CHAPTER XX. 



THE GEOLOGY OF YELLOW MEDICINE, LYON AND LINCOLN 



COUNTIES. 



BY WARREN UPHAM. 



Situation and area. These counties (plate-pages 27 and 28) lie in south- 

 western Minnesota, together forming a district which is bordered on the 

 northeast by the Minnesota river and on the west by Dakota. The south 

 boundary of this district is 48 miles north of the Iowa line. Its largest 

 towns are Granite Falls and Canby in Yellow Medicine county, the former 

 being the county seat; Tracy, Marshall and Minneota, in Lyon county, on 

 the Winona & Saint Peter division of the Chicago and Northwestern rail- 

 way, Marshall being the county seat; Balaton, in the south part of the 

 same county, on the Dakota Central railway, a branch of the foregoing; 

 and Tyler, Lake Benton and Verdi, on the same railway, in the south part of 

 Lincoln county, of which Lake Benton is the county seat. The distances 

 from Minneapolis and Saint Paul west to Granite Falls, measured in a direct 

 line, are about 112 and 120 miles; from these cities to Marshall, which is 

 about 28 miles south-southwest from Granite Falls, the distance is approx- 

 imately 135 miles; and to Lake Benton, which is again 28 miles southwest- 

 erly from Marshall, the distance west-southwest from Minneapolis is about 

 160 miles, and from Saint Paul, 165 miles. 



The areas of these counties, in square miles, is as follows: 



Land. Water. Total 



Yellow Medicine, 752.60 10.52 763.12 



Lyon, 709.50 11.16 720.66 



Lincoln, 522.43 19.56 541.99 



