GENERAL PHYSICAL FEATURES. 137 



Timber distribution.] 



prairies of the west. Such areas are found along the lower portion of the 

 Minnesota valley, and along the Mississippi in Benton, Sherburne and Anoka 

 counties, and about the shallow lakes of the modified drift areas wherever 

 they occur. There are also large areas within the timbered portions that 

 have been desolated by fire, and although a young growth of trees is rapidly 

 restocking them with forest, they are not now properly regarded as timbered. 

 Of these no account is made in the foregoing statement of the amount ol 

 prairie in Minnesota. Such burnt tracts are most numerous north and east 

 of a line passing northwestwardly through Mille Lacs, and still more frequent 

 north and east of a parallel line passing through Duluth. These burnt areas 

 are generally flat or moderately undulating, and have a light soil. 



In general the line separating the prairie from the forest may be defined 

 as follows : It enters the state from Manitoba, about sixteen miles east of 

 of the Red river of the North, gradually diverging from the river. It crosses 

 Red Lake river eighteen miles east of Crookston, though a large spur of 

 timber follows the Red Lake river westward to within ten miles of Crooks- 

 ton. It crosses the Sand Hill river about the center of town 147.44, where it 

 rapidly swings east to town 144.38, except that another important spur 

 accompanies the north side of Wild Rice river as far west as town 144.44. 

 At Rice lake in town 144.38 it turns south and then west to the center of 

 town 143.41. Thence it again turns south to White Earth lake, and leaving 

 the sources of Pelican river on the east, it reaches Fergus Falls, which is 

 situated on the very margin of the timbered area. From there it swings 

 eastward, and then southeastward, with a very crooked course to Alexandria, 

 which is also on the margin of the native forest. Sauk Center is similarly 

 situated. The Sauk river forms the limit of timber through Stearns county 

 to its great bend in town 123.3/0. Then the line passes southwestwardly, by 

 the shortest distance, to the north branch of Crow river, which in a similar 

 manner defines it to near the east line of Meeker county, where it forms 

 another right angle and reaches the south branch of Crow river. Crossing it, 

 however, north of Glencoe, it dodges again southwestward from Glencoe, 

 about ten miles, when it is turned southeast along the south side of a trib- 

 utary of the Minnesota, and reaches the vicinity of Henderson. It continues 

 thence southward, to the west of St. Peter, but with considerable interrup- 

 tion by prairie, and crosses the Minnesota a little west of Mankato. South- 



