CHAPTER XVI. 



THE GEOLOGY OF COTTON WOOD AND JACKSON COUNTIES. 



BY WAREEN UPHAM. 



Situation and area. The map of these counties forms plate-pages 19 

 and 20. Cottonwood is one of the second tier of counties north of the Iowa 

 line, from which it is separated by Jackson county. From Saint Paul and 

 Minneapolis southwest to Windom and Jackson is about 130 miles. From 

 La Crosse and the Mississippi river west to the eastern boundary of these 

 counties is ISO miles; they are 30 miles long from east to west; and from 

 their west line onward to the east line of Dakota is 50 miles. 



Cottonwood county has a length of five townships, and a width from 

 north to south of four; except that on the northeast two of the townships 

 that would be included in this county if it were a complete rectangle, be- 

 long to Brown county. With this reduction, Cottonwood county has eigh- 

 teen townships, each six miles square. The only towns and villages of this 

 county are in the southeast part, on the line of the Saint Paul & Sioux 

 City railroad. These are Windom, the county seat, situated in Great Bend 

 township, Bingham Lake, in Lakeside, and Mountain Lake. Cottonwood 

 county has an area of 650.39 square miles, or 416,250 acres, of which 8,655.- 

 65 acres are covered by water. 



Jackson county is a rectangle, five townships in length from east to 

 west and four in width from north to south. The important towns are 

 Jackson, the county seat, in Des Moines township, and Heron Lake, in 

 Weimer township. This county has an area of 722.66 square miles, or 

 462,501.20 acres, of which 16,434.75 acres are covered by water. 



