Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1925-06-24

Island. Herein IS a most interest |
ing story for the geologist who |
reads it in the rocks.
The great plain was carved into
hills and valleys with relief of
only few hundred feet by the
time the glaciers came down from
the north. Here and there hill
Of hard quartzite stood five hun
dred to a thousand feet above the
valley like Rib Hill at Wausau-
the highest point in the state
but these were rare. Here also the
glaciers filled the valleys, and in
most cases they buried the hills as
well, covering the whole country
with a mantle of glacial debris that
probably averages between a hun
dred and fifty and two hundred
feet in thickness. In the old val
leys that were only partly filed,
numerous lakes and marshes were
formed. Here is found the justly
famous lake region of northern
Wisconsin, the delight of the
fisherman. the camper and all others
who love the outdoors.
Lakes Fill Large Area.
There are two main groups of
lakes in northern Wisconsin, those
in the central northern part of
the state and those in the north
western part of the state. There
are many hundreds of lakes in each
group. In few parts of the worlQ
do lakes occupy a greater portion
Of the total area. The only groups
at all worthy to be compared to
these are those in Minnesota, in
the Province of Ontario, and in
part of Finland east of the Gulf of
Bothnia.
Most Of the lakes are small, close
TO one another, irregular in outline,
and connected by streams which
'wist a sinuous course between
them. The 1850 lakes and ponds of
Villas county occupy 140 square
miles, or over fifteen per cent of
the area of the county which itself
is nearly as large as the state of
Rhode Island. These lakes are the
favorite fishing grounds of the Mid
die West, Astounding in many spec
les of game fish, and the habitat of
that wolf Of the waters" the mus
kellunge.
The many marshes in the lake
region, called "muskeg'' by the In
dams, offer an ideal refuge. for
birds. Most of the surrounding
country is covered with a second
growth of timber and all through
this area is the favorite deer hunt
ing grounds in the fall months.
Writing in 1879, the geologist, F.
H. King, thus wrote of the lakes in
this section of Wisconsin.
Noted for Charming Lakes.
They are beautiful sheets of
water, clear, soft and deep, encir-
cled by bold, fantastic rims and
| dotted with tree-clad island cones
of such varied beauty in the au-
tumn season, that as one tolls in
unexpectedly upon them up the
rapids of the narrow shaded rivers,
he forgets his fatigue and revels in
an exquisite garden of foliage
plants. Sometimes a fringe of
white cedar lies upon the waters
edge; higher up a wreath of white
birch, then a belt of poplar, and
Gaping the rounded hilltops, maple
and yellow birches through all of
which there is a generous setting
of rich green white and Norway
pines"
In many places in this northern
country the streams uncover rock
lodges and beautiful waterfalls re-
suits. The Falls of the Black River,
south of Superior, is the highest
waterfall in Wisconsin, cascade
which tumbles over lodges of an
cient lava flows for a drop of 100
feet. Many of the falls Of the lar
ger streams have been harnessed
and set to such prosaic tasks as
lighting the cities or grinding pulp
wood to spread light" in a differ
ent way, by means of the news
papers of the land.
Just as Wisconsin was the meet
ing place of the early Indian tribes,
so it became the camping ground
of settlers from all parts of the
country. HOtchkiss and Cannon
show in next weeks issue of The
NaUc how tho cfafo Voc coffIoI