174 GEOLOaT or EASTERN WISCONSIN. 



above and below, a descent of about 60 feet may be made available, 

 and the lower rapids on the Peshtigo and Menonionee lie within our 

 province and also within the limits of settlement, and must, in the not 

 distant future, be improved. 



On the Lake Michigan slope all the available power must soon be 

 called into use by the rapid development of that region. 



The average height of the watershed is over 300 feet, and its aver- 

 age distance from the lake less than 30 miles, giving a fall, if a direct 

 course to the lake were pursued, of more than 10 feet per mile. Or 

 to put it in a more utilitarian form, a dam might be constructed at 

 the end of every mile, having a fall of eight feet, and still leave de- 

 scent enough to cause a rapid flow. The crooked course of the rivers 

 however very much reduces the rapidity of descent. 



The Milwaukee river is first utilized as a water power at a height 

 of about 475 feet above Lake Michigan. At Barton it has become a 

 very considerable stream, and is still 311 feet above the lake level. 

 Between West Bend and its mouth, it has a fall of 295 feet. If it 

 pursued a direct course to the lake, it would have a fall of 161 feet to 

 the mile. If it pursued a direct course to its mouth, it would have a 

 fall of 9J feet to the mile. As it is, notwithstanding its tortuous 

 course, it has an average fall, as nearly as I can estimate it, of five 

 feet per mile. A portion of the power thus given is not yet im- 

 proved. 



The Sheboygan river is utilized at a height of about 320 feet, and 

 is capable of affording an extensive reservoir at that elevation. 



The Manitowoc is a very considerable stream at an elevation of 275 

 feet, and has a very rapid descent in the lower half of its course. 



Many of the smaller streams also furnish eflicient water power. 



Changes in Drainage. A comparison of the streams and smaller 

 marshes, as laid down on the government plats and earlier maps, with 

 the present facts show important changes in the drainage of the re- 

 gion. Large areas that are represented as marsh on the plats of the 

 government survey are now comparatively dry and arable. Many of 

 the smaller streams have disappeared or become mere periodical runs. 

 On the accompanying maps the areas laid down as marsh by the 

 original govenment survey have been indicated with such correc- 

 tions as could be made. They are, however, designated as wet lands, 

 since a large part are not now really marsh, and indeed a portion is 

 cultivated in all but very wet seasons. They are as a class among 

 the most valuable lands in the state. The mapping of these areas, 

 besides being valuable as topographical and geological data, has a his- 

 torical significance; since it shows what was regarded as marshy at 



