The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-05-10

Several different ways have been
suggested for expressing the geological
divisions of North Dakota" says Her
bert A. Hard, geologist Of the North
Dakota Agricultural college. Aside
from the coal lands, the eastern pOr-
ton of which is identical with agriCul-
tural lands n the western part which
is in the Bad Lands, we have no di-
vision into mineral and 'nOn-mincraP
areas, as most states haVe. True, val
liable clayS are found in almost every
county of the state. Again we have no
areas to classify as mOuntains; the
Northern Pacific track rises from an
altitude Of about $40 feet at Fargo to
about 1850 feet at Beach, though some
interesting areas are higher. The top
of Sentinel Butte, so far as known
the highest point in the state, is at an
elevation of 1850 feet above the sea-,
$50 feet above the station Of that
name.
In the absence of other n better
means of division, the state, almost
wholly agricultural, should be CLASH
fled in terms of it's topography and
agricultural worth. The college state
geological survey has published two
state maps in cOlors, one Of which
shows in a general way the different
types of soils in the state, while the
other shows the geological divisions.
THE first geological division consists
of the immediate valley of the Red
river-the floor Of the ancient glacial
Lake Agassiz, comprising roughly the
eastern row of counties. This with a
corresponding area in Minnesota and
Canada is noted for it's rich black
soil and level topography. The plain
table surface is accounted for by the
! x1oInrin91 ~, tLnf ~ TnnroCnntS tho
sorting and dwelling action of a large
lake or sea on its floor. Lake Agassiz
had q vast area, extending some zoo
miles north and south. AS is the Il S
tom in all large bodies Of water, gravel
and sand were deposited naar the
shore, silt and clay alone being carried
in suspension far out, there to be slow
ly deposited in building up, through the
centuries, the usual monotonously level
floor; his on being drained produced
our level prairie. Below the lake floor
deposit is clay, gravel and sand mix
ed in about the same way as the soil
and rock waste outside Of the valley,
both being the p~leistocene drift de-
post left by the glacier. This drift
left by the ice before the time of the
lake, varies from a few feet up to 35C
feet in depth-about 220 feet at Far
go.
THE sandy beach Of this lake firing
ed it on all sides and, as at Muskoda
Wheetland and Magnolia, separated IL
from the rolling plains Of glacial drift.
This drift constitutes the second geo
logical belt, and in area exceeds al
other S combined, comprising all but
the Red river valley and four or five
counties in the southwest corne Of The
state. This latter area is known as thu
'driftless' area and includes Bowman
Hettinger. Billings, Adams and part:
Of Morton and Stark counties.
Until recently the Missouri river
was considered the southwest bound
airy of the glaciated area. Lately, ow'
ing to the discovery of more western
marks and materials Of the glacier o.
the different interpretations of the THU
deposits already seen, the so-callet
'driftless' area is %dwindling to a small
; triangular area in the southwest cor
ner of the state.
From the Agassiz floor to the Bee
Il Lands. the vast expanse of rolling
: prairie with it's fertility, marvellous
!. when under the influence Of abundan
rain and scientific agriculture, consist:
Of an alienation of 'moraines' and in
tervening till plains; the hilly ridge:
; being the morainic deposits of rock
J clay and sand made by the glaciel
when it stood at those particular
| places. The more level stretches be
3 tween IlOSSS are LIS AL, VI SLOuHs
! moraines, largely material showed
along under the glacier and depositet
underneath.
] I'm this vast area loans, sands
$ silts. and gravels alternate as sol
types in order depending largely upol
the kind of rock waste brought ana
: dumped there by the glacier. Here
and there limited areas enclosed on al
sides by the hilly mountains. collected
water from melting ice or modern
rains and were converted into lakes
/, Examples are, Devils lake. and its an
s Client, more expanded counterpart
Lake Souris, a large glacial lake o
moderate duration, accommodated ii
1.-THE Mouse river valley. Both of thes
at one time filled with basins brin