PUBLIC PARKS OF IOWA 149 



or six miles to the south, so that attractive spots are present in abund- 

 ance. At Livermore again, steep bluffs, timber covered, a fairly wide bot- 

 tom land, and bordering prairie make a very pleasing combination of nat- 

 ural features. Another likely spot for park purposes is in the vicinity 

 of Dakota, where the forks of the river come together. South of the vil- 

 lage a long, high ridge, well timber covered and with fairly steep slopes 

 and flat top, separates the two valleys and would afford a beautiful park 

 location. Some small outcroppings of the bedrock add to the scientific 

 interest of the region. 



The west fork stretches a hundred miles across southwestern Minne- 

 sota before it reaches Iowa. Hence it is a fair sized stream in a goodly 

 valley where it crosses the state line. The first locality on the Iowa side 

 which is especially desirable for park purposes, is near Estherville. The 

 east bluff just north of town is fairly steep and well wooded and below 

 town the west wall is quite rugged and is heavily timbered. It seems 

 that along much of its length in Emmet county the west wall of the val- 

 ley formed the eastern margin of a belt of rough glacial morainie coun- 

 try. This condition, aided by post-glacial erosion of the valley wall, has 

 made for exceedingly picturesque scenery, which should be preserved for 

 all time. Beyond the distance of a mile or two below town the timber is 

 scattering and for many miles the walls are nearly treeless, except in 

 sheltered spots. In Palo Alto county, too, the belt of rough country leaves 

 the river, hence the valley is shallow and the slopes are gentle. At Em- 

 metsburg, however, art is assisting nature in making a beauty suot of a 

 long, narrow, rather shallow pool known as Medium Lake, around whose 

 southern end the town has grown. This already is a credit to the fore 

 sight of the townspeople and is destined to be of increasing beauty and 

 utility. 



Just above Bradgate, at the western edge of Humboldt county, the 

 river, which has been following a postglacial valley, enters an older, inter- 

 glacial watercourse. This is deeper and is bounded by steeper walls than 

 the younger valley, hence attractive points and beauty spots are morp 

 abundant. Just south of Bradgate the steep bluff is clothed for a milo 

 with a fringe of timber which with care would make a pretty spot and 

 which is easy of access from the town. At Humboldt again the bluff 

 rises sixty or seventy feeit above the rocky channel, reminding one, to use 

 President Macbride's phrase, of "some New England mountain channel, 

 rather than the quiet creeping river of the level prairie." This bluff also 

 is well timbered and makes a most picturesque scene. Just above Hum- 

 boldt a dam recently constructed has made an artificial lake which will 

 add to the assets of the region. Below Humboldt is the long, narrow 

 ridge between the river forks which already has been mentioned. From 

 the junction of the forks to Fort Dodge, however, the east side of the val- 

 ley affords almost every desideratum for pleasure grounds steep bluffs, 

 high, level bottom lands, vertical rock scarps, a shelter of timber, an 

 artificial lake behind a high dam, in fact, about all that could be desired. 

 Below Fort Dodge the valley of Two Mile Creek, along which the inter- 

 urban extends, may be mentioned as a typical valley for this region. The 

 unique deposit of gypsum, for which Fort Dodge is famous, forms cliffs and 

 scarps, and timber fills the little valley through which the singing stream 



