DOCSLIB.ORG

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Landsat Data As a Tool for Locating 1 Buried Pre-Glacial Valleys in Eastern South Dakota

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Landsat Data As a Tool for Locating 1 Buried Pre-Glacial Valleys in Eastern South Dakota DANIELK. ZIGICH KENNETHE. KOLM Department of Geology and Geological Engineering South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Rapid City, SD 57701 Evaluating the Effectiveness of Landsat Data as a Tool for Locating 1 Buried Pre-Glacial Valleys in Eastern South Dakota Winter, spring, and early summer 1:500,000-scale Landsat mosaics provide the most useful information for locating pre-glacial buried valleys. INTRODUCTION The regional study area, consisting of the URIED PRE-GLACIAL alluvial valleys, which Coteau du Missouri and James River Lowland B yield significant quantities of groundwater in provinces (lat. 43' -46"N, long. 97" -lOOOW), is eastern South Dakota, have traditionally been dis- located in eastern South Dakota, east of the Mis- covered by expensive, time-consuming drilling souri River (Figure 1).Local study sites, including methods. The objective of this study was to de- Jerauld, Aurora, and Walworth Counties, were velop a rapid and cost-effective method using chosen due to the availability of drill data sub- Landsat data to delineate buried pre-glacial val- sequently acquired there (Figure 1). ABSTRACT:A rapid, low-cost procedure for delineating pre-glacial buried valley aquifers in eastern South Dakota from Landsat imagery was developed and evaluated. Curvilinearllinear, anomalous tonal pattern, and drainage overlays were prepared using winter and spring, Landsat band 5, band 7, and false-color infrared mosaics, and were analyzed to define subtle characteristics related to known buried valleys. Drainage characteristics, curvilinearllinear patterns, and anomalous sinuous tonal patterns, which do not correlate with the trends or characteristics of glacial features, were mapped as indicators of buried valleys. Subsequent drilling confimned the effectiveness of this procedure. Due to till thicknesses and glacial dynamics, delineation of buried valley aquifers is most accurate near the Missouri River. The best guides to buried valleys are present day streams which reoccupy pre-glacial valleys, or anoma- lous chains of lakes, ponds, and depressions, and associated soils and vegetation which overlie unexhumed buried valleys. leys and associated aquifers in eastern South PREVIOUSWORK Dakota. The primary goals are to determine which Flint (1955) summarized the Pleistocene glacial imagery best delineates buried valleys, to develop geology and geomorphology that characterizes the a method of manual spatial and spectral interpre- surface ofeastern South Dakota (Figure 2). He also tation for predicting the locations of buried val- discusses the subsurface geology as it pertains to leys, and to evaluate these techniques by com- the Coteau du Missouri and James River Lowland paring valley locations predicted by Landsat provinces (Figure 3). Ultimately, Flint (1955) analysis with those subsequently located by the comments on the geologic evolution of the Mis- South Dakota State Survey's drilling program. souri River drainage (Figure 4). Tipton (1975) PHOTOGRAMMETRICENGINEERING AND REMOTE SENSING, 0099-111218214812-1891$02.25/0 Vol. 48, No. 12, December 1982, pp. 1891-1901. @ 1982 American Society of Photogrammetry PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING, 1982 buried aquifers have been located in South Da- kota (Hyland and Andrawis, 1977) using low alti- tude thermal imagery and in Indiana using Land- sat imagery (Peterson et al., 1975). Lucas and Taranik (1977) demonstrated that springtime Landsat scenes of the midwestern United States were superior for the regional interpretation of glacial features. The general procedure employed in this study was to determine the surface characteristics ex- hibited by known buried valleys in the field, to delineate these characteristics on Landsat imag- ery, and to extrapolate these results to other areas where buried valleys have not been discovered. Generally, the field characteristics of buried val- leys are subtle at best (e.g., soil changes) or non- existent (Figure 5).Only large scale changes in the character of the land, such as topographic breaks FIG.1. Location of the study area in eastern South in the Coteau or drainage pattern anomalies, can Dakota. Note that Walworth County is located entirely be used to delineate preglacial valleys. Therefore, within the Coteau du Missouri of the Great Plains Prov- Landsat mosaics, which provide a regional and ince, whereas Jerauld and Aurora Counties are partially seasonal view of the study area, are the most suit- within the James Basin of the Central Lowland Province. able tools for this study. Preliminary Landsat investigations were con- summarizes the more recent geologic and geohy- ducted at the scales of 1:1,000,000 and 1:500,000. drologic work pertaining to the region that has County maps showing areas of known pre-glacial been completed by the South Dakota State and bedrock surfaces (delineating pre-glacial valleys) United States Geological Surveys. were reduced to scales of 1:1,000,000 and Previous investigations show that Landsat may 1:500,000 and combined to form one regional base be used as a tool for locating shallow groundwater map for each scale. The locations of known buried aquifers in South Dakota (Moore and Meyers, valleys were drafted directly from the base maps 1972a, 197213; Myers and Moore, 1972; Rahn and to acetate overlays. These overlays were then Moore, 1977; Heinemann et al., 1972). More deeply placed upon each of the Landsat mosaics in order FIG.2. Map of eastern South Dakota showing generalized Pleis- tocene glacial geology (after South Dakota State Geological Survey Education Series Map #2, 1971). EVALUATING LANDSAT DATA FOR LOCATING PRE-GLACIAL VALLEYS l;.'.-l I0 0 50 IIL~s VERTICLL IXLGGCRLIION LPPROXI~LIELI1311MES FIG.3. East-west geologic cross-section of eastern South Dakota (after Darton, 1909; Flint, 1955) showing almost imperceptible dips of bedrock surfaces in the region. to correlate areas of known buried valleys with Winter scenes were chosen for interpreting drain- spatial and spectral patterns and characteristics age patterns and density, and topographic features observed on Landsat imagery. because the low solar angle and light snow cover Five mosaics of Landsat scenes, each with 10 enhance the landscape. Shadows that are created percent or less cloud cover, provide a regional by low sun angles and sun azimuths outline and, view needed to study subtle surficial characteris- therefore, enhance topography. A light, total snow tics of buried valleys that extend for several miles cover eliminates most of the tonal and color varia- (Table 1). A winter mosaic was constructed to tions due to cover type. Therefore, the surface ap- study drainage and topographic characteristics as- pears to have a more uniform brightness, which is sociated with buried valleys (Table 1).Spring and less distracting in drainage analyses. summer mosaics were used to study the spectral Spring (April, May, early June) images have characteristics of buried valleys associated with been determined as optimal for glacial studies in vegetation, soil type and soil moisture. the midwest (Lucas and Taranik, 1977). During Landsat false-color infrared composites, and this season, such factors as minimal crop cover, Band 5 and Band 7 scenes obtained from different limited land-use or farm practices, maximum open seasons and years (wet versus dry) were compared water (lakes and swamps, for example) and tonal using the methods of Lucas and Taranik (1977). contrast due to soil types and soil moisture, and FIG.4. Diagram of the State of South Dakota depicting the generalized evolution of the eastern South Dakota drainages. (A) Pre-glacial drain- age: Note the east-west river trends; (B) Late Wisconsin glacial advance (arrow)and formation of Missouri River (MR): Missouri River and dotted line indicate approximate ice border; (C) Present day drainage: Note the lobate or curvilinear river trends east of the Missouri River due to strong glacial influence; (D) East-west trending, pre-glacial buried valleys (dotted) underlying glacial drift. PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING, 1982 large vegetative vigor differences greatly enhance the utility of these images for analysis (Figures 6a, b, and c). Surficial characteristics of buried valleys, in- cluding chains of lakes, closed depressions, and anomalous drainage patterns, are commonly best exhibited on springtime images (such as illus- trated in ~igurgs6ar b, and c). In addition, spring a snow meltprovides low lying, poorly drained areas characteristic of some buried valleys with abundant water. As a result, there are distinctive reflectance differences between these areas and well-drained areas associated with the sloping FIG. 5. Oblique aerial view of James River Lowland lands of valley sides and moraines. These wet near Mitchell, South Dakota. This area is characterized conditions prevent the farmer from planting in low by subtle depressions containing water, Tonka soils, lying areas during early spring, resulting in easily and grassland vegetation (after Johnson et al., 1974). recognizable dark patterns on imagery (Figure 6a). Early summer Landsat scenes may provide ous pattern on 1978 springtime imagery (Figure better buried valley patterns than springtime im- 6a). The pattern cannot be seen on a 1974 spring ages at some localities. Both low lying depressions image (Figure 6b). The dark pattern is caused by a and adjacent unplanted uplands may appear uni- chain of small ponds and depressions. In 1974, formly dark gray on springtime imagery. On early South Dakota was experiencing
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Cumulative Index North Dakota Historical Quarterly Volumes 1-11 1926 - 1944
    CUMULATIVE INDEX NORTH DAKOTA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY VOLUMES 1-11 1926 - 1944 A Aiton, Arthur S., review by, 6:245 Alaska, purchase of, 6:6, 7, 15 A’Rafting on the Mississipp’ (Russell), rev. of, 3:220- 222 Albanel, Father Charles, 5:200 A-wach-ha-wa village, of the Hidatsas, 2:5, 6 Albert Lea, Minn., 1.3:25 Abandonment of the military posts, question of, Albrecht, Fred, 2:143 5:248, 249 Alderman, John, 1.1:72 Abbey Lake, 1.3:38 Aldrich, Bess Streeter, rev. of, 3:152-153; Richard, Abbott, Johnston, rev. of, 3:218-219; Lawrence, speaker, 1.1:52 speaker, 1.1:50 Aldrich, Vernice M., articles by, 1.1:49-54, 1.4:41- Abe Collins Ranch, 8:298 45; 2:30-52, 217-219; reviews by, 1.1:69-70, Abell, E. R, 2:109, 111, 113; 3:176; 9:74 1.1:70-71, 1.2:76-77, 1.2:77, 1.3:78, 1.3:78-79, Abercrombie, N.Dak., 1.3: 34, 39; 1.4:6, 7, 71; 2:54, 1.3:79, 1.3:80, 1.4:77, 1.4:77-78; 2:230, 230- 106, 251, 255; 3:173 231, 231, 231-232, 232-233, 274; 3:77, 150, Abercrombie State Park, 4:57 150-151, 151-152, 152, 152-153, 220-222, 223, Aberdeen, D.T., 1.3:57, 4:94, 96 223-224; 4:66, 66-67, 67, 148, 200, 200, 201, Abraham Lincoln, the Prairie Years (Sandburg), rev. of, 201, 202, 202, 274, 275, 275-276, 276, 277-278; 1.2:77 8:220-221; 10:208; 11:221, 221-222 Abstracts in History from Dissertations for the Degree of Alexander, Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Updating Boundaries for Large Water Bodies of the Coteau Des Prairies Using Landsat 8
    UPDATING BOUNDARIES FOR LARGE WATER BODIES OF THE COTEAU DES PRAIRIES USING LANDSAT 8 South Dakota State University Landsat 8 drawing. Credit: NASA Department of Geography – Bruce V. Millett A BSTRACT M ETHODS R E S U L T S / C ONCLUSIONS Large lakes and wetland boundaries of the Coteau des Prairies and There were three main data elements used to create this map. The assembly of the map components began with coordinate system. surrounding region have changed since the National Wetlands 1. Digital Elevation Model All map coverages were projected to USA Contiguous Albers Equal Inventory (NWI) dataset was developed approximately 30 years ago. 2. National Wetlands Inventory Area Conic USGS version. This was further customized adjusting the Landsat 8, a NASA and USGS collaboration, acquires global moderate- 3. Landsat 8 data. Central Meridian to: -97.5°, Standard Parallel 1 to 29.5°, Standard resolution measurements in the visible, near-infrared, short wave, and Parallel 2 to 45.5°, and the Latitude of Origin to 23.0°. thermal infrared. Boundary limits for large water bodies were updated using 2016 Landsat 8 imagery with less than ten percent cloud cover. The mosaicked 1/3 arc-second DEM resulted in a cell resolution 10 Unsupervised and supervised classification methods were used to 1. Digital Elevation Model meters. extract water features from Landsat 8 imagery using ArcGIS Pro Imagery tools. Extracted polygon features were manually edited and • 30 National Elevation Dataset Clipped NWI data provided a total of 1,652,089 basins within the study overlaid with the NWI dataset. A final map was created by overlaying (NED) 1/3 arc-second DEMs area.
    [Show full text]
  • Pierce County, North Dakota. a So\Ivenir History
    Pierce County, North Dakota. A So\ivenir History. Pierce County North Dakota A SouVenir History Written by J. W. Bingham Published By J 905 The Pierce County Tribune flugby, N. D. DEDICATION. This Souvenir History is dedicated to the early settlers of Pierce County. Those who followed the star of empire in its V westward course and built themselves homes on the undeveloped prairies of Pierce County, that those who should come after them might live in a land of plenty and modern conveniences. It is written that the record of their hardships and achievements might be preserved and the results better exemplified. THE AUTHOR. BRIEF STATE HISTORY. **.^k AKOTA is an Indian name and signifies "confederated" or ''leagued together," and applied .Jr" originally to the Sioux confederation of Indians. The present state of North Dakota, together with that of South Dakota, was a part of the territory purchased in 1803 from France by President Thomas Jefferson, for the sum of fifteen million dollars and the assumption of certain claims held by citizens of the United States against France, which m.ide the purchase amount to twenty-seven million, two hundred and sixty-seven thousand, six hundred and twenty-one dollars and ninety- eight cents ($27,207,021.98), and was known as the Louisiana purchase. The bill incorporating the present States of North and South Dakota as Dakota Territory was signed by President Buchanan on March 2d, 1801. On May 27th, thereafter, President Lincoln appointed Dr. William Jayne, of Springfield, 111., as the first governor of Dakota Territory. The employes of various fur companies were the first white settlers of the Territory of Dakota.
    [Show full text]
  • Pleistocene Geology of Eastern South Dakota
    Pleistocene Geology of Eastern South Dakota GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 262 Pleistocene Geology of Eastern South Dakota By RICHARD FOSTER FLINT GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 262 Prepared as part of the program of the Department of the Interior *Jfor the development-L of*J the Missouri River basin UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1955 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Douglas McKay, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY W. E. Wrather, Director For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office Washington 25, D. C. - Price $3 (paper cover) CONTENTS Page Page Abstract_ _ _____-_-_________________--_--____---__ 1 Pre- Wisconsin nonglacial deposits, ______________ 41 Scope and purpose of study._________________________ 2 Stratigraphic sequence in Nebraska and Iowa_ 42 Field work and acknowledgments._______-_____-_----_ 3 Stream deposits. _____________________ 42 Earlier studies____________________________________ 4 Loess sheets _ _ ______________________ 43 Geography.________________________________________ 5 Weathering profiles. __________________ 44 Topography and drainage______________________ 5 Stream deposits in South Dakota ___________ 45 Minnesota River-Red River lowland. _________ 5 Sand and gravel- _____________________ 45 Coteau des Prairies.________________________ 6 Distribution and thickness. ________ 45 Surface expression._____________________ 6 Physical character. _______________ 45 General geology._______________________ 7 Description by localities ___________ 46 Subdivisions. ________-___--_-_-_-______ 9 Conditions of deposition ___________ 50 James River lowland.__________-__-___-_--__ 9 Age and correlation_______________ 51 General features._________-____--_-__-__ 9 Clayey silt. __________________________ 52 Lake Dakota plain____________________ 10 Loveland loess in South Dakota. ___________ 52 James River highlands...-------.-.---.- 11 Weathering profiles and buried soils. ________ 53 Coteau du Missouri..___________--_-_-__-___ 12 Synthesis of pre- Wisconsin stratigraphy.
    [Show full text]
  • Earth Sciences: Two-Ice-Lobe Model for Kansan Glaciation James S
    University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies 1982 Earth Sciences: Two-Ice-Lobe Model For Kansan Glaciation James S. Aber Emporia State University Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/tnas Aber, James S., "Earth Sciences: Two-Ice-Lobe Model For Kansan Glaciation" (1982). Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies. 490. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/tnas/490 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Nebraska Academy of Sciences at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. 1982. Transactions a/the Nebraska Academy a/Sciences, X:25-29. EARTH SCIENCES TWO-ICE-LOBE MODEL FOR KANSAN GLACIATION James S. Aber Geoscience Department Emporia State University Emporia, Kansas 66801 The Kansan glaciation should be representative of Early Pleisto­ western source area, the so-called Keewatin Center, in the cene glaciations in the Kansas-Nebraska-Iowa-Missouri region. It is region west of Hudson Bay. Frye and Leonard (1952: 11) often assumed the Kansan ice-sheet advanced as a single, broad lobe supported this concept on the basis of distribution of the coming from somewhere in Canada. This simple view contrasts with the known complexities of the younger Wisconsin glaciation, and indeed Sioux Quartzite, a common erratic derived mainly from east­ there is much evidence that the Kansan glaciation was equally complex.
    [Show full text]
  • GEOLOGY and GROUND WATER RESOURCE S of Stutsman County, North Dakota
    North Dakota Geological Survey WILSON M. LAIRD, State Geologis t BULLETIN 41 North Dakota State Water Conservation Commission MILO W . HOISVEEN, State Engineer COUNTY GROUND WATER STUDIES 2 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATER RESOURCE S of Stutsman County, North Dakota Part I - GEOLOG Y By HAROLD A. WINTERS GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA 1963 This is one of a series of county reports which wil l be published cooperatively by the North Dakota Geological Survey and the North Dakota State Water Conservation Commission in three parts . Part I is concerned with geology, Part II, basic data which includes information on existing well s and test drilling, and Part III which will be a study of hydrology in the county . Parts II and III will be published later and will be distributed a s soon as possible . CONTENTS PAGE ABSTRACT 1 INTRODUCTION 3 Acknowledgments 3 Previous work 5 GEOGRAPHY 5 Topography and drainage 5 Climate 7 Soils and vegetation 9 SUMMARY OF THE PRE-PLEISTOCENE STRATIGRAPHY 9 Precambrian 1 1 Paleozoic 1 1 Mesozoic 1 1 PREGLACIAL SURFICIAL GEOLOGY 12 Niobrara Shale 1 2 Pierre Shale 1 2 Fox Hills Sandstone 1 4 Fox Hills problem 1 4 BEDROCK TOPOGRAPHY 1 4 Bedrock highs 1 5 Intermediate bedrock surface 1 5 Bedrock valleys 1 5 GLACIATION OF' NORTH DAKOTA — A GENERAL STATEMENT 1 7 PLEISTOCENE SEDIMENTS AND THEIR ASSOCIATED LANDFORMS 1 8 Till 1 8 Landforms associated with till 1 8 Glaciofluvial :materials 22 Ice-contact glaciofluvial sediments 2 2 Landforms associated with ice-contact glaciofluvial sediments 2 2 Proglacial fluvial sediments 2 3 Landforms associated with proglacial fluvial sediments 2 3 Lacustrine sediments 2 3 Landforms associated with lacustrine sediments 2 3 Other postglacial sediments 2 4 ANALYSIS OF THE SURFICIAL TILL IN STUTSMAN COUNTY 2 4 Leaching and caliche 24 Oxidation 2 4 Stone counts 2 5 Lignite within till 2 7 Grain-size analyses of till _ 2 8 Till samples from hummocky stagnation moraine 2 8 Till samples from the Millarton, Eldridge, Buchanan and Grace Cit y moraines and their associated landforms _ .
    [Show full text]
  • Red River Valley Water Supply Project Class I Cultural Resources Inventory and Assessment, Eastern North Dakota and Nortwestern Minnesota
    RED RIVER VALLEY WATER SUPPLY PROJECT CLASS I CULTURAL RESOURCES INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT, EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTWESTERN MINNESOTA Michael A. Jackson, Dennis L. Toom, and Cynthia Kordecki December 2006 ABSTRACT In 2004-2006, personnel from Anthropology Research, Department of Anthropology, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, conducted a Class I inventory (file search) for the Red River Valley Water Supply Project (RRVWSP). This work was carried out in cooperation with the USDI Bureau of Reclamation, Dakotas Area Office, Bismarck, ND. The file search dealt with hundreds of cultural resource sites across much of eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota. Archeological sites, architectural sites, site leads, and isolated finds were examined for 14 North Dakota counties and four Minnesota counties. Five different action alternatives were investigated to determine the number and types of previously recorded cultural resources located within each. Each alternative was ranked in terms of its potential to cause impacts to cultural resources, both known and (presently) unknown. Analysis indicated that the Red River Basin Alternative (#3) has the largest potential for cultural resource site impacts. From a least-impact cultural resources perspective, the other four alternatives represent the best, least-impact options for construction of the RRVWSP. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................................................ii
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 3, District Resources and Description
    CHAPTER 3— District Resources and Description Bridgette Flanders-Wanner / USFWS / Bridgette Flanders-Wanner Grasslands in the Millerdale Waterfowl Production Area. The three wetland management districts manage smaller temporary and seasonal wetlands that draw thousands of noncontiguous tracts of Federal land breeding duck pairs to South Dakota and other parts totaling 1,136,965 acres: 100,094 acres of WPAs and of the Prairie Pothole Region. 1,036,871 acres of conservation easements. This chap­ ter describes the physical environment and biological CLIMATE CHANGE resources of these district lands, as well as fire and In January 2001, the Department of the Interior is­ grazing history, cultural resources, visitor services, sued Order 3226, requiring its Federal agencies with socioeconomic environment, and district operations. land management responsibilities to consider potential climate change effects as part of long-range planning endeavors. The U.S. Department of Energy’s report, “Carbon Sequestration Research and Development,” 3.1 Physical Environment concluded that ecosystem protection is important to carbon sequestration and may reduce or prevent loss The districts are located in central and eastern South of carbon currently stored in the terrestrial biosphere. Dakota from west of the Missouri River to the Minnesota The report defines carbon sequestration as “the capture state line, and from the North Dakota border roughly and secure storage of carbon that would otherwise be two-thirds of the way south to the state line of Nebraska. emitted to or remain in the atmosphere.” The increase The prairies of South Dakota have become an eco­ of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the earth’s atmosphere has logical treasure of biological importance for water­ been linked to the gradual rise in surface temperature fowl and other migratory birds.
    [Show full text]
  • Joseph N. Nicollets Account of the Sioux and Assiniboin in 1839
    Copyright © 1975 by the South Dakota State Historical Society. All Rights Reserved. Joseph N. Nicollets Account of the Sioux and Assiniboin in 1839 RAYMOND J. DE MALLIE, JR.* Joseph Nicholas Nicollet (1786-1843), an exceptionally able and energetic French scientist and geographer, immigrated to the United States in 1832.' The stock market crash following the Revolution of 1830 had ruined him financially, and he looked forward to a new career in America. At the age of forty-six he formulated an ambitious plan to study the geography of the United States west of the Mississippi and to prepare maps of the still little-known regions. For Nicollet, geography was a broad area of study embracing not only physical geography and geology, but also the study of flora and fauna and of the human use of the land. This led him to include in his plans a discussion of the languages and lifeways of the Indians of the Upper Mississippi drainage. Editor's Note: South Dakota History regrets that it was necessary to delete ail accent marks. Nicollet used acute and grave accents on e, as well as a dash above r to indicate the voiced gutteral fricative usually represented in modern orthographies with a dotted Í. *1 gratefully acknowledge the support of a small grant from the Phillips Fund of the American Philosophical Society that made the preparation of this article possible. 1. Biographical data are taken from Martha Coleman Bray's excellent introduc- tion to The Journals of Joseph N. Nicollet (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society, 1970), pp. 1-30, and from J.N.
    [Show full text]
  • Hod Chapter 1
    The Grassland Setting 1 CHAPTER 1 The Grassland Setting THE STORY OF NORTH DAKOTA begins with geology. Invasions of a great salt sea laid down the strata in which oil and other mineral deposits are found, and, later, fresh-water rivers formed strata containing lignite beds. Erosion, caused by wind, water, and glacial ice sheets, shaped the surface of the land, leaving what is now North Dakota as part of two significant physiographic provinces of North America: the Central Lowlands and the Great Plains. Within the state, the Central Lowlands Province is subdivided into the Drift Prairie and the Red River Valley and is separated from the Great Plains Province by the Missouri Escarpment. Thus divided into three distinct regions, North Dakota is a rather 2 History of North Dakota large state, a rectangle some 335 miles from east to west and 210 miles north to south, with an area of 70,665 square miles. It is located at the center of the continent, roughly 1,500 miles from the Atlantic Ocean and also from the Pacific, and about the same distance from the Gulf of Mexico and the Arctic Archipelago. GEOLOGY The Williston Basin, a saucer-like depression in the igneous granite crust of the earth's surface, had its origin half a billion years ago when the granite crust began to sink, a process which continued several million years. It now extends over some 130,000 square miles, about 50,000 square miles of which underlie North Dakota. The basin reaches from eastern North Dakota (Devils Lake and Jamestown are near its eastern edge) into Montana, and from northwestern South Dakota into Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
    [Show full text]
  • Devils Lake Wetland Management District
    NARRATIVE REPORT for Calendar Year 1966 Devils Lake Wetland Management District Devils Lake, North Dakota Permanent Personnel Don R. Perkuchin . Refuge Manager • .. " y.V-'/ CONTENTS Pa^e I. General A. Description of the Area 1 B. Status of the Acquisition Program 1 C. Weather Conditions 2 D. Habitat Conditions 4 II. Wildlife A. Migratory Birds 5 B. Upland Game Birds g C. Other Birds 3 D. Big Game Animals g E. Fur Animals, Predators, Rodents and other Mammals g F. Rare, Endangered and Status Undermined Species g G. Fish 9 H. Reptiles and Amphibians 9 I. Disease 9 III. W.P.A. Development and Maintenance A. Physical Development 9 B. Plantings 10 C. Cultivated Crops 12 D. Collection and Receipts 12 E. Control of Vegetation 12 F. Fires 12 IV. Resource Management A. Grazing 13 B. Haying 13 C. Fur Harvest 14 V. Field Investigation or Applied Research A. Wildlife Management Studies 14 B. Biological Tinkering 14 VI. Easement Administration 14 VII. Public Relations A. Recreational Uses 15 B. Refuge Visitors 15 C. Refuge Participation ^5 D. Hunting ^5 E. Violations 15 F. Safety 17 VIII. Other Items . 17 I. GENERAL Description of the Area Ten counties in northeastern North Dakota (see Figure 1) comprise the Devils Lake Wetland Management District. All of this manage­ ment area lies north of the "Coteau du Missouri" in what we Bureau personnel refer to as the "summerfallow barrens". Nearly level deposits of glacial Lake Agassiz (now called the Red River Valley) are the predominant geological feature of the eastern one-fourth of this district.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 3 — Affected Environment
    Chapter 3 — Affected Environment his chapter describes the affected environment for the project alternatives. The affected T environment is the portion of the existing environment that could be affected by the project. The information in Chapter 3 describes existing conditions, before any of the alternatives are implemented. Chapter 4 describes the changes that are expected to occur from implementing the alternatives. The information presented here focuses on issues identified through the scoping process and interdisciplinary analyses. The affected environment varies for each issue. Both the nature of the issue and components of the proposed project and alternatives dictate this variation. The following sections concentrate on providing the specific environmental information necessary to assess the potential effects of the proposed action and alternatives. 3.1 General Physical Environment The Fort Berthold Indian Reservation encompasses about 1,583 square miles in portions of six counties in west-central North Dakota. The counties are Dunn, McKenzie, McLean, Mercer, Mountrail, and Ward. Surface elevations range from about 1,835 feet above mean sea level (AMSL) along Lake Sakakawea to more than 2,600 feet AMSL in Dunn County. The project area occurs at the confluence of two North Dakota ecoregions — the Missouri Coteau Slope and the Northwestern Glaciated Plains (Bryce et al. 1998). Physiographically, this area consists of nearly level till plains and rolling morainic hills and is also known as the glaciated Prairie Pothole Region (PPR). The PPR is a unique area of approximately 300,000 square miles in the United States and Canada that stretches northwest from northern Iowa through southwest Minnesota, eastern South Dakota, eastern and northern North Dakota, southwest Manitoba, and south Saskatchewan to southeast and east central Alberta and bordering areas of northern Montana (Kantrud et al.
    [Show full text]