12 
SOIL SURVEY OF BUFFALO COUNTY. 
the county is separated from Wabasha and Winona Counties, 
Minn., by the Mississippi River. The northwestern part of the 
county is separated from Pepin County by the Chippewa River. 
The county is about 27 miles wide in the northern part and grad¬ 
ually tapers to a point at the southern extremity. It is about 
381/2 miles long, and has an area of 687 square miles, or 439,680 
acres. 
Topographically, Buffalo County consists of two plains, a lower 
and higher. The latter covers nine-tenths or more of the total 
area of the county, the former occurring only in the northeastern 
part as belts of lowland, one of them being followed by Buffalo 
River to Mondovi and continuing in about the same direction 
northwestward to the county line and beyond, and another, fol¬ 
lowed by Elk Creek. These are connected by a belt along Buffalo 
River south of Mondovi. This is a rolling and undulating plain 
lying about 300 feet below the level (1,100 feet) of the higher 
plain. It is the extreme western part of an extensive plain lying 
to the east, and has been formed on a soft sandstone of Paleozoic 
age. It is bounded by an escarpment terminating in a rather 
abrupt slope from the higher plain. The two branches of the 
lower plain are separated by an outlying remnant of the upper 
plain. The lower plain is the product of erosion in an advanced 
stage of development, and lies now at low relief. 
The topography of the upper plain is hilly, due to complete 
dissection and it now stands in a stage of maturity. 
According to the census of 1910, the population of Buffalo 
County is 16,006. The rural population is evenly distributed 
through the county. 
Alma, with a population of 1,011, is the county seat. It is 
situated on the Mississippi River and has the advantage of both 
railroad and water transportation. Fountain City, with a popu¬ 
lation of 1,031, is also on the Mississippi River in the southern 
part of the county. Mondovi, with a population of 1,325, is the 
largest incorporated town in the county. It is situated on the 
Buffalo River, in the northeastern part of the county, and is the 
center of a prosperous agricultural community. Nelson and 
Cochrane are smaller places on the railroad, while Gilmanton, 
Montana and Waumandee are small villages off the railroads. 
All the railway lines thus far built have kept to the valleys. 
There are thus considerable areas which are at some distance 
from shipping points. The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Rail- 
