OF THE DIS T H I C T. 



221 



Section No. 3. 



from the outlet of lake st. croix to the mouth of bois brule river. 



Feet. 



Outlet of Lake St. Croix (feet below), .... 7 



Table Land at the mouth of Lake St. Croix (feet above), . . 105 



Stillwater, one mile north, on Table Land, do. . . 250 



Trap Dike, nine miles above St. Croix Falls, do. . . 466 



Summit, three miles above Sunrise River, do. . . 334 



Nine miles above the mouth of Kettle River, do. . . 304 



Thirty miles above the mouth of Kettle River, do. . . 443 



Hill, one mile north of Pijiki Lake, do. . . 596 



St. Croix and Brule Portage, do. . . 656 



Head of Bois Brule River, do. . . 544 



Fifteen miles below the Portage, do. . . 415 



Third Portage on Bois Brule River, do. . . 373 



It will be seen by this table and reference to the sections, that the line of greatest 

 altitude decreases from the eastern boundary of the territory, as the range of high- 

 lands is followed westward. This will be still more manifest by referring to the 

 geological section from the mouth of Montreal River to the water-shed. On this 

 section, the elevations are given as far as measurements were made ; and it will 

 be perceived that the elevation of the water-shed, on that route, is more than four 

 hundred feet greater than it is between the sources of the Chippewa and the 

 west fork of Bad River, and six hundred and forty feet higher than the highlands 

 between St. Louis River and the Falls of St. Anthony, — the top of the rapids 

 above the Falls of St. Anthony being fifty-one feet higher than the level of Lake 

 Superior. 



It will also be seen, by consulting the sections of elevation, that a range of high- 

 lands extends along the line dividing the sandy and limestone regions, following the 

 general course of the Mississippi, and crossing the tributaries of that stream from 

 twenty to forty miles above their mouths. Along this line of elevation, the country 

 is generally much lower than along the water-shed ; although, at some points, as at 

 the Dalles of the Chippewa, for example, the tops of the highest ridges equal in 

 height the great range directly north of them. 



This elevation of the sandy region contributes very much towards modifying the 

 climate of the agricultural district bordering on the Mississippi. The rays of the 

 sun act more energetically in elevated than in low regions ; and as the direct in- 

 fluence of the sun is necessary to the germination and perfection of vegetation, and 

 especially of wheat and other grains, the soil of the high limestone district is pecu- 

 liarly favourable to the growth of such grains. The generally clear and dry state 

 of the atmosphere in midsummer, secures them from blight and mildew. 



The distinctive features or peculiarities of the fourth and fifth divisions, as well 

 as of so much of the third as borders Wisconsin River and its sources, will be no- 

 ticed in the narrative of explorations in those sections of countiy, and in connexion 

 with their Geology, in Chapter III. 



