On all other margins, the oak woodland was dominated by a mix of aspen, red oak, bur oak, and to the east, white oak. I to the southwest, primarily due to the irregular topography. Windthrow was probably also an important natural disturbance, but no references were encountered in the literature. Nerstrad Big Woods State Park, Lowry Woods, River Bend Nature Center. The southern portion of the Waconia-Waseca moraine is not included in the subsection because it contains fewer lakes and wetlands than the northern portion of the moraine.
Soils are generally loamier.
To the north is the Anoka Sand Plain, which has sandier soils and flatter topography. To the south and southwest, Section I is flat to rolling ground moraine with prairie soils and vegetation. Common tree species of this forest type included elm, basswood, sugar maple, bur oak, ironwood, red oak, and aspen. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources photo by C.K. Converse.