Humphreys and Abbot's Report on the Mississippi River. 229 
longing to the Drift epoch, The middle and southern portions of the 
basin consist. of prairie land, and are rapidly becoming cultivated. The 
salubrious, and the country must eventually sustain a large and wealt 
population. Its total area is 169,000 square miles.” 
Lake Itasca, in which the Upper Mississippi rises, is described 
by Mr. Schoolcraft as a beautiful sheet of deep water, seven 
miles long and from one to three broad. Nicollet, in 1836, de- 
termined its geographical position and elevation to be 47° 14’ 
N, lat., 95° 02’ W. of Greenwich. e elevation of the lake, 
by pee uetrical observations, he places at 1575 feet above the 
evel. 
The Mississippi passes through several lakes and by successive. 
Tapids and waterfalls to the Falls of St. Anthony where it falls 
In less than three quarters of a mile a distance of 65 feet. Two 
tables given in the report exhibit the most important facts re- 
Specting this region. 
Low-water slope of Upper Mississippi. 
HOS Se Saeiia te cas 
' Distance] Eleva- Pall 
Locality. einen Pipex pe Authority. Remarks. 
ee  |Missouri) sen, mile. 
Utm Miles, | Feet. | Feet. 
teary source, - 1330 | 1680} 0-00/Mr. Nicollet. 
Sere. ye 1824 | 1575 |17°50 _ 
tah to Lac Travers, 1 1456 | 1°32 ge 
“bene to lake Cass, 1189 | 1402} 1°20 ee |10 miles through lakes. | 
Hevtt Leech-lake river, | 1109 | 1356] 0°57 ¥ 35 miles through lakes. 
ee of falls of Peckagama,| 1061 | 1340/ 0°33 “ 
inn en, 998 }1290/ 0°73)  “ {Rapids intervening. 
M ancy lake river, 960 | 1253) 0°95 7 Rapids intervening. 
Mouth Pine River, = 868 | 1176 | 0°79 “ Rapids intervening. 
row-wing river, 815 | 1180} 0°95 ay Rapids intervening. 
eR 658 | 670| 2°93/R, road levels.|/Sauk rapids, falls of St. 
Anthony, etc. 
Cros a = 514 | 689} 0-22 i“ “ 
Hi rie : =! 453 600! 0-64 “ “ 
r tad Rock Island rapids, 310 | 505| 0°66; “ # 
ean : 295 | 483} 1:47) « {Rapids intervening. * 
sor. 0} 881] 035; ‘“* «Des Moines rapids in-| 
tervening (low-water 
fall 21 feet). 
uy 
bet hese elevations refer to the low water of the Mississippi. The rang 
Ween high and low water level is about 20 feet near Sandy-lake river; 
about 20 feet at St. Paul; about 10 feet (extreme, 14 feet) at La Crosse ; 
the existence upon it of numberless lakes; the great width of the river ; 
the gradual change in season that takes place along its course ; and the 
“omparatively dry climate of the upper part of the basin.” = 
Ax. Jour. Scr.—Seconp Serres, VoL. XXXV, No. 104—Mancu, 1863 
30 
