Buchanan County bulletin and guardian. (Independence, Iowa) 1866-1869, 1869-01-08
IOWA.

NoRTa.wEsrEmN IOWA.
Iowa CrrY, Iowa, Nov. rs, 1868.
Hitherto very little has been made known
10 the public concerning Northwestern Iowa.
and nothing has been published in relation
to it's geographical character except The brief
description of abe Cretacious fccks near
Sioux City, BY DR.. Owen some twenty years
ago. Having spent the greater part u the
past season exsmining twelve counties (fcgr
counties eastward from the wess boundary
of the State and three from the aostbern
boundary am able 70 correct the errune>
GUS impressions that have 10 some extent
prevailed ia relaaioo 70 the general character
Of the country. ] Aave been often asked Il
Il is not rough billy region, much more 80
than any other part Of the State. Il is far
from il; for it Is a broad, gently undulating
prairie region, With gentle spproachss TO the
praries to be found in the S,ate occur hore,
and truth requires to cay that these lsrge
prairies occupy IN but small portion Of
the whole region. It's timber lands con-
sis. principally Of narrow and often inter-
rup,cd belts bordering the Des Moiues, Lit
tie Sioux and The lower portions of Rock
and Floyd rivers in addition to considerable
bodies around Spirit and Okoboji lakes in
Dickensou county. Afndsed with the cxeep>
tios of small groves along The creeks aud
near the smaller lakes, this is all, In Dicks
enson county, both eastward and westward
of the lakes few valuable peat marshes
w.re found. but westward from the dividing
line between the Missouri and Mississippi
drainage 40 deps sits Of this fuel have yet
been discovered. Indeed there is little ind.
cation that much peat will be found vest.
ward lrom the 'Des Moiues river. In nei-
ther of the counties OF Sioux, Osceola, O Eri.
en-, Cherokee, Dickinson, Clsy, beuna Visa
and Paio Alto has single exposure Of rock
10 places been found. The only rock found
at all in these counties consists in the few
boulders scattered in the. soil. In the ex>
treme northwest corner Of Lyon county, but
occupying only q few acres, considerable ex>
posures Of . hard red stone (Quartzite) ore
found in their natural ledges. In the south.
western corner Of Plymouth county exposed
at intervals in the Llufs Of the Big Sioux,
some chalky limestone aud little sand,
stone may be found; aad in the eastern
part OF Pocshontas county one or two small
exposures of limestone exist. These three
points are the only places in the whole
twelve counties that afford any rock exc, pt
Of the drift. The structural geology Of suck
. region - this is plainly seen, can only
be known By inferences derived from the
study Of the regions adjacent to il, aud in
which the underlying strata are more or less
frequently exposed. Il thus became sbso-
lutely necessary 10 extend my observations
into the contiguous parts Of Dakota and
Minnesota, and with very satisfactory re-
suits SO far as an approximately correct un.
derstanding Of the formations which un-
derlie the region is concerned. 1t has how
ever led TO the welcome eouciusion that the
coal Geld Of Iowa does not probably extend
so far north - TO underlie any part Of the
region in question. A thin. layer Of coal, or
rather carbonsceous matter lit is not true
btumnous coal) has been found in the
Cretaceous strata before referred to in Plym>
outh county and is also known to extend far
to the nor,heastward into Minnesota. These
have 70 connections whatever with the coal
formation in lows, and never bad any, but
belong 70 . msch later ase in the 'earth's
| history. 1t is true that rocks OF that age
| are found 10 contain much coal in Asia, vet
so far as the equivalent formations have
been explored ia North America, it does
not yet warrant the hope that . workable bed
Of coal will he found in then. Lumps oi
coal have mot frequently been found in the
drift of this regien ~ -ws II 80 further east, ia
Northern Iowa. These were doubtless de-
rived from the thin layer in Minnesota be-
fore mentioned and we're brought from there
during the drift epoch by the glaciers a,
at the same time they brought the boulders.
have seen at the mouth Of the Redwood
in this State, the coaly layer in question,
laying in such close proximity 10, and upon
the granite rocks that glacier passing over
the place would necessarily sweep of por-
| tons of both formations together. Although
feel of every kind 10 at preseet 90 scarce in
this region taken - . whole, yet the timber
before mentioned is quite sufficient and
cheap, for present Inhabitants, and il is very
far from being . worthless or unimportant
region. Nay, more than this, the time Is
not far distant when il will become occupied
aud cultivated as completely ~ any part Of
the State now Is.
An important step in this direction is now
being taken BY ths projected construction Of
. railroad from Sioux City 70 Aankato in
Minnesota and which will traverse portions
Of Plymouth, Sioux, O'Brien, Osceols and
Dickinson counties. The railroad from St.
Paul to Mankato being now completed, this
gap only remains to be filled to give direct
communication between the great lumber re-
gions Of the north and . large part Of the Mis-
souri, river Valley. With such Interests as
these in its favor the completion Of the pro-
jected railroad cannot be long delayed.
With its completion the settlement Of the
region viii be rapid and permanent. The
great value Of this region lies in its excel
lent soil, aud experience thus fax has proven
It 10 be psculiarly adapted 10 wheat. All
varieties Of forest trees indigenous to Iowa,
viii also grow thrifty and spontaneously
wherever the prairie fires are prevented,
this being almost the only condition that
nature deoands 70 insure growth Of fuel
| as abundantly .nd certainly as the soil may
be made to produce supply Of focd. Thus
&C occupied sns y ss Il prosst,iea az sisa
OF fuel will advance both BY artificial plant
ing and spontaneous growth until the de-
sired amount is obtained, the setuers choos~
ing in advance the location, Of their timber
lands, assigning such spaces for that purpose
~ are 90 adapted 10 cultivation.
As would naturally BE- inferred from the
fact that 30 few exposures of the underlying
rocks exist h@e, tie whole region is deeply
covered with drift. This deposit is Of eourse
Of variable thickness, but We have little
means Of determining even approximately
what that thickness really is in any
kcase, for nothing but this material is
4 to be seen over prairie surface or valley
slope, and no excavations yet made have
passed through il. NOthiae but this u seen
even whore the streams have cut their val>
leys between one and two hundred feet
deep.
Al Peterson in Clay county, the Little
Sioux has cut it, valley down so abruptly
that it is only about half n,ile vide, and
one hundred and ninety feet deep from the
general prairie level. This level Is 90 dis
,inct and the valley 20 veil defined in this
neighborhood that the traveller does not sus-
pect the existence Of the valley until be is
Just upon it's border, and YET nothing ba.
drifl is found covering tho slopes from top