CHAPTER VIII. 



THE GEOLOGY OF MOWER COUNTY. 



BY N. H. WINCHELL. 



Situation and area. This county, which borders on the state of Iowa, 

 opposite Mitchell county, is bounded west by Freeborn county, and north 

 by Dodge and Olmsted counties, and has an area of 711.18 square miles, 

 or 455,155.75 acres. Of this area 1,352.65 acres are water, and 453,803.10 

 are land. It is represented by plate 12. 



SURFACE FEATURES. 



Natural ilnthwye. The western line of towns is crossed in a due south- 

 erly direction by Cedar river. From the west this stream receives Wood- 

 bury, Orchard and Turtle creeks. Its eastern tributaries are Roberts, Dob- 

 bin's, Rose, arid Otter creeks. Thus the whole western half of the county is 

 drained into the Mississippi through Iowa. The southeastern portion is 

 also drained toward the south through the sources of the Little Cedar, the 

 Wapsipinicon and the Upper Iowa rivers. The northwestern portion of 

 the county is drained by the headwaters of the Root river toward the north 

 and east. This river flows eastward through Fill more and Houston coun- 

 ties into the Mississippi near La Crescent. The divide between streams 

 running north and those running south crosses Mower county from S. E. to 

 N. W., nearly through the center, and includes some of the highest land in 

 that portion of the state. The highest point in the county, on the South- 

 ern Minnesota R, R., is at Dexter station, in sec. 13, town 103 N., range 16 W., 

 7sf> feet above the Mississippi at La Crosse, or 1,412 feet above tide water. 



These streams are all small, and some of them become nearly dry 

 during the summei'. Some of them furnish water-power at a number of 



