'"am] LA CROSSE TO MINNEAPOLIS. 313 



the railroad, and their tops are often over 550 feel (108 m.) above the 

 river and not more than a mile (1*6 km.) distant from it. dust before 

 reaching Winona the valley widens, BO that there are L* to .'5 miles of 

 low level land between the bluffs and (he water; this continues to about 

 a mile (1*6 km.) north of Minnesota City, where the blull's are again 

 close to the river. 



From Minnesota City to Mount Vernon this narrow valley continues. 

 But beyond the latter point the bluffs rapidly recede from the river 

 until they are 1 or 6 miles (6*4 to 8 km.) away from it. The railroad 

 leaves the river proper and runs near the foot of the bluffs. The wide 

 valley continues until reaching- Reads Landing at the foot of Lake Pepin. 



Lake Pepin is merely an expansion of the Mississippi. It is about 

 20 miles (32 km.) in length, and nowhere exceeds 3 miles (4*8 km.) in 

 width. It is a most beautiful expanse of water, and many of the towns 

 on its shores are summer resorts — as Lake City, Florence, and Frontenac. 



At Red Wing, Barn Bluff (formerly known as La Grange mountain) 

 is seen. It is a large butte of Cambrian rocks left within the river 

 valley proper. Thus far the rock in the immediate vicinity of the rail- 

 road has been St. Croix sandstone, but before reaching Hastings the 

 higher members of the Cambrian are entered. 



At Hastings the river is crossed, and from this point to St. Paul the 

 railroad keeps on the east side of the river, and usually at some dis- 

 tance from it. After crossing the river at Hastings the road runs 

 through terrace graved and sand, formed by washing of the drift 

 material by the Mississippi, when it was Hooded by the melting of the 

 retreating ice sheet. Before coining to St. Paul several miles of recent 

 river alluvium are crossed, and just before entering the Onion railroad 

 station at St. Paul the railroad skirts the base of a high precipitous 

 bluff of St. Peter sandstone, which is capped by a bed of Lower Silurian 



(Trenton) limestone. 



St. Paul and Minneapolis, the "twin cities" having an aggregate 

 population of over 300,000, form an important business center. They 

 stand on the highway between the great wheat producing fields of the 

 Northwest and the markets of the Bast, and have tributary to them 

 vast agricultural and lumber districts. The business centers of the 

 two cities are about 10 miles (16 km.) apart . connected by half hourly 

 trains: t he resident portions join. The cities are beautifully situated 

 on the banks of the .Mississippi, and abound in line residences, pleasant 

 drives, and picturesque little lakes. As an educational center Minne- 

 apolis and St. Paul are well in advance; within their limits are Hamlin 

 University, under Methodist control; Macalaster College, under the 

 charge of the Presbyterians; and the University of Minnesota, which 

 is at the head of the State's system of public instruction and has 1,300 

 students. 



