OCHEYEDAN MOUND, OSCEOLA COUNTY, IOWA. 
GEORGE F. KAY. 
Among the many interesting surface features of Iowa, there are 
few, if any, that have attracted more attention or have excited 
more wonder than Ocheyedan mound, which is thought by many 
persons to be the most remarkable and beautiful hill in all north- 
western Iowa, It lies within a region of varied topographic 
features, including lakes, ponds and marshes, level prairies with 
fine farms, and precipitous hills, some of which are in groups 
with no distinctive arrangement, while others, perhaps best illus- 
trated by Ocheyedan mound, are isolated and rise somewhat 
abruptly above their level surroundings. 
The mound is about one and one-third miles southeast of the 
town of Ocheyedan, in Osceola county; its summit is about one 
hundred and seventy feet above the flood plain of Ocheyedan 
river, which is a short distance to the west of the mound. It is, 
moreover, one of the high points in Iowa, its elevation being 
about 1,670 feet above sea level. The general trend of the 
mound is northeast-southwest, in which direction its extreme 
length is about one-third of a mile. Its width is narrow compared 
with its length ; in places along its summit it is only a few yards 
wide. The material of the mound is chiefly sand and gravel, and 
on its surface lie bowlders of various sizes, including rocks of 
many kinds, among them being granites, Sioux quartzites, and 
limestones. From its summit there may be seen in all directions 
a beautiful landscape, dotted here and there with prosperous 
homes. 
Ocheyedan mound has historic interest and has long been 
recognized as a conspicuous landmark in northwestern Iowa. 
Nicollet, who explored this region as early as 1838-1839, refers 
to this mound and states that the name 1 1 Ocheyedan ’ ’ means ‘ ‘ the 
spot where they cry”, which alludes to the custom of the Indians 
to repair to elevated situations to weep over their dead relatives. 
Dr. Thomas H. Macbride, President Emeritus of the University 
of Iowa, in a report on the geology of Osceola county, published 
by the Iowa Geological Survey, describes the hills of the region 
and refers to Ocheyedan mound as follows: “The most remark- 
able of all these hills, a beautiful object in itself, and by far the 
most elegant illustration of its type, is the long time famous 
Ocheyedan mound.” 
