272 FILLMORE COUXTY. 



[Topography. 



tion the rocks are covered by a heavy deposit of rich, clayey, loam, known 

 as the loess, which fills up many depressions and lends a uniform and 

 remarkable fertility to the soil. It constitutes the soil. The farms are all 

 well drained, naturally. The county contains no lakes. In York township 

 there is a slough which on some maps is represented as a lake. It is about 

 a quarter of a mile across. The Trenton area is distinctly separated, topo- 

 graphically, from that of the St. Peter and the lower formations. From 

 the Trenton to the Shakopee the surface descends by a step or terrace, 

 about 125 feet. Some of the Trenton areas are isolated from the main area, 

 and constitute small tables or mounds, which are well known as " Trenton 

 mounds", in the early reports. Some travelers have referred them to the 

 agency of the ancient "mound-builders", and a good many of the residents, 

 who are not aware of the causes that have produced them, still believe that 

 they are artificial instead of natural. 



From some of the elevated Trenton areas, overlooking the river valleys, 

 magnificent views of landscape may be had. From the elevated Trenton 

 area, in Newburgh township, the eye looks over the valley of the south fork 

 of Root river, and can almost discern the Trenton bluffs on the opposite 

 slopes of Root river in the northern part of the county. From the penin- 

 sula of the Trenton running north between Camp and Willow creeks in 

 Preston township, the village of Fountain is plainly discernible across the 

 valleys of the south branch of Root river and Watson's creek, with a wide 

 expanse of alternating timber and prairie between, while on either side is a 

 broad undulating valley 'of prairie land. On the east is Camp creek valley, 

 and on the west is that of Willow creek. These valleys are deep and wide, 

 but owing to the thickness of the loess-loam the slopes are gentle and broad; 

 and, in the fall of the year, when the industry of the farmer is exhibited in 

 the plowing of his wheat fields, and the threshing of his last crop, in 

 every direction may be heard the rattle of threshers, often running by steam, 

 and a hundred teams may be seen preparing for the next harvest. Another 

 magnificent view may be obtained from the Trenton peninsula on sections 

 10 and 15 in Carrollton. From here the view extends north over the valley 

 of Root river to the Trenton bluffs along the north boundary of the county, 

 a distance of over forty miles, and toward the south over the valley of the 

 south branch of Root river, looking over Preston and Lanesboro, which are 



