Near Minnesota City in Winona County, Minnesota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Geology of Minnesota
Mississippi River
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, August 10, 2013
1. Geology of Minnesota Marker
Inscription.
Geology of Minnesota. Mississippi River. In its traverse of 2400 miles from Lake Itasca to the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi River falls 1475 feet, nearly two-thirds of which is within or along the eastern side of Minnesota. For 300 miles from Minneapolis, its course lies between rocky bluffs bounding a valley from one to six miles in width. The gorge has existed throughout the Pleistocene period of geologic time, during which it has served as a drainage channel for meltwaters from the glaciers of the Great Ice Ages., The melting of the ice at the end of each glacial epoch produced torrential floods which scoured the valley 200 feet below the present river surface. During the inter-glacial stages, after the ice had melted, the river, greatly reduced in volume and no longer able to transport sand and gravel, filled its valley to the present level., The history of the Mississippi River during the last million years, while Minnesota and Wisconsin were undergoing repeated glaciation, is characterized by corresponding cycles of erosion and channel filling. The latter being the phase in which it is now engaged.,
Erected by the Geological Society of Minnesota , in cooperation with the Department of Highways , State of Minnesota , 1960.
In its traverse of 2400 miles from Lake Itasca to the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi River falls 1475 feet, nearly two-thirds of which is within or along the eastern side of Minnesota. For 300 miles from Minneapolis, its course lies between rocky bluffs bounding a valley from one to six miles in width. The gorge has existed throughout the Pleistocene period of geologic time, during which it has served as a drainage channel for meltwaters from the glaciers of the Great Ice Ages.
The melting of the ice at the end of each glacial epoch produced torrential floods which scoured the valley 200 feet below the present river surface. During the inter-glacial stages, after the ice had melted, the river, greatly reduced in volume and no longer able to transport sand and gravel, filled its valley to the present level.
The history of the Mississippi River during the last million years, while Minnesota and Wisconsin were undergoing repeated glaciation, is characterized by corresponding cycles of erosion and channel filling. The latter being the phase in which it is now engaged.
Erected by the Geological Society of Minnesota in cooperation with the Department of Highways State of Minnesota 1960
Erected 1960 by Geological Society of Minnesota and
Location. 44° 9.589′ N, 91° 48.723′ W. Marker is near Minnesota City, Minnesota, in Winona County. Marker can be reached from U.S. 61, 0.3 miles north of Bass Camp Lane, on the right when traveling north. Marker is mounted in kiosk on north side of visitor parking lot at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mississippi Lock and Dam No. 5 site. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 12554 US Highway 61, Minnesota City MN 55959, United States of America. Touch for directions.
(marker mounted in kiosk on north side of visitor parking lot)
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, August 10, 2013
4. Mississippi Lock & Dam № 5
(view from observation deck near marker)
Credits. This page was last revised on August 9, 2021. It was originally submitted on February 9, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 281 times since then and 53 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on February 9, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.