344 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 

 THE RED RIVER OF THE NORTH. 



The Red River of the North is the only large stream within the bor- 

 ders of the United States that finds a northern outlet for its waters. 

 Its course is down a long, gentle sloi)e culminating in a low watershed 

 that separates this system from that of the Mississippi on the south, 

 east, and west. This divide in no])la(H' reaches the dignity of a moun- 

 tain range, but is low, and in i)laces broad and level, and is composed 

 entirely of drift brought down from the uortheast and north during 

 glacial times. ]\Iaps represent the Red River of the North as the 

 outlet of Lake Traverse and as a broad, marshy river in its u])per 

 course. But it is not the outlet of this lake nor has it been for many 

 years. Neither is it broad and marshy as a river. 



It is evident that the long trough occupied by Lake Traverse, Big 

 Stone Lake, the Minnesota River, and the Mississippi River was at one 

 time a magnificent waterway draining an inland lake greater in area 

 than Lake Superior. This old river channel has been scooped out 150 

 to 200 feet below the surrounding country, and is 1 or 2 miles wide, 

 retaining this width with remarkable constancy throughout its 300 miles 

 or more of length. 



TRAVERSE AND BIG STONE LAKES. 



These two large lakes occupy that part of the valley of ''River War- 

 ren" that lies between the parallels of 45° 15' and 45° 55' north. This 

 section of the valley is over IJ miles wide, and of an average depth of 

 145 feet. The general direction of the valley is north and south, 

 although the middle of this section is strongly curved to the west. The 

 two lakes are about 5 miles apart, separated by sediment piled a few 

 feet above the surface of Traverse Lake. This de^wsit separating the 

 two lakes is not, however, the divide between the two river systems; 

 the main divide or highest land lies to the north of Traverse Lake. 

 Entering the valley from the west, about a mile below Traverse Lake, 

 is the Little Minnesota River. This stream has worn for itself a valley 

 extending to the northwest commensurate with its size and eroding 

 power; upon reaching the broader valley, it lost its power to erode 

 and at once began to deposit its sediment, which it extended across the 

 valley dividing and separating the two waters, thus forming two lakes 

 from the one that already existed, or perhaps damming the stream 

 before Big Stone Lake had been formed. 



It is quite evident from the following that after the Minnesota River 

 had ceased to be the outlet of Lake Winnipeg, the entire valley of 35 

 miles, forming the semicircle from the head of Lake Traverse to the 

 foot of Big Stone Lake, was one lake: 



(1) The granite outcrop at the foot of Big Stone Lake resisted erosion 

 to so great an extent that during the full discliarge of water down this 

 passageway it was left projecting above that part of the bed farther 



