Karst Landscape Units of Houston and Winona Counties, GW-06 Report

Karst Landscape Units of Houston and Winona Counties

Groundwater Atlas Program: GW-06

Report Accompanies two map plates: Plate 1, Karst Landscape Units of Houston County Plate 2, Karst Landscape Units of Winona County

St. Paul 2021 mndnr.gov/groundwatermapping

This report, karst features, dye tracing, and springs can be found at the following link. mndnr.gov/groundwatermapping > Springs, Springsheds, and Karst

Citation Green, J.A., and Barry, J.D., 2021, Karst landscape units of Houston and Winona counties: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Groundwater Atlas Program, GW-06, report, 2 pls., GIS files. Author/GIS Jeffrey A. Green and John D. Barry, Cartographer Holly Johnson, Editor/Graphics Ruth MacDonald.

Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank Julia Steenberg and Tony Runkel of the Minnesota Geological Survey; Bob Tipping of the Minnesota Department of Health; E. Calvin Alexander, Jr. of the University of Minnesota; and Ross Dunsmoor of Winona County Environmental Services who provided valuable input on technical aspects of this report. Most importantly, we would like to thank the many Houston and Winona county landowners who allowed access to their property to inventory sinkholes, stream sinks, and springs and to conduct fluorescent dye tracing and spring monitoring. Without their cooperation, this effort would not have been possible.

Technical reference Maps were compiled and generated in a geographic information system. Digital data products are available from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Groundwater Atlas Program. Maps were prepared from DNR and other publicly available information. Every reasonable effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the data on which the report and map interpretations were based. However, the DNR does not warrant the accuracy, completeness, or any implied uses of these data. Users may wish to verify critical information; sources include both the references here and information on file in the offices of the Minnesota Geological Survey and the DNR. Every effort has been made to ensure the interpretations conform to sound geologic and cartographic principles. These maps should not be used to establish legal title, boundaries, or locations of improvements. Base maps were modified from the Minnesota Geological Survey, Geologic Atlases of Houston and Winona counties (Part A), Minnesota, 2014. Universal Transverse Mercator projection, Zone 15N, North American Datum of 1983. North American Vertical Datum of 1988. Report contents

Introduction �� 1

Landscape types �� 2

Mapping �� 3

Surface features �� 3

Landscape units �� 7

Karst mesa �� 7 Karst rolling upland �� 8 Karst interfluve �� 9 Karst and pseudokarst escarpment �� 10 Nonkarst lowland plain �� 11

References �� 12

Accompanying map inserts

Karst Landscape Units of Houston County �� Plate 1

Karst Landscape Units of Winona County �� Plate 2 1 Karst Landscape Units of Houston and Winona Counties By Jeffrey A. Green and John D. Barry Introduction

This report and the accompanying maps (Plates 1 and 2) for the Mower County Geologic Atlas (Green and others, describe the karst, pseudokarst, and nonkarst landscape 2002a, Green and others, 2002b). types of Houston and Winona counties. Located in The landscape types are subdivided in to five landscape southeastern Minnesota, these counties were untouched units typical of southeastern Minnesota and are classified by the last Pleistocene glaciations, which preserved their based on their hydrology, landscape form, and geology rugged and varied surface topography. Landscape form is (Figure 1). Each includes the land surface and its connections dominated by pronounced surface erosion that creates the to underlying aquifers. Classifying landscapes into units many coulees and deep valleys and by dissolution of the helps to identify the groundwater characteristics beneath, underlying Paleozoic bedrock. Dissolution of the bedrock because classic signs of karst (sinkholes, stream sinks, and creates distinct hydrology and surface and subsurface springs) are not always present at the land surface. features that are karst. In karst, there are close connections between the land surface and the underlying bedrock. The karst mesa is the highest in elevation and is found in Fractures and enlarged pathways allow for rapid transport the southwestern corner of each county. From its gently of water, creating unpredictable groundwater travel times sloping top it drops steeply to the karst rolling upland, and flow directions. Karst makes groundwater vulnerable to an extensive plateau that makes up the largest landscape activities on the land surface and complicates its protection unit of each county. Narrow ridges of the plateau extend and remediation. into deeply dissected valleys as karst interfluve. From the interfluve and rolling upland, the karst and pseudokarst The mapping approach applied to this project builds upon escarpment drops off steeply to the nonkarst lowland methods used to create the Karst Hydrogeomorphic Units plain of the stream and river valleys.

Figure 1. Karst landscape units Karst mesa

Karst rolling upland Landscape unit Karst mesa Karst interﬂuve Karst upland Karst interﬂuve Karst and pseudokarst escarpment Nonkarst lowland plain Stream sink Karst and pseudokarst escarpment Sinkhole Spring

Nonkarst lowland plain

Karst Landscape Units of Houston and Winona Counties 2 Landscape types

Karst Pseudokarst Karst surface features and sensitive groundwater resources Pseudokarst exhibits properties similar to karst but is are likely to occur in areas where there is less than fifty produced by processes other than dissolution, such as feet of unconsolidated material above carbonate bedrock. fracturing (Halliday, 2007). Pseudokarst in Houston and Carbonate rock is the first bedrock encountered in over half Winona counties occurs in fine-grained siliciclastic bedrock of Houston and Winona counties, particularly in the upland such as sandstone, siltstone, and shale. areas (Steenberg, 2014a, 2014b, 2014c, 2014d). In southeastern Minnesota pseudokarst, fractures primarily Shallow carbonate aquifers of southeastern Minnesota are develop mechanically and are much smaller than those dominated by turbulent flow where groundwater moves in traditional carbonate karst (Runkel and others, 2003). rapidly through subsurface conduits and fractures, making These fractures can transmit groundwater rapidly from these aquifers vulnerable to human activities (Green and stream sinks in the lowermost Jordan Sandstone, and the others, 2014). Nitrate, pathogens, and other contaminants St. Lawrence and Lone Rock formations (Green and others, can move into shallow groundwater through open conduits 2008, 2012; Barry and others 2015, 2018; Runkel and or by diffuse flow through thin soil cover (Libra and others, others, 2014b, 2018). 1984; Runkel and others, 2014a, Barry and others, 2020). Nonkarst Karst features occur in the Cummingsville, Platteville, and Nonkarst is found in major valleys, where unconsolidated Shakopee formations, the Oneota Dolomite, and the St. sediment generally greater than 50 feet thick overlies Peter Sandstone (Witthuhn and Alexander, 1995). Although siliciclastic geologic units, resulting in no sinkholes or stream not carbonate, the St. Peter sandstone is fractured in many sinks. Underlying the valleys are the Wonewoc Sandstone, locations throughout southeastern Minnesota and has Eau Claire Formation, and Mt. Simon Sandstone. Although numerous sinkholes that are interpreted to have formed mapped as nonkarst lowland plain on the accompanying by dissolution of the underlying dolostone of the Shakopee plates, groundwater fracture flow has been documented in Formation (Dalgleish and Alexander, 1984a). It is therefore these formations elsewhere in Minnesota and in Wisconsin grouped within karst landscape units. (Runkel and others, 2003). In local areas these units may function similar to St. Lawrence and Lone Rock formation pseudokarst. In different landscape settings where not covered in unconsolidated sediment or shallowly buried, they would be classified as pseudokarst.

Karst Landscape Units of Houston and Winona Counties 3 Mapping

Landscape units were identified using field observation, and others, 2015). Spring locations were accessed from the surface karst feature mapping, karst feature distribution Minnesota Spring Inventory (DNR, 2019a). Well locations, and density, geologic properties, land-surface slope aquifer designations, and groundwater elevation data were gradient, landscape form, hydrologic characteristics accessed from the County Well Index (MGS and MDH, as determined by fluorescent dye tracing and spring 2019). Inferred groundwater flow paths and hydrologic monitoring, springshed mapping, hydrogeologic reports, characteristics were determined from fluorescent dye trace and geochemistry. results from the Minnesota Groundwater Tracing Database Data elements were combined in a geographic information (DNR, 2019b). system (GIS) and compared to the landscape during field Additional sources came from the results of spring flow verification. Descriptions of how each landscape unit was monitoring (Green and others, 2014), spring temperature delineated follow in the Landscape Units section of this monitoring (Luhman, 2011), previous investigations report. (Tipping, 1994; Tipping and others, 2006; Runkel and Bedrock geologic units from Part A, Plate 2 of the geologic others, 2003, 2006, 2014a, 2014b, 2018), and geochemical atlases of each county formed the foundation (Steenberg, results from a comprehensive set of well and spring samples 2014a, 2014c). An aggregated range of slope gradients collected in each county (Barry, 2021; in preparation). (representative slope) was acquired from the Soil Survey Vertical distribution of karst features within each Geographic Database (SSURGO) (USDA-NRCS, 2019 and geologic unit was determined in GIS by assigning 2020) to determine prominent changes in the land surface elevations to features using digital elevation models that are associated with the erodibility of the underlying from Steenberg 2014b and 2014d. Histograms were bedrock. Slope class was coupled with karst features and generated using the number of karst features in each overlain on bedrock geology projected onto a one-meter geologic unit. LiDAR hillshade base to determine boundaries of landscape Not all karst features could be field verified because of time, units. Boundary modifications were made using varying property access, and staffing limitations. Karst features can buffer distances, representative slope groups, and geologic change over time; sinkholes routinely develop or are filled contact starting points. by property owners, and stream sinks may change location A conceptual hydrogeologic model was developed from or fill with sediment. The maps only display the inventoried several data sources. Sinkholes and streams from the Karst karst features at the time of mapping and represent lower Features Database were used to identify geologic and limits because mapping is incomplete. landscape units with high densities (UMN, 2020; Tipping Surface features

The formation of surface karst features (sinkholes, stream from 1–30 feet. Most form as cover-collapse sinkholes, sinks, and springs) is controlled by the composition, where unconsolidated soil and sediment is carried away mechanical properties, previous erosion and chemical by conduits and fractures in the underlying bedrock. When weathering, and structure of the underlying bedrock units. loss occurs slowly, shallow bowl-shaped depressions form; Sinkholes are primarily formed in the carbonate rock of the when loss is rapid, steep sided sinkholes form. A small Prairie du Chien Group. Stream sinks are most common in number of these are vertical shafts, most commonly found the fine-grained siliciclastic rocks of the lower Jordan and where the soils are less than 5 feet thick. St. Lawrence formations (Figure 2). In southwestern Winona County, a high concentration of Sinkholes ponded sinkholes are found in southeastern St. Charles Township and southwestern Utica Township. Over 50 have In Houston and Winona counties, sinkholes are closed been identified using LiDAR and aerial photography. While depressions developed over soluble carbonate bedrock some have been drained for agricultural production, others and the St. Peter sandstone. Nearly 300 sinkholes have still exist as relatively permanent surface-water features. been mapped in Houston County and nearly 1,400 in It is unclear why water ponds in these sinkholes. It is Winona County, ranging in size from a few feet in diameter possible that their underlying conduits are plugged with to half an acre. Depths are variable, but generally range till. Glacial till is not commonly found in Winona County,

Karst Landscape Units of Houston and Winona Counties 4 but remnants exist in the western portions (Lusardi and Springsheds others, 2014). Windblown silt, called loess, is also common Springsheds are defined as the surface-water and in southwestern Winona County and may contribute to groundwater basins that contribute discharge to a ponding in this area. spring (Florida Geological Survey, 2003). Surface-water Stream sinks springsheds contribute to groundwater through direct infiltration or by surface-water loss into stream sinks Stream sinks are locations where surface water in streams or sinkholes. Activities on the land surface can rapidly disappears into the subsurface. Their locations may shift impact groundwater emerging from a spring. Delineation over a range of surface-water flow conditions. Stream is necessary to determine groundwater flow direction of sinks occur in two forms: 1) discrete locations where water potential spills or accidental chemical releases and to guide disappears into the ground and 2) stream reaches where land use activities. water disappears over tens to hundreds of feet. Stream sinks most commonly form in the pseudokarst of the lower Surface-water basins are land areas that contribute the Jordan Sandstone and the St. Lawrence Formation; they young locally-sourced groundwater component of a spring. are less common in the St. Peter Sandstone, Shakopee The groundwater basins that contribute older regionally- Formation, Oneota Dolomite, and Lone Rock Formation. sourced groundwater to these same springs were not delineated, but typically extend well beyond the surface- Springs and Seeps water delineations. Springs and seeps are where groundwater emerges from Surface-water springsheds were delineated using the the land surface. They provide an important ecological Minnesota DNR AutoCatchment Dataset (DNR, 2018). function supplying cool isothermal water essential to trout Surface watersheds were combined with a 1-meter digital streams. The term spring commonly refers to locations elevation model created from LiDAR data to modify their where focused groundwater emerges; seeps occur over areas so they terminate at stream sinks. larger areas than springs. Many springs emanate from Fluorescent dye tracing is used to determine groundwater specific hydrostratigraphic positions, with a large number flow direction and rate, and to establish connections emanating from the St. Lawrence and Lone Rock formations. between recharge points (sinkholes or stream sinks) and Groundwater from springs may be a mixture of at least two discharge points (springs, streams, or wells). Although sources: 1) young locally-sourced and anthropogenically groundwater emerging from springs is a mixture of both impacted groundwater and 2) older regionally-sourced young local and older regionally-sourced water, the unimpacted groundwater (Runkel and others, 2014a; Barry inferred groundwater flow paths only describe travel in the and others, 2018; Barry, 2021; in preparation). uppermost aquifers and aquitards. Springsheds, inferred groundwater flow paths, and associated data from the results of dye trace investigations are available online through the Minnesota Groundwater Tracing Database application (DNR, 2019b).

Karst Landscape Units of Houston and Winona Counties 5 Frequency Springs Seeps 0 2 4 6 8 10 Geologic Hydrostra�graphic Landscape 0 15 30 45 60 Era

Series unit proper�es unit Sinkholes Stream sinks System- 0 100 200 300 400 0 2 4 6 8 10 Rela�vely high Cummingsville Galena permeability Forma�on aquifer (aquifer) Rela�vely low Decorah permeability (aquitard, Galena Group aquitard Shale except for fractures) Karst mesa

Upper Ordovician Pla�eville and Glenwood forma�ons aquitard High permeability bedding fractures known to be common St. Peter St. Peter Sandstone aquifer Middle Ordovician

Prairie du Shakopee Chien Forma�on aquifer Figure 2. Bedrock hydrostratigraphy and karst Karst rolling upland

Karst interﬂuve Karst landscape units span multiple geologic and hydrogeologic units.

Lower Ordovician Oneota The distribution of sinkholes, Prairie du Chien Group Dolomite stream sinks, springs, and seeps is controlled by bedrock stratigraphy and hydrostratigraphy. Karst feature frequency, shown in Jordan Jordan 25-foot intervals, was developed using Sandstone aquifer techniques from Tipping and others, 2001 and Steenberg and others, 2014.

PALEOZOIC St. Lawrence aquitard Geologic column modified from Forma�on Steenberg, 2014a, 2014c. Karst and pseudokarst escarpment Upper Tunnel City Lone Rock aquifer Forma�on

Upper Cambrian aquitard Tunnel City Group

Wonewoc Wonewoc Sandstone aquifer

Eau Claire aquitard Forma�on Nonkarst lowland plain Middle Cambrian Mt. Simon Mt. Simon Sandstone aquifer

Karst Landscape Units of Houston and Winona Counties 6 Nonkarst Nonkarst plain lowland Karst and Karst pseudokarst escarpment Rela�vely high Rela�vely permeability (aquifer) low permeabilityRela�vely (aquitard, for fractures) except Fractures bedding fractures High permeability known to be common Springs Local groundwater flow Regional groundwater flow Karst interfluve Karst Figure 3. Cross section of karst landscape units landscape section of karst 3. Cross Figure cross as the hypothetical A is depicted slice in diagram The gray units, the landscape section links (B). The cross section below flow. groundwater and regional and local hydrogeology, Karst rolling upland rolling Karst Karst mesa Karst 4) in Figure (see enlargment Unconsolidated Oneota Dolomite Jordan Sandstone B A St. Peter Sandstone Shakopee Forma�on Lone Rock Forma�on St. Lawrence Forma�on

Karst Landscape Units of Houston and Winona Counties 91° 22' 30" W. LA CROSSE WINONA COUNTY 91° 30' W. R. 5 W. R. 4 W. 91° 37' 30" W. R. 6 W. COUNTY WINONA COUNTY R. 7 W. Pine Pine Creek ¤61 Looney 2 Creek 1 6 1 6 ¤14

1 6 Creek

6 76 Creek ) Creek

Mississippi Money La Crescent Silver Blue Lake

FILLMORE COUNTY Pine Campbell

Creek Creek T. 104 N. MOUND PRAIRIEDay LA CRESCENT 16 Storer ) MONEY CREEK HOUSTON Creek T. 104 N. Target River Root Creek Lake Creek

Silver River Valley 91° 15' W.

Creek Root

River Brush R o o River t Creek R River ive Root r 36 31 36 31 Root 36 31 Ferndale31 36 31 16 ) Mound )16

River Creek HOKAH 1 WISCONSIN 1 6 )26 Houston 1 6 Prairie Hokah 43° 45' N. Creek Creek Root Crystal

6 1 6 76 Creek Creek 43° 45' N. ) 44 Daley Swede )

Bottom Lawrence Fork Lake LA CROSSE Thompson Creek COUNTY

Badger South VERNON

Butterfield COUNTY SHELDON UNION T. 103 N. YUCATAN Spring T. 103 N. Beaver Girl Crystal Branch

Scout

Creek Creek Creek Brownsville Creek Camp Creek BROWNSVILLE Creek Map Explanation Creek Indian Spring River Sullivan Wildcat Root 31 35 Sheldon Spring 36 31 36 Creek 31 31 Fork 36

Creek Stream sink 6 2 1 1 6 6 1 6 44 Brownsville South Sinkhole ) Beaver Riceford Beaver Creek 76 Valley ) State ParkTracer input location

Creek

)26 East Inferred groundwater flow path 7 CALEDONIA MAYVILLE T. 102 N. Surface water springshed Caledonia T. 102 N. 43° 37' 30" N. BLACK HAMMER Landscape units North 43° 37' 30" N. Fork

Five landscape units are found in Houston and Winona counties. Four units are karst; the lowland plain is nonkarst. Mississippi Riceford CROOKED CREEK est Crooked LandscapeCreek units include the Wland surface and its connectionsLandscape to underlying unit aquifers. Crooked South Creek Fork Creek Creek KarstKarst mesa River 36 36 31 36 31 36 31 31 Karst rolling upland 31

Beaver • Sinkholes typically occur individually, are less than 30 W

1 I 6 S feet wide, and 1are primarily6 found on the crest or base of 1 6 1 6 Karst interfluve Winnebago Clear C 6 O Creek

the mesa. Spring flow and surface runoff can disappear N

S I Karst andinto pseudokarst sinkholes, escarpmentstream sinks, or fractures in the St. Peter N Creek Sandstone at the base of the mesa where it transitions to Spring Grove Nonkarst thelowland adjoining plain karst rolling upland unit.

• Groundwater)76 recharge and flow in the Cummingsville 44 JEFFERSON ) WINNEBAGO T. 101 N. Creek SPRING GROVE WILMINGTandON Platteville formations is primarily through fractures T. 101 N. Hayshore and conduits. The lowermost part of the Cummingsville )26 Lake

Riceford Mud Lake Landscape unit delineation is interbedded limestone and shale andCreek functions with Eitzen The karst mesa unit is highest in elevation and is found the Decorah Shale as a local and regional aquitard (Delin, Winnebago Goose 1990). Water moves vertically through the karsted Lake in the southwestern corner of each county. BeeThe gently

Creek VERNON COUNTY sloping top of the mesa drops off steeply to the karst limestone topCreek of the mesa until it reaches the interbedded Creek 36 31 shale and limestone of the lower Cummingsville and the 36 31 rolling upland. The landscape unit was31 created in GIS Duck 36 31 36 Eitzen 31 Decorah shale. Water then primarily moves laterally 43° 30' N. by querying all Cummingsville, Platteville, and Decorah R. 4 W. ALLAMAKEE COUNTY R. 3 W. FILLMORE COUNTY R. 5 W. IOWA 91° 15' W. ALLAMAKEE COUNTY R. 6 W. to hillside edges, emerging as springs and seeps 91° 22' 30" W. 43° 30' N. WINNESHIEK COUNTY R. 7 W. 91° 30' W. formation polygonsIO andWA joining91° 37' 30" them W. with areas of the St. Peter Sandstone with a slope equal to or greater than (Lindgren, 2000). 8 percent. • Karst mesas rise above the regional Prairie du Chien plateau; recharge from precipitation is the sole source of Landscape unit characteristics groundwater in the mesa. • The karst mesa landform rises above the surrounding upland plateau with slopes of 0–8 percent on the summits and 8–40 percent on the side slopes. • Depth of unconsolidated material over bedrock is less Figure 4. Enlarged inset from Figure 3 than 50 feet. The summits are underlain by limestone and shale of the Cummingsville Formation, the Decorah Mesa cross section depicting landform, high permeability fractures, spring hydrostratigraphy, Shale, or limestone and shale of the Platteville and groundwater flow, and aquifers and aquitards. Glenwood formations. Side slopes are predominately underlain by the St. Peter Sandstone.

Rela�vely high permeability (aquifer) Unconsolidated Rela�vely low permeability Cummingsville Forma�on (aquitard, except for fractures) Decorah Shale Fractures High permeability bedding fractures Pla�eville Forma�on known to be common Glenwood Forma�on Springs Local groundwater ﬂow St. Peter Sandstone Regional groundwater ﬂow

1 6 Creek

6 76 Creek ) Creek

Mississippi Money La Crescent Silver Blue Lake

FILLMORE COUNTY Pine Campbell

Creek Creek T. 104 N. MOUND PRAIRIEDay LA CRESCENT 16 Storer ) MONEY CREEK HOUSTON Creek T. 104 N. Target River Root Creek Lake Creek

Silver River Valley 91° 15' W.

Creek Root

River Brush R o Map Explanation o River t Creek R River ive Root r 36 31 36 31 Root 36 31 Spring Ferndale31 36 31 16 ) Mound )16

River Creek HOKAH 1 WISCONSIN Stream sink 1 6 )26 Houston 1 6 Prairie Hokah 43° 45' N. Creek Creek Root Crystal 6 1 6

)76 Creek Creek 43° 45' N. Sinkhole 44 Daley Swede )

Bottom Lawrence Fork Tracer input location Lake LA CROSSE Thompson Creek COUNTY

Badger South Inferred groundwater flow path VERNON Butterfield COUNTY SHELDON UNION T. 103 N. YUCATAN Surface water springshed Spring T. 103 N. Beaver Girl Crystal Branch

Scout

Creek Creek Creek Brownsville Creek Camp Creek Landscape unit BROWNSVILLE Creek Creek Indian Spring River Sullivan Wildcat Root Karst mesa 8 31 35

Sheldon 36 31 36 Creek Fork 36 31 31 KarstKarst rolling rolling uplandupland

Creek 6 2 1 1 6 6 1 6 44 Karst interfluve Brownsville South ) • Four fluorescent dye traces have been completed in

Beaver Riceford Beaver Creek the Prairie du Chien Group of the karst rolling upland. 76 Valley ) Karst and pseudokarst escarpment State Park The Lewiston Interchange dye trace in Winona County

Creek Nonkarst lowlandwas plaina dual dye trace with one dye poured into a )26 East sinkhole and the other into a stream sink. Dye from the CALEDONIA MAYVILLEsinkhole traveled ½ mile in less than a week, emerging T. 102 N. Caledonia T. 102 N. at visible levels in a spring. Dye from the stream sink 43° 37' 30" N. BLACK HAMMER North 43° 37' 30" N. traveled at a slower rate, roughly ½ mile in 6 months Landscape unit delineation (DNR,Fork 2019b). These travel times are consistent with Mississippi Riceford CROOKED CREEK est Crooked Creek W previous tracing in the Prairie du Chien Group (Wheeler, The karst rolling upland is an extensive plateau that makes Crooked South 1993; Green and Alexander, 2011, 2015). Dyes Creekwere up the largest landscape unit of each county. The landscape Fork Creek Creek River not detected from a sinkhole south of Caledonia in 36 unit was created in GIS by identifying36 areas31 of the Paleozoic 36 31 36 31 31 plateau that are not karst mesa, karst and pseudokarst Houston County or from an Altura wastewater lagoon in 31

Beaver Winona County. W

escarpment, or karst interfluve. 1 I 6 S 1 6 1 6 1 6 Winnebago Clear C 6 • Surface-water springsheds contribute surface flow to O Creek Landscape unit characteristics N

stream sinks within this unit and in the adjoining karst S

I N • Karst rolling upland is the largest karstCreek unit in the counties. and pseudokarst escarpment unit. Spring It consists of dissected plains with slopes primarily from Grove • Depth to groundwater is typically greater than 50 feet, 0–18 percent, but can range up to 60 percent. however portions of the Prairie du Chien are saturated )76 44 JEFFERSON ) • It represents areas of the Paleozoic plateau with generallyWINNEBAGO and can provide adequate yield to wells (Barry, 2021, in T. 101 N. Creek SPRING GROVE WILMINGTON T. 101 N. less than 50 feet of unconsolidated material over the preparation). Springs are not abundant, but those that Hayshore )26 Lake

Riceford St. Peter Sandstone, Shakopee Formation, or Oneota exist can have significant flow. Mud Lake Creek Dolomite (Runkel and others, 2014a). Eitzen • Groundwater in the karst rolling upland is a mixture of

• Sinkholes are the primary surface karst feature, occurring both local and regional sources.Winnebago Precipitation that is not Goose Lake Bee

Creek VERNON both individually and in clusters.Creek They range in width lost to evapotranspiration rapidly infiltrates through thin COUNTY

fromCreek 1–300 feet and in depth from 1–30 feet. soils into conduits and fractures, or becomes overland 36 31 36 31 31 Duck 36 31 36 Eitzen 31 • Preferential sinkhole and stream sink formation occurs runoff that disappears into sinkholes and stream sinks. 43° 30' N. R. 4 W. ALLAMAKEE COUNTY R. 3 W. FILLMORE COUNTY R. 5 W. This local groundwater flow componentIOWA is commonly 91° 15' W. ALLAMAKEE inCOUNTY the karst R.rolling 6 W. upland due to paleokarst developed 91° 22' 30" W. 43° 30' N. WINNESHIEK COUNTY R. 7 W. IOWA 91° 30' W. 91° 37' 30" W. at the Shakopee-Oneota boundary. Paleokarst features impacted by activities at the land surface (Runkel and are visible as small caves and sediment-filled zones in others, 2014a). quarries and outcrops (Alexander and others, 2013). Regional groundwater flow in the karst rolling upland This stratigraphic position was a factor in sinkhole has a longer time of travel than the local component. development and failure of three municipal wastewater It consists of groundwater that recharged to the west, lagoons in southeast Minnesota (Alexander and Book, in Olmsted and Fillmore counties and beyond. Region- 1984; Jannick, 1991; Alexander and others, 1993). ally-sourced groundwater has moved eastward under- These incidents demonstrate that leakage from surface neath the overlying Upper Carbonate plateau and impoundments can reactivate relict sinkholes. The generally shows less anthropogenic contamination than Shakopee-Oneota boundary paleokarst serves as a younger locally-sourced water. Minimally impacted regional zone of rapid groundwater flow (Tipping and regionally sourced groundwater frequently dilutes nitro- others, 2006) and has the highest number of sinkholes gen-enriched locally-sourced groundwater (Runkel and associated with it (Figure 2). others, 2014a; Barry, 2021 in preparation). • Dye tracing completed in neighboring Fillmore County from a stream sink in this high transmissivity zone determined groundwater time of travel of multiple miles per day (Green, 1994).

1 6 Creek

6 76 Creek ) Creek

Mississippi Money La Crescent Silver Blue Lake

FILLMORE COUNTY Pine Campbell

Creek Creek T. 104 N. MOUND PRAIRIEDay LA CRESCENT 16 Storer ) MONEY CREEK HOUSTON Creek T. 104 N. Target River Root Creek Lake Creek

Silver River Valley 91° 15' W.

Creek Root

River Brush R o o River t Creek R River ive Root r 36 31 36 31 Root 36 31 Ferndale31 36 31 16 ) Mound )16

River Creek HOKAH 1 WISCONSIN 1 6 )26 Houston 1 6 Prairie Hokah 43° 45' N. Creek Creek Root Crystal

6 1 6 76 Creek Creek 43° 45' N. ) 44 Daley Swede )

Bottom Lawrence Fork Lake LA CROSSE Thompson Creek COUNTY

Badger South VERNON

Butterfield COUNTY SHELDON UNION T. 103 N. YUCATAN Spring Map Explanation T. 103 N. Beaver Girl Crystal Branch

Scout Spring Creek Creek Creek Brownsville Creek Camp Creek BROWNSVILLE Stream sink Creek Creek Indian Spring River Sullivan Wildcat Sinkhole Root 31 35

Sheldon 36 31 36 Creek 31 31 Fork 36 Tracer input location

Creek 6 Inferred2 groundwater flow path 1 1 6 6 1 6 44 Brownsville South ) Surface water springshed Beaver Riceford Beaver Creek 76 Valley ) State Park

Creek Landscape unit )26 East Karst mesa CALEDONIA MAYVILLE T. 102 N. Caledonia T. 102 N. 43° 37' 30" N. BLACK HAMMER North Karst rolling upland 9 43° 37' 30" N. Fork KarstKarst interfluve interfluve

Mississippi Riceford CROOKED CREEK est Crooked Creek W Karst and pseudokarst• The relatively escarpment small surface area of interfluves limits the Crooked South Creek Fork Creek amount of local recharge they receive. Recharge from Creek Nonkarst lowlandprecipitation plainRiver is the sole source of groundwater. 36 36 31 36 31 36 31 31 • Prairie31 du Chien springs and wells are rare in

Beaver

interfluves, indicatingW inadequate saturated thickness

1 I 6 S 1 6 1 6 for groundwater supply (Green and Barry, 2020). The 1 6 Winnebago Clear C 6 O Creek

absence of wellsN and springs in the karst interfluve

S I

suggests that N the Prairie du Chien drains vertically by Creek gravity into the underlying Jordan Sandstone. Dewatered Spring Prairie du Chien and partially saturated Jordan have Grove been described in a similar geologic setting elsewhere in )76 southeastern Minnesota (Tipping and others, 2019). 44 JEFFERSON ) WINNEBAGO T. 101 N. Creek SPRING GROVE WILMINGTON • Valleys relieve stress on the rock and promote the T. 101 N. Hayshore )26 developmentLake of vertical fractures which can provide

Riceford MudenhancedLake pathways for recharge to move into underlying Creek Eitzen formations (Runkel and others, 2018). Landscape unit delineation Winnebago • The karstGoose interfluve landscape can pose a challenge for Lake Bee Karst interfluves are narrow ridges of the rolling upland

Creek VERNON land and water management.COUNTY A suitability assessment for Creek that extend into deeply dissected valleys. The valleys lower a landfill expansion in Winona County found groundwater Creek 36 31 the water table36 within31 the Prairie du Chien, resulting in 31 Duck 36 31 migration to each side of the interfluve (Dahlgleish and 36 Eitzen 31 minimal saturation. Karst interfluve was mapped in GIS by 43° 30' N. R. 4 W. ALLAMAKEE COUNTYAlexander,R. 3 1984b).W. Dye injected into a lower Oneota well FILLMORE COUNTY R. 5 W. identifying areas where the groundwaterIOWA elevation of the 91° 15' W. ALLAMAKEE COUNTY R. 6 W. 91° 22' 30" W. was detected in adjacent valleys at three wells in the 43° 30' N. WINNESHIEK COUNTY R. 7 W. IOWA 91° 30' W. 91° 37' 30" W. Prairie du Chien is lower than the base of the Oneota. Lone Rock and Wonewoc formations and two springs Landscape unit characteristics emanating from the Lone Rock Formation. Dye was not detected in other Lone Rock and Wonewoc wells and • Karst interfluves have slopes primarily from 0–18 percent, springs in these same valleys, illustrating the difficulty of but can range up to 60 percent. They divide deeply incised remediation in this landscape unit. stream valleys and are hydrologically complex. • Interfluves generally have less than 50 feet of unconsolidated material over the Shakopee Formation and Oneota Dolomite. • Sinkholes are the primary surface karst feature, ranging from 1–100 feet wide and 1–20 feet deep. Most occur individually; some interfluves have dense clusters. • Preferential sinkhole development occurs in paleokarst at the contact between the Shakopee and Oneota (Figure 2).

Karst Landscape Units of Houston and Winona Counties Map Explanation

Spring Stream sink Sinkhole Tracer input location Inferred groundwater flow path Surface water springshed

Landscape unit Karst mesa Karst rolling upland

10 Karst interfluve

91° 22' 30" W. LA CROSSE KarstKarst andand pseudokarst pseudokarst escarpment escarpment WINONA COUNTY 91° 30' W. R. 5 W. R. 4 W. 91° 37' 30" W. R. 6 W. COUNTY WINONA COUNTY R. 7 W. Pine Pine Creek ¤61 Looney 2 Nonkarst lowland plainCreek • Surface-water springsheds1 6 that begin in the karst rolling 1 6 ¤14

1 6 Creek

6 76 Creek ) Creek upland terminate at lower Jordan, St. Lawrence or

Mississippi Money Lone Rock formation stream sinks whereLa Crescent surface flow Silver becomes groundwater. Blue Lake

FILLMORE COUNTY • In tributary valleys streams commonly sinkPine into the lower Campbell

Creek Jordan Sandstone and the upper St. LawrenceCreek Formation. T. 104 N. MOUND PRAIRIEDay LA CRESCENT 16 Storer ) MONEY CREEK HOUSTON Some lose Creekflow but do not totally disappear as they cross T. 104 N. the St. Lawrence Formation (Green and others, 2012). Target River Root Creek Lake Creek

Silver Stream sink locations are ephemeral, often moving up River Valley Landscape unit delineation 91° 15' W. Creek and down the valley depending on stream flow. Flood Root The karst interfluve and karst rolling upland drop off events can close or reopen stream sinks and change River Brush R o o River t Creek steeply into the karst and pseudokarst escarpment. The the flow regime of streams and springs. For example, in R River ive Root r 36 31 36 31 Root landscape unit was created in GIS by applying36 31a 150-meter 1920 the upper reach of Indian Springs Creek in Houston Ferndale31 36 31 16 buffer upslope from the top of the Jordan Sandstone) and Mound County disappeared into the streambed (Surber, 1920), )16

River Creek a 15-meter buffer downslope from the base of the Lone but is currently perennial. HOKAH 1 WISCONSIN 1 6 )26 Houston 1 6 Prairie Hokah 43° 45' N. Creek Creek Rock Formation. It includesRoot all of the JordanCrystal Sandstone, 6 1 6 • Springs are numerous, primarily discharging from the St.

)76 Creek Creek 43° 45' N. the St. Lawrence Formation, Lone Rock Formation and Lawrence and Lone44 Rock formations (Figure 2). Springs Daley Swede ) small areas of the WonewocBottom Sandstone at the foot of are often found at the base of ridge points and steepLawrence Fork Lake LA CROSSE the escarpment. Thompson Creek hillsides, where younger local recharge mixes with older COUNTY

Badger LandscapeSouth unit characteristics regionally-sourced groundwater. Regional groundwater is VERNON Butterfield COUNTY lower in nitrate and other anthropogenic chemicals and SHELDON UNION T. 103 N. YUCATAN • Karst and pseudokarst escarpment consists of dissected Spring T. 103 N. Beaver dilutes locally-sourced groundwater. In general, regional Girl Crystal Branch bluffs, has slopes from 0 to greater than 68 percent, and flow comes from areas to the west and from underneath

Scout is hydrologicallyCreek complex. Creek the Prairie du Chien plateau (Runkel and others, 2014a). Creek Brownsville Creek Camp • BedrockCreek varies with ridgetops and hill shoulders underlain • Fluorescent dye tracing has shownBROWNSVILLE groundwater time Creek by Shakopee Formation and Oneota Dolomite, upper side Creek Indian Spring River of travel can approach that of classic karst aquifers, Sullivan Wildcat Root slopes underlain by Jordan Sandstone, lower side slopes with values from hundreds 31to over a thousand feet per 35

Sheldon 36 31 36 Creek 31 and footslopes underlain by St. Lawrence Formation, 31 Fork 36 day (Green and others, 2008, 2012; Barry and others, and toe slopes underlain by Lone Rock Formation or Creek 2015, 2018). Dye breakthrough to springs is often 6 2 1 Wonewoc Sandstone. 1 6 6 1 6 rapid, however the tails of dye recovery curves are 44 Brownsville South ) • The BeaverSt. Lawrence and Lone Rock formations are mainly very long. Dye has been detected over 2 years after Riceford Beaver Creek 76 fine- to veryValley fine-grained sandstone,) siltstone and shale input, demonstrating that potential negative effects on State Park with someCreek dolostone (Steenberg, 2014a, 2014c) and lack water quality may persist in the St. Lawrence and Lone evidence of bedrock dissolution that would classify them Rock formations. )26 East as karst (Barry and others, 2015). CALEDONIA MAYVILLE T. 102 N. • Sinkholes are found in the ridgetops and Caledoniahill shoulders T. 102 N. 43° 37' 30" N. BLACK HAMMER North 43° 37' 30" N. underlain by the Shakopee Formation and Oneota Dolomite. They do not form in the Jordan Sandstone or Fork Mississippi Riceford CROOKED CREEK est Crooked Creek W the St. Lawrence and Lone Rock formations. Crooked South Creek Fork Creek Creek River 36 36 31 36 31 36 31 31 31

Beaver W

1 I 6 S 1 6 1 6 1 6 Winnebago Clear C 6 O

Creek

I N Creek

Spring Grove

)76 44 JEFFERSON ) WINNEBAGO T. 101 N. Creek SPRING GROVE Karst Landscape UnitsWILMING of Houston TandON Winona Counties T. 101 N. Hayshore )26 Lake

Riceford Mud Lake Creek Eitzen

Winnebago Goose Lake Bee

Creek VERNON Creek COUNTY

Creek 36 31 36 31 31 Duck 36 31 36 Eitzen 31 43° 30' N. R. 4 W. ALLAMAKEE COUNTY R. 3 W. FILLMORE COUNTY R. 5 W. IOWA 91° 15' W. ALLAMAKEE COUNTY R. 6 W. 91° 22' 30" W. 43° 30' N. WINNESHIEK COUNTY R. 7 W. 91° 30' W. IOWA 91° 37' 30" W. Map Explanation

Spring Stream sink Sinkhole Tracer input location Inferred groundwater flow path Surface water springshed

Landscape unit Karst mesa Karst rolling upland Karst interfluve

91° 22' 30" W. LA CROSSE Karst and pseudokarst escarpment 11 WINONA COUNTY 91° 30' W. R. 5 W. R. 4 W. 91° 37' 30" W. R. 6 W. COUNTY WINONA COUNTY R. 7 W. Pine Pine Creek ¤61 Looney 2 NonkarstNonkarst lowland lowland plain plain Creek 1 6 1 6 ¤14

1 6 Creek 76 6 ) Creek Creek • The lowland plain is underlain by the Wonewoc

Mississippi Money La Crescent Sandstone, the siltstone and shale of the Eau Claire Silver Blue Lake Formation, or the Mt. Simon Sandstone.

FILLMORE COUNTY Pine Campbell • Bedding plane fractures are common in these formations Creek Creek T. 104 N. and are similar to those found in the pseudokarst MOUND PRAIRIEDay LA CRESCENT 16 Storer ) HOUSTON Creek MONEY CREEK of the St. Lawrence and Lone Rock formations (Gellash T. 104 N. Target River Root Creek Lake and others, 2013). However, thick unconsolidated Creek

Silver River Valley 91° 15' W. sediment prevents surface expression of pseudokarst

Creek Root features. Sinkholes do not form in this landscape unit.

River Brush R o o River t • Springs are less common than in the karst and pseudokarst Creek R River ive Root r 36 31 36 31 escarpment and primarily emanate from the upper Root 36 31 Ferndale31 36 31 16 portions of the Wonewoc Sandstone. ) Mound )16

River Creek HOKAH 1 WISCONSIN • Water chemistry collected in support of the Houston and 1 6 )26 Houston 1 6 Prairie Hokah 43° 45' N. Creek Creek Root Crystal Winona atlases indicates that springs in this landscape 6 1 6

)76 Creek Creek 43° 45' N. unit are primarily fed by deep regional groundwater. 44 Daley Swede ) Bottom Anthropogenic influences can affect even the deepest Landscape unit delineationLawrence Fork Lake LA CROSSE Thompson valleys where locally-sourced anthropogenically Creek Nonkarst lowland plain is present in majorCOUNTY stream and river Badger impacted groundwater mixes with older regionally- South VERNON Butterfield valleys. The landscape unit was createdCOUNTY in GIS by identifying sourced groundwater. SHELDON UNION areas where the Wonewoc SandstoneT. 103 N. is adjacent to the YUCATAN Spring • Wells completed in the Eau Claire and Mt. Simon are T. 103 N. Beaver Girl Crystal karst and pseudokarst escarpmentBranch and includes all areas often under artesian conditions in river valleys.

Scout where the Eau Claire Formation or Mt. Simon Sandstone is

Creek Creek Creek first bedrock. Brownsville Creek Camp Creek BROWNSVILLE Creek Creek Indian Spring Landscape unit characteristics River Sullivan Wildcat Root 31 • Slopes are primarily from35 0–6 percent. However, steeper

Sheldon 36 31 36 Creek 31 31 Fork 36 areas along major streams and at the boundary with

Creek the karst and pseudokarst escarpment range up to 6 2 1 1 6 6 1 6 60 percent. 44 Brownsville South ) Beaver • Depth of unconsolidated sediment above bedrock ranges Riceford Beaver Creek 76 Valley ) State Park from less than 50 feet to over 200 feet, with the shallower Creek depths primarily over the Wonewoc Sandstone. )26 East

CALEDONIA MAYVILLE T. 102 N. Caledonia T. 102 N. 43° 37' 30" N. BLACK HAMMER North 43° 37' 30" N. Fork

Mississippi Riceford CROOKED CREEK est Crooked Creek W Crooked South Creek Fork Creek Creek River 36 36 31 36 31 36 31 31 31

Beaver W

1 I 6 S 1 6 1 6 1 6 Winnebago Clear C 6 O

Creek

I N Creek

Spring Grove

)76 44 JEFFERSON ) WINNEBAGO T. 101 N. Creek SPRING GROVE WILMINGTON T. 101 N. )26 Hayshore Lake Karst Landscape Units of Houston and Winona Counties Riceford Mud Lake Creek Eitzen

Winnebago Goose Lake Bee

Creek VERNON Creek COUNTY

Alexander, E.C., Jr., and Book, P.R., 1984, Altura Minnesota Dalgleish, J.B., and Alexander, E.C., Jr., 1984b, lagoon collapses, in Beck, B., ed., Sinkholes–their Hydrogeologic investigation of the proposed geology, engineering and environmental impact: expansion site of the Winona County (Murphy) Rotterdam, the Netherlands, A.A. Balkema, landfill: Department of Geology and Geophysics, p. 311–318. University of Minnesota, prepared under a grant Alexander, E.C., Jr., Broberg, J.S., Kehren, A.R., Graziai, from Winona County, final report. Available from the M.M., and Turri, W.L., 1993, Bellechester, Minnesota, University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy. USA, lagoon collapses: Environmental Geology, v. 22, Delin, G.N., 1990, Hydrogeology and simulation of ground- no. 4, p. 353–361. water flow in the Rochester area, southeastern Alexander, E.C., Jr., Runkel, A.C., Tipping, R.G., and Green, Minnesota, 1987–88: U.S. Geological Survey, Water J.A., 2013, Deep time origins of sinkhole collapse Resources Investigations Report 90-4081, 102 p. failures in sewage lagoons in southeast Minnesota: DNR, 2019a, Minnesota spring inventory: Minnesota Proceedings of the 13th Multidisciplinary Conference Department of Natural Resources, Groundwater Atlas on Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Program, statewide dataset of springs, accessed July Impacts of Karst, p. 285–292. 2019. Barry, J.D., 2021, Groundwater atlas of Winona County, DNR, 2019b, Minnesota groundwater tracing database: Minnesota: Minnesota Department of Natural Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Resources, County Atlas Series C-34, Part B, report, Groundwater Atlas Program, accessed July 2019. 2 pls. DNR, 2018, MNDNR level 09 - DNR autocatchments: Barry, J.D., Green, J.A., Rutelonis, J.W., Steenberg, J.R., and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Alexander, E.C., Jr., 2018, Coupling dye tracing, water Groundwater Atlas Program. Available from the chemistry, and passive geophysics to characterize a Minnesota Geospatial Commons website, MNDNR siliciclastic pseudokarst aquifer, southeast Minnesota, Watershed Suite, accessed May 2019. USA: Proceedings of the 15th Multidisciplinary Florida Geological Survey, 2003, Florida spring Conference on Sinkholes and the Engineering and classification system and spring glossary: Special Environmental Impacts of Karst, p. 5–16. Publication no. 52, 17 p. Barry, J.D., Green, J.A., and Steenberg, J.R., 2015, Conduit Gellasch, C.A., Bradbury, K.R., Hart, D.J., and Bahr, J.M., flow in the Cambrian Lone Rock Formation, southeast 2013, Characterization of fracture connectivity in a Minnesota: Proceedings of the 14th Multidisciplinary siliciclastic bedrock aquifer near a public supply well Conference on Sinkholes and the Engineering and (Wisconsin, USA): Hydrogeology Journal, v. 21, Environmental Impacts of Karst, p. 31–42. p. 383–399. Barry, J.D., in preparation, Groundwater atlas of Houston Green, J.A., 1994, Karst aquifer investigation-Lanesboro County, Minnesota: Minnesota Department of Natural State Fish Hatchery: Minnesota Department of Resources, County Atlas Series C-33, Part B. Natural Resources, Division of Waters. Available from Barry, J.D., Miller, T.P., Steenberg, J.R., Runkel, A.C., the University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy. Kuehner, K.J., and Alexander, E.C., Jr., 2020, Green, J.A., and Alexander, E.C., Jr., 2011, Dye tracing Combining high resolution spring monitoring, dye observations from the Prairie du Chien Group in tracing, watershed analysis, and outcrop and borehole Minnesota: 2011 Geological Society of America observations to characterize the Galena Karst, meeting, Abstracts with Programs, Abstract 60-11, southeast Minnesota, U.S.A: Proceedings of the 16th v. 43, no. 5, p. 167. Multidisciplinary Conference on Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst, Green, J.A., and Alexander, E.C., Jr, 2015, Creation of a p. 3–17. map of Paleozoic bedrock springsheds in southeast Minnesota: Proceedings of the 14th Multidisciplinary Dalgleish, J.B., and Alexander, E.C., Jr., 1984a, Sinkholes Conference on Sinkholes and the Engineering and and sinkhole probability in Geologic atlas of Winona Environmental Impacts of Karst, p. 211–222. County, Minnesota: Minnesota Geological Survey, County Atlas Series C-2, Part A, Plate 5.

Karst Landscape Units of Houston and Winona Counties 13 Green, J.A., Alexander, E.C., Jr., Marken, W.J., and Lindgren, R.J., 2000, Ground-water recharge and Alexander, S.C., 2002a, Karst hydrogeomorphic units flowpaths near the edge of the Decorah-Platteville- of Mower County, Minnesota in Geologic atlas of Glenwood confining unit, Rochester, Minnesota: U.S. Mower County: Minnesota Department of Natural Geological Survey, Water Resources Investigations Resources, County Atlas Series C-11, Part B, Plate 10. Report 00-4215. Green, J.A., and Barry, J.D., 2020, Development of karst Luhmann, A.J., Covington, M.D., Peters, A.J., Alexander, landscape unit maps for Houston County, Minnesota, S.C., Anger, C.T., Green, J.A., Runkel, A.C., and USA: Proceedings of the 16th Multidisciplinary Alexander, E.C., Jr., 2011, Classification of thermal Conference on Sinkholes and the Engineering and patterns at karst springs and cave streams: Environmental Impacts of Karst, p. 344–353. Groundwater, v. 49, no. 3, p. 324–335. Green, J.A., Barry, J.D., and Alexander, E.C., Jr., 2014, Lusardi, B.A., Adams, R.S., and Hobbs, H.C., 2014, Surficial Springshed assessment methods for Paleozoic geology in Setterholm, D., Geologic atlas of Winona bedrock springs of southeastern Minnesota: County, Minnesota: Minnesota Geological Survey, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Report County Atlas Series C-34, Part A, Plate 3. to the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota MGS and MDH, 2019, County well index: Minnesota Resources, 48 p. Geological Survey, with the assistance of the Green, J.A., Luhmann, A.J., Peters, A.J., Runkel, A.C., Minnesota Department of Health. Online database Alexander, E.C., Jr., and Alexander, S.C., 2008, Dye accessible through the Minnesota Department of tracing within the St. Lawrence confining unit in Health, Minnesota Well Index mapping application. southeastern Minnesota in Yuhr, L., Alexander, E.C., Jr., Runkel, A.C., Steenberg, J.R., Tipping, R.G., and Retzler, and Beck, B., eds., Sinkholes and the engineering and A.J., 2014a, Geologic controls on groundwater and environmental impacts of karst: Proceedings of the surface water flow in southeastern Minnesota and American Society of Civil Engineers, GSP 183, its impact on nitrate concentrations in streams: p. 477–484. Minnesota Geological Survey, Open-File Report 14-02, Green, J.A., Marken, W.J., Alexander, E.C., Jr., and 154 p. Alexander, S.C., 2002b, Karst unit mapping using Runkel, A.C., Tipping, R.G., Alexander, E.C., Jr., geographic information system technology, Mower and Alexander, S.C., 2006, Hydrostratigraphic County, Minnesota, USA: Environmental Geology, v. characterization of intergranular and secondary 42, no. 5, August 2002, p. 457–461. porosity in part of the Cambrian sandstone aquifer Green, J.A., Runkel, A.C., and Alexander, E.C., Jr., 2012, system of the cratonic interior of North America– Karst conduit flow in the Cambrian St. Lawrence improving predictability of hydrogeologic properties: confining unit, southeast Minnesota, USA: Carbonates Sedimentary Geology, v. 184, p. 281–304. and Evaporites, v. 27, no. 2, p. 167–172. Runkel, A.C., Tipping, R.G., Alexander, E.C., Jr., Green, J.A., Halliday, W.R., 2007, Pseudokarst in the 21st century: Mossler, J.H., and Alexander, S.C., 2003, Hydrogeology Journal of Cave and Karst Studies, v. 69, no. 1, of the Paleozoic bedrock in southeastern Minnesota: p. 103–113. Minnesota Geological Survey, Report of Investigation Jannik, N.O., Alexander, E.C., Jr., and Landherr, L.J., 1991, 61, 105 p., 2 pls. The sinkhole collapse of the Lewiston, Minnesota Runkel, A.C., Tipping, R.G., Green, J.A., Jones, P.M., Meyer, waste water treatment facility lagoon: Proceedings J.R., Parker, B.L., Steenberg, J.R., and Retzler, A.J., of the 3rd Conference on Hydrogeology, Ecology, 2014b, Hydrogeologic properties of the St. Lawrence Monitoring, and Management of Ground Water aquitard, southeastern Minnesota: Minnesota in Karst Terranes, p. 715–724. Available through Geological Survey, Open-File Report 14-04, 119 p. the National Service Center for Environmental Runkel, A.C., Tipping, R.G., Meyer, J.R., Steenberg, J.R., Publications. Retzler, A.J., Parker, B.L., Green, J.A., Barry, J.D., Libra, R.D., Hallberg, G.R., Ressmeyer, G.G., and Hoyer, and Jones, P.M., 2018, A multidisciplinary-based B.E., 1984, Groundwater quality and hydrogeology conceptual model of a fractured sedimentary bedrock of Devonian carbonate aquifers in Floyd and Mitchell aquitard–improved prediction of aquitard integrity: counties, Iowa: Iowa Geological Survey, Open File Hydrogeology Journal, November 2018, v. 26, issue 7, Report 84-2. p. 2133–2159.

Karst Landscape Units of Houston and Winona Counties 14 Steenberg, J.R., 2014a, Bedrock geology in Setterholm, Tipping, R.G., Green, J.A., and Alexander, E.C., Jr., 2001, D., Geologic atlas of Houston County, Minnesota: Karst features in Geologic atlas of Wabasha County, Minnesota Geological Survey, County Atlas Series Minnesota: Minnesota Geological Survey, County C-33, Part A, Plate 2. Atlas Series C-14, Part A, Plate 5. Steenberg, J.R., 2014b, Bedrock topography and depth to Tipping, R.G., Rantala, M., Alexander, E.C., Jr., Gao, Y., and bedrock in Setterholm, D., Geologic atlas of Houston Green, J.A., 2015, History and future of the Minnesota County, Minnesota: Minnesota Geological Survey, karst feature database: Proceedings of the 14th County Atlas Series C-33, Part A, Plate 4. Multidisciplinary Conference on Sinkholes and the Steenberg, J.R., 2014c, Bedrock geology in Setterholm, Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst, D., Geologic atlas of Winona County, Minnesota: p. 263–270. Minnesota Geological Survey, County Atlas Series Tipping, R.G., Runkel, A.C., Steenberg, J.R., Retzler, A.J., C-34, Part A, Plate 2. and Hoxmeir, J., 2019, Evaluation of temperature, Steenberg, J.R., 2014d, Bedrock topography and depth to stream flow, and hydrogeology impact on brook trout bedrock in Setterholm, D., Geologic atlas of Winona habitat. Report to the Legislative-Citizen Commission County, Minnesota: Minnesota Geological Survey, on Minnesota Resources, p. 12-13. County Atlas Series C-34, Part A, Plate 4. University of Minnesota, 2020, Karst feature inventory Steenberg, J.R., Tipping, R.G., and Runkel, A.C., 2014, points: University of Minnesota Department of Earth Geologic controls on groundwater and surface water and Environmental Sciences and the Minnesota flow in southeastern Minnesota and its impact Department of Natural Resources, accessed June on nitrate concentrations in streams: Minnesota 2020. Available on the Minnesota Geospatial Geological Survey, Open-File Report 14-03, 33 p. Commons website. Surber, T., 1920, Streams of southeastern Minnesota: USDA-NRCS, 2019 and 2020, Soil Survey Geographic Minnesota Game & Fish Department, Surveys and Database (SSURGO): U.S. Department of Agriculture– Investigations. Natural Resources Conservation Service. Data for Houston County, Minnesota and Winona County, Tipping, R.G., 1994, Southeastern Minnesota regional Minnesota, accessed July 2019 and June 2020. ground-water monitoring study–a report to the Southeast Minnesota Water Resources Board: Wheeler, B.J., 1993, Groundwater tracing in the Duschee Minnesota Geological Survey, Open-File Report 94-01, Creek Karst Basin in southeast Minnesota: University 122 p. of Minnesota, Master’s thesis. Available through the University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy. Tipping, R.G., Runkel, A.C., Alexander, E.C., Jr., Alexander, S.C., and Green, J.A., 2006, Evidence for hydraulic Witthuhn, K., and Alexander, E.C., Jr., 1995, Sinkholes heterogeneity and anisotropy in the mostly carbonate and sinkhole probability in Geologic atlas of Fillmore Prairie du Chien Group, southeastern Minnesota, USA: County, Minnesota: Minnesota Department of Natural Sedimentary Geology, v. 184, p. 305–330. Resources, County Atlas Series C-8, Part B, Plate 8.

Karst Landscape Units of Houston and Winona Counties

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