330 COUNTY AND KEGIONAL GEOLOGY. 



quite unconscious of the presence, within the range of his 

 vision, of the deep valleys with their wooded banks, for 

 the general surface which his vision falls upon is apparently 

 all an undulating prairie. Upon approaching the streams he 

 sees them winding through the rather narrow valleys, with 

 a light border of trees upon their banks; and crossing them, 

 they are soon lost to view again among the general undu- 

 lations of the surface. 



The whole county is so well drained that hardly a single 

 pool of water can be found within its borders, but yet with its 

 numerous streams it is practically well watered, and in addi- 

 tion to this, water may be readily obtained upon the more 

 level surfaces of even the higher prairies. 



Material Resources. It cannot be denied that at present, 

 the only known resources of Ringgold county are almost 

 wholly confined to its fertile soil. This is the usual deep, 

 rich, drift soil, so characteristic of southern Iowa. It is not 

 only capable of producing abundant crops of all varieties of 

 farm products that are adapted to the climate, but also the 

 fuel necessary to supply as dense a population as the soil 

 will support, may be grown upon the same soil in the shape 

 of forest trees. 



For reasons frequently given upon previous pages it is 

 thought probable that coal exists beneath the surface of this 

 county at a not inaccessible depth. Should the explorations 

 recommended for other counties in search for coal, be under- 

 taken in this, and prove successful, in future times when the 

 whole surface shall become covered with fine farms, and 

 studded with rural villages and multitudes of groves of 

 artificial planting, Ringgold county will hardly be recognized 

 from the foregoing description. 



7. UNION COUNTY. 



Boundaries and Area. Union county is one of the second 

 tier of counties from the southern boundary of the State, 

 and is bounded on the east, south, and west respectively by 

 Clarke, Ringgold, and Adams counties and on the north by 



