PARK SITES ALONG DES MOINES VALLEY 



579 



turesque old farmstead stands out amid tlie surroundino: timber 

 land like one of Nature's own pleasure pounds and offers a 

 perpetual appeal to "come across." 



Mention might also be made of three high ridges between 

 Harvey and Tracy which stand like sentinels guarding the broad 

 valley at their feet. They are separated from the uplands be- 

 hind them by a broad sag which has furnished a natural route 

 for the railways which connect the villages near them. They 

 would afford excellent park sites to the pleasure seekers as well 

 as a continual problem regarding their origin, to the more 

 thoughtfully disposed. 



lS9. — Looking 



ucross Ues Moines valley from Capitol Hill, Des 

 Moines. 



It may seem like reversing the laws of Nature to state that 

 Des Moines valley is not so deep below Des Moines as it is above 

 Boone, but such is the case and this fact, coupled with the greater 

 age of this lower portion, accounts for the longer, gentler slope? 

 and less rugged character of the valley. However, this is partly 

 counteracted hy the increased number of outcroppings of resist- 

 ant bedrock, which aiford here and there picturesque scarps and 

 cliffs of pleasing aspect. One of the more notable of these lo- 

 calities is that at Cliffland, between Otturawa and Eldon. The 

 great vertical wall of sandstone which rises sheer above the flat 



