Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1920-07-15

three strikingly different scenes at
Devils Lake. The first is as a stream
valley, when the Wisconsin river flow
ing into Devils Lake gap from the
north, turned abruptly eastward near
the present site of the Kirkland Hotel,
and then flowed around the Devils
nose and southwestward toward the
Prairie du Sac. The waters of the
preglacial Wisconsin River flowed at
level at least 280 feet lower than
the present height, and the gorge was
then 900 to 1000 feet deep. The
scene must have been even more
picturesque than the gorge below
Niagara Falls. The river had less
volume than Niagara, but the gorge
was deeper and more beautiful. The
bluffs We're much as they are today,
except that they overlook very much
deeper valley.
The second scene is that of Devils
Lake during the glacial period. East
# the site Of the Devils Lake railway
tation was an ice tongue, a lobe of
the continental glacier No present
day ice tongue of Glacier National
Park or of the Canadian Selkirks
equals it in size or impressiveness.
North of the lakes was another ice
lobe of equal massiveness. They end
ed in sheer ice cliffs 200 feet high. |
Beneath them was the glacial lake
dotted with icebergs and at much !
higher level than the present lake.
The third scene is, as Lawrence Mar
tin describes it today: "The lake the
moraines, thebluffs, the fields and the
forests, gem of true mountain scenry
such as cannot be seen elsewhere east
of the Rockies
The Driftless Area
The driftless area of Wisconsin is
famous the world over. The Miss
issippi River runs through the west
ern edge and it extends up the Wis
consin River to point north of Wau
sau, terminates on the Black River
between Neillsville and Black River
Falls, and on the Mississippi between
and Chippewa River. All
through this section are strange geo.
logical formations.
The traveller entering this section
l. |
into believing he was in the arid west
N. Dakota, New Mexico or Arizona
a fiat arid looking country with slender
,liffs of rocks projecting upward from
The level, some of them topped by fiat
rocks, like the mesa of the southwest
1r others like buttes of the North
Dakota bad lands, or again formations
ike ruined castles or fuedal battle
nent. On every hand one gets
rlimpses of craigs, and chimenys and
columns and towers and monuments.
You may find these formations all
through Vernon, Richland, Adams
Juneau. and Monroe counties. Among
GHcSS ucN6IOJHlSllGS may Uc IHcuC1OllCS
the crag known as FIVE COLUMN
ROCK, near Readstown, Vernon
County; Monument Rock near Viroqua,
Roche Girls, and Friendship Mound
in Adams County, Pilot Knob, Rattle
Snake Rock, and Petenwell Peak, all
in Adams or Juneau Counties.
A number of natural bridges may be
found in the driftless area. Near Leland |
in Sauk County, is natural bridge
With a span of 35 feet. There are
numerous caves in the driftless area,
Richardson Cave, North of Verona in
oane County has a depth of over 500 |
feet; Eagle Cave in Richland County |
700 feet wide and $50 feet long. |
Gear Cave near Boscobel is 800 feet I
one.
Among other striking bits of seen
cry of unusual character may be men
ioned Black River Falls, in Douglas |
unity south of Superior. 1t is the |
highest waterfall in Wisconsin, the
lrop being 100 feet through rocky