By: Alison Stanke

Part of the prairie parkland province which sweeps a narrow section of the western side of Minnesota ( Not so narrow in the south part of Minnesota).

This prairie parkland continues into other states including: North and South Dakota and Iowa. From there it continues to Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri.

In Minnesota, it covers over 16 million acres.

Information and picture link : http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ecs/251/index.html

Evapotranspiraition is greater than precipitation in this area

This section is at risk for severe spring fires because of low precipitation, short duration of snow coverage, and winds.

This area is also filled with State Wildlife Management Areas.

There are also patches of woodlands around many bodies of water on the page, but this accounts for only a small part of the area

Heavily influenced by the latest glaciers, this section formed almost completely by the deep-water basin of Glacial Lake Agassiz.

Present are poorly drained silty and clay- like soils

This area is the flattest, driest and more fire prone section of Minnesota

What was present in the past? Upland prairie and Wetland prairie systems accounted for 90% of the region. Like mentioned earlier, forest only accounted for around 5% of the area.

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ecs/251A/index.html

Topography of this area is level to gentle rolling.

Pre-settlement vegetation included: bluestems, Indian grass, blue joint grass, cord grass, cattails, rushes, and sedges.

Now the land is used greatly for agriculture. It has been intensively ditched for this purpose.

There are many species in greatest conservation needs (SGCN) that are in or predicted to be in the Red River Prairie. These are species that people are worried about becoming extinct. Mostly the concern for these species is related to some kind of change of their habitat.

http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/assistance/nrplanning/bigpicture/cwcs/profiles/red_river_prairie.pdf

Lies within a large beach-ridge complex of Glacial Lake Agassiz. Mesic blacksoil prairie dominates, with gravel prairie on the beach ridge and wet blacksoil prairie in the swales

Most important gravel prairie complex in the state

Many glacial erratic s lie scattered about.

Found here are endangered Assiniboia skipper and Dakota skipper

Rare birds include: the upland sandpiper, marbled godwit, Sprague's pipit, Baird's sparrow, and chestnut-collared longspur.

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/snas/sna00955/index.html

http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Destinations/Large/Felton_Prairie_01.jpg

These are ancestries reported by a town in Clay County. We will continue on to see if one town’s ancestry matches up to the rest of the area.

Ancestries reported in the area: • Norwegian (56.8%) • German (26.1%) • Swedish (4.3%) • United States or American (3.8%) • English (1.2%) • Irish (1.2%) • Danish (1.0%)

Read more: http://www.city-data.com/township/Eglon-Clay-MN.html#ixzz1Q28Xe5HY

Native Americans had made their way to this area around 7,000 years ago

When whites being arriving in the 1800s, Sioux and Ojibwe tribes were in the area.

As most know, tribes had a hard time getting along. It was decided that their boundaries would be decided by the Buffalo River.

By 1851-1855, the tribes had ceded their land to the U.S. and moved from the area.

More south, the Native Americans became angry because of a late payment and burned settlements all the way up to the Red River Valley that left many towns vacant for several years.

http://hcscconline.org/secondarypages/cch.html

By the 1860’s, permanent settlers began moving into the area.

“In 1870, several Norwegian families came by wagon from southeastern Minnesota and settled along the Buffalo River northwest of Glyndon. Other immigrants built homes along the Red River near Rustad and north of Moorhead, and near lakes in Parke and Tansem townships in southeast Clay County (A Short History of Clay County).”

There was not a great amount of settlement until the railroads were developed.

Virtually every town in this area was built on a railroad line.

Northern Pacific and Great Northern Railways branched through out the area.

Thousands of people came by the train to the area. Mostly it was Scandinavians, primarily Norwegians, who settled in the area. There were also settlers in lesser groups from:

Eastern United States England German Italy http://hcscconline.org/secondarypages/cch.html

The lower right corner of the page is filled with lots of lakes!

The two that stand out the most on the page are Pelican Lake and Big Cormorant Lake (which is also surrounded by many other lakes in a very close proximity.)

http://pelicanlakes-poa.org/ http://www.lakefrog.com/lake-house/big-cormorant-lake-big-cormorant-lake-minnesota_1091.html

Present in the prairie of the park are more than 250 species of wildflowers and grasses.

There is a swimming beach, hiking trails and areas for cross country skiing in the winter.

People listen for bobolinks, prairie chickens, marbled godwits and upland sandpipers.

http://www.dvoc.org/Misc/WebsiteGraphics/WelcomeLogos7.htm http://www.flickr.com/photos/mnsomero/3956664883/

There are a large variety of other state wildlife areas and prairies including:

Zimmerman Prairie Twin Valley State Wildlife Management Area Waubun State Wildlife and Management Area Bluestem Prairie Among many others including lots and lots of

lakes.

The area on this page can be classified as these different ecological areas, with each getting increasingly specific.

The Laurentian Mixed Forest (LMF) Province

What’s there? Broad areas of conifer forest, mixed hardwood and conifer forests, and conifer bogs and swamps.

The landscape ranges. There are areas with lakes and thin glacial deposits over bedrock, as well plains with deep glacial drift as well as large peat lands.

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ecs/212/index.html

This area is characterized by glacially scoured bedrock terrain.

This area receives the most snow as long as the longest time of snow cover.

Forests had red and white pine in the past but by the 1900s most was cut down.

Now forests are mainly aspen and birch.

Slightly vegetated cliffs and bedrock are also common.

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ecs/212L/index.html

Gently rolling to steep landscape

Soils are formed in red and brown and are very rocky

“Ground moraine and end moraine of the Superior lobe cover much of the subsection” (Hobbs and Goebel, 1982).

Bedrock is exposed or near the surface in large areas. The bedrock consists of:

Upper Precambrian basalt, rhyolite, gabbro, diabase, anorthosite, granite, sandstone, and shale.

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ecs/212Lb/index.html

There are numerous short streams (10-15 miles long) that lead to Lake Superior. Many have waterfalls as well.

Tourism, forest management and mining are main land uses.

Lake effect increases the amount of snow by 10 inches within five miles of lake superior.

This area was different from the rest of the western part of the state because they had a water route through Lake Superior. Water travel was cheaper than land travel.

Completing locks at Sault St. Marie in 1853-55 enables boats to come to Lake Superior.

http://www.thehistorypeople.com/data/docs/County-History-1.pdf

People came from all over the United States to settle in this area.

The railroad connected from St. Paul to this area. They hoped to create towns on the route up the state.

North Pacific Railroad, 1870

http://www.macalester.edu/geography/mage/urban/duluth/economic_developments-4.htm

Lighthouse on Minnesota Point. Built in 1870s.

http://www.macalester.edu/geography/mage/urban/duluth/superior_treaty-3.htm

The light house increased maritime activity

Originally occupied by Sioux and Chippewa tribes.

The fashionable beaver and fur trade is what brought exploration and settlement in the more Northern Areas of Minnesota very early on.

In 1854 and 1855, people came in hopes of finding copper deposits.

By 1869 there were many people coming to the area. Reasons being lumbering and iron ore, among others.

People who made this area home were people from Scandinavian countries as well as Finalnd.

http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-Midwest/Duluth-History.html

Established in 1933

327,098 acres

Camping, Canoeing, Kayaking, Fishing, Hiking and Hunting

The Cloquet River State Water Trail is good for the canoeing and kayaking.

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_forests/sft00013/about.html

http://christinezins.blogspot.com/2011/06/run-forest-run.html

There are so many things you can do! Sail boating, rock climbing, canoeing, among

others. http://visitduluth.com/attractions/listings.php?page=rra

http://sites.google.com/site/mnwedding08/honeymoon

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/image/id/35199/

3,200 mile track through the forest and down a mountain

“Timber Flyer” Zip Line

http://www.spiritmt.com/adventure-park/alpine-coaster/index.html

http://www.spiritmt.com/adventure-park/zip-line/index.html

Tons of trails!

Swinging suspension bridge over the St. Louis River

http://debbieaune.efoliomn.com/mediaarts http://www.pbase.com/dpeterso/image/67323207

North Central Glaciated Plains

Level to rolling region of calcareous till deposited by the Des Moines lobe.

Upland Prairie covers 82% of the section.

Present in the Minnesota River and the Minnesota River Valley

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ecs/251B/index.html

Shallow deposits of loess to deeper deposits of loess

Series of terminal and end moraines separated by ground moraines.

Ranges from gently undulating to steeply rolling and hilly

There are several streams in the area http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ecs/

251Bb/index.html

600-800 feet of glacial till cover the bedrock

Much of this section’s water from streams and smaller rivers drain into either the Minnesota River or the Des Moines River in Iowa.

This area has few lakes. This is most likely because easily eroded overlying loess parent material.

Pre-settlement vegetation: Tall grass prairie and wet prairie

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ecs/251Bb/index.html

Natural disturbances: Fire and drought were dominant.

Fire was useful in maintaining the prairie plant communities.

Now the land is mainly used for agriculture.

Windy conditions are very common

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=dakota+uprising+mn&view=detail&id=709F2B491FB907C67E75DB7A8EA19E31889C405F&first=0&FORM=IDFRIR

Railroad reached this area around 1878. (http://www.archive.org/details/historyofredwood01curt)

Many of the Germans lived in eastern states before coming to Minnesota. There is even a city in the area called Germantown.

Many Germans traveled towards New Ulm, Minnesota in 1857 when a group from Chicago had founded the city.

Cultural groups in the area by 1900 included mostly German decent, but also a small percent of Norwegian and even smaller percent of Swedish decent.

(Landscapes of Minnesota pg 117-118, Hart)

German - 47% · Norwegian - 14% · Irish - 5% · English - 4% · Swedish - 4% · Danish - 4% · American Indian tribes, specified - 3% · Sioux - 3% · Czech - 3% · Polish - 2% · French (except Basque) - 2% · Dutch - 2% · Belgian - 2% · Scotch-Irish - 1% · Swiss - 1% · Mexican - 1% · Scottish - 1% · Italian - 1%

http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genealogyInfo.php?locIndex=21392

These percentages are reflective of the early settlements in the area

In Redwood Falls 219 acres and is the largest

municipal park in Minnesota 1930's Civilian Conservation

Corps shelters and bridges Ramsey Falls It has a zoo! Paved hiking trails, scenic

overlooks and a DNR trout stream

http://www.ci.redwood-falls.mn.us/index.asp?Type=GALLERY&SEC={D85448A2-208F-4CF6-A61D-A3030C5C4430}

Alexander Ramsey Park

A self-guided trail through recreated prairie that shows you the sites of where U.S soldiers as well as Dakota Native Americans were during this battle.

The site of one of the hardest fought battles in the Dakota-U.S. war that was going on in 1862.

http://www.mnhs.org/places/sites/bc/

http://events.mnhs.org/media/Images/Sites/bc/

There are 3.8 billion year old granite outcrops here.

You can paddle the river or walk the prairie grasses.

There are a wide variety of activities available including:o River Explorationo Bird watchingo Golfingo Geocachingo History about Native Americans

and sites

o http://www.mnrivervalley.com/what/itineraries.php (picture on o top)o http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/minnesota-scenic-drive(picture on bottom)

The exhibit is there to tell the story of the struggles that were present for the people

There is a reproduction of a bark lodge that exhibits traditional life

It explains treaties and why the Native Americans felt pressured to sell their land

There are walking trails that explain events that happened at major places

http://www.mnhs.org/places/sites/lsa/lsaexhibit.html

“Cedar Mountain lies on bedrock knobs and ridges that, at 3.4 billion years old, include some of the oldest rocks known to occur in North America” (Cedar Mountain SNA).

Were once glacial islands in Glacial River Warren

Has areas of native dry and mesic prairie, rock outcrop, flood plain forest, and oak woodland habitats.

There are several rare plant populations and also rare plant species that are almost only found on bedrock outcrops in Minnesota

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/snas/sna02034/index.html

(sorry for the horrible picture but it was the only one I could find)

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/snas/sna02034/index.html

Eastern Broadleaf Forest Province (EBF)o The EBF accounts for 12

million acres in Minnesotao Largely the product of

Pleistocene glacial processes.o The area of the section we

are covering was not covered by the last glacial period

o Erosions of streams draining into the Mississippi River which exposed bedrock and drift.

o Precipitation approximately equals evapotranspiration which seems to have an important influence on plants

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ecs/222/index.html

Rugged region of bluffs and valleys that is quite different from the rest of the state

In the past 10,000 years the landscape has been highly eroded and dissected by streams and rivers tributary to the Mississippi River, such as the Root, Whitewater, Zumbro, and Cannon rivers

Factors influencing the patterns of vegetation:o Aspecto Fireo Slopeo Flooding

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ecs/222L/index.html

The Northern Boundary marks the northern loess deposits. There is also a small outwash plain.

Bluffs and deep stream valleys are common.

River bottom forests grew along major streams and rivers.

Depth of drift over bedrock varies from 0-50 feet.

There are NO LAKES in the section.

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ecs/222Lc/index.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kweberg/2405377417/

The earliest towns were on the Mississippi River where steamboats could reach by 1852.

They came to farm and wheat was the most common.

Early settlers also built small mills, factories and work shops.

Immigrants came from Germany, Ireland, Norway and Sweden

http://www.freebase.com/view/en/red_wing

In 1851, Alexander Ramsey persuaded the Dakota to sell their land and southern Minnesota was open to be settled.

There was settlement in this area by the 1860s and 70s. Redwing in 1868

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/map_item.pl?data=/home/www/data/gmd/gmd414/g4144/g4144r/pm004040.jp2&style=pmmap&itemLink=D?gmd:23:./temp/~ammem_yGR4::&title=Bird's%20eye%20view%20of%20the%20city%20of%20Redwing,%20Coodhue%20[sic]%20Co.,%20Minnesota%201868.%20Drawn%20by%20A.%20Ruger.

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/map_item.pl?data=/home/www/data/gmd/gmd414/g4144/g4144r/pm004041.jp2&style=pmmap&itemLink=D?gmd:24:./temp/~ammem_yGR4::&title=Panoramic%20view%20of%20the%20city%20of%20Red%20Wing,%20Goddhue%20[sic]%20Co.,%20Minnesota,%201880%20%2f%20Shober%20%26%20Carqueville,%20Lith.,%20Co.

German - 36% · Norwegian - 20% · Swedish - 10% · Irish - 9% · English - 5% · Polish - 2% · French (except Basque) - 2% · Dutch - 1% · Danish - 1% · Czech - 1% · Swiss - 1% · American Indian tribes, specified - 1% · Mexican - 1% · Scandinavian - 1% · Scottish - 1% · Italian - 1% · Finnish - 1% · Sioux - 1% · French Canadian - 1% · Black or African American - 1% http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genealogyInfo.php?locIndex=21077

The Bluffs are made of sand that was deposited on the bottom of shallow sea hundreds of millions of years ago.

A “birdwatchers paradise” according to the DNR because of the migratory birds that come here

2,300 acres There are areas of

bluffs, prairie, floodplain forests, and hardwood forest

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/frontenac/narrative.html

Spectacular view of the Mississippi and Red Wing once you reach the top of the 340 foot bluff.

Scattering trees on the south side and more wooded rocky side near the Mississippi.

You may see Bald Eagles and Turkey Vultures

(http://www.trails.com/tcatalog_trail.aspx?trailid=HGM066-005)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kodiax/2601804733/

An interesting fact about this forest is that some of it represent only where forest used to be and there is no forest actually present.

Also, most of it is not state owned.

You can camp and there are also hiking trails.

This is a large forest so there are a wide variety of different things depending on your location.

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_forests/sft00033/about.htmlhttp://www.stolaf.edu/courses/2003sem2/Environmental_Studies/399/Projects/VanNingen_Project/memforest.html

Fishing and boating Hunting: deer, small game,

forest game birds, and waterfowl.

Wildlife viewing of forest and wetland animals

Near Hastings, Minnesota and occupies 6,676 acres.

Purpose according to DNR: “preserve and provide recreation in a large, unbroken area of floodplain forest, as well as preserving waterfowl and furbearer habitat.”

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/wmas/detail_report.html?map=COMPASS_MAPFILE&mode=itemquery&qlayer=bdry_adwma2py3_query&qitem=uniqueid&qstring=WMA0000700

http://maps.dnr.state.mn.us/wildlife/wma/framequery.html?map=/usr/local/mapserver/apps/faw/wma/covertype.map&mapext=512280.895940+4937804.888275+533304.111260+4956030.160725&zoomsize=2&layer=ctype_wmacpy3&layer=roads&layer=pls

Web link sources listed in slides The Seven States of Minnesota by John Toren Landscapes of Minnesota by Hart and Ziegler