Subsection consists of flat, sandy lake plain and outwash plain along the Mississippi River.
Bedrock is locally exposed in the St. Cloud area and in the St. Croix River Valley. Peatlands occupy the linear depressions of many tunnel valleys. Jack pine was only locally present along the northern edge of the subsection. Brushland characterized large areas of the sand plain. Bogs, wet prairies, and swamp forest occupied depressions in the sand plain.