RICE COUNTY, 1884. N. H. WINCHELL. 



along the main valleys and in the counties bordering the driftless area, as described 

 in Houston and Fillmore counties. 



Besides the till of the uplands and the gravel of the valleys and plains, there is 

 a pebbly loam or clay which covers much of the eastern half of the county, forming 

 the subsoil and also the basis of the soil. This appears to have been in some way 

 connected with the latest action of the glacial waters, when they were able simply 

 to carry forward but not to wholly assort the finer materials brought forward by 

 the glacier. 



The rocks of the county range from the Shakopee, seen from Dundas northward 

 to the county line, to the Trenton, which outcrops at Faribault and along Prairie 

 creek, and underlies the southeastern half of the county. The former is fossiliferous 

 at the limekilns in the Cannon valley, near the north county line, containing Cryp- 

 tozoon minnesotense and indistinct remains of molluscs. The Trenton also contains 

 the usual varied fossil fauna, embracing cephalopods, brachiopods, gasteropods, 

 bryozoans and occasional crustaceans and corals. The Shakopee is used for quick- 

 lime and the Trenton for building stone. In the western part of the county consid- 

 erable lumber is cut from the native forest, but the fine soil constitutes the chief 

 basis of material prosperity. N. H. w. 



