MONROE COUNTY. 267 



upon the uplands consists mainly of the usual varieties of oak and 

 hickory on the broken lands, with the addition of elm, black walnut, 

 hackberry, wild cherry, honey locust and linden, on the more level por- 

 tions in tin- eastern part of the county. 



The western portion of the county, embracing nearly one-fourth of its 

 entire area, is included in what is known as the " American Bottom," 

 which extends along the eastern bank of the Mississippi river from Al- 

 ton, in Madison county, to the mouth of the Kaskaskia in Randolph 

 county, a distance of about eighty miles. The average width of this 

 alluvial belt in this county is about four miles, and its extent from north- 

 west to south-east something over thirty miles. These bottom lands 

 arc exceedingly fertile, and, except for their occasional overflow, would 

 rank among the most valuable lauds in the State. There are several 

 tine lakes in this portion of the county, among which are Moredoek, 

 Kidd, and the Grand Coule lakes, with some others of less note. Some 

 of these are fed mainly by subterranean streams, which find their way 

 through the fissures and caverns of the limestones underlaying the ad- 

 jacent highlands, and the water is quite clear, presenting a pleasing 

 contrast to the turbid waters of the Mississippi. They are filled with 

 fish, and are favorite resorts for the sportsman both for hunting and 

 fishing. These bottom lands are for the most part heavily timbered 

 with cottonwood, ash, elm, sycamore, black and white walnut, hack- 

 berry, linden, honey locust, pecan, persimmon, soft maple, water and 

 Spanish oaks, hickory, wild cherry and coffee-nut. 



Superficial Deposits. The highlands in this county are covered with 

 a variable thickness of drift clays and loess, usually ranging from ten 

 to sixty feet, and at some few points near the river bluffs attaining a 

 maximum, thickness of seventy-five to one hundred feet. The loess is 

 mostly restricted to the vicinity of the river bluffs, and often forms 

 mound-like elevations on their summits of thirty to fifty feet in hight. 

 It consists of a buff-colored, sandy loam, often filled with bleached 

 fresh water and land shells, and is sufficiently coherent to retain its 

 position in perpendicular walls on either side, when an artificial cut is 

 made through it. It forms the bald, treeless knobs that constitute a 

 conspicuous feature in the scenery of our principal western rivers. At 

 Salt lick Point the slope above the limestone measures 125 feet ; but it 

 is impossible to say whether the whole of this is formed by superficial 

 deposits, or in part by a hidden nucleus of limestone ; but it is quite 

 probable that the drift clays and loess are here at least a hundred feet 

 in thickness. 



At Mr. Sturnpf s place, on the S. W. qr. of Sec. 3, T. 2 S., R. 10 W., 

 on sinking a well near his dwelling about thirty feet of yellow drift clay 

 was passed through, below which was a black peaty soil with fragments 



