CHAPTER X. 



THE GEOLOGY OF FREEBORN COUNTY. 



BY N. H. WINCHELL. 



Situation and area. This is one of the southern border counties, and lies 

 very near the center of the southern boundary of the state. It embraces 

 five government towns east and west and four north and south in the form 

 of a rectangle, making an area of 701.94 square miles, or 449,242.53 acres, 

 after deducting the areas covered by water, the latter being 13,271.87. 



SURFACE FEATURES. 



Natural drainage. With the exception of Freeborn. Hartland and 

 Carlston townships, the surface drainage is toward the south and south- 

 east. The county embraces the headwaters of the Shell Rock and Cedar 

 rivers of Iowa, and those of the Cobb river which joins the Minnesota 

 toward the north. Hence it lies on the watershed between two great drain- 

 age slopes. For the same reason none of its streams are large, the Shell 

 Rock, where it leaves the state being its largest. The streams have not 

 much fall, but afford some water-power, which has been improved in the 

 construction of flouring mills. Such are found at Albert Lea and Twin 

 Lakes. In these cases the body of water confined in the upper lake serves 

 as the water-head and reservoir, the mills being constructed near their out- 

 lets. There is also an available water-power near Shell Rock village, but its 

 use would cause the flooding of a large body of land adjoining the river. 



Topography. The surface of the county.* although having no remark- 

 able changes of general contour, yet is marked by two belts or areas of 

 rolling prairie which cross it from north to south, and is more or less cov- 

 ered with sparse oaks and oak bushes. The rolling tracts mentioned differ 



*Some notea on the topography and on wells in this county are derived from Mr. Upluun. 



