/.M6 L4 “Copy 1 Stine i “ : é is — Che University of Minnesota ‘3 MINNESOTA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY i : Witii1Am H. Emmons, Director ee _ IN COOPERATION WITH THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN NO. 14 | SURFACE FORMATIONS AND AGRICULTURAL CONDITIONS OF THE SOUTH HALF OF MINNESOTA BY FRANK LEVERETT AND FREDERICK W. SARDESON WITH A CHAPTER ON CLIMATIC CONDITIONS IN MINNESOTA BY U..G. PURSSELL MINNEAPOLIS The University of Minnesota 1919 Che University of Minnesota MINNESOTA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WILLIAM H. Emmons, DIRECTOR IN COOPERATION WITH THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN NO. 14 SURFACE FORMATIONS AND AGRICULTURAL CONDITIONS OF THE SOUTH HALF OF MINNESOTA BY FRANK LEVERETT AND FREDERICK W. SARDESON WITH A CHAPTER ON CLIMATIC CONDITIONS IN MINNESOTA By U. 'G; PURSSELL MINNEAPOLIS The University of Minnesota 1919 pa sb sca) 2 UN 20 1919 CONTENTS PEER CUUUe Ul Old errs Ee autiace in co Ware alaveiera: <8 i ss Sosliscal sahvierm Si esatalo'slarserel'wiaca 1-4 Chapter I: Physical features of Minnesota... 2... 06. .0s sees 5-22 Si OROSTAP MV LOt | VEINMESOtA,s 2, s<4 4 Hsiesis ai se 8 shereisiawiee as cts 5-9 General Statement? «0.0 pare’. Gala d slerdiols a:chd santand vale ee « 5 PAMUIEICL GMa vis ar dlcid ale vice ovine ts We uheae phi want davee ox 6 PeGH et ee eer aioe i hecee Camels ue oye hiatdave Glowews aed 6 PATA OEY cccl bis ccle-anwonate wide £4 oe Males 6 cee eee ee eee 6 MPR She 8 Siena. » Sle vig 9 hls Se reer een ela oe geen ee 7 PR EACe COLO \ ois ssh cae, « 5 o\ojdiarste spate oie s yn eisie meal eres oes 10-18 TROCKHAT CAS “t5ie sia o sisie'a c «ood a/b, elothy slave rayetg a! oral aus veh ieee 10 Dhevearthyt mantle)... .ic 4 86-87 (Glin eYefo' (Eo) bia} aig Se a lg 87-88 NU ASHE STORY COMMENS itscr lie ws steusis wigsesvstGrpie, «shale x asics & viamew 88-89 FATS ER OUTIEVA niirats 4 treater nits laa 5 accu van etna’ eioeeel ee od awa 89-90 Prenue iin COUNLY .clsn'a8 oud avrom simtiya aah ard J aah dlgn cts wate QI-92 Ny ete OMIT oft oy tah attr strimrastvt hays ach aonaly a ew Ue erced anans 92-93 NUBCR CHSC GUM fan tiara Wei rear emi bo a yal cats toy Sek naan 93-94 eaticiy Oli COUUEY seiein,bis.ctaiciaieie Me aro eG He ela helo eae Giela 95-96 Ei hes OEY e a ricnss Als. a Aboot Midewietd eels Bele) Ae Sik 96-97 Gtr pey en COUNLY 5 eos Sie sx sania a ote ancien, ai asses uasaure ene 97 ide util as ler COUN ss. s Lis... W< Smepa been ms cond boner aan oa 98 mellow: Medicine Couwtity sy 94.64 Ys eieroas these Sadan oe 99 Vere Ce OMULY te he sisi atsvsiahatediaeianee arenes agit ited OS pep ame 100 ISCO SOMME! 560 icin ao in 0 a0 eel eee CeelateOn abana IOI SSAICY COUN, tae he Ssh Laces d noe Sereda teats ee gee ete Slewan IOI-2 eanver COUN, jes fess 2 ox ners iene eae eielo yes 102-3 EOL COUNTY: Seis fuats ovis. oo uo!) Mereuaneye ales ems alee 103-4. WAROP A ACOUNEY! iit 4.35 0: s'o.d.2 i ceteten oe a Ae eek 104-6 pO dey COUN by a ci ss Sas vil alata omen in ettn etes a eetie 106-9 CCRC ONT yes 42a dls’ stinield Sake meen eRe Oana te 109-11 emer Helin COUMtY Ge ie £5 5/03 sts «once ence ee een ae ee III-12 PIC CMC EERE OUTIL, 1 ah 'or0 deni. o°n. «th onobohicty ale vate en eee ia ae ee te 112-13 PROV MOOI EY cS ey a das ants w y-w oes mee bee eee el ae 113-14 Pe OG Ae CNL et oe Beans. Srac.c warn cou bo artetenete Monee wetetnare tena ee 114-15 OTC OMe yes ahi 250s artvz,ei Rua care eee ae alee ee ann a ne I15-16 MEAICO MIM OUELE YS: fat x acpi lil. 0 a's aioags CR ROe tale ae eee eat eel 116-17 PIPEStONG COUNTY. kcq 24 dats o Bin lucas ae emer edey eee 117-19 RNG YM UOUTIEY: ess itye)e/S sha ne! diew nin, SEncadaeee arent Gee aoe 119-20 Sotonwood! County. 24 ccags kh os ate te ad teu ene Glee yas 120-21 RV ALOM Wart COULY: a. 2. dvs ken Sol be itaatany Ger sc ecoren saad a I2I-22 Peart Ny OUIILY, ders !h.. S122 a.m) dea pt a aE oe ne aide ake 52 122-24 RV tceecie COU Ey iy iio aire antec Ses laa San thes ot Ota ea cio 124-25 BieClO We OLUyaias cs coos ve tas ae Nee ee Lede ha 125-26 MIGUOS COUDEY sais &i.3 dy aren ah Chie eal eee e wines Sa ate cige at 126-27 Olmsted County vais! s xs. atlea oa pan tes Re itater eid tans 127-28 WV aDAShiay, COUN fii2 sical Se aaa eit ine EME 2 tea feos 128-29 IN URISSGHPLANe GURTE LE: lac ofall? 2s. tal a Sana Sten eke tele vere alan dade aah 129-31 TOU SLOM ME OUTIL YA fossa ys anda See pene i Ne es alc ea aha 131-32 LEW TN Saate) ett C6515) 0) 9 GaSe mara ae mame ENE RE Cog AiO i Gg Po eS 132-33 WV OweT: GOUREY coe 04-5 Sans eeseste ee wad ties rd er tale ct 133-35 ree Orinn COUinat yas ct) 15), die Nin tM wen Ae ero Malate ait iates ain a tea 135-36 UE eA red UTI OMEN EY sacs si) wll salen ee eck me ON ll Pea aps alse Sats, i ee ne 136-37 vi CONTENTS Martin County ecis\ieicsis sss 2s lelecieteie, sola miovepneeaie vers aerate 137-38 PacksSom COUNLY, 2. wise iele sre st one «a oo els iarateeleteye evel eee ere 138-39 Nobles! County (osc aa ei!s xc sale ayals stetevalen stele Auodeteteletans senna 139-41 Rock County, IY isise sac istvsie’s scieisisye, pole tetane tlt migrercten meee 141-42 VIL VIET: IX. DrawProaw> > AOWPwe Pp Be A BW Q wp LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Bed of Lake Agassiz near Wheaton Grain field in bed of Lake Agassiz near Wheaton Gray drift till plain in Chisago County........ Cultivated red drift till plain near Foley Red drift till plain with forest near Foley Boulders on red drift till plain near Foley..... Gray drift moraine north of St. Paul Red drift moraine with coating of gray drift motth of Sti: Pawlige aioe. sets htc ae ie Wisconsin, or young red drift, moraine near Stillwater Old red drift moraine near Hampton......... Outwash plain east of Anoka Outwash plain of gray drift west of White Bear Outwash plain with thick clayey covering north Slope of the Coteau des Prairies near Canby. Gray drift moraine Eroded upland in old gray (Kansan) drift north- east of Zumbrota Broad valley cut in old gray (Kansan) drift west Of Kenyon, ...%j)s..y/scjeo new oe emir sie's Loess-covered driftless area near Caledonia Valleys bordered by limestone tablelands near ELAmptont, (iim sa sie lstaaletelw/aeca pape iets «e/msm 0 Zumbro valley near Rochester Valley of Rollingstone River near Minnesota City Mississippi valley at Minnesota City.........- . Map of the surface formations of Minnesota..... in pocket 58 g2 94 108 132 Vili a oQ H < HOO CN ANAWDND Lan! 12: 13: 14. ic LIST, OF ILLUSTRATIONS. TEXT FIGURES . Altitude map of.Minnesota:. .(2..3 6.2). .2h oe ae eee ee . Map of glacial drifts, loess, and glacial lakes........... . Map showing distribution of forest and prairie.......... . Map showing mean annual temperatures................ Map showing mean temperatures for January........... Map showing mean temperatures for July.............. Map showing highest known temperatures.............. . Map showing lowest known temperatures................ Map showing average date of last killing frost in spring. . . Map showing average date of first killing frost in autumn . Map showing number of days of the average crop-growing SEASON | iso: .0:jf0:1e 's%e js), 010 wile! © loyeilo tole sifollnajieleliw' fetfele)/ei alors Veal olel elm isiatate ‘Map showing the average annual precipitation 22402228 Diagram showing comparative monthly precipitation..... Diagram showing mean monthly rainfall and mean monthly temperatures at several Stations,//62/55. .tc-cee ee ater Diagram showing rainfall and temperatures at St. Paul TYLON). 1837-1912"! 25.40 piece ae eas euch eration ea SURFACE FORMATIONS AND AGRICULTURAL CONDITIONS OF THE SOUTH HALF OF MINNESOTA By FRANK LEVERETT AND FREDERICK W. SARDESON INTRODUCTION By W. H. Emmons Soil is the loose unconsolidated material which nearly everywhere covers the surface of the earth and in which plant life may be maintained. It is made up of finely divided rock in which decaying vegetable matter and animal matter are mingled. A soil is generally in a state of change. It is being washed little by little to the creeks and rivers which carry it to the sea, where it often forms delta deposits; if no new soil formed, hard rock would finally be exposed instead of the loose plant-producing soil. But rocks at and near the surface are continually changing and new soil is being formed from the underlying rock or from loose clayey or gravelly material that may constitute the subsoil, or from bowldery material that at many places in Minnesota lies between the hard rock and the soil. Water and air attack rock matter and break it down. Heat and cold, freezing and thawing, shatter the rocks and give plants an opportunity to send roots into the cracks that are formed, and these, prying the rocks apart, reduce them to particles of still smaller size. Even the hard solid rocks are ultimately broken down; a building of good solid stone may crumble in a few hundred years, especially in a moist climate. Some of the rocky matter is dissolved by the water and carried to the sea in solution. It is such dissolved material that makes water “hard” and that gathers in the bottom of a vessel when water is boiled. But not all of the soluble substances are dissolved and carried away; some remain in the soil, and the character of the soil depends largely upon these. Some soils are acid because they have not enough lime. Some are deficient in potash or phosphates, which are necessary if soil is to produce certain crops satisfactorily. Because it forms the soil, the composition of the underlying material is of great importance. In Minnesota most of the soil is the weathered portion of glacial drift or of lake beds and other features connected with the deposition of the drift. Long ago nearly all of what is now the state of Minnesota was covered over with a great ice sheet hundreds of feet thick that slowly moved down from the Canadian highland carrying with 2 SURFACE FORMATIONS OF MINNESOTA it rocky material which it had gathered in the north. When the ice melted it left large quantities of rock and soil that had mingled with the ice, and this material is the loose drift that lies between the hard rock and the surface. At many places where it is not yet disintegrated it appears as large numbers of bowlders mixed with clay. Although the ice sheet moved very slowly, perhaps not more than a few rods a year or even less, it was active for a long period and locally it scoured the country clean of soil and loose material which, on melting, it piled up somewhere else. This statement of the origin of the loose material or drift is not speculation, but is substantiated by the most convincing facts. The de- posits and all of the features of the country formerly covered with ice are like those that may now be observed in Greenland or Antarctica, where the slowly moving ice fields or glaciers still cover bodies of land of continental proportions. Glacial bowlders, bowlder clay, scratches on the rocks, morainal hills and kettles, all ordered with respect to definite features of the former ice sheet, may be seen at thousands of places in Minnesota. The ice sheet covered the entire state of Minnesota except the south- eastern corner, embracing Houston County and the eastern part of Winona County. This territory is in the driftless area. The higher country within the driftless area is covered with a residuary clay formed during the long period when the rock was undergoing decay. Above this there is generally a covering of wind-blown silt-loam, or loess, which increases the productivity of the soil. The advance of the ice toward the south was not a single isolated invasion. There were warm periods during the glacial epoch when the ice melted much faster than it advanced, and when the edge of the ice retreated far to the north. Probably the entire ice cap was melted several times during the long period of the ice invasions. During the intervals when the country was free from ice, rock decay or weathering went on much as at present. Later the succeeding ice sheets covered the larger portions of these weathered surfaces, within the glaciated region. The later ice sheets, however, did not cover exactly the same areas that were covered by preceding ones. In places the deposits left by older ice sheets project beyond the edges of the deposits left by later ones. One may distinguish between them by the difference in the amounts of their decay and in some cases by differences in their material and in the character of the topography of their surfaces. Where deposits of one sheet are covered by those of a later one, the older drift sheet may be revealed where streams cut through the later one or where ex- cavations penetrate it. At some places an ancient soil formed by rock INTRODUCTION 3 decay and carrying the remains of ancient vegetation marks the contact between the older and the younger drift. The boundaries of the drifts of various ages and the character of the soils formed by them are dis- cussed on pages that follow. Swamps are very numerous in Minnesota. They are portions of the old lake beds and other poorly drained areas and are of little value for agriculture until drained. Since the ice melted a growth of vegetation has been established on them and great thicknesses of partially decayed vegetation have accumulated in them. This forms the peat which is found in so many of the swamps. Some of it is very thick and will doubtless become a valuable asset in the future when other fuels shall have become more costly. The great productivity of Minnesota soils is due, not only to their recent origin by reason of which nearly all of them still contain the soluble mineral foods for plants, but also to a favorable climate. The low temperatures which frequently prevail during certain periods in winter make for healthful conditions for animal life and they also benefit plant life. The rainfall, though not excessively great, is sufficient and, since most of it occurs during the growing period, drouths are rare and crop failures almost unknown except in the more sandy soils, which are, however, adapted to quick-growing crops like potatoes. As shown herein, the length of the crop-growing season, that is, the time between late spring frosts and early autumn frosts, is between 100 and 170 days for all except the extreme northeast corner of the state. The long days, high proportion of sunshine, and the moderate humidity are all favorable to plant growth. This bulletin treats the soils of only the south half of Minnesota. The field embraced includes the part of the state south from the median line, which is near latitude 46° 25’. Following the plan in Bulletin No. 12, on Northwestern Minnesota, a brief general description of the surface features and deposits of the entire state is given, and the climate of the entire state also is discussed. It will be followed by a report on the entire state, the field work for which already has been completed. The work has been done in accordance with the agreement for codperation between the United States Geological Sur- vey and the Minnesota Geological Survey, entered into, March, 1912. By this agreement the services of Mr. Frank Leverett were secured for sur- veying the surface formations and soils. Mr. Leverett has been engaged since 1886, or thirty-two years, in studying the surface geology of the Great Lakes region and because of his large experience in the greater area he was particularly well prepared to undertake the studies in Minne- sota. He has spent, moreover, considerable time in the state studying its 4 SURFACE FORMATIONS OF MINNESOTA physiography in connection with the preparation of a monograph for the United States Geological Survey. Since the reorganization of the State Survey, the salary of Mr. Leverett has been met by the United States Geological Survey, while the greater part of his expenses have been paid by the State Survey. The State Survey has provided also for this work the services and expenses of Professor F. W. Sardeson, who has assisted in this work for five seasons. We wish to acknowledge the generous assistance of the Division of Soils of the Department of Agriculture of the University of Minnesota and of the United States Bureau of Soils. The valuable contributions to the knowledge of the surface formations of Minnesota by the Minnesota Geological and Natural History Survey, under the direction of Professor N. H. Winchell, particularly those of Mr. Warren Upham of that survey, have aided greatly in the prepara- tion of this report. The section on climatic conditions in Minnesota has been generously contributed without any cost to the Survey by Mr. U. G. Purssell, Director of the Minnesota Section of the United States Weather Bureau. In the preparation of the maps and other data showing dates of killing frosts, lengths of growing season, rainfall, etc., Professor C. J. Posey has rendered efficient service. The cost of preparation of this report has been met by the Minne- sota Geological Survey and the United States Geological Survey. This bulletin is printed by the Minnesota Geological Survey. Arrangements have been made so that land and colonization companies can secure these reports at actual cost of printing, and it is expected that this arrange- ment will secure a wide distribution. The maps are not intended to be used as a basis for the purchase of land; they do not give an accurate description of each forty-acre tract or each section, but they show the general classification of the land, its climate, and its surroundings. CHAPTER I PHYSICAL FEATURES OF MINNESOTA TOPOGRAPHY OF MINNESOTA GENERAL STATEMENT The position of Minnesota is near the center of the North American Continent, and the state embraces an area of 84,682 square miles, of which about 93 per cent is land and 7 per cent water. Its extreme length is nearly 400 miles, from latitude 43° 30’, at the Iowa line, to a point about 23 miles north of the 4oth parallel, in the projection known as the Northwest Angle, northwest of Lake of the Woods. The greatest width is 367 miles, but the average width is only about 225 miles, or but little more than half of the length. Minnesota presents more variety in suetiite features than most of the north central states, yet a great part of its surface is level or only gently undulating. The flattest portion falls largely in the northwest quarter, and was once the bed of the glacial Lake Agassiz, a lake held in on the north, in central Canada, by the great ice sheet. The roughest portion is in the northeastern quarter. This part is composed largely of volcanic formations and iron-bearing rocks which, though glaciated, were not everywhere buried beneath the glacial deposits. In the southeastern part of the state deep erosion valleys along the Mississippi and its tribu- taries present bold rock bluffs 300 to 600 feet high. The interior and southern parts of the state have features due almost entirely to the work of the great ice sheets, which at successive times, and from different directions, overspread Minnesota. The glacial deposits comprise an intricate system of moraines with undulating to hilly surface, associated with which are level outwash plains of sand and gravel, and gently un- dulating intermorainic till plains. The moraines were formed along the border of the ice at definite lines where the edge of the ice held its position for a relatively long time. They consist of sharp knolls and inclosed basins and also of more or less parallel ridges which, however, interlock in places. These moraines are distributed in rudely concentric systems which mark successive positions of the border of each ice sheet as it was melting off from this region. The outwash plains lie on the outer border of the moraines, where sandy gravel was spread out by dirt-laden waters escaping from the ice. The till plains lie along the inner or ice- ward border of the moraines and represent areas over which the ice border melted back somewhat rapidly, forming relatively few knolls and ridges. 6 SURFACE FORMATIONS OF MINNESOTA ALTITUDE The altitude of Minnesota ranges from 602 feet, the level of Lake Superior, up to 2,230 feet, on high rock hills in the northeast part of the state, in western Cook County. The small map, Figure 1, shows that a large part of the state falls between 1,000 and 1,500 feet. The average altitude of the state is not far from 1,200 feet. The portions above 1,500 feet lie chiefly in two areas, one at the northeast and one at the southwest corner of the state, though there is a good sized area around the sources of the Mississippi River in the western part, and several smaller areas in that vicinity; one of these in the southern part of Otter Tail County is known as the Leaf Hills. The altitude of the elevated area in the south- western part falls short a little of reaching’ 2,000 feet, but that in the northeastern part includes several small areas, chiefly in Cook County, that rise above 2,000 feet. The portions below 1,000 feet fall in two areas widely separated except for a connecting line along the Minnesota val- ley, one being on the western edge of the state and the other on the eastern. There is also a narrow strip bordering Lake Superior. RELIEF The most conspicuous relief is found in the “Sawtooth Range” and other prominent ridges that closely border Lake Superior and which rise abruptly from 500 to goo feet above the lake. The rock ranges lying back from the shore, though more elevated than those fronting on the lake, seldom rise more than from 200 to 300 feet above the swamps and lakes among them. In fact several of the lakes of Cook County are above 1,900 feet or within 300 feet of the level of the highest points in the state. The most prominent part of the Mesabi Iron Range in St. Louis County rises from 400 to 450 feet above bordering plains. The Coteau des Prairies rises about 700 feet above the plain northeast of its border, but in Minnesota the rise is usually spread over a space of from 12 to 15 miles or more in width, so that the elevation can scarcely be appreciated by one crossing over it. There is a rather rapid rise of from 300 to 500 feet to the sharp range of hills in Otter Tail and Becker counties from the Red River valley. This rise is of especial interest since it seems to have some influence on the rainfall, the precipitation being greater in these hills where air currents are forced upward and cooled than in the bordering lower lands to the north, west, and south. DRAINAGE The drainage of Minnesota is widely divergent, part of it leading to the Gulf of Mexico, part to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and part to Hud- son Bay. The Gulf of Mexico receives about 57 per cent, the St. Law- rence less than 9 per cent, and Hudson Bay fully 34 per cent of the drain- PHYSICAL FEATURES OF MINNESOTA a age. There was a time, however, after the glacial ice had melted from Minnesota but was still occupying the northeast part of the Superior basin and neighboring parts of Ontario and Manitoba, when all the drain- age was southward to the Gulf of Mexico. The western Superior basin then overflowed into the St. Croix River, while the Red River drainage basin, largely covered by Lake Agassiz, drained southward through lakes Traverse and Big Stone into the Minnesota valley. The drainage to the south, or Gulf of Mexico, has generally a gentle descent, and waterfalls are rather rare, though the Mississippi has no- table falls at Minneapolis and there are one or more falls or rapids on several of the tributaries. The drainage to Lake Superior is generally rapid and nearly every stream has several cascades. There is, however, a wide area of the upper St. Louis basin in which that stream and its tributaries have relatively gentle descent for many miles. The Hudson Bay drainage has a few rapids and waterfalls in the headwater part of Rainy River and its tributaries, but Red River and its main Minnesota affluent, Red Lake River, have no falls since no outcrops of solid rock occur along them. There is, however, very rapid descent for a few miles along Red Lake River and its tributary Clearwater River in Red Lake County. Red River is subject to great freshets because its lower course often remains frozen after the southern or headwater part has broken up. Thus ice jams are formed which divert the waters from the channel over the bordering plain. The streams of these several drainage systems are interwoven in part of the area, there being no prominent dividing ridges to separate them. In some cases a swamp may be drained either to Hudson Bay or to the Gulf of Mexico, while other swamps may be drained either to the Mississippi or to Lake Superior. LAKES Throughout much of Minnesota, except the northwest, southwest, and southeast corners, small lakes are a common feature. They usually occupy basins among the moraine ridges and knolls and on the outwash plains, but occur to some extent also on the till plains and among rock knobs. The combined area of the lakes within the state is estimated to be about 5,650 square miles, or nearly 7 per cent of the entire area. The largest lake is Red Lake, a very shallow body of water with an area of 440 square miles. Other large lakes are Mille Lacs, also very shallow, Leech, Winnibigoshish, and Minnetonka. Minnetonka and the southern part of Leech Lake extend into a network of deep depressions among morainic ridges, but the other lakes are largely in plains that are slightly below the neighboring districts, partly morainic and partly plain. Tes lt whet nl i (fu de dp 9, Mintesoe Frank Leverett 1914 Legend (EAI Above 2000F¢ 3 1500-2000F¢ 1000 ~ 1 So0fe. Co Below soo0st u D pe Hoang Gray Duy FIGURE I. ALTITUDE MAP OF MINNESOTA AS Ba 08 WOO 5 ore BA dA EXPLANATORY NOTE, FIGURE I This map shows the great extent of land in Minnesota standing between 1,000 and 1,500 feet above sea level, as well as the distribution of the higher areas and of areas standing below 1,000 feet. It shows also the effect of low areas in favoring the movement of the latest invasion of ice from the north, that which deposited the young gray Keewatin drift, as well as the effect of the high areas in checking the movement. The great axial movement of the ice was through the low-lying Red River basin, much of which is below 1,000 feet, and thence down the Minnesota valley to the great bend at Mankato over a plain much of which is below 1,100 feet. The thumb-like off- shoot of the ice, in a lobe extending from Wright and Hennepin counties north- eastward across Anoka, Isanti, and Chisago counties, into the edge of Wisconsin, was apparently induced by an exceptionally low area, largely below 1,000 feet, over which it passed. In northern Minnesota the ice passed over the relatively low land, 1,200 to 1,300 feet, along and near the Mississippi River in Cass and Itasca counties, into the St. Louis River basin in St. Louis County, and down the Missis- sippi in Aitkin County; but it was so checked by higher land, 1,500 to 1,750 feet, in Clearwater, Becker, and Hubbard counties, that it could there reach only south- eastern Hubbard and neighboring parts of Cass and Wadena counties. The Mesabi Range also held the ice border back nearly to the western edge of St. Louis County while it pushed eastward some distance in St. Louis County, both north and south of the range. The topography also influenced ice movement in the northeast part of the state. There was a strong movement of ice southwestward through the Superior basin, with its northwest border only a few miles back from the shore on the high land, much of which stands 1,500 feet or more above the sea. This high land was largely covered by ice moving southward from the neighboring part of Canada. The relations of this ice movement to that in the Superior basin, as well as to that which covered western Minnesota is set forth in the discussion of the glacial deposits. 10 SURFACE FORMATIONS OF MINNESOTA SURFACE GEOLOGY ROCK AREAS The areas in which rock is so exposed as to render the land untillable are largely in the northeast quarter of the state, or along valleys in the southeast quarter. The northwest quarter is estimated to have less than Io square miles of bare rock outcrop, and the southwest scarcely 100 square miles. It is doubtful if there is an area of 1,000 square miles in the entire state in which the plow would generally strike into rock ledges. The rock areas thus form a much smaller percentage of the state than the lake areas. The rock areas of the northeast part are chiefly rock bosses standing above the surrounding land, but the beds of the streams that lead directly down to Lake Superior are also usually on rock ledges. Among the rock knobs are some depressions covered only with moss and peaty material, glacial material being scanty, but ordinarily some glacial material is present and nearly all the land has soil enough over the bedrock to support a rich forest growth. Many of the knobs preserve the smooth surface left by the scouring effect of the ice sheet and are nearly destitute of vegetation. But certain others have become disin- tegrated to a depth of several inches or even to several feet from the sur- face and are supporting growths of vegetation of considerable density. The rock areas of the southwest part of the state are largely of Sioux quartzite which in places comes to the surface over areas of several square miles. The rocks have scarcely enough soil over them to support the scanty vegetation. There are a few small areas of granite knobs along the Minnesota valley from Big Stone Lake down to New Ulm. In the driftless area and part of the drift-covered area in southeastern Minne- sota, rock ledges of limestone and sandstone outcrop along the steep slopes of the valleys, often forming walls of considerable height. Rock is rarely exposed along the stream beds and valley bottoms. The uplands and the higher parts of the slopes of the valleys even in the driftless area usually have several feet of residuary clay and also a coating of loess or wind-deposited silt loam covering the rock formations and rendering the land tillable. THE EARTHY MANTLE GENERAL STATEMENT The variety of earthy, sandy, and gravelly unconsolidated deposits which cover the rocky floor of Minnesota were formed or deposited by different agencies and at different times. They may be grouped as fol- lows: PHYSICAL FEATURES OF MINNESOTA Il First. Residuary material. Second. Wind deposits. Third. Glacial deposits. Fourth. Stream deposits. Fifth. Lake deposits. RESIDUARY MATERIAL The residuary material, as its name implies, has been left as a residue during the breaking down or decay of the surface rocks through weather- ing and solution. On limestones it is usually a dark, reddish brown, gummy clay, but on sandstones and crystalline rocks it is usually granu- lar and loose-textured. There is but a small part of Minnesota, chiefly in the southeastern counties, where residuary material is within reach of the plow. It occurs there on the upper part of the slopes of the val- leys and on the narrow upland strips between valleys, but it is usually cov- ered by loess. WIND DEPOSITS Loess.—The wind-deposited material known as loess is largely a fine silt loam, which forms the surface in an area in the southeast part of the state embracing much of Goodhue, Olmsted, Wabasha, Winona, Fill- more, and Houston counties and parts of Mower, Dodge, Rice, and Da- kota counties. It covers a small tract in the southwest part of the state. In the southeastern counties it rests in part on glacial drift deposits and in part on the residuary clay and rock formations of the driftless area. In the southwestern part it covers glacial deposits. In the southeast dis- trict its border is very irregular, there being long strips of loess-covered land projecting westward or northwestward into the region free from loess, and also long strips free from loess extending eastward into the loess-covered tracts. The condition there is such as might result from the presence or absence of vegetation giving different degrees of protec- tive power from the wind; areas with dense vegetation being able to hold dust that settled from the atmosphere while bare ones allowed it to be gathered up and carried on. Wind-blown sand.—Wind-blown sand is also an important deposit. It embraces a district east of the Mississippi from Minneapolis up to Brainerd. It is narrow above St. Cloud, but below that city extends east- ward to the St. Croix River. The sand does not, however, cover the en- tire surface in this area. Where present it rests upon glacial deposits. It has low ridges seldom 20 feet and usually 10 feet or less in height. There is more or less wind-drifted sand in the sandy parts of the St. Louis River drainage basin, but it is sparingly developed compared to 12 SURFACE FORMATIONS OF MINNESOTA that in the district between the Mississippi and St. Croix rivers. Wind- blown sand occurs also in Aitkin County in the vicinity of McGregor and also in the northeastern part of the county in island-like tracts that are surrounded by marshes. There are numerous small areas of such sand scattered over the state, some of them being along the shores of the glacial Lake Agassiz. GLACIAL DEPOSITS The glacial deposits as shown in Figure 2 extend over the entire state except eastern Winona County and the greater part of Houston County, which are in the driftless area of the upper Mississippi. They underlie the wind-deposited sands and much of the loess area. They also underlie stream deposits and lake sediments. The glacial deposits are separable into till or bowlder clay in which stones, clay, and sand are closely com- mingled; and into sand or gravel beds which show some assorting and bedding by water action. The percentage of stony material varies greatly and the matrix also shows variations from compact clay to loose sand. These variations are to be expected in a deposit that had been formed from the dirt and stones included in an ice sheet. Every observing farmer has probably noted and perhaps speculated upon the cause for these varia- tions in the drift deposits which form the basis for so large a part of the Minnesota soil. The assorted sand and gravel beds are largely due to waters escaping from the melting ice and many of them may be traced up to a moraine which marked the position of the ice border at the time they were laid down. They show a decrease in coarseness in passing away from the edge of the moraine, the coarse material having been dropped close to the edge of the ice and only the fine carried to a great distance outside. The glacial deposits also show some variations that relate to the kind of rock formations over which the ice passed. Thus, the northeastern portion of the state has a rather stony drift from the volcanic and hard crystalline rocks of that region. This stony material was carried as far south as Dakota County and forms the red drift of eastern and north- eastern Minnesota. As indicated below, the red drift is the product of more than one ice sheet. The western and southern parts of the state have a large amount of clayey drift material with limestone pebbles im- bedded. This material was gathered by this ice as it passed in its south- ward course from the shales and limestone of southern Manitoba, into the area of granite and other crystalline rocks. These clayey and limy deposits form what is known as the gray drift of Minnesota, and the ice sheet which formed it, as the Keewatin ice sheet. 7 -wahes 7 3 a 2 Piet a7: of ee ig sel isy 13 i z = aedd i jaa de dyes See q 43455484 33) | = 3 mO> ee a8 ] oO, asseatied stig. ) if : i H Hit i il RF al Ay AT | hy HINT | MT Hi FIGURE 2. MAP OF GLACIAL DRIFTS, LOESS, AND GLACIAL LAKES IN MINNESOTA 14 SURFACE FORMATIONS OF MINNESOTA STREAM DEPOSITS The stream deposits, being restricted to the valleys, are of limited area, though in such valleys as the Minnesota and Mississippi they are locally several miles in width and form important agricultural belts. On the Minnesota and the part of the Mississippi below the confluence with the Minnesota the deposits made by the rivers are sand or silt. On the Mississippi above the mouth of the Minnesota the deposits range from sand to coarse cobble and bowlders in correspondence with the swiftness of the stream. On nearly all the tributaries of the Mississippi and Min- nesota the streams are able to carry coarse as well as fine material. Along the Red River a considerable amount of fine clay and clay loam has been deposited in seasons of flood on the plains outside the immediate river channel. The deposits made by glacial streams or those which had their sources at the edge of the ice and were receiving much of their water from the melting ice, now appear usually as terraces along the valleys above the limits of floods. From the fact that the glacial rivers were of greater volume these deposits are generally composed of sandy and gravelly material somewhat coarser than that carried by the present rivers. LAKE DEPOSITS The lake deposits consist of fine sediments washed into the deep parts of the lakes, and sandy and pebbly deposits washed up and formed into beaches along the shores. In parts of the lakes where the glacial deposits which they covered were pebbly and the water was shallow enough for wave action, there was a concentration of stony material by the washing- out of the finer material. By this process considerable areas of the bed of Lake Agassiz were covered by very pebbly beds several inches in depth. They are classed on the soil maps as “lake-washed till.” In the narrow strip along the shore of Lake Superior that was covered by the waters of a glacial lake known as Lake Duluth, there is very little fine sediment; gravelly and cobbly beaches were formed at several succes- sive levels, while fine material was washed down into the deeper parts of the basin covered by the present lake. Fine material also covers the old lake plain in Carlton County and a strip on the south side of Lake Su- perior. THE GLACIAL FEATURES AND THEIR HISTORY It has been found through a study of the deposits in Minnesota and neighboring states that the glacial deposits which form so extensive a mantle in Minnesota are the result of more than one invasion of the ice from the Canadian highlands. At each invasion the ice left a deposit of drift gathered partly from Canada and partly from the deposits over which it passed in Minnesota. The advances were so widely separated PHYSICAL FEATURES OF MINNESOTA I5 in time that the drift deposits of one invasion had large valleys cut in them by the action of streams before the next invasion occurred. The later advances failed to reach the limits of the earlier deposits, so they are still exposed to view, and the degree of erosion of the surface of the older can be compared with that on the surface of the younger deposits. It is found that the older drifts have been so greatly eroded and are so ramified by drainage lines that no lakes or undrained basins remain on them, while the younger drift deposits have numerous lakes and un- drained basins and also large, poorly drained areas which the streams have not yet reached. It is because they are not covered by the latest drift that Rock and Pipestone counties in southwestern Minnesota, and Goodhue, Dodge, Wabasha, Olmsted, Winona, Fillmore, and Mower counties in southeastern Minnesota have no lakes and basins such as characterize neighboring counties that were covered by that drift. The invasions of the ice into Minnesota not only took place at dif- ferent times, but have come from more than one direction at about the same time. In the earlier invasions the greater part of the state was covered by ice coming from Manitoba as shown by limestone fragments and pebbles derived from rock formations of that country which are im- bedded in the lower part of the drift over all of the state except its north- east part. The movements in the closing stage of the glacial epoch were more largely from the northeast, but more than half of the state was invaded from the northwest. The ice sheets were as follows: 1. The Superior lobe of the Labrador ice sheet, an extension of ice southwest- ward from the Superior basin nearly to Mille Lacs Lake; 2. The Pa- trician ice sheet, with southward movement from the highlands north of Lake Superior across eastern Minnesota to points a little beyond St. Paul; 3. The Keewatin ice sheet, which moved southward through Manitoba and across western Minnesota. After the melting away of the ice that came from the northern highlands, the Keewatin ice sheet extended over some of the ground that ice had vacated. It crossed the Mesabi Range into the St. Louis basin, and also moved northeastward from near Min- neapolis into Wisconsin. ‘This advance over earlier drift deposits is known from the presence of a thin deposit of clayey and limy drift con- taining rock material brought from Manitoba which covers the drift that was deposited by ice coming from the highlands northwest of Lake Su- perior. The drift from these highlands together with that from the Lake Superior basin forms the stony red drift of eastern Minnesota, while that from Manitoba forms the clayey and limy gray drift which covers almost all of the remainder of the state. That the ice mass moved in different directions at different times in certain parts of the state is further shown by striations or ice markings 16 SURFACE FORMATIONS OF MINNESOTA on the surfaces of the rock ledges. In the district east and south of the Lake of the Woods a set of glacial grooves or ice markings bears west of south, while a newer set crosses them in an eastward or southeast- ward direction. The older set was formed by ice moving into Minnesota from the highlands that lie between Lake Superior and Lake Winnipeg, while the younger set was formed by ice moving into the state from Manitoba. In North Minneapolis there are rock ledges on which the glacial grooves have three courses; first, a southeastward course at the time when the old gray drift which came from the northwest was brought in; second, a southward course at a time when the red drift which came from the north was deposited; third, an eastward course at the time when the ice from the northwest advanced over land that had been vacated by the ice which deposited the red drift. GLACIAL LAKE FEATURES Minnesota contains parts of the beds of two large glacial lakes: Lake Duluth, which occupied the western part of the Superior basin, and Lake Agassiz which occupied the Red River basin. Lake Duluth covered a narrow strip along the shore of Lake Superior and extended a few miles beyond the west end of Lake Superior into eastern Carlton County, Min- nesota. Its highest stages were 500 to 700 feet above the present surface of Lake Superior, there being an increasing height toward the northeast corner of the state. Lake Agassiz extended as far south as Lake Trav- erse, and thence it discharged past Brown Valley to the Minnesota. Its border is only from 20 to 30 miles east from the North Dakota—Minnesota line from Lake Traverse northward to Polk County. About 20 miles east-southeast of Crookston it makes an abrupt eastward turn and con- tinues eastward past the south side of Red Lake and on across Koochi- ching County into St. Louis County as far as the valley of Little Fork River. It then turns northward and enters Canada from northeastern St. Louis County. There were several islands in it in northern St. Louis County. Preceding the development of the large glacial Lake Agassiz there was a temporary ponding of waters in front of the ice in Koochiching, Itasca, and St. Louis counties at a level higher than that of Lake Agassiz, and a discharge of the waters southward across the Mesabi Iron Range into the St. Louis basin along the course of the Embarrass River. With the melting back of the ice border this lake became merged with Lake Agassiz, and its waters then discharged into the Minnesota valley. In the Crow Wing drainage basin a glacial lake, Lake Wadena, cov- ering much of Wadena County, and parts of Hubbard, Cass, Morrison, and Todd counties, was held up by the Patrician ice sheet, which covered the lower course of Crow Wing River below Pillager. Its outlet was PHYSICAL FEATURES OF MINNESOTA 17 southward from Long Prairie to the Sauk River drainage. Outwash plains near Pillager terminate abruptly at the edge of this lake at an alti- tude of about 1,300 feet, or nearly 150 feet above the adjacent part of the plain on Crow Wing River that was covered by the lake (see Pillager topographic map). This was the deepest part of the lake. In much of its area the waters were very shallow. This lake area was later en- croached upon by the Keewatin ice sheet, so its shore lines are obliterated except along the eastern side. Its outlet has also been filled by gravel deposits from the Keewatin ice sheet for a few miles south from Long Prairie. There were also two noteworthy temporary lakes in northeastern Minnesota which were not held up by ice barriers, but instead by land barriers along their outlets. When these were cut away the lakes be- came drained. One of these, named Lake Aitkin by Upham, occupied the plain bordering the Mississippi in Aitkin County and extended a short distance into eastern Crow Wing County. It was drained by the erosion of the Mississippi valley at its lower end just above Brainerd. The other lake, named Lake Upham by Winchell, occupied a consider- able part of the St. Louis basin in western St. Louis County. It was drained by the erosion of the St. Louis valley below Floodwood. Prominent features of the two great glacial lakes, Lake Agassiz and Lake Duluth, are the beaches or ridges of sand and gravel washed up along their shores. The shores of Lake Agassiz stand high and dry above the flat parts of the lake bed between or below them and form excellent lines for highways. For this reason much of the pioneer settlement and travel was along these ridges. They generally stand from 5 to 10 feet above the bordering plains and occasionally from 15 to 20 feet. On the inner or lakeward side they are generally more prominent than on the outer or landward side. This is due in part to the original slope toward the center of the lake, but there is also a tendency for a lake to eat back into the bordering land and throw its coarser material up on the edge of the plain outside; at the same time the fine material is carried in sus- pension from the shore into the deeper water. The levels of these glacial lakes were lowered from time to time, partly by the cutting-down of the outlets and partly by an uplift of this region which caused the water to fall away where the land rose. There was also a change of outlet in Lake Agassiz from the southern end to the northern and in Lake Duluth from the southward outlet into the St. Croix River to an eastward outlet into the Lake Huron basin. As a result shore lines were formed at various levels on the slopes of the old lake beds. Because of the gradual lowering of the water level the greater part of the beds of these glacial lakes has at some time been 18 SURFACE FORMATIONS OF MINNESOTA subjected to wave action. This has produced a widespread pebbly coat- ing which is a concentrate from the washing of the surface of the bowl- der clay and the carrying-away of its finer material. Where the bowlder clay was sandy, the sand as well as stones remain, but where it was clayey there is often a clear bed of pebbles a few inches in depth covering the clayey till subsoil. The deep part of Lake Agassiz along the borders of Red River received nearly all the fine sediment which was washed out from the till at higher levels. This forms the bulk of the rich black clay and clay loam of the Red River basin. At its eastern border, fifteen to twenty-five miles from Red River, there is a transition to sand. This is succeeded within two to five miles east by stony sandy deposits which seem to be a glacial material worked over by the lake. GENERAL SOIL CONDITIONS Soil is composed of materials derived from the subsoil and mixed with organic matter. Subsoil is the weathered and disintegrated top of the underlying geological formation. For its qualities and composition the soil of a given region therefore depends quite closely upon the nature of the geological formations there exposed. In Minnesota the land mantle of glacial and lake deposits affords a well-mixed and rich supply of materials suited for soil-making. This is particularly true where it consists of till or bowlder clay in which all classes of material are loosely but thoroughly mixed. This contrasts with soils in which there is too much uniformity and which, when of water-washed sand or gravel, are often deficient in fine material. On the other hand, the loess and the lake silts, though of somewhat uniform texture, make rich soils because of the variety of finely divided minerals which they contain. The soil and its productiveness depend largely upon the drainage con- ditions. A soil of clay or clay loam over gravel or loose sand suffers in time of deficient rainfall, while in wet seasons a soil resting upon heavy clay may be drowned out unless surface drainage is perfectly adjusted. For this reason the geologic formation underlying a soil is of great im- portance. Soil underlaid by limestone, by loess, or by a till consisting of a light clay, or a heavy loam will stand great variation in rainfall and still be highly productive. In some parts of the state the surface drain- age is naturally well developed, while in other parts it needs to be greatly supplemented by tile draining or surface ditching. In the Driftless Area the drainage on the uplands is everywhere com- plete, for nearly every acre slopes toward some drainage line. In the old drift also there are few undrained areas and tiling or surface ditching is seldom necessary. In the young drift there are many basins, and un- drained depressions and drainage lines are not well distributed over the PHYSICAL FEATURES OF MINNESOTA 19 surface. Except, therefore, where the material is loose enough for the rainfall to be absorbed completely the young drift areas need consider- able ditching and tiling. In the bed of Lake Agassiz, although basins and depressions are rare, there are wide areas where the surface is very flat and extensive and systematic tiling or ditching is required to keep the land from being flooded. VEGETATION The condition of the soil depends to some degree upon the character of the vegetation which has covered it. In prairie districts there is a more uniform exposure to weathering agencies than in forested districts and consequently a more uniform soil is developed on a given deposit. On the whole, leaching of lime seems to be less rapid on prairies than in forests so that in the newer drift limestones are often present at the surface in prairies, but in the forested areas limestones are usually dis- solved out to a depth of some inches and often to some feet from the surface. On the older drift the limestone is generally removed to a depth of several feet both in prairie and forest, but the leaching is per- ceptibly deeper in the forested areas. The rate of erosion and removal of soil is more uniform in prairie than in forested tracts. It takes more force to dislodge the trees than the grassy vegetation on hillside slopes, and erosion in the forests is likely to become concentrated in occasional gullies, whereas on prairies there are many small channels developed on every hillside which serve to break it down rapidly. On the whole, there- fore, erosion is greater but leaching is less in prairie than in forested areas. The forests occur only on protected slopes in much of southern Min- nesota and are absent from such slopes in much of the western part of the state (Figure 3). In the central and northeastern parts they cover plains or uplands as well as valley slopes. The muskegs, which have a scanty forest growth, are developed chiefly in the northern half of the state and chiefly within the forested area. WEATHERING There are parts of the newer drift in which fresh material is close to the surface so that they can scarcely be said to have a subsoil different from the drift sheet as a whole. There are also places on valley slopes in the older drift where unweathered material is close to the surface, be- cause erosion keeps pace with the weathering of the drift. At most places, however, the older drift has a mantle of weathered material sev- eral feet in thickness, while that of the younger drift is only one or two feet thick. In this the feldspar and other minerals are disintegrated and made ready for plant food. . ‘ . a ames tents wai ares ore Ae a, : URE MK YTS |) VR a * i i sive Hee we amet fetal te’ igi a ike . . ine sat Aare Pa ee Choke ’ ° . . A < e (ae + WW aecwa, . > a i . el e°a Qt tlew are of eo” | ve Sie Bisa tia tese cn wales kina | i i] i} ‘ i ' t » ‘ ee as xe - S LS Nica : age: al Se . . a yy, Sef A EN ee ERS ch Pe BE [J praunie RAV ERD Cm opp mpm 2S . Fy eae a - Se TE a ho Mas Lie te [= ]pectovous FOREST y SOUTHERN LIMIT ‘\ OF PINE FOREST CONIFEROUS AND DECIDUOUS SCALE OF miLES tpteroms' mun aa ISA 2 Ca fe ° ' i Ra anyn) eveeie t jwaeeoal t < jwaATemwan) bs ba, FIGURE 3. MAP OF MINNESOTA SHOWING DISTRIBUTION OF FOREST AND PRAIRIE, (AFTER MAP BY WARREN UPHAM AND BY FREDERIC K. BUTTERS ) PHYSICAL FEATURES OF MINNESOTA 21 Weathering in the loess-covered areas is moderately deep, as it is in the older drift. The entire deposit of loess, however, is of fine texture and is found to be very fertile from top to bottom. LIME While most of the soils of the northwestern part of the state seem abundantly supplied with lime, it is probable that some of the more sandy ones would give a sufficiently greater yield of certain crops to make it profitable to purchase some form of lime if this could be obtained at a low price. Usually when a soil needs lime, it is advisable to apply one ton or more of ground limestone or marl per acre. If this has to be shipped any considerable distance, the freight charges may greatly exceed the cost of the material on board of the cars at the point of shipment. For this reason it is important to locate a supply as near as possible to the place where it is to be used. Lime occurs abundantly in two forms in Minnesota: as bog-lime or marl, and as limestone. The marl is unconsolidated and easily pulverized. It needs no crushing or grinding. Limestone is consolidated and must be crushed or ground for use on fields. Marl is found in Minnesota in many lakes and under some bogs that have been lakes. It is of most frequent occurrence in the central and north central part of the state. It lies always in low wet ground and can be found, as a rule, only by boring or ditching. It is a soft, white or gray, chalky material. Since it needs no crushing or grinding, the cost of the marl is in the finding, ditching and draining, or drying of it. Deposits from I to Io feet in thickness and covering from I to 100 acres are known to be of common occurrence. Limestone formations outcrop in the bluffs along the Mississippi and its tributaries in southeastern Minnesota. The formations lie horizon- tally and are of wide extent, or practically continuous for many miles. Limestone formations 100 feet or more thick extend along the valleys from the southeastern corner of the state to Stillwater, Minneapolis, Man- kato, Austin, and intermediate points. An inexhaustible supply of lime- stone is easily found in outcrops that are high, so that quarrying, crush- ing, and loading can all be done in a down-hill direction, the cost of pro- duction being thereby lessened. EFFECT OF FIRES There are large areas in Minnesota which have been swept by forest fires, and these fires have destroyed much of the accumulated leaf mold. In sandy areas the destruction of the leaf mold may have reduced some- what the productiveness of the land, for the leaf mold acts as a mulch to prevent the drying out of the soil. But in clayey areas there seems to 22 SURFACE FORMATIONS OF MINNESOTA have been very little reduction of the fertility. The leaf mold in such places, however, when turned under has a beneficial effect in loosening the stiff clay. A large area of clay land in the Little Fork drainage basin in St. Louis and southeastern Koochiching counties was burned over some fifty or more years ago, according to statements of the Indians, and the leaf mold was almost completely destroyed. A heavy growth of poplar has sprung up on the drier parts instead of the mixed hardwood that had occupied the land, while the wet areas have a fresh stand of spruce. This district is being rapidly cleared and is producing exceptionally good crops. The forest fire near Hinckley in Pine County, which occurred about twenty-five years ago, swept over an area chiefly of till much of which is loose-textured. This had a similar effect in changing the forest from mixed hardwood and pine to poplar. This area is now one of marked agricultural fertility adapted to a variety of crops. The principal damage by fire in this state, both past and pro- spective, seems to be in the destruction of peat in the bogs. In such cases there is not only the loss of a valuable fuel, but the land is left in a rough state ill-suited for cultivation. CHAPTER I] CLIMATIC CONDITIONS OF MINNESOTA By U. G. PurssELL Director of the Minnesota Section of the United States Weather Bureau INTRODUCTION The agriculture of any region is controlled by its climate. In some parts of the world temperature is the main factor in determining the limits of growth of certain kinds of crops; in others it is rainfall, and in still others it is the amount of sunshine. All of these factors are important in influencing the crop yield even in districts where the gen- eral climatic conditions are satisfactory for the growth of plants. In Minnesota these elements are so favorable that a majority of the crops common to the temperate zone may be successfully grown, and a failure of all the important crops is very rare even over a small portion of the state. Rainfall is an important factor for most crops in the state, because the proper amount of water in the soil at the critical period of develop- ment of the plant is necessary to produce a large crop. The length of the growing season also is important and probably no other factor in the study of climate from the standpoint of the agriculturist should be given more consideration. This is the key to an actual knowledge as to the possibilities of success or failure in the production of crops since in parts of the state crops are menaced by frost at some period of their growth, whereas sunshine and moisture seldom vary in Minnesota beyond safe limits. The factors which determine the climate of any area are the relative distribution of land and water, the topography of the land surface, and the situation of the area in question with relation to the general move- ment of the cyclones and anti-cyclones. The position of Minnesota at the center of North America gives it a climate that is largely continental. In continental climates the tem- perature extremes are greater and the humidity and rainfall generally less than at places near large bodies of water, such as border on the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts of the United States. The effect of winds from great bodies of water is to equalize temperatures of lands near by and to lengthen materially the crop-growing season. This is par- ticularly true of the country in the vicinity of Lake Superior, where the influence of that great inland sea in modifying the cold anti-cyclones 24 SURFACE FORMATIONS OF MINNESOTA gives to that section a more equable climate than would otherwise obtain in that portion of the state. The summer temperatures are likewise modified and people from long distances inland in steadily increasing numbers are establishing summer homes about the lake, to which they are attracted during the hot summer months. There are more than 7,000 small lakes scattered throughout the state and these have a mate- rial local influence in modifying the heat of summer and give comfort to thousands of residents on their shores. Monthly and annual reports of temperature, rainfall, snowfall, etc., have been published for a large number of regular and cooperative sta- tions in Minnesota since 1895. Recently three special section reports have been issued by the United States Weather Bureau giving monthly and annual precipitation totals for all points in the state with a record of ten years or over, together with average temperatures and other data. In these reports the more important facts from all portions of the state are tabulated and the comparative climatic conditions of the different sec- tions graphically shown. GENERAL CLIMATIC CONDITIONS Minnesota is in the path of a large proportion of the low-pressure areas which move across the United States from west to east. These areas move at an average speed of 600 miles in twenty-four hours and are preceded by southerly winds and higher temperature and followed by northerly winds and lower temperature. They are usually accom- panied by cloudy weather and precipitation ; each storm causing an aver- age of from one to two rainy days as it crosses the state. As there is an average of almost two of these storms each week with fair weather periods between, it follows that the changes in weather conditions are rather rapid. One or two days of stormy weather pre- ceded by fair weather and followed by clearing and lower temperatures to be repeated in turn, make up the usual routine for the week. How- ever, Minnesota is so far from the coast that damaging ocean storms lose much of their severity before reaching its borders. The northwestern cold waves pass across the state and send their health-giving winds into all parts, and yet they are frequently not so severe as they are in some of the plains states in the same latitude or even farther south. Temperature.—The average annual temperature of Minnesota for the period 1895 to 1913 inclusive, is 41.7°, as shown in Table I and graph- ically by Figure 4. The highest annual mean temperature, 43.9°, oc- curred in 1900, and the lowest, 39.9°, in 1912. The departure of the average temperature of any year from the normal may readily be deter- 1c stone, i ji weweerin F o} + i 4 !eipesyo. . eae | ona | oortomwoon! jOuue faRTH i i . 1 e L ‘watonwani 495 ; @umMmsTted : ° \ ever) 7 rE, i i { 1 i i eee epee a eal (ee --Y- = noustom i jae noeees or ° i BIGaAULT | FREESORN o | TACKGON i i ‘ i 1 1 FIGURE 4. MAP SHOWING MEAN ANNUAL TEMPERATURES OF MINNESOTA (DEGREES FAHRENHEIT) 25 eS Se 26 SURFACE FORMATIONS OF MINNESOTA mined by comparing the vearly average with the mean at the foot of the column. Table I. Monthly and Annual Mean Temperature for Minnesota (Degrees Fahrenheit) Jan. | Feb. | Mar.| April) May} June| July| Aug.| Sept.) Oct. | Nov.| Dec.| Year WSOSE oe cicvoicte eters wecee | cece | ee eee | 49.9 | 56.9 | 64.6 |} 67.8'| 167.4 | 61.8)| 41.4.| 27.8) 18.3 le. cee - TSOOs waysieicieisere | 12.3] 17.9] 21.4] 44.5| 60.9| 66.5] 69.9|/ 67.9] 54.3] 42.4] 18.0] 20.3] 41.6 TSO Viv revercneies eels 7.2 15.3.) 20.7 | 43:7 | 55.2) 62.5 | 72:6) 164.2") (6553)), So!0;| 26:6)|)/01 2.3) (4tea TSO ecceeulele 18.3 | 16.4] 30.3] 43-5 | 55.6| 67.0] 69.8] 66.9] 60.6| 42.9] 26.6| 11.9] 42.2 TGOO) (eleve.ctecsie. + 9.9| 4.5| 14.7] 44.0| 55.1] 65.4] 70.2] 69.1] 56.4] 49.0] 39.6] 17.9] 41.2 SQOO Maperckore steve | 18.4] 5.2] 23.4] 49.5 | 59.¢| 66.8| 68.8] 74.3) 58.2] 55.1] 25.4| 18.6] 43.9 TOOT eiictsoleraicye 13:2] 10.0'| 27:3.) 546.7 58.2| 65.5] 74.7] 69.8] 57.3| 49.2) 28.8] 13.0] 42.8 TOOD ae ilelctarret 15.9 | 15.5 | 34.0| 42.6] 57.0| 61.3] 60.7] 65.2] 55.2] 47.4] 33.3| 12.6| 42.6 MOOS Meleieieisisssrs 11.3.| 0:6.| 20:6 | '43.3)| 55.7) 62.3) (67-2))' 63°6)) 15555. | 46.11) 2724 9.8| 40.3 NOOA eisiteiels e's. 4.5 2.3 | 24.8 | 38.8] 55.4] 63.2] 66.0] 64.9] 57.4] 47.4] 36.7] 16.7] 40.1 TOOSi ie ecstelelcie's 5.6| 8.9] 33-7| 42.0] 52.6] 63.0] 67.3] 68.9] 61.9] 43.5 | 33.1 | 20.6] 41.5 TOO ete ioseis arse 17.0| 13.8| 20.6] 47.9| 53.7| 63.7] 68.3 | 68.7| 63.3] 45-7| 30.7] 15.9| 42.0 TQ OF Muecs sie suayets | 3.8) 14.8 | 28.7|| 34.7) 45.5 | (63.3 | 68.2) 66:1] 55.0) 45.4'| 31-9)| 21-3) 4ocr TOOS hele, sve alate | 16.4] 17.9] 26.4] 45.2] 53.9| 62.5] 60.4] 65.5 | 64.2] 47.0| 33.8] 17.5] 43.4 TOOO! iste cae:| 10.5 | 13.7] 26.1] 35.8] 53.2] 65.0] 69.2| 70.9| 58.7| 44.7| 33.8] 10.0] 41.0 KOLO Ube eeietst clave 11.8| 7.8 | 41.7] 48.0] 51.6| 67.8) 70.6] 65.8] 58.4] 50.8] 25.3| 14.7] 42.8 LOUD “Sijesic ters | 5.4] 16.6| 32.7] 42.7] 59.8] 69.7| 68.2] 64.0| 56.7| 43.4| 20.2] 19.4] 41.6 POV 2 ier orcvcisictec | —6.7/| 10.6] 19.8 | 45-5] 55-9 | 62.5 | 68.5) 63.9] 57.2| 47.5] 33.9] 20.0| 39.9 VOUGE Cece cw ecen!| a2 8.6 | 20.4] 46.4] 52.7| 67.4] 67.3| 69.2| 58.6) 42.7| 36.9] 26.1] 42.0 TOTAD Seicaeses | 16.9 2.8| 26.6| 41.2] 57.6| 64.6] 72.4| 66.1] 60.0! 52.6] 33.0] 9.0] 41.8 aa SSS SS | | fe ee Mean....| 10.5| 11.2] 26.5 | 43.8] 55.3 | 64.7| 69.3] 67.1| 58.8) 46.5| 30.1] 16.7] 41.7 The coldest month is January, which has a mean temperature of 10.5°, although the average for February is only 0.7° higher. In a great many instances February has averaged colder than the preceding January. This condition occurred in the seven successive years from 1898 to 1904 inclusive. Average January temperatures are plotted on Figure 5. July is the warmest month, with an average temperature of 69.3°, although in a few years the mean temperature for June or for August is higher than for July of the same year. Average July temperatures are plotted on Figure 6. The highest summer mean, 70.0°, occurred in 1900 and 1901 (Table II). The coldest summer was that of 1903, with an average of 64.4°. The warmest crop-growing season (April to September inclusive) of the eighteen years under discussion was in 1900, when the average was 62.9°, and the coldest was in 1907, with an average of 55.6°. The warmest winter (December to February inclusive) was in 1907-8, when the mean temperature was 18.5°. The coldest was in 1903-4, with a mean temperature of 5.5°. Table II shows also the warmest and coldest spring and autumn. 7 In Figures 7 and 8 are shown the highest and lowest temperatures ever recorded in the various counties where records have been kept. From these figures it can readily be seen that the extreme range of tem- perature is from 110° in Kandiyohi County and Milan, to —59° at Leech Lake Dam and Pokegama Falls. Temperatures above 100° have been recorded in all counties except those about the headwaters of the Missis- —_-hk ape eS ° ! 4 ‘Pestoms, MURRAY! < ' i : i pa Oe) Face Aely FIGURE 5. MAP SHOWING MEAN TEMPERATURES OF MINNESOTA FOR JANUARY (DEGREES FAHRENHEIT) 27 1 4 i ‘ Cy RTS CCC a WY ; i T mpvense ~ m= -—--— = = i , iO Auie i Soenk ° ‘aqanorrvoms! = | | j j "Ett fw meee pes) i 1 ° mule ray ‘ iPeotone ° T i i i i bn i ro ! i TIM | pari eavet Hy t i ° i ! reuemonrey 2 ° °° ™ fen ese, FIGURE 6. MAP SHOWING MEAN TEMPERATURES OF MINNESOTA FOR JULY (DEGREES FAHRENHEIT) 28 Vaat e pert See, OM per te Ter, Se Sa ee Paenfuiwaoron! ' greenies better oes Sains lO. 100° one 448 ‘maun@uee ener: | i 299° | “ ° eees Binal | \ Re ] rs ; 1m Oo met © ow Inkeucs !manoivons! noe 3 i wcexce; 2 102° : SCALE OF MILES” Eo See Ae eae 6 ---—-—-4 ee own ' ' 4 ‘ i bem me --—— 3 t i ! F ae | eortemwoon! ioe caprny : isveecs! H ae a ge eer 100° Paarl t i iwavenwan| i 103" ° i 103°3 cee 5 ase —— a ate ee ee el OL socom . a —S“S5 = L+-— 4 i y i i : or" i ' 1 i varisnecen FREEBORN ° nouston i VICE I ‘ jecgajmeovces ee o | #AOKGON deh aa aa eS ee ae if FIGURE 7. MAP SHOWING HIGHEST KNOWN TEMPERATURES IN MINNESOTA (DEGREES FAHRENHEIT) 2 ot thee eet Sere ed F ° | ° Ch Oe ECR TR CeCe pi ! i c i ‘ i ' vi ' ‘ ----4 ' + © Ow Nmighesace & - Saaeaecc! ~40°: wvevcee’ oreo: ent . le -——-1, © aa sae wesesereli i 3 ‘ | - i J SCALE OF mILES 36° H ca o ; oO aneora e ff 1 A . ' t - e Ei it” : 5 H ’ | eeetry 0° cr | SS Tos ‘ ‘ - i =9 - tmees 1 : i ecoouvel - 7 tgon i sevenvajl & ' © 6, ra ba : Sti eeseey ;woveemea H ! ; 3 : i i i iresvoms; BUR RAY : i ; euwetes -3 ° ; é i i 1 ¥ | Pertemwccn | ieuve caartny] ‘ pvecse wie ts Sus 40" | twavenwae! ees 4 Sane peace ree ee ne ae Bea fe a Bs jg ese i i @35° H | Jeceaga, teorere| peers | panvenver | secssoen i i i taoases =a5° i -35° ' one MOS a oe ele ae 6 ee FIGURE 8. MAP SHOWING LOWEST KNOWN TEMPERATURES IN MINNESOTA (DEGREES FAHRENHEIT) 30 CLIMATIC CONDITIONS OF MINNESOTA 31 sippi River, and in the country immediately bordering on Lake Supe- rior. Temperatures of —40° have occurred in nearly all northern and central counties and in a few southern counties, but these great extremes do not occur frequently. Table II. Seasonal Temperatures for Minnesota (Degrees Fahrenheit) | April to Sept. Winter Spring | Summer | Fall | inclusive Year | mean mean mean | mean (crop-grow- | ing season) | Dieralete’ctsieistoietoi lhete aioisteist lets ore vetayestrotars: svevete oil efersterbieretlelelete sl 61.4 | 16.2 42.3 68.1 | 38.2 H 60.7 14.3 39.9 66.1 | 47-3 60.4 15.7 43.1 67.9 43-4 60.6 8.8 37.9 68.2 48.3 60.0 13.8 44.3 70.0 46.2 62.9 13.9 44.1 70.0 45.1 62.0 14.8 44.5 65.4 45.2 58.5 11.5 42.9 64.4 43.0 57-9 5.5 40.0 64.7 47.2 | 57.6 10.4 42.8 66.4 46.2 59.3 17.1 40.7 66.9 46.6 | 60.9 11.5 36.3 65.9 44.3 55.6 18.5 41.8 65.8 48.3 60.1 13.9 38.4 68.4 45-7 | 58.8 9.8 47.1 68.1 44.8 60.4 12.2 45.1 67.3 40.1 60.2 7.8 40.4 65.0 46.2 | 58.9 11.9 39.8 68.0 46.1 60.3 15.3 41.8 | 67.7 48.5 | 60.3 12.8 41.7 67.0 | 45-3 59.8 Frosts.—Although frosts have occurred in some portions of the state every month of the year, damaging temperatures are not to be expected during June, July, and August, and they are comparatively rare in the last half of May and the first half of September. Records of ten or more years are available from a large number of places in the state, of which charts have been constructed showing the average date of the last killing frost in spring and the first one in autumn. Using these dates as boundaries, we can mark the average beginning and ending of crop growth and determine the average length of the growing season. All of this information is graphically shown in Figures 9, 10, and 11. By refer- ence to Figure 11 the influence of Lake Superior in lengthening the crop- growing season in its vicinity may be seen; while in the same latitude in the highlands of Hubbard, Becker, eastern Mahnomen, and Clearwater counties the season is twenty to thirty days shorter. The longest season, 160 days, obtains along the Mississippi River from Hennepin County to the southeastern corner of the state, and the shortest, 100 days or less, is in the region of the Mesabi and Vermilion Iron ranges. [OLVE eaRrny/ ! j wascea| PREPAREO BY C.J. POSEY FIGURE 9. MAP SHOWING AVERAGE DATE OF THE LAST KILLING FROST IN SPRING IN MINNESOTA 32 | SEPT. seecnes! ° 1 1 ties fore cco i ' ° 1 rT . . = . > 1 i ' t i 1 | Imigiesace be 2E tren, ep nee te ae KL Reewoeo , I \ ! i } cod pee eee ee eseown : ' ! ; e (Patroms: eeanay ° ' ' i i apa ' i i OotTemmooDn ! i peace: ee a . 1 i f ' 200 . e@eeuse | oa saonten | ; a | esi CI.POSEY SEPT 25 anearpent hate PREPARED 6& FIGURE 10, MAP SHOWING AVERAGE DATE OF FIRST KILLING FROST IN AUTUMN IN MINNESOTA 33 —---a-) ‘ganeivoe ~ i] ° ‘ ' 1 ' ' ' —— esp ie, i 4 t glo n a ‘ os \ LPM: EAT ren | i yaaa eal Gintas: tess seep 4 e i ‘pestous, wpe 1 urge oven may | oy euwoon! jesve cantn i é i i jwaronwan| = ' Paereautt | se 4 1 i} i 1 ‘ he — oe ns a es Prepared by C.J. Posey 14D FIGURE II. MAP SHOWING NUMBER OF DAYS OF THE AVERAGE CROP-GROWING SEASON IN MINNESOTA 34 LILA L C22 ZZ LLL Pa ew LLG VOLT LT FA LZ LZ LZ ——— ee ee, A gee PIII AT TE: LEE | FETT IT YO a UI v2 2 a7 AT es SS SS SSS SS Ee owe Ct OL LLG Lp ip t LJZ 77 ZZ BETES! 72 ds LITE LLL = FIGURE 12. MAP SHOWING THE AVERAGE ANNUAL PRECIPITATION FOR MINNESOTA 35 36 SURFACE FORMATIONS OF MINNESOTA Table III. Average Monthly and Annual Precipitation for Minnesota (in Inches) | | | Total | | | | Aprilto .| Mar.) Apr.| May |June July Aug. | Sept.) Oct. | Nov. | Dec.| Year gee | incl. eas yess | tere rent apart Sass | | reach ero ety Dra arnery) [ererererraced Were coe | 1.68 | 3.30 | 4.37 | 3-25 | 2.27 | 3.93 | 0.25 | 1.22 0.28|..... | 18.80 1.97 | 5-91 | 5.02 | 4.07 | 1.88 | 2.28 | 2.49 | 2.95 | 2.69 | 0.61 | 32.04| 21.65 2.07 | 1.55 | 1.38 | 5.40 | 6.62 | 2.54 | 1.89 | 1.55 | 0.53 | 0.38 | 27.23 | 19.38 1.21 | 1.64 | 3.26 | 3.93 | 2.94 | 3.22 | 1.52 | 3.83 | 1.02 | 0.18 | 24.21 | 16.51 1.58 | 1.49 | 4.46 | 6.36 | 2.84 | 5.35 | 1.47 | 3-22 | 0.63 | 0.95 | 30.14 | 21.97 1.3¢ | 1.47 | 0.90 | 1.71 | 5.48 | 6.44 | 6.55 | 3-85 | 0.62 | 0.51 | 29.79 | 22.55 1.68 | 1.73 | 1.41 | 5.81 | 3.33 | 2.21 | 4.34 | 1.86 | 0.78 | 0.57 | 24.26 18.83 0.92 | 1.67 | §.10| 3.32 | 4.76 | 4.35 | 2.23 | 1.93 | 1.57 | 1.79 29-40 21.43 1.75 | 2.82 | 5.37 | 1.96 | 5.11 | 4.65 | 5.63 | 3.13 | 0.35 | 0.84 | 32.85 | 25.5 1.51 | 1.72 | 2.43 | 4.26 | 3.96 | 2.77 | 3.14 | 3.50 | 0.14 | 0.82 | 29.65 | 18.2 1.21 | 1.46 | 5.54 | 6.41 | 4.12 | 4.36 | 3.45 | 2.53 | 2.64 | 0.15 | 33.10] 25.34 1.20 1.72 | 5.58 | 4.55 | 2.93 | 4.66 | 3.73 | 2.28 | 1.82 0.91 | 31.66 | 23.17 0.94 | 1.01 | 2.14 | 4.31 | 3.57 | 4.11 | 3.48 | 1.31 | 0.57 | 0.57 | 24.03 | 18.62 1.47 | 2.55 | 6.31 | 6.35 | 3.21 | 2.07 2.41 | 1.91 | 1.18 | 0.79 | 29.49 | 22.90 0.54 | 1.89 | 3.36 | 3.53 | 3.84 | 5-54 | 3.16 | 1.56 | 2.68 | 1.54 | 29.27 20.32 0.27 1.54 1.58 | 1.39 | 1.94 | 2.35 | 2.45 | 0.97 | 0.52 | 0.44 | 14.73 | 11.25 0.63 | 1.88 | 3.48 | 3.79 | 3.61 | 4.27 | 3.35 | 3-93 | 1.12 | 1.35 | 29.10| 20.38 0.45 | 2.04 | 4.13 | 1.66 | 4.30 | 3.97 | 3.03 | 0.97 | 0.36 | 0.93 | 22.45 | 19.13 1.27 | 1.87 | 3.53 | 3.08 | 5.56 | 2.79 | 3.33 | 2.58 | 0.66 | 0.05 | 25.49 | 20.16 1.12 2.41 | 2.89 | 8.34! | 2.48 | 3.97 | 3.08 | 2.00 | 0.38 | 0.44 | 28.06 | 23.77 1.22 | 2.00 | 3.56 | 4.18 | 3.79 | 3.66 3.23 | 2.31 | 1.07| 0.71 | 27.74| 20.33 Precipitation—The annual average precipitation of the state as a whole for a period of nineteen years, 1896 to 1914 inclusive, is 27.74 inches, and for the crop season, April to September inclusive, for twenty years, 1895 to 1914, is 20.33 inches. The monthly, seasonal, and annual averages for this period are shown in Table III. The year with the greatest annual rainfall was 1905, when the total was 33.10 inches. The driest year was 1910 with 14.73 inches. In that year the rainfall during the crop-growing season was 11.25 inches. Table IV. Average Monthly and Annual Precipitation by Drainage Districts Watersheds Jan. | Feb. | Mar. |April| May June | July | Aug. Sept. | Oct. | Nov. | Dec. | Year — | | | In. | In| In.| In. | In. | In. | In. | In. | In. | In. | In. | In. | In. Lake Superior.. | 0.88 0.88 | 1.41 | 2.05 | 3.50| 4.19 | 4.21 | 3.73) 4.18 | 2.80] 1.45 | 1.13 | 30.40 Rainy River.... | 0.94 0.94| 1.42| 1.96| 3.10| 4.04| 3.76) 3.32| 2.98) 2.08) 1.46| 0.98 | 26.98 Red __ River..... 0.55 | 0.56] 0.98 1.84/ 2.85 | 3.83 | 3.34) 3-12| 2.32| 1.55 | 0.72| 0.56 | 22.22 Mississippi (above | t. Croix).... | 0.73 | 0.70| 1.23] 2.16 | 3.42) 4.13| 3.61 | 3.57 3.00| 2.29| 1.05 | 0.73 | 26.63 St. Croix and Mis- | | sissippi (below | | | St. Croix).... | 0.92 | 0.95 | 1.49 | 2.37] 4.01 | 4.46| 3.72 | 3.69 | 3. Minnesota River | 0.79 | 0.73 | 1.19 | 2.30/| 3.52/| 4.18 | 3.34) 3.44| 2 Big Sioux and Des} | | oines Rivers | 0.50} 0.54/ 1.13 | 2.09| 4.00| 4.39 3.49 | 3-58 | 2. 2.73 | 1.36| 1.13 | 30.57 2.11 | 1.02| 0.79 | 26.04 2.07 | 0.94| 0.63 | 26.15 3.53 | 4.19 | 3-55 | 3-50| 3.02 | 2.24| 1.09] 0.84 | 26.90 Statevsceses | 0.76 | 0.75 | 1.25 | 2.18 June is the wettest month with an average rainfall of 4.18 inches, and July is next with 3.79 inches. The lowest monthly rainfall is that of February with an average of 0.66 inch. The greatest rainfall in one month for the state as a whole was 8.34 inches in June, 1914. The low- est rainfall for any month was .o5 inch in December, 1913. PEMBINA 20231" Baal BBOAMFFC MOORHEAD 24,94” M MONTEVIDEO 22.49" ae FIGURE 13. DIAGRAM SHOWING COMPARATIVE MONTHLY DISTRIBUTION OF PRECIPITATION IN MINNESOTA. ROSEAU 20.33” Lote imjalm] ss POKEGAMA | FALLS 2728" TOWER 2890” LETTERS INDICATE MONTHS, BLACK COLUMNS INDICATE INCHES OF RAINFALL IN EACH MONTH AT STATION NAMED GRAND MEADR0W FIGURE I4. DIAGRAM SHOWING MEAN MONTHLY RAINFALL AND MEAN MONTHLY ATIONS IN MINNESOTA. MONTHS ARE INDICATED BY THEIR FIRST LETTERS. THE GREATEST RAINFALL IS IN THE GROWING SEASON AAU ANA A ANNAN cra NAAN AWA A AY MUMSNET Ny = ANN NAAR a Pee Roce ee AAA NAAN NUSURANANNANANAANNN NVA AAA AAA AAA SSS SS EA SS ees NNVNNANUSAANANANAANN AN ANAANUADLAAAA AANA AY psc ant | = | = te Ot ds B | : | so He bg od a | + & v | | I Stations (Necbose i SS es 3 in Me Aron Blasi bee 18 S 3 3 3 a 13 s a s 2 ls | 3 | y 3) ° o | @ qe Sie |e | do aA AlSs| 4), O]24)/a\< | — = —— ——) eee | oe PYrss i inital Ine | In: in. | Ino In.)in.|) In. In. | In In. | In. Lake of the Woods | | Group— | EL OW.ET: feicicleteceysieieisetotove 9 9.0/ 8.6|10.9| 4.2) 0.6) 0 | 0] 0/| 0.2] 0.4) 84] 8.2 | $0.5 Red River Valley Group— | St. Vincent-Pembina .| 14 Siale S82 36.0 2| 07; 0]|0/]0/)] o1| 07] 5.7| 6.4 | 39.3 Crookston) 0.48 | 1.8¢ 0.48} 4.9¢ 14.40 | 60.55 * 6.70 18.00 | 63.06 = 14.70 47-40 | 75.17 0.28 | 10.1¢ = 0.20 i 7.30 2.85 | 18.00 9.92 | 24.01 7 11.60 1.55 | 15.20 30.00 | 53.06 i 20.98 20.00 | 42.09 2.75 | 13.70 8:35) s3:a1 6.33 | 21.41 17.27 | 69.96 0.27 | 18.00 1.12} 17.00 0.61 | 7.80 * 4.50 39.45 | 61.01 17.85 | 64.36 19.08 | 41.03 6.02 | 21.90 0.19 | 4.20 33-48 | 53.88 5.34 | 22.47 7 14.40 1890 0.20 14.10 19.00 32.66 77-96 61.43 41.23 34.22 15.90 33-64 3.70 61.80 68.12 28.59 68.74 63.74 58.11 73-95 39.24 | 13.60 1.00 41.46 41.58 45-54 29.85 31.19 | 62.74 32.27 38.73 2.90 9.40 61.86 25.36 71.24 34-45 73.02 23.84 0.50 29.23 35.82 22.36 26.30 36.71 69.46 45.29 53-71 21553 61.43 28.69 77523 25.09 27.18 11.40 27.44 62.80 72.46 46.71 | 46.85 17.80 53-96 | 28.77 | 37.84 32.73 | 42.76 | 27.08 | 1900 1.77 29.64 31.10 77-56 74.06 80.03 50.03 81.88 31.20 33.40 5.30 71.08 78.00 46.31 85.62 70.09 72.84 76.30 62.04 54-63 40.55 30.31 78.85 4.00 66.67 77-44 49-93 69.40 73-76 73-70 83.32 65.00 8.40 20.28 86.76 me. l2 73.80 64.54 76.81 38.72 3-40 69.38 64.60 37-97 74.13 80.00 71.90 84.92 52.64 30.90 74.42 48.23 82.25 69.02 72.50 24.65 73-33 65.86 81.61 57-40 78.68 56.14 56.58 48.71 73-64 1910 2.97 34.50 42.00 ORE? 73.60 78.56 53-40 79.28 38.33 82.70 7.67 67.77 80.45 52.95 83.46 70.42 69.79 73-30 72.74 52.43 47-72 38.72 78.96 10.95 72.14 79-77 54-70 72.77 75.93 75.64 81.93 68.10 12.97 25.14 86.00 78.94 66.88 83.08 TAT e 45-46 7, 83.50 64.58 40.00 75.76 82.00 72.38 86.00 56.94 38.65 76.14 51.86 81.68 73-25 76.36 32.85 83.73 66.37 74.88 60.14 81.27 66.76 58.290 Weve 78.93 * Less than one square mile improved in 1870. + Several counties combined with Redwood County, with 1,074 acres improved land in whole area. % Part of county in northern half also included. Dominant Soil and Vegetation Several soils. Mixed forest. Sand, mixed gray drift. Scrub oak, wire grass. Clayey red drift. Hardwood. Clayey gray drift. Prairie. Clayey gray drift. Prairie and hardwood. Clayey gray drift. Prairie. Mixed and clayey gray drift. Oak. Clayey gray drift. Prairie. Clayey gray drift, sand. Hardwood. Clayey gray drift. Prairie. Several soils. Mixed forest. Gravelly red drift. Oak and prairie. Clayey old gray drift. Prairie. Mixed gray drift. Hardwood and prairie. Clayey gray drift. Prairie. Loess, clayey old gray drift. Oak and prairie. Clayey to mixed gray drift. Prairie, oak groves. Loess, clayey old gray drift. Oak and prairie. Clayey gray drift, part lake sediment. Prairie. Mixed gray drift. Hardwood. Loess, residual, alluvial. Oak. Sand, mixed gray drift. Oak. Clayey gray drift. Prairie. Clayey to mixed red drift. Mixed forest. Clayey to mixed gray drift. Prairie and groves. Clayey gray drift. Prairie. Clayey to mixed gray drift. Hardwood. Clayey to mixed gray drift. Prairie. Clayey gray drift. Prairie. Clayey gray drift. Hardwood. Clayey gray drift. Prairie. Clayey to mixed gray drift. Hardwood. Clayey to mixed red drift. Mixed forest. Clayey to mixed red drift. Mixed forest. Clayey old gray drift. Prairie. Clayey to mixed gray drift. Prairie and groves. Clayey gray drift. Prairie. Clayey gray drift. Prairie. Loess, clayey old gray drift. Oak and prairie. Mixed gray drift. Prairie, mixed forest. Several soils. Mixed forest. Clayey gray drift, partly old. Prairie. Mixed gray drift. Prairie and groves. Mixed red drift. Oak. Clayey gray drift. Prairie. Clayey gray drift. Prairie. Mixed gray drift. Hardwood, prairie. Loess, clayey old gray drift. Prairie. Clayey to mixed gray drift. Hardwood. Mixed gray drift, sand. Scrub-oak. Clayey gray drift. Prairie and hardwood. Several soils. Hardwood, prairie. Clayey to mixed gray drift. Prairie. Clayey gray drift. Prairie. Clayey to mixed gray drift. Prairie. Clayey to mixed red and gray drifts. Mixed forest. Lake silt and sand, clayey gray drift. Prairie. Loess, alluvial. Oak, prairie. Clayey gray drift. Prairie, hardwood. Clayey to mixed red drift. Oak. Clayey to mixed gray drift. Prairie. Lake sediment, clavev gray drift. Prairie. Loess, alluvial. Prairie, oak. | Clayey to mixed gray drift. Hardwood. Clayey to mixed gray drift. Prairie. 62 SURFACE FORMATIONS OF MINNESOTA drift bordering the Minnesota valley, and in most of the older settled counties in central Minnesota. Oats leads in the poorly settled counties of eastern Minnesota, and in 7 counties of southwestern Minnesota. In the tables under each county the order of importance of each cereal is given, from highest to lowest. RELATION OF CROP VALUES TO FARM INVESTMENTS IN SOUTHERN MINNESOTA The gross income from crops, as given by the census of 1910, and as quoted in the tables in connection with each of the counties here dis- cussed, shows a range in the different counties from about 9 per cent to 17 per cent of the total value of the farm property in the respective counties. The following table gives the percentage for each county: Annual Gross Income of Crops in Per Cent of Farm Values Per cent Big Stone, Pope, Stevens, Swift.........seeees S}alsislejufelotetete Sfofsioleloletele iets ehetaievenekersretelsistcts rs 17 Chippewa, Grant, Renville, Traverse..... wiciascibiaiole olsteveleleieleveleieletelere/sicre tela aieyeteietelnielatel sieiszecs 16-16.7 Douglas, Isanti, Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Meeker, Stearns, Wilkin.........eeseeeeeees . 15-15.8 Benton, Morrison, Nicollet, Sherburne, Sibley, eee Yellow Medicine............. 14°14.7 Brown, Dakota, Steele, Washington. ......cccccccccceccecceccceccencessesessesesees + 13-13.9 Blue Earth, Chisago, Goodhue, Le Sueur, McLeod, ’ Mille Lacs, iRiee, Scott, Todd, Waseca, Winona, Wright...... Aialisiststatetets iatelerels BAAGHOUSHOOO alaletsieleloveielelcieisietelovalotelsterers 12-12.9 Anoka, Carver, Cottonwood, Freeborn, Hennepin, Houston, Lincoln, Lyon, Olmsted, Pine, Ramsey, Watonwan) cieicis's cisiess ciclcicicls wales iosleieicinrccieciswre a elejolald wleiorere ole ale csejalefelefeistetelel II-11.9 Dodge, Faribault, Fillmore, Jackson, Martin, Mower, Pipestone............- FOCOF eoceee ZO*TO.5 Kanabec, Murray, Nobles, Rock. ..0.0ciceccccssccccccvces Sretelevsve lates a/evateie ioleretejehe eh aveiohesetoere 9- 9.7 In 8 counties in the southwest part of the state the gross income is 16 to 17 per cent, but in 3 others, also in the southwest part, it is less than 10 per cent. This difference is not a difference in productivity of soil, but seems due largely to the higher estimate of value of land in these 3 counties. It serves to show that prices in these counties have reached, if they have not already gone beyond, profitable use by the present occu- pants, for the gross income is ordinarily more than double the net income, or real return for farm investments. There are 7 more counties in the southern part in which the gross income is only 10 to 10.5 per cent of the valuation. A large number of counties scattered over the southern half of the state have a gross income between 11 and 16 per cent. PLATE III 3 Sa kt A. CULTIVATED RED DRIFT TILL PLAIN NEAR FOLEY B. RED DRIFT TILL PLAIN WITH FOREST NEAR FOLEY C. BOULDERS ON RED DRIFT TILL PLAIN NEAR FOLEY CHAPTER IV DESCRIPTIONS. OF COUNTIES In the description of counties which follows, the county taken first is in the northeast corner of the area, and after this counties to the west and south to the southern border of the state are discussed. A few data from the census of 1910 are presented in addition to the results of the land classification on a geologic basis. PINE COUNTY Pine County is located in the northeast corner of the area embraced in this report, its eastern boundary being the state line of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Its land area is 1,413 square miles, and the water area of its meandered lakes and streams is 24.76 square miles. It embraces a large amount of poorly drained land classed as swamp on the Land Office plats, there being 387 square miles, or about 27 per cent of the county as computed from these plats. The greater part of this may be readily drained at moderate expense. A few places were noted in the northeast part, however, where the swamps are held in by barriers of rock, and others where prominent drift ridges and knolls inclose them. But in most cases the swamps are due in part to fallen timber and beaver dams which may be easily removed. As a result of the great Hinckley fire which some years ago swept a large tract in the southwest part of the county, the area of some of the swamps was markedly reduced, and peat beds were burned out leaving the soil exposed. In the settlements near Bruno and also near Beroun, the swamp areas have been greatly reduced and rendered tillable. In some cases the swamp lands were pas- tured for a few years after the water was drained away, and before they were cultivated. This county is somewhat unique in that it was encroached upon by each of the three ice fields in the Wisconsin stage of glaciation. The Superior ice, however, covered only a narrow strip with red drift along the north border of the county, and the Keewatin ice a few townships of gray drift at the southern end. In the remainder of the county the Patrician red drift is at the surface, and it also underlies the other drifts. There was glacial drainage from the Superior lobe down the Kettle River, from the Patrician ice down the St. Croix River, and from the Keewatin ice along Snake River. The St. Croix also served as an outlet for the glacial Lake Duluth, which produced a large valley with sandy and in part swampy bottoms. The Keewatin or young gray drift at the 64 SURFACE FORMATIONS OF MINNESOTA southern end of the county is largely of clayey texture and high fer- tility. The red drift is more stony, though much of it has a clayey ad- mixture both in moraines and till plains. It will be likely to be excellent grass land, and the county as a whole may become a profitable region for dairying and stock raising. Rock hills 10 to 20 feet high, covering a few acres each, are found in the swamps and among the morainic knolls in the northeastern part of the county, and there are rock exposures along the streams in the southern part. The combined area, however, appears to be but little more than I per cent of the county. In the northern part of the county farming is extended but little east of the Great Northern Railroad, but in the southern part it extends over the entire width of the county. Percentages of Classes of Land in Pine County Square miles Per cent Sandy red’ drift moraine with stony loam Soil jscj 15). sjcjen «cis 2 lois viclelciels pclae 60 4.2 Clayey. red drift moraine. Soil clayey to) stony loam..........sccce0000. 280 19.7 Clayey: gray drift moraine, pebbly clay loam! soil. t.22 0.2 i. 366 25.9 1,413 99.8 Farm and Crop Data for Pine County from Census of 1910 Rural population 10,627 or 7.5 per square mile. Menncent OL, and wn Lanms sateen eke cite ero iere seTeaclete Rotten eine eit connie | nee 25.5 Per ‘cent,-of farm land*improved oi: cans. 2 vc eject Stic eee cicisieieie sianeieroete hie oe ies Sea 28.1 AVeTALe ACHES Per) LALIM..6a1> aleic payers wejesets wialaim ve oon sro claiein Gaia edegerars pilotersjalstel ernie im aiieyeroccrsre PLIS7 AVerage iMProved@vaCress PEL taril wera selon sistersicin & Steietors ale atoele ere Mei tomieieee coin 31.3 Valuexots all farm property cn covcretotecrcvcis trek = wore oe Dias eG eR Oe Ie eee Soest $7,453,287 Percent) Of increases 7G00, tOulO 10: aie s-:< liaisons ne Sede ee wisidicere UO ee ea eeee 227.8 Value sof-alli.crops any 1000.42 fsite cheer ne ee rae cae ee EE EIU EAE Cian $846,136 Cereals. (oats; corns wheat, sbarleysurvie il sutcre eels ats ac taterale atevoe siete reionsiamee oneiniovsnereiee $189,951 Othererains sand SeedSisc ci. -s:cjevetsisvo weve ini sieeatevere terol aah aie euayetetoee evar c fete pa) ohaortete Pee $5,047 LAV Wan Ge tOra gece Weasnevcs srece’c ste are eters tetevaverelstint okerareveie der ale rer varetaleoei ad ctetiere Siere oct oeenerers $362,443 Wie seta blesin oie a 22 ctico Sreveitrers ib ayesahe rorcvebe dyer ete cas 2 Shae tere tey oh ate ele ere Ieee $158,461 BEIT; UES MATIC STVETES © coialci's eve leseeairehaos Wd, chal crae SOI Se rgkl at eae PN SOE ence SS Os ee eee $4,042 PUB Other (CLOPS)-)atore ars isis vals,s a7uce) viene eve evate cbclay al sralere potters cantare taaie a} oiaialoie/ajavale/o(eisials ¢/aln e.6 sralcin/)a nie alesse atelolletale eterats otetoeteiete $4,937 PLUS GLHET, ICEOPS aisle s'a\cloye a\s'' o.a)acc/clara’ela'e|s(a sioleleloiesvels-cieleielc wlewlelele’s etelcicietsiaisiete oeieeieieioieta $109,757 *Tame grass, 31,746 tons; wild grass, 45,667. Each yielded about 1.5 tons per acre. TODD COUNTY Todd County is located in the west central part of Minnesota with Long Prairie as the county seat. The drainage of about two thirds of the county is northward to Crow Wing River, chiefly through Long Prairie River. The southern end of the county is drained southward to Sauk River, and part of the eastern edge is drained eastward to the Mississippi chiefly by Swan River. Hardwood forest occupied the south part, and mixed hardwood and conifers the north part. There were small prairies on gravel plains near Long Prairie and Round Prairie. The most prominent topographic feature is a strong and sharply ridged red drift morainic system in the east part of the county. It covers a width of 3 to 6 miles, and contains ridges 50 to 75 feet or more in height as well as numerous basins and small lakes. This morainic system is very sparsely settled in comparison with the remainder of the county. The Keewatin ice field apparently had its eastern limit along or near the west base of this prominent morainic system, but its drift is thin in this county and generally plain. It includes a sharp morainic ridge run- ning from Long Prairie southwestward to Osakis Lake, which is scarcely one fourth mile in average width, but rises 50 to 75 feet or more above the bordering plains. The till plains of this county have a relatively thin veneer of young or Wisconsin drift over a much eroded surface of old gray drift. The present drainage lines, therefore, usually follow broad swales marking the courses of interglacial streams. The sandy outwash plains and lines of glacial drainage also occupy or follow the courses of interglacial drainage to some extent. A red drift till plain lies between two red drift moraines in the south- east part of the county in the vicinity of Gray Eagle. A till plain on the east of the main moraine extends slightly into Todd County, but lies mainly in Morrison County. These till plains are largely under cultiva- tion. The soil is usually a clayey to steny loam. Attention is directed in the introductory chapter to the peculiar mix- ture of red drift rocks and gray drift in a belt immediately west of the prominent moraine. This is a loose textured, rather stony till, yet it has a sufficient amount of clay to be very productive. The amount of swamp land or land too wet to cultivate is estimated by Ralph to be 25,000 acres, or about 40 square miles, which is slightly SOUTHERN OTTER TAIL COUNTY 71 more than 4 per cent of the area of the county. Much of this is in sandy plains in the northeast corner and in the western edge of the county. But some of the swales in the till area where the interglacial valleys are imperfectly filled by the Wisconsin drift have strips of wet land. There are also small swamps inclosed among the morainic knolls and ridges. Per Cent of Classes of Land in Todd County Square miles Per cent Red drift moraines with sandy to gravelly loam soil........seeeeeeeeeees 184 19.23 Gray drift moraine with sandy to gravelly loam soil.........sseseseceees 6 -63 Gray drift moraine with pebbly clay loam Soil........seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeecs 60 6.27 Outwash gravel plains and sandy bottoms........-sssessseerseeesrseeees 125 13.05 Red drift till plains, clayey to sandy and pebbly soil..........+2e+eeeeee- 58 6.05 Gray drift till plains, mainly pebbly clay loam soil..........+seesseeeees 484 50.57 Swamps and wet lands........ccccccccceccccccscescccsssceesssvrcscess 40 4.20 957 100.00 Farm and Crop Data for Todd County from Census of 1910 Rural population 16,588 or 17.3 per square mile Percentage of land area im farmS........cccccccccccccccccvccccesccsccsssseses 69.3 Per cent of farm land improved............ a oi unsiaiatelelorsietaiate pa eaace se aaleeiee eo eeee 47.4 Averageiracres! Per LALtits.s cass cicisicicisielcis's o1e'sie vie sisiaie sieve. eave ray alia wie) sai eve dusyih oi (6ra reveal 141.7 Average improved acres per farm......ccccccccvccvcccccsccrcescerssssscsscees 67.2 Waltienofe all farm property... sciecccvciscciesecciccccsiccecsvices ces cclcesseeisseceses) PE5,554,493 Per cent increase, 1900 tO 1910. .ccccccscccecccccccccccccccceesceessecccesccss 88.2 MOfals Vallie (OL. CLOPS) 111 4F000 ocj010/10\61a/chs: 01s ic\oiaic sic «/s:4/s\ajelnisie aici ale \eiel sie sie sie isieivivisicce.e $1,971,992 Cereals produced (oats, wheat, corn, barley, rye).....cecercecsccccrcececescecs $1,223,557 Other erains: and: SECIS sieclers ve/o1s ¢ 2\<\ele/s)ele/o101s 0010 00. oslele'eisiewsiclcicies clvisisials s'e\e,si0.¢l010 $40,506 PLAY Mande tkOLA@en vcicieie:c:cicve v/s\c'v:c/0lsieie.s 018 's\S(o,n'sie[6 0/0/e 01s 0.5 0l0;s,0\ele/sie 001 s\0\)e 610\0.0.0\61¢ 616/4/e $395,985 Wiemetables ce a cjatcistere!clataisjele cleleiaiaceie seers 5 c/o 6 elie 016) 515/016 016.0,4'e''o #1036 16's elelele(s: a\@)eteietel eieiaieie $181,053 ETUC We ATIC watt AE Siar aie ote ole) ciaiein’s'o/ ole ele ta ehaca-oreiele) o’eloletevelereie-a:4: orerate-s) wieleloie) cle/wineidis e)sieiwialeiniare $9,484 PATI OLUCT CLOPS|s sree 0 e1e asc oierere: eieielo(ere. aie, evel sipce/eie o)0%0,s/01a 610.6) /0/0:0' 6; wiajeieleie/oieiejele/sisieieieies 4:4 $121,407 * There were 41,864 tons of cultivated and 48,397 tons of wild grasses cut. The cultivated grasses yielded about 1.7 tons per acre and the wild grasses 1.4 tons. SOUTHERN OTTER TAIL COUNTY Otter Tail County is located in the western part of Minnesota with Fergus Falls as the county seat. It has a land area of over 2,000 square miles not including 200 square miles of lake area. The northern part of the county embracing 35 townships, or an area of about 1,260 square miles, was described in Bulletin 12. There remain 27 townships, or about 972 square miles in the southern part to be here discussed. The entire area is settled about as fully as is consistent with profitable agriculture under present methods. There is a large amount of rough moraine with included bogs and lakes that is now in woodland pasture. In the prairie portion, which embraces a few townships in the southwest part of the county, nearly all of the land that is dry enough has been brought under cultivation. The greater part of the southern half of Otter Tail County is drained westward through Otter Tail River and its branches to the Red River valley. The eastern part is drained northeastward into Crow Wing 72 SURFACE FORMATIONS OF MINNESOTA River and thence into the Mississippi. Lakes are a conspicuous feature in nearly every township, but are very small in the western range of townships. The most prominent topographic feature is the intricate system of moraines which was formed on the east side of the Keewatin ice field, as noted in the general discussion of the features of that ice field. There are only narrow strips of till plain in the county. The total area of till plain in the three southern tiers of townships is estimated to be 160 square miles, or 16.5 per cent of the area. The greater parts of the moraines of this county have a sandy to gravelly loam soil, but those in the western part in the prairie portion of the county have a clay loam soil. About 50 square miles along the western edge of the county were covered by the waters of the glacial Lake Agassiz. The surface here is very flat and the soil is largely a silty loam or fine sand. The shore lines of the lake are of fine gravel suitable for road ballast. There are two very extensive outwash plains, each with an area of several townships, associated with the moraines in this county. One in the eastern part, known as the Parkers Prairie Plain, has an altitude of 1,450 to 1,500 feet, and slopes northeastward to Crow Wing River. It is an outwash from a prominent moraine, known as the Leaf Hills, which runs along its western border, and from which a very prominent spur, known as Leaf Mountain, extends southwestward to Christina Lake. To the west of the Leaf Hills there is a narrow till plain succeeded by another extensive outwash plain which surrounds Otter Tail and Battle lakes and which was formed as an outwash from the great morainic system lying west of it. These outwash plains have a rather light sandy loam soil, but they were among the earliest areas in the county to be farmed, and are still yielding good returns under skillful management. DOUGLAS COUNTY Douglas County is situated in western Minnesota with Alexandria as the county seat. Its land area is 648 square miles, and its lakes, which are very numerous, are estimated to occupy 72 square miles. The eastern part of the county is drained northeastward through Long Prairie River to Crow Wing and thence to the Mississippi; but the remainder of the county slopes southwestward and drains in that direction to the Chip- pewa, which flows southward into Minnesota River. The greater part of this county was timbered with hardwood, but prairie extended into its western edge. The western half of the county is very largely occupied by a promi- nent morainic system which formed along the east side of the Keewatin ice sheet. There are extensive outwash plains of sandy gravel along the GRANT COUNTY 73 eastern edge of this morainic system. Farther east there are till plains which extend into Todd County. These, as well as the morainic system, have a sheet of young gray drift formed by the Keewatin ice field. The morainic areas as welleas the till plains are largely under culti- vation, and they are chiefly of clayey till with pebbly clay loam soil. The gravel plains have a light sandy loam soil. They are largely under cul- tivation, and except in very dry seasons have a good yield of cereals. Percentages of Classes of Land in Douglas County Square miles Per cent Moraine with sandy to gravelly loam Soil........cccsssccccccccccecesces 75 11.59 Moraine) with, pepbly (clay, ‘loam: “SOs, 6:6. c:ee11s.0.4 6.0.0/6 0 sree. sles a1 Selsieie caine e's 288 44.44 Mutwasheroraveleand Sade plain .yo.e.- « cicie,e: tieie'c'sieleceroteleie wie, foie sielsie.e, eierelnateie 135 20.83 uleniains, withaprevatiling: clay: loam :sOilss 20/0... 10.6.0. 5,0 serricie ee s.iriso 6 sve 150 23.14 648 100.00 Farm and Crop Data for Douglas County from Census of I9I0 Rural population 12,165 or 18.8 per square mile RereCentvGr and sara, lik LATINS's%.s acetic oie'e-c ereisiarnvesevs ool. ele e/eleveiele eer! oye/ ere aveieve Gaieveyee 85.4 Permecents O£m farin slatidy 1MProvedis, sc:e.<\ 0 300.4 PAVELrAVey IMPLOVEG. ACTES) PEL, “LAVIN cs nieie 6ss:s\steie ors loisis Siersibie' Sie ee ee, [b10 0,0 se edibles Diels © ave 260.6 Waluetiof valli: farm: propert yiis.«c:sie:c's-s\cre ce oc’ ooo reicln, aletelaroreiareialorsvetacetate Sialere siete oie aches $13,774,191 RernCentvor sINCreaSeiy TO OO tO: 1.0 1 Ola ie sya icsaie etercietapetatarsie orcas otelsl etal etnieie ois tusiatei sibisiava eieavare 107.0 Walttewok all CropS 1M: QO. ccs.cieisuare.c srajen'a tidisls oslo erate o cieitiein toe aieleiora (ce: cieieivisin cis ae $2,335,888 Gerealswi(wheatoats;, barley: icorni,: Fye)jcsiec cisvevetece wie nic ancl trciticicie see ahelee mia cdc oe $1,914,060 Othempgrainsy and a/SCed Sis) cyececerws sienete, ai sr averse eee n)aiicrni Sarerate ei clcle diate sCeieie\s ie) sia rdiovaraiovels xe $143,209 Va yeratiG BOTA ee ats c-siese wath Sa-s wie bieim icra Rae ala siete SAORI e oe uae las oGialooicie eisnis he $236,504 W/E RELADIGS nate ayers. oi cvaresaie’ :iotcvaie stereos olecater erator aiorele cles letalareielars Susi shore) 6a ieee isi diavéeine eo aire $37,173 EU ridit Some aN WE TA UIE Siac c.ck aie svove sora "0,015 fons oratavareveitevabe) auet alana sere setaterolave, Aiciovae televets obo oleleg-a iterators $1,699 PANIPOLN Ere CLOPS aieicrevesays sss oeie asi. 010) 6 w -bia oi ons wie e eTeuatsiere atateravareTareei clare olterd iave ciarelle die idia whiners $3,153 * Tame grass, 27,353 tons; wild grass, 27,959 tons. POPE COUNTY Pope County is located in the west central part of the state, with Glenwood as the county seat. It embraces 20 townships or about 720 80 SURFACE FORMATIONS OF MINNESOTA square miles, of which 27 square miles are in lakes, leaving a land area of 693 square miles. Lake Minnewaska, on the shores of which Glenwood stands, covers an area of about 13 square miles. The drainage is nearly all southward and southwestward through Chippewa River and its tributaries to the Minnesota; but the eastern edge of the county is drained eastward, partly by Sauk River and partly by Crow River to the Mississippi. In Pope County the great morainic system formed on the east side of the Keewatin ice field turns from a southward to an eastward course, and a very extensive outwash apron occupies this angle outside the morainic system. It covers several townships in the east part of Pope County, and in southwestern Stearns and northern Kandiyohi counties. This outwash plain is very elevated, its highest part being above 1,400 feet, and it slopes northeastward to about 1,300 feet at its eastern edge. Only a small part of the great morainic system is as elevated as this out- wash area. In the western part of the county there is a moraine which follows down Chippewa valley, and this has an outwash plain covering the southwest part of the county, which stands 1,050 to 1,100 feet. A narrow till plain in western Pope County lies between this moraine and the large morainic system to the east. There is also a till plain east of the great outwash plain in the northeast part of Pope County. There is some rough land in the morainic areas with very stony soil, and the drift is loose textured and gravelly for a short distance next to the outwash plain. But a large part of the great morainic system has a pebbly clay loam soil. The till plains have a somewhat uniform pebbly clay loam soil. The outwash plains of eastern Pope County have a light sandy soil, but there are boggy depressions 6f considerable extent scat- tered over it which contain muck and peat. The sandy plain of the southwest corner of the county has a light soil, and it also is traversed by boggy depressions with mucky soil. Percentages of Classes of Land in Pope County Square miles Per cent Moraine, chiefly of pebbly clay loam soil, with included boggy land........ 300 43.29 Gravelly and sandy outwash plains with included bogs.........--sseeecees 200 28.86 Till plains with mixed soil, partly sandy and gravelly.........ccecscccecee 38 5.48 ailplains chiefly with) pebbly clay loam soils hci. chee es eveloin eo eciteieisicleloreiets 155 22.37 693 100.00 Farm and Crop Data for Pope County from Census of 1919 Rural population 9,157 or 14.65 per square mile Penncentnots landvarea “an; farins’,.\..<.c,01c-sisve ers. o/s ieiaierel cio einvaeiorinin a eiokeoeie efereisciclee Rice 84.2 Per contuot tari. land AMpProved .iets.cistere oysters) Sercvols elol'sis cia ehein slatole tance aie eet nee nero 76.7 IAVETARE MACTES FDEL LAL ors avcree aiese's1e aisle aieieve les ehbvercta leper coil orale cteitatere eit eroeie eile 226.4 Average smproveds aCneS: Per Larm'ss< cst ciersivle aera wie ailel seordrels aiaelersieloiel sashes wine kee ones 173-7 WaluewotitalliStarm apropentyicie s/efe'e\s s/s.0vy eiele: ats $38,283 PIU ES) ATG “TUES iat roy csec5i/ovare ove eveusia sve cereje eicve etd atale aals’ ateve elsisieie/ele o1b.0 6 ol ae eie'a. Ware wea deve $6,589 PANIMROLN OEM, CLOP Sista) cial evaleraleta aieseveie/aVoiu/eveja/aja,a/e cioiaieie) o/else!'s's/s1s/e-ocerctave:ojaie els aie) eiel.sieveiavereicrerels $18,250 * Tame grass, 33,219 tons; wild grass, 46,050 tons. STEARNS COUNTY Stearns County is located in the south central part of the state, with St. Cloud as the county seat. The entire county drains eastward to the Mississippi which forms its eastern boundary. Sauk River is the main drainage line within the county, but the southwest part is drained by Crow River, and the southeast and the northeast parts by smaller drainage lines directly tributary to the Mississippi. The eastern part of the county has a prominent morainic system of the Patrician red drift, as well as till plains and outwash plains of red drift. But the central and western parts are covered by the Keewatin gray drift which overlaps the western edge of the red drift. The gray drift also covers the southern edge of the county clear out to the Missis- sippi. Its border crosses that stream 6 or 7 miles below St. Cloud. Lines of glacial drainage from the gray drift carried gravel containing much limestone down to the Mississippi through areas of red drift in the southeast part of the county and spread it as far north as St. Joseph and St. Cloud. At that time there was eastward drainage along the north side of the Grantsburg lobe from the Mississippi to the St. Croix River. The gray drift in northwestern Stearns County has an attenuated edge that extends several miles east of the first well defined moraine. This moraine follows Sauk River valley from Sauk Center to New Munich on the south side of the stream and then crosses to the north side and runs eastward to Cold Spring. There is another till plain on the south- west side of this moraine, extending to the great gravel plain formed along the outer edge of the strong morainic system in Pope County. The outer member of that morainic system comes into the southern part of Stearns County near Paynesville, and runs northeastward nearly to Cold Spring and then turns southward, and passes into Meeker County south of Kimball. The red drift area, and the east part of the gray drift in this county were covered by forest, but the southwest part of the county was prairie except some brushy land on the gravel plain. There are numerous small outcrops of granite in the eastern part of the county along the Mississippi and the Sauk River valleys, and also in the northwest part at Melrose and at Sauk Center. The largest area © is in western St. Cloud Township, where it is at or near the surface over 82 SURFACE FORMATIONS OF MINNESOTA several square miles. The combined areas of outcrops in the county are estimated, however, to be not more than Io square miles, and part of this has soil enough to be farm land. The area of wet land is estimated by Ralph to be 62 square miles. This apparently includes the lakes as well as swamps and peat bogs. Some of the lakes are shallow enough to be drained by deep ditching. The moraines of red drift are in places so rough and stony that they are still in forest. There is, however, a considerable part of the red drift with only a moderate number of bowlders and cobble stones. The red drift till plains are largely cleared and farmed. The gray drift area, both in moraines and till plains, is of high fertility, much of it being a pebbly clay loam. The outwash plains both of gray drift and red have a light soil but are extensively cultivated. Percentages of Classes of Land in Stearns County Square miles Per cent Gravelly red drift moraine, sandy and stony loam.....eeceeereeecceecees 115 8.44 Clayey red drift moraine, pebbly clay loam........ceeececcccceccscecece 55 4.03 Red drift till plain, chiefly pebbly clay loam........seceecesecceceseeeeee 120 8.81 Red drift outwash, sandy and stony loam....... i archaveteters en's silos aereyoreieieielels 50 3.67 Gray drift moraine, chiefly pebbly clay loam..........+eeee- _ SOIDECTSCOCIAC 150 II.O1 Gray drift till plain, chiefly pebbly clay loam........eeeeeecesecceccees 430 31.57 Gray drift outwash, sandy and stony loam.....:..cccececececcccccccccecs 370 27.16 Swamps and . péaty iDOgS ..<.0:<\< a's o:cya ernie cfstele oie 'aisie <0 e/eiele Re iclete. sioleieeisiere Cioteiersts 62 4.55 Rocky “areas 1. :clc.« siciciete oie o:e0 cis vicloreieieisisle sisiatetestetere’s siaisterelelsicielatsie sare sobatcoc 10 0.74 1,362 99.98 Farm and Crop Data for Stearns County from Census of 1910 Rural population 26,941 or 20 per square mile Per cent of land ‘area, in LarMSs 1c oic.ccicciccisc cscicsicic else vics'ecivcwicieics v.c'a® ocivleiciaice)s 87.3 Per cent of farm land improved........cccccccccccccocccsccscceccccccncccsccces 59.4 Average ‘acres’ per farmts,< .c ¢c.sisic.c\els cicleieis asieie wineries Sravew tbinatelsiciele levers cielo wieleie (era \e/ei6ra 178.9 Average improved acres per farm.........cccccccccccccccccccececesscesccsceces 106.3 Value ofall) farm, property :s aio; <.0:<121cj0.0,01s:s'ssa's s/sieiie(e\sielaloinlelelcialeje/slele-eis\c{oinieioisietsie/n\e\ele $34,548,484 Per cent of incréase 1900. tO: 19306: .0.6 6/<.<\6 s10.caija a lols 6 o1e c1a'6 vin\elnle/ors (e0/e1s/0Jalele sialelale'siare 85.4 Value: of ‘all. crops) in) 19096 6:6.25 0:6,0.0.0.0.0,0.016 6 60:0 61010 c1s\elaicls je 01010 clereleleieieie(s 6 v\sie)e 6 s\ele $5,384,327 Cereals (wheat, oats, corn, barley, rye) ....cecccccccccccccccccccccavcescccsees $4,178,967 Otherograins and +SCedS. c/s <1 0's) ateisiateisie/sra cl ejetelle/ola/e’s| sje s)eisrelolsi eres] ee e'e's'e'e's $9,500 EltyaeatiGertOnd ger asterete sis csi) sie ors/6ie'e:eie'e'e)6:9/s.e'e\ oie aisietevelensisicsjoicle sie sicialeiaies S./a/e ore ace/erace $148,105 Vie Re Lals] Stace tcuarsieye/e/a' si (al siels\sicfsis) oie s/cfs|s'ele'c\a:e/sie’s]0leis/e|s'e/ sls isl oie sivieis e's) s/0\ol0\sjove,c/e/o,«/sie\eieis's $289,746 IETIILS ATIC TILES ns craters eieie'etalere oreie, Sis bireieie'e.e'eseicievereisievelels stsia.e(eieia.e\6'o 016 0.006) ¢ 0\6,0,0/eiee\ern $2,417 PATIMOLHEIORCLO DS cil cieiefele cis] siels'elsrsleleie sicia’e siatersinccislata atatalateteteleter stavataiela’s\evele(a’s oieve/s/a\0\2/016 Sie $31,757 * Tame grass, 12,281 tons; wild grass, 18,342 tons. ISANTI COUNTY Isanti County is located in the eastern part of Minnesota, with Cam- bridge as the county seat. The greater part of the county is drained southward through Rum River to the Mississippi, but the southeast part drains eastward to the St. Croix River. This county, like Sherburne, is extensively covered by fine dune sand which has found lodgement on till areas and buried the till to a depth of many feet. Outside the dune sand area there are moraines and till plains and small outwash gravel plains, chiefly in the northern and eastern parts of the county. There is, however, a small morainic area in the southwest part. The gray till of the Grantsburg lobe extends nearly to the northern limits of the county. Ponded waters outside the ice laid down lake clays in the northwest corner of the county. A few square miles along the north edge of the county have the red till at the surface. The gray drift shows considerable variation in character of soil, both in moraines and till plains, part being clayey and part loose-textured and sandy. On the dune sand a large amount of truck gardening has been devel- oped, and it has thus become fully as profitable as the till areas. The sand is so fine as to hold considerable capillary water which carries crops through seasons of drouth. The wet lands of the county are estimated by Ralph to occupy 20,000 acres or 31 square miles. Some of the lakes may have been included in this estimate, as they are very shallow, and in places marshy. Levels of some of the lakes of the western part of the county once stood several feet higher than at present. Percentages of Classes of Land in Isanti County Square miles Percent Gray drift moraine, sandy or stony loam.........s+.s000. Woreleleg elaeiasievs F 40 9.05 Gray drift moraine, pebbly clay loam............ HOUOD OU AUO CORO DTC OOBOOD 35 7.92 Gray, drift til’ plain: sandy, to: stony loam sccicsic osc scisisieisis seve tie sis ease. 35 7.92 86 SURFACE FORMATIONS OF MINNESOTA Percentages of Classes of Land in Isanti County (Continued) Square miles Per cent Graynarist til) plain, pebbly, clay loam acersici os eicia\selsicislee = ofel=aienesclviolarete ey tore 50 Ti-3r Redidrittetill plains pEbblyncl ays loam ere cleo e-Gie sal sie sl oieissee eine eee 70.3 Waltiemoteall: LaLmM i NTODERLY cicioieieievsisic eisis o's iciols 16 isle: e\e/e'e\s/osa'elale @.0) eee) s e.efeleiele a's celal alee $9,478,621 REGECCH ESO Ie IN CLeASe -1G00 OWL OLO) cele, cia\s/aielcle aler siey aisle) cise ie leleteie\s.e/a1 stele ateiel oysters sie (ousterwiae 128.5 WealtteOtesa li AChODS) Me 1 OOO m ccrs cicueleiciste ees tis,.ove ieleicvorereiers ovava ieper eioiiei oieleceie tate -ecelwralo.0)e 0.06 sie $1,118,212 Gerealsi-(Corn,."OatsS, Tye,) wheat, Darley.) oi: 6:c:c.d)0\ barley, \COrms (rye) \eisicie.« siclesele/ ete) cfele/storelaefateleloleistoie’aloleveis)slelsrsielele ce $2,755,099 Othersenainswandyseed Sas ecctar cpaiteyceleh tay aanerobeletel otels se larepatohers fete onepetetatcl ele ee ielsietd slelesetele tate $133,508 ayvand stor wets aisiere sts iovacere o1cusys ole 'siaiaveveteve contcls weisustete ove opetenatahelet stouetokerereyeletelote stenevete ele $401,612 Wegetables jtrittts wand Utes s\sicici's/ersicvelei cisieisteletoisioiwieisiereiere Sialelelaferuinre cleicioteleeicieie ciziaieise $62,660 Ali other,® Crops: ierstercisieieiays sierels farss' 5) sie siavslcrs:c. « ake ms leveoe etal siti oie sapere ietayele ohare etevete aie Meister 94.2 Perccent, of tarm: land improved scsi .0i6)0.0-cie aicleicieie's erstsre oles 6's lore) ofelofoye elcrsieisl or eienaroreh a 87.1 Average ACEES! sper Larminists evaeicie ce eine no ticiaye eas eine ere eioiie ciseieke hele eee eee eee 205.4 Average, improved acres! ‘per farmigis: ci s-tseis versie tote Os eats ase eeelaietee cielat siete ey ske's 178.9 Malues or. alll farm Zpropert yee siete cre aiciersicrounl sroversim ese 6 e125 aun a) sisiajarsiatersiele Cimtsleteieheleis elels $33,685,584 Percent op mnceease 10008 tO. LOO c:eiscievcteicicicitieie is elias erarslerate.elele erelomloreneisicteteisieleieis sisrais 81.7 Wale nol pall crops! 21) 1Q00 sic ercieieicleleve exe! sierarer sia o1 sicleislavelaiere oe) cateketercteletalele nilstelelel orets $5,370,879 Cereals iGvheatsioats; corn; abatley, TYe)) cle. cfscetelorsisiows crete eleisie/clessieseveustayeiele) sjere eterelelate $4,780,876 Other Porain swan ei SCedssyavcierclavelecaveoreret shevstels ayeversis can eheleietalerel sane vigiefersiarsteistvelsveratelerstalore $118,823 lnthy | Bac) Mencia “a obaoucagpagocarclatonecaood ound cUC ods. on aden NadopldgatoouaKlc $349,488 Wermetablesticerinecsrercieisclaiciaicis reise sisre-s eiecsielevnlcteiey stele aleselareystekatenc/elevalelalsveferaloiecletalerstetetetets $79,756 Birtaits Ande tats eseeotie mises: crave cobs lees res overs Ose Riel ak Oa ave eye Sy alan rele ey areieryereies, Siero epeiiuereictes® $16,685 MAI other aCcOps eicicreisictejelateccvereieiocs er lete lore) o7eia veins einiete oie lotelvaralsiesetanets aiste tein eel oiatateloveielayete $25,071 * Tame grass, 33,400 tons; wild grass, 87,880 tons. SIBLEY COUNTY 101 MCLEOD COUNTY McLeod County is situated about midway of the state in the fourth row of counties from the south, with Glencoe as the county seat. The drainage is nearly all northeastward to the Mississippi through Crow River, but the southern end drains eastward to the Minnesota. The county is nearly all a very fertile till plain, and most of it stands between 1,000 and 1,100 feet above the sea, there being remarkably little range in altitude. The northwest corner is strongly morainic as it em- braces the southern end of a spur from the great morainic system formed on the east side of the Keewatin ice field. This spur is at the place where the Grantsburg lobe branches off from the main or Des Moines lobe. Gravel knolls are scattered over the county in such a manner as to be accessible for road ballast in nearly every township, but the plains have black clayey loam with but few pebbles or bowlders. Marshes and peat bogs are inclosed among the morainic knolls of the northwest part of the county and also fringe some of the lakes. A nar- row strip of sandy gravel follows down the south fork of Crow River, which may have been a line of glacial drainage; but aside from this no outwash plains or sandy glacial drainage lines were noted. Percentages of Classes of Land in McLeod County Square miles Per cent Gray drift moraine, chiefly pebbly clay loam..............0ceecececevcees 60 12.09 Gray drift till plain; black pebbly clay loam. <3... ....02..02+es00e0svs esses 370 74.60 Gravelly knolls and ridges, stony loate...c.00c cen cece sinccsaccasieceess 25 5.04 Glacial gravel plains along Crow River, stony loam..............00s000e0: 15 3.02 Marshes and bogs ......... Bia seeneteba ts cafe e re cyels iere.sialohe ehai.c, a isto uaa tans halos 26 5.24 496 99.99 Farm and Crop Data for McLeod County from Census of Ig10 Rural population 12,278 or 25 per square mile Perecentuor land area) 181 4 faLwnSs o/6) <0c/a.6.5 acto: «jaro. ov eisie, skate. aioia(sho1 a oiav cherie. aisle te sieigiviciehs ave 94.2 Percent of farm) land: improved 6.0. 6:6:6. 6 edie d:016:4:9 1000 ho: one.ai ois eral ace S Svs. st el dl eldio-elebs)oiele-e) 6 eel 80.3 UAVCTAPEMACKES! PCL? LAL Mls cce.cve.dieie ie arsiej6'0: <0’ ilsinsicie\@ » sis! shoieicseis ai arels/sielete sieisieie eis 2 /6eis Sane" 131.8 Average: Improved: acres: Per; Lathl evs cc. s0 so naveoeeiee sleteicrsi e ecslOe eiéllerse sade seri ccieinie 105.8 Maltteyio£y allie farm Sproperty:e severe: wroresere'd ots @ ates Gidin a a iarh e eelelatesieteue aaisiereis See hue os $23,120,367 Bere centy Of; INCTEASE 1 TQOO" COW TOTO cree a:cioie, sve a/a 5 cles ene tepees ot elotolofeie leis so efetaielatelsistee 78.8 AVEKARE “ACKES ‘PEL. LAKIN wheat,) ry6))-(e:c-e.e. o's o'sieic aie lof aloyotcicrstele wieiese ateleie feleiateie ole) $2,132,612 Other grains and: Seedss cis « siesa:cisrcicny= icicle lore 'o1s ofsiclevatolejeislole ele elafetelsiaielonevalcteretels’sicleie’store $90,961 Ray and, f£orage™. x:cijctevoreroiiesawvaiersueierejetuicieleleteleteretel cfaioierelelerafsietetol eiololerstovatetstelelciels/eteteiers $279,249 Viewetablesiz. atone, seem o's otmiehns brani ares, o arhaherers elas, eualats 6 0.94 640 99.99 Farm and Crop Data for Cottonwood County from Census of 1910 Rural population 8,880 or 14 per square mile Weracent Of; Ang area Ai farms oo.2c cc 50.0 eere oo.ciare eeiewrialems ss eia aiieal ss saeicise cays see 90.7 Perceent Of farmclarid amMproved «5 o:60:o.<.c.5%s: crete aisle o Sivisinim esis si8.e belo eic nels > v.48 49\e assis gI.2 PRM eeMACKES PET: SATIN a ais ate a: 5 iss. 5c id ova coGsicis ole NS a leyanis mia min wie anes oisealelayals awa aE 235.1 PeCLAC CHUN PLOVEH. ACTESIDEr LAT? .2 a) seueics Srvkus 2 echo oles eisls\ ol sustaiel= eivisiai blejeraremierenmies 214.3 WalticaGtsallstarint PrOpeLeyic = s'cic sss v2 3'c-3.0s toe isi velcie o sisay a 0;eue/ae) aun a)aia wie.a\e'aletalalalo(araa $21,613,731 Per Cent,of Increase O00 tO LOL. ai o:disic, din aiv.c cole sieps-0 6 6.010 ole'e a 6,18. sid\el e's 6's wera ernee 90.8 MeMITeuO taal CPODS EIT GE QOS s sie role ai «) 2 oiciaars are, aie eter iain’s or sce wiaysiehelelere) Stzjewieireimiare cokes acieiee $2,423,676 Ceredis moats.7 corn. barley, wheats (T¥e) sccsckeciere, ox cueieies oie cre whe, erg cewwleeherele elevates yaccies $1,960,152 SOME Mme Or AI SO ANI: (SCEO Sere yg co rart ca salaia la! stolauerayo ic w2iSis ies ola alcterete etatelwie ofaievele,<.s, nlape piniesane apes $137,317 PAA verANG LOCALE. fe/cie ware wie oicic ze os icievs eiesuis whee = Sia)s or eyel cle via aio Share wiblsiie sla eels ee erate als + $249,671 OEE ages a a fara core. of are ogsy acts fasernyailetatonotel oven ale apete aiciate ia seneyoeia die siaieveierstaaiove es aisae ioe ee $54,993 BTATIES MATA NIVIES emis ai teee pcre cee alae ie a aioe te muctaneee aicwenei oe reins cid a cleseaaiein oe ora $14,931 PMMALIIET LOPS 27 crore ai opeieiere alc ele tore a =: 0: sar «aisha tela el -herm al otsteaieie isle a/oee poteiaiays = wiasale ete Ga oe $7,612 * Tame grass, 31,625 tons; wild grass, 43,956 tons. WATONWAN COUNTY Watonwan County is situated in the southern part of the state, with St. James as the county seat. The county is drained to the Minnesota River, almost entirely by Watonwan River and its tributaries. The altitude is nearly all between 1,000 and 1,200 feet, but the southwest corner reaches about 1,300 feet, and part of Watonwan valley is below 1,000 feet. Several weak moraines cross the county from northwest to southeast. They are rather diffuse knolly strips with flat areas among the knolls. They are composed largely of clayey till but there are occasional gravelly knolls. 122 SURFACE FORMATIONS OF MINNESOTA The greater part of the county is a till plain with a rich black clay loam soil. There is, however, an area of about 30 square miles immedi- ately northeast of St. James in which the soil is sandy. Border drainage channels, lying just outside a moraine in the north- west part of the county have sandy and somewhat marshy surface. They are not so well developed in the south part of the county. There may have been a ponding of water there along the border of the ice. Such ponding is suggested by the presence of a general coating of silt a few inches in depth over the pebbly till immediately outside the moraines. The marsh lands of the county are chiefly along the lines of border drainage. Percentages of Classes of Land in Watonwan County Square miles Per cent Gravelly knolls and stony parts of moraines, stony loam...........-..+.-. 10 2.30 Clayey moraine with pebbly clay loam soil..........scecceccecccescsccees 90 20.74 Sandy outwash and glacial drainage, sandy loam.............seeeeeeeees 20 4.61 Till Uplains “with: ‘thin sandy, coatings .\.c.c.c s.s.c6,s:sisje1e ole ol ore 'eloleleleleleretelohoreler= 30 6.91 Till splains: with’ ‘clay, loam SOU). é:c;.;..<.20 sjea. aso orese crave clei ciaterelnterctane cteteretste 270 62.21 Swamips and DOGS sic cicieie'se/eoisivielsislejec'oie wiaiale Wxarectolesre Wielsioveialersielelersisters siereretete 14 3.22 434 99.99 Farm and Crop Data for Watonwan County from Census of I9I0 Rural population 7,135 or 16.4 per square mile Per cent: of land ‘area, in Larmisss oc cic.c cisc'ccv.ste o\e' els 0 s'c.0 eveleke oles: ele) e's leleie olere?e\ elses elelejnies 90.6 Per cent of farm’ land amproved:. «sce sic o10:s.510/0:0 veye: crovelesiveicivieieis.cicie Rietinemciee Sieiaveieree 89.7 Average acres! Per farmed iovecisicicie'sieieisiclo'sieieieiereteieieseleipierele aisieisiaioiels eisie'eiel siete eletelsielerelete 198.3 Average improved acres per farm........eeeececeees Sielefeteiereieiere e sisleie sie sievelerelevetevenee 178.0 Valuevof all farm: property..ccioccecccice vecsoacceeecisccieis sie velsTeisicieis sicieieseltereleieteverees @20,900;220 Per cent Of increase ‘1900! tO. T1910 6...0;5.010,010,0 01 s1sielais'elcicle'elelelcisicte sialeletsleloierelerevciercietelcleiee 70.4 WValte of tallicrops tt (1609 sicteraiereis cise eleteleve'e aie ofete./clavetele Risteleteieralelete ele elevcvetelolelerelelersye: oe $1,901,576 Cereals ‘Coats; ‘corn, swheat; ‘barléy} rye) fisc.cieiele1carsis siejere's sleiete eloieleretateiotcterareteleielsrelavsiere $1,528,960 Other grains and seedS....ceccecccsics cee Mise, by ond wilgtererel elavene ete eredete eioleiaierereions evcheletetelates $32,144 Flay rand LOrage ti wie's siersts elayereroncicveies larele rere steletstenevere stele els ciel elole(sloielaialelels' cleleleioresiels levers $272,911 Vegetables ...... are) a]si6 10 alejnjelele/eivlets che (eielev ales: sleselelerere tel cvcleteretotale ietcveletetete elereisteteterereteleres $41,909 Mrt1£8)/ *AN Gi MUS 5 averercis Sicic.c-e/ereieisrcisiors orere ais (efelereicisteisinie crete eiete Rieteteferetelctelciers An onooddace $13,197 ATT OUR ET ICTOPS's:s ies s1e's 0.6 ale ci cieie.e’s7d él eiejels's wie llers\s svereis Sietole(oje elelcleietcletetersie sYetelerelers eieler $12,375 * Tame grass, 30,397 tons; wild grass, 38,534 tons. BLUE EARTH COUNTY Blue Earth County is located in the southern part of the state south of the big bend of Minnesota River, and Mankato is the county seat. The drainage is all northward into the Minnesota, and the lower courses of several streams which converge toward the Minnesota at Mankato have deep valleys which have been utilized by certain railway lines in rising from the Minnesota valley to the upland plain. The greater part of the county is a plain standing between 1,000 and 1,100 feet above sea level. The immediate bluffs of the Minnesota are 975 to 1,000 feet, but the river is only 756 feet at Mankato. BLUE EARTH COUNTY 123 In the northwest part of the county along and north of the Watonwan River there is a morainic belt with two more or less distinct ridges or members. Its soil is classed as Marshall loam and Marshall fine sandy loam in the report on that county by the U. S. Bureau of Soils.’ Asso- ciated with this moraine are sandy deposits that have been distributed in part by the wind from the glacial outwash. The outwash seems to have been sand. There was probably more or less ponding of the waters in the vicinity of the great bend of the Minnesota at the time the moraine was forming, as the Minnesota valley below there had not yet been deeply excavated. The greater part of the county is a plain with a clay loam to silt loam soil, classed by the Bureau of Soils as Marshall clay loam and Marshall silt loam. The clay loam is in parts of the county where the till is prac- tically at the surface. The silt loam is where it has a thin coating of nearly pebbleless silt. Very flat parts of the till plain, whether covered with silt or not, usually have a black soil, and this is classed as Fargo clay or Fargo clay loam. The silt which covers the till is seldom more than 2 or 3 feet in thickness, and seems to have been laid down, as already noted, in the ponded waters which occupied the plain for a brief time during the opening of the Minnesota valley. These waters appear to have found outlet for a short time northeastward past Elysian to Cannon River. The duration of the ponded condition was so brief, however, that no definite shore lines appear to have been developed. There are sharp gravel knolls in the south part of the county in two small groups. One group is 2 to 3 miles northeast of Amboy, and another about 5 miles west of that village. These knolls rise 50 to 75 feet above the level of the bordering plain and exceed 1,100 feet above sea level. In the extreme northeast corner of the county are also gravelly hills which rise above 1,100 feet. Area of Different Soils in Blue Earth County (from Report of Bureau of Soils, 1906) Acres Per cent Marshall clay loam (pebbly clayey till plain) ............ccccccccccsccccs 185,152 38.7 Marshall silt loam (till with thin silt cover) .........ccecccccccceccscecs 128,704 26.9 Margo clay, (flat; Sut) Covered’ till))s:6:s:e:sjarcie:s:0 go: o/eyal'cs cna Te wretal cveleuever oie afore eiaferciale steal stetola te srciateiatove shale sveieise cie'erevere ereies $19,574 PAN GthEte CLOPS ss: ciere)oia'> ole a steretela.cia'e.aisiaiejelareieleiereies e166 BOD COORD odes crane evatederele a bole O1a%s (aie $9,809 * Tame grass, 48,787 tons; wild grass, 46,386 tons. NOBLES COUNTY Nobles County is located on the south border of the state in south- western Minnesota, with Worthington as the county seat. The drainage of the northeast part is to the Des Moines River, but the southern and western parts drain southwestward across Iowa into the Big Sioux River, and thence to the Missouri. 140 SURFACE FORMATIONS OF MINNESOTA The county is crossed from northwest to southeast by the Coteau des Prairies, its crest passing between Worthington and Rushmore. Much of the crest stands above 1,700 feet, and part of it above 1,750 feet, but its altitude at the state line is 1,650 feet above sea level. There is a gentle slope southwestward from the crest to about 1,450 feet in the southwest corner of the county. There is a similar slope to the north- east corner of the county, which also is about 1,450 feet. Two well-defined moraines which are separated by a narrow till plain 1 to 5 miles in width, traverse the high part of the Coteau des Prairies across the county. To the east of the eastern or inner moraine is a smooth till plain extending beyond the county limits into Jackson County. To the west of the western moraine a tract of very thin young or Wis- consin drift is found. The drift veneers the eroded surface of an older drift and the present drainage runs in about the same lines as that the interglacial valleys followed. The pre-Wisconsin or old gray drift, which is exposed in a narrow strip on the southwest edge of the county, contains there a large amount of gravel, and has a thin coating of silt some of which may be wind de- posited. A more typical deposit of silt or loess sets in a few miles farther west. The gravel in this old drift is much stained by iron and much more weathered in appearance than the Wisconsin drift. In places within the limits of the Wisconsin drift the old gravel has been gathered up and mixed with the fresh material of that drift. Good exposures of such an admixture are to be seen in Adrian and westward between the village and Kanaranzi Creek. The older till, though more deeply oxidized than the Wisconsin drift, shows only a slight depth of leaching of its calcareous material. A response with acid is usually obtained within two feet of the surface, whereas in drift of similar age in the southeast part of the state there has been leaching to a depth of 4 to 6 feet. The de- ficiency in rainfall is thought to be the main cause for the slight amount of leaching, as was noted in the general discussion. The moraines of Wisconsin drift are composed largely of clayey till, but parts of them are of coarse material with a slight loamy admixture, and there are also gravelly knolls. The till plains are of clayey char- acter, and in places have a coating of fine silt loam a few inches thick above the pebbly till. There are narrow strips of gravelly outwash connected with parts of the border of the prominent moraines of this county. The valleys also that lead southwest from the Coteau des Prairies generally are fringed with narrow gravelly strips. These seem to have been formed in part by glacial drainage, but are being worked over and redeposited by modern drainage lines. B. A. ZUMBRO VALLEY NEAR ROCHESTER VALLEY OF ROLLINGSTONE @: MISSISSIPPI VALLEY RIVER NEAR MINNESOTA AT MINNESOTA CITY CITY PLATE IX Ag 4 ROCK, ‘COUNTY 141 Percentages of Classes of Land in Nobles County Square miles Per cent Old or pre-Wisconsin drift, largely gravelly to stony loam...............-+. 66 9.14 Moraines of Wisconsin drift, chiefly pebbly clayey loam.................. 120 16.62 Wisconsin. till plain, largely black clay loams <2... 00.2000 eccecsccescccne 500 69.25 Outwash and valley gravels, gravelly to stony loam..............0eeeeeee 36 4.99 722 100.00 Farm and Crop Data for Nobles County from Census of I9I0 Rural population 9,358 or 13 per square mile Per cene,of land area: in farinSs o siclacieieic, ciclo’ sisi elie 4.6 4 olslsleleleloieieeielelelnie lovee vies ielaicres o's 90.5 Per cent of farm land improved....s.ccsocssecccscasscsseesnservcccsscsseeseecs 92.8 PAV ELACE, ACHES (PEN) LALIM seis:c sie ses'o:s!4:sle/elelesaialate|e ic’ store losis elevate sitatevensiersrsictelei sisters leveieic:-o1e sie,6 etelalelele oie Hana eeiele ase $93,096 Bruits and nuts...ces« ahevovel arehsievel eraval viahabetel ehetel ciel ove) ciareve' ey anise anole. aligies ove eileiere & etevete é-avecsle $18,312 PATI OM er sCLOpSbeereiereloisicrerois'o10re10.srece oiererciobeelvrels) ote) wiave, eretsveleyers cel oreveiccetelare leo e: asia wistecs Sie $5,336 *Tame grass, 56,284 tons; wild grass, 29,809 tons. ROCK COUNTY Rock County is the southwest corner county of the state, with Luverne as the county seat. The drainage is all southwestward to Big Sioux River. The highest land is a quartzite ridge that runs from near Luverne northward past Hardwick to Trosky, and which stands 1,650 to 1,750 feet above sea level. The lowest land in the southwest part of the county is about 1,400 feet, but on the divide between the streams an altitude of 1,500 feet is maintained nearly to the southern end of the county. The Wisconsin or young gray drift covers only a few square miles in the northeast township, and there it is a thin veneer on the eroded surface of the old gray till. In places it has a slight ridge at the border, such being the case for two or three miles from the north line of the county on the west bluff of Rock River, but usually the drift is only 10 to 20 feet thick. There appears to have been a weak outwash from it down the tributaries of Rock River, as well as along Rock River itself. The old gray drift contains a large amount of gravelly material, but till is interbedded with the gravel and forms part of the surface. The southwest part of the county has a deposit of loess over the till several feet in depth, or enough to form the soil and subsoil. Elsewhere the cover of silt is thin and discontinuous. The eastern part of the county east of Rock River has a heavy drift deposit, but the northwest quarter is very thinly coated with drift, and small outcrops of quartzite are numerous. The old till of this county, 142 SURFACE FORMATIONS OF MINNESOTA like that of Nobles County, is not deeply leached, but it shows high oxida- tion, and has been greatly eroded in its thick portions. Percentages of Classes of Land in Rock County Square miles Per cent Old drift with scanty silt cover, soil chiefly a sandy to gravelly loam...... 250 50.81 Woess, over: old (drigt, silt: Joa’. s.<'-i0.6(0/s 1 « 0! siac 0's clalaialelscleieleislelelsisis ieseielalorele 170 34-55 Nearly bare srock inOld (drift: areas sicc sisisieceietaisieseie's wieja\e/o (ciclo wlsietarsiaeleeietereiels 30 6.10 Wisconsin till sheet, pebbly clay loam... ......0cccsscscecevievicesevescces 18 3.66 Wisconsin: glacial) drainage vis <,c::cis s\e1s e\ele/a\sis's (0 /a/e's s/e/s lure cvaateuotete taeleteTeraLeiciorers 24 4.88 492 100.00 Farm and Crop Data for Rock County from Census of 1910 Rural population 6,495 or 13 per square mile Per cent of land area in farms.........60- ROOCOnOUC Gila wistete elelolalelele ofeiste/erslels eietelor.e's 91.6 Per cent of farm land improved........ Sin lalsiaia aistorare lave eieie ele etersteieit mioisictelelatclosarecieice 93.9 Averageacres (per farnt::c. 72) 73> 78, 79, 80, 96 Chisago: County, 2. cieccisiiag oo ae 9, 53, 58, 87-88 CHrrstina Wale: tys.3 « sicrerslisiarel vere eisai epee ate eis oie 72 Classification of land. See Land Classi- fication Glear> Wake, moraine) nears... ssiies ele 112 Glearwater "County. 6 ..6.0c2cvss eee as osisc 9° Crop-growing SeaSON .........+eeeeee 31 Gléarwater River Vetis st a/cteeetsle sfeeleveroics stare 7,55 Climates continental seis 73-74 Grarntshure: Toke. 2.6 sac oo contac eoee 53, 54, 55, 65, 81, 84, 85, 87, 92, tor 97 | INDEX Page Gray Eagle, moraines near........ ae eee 70 Green Lake, moraimes near........... ee oe Hadley, moraivie near... ccccccsscccpeds BIG Hampton, red drift near..........--2-02+ 205 Hanley Falls, drainage near............ -. 56 Hardwick, quartzite ridge........... women Male Barrie (ac anced nacre secs ewdsass seme ae: ee Hartland, moraines near............-. Bret cS Hastings Cocca cs seas cases eae a a ee Hay ue ecaadeheupeeesoss ee aeetetee .....60, 89 Hennepin County..... 9, 49, $3, $5, 58, 60, 91-92 Heron Lake........ aioe a ae RS ey 2 Hinckley forest fire....... ww enn orem Per oT Houston County...........2, 12, 45, 60, 131-32 Hubbard County.......... eaowe ase eres CTOP-QrOWiNgG S€ASON........22c0000e2 32 glacial features...... ee eee 16 Hudson Bay drainage system............. 6-7 Humidity, mean relative...........-.02+- 43 Binrost, etactal) lakes laces sonuccdouearenaeee Wimoria! Getto. ses e ns cs ede ddesce naan Improved land...... oF ee creer ere ST Interglacial valleys.. .66, 69, 71, 74,78, 79,83, I19 Towati drrit.. <2: 20-5 ire oe Nsants | @oemty o-oo ce oo ems - --9, $3, 85-86 Hasca Gotnty 2c oc. ccascscee caneeume ne nn cQe Jackson (‘Counttys.3 55252 --ecue 52, r21, 138-39 Kanabec Coutyscs cect ccessceccs «.-49, 65-66 Manaranzs Oreck ooo. co oe eon co aaa 140 Kandiyohi County.......... $4, 55, 80, 94, 95-06 highest temperature in......... ae rae 26 Mausan rare) ee ee alate eae 46-47, 105 Keewatin ice sheet...... 9, 12, 15, 17, 49, 53-142 Mettie tRawe8 Soca oe aa eee eee Reecter” Hills; -- venectasns cde cneeb aes 136, 137 Kimball, moraines near.............- 54, 55, 81 Kingston, glacial lake features near.....55,94 Klossner, moraines near.........cscs0eee0 112 Roox suf oo es se 2ct caren Sen en a Koochiching County ........ cosas aie 16, 22 Labrador ice shect.:.0.. oes soeSaitt Lakeland, glacial deposits near.......... . 58 Rakes) ricrete se nvies oa eae ere eee ..-16-18 Bakes .of Mmmnesttasoce cod cauuss So aa c'e ae ECE tals ws a dutale ola o ceetdats alts sae eee 7 Earl \clascrsr ation 6 aes aoe ea ee $3-142 Beachimg .ocssse~ 19, 46, 105, 107, 132, 134, 146 Beat Hills Stee s oes see e a oe ee ee eee 6, 72 Beat WRiiait oo sac sow eece eae ee Beech Eake 2 osasccscccdcswas Saccceeeaen 7 Leech Lake Dam, climate.............. 26, 40 Le Sueur Center. 2.2.62 sc ewed oes saan It Ee Suacur; Comity.. so oce.56 soe ads 53, III-12 ihe Suewe Riverc <5 soos e see eee ee Limestone, leaching. See Leaching [errr eee 2 6, It, 33, 18, 26, £75 29, 106, 107, 168, teg, 126, 527, 328, 130, 131, 126, t4t SO Re. ee £2, £2 Eyes County .............-..-- 52, $5, 235-26 Meschi Inca Ra=ee Mower Comsts -.........-..---35, 475 133-35 Dries, SO BEE. cdcorecsnvccccwcescess 7s New Lendon, moraimes mear..........--- Se New Meme, moremes mecr............5%, 3 Nicollet County .....2.cccccccccess $5, 112-33 Parkers Prowie Plem......-.c-cccesenes 72 Paymesville 2.22.2 cece nccccccccccsscsscs t4 Be oe aed ceccddvcdeccuwesessinsvces 2 avercge cme! ......-cccccececess 33,36 Primsbere, SSOcaBe BEST... 2 ee ce eeeoees St arate ot soot EelE ot Mierestz....-- 4: Rerey dews, member....----...--------- 42 Rash, G A, referred to--..---- 69, 70, 23, 35 ee ee 146 INDEX Page Red River...6, 7, 9, 14, 18, 71, 73, 75, 76, 77; 78 Red iiWaings jaltitude:...:<\s.cisseseuccie.e.e sich eLOONTOT. Redwood iGont yz is isies ores oie es sieiele Sg EI4-1'5 Redwood Falls, granite outcrops near.... 115 REdWOOd SRIVER secre icieicieicleis aiaeves ovee 56, 114-15 Reliefs of) Minnesota 5; sicicisicias avejare oteieiesous tate 6 Renvaille: (County: eiscies sis.eisis.0's 2 visto aie 55,95, 100 Residuary material: ic s% sieieie'se ele loleleretohe- aerart Mace COUNEY1 sicteleloresreisveicreeiie-s 16 47, 53, 109-11 ROCK ESEET Foilas'e csliciere' ofsteis ere eleicio cersiicise rs 127 Rock’ ‘County.’ s66/..01ss.0%:«101% 55 46,525 178; 141-42 Ronnely, vesker (meat; oso 2 cess vce ceines 83 Root VRIver! << /sdic0o01 000s 120; 127, 3315/8 320133 Round Prairie, gravel plains near........ 70 Royalton, ‘dune sand near.......0.00%s 0% 69 Rum River... ... Saeidietele cis erate 65, 66, 82, 84, 85 Russell, gravel knolls near...... POI OIOC 116 Ry ey nieces eas delstacsisiecie'c sineire e Susieralelavers 60 St. Anthony Falls....... eis oi salevel sie'ere aelets es OL StCharles:) loess near.tejs-cijsic «'clocieie eke ioe 130. St: Cloud;: red drift nears. ¢< ss vicielccrecreies 81 St. Croix River...7, 12, 17, 50, 53, 58, 63, 81, 87 St Croix; Bak ses cisciecs evasiers evctets sisieieisise RASS iE rants: Rivers,