GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OP THE TERRITORIES. 291 



although presenting a less rapid ascent while passing through the tim- 

 ber-strip — some fltty miles in width — reaches an average of 1,100 feet 

 above the sea when we arrive at the jirairie-belt which forms the divide ; 

 bat when we arrive at Breckenridge, near the head of lied Eiver, we 

 have again descended to 953 feet above the sea and are only 50 feet 

 higher "than at Moorehead. If, instead of following the railroad-line, 

 we move up the valley of the Minnesota Eiver to its source in Big 

 Stone Lake, cross over to Lake Traverse, and pass northward down 

 Eed Eiver, we find a very remarkable channel, which reaches at no 

 point an elevation of more than 9G0 or 970 feet above the sea-level, 

 or about 280 or 290 above the Mississippi at Saint Paul. This im- 

 mense furrow, connecting the drainage of Hudson Bay with that of the 

 Gulf of Mexico, reaching at no point an elevation of 1,000 feet above 

 the sea, possesses great interest in the study of the jihysical geography 

 and surface-geology of the iS'orthwest. Hei-e, in all probability^ will be 

 found the key to the last act in the great geological drama of this sec- 

 tion, and here undoubtedly will be found the last traces of the union of 

 the arctic and tropic oceans across the bosom of the continent. It was 

 here the waves of these two great seas gave their parting kiss before 

 their long separation. But it is not my intention to dwell on this inter- 

 esting topic; this is the work of the geologist who delights to dwell in 

 the fading scenes of the far distant past. My business is with the present 

 features, and the object I have now in view is the dull and i)rosy one 

 of conveying an idea of the topography of the region drained by the 

 headwaters of the great father of waters, our own noble Mississippi. 



• It is evident, therefore, from what has been said and from the lists of 

 elevations given, that these waters are gathered from a moderately ele- 

 vated and segregated plateau, whose border, starting from the vicinity of 

 Lake Superior, sweeps around northwest until it approaches the valley 

 of Eed Eiver, attaining its maximum altitude in the direction of Eed 

 Lake ; thence bending south it fades away in the rolling prairies as it 

 approaches the channel of the Minnesota Eiver. Eising from 300 to 

 1,000 feet above the surrounding regions it slopes southward and from 

 the east and west sides, especially the latter, inwardly toward the cen- 

 tral channel. 



As before remarked, in traveling westward from Lake Superior to the 

 Missouri Eiver, although we may, as a general rule, find a very great 

 uniformity in altitude, we shall, on the other hand, find very strong con- 

 trasts in regard to the character and covering of the surface, and also 

 marked climatic differences. Leaving the last until the subject of cli- 

 mate is introduced, I will call attention here to the other differences 

 which are important items in making up our estimate of the agricultural 

 resources. 



This basin, as a whole, differs very materially from the regions farther 

 west in the fact that the larger portion is covered with forests, the 

 western and more elevated portions alone consisting of prairies. The 

 ninety-fifth meridian corresponds very nearly with the division between 

 the two portions, although there are west of this line some scattering 

 oak-groves, and immediately east of it a few isolated prairies of small 

 extent. The entire portion of the State east and northeast of the Mis- 

 sissippi and for a short distance west of it, north of Saint Paul, is 

 covered almost entirely with [)ine and tamarack forests. And within this 

 pine-covered area is found another very marked distinction from the 

 section west' of Eed Eiver. And I call special attention to these differ- 

 ences between Minnesota and Dakota, for the reason that, when we come 

 to examine the climate, especially the rain-fall, we shall find a difference 



