INTRODUCTION O I 



shar(;d by my fellow-student, Arthur H. Elftman, to whom I am indebted 

 for assistance also in some resurveying of the gorge. That the matter is 

 here presented is due to the friendly suggestion of Frank Leverett, Dr 

 Warren Upham, and Professor C. W. Hall. 



In the following paragraphs the general method and results of Win- 

 chell's work on "The Eecession of the Falls of Saint Anthony" are 

 adopted, as are also the particulars of the same in so far as newly discov- 

 ered evidence does not demand revision. 



In 1890 Dr IT. S. Grant announced* a discovery that the gorge in 

 which Minnehaha creek flows from the falls of the same name to its con- 

 fluence with the Mississippi river is in greater part the gorge of an aban- 

 doned arm of the river rather than that of the creek. His discussion of 

 this particular feature brings out the additional detail in regard to the 

 recession of Saint Anthony falls, namely, that the falls upon a smaller 

 arm or stream receded proportionately less than that upon a larger arm 

 or stream and the whole rate of recession is lessened by the dividing of 

 the falls. Grant's conclusions are in accord with Winch ell's. Evidently 

 Doctor Grant took no note of certain terraces which stand within the 

 abandoned gorge which he described. 



I shall adopt in this paper the general results of Doctor Grant's study, 

 with such addition as the evidence of terraces within the gorge requirep. 

 It is in fact from studying these terraces and similar ones in another 

 abandoned gorge which I had found some 10 years ago, and later still 

 others along the main gorge, that I have been led to revise for myself, 

 first Grant's interpretation of Minnehaha gorge and then Winchell's 

 account of the Saint Anthony Palls recession. It is my aim at this time 

 to consider, in the light of new evidence, especially the beginning and 

 early stages of Saint Anthony falls and the gorge at Fort Snelling. The 

 entire history of the gorge and its relation to events of the Glacial period 

 are included. 



Contrasting Valleys of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers 



At the junction of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers the valleys 

 present a strong contrast. The valley below the junction and that of the 

 Minnesota above the junction are one, in that they are continuous in 

 direction and are alike in being one-half mile or more wide, flat bottomed, 

 and bordered by steep slopes 100 feet or more high. In contrast, the 

 Mississippi valley above the junction runs at an angle with that below, 



' "Account of a deserted gorge of the Mississippi near JlinneljqlJa falls," American 

 Geologist, vol. 0, 1890, p. 1. 



