report, nevr series. Vol. I, pp. 13-15 M.

<Ibid., Report of Progress for 1878-79, pp. 8-11 H. (Reduced to refer to United States standard
gallon. Compare pp. 7-12 C.)

'Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Minnesota, Thirteenth Annual Report, p. 43.

538

THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

2. Brine from the artesian well at Bosenfeld, Manitoba {pages 78-SO).

Ingredients dissolved in the water.

Parts per
million.

Percent-
age.

Grains per
gallon.

12.6

Traces.

77.7

4, 151. 1

Traces.

1, 722. 5

398.2

417.9

36, 497. 1

0.73

Carbonate of irou

Carbonate of lime

0.2
9.6

4.53
242. 05

Borate of soda

Cliloride of iiiao"nesiuiu ...

4.0

0.9

1.0

84.3

100. 44

23.22

24.37

2, 128. 15

Chloride of calciuiu

Ohloride of potR^siiiT"

Total

43, 277. 1

100.0

2, 523. 49

Bromine and iodine are both present, the former apparently exceeding
the latter. The proportion of magnesium assumed to be in combination
with them as bromide and iodide amounts to 59.6 parts per million. This
brine is slightly purer than that of the Humboldt well, but its content of
salt is one-fourth less.

3. Water from the artesian well at Jamestown, N. Dak. (page 529).

Ingredients dissolved in the water.

Silica

Alumina

Carbonate of iron

Carbonate of lime

Sulphate of lime

Sulphate of magnesia

Sulphate of soda

Sulphate of potash . . .
Chloride of sodium . . .
Phosphates

Total

Parts per
million.

35.7

3.5

2.2

188.0

249.0

154.2

1, 139. 4

81.5

369.1

Traces.

2, 222. 6

Percent-
age.

1.6
0.2
0.1
8.5

11.2
6.9

51.2
3.7

16.6

Grains per
gallon.

2. 0823

.2041

.1283

10. 6743

14. 5241

8. 9944

66. 3602

4. 7523

21. 5296

100. 0 I 129. 2496

Hardness of this water, 21 degrees. In the test for the amount of its
dissolved organic matter, by Tidy's permanganate method, the oxygen
consumed in three hours was 0.7 part per million.

ANALYSES OF ARTESIAN WATEES,

539

The water of the Jamestown well tastes strongly brackish, and is
representative of many of the wells of the James River Valley deriving
their supply from the Dakota sandstone; but some are less brackish and
even palatable, while some others are more saline. According to Prof.
Henry Montgomery, of the University of North Dakota, the water of the
artesian well at Devils Lake (page 529) contains approximately 0.25 per
cent of chloride of sodium (common salt), as compared with the whole
weight of the water, or seven times more than the Jamestown water; and
about 0.37 per cent of sulphate of soda (Glauber's salt), or nearly three
and a half times more than is shown in the foregoing analysis.

4. Water from the Miniwaste artesian well, Browns Fallei/, Minn, (page S9).

Ingredients dissolved in the water.

Silica

Alumina

Protoxide of iron

Sulphate of lime

Sulphate of magnesia.

Sulphate of soda

Phosphate of lime

Chloride of sodium

Chloride of potassium

Carbonic acid

Nitrates

Total.

Parts per
million.

13.0

0.4

0.7

51.8

27.9

1,452.G

5.0

912. 7

Traces.

Traces.

Traces.

2,464.1

Percent-

0.5

2.1
1.1

.59.0

0.2

37.1

Grains per
gallon.

0. 7583

.0233

.0408

3. 0215

1. 6270

84. 7302

.2916

58. 2378

100. 0 I 143. 7305

The test for organic matter, with permanganate of potash, showed
1.63 parts oxygen consumed per million. This water has a considerable
reputation for its aperient and alterative medicinal properties. Its content
of Glauber's salt is about one-fourth more than in the water of Jamestown,
and it has two and a half times as much common salt.

540

THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

5. Water from an artesian well at Carman, Polk County, Minn.

Ingredients dissolved iu the water.

Silica

Alumina and oxide of iron

Carbonate of lime

Carbonate of magnesia . . .

Carbonate of litbia

Carbonate of potash

Nitrate of potash

Carbonate of soda

Sulphate of soda

Borax

Chloride of sodium

Bromide of potassium

Iodide of potassium

Total

Farts per
million.

26.2

1.5

88.6

52.9

Traces.
11.5

Traces.
73.8
47.5

Traces.
156.5

Traces.

Traces.

458.5

Percent-
age.

5.7

0.3

19.4

11. G

Grains per
gallon.

1.529

.087

5.171

3.087

2.5

.671

16.2
10.1

4.308
2.773

34.2

9. 134

100.0

26. 760

Nitrates, absent; phosphates, absent. The test with joermanganate
showed 0.85 parts oxygen consumed by organic matter per 1,000,000
water. Hardness, 12.5 degrees. This well is less saline and alkaline than
many others on both sides of the Red River thence northward to the
international boundary; but it is more so than most of the artesian wells
southward in this valley.

6. Hater from the Red River at Fergus Falls, Minn.

Ingredients dissolved in the water.

Silica

Alumina and oxide of iron

Carbonate of lime

Carbonate of magnesia . . .

Carbonate of lithia

Carbonate of potash .

Bromide of potassium

Nitrate of potash

Nitrite of potash

Carbonate of soda

Sulphate of soda

Chloride of sodium

Total

Parts per
million.

14.3

1.2

101.0

71.4

Traces.

4.2

Traces.

Traces.

Traces.

5.8

1.8

2.3

202.0

Percent-

7.0

0.6

50.0

35.4

2.1

2.8
0.9
1.2

100.0

Grains per
gallon.

0. 83412

. 06999

5. 89133

4. 16476

. 24919

. 33831
. 10499
. 13456

11. 78725

ANALYSES OF WATEE OF RED ElVEE.

541

Iodine, absent; phosphoric acid, traces. The permanganate test showed
1.4 parts oxygen consumed by organic matter per 1,000,000 water. Hai'd-
ness, 9.5 degrees.

7. Water from the Bed River at St. Vincent, Minn.

lugredients dissolved in the water.

Silica

Oxide of iron ami alumiua

Carbonate of lime

Sulphate of lime

Nitrate of lime

Carbonate of magnesia . . .

Phosphate of lithia

Sulphate of potash

Nitrite of potash

Bromide of potassium

Sulphate of soda

Chloride of sodium

Total

Parts per
million.

13.0

1.0

97.8

35.7

1.1

81.9

0.6

8.7

Traces.

Traces.

21.7

22.9

284.4

Percent-
age.

4.6

0.4

34.3

12.6

0.4

28.7

0.2

3.1

7.6
8.1

100.0

Gr.iius per
gallon.

0. 75829
. 05833

5. 70467

2. 08238
. 06416

4. 77723
. 03499
. 50747

1. 26576
1. 33576

16. 58904

Iodine, absent. In the permanganate test the oxygen required for
oxidation was 3.5 per milUon. Hardness, 19 degrees.

8. Water from the Bed, River one-fourth of a mile above the mouth of the Asslniboine,

Ingredients dissolved in the water.

Parts per
million.

Percent-
age.

105.6

20.4

154.3

29.8

96.3

18.6

14.5

2.8

67.4

13.0

79. 9

15.4

518.0

100.0

Grains per
gallon.

Carbonate of lime

Carboniite of magnesia

Sulphate of lime

Sulphate of potash. ...

Sulphate of soda

Chloride of sodium

Total

6.155
8.996
5.614
.846
3.938
4.656

30. 205

The hardness of this water is 23.9 degrees.

542 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

9. Water from the Assiniboine River one-fourth of a mile above its junction with the Hcd River

Ingredieuts dissolved iu the water.

Carbonate of lime

Carbonate of magnesia

Sulphate of potash

Sulphate of soda

Chloride of sodium

Total

Parts per
million.

173.0

137.7

13.2

117.4
46.8

488.1

Percent-

35.4
28.2

2.7
24.1

9.6

100.0

Grains per
gallon.

10.090

8.027

.769

6.845

2.730

28. 461

The hardness of this water was 20.6 degrees, behig slightly less, like
its total content of mineral matter, than in the water of the Red River at
the confluence of the Assiniboine. The stage of rivers, whether in partial
flood or at the low level of seasons of drought, decides to a large extent
whether their dissolved ingi-edients are little or much. The amount of
clayey mud and fine sand borne along mechanically suspended iu the
water of rivers is vastly increased by their rise and stronger currents in
times of floods; but the amount of matter dissolved in the water, which is
the only portion considered in these analyses, is then much less than at
their lowest stages, when they hold little or no mud in suspension.

Although in the waters of the last two analyses the Red River had
more dissolved matter, both mineral and organic, than the Assiniboine, the
average proportion of the latter throughout the year is probably the greater.
Samples of water from these streams, similarly collected by Dr. Robert Bell
and analyzed by Dr. Baker Edwards, showed only about two-thirds as
much of both mineral and organic matter in the Red River as in the Assini-
boine.^ These samples were collected October 18, 1873, and those of
analyses 8 and 9 were taken on October 26, 1879. Recent rains in larger
amount on one of these basins than on the other, or differences iu their
volume due to lack of rainfall, probably account for these different results
of the analyses!

'Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Eeport of Progress for 1878-79, pp. 7-12 C.

ANALYSES OF WATERS.

10. Water from Big Stone Lake.

543

Ingredients disaolved in the water.

Silica

Carbonate of irou

Carbonate of lime

Carbonate of magnesia
Sulphate of magnesia .

Sulphate of potash

Sulphate of soda

Chloride of sodium

Phosphates

Total

Parts per
miilion.

106. 50

2.20

110.50

63.00

148. 05

12.48

95.63

15.12

Traces.

553. 48

Percent-
age.

19.2

0.4

20.0

11.4

26.7

2.3

17.3

2.7

100.0

Grains per
gallon.

6. 2090

.1283

6. 4455

3. 6748

8. 6358

.7280

5. 5781

.8819

32. 2814

Oxyg'eu cousuined by organic matter in the permanganate test, 1.32
parts per million. This Avater is remarkable for its large proportion of
silica.

11. Water from the Mississippi Biver at Brainerd, Minn.

Ingredients dissolved in the water.

Silica

Alumina

Carbonate of iron

Carbonate of lime

Carbonate of magnesia
Carbonate of potash . . .

Carbonate of soda

Sulphate of soda

Chloride of sodium

Nitrates

Phosphates

Total

Parts per
million.

18.2

3.9

4.2

111.1

27.7

6.0

19.4

3.0

1.5

Traces.

(')

Percent-

9.3
2.0
2.2
57.1
14.2
3.1
9.9
1.5
0.7

195.0

100.0

(Jrains per
gallon.

1. 0616
.2275
.2453

6. 4787

1. 6169
.3499

1. 1292
.1749
.0875

11. 3715

' Slight traces.

Oxygen required for the oxidation of organic matter by the perman-
ganate test, 1.28 parts per million.

544

THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

12. Water from Lake Siqierior, collected at Grand Marais, Minn.

Ingredients dissolved in the water.

Silica

Alumina and oxide of iron.

Carbonate of lime

Carbonate of magnesia

Carbonate of lithia

Carbonate of potasb

Nitrate of potash

Nitrite of potash

Carbonate of soda

Sulphate of soda

Chloride of sodium

Total

Parts per
million.

0.5

Traces.

30.8

9.1
Traces.

1.9

0.2

(')
0.5
0.6
2.1

45.7

Percent-
age.

1.1

67.4
19.9

4.2
0.5

1.1
1.3

4.5

100.0

Grains per (
gallon.

0. 02917

1. 79656
. 53080

. 11083
. 01167

. 02917
. 03499
. 12249

2. 66568

' Minute traces.

Iodine and bromine, absent; phosphates and borates, absent. The test
with permanganate showed 0.35 parts oxygen consumed by organic matter
per 1,000,000 water.

Hardness, 3.5 degrees, so low amount being less than the average of
"soft" well and spring waters.

This analysis of the very pure water of Lake Superior (perhaps even
more remarkable for its small content of organic than of mineral matter)
is presented for comparison with the waters of the Red River Valley. It
contains less than one-fourth as much mineral matter, and only slightly
more than this proportion of organic matter, as compared with the water
of the Upper Mississippi River at Brainerd. These proportions, in compar-
ison with the water of Big Stone Lake, are respectively one-twelfth and
about one-fourth. The Red River at Fergus Falls has about four and a
half times as much mineral matter as Lake Superior, and four times as much
organic matter; but at St. Vincent these proportions are increased respec-
tively to 6 and 10, and the former is still further raised to 11 at the mouth
of the Assiniboine and the city of Winnipeg.

The artesian water at Carman has ten times as much mineral matter
and two and a half times as much organic matter as Lake Superior, and
these proportions for the Jamestown artesian well are respectively about

IRRIGATION BY ARTESIAN WELLS. 545

49 and 2. But a far greater contrast is afforded by the water of the Hum-
boldt artesian well, which contains about 1,250 times more dissolved mineral
matter than Lake Superior, while the ratio of their salinity is 22,572 to 1.
It should be remarked, however, that these comparisons are made with
one of the purest lakes of the world. Few analyses of the natural waters
of lakes and streams show so little dissolved mineral and organic matter.
Reindeer Lake, lying in the great Archean area of central Canada, north
of Lake Winnipeg, is one of these, for it has only about three-fifths as
much dissolved matter as Lake Superior; and an equally small amount, or
even slightly less, is found in the waters of Bala Lake, in Wales, and Loch
Katrine, in Scotland.^

USE OF ARTESIAK WATER FOR IRRIGATIO]V.

Within the agricultural eastern half of both North and South Dakota,
occasional years, and sometimes two or three years in succession, have much
less rainfall than the average. These years of drought and consequent
complete or partial failure of crops have been exceedingly discouraging to
the people of these States, checking the immigration which poured in rapidly
during a series of comparatively wet years, with magnificent crops, from
1880 to 1885. The great fertility of the soil, however, when supplied with
sufficient moisture, causes the questions to be asked: Can artificial irriga-
tion be provided during seasons of drought on this area! and, Can artesian
wells be profitably used for this purpose?

These questions are not of so great importance for the Red River
Valley, where no drought has severely affected the crops during the fifteen
or twenty years since the earliest settlement and development of farming,
as for the closely adjacent country on the west, from the vicinity of Devils
Lake southward along the Sheyenne and James rivers, where many farmers
sowing 50 to 200 acres or more in wheat harvested little or nothing dur-
ing the very dry years of 1887 to 1889. But within the Red River Valley
portions of the summers of these and other years have been so day that
artificial irrigation would have benefited the grain fields. In a few instances

' Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Report of Progress for 1880-81-82, pp. 6, 7 H.
MON XXV 35

546 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

and on a small scale tlie water of artesian wells in tliis valley lias been '
ajDplied to jjatches of garden vegetables and other crops near dwellings.

Will it be profitable, on a larger scale, to store the water of artesian
wells in reservou-s for use in the season of growing crops, and especially
during severe di-oughts! To this inquuy we may reply by computing the
amoimt of water needed for irrigating a given space, as a quarter-section of
160 acres, the usual area of a homestead. Allowing a depth of 12 inches
of water for this use during the growing season, the year's supply of water
from a well flowing 100 gallons per minute is required, without allowance
being made for leakage or evaporation fi'om the reservoir. The Devils
Lake well would, therefore, imgate only 64 acres, and the Jamestown
well, flowing 375 gallons per minute, will water less than a section 1 mile
squai-e. But each of these wells cost about S7,000, to which must be added
the cost of the construction of reservoirs and imgating ditches, placing the
expense of such water sujjply fai- beyond its prospective value for ordinary
agricultui-e.

Unusual difficulties were encountered in boring these wells, which are
the deepest, excepting only the well at Highmore, in the list on page 530.
With the experience now acquhed, they might probably be bored for half
as great expense; and shallower wells, from 600 to 1,000 feet deep, as at
Yankton, Woonsocket, and Aberdeen, may be bored and piped at a cost
ranging from S800 to $1,500. The still shallower artesian wells in the
di-ift of the Red River Valley, varying in depth from 35 feet to 250 or 300
feet, cost from $50 to 8200 or $300. Each of these wells could supply
water sufficient for the irrigation of a few acres, and those ha-vang the most
copious flow would irrigate 50 acres or more if their water were stored in
reservoirs for use only during the summer.

An important objection, however, against the use of this water for
u-rigation seems to lie in its dissolved alkaline and saline matter, which
must be left in the soil. After continued use duiing many years, the
residuum from the water would quite certainly prove injurious to crops, so
that the land would become worthless. Such results have attended imga-
tion with only very slightly sahne Avater on the allu\aal plains of the arid
northwestern provinces of India. The proportion of sulphate of soda in

IRRIGATION BY ARTESIAN WELLS. 547

streams flowing- dowu from the Himalayan range and in canals taking
water from them varies from 9 to 43 parts in a million, and the proportion
of common salt is from 0.23 to 15 parts; yet under the dry climate of north-
western India the natural evaporation of so nearly pure water, and its use
in irrigation, have caused extensive tracts of land formerly productive to
become bari'en.^

Neither the water of the Red River at St. Vincent nor that of the very
slightly brackish artesian well at Carman is more suitable for ii-rigation
than the Himalayan waters mentioned; while the bitter water of the James-
town and Devils Lake artesian wells, on account of its larger content of
common salt and of Glauber's and Epsom salts (sulphates of soda and
of magnesia), would be far worse for the land, in which saline and alkaline
matter would be accumulated by the evaporation of the water.

Concerning the results following the use of artesian water for irrigation
in the Red River Valley, Prof C. W. Hall, of the University of Minnesota,
writes me as follows, under date of January 14, 1891:

Officers of our agricultural experiment station say that in tlie Red River Valley
experiments already show that ground watered from artesian wells is, after three or
four years, almost wholly unsuited to raising the current crops. Several large farmers
iu that region have sunk wells to secure a supply of water for gardens, and have found
that very soon their garden patches must be moved to other places.

In many portions of the great arid region of the western plains and
the Cordilleran mountain belt sufliciently pure water for irrigation is furnished
by streams, especially where they flow from neighboring mountains, and less
frequently by artesian wells. But it must be reluctantly said that within
the agricultural area of Lake Agassiz, and upon the adjoining district of
North and South Dakota, neither the rivers nor artesian wells can supply
water well adapted for application to the land during a long- series of years.
Fortunately, irrigation is not greatly needed in any part of this lacustrine
area; and on the adjoining region the bountiful harvests of the years of
copious rainfall may fully offset the occasional failure of crops.^

'Medlicott and Blanfoid, Manual of the Geology of India, pp. 413-415.

^ See Rejiort of the Special Committee of the United States Senate on the Irrigation and Reclama-
tion of Arid Lands, four volumes (bound in two), Washington, 1890.

548 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

NOTES OF ARTESIAN AND COMMON WELLS.

The following notes present many sections, showing in detail the char-
acter and order of the drift deposits penetrated by artesian and common
wells in the Red River Valley and on the contiguous higher eastern and
western borders of Lake Agassiz. A few of these wells pass tlu-ough the
drift and afford information of the underlying Cretaceous and Lower Silu-
rian strata. Among the many records of wells gathered during* the survey
of the shore-lines of Lake Agassiz, this list selects in general the most note-
worthy, as those remarkable for their depth, for abundant flow or sudden
rise of water, or for their sections of the drift and older formations. At
the same time the ordinary or average depth, or the range in depth of other
wells, and the quantity and quahty of their water supply, are often stated,
with the prevailing character of the drift, lacustrine, and alluvial beds.

Two classes of wells, peculiar respectively to the beach ridges and the
deltas, may be here described once for all, so that no examples of them will
appear in the following pages. Many farmers, in selecting the site for their
dwellings, have wisely placed them on the beautifully rounded, wave-like
ridges of gravel and sand which mark the former shores of Lake Agassiz.
Their houses have dry cellars, and their wells, after passing 10 to 15 feet
through the gravel of the beach to the underlying till, usually obtain an
ample supply of excellent water, healthful for people, horses, and cattle to
drink. The water is hard, or unfit for washing with soap, because of the
presence of the carbonates of lime .and magnesia dissolved from the gravel,
sand, and till; but it is usually free from alkaline matter, such as is often
contained in the water of this district when it has percolated tlu-ough the
till jand its inclosed sand iind gravel beds for longer distances.

On the deltas of Lake Agassiz wells also usually have water of the
same good quality, but it is found at a gi-eater depth. Usually on these
tracts the depth to water ranges from 20 to 50 feet; but on the Pembina
delta and near the outer border of the Assiniboine delta a thickness exceed-
ing 100 feet in their porous sand and gravel deposits must be penetrated
before the plane of saturation or of water running thi-ough their basal
portion is reached. Along the foot of the frontal slope of the delta, or

WELLS ON DELTAS. 549

on the banks of the river which has cut tlirough it, this water issues in large
sjjrings.

The deepest well of this class noted was on the Pembina delta, close
north of the river, in the northeast quarter of section 36, township 163,
range 67, where T. R. McLaughlin had dug 145 feet and bored 30 feet
farther, in all 175 feet, not yet obtaining any water. The material of the
section was all water-deposited sand and gravel, some layers having pebbles
as large as 3 or 4 inches in diameter, but mostly sand. A well only a half
mile to the north, on the same delta, has a good supply of water at the
depth of 30 feet, and in some places springs issue only halfway down
the bluffs inclosing the Pembina River, which flows some 225 feet below the
delta plateau upon which these wells are situated. Here and there some-
what clayey layers in the delta, or otherwise comparatively impervious
beds, caiise water to be found by wells before reaching the bottom of the
sand or the general plane of its saturation. More frequently wells must
go to that plane, lying in the Pembina delta mostly at a great depth, as
exemplified also by the wells mentioned on page 359.

The arrangement of these notes is in three divisions, under the States
of Minnesota and North Dakota and the Province of Manitoba. In each of
the two States the counties are taken separately, in their order from south
to north. In each county the geographic order of the townships whose
wells are described is from south to north, and secondarily from east to west;
and in any township where several wells are noted they are given in the
numerical order of the sections (as shown on page 11).

It has been found most convenient to note in the same list both the
artesian and the common wells. The artesian water often flows only to
the surface or a few feet above it; and many other wells obtain water
which rises from a deep source to within a few feet below the surface,
coming evidently from the same beds that elsewhere supply the flowing
wells. Among the common wells of less depth and not so nearly related
with the artesian, the water often, and, indeed, usually, rises several feet
above the porous bed or vein in which it is found. The shallow wells,
however, of which there are many only 10 to 15 or 20 feet deep, generally
are supplied by the seepage of surface water.

550 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

WELLS ON THE AREA OF LAKE AGASSIZ IN MINNESOTA

TRAVERSE COU>'TY.

Browns Valley. — The section of the artesian well in this village has been given
on page 89, and an analysis of its water on page 539.

Doleysnwunt. — Eudolph Heidelberger, southeast quarter of section G: Well, 30
feet deep; till, 22 feet; and sand with water, not rising, 14 feet, to the bottom and
continuing lower.

Emil Heidelberger, northeast quarter of section 6 : Artesian well, 79 feet deep,
in drift, chiefly till; flow scanty.

Grohe. — Cyrus B. Stevens, northeast quarter of section 12: Well, GO feet deep;
soil, gravel, and sand, 5 feet; till, 50 feet; and quicksand, penetrated 5 feet and con-
tinuing lower, so soft that the auger fell 3 or 4 feet. Water, so alkaline that it can
not be used, rose from this sand to 3 feet below the surface.

Clifton. — William McClymond, in section 13, has two artesian wells, each about
85 feet deep, in drift. There are several other flowing wells, 60 to 75 feet deep, in this
northeastern i)art of the township.

J. T. Blaisdell, in section 31, has two flowing wells. The one at the farmhouse is
119 feet deep, bored all the way in till, yellowish for 25 or 30 feet, and dark bluish
below, hardest in its lowest 6 or 8 feet, beneath which water was struck in coarse
gravel, and rises to the surface, overflowing; a good supply. The other well, nearly a
mile northeast from the foregoing, is 182 feet deep. Water rises from quicksand at
the bottom, and is of good quality, but only a small supply. This well was bored
after that at the farmhouse, so that water was expected at 119 feet, but none was
found, nor was any layer of gravel and sand noticed at that depth.

Wheaton. — Common wells at Wheaton are 25 to 35 feet deep, in till; water
usually rises to 10 or 15 feet below the surface, and is mostly alkaline; but the town
well, in the middle of the street, 30 feet deep, drained every day by its general use,
has fairly good water.

Boring for an artesian town well went to the depth of 300 feet, obtaining no
flow at the surface. This well found at 200 feet a large supply of gocd water, which
rose to 15 feet below the surface. It came fi'om the top of a bed of sand and gravel
about 10 feet thick, and rose with such force that it filled 40 feet of the pipe with
sand. Next below was clay, probably till, about 65 feet, lying on Cretaceous shale,
into which the boring was continued about 25 feet.

Another unsuccessful boring for artesian water was done in this village at T. E.
Dunn's livery stable, to a depth of 390 feet. Till extended from the surfiice to a
depth of 280 feet, inclosing layers of sand and gravel at 130 feet and at other depths
to 200 feet. The lower 110 feet were hard, dark bluish shale, probably belonging to
the Fort Benton division of the Cretaceous series.

NOTES OF ARTESIAN AND COMMON WELLS. 551

Tintah. — Several shallow wells ia this township have ample flows of good water
from the drift. The well at the railway tank is 48 feet deep, with water rising only
to the surface. J. E. Henry has three or more artesian wells at his extensive farm
buildings near Tintah railway station. The well at the farmhouse is 45 feet deep,
with water rising nearly to the surface, but not overflowing. At the barns, about
50 rods southeast, a well G7 feet deei^ flows 6 inches above the surface. Another well,
about halfway between these two, is 45 feet deep, with water rising 6 feet above the
surface.

Taylor. — In the north edge of this township, and near the Bois des Sioux River,
Mr. Bruce has an artesian well 106 feet deep, flowing 3 gallons per minute.

C. M. Harmon, northwest quarter of section 3: Well, 73 feet deep; till extends
to the depth of 70 feet, being yellowish for its first 15 feet, and dark bluish below,
yielding much alkaline water at 18 feet, also some seeping water from lower gravelly
streaks. At the bottom, water of excellent quality was found in a bed of gravel and
sand, and rose within a few minutes to a level 6 feet below the surface. This water-
bearing bed is only 3 or 4 feet thick, as was shown by boring deeper, when the pipe
shut off the water, and was therefore lifted back.

David Warriner, section 31 : A boring at the farmhouse went 165 feet in till, find-
ing no supply of water. About 15 rods distant to the north, on land 6 feet lower,
another well went 50 feet in till, to gravel and sand yielding a large supply of good
water, which quickly rose to a permanent level 14 feet below the surface.

A large number of other vpells in this county are described in Geology
of Minnesota, Vol. II, pp. 530, 531.

WILKIN COUNTY.

Champion. — This township has probably as many as thirty artesian wells, ranging
from 50 to 110 feet in depth, in the drift. One of the earliest bored and most coijious
in flow is on the Fountain Valley Farm, section 3, owned by Col. C. H. Brush & Co.
This well is 66 feet deep, being till, 56 feet, and sand, 10 feet, and continuing deeper,
from which the artesian flow is obtained. The diameter of the pipe is 1 foot, reduced
below to 7 inches. A large stream of very clear, cold water constantly flows from this
well, its estimated volume being 7 or 8 barrels per minute, or about 250 gallons. The
water is of excellent quality for house and farm use, but is hard and slightly irony,
and deposits a rusty sediment in the channel of the stream. Its temperature is 46° F.

In section 11, nearly 2 miles southeast from the foregoing, a well was bored to
the dej)th of about 50 feet, and was left dry by the workmen when they stopped at
night; but in the morning it was found overflowing and flooding the surrounding
land. In 1887 this well had been thus running six years, baffling all efforts to shut it
ofl', and spoiling or damaging a tract equal to half a section by its inundation.

552 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

George Barnes, northwest quarter of section 14: Artesian well, S3 feet deep, In
till, to quicksand at the bottom, into which the auger fell suddenly 2 or 3 feet, obtain-
ing a very powerful flow of water.

George W. Mace, southeast quarter of section 22: Well, 107 feet deep; water
rises 5 feet above the surface, but has only a feeble flow.

T. B. Bushnell, southwest quarter of section 23, about 40 rods east of the last
and on land several feet higher: Well, 105 feet; artesian water rises with much force,
probably sufBcient to carry it to a height of 40 feet. It flows 22 gallons per minute
from a pipe 1 inch in diameter.

Nash Brothers, northwest quarter of section 26, about a half mile south of the
last: Well also 105 feet; water, found at 95 feet, rises with similar force, bringing up
quicksand. It has a temperature of 48° F., and is of the best quality, being softer
than the water of neighboring shallow wells.

In the southeast quarter of section 34, near Tintah, a well 95 feet deep found
much lignite in the upper part of a water-bearing bed of sand, into which the boring
went 5 feet, obtaining water that rises nearly to the surface.

Campbell. — The railroad well in the village, 260 feet deep, went all the way in
till, excepting occasional layers of sand and gravel, mostly thin, but at one place 8
feet thick, from 165 to 173 feet below the top. Numerous fragments of lignite were
found in the till of this well, especially from 125 to 150 feet, and they were abundantly
mixed with the thick bed of sand mentioned, making about 10 per cent of the deposit.
Some of its pieces brought up from the depth of 173 feet were incrusted with pyrite.
The lower portion of the pipe becoming filled with mud, it was found necessary to
liuncture the pipe and admit water above the clay filling. This was done at 176 feet.
The water rose within 4 feet of the surface. Higher water-bearing veins were encoun-
tered in boring the well at 125, 150, and 165 feet.

F. W. Maechler, of Campbell, who has bored nearly a hundred deep wells within
a radius of 5 miles, states that shallow wells, which are dug 10 to 25 feet deep, have,
almost without exception, disagreeable alkaline water; but that the bored wells, 50
to 100 feet, or occasionally more, in depth, have very good water, frequently artesian.
At Mr. Maechler's house the well is 55 feet deep; till, 20 feet; sand, with some layers
of fine gravel, 35 feet, and continuing lower ; water rises to 3 feet below the surface.
This exceptionally thick bed of sand also supplies water to several other wells in the
village; but some of the wells here, including the railroad well before noted, are
wholly till, inclosing no important sand or gravel layer and having no inflow of water,
for a depth of 100 to 125 feet.

W. D. Cross, 1 mile northwest from Campbell village: Boring, 176 feet, entirely
in till, less stony in its lower half and there containing streaks of gravel and sand 6
to 12 inches thick; no supply of water. Another well, however, 124 feet deep, bored
only a few hundred feet distant, was quite different, being till, 81 feet; sand and

NOTES OF ARTESIAlSr AND COMMON WELLS. 553

gravel, 31 feet, and sandy clay, 12 feet, continuing lower. This well obtains artesian
water, just flowing to the surface; but it is found to be inexhaustible, and can be
lowered only a few feet by pumping.

In section 32 a boring for Charles Mullen went 272 feet, obtaining no water. A
mile to the southwest, at Mr. Maechler's farmhouse, in the northwest quarter of
section 27, a well 88 feet deep has water which rises to 18 inches below the surface
and can not be lowered by pumping.

Bradford. — Charles Covell, southeast quarter of section 10: Artesian well, 50
feet deep ; water rises 15 feet above the surface.

W. H. Fish, southeast quarter of section 12, on land 20 feet above the foregoing:
Well, 49 feet, wholly in till; water, slightly alkaline, rose from gravel and sand at the
bottom to a permanent level 3 feet below tbe surface. This well was dug with a
diameter of 5 feet, and was thus filled almost to overflowing within ten minutes after
the water was reached.

Henry Poor, northeast quarter of section 14 : Artesian well, 48 feet deep, bored
2 inches in diameter; very copious flow, not under control, rising in a bowl-like spring
about 6 feet across, and running away in shallow depressions of the adjoining prairie.

Edward H. Boustead, southwest quarter of section 18: Artesian well, 85 feet
deep; water of good quality, pleasant in taste, and found to be healthful, but peculiar
in containing gas. Immediately after the water reaches the surface the gas collects
into very minute bubbles, so that the water for about a minute seems to be filled with
light gray dust particles, after which it quickly becomes clear, as it also was on first
flowing from the pipe.

C. W. Keyes, in the southwest quarter of section 31, about a mile northeast ol
Campbell, bas a flowing well of good water, 64 feet deep. Previous to this boring, a
well dug 61 feet in till, supplied mainly with surface water of inferior quality from
a thin bed of gravel and sand at 21 feet, had been used several years.

Brechenr'ulge.— Covings, for artesian wells in this town have been unsuccessful.
The drift-sheet, chiefly till, inclosing only few and tbin layers of sand and gravel, is
found to have a thickness of 202 feet, underlain by dark Cretaceous shale, probably
the Fort Benton formation. The shallow wells are mostly alkaline, and the water of
the Eed River, which is better, has been generally used.

Andrea. — The drift in this township is commonly till to the depth of 40 or 50 feet
or more, its lowest 4 or 5 feet being very "hard; then quicksand, 5 to 10 feet-or more,
into which the boring must go a few feet, as in the following examples of artesian
wells, to get a good supply of water.

L. Manske, northeast quarter of section 10: Flowing well, 50 feet deep.

P. H. Funkley, southeast quarter of section 26: Well, 60 feet; large flow; rising
10 feet above the surface.

E. Mcintosh, southeast quarter of section 27 : Flowing well, 86 feet deep.

554 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

P. Heider, northwest quarter of section 34: Well, 43 feet; water rises 4 feet
above the surface.

Alcron. — Albert Lutti, northeast quarter of section 34: Artesian well, 3G feet
deep; in till, to gravel and sand at the bottom; water of good quality rises 4 feet
above the surface. Another flowing well in the southeast quarter of this section is
only 34 feet deep.

McCauleyville. — The two following wells are in the village, about 25 feet above
the low-water stage of the Eed Eiver, whose alluvium is thus known to reach some 20
feet below that level.

James Nolan: "Well, 33 J feet deep; soil, 2J feet; brownish yellow alluvial clay,
26 feet; dark quicksand, 4 feet; gravel containing shells, like the bottom of a lake,
with water, 1 foot and continuing lower.

In Cyril Boutiette's well, alluvial clay extended to the depth of 45 feet, where
was found a layer of abundant remains of rushes and sedges, some of them having
their flowering and fruiting panicles and spikes distinctly preserved.

Mitchell.— G. R. Cleason, northeast quarter of section 28: Well, 27 feet; soil, 2;
yellowish gray till, G; gray sand, i inch; much harder dark bluish tiU, 18 feet, con-
taining plentiful rock fragments up to G inches in diameter; underlain by sandy black
mud, in which were many small gasteropod shells. This doubtless interglacial fossil-
iferous layer, and an interglacial forest bed found under 12 feet of till at Barnesville,
in Clay County, both within the area that was covered by Lake Agassiz, show that
there was a sufficiently long warm epoch in the midst of the great Ice age to cause
the ice-sheet to retreat northward beyond Barnesville.

The recession of the ice seems referable, as indicated on page 280, to the Aftonian
stage of the Glacial period, between the Kansan and lowan stages of ice accumula-
tion. The upper part of the great channel occupied by Lakes Traverse and Big
Stone and the Minnesota Eiver was probably eroded by southward outflow from the
Eed Eiver Valley at that time to a depth somewhat below the level of the upper or
Herman beach of Lake Agassiz, and was not subseqiiently filled with drift when the
ice-sheet again covered the land far southward to its lowan limits. This interglacial
erosion may have reached below the levels of the fossiliferous layers in the wells of
Mitchell and Barnes^^Ue, allowing these parts of the Eed Eiver Valley to have a
land surface, while its deeper central part held a lake; or, more probably, as I think,
the valley may then have sloped southward, on account of differential northward
elevation of the region, so that no lake would be formed during the.Aftonian glacial
recession in this basin.'

Atherton. — In the southwest quarter of section 9, a well 37 feet deep has water
which rises 3 feet above the surface.

1 Am. Geologist, Vol. XV, pp. 279-282, May, 1895.

NOTES OF ARTESIAN AND COMMON WELLS. 555

Michael Starrs, southeast quarter of section 20: "Well, 45 feet deep, in till, to
gravel at the bottom, from which water rises to 4 feet below the surface, and flows
away by a ditch to the Deerhorn Creek, only about 50 feet distant.

Charles Funkhandel, in the northeast quarter of section 35, has a well only 11
feet deep, which yields a copious artesian flow.

Descriptions of many other wells in this county are given in Geology
of Minnesota, Vol. II, pages 527-530.

CLAY COUNTY.

Barnes vlUe. — This city has no artesian wells, and the common wells are 12 to 40
feet deep, mostly in till which incloses beds of gravel and sand. A boring by John
Marth to the depth of 150 feet, on the west side of the main street, found no artesian
water.

Mr. Marth has a shallow well, 13 feet deep, which is remarkable for its interglacial
forest bed. The section was soil (the blackened surface of the till), 2 feet; yellowish
till, 10 feet; then quicksand, 1 foot, containing several branches and trunks of trees,
thought to be tamarack, up to 8 inches in diameter, lying across the well, which,
together with the inflow of water, x)revented further digging.

Rudolph Sieber, in the southwest quarter of section 12, Baruesville Township,
close north of a small creek, has an artesian well 35 feet deei), from which'water rises*
with a strong flow to a height of 16 feet or more above the surface.

Sabin. — Angus Murray: Well, about 80 feet in till, to gravel, from which water
of excellent quality rose to a level only 3 or 4 feet below the surface. The Minneapolis
and Northern Elevator Company has a similar water supply in a well 90 feet deep.
Other wells about 20 feet deej) in this village, dug mostly in beach sand, hsCve good
water.

A. E. Henderson, on the Pleasant Ridge Farm, 1 mile north of Sabin, has a well
72 feet deep, with water rising almost to the surface.

Glyndon. — In the southern part of this township, 3 to 5 miles northeast of Sabin,
there are several artesian wells 50 to 75 feet deep.

Two borings at the elevator of G. S. Barnes & Co., in Glyndon Village, failed to
obtain water, and the augers were broken in the till, called "hardpan," at the bottom.
In the deeper one of these borings a depth of 125 feet was reached, the section being
reported as soil, 3 feet; quicksand, 22 feet; dark clay, free from stones, 75 feet; very
hard yellowish till, 15 feet; and softer till, 10 feet. The till in these borings is said
to have been so hard that only a tenth as fast progress could be made in it as in the
dark alluvial clay above. A log of wood, which was called "cedar," about a foot in
diameter, was encountered by one of these borings in the dark alluvium, 35 feet below
the surface; and the other boring, about 12 feet distant, found "rotten chi^js" of wood

556 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

at the same depth. In the well at the railroad engine house, somewhat farther west,
vegetable deposits, including sheets of turf and drift wood, were found at the depth
of 13 to IS feet.

Moorhead. — An unsuccessful boring done in 1889 by this city, in the hope of
obtaining artesian water or gas, went to the depth of 1,750 feet. From comparison
and combination of notes published by Prof. K". H. Winchell," with others supplied
by Mr. John T. Gray and Prof. C. W. Hall, the section appears to have been as fol-
lows: Alluvial and lacustrine deposits, chiefly flue clayey silt, 55 feet; pebbly clay,
apparently till, 55 feet; gravel and sand, 35 feet, yielding water which rose nearly to
the surface; till, with occasional layers of sand, 75 feet, extending to the base of the
drift at 220 feet; bluish and greenish shales, with beds of sand, 145 feet, probably
belonging to the Port Benton formation, of Cretaceous age; and granitoid and gneissic
rocks, doubtless of Archean age, beginning at 365 feet, of which a thickness of 1,385
feet was penetrated.

Artesian wells in the drift have been obtained here as follows:

At J. G. Burgquist's brickyard a well 165 feet deep flows 8 inches above the
surface.

Minneapolis and Northern Elevator Company: Well, 200 feet deep, with water
rising 5 feet above the surface. In another well, 200 feet deep, at Lamb Bros.'
brickyard, the water rises only to a level G feet below the surface.

These deep wells have water of good quality, excepting its hardness, while the
water of shallow wells, 10 to 25 feet deep, coming from a bed of sand 3 to 10 feet
thick, .inclosed above and below by the alluvial clay, is somewhat alkaline. Most of
the water used for domestic purposes in both Moorhead and Pargo is taken from the
Red Eiver by waterworks.

At the Artesian stock farm of W. R. Tanner & Co., section 24, Moorhead, a weU
228 feet deep found water in a bed of sand forming the lowest 3 feet of the section,
and rises 2J feet above the surface. It is free from any saline and alkaline taste, and
can be used for washing with soap. Two previous borings here were stopped at the
depth of about 180 feet by encountering bowlders in the till. Most of the deep wells
within a few miles about this farm get water in layers of gravel and sand inclosed in
the till at depths from 160 to 200 feet, from which the water rises to a few feet below
the surface, not overflowing.

Kragnes. — Minneapolis and Northern Elevator Company : Artesian well, 155 feet
deep ; water rises 4 feet above the surface, there flowing only 30 barrels in twenty-
four hours from a 2-inch pipe; but this well, when pumijcd, supplies an abundance of
water, and can not be reduced more than 20 feet below the surface.

Common wells on farms around Kragnes are 15 to 30 feet deep.

'Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Minnesota, Bulletin No. 5, "Natural gas in Minnesota," 1889,
pp. 27-31.

NOTES OF AETESIAN AND COMMON WELLS, 557

Georgetown. — C. B. Hill, Osborne Farm, southeast quarter of section 33: Arte-
sian well, 180 feet deej); the water, rising i feet above the surface, is of good quality,
but uot so suitable for use iu the boilers of steam engines as the river water.

Several flowing wells in the northern part of this townshi]) range from 165 to
180 feet in depth.

Numerous other records of welh in Clay County are noted in Geology
of Minnesota, Vol. II, pages 667-669.

NORMAN COUNTY.

Perley.— The Minneapolis and Northern Elevator Company has an artesian well
about 200 feet deep. Another of similar depth is at A. T. Aabye's house.

Lahe Ida. — Ferdinand Burkhardt, southwest quarter of section 2 : Well, 80 feet
deep; yellow till, 10 feet; blue till, 70 feet; water seeps, filling the well to about 25
feet below the surface.

Ada. — The town well, 217 feet deep, 4 inches iu diameter, supplies a stream
which partly fills a 1-inch pi^ie. It was bored in 1881, and has since been running at
the rate of about 100 barrels per day. This water is very clear, and forms no irony
sediment. Its cool temperature (47° F.) and its excellent quality for drinking and
domestic uses, being called soft water, nearly equal to rain water for washing, make
this a very satisfactory investment for the town. Its cost was about $500.

Common wells of Ada and its vicinity are 10 to 20 feet deep. Their water is
hard, but is considered healthful for drinking.

Henry Downs, one-fourth of a mile west of Ada, has a flowing well about 90
feet deep.

McDonaldsville. — S. A. Farnsworth, southeast quarter of section 4: Well, 75
feet; soil, 3 feet; yellow alluvial clay, 10 feet; blue clay, alluvial in its upper part, but
doubtless including a considerable depth of till below, 56 feet; a harder portion of
the till, called "hardj)an," 5 feet; gravel, 1 foot, and extending lower; artesian water,
of similar quality and amount of flow as the Ada town well.

Pleasant View. — Two artesian wells, similar in their sections to the last, but more
feeble in flow, were noted in this township, namely, one, 65 feet deep, on William
Hein's farm, in the southwest quarter of section 2, and the other, 70 feet deep, at
F. S. Flower's, in the southeast quarter of section 22,

Anthony. — Ole B. Halvorson, section 19: Well, 12 feet; soil, 2 feet; yellow till,
10 feet; water comes from a layer of sand 6 inches thick at the bottom, rising 6
feet to its permanent level in a half day. Mr. Halvorson has also bored down
65 feet, finding the section wholly till, dark bluish below the first 12 feet; no layers
of sand and no additional supply of water. Common wells in this vicinity range
from 12 or 15 feet to 30 feet in depth. The water is slightly alkaline, but is quite tol-
erable and apparently healthful when the supply is daily renewed by pumping.

558 THE GLACIA.L LAKE AGASSIZ.

Halsfnd. — The Minneapolis and Xorthern Elevator Company has an artesian
well, which is reported to be about 250 feet deep. The common wells are similar to
those of Anthony in their depths and quality of water.

LocMart. — This townshij) and others adjoining it have many flowing wells, vary-
ing from 100 to 200 feet in depth.

On William Fisher's farm, in section 5, three artesian wells are each about 130
feet deep. Their water, which rises 4 feet above the surface, is free from any alkaline
or saline taste.

Leo Gnadt, section G : Artesian well, 165 feet deep, from which good water rises
3 feet above the surface.

At the buildings of the Lockhart Farm, In section 29, a well 5 inches in diameter
was bored to the depth of 142 feet in the autumn of 1880, the section being as fol-
lows: Soil, 2 feet; yellow alluvial clay, or perhaps in part till, about 10 feet; blue till,
130 feet, to sand at the bottom, from which water of excellent quality rose to the
surface with a powerful flow. The water was allowed to run in its full amount during
a month or more, flooding a considerable tract for a mile northward. With the water
much sand was brought up and deposited by the stream in a neighboring slough, its
estimated volume being approximately 300 cubic yards, sin-ead on the average a foot
thick over a space about 100 feet in diameter. The flow of this well was reduced after
a time by a cap and gauge to a small stream ; but in the following December it ceased,
because the bottom of the pipe for about 20 feet had been compactly filled with sand.

In July, 1881, a second well of similar diameter was bored a short distance south
of the preceding. Till extended to a depth of 141 feet, below which the boring went
into a bed of sand 16 feet, from which water rose to 15 feet above the surface, flow-
ing through an inch pipe about 60 barrels per day. Many fragments of lignite, up to
3 inches long, were found in several layers in the sand bed, probably a half bushel of
it in all being brought up as the boring progressed, but no lignite was encountered
in the till. One piece of wood 3 or 4 inches long, with numerous smaller fragments of
wood, was also found in the sand.

Several other artesian wells similar to these have since been bored on this farm.
One of these, about 700 feet distant from the first well, struck water at 137 feet, which
rose with a much stronger and alarming flow, and soon found vent also alongside the
pipe, making a large hole and inundating the vicinity of the farm buildings and much
adjoining land. To carry away this water many laborers were quickly set to digging
ditches along a distance of several miles to the west. After some two weeks, how-
ever, the heavy flow mostly ceased, becoming principally confined to the pipe, with
only a moderate and controllable quantity coming to the surface outside the pipe.

Shely. — Iver Mlson, in section 14, has a well 219 feet deep, with water at first
rising to the surface, but afterward to about 4 feet below the surface. This well
goes wholly through drift, nearly all till, but including occasional thin beds of gravel

NOTES OF ARTESIAN AND COMMON WELLS. 559

and sand. The last 5 or 6 feet were quicksand, extending also deeper, from wbich tbe
water came. One and a lialf miles south of this a well 225 feet deep has water rising
to 3 or 4 feet below the surface; and a half mile farther south a well with similar
water supply is 209 feet deep. Most of the flowing or very deep wells in this town-
ship and northward are slightly saline, but Mr. Nilson's bas no such taste, and is well
adapted for washing with soaj), being said to be "as soft as rain water."

The common wells of this region (a belt of morainic till crossing the Red River
Valley from east to west) are 10 to 25 feet deep, obtaining water which seeps from the
upper part of the till. The water, though hard and slightly alkaline, is not generally
unhealthful for farm and house use, excepting in wells that are contaminated by the
decay of wooden curbing. When these wells are allowed to remain stagnant, without
being frequently drawn from in large amount, the water becomes very offensive in
odor and taste.

POLK COUNTY.

Liberty. — Jacob Stambaugh, northeast quarter of section 33: Well, 52 feet; soil,
2 feet; gravel and sand of the McCauleyville beach, 16 feet; bluish-gray till, very
hard, 31 feet, to quicksand, from whicli water, of good quality but hard, rose 24 feet
in ten minutes, to its permanent level. Several i)ieces of wood were found in the till
of this well. Another well here, only 17 feet deep, finds an ample supply of water at
the base of the beach gravel and sand.

Beis. — At Beltrami station the Red River Valley Elevator Company has an
artesian well 110 feet deep, from which water rises 12 feet above the surface. It
has no saline nor alkaline taste, and is less hard than the water of the neighboring
shallow wells.

George C. Reis, northeast quarter of section 32: Artesian well, 147 feet deep;
soil, 2 feet; yellow till, partly so hard as to need to be dug with a pick, 8 feet; and dark-
bluish till, also very hard, 137 feet, containing occasional layers of sand and gravel up
to 6 inches in thickness. Water, of the same excellent quality as at Beltrami, rises
12 feet above the surface. This well is 5 inches in diameter, reduced at the top to a
1-inch pipe, from which the flow amounts to about 3 gallons per minute, or 150 barrels
in twenty-four hours.

Russia. — Eric Bjerk, northeast quarter of section 2: Well, 60 feet deep; soil, 2
feet; till, dark bluish, excepting near the sui'face, so soft that it could be all spaded,
58 feet, to dark sand which extends at least 2 feet. At this depth the well was left
dry by the workmen at the end of their day's labor, but in the morning it was filled
■with water and overflowing.

L. T. Soule, the Russia Farm, section 19: Well, 124 feet; soil, 2 feet; yellow
alluvial clay, 3 feet; quicksand, 1 foot; dark bluish till, 104 feet, with no layers of
sand or gravel; sand, fine above and growing coarser downward, 13 feet; and gravel,

560 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

1 foot and contiuuing below. All tbe saud bed yields a feeble artesian flow, and a
strong flow comes from tbe gravel. It is hard water, but excellent for drinking,
having no alkaline taste.

Hammond. — W. S. Rattray, northeast quarter of section 15: Well, 12 feet; soil,

2 feet; yellow alluvial clay, 7 feet; sand, 3 feet, underlain by dark blue clay. Good
water, becoming 3 feet deep, issues from the lowest foot of the sand. Other wells in
this township are 10 to 15 feet deep, many of them having objectionably alkaline
water.

Fairfax. — In the west part of section 28 a well 80 feet deep has water which rises
8 feet above the surface. There are also several other flowing wells within 2 or 3 miles
eastward and southward, ranging from 80 to 112 feet in depth.

Nine flowing wells in the northeast quarter of section 18 range from 185 to 205
feet in depth; and one in the southwest quarter of this section is 173 feet deep.

Andover. — E. S. Corser, Southside Farm, section 3 : A boring 205 feet deep in
drift, mostly till, obtained no artesian water.

In the northeast quarter of section 23 an unsuccessful boring to the depth of 111
feet went through black soil IJ feet, alluvial clay 18 feet; a vegetal deposit of leaves
and partially decayed wood 3 feet; and then clay, probably mostly till, to the bottom.

Carman. — The artesian well at E. S. Corser's elevator, in this village, is 191 feet
deep, being yellowish alluvial clay, 11 feet; yellowish quicksand, 3 feet, in which
shallow wells get an ample supply of water, slightly alkaline; and dark bluish clay,
alluvial at the top, but soon changing to till, 177 feet, containing occasional thin lay-
ers of sand below the depth of 160 feet from the surface. A bed of fine gravel and
sand was reached at the bottom, from which water rose to the height of 10 feet above
the surface, and flows at the rate of 100 barrels a day. The water, of which an
analysis is given on page 540, is very good for drinking and for all farm and domestic
uses. For washing with soap and for use in engine boilers, it is much better than the
water of the river. The cost of the well, bored 5 inches in diameter, was $600.

CrooTcston. — Nels Swanson, in the south edge of the city, south of the Red Lake
Eiver: Artesian well, 185 feet deep in till; alluvial clay above and till below for the
greater part of its depth, with occasional thin veins of sand and gravel; water of good
quality.

Another flowing well, owned by B. Sampson, about 20 rods north of the preceding,
is also 185 feet deep, its.lowest 6 feet being sand.

S. M. McKee, southwest quarter of section 3: Well, 230 feet, with water rising
from the bottom to 12 feet below the surface.

H. A. Wyand, southwest quarter of section 5: Well, 236 feet; till, 155 feet; a
harder deposit of till, called "hardpan," 11 feet; fine gravel and sand, 23 feet, with
water rising from its top to 8 feet below the siirface ; again till, in part moister and
softer than the higher till, 38 feet; and quicksand, 6 feet, also continuing lower, from
which water rises to IJ feet below the surface.

NOTES OF ARTESIAN AND COMMON WELLS. 561

Harvey Cook, southwest quarter of section 8: Artesian well, about 180 feet deep;
water rises IJ feet above tlie surface.

There are many artesian wells, probably not less than a hu;iclrecl, within a radius
of 10 miles around Crookston, ranging from 165 to 285 feet in depth, wholly in the
drift. Most of them have excellent water, free from any saline or alkaline taste.

Fisher. — Ked Lake Mills, in the village: Well, 190 feet deep; soil, 2 feet; yel-
lowish alluvial clay, 12 feet; quicksand, about 1 foot, yielding water of sufficient
amount and good quality for common wells ; dark bluish clay, mostly tiU, through all
the remaining depth below, except that it incloses infrequent layers of sand 6 to 12
inches thick, from one of which, at the depth of about 125 feet, water rose to 6 feet
below the surface, but no artesian flow was found.

L. Freeman, in the north edge of the village: Well, 198 feet; alluvial clay, 40
feet; and till, inclosing occasional seams of saud and gravel up to 1 foot in thickness,
extended thence to the bottom. Water of good quality rises to 9 feet below the siirface.
By tapping the pipe at a slightly lower level it flows to the milk house and barnyard,
which are situated near the well, on the slope descending to the river.

Hugh Thompson and F. S. De Mers, in the south part of the village: Artesian
well, 285 feet deep, mainly till, but beds of gravel and sand containing fresh water
were encountered at 133 feet and 190»feet, each of these beds being about 10 feet thick.
Brackish water from sand at the bottom rises to 1 foot below the surface. Though
perceptibly saline, it is relished by horses and cattle and is found to agree with them.

It seems very significant that this well, the first noted with considerable salt
water in proceeding northward on the Minnesota side of the Red River, is close to a
boring by C. W. Webster in the southwest quarter of section 14, about a mile east of
Fisher, which at a depth of 300 feet reached a very fine-grained white sandstone,
doubtless the Dakota sandstone, as that formation is encountered at a similar depth
by numerous wells on the opposite side of this vaUey plain in North Dakota. This
sandstone, as stated in the earlier part of this chapter, is i^robably the source of the
saline water commonly obtained by deep wells in the drift northward from the vicinity
of Crookston and Fisher to southern Manitoba.

St. Hilaire. — An artesian well 146 feet deep, wholly in the drift, chiefly till, was
bored about three-fourths of a mile south of the dejiot, near where the Crookston road
and railway turn southwestward ; good water, bat scanty flow.

Euclid. — Two miles northeast of Euclid, Mr. AUen has a flowing well about 75
feet deep; water rising only a little above the surface.

In the village common wells obtain an inexhaustible supply of good water at the
depth of 12 to 18 feet, the section being soil, 2 feet; yellow till, spaded, 6 to 10 feet;
and gray tiU, darker and much harder, requiring to be picked, several feet, to a bed
of quicksand from which the water rises to a permanent level 0 to 8 feet below the
surface.

MON XXV 36

562 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Keystone. — The first artesian well at the buildings of the Keystone Farm, in sec-
tion 23, was bored in 1881, having a depth of 110 feet. The section was soil, 2 feet;
yellow alluvial clay, 12 feet; sand, yielding considerable water, about 2 inches: dark
bluish till, 71 feet; and sand and gravel, 25 feet. Water of excellent (juality, without
salty taste and so soft that it can be used for washing with soap, flows at the rate of
40 barrels per day, or nearly a gallon per minute, the diameter of the well pipe being
5 inches. During all the boring below 85 feet water rose to the surface, but only iu
very small quantity, until a hard layer of gravel was reached at the bottom. Seven
other artesian wells, all obtaining good water iu the drift, have since been bored
here, ranging in depth from 95 to 150 feet.

Another well on this farm, sunk to the depth of 250 feet, reached the Dakota
sandstone, the very line white sand coming up with the water and giving it a milky
appearance. It yielded a copious artesian flow of brackish water, and was therefore
abandoned.

Angus. — Several borings 200 to 300 feet deep in Angus village and its vicinity
have found no artesian water.

A. D. Andrews, southwest quarter of section 10: Well, 82 feet; soil, 2 feet;
alluvial sandy silt, 5 feet ; hard, dark bluish till, mostly picked, 43 feet ; much harder
till, with more frequent bowlders, 28 feet; soft sand and gravel, 1 feet and continuing
lower, from which good but hard water rose immediately to its permanent level, 20 feet
below the surface.

A. O. Bailey, section 27: Well, 253 feet; soil, 2 feet; mainly till below, with no
important beds or veins of sand and gravel belbre reaching the bottom, whence an
ample supply of good water, like that of the less deep artesian wells on the Keystone
Farm, rose to 10 feet below the surface.

Tabor. — The depths of two flowing wells in the southeast part of this township
are reported to be about 1:5 and 70 feet. Common wells are mostly 10 to 15 feet deep,
with copious supply of healthful water from sandy layers in the alluvial clay.

Farley. — Furlong & Eainsey; southeast quarter of section 27: Two borings to
depths of about 1(J5 feet and 200 feet obtained salt water, which rose nearly to the
surface, but is not used. This large farm takes its water supply from two shallow
wells, .each 12 feet deep, and from surface pools dug a few feet deep.

MAESHAIL COUNTY.

Warren. — At the elevator of the Warren Manufacturing Company a well 130
feet deep has slightly saline water, which rises from the bottom to 5 feet below the
surface. Its section was alluvial clay, 50 feet, or quite probably the lower part of this
is till; then a bed of gravel, 10 feet, with much water, which does not rise to the
surface; dark bluish till, 50 feet; and sand and gravel, 20 feet and continuing lower.

NOTES OF AETESIAK AND COMMON WELLS. 563

The boring for a town well showed a great thickness of till beneath this section,
extending to the depth of 260 feet.

L. Loughridge, in the village: Well, 96 feet; water rises to 4 feet below the
surface, and is capable of supplying about 25 barrels daily.

Pembina Farming Company, 1 mile southeast of Warren : Well, ISO feet, obtain-
ing excellent water, not saline, which rises to 20 feet below the surface.

March & Spalding, 1 mile west of the village: Well, 143 feet; water rises to 4
feet below the surface, supplyiug 7.5 barrels in tweuty-four hours.

The common wells of this vicinity are 10 to 30 feet deep, obtaining usually an
abundant supply of water, which is very hard, but has little or no alkaline taste.

Argyle. — A boring for a town well in this village, 150 feet deep in drift, chiefly
till, was stopped at this depth by a bowlder, having found no considerable supply of
water. Gas which could be ignited issued from the depth of 70 to 100 feet.

Minneapolis and Northern Elevator Company: Flowing well, 155 feet deep,
with water rising only slightly above the surface, but yielding a large supply when
pumped. It is saline, but is used for the engine boiler.

Middle River. — William Carrese, section 22, 1 mile south of Argyle: Flowing
well, 285 feet deep ; brackish water rises 2 feet above the surface.

O. D. Ford, Stone Farm, section 33: Flowing well, 218 feet deep; water, found at
185 feet, rises 2 feet above the surface; brackish, but good for cattle.

Bloomer. -^Ozx the Argyle Farm, section 23, a boring 200 feet or more in depth
obtained no artesian water.

Wanger. — In the northeast quarter of section 10 a boring found combustible gas
at 80 feet.

James Headrick, southeast quarter of section 28: Well, 28 feet deep, dug 26
feet, there finding a cavity 2 feet deep, full of running water, which passes tlu'ough
the well with a southwestward current estimated at 2 miles per hour. A bucket
dipping water is apt to be swept away under the southwest side of the weU. The
water runs over a bed of fine gravel and forms sand bars in the bottom of the well,
which therefore needs to be ii-equently cleared out. The section was soil, 2 feet ; clay,
4 feet; sand and gravel, 2 feet; and till, 18 feet. Along the course of the Tamarack
Eiver for 8 miles thence westward to Stephen it receives many small springs, issuing
nearly on a level with the river ; and some of these are probably formed by the stream
that flows through this well.

Tamarack. — C. W. Culbertson, section 31: Flowing well, 74 feet deep; water rises
10 feet above the surface; saline, but good for stock.

Stephen. — Town well, about 240 feet deep ; water rises 3 or 4 feet above the sur-
face, but it is not a large supply, even when pumped from at 10 feet below the surface;
too saline for any use.

564 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

On the Stephen Farm, owned by Charles M. Ramsey, another saline artesian
well, unused, is 220 feet deep.

Parker. — J. Q. Cronkhite, section 25: Flowing well, 95 feet deep, quite salty
water, rising about 10 feet above the surface.

Augsburg. — Wheeler & Culbertson, sectiou 32: Boring about 300 feet deep; no
supply of water.

Sirmott. — John Hughes, northeast quarter of section 28: Well, 42 feet; soil, 2
feet; soft, stratified alluvial clay, yellowish above, but dark bluish for the greater
part of its thickness, 38 feet; very hard, yellowish gray till, dug into only 2 feet,
containing sandy veins or layers, from which water seeping into the well filled it 7
feet in a half day. Within two weeks in the dry season, when it was dug, the water
rose to a depth of 30 feet. It is of good quality, hard, but with no saline taste.

KITTSON COUNTY.

Donaldson. — E. N. Davis, in the northwest quarter of section 29, Davis, close
east of Donaldson station, has a flowing well 45 feet deep, which was bored in 1880 in
a quarter of a day with au ordinary 2-inch auger. Its flow ever since that time has
been nearly constant, at the rate of about 8 gallons a minute, or more than 300
barrels daily. The section was soil, IJ feet; yellowish gray alluvial clay, 10 feet;
dark bluish alluvial clay, 28 feet; hard dark gray till, 5 feet; and a very hard ferru-
ginous layer, one-half foot, from beneath which the water rose quickly to the surface,
bringing up sand and gravel. The temperature of the water is 42° F. Though salty
to the taste, farm stock thrive with this as their only sui)ply of water, which they
drink very freely; and it has been used by people, with no apparent injury, as the
only water for drinking and cooking through several weeks of drought. The height
to which it will rise is known to be more than 23 feet, at which height the flow seemed
to be undiminished. On stopping the pipe of this well the water issued as a spring
several rods distant.

Kennedy. — A boring by the Kennedy Laud and Town Company went to the depth
of 225 feet, obtaining no artesian water. Below the alluvial clay of the surface the
section was chiefly tiU. Bowlders were observed at the depth of 45 feet, and bowl-
ders and gravel in the till were encountered thence to the bottom. Water from layers
or veins of sand and gravel rose nearly to the surface, but was too saline to be used.

Shane. — The Fort Donaldson Farm, in section 20, has an artesian well 95 feet deep,
with water likewise so salty that it can not be used. But some other deep wells in
this township obtain fresh water of good quality, as Lars Lundgren's well, in the south-
east quarter of section 7, which is 119 feet deep, with water rising just to the surface,
not overflowing.

Halloch. — Eklund elevator: Well, 125 feet deep; alluvial clay above, succeeded
by till below for nearly all the depth ; very saline water rises from gravel and sand at
the bottom to a permanent level 4 or 5 feet below the surface.

NOTES OF ARTESIAN AND COMMON WELLS. 565

L. N. Ekluud, a sixth of a mile east of the depot and elevator : Well, 90 feet deep ;
also very salty water, risiiiif to 5 feet below the surface. Another well, only li rods
distant, obtained saline water at 80 feet, which rose immediately just to the surface,
not overflowing.

L. B. Riddell, close west of Hallock village: Well, 71 feet deep; saline water,
not used, rises to 4 feet below the surface.

Granville. — W. J. Ross, in section 7, has a flowing well of fresh water, only .30 feet
deep. John Jenkins, jr., in section 18, a mile south of the last, also has a flowing well
of similar depth and good quality of water.

Northcote. — Peter Daly, in this village, bored 7.5 feet, obtaining no water. The
North Branch of Two Rivers supplies the. water used here, which is healthful, but
very hard. A mile west of Northcote a salt spring issues in the bed of this stream.
Salt springs also occur in the channel of the South Branch of Two Rivers, about 5
miles west of Hallock.

Humboldt. — The section of the deep artesian well on the farm of D. H. Valentine,
at this station, has been given on page 75, and an analysis of its water on page 537.
This water has never been utilized.

8t. Vincent. — A well l(i5 feet deep was bored by the railway company about three-
fourths of a mile east of St. Vincent in the winter of 1878-79. It yielded very saline
water, not used, which rose 10 feet above the surface. The section was alluvial clay
and till to the depth of 120 feet, and gravel and sand thence to the bottom, 45 feet.

The common wells of this county are 10 to 30 feet deep, generally obtaining water
which is slightly alkaline, but may be used for all farm and domestic purposes, if the
wells are drawn from plentifully so as to insure new inflow every day.

WELLS ON THE AREA OF LAKE AGASSIZ IN NORTH DAKOTA.

RICHLAND COUNTY.

Walqyeton. — No artesian water was found in a boring 120 feet deep at the Rich-
land County court-house, the section being till, which incloses thin layers of sand and
gravel. A deeper boring passed through the drift to Cretaceous shale, probably the
Fort Benton formation, at 19.") feet.

The city is furnished with water by a system of waterworks, which pumps its
supply from the Red River, above Breckenridge, at the upper end of a long ox-bow or
horseshoe-like circuit of the river.

Fifteen or more flowing wells are reported in the German settlement along the
Wild Rice River, within 10 miles southwest of Wahpetou, ranging in depth from 70
feet to 305 feet.

Farmington. — A. D. Ellsworth, 1 mile southwest of Farmington station : Flowing
well, 93 feet deep, almost wholly in till; water of good quality, called "soft," rises 7

566 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

feet above the siirface. There are several other flowing wells of similar depth in
this vicinity.

Fairview. — On the Fairview Farm an artesian well 240 feet deep, bored wholly
in alluvial, lacustrine, and drift deposits, has a powerful flow.

Mooreton. — Artesian wells at the Mooreton Eoller Mills and at the Central Hotel
are about 135 feet deep, obtaining moderate flows of good water, about 4 gallons per
minute from an inch pipe.

On the Minneapolis Farm, owned by Bull & Menage, about 2 miles northwest of
Mooreton, a well 150 feet deep flows 7 gallons per minute from a three-fourths inch
pipe. At 11 feet above the surface it shows no perceptible decrease in the force of
the flow.

The Antelope Farm, owned by Hugh Moore, about 3 miles farther northwest, has
an artesian well 173 feet deeii, with two-thirds as strong flow as the last.

Wyndmere. — The Northern Pacific Elevator Company bored to the depth of
267 feet, obtaining no artesian water. The thickness of the alluvial, lacustrine, and
drift formations was in total 218 feet, below which the boring went 49 feet in dark
Cretaceous shale.

Bwight. — Ten artesian wells, from 85 to 105 feet deep, are within a radius of 5
miles around this village. Their water is good, not at all saline, but slightly alkaline,
though less so than that of the common wells, which are 10 to 25 feet deep.

Golfax. — H. E. Crandall, Headquarters Hotel: Artesian well, 85 feet deep; soil
and delta sand, 0 feet ; till, 79 feet, to sand and gravel at the bottom.

Depths of other artesian wells in Colfax village, all obtaining good water in the
drift, are as follows: At Cargill Bros.' elevator, 125 feet; at the Eed River Valley
mill, 128 feet; and at the railway tank, 135 feet.

Two flowing wells, 55 and CO feet deep, are reported within a few miles east of
this village.

Walcott. — Minnesota and Dakota Elevator Company : Flowing well, 120 feet deep ;
the water, which is of excellent quality, rises only 1 foot above the surface.

The artesian town well, 25 rods east of the preceding, is 110 feet deep. It ceases
flowing when the larger pipe of the elevator well, 4 inches in diameter, is opened to
its full size.

An artesian well 1 mile nortli of Walcott, 227 feet deep, obtains good water,
called "soft," which rises only to the surface. About 2 miles farther north a well
104 feet deep flows about 50 barrels daily, rising 5 feet above the surface. Another
flowing well, 2 miles north of the last, is 131 feet deep.

Common wells in all this regiou obtain ample supplies of water at depths ranging
from 10 to 30 feet, and no salt taste is noticeable in the water of either the common
or the artesian wells.

NOTES OF ARTESIAN AND COMMON WELLS. 567

CASS COUNTY.

Kindred. — No artesian wells. The common wells are 10 to 15 feet deep, in fine
loamy silt, obtaining slightly alkaline water from a layer of sand 1 foot thick at the
bottom.

Davenimrt. — The town well is 70 feet deep, in alluvial and lacustrine beds, and
has about 10 feet depth of water. Several other wells in this village are similar;
none artesian.

Leonard. — Wells here, on tlie Sheyenne delta of Lake Agassiz, obtain a copious
supply of excellent water at 18 to 20 feet. The section is all sand, which continues
beyond the depth of the well bored or driven 40 feet by the Northern Pacific Elevator
Company.

Warren. — At the buildings of the Leech Bros.' farm, in the southeast quarter of
section 17, a boring 47.5 feet deep, finding no artesian water, went through the lacus-
trine clay, till, and probably a considerable thickness of Cretaceous shale; and its
lowest 75 feet were in a fine white sandstone, very hard and compact, doubtless the
Dakota sandstone, which here, as occasionally farther north, is so close grained in its
upper portion as to be almost impervious to water.

Durhin. — Oargill Bros.' elevator: Artesian well, 160 feet; water chalybeate, at
first a copious flow, diminished later by sand filling the lower j)art of the pipe.

Common wells in this village and its vicinity are about 30 feet deep.

Everest. — At the Cargill Bros.' 'elevator a well 100 feet deej) derives water from
gravel at the oottom, rising nearly to the surface. The common wells are 40 to 50 feet
deep, with good water from gravel, filling the wells to the depth of 20 to 30 feet.

QUI. — An artesian well on the farm of .J. 0. Gill, in the northwest quarter of
section 35, is about 260 feet deep, with water rising 15 feet or more above the surface.

Fargo. — The alluvial and lacustrine beds and the glacial drift are together 220
feet thick, being, in descending order, stratified clay, 95 feet; sand and gravel, 10 feet,
yielding water which rises nearly to the surface: and till, 115 feet, inclosing occasional
layers and veins of water-bearing sand and gravel. Below the drift a boring went
42 feet farther, probably in Cretaceous strata referable to the Fort Benton formation,
being soft, dark blue shale, 32 feet; coarse sand rock, 6 feet; and a second shale, 4
feet, in which the boring stopped at a total depth of 262 feet. Water rose from the
sand rock to 10 or 12 feet below the surface, apparently a good supply.'

Pillsbury & Hulbert elevator: Well, 150 feet; water rises to 8 feet below the
surface, in so copious supply that it can not be lowered by pumping; it is of excellent
quality, softer than the water of the rivor.

Most of the water used throughout the city is taken from the river by a system
of waterworks.

' U. S. Geol. Survey of the Territories, 1872, p. 301.

568 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ,

Mapleton. — Wells in this village are 60 to 80 feet deep, in alluvial and lacustrine
clayey silt, obtaining slightly alkaline water from sandy beds at the bottom, whence
it rises to be 30 to 40 feet deep.

Dalrymple. — Cass & Cheeney Elevator Company: Well, 60 feet; water seeps,
scanty, alkaline.

Casselton. — The city artesian well is 327 feet deep, its section being yellowish
alluvial clay, 25 feet; darker bluish clay and sand, alluvial and lacustrine, 45 feet;
till, 180 feet, inclosing thin seams and veins of sand and gravel ; aiid very fine-grained
sandstone, probably the Dakota sandstone, in some portions containing fragments of
lignite, 77 feet, in which the boring ceased. The same section, to the depth of 317
feet, was also found by the well at Capt. 0. May's flouring mill. Both these wells
obtain slightly brackish water, which rises 40 feet above the surface.

Smith Stemmel, 3 miles west of Casselton, has a similar flowing well about 350
feet deep.

Northern Pacific Elevator Company: Well, 100 feet; water, somewhat saline,
rises from a layer of sand to 6 feet below the surface.

The common wells of Casselton and its vicinity vary in depth from 20 to 70 feet,
the deepest obtaining good water at the top of the till, whence it usually rises to fill
the lower half of the well.

Wheatland. — Slightly alkaline water is supplied by most of the wells in the
village, which are 20 to 30 feet deep in till; but water of excellent quality is obtained
on the Campbell beach, in the east edge of the village, by wells 15 to 20 feet deep in
the beach gravel and sand.

Tower City. — The city artesian well has been described on page 535.

Reed. — C. H. Welton, southeast quarter of section 17: Flowing well, 153 feet
deep, in alluvial and lacustrine deposits for its upper part, with much till below.
Water, fresh, and soft enough for washing with soap, rises 4 feet above the surface.

B. P. Reynolds, northeast quarter of section 20, about 40 rods southeast from
the last: Well, similarly flowing, only 130 feet deep. Probably these two wells are
supplied by separate water-bearing layers.

Baymond. — E. Porrett, southwest quarter of section 6: Well, 80 feet, in alluvial
clay and till, the latter containing fragments of lignite; the water, somewhat alkaline,
rises to 1 foot below the surface.

H. G. Roberts, in the northeast quarter of section 23, close north of the Maple
River, has a flowing well 190 feet deep.

Harwood. — Minneapolis and Northern Elevator Company: Flowing well, 117 feet
deep; water rises from sand and gravel to 10 feet above the surface; it is fresh, good
for drinking, and called "soft" for washing.

Arf/usinlle. — The Minneapolis and Northern Elevator Company has three arte-
sian wells, one 158 feet deep; another, 20 feet distant, 157 feet; and a third, about 35

NOTES OF ARTESIAN AND COMMON WELLS. 569

rods distant, 147 feet. Below a small depth of alluvial and lacustrine clay these go
through till with bowlders. The water, very good for drinking, comes from a bed of
gravel and sand 5 to 7 feet thick, which was passed through to till beneath in one
of these wells.

Berlin. — Two flowing wells in the northeastern part of this township are 87 feet
and about 100 feet deep. The common wells are 40 to 00 feet deep, with water rising
to 10 or 15 feet below the surface.

Amenia.— The artesian well at the elevator of the Amenia and Sharon Land
Company is 279 feet deep ; water rises 5 feet above the surface, not a copious flow.
Another boring went to the depth of 400 feet, finding no lower artesian water. The
section was soil, 2 feet; yellowish gray till, .'50 feet; harder dark bluish till, about 200
feet, inclosing occasional water-bearing layers of sand and gravel ; and Cretaceous
beds below, the last 100 feet or more being very fine-grained white sandstone and
nearly white shale, probably the Dakota formation.

Edward McNeill, a half mile east of Amenia, has an artesian well 215 feet deep,
yielding a large supply of water. On Lee E. Clark's farm, some 4 miles distant to
the northeast, the copiously flowing water of a well about 275 feet deep rises 30 feet
above the surface. All these deep wells at and near Amenia have slightly brackish,
haid water.

William Hinkle Smith, in section 32, has bored 290 feet, obtaining no artesian
water. The well most used by this large farm is 75 feet deep, with a very abundant
supply of good water, which rises to 20 feet below the surface.

On the farm of Gage & Davis, in the southeast quarter of section 9, a well 155
feet deep has water which rises from the bottom to 5 feet below the surface. This
water, like that of Mr. Boustead's well, noted on page 553, contains gas which is not
visible when the water first flows from the pump, but shows in very minute bubbles,
as flue as dust, from one-fourth to three-fourths of a minute later, then disappearing
so that the water is left clear. It is called excellent water for drinking and for engine
boilers.

Eipon. — A railway boring to the depth of 280 feet found no artesian water.
Common wells mostly are 20 to 40 feet deep, obtaining a copious supply from sand
and gravel beds inclosed in the till.

Gardner. — Minneapolis and Northern Elevator Company: Well, 125 feet; water
rises 12 feet above the surface.

S. C. Dalrymxjle, section C: Artesian well about 230 feet deep; strong flow.
There are ten or more other flowing wells within a few miles around Gardner, ranging
from 96 feet to 2.50 feet in depth. Their water is slightly brackish.

Grandin. — The village of Grandiu has four artesian wells within an extreme
distance of 50 rods from east to west and half as much from south to north, as fol-
lows: William Black, 105 feet deep, with water at first rising 12 feet, now 8 feet; the

570 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Grandin Hotel, P. C. Weisbecker, 158 feet, water rising 15 feet; the Minneapolis and
Northern Elevator Company, 1S7 feet, water rising 113 feet; and J. W. Thorn, at his
store, 248 feet, water rising only 2 feet. All these wells are slightly saline, bnt are
called good for drinking and cooking, except iu making tea. It is remarkable that
they obtain water at fonr distinct levels, showing that at least the upper water-
bearing deposits of gravel and sand are narrow veins, as of stream courses; or, if
they form broad sheets, those above are pinched ovit in places, so that the deposits of
overlying and underlying till come together. (Bee pages 525, 526.)

TUAILL COUNTY.

Mm River. — Robert Young, about a mile west of Quincy, has an artesiau well
213 feet deep ; water copious, slightly saline.

Alexander Armstrong's well, a half mile south of Mr. Young's, is 110 feet deep,
with very strong How, having scarcely any perce])tible saline taste.

Kelso. — St. Anthony and Dakota Elevator Comjjauy: Well, 110 feet; mostly in
till, below a considerable thickness of alluvial and lacustrine clay; water at first
overflowed, but now stands a few feet below the surface; it is capable of supplying
200 barrels in twelve hours, the diameter of the pipe being 2 inches.

Minneaiiolis and Northern Elevator Company: Well, 109 feet; water overflows
slightly: ample supply for pumjiing. The water of both these wells is slightly salty,
but is not harmful for drinking; it rapidly rusts through the plate of engine boilers
iu which it is used.

James Johnson, section 3: Artesian well, 175 feet deep; the water flows from
the pipe, which is 2 inches in diameter, at the rate of about 2 barrels per minute,
forming a considerable brook ; when confined in the pipe, it rose 20 feet above the
surface, and flowed with little apparent diminution. The water is saline, but both
cattle and people prefer it rather than the water of the adjoining creek, the North
Branch of the Elm Eiver. This well was bored only about 150 feet deep, the section
having been nearly all till; then, within fifteen or twenty minutes, the pipe sank
about 20 feet in quicksand, and it settled more during the following night. When
the sand filling the lower part of the pipe was cleared out, the water rose with such
force as to bring up gravel stones from 1 to IJ inches in diameter in the 2inch pipe,
showing that it had sunk to a bed of gravel. In this well a feeble artesian flow was
noted at about 110 feet, as in the wells of Kelso village, li miles distant. There are
several other flowing wells within 1 or 2 miles around Mr. Johnson's, some being
about 110 feet deep, and others having nearly the same depth as his well.

S. A. Dalrymple, southeast corner of section 1: Artesian well, 180 feet deep;
2-inch pipe, flowing a stream a half inch iu diameter at 3 feet above the surface;
water slightly brackish.

NOTES OF ARTESIAN AND COMMON WELLS. 571

Alexander Smart, southeast quarter of section 12: Boring 417 feet deep, obtain-
ing no artesian water; the alhivial and lacustrine beds of the surface have an
undetermined thickness, probably less than GO feet; next below, till extends about
250 feet, inclosing occasional thin beds of sand and gravel, to the base of the drift
at 310 feet. Thence the boring went 107 feet in a very fine-grained white sandstone,
in part very hard, but in other parts less so than the till. The drillings from this
formation, believed to be the Dakota sandstone, are mostly similar to flour in their
fineness, but usually they also contain many small, rounded quartz grains, from a
hundredth to a fiftieth of an inch in diameter,

Bohnsacl: — K. M. Cunningham, southeast quarter of section 5, township 144,
range .52 : Well, 140 feet deep, wholly in till ; water rises from sand and gravel at the
bottom to 30 feet below the surface.

Hague. — On Farm No. 1 of the Grandin and Dalrymple Farming Company, at
Hague post-office, northwest quarter of section 2.5, township 145, range 49, are two
artesian wells, ICO feet and 210 feet deep ; water, slightly saline, rises from each to a
height of 10 feet or more above the surface. The well on Farm No. 3, in the northeast
quarter of section 9, township 144, range 49 (Elm liiver), is ICO feet deep, with water
rising just to the surface. From another artesian well, on Farm No. C, in the south-
east quarter of section 33, township 145, range 49, also IGO feet deep, the water
rises 6 feet.

Hillsboi'o. — In the city of Hillsboro and within a distance of 5 miles there are
probably thirty or more artesian wells, mostly between 100 and 200 feet dee]), all
obtaining somewhat saline and alkaline water. Notes of several in Hillsboro are as
follows :

W. H. York, in the northeast part of the city: 105 feet deep; flow about 200
barrels daily; water slightly brackish, softer than the water of the deeper wells.

City well, at the intersection of the two i^rincipal streets: 185 feet deep; flow
about 75 barrels daily, through C-iuch pipe; strongly brackish, used only for watering
horses aiid cattle.

S. C. Sherwood, in the north part of the city: About 190 feet deep; flow esti-
mated at 400 barrels daily, through 2-inch pipe. The water of this well, with largest
flow in the town, though salty, is employed for all uses of the house aud stable,
including drinking and cooking. But in general throughout the city the principal
supply for domestic uses is taken from the Goose Eiver.

Minneapolis and Northern Elevator Company : 195 feet deep.

J. E. Nunn's livery stable: 198 fee^ deej).

Florence Mill Company : 195 feet deep ; flow, 250 barrels daily.

At the North Dakota Roller Mill, in the south part of the city, several borings
have been made, in all of which combustible gas has been found at the depth of 105
to 120 feet. The deej)est of these borings went G30 feet, obtaining no artesian water.

572 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

A considerable thickness of Cretaceous beds, apparently the Fort Benton shales and
the Dakota sandstone, were penetrated, reaching "quartzite" at 020 feet.

Blanchard. — Again, probably as many as thirty artesian wells exist in Blanchard
Tillage and within a radius of 5 miles around, varying in their depth from 150 to 404
feet. The glacial drift extends to a depth of about 200 feet, below which these wells
pass into Cretaceous shale and very fine-grained sandstone, pi'obably the Dakota
formation. The following are two of the deepest borings:

S. S. Blanchard, section 11, township 145, range 52: Well, 375 feet: brackish
water, good for stock throughout the year and used in engine boilers, rises 15 feet
above the surface.

Emerson & Wild, southwest quarter of section 19, township 145, range 51, a
half mile north of Blanchard Village: Well, 404 feet deep; brackish water, capable
of rising 40 feet or more above the surface, flows at the rate of -iO gallons per minute
from a 2i-inch pipe.

Norman. — On Jones & Brinker's farm, in section 13, an artesian well about 350
feet deep has a strong flow of saline water.

Mayville.— Goose Eiver Mill, owned by Gibbs & Edwards: Artesian well, 395
feet deep, in drift about 200 feet and below in Cretaceous shale and sandstone; water
brackish.

The city artesian well, .355 feet deep, has a strong flow of brackish water, which
rises 22 feet above the surface, its rate of flow being about 85 gallons per minute.

Common wells in Mayville and its vicinity are 20 to 40 feet deep, in alluvial clayey
silt and till, obtaining somewhat alkaline water. The supply needed for drinking and
cooking is taken from the Goose Eiver, excepting by those who have rain-water
cisterns.

Portland. — A boring for the railway tank is said to have gone to the depth of
275 feet, obtaining no artesian water.

Minnesota and Dakota Elevator Company : Well, 90 feet; water rises to 20 feet
below the surface; it is brackish, and forms much scale on the boilers of eugmes.

The common wells in Portland are 15 to 40 feet deep in till, from which water
seeps, somewhat alkaline.

Hatton.—Gsirgin Bros.' elevator: Well, 254 feet; delta silt, about 20 feet; till,
inclosing occasional sand and gravel layers, about 200 feet; and sand, 34 feet. Excel
lent water, which makes but little scale on the engine boilers, rises to 6 feet below the
surface.

Common wells here are oo^y 10 to 12 feet deep, obtaining plentiful and good
water in the fine sand of the Elk Valley delta.

About 3 miles southwest of Hatton, in section 25, Newburg, Steele County, a
boring on the farm of Smith & Mills went to the depth of .553 feet, obtaining a strong
artesian flow, which, however, soon ceased because the lower part of the pipe became

NOTES OF ARTESIAN AND COMMON WELLS. 573

filled with sand. The bottom of this boring is at nearly the same elevation above the
sea as that of the deep artesian wells of Blanchard and Mayville, being, like them,
doubtless, in the Dakota sandstone.

GRAND FORKS COUNTY.

Northwood. — Eed River Valley Elevator Company: Well, 20 feet deep, in delta
sand; water usually 10 to 15 feet deep, overflowing in the spring. Common wells
here are 15 to IS feet deep, supplying good water, which forms little scale on engine
boilers.

Kempton. — Wells in the vicinity of Kempton are about 20 feet deep, the section
being soil, 2 feet; fine clayey sand, 10 feet; a harder bed of sand, 2 feet; and quick-
sand below, which contains an ample supply of excellent water.

Grand Forks.— A railway well bored near the depot in 1881 to the depth of 265
feet, 5 inches in diameter, reduced below to 3h inches, yielded in August of that year,
probably after the lower part of the pipe had become filled with sand, only a very
scanty overflow; water saline, not used.

C. J. Alloway, in the north edge of the city: Artesian well, 270 feet; alluvial
and lacustrine clay, 30 feet; till, inclosing occasional beds of sand and gravel, 220 feet;
and sand, 20 feet; the water, too saline to be used, rises 2 feet above the surface.

The common wells of Grand Forks, 20 to 30 feet deep, have water of fair quality,
but the city is mainly supplied through waterworks which pump irom the river.

Brenna. — Lawrence Kennedy, in the north part of this township, about halfway
between Grand Forks and Ojata, has a flowing well of brackish water 90 feet deep.

Ojata. — Minneapolis and Northern Elevator Company: Flowing well, 115 feet
deep; water saline, unfit for engine boilers, though it has been so used. Similar
artesian water was also found by this well at the depth of about 70 feet. Common
wells are mostly 15 to 18 feet deep, obtaining water that is slightly alkaline, though
not perceptibly so to the taste. When dug deeper they get bitter or salty water.

JEmerado. — Wells in this village and its vicinity are 15 to 20 feet deep, in till, with
thin veins and layers of sand ; good water. One well, bored 70 feet deep, near the
depot, found no water supply, while another well 10 rods east found plenty of water
at 20 feet.

The well of the railway tank was dug 53 feet deep in a dry season, and the work-
men at night left their tools at the bottom, which gave no sign of water; but the next
morning it was full of w^ater to 8 feet below the surface.

Arvilla. — Common wells at and near Arvilla are 15 to 30 feet deep, in till, obtaiu-
ing somewhat alkaline water. The first boring for a town well went nearly 200 feet
in the till, obtaining no sufficient water supply. A second boring found abundance
of good water at 85 feet, whence it rises to about 30 feet below the surface and is not
lowered by vigorous pumping.

574 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Larimore. — The well at the Shermau House, 60 feet deep in tbe fine silt and sand
of tbe Elk Valley delta, and other shallower wells, are noted on pages 334, 335. The
water is copious and of good quality, forming little scale on engine boilers.

Manvel. — Joseph Oolosky, Manvel Hotel : Artesian well, 166 feet deep, in alluvial
and lacustrine silt and till, inclosing occasional layers of sand and fine gravel. A
large flow of saline water was found in such a layer at 107 feet. The second flow, at
166 feet, is very strong, running from the 2-inch pipe at the rate of about 40 gallons
per minute.

Minneapolis and Northern Elevator Company : Artesian well, 175 feet; the water
is capable of rising more than 45 feet above the surface, there flowing from an inch
pipe (reduced from the diameter of the well, which is 2 inches) at the rate of about
6 gallons per minute. In 1887 this well had been running five years and showed no
diminution of flow. The water contains much sulphate of magnesia, not being so salt
as that at 107 feet. In engine boilers it forms a powdery i>recipitate, which is easily
blown out by the engineer, not being so troublesome as the usual scale.

Turtle River. — Richard Forrest, northeast quarter of section 28 : A boring, seen
when it was in progress at 150 feet, had brackish artesian water flowing feebly from
sand all the way below 100 feet.

Johnstown. — William Stratton, section 22 : Well in alluvial clay, which at the depth
of 19 feet contained a log 10 inches in diameter, thought to be birch. It was chopped
off to permit the well to go deeiier. Another well in the southwest part of this town-
ship found two similar tree trunks 16 feet below the surface.

WALSH COUNTY.

Ardoch. — Minneapolis and Northern Elevator Company : Artesian well, 164 feet,
the section being mostly till; large flow of saline water.

Brooks Bros.' elevator: Well, 42 feet deep, 8 feet in diameter, with plenty of
water. A boring below this to the total depth of 100 feet from the surface was stopped
by a bowlder. The section was alluvial clay, 15 feet; sand and gravel, ^ foot; and
till, easy to dig and bore, 85 feet. Alkaline water seeps, much coming from the gravel
at 15 feet.

Common wells at Ardoch are 15 to 20 feet deep, most of them obtaining tolerably
good water. The town has two jmblic wells or cisterns, each 13 feet deep and 13 feet
in diameter, and another measui'ing 15 feet in these dimensions, for fire protection.

Minto. — Minneapolis and Northern Elevator Company: Artesian well, 200 feet
deep; alluvial, lacustrine, and drift deposits, 190 feet, the lower two-thirds being till,
with no important water-bearing veins or layers ; then sand and gravel, 10 feet and
extending below. The water rushed up with such force as to bring pebbles an inch
in diameter, and rises when confined in pipes to a height of 60 feet above the surface.

NOTES OF ARTESIAN AND COMMON WELLS. 575

It is quite brackish, but some persous have druuk it freely aud almost solely during
several years, thinkiug it favorable for their health.

Brooks Bros.' elevator: Well, 196 feet deep, with similar strong flow as the
foregoing.

The common wells are 15 to 20 feet deep, in yellow alluvial clay, to blue clay
which is not dug into; water seeping, slightly alkaline.

Grafton. — The dee]) artesian well of the city, passing through Lower SUurian
strata below the drift, and obtaining a powerful flow of brackish water, has been
described on jiages 77, 78.

The Minneapolis and Northern Elevator Company and the Brooks Bros.' elevator
had artesian wells, each 156 feet deep, but their water was so saline aud scanty that
they are disused.

The water of the common wells here, 12 to 25 feet deep, is slightly alkaline, but
is considered healthful.

About 5 miles northeast of Grafton a well is reported to have found in the
alluvial clay, at the depth of 35 feet, a log about a foot in diameter, which was chopped
off at both sides of the well.

Conway. — The depths of the common wells range from 20 to 60 feet, in till.

Park River. — Wells 15 to 40 feet deep, in till, obtaining a ijlentiful supply of
good water.

■ PEMBINA COUNTY.

8t. Thomas. — Minneapolis and Northern Elevator Company: Artesian well, 175
feet deep, mostly in till; water saline, but used in the engine boiler. The Brooks
Bros.' elevator is supplied by a well only 18 feet deep.

The common wells are 15 to 20 feet deep, in alluvial clay; water slightly alkaline.

Glasston. — The Minneapolis and Northern Elevator Company has a flowing well
about 200 feet deep, with water rising only 2 feet above the surface, but yielding an
inexhaustible supply when pumped. It is brackish, but is druuk freely by stock and
by some people, who soon like it, and no injurious ettects attend its use.

Common wells, mostly 14 to 20 feet deep, have somewhat alkaline water. Several
other wells within a few miles east of the railway between St. Thomas and Glasston,
and about the latter station, go 90 to 150 feet through till to gravel and sand, from
which water, slightly brackish, rises immediately to a permanent level 10 to 20 feet
below the surface.

Hamilton. — Minneapolis and Northern Elevator Company: Artesian well, 179
feet; water brackish.

Rand & Nortou's livery stable: Artesian well, 175 feet; also brackish, bat agree-
ing with horses and cattle.

The common wells of Hamilton are 12 to 20 feet deep, usually having good
water. Many other wells have been bored in this vicinity 75 to 150 feet deep, only

576 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

rarely obtaining artesian flows; bnt ^vater, found in gravel and sand at the bottom
generally rises nearly to the surface. In some wells the water is too salty or bitter to
be used, but others equally deep have fresh water. The former probably derive their
water supply from great distances through beds of sandstone underlying the drift,
while the latter receive their water from rains on neighboring areas, percolating only
through porous sand aad gravel beds of the drift sheet.

Bathgate. — The artesian well of the Minneapolis and Northern Elevator Com-
pany is 143 feet deep, passing through alluvial and lacustrine clay and till to coarse
sand, whence a very copious flow of water rises to G feet above the surface. It is
somewhat saline and alkaline, but its mineral matter is chiefly deposited as a powdery
sediment in the boilers of engines, which can be easily blown out.

Dui'ing the year 1887 eleven artesian wells, ranging from 130 to IGO feet in depth,
were bored within a radius of 5 miles about Bathgate.

There are no shallow wells in this town, as the seeping surface water is too
alkaline. The water of the Tongue River is used for ordinary domestic purposes.

Neche. — Minneapolis and Northern Elevator Company: Well, aboixt 175 feet
deep; water saline, rising to a few feet below the surface; unfit for any use.

Alcra. — Abner Freich, at center of section 18, township IGl, range 55, 6 rods
southeast of the Tongue Eiver: Well, dug at first about 16 feet deep, having good
water, which seeped from the alluvial clay. In an unusually dry season it was dug 4
feet deeper, and found a layer of sand from which water of inferior quality soon rose
6 feet, to the level of the river.

WELLS ON THE AREA OF LAKE AGASSIZ IN MANITOBA.

Artesian or flowing wells are obtained at many localities in Manitoba near the
Ked River, as in Wiuniijeg and southward, where water often rises to the surface from
layers of sand and gravel in the drift.

Winnipeg. — About 10 wells have been bored by the city authorities of Winnipeg,
for supplying water for domestic use. Mr. H. N. Ruttau, the city engineer, states
that about a dozen of these wells go into the bed-rock, which is limestone, while the
others derive their water from layers of quicksand in or beneath the till. Several of
them in the west part of the city are artesian, but eastward the water rises only to 5
or 10 feet below the surface. The water is considered of good (luality for drinking
and cooking, but it contains much mineral matter in solution, chiefly the sulphates of
lime and magnesia.

Alluvial stratified clay extends to a depth that varies from 3 to 10 feet or more.
This is underlain by the glacial till or bowlder-clay, which incloses thin veins and
layers of fine gravel and sand, and frequently is underlain by sand and gravel, but
in many places extends to the limestone. The upper part of the till here shows an
imperfect stratification, due to its deposition in Lake Agassiz, and contains a less

NOTES OF ARTESIAN AND COMMON WELLS. 577

proportion of bowlders and gravel than its lower part, which is very hard, and is
therefore commonly denominated "hardpan." The depth to the limestone varies from
30 to 60 feet in the west part of the city, and increases to about 75 feet eastward.

One of these wells, bored in the west edge of the city, close north of the Assini-
boine and IJ miles west of the Osborne street bridge, went 32 feet in stratified clay
and till, and then 100 feet in limestone, mostly of light buff or cream color, obtaining
water of good quality at 132 feet, which rose to 5 feet below the surface. The bed-
rock is nearly like that which outcrops at Lower Fort Garry and East Selkirk.

A general section of the superficial deposits at Winnipeg is noted by J. Hoyes
Panton as follows, from information supplied by Mr. Piper, known as having an
extensive experience in well boring throughout the city:

1. Surface mold, 1 to 4 feet thick, dark color, and exceediugly fertile.

2. "Yellow gumbo," 2 to 3 feet; a very sticky form of yellowish clay, which usually holds consid-
erable water.

3. Dark gray clay, 30 to 50 feet thick, with bowlders scattered throughout, some of them 4 feet
in diameter and chiefly gneissoid, and no doubt derived from Laurentian rocks.

4. Light-colored clay, 1 to 3 feet, containing many small stones.

5. Hardpan, 2 to 10 feet, a very solid and compact form of clay.

6. Sand, gravel, and bowlders, 5 to 25 feet.

7. Angular fragments, 1 to 3 feet, usually limestone, and largely derived from the solid rock which
lies immediately below it.

This loose material is far from being uniform, and varies so much in its arrangements that scarcely
any two borings show the same distribution. Sometimes there is little or no hardpan, while in other
parts it is several feet thick. However, as a usual thing, these seven forms of strata are passed through
in boring, and varying in thickness to the number of feet already mentioned. '

St. Boniface. — Wells in St. Boniface are nearly the same as in Winnipeg, on the
opposite side of the river. The deepest learned of is on the exhibition ground, 156
feet deep, being stratified clay and till, 36 feet, its lowest 10 feet very hard and com-
pact; sand, 44 feet, to the bed-rock at 80 feet; then limestone, of light cream color or
nearly white, penetrated 76 feet and extending below.

Niverville. — Thomas W. Craven, hotel: Well, 65 feet deep, in alluvium and till;
water rises to 15 feet below the surface. Other wells in this village have nearly the
same depth or less, none coming to the bed-rock; but it was reached by a well a third
of a mile east, at a depth of about 100 feet.

Four miles south-southeast of Niverville, in the northeast quarter of section 5, in
this same township 7, range 4 east, Cornelius Freesen's well, situated on the Niverville
beach, passed through alluvium and glacial drift, 65 feet, and shale, 30 feet, obtaining
an ample artesian flow of excellent water.

In the southwest quarter of this section, a half mile from the foregoing, Adam
Freesen has a similar flowing well, 107 feet deep, which went 37 feet into the shale.

' Eeport of the Department of Agriculture and Statistics, Manitoba, for 1882, p. 176.
MON XXV 37

578 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

This is said to be the deepest of about twenty flowing wells in this Mennonite
Reserve, their range of depth being from 40 to 107 feet.

Dominion City. — James Speuce, Victoria Flour Mills : Flowing well, 170 feet deep,
in alluvial clay and till, the latter very hard below the depth of 120 feet; bed-rock not
reached; water brackish, flowing feebly, not used.

The common wells of this village, 12 to 16 feet deep, have good water which seeps
from the alluvial clay.

The Roseau River has much softer water than the wells and most of the short
streams of this region, so that the railway tank at Dominion Oity, taking water
from the Roseau, is preferred by the locomotive engineers above any other source of
water on this branch line.

Hmerson. — Wells in Emerson range from 10 to 25 feet in depth, in alluvial clay,
and obtain water tolerably good for drinking and cooking, but it is very hard and
unsuited for laundry use.

West Lynne. — Hudson Bay Company's steam flouring mill: Well, 108 feet deep,
dug 68 feet in alluvial and lacustrine clay, and bored 40 feet lower, apparently in the
same deposit. The only water found, not enough to supply the engine, is that which
seeps from the clay, coming almost wholly within the first 20 feet below the surface.
The ordinary wells in this village, 14 to 18 feet deep, obtain good water, seeping in
sufiQcient amount for domestic use.

Artesian tvells near Letellier and on the Low Farm. — An artesian well on the French
Reserve at the center of township 2, range 1 east, near Letellier, 12 miles northwest
from Emerson and West Lynne, is 250 feet deep, not reaching the bed-rock. It
supplies brackish water, which is drunk by cattle. Another artesian well of similar
depth is on the Low Farm, about 12 miles west of Morris, the water of which is strongly
saline.

West Selkirlc. — The well at the Lisgar House, 100 feet deep, reached the bed-rock,
which is limestone, at 65 feet.

Stonewall. — J. B. Rutherford's flouring mill : Well, 82 feet deep, consisting of beach
gravel and sand, 10 feet; till, 2 feet; and limestone, including red shaly beds, 70 feet,
to the bottom, where the drill fell 1 foot and water rose immediately to 22 feet below
the surface. Several other wells in Stonewall have had a similar experience, obtain-
ing water which rises from hoUows in the limestone.

Township 15, range 2 east. — William Andrew, southeast quarter of section 7 : Well,
94 feet deep; till at the surface and to a depth of 11 feet; and limestone, 83 feet,
mostly hard and of light buff color, but inclosing some 25 feet of reddish shaly beds
between the depths of 45 and 70 feet. There are several such wells in the same
vicinity.

Betweeyi Pleasant Home and Gimli. — Mr. Andrew states that about 25 miles north-
east from the last a well between Pleasant Home and Gimli has been sunk 120 feet,
wholly in the glacial drift, not reaching the bed-rock.

NOTES OF AETESIAJ^ AND COMMON WELLS. 579

Bosser. — The railway well at Eosser is 29 feet deep, iu till, wliicb forms tlie
surface there and east to Little Stony Mountain ; water rises 15 feet from a sandy,
layer at the bottom.

Townshij) 11, range 1 east. — Eobert D. Bathgate, section 27: Well, 60 feet deep;
till, 24 feet, from which alkaline water seeps ; and light buff, hard limestone, 36 feet,
and coutinuing lower; water of good quality rises from the bottom to 20 feet below
the surface. Other wells in this vicinity mostly get good water in veins or thin
layers of sand and gravel contained in the till.

St. Francois Xavier. — On Mr. Nan ton's ranch, about 10 miles west of Headingly
and a quarter of a mile south of the Assiniboine, a well 114 feet deep passed through
alluvial clay, 14 feet; till, 34 feet; limestone of light cream color, 47 feet; and reddish
limestone, 19 feet. Brackish water rises from the bottom to 14 feet below the surface.

Meadoio Lea.^ — Section 30, township 13, range 2: Wells in this vicinity range
from 20 to 95 feet in depth, and are wholly in till, not reaching the bed-rock.

Township 13, range 6. — Charles Cuthbert, section 21, 10 miles north-northeast
from Portage la Prairie : Well, 16 feet deep; soil and loamy silt, to water in quicksand
and fine gravel. The surface here is only a few feet above the high-water level of
Lake Manitoba.

Portage la Prairie. — The common wells are 12 to 16 feet deep, being black soil,
2 to 4 feet; then yellowish-gray, loamy silt, the alluvium of the Assiniboine, iu wliich
fragments of driftwood, as small limbs of trees, are occasionally found, to water in
quicksand and fine gravel. The deepest well here is that of the Manitoba and North-
western Eailway tank, which reaches 30 feet, to till at the bottom, obtaining a very
large supply of water.

Township 12, range 8. — Kenneth McKenzie, jr., in the north edge of section 2, close
west of Eat Creek : Well, dug 86 and bored 72 feet, to a total depth of 158 feet; soil, 2
feet; sand, 4 to 5 feet; yellow till, 4 feet; blue till, 76 feet, easy to excavate, with scanty
intermixture of gravel, but containing occasional stones up to 1 foot or more in diam-
eter, undoubtedly true till, for the surface generally through the south part of this
township has plentiful embedded bowlders ui> to 2 or 3 feet in diameter; below was
"hardpan," a more indurated deposit of till, very hard to dig or pick, bored or drilled
72 feet, and found to vary much in its hardness through this dei^th, some j)ortions
being much softer than where the boring began. A seam of sand and fine gravel,
about an inch thick, was noticed between the upper part of the till, which was dug,
and the harder lower portion. At the bottom the drill struck a harder layer, which
was called rock. It was probably shale, for the drill, being dropped a few times upon
it, seemed in danger of becoming stuck so that it could not be removed. Water rose
from the bottom within the first day to a depth of 20 or 30 feet in the portion of the

'Here and onward, through the following pages, the ranges are numbered westward from the ref-
erence meridian.

580 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

well that was dug, and within a few days it reached its permanent level, abont 20 feet
below the surface. It does not sink below this level iu dry seasons, but in wet seasons
it rises to 7 feet below tlie surface, near tlie bottom of the sand. It is somewhat
salty, so that it is not suitable for house use, but it is drunk freely, and with no ill
eii'ect, by horses and cattle during the entire winter.

A (juarter of a mile soiith of this Mr. McKenzie's father has a similar well as to
its depth and succession of deposits passed through to rock, but it obtains a less ample
supi^ly of water. Both wells are 864 feet, approximately, above the sea; and the top
of the bed-rock is accordingly about 706 feet above the sea level.

Gladstone. — Wells vary from 10 to 15 feet in depth, in sandy, fine silt. Water
abundant and of excellent quality.

Arden. — In the vicinity of Arden wells are 10 to 50 feet deep, the section being
till, excepting where this is overlain by beach deposits from 5 to 15 feet thick.

Neepawa. — John A. Davidson & (Jo., store: Well, 60 feet, the deepest in the
town; soil, 2 feet; gravel and sand of the Assiniboine delta, 12 feet; and till, dark
bluish, with the usual proportion of gravel and bowlders, 46 feet, and extending below;
water good. Other wells, mostly 15 to 25 feet deep, reach till at nearly the same depth.

Township 13, range 16. — The deepest wells in this township go 50 to 70 feet, wholly
in till; but commonly a sufiBcient supply of water is found within 30 feet or less.

Carherry. — Wells 10 to 20 feet deep iu sand, the Assiniboine delta; plenty of
good water.

Chater. — At the elevator, 42 feet, and at the hotel, 31 feet, wholly in till, yellowish
above and dark bluish below; water rose several feet.
, Brandon. — Wells 10 to 30 feet deep, in delta gravel, underlain by till ; good water.

Carman. — Depths 10 to 15 feet, in alluvial clay, with sandy layers ; good water.
Two miles south of Carman, James Stewart's and George E. Laidlaw's wells are,
respectively, about 100 and 120 feet deep, probably passing through the alluvial and
lacustrine clays and glacial drift to underlying Cretaceous shales. The water of the
deeper of these is too brackish for house use, but is drunk by cattle.

Treherne. — In the vicinity of Treherne wells vary from 15 to 50 feet in depth, the
section being beach and delta deposits of stratified gravel and sand; excellent water.

HoUand. — Wells at Holland are 10 to 20 feet deep, in till to shale, which is reached
at about 10 feet; water good, generally better from the shale than from the drift.
Shale is not encountered by wells farther north, on the Assiniboine delta. In the
adjoining Tiger Hills, on the south, the depth to shale varies commonly from 2 or 3 to
10 or 15 feet.

Cypress River and Glenboro. — Depths, 10 to 17 feet, in fine silt, the delta of the
Assiniboine ; water good, issuing from quicksand.

Township 8, range 18. — Eounthwaite iiost-ofiQce, section 14: Well, 20 feet deep;
soil, 2 feet; yellowish gray till, 13 feet; harder blue till, 5 feet and lower; water seeps,
plentiful and good.

NOTES OF AETESIAN AND COMMON WELLS. 581

Township 7, range 17. — Williamson, Dignum & Co., farmhouse iu section 3: Well,
dug 30 feet and bored 313 feet more; seen while the boring was in i)i'ogress at depth
of 62 feet; all till, mostly yellowish, to that depth. This is half a mile north of the
northern base of the Tiger Hills, at an elevation of about 1,350 feet above the sea.

Langs Valley. — Langvale post-ofBee. at James Lang's house, section 2, township
6, range 18: Well, 18 feet deep; all gravel and sand, with quicksand at the bottom.
This is on the bed of the channel of outflow to the Pembina from the glacial lake iu
the Souris basin.

Plum Greek. — Wells in this village, at the junction of Plum Creek with the Souris,
are 10 to 30 feet deep, in till, not reaching bed-rock; but outcrops of the Fort Pierre
shale occur ou the Souris, near by.

Gretna. — Common wells, 10 to 20 feet deep, iu alluvial and lacustrine clay, obtain-
ing a scanty supply of water. A boring is said to have been made here for the railway
tank, to a depth of 150 feet, without finding a supply of water, and it is now pumped
from the Pembina Eiver.

Bheinland. — Wells 15 to 20 feet deep, in somewhat sandy lacustrine clay ; excellent
water.

Township 3, range 5. — John Johnston, section 3 : Well, 22 feet ; soil, 2 feet ; yel-
lowish till, containing bowlders up to 5 feet in diameter, 20 feet; to gravel with water
which rises from it 2 or 3 feet. This is between the Campbell and Tintah beaches,
on the low terrace at the foot of the Pembina Mountain escarpment. Other wells
near show that this terrace consists of the Fort Pierre shale, thinly covered with
glacial drift.

Morden and Nelson. — The deep boring recently made unsuccessfully for artesian
water at Morden has been described on page 81.

Common wells in Morden and Nelson are 10 to 25 feet deep, in alluvial silt and
underlying till; water frequently alkaline.

CHAPTER XL

AGRICULTURAL AND MATERIAL RESOURCES OF THE AREA

OF LAKE AG-ASSIZ.

Agriculture must evidently be always the chief industry and source of
wealth throughout the prairie portion of the area of Lake Agassiz, attended,
in villages and towns, by needed branches of trade and manufactures.
The great fertility of this district and its capabilities for agriculture depend
largely on the character of the underlying alluvial, lacustrine, and drift
foi-mations, which in their diverse development upon different tracts give
considerable variety to the soils. Beyond and above the inherent qualities
of the land, its value to the farmer and herdsman is further dependent in a
very large degree on the climatic conditions which are brought by the
changing seasons of the year. Both these factors of agricultural prosperity
had expression, before the land was cultivated or pastured, in the native
flora of the country and in its former herds of elk, antelopes, and bufi"aloes.
After the consideration of these sources, conditions, and natural evidences of
the adaptation of this district for diversified and successful agriculture, the
development of this industry is shown by a partly statistical review of its
rapid progress in the production of wheat and other crops and in stock
raising and dairying.

The more strictly geologic resources of this region are next noticed,
comprising its building stone, lime, and bricks, all of which, and especially
the last, have much economic importance. Mention is also given to its salt
springs, lignite, and natural gas, none of which, however, occurs in such
amount that it can be profitably utilized.

Lastly, the water power and other natural aids for the development of
manufactm-es within the area of this glacial lake are considered. Some
of its streams, as the Red Lake and Clearwater rivers, the upper part of the
Red River before it enters this lacustrine area, and especially the Winnipeg

582

AGEICULTUEAL AND MATERIAL EESOUECES. 583

River, are unsurpassed in the value of their water power, which can be
made uniform throughout the year by using the lakes tributary to these
streams for reservoirs. Probably much of the wooded portion of the coun-
try that was covered by Lake Agassiz will be cleared and used as farming
land; while the waterfalls and rapids which abound on rivers within the
Archean part of the wooded district will become the sites of manufacturing
villages and cities.

VARIETY AND DISTRIBUTIOK OF THE SOILS.

Over nearly the entire prairie district of Lake Agassiz and upon the
higher and more undulating or rolling country ths,t stretches thence west-
ward, a sandy clay, often with some intermixture of gravel and occasional
bowlders, forms the soil, which has been colored black to a depth of 1 or 2
feet below the surface by decaying vegetation. The alluvial and lacustrine
beds, or the glacial drift, the same as the soil, excepting that they are not
enriched and blackened by organic decay, continue below, being usually
yellowish gray to a depth of 10 or 15 feet, but darker and bluisli beyond,
as seen in wells. The glacial drift contains many fragments of Cretaceous
shale, magnesian limestone, granites, and crystalline schists; and its fine
detritus and the silty deposits carried into Lake Agassiz by its tributaries
are mixtures of these pulverized rocks, presenting in the most advantageous
proportions the elements needed by growing plants.

The till or glacial drift of this region is remarkably contrasted with
that of New England and the other Northern States westward to the Missis-
sippi River by its containing a smaller proportion of bowlders, cobbles, or
comparatively small rock fragments and gravel. On an average the surface
of the till in this southwestern part of the area of Lake Agassiz has proba-
bly not more than one-twentieth as many bowlders as the average in the
States farther east. They are so few that they present no obstacle to
the cultivation of the soil, except on the occasional morainic belts, where
bowlders are plentiful, often strewing the ground upon limited tracts,
which usually are knolly and hilly. These tracts can not be profitably
subjected to tillage, but have generally a fertile soil and afford excellent

584 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

pasturage. The smooth, gently undulating or nearly flat areas of till,
which are far more extensive than the morainic belts, can be plowed often
across a distance of several miles, bounded only by stream courses, with-
out encountering a bowlder or tree or bush to require the plow to deviate
from its straight and continuous furrow. The few bowlders which are
found on these lands, seldom exceeding 3 to 5 feet in diameter and varying
in numbers from perhaps one to five or ten per acre, are scarcely so many
as the farmer desires for the construction of cellar walls, foundations of
buildings, and for other uses.

Large portions of the deltas of Lake Agassiz, and the whole of the
broad, flat expanses of lacustrine and alluvial silt which adjoin the Red
River, have no bowlders nor gravel. Here the ideal conditions are found
for the cultivation of single fields of grain occupying hundreds or thou-
sands of acres. Though the subsoil of many arable tracts of the Red
River Valley is saturated with moisture throughout the year at the depth
of- only a few feet below the surface, even these moist areas have sufficient
slopes to drain away the water of snow-melting and the rains of spring in
season for early sowing. While the soil of both the till and the lacustrine
and allu%dal deposits is prevailingly clayey, it yet is nearly everywhere
sufficiently sandy and porous to permit a part of these waters and a large
proportion of the summer rains to be absorbed by it. Whenever a tem-
porary drought comes, the water thus received and stored at a moderate
depth in the subsoil is raised by capillary attraction to the surface. The
roots of vegetation are thus nourished, and the growth of the crops is con-,
tinned without check or a bountiful harvest is often matm-ed without the
aid of rainfall during a month or more.

Some tracts of the Red River Valley are marsh, owing to the flatness
of the land and the depression of these tracts a few feet below their natural
avenues of drainage. The marshes vary in extent from patches of a few
hundred acres up to 50 square miles.

An enumeration of the most noteworthy of these boggy, partially
inundated areas in Minnesota includes the marsh, 6 miles in diameter, occu-
pying the greater part of Winchester, Norman County, in crossing which
the south branch of the Wild Rice River becomes diffused and lost, until it

DRAINAGE OF MAESHY TRACTS. 585

is gathered again on the western border of the marsh by the union of tlie
waters of many rills, brooklets, and springs; the marshy grounds in
Anthony and Halstad townships, also in Norman County, lying on each
side of tlie Marsh River; the great swamp in southwestern Polk County,
in which the Sand Hill River is lost for about 8 miles, being again formed
by many brooks that ilow from the western edge of the swamp along a dis-
tance of 5 miles from south to north ; the Snake River marsh in Sandsville,
on the north line of Polk County; the marsh in Bloomer, Parker, and Big
Woods, Marshall County, in which the Middle River is lost for 5 miles next
above its junction with the Snake River; and the large swamp in the north-
ern edge of this county, extending also into Kittson County, formed by
the outspread waters of the Tamarack River, which is thus lost across a
distance of 8 miles.

Excavation of channels for these rivers through their marshes and for
a distance of several miles below them to the depth of 5 to 10 feet below
the present waterways, with the cutting of side ditches in the marshes,
will drain these wet lands, which will then have a very deep and fertile soil,
sufficiently dry for tillage, being doubtless the best and most enduring in
productiveness among all the rich lands of this valley plain. A survey for
a plan of drainage of the eastern side of the Red River Valley, lying in
Minnesota, was made in 1886; and the estimate by Mr. C. G. Elliott, the
engineer in charge, for the expenditure needed to provide the main ditches
and to deepen the existing watercourses is $746,228. The number of
acres to be benefited by the drainage is 808,600, .showing an average cost
of 92 cents per acre. Minor ditches, which will be dug on each side of the
roads, following the section lines, are not included in this estimate.

The jjart of this flat valley in North Dakota is dotted here and there
with many small marshes, but with very few that have so large an area as
several square miles. The most considerable in size are the marsh, 2 to 3
miles across, in Berlin and Hammond, Cass County, in which the Rush
River is lost; marshes adjoining Salt Lake, through wliich the Forest River
flows in Ardoch, Walsh County; and a low meadow, mostly mown for its
marsh hay, but in small part a permanent bog, extending 12 miles from

586 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

south to north, with a width of a half mile to 2 miles, in the east part of
Midland, Pembina County.

In both Minnesota and North Dakota these bogs are destitute of trees
and shrubs, and are occupied mostly by rushes, sedges, and marsh grasses,
which usually attain a very rank growth. No malarial diseases, however,
are produced by the marshes in then- present condition, and the principal
injury to be charged against them is that they hinder or prevent the con-
struction of roads which would be a public convenience. So long as they
remain undrained, these lands are almost or quite worthless, but when well
di-ained and brought under cultivation they will be a great addition to the
wealth and resources of tliis fertile valley.

East of the Red River Valley, the wooded part of the area of Lake
Agassiz in northern Minnesota contains frequent swamps, ranging from a
few acres to many square miles in area, usually occupied by a sparse
growth of tall and slender tamarack and black spruce trees, but in their
central portions often destitute of trees and covered by peat mosses, in
which there may be a pool or lakelet, either of clear water or filled with
rushes. Extensive swamps of this kind, locally called muskegs, adjoin Red
Lake, Mud and Thief lakes, the Lake of the Woods, and Roseau Lake.
Indeed, they are reported as covering a large part of the country northeast-
ward from Red Lake to the international boundary, forming a region
which is well-nigh impassable excepting in winter, when the surface of the
muskegs is frozen.

The vast forest region of Lake Agassiz comprised within Canadian
territory has many scattered muskegs, but also much laud with dry and
rich soil, worthy to be cleared and cultivated, tlu'oughout all its extent from
Rainy Lake and River and the Lake of the Woods northwestward by the
great lakes of Manitoba to the Saskatchewan. During many years to come
no attempt will probably be made to utilize the swamps or muskegs of the
wooded country; but in Manitoba, as already noted in Minnesota, many
of the marshes and swamps of the prahie region are being drained for
agricultm-e. The main ditches are dug as a part of the public improve-
ments by the Provincial Government, which is reimbursed by the sales

MAESHES IN MANITOBA. 587

of the marsh lands, worthless before they are drained, but afterward very-
valuable.

Several of the prairie marshes of Manitoba, lying west of the Red
River and on both sides of the Assiniboine, range in extent from 20 to 75
square miles, namely, the marsh in which Tobacco Creek is spread out and
lost east of Pomeroy; the great marsh similarly formed by the waters of
the Boyne River and Elm Creek, extending 15 miles from west to east, with
a width of 3 to 6 miles, overflowing southeastward to the Red River by
the Riviere aux Gratias; the Squirrel Creek marsh, lying close south of the
White Mud River, between Westbourne and Woodside, formed by Image,
Beaver, Squirrel, Pine, and Silver creeks, which come from the northeastern
slope of the Assiniboine delta; and the Big Grass marsh, extending more
than 20 miles from south to north, with a width of 3 to 5 miles, in which
the White Mud and Big Grass rivers are lost or flow sluggishly through
a broad, quaking morass, with shallow, rush-filled lakes along its axial
portion.

Commonly the water of the marshes is supplied almost wholly by
inflowing streams and by rainfall, but in some instances they receive a
large part of their water from springs. Multitudes of copious springs of
fresh water, issuing from thick beds of sand and gravel which eastward
are overlain by till, form the very remarkable boggy tract, a half mile to
1 mile wide, which extends about 9 miles from south to north along the
highest shore of Lake Agassiz in Akron and Tanberg, Wilkin County, Minn.
Unlike the level marshes before enumerated, this tract lies on a slope which
descends 20 to 40 feet upon the width of the marshy gi'ound from east to
west. On such a slope the marsh can be maintained only by the constant
issuance of spring water tlu-ough all portions of its bed. (See pp. 286, 385.)

In several other marshes of smaller extent, as on the Salt Cooley and
Salt River, near Ojata, tributary to the Turtle River, and on the Forest
and Park rivers, it is known that saline springs come up within the area of
the marshes, because, although the streams flowing into them are fresh, the
outflowing water is brackish.

Throughout nearly all the part of the Red River Valley where brack-
ish water is found by the artesian wells, and where it infrequently outflows

588 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

in springs, as just noted and as observed in the channels of Two Rivers and
other streams, there are noticed also occasional and rare patches of ground,
usually no more than a few square rods, or at most a few acres, in extent,
on which wheat, oats, or other crops, after germinating and beginning an
apparently healthy growth, are soon dwarfed or killed, while closely adjoin-
ing land, sometimes scarcel}^ distinguishable in the appearance of the soil,
is yet divided from the preceding by rather definite boundaries, as shown
by the healthful growth of vegetation and a satisfactory harvest. These
peculiar spots fail year after year to produce any crop, and their exceptional
character in fields which mainly have a bountiful growth of waving grain
is a source of wonder and much conjecture to many farmers. They are
very simply explainable, however, as the places to which the saline and
alkaline artesian and spring water percolates upward through veins and
layers of gravel and sand and somewhat porous or creviced tracts of the
till and lacustrine and alluvial beds, until it comes to the surface and is
there diffused through the soil of a small or somewhat large area, thus
affecting vegetation, though not issuing in sufficient quantity to produce
springs.

Although the bowlders of the till within the basin of the Red Ri%'er
are mostly Archean granite, gneiss, and crystalline schists, derived from the
northeast and north, with few— probably on an average less than 1 per
cent — of niagnesian limestone, derived from Silurian and Devonian forma-
tions underlying the drift and outcropping northward in Manitoba, the latter
forms a very considerable proportion, usually more than half, of the smaller
rock fragments inclosed in the till and of the gravel in modified drift and
alluvial deposits. Owing to the greater prevalence of joints in the lime-
stone, it has been reduced more readily to the size of gravel, and it probably
has contributed at least as much as the Archean rocks to the sandy and
clayey matrix of the till, pulverized by the grinding action of the ice-sheet.
The powdered limestone is one of the most important ingredients of the
drift. Dissolved in the water of wells and springs, as noted in the preceding
chapter, it makes them hard, diminishing their desirability for washing and
for use in the boilers of steam engines, but not for drinking and cooking.
On the other hand, this element contributes a large share toward making

CAUSE OF ALKALINE SOILS. 589

the very fertile soil of this district and producing the magnificent liarvests
of wheat which are its principal export and source of wealth.

A still larger proportion of the drift upon the jn-airie district of Lake
Agassiz was supplied from the Fort Pierre, Niobrara, and Fort Benton
shale formations of the Cretaceovis series. They are mostly soft shales,
however, and therefore have supplied no bowlders; nor are they usually
represented conspicuously by pebbles of the till and in gravel deposits,
excepting near the western border of the ancient lake, where the Pembina
Mountain escarpment and plateau, the basal part of the Tiger Hills, and
the Riding and Duck mountains, consist of these shales. Many streams
flowing down from these highlands have cut deep ravines and valleys in
their frontal escarpment, and have spread much shale gravel outward for
several miles along the Avatercourses on the Red River Valley i)lain. The
till or glacial drift on this western margin of the lacustrine area and on
all the plateau country extending thence westward has also a consider-
able ingredient of shale gravel. But the greater part of the material
contributed from these shale beds to the glacial drift is mingled with the
pulverized Archean granite and gneiss and Paleozoic limestones, doubtless
generally far surpassing these as a constituent of the finely comminuted
rock flour which is the most abundant element of tlie bowlder-clay or till.

The portion of tlie till thus received from the Cretaceous beds has
given to its soil the somewhat alkaline character which is perhaps the most
noteworthy quality distinguishing the soil of this district and of the plains
on the west, in contrast with the soil of the Northern States and Canadian
provinces east of Lake Agassiz. The sulphates of magnesia and soda, with
other soluble salts, together termed "alkali," which are present in consid-
erable amount in the glacial drift of the Red River Valley and the western
plains, are almost wholly due to the contribution of the Cretaceous shales
to the drift. This soluble mineral matter was contained in the Cretaceous
ocean, and much of it became imprisoned and stored up in the very fine
clayey sediments of that time. On the areas of these shale formations
beyond the limits of the glacial drift the soil is far more alkaline than
within this region, where Archean, Paleozoic, and Cretaceous strata have

590 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

joined in making tip the drift tlu-oug-h the grinding and kneading action of
the ice-sheet

Foregoing descriptions and analyses of the waters of wells, lakes, and
streams have sufficiently indicated the efiFects of this alkaline matter of the
soil upon the water supply. At the same time, the result of evaporation
from the soil during droughts, often producing on previously moist tracts
a saline and alkaline efflorescence, was also noticed. Shallow and flat
depressions, into which the alkaline matter is brought by drainage from
higher adjoining land, thus may have many times more of the soluble salts
in their soil than the average of the district ; and when these tracts become
dry and their moisture from a considerable dei:)th is di'awn upward and
evaporated at the surface it leaves a whitish-gray alkaline incrustation.
These low alkaline lands are unfit for agriculture until they have been well
drained during several years, which may frequently be done by ditches
only a few feet deep, leading into lower watercourses. Excepting such
depressions and the marshes and sloughs before described, all the land of
this district has at least the very slight slopes necessary for free di'ainage,
and is well adapted for the cultivation of wheat, oats, and other cereals,
and of the common garden vegetables and small fruits that are suited to
the climate. The proportion of alkaline matter in the till soils wherever
they have natural di-ainage is not prejudicial but rather advantageous for
wheat and other grains.

Along the axial belt of the Red River Valley plain alluvial clayey
silt usually borders the river to a distance of 5 to 10 miles on each side,
and other tracts are covered by fine lacustrine sediments of nearly the
same character, bordering the pi'ominent delta jjlateaus. These areas have
a somewhat porous soil, composed mostly of very fine sand or rock flour
rather than true clay, being thus similar to the bowlder-clay or till; but
they have a somewhat less proportion of the soluble alkaline salts, which
in the process of aqueous deposition of these beds were partially removed
and carried away by the rivers into the sea.

The deltas of sand and gravel, mainly modified drift washed away
from the melting ice-sheet and amassed in the margin of Lake Agassiz by
its tributary glacial rivers, also contain less alkaline matter than the till.

LAEGE AREAS ADAPTED FOR AGRICULTURE. 591

They liave a large ingredient of limestone gravel, sand, and fine detritus,
so that their soil is usually fertile, while the very porous subsoil i^ermits
early sowing and is favorable for the rapid growth and early maturing of
crops.

The unique tracts of dunes, however, consisting of bare sand di-ifted
by the winds, or partly or wholly covered with grasses and other herbage,
bushes, and small trees, which occupy extensive portions of the Sand Hill,
Sheyenne, and Assiniboine deltas, are themselves worthless for agricultural
uses, and even afford only scanty pasturage. But many well-grassed
patches of ground lie in the hollows among the dunes, where herds find
good forage.

Probably the parts of this district that are worthless to the farmer,
comjjrising the sand hills, the alkaline undrained depressions, permanently
wet sloughs, the steep bluffs or banks of the watercourses, and very stony
morainic tracts, amount together to no more than a fiftieth of the whole
country. Elsewhere all this vast area is fertile and easily cultivated, with
considerable diversity in the soils of its different portions, dependent on
the nature of the drift, lacustrine, and alluvial formations, and on their
conditions of drainage. The black soil has usually a thickness of 1 to 2
feet, this color being due to enrichment by the decaying vegetation of all
the years and centuries since these deposits were formed during the Ice
age and at its close.

Looking forAvard to no very distant time, it may be foreseen that nearly
all the land here will be brought under successful cultivation, and that a
farming population of probably a million people, perhaps even twice or
thi'ice this number, will live on the prairie area of Lake Agassiz. Many of
them will come as immigrants, and in their selection of this rich farming
region for their future homes the most important inquiries next after those
concerning the native quality of the land will relate to climate. The rain-
fall and the temperature not only affect very closely the health and comfort
of the people, but they also determine whether the crops sown or planted in
a naturally productive soil and tended with patient and faithful care shall
bring forth an abundant or a scanty harvest.

592

THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

CLIMATIC CONDITIONS.

Six stations at which continuous series of weather observations have
been made are here selected for the purpose of exhibiting by their records
the general climatic conditions of the southwestern part of the area of Lake
Agassiz, which is fast becoming occupied by a dense population engaged in
agriculture. Five are stations of the United States Signal Service, naiiiely :
St. Paul, where observations wei'e begun November 1, 1870; Duluth, also
having records since November 1, 1870; Moorhead, since January 1, 1881;
St. Vincent, since September 5, 1880; and Bismarck, since September 15,
1874.-' With these are also inserted the records of observations at Winni-
peg for the Meteorological Bureau of the Dominion of Canada, beginning
with the year 1871 and published up to the year 1887, inclusive.

RAINFALL AND SNOWFALL.

At these stations, of which three are situated on the Red River, the
combined amount of rainfall and snowfall are as follows for their series of
years, with the resultant means deduced from each seiies:

Annual and mean annual precipitation, in inches.

Stations.

1871.

1872.

1873.

1874.

1875.

1876.

1877.

1878.

1879.

1880.

1881.

St Paul

30.63
31.20

30.12

34.75
38.73

35.51
36.43

30.66
26.93

23.67
it2.27

28.80
34.31

22.78
28.09

32.39
45.28

29.76
38.11

39.16

Duluth

37.56

29.48

St Vincent

15.51

20.17

30.17

17.04

18.31

16.85
27.52

29.18
30.92

24.61
17.68

29.52
20.23

25.23
22.61

27.17
19.75

18.09

15.76

Mean for entire district..

27.33

30.17

30.08

25.49

29.01

26.35

25.15

31.38

28.70

25.93

Stations.

1682.

1883.

1884.

1885.

1886.

1887.

1888.

1889.

1890.

Mean annual.

Tears.

Mean.

St. Paul

23.14
38. 02
34.01
22.48
20.75
21. 33

26.70
23.20
24. 9G
17.88
19.22
15.66

26.11
35.85
28.50
21.81
25.13
23.36

25.33
19.96
22.68
16.58
16.52
13.08

22.89
33.37
26.76
15.04
14.84
13.26

25.85
28.56
21.97
18.47
17.98
16.33

25.86
27.31
16.50
17.22

16.96
32.04
17.07
14.44

23.38
24.09
21.79
22.09

19
20
10
10
17
16

27.60

Duluth

32.07

24.37

18.15

21.81

16.51

11.03

15.75

18.80

Mean for entire district..

26.62

21.68

27.13

19.53

22.26

22.24

20.68

18.31

21.42

j 23.80

' Annual Reports of the Chief Signal Officer, United States Army. (In the year 1891 the Weather
Bureau was transferred to the United States Department of Agriculture.)

EAINFALL AND SNOWFALL.

593

The amounts of the average or normal precipitation for each month at
the five stations in the United States from the date of their establishment to
the end of 1886, and at Winnipeg during the fifteen years 1871 to 1885,

are noted in the following table :

^formal precipUation, in inches, for each month of the i/ear.

Stations.

Janu-
ary.

Febru-
ary.

Maroli.

April.

May.

June.

July.

Au-
gust.

Septem-
ber.

Octo-
ber.

Novem-
ber.

Decem-
ber.

St. Paul

Duluth

1.03

i.oe

.77
.36
.57
.54

0.97
I.U
.98
.40
.97
.64

1.52

1.56

.88

.30

.89

1.05

2.25
2.26
2.38
1.36
1.56
2.78

3.34
3.74
3.04
2.22
2.37
2.91

4.83
5.33
4.47
2.59
3.62
3.40

3.26
3.90
4.59
2.66

2.87
2.28

3.67
3.41
3.42
2.68
3.08
2.60

3.38
4.53
2.42
2.13
1.91
1.24

2.05
2.95
2.77
2.28
1.51
1.19

1.37
1.79
1.25
.56
.86
.75

1.30
1 31

78

.32

1 00

77

Mean for entire
district

.72

.85

1.07

2.10

2.94

4.04

3.26

3.14

2.60

2.12

1.10

.95

From these tables it is seen that the mean annual precipitation of
moisture as rain and snow at difi'erent places in this district ranges from 18
to 32 inches. It is most upon the wooded country east and northeast of
the Red River Valley; on that valley plain its average is about 22 inches;
but westward it decreases to 19 inches at Bismarck.

The most plentiful precipitation is during the season of the growth of
crops, increasing, on an average for the whole district, from about 2 inches
in April to 3 inches in May and 4 inches in June, which is usually the most
rainy month; and decreasing to about 3 inches in July, nearly the same in
August, and 2 J inches in September. But many years depart widely from
these averages, there being sometimes during several consecutive years an
excess and during other isolated or consecutive years a deficiency of rain-
fall. During the fifteen to twenty years since agricultural settlements were
first made in the Red River Valley south of the international boundary,
the rainfall and temperature, though showing marked contrasts in diff'erent
years, have always been so favorable for farming that there has been no
instance of failure on this valley plain to secure at least a generally remu-
nerative harvest; while most of the years have yielded very abundantly.

A large portion of the rainfall is brought by thunder showers, which
may occur at any hour of the day or night. Terms of cloudy and more
or less rainy weather, due to broad storms that sweep from west to east,
MON XXV 38

594 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

occasionally occupy one, two, or three days, or very rarely a whole week;
but on the average, in all seasons of the year, this region has a large
majority of clear days with bright sunshine.

In addition to the recorded rainfall, seasons that have a considerable
supply of rain, with at least a moderatel)' humid atmosphere, receive much
moisture in the form of the nightly dews, which greatly help the growth
of crops; but in seasons of di-ought, with an arid atmosphere, when all
vegetation gasps for moisture, the nights condense little or no dew.

In winter the .snow is commonly about a foot deep during two or tlu-ee
months, from December or January to March. Sometimes it comes earlier
or stays later, and very rarely it attains an average depth of 2 or 3 feet.
Nearly every winter has from one to three or four severe storms, called
blizzards, in which the snowfall is accompanied by a fierce wind and often
by very low temperature. The air is filled with flying grains of snow, by
which the view to any considerable distance is obscured and the traveler
finds his eyes soon blinded in attempting to move or look in the du-ection
from which the storm comes. The earliest snows, which, however, are
likely to be soon melted away, usually fall during November, but very
rarely they come as early as the middle of September; and the latest snows
vary in time from March to May.

During a series of years of prevailingly copious rainfall and snowfall,
extending from 1871 or earlier to 1884, agriculture was partially or gener-
ally successful upon a large area reaching westward from the southwestern
borders of Lake Agassiz to the Missouri River. Then a series of five pre-
vailingly dry years, with long terms of severe drought, extended to 1889,
during which the crops of that area were mostly very scanty and for large
tracts were several times an utter failure, bringing great distress and dismay
to the people, many of Avhom were compelled to abandon their lands and
homes and to remove to more favored portions of the country. A new
cycle of plentiful rainfall appears to have begun in 1890, 1891, and 1892,
giving again magnificent harvests in the region from DcAals Lake to Bis-
marck and southward, Avhicli had suffered most severely by drought.

Fluctuations of lakes and streams. — Tlu'ough the past hundi'ed years max-
imum and minimium stages of the great Laurentiau lakes have alternated

FLCrCTUATIONS OF DEVILS LAKE. 595

in cycles of about a dozen years, dining wliicli comparatively scanty
average rainfall for several years was followed by unusually abundant
rainfall.^ These fluctuations are similar with those just noted in the rain-
fall of North Dakota. Besides such short cycles, important secular changes
of the mean annual precipitation in this State, occupying considerably
longer periods, have caused remarkable changes in the levels of numerous
lakes which have no outlets.

Devils Lake" thus shows evidence of having attained, about the year
1830, a level 16 feet higher than its low stage in 1889, reaching at or near
the former date to the line that limits the large and dense timber of its
bordering groves. Below that line are only smaller and scattered trees, of
wliich Capt. E. E. Heerman informed me that the largest found by him and
cut a few years ago had fifty-seven rings of annual growth. Within the
twenty-five years since the building of Fort Totten this lake has fallen 9 or
10 feet, and it has fluctuated 4 feet under the influence of the changes in the
, average annual precipitation of rain and snow during the past dozen years.

The high stage reached by this lake about sixty years ago appears to
have been limited by an avenue of discharge eastward into Stump Lake,
which rose at the same time to within about 3 feet of this height. The
latter and smaller lake, receiving no large tributary and lying in a basin
that nowhere extends many miles from the lake, was prevented by evapo-
ration from rising quite so high as Devils Lake, which during years of
abundant raius and snows receives a large tributary, the Mauvaise Coulee,
draining a broad area that stretches 60 miles northwestward to the Turtle
Mountain. The outlet from Devils Lake into Stump Lake was nearly due
eastward from Jerusalem, situated on Lamoreaux Bay at the most eastern
portion of the entire lake shore. With an ovei-flow at this point, Devils
Lake may many times have been raised to this beach by the periodic
variations in rainfall during the many centuries since the Ice age.^

' Charles Whittlesey, "On fluctuations of level in the North American lakes," in Smithsonian Con-
tributions to Knowledge, Vol. XII, 1860, pp. 2.5, with 2 plates. G. M. Dawson, in Nature, Vol. IX, pp.
504-506, April 30, 1874. Bela Hubbard, in Popular Science Monthly, Vol. XXXII, pp. 373-387, Jan.,
1888. G. K. Gilbert, in The Forum, Vol. V, pp. 417-428, June, 1888.

^See pp. 169-171, with PI. XVIII.

' Compare with Mr. Gilliert's hypothetic explanation of the Stansbury shoie-line of Lake Bonne-
ville, U. S. Geol. Survey, Monograph I, p. 186.

596 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

At tlie time when the last ice-sheet retreated, however, the confluent
waters of Devils and Stump lakes were raised to a shore-line which now
has a slight ascent from west to east, lying 21 to 25 feet above the low
stage of Devils Lake in 1889. This shore is traceable around both lakes,
passing above the watershed that now divides them. At the same height,
as shown by leveling, a well-marked watercourse is found running across
the present Avatershed between the west part of Stump Lake and the Shey-
enne River, in section 19, township 151, range 61. This glacial channel of
outflow has a nearly flat bottom 150 feet wide, and is bordered on both
sides by moderately steep morainic hills 50 to 75 feet high.

While the ice border was retreating across these lake basins the inflow
from its melting produced a large outflowing stream, but there is no proof
that any time since the departure of the ice has been so humid as to raise
the lakes to this channel. The heavy growth of timber which in many
places borders the lakes extends across the highest beach ridge or line of
erosion to the next shore, which, as before noted, is the limit of the forest,
and therefore is believed to have been the lake margin since the beginning
of this centmy. Though the climate so lately had during a considerable
term of years more rainfall than now, it was yet surely less than the aver-
age amount in the region of the Laurentiau lakes and in New England,
else the levels of both lakes must have been raised to overflowing — that
is, to the continuous highest shore-line and channel of discharge southwest
of Stump Lake.

The following are notes of the elevations of these lakes, of their former
shore-lines above their present levels, and of this outlet. A slight difi'eren-
tial uplifting, like that which gave to the beaches of Lake Agassiz their
northward and eastward ascents, is shown by the glacial shore-line, which
is now level thi-ough its western 1 8 miles from Minnewaukan to the city of
Devils Lake, but thence rises eastward about 3 feet in a distance of 16
miles to Jerusalem, and 1 foot more in the next 6 miles southeast to the
channel of outlet.

FLUCTUATIONS OF DEVILS AND STUMP LAKES. 597

Notes of leveling in the vicinity of Devils and Stump lakes.

Feet above
the sea.

Railway at passenger station, city of Devils Lake 1, 4G4

Railway at passenger station, Minnewaukan 1, 461

Devils Lake, surface of water August 8, 1887 1, 431. 6

Devils Lake in 1889 1, 430

Devils Lake, highest and lowest stages during the years 1880 to 1889. . 1, 434-1, 430

Stump Lake, surface of water August 12, 1887 1, 417

Former shorelines of Devils Lake at Minnewaukan and the city of Devils

Lake 1, 451, 1, 446, 1, 439

Former shore-lines at Jerusalem on Lamoreaux Bay 1, 454, 1, 446, 1, 439

Former shore-lines of Stump Lake 1, 455, 1, 443, 1, 433, 1, 426

Bottom of channel of outflow from Stump Lake to the Sheyenne River 1, 454. 6

The elevations of the former shores of Stump Lake were determined
by leveling on the northern slope of a promontory of till, which was an
island at the time of the higher shore-lines, rising to 1,458 feet, in the
east part of section 21, township 151, range 61. Postglacial deposition of
alluvium, brought from slight ravines gullied by rains on the adjoining
morainic hills, may have raised the bed of the channel of overflow 1 to 3
feet, or possibly more. The outflowing river, like the River Warren, was
evidently shallow during the greater part of each j^ear, corresponding to
the general level of Devils and Stump lakes, then confluent ; and while the
glacial melting was most rapid during the summer months, this somewhat
extensive body of water and its outlet were probably raised no more than
a few feet above their minimum winter stage.

Besides the formei'ly higher stages of these and other neighboring
lakes, it is also known that they have stood continually lower than now, at
least by several feet, during a long period, sufficient for the growth of lai'ge
foi'ests on the shores of Stump Lake, and of the North and South Wash-
ington lakes and Lake Coe, in township 149, range 63; for this is proved
by submerged logs and stumps, the latter standing i-ooted in the soil where
they grew. Many of these logs and stumps have been hauled out of the
southeastern bay of Stump Lake by the neighboring farmers for use as
fuel. This prolonged epoch of comparative desiccation may have coincided
with the yet more arid conditions in the Great Basin, which, as shown by

598 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Russell, appear to have entirely dried up Pyramid, Wiunemucca, and other
lakes of Nevada about three hundred years ago.^ On the other hand, the
high stage of De^dls Lake before mentioned was near the time of the highest
known flood of the Red River, in 1826, when its water rose 5 feet above
the surface where Winnipeg is now built. Likewise it should be noted
that the highest known stage of the Laurentian lakes was in 1838, when
Lake Erie stood 6 feet above its lowest recorded stage, which was in the
winter of 1819-20.

TEMPERATURE.

Owing to the geographic position of the basin of Lake Agassiz, in the
central part of a large continent and nearly equidistant between the equator
and the north pole, the difference between the mean temperatures of sum-
mer and winter is great, the winters being very cold and usuall}' some
portions of the summers very hot. The temperature, however, is mostly
cool and invigorating tlu'ough the six or seven months in which the land is
worked and its harvest gathered.

In summer there are commonly only a few excessively hot days (80°
to 100° F.) in a single heated term, which is preceded and followed by
longer terms of agreeable coolness, even at midday. It is also important
to note that, however hot the days may be, the nights, almost without
exception, through the whole summer are cool and favorable for refreshing
slsep.

In winter, though the temperature is continuovisly below zero of the
Fahrenheit scale, even at midday, while the sun shines brightly, during days
and occasionalh^ weeks together, the dryness of the air makes the extreme
cold (10° to 40° below zero) no more difficult to endure than a temperature
25° to 50° higher with the moist air of the region about the Laurentian lakes
and on the Atlantic coast. Usually there is no considerable thawing at
any time during two or three months of the winter. The ordinarily scanty
snowfall, which gives a sheet of snow seldom exceeding a foot in average
depth, is likely to serve well, if not too much drifted, by gales at the time

'Geological History of Lake Lahontau, U. S. Geol. Survey, Monograph XI, pp. 223-237, 252.
Compare G. K. Gilbert's Lake Bonneville, Monograph I, p. 258.

TEMPEEATUEE.

599

of its fall, for sleighing and sledding through this whole period of steady
cold. This season, too, is more sharply demarked than in most other parts
of the United States. It is begun by a sudden cold wave, generally dtiring
the first half of November, which freezes the ground and stops the late
autumn work of plowing; and the return of warmth in spring is by a sud-
den transition which rapidly melts away the snow and soon thaws and
dries the land sufficiently to prepare it for the seeding of the broad wheat
fields.

The foll'owing table shows the mean temperatures at the six stations
before noted. In the United States they were computed from the daily
extremes of temperature during a period of nine years preceding the end
of 1888. At Winnipeg, Manitoba, the average is drawn from observations
begun in 1871 and extending through fifteen years.

Normal temperature, in degrees Fahrenheit, for each month and for the whole year.

Stations.

Janu-
ary.

Febru-
ary.

March.

April.

May.

June.

July.

Au-
gust.

Septem-

Octo-
ber.

Novem-
ber.

Decem-
ber.

Tear.

7.9

6
-4.8
-9.6
-5.7

1.4

15.6
12.4
4.2
-0.6
—0.1
9.6

27.4
21.9
18.6
13.2
11.5
20.8

46.2

37.7

40

36.2

33.7

41.4

58.6
'48.6
63.8
52
52.1
55.7

68.1

58

64.3

62.2

61.5

65

72.4

66

67.8

65.2

65.8

69.5

69.6
64.2
65.3
62.8
63.6
67.2

60.1
56.1
56.2

53.4
51.7
57

48

45.2

43.1

40

39

43.9

31.3

29.4
24.8
20.6
16.7
27.4

18
16.7

9.7

5

2
13.8

43.6

38.5

36.9

33.4

33.2

39.4

Mean for entire dis-

-0.8

6.8

18.9

39.2

53.5

63.2

67.8

65.4

55.7

43.2

25

10.9

37.5

Ice on the Red River closed the season of navigation at Moorhead
and Fargo in the years 1881 to 1888 at dates which range from the 11th
to the 25th of November; and navigation was opened, with the breaking
up and departure of the ice, at dates from the 12th to the 24th of April.
Throughout the years 1889 and 1890 navigation was suspended because of
the low stage of water.

The first severe frosts, destroying tender vegetation, occun-ed at Moor-
head and Fargo in the years 1881 to 1890 at dates from August 25 to
September 20; and the last severe frost there in spring during the same
years ranged from May 2 to June 8. At St. Vincent these dates for the
first were from August 4 to September 20, and for the last from April 29
to June 8.

600 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

WINDS.

The nearly level vast praiiies are fully exposed to all currents of the
ah-, and during the most windy months, which are in the spring and autumn,
they seem very bleak to one who has previously lived only in districts
where the surface mostly receives a partial shelter from the force of winds
by the undulations of hills and vales and by the presence of forests and
trees cultivated for ornament and shade. The movements of the atmos-
phere on the prairie district of Lake Agassiz do not appear, however, to
exceed in their aggregate amount those on its wooded district, or on the
basins of the Laurentian lakes, or on the Atlantic seaboard. Exposed
places throughout these areas, as the tops of hills, are quite as severely
swept by gales as the prairies, where they are so much more observed
in the common experience of the people. One of the most desirable
improvements of the prairie homestead is the cultivation of rows of trees,
called wind-breaks, about the buildings.

Winds, usually light, but on many days heavj-, are moving almost
continually over this area, with variations in their direction to every point
of the compass. From the hourly records of the velocity of the winds as
measured by self-registering anemometers during the seven years from 1883
to 1889, inclusive, their mean velocity for this whole period was 6.58 miles
per hour at St. Paul, 7.28 miles at Duluth, 8.81 miles at St. Vincent, and
8.39 miles at Bismarck.

With these means it will be instructive to compare the records of
several stations in other parts of the country during the same time, which
show for Boston, Mass., a i«ean velocity of 11.18 miles per hour; New
York City, 9.30 miles; Washington, D. C, 5.39 miles; Savannah, 7.12
miles; Chicago, 9.01 miles; Cincinnati, 6.55 miles; St. Louis, 10.56 miles;
New Orleans, 7. 26 miles ; Omaha, 8.05 miles ; Denver, 6.99 miles ; Salt
Lake City, 5.18 miles; Portland, Oreg., 4.94 miles; San Francisco, 8.94
miles; and San Diego, Cal., 5.61 miles. Among sixty-six stations of the
United States Signal Service thus tabulated, the maximum mean velocity
of the wind is at Dodge City, Kans., 11.48 miles per hour, and the mmi-
mum is at Lynchburg, Va., 3.76 miles. The least windy station of the

FLORA OF THE RED RIVER BASIN. 601

United States, however, appears to he Pha3nix, Ariz., where the records
of the years 1879 to 1881, inclusive, showed a mean velocity of only 2.37
miles.

FLORA OF TnF BASIN OF THE REI> RIVER OF THE NORTH.

Upon every portion of the land area of the g'lohe, the flora, or assem-
blage of species constituting its mantle of vegetation, is a very sensitive
resfister of its a^ffreffate climatic conditions and of the value of its soil for
agriculture. In almost an equal degree, also, the fauna, or representation
of animal life, testifies what the capabilities of the country will be for
pasturage and stock raising, and what crops will be successfully cultivated
by the farmer, even before the coming of the axman to fell the forest and
of the plowman to draw the first furrow on the prairie. The vast herds of
liuff'alo'' and the frequent droves of antelope and elk which roamed over
this district previous to the advent of the white man were a prognostication
of the present ranchman's wealth of cattle, horses, and sheep, feeding in
the valleys and on the plains from which the native tall game and the abo-
riginal huntsman have so recently vanished. The nutritious and abundant
grasses and other herbage on which tlie wild herds fed are now succeeded
by luxurant fields of grain, or, growing in the yet unbroken sward, they
now fatten the lieef, rear the broncho and thoroiighbred horses, and produce
the wool, which are exported to Chicago and more eastern markets.

Though no sti'ongly defined line of division can be drawn between
different portions of tlie flora and fauna of the country from the Atlantic to
the Rocky Mountains and from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Sea, it is

'The early immigrants fouud tlie bones of buffaloes scattered here and there throughout the
whole prairie region. On account of their commercial value for sugar refining and for the manufac-
ture of superphosphate, these boues were collected and sold at the railway stations <lnring the first
two or three years after the railway was built into any new part of the country. A heaji of buffalo
bones which I saw beside the railway awaiting shiximeut at Langdon, N. Dak., in August, 1889, meas-
ured 100 feet by 20 feet in area, with an average height of 4 feet, representing probably two or three
thousand anim.als. During the same m(mth I saw a much larger pile of bones at Minot, in the same
state, its contents being estimated as ec^ual to 200 feet by 30 feet by 4 feet. Tlie dealer informed me
that the weight of this pile was about 600 tons, and that during the preceding part of the year lie
had purchased and already shipped some 1,200 tons, the average price paiil being $8 per ton. 1 )uring
the one forenoon when I was there, ten or more wagonloads of bones were brought in by the farmers
from the region around. Probably nearly all that could be found in the vicinity were collected during
that year. (Compare page 139, and Geology of Minnesota, Vol. II, p. 516.)

602 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

nevertheless true that great contrasts exist between the eastern region, with
its plentiful rainfall, and the dry western plains, as also between the almost
tropical southern margin of the United States and the tundras Ijeneath the
Arctic Circle. In traveling from the once wholly forest-covered country
of the eastern States across the prairies to the far western plains, bearing
cacti and sagebrush, there is observed a gradual change in the flora, until
a very large proportion of the eastern species is left behind, and then* places
are taken by othei's capable of enduring more arid conditions. Likewise
in going from St. Augustine or New Oideans to Chicago, St. Paul, Wimiipeg,
and Hudson Bay and Strait, the ^Jalmettoes, the evergreen live oak, bald
cypress, southern pines, and the festooned Tillandsia or "Spanish moss,"
are left in passing from the southern to the northern States ; and instead we
find in the region of the Laurentian lakes the bur or mossy-cup oak, the
canoe and yellow birches, the tamarack or American larch, the black spruce,
balsam fir, and the white, red, and Banksian pines, while farther north the
white spruce, beginning as a small tree in northern New England and on
Lake Superior, attains a majestic growth on the lower ]\[ackenzie in a more
northern latitude than a large part of the moss-covered Barren Grounds
which reach thence eastward to the northern part of Hudson Bay and
Labrador. Thus, although no grand topographic barrier, like a high moun-
tain range, impassable to species of the lowlands, divides this great region,
the transition from a humid to an arid climate in passing westward, and the
exchange of tropical warmth for polar cold in the journey from south to
north, are accompanied by gradual changes of the flora by which in the
aggregate its aspect is almost completelv transformed.

In the central part of this large area, the basin of the Red River of
the North, with my geologic exploration during a half dozen summers, I
have given careful attention also to the geographic limits and relative
abundance of the species making iip the flora. It has been interesting to
find there the intermingling and the Ijoundaries of species whose 23rincipal
homes or geographic range lie respectively in the directions of the four
cardinal points, east and west, south and north.

GEOGRAPHIC LIMITS OF TREES AND SHRUBS. 603

FOREST TREES AND SHRUBS.

Many species of trees which together constitute a large part of the
eastern forests extend to the Red River basin, reaching there the western
or northwestern boundary of their range. Among these are the basswood,
sugar maple, river maple, and red maple, the three species of white, red,
and black ash, the red or slippery elm, and the rock or cork elm, the but-
ternut, the white, bur, and black oaks, iron wood [Ostrya virginica Willd.),
the American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana Walt.), the yellow birch, the
large-toothed poplar, white and red pine, arbor-vitge, and the red cedar
or savin. A few species of far northern range find in this district their
southern or southwestern limit, namely, our two species of mountain ash,
the balsam poplar, Banksian or jack pine, the black and the white spruca,
balsam fir, and tamarack.

Some of the eastern shrubs which make the undergrowth of our forests
also attain here their western limits; but a larger proportion of these than
of the forest trees continues west along the stream courses to the Saskatch-
ewan region, the upper Missouri, and the Black Hills. Among the shrubs
that reach to the borders of the Red River basin, but not farther westward,
or at least southwestward, are the black alder or winterberry, the moun-
tain holly, the staghorn sumach, the hardback, the huckleberry, the dwarf
blueberry and the tall or swamp blueberry, leatherwood, and sweet fern.
Shrubs and woody climbers that have their northern or northwestern
boundary in this basin include the prickly ash, staff tree or shrubby bittei--
sweet, frost gra2:)e, Virginian creeper, and the four species of round-leaved,
silky, panicled, and alternate-leaved cornel. On the other hand, shrubs of
the north which reach their southern or southwestern limits in the Red
River basin include the mountain maple, the few-flowered viburnum and
withe-rod, several species of honeysuckle, the Canada blueberry, the cow-
berry, Andromeda polifolia L., Kalmia glauca Ait, Labrador tea, the Canadian
shepherdia, sweet gale, the dwarf birch, green or mountain alder, beaked
hazel-nut, Salix balsamifera Barratt, and S. myrtilloides L., var. pedicellaris
Anders., black crowberry, creeping savin, and the American yew or ground
hemlock.

604 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

No tree of exclusivel}' western range extends east to the Rect River
basin, and it has only a few western species of shrubs, of which the most
noteworthy are the alder-leaved Juneberry or service berry (in Manitoba
commonly called "saskatoon"), the silverberry, and the buifalo-berry. To
these are also to be added the shrubby (Enothera alhicaulis Nutt., which
occurs chiefly as an immigrant weed, and the small-leaved false indigo,
which abounds on moist portions of the prairie. The silverberry (usually
called "wolf willow" in the Red River Valley) is common or abundant from
Clifford, N. Dak., and from Ada, Minn., northward, forming patches 10 to
20 rods long on the prairie, growing only about 2 feet high and fruiting
plentifully, but in thickets becoming 5 to 10 feet high. Its silvery whitish
foliage and fruit make this shrub a very conspicuous and characteristic
element of tlie Red River flora.

The single species of true sagebrush belonging to this basin (^Artemisia
cana Pursh) extends east in North Dakota to the Heart, Mound, 6 miles
northwest of Walhalla, or 35 miles west of the Red River at Pembina, and
to a hill close west of the Sheyenne River, about 8 miles south of Valley
City, growing in both places on outcrops of the Fort Pierre shale. It
attains a height of 1 to 3 feet, and the tough wood of its base is 1 to 1.J
inches in diameter. Artemisia frigida Willd., called "pasture sagebrush"
by Macoixn, is abundant throughout a wide area westward, extending east
locally to "the ridge" east of Emerson, Manitoba, the Falls of St. Anthony,
and Lake Pepin.

Causes of limitation of the forest. — The boundary between the forest and
the prairie, shown by PI. XXXVIII, and the similarity of the two regions
in their topographic features and drift deposits, have been noted in Chapter
II (pp. 44-46). The usually abrupt transition from the timbered to the
prairie country and the general absence of trees and shrubs in the prairie
region have been often attributed tt) the effect of fires. Through many
centuries fires have almost annualh' swept over these areas, generally
destroying all seedling trees and shrubs, and sometimes extending the border
of the prairie by adding tracts from which the forest had been burned.
Late in autumn and again in the spring the dead grass of the prairie burns
very rapidly, so that a fire within a few days sometimes spreads 50 or 100

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.

MONOGRAPH XXV. PL.XXXVIH.

MAI^ OF THE HOIT'rHI'lHN l^OUTION OF L.VlvK xVOx'vSSlZ.SHOWlNdiVRKAS UK K)Rb:ST AND PliAIlilK.

Scale, about VI miles to aiiiudi.

Forest Ai-ea,aiul bi'lts ami palilies ol' 'rinilieT-oii sUvams uiul hikes L

Praii'ie L.

CAUSES OF LIMITATION OF THE FOEEST. 605

miles. The groves that remain in the prairie region are usually in a more
or less sheltered position, being- on the borders of lakes and streams, and
sometimes nearly surrounded by them, while areas that can not be reached
by fires, as islands, are almost always wooded. If fires should fail to over-
run the prairies in the future, it can hardly be doubted that much of that
area would gradually and slowly be changed to forest.

Yet it does not appear that fires in the western portion of our great
forest region are more frequent or destructive than eastward; and our
inquiry must go back a step further to ask why fires east of the Appala-
chian Mountains had nowhere exterminated the forest, while so extensive
areas of prauie have been guarded and maintained, though not apparently
produced, by prairie fires here. Among the conditions which liave led to
this difterence we must undoubtedly place first the greater amount and
somewhat more equable distribution throughout the year of raiu in the
Eastern States.-^

Evidence that an increase of moisture in the ground suffices to produce
a heavy growth of forest trees in a principally prairie region, even without
protection from the incursions of prairie fires, is afforded by the bluffs of
the opposite sides of the valley of the Minnesota River, which was the
course of the River Warren, outflowing from Lake Agassiz. Timber is
found in a nearly continuous though often very narrow strip bordering this
stream through almost its entire course, but generally leaving much of the
bottom-land treeless. The bluff's on the northeast side of the river have
for the most part only thin and scanty groves or scattered trees. The
southwestern bluff's, on the contrary, are heavily wooded through Blue
Earth and Brown counties, excepting- 2 or 3 miles at New Ulm. They
also are frequently well timbered in Redwood and Yellow Medicine coun-
ties, but in Lac qui Parle County they are mostly treeless and have only

' The dependence of forests on a greater supply of rainfall than is needed by the grasses and other
herbaceous vegetation of the prairies is ably stated by Prof. James D. Dana, "On the origin of
prairies," Am. Jour. Sci. (2), A^ol. XL, 1865, pp. 293-304; and by Dr. George M. Dawson, with discus-
sion of prairie fires and the benefits to be derived from tree culture. Geology and Resources of the
Region in the Vicinity of the Forty-ninth Parallel, 1875, pp. 311-324. Eifects of drought and of cold
to set limits to forests, and, on the other hand, extension of prairies into formerly timbered areas
through the agency of annual fires, kindled by the Indians for the puri>ose of driving the game toward
the hunters or providing a better growth of grass on which butt'aloes and deer wouhl feed, are noted
by Prof. N. S. Shaler, Aspects of the Earth, 1889, pp. 282-290. Other views which hud been advanced
by Whitney, A. Winchell, and Lesquereux, previous to Dana's paper on this subject, seem untenable.

606 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

occasioual groves. The greater abundance of timber on the southwestern
bluflfs appears to be due to their being less exposed to the sun, and there-
fore more moist, than the bluffs at the opposite side of the valley. Above
Montevideo the timber is mainly restricted to a narrow belt beside the river
and to tributary valleys and ravines.

PRAIKIE GRASSES AND FLOWERS.

Among the fifteen hundi-ed, more or less, indigenous species of herba-
ceous jjlants inhabiting the Red River basin, probably half are deserving of
note for attaining their geographic limit upon this area, or at least the
limit of their abundant or frequent occurrence. But thorough and detailed
botanic exploration of all the great interior region of our continent west-
ward to the Rocky Mountains and far northward will be requisite before
we can speak with certainty concerning many of the less conspicuous
species of our flora. We may here notice briefly some of those plants
whose geographic range is best known, especially such as are useful for
pasturage and hay.

In general, the flora of the prairie area of Lake Agassiz is mostly made
up of species that are familiar to residents of the Eastern and Southern
States, occurring also commonly or abundantly there; but many of these
plants reach their western and northern limits along the Red River of the
North.

On the other hand, seventy-six species^ of northern range, some of
them plentiful beneath the Arctic Circle, are known to extend south of the
forty-ninth parallel in the Red liiver Valley, or on the east to the Lake of
the Woods or into northern Miimesota, but not to the southern end of this
valley at Lake Traverse. This northern element of the Red River flora
includes thirteen species of Carex, and nine grasses, the latter being De-
yeuxia langsdorffii Kunth, Trisefum suhspicatum Beauv., var. inolle Gray,
Danthonia intermedia Vasey, Poa alpina L., P. laxa Hsenke, Agropyrum

'Lists of these species and of the western species extending into this district, also a list of the
weeds (troublesome to the farmer) observed in the district, both indigenous and introduced, with notes
of their range and relative abundance, are given in my paper, "Geographic limits of species of
plants in the basin of the Red River of the North," Proc, Boston Soc. of Nat. Hist., Vol. XXV, 1890,
pp. UO-172.

PRAIRIE GRASSES. 607

dasystachyum Vasey, A. tenerum Vasey, Elynius sihiricus L., var. americanus
Watson, and E. mollis Trin.

Another list of one hundred and two species comprises phxnts which
are known to attain their eastern limits within the Red River basin, being
common thence westward on the plains and often in the Rocky Mountains
and to the Pacific. In this list are twenty Compositaj, most of them
abundant and showy; four species of Carex; and twelve grasses, namely,
Bechnannia erucceformis Host, var. uniflora Scribner, Stipa spartea Trin., S.
viridula Trin., Sx)orobolus cuspidatus Torr., Avena pratensis L., var. americana
Scribner, Schedonnardus texaims Steud., Bouteloua oligostadiya Torr., Distich-
lis maritima Raf., var. strida Thurber, Poa tenuifolia Nutt., Festuca scahrella
Tori'., Agropyriim glaucum R. & S., var. occidentale V. & S., and Elymus
sitanion Schultes.

The most plentiful and valuable grasses in this northeastern part of
the great prairie region of the continent are as follows, with notes of their
habit of growth and comparative importance:

Spartina cynosuroides Willd., the iirevailiug and ofteu the only grass of slough.s
(which is the term commonly applied to miry depressions of the prairie), making good
hay; also largely used as fuel by immigrants in many districts remote from timber
and railways, and as thatch by Mennonite colonists in Manitoba.

Bechnannia erucceformis Host, var. uniflora Scribner, frequent or common on wet
ground, where water stands a part of the year, from Port Arthur, Lake Superior, to
the Rocky Mountains, extending northeast to Hudson Bay and Lake Mistassini.

Panicum capillare L., common along streams, and in sandy cultivated fields.

Panicum virgaUim L., frequent, often abundant, on somewhat moist portions of
the prairie, especially in southwestern Minnesota and South Dakota.

Andropogon furcatus Muhl., abundant on rather dry tracts iu South and North
Dakota, where it is usually called "blue joint," and is highly esteemed for hay; less
common in Manitoba; whitish and glaucous, not abundant, among the sand daues of
the Sheyenne delta of Lake Agassiz.

Andropogon scoparius Michx., abundant, occup3ring drier land than the last.

Chrysopogon nutans Benth., common or frequent in the Dakotas; less so farther
north; much cut for hay, with Andropogon furcatus and Panicum virgatum.

Phalaris arundinacea L., abundant in marshes.

Hierochloe borealis R. & S., very common on moist ground and along rivers and
lakes throughout this northern ijrairie region.

608 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Stipa spartea Trin., deservedly named "porcupine grass," but more commonly
called "wild oats" in Minnesota and the Dakotas; abundant ou the dry prairie,
especially in South Dakota.

Stipa viridula Trin., extending east, on sandy alluvial soil of bottom-lands, to
the Eed River ; also common westward on the general ijrairie.

Muhlenbergia glomerata Trin. (chiefly the var. ramosa Vasey), plentiful on moist
land; ft'equently persisting as a weed in wheat fields and other cultivated ground.

Sporoholus cuspidatus Torr., common on dry j^ortions of the prairie iu the Dakotas,
Manitoba, and Assiniboia.

Sporoholus hetcrolepis Gray, also plentiful from Nebraska to northwestern
Manitoba.

Agrostis alba L., var, vulgaris Thurber, indigenous and common on moist land,
especially northward.

Agrostis scabra Willd., abundant along rivers, so that in late summer the wheel
ruts of roads are often filled with its dead panicles, broken oif and blown thither by
the wind.

Deyeuxia canadensis Hook. f. (Calamagrostis canadensis Beauv.), abundant on wet
meadows bordering streams, especially in the forest region.

Deyeuxia neglecta Kunth (Calamagrostis stricta Trin.), plentiful on similar ground
throughout the prairie region west of Winnipeg.

Ammopliila longifolia Benth. {Calamagrostis longifolia Hook.), which binds the
sand dunes along the south shore of Lake Michigan, is generally abundant on sandy
ridges through all the prairie region from the Red River west to the Rocky Mountains.

Arena pratensis L., var. americana Scribner, common from Portage la Prairie
westward.

Banthonia intermedia Vasey, common from the Red River to the sources of the
Qu'Appelle; also found at the east in Anticosti and Gaspe, extending west to Van-
couver Island.

Bouteloua oligostachya Torr., the most valuable and widely spread of the "buf-
falo grasses," observed as the main species of grass on large tracts of the prairie
between Devils Lake and the Souris River; described by Vasey and Havard as the
commonest species on the great plains, surpassing all others in its importance as
pasturage for stock of all kinds, even in winter, when its dried tufts or bunches still
retain their nutritive quality.

Phragmites communis Trin., abundant, often 10 to 15 feet high, in the edges of
lakes. A prostrate stem 20 feet long, rooting at the joints, was observed at Red Lake,
Minnesota.

Kceleria cristata Pers., very abundant on the drier portions of the country,
affording good pasturage; estimated by Lieberg as constituting fully half of the
entire growth of grass along the Northern Pacific Railroad between the James and
Yellowstone rivers.

PEAIKIE GllASSES AND FLOWERS. 609

Distichlls maritima liaf., var. stricta Tliuiber, very abiuulaiit on the borders of
saline and alkaline marshes.

Poa tenuifoUa Nutt., one of the much-prized "bunch grasses," common from
Brandon westward to the Eocky Mountains, and the most important pasture grass of
British Columbia, Vancouver Island, and southward.

Poa nemoraUs L., forming much of the pasture northward.

Poa serotina Ehrh., x)lentiful in swampy places on lakes and rivers.

Poa pratcnsis h., the. famous "blue grass" of Kentucky, indigenous and abun-
dant, rapidly taking the place of other species westward, and destined, according to
Macoun, to be the chief pasture grass of tliis region.

Glyceria dista^is Wahl., var. airoides Vasey, abundant lu saline marshes from
Winnipeg westward.

Festuca scabrella Torr., a valuable "bunch grass," abundant at Brandon and
westward to the mountains.

Bromus Icalmii Gray, abundant northward.

Agropyrum glaucwm E. & S., var. occidentale V. & S., common on moist land,
especially where the soil is somewhat saline and alkaline; in Montana, according to
Scribuer, the most highly valued of the native grasses for hay.

Agropyrum tenerum Vasey, abundant, with the preceding, from Winnipeg to
Edmonton and southward; one of the best grasses for hay. Dr. Vasey remarks
that in southwestern Minnesota and South Dakota, wherever the ground has been
broken and not cultivated, Agropyrum glaucum and A. tenerum Iiave commonly taken
possession.

Agropyrum caninum E. & S., plentiful in the northern prairie region, fro'u Win-
nipeg to Edmonton. .

Hordeum jubatumlj., a, worthless species, well named "squirrel-tail grass" and
"tickle grass;" very abundant by roadsides and on slightly saline, moist land.

Ulymus canadensis L., a conspicuous species, common on the banks and blufl's of
rivers.

Besides the grasses, the prairies bear multitudes of native flowers of
showy red, purple, blue, yellow, and orange hues, and pure white, which
bloom from eai'ly spring till the severe frosts of autumn. Earliest of all is
the pasque flower, named for its blooming at Easter, common over all the
prairie region. With this, or later in the spring, are other species of wind-
flowers, the wild columbine, indigenous buttercups, violets, and many more.

During the summer the prairies are decked with species of larkspur,
Psoralea, Amorpha, Petalostemon, Astragalus, Oxytropis, Vicia, Lathyrus,
Geum, rose, evening primrose, many Composita3, nearly all conspicuous
MON XXV 39

610 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

by their flowers, the harebell, gentian, phlox, Peutstemon, Gerardia, Ortho-
carpus, Pycnanthemum, Mouarcla, Spiranthes, Sisyrinchium, Uvularia,
Sniilacina, lily, wild onion, spiderwort, etc. Often I have seen large tracts
of the natural praii'ie yellow with sunflowers or golden-rod; other areas
purple with Petalostemon, Liatris, or Gerardia, or blue with asters; and
still others white with the profusely flowering Galium boreale L. Several
yellow-flowered species of the Compositas, blooming- in the middle and
later portions of summer, resemble each other by growing frequently in
clumps or bunches, as the Grindelia, Aplopappus, Cluysopsis, and Gutier-
rezia in the list of western plduts, here noted in the declining order of their
height.

Numerous species of plants prefer the sandy beaches of Lake Agassiz
and grow there in greater abundance and luxuriance than elsewhere, among
these being the pasque flower, Psoralea argophylla Pursh, and P. esculenta
Pursh, two varieties of Potentilla pennsylvanica L., Bosa arkansana Porter,
Liatris punctata Hook., Clirysopsis villosa Nutt., Lepachys columnaris Torr. and
Gray, Gaillardia aristata Pursh, Lilium pliiladelpliicum L., and Ammopliila
longifolia Benth. Near Arden, Manitoba, one of the beaches of Lake
Agassiz has been named by the settlers Orange Ridge, from its orange-red
lilies, and another is called the Rose Ridge.

DEVEIiOPMBNT OF AGRICULTURE.

The aboriginal tribes of Ojibways and Dakotas, living on the southern
portion of the area of Lake Agassiz, had made little progress toward a sys-
tem of agriculture which would provide their principal food during the
whole year. Like the other tribes of hunting Indians who inhabited all
the area of the United States, excepting its southwestern borders, their
dependence was chiefly on the chase and entrapping of game and on fishing.
But even their rude and very limited efforts in agriculture yielded an impor-
tant and valued portion of their sustenance. In pre-Columbian times and
onward to the present day the Indians have cultivated small patches of
land, carefully tending their crops and storing up the harvest for gradual
use during the rigors of winter and until the next harvest, supj)lementing

INDIAN AGEICULTUEE. 611

thereby their principal diet of game and fish. Such aboriginal agriculture,
untaught by wliite men, yet far from being despicable, I saw in September,
1885, at the Ojibway village a mile southeast of the Narrows of Red Lake.
This largest village of the Ojibway s in Minnesota consists of thirty or forty
permanent bark lodges, scattered on an area which reaches a half mile from
northwest to southeast, and is 40 to 60 rods wide. Adjoining the village
were fields of ripening maize or Indian corn, amounting to about 50 acres,
besides about 5 acres of potatoes and probably an acre or more of squashes.
These crops showed a luxuriant growth and abmidant yield, and the weeds
among them had been held in check by hoeing. During the spring, sum-
mer, and autumn, most of the one hundred and fifty or two hundred inhab-
itants of this village are usually absent in expeditions for hunting, and in
successive portions of the season to make maple sugar, to gather Seneca
snakeroot for sate, to pick cranberries, and to reap the natural harvest of
wild rice (Zisania aquatica L.) which grows plentifully in the streams and
shallow lakes and forms the most substantial part of the provisions laid
up for the winter.^ In the prairie country the place of the wild rice is par-
tially supplied by the very nutritive, turnip-like root of the pomme de terre
(Psoralea escidenta Pursh), which is dried, pulverized, and used as flour by
the Dakotas.^

At an earlier time, of which no distinct tradition is preserved by the
hunting tribes of Indians inhabiting this region, other tribes, who built
the mounds and probably lived more by agriculture and less by the chase,
overspread all the prairie district of Lake Agassiz, extending also east in
the wooded country to Rainy Lake. The enduring earthworks erected by
this people testify of their formerly wide extension throughout the Missis-
sippi and Red River basins, and show that the sites of their villages were
chosen usually on the banks and bluffs which overlook the food-giving
rivers and lakes, often commanding an extensive and beautiful prospect.
Most of the mounds within the area of Lake Agassiz are round and have
the form of a dome, their height ranging from 3 to 10 feet or rarely more

I The Flora of Minnesota, in the Twelfth Annual Report, Geol. ami Nat. Hist. Survey of Minne-
sota, for 1883, p. 159.
2Ibid., p. 42.

612 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

above the general surface, with a diameter of 30 to 100 feet or more at
their base. Nearly all of them were made by the people for the burial
of their dead, and the relics found with their bones prove that they sur-
passed the present Indians of this region in having skill to make rude
pottery, but the superiority was very slight, and there ai-e no evidences
of the development of handicrafts to a degree at all comparable with the
aboriginal arts of Mexico and Peru. There was some commercial inter-
change from great distances, but it was probably limited to a few articles
which were highly valued for beauty or regarded as mysterious and sacred.
Thus in the mounds on the bluffs of the Som-is River and Antler creeks, in
southwestern Manitoba, Prof George Bryce found ornaments made of sea
shells, others of copper from Lake Superior, and pipes from the sacred red
pipestone quarry at Pipestone, Minn., which Longfellow has described in
"The Song of Hiawatha."

Further notes of the mounds of the area of Lake Agassiz and the
adjoining country on the west are given in Appendix B.

The first immigration of white men to colonize the fertile basin of the
Red River of the North, bringing the civilized arts and agriculture of
Europe, was in the years 1812 to 1816, when, under Lord Selkirk's far-
sighted and patriotic supervision, the early pioneers of the Selkirk settle-
ments, coming by the way of Hudson Bay and York Factory, reached
Manitoba and established their homes along the river from the vicinity of
Winnipeg to Pembina. In its beginning this colony experienced many
hardships, but, in the words of one of these immigrants, whose nan-ative
was written down in his old age, in 1881, "by and by our troubles ended,
war and famine and flood and poverty all passed away, and now we think
there is no such place to be found as the valley of the Red River." ^

Fifty to sixty years after the founding of the Selkirk colony the mar-
gin of the advancing w^ave of immigration in the United States reached
the Red River Valley. In a few places on the Red, Wild Rice (of North
Dakota), and Sheyenne rivers small bands of immigrant farmers had begun
the settlement of this rich agricultural area a few years before the building

' Manitoba : Its Infancy, Growth, and Present Condition, by Prof. George Bryce, London, 1882,
p. 166.

IMMIGEATION AND AGEIOULTURAL DEVELOPMENT. 613

of railroads across it; but the main tide of immigration came after the rail-
roads had provided means of sending the staple product of the country,
■wheat, to the markets of St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Duluth. The Northern
Pacific Railroad was built from Duluth to Moorhead and Fargo during the
years 1870 to 1872, and the next year it was extended to Bismarck. Within
the next three years a line of the Great Northern Railway (then the St.
Paul and Pacific) was built to Breckenridge, and another line to Crookston
and St. Vincent. From 1875 to 1885 the settlement of the Red River
Valley and of a large contiguous area of North and South Dakota went
forward very rapidly, nearly all the land in this valley being taken up
during these ten years by homestead and preemption claims from the
Government and by purchase from the railroad corporations which had
received land grants.

The wise policy of the United States Government was to parcel out its
land in small farms to actual settlers, selling none to non-residents, and
allowing to no one rights to secure more than three-quarters of a section,
or a total of 480 acres. This large amount was possible to be obtained
from the Government only by use of three separate rights, each securing
a quarter section, according to the respective laws for homesteads, preemp-
tion, and tree culture. Most of the farms received from the Government
comprise only 160 acres; and these were deeded, upon payment of small
fees at the land offices, to any citizen, including naturalized foreigners, those
aflfirming their intention to become naturalized legal voters, and widows and
unmarried women, all of whom were required to take the land to be their
permanent homes. For these free gifts of the fertile prairie of the Red
River Valley, surpassed by no other area of the world in its natural value
for agriculture, multitudes came, bringing housekeeping equipments in their
emigi-ant wagons ("prairie schooners"), which passed in long processions
tlu-ough St. Cloud and Alexandria, Minn., on their way from the older por-
tions of that State and from other States farther east and south. Many
also came directly from the Old World, especially from Sweden and
Norway, being carried from the eastern seaports by railroads to the Red
River and James River valleys and other parts of North and South Dakota,

614 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

there being welcomed and soon established on their own freeholds in near
neighboi'hood with others of their countrymen who had come to the United
States many years earlier.

A considerable number of very large farms were acquired, however,
by discerning capitalists, who saw the capabilities of this district for the
convenient employment of large companies of laborers, marshaled with
almost military order, in the various operations of farming, as in plowing,
seeding, harvesting, and thrashing, and who, at an early stage in the rapid
progress of settlement, foresaw the profits of wheat raising on a grand scale.
These "bonanza farms," as they were afterward called, were made up in
great part by purchasing from the railroad corporations the odd-numbered
alternate sections which had been given as Government subsidies to foster
the early railroad enterprises that opened the region to settlement. But the
railroad lands formed no compact tract, being in square miles touching each
other only at the corners, like the spots of a single color on a checkerboard.
To remedy the difficulty and fill out continuous tracts, many of the inter-
vening portions Avere obtained by purchase from settlers who had received
the laud from the Grovernment in good faith, with the full intention of
continuing to live on it; but in some instances claims also were obtained
from the Government by fraudulent agents, who professed their intention to
comply with this legal requirement in taking land by preemption.

Among the most famous and successful of these extensive fanns are
the Lockhart and Keystone farms, in Minnesota; that of the Messrs. Dal-
rymple, comprising some 30,000 acres, in the vicinity of the station of this
name on the Northern Pacific Raih'oad, 18 miles west of Fargo; the lands
of the Grandiu Farming Company, about 40,000 acres, in eastern Traill
County; and the Elk Valley Farm, near Larimore. Nine establishments
of farm buildings have been erected by the Grandin Farming Company, and
these are connected with the headquarters (Hague post-office) by 25 miles of
telephone lines, the farthest set of buildings being at a distance of 12 miles.
About 280 horses and mules are used by this company, and 200 to 300 men
are employed during the summer, distributed somewhat equally in the nine
divisions; but in winter, when comparatively few men are retained, the

WHEAT EAISING. 615

horses are stabled at only two or three places. One stable at the head-
quarters has 180 stalls. In some fields of this great farm the teams plow 3
or 4 miles straight forward, being interrupted only by roads on the section
lines, where the plow is thrown out of the ground for a few rods. The
first breaking on both the Dalrymple and Grandin farms was in 1875, the
same year in which the land was mostly purchased, and their first crop of
wheat was harvested in 1876. During every year since that time the har-
vests on these lands and in general tln-oughout the Red River Valley have
been good, with no failure on account of di'ought, which for several years
(from 1885 to 1889) was very severe upon many portions of the Dakotas
west and southwest of this valley.

WHEAT AND OTHER CEREALS.

One man, if very industrious, with two pairs of horses and ample "farm
machinery" — that is, plows, harrows (here often called drags), seeders, a
self-binding harvester, etc. — can cultivate 100 to 150 acres in wheat. An
intelligent and energetic farmer in Traverse County, Minn., with whom I
conversed in June, 1886, informed me that during the preceding autumn,
beginning after the harvest and working daily until the ground froze, he
plowed 130 acres, walking behind the plow. In the spring of 1886 the
seeding of his crop of 210 acres was done entirely by his wife, not an
especially strong woman, who rode on the seeder, driving a pair of horses,
while he with another pair was di'agging (harrowing) the plowed lands to
prepare them for seeding. He expected to harvest the whole with one har-
vester, estimating that this would occupy fifteen days, working from the
time when the dew would be mostly gone in the morning until it would
gather heavily in the evening-. The amount of work accomplished, how-
ever, by most farmers with their hired men is no more than to cultivate 50
or 75 acres in wheat for each man laboring tlu'ough the season.

The seedtime for wheat, oats, and barley is shortly after the ground
is thawed in the spring, usually occupying the second half of April and the
first week or two of May. The harvest comes during August, northward
extending somewhat into September, after which follow stacking, thrashing,
and plowing, until winter arrives. Harvesting is the busiest part of the

616 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

farmer's work, since the crop ought to be secured as soon as it is ripe.
Delay permits much of the wheat to be shelled out of the heads and
scattered on the ground. There is also much liability to loss at this time
from the occuiTence of rainy weather, and hail may destroy or greatly
damage the crop at any time after it has attained a considerable height
until it is cut.

Usually, if the season is favorable, the first crop from newly broken
prairie land is somewhat more bountiful than any to be obtained in the
following years, which range from 10 to 20 bushels of wheat on an
average per acre. The same fields have in many instances been successfully
cultivated in Avheat ten to fifteen years or more in the Red River Valley
south of the international boundary, and twice as long in other parts of
Minnesota and in the Selkirk settlements of Manitoba, Avithout the use
of any manm-e, and yet without exhibiting any noticeable impoverishment
of the soil. The time must come, however, after a few decades of such
unrequited cropping, when fertilizers will be needed to restore and sustain
the original productiveness.

A rotation of crops and diversity of farming, with stock raising and
butter making, will doubtless be found more advantageous than the pro-
duction of the cereals only, when a long series of years is considered. The
growth of villages and towns in this district, affording near markets for
miscellaneous farm produce, and the tendency, with the increase of popu-
lation, toward subdivision of the large farms, and even of the ordinary
homesteads, into two or four farms in each quarter section, indicate for the
future an increasing diversification of agriculture. Wheat and other cereals
will probably continue to be the chief crops for exportation, but many other
crops will attain more importance than now, and there will be a greatei'
average expenditure of labor for each acre cultivated, with proportionally
enhanced profits.

Comparatively few Indians were able to derive their subsistence by
hunting and fishing upon the area of Lake Agassiz or in any other region.
Probably their numbers living at any time upon the portion of this lake
area within the United States did not exceed 5,000. But now that the land
is occupied by white immigrants and is sown with wheat, the present yearly
product is about 285 bushels apiece for each man, woman, and child of the

STATISTICS OF WHEAT PEJDUCTION.

617

161,049 enumerated by the census of 1890 in the twelve counties which lie
mainly within the Red River Valley.

Six of these counties are in Minnesota and six are in North Dakota.
Tabulations of their population in 1880 and in 1890, and of their pro-
duction of wheat during the same years in Minnesota and during 1879 and
1891 in North Dakota, are here presented, for the pur230se of exhibiting the
rapid progress in the agricultural development of the district. The ratio of
the wheat yield to the population in 1880 was 69 bushels for each person,
or less than one-fourth as much as in 1890 and 1891. The latter high ratio
of 285 bushels for each person is probably near the maximum which this
ratio can attain, from which it will decrease relatively to the increasing
population, the place of wheat cultivation being destined to he partially
taken by other crops, by stock raising, and by other industries.

An equally prosperous development of the agricultural resources of
Manitoba has been going forward during the same time, as is also exhibited
by the similar statements of the population and wheat production of that
province.

Population of counties m Minnesota lying mainly within
the lied Iliver Valleij.

Counties.

18R0.

1890.

Wilkin

1,900

5,887

4,346
11,517
10,018
30, 192
9,130
5,387

Clay

Polk ..

11,433
092
905

Marshall

Total '

21, 123

71, 190

' Organized in 1881 from part of Polk County.

Population of counties in North DaVota lying mainly
u-ithin the lied Hirer Valley.

Counties.

1880.

1890.

3,597
8,998
4,123
6.248

10,751
19,013
10,217
18,357
16, 587
14, 334

Traill

Walsh'

4,802

Total

27,828

89, 859

'Organized in 1881 JVoni parts of Granil Forks and Pembina counties.

618

THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

The population of Manitoba, according to the census of 1881, was
69,954; and in 1891 it was estimated to be 150,000. About a third part
of these and a small ft-action of the population noted in the Minnesota and
North Dakota counties are outside the boundaries of Lake Agassiz; but
the total inhabitants within the lake area are nearly a quarter of a million
people. Approximately three-fourths of this population are engaged in
farming, the other fourth being resident in the villages and large towns
and engaged in commercial and manufacturing pursuits.

Wheat production of counties in Minnesota h/ing mainly tvithin the Bed Biver VaUey.

Counties.

1880.

1890.

Acres.

Bushels.

Bushels

per acre.

Acres.

Bushels.

Bushels
per acre.

Wilkin

9,871
28,444

144,424
479, 833

14.60
16.87

42,212
93, 568
84, 188
222, 223
88, 819

474, 050
1, 284, 651
1, 293, 429
3, 002. 754
1,056,425

11.20
13.70
15.30
13.50
11.80

Clav

Polk

63,135
1,121

1,035,428
17, 367

16,40
15.49

Total

103, 363

1, 692, 183

16.37

(531,010)
=600, 000

(7, 111, 209)
'8,000,000

13.33

^ Not reported. 'Including estimated addition for Kittson County.

Wheat production of counties in North Dakota lying mainly within the Bed Biver Valley.

Counties.

1879.

1891. 1

Acres.

Bushels.

Bushels
per acre.

Acres.

Bushels.

Bushels
per acre.

9, 086
51,727
13, 707

4,978

184, 753

1, 012, 565

333, 409

98, 352

20.33
19.57
24.32
19.76

156, 631
527, 070
269, 426
262, 992
241, 673
218,066

3, 195, 680
9, 939, 034
6, 441. 546
6, 881, 624
6, 202, 940
5, 202, 332

20.40
18.86
23.88
26.17
25.67
23.86

Traill

Walsh

2,398

63, 676

26.55

Total

81, 896

1,692,755

20.67

1, 675, 858

37, 863, 156

22.59

Wheat production of Manitoia.

1883. 1 1891.

Acres.

Bushels.

Bushels
per acre.

Acres.

Bushels.

Bushels
neracre.

Whole province

208,674

4,549,093

21.80

916, 664

23, 191, 599

25.30

Summing these figures, and deducting the estimated portion belonging
outside the boundaries of the glacial lake, we find the present annual wheat
crop upon the praii-ie area of Lake Agassiz to be approximately 50,000,000
bushels. This is about 200 bushels apiece for each inhabitant, when the

STATISTICS OF WHEAT AND OATS.

619

populations in the United States and in Manitoba are considered together;
and if the wheat were distributed among all the people of the United States,
it would supply nearly a bushel for each individual. But no more than a
quarter part of the arable prairie land of this lacustrine area is now under
cultivation in all crops, the proportion being greater in the United States
and less in Manitoba. When all this area shall be brought into agriculture,
the wheat product will probably be almost or quite 200,000,000 bushels
yearly, but the ratio to the population of the Red River Valley will be
smaller than now.

All the wheat raised in this district is sown in the spring, none being
"winter wheat," sown in the fall. The kernel is plump and hard, yielding
in the "roller mills," with the present perfected processes of manufacture,
the finest, whitest, and most salable ilour of the world. Nearly every city
and large village in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Manitoba, has one or
more flouring mills; but far the greater part of the wheat crop is shipped
eastward, by W9.y of Duluth, Superior, and Port Arthur, to milling cities on
the Great Lakes, excepting the large fraction which is marketed in Minne-
apolis, whose flouring mills have a daily capacity of about 30,000 barrels.

Production of oats in the year 1S90 in counties of Minnesota lying mainlij
within the Bed River Valley.

Counties.

Acres.

Bushels.

Bushels
per acre.

Wilkin

10, 004
23, 609
18, 094
38, 839

11, 438

238, 285
659, 738
585, 785
1,044,406
256, 569

23.80
27.90
31.30
26.80
22.40

Clay

Polk

Marshall

Kittson '

Total

102, 584

2, 784, 773

27.15

iNot reported.

Production of oats in the year 1S91 in counties of North Dakota lying
mainly within the Bed Biver Valley.

Counties.

Acres.

Bushels.

Bushels
per acre.

24, 355
70, 095

33, 689
38, 334
33, 341

34, 546

901, 135
2,777,303
1, 494, 949
1, 854, S40
1,476,215
1, 579, 246

37

39.29

44.37

48.40

44.28

45.71

Cass

Traill

Walsh '

Total

234, 960

10, 083, 788

42.90

620

THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Production of oats in the year 1S91 in Manitoba.

Acres.

Bushels.

Bushels
per acre.

305,644

14, 762, 605

48.30

Production of barley in the i/ear 1S90 in counties of Minnesota lying
mainly within the Bed River Valley.

Counties.

Wilkin ..

Clay

Korraan..

Polk

Marshall .
Kittson * .

Total .

1,961
3,842
2,925
14, 120
13, 043

35, 891

Bushels.

45, 784
104, 955

80, 145
298, 017
145, 950

Bushels
per acre.

23.30
27.30
27.40
21.10
11.10

^ Not reported.

Production of barley in the year 1S91 in counties of North Dakota lying
mainly within the Bed Biver Valley.

Counties.

Acres.

Bushels.

Bushels
per acre.

4,900
12, 915
11,091
18, 359
14, 397
22, 950

158,136
416, 508
402, 157
682, 343
559, 883
826, 200

32.27
32.25
36.25
37.17
38.89
36

Traill

Walsh

Total

84, 615

3,045,227

35.99

Production of barley in the year 1891 in Manitoba.

"Whole province .

Acres.

89, 828

Bushels.

3, 197, 876

Bushels
per acre.

Rye is only sparingly cultivated in this district. The total area of
this grain in the six Minnesota counties in 1890 was 423 acres, yielding
6,541 bushels, an average of 15.46 bushels per acre. In the six counties
of North Dakota 774 acres of rye were reported in 1891, with a yield of
about 19,139 bushels, or an average of nearly 25 bushels per acre.

The season between the last severe frost of spring and the earliest in
autumn is often too short for the maturing of maize, or Indian corn, which,
therefore, will never be raised extensively in the Red River Valley. In

INDIAN COKN, HAY, AND OTHEE CEOPS.

621

the same counties of Mimiesota 2,026 acres were planted with maize in
1890, the yield being 44,125 bushels, averaging 21.78 bushels per acre;
and in the North Dakota counties there were 5,685 acres of maize in 1891,
yielding 148,217 bushels, or 26.07 bushels per acre.

HAY, POTATOES, FLAX, AND OTHER CROPS.

The principal grasses cultivated for hay in the prairie region of Lake
Agassiz are the Italian millet, or Hungarian grass (^Setaria italica Kunth),
and timothy (^Phleum pratense L.). In Minnesota these are not kept sepa-
rate by the report of the commissioner of statistics, but in North Dakota
the returns to the State department of agriculture show that the millet
crop far exceeds that of all other cultivated grasses (here known as "tame
grasses"). The Minnesota repoi'ts state the quantity of wild hay made on
the unbroken prairie, which in the Red River Valley often yields a ton of
very good hay per acre on the somewhat dry general surface and 2 to
3 tons of an inferior quality on marshy ground. The wild hay gathered
in the North Dakota counties is not reported, but doubtless surpasses
the figures of Minnesota, which has only about one-third, while North
Dakota has about two-thirds of the width of the Red River Valley. With
the prospective increase of attention to stock raising and dairying, the
cultivation of hay will become more prominent. Timothy, redtop, and
other choice perennial species will probably then come more into favor,
displacing in part the present coarse fodder supplied by the annually sown
fields of millet.

Production of hay in the year 1S90 in counties of Minnesota lying mainly
within the lied River Valley.

Counties.

Cultivated hay.

Wild hay.

Acrea.

Tons.

Per acre.

Tons.

990
2,840
5,113
0, 082
1,883

1,616

4,642
11, 286
6,840
2,798

1.63
1.64
2.21
1.35
1.49

11, 757
40, 114
32, 395
72, 733
26, 104

Clay

Polk ....

Kittaon'

Total

15, 908

27, 182

1.71

183, 103

'Not reported.

622

THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ,

Production of hay in the ijcar ISOl in counties of Xorth JJaliota lying
mainly within the Red llivcr Valley.

Counties.

Millet (Hungarian grass).

Other cultivated hay.

Acres.

Tons.

Per acre.

Acres.

Tons.

Per acre.

RicbLind

3,942
12, 870

8,235
15, 901
10,827

8,313

8, 672
31,102
19, 215
37, 632
24, 360
19, 397

2.20
2.42
2.67
2.37
2.25
2.33

936
3,965
3,959
3,147

2,782
690

1,248
7,731
5,938
5,114
4,868
1 nil

1.33
1.95
1.50
1.62
1.75
1.60

Cass

Traill

Grand Forks

Walsh

Total

60, 088

140, 378

2.34

15, 479 25, 943

1.68

The crops of oats, hay, and potatoes raised in the Red River Valley
are almost all consumed by the farmers themselves, excepting the part sold
for use in the villages and cities of the district. It seems probable, how-
ever, that the cultivation of potatoes for exportation to Minneapolis and St.
Paul, to Duluth and West Superior, and to the mining towns of Montana,
would be on the average as remunerative as wheat raising.

Production of potatoes in the year 1S90 in counties of Minnesota lying
mainly within the Eed River Valley.

Counties.

Acres.

Bushels.

Per acre.

Wilkin

202
1,174

579
3,081

476

17, 527
119, 934

84, 401
174, 657

30, 894

86.77
102. 16
145. 77
56.69
64.90

Clay

Polk

Marshall

Kittson'

Total

5,512

427, 413

77.54

* Not reported.

Production of imtatoes in the year 1S91 in counties of North Dakota lying
mainly withiti the Red River I'alley.

Counties.

Acres.

Bushels.

Per acre.

Kichland

1,972
1,645
654
1,157
1,545
1,146

247, 305
251, 685
103, 550
243, 697
346, 767
319, 243

126
153
158
211
224
279

Cass

TraiU

Walsh

Pembina

Total

8,119

1, 512, 247

186

In Manitoba 12,705 acres were planted with potatoes in 1891, yielding
2,291,982 bushels, or an average of 180.4 bushels per acre.

POTATOES, FLAXSEED, AND OTHER CROPS.

623

Flax is considerably cultivated iii the Red River Valley, chiefly south
of the international boundary, the seed being sold for the extraction of
linseed oil. None of the flax of this country is used for the manufacture
of linen, although it seems wholly suitable for that industry.

Prodxiotion of flaxseed in the year 1890 in counties of Minnesota lying
mainly within the Bed River Valley.

Counties.

Acres.

Easbels.

Per acre.

Wilkin

1,005
516
475
289
210

7,761
4,987
3, 594
2,749
1,161

7.70
9.60
7.50
9.50
5.50

Clav

Pollt

Marshall

Kittson'

Total

2,494

20, 252

8.12

1 Not reported.

Production of flaxseed in the year ISOl in coimties of North Dakota lying
mainly within the Red River Valley.

Counties.

Acres.

Bushels.

Per acre.

2,079
1,745
1,703
1,559
4,927
38

24, 717
19,195
20,436
22, 818
77, 994
494

11.89

11

12

14.64

15.83

13

Traill

Grand Forks . . . . ....

Walsh '.

Total

12,051

165,654

13.76

The light, sandy soil best adapted for buckwheat is found within the
prairie area of Lake Agassiz only on its deltas, and this crop has been very
scantily raised.

Sorghum, which is much cultivated for the manufacture of sirup in
southern Minnesota, requires a longer season than is free from frosts in the
Red River Valley.

Most of the common garden produce, as peas, beans, tomatoes, beets,
carrots, turnips, cabbages, squashes, melons, etc., can be successfully grown
in this district; but in the heavy labor given to the staple crops, as wheat
and oats, these valuable additions to the farmer's household fare have been
too generally forgotten or neglected. There is, however, an evident increase
of attention to these crops, both for home use and for sale in the cities.

624

THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

The winter climate is too severe tor apples, pears, peaches, plums, and
grapes; but many hardy small fruits, as currants, gooseberries, raspberries,
blackberries, and strawberries, thrive and yield bountifully wherever they
receive proper care.

STOCK RAISING AND DAIRYING.

During the early years of rapid development of wheat raising, little
labor or thought was given to stock and the dairy. Most of the farmers
bought for their work imported horses which had been raised in Iowa or
adjoining States. Butter also was imported from the same States, and
the majority were willing to live without fresh meat or milk. Nowhere,
however, can more favorable climate and natural conditions be found for
the successful raising of all the stock needed by the farmer in diversified
agriculture and for the dairy than in the Red River Valley. Recently,
therefore, many entei"])rising farmers have secured the best blooded stock
of horses, cattle, sheep, and hogs; and this portion of the farming inter-
ests of the district bids fair to assume its due importance. In the near
future probably the sale of butter and cheese will form one of the prin-
cipal sources of income in many townships. Poultry and eggs are also
coming to be considered a needful part of every provident farmer's
resources.

The following tables give the numbers of live stock in the counties of
the Red River Valley in Minnesota and North Dakota. By the kindness
of H. T. Helgesen, commissioner of agriculture and labor for North Dakota,
the assessed valuations of the horses and cattle in the counties of that State
are also noted.

Live stock in 1S91 in counties of Minnesota lying mainly within the Bed Siver Valley.

Counties.

Horses,

mules, and

asses.

Cattle.

Sheep.

Swine.

Wilkin

Number.
3,373
6,405
6,682
13, 108
4,425
3,917

Number.

5,485
13, 201
13, 595
30, 214
10,433

7,666

Number.
1,387
6,601
4,656
9,136
2,180
2,042

Number.
1,143
2,326
2,009
5,720
2,007
1,268

Clay

Polk

Total

36, 910

80, 594

26, 002

14, 473

STATISTICS OF LIVE STOCK.

625

Livestock in lS9i in counties of North Dakota lying mainli/ within the Bed River Valley.

Counties.

Horses.

Cattle.

Mu les

and
asses.

Sbeep.

Swine.

Number.

Valu.
ation.

Number.

Valu-
ation.

7,522
16, 193

9,335
12, 160
10, 405
10, 280

$369, 640
758, 629
571, 996
629, 454
535, 211
501, 550

12, 055
14, 630

9,834

13, 251
11, 533
10, 147

$136, 439
148, 662
107, 043
162, 548
133, 201
118,243

Number.
5S5
1,469
952
712
267
244

Number.
3,172
5,621
3,011
10, 479
6,716
5,697

Nvmber.
2,945
4,991
3, 285
3, 694
4,114
4,034

Traill

Grand Forks

"Walsh

Total

64, 895

3, 366, 480

71, 460

796, 136

4,229

34, 696

22, 907

GEOXiOGIC RESOURCES.

The grand agricultural capabilities of the soil having been stated, as
in the preceding pages, there remains little to be added relative to the
more strictly geologic resources of the Red River Valley. All its outcrops
of building stone, which are magnesian limestone, used also for the manu-
facture of lime, are situated in Manitoba. Bricks of the best quality are
made from the clayey alluvium which borders the Red River along nearly
its entire course after it turns northward at Breckemidge and Wahpeton.
These constitute the complete though brief list of the commercially
important products of the prairie portion of Lake Agassiz which belong
to economic geology.

GOLD.

Within the wooded portion of this lactistrine area gold occurs and
can perhaps be profitably mined in the Archean rocks adjoining the Lake
of the Woods and Rainy Lake, which also in some places include granite
and gneiss valuable for building purposes. These resources have been
described by the Canadian and Minnesota Geological Surveys,^ and need
not be further noticed here.

'Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Report of Progress, 1882-83-84, pp. 1-22 K (Report on tlie
Gold Mines of the Lake of tlie Woods, by Eugene Coste) ; Annual Report, new series, Vol. I, for 1885,
pp. 140-151 CC (Notes on Economic Resources of the Lali;e of the Woods Region, by Andrew C. Law-
son). Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Minnesota, Twenty-third Annual Report, for 1894, pp. 36-105,
with map (Preliminary Report on the Rainy Lake Gold Region, by H, V, Wiuchell and U. S, Grant).

MON XXV-

-40

626 TUB GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

BUILDING STONE.

Quarries of magnesian limestone have been extensively worked at
East Selldrk, Stonewall, Stony Mountain, and Little Stony Mountain, partly
for lime-burning-, but also in large amount for foundations, bridges, and
buildings. The East Selkirk stone is beautifully mottled and banded,
and is easy to cut when first quamed, but hardens much when its mois-
ture dries out. It contains so much water that newly quarried l^locks in
winter are damaged by freezing; but after drying no such frost fracture
is observed where this rock has been used in masonry. By exposure
many years the streaked contrast in color is mostly weathered out, the
brown portions losing their darker color. The Volunteers' Monument in
Winnipeg is a fine example of the adaptation of this stone for ornamental
purposes. The quarry at Stonewall, situated close east of the village, has
been opened to an average depth of 6 or 8 feet on an area about 15 rods
square. Inexhaustible supplies of stone of the most durable quality, in
many portions capable of being quarried in blocks of large dimensions, out-
crop there and at Stony Mountain, and have been much used for building
in Winnipeg. Similar stone has been slightly quaiTied on the northeast
quarter of section 4, township 15, range 2 east, on land of Allen Bristow, 9
miles north-northeast of Stonewall. The outcrop of Cretaceous limestone
on the Assiniboine, in section 36, township 8, range 11, has also been
quarried in small amount.

The abundant Archean bowlders of granite, gneiss, and schists in the
till or glacial drift are readily collected wherever the till forms the surface,
and on these tracts they commonly serve the immigrant for the construc-
tion of foundations of farm buildings and for the walls of cellars and wells.

LIME.

The quarry of Little Stony Mouiitain was actively operated several
years ago for burning lime, a spur track about a mile long being laid to it
from the Canadian Pacific Railway; but work had been suspended at the
time of my survey of the beaches of Lake Agassiz in Manitoba, in 1887.

Besides the outcrops of the bed-rock which thus supply lime, it is
conveniently obtained by collecting and burning limestone bowlders that

BUILDING STONE, LIME, AND BRICKS. 627

occur in the glacial drift throughout all the prairie district of Lake Agassiz
and the adjoining country, having been originally derived from these rock
formations and distributed by the currents of the ice-sheet. But bowlders
are absent from the lacustrine and alluvial deposits along the Red River,
and from the Lake Agassiz deltas.

BRICKS.

Four brickyards in St. Boniface, on the east side of the Red River,
opposite to Winnipeg, produced in total in 1887 about 4,000,000 bricks.
This business began to be extensively developed there in 1880. The soil
is stripped off to a depth of 2 feet, beneath which the next 2 or 3 feet of
yellowish, horizontally laminated, somewhat sandy clay is used for brick-
making. It requires no further admixture of sand for tempering. The
bricks, which are cream-colored and very durable, are sold at $11 to S12
per thousand, loaded on the cars or delivered in the city of Winnipeg.
Another brickyard in St. James, close southwest of Winnipeg, makes about
1,500,000 bricks yearly. The light cream color of these bricks, like those
of Milwaukee and of most brickyards in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North
Dakota, is due, as shown by Professor Chamberlin, to the calcareous and
magnesian ingredients of these glacial clays, derived in part from magnesian
limestone formations, which unite with the iron ingredient to form a light-
colored silicate, instead of the ferric oxide which in other regions destitute
of magnesian limestone gives to bricks their usual red color.

In the Red River Valley south of the international boundary the most
important localities of brickmaking are Moorhead, Crookston, and Grrand
Forks; but bricks have been made in small amount at numerous other
places, as Breckenridge, St. Hilaire, and Warren, in Minnesota, and Grafton,
Cavalier, and Pembina, in North Dakota.

A large business in brickmaking is done at Moorhead by Lamb Bros.,
who began in 1874; Kruegel & Truitt, who began in 1878; and John
Early and John Gr. Bergquist, who began in 1881. Their product in 1887
was as follows: Lamb Bros., about 2,000,000; Kruegel & Truitt, also
about 2,000,000; Mr. Early, 700,000; and Mr. Bergquist 125,000. The
black soil is removed to the depth of 1 foot or IJ feet; the next 1 to 2 feet

628 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

of the alluvial clay is used for brickmaking, its color being dark above and
yellowish beneath; the lower continuation of this deposit is imsuited for
this use because of limy concretions. No sand is required for tempering.
Sand needed for mortar is brought from Muskoda at the cost of about $3
per cubic yard. The bricks are cream-colored and of very good quality,
selling at about $10 per thousand. Oak wood, used for fuel, costs $5
per cord.

The brickyards of Crookston, owned by Non-is & McDonald, W. A.
Norcross, and G. Q. Erskine, supply 2,000,000 to 3,000,000 bricks yearly,
which bring an average price of $10 per thousand at wholesale, loaded
on the cars. At Mr. Erskine's yard, on the south side of the Red Lake
River, a thickness of 13 feet of clay is used, lying next below the superficial
2 or 3 feet of black soil, which is removed. The more sandy lower part
of the clay is mixed with the upper part, by which the whole is rightly
tempered.

In Grand Forks brickmaking has been carried on by J. S. Bartholo-
mew since 1880, his product in 1887 being 1,200,000. The upper foot
of soil is stripped off and the next 7 feet of clay are used, requiring no
intermixture of sand.

SALT.

The description of the artesian wells of this district given in the pre-
ceding chapter has included nearly all that needs to be stated concerning
its saline well water and springs. In the early times, when the Hudson
Bay Company's trading posts and the Selkirk colonists comprised all the
white inhabitants of the region, the expense of importation of salt was
much greater than now, and considerable quantities of it were yearly made
by evaporation of the water of salt springs. One of these springs from
which much salt was made for the Hudson Bay Company is situated in
the channel of the South Branch of Two Rivers, about IJ miles above its
junction with the North Branch and some 6 miles west of Hallock. It is
exposed only when the river runs low, and in such portions of the summers
the work of salt-making was done.

SALT AND LIGNITE. 629

The principal product of salt then used, in this disti-ict, however, was
from brine springs and wells on the low, flat land bordering the west side of
the south end of the southeast arm of Lake Winnipegosis. This brine is
so strong, according to Hind, that 30 gallons yield a bushel of salt. The
product in 1874, as reported by Spencer, was about 500 bushels, sodium
chloride forming 95 per cent of the manufactured salt.^

Brine about a third as strong as that of the salt wells of the Saginaw
district in Michigan was found by the artesian wells of Humboldt, Minn.,
and Rosenfeld, Manitoba (pages 537 and 538). Though very pure brine,
it can not be utilized in competition with the salt manufacture in Michigan,
especially when the cost of fuel at the salt works there, using refuse from
sawmills, is almost nothing, while on this prairie tract its cost would be
about $5 per cord. A sample of salt made from the Humboldt well was
exhibited at the New Orleans Exposition in 1884-85.^

LIGNITE.

Thin layers of lignite coal, seldom exceeding a foot in thickness, are
contained in the Cretaceous shales, probably belonging mostly to the Fort
Benton formation, which are scantily preserved beneath the tliick drift
sheet, and are occasionally exposed in outcrops, throughout the western
two-thirds of Minnesota. Here and there fragments of lignite derived from
these beds are found quite plentifully in the till, and also sometimes in
gravel and sand deposits of the modified drift, so that hundreds of little
pieces, up to 3 or 4 inches in length, and very rarely a larger mass, are
obtained in digging a well or cellar, or may be found in the ravines of
streams or on lake shores. But more commonly a well dug 30 or 40 feet
deep in the till encounters none or no more than two or three of these
fragments. Where they abound in the drift. Cretaceous shales bearing
lignite had been doubtless eroded by the ice-sheet within a moderate
distance to the north, and remnants of them may still exist.

'H. Y. Hinil, Narrative of the Canadian Exploring Expeditions, London, 18(iO, A'^ol. II, pp. 43-45.
J. W. Spencer, Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada, Report of Progress for 1874-75, p. 69.

= N. H. Wiuchell, Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Minnesota, TUirteenth Annual Report, for 1884,
pp. 41-46.

630 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Witliiu the area of Lake Agassiz lignite fragments have been thus
found plentifully in many localities, among which the following may be
specially noted: In digging a cellar close south of the Mustinka River, in
section 32, township 127, range 47, near its entrance into the north end of
Lake Traverse; in wells near Tintah and at Campbell, Minn.; in a ravine
which intersects the Herman and Norcross beaches, in sections 32 and 31,
Keene, 8 miles north of Muskoda, Clay County; in the sand of the artesian
wells on the Lockhart Farm, Norman County, at the depth of 141 to 157
feet; similarly in sand between 161 and 165 feet below the surface in
artesian wells at Carman, Polk County; along the channel of the South
Branch of Two Rivers, in the southwest part of township 160, range 44, at
a distance of a half mile to 2 miles east of its crossing by the Roseau Lake
trail, as reported by Mr. Charles Hallock and Maj. vS. Holcomb, the largest
piece found being about 1| feet square and 4 inches thick; and on the
Roseau River, in Manitoba, about 20 miles east of Dominion City. Pieces
of lignite are somewhat frequent on portions of the shores of Red Lake,
Lake Winnebagoshish, and Namekan Lake, the last lying on the interna-
tional boundary, next southeast of Rainy Lake. They also occur in
gravel beds of the Pembina delta of Lake Agassiz, having been especially
noticed at the springs in the south bluif of the Pembina River, 2 miles
south of Walhalla.

It is not advisable, however, that any search should be made for dis-
covery of lignite beds in remnants of the Cretaceous strata still existing
within this lacustrine area ; for, while the lignite is of poor quality for fuel,
all its numerous known deposits thus occurring in several counties in Min-
nesota, and on the Sheyenne and in the Turtle Mountain, North Dakota,
are too thin to be worked. On the upper portion of the Souris River, in
Manitoba and North Dakota, from the vicinity of Minot northward, and on
the Northern Pacific Railroad, 40 miles west of Bismarck, beds of similar
lignite, but belonging, as in Turtle Mountain, to the Laramie series, the
highest of the Cretaceous, ranging up to 8 feet in thickness, have been suc-
cessfully mined, their product being used for fuel by many settlers in this
vast prairie region.

GNITE, NATUKAL GAS, AND WATEK i^OWEE. 631

NATURAL GAS.

A few years ago, after the wonderful discoveries of natural gas in
Pennsylvania and Ohio, many people held the delusive hope and belief
that it could be obtained in valuable amount by boring deeply in almost
any locality or geologic formation. In the Red River Valley this hope was
fostered by the occurrence of combustible gas issuing from wells in the
drift in Arthur Township, Traverse County, at Argyle, and in section
10, Wanger, Marshall County, Minn., and near Argusville and Gardner, at
Hillsboro, near Cummings, and near Mayville, in North Dakota. These
flows of gas, though readily ignited and burning for a time with consider-
able flame, are of small amount, and are probably derived from fragmentary
lignite and other vegetal matter very scantily contained in the drift.

To test the questions whether either artesian water or gas could be
obtained from the rock formations underlying the drift at Moorhead, a well
was bored there in 1889 to the depth of 1,760 feet (page 556). Below the
depth of 365 feet this boring, which was done at public cost by order of
the city government, was in Archean granitoid and gneissic rocks, in which
a large expenditure was wasted after the State geologist. Prof N. H. Win-
chell, had infoi'med the mayor that the samples of the drillings forbade
"any hope of obtaining artesian water or other product of value." ^ It is
well-nigh certain that nowhere in this lacustrine area can either lignite or
natural gas be found in such quantity as to be practically utilized.

WATER POWER AND MAJfUFACTURES.

Very valuable water powers, some of which are now used, while many
others have not been improved nor surveyed, exist on the head stream of
the Red River above Breckenridge, on its tributary, the Pelican River,
on the Red Lake River and its tributary, the Clearwater, on the Rainy and
Winnipeg rivers, at the Grand Rapids of the Saskatchewan, and on the
Nelson. There are also small and less constant water powers, several of
which are utilized, on the Buffalo and Wild Rice rivers, in Minnesota, on
the Sheyenne, Goose, Turtle, Forest, Park, and Pembina rivers, in North
Dakota, and on the Souris and Assiniboine rivers, in Manitoba.

' Geol. and Nat. Hist. Surrey of Jliniiesota, Ttiilletiu No. 5, 1889 : Natural Oas in Miuuesota, p. .S9.

632 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

The Red River (pages 54-56) has four improved powers, varying in
head from 10 to 15 feet, in the city of Fergus Falls. Moderate expense
in the construction of dams to make Ottertail, Rush, and Pine lakes reser-
voirs, filled in spring several feet above their present level and drawn down
in time of drought, would nuich increase the available water power of
this river at Fergus Falls and along all its extent from Ottertail Lake to
Breckenridge. In this distance the river falls nearly 375 feet, averaging 6
feet per mile. Its bed is the hard, stony clay of the glacial drift, affording
a good foundation for dams, and along most of this distance the sloping
river banks permit the water to be carried in canals so as to furnish any
amount of head desired for milling purposes. On the west the wheat of the
Red River Valley, and on the east oak, maple, ash, and pine timber, invite
the further utilization of this magnificent water power. ^

A series of lakes that are the sources of the Pelican River, tending to
equalize its flow in wet and dry seasons, and the descent of this stream
about 200 feet from Lake Lizzie to its mouth, with a channel and banks of
glacial drift, make its water power almost equally valuable with that of the
Red River.

Large lakes which serve as reservoirs also give a high degree of con-
stancy to the water power of the Clearwater and Red Lake rivers (pages
52-54), already partially utilized at Red Lake Falls and Crookston, and
especially to the power of the falls of the Rainy River at Koochiching
and Fort Frances (page 50), and to the many rapids and waterfalls of
the Winnipeg River (pages 51, 52). These streams will doubtless some
day become the sites of large manufacturing cities, where the wheat of the
prairies will be made into flour and the timber of the adjoining forests will
be manufactured into lumber, paper, furniture, and various wooden wares.
While agriculture will be the leading occupation in the prairie region of
Lake Agassiz, more diverse industries will grow up in the wooded country
of its eastern and northern portions.

' For details of the Trater power of the Red River and its tributaries, see "The water power of
the Northwef.t" (pp. 104), by James L. Greenleaf, iu Tenth Census of the United States, 1880, Vol.
XVII.

APPENDIX A.

COURSES OF GLACIAL STEI^.

The following- table of glacial stii.Tj iu the region of Iludsoii Bay and Lake
Superior and westward shows the directions of the currents of the ice-sheet within
the basin of Lake Agassiz and upon the country where it lay as the barrier or dam
of this lake. The notes are derived chiefly from the reports of the geological and
natural history surveys of Canada and of Minnesota, and are all reduced to refer
to the true or astronomic meridians. Unless they are otherwise credited, the obser-
vations ill British America are by Dr. Robert Bell, and in Minnesota and ISTorth
Dakota by the present writer.

The lobation of the ice-sheet in this basin, its diverse and prolonged courses of
transportation of drift, which deijeuded on the glacial currents producing the strire,
and the intersection, in some localities, of two or more sets of striation, have been
considered on pages 129-131. Besides the citations on these subjects there given,
reference may be made to my recent papers on remarkably deflected striation in
Somerville, Mass.,^ and in the vicinity of Two Harbors, Duluth, and Carlton, Minu.^

Hudson Strait and Bay.
Hudson Strait:

Port Burwcll, 10 miles southwest from Cape Chudleigh S. 85° E.

Ashes lulet, on the north side of tlie strait, about S. 65^ E.

Cape Prince of AVales, on the south side, opposite to the last E. to N. 70^ E.

South part of Nottingham Island S_ ^qo j;_

Digges Island, off Cape Wolstenholme jj. 550-750 jj

Ottawa Islands, in the northeast part of Hudson Bay N. 75° E., N. 40°-20° E., and N. 5° W.

East coast of Hudson Bay :

Northern part, successively, proceeding southward NE. N. audNW.

From Cape Dufferin southward to Hopewell Head and the most northern of the Nas-
tapoka Islands, in latitude 58° to 57° N., near the middle of the east side of Hudson

Bay, numerous localities S. 70°, 60°, and 35° W.

[It is probable that the first two of these courses record the direction of the

ice-flow during the time of maximum depth and area of the ice-sheet, or durino-

a somewhat later stage ; and that the last belongs to the time of final melting of

the ice.]

Thence southward to the entrance of Richmond Gulf, numerous localities, mostly

between S. 65°-75° W. and N. 75° W.

But in two localities, probably a later glaciation S. 350^50 W".

Cairn Mountain Island, Eichuiond G nlf, several localities, mostly N. 60°-70° W.

But in one place varying from this to g. 450 \y

' Proc. Boston Soe. Nat. Hist., Vol. XXVI, pp. 33-42, March 15, 1893.

^Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Minnesota, Twenty-second Annual Report, for 1893, pp. 31^3, with
map of the glacial geology (striic, retrcatal moraines, etc.) of northern Minnesota.

633

634 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

East coast of Hudson Bay — Continued.

From Kichmoud Gulf and Little Wliale Eiver soutliward to Esquimaux Harbor, many

localities N. 80° W. to W.

Thence to Red Head, 57 miles northeast of Cape Jones, eight localities W. to S. 75^^ W.

And one locality; S.55° W.

Red Head Island N.70^" W.

Thence southward to 40 miles south of Big River, many localities S. 40'^-60° and 70 W.

But ou the southwest extremity of Long. Island, near Cape Jones, striiE bear in every

direction from S. 70^ W., around by SW. and S., to S. 40^' E.

The two prevailing directions are about S.45'^ W. and S. 15^ E.

The former seems probably the older, but perhaps deflected to the south from the
direction of the glacial current when the ice-sheet was thickest; and the latter,
with further deflection southeastward, may belong to the closing stages of the
Glacial period. An island off the southwest point of Long Island has three sets

of glacial stria- S. 60° W. , S. 40" W., and S. 20° E.

From 40 miles south of Big River southward along the east coast of the south half of

James Bay, mauy localities S. 30°-55° W.

But in one locality, about 3 miles northwest of the Paint Hills, three sets of glacial

stria; occur, bearing N. 7!i° W., S. 55° W., and S. 30° W.

The first probal>ly records approximately the course of glaciation here when the ice
attained its greatest area, lielonging thus to a striation whicli was chiefly ett'aced
by a later glacial movement to the southwest during the departure of the ice-sheet.
Again, at the Paint Hills two sets of glacial stria- are found, bearing. . S. 75° W. and S. 35° W.

And ou Governor.-; Island, at the mouth of Eastmain River, the course is S. 75° W.

In the country east of Hudson Bay, extending from Richmond Gulf southward and
drained by the Clearwater, Great Whale, and Big rivers, forty-nine localities (A. P.

Low) S. 50° W. to N. (50. W.

Excepting two places which have intersecting striiB, namely —

For the first N. 80° W. and N. 3.5° W.

For the second N. 68° W. and N. 50° W.

But in a majority (thirty-six) of the localities in Mr. Low's list the l)eariugs range

between S. 60° W. and W.

Marble Island, northwest part of Hudson Bay S. 15°-25° E.

West coast of Hudson Bay :

East side of the mouth of Churchill River S. 5° E.

Two and a half miles east from the last S. 20° W.

Five miles east from the mouth of Churchill River S. 15° E.

Region of the Churchill and Nelson rivers, Lake Winnipeg, and southwest to the Assiniboine.

Churchill Eiver:

At Fort Churchill S. 30^-40° W.

Four miles below the mouth of the Little Churchill River S. 20° W. and S. 80° W.

Six and 11 miles above the mouth of the Little Churchill River S. 10°-15° W.

Little Churcliill River :

Three localities. 4, 13, and 18 miles below Waskalowaka Lake, respectively

S. 40° W., S. 80° W., and N. 85° W.

Outlet of Lower Recluse Lake, various directions from S. 15° W. to S. 50° W.

Also ^^■

Eagle Rapid, 2 miles in a straight line below the last, two sets, both distinct. . . S. 20° W. and W.
[The courses to the west, or nearly so, probably mark the motion of this part
of the ice-sheet during the time of its greatest depth and extent, while the
southerly courses show its deflected motion during the final melting.]
Along the Nelson Eiver :

Third Limestone Rapid, 100 miles by the course of the river above its mouth S. 30°-50° E.

Broad Rapid,5 miles long, 11 to 16 miles above the last, mostly S.50° W.

Also S. 15° W. and S. 55°-75° W.

Thence to Middle Gull Eapid, numerous localities S. 55°-80° W.

COURSES OF GLACIAL STRI^. 635

Along the Nelson River — Continued-
Upper Gull Rapid, and tlieuce to the middle portion of Split Lake, numerous local-
ities N.85°-75°W.

Southwestern part of Split Lake, two localities S. 85° W.

Chain of Rocks Rapid, 3 miles above Split Lake, one set, probably the older S.SS^ W.

The other S. 10° E.

On Grass River, tributary to the Nelson River from the west, a few miles above Split

Lake, numerous localities S. 85° W. to W.

But in one place, at the outlet of Witchai (Stinking) Lake N. 75° W.

Between Split Lake and Sipi- wesk Lake, numerous localities, mainly S. 55°-75° W.

Aud occasionally "•

Sipi- wesk Lake, outlet and northeastern part, mostly S. 70°-75° W.

Also, in numerous localities S.45°-65° W.

Sipi-wesk Lake, average course throughout the southwestern half of the lake S. 55°-60° W.

But in some places N. 85° W.

Southwest extremity of Sipi-wesk Lake ^S. 65° W.

From Sipi-wesk Lake to the outlet of Pipestone Lake, six localities S. 55°-65° W.

Pipestone aud Big Reed Lakes and vicinity, five localities S.40°-55° W.

Along the usual boat route from Hudson Bay, by Hayes and Hill rivers, to Lake Winnipeg :

Six miles below The Rock, Hill River S. 12° E.

The Rock, Hill River S. 10° E.

Dr. Bell reports also at this locality another and older set of striai N. 79° W.

Borwick's Fall, and 1 mile above White Mud Fall, Hill River, both within a few miles

southwest from The Rock, respectively S. 18° W. and S. 28° W.

Knee Lake, numeroua localities S. 35°-60° W.

From Knee Lake to Pine Lake, seven localities S. 45°-60- W.

From Pine Lake and Molsons Lake to Great Playgreen Lake, many localities S. 35°-60° W.

Arouud Gods Lake, southeast of the foregoing route, 140 to 180 miles east-northeast from the

north end of Lake Winnipeg, many localities (Cochrane).. S. to S. 52° W., mostly S. 15°-40° W.

But in two localities ---- S.80° W.

Between Jackson Bay, on Oxford Lake, and the southern part of Gods Lake, seven localities

(Cochrane) S.28°^0°W.

Around Island Lake, about 40 miles south of Gods Lake, many localities (Cochrane) . . . S. 10°-36" W.
Between Hudson Bay aud Lake Winnipeg, along the Severn, Fawn, Poplar, and Berens

rivers, on almost all exposed surfaces (A. P. Low), generally SW.

[The variations are only a few degrees from this on either side.]

Mouth of Lake Winnipeg and its vicinity, several localities S- 40°-45° W.

East shore of Lake Winnipeg:

Spider Islands, on the adjacent mainland, and at the Shoal Islands, about 30 and 45

luilea south from the north end of the lake S. 30°-40° W.

Poplar Point, 4 miles southeast of Poplar Point, and opposite to Georges Island, a few

miles farther southeast S. 30°-35° W.

Four localities near the mouth of Berens River, halfway from the north to the south end

of the lake S 57°-60o W.

Near the mouth of Berens River (Pantou) SW. and SSW.

East side of Berens or Swampy Island (Panton) SW.

Of this island Mr. J. B. Tyrrell writes : "The general direction of striation is S. 52° W.

"While another set of 8tri;B was found to occur under a mass of pebbles and

bowlders, bearmg '^- ^^ •^•

Rabbit Point, near the Narrows S. 48° W.

Black Bear Island, also near the Narrows (Panton) SSW.

Intersected by other glacial striiu, bearing SSE.

[The latter, agreeing nearly in direction with stria; observed on Swampy Island,
on the Winnipeg River above Lac du Bonnet, around the south end of Lake Winui-
pegosis, on lakes Manitoba and St. Martin, at Stonewall, Stony Mountain, and
Little Stony Mountain, near Winnipeg, and on the Assiniboine River, appear to
l)elong to the basal portion of the divergent glaci.al current which continued south
and southeast in the Minnesota and Dakota lobes of the ice-sheet.]

636 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

East shore of Lake Winnipeg — C'ontinuetl.

Between The Narrows and the mouth of Winnipeg River, numerous localities S.40°-i5° W.

Winnipeg River, above Lac du Bonnet to tlie Whitemouth River (Tyrrell), apjiroxi-

mately SSE. and SW.

The following, to Lake St. Martin, inclusive, are from a paper by Mr. J. B. Tyrrell,
of the Geological and Natural History Survey of Canada, entitled "Pleistocene of
the Winnipeg basin," Am. Geologist, Vol. VIII, pp. 19-28, July, 1891:

Lake Winnipeg :

Northwest shore, "from William River to the mouth of the Saskatchewan," average S. 2° W.

West shore, at mouths of St. Martin and Fisher rivers, probably about S.

Cedar Lake :

East side S. 18° W.

West side, near mouth of the Saskatchewan S. 39^ W.

Lake Wiuuipegosis:

Northeastern angle S. 23° W.

A little farther down the east shore S. 9° W.

Around Its south end S. 2°-13° E.

Dawson Bay S. 42°-58o W.

Red Deer River S.68°-78° W.

SwiinLake S.48°-53° W.

Lake Manitoba :

Northwest arm Southward.

East shore, near Steep Rock Point S. 8'^-13° E.

Lake St. Martin, granite islands S. 33° E.

Stonewall, in many places (Panton, Upham) S. 20°-2,5" E.

Stony Mountain (Panton, Upham) S. 20°-25° E.

Little Stony Mountain (Upham) S. 25^ E.

Assiniboiue River :

Sectiou 36, township 8, range 11, in three places (Upham) S. 4°-8° W.

And in one jilace S. 10° E.

Section 23, township 9, range 10 (Tyrrell) S. 38° E.

Atliaiasca River and Lake, Wollaston and Eeindeer lakes, and southward to Cumberland House.

Mountain Portage, Athabasca River, 7 miles above the mouth of Clearwater River S. 54° E.

Or more probably N. 54° W.

Fort Chipewyau, near the mouth of Lake Athabasca, also 1 mile west and 8 miles southwest

of Fort Chipewyan S.78°-83° W.

The following observations, to Cumberland House, are by Mr. A. S. Cochrane, and
are communicated by Dr. Robert Bell :

North shore of Lake Athabasca :

Ten miles north from the Burntwood Islands : S.81° W.

Twenty miles west of Black Bay S. 61° W.

Halfway from the west to the east end of the lake S. 43° W.

Twenty miles west of the Hudson Bay Company's post at Fond du Lac ... S. 21^, 27°, and 31° W,

Hudson Bay Company's post. Fond du Lac, 50 miles west from the east end of the lake. S. 53° W.
On the western outlet of Wollaston (Hatchet) Lake, 15 miles east from its mouth at the

east end of Athabasca Lake S. 85° W.

Junction of Porcujiine River with the western outlet of W^oUaston Lake, 50 miles east of

Athabasca L.ake S. 75° W.

North shore of Wollaston Lake, halfw.ay between its western and eastern outlets S.27° W.

Jackfish Lake, about halfway between Wollaston and Reindeer lakes, by way of Hatchet

Lake River S. 17° W.

COUESES OF GLACIAL STKI^. 637

North end of Reindeer Lake:

Average of numerous observations S.31° W.

Mouth of Hatchet Lake River S. 17° W.

East shore of Reindeer Lake :

Porcupine Point S. 24° W.

Halfway from the north to the south end of the lake S. 18° W.

South end of Reindeer Lake, and ou its outlet S. 18° W.

Churchill River:

Near Frog Portage, 110 miles north-northwest of Cumberhiud House S. 40° W.

At a small lake 10 miles east from the mouth of Isle a la Crosse Lake S. 18° W.

Ou the canoe route :

Seventy miles north of Cumberland House R. 16° and 26° W.

Fifty-five miles north of Cumberland House S. 26° W.

[As on the lower part of Churchill River, before noted, the more westerly
courses of this list are believed to indicate the glacial motion when the ice had its
maximum depth, or nearly that, continuing probably through the greater part of
the period of glaciation; and the southward currents seem referable to deilect:ii>u
during the recession of the boundary of the ice-sheet, most of the earlier westward
striai being thereby eifaced.]

From Hudson Bay to Lake Superior and the Lake of the Woods.

On the route of Dr. Bell from James Bay to Lake Huron, commonly S.5° E;. to S. 5 W.

Rarely varying to S. 25° E.

Between James Bay and the east end of Lake Superior:

From Long Portage of the Missinaibi River to Mattagami Lake, both belonging to the

Moose River system, mostly SSW.

Wasquagami Portage, Missinaibi River, two sets S. 15" W. and S. 60° E.

[The last is doubtless a local deflection, belonging to the time when the ice-
sheet was being melted away.]

Missinaibi River, east of Brunswick Lake S. 15° E.

Around Mattagami Lake S. 30°-65° W.

Lake Manitowick, on Michipicoten River S. 30° W.

Long Portage of the Michipicoten River, 6 miles east of its mouth S. 40° W.

North shore of Lake Superior :

Falls of St. Mary, and thence 20 miles north (Agassiz) SSE.

Twenty-five miles north of the Falls of St. Mary, and thence to the northeast angle of

the lake, 7.5 miles east of St. Iguace Island, many localities (Agassiz) S.

Fifty miles east of St. Ignaee Island (Agassiz) SSW.

St. Ignaee Island, and the same 25 miles east (Agassiz) S.

Southwest side of Nipigon Bay (Agassiz) SSW.

Islands in Thunder Bay (Agassiz) SW.

Between Thunder Bay and Pigeon River (Agassiz) S.

Isle Royale, Lake Superior, numerous localities (Desor) S. 20°-75° W.

Along the Pic River, tributary to Lake Superior S. 20°-30° W.

Kenogami or Long Lake, at the head of the Kenogami River, tributary to Albany River,

many localities S. to S. 25° W.

["The grooving is as well marked on the tojjs of the highest hills as iu the
lake valleys."]

In the country northwest of Kenogami or Long Lake, several localities S. 30°-40° W.

Along the Kenogami River, mostly S.30°-.50° W.

But varying to , S. and S. 60° W.

Lake St. Joseph, mostly S. 30°-l5° W.

Also in two localities S. 15° W. and S. 60° W.

Albany River, between Lake St. Joseph and Mamiuiska Lake, three localities. . S. 20°, 25°, and 40° W.
Maminiska Lake S. 65° W.

638 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

Putawonga Lake S. 75° W.

Eabamet Lake, two localities S. 75^^ and 80^ W.

Inlet of Sturgeon Lake, Bowlder Eiver S.70° W.

Attawapislikat River:

Respectively 3, 13, 22, and 23 miles below the junction of the two channels from the

lake of the same name S. 60°, 42°, 22^, and 15" W.

Lowest exposure of Archeau rocks S. to S. 10° E.

On limestone about 75 miles from the southern mouth of the river S. 18° W.

On limestone 9 miles below the last, two sets of striie, the older S. 8°-12° W.

And the newer S. 60°-70° E.

On limestone at the head of Lowasky Island, about 44 miles from the southern mouth

of the river S. 2° W.

Southern channel, or Lowasky River, 4 miles below the last, the older strise S. 35° W.

And newer striie varying in course from the foregoing to S. 80° W.

Around Lake Nipigon two sets of glacial strise are common, and are often found crossing
each other on the same rock surface. The southward set, which is the older,

varies from S. 18° E. to S. 25° W.

And the westward and newer set varies from S. 50° W. to due W.

Along and near Kaministiquia River S. to SW., averaging SSW.

Dog Lake, mean of several localities (Hector) S. 10° W.

Lac des Milles Lacs, mean of several localities (Hector) S. 5° E.

Sturgeon Lake, 50 miles southeast of Lonely Lake, commonly S. 20°-30° W.

But in one locality S.50° W.

Minnietakie Lake and vicinity, west of Sturgeon Lake, several localities S. 20°-55° W.

Abrams Chute S. 10° W.

Islands in the middle of Ahrams Chute S. 40° W.

Lonely Lake ( Lac Seul) :

Three localities S. 70° W.,S.85° W., and N. 80° W.

Three other localities, respectively 10, 13, and 16 miles east of the Hudson Bay Com-
pany's post S.60° W., S. 25° W., and S. 55° W.

East extremity of the lake S.45° W.

Root River, tributary to the east end of Lonely Lake, two localities S. 50° and 45° W.

English River, below Lonely Lake, five localities S. 30°-60° W.

And one locality S.80° W.

Winnipeg River, several localities (Bell) S. 20°-55° W.

Dr. A. C. Lawson reports the following many observations of glacial striiTJ in the
region about Ealny Lake, on canoe routes north of this lake, on the shores and
islands of the lake itself, and on Eaiuy Eiver :

Kishkutena route, from Sabaskong Bay of the Lake of the Woods to the Northwest Bay of

Rainy Lake, seven localities S. 33°-58° W.

Pipestone Lake route, extending north from the Northwest Bay of Rainy Lake, nineteen

localities S.20°-49° W.

Kiarskons route, several miles east of the last, six localities S. 28°-53° W.

Manitou route, extending north from Manitou Sound, the most northern portion of Rainy

Lake, twelve localities, also S.28°-53° W.

Little Canoe Eiver route, a few miles east of the last, five localities S. 26°-40° W.

Big Canoe route, a few miles farther east, five localities S. 23°^3° W.

Redgut Bay of Rainy Lake, and the Turtle Eiver route, extending thence northeastward,

twenty localities S. 23°-63° W.

Seine River route and Bad Vermilion Lake, fifteen localities S. 36°-63° W.

Rainy Lake:

East Arm, from its east-southeast extremity to Brills Narrows, twenty-four localities . . S. 28°-73° W.
East Arm, from Brflle Narrows and the Seine River to the mouth of the lake, forty

localities S. 28°-61° W.

COUESES OF GLACIAL STEIiE. 639

Eainy Lake — Continued.

North Arm, thirty -seven localities S. 18°-53° W.

Northwest Bay, eleven localities S. 37°-50° W.

Eainy River :

Island 4 miles above the Manitou Rapids S. 38° W.

One mile below the Long .Sault, and at the first and second rapids of Pine River, three

localities, alike S. 24° W.

One mile above the mouth of Rapid River S. 38^ W.

Around the Lake of the Woods, observations in about 180 localities by Dr. A. C. Lawsoc
and assistants, and in about 60 localities reported by Dr. G. M. Dawson, "the great

majority," i. e. 82 per cent, are S. 350-550 w.

But 13 per cent are S. 100-340 w

And 5 per cent are S. 560-83° W.

Only four localities showed courses more westerly than S. 65° W. ; one of these is on the

southeast side of Big Island, where striae bearing S. 75° AV.

Intersect others bearing g, 370 \\r

On the west side of Bigsby Island, which, like the preceding, lies near the middle of Sand
Hill Lake (the southern and largest part of the Lake of the Woods), double sets of

striio were observed in two places, respectively N. 80° W. and S. 20° W.

And N. 83° W. and S. 33° W.

And on a joint projecting from the south shore in the southwestern part of this Sand Hill

Lake, striai bear S. 70° and 65° W.

With others S. 35° and 33° W. ; also, S. 10° E.

[Probably the bearings S. 10° E. to S. 20° or 30° W. belong to the time of the
maximum depth and area of the ice-sheet; the prevailing southwestern courses, to
later glaciation ; and the more westerly deflections, to the time of final melting
of the ice.]

Minnesota.

North shore of Lake Superior southwesterly from Pigeon Point, numerous localities (Nor-
wood and Whittlese.y) S. 250-45° W.

Duluth (N. H. Winchell) ".'.'..".'..... WSw!

Otter Track, Sucker (or Carp), and Long lakes, in northeastern Minnesota, south of

Hunters Island (Winchell) ,5W.

Vermilion Lake, two places (Winchell), about S. 20° W.

And in another place (Winchell) g. 40° w.

Vermilion Lake (Whittlesey) S. 15° W.

Pike River, tributary to Vermilion Lake, two places (Winchell) S. 10° and 20° W.

In township 59, range 14, about 20mile8 south-southeast of Vermilion Lake (Winchell), esti-
mated S. 30° W.

The following, to Knife Lake, inclusive, are observations by Prof. N. H. Winchell,
noted in his Fifteenth Annual Eeport, Minnesota, for 1886, pp. 385, 386:

Vermilion Lake:

Twenty localities S. 17°-24o W.

Three other localities S. 28° W., S. 10° W., and S.

Birch Lake 8.12° W. and S. 22 W.

Section 30, township 63, range 8 S. 80 E.

Section 35, township 63, range 9 g. 120 ^v_

Section 27, township 63, range 10 S. 15° W.

Basswood Lake, Northeast Cape S. 1!5° W.

Ima Lake, north shore S. 36° W. and S. 23° W.

Island in Thomas Lake S. 2.5° W.

Section 11, township 64. range 7 S. 30° W.

ICnife Lake S. 48° W.

640 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

The two following are from Prof. N. H. Wiuchell, in his Sixteenth Annual Eeport,
for 1887, p. 114:

East end of Delta Lake, west of Ogishke Muncie Lake S. 25° W.

Island in Pseudo-Messcr Lake S. 40^ W.

Mr. Horace V. Winchell, in the report last cited, pp. 395-478, notes the following
glacial striae, to Trout Lake, inclusive, corrected by him for magnetic variation :

Little Fork of Rainy River, live localities S. 10°^2° W.

Kaiuy River, 3* miles below Fort Frances S 32° W.

Rainy Lake, nine localities S.32°-64°\V.

North fall on outlet from Namekan Lake to Rainy Lake S. 30° W.

Bowstring River (Big Fork of Rainy River; :

Probably in to wnshii) 63, range 26, intersecting striae, mainly S. 10° W. and S. 30" E.

A short distance above the last, very distinct glaciation S. 60° E.

Deer River, at dam about a half mile above its junction with the Big Fork, probably in town-
ship 62, range 25 S.80° E. to due E.

Big Fork :

About 3 miles above the mouth of Deer River Due E.

In or near section 35. township 150, range 25 S. 52° E.

[The southeastward and eastward striation on the Bowstring River or Big Fork
belongs to the east part of the glacial current that moved to the south and south-
east from the region of Lakes Winnijieg and Manitoba, carrying plentiful bowlders
and gravel of limestone from those lakes and the lower part of the Red River Valley
southeast to this stream and to the mouth of Rainy Lake.]

Lower Falls of Prairie River, section 34, township 56, range 25 S.

Elbow Lake, township 64, range 18, two localities S. 26° W. and S. 28° W.

Pelican Lake, mostly in townships 64 and 65, range 20, four localities .S. 24°-36° W.

Net Lake, in the Bois Fort Indian Reservation S. 20°-24° W.

Trout Lake, north of Vermilion Lake, two localities S. 16° VP^. and S. 36° W.

In the Seventeenth Annual Eeport, Minnesota, for 1888, pp. 86-118, Mr. H. V.
Winchell gives additional notes of glaciation as follows, to DisapiJointment Lake,
inclusive :

Section 32, township 60, range 13, about SSW.

Summit of the Giant's Range at Hinsdale S. 22° W.

Section 35, township 61, range 12, south of Birch Lake, about S. 12°-30° W.

Section 36, township 62, range 8, south of Lake Isabelle S. 24° W.

Seel ion 15, township 59, range 6, southwest of Crooked Lake S. 6° W.

Section 10, township 64, range 8, north of Ensign Lake S. 24° W.

Section 27, township 64. range 8, northeast end of Disappointment Lake S. 34° W.

Sand Point Lake and Sturgeon or Namekan Lake (Whittlesey) SW. to S. 55° W.

Rainy Lake (Whittlesey) S. 40°-60° W., and WSW.

Big Fork of Rainy River, about 82 miles from its mouth (Whittlesey) S. 80° E.

[This seems to be near the locality noted by H. V. Winchell about 3 miles
above the mouth of Deer River.]

The Twenty-second Annual Eeport, Minnesota, for 1893, on pages 35-40, makes
extensive additions to the foregoing lists of glacial striaj in the northeastern part of
that State, including very abundant and exceptionally deflected courses at Duluth
and elsewhere about the west end of Lake Superior. In this I'eport (page 42) it is
suggested that some of the courses noted on the Bowstring Eiver or Big Fork may

COURSES OF GLACIAL STRIDE. 641

really have been westward, rather than eastward, due to ileflectlon during the late
stage of the glacial recession when the expanding Lake Agassiz caused the ice in
northwestern Minnesota to be melted away earlier than on the land area about the
sources of the Big Fork and easterly, so that the previous glacial currents of that
area might become reversed from eastward to westward courses.
The following striine are iu central and southern Minnesota :

Hinckley, Pino County : S. and S. 5'^ W.

Watab, Benton County S. 15° W.

Sauk Kapids, Benton County, numerous places S. 45"-55° W.

But in one place S. 15° W.

Sauk Center, Stearns County, 40 miles west of the last S. 40° E.

Minneapolis, several places S. 5°-28° E.

One to 7 miles southeast from Big Stone Lake, numerous places SE.

Granite Falls, several places S. 45°-50° E.

Beaver Falls S. 60° E .

In the valley of the Minnesota River, 2 miles below Birch Cooley S. 60° E.

One and a half miles west of Fort Ridgely S. 60° E.

Redstone, near New Ulm S. 25° E.

Jordan, at mill of Fobs, Wells &. Co SE.

Posen, Yellow Medicine County S. .50° E.

Echo, Yellow Medicine County S. 50°-55° E.

Township 111, range 38, Redwood County S. 50°-60° E.

Stately, Brown Coiiuty S. 50°-55° E.

Germautown, Cottonwood County S. 30° E., S. 50° E., and 70° E.

Amboy, Cottonwood County, mostly S. 35°-50° E.

But also rarely deflected to S. 70° E.

[In one place all these courses intersect on the same surface.]
Deltou, Cottonwood County, numerous localities, mostly S. 15°-40° E.

Also, in one place, all courses from S. to S. 80° E.

[These intersect on the same surface.]

Selma, Cottonwood County S. 18°-22° E.

Amo, Cottonwood County S. 30°-32°E.

Dale,Cottonwood County S.20O-34°E.

Adrian-, Watonw.an County S. 20°-30° E.

The only glacial striie recorded in North Dakota are on outcrops of a bluish-gray
sandstone, occupying the place of the Fox Hills sandstone, on the Willow Itiver, in
the southwest quarter of section 35, township Kil, range 73, about 6 miles south from
Dunseith and the southern base of Turtle Mountain. Distinct glacial furrows and
strite, here observed in eight or ten places, bear mostly due west, but in two jjlaces
S. 85° W. and S. 75° W. These stri;e belong to the closing stage of glaciation here,
being directed normally toward the Fergus Falls and Leaf Hills moraines and the
glacial Lake Souris, whose eastern shore coincided nearly with this part of the course
of Willow Eiver. During the maximum extension of the ice-sheet its current at this
locality doubtless passed nearly due south.

Almost universally throughout North Dakota, eastern Montana, and a large area
stretching thence northwestward to the Athabasca and Peace rivers, the bed-rocks
MON XXV 41

642 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

are shales of the Fort Pierre and Laramie formations, so soft and easily eroded
wherever exposed to weathering that glacial marks are not preserved. The sand-
stone of Willow Eiver, however, outcrops also in the same district on Turkey and Ox
creeks, but does not there retain striated surfaces. Farther west, apparently this
stratum of sandstone occurs in the blufl's of the Souris River, near its most soutberu
bend, and in hills within the area of the loop formed by this river, where other glacial
strisB may probably be found.

APPENDIX B.

NOTES OF ABORIGINAL EAETHWORKS WITHIN AND NEAR THE AREA

OF LAKE AGASSIZ.

Archeologists will be interested iu the following brief notes of the localities of
mounds in this district, to which reference has been made in Chapter XI, page 612.

Many mounds, probably not less than fifty in all, varying from 2 to 15 feet iu
height, are situated on the bluffs of both sides of Lake Traverse, Browns Valley, and
Big Stone Lake.

Three isolated mounds, each about 5 feet high, were noted on the right bank of
the Red River, in Wilkin County, Minn., one being about 12 miles east of Brecken-
ridge, another about 4 miles north of that town, and a third in McCauleyville.

Close south of the Red River, near the mouth of Ottertail Lake, is a group of
sixteen mounds, varyiug from 1 to 10 feet iu height; and others, single or in groups,
are found at many places in Ottertail County,

In Clay County, Miun., a small mound was noted near Muskoda, and another
near the South Branch of the Wild Rice River.

(More detailed statements concerning these and the foregoing localities are given
in the Geology of Minnesota, Vol. I, p. 631, and Vol. II, pp. 533, 558-561, and 671.)

Mounds and artificial embankments are situated on and near the beaches of Lake
Agassiz in many jjlaces. In the greater part of these iustauces the earthworks have
been already described, or at least mentioned, iu this volume (pp. 284, 313, 347, 349, 354,
390, 412, 413, 431). Among all these localities the most notable is close north of the
Forest River, about 6 miles northwest of Inkster (p. 349). According to a survey
of this group of mounds by Mr. T. H. Lewis, they number about forty, ranging from
li feet to 13 feet in height, some of them being connected by low embankments.

In the south part of Crookston an aboriginal mound about 6 feet high and 100
feet iu diameter lies on the south bluff of the Red Lake River, close east of Mr.
Erskine's brickyard.

On the prairie, close west of the mouth of Red Lake and north of the Red Lake
River, is a large mound about 15 feet high.

Beside the Roseau Lake trail, between 2 and 4 miles eastward from its crossing of
the South Branch of Two Rivers, five oblong mounds or embankments, each about 3
feet high, are reported by Mr. Charles Hallock, These are on the crest of a beach
ridge, probably the Tintah beach.

Two mounds, respectively 5 and 3 feet high, are situated about half way between
Fort Pembina and the town of Pembina, being some three- fourths of a mile north of
the fort and an eighth of a mile west of the Red River,

643

644 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ.

In tbe vicinity of Devils Lake, Sweetwater Lake, and Stump Lake are many
moimds, mostly 3 to 6 feet high, very rarely rising to 10 feet, occurring singly, as on
tbe tops of the hills near Fort Totten, and in groups of several, or sometimes forty or
more, as at the southeast end of Devils Lake. Other lone mounds and series of mounds
are seen here and there along the bluffs of the Sheyenne and James rivers.

The largest mound known in Minnesota is 45 feet high, being the central one of a
group of three (the two others only 8 or 10 feet high) on tbe south side of the Eainy
River, close east of the mouth of the Bowstring Eiver or Big Fork. This mound, par-
tially excavated under the direction of Prof. George Bryce, was found to contain
many skeletons, and also skulls without other parts of tbe skeleton, as if they had
been collected on a battlefield. There were also found very interesting stone and
copper implements, ornaments made from seashells and others of fresh-water shells,
broken pottery, and a complete pottery cup having a diameter of 3 inches. Professor
Bryce states that twenty-one mounds are discovered along the whole course of tbe
Kainy River, one (peculiar in containing a structure of charred logs some 10 feet
square and 6 to 8 feet high) being at the mouth of Rainy Lake and several at the Long
Sault. On tbe Red River, in Manitoba, he reports one mound as formerly existing at
Winnipeg, and several still to be seen near the rapids about 10 miles below that city.
(Historical and Scientific Society of Manitoba, Transaction 18, 1885.)

On the Souris River and its tributaries, the North and South Antler creeks, Pro-
fessor Bryce surveyed twenty-one mounds within an area of i miles square, ranging
from 4 to 7 feet in height. One of these mounds, containing a single skeleton, had
■with it nearly all the types of stone implements, copper and seashell ornaments, and
pottery, which had been found in tbe large mound on tbe Rainy Eiver, about 325
miles distant to the east, besides two pipes of red pipcstone; but in each case no evi-
dence of any intercourse with Europeans was found. (Historical and Scientific Society
of Manitoba, Transaction 24, 1886.)

During my survey of the shorelines of Lake Agassiz in Manitoba and examina-
tion of tbe adjoining country on the southwest, I observed mounds in many localities,
of which tbe following are the most noteworthy:

In the northwestern edge of the village of Arden tbe crest of tbe Campbell beach
bears a round mound 4 feet high and 75 feet in diameter, with an embankment 2 feet
high and 30 feet wide extending from it 50 feet northward. A mile south of Arden,
on this broad beach, a few rods east of its crest and about 1 foot lower, is an embank-
ment 20 to 25 feet wide, about 200 feet long from north to south, parallel with the beach
crest, and IJ to 2 feet high. Along its northei'n two-thirds this earthwork is straight,
but its southern third curves somewhat eastward and this end sinks gradually to the
general surface.

Tbe formerly famous Cilf Mountain, which was visited by PalUser's expedition
and appeared prominent on most of the early maps of Manitoba, is an aboriginal mound.

ABORIGINAL EARTHWORKS. (345

prob.ably built over a slight natural mound of the glacial drift. Tbis earthwork,
rising only about 15 feet above the adjoining surface, is near the north line of the
northeast quarter of section 32, township 2, range 7 west. Its top is about 40 feet above
Darlingford railway station and IfiOD feet above the sea. From it the land descends
fast eastward to Thornhill and Morden, overlooking farther east the vast valley plain
of the Red River. The earthwork consists of till, inclosing frequent bowlders up to 1
foot in diameter, with aconsiderableadmixtureof gravel, which was probably brought
from the shores of a beautiful lakelet a few hundred feet distant to the north. The
diameter of the principal mound, which is dome-shaped, is 95 feet, with a height of
15 feet. Thence an embankment about 2 feet high extends 10 rods southwest, and
its farther portion, turning with a right angle, continues about 4 rods to the south-
east. Excavation in the mound has brought to light human bones and many buffalo
skulls, often much decayed and fragmentary. The name Calf Mountain, probably a
translation from an aboriginal name, refers to this united sepulture of the remains of
man and the buffalo.

Several round mounds, 2 to 4 feet high, are situated on the bluffs of Mowbray
and Snowflake creeks. Two of these, near the southeast corner of section 0, township
1, range 0 west, were found to contain in each four or five skeletons.

On the top of Star Mound (p. 99) an artificial mound, built of till, with bowlders
up to a foot in diameter, has a height of about 4 feet and diameter of 50 feet, with
slight embankments extending beyond its circumference about 20 feet to the north
and south. Similarly, the top of Pilot Mound (p. 99) has an earthwork about 2 feet
high and 50 feet in diameter. The crests of a few of the Tiger Hills are also crowned
with small mounds, some of which have been excavated and are found to have been
built for purposes of burial.

On the southeast bluff of the Cypress River, close east of the mouth of Tiger
Creek, are three mounds, of which the most northeastern and largest is 0 feet high.
These are on land about 25 feet above the general level of the surrounding country
and 1,200 feet above the sea.

Resides the foregoing, which I have examined, my assistant, Mr. Robert H.
Young, noted a mound about 4 feet high and GO feet in diameter on the crest of the
southeastern eud of a beach like esker iu the southeast quarter of section 30, town-
ship 12, range 1 east, near the Grosse Isle (p. 187).

A very large mound, said to be about 10 feet high, is reported on land of Mr.
William Rhind beside the White Mud River, about a mile west from Westbourne.
On its surface, or not far below it, stone pipes, pottery, and human skulls and other
bones have beeu found; but at the time of this information no deej) excavation had
been made.

INDEX,

Page.

Abifctibi, Lake 205,233

Ablation 210

Aboriginal earthworks 284,

313, 347, 349, 254, 390, 412, 413, 431, 611, 643-640

Ada, Minn 133,169,211,557

Adama, F. D., analyses 537

Adhemar, J., cited 489

Adirondack Mountains, glaciation of 110,

203, 260, 203, 263, 505

Aftonian stage of Glacial period 280, 554

Agasaiz, Alexander, cited 513

Agassiz, J. Louis R,. biographic notes 5

on glacial atriffi 637

on glaciation of Patagonia 509, 510

Agasaiz, Lake, named for Louis Agassiz 5

altitude 14

area 2,214,216.218,220,479

area of its drainage basin 03, 64

depth Ill, 213, 215, 218, 219, 470, 479

duration 198, 200, 225, 240, 242

extension with departure of the ice-
sheet 208.214

islands 107, 288, 304, 345- 352, 390

northeastern boundaries 11,29,62

northward uplift of basin 147,

217, 224, 227, 267, 382, 474-483, 485

outlet by the River Warren 7,

15, 19, 222, 224, 250, 478

outlets northeastward 215,

216,226,231,443.479

stages 210,250,444.474.476

succeeded by Lake Winnipeg 220, 226

tabular list of beaches and their alti-
tudes 476

volume of water discharged from 252

Agricultural resonrces 2,582-625

Airy, G. B., cited 494

Alaska, epeirogenic movements 509

mostly unglaciated Ill, 128, 243, 247

Alexander, Lake, Minnesota 159, 163

Algonkian formations 65, 70, 90

Algonquin, glacial lake 233

Alkaline efflorescence 524,590

.soila 588.589,590

waters 524,540,559

Alluvium 160,201,208,

253, 205, 392, 317, 334, 354, 378, 380, 438, 583, 590, 597

Alraasippi, Manitoba 453

Alta Viata,Minn 90

AUamont moraine 30, 139, 141

Altitudea of Lake Agassiz area 9, 14, 31,43

Amenia, N. Dak., artesian well 569

Analyses ol alkali etiloreacence 524

Page.

Analyses of artesian well waters 536-540

river and lake waters 540-544

Andrews, E., cited 238

Angus, Minn 455,459,562

Antelope moraine 139, 141

Antelope Valley, North Dakota 157

Appaliichian-Laurentide mountain belt 14, 104

Archean bowlders 120,

130, 131, 136, 152, 156, 174, 186, 393, 405, 409, 588, 626

Archean formations ] 6, 65, 76, 78, 89, 133, 556, 625, 631

area in Minnesota 66, 183, 583

decomposition of 89

Arctic archipelago 102,112,127,503

Arden, Manitoba 371,424,441,580,044

Ardoch, N. Dak 460,574,585

Areaof Lake Agassiz 1,2,14,214,216,220,479

Arrow Hills 130,140,175,177,271,400

Artesian water supply 523-581

sources of fresh 520, 576

sources of saline 527-530, 561, 576

use for irrigation 545

Artesian wells 2, 13,74-80,523-581

notes of on the Lake Agassiz area . . . 548-581

section. Browns Valley, Minn 89

Deloraine. Manitoba 83. 529

Devila Lake, N. Dak 529

Gratton, N. Dak 74.77

Humboldt, Minn 74

Janie3town,N. Dak 529

Morden, Manitoba 74,81

Roaenfeld, Manitoba 74, 78

Tower City, N. Dak 535

Arthur, N. Dak 417

Arvilla. N. Dak - 165, 403, 418, 436, 573

Assiuiboine delta ". 27,

50, 178, 189, 202, 271, 367, 370-381 , 424, 548, 587, 591

Assiuiboine Elver 42, 45, 50, 58, 98, 271, 380, 631

analyses of water 543

glacial stria> 036

Athabasca, glacial lake 64, 205, 233. 274

ithabasca River 63.205,331,636,641

A thert on .Minn 409, 429

Attawiipishkat River, glacial strije 638

Attix Ridge 300

Attraction of the ice-sheet 227,

228, 231, 484, 488-491, 498, 515, 522

Babbitt, Miss Franc E., cited 11

B.lldHill, N. Dak 154

Baldwin, S. P., cited 243

B.altic Sea, Champlaiii 8ul>sidence and reelevation 511

Barley, statistics of production 620

647

648

INDEX.

Barnesyille, Minn 287, 385, 400, 409, 654, 555

Bars, a variety of beacli deposits 348

Baselevfling of tlie Great Plains 102

Batligate, N. Dak 463, 469, 570

Beach ^idges 3,

20, 147. 167, 196, 199, 217, 221, 261, 267, 276-473, 506

eastward ascent 237, 483-485

nortll^\'ard ascent 147,

218, 230, 234, 267, 382,474-483, 485

tabular list, witli altitudes 476

terrace deposits of beach gravel . 344, 360, 365, 422

wave action in formation of 348, 386, 421. 446

wells on 548

Beans station, North Dakota 452,456

Beautiful Plain 424,425

Beavers 302,327

Becker, G.F., cited 495

Bell,Eobert, cited 68,112,119,128,140,204,

216, 220, 232, 238, 239, 275, 505, 608, 542, 636, 637

Nelson River described by 29,67

observations of glacial strije 633

on transportation of bowlders 131

Belle Plaine, Minn., deep well 17,225

Belly River formation 82,83

Belmont, N. Dak 166,218,462

Bolt, T., cited 511

Beltrami, J. C. cited 52,305

Beltrami Island, of Lake Agassiz 29, 178, 304, 388

Beltrami, Minn 165,559

Big Butte, North Dakota 162, 171, 2119, 243

Big Coul6e, North Dakota 268, 270, 317

Big Fork of Rainy River 51, 178, 304, 305, 644

glacial stria^. 640, 641

Big Grass Marsh and River 134, 425, 464, 467, 587

Big Slough, Manitoba 178, 377

Big Slough, North Dakota 149

Big Stoue Lake 15, 17, 18, 45, 141, 198, 208, 222, 265, 427, 643

analysis'Of water 543, 544

Birds Hill, Manitoba 175, 181, 183-188, 210, 213, 243

Bismarck. N. Dak., weather records 592-600

Black Bear Island, Lake Winnipeg 69, 137,035

Black Island, Lake Winnipeg, moraine 215,220,472

Blanchard, N. Dak 159, 448, 526, 531, 535 .

Blanchard beaches 218, 222, 226, 445-449, 479

Blanford, W. T., cited 513, 547

Blooming Prairie, North Dakota 145

Blue Earth River, Minnesota 264,264

Bluraeufeld, Manitoba 453

Blumenort, Manitoba 464, 467

Bois Brul6 River 256

Bois des Sioux River 20, 45, 56, 211, 212, 280, 300, 397, 408

Bonanza farms 614

Bonneville, Lake 1, 192, 228, 241, 194, 496, 595

Bottom-lands 20,270,292,342,605

Boutwell,W.T., cited 173

Bowlder-clay 46,108,119,122,134

Bowlders 136,198

absent from beaches and deltas . . 1 88,201, 290, 381, 627

abundant in front of beaches 386, 395

localities of, abundant and large 137,

148, 149. 152. 153. 155, 159, 104, 165, 168,
171, 174, 186, 198, 287, 289, 304, 341, 343,
354, 355, 386, 393, 395, 405, 411, 409. 583

on Pembina Moiintaiu 41, 137, 4o4

transportation of 109, 115, 130, 191

worn by buffaloes 139

Bowstring Lake and River 32, 51, 178, 304, 305, 640, 644

Boyne River, Manitoba 66, 97, 99,

Brainerd, Minn

Brandon, Manitoba 368, 370,

Brandon glacial lake '

Br,andou Hills 130, 140, 175, 176, 271,

Breckenridge, Minn 22, 54, 211, 553,

Brick making

Brine in wells 75,78,100.537,

British Columbia, epeirogenic movements 231,

glaciation 111,119,127,

British North American Boundary Commission 6,

Broken Bone Lake, North Dakota 162,172,176,

Browns Valley 15, 17, 89, 197,

artesian wells

Eryce, George, cited 48,

Buflalo delta 27, 189, 212, 290-

Bulfalo River, Minnesota 56,

Buffaloes 139,

Building stone

Burns Ridge, Manitoba

Burnside. Manitoba

Burnside beach 219,226,465-

Butte Mashue

Buxtou,N. Dak 159,165,448,

Page.
371,587
543, 544
374, 580
271, 377
308, 406
613, 627
625, 627
538, 629
505, 508
128, 206
401,433
209, 243
265, 643
. 89,539
612, 644
-292, 410
446, 631
582, 601
625, 626
.. 187
467
468, 479
155, 170
462, 455

Calciferous formations 75,76

Caledonia, N. Dak l.'iO, 160, 211, 218, 460

Calf Mountain, Manitoba 644

Calgary, drift near 121

Call, R. E.. determination of fossils 238

Cambrian formations 17, 65, 76, 78

Campbell, Minn 133,408,552,630

Campbell beaches. . . 216, 221, 224, 234, 237, 316, 407-426, 482, 644

fresh-water shells of 237

Canadian Geological .Surrey, work on Lake Agassiz. . . 8

Canadian PaciHc Railway 49,52,135.187,204,

205. 364, 309, 379, 424, 433, 442, 458, 404, 469

Canadian part of Lake Agassiz 1,213,216

Cauyouerosion 104.105

Carberry, Manitoba 376, 580

Carman, Manitoba 133,464.467.580

Carman, Minn., artesian wells 640, 544, 547, 660, 630

Casselton. N. Dak 133, 448, 534, 568

Catskill Mountains, glaciation of 117, 125

Causes of the Glacial period 125,604.517

Cavalier,N. Dak 457,027

Cedar Lake, Saskatchewan River 46, 61, 636

Chains of lakes 145,223,265

Chalmers, R., cited 605

Chamberlin, T. C, cited 4,7,76,

109, 129, 132, 179, 234, 492, 498, 517, 518, 627

alternative interpretations 244-251

on glacial lakes 195, 208

on limestone detritus in drift 132

on stages of the Glacial period 110,

280, 518

on terminal moraines 139

Champion, Minn., artesian wells 551

Ch.amplain, Lake 127, 203, 231, 232, 255, 262, 264, 605

Champlain ejiocli 127,128,233,253,259,263

marine beds 505,508

subsidence 127,

229, 233, 203, 505, 510, 511, 519, 621
uplift from the subsidence . 234, 204, 507, 511

INDEX.

649

Page

Changes in the levels of beaches 9, 10, 223, 229, 474-522

Chaimels of prejilacial or interglucial rivers 17,

100, 145, 17(1, 172, 222, 223, 270, 280, 317, 551

Chapman, E.J. , cited 260

Chater, Manitoba 369, 580

Chazy fornaations 69,70,75,70

Chicago and Northwestern Kailway 38

Cliioago outlet of Lake Warren 257, 260

Chippewa River, Minnesota 19

Churchill River 44, 63, 68, 128, 215, 231, 237, 275, 637

glacial striaj 634,637

Claypole, E. "W., cited 119,261,494

Clearwater River, Manitoba 58, 209

Clearwater River, Minnesota 64, 303,582,631,032

Clifford.N. Dalj 324,389,403

Climatic changes 171

conditions 592-601

Cochrane, A. S., glacial striffi....' 635, 636

Colemans Valley, N. Dakota 146

Colfax, N. Dak 434, 566

Colorado Canyon 104, 105

Colorado formation 82

Colvin.V., cited ■-.. 116

Contoocook River, New Hampshire 202

Contraction of the earth 518

Conway, N. Dak 419,437,575

Cooperstown, N. Dak 151,154,243

Cope, E, D., cited 83

Cordilleran mountain belt. ... 14, 101, 119, 122, 242, 513, 514, 547

outflow of ice-sheet 119

Corn, statistics of production 620

Coste, Eugene, cited 625

Coteaudes Prairies 10,35,36,86,91,140,149,151,308

Head of the 39,

111, 139, 143, 148, 150, 208, 266

Coteau du Missouri 10, 35, 106, 137, 140, 206, 267

Cottonwood River, Minnesota 86

Coutchiching series 07

Crazy Mountains, Montana 103

Cretaceous formations 17,

38, 40, 41, 44, 00,66,74, 81-107, 137. 138. 151, 154,
162,169, 197, 198, 304, 306, 317, 340, 341, 349, 3,55,393,
422, 528, 548, 550, 553, 567, 572, 580, 589, 626, 629

former eastward e.xtent 87, 100, 101, 198

Larjxmie brackish and fresh water series . . 84, 106

marine series of Manitoba 83

the South Saskatchewan . . 82

the Upper Mis.souri 81

sources of deposits lOl

CroU, James, cited 489, 517

Crookston, Minn 53,

133, 447, 454, 459, 526, 560, 613, 627, 628, 032, 643

Crosby, W. O., cited 132,494,513,517

Crow Hills, North Dakota 157, 169

Crow Wing River, Minnesota 163

Crust deformation by the ice-sheet 497, 500, 517, 520

Culver, G. E., cited 120,530

Cummings, N. Dak 159,448,452,455,631

Cushing, tr. P., cited 243

Cycles of rainfall 595

Cypress Hills, Assinibola 85,111,117,118,205

Cypress River, Manitoba 58, 98, 368, 371, 376, 580, 645

D.

Dairying 621, 624

Dakota, glacial lake 148, 149, l.'io, 254, 266

Page.

Dakota Indians 52, 158, 171, 309, 331, 360, 397, 460, 010, 611

Dakota lobe of icosheet 130, 208, 212. 260, 268, 035

Dakota sandstone- . . 74, 81, 82, 84, 86, 87, 89, 96, 100, 567, 568, 571

origin of name 531

source of saline waters 527-536,

561, 562, 569, 572, 573

Dall, W. H., cited 509

Dalles of AVinuipeg River 51

Dairy mple farm 614

Dana, J. D., cited. . ; 114, 116, 127, 128, 263, 503, 505, 517, 518, 605

Darwin, C, cited 509,510,513

Darwin G. H., referred to 493

Daupiiin, Lake 47,48,61,442,449

Davenport, N. Dak 448, 567

Davenport beach ridge, Ontario 261

I David.son, G., cited 504

I Davis, E. C, leveling 400,412,432

I Davis, W.M., cited 103,263

Dawson, George M., cited •. 6, 49, 71, loo,

110, 111, 112, 118, 119, 120, 121, 183, 196, 198, 205, 207,
238, 269, 274, 401, 504, 505, 506, 607, 509, 524, 595, 005

Dawson, George M., Cretaceous series 82,83,97

early oliscrvations of Lake Agassiz 6

glacial stri;e 039

Peace River silts 64

Pembina Mountain escarpment.. 41

rocks of Assiniboia 85

rocks of Manitoba . 72

section of Roscnield well 79, 80

Daw.son, J. W., cited 83,501,505,508

Dawson. S. J., leveling 50

Dawson Bay, Lake "Winnipego-sis 48, 73. 74

DeGeer, G., cited 263,505,511

DeVillo, N.Dak 414

Dead Horse Creek, Manitoba 364

Dead Lakes, Manitoba 464

Decomposition of gneiss and granite 89, 107, 132

Deloraine, Manitoba, deep well 83,629,534

Deltas 27,

199, 200, 208, 211, 215, 242, 246, 253, 290, 298,
315, 333, 357, 367, 370, 390, 402, 438, 584, 590

contemporaneous with tlie Herman beach 291,

298, 316, 334, 362, 380

proportion of modified drift 189, 291

wells (m 359,548,549

Denudation of the Great Plains 102

Departure of the ice-sheet 120, 521

Desor, E., glacial stria^ 637

Detroit, Minn 45

Devils Heart Hill 156,157

Devils Lake . . 10, 40, 130, 151, 162, 169, 170, 175, 209, 243, 268, 534

aboriginal mounds 644

artesian well 96, 100, 528, 539, 546, 547

Huctu.ations of level 695. 597

Devonian formations 44, 72, 74, 79, 80, 588

Diller,J. S.,cited 103,513

Dodge, J. A., analyses 524,536

Dog Head, Lake Winnipeg 47,09

Dominion City, Manitoba 133, 466, 578

Donaldson, Minn., flowing well 564

Douglas, Manitoba 369, 371

Dovre moraine 146, 147-158, 208, 210, 243, 343, 265, 311, 397

Downer, Minn 430

Drainage in Red River Valley 428, 459, 58,5, .586

Dresbach formation 74,78

Drift 108, 132, 134, .534

englacial 136, 101, 243, 249, 291, 298, 336, 341, 363

650

INDEX.

Page.

Drift, modified 127, 143, 155, 179-190, 210, CG5

tliicliiiess of 16, 133, 136, 137, 151, 171

Driftless area of Wiseonsiu — l-il

Drouglits 545,584,594

Dry^alslii, E. von, referred to 248

Ducli Mountain 1,35,

42, 45, 61, 83, 99, 105, 179,
198, 406, 426, 442, 477, 589

nortliward ascent of beaclies 235

Dulutli, Minn., glacial stria? 639, 640

weatlier records 592-600

Bulnth and Manitoba Railroad 432, 445. 447, 452, 462

Dulutli and Winnipeg Hailroad 49, 304

Dumont, Minn 383

Dunes on deltas 28, 200. 298, 299, 309, 312, 315, 375, 376, 591

Souris River 158

Duration of Lake Agassiz 200, 210, 225, 240

the Postglacial period 238, 516

Dutton, C. E., cited 104,494

Dwight, N. Dali., artesian wells 566

E.

East Selkirk, Manitoba 70,72,135,626

Eckelson, N.Dak 144

Eckelson, Lake 144,205

Economic resources 2, 582, 625-631

Eden, Manitoba 395

Edinburg, N. Dak 167,392

Edwards, ]?., analysis 542

Eldridge, G. H., referred to 82

Elevations from railway profiles 8, 38, 39, 40, 49, 52

Elk Tall ey, North Dakota 165, 107, 335, 337-353, 437

Elk Valley delta 27, 167, 189, 212, 333-336, 390, 403, 418

Elk Valley farm 614

Elliott, C. G., on dr.iin.age 585

Elm Creek, Manitoba 467,587

Elm Grove, North Dakota 338

Elm Eiver, Xorth Dakota 45, 56, 417

Ely.sian moraine 141,147,152,208

Embarras River, Minnesota 32, 177

Emerado, N. Dak 456,573

Enierado beaches 217, 218, 222, 226, 227, 454-458, 479, 482

Emer.son, B. K., cited 238

Emerson, Manitoba 135. 213, 578

Englacial drift 136, 191, 243, 249, 291, 298, 336, 341, 363

English River 62,638

Epeirogenic movemen ts 3, 102, 104. 105. 118, 125, 126,

127, 199, 216, 224, 227-237. 245. 259,
329. 382, 386. 407, 427, 474-522, 596

dependent on glaciation 492-501,

509. 520
independent of glaciation 512-515, 520
term proposed by G. K. Gil-
bert '. 103

wavelike advance on area of

Lake Agassiz 481, 486, 522

Erie, N. Dak 323,324

Erosion by lake waves - . 26, 198. 199. 242. 277, 316, 323, 344, 355,
380, 389, 392, 394, 407, 410, 4U, 415, 420, 422. 434

by the River Warren 150, 222, 250

glacial 89. 1 32, 588

postglacial 127.221.226

preglacial 17, 35, 38,

40. 44. 59, 89. 100, 102, 104, 107, 145, 198. 222, 501-504

Escarpments of lake erosion 27. 277, 283,

316,323, 389, 392, 394, 410, 411,418,420,425,428

Page.

Escarpments of preglacial erosion 35, 40, 105, 439

Eskers 175,179,183-188,201,210,243,645

Euclid, Minn 169,459,561

Europe, epeirogenic movements 229

glacial lakes 5

ice-sheet 125

postglacial period 239

Everest, N. Dak 448,567

Fairford River, Manitoba 61

Fargo, N. Dak 22, 55, 133, 211, 218, 556, 567, 613

Fargo and Southwestern Railroad 39, 3] 5, 389, 402

Farm work in the Red Eiver Valley 584, 598, 613, 614, 615

Farmhouses on beach ridges 3,276

Faults, absent in uplift of the Lake Agassiz area 483

Fauna, molluscan, of Lake Agassiz 4, 237

Fergus Falls. Minn 33,45,54, 158.632

analysis of water of Red River 540. 544

Fergus Falls moraine. . . 146, 158-162, 163, 208, 211, 242, 329, 641

First Pembina Mountain 27, 41, 57, 96, 300, 392, 420, 438

Fish Traj) Lake, Minnesota 163

Fisher, Minn., wells 561

Fisher, O., cited 494

Fishing Banks, from Newfoundland to Cape Cod. . . 112, 503

Fishing Lakes, Qu' Appelle River 197, 273

Fjords 102,501,507,509,510

submarine 263, 502,503

Flaxseed, statistics of production 623

Fleming, S., cited 261

Floiid stages of Lake Agassiz 252

Floods of Assiniboine River 58,380,542

Lake Manitoba 58, 380

Red Eiver 55, 166, 254, 438, 542, 598

Flora of the Red River basin 582,601-610

Flowers of prairies and beach ridges . . . 284. 307, 425. 609, 610

Flowing wells 523-581

Fluctuations of lake levels 250, 252, 277

Fluvial deposi ts 166, 201, 208, 253

Forest bed, interglacial 554, 555

Forest, causes of limitation 604

Forest part of Lake Agassiz area 1, 29,

30, 44, 279, 387, 413, 583, 586

Forest River, N. Dak 56, 340, 348, 437, 535, 585, 587, 631

Forest trees, species of 45, 299, 304, 343, 389, 413, 602, 603

Fort Abercrombie, N. Dak 55, 429

Fort Benton formation 81,

82, 84, 86, 92, 96, 106, 550, 553, 556, 565, 507, 629

Fort Frances, Ontario 50,632,640

Fort Pierre formation 81,82,83,86.90,91.94.96,98,

153, 170, 173, 189, 269, 270, 333, 394, 405, 439, 581, 642

Fort Totten, N. Dak 156, 157, 169. 644

Fossils, Cretaceous 82. 86, 92, 95

Baculites ovatus 91,92,94,96

Belemnitella manitobensis 98

Inoceramus problematicus 91, 99

sagensis 92. 94, 95

Lamna mudgei 94

Nucula cancellata 91

Ostrea congesta 97, 98, 99

Otodus appendiculatus 87

Pachyrhizodus latimentum 94

Placenticeras placenta 91

Scaphites nicolletii 91, 95

nodosus ^ 94 ^

Fossils. Ple:stocene and Recent 202, 207,

231, 237, 253, 259, 262, 264, 322, 505-508, 510, 554, 555

INDEX.

651

Fossils, Pleistocene and Kecent:

Gyrawlus par\nis 238

Litorina litorea 512

Spbaerium striatinum 237

sulcatum 238

Unio cllipsi s 237

Unio luteolus 237

Toldia (Leda) arctica 506

Fossils, Silurian:

Pycnostylua guelphensis 73

Fox Hills formation 81, 82, 90, 97, 173, 041

Franklin, John, referred to 275

Frencbmans Bluff, Minnesota 159, 296

Frog Portage, Churchill Eiver 275, 637

Frosts, earliest and latest 599,620

Fruits 590,624

G.

Gahb, W.M., cited 513

Galena limestone 70, 71, 74, 76, 77, 79, 80

Galesburg, N.Dak 324,326

Gardar, N. DakT 352,364,392,419

Gary moraine 37, 139, 141

Gas, natural 563,571,631

in well water 553, 569

Geikie, A., referred to 493, 517

Geikie, James, cited 109,125,510,517,518

Geologic formations underlying the drift 65

Giants Kauge, Minnesota ^. .. 30, 31, 32, 177

Gilbert, G. K., cited 4, 199, 227, 232, 238, 261, 492, 595, 598

defining epeirogeny 103

on Lake Bonneville 192, 194, 494, 496

Lake Iroquois 257-262

rhythmic stream erosion 224

GilflUan, J. A., cited 52,54,163,173,177,535

Glacial currents 109, 126, 129, 167, 182. 243, 247, 262, 351, 640

Glacial erosion 89, 132, 588

Glacial lakes, defined 194

evidences of 195-202

in Europe 5

Sargent County, N. Dak. . . . 148, 149, 152, 266

influence on deposition of drift 190, 242

of the Peace and Athabasca basins 63,

206, 255, 274

of the St. Lawrence basin 126, 202, 255-264

Glacial period 108,128,255,512,515,517

causes of 125,504,517

stages of 110,280,554

Glacial rivers 141',

161, 167, 179, 182, 196, 205, 234, 292, 298, 336, 362, 418

Glacial stria! 108,115,129,130,132,182,239

deflected 633,635,637,639,641

table of 129,633-642

Glacial watercourses 164,165

Glaciers contemporaneous with Lake Bonneville ■ 194

Gladstone, Manitoba 234, 236, 371, 464, 580

Gladstone beaches 218, 237, 462-465, 479, 483

fresh- water shells of 237

Glasston, N.Dak., wells 575

Glen Koy , parallel roads of 5

Glenboro, Manitoba 373.580

Glenora prairie, Manitoba 269

Glyndon, Minn 253,446,555

Gneiss bowlders 138

Gold mining 625

Golden Lake, N. Dak 168, 330

Golden Valley, North Dakota ... 165, 167, 336, 342-344, 349, 437

Page.

Goodchild, J. G ., referred to 511

Goose Eapids, Red Elver 55, 159, 165, 166

Goose Paver, North Dakota 55, 56,93, 327, 332, 336, 631

Graceville, Minn 281

Grafton, N. Dak., artesian wells 74, 77, 133, 536, 575, 627

beaches near 463

Grand Forks, N. Dak 23, 133, 219, 573, 627, 628

junction of rivers 52

Grand Marais, Minn 53, 463

Grandin, N. Dak 133, 451, 455, 525, 526, 569

Grandin Farming Company 614

Granite 66, 67, 75, 77, 89, 107, 157, 353, 359, 393, 469

Grant, U.S., cited 625

Grasses 601, 606-609, 621

Gravitation toward the ice-slieet 227,

231, 488-491, 498, 515, 522

Gray, . J. T., cited 556

Great Basin, Pleistocene lakes 192, 240, 242, 598

Great Bear Hills 44

Great Northern Railway 40, 148, 172, 267, 282, 286, 322,

324, 333, 346, 351, 387, 390, 397, 412, 418, 432, 450, 613

Great Salt Lake 193

Greely, A. W.,cited 506,512

Green Mountains, glaciation of 115, 202

Green Ridge, Manitoba 466

Greene, N . Dak 450

Greenland ice-sheet 12, 123, 129, 195, 242, 506

its motion discussed by T. C. Cham-

berlin 248

Greenland, oscillations of level 512

Greenleaf J. L., cited 632

Gretna, Manitoba, wells 581

Griftiths Hill, Manitoba 185

Grindstone Point, Lake "Winnipeg 69

Grinnell Land, Champlain marine submergence 506, 512

Griswold, Manitoba 376,377

Grosse Isle, Manitoba 187, 645

Gro\-es in prairie region 277, 336, 338, 342, 350

Guelph formation 73, 80

Gulf Stream, probable changes in Glacial period 513

Gypaum 94

Hague, N, Dak 571, 614

Hall, C. W., cited 530, 547, 556

Hall, James, referred to 497

Hallock, C., cited 401,433,630,043

Hamilton, N. Dak 463, 468, 575

Hamlin, C.E., cited 113

Hand Hills 85, 117, 118

Hansen, A.H., cited 5

Harrison, J. B., cited 513

Hatchet Lake 231, 232, 636

Hatton, N.Dak 334,390,572

Havard.V., cited 608

Hay, statistics of production 621

Hayden, F. V., cited 81

Hayes River 67, 226, 635

Heart Mound 96

Hector, J., glacial stria! C38

Heerman, E. E., on fluctuations of Devils Lake 595

Helgeseu, H. T., v.aluation of horses and cattle 624

Helland, A., cited 243, 248

Herman, Minn 68, 133, 282

Herman beaches 7, 164, 209, 210, 213, 214,

216, 221, 234, 335, 243, 250, 276-381, 407, 475, 484, 498

652

INDEX.

Page.

Heracliel, J., referred to 497

Higliwood Mouiitaina, Montana 103

Hilyard, E.W.. cited 515

Hillslioro, N. Dak 211,451,455,571,031

Hillsborci Ijeacll 21 7, 218, 222, 226, 446, 447, 440-454. 479

Himalaya Mountains 195, 513,514

Hind, H. Y., cited... 48,59,00,62,100,198,221,272,357,473,629

early observations ol' Lake Agassiz 6

on Tiger Hills 42

rocks of Lake Winnipeg 69

Hinde,G.J., cited 261

Hitchcock, C.H., cited... 113,114,118.505,508

on absence of Pliocene formations

northward 504

Hitchcock, E., limits of drift on "White Mountains 113

Hobart, N. Dak 144,154

Hotlman, G. C, analysis 537

HolcomI). S., li<;Tiite 630

Holland, Manitoba, wells 580

Homestead laws 613

Hook beach deposits 318,428

Hope, N. Dak 161

Hopkins, W., reibrred to 493

Hubbard, B., cited 595

Hudson Bay, epeirogenic movements. 3,102,230,237,507,508

glacial lakes of basin 203, 233

glacial stria- 234, 033, 637

thickness of ice over 119,215

Hudson-Cbaniplain, glacial lake 202, 254, 262, 264

Hudson River 203,232,262,264

submerged cliannel 263, 503

Hudson River formation 70. 79

Hudson Slrait 112, 633

Hull, Edward, cited 490

Humboldt, Minn., artesian well 74, 530, 537, 545, 565, 629

Hungerford. E., cited 115

Hunter, N, Dak 435

Hutton.F.'W,, cited 517

Ice-sheet, area and thickness 112, 117, 118,

attraction cbiinging water levels

488-491,498,

barrier of Lake Agassiz

110, 113, 126, 129, 140, 192,195, 230,

boundaries

crust deformation by 497, 500, 510,

currents of 109,120,

lobes of 129,130,

167, 171, 177, 182, 190, 208, 210, 243,

of Greenland 12, 123, 129, 195, 242,

of northern Europe 510,

■ of Patagonia

recession of 126,130,160,

201, 203, 209, 214, 210, 229, 240, 247,

remnants, latest 128,

Iceberg drift 112,1.10,191,201,

Illinois River 198,

Immigration

India, irrigation

Indian agriculture

Indian corn, statistics

Indian mounds

313, 347, 349, 354, 390, 412, 413, 431, 611,

Inkster, N. D.ak 348,391,418,

Interglacial formations 100, 261,

505, 515
228, 231,
515,522
3,5,15,

, 378, 490
.. 110
520, 521
, 167, 247
142, 160,
, 292, 329
248, 506
511, 515
.. 509
191, 195,
, 521, 590
233, 240
248. 250
203, 256
591, 612
.. 547
610, Olu
. 020
. 284,
643-646
437,643

506, 554

Pago.

Interglacial stream channels 145, 222, 223, 270, 280, 554

International boundary 401

Iowa, eastward extent of Cretaceous formations 87

lowan stage of Glacial period 110. 141. 280, 554

Iroquois, glacial lake 203, 233, 254, 257-262

Iroquois beach 258

Irrigation b.y artesian water 545-547

Irving, R. D., referred to 76

Islands of Lake Agassiz 167,288,304,345-3.52,396

Lslea la Cro.sse Lake 68,275,637

Isostasy ; 494,497.501,512

Itasca, Lake 10, 32, 33, 173, 181, 210, 243

Itasca moraine 32, 140, 173-177, 209, 212, 242

Ives, Minn 432

James Bay

131, 140, 205, 215, 217, 231, 233, 237, 254, 505,

glacial lake -..■

terminal moraine in

James River, North Dakota 134, 137. 149, 151,

James River Valley, artesian wells 100,208,

glacial lake 148,150,

Jamestown, N. Dak., artesian well . . . 529. 531. 538, 544

Jamieson, T. F., cited 5,125,494

Jordan sandstone 1

Jukes-Browne, A. J ., cited

. 119,

500, 037
233
140,215
197, 206
528-536
254, 266
546, 547
497,510
7, 74, 78
. 513

K.

Karnes 157,160,163,179,303

Kausan stage of Glacial period 110, 141, 280, 554

Katahdin, Mount, glaciation of 113, 115, 124

Keating, W. H., cited 17,48,50,52,57

early observations of Lake Agassiz. . . 6

on Winnipeg River 51

Keewatin, Canada 29

Keewatin formations 66, 07, 472

Kelso, N. D.ak 451.455,570

Kemnay, Manitoba 373,375,378

Kendall, P. F., referred to 511

Kenogami L.ike 204, 637

Kettle Hill, beaches 217, 218, 445, 454, 458, 464, 477

Kettle-holes 174

Keystone, Minn., artesian wells 502

Keystone farm 614

Kiester moraine 141, 152, 208

King, Clarence, cited 82,493

Koochiching, Minn 50, 632

Kootanie basin, glacial lake 208

Kronsfeld, Manitoba 448

Kronsthal, Manitoba 464

Labrador, Champlain marine submergence 505

Lac du Bonnet. Winnipeg River 52,137

Lac qui Parle .,. 18,19,198

Lac Seu'i ( Lonely Lake) 52

Lacustrine silts 160, 201, 242, 256. 310, 362, 380, 438, 583, 590

Lafayetti' period, erosion 107

Lahontan, Lake 1,192,241

Lake of the Woods 29, 49, 51,

67, 137. 181, 198, 210, 304, 388. 402, 586

area, elevation, and depth 49

glacial striie 639

Lake Superior lobe of the ice-sheet 142

Lakes, fluctuations of level 594-598

INDEX.

653

Page.

Lakes, in niorainic belts 34,110,145,161,103,168,174

in A'alle,\'a of glacial rivers 197

of Lake Agaasiz area 46

of preglaeial or interglacial watercourses . 145, 223, 265

Lamplugb, G. W., cited 506

Land, laws for acquiring, from United States 613

Laugdou, N. Dak 151, 175, 001

Langs Valley 8, 57, 176, 197, 269, 271, 363, 377, 581

Laramie formation 84,106, 173,268,642

Lariinore, N. Dak 23, 165, 212, 333, 345, 352, 436, 574

La Salle River, Manitoba 56

Last Mountain Laki', Aasiniboia 60, 197, 272

Laurcntian drift bowlder 120, 121

Laurentian formations 66, 67, 75, 239

L.aurenti.an lakes 102,126,180,196,198,203,255,260,594

cycles of rise and fall 278, 594, 598

Laurentide highlands 1 14, 119, 120, 141 , 202, 260

outflow of ice-sheet 119

Lawndale, Minn 286

Lawson, A. C, cited 49, 183, 257, 625

observations of glacial striEB 638, 639

on rocks of Lake of the Woods and

Rainy Lake 67

Leaf Hills, Minnesota 30, 33, 139, 158, 163, 181, 243

Leaf Hills moraine. 146, 158, 163-173, 208, 212, 242, 298, 350, 641

LeCoute, Joseph, cited 104,493,503,504,513

Leda clays 508

Leech Lake, Minnesota 33, 173

Leonard, N. Dak 316, 389, 402, 415, 434, 567

Lesquereus, L., cited 87, 605

Leveling, altitudes of beaches 9, 226, 279, 407

in vicinity of Devils and Stump lakes .. . 597

Leverett, Frank, referred to 4

moraines traced by 140

Lewis, H. C, referred to 511

Lewis, T. H., surveys of Indian mounds 643

Lieberg, John B.. cited 608

Lightnings Neat 309, 388

Lignite 82, 85, 86, 88, 89, 92, 100, 361, 558, 568, 029

Lime-burning 71,625,026

Limestone drift bowlders. 137, 155 157, 170, 174, 183, 5S8, 626, 640

Limestone gravel 286,313, 319, 320, 322, 353,

359, 361, 364, 392, 394, 416, 425, 459, 466, 588, 591, 640

Limits of plantlspecies in the Red River basin 601-610

Lindenkohl, A., cited 263, 503

Lisbon, N. Dak 148

Little Falls, Minnesota 147, 159

Little Fork of Eainy River 51,100,640

Little Goose River, North Dakota 332

Little Pembina River 93,358

Little Saskatchewan River 47,48,61

Little Stony Mountain, Manitoba 71, 471, 626, 636 i

Lobes of the ice-sheet 129, 142,

160, 167, 171, 177, 182, 190,208, 210, 243, 292, 320, 418

Lockhart, Minn 296, 558

Lockhart farm 614, 630

artesian wells 558, 630

Loess 180,515

Logan, W. E., cited 239

Lonely Lake (Lac Seul) 52,638

Long, Stephen H., cited 50

expedition in 1823 6, 48, .50, 52, 57

Long Lake, Assiniboia 60,197,272

Long Lake, Manitoba 50

Long Sault, Rainy River 50, 644

Lost River, Minnesota 164, 303

Low, A. P., cited 140,635

Page.
Lowdons Ridge 441

Lower Fort Garry, Manitoba 55, 71, 72

Lower Magucsian formation 17, 74, 75, 76, 78, 80

Lower Silurian Ibrmations 17,68,74,75,80,548

Lundy, glacial lake 233

Lyell, Charles, cited 260,517

M.

McCanna, N. Dak 165,167,213,334,346

McCauley ville, Minn 55, 253, 429, 554, 643

MoCauley ville beaches 216, 221, 224, 234, 316, 427-442, 482

McConnell, R. G., cited Ill, 117, 122, 196

McGee, W J, cited 179, 494

McGregor, Manitoba 381, 449

Mackenzie River 03, 81, 119, 122, 231 255, 275

Mackintosh, D., cited 239

Macoun, John, cited 239, 275, 604, 609

Madison sandstone 78

Maig.iard, C., referred to 123

Maize, statistics of production 621

Malaspina ice-sheet 128

Mammoth bones under the Herman beach 322

Manitoba, Lake 1, 3, 34, 43, 45, 48, 61, 72, 213, 241

area and elevation 48

flood stages 58, 380

glacial strijB 636

origin of name 48

Manitoba, great lakes of 216,220,230,241,586

order of sections in townships 11,12

work on Lake Agassiz 8,9,228

Manitoba and Northwestern Railway 370,

394, 424, 441, 445, 449, 458, 467

Manitoba escarpment 35, 40, 105, 214, 215, 439

Manitou Rapids, Eainy River 60, 639

Manston, Minn 399, 409

Manvel, N. Dak 466,574

Maple Lake, Minn 23, 47, 104, 105, 209, 221, 299-302, 352

Maple Kidge 450

Maple River, North Dakota 57, 101, 317, 415, 450

Maps of shore-lines 270,279, 410.431

Marine submergence during the Champlain epoch 127,

229, 264, 505

Marshes 283, 286, 287, 321, 385. 397, 459, 584-587

Marsh River, Minn 53, 56. 585

Maryland, Manitoba 467

Mattawa River 233, 262

Mauvaise Butte, North Dakota 171

Mauvaise Coulee, North Dakota 176, 268, 595

May ville. N. Dak 436, 534, 535, 572, 631

Meillicott, H. B.. cited 513,547

Meek, F.B., cited 81

Mckinock, N. Dak 139, 456

Mennonite Reserve, Manitoba 526, 607

Merjelen See 192,194

Merrill, F. J. H., cited 263,264

Mesabi moraine 32, 146, 177-179, 213, 243, 306

Mesabi Range, Minnesota 30, 31, 32, 177

Mothy Portage 64,231,232,275

Michigan, Lake, compared with Lake Agassiz 200,

203, 240, 288, 318, 421

Middle River, Minnesota 585

Midway, Manitoba 449

Mille Lacs, Minnesota 159

Millwood series 83

Milne, John, cited 112

Milnor.N.Dak 149,211,311

654

INDEX.

Page.

Milnor beach 211, 223, 310, 312, 328

MiltoD, K. Dak 93, 175

Miiineapolis, Minn 139, 210, 243, 641

Minnesuta. hi»;:Iie.st laiul iu 31

origin of iiaiiK' 15

topography of northern 30

Minnesota, glacial lake 35, 142, 254, 264

Minnesota Geological Surrey, work on Lake Agassiz

and adjacent moraines 7, 139.

142, 147, 159, 163, 177, 551, 555, 557
Minnesota lobe of ice-sheet. . 130, 141, 208, 212, 264, 336, 350, 635

Minnesota Kiver 15, 66, 130, 254, 264, 427, 443

Minnesota Valley 16, 142, 189. 197. 222, 224, 265, 317, 6U5

Minnewaukan, N. Dak 158, 169, 171

Minot, N. Dak 173, 601

artesian wells 574

Miocene formation 85

Mirage in Ked River Valley 21

Missinaibi lake and river 204, 508

Mississippi River, analysis of water 543

Mississippi Valley, erosion of 107

Missouri River in preglacial time 106

Mitchell, Minnesota 428, 429, 554

Modified drift 127. 143,155.170, 170-190.210,222,

239, 242, 262, 265, 269, 270, 308, 316. 334, 378. 552

projjortion iu deltas 189,291

Molluscan fauna of Lake Aga&aiz 4,237

Mono, Lake 193,194

Montana formation 82

Montgomery, H., cited 539

Montreal, Canada 202,231,262,263

Mooreton, N. Dak 414, 566

Moorhead, Minn 22. 55, 133, 211, 218, 613, 627

section of deep well 556

weather records 592-600

Moose !Noso, Manitoba 184

Moraines, marginal, of the iccsheet 10, 11,21, 109,

134, 136, 139-179, 201. 208, 210. 215, 341, 472, 559. 583

contemporaneous with the Herman Beach . . . 214,

235, 245, 250, 498

short time required for their formation. . 242, 245

Morden, Manitoba, deep well 74, 81, 534, 536,581

beaches near 423, 448, 453

Morris, Manitoba 133, 220, 471

Mossy portage 219, 468, 470, 477

Mossy River, Manitoba 61

Mounds, aboriginal 284,

313, 347, 349, 354, 390, 412, 413, 431, 611, 643-646

Mountain, N. Dak 419,420

Mountain City, Manitoba 365, 393, 440

"Mountains" ea.st of the Golden Valley 349,352,392,437

Mountain building duriug the Pleistocene period 513,

517,519

Mouse (Souris) River 42,59,85,158,268

Mowbray. Manitoba 269, 270,645

Miiir glacier, Alaska 243, 247

Muskegs 29, 31, 586

Muskoda. Minn 290,292.410,643

Mustinka River 45, 21 1, 279, 396, 630

N.

Namekan Lake, Minnesota, lignite 630

Nanaen, F., on the Greenland ice-sheet 123, 124

Natural gas 563, 571, 631

in well water 553, 569

Neche, N. Dak 463, 469, 576

Page.

Neepawa, Manitoba 134, 370, 371, 394, 580

Neill, E. D., cited 15

Nelson, Manitoba 406,422,440,581

Nelson River.. 29,62,67,198,214,220,252,473,631

erosion during i)Ostglacial time 221,226

glacial stria- 634

terminal moraine crossing 140,215

Newbeny, J. S., cited 7,261, 263

Niagara, N. Dak 168,338

Niagara formation 72,73,79,80

Niagara River 232 257

Nicollet, J. N., cited 15^ 157

on the Coteau des Prairies 37

N iobrara formation 81. 82, 84. 86, 00, 91, 96, 98, 106, 394

Nipigon, Lake, glacial striae ggg

Nipissing, Lake 233

Niverville. Manitoba 133,471,577

Niverville beaches 217, 220, 226, 227, 234, 236, 471^73, 479

Norcross, Minn 334

Norcross beaches 214, 216, 221, 223

224, 234, 236, 295, 298, 316, 334, 383-396, 475, 482, 484

Nordeuskiold, A. E., on the Greenland ice-sheet 123, 195

North Saskatchewan River 62,215,272

Northern Pacific Railroad 39

160, 290, 321, 410, 430, 435, 446, 450, 613

Northwood, N. Dak 334 573

Norwood, J. G., glacial striai 639

Noyes, "W. A., analyses 537

O.

Oak Hummock, Manitoba

Oats, statistics of production 590

Ochre River, Manitoba

Odanah series

Ojata, N. Dak 460,461,

Ojata beaches 218, 222. 226, 459-462,

Ojibway Indians 29. 52. 54. 57. 163. 173. 177, 535,

Ontario, Lake, during departure of the ice 203,

Orange Ridge 8,395,425,

Urr station. North Dakota 346,

Osars

- 184
615, 619

449, 477
83
573, 587
479, 483
610, 611
233, 257
444, 610
391, 403

- 179

Ossowa, Manitoba 459

Ossowa beach 219,226,468-470

Ottawa River basin, epeirogenic movements 3

231,232,262.263,505

Ottertail Lake and Riv^r 52,54,632,643

Outlets of glacial lakes 195, 231. 232, 250

Overwashed gravel and sand 143, 155, 170,182

Owen, D. D., cited 6,52,71

early observations of Lake Agassiz 6,360

Ox Creek, North Dakota 172,173,642

Oxidation of the till 135

Packard, A. S., cited 112,505,508

Pakowki, Lake 205,273

Paleozoic bowlders 136^ jge

formations 65, 72, 73, 74, 425

Palliser, John, early observations of Lake Agassiz 6,

360, 644

Panama, Isthmus, epeirogenic movements 513

Panton, J. H., observations of glacial stria? 635, 636

on depth of Lake "Winn ipeg 47

rocks of Manitoba 69,71,72

section of drift at Winnipeg 577

INDEX,

655

Page.

Parallel Eoads of Glen Eoy 5

Park Kiver, N. Dak 56,

93, 95, 220, 336, 342, 353, 419, 437, 535, 575, 587, 631

Pasquia Hills 35,43,61,99. 179.273

Patagonia, glaciation of 509,512

Peac„, glacial lake 64,208,255,274

Peace River 63, 120, 121. 123, 208, 041

Peary, EE,, on the Greenland ice sheet 123,124 I

Pelican Lake, Manitoba 57,176,197,269,377

Pelican River, Minnesota 55.631,632

Pembina, N.Dak 24,213,612,627,643

origin of name 57

Pembina delta 27,

189, 357-363, 392, 404, 407, 421, 438, 452, 548, 549. 630

PembinaMountain 27,35,40,83,93.95,97,

105, 134, 178, 198, 213, 355, 360, 363, 404, 422, 439, 589

Pembina River 41 ,

56, 57, 93, 138, 189, 197, 268, 270, 357, 360, 457, 631

Pembina trail 297,299,412,413,432,433

Penck, A., cited 489

Peoria, Lake 198

Pepin, Lake 19

Perched bowlders 136

Petroleum in Cretaceous atrata 98

Phillips, John, cited 494

Pilot Knob, North Dakota 175,341

Pilot Mound, Manitoba 99, 138, 645

PilotMound, North Dakota 162

PineEiver, Manitoba 396,406,442,477

Plain of the Red River Valley 21,

133, 310, 366, 417, 526, 590, 593, 645

Plains of the Northwest 85, 86, 102, 151, 274, 360, 547, 603

Plasticity of the earth's interior 495, 500, 518, 519, 521

Playgreen lakes 63, 68, 238

Pleasant Home, Manitoba 468, 469, 578

Pleasant Ridge, Minnesota 446

Pleistocene lakes, two classes 192,207,240

Pleistocene mountain-building 513

oscillations of land and sea 501,

509, 512, 513, 515, 520

Pleistocene period 128, 509, 612, 514, 517, 519

Pliocene erosion 102,104,105

Plum Creek, Manitoba 271,581

Pokegama Falls, Mississippi River 31,32,178

Pokegama Lake, Minnesota 33, 173

Pomeroy , Manitoba 462

Poramede Terre River 19

origin of name 611

Poplar River, Minnesota 165

Population statistics 617, 618

Porcupine HiUs 35,43,58,61,83,99, 179

Portage la Prairie, Manitoba 133, 371, 467, 579

Portland, N. Dak 334, 418, 436, 572

Postglacial period 198, 238, 487, 507, 508, 511

Potatoes, statistics of production 622

Powell, J. W., cited 104, 494

Prairie, causes of limitation 604

Prairie and forest fires 604,605

Prairie partsf Lake Agassiz 1,29,

30, 44, 46, 583, 591, 602, 613, 618

Pratt, J. H., referred to 493

Preglacial contour 107, 133

Preglaoial elevation 501, 502, 504, 510, 519

Preglacial erosion 38,

59, 175, 198, 269, 270, 317, 363, 405, 422, 501-504

Preglacial residuary detritus 132,515

Preglacial river channels 17, ] 06, 145, 170, 172, 222, 317

Page.
Preston. E.D., cited 490

Prostwich, J. , cited 243, 518

Prince Albert 273

Profiles across beaches . . 429, 431, 432, 435, 436, 437, 439, 440, 441

of railways 8

Provo shore line of Lake Bonneville 194

Publications relating to Lake Agassiz previous to this

monograph 11

Pumpelly, R.. cited 515

Q-

Qu' Appelle River 58, 59, 179, 189, 197, 268, 271, 273

glacial lake 206,268

Quaternary baseleveling 103, 105, 199

epeirogenic movements 229, 474-522

Quebec, Canada 262. 264

Queen Charlotte Islands 127,231,506

E.

Rabbit River. Minnesota 45, 398

Railway profiles 8

Rainfall 195,542,545 592,594,595.605

Rainy Lake 24, 32, 49, 50, 67, 137, 388, 586, 630, 644

area, elevation, and depth 49

glacial strias 638,640

Eainy River 50,181,388,586,631,632

aboriginal mounds 644

glacial strife 639,640

Eamseys Groves, North Dakota 342

Rat Portage, Ontario 51

Recent period 128, 238, 487, 512

Recession of the ice-sheet 126,130, 167,191,195,203,

209, 214, 216, 229, 238, 247, 265. 298, 444, 481, 521, 596

Red Lake 32, 49, 175, 178. 181 . 209, 213, 303, 586, 630, 643

area and elevation 49,304

origin of name 52

Red Lake Falls, Minn 54,411,632

Red Lake Indian Reservation 164, 303

Red Lake River 52, 242, 463, 582, 631, 632, 643

Red River of the North 20, 45, 54, 65, 107, 126. 130, 163, 202,

205, 242, 284, 446, 450, 582, 631, 632, 644

analyses of water 540, 541, 544

dates of opening and closing of

navigation 599

Red River Valley, area of Lake Agassiz 5, 35, 133, 135,

159, 185, 202, 209, 266, 276, 306, 417, 554, 613

artesian and common wells 523-581

climate w 545

drainage 428, 459, 585

erosion of 104

flora 582,601-610

fluvial deposits 253

marshes S84-587

topographic features 19, 39

tract of till across 159,166

Reelevation from the Champlain subsidence 507, 520

Reid, H.F., cited 243.247

Reindeer Lake 545,637

Relationship of the earth's crust to the interior 493, 519

Reynolds, N. Dak 159,165,452,455

Rheinland, Manitoba 458.581

Rhythmic stages of elevation and outlet erosion 224.

235,250,251,444,499

Richardson, John, cited 68. 231, 275

Richthofen, F. v., cited 515

Ricketts, C, cited 513

656

IKDEX.

-Ridge, east of Elk Valley

'"Kidge," euat of Emerson, Manitoba

Kidiog Mountain 1, 35, 4t

83, 99, 105, 179, 198, 378, 395, 406, 426,

northward ascent of beaches

Rivers of the Lake Agassiz area

Rock Lake, Manitoba 138,

Eo'eky Mountains, glaciation of 117,120,121,

Rocky Spring plateau, Montana

Rolette, Minn

Rome, N. Y

Rose Ridge

Roseau Lake, Minnesota 47, 175,

Roseau River, Manitoba 66, 181, 401, 433,

Rosenfcld, Manitoba, artesian well 74, 78, 133, 536,

Roy, Thomas, cited

Rush River, North Dakota

Russell, I. C, cited 111. 128, 207,

on Lake Lahontan

Rye, statistics of production

Page.

348, 437
465, 469
i, 45, 61,
477. 589
. 235
50
197, 269
123, 2T4
. 118
. 296
258, 260
441, 610
401, 586
578, 630
538,629 i
. 260
417, 385
521, 598
. 193
. 620

S.

Sabin, Minu s 446,555

Saguenay River 102,501,505

Salisbury, E. D., cited 132,498,517,518

Salt and saline -waters 75,

100, 169, 524, 527-536, 546, 561, 565, 573, 587, 628

Salt Cooley and River, North Dakota 587

Sand for masons' use 628

Sand Hill dulta. 27, 165, 189, 298, 386, 400, 591

Sand Hill River 45, 56, 164, 165, 297, 298, 411, 459, 585

Sargent County, N. Dak., glacial lake 148, 149, 152, 266

Saskatchewan, glacial lake 6,

59, 60, 179, 189, 197, 2U6, 255, 267, 272-274

Saskatchewan River 44,45,61,205,215,217,586

Grand Rapids of 219,

220, 236, 445, 471, 472, 477, 631

Sawkins, J. G., cited 513

Saxicava sands 508

Scandinavia, epeirogenic movements 511

fjords 510

glaeiiil lalces '5

Scarboro Heights, Ontario 198,261

Schookraft, H. R., cited 173

Schott, C. A., cited 491

Scotland, gkaciatiou of 125

Scratching River, Manitobaj 56

Scribner, F. L.. cited 609

Second Pembina Mountain 41,96,355,356

Sections, across beaches 26,

421, 429, 431, 432, 435, 436, 437, 439, 440, 441

the Red River Valley 22,23,24

artesian w ells 74, 548-581

Coteau des Prairies 38

of Birds Hill 185

of deltas 290, 298, 316, 334, 358, 373

showing sources of artesian well waters . . . 527
decline of water head of artesian

wells 532

Sections, order in townships in the United States and

Canada - 11,12,276,549

Selkirk, Lord, founding colony in Manitoba 612, 616, 628

Selwyn, A. R. C, cited 71,98

Shakopee limestone 17.76

Shaler, N. S., cited 78,493,495,498,605

Shanty Creek, Manitoba 426,442,477

Sheldon, N. Dak 315,317

Pa,:,e

Sberbrooke, N. Dak 161

Sheyenne delta 27,57,150,189,

202, 211, 212, 223, 268, 312, 315-317, 402, 415, 434, 591

Sheyenne River 56. 91, 134, 137, 148, 151, 153,

155, 161, 171, 177, 312, 314, 596, 612, 030, 631

glacial 149,150,161,210

Shirley, Minnesota 454,459

Shoal Lake, Manitoba 8,134,241,467

Shorelines . . 3. 13, 26, 43, 196, 199. 221, 231, 234, 260, 261, 276-473

tabular list, with altitudes 476

Shrubs, species of 603,604

Sibley, Lake, North Dakota 145

Sideuer, C. F., analyses 537

Signal Service records 592-601

Silurian formations 17, 68, 72, 80, 157, 535, 536, 588

Sims, N. Dak., lignite 85,630

Sipi-wesk Lake, Nelson River 63

Sisseton Agency, S. Dak 86

Skunk Lake, North Dakota 149,150

Sleepy Eye, Minn 90

Sloughs 329,343,354,584-587,590,607

Smock, J.C., cited 117

Snake River, Minnesota 56,412,413,433,585

Snowfall 592,594

Sogne fjord 126

Soils, variety and distrib ution 583-591

Souris, glacial lake 6,57,

149, 157, 172, 177, 189, 197, 206, 255, 267, 363, 641

Souris River 42,

59, 60, 85, 158, 173, 176, 178, 269, 612, 630, 631,642

aboriginal moujlds 644

South Saskatchewan River 61, 267, 272

Cretaceous series 82

Southall, J. C cited 238

Spencer, J. W., cited 203, 217, 255, 257, 258, 261, 502, 629

tSpiritwood lakes, North Dakota 145

Spit beach deposits 318,366,450

Springs , 286,

361, 385, 429, 439, 459, 531, 533, .536, 549, 563, 585, 587

saline 535,565,587,628,629

Square Plain, Manitoba 442,477

Squirrel Creek, Manitoba 587

St. Boniface, Manitoba 133,577,627

St. Croix, Lake 19,198,256

St. Croix series 74,78

St. Elias, Mount, glaciers 138,521

St. Hilaire, Minn 387, 400, 412, 432, 561, 627

St. Joseph, N. Dak 457

St. Lawrence formation — 74, 78

St. Lawrence, glacial lake 254, 262, 263

St. Lawenee Valley, epeirogenic movements 3, 127,

231, 232, 259, 506

glacial currents 126

St. Martin, Lake 47,636

St. Paul, Minn 139,210

weather records 592-600

St. Peter sandstone 17,70,76,78,80

St. Thomas, N. Dak 463,575

St. Vincent.Minn 24,133,213,565,613

analysis of water of Red River 541,

544, 547

weather records 593-600

Stages of Lake Agassiz 210, 250, 444, 474, 476

the Glacial period 110, 141, 167, 210, 280, 506, 554

Standing Rock Hill, North Dakota 153

Star Mound, Manitoba 99,137,645

.Stock raising 621,624

INDEX.

657

stone, G.H., cited 180,505

Stonewall, Mauitiiba 72, 470, 578, 626, 636

Stonewall beach 217, 219, 220, 226, 470, 479

Stony Mountain, Manitoba 71 , 72, 469, 626, 636

Stony Kidge, Minnesota 174

StiatiBed diift 127

Stria-, glacial 108, 115, 129, 130, 132, 182, 234, 239

deflected 633, 635, 637. 639, 641

table of 129, 633-642

Stump Lake 102, 169. 170, 209, 644

fluctuations 595,597

Subglacial drift 136

Subsidence, epeirogenic, of the Cliani plain epoch 127,

229, 263, 505, 510, 519
J^ake Aga.'ssizand Hud-
son Bay region 3, 127,

229, 505. 519

SuUys Hill, North Dakota 157,169

Superglaei.ll drift 191, 250

Superior, Lake, during departure of the ice. - 198, 203, 217, 250

analysis of water 544. 545

glacial striiu 637, 640

Swamps 29,31,304,413,586

Swan Lake, Manitolia 73, 197, 217, 269, 454

Swan Kiver, Manitoba 97,90,210,442,449,453,477

Swan, AV. E., Rosen feld artesian well 79

Sweden, epeirogenic movements 511

Sweet tirass Hills, Montana, glaeiation 117, 118

T.

Tamarack Eivor, Minnesota 50, 304, 413, 433, 450, 563, 585

Tanberg, Minnesota - 2S6, 385, 399, 587

Taylor ,V. B., cited 257, 261

Taylor Lake, North Dakota 147, 150, 160, 210, 309

Temperature 598

changes of, in e.arth'.s crust 491, 522

Terminal moraines 10, 11 , 109, 134, 136,

139-179, 201, 208, 210, 215, 341, 472, 559, 583
contemporaneous witli the Herman

beach 214, 235, 245, 250, 498

short time required for their forma-
tion 242, 245

Terrace epoch 128

Terraces, along base of I'embina Mountain. . , 41, 135, 404, 422

deposits of beach gravel "--- 344,300,365,422

of modified drift in \'alleys. . . . 127, 162, 180, 222, 270

shore-lines of erosion 26,198,261,323,411

Tertiary baseleveliug 102, 104, 199, 510, 528

formations 85, 88, 112

Tewaukon, Lake, North Dakota 149

Thibet, epeirogenic movements 514, 515

Thickne.ssof the drift 16, 133,137

ice-sheet 112,117,505

Thief Lake, Minnesota 47,586

Thomson, W., cited 490,493

Thornhill, Manitoba 137,175,213,304,393,645

Three Buttea, Montana, glaeiation of 117,118

Thunders Nest 309

Tiger Hllla 42,44,99,130,134,

140, 175, 176, 178, 271, 366, 368, 377, 406, 580, 589, 645

Till 40,108,119,122,

134, 201, 241, 250, 253, 260, 369, 381, 506, 583, 588, 589

eiiglacial and subglacial 136

mass in esker gravel 186

superglacial 191, 250

tract crossing the Red River Valley 159, 166

Tintah, Minn 307, 551, 630

MON XXV 42

Page,
Tintah beaches . . 221, 224, 234, 298. 316, 334, 387, 396-406, 482, 643

I Toad Mountains, Minnesota 163

Tobacco Creek, Manitoba 587

Todd.J.E., on Lake D.-ikota 251,206

preglacial courses of rivers in North

Dakota 106

terminal moraines 140

Tongue Elver, North Dakota 58,93,357,421,457,468,470

Topography of the basin of Lake Agassiz 14,

151, 175, 198, 221, 269, 272, 339, 602

Tombs, J., Grafton artesi.an well 77

Toronto, Ontario 198,261

Totteu, Fort, N. Dak 156,157,109,644

Tower City, N. Dak., artesian well 100, 161

Townships, subdivision in sections 11,12

Tracy, Minn., sectionof well 88,89.90

Transportation of bowlders 109, 115, 130, 191

Traverse, Lake 15. 17, 18, 45, 143,

198, 208, 211 222, 224, 236, 265, 279, 306, 427

aboriginal mounds 643

Trees, species of forest 45, 299, 304, 343, 389, 413, 602, 603

cultivation 277

Trehemc, Manitoba 42, 178, 366, 393, 406, 580

Treherne, H. S., leveling 48, 59

Trenton limestone 17, 70, 74, 75, 76, 78. SO

Turtle Mountain 10, 36,

85, 102, 105, 130, 162, 173, 175, 176, 209, 243, 268, 630

Turtle Kiver, North Dakota 50,

93, 96, 333, 338, 345, 390, 403, 418, 574, 031

Twining, W. J., cited 208

Two Rivers, Minnesota 50, 401. 628, 630, 643

Tyrrell, J. B., cited 61,118,119,

196, 215, 220, 234, 237, 24 1 , 396, 406, 486, 534

Manitoba escarpment named by 35

observations of glacial stria- 635,636

on Riding and Duck mountains 43

origin of name of Lake Manitoba 48

rock formations of Manitoba- . . 70, 72, 73, 83. 98

well at Deloraine, Manitoba 529

Morden, Manitoba 81

work on Liike Agassiz in Canada 10,

217, 235, 395, 426, 442, 444, 449, 453,
458, 462, 464, 468, 470, 472, 477, 479

IJlrich, E. O., cited 69

Union Slough, Iowa ■- 264

United States Geological Survey, work on Lake
Agassiz - 7

Uplift, epeirogenic, of the Lake Agassiz and Hudson

Bay region 3, 147, 217, 224, 227, 234, 329, 382,

386, 407, 427, 428, 442, 444, 450, 451, 454, 474-522, 596

rhythmic stages of 224, 235. 444. 499

wavelike advance 481,486.522

Upj>er Silurian formations 72, 74, 79, 80

Utica shale formation 71

Valley City, N. Dak 151,154,161

Valley River, Manitoba 235, 395, 406, 426, 412, 477

Vasey, G.. cited 608,609

I Vegetables, notes of production 590,623

Vermilion Lake, Minnesota 31,32,137,146,639

Vermilion moraine 146, 177

Vermilion River. Manitoba, deep borings 83,84,99

beach ridges near 442

Vermilion River, South Dakota, artesian wells 528

658

INDEX.

w.

Page.

Waconia moraine 142-146, 147, 152, 208, 210, 2G5

Wadsworth, SI. E., cited 494

Walipeton, N. Dak 22, 55. 211, 565

Wakott, C. D., relerred to 76

Waltott, N. Dak 4.'?4, 560

Palilalia, N. Dak 27,360,361,421,453

Wallace, A. R., cited 513

Warren, G.K., cited 106

on causes of lakes Traverse, Big Stone,

LaC(iui Parle, and Pepin 18

survey of the Minnesota \' alley 6

Warren, Minn 463,562,627

Warren, N. Dak., deep well 567

Warren, glacial lake 217., 255, 257, 258

Warren, River, outlet of Lake Agassiz.. 7,15,19,66,150,211
212, 222, 225, 235, 265. 280. 397, 408. 427, 443, 478, 564

Washington, Mount, glaciation of 114,124

Washington Lakes, North Dakota 146, 243

Watercourses, now deserted 53,

161. 170, 196, 205, 234, 262, 275, 312, 374, 377

Water Hen Lake and Kiver 49,61

Water power 631, 632

Water supply by wells 523-581

alkaline 524

analyses 536-545

fresh, sources of 526. 576

saline, sources of 527-536, 561, 576

Weather records 592-001

Wells, analyses of waters 536-540

artesian 2, 13, 74-80. 523-581

common 358, 441, 523-58i

sections of 334, 356, 359, 367, 548-581

West Indies, epeirogenic movements 513

West Selkirk, Manitoba 133,578

Westhourne, Manitoba, aboriginal mound 645

Western Erie glacial lake 257

Western Superior glacial lake 256

Wheat raising 20, 417, 523, 584, 590, 615-019

Wheatland, N. Dak 321,323,416,435,568

Wheaton, Minn 15U. 39li, 550

Wliite, C. A., referred to 82, 94. 99

Whiteaves, J. P., cited 70,71.73,83,98,89

White Earth Agency, Minn 32,33,45,156,164,295,303

White Mountains, glaciation of 113, 124, 505

White Rock, S. Dak.... 138,150,211,280,388,396,408,427,428

White silts 207

White Stone Hill, North Dakota 152

Whitemouth River, Manitoh 1 52,134

Whitney, J. D., cited 494,515,005

Whittle, (J. L., cited 202

Whittlesey, C, cited 261,498,595,639,640

Wild Rice River, Minnesota 53,56,242,295,296,584,631

origin of name 611

Wild Rice River. North Dakota . . 45, 56, 267, 3U9, 310, 565, 612

Williamson, A. W., cited 15.17,18,397,460

Willow River, North Dakota 173, 641, 642

Page.

Winchell, A., relerred to 605

Winchell, Horace V., assistcnt 7

cited 1 00, 304, 625

glacial striiE 640

Winchell, N. H., cited... 87,100,177,305,525,537,556,629,631
attributing Lake Agassiz to harrier

of the ice-sheet 7

Cretaceousformations in Minnesota- 87,

K8, 101

observations of glacial striie 039, 640

on Giants and Mesabi ranges 31

on nieasiirenient of postglacial time. 238

section of Humboldt well 75

Rosen feld well 79

Winds 277, 299. 309, 395, 600

records of mean velocity 000

Windy Mound, head of the Coteau des Prairies 150

Winnebagoshish, Lake 32,178,213,630

AA'innipeg, Manitoba 25,

55, 68, 133, 156, 213, 526, 576, 612, 027, 044
general section of drift deposits- - 577

wea tiler records 592-599

Winnipeg, Lake. . , 1, 3, 25, 45, 47, 52, 02, 67,

68, 69, 70, 137, 198, 213, 215, 220, 241, 443, 472

area, elevation, and depth 47

I glacial strias 635

present representative of Lake Agas-
siz 220,226

Winnipeg River 50, 51. 582, 031, 632, 638

Winnipegosis, Lake 34, 43, 48. 61,72, 73, 97. 2 IB, 470. 629

area and elevation 48

glacial stria' 636

Winter, climatic efl'ects on Lake Agassii 250,252,278

Wisconsin stage of Glacial period 109.110.141,208

Wolff, J. E., cited 103

I Wood. J. W., jr., cited 103

Wood, in intcrglarial IVu-est bed 555. 556

Red River Valley alluvium 555, 560, 574

till and modified drift 558, 559

j Wooded region of northern Minnesota anil Manitoba.- 29,

279, 300, 387. 413, 583, 580, .'i93 -
Woods, Lake of the. ...29, 49,51, 07,137, 181,198.210,388,402,586

area, elevation, and depth 49,304

glacial stria; 639

I Woodward, R. S., investigation of ice attraction 223,

489, 492

Wright, G. F., Ice Age in North America 11

on duration of the postglacial period .. 238

on the Muir glacier 243

Wyndmerc, N. Dak 266,310,566

T.

Yankton, S. Dak 208,530,532

Young, N. Dak 356.392

Young, Robeit H., assistant 7,8,327.645

Yukon, Pleistocene lake 207

Yukon River 207