V; GPO 1975 58546392 Fly over southeastern Wisconsin at moderate height; The great sequence of events that did so much to to fly over Wisconsin, but you can get a good intro­ Ice Age then observe the landscape at ground level. You'll notice shape the landscape of the northern half of North duction to ice-age geology by visiting the areas set that certain distinctively shaped hills and ridges occur America and Europe spanned perhaps 1,500,000 aside as the Ice Age National Scientific Reserve. repeatedly, and in patterns that rule out the possibility ADMINISTRATION/INFORMATION NATIONAL SCIENTIFIC RESERVE • WISCONSIN years. The Wisconsinan stage, the latest series of Ice Age National Scientific Reserve is a unit of the of random distribution. These recurring landforms are glacial advances and retreats, began possibly 70,000 National Park System administered by the Wisconsin Ice Age Nationel Scientific Reserve was established on mementos of the Wisconsin glaciation, the most recent years ago and ended only 1 0,000 years ago. In fact, Department of Natural Resources. This cooperative May 29, 1971, as a unit of the U.S. Department of the major episode in Earth's geological history. Because we can't even be certain that we are not still in the Ice planning and development effort is concerned with a Interior's National Park Service to be administered by each was shaped by the ice sheet under a special set of Age, merely enjoying a warm period between two nationally significant glacial landscape and its human the State of Wisconsin, Department of Natural conditions, it is fairly easy for students of glacial glacial advances. and natural history. Geologists have found that many Resources. The director of the State Bureau of Parks geology to recognize them. For example, you should This knowledge, strangely, is only about a century of Wisconsin's most outstanding Ice Age features had (Pyare Square Building, 4610 University Avenue, Box be able to identify some of the drumlins—the most old. Until the mid-nineteenth century no one could ac­ been removed or partially destroyed by man. The late 450, Madison, Wisconsin 53701) is in overall charge of familiar of Wisconsin glacial features. Just imagine a count satisfactorily for drumlins, kames, eskers, kettles, Raymond Zillmer, a Milwaukee lawyer who studied and the operation of the National Scientific Reserve. half of a hard-boiled egg (cut lengthwise) laid on its moraines , and other such phenomena. It was the enjoyed these glacial landforms over the years, felt that flat surface; stretched out to about 1,000 meters great Swiss naturalist Louis Agassiz who announced to those remaining should be preserved. The efforts of State of Wisconsin /Department of Natural Resources (3,300 feet) in length, half that in width, and about 25 a skeptical world the bold new theory of continental Zillmer and others resulted in passage by Congress meters ( 80 feet) in height; and covered with grass glaciation. Today it is universally accepted and is the in 1 971 of legislation providing for such protection. and trees. This is an approximation of a drumlin. focus of a whole branch of geologic The Ice Age National Scientific Reserve consists of Drumlins are deposits of rock and clay laid down and investigation. You may not be nine separate units located across the State from Lake streamlined by the moving ice of the glacier. It is often a geologist, and you may not Michigan on the east to the St. Croix River on the Min­ possible, from their alignment and from associated evi­ get a chance nesota-Wisconsin border. Each unit possesses features dence, to determine which way the ice was moving at significant in the story of Wisconsin glaciation. Four the time they were made. Typically, the units are existing State Parks or Forests: The Kettle small end of the "egg" points in the di­ Moraine State Forest, and Devils Lake, Mill Bluff, and rection of ice flow. The State of Wis­ INTERSTATE Interstate Parks. Lands for the five undeveloped Ice UNIT consin has about 5,000 drumlins Age areas are currently being acquired. In the and thousands of other landforms recogniz­ near future, each of the nine units will have able as having been born of the ice sheet. TWO CREEKS new or expanded interpretive facilities BURIED FOREST Much of the State's scenic interest and services. UNIT lies in these landforms and the life communities that have developed on them. MILL BLUFF UNIT SHEBOYGAN MARSH UNIT DEVILS The (green) area of the map LAKE KETTLE shows that part of present-day UNIT MORAINE UNIT Wisconsin that was not covered National Park Service by any stage of the Wisconsin ice sheet. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR CROSS PLAINS UNIT CAMPBELLSPORT DRUMLINS UNIT SHEBOYGAN A SUGGESTED TOUR ROUTE MARSH UNIT The close proximity of the Cempbellsport Drumlins to Just west of the small Town of Elkhart Lake, lying 30 the Kettle Moraine and Sheboygan Marsh offers you an kilometers (19 miles) west of Sheboygan via Wis. 23 opportunity to enjoy a leisurely scenic tour of three of and 67, is a marsh-covered area of thousands of hec­ the nine Ice Age units. tares, once the site of a large glacial lake. Sheboygan State Highway 67 joins the Cempbellsport Drumlins Marsh County Park comprises almost one-half of this with the Kettle Moraine Ice Age unit 26 kilometers (16 environment. A rich source of wetland plant and animal miles) to the east. County Trunk P through the village life, it also demonstrates the effects of man's efforts to of Glenbeulah at the north end of the Kettle Moraine control and use a rich marshland. takes you to the Sheboygan Marsh unit. As the ice of the Green Bay lobe moved southeasterly, it caused the formation of a large basin. Glacial Lake Sheboygan was formed in this basin by water from the melting glacier. This same melt water carried sediment which (in combination with sediment carried into the TWO CREEKS BURIED FOREST UNIT basin by the Sheboygan River following the glacier's retreat) gradually filled the Lake. Today a large marsh were planted between the hills and on their gently slop­ This area is world famous among geologists for the overlying more than 30 meters (100 feet) of sediment ing sides. Livestock grazed on the steeper slopes, and evidence it contains of advances and retreats of the is all that remains of Glacial Lake Sheboygan. the hilltops were often left wooded to provide firewood Wisconsin glacier. Indians, attracted by the good hunting and fishing and fenceposts. Modern farm machinery now During an interglacial period, a forest of spruce, hem­ and plentiful plant foods, settled in the area. Later, allows farmers to till more of this land, but many lock, and associated plants grew along the shore of farmers attempted to drain the flat marshland for agri­ of the drumlins still wear forested caps. Lake Michigan. A later period of glacial advance covered cultural uses. Remnants of their canals remind Eventually three scenic overlooks along a self-guid­ and preserved the vegetation in a layer of glacial clay, us of their failures. A dam within the ing tour route will be developed at the Campbellsport sand, gravel, and boulders. Erosional forces uncovered county park controls the marsh water Drumlin unit. This route will include interpretive signs this organic layer; by carefully examining the soil above level, and natural succession continues. to help you better understand the drumlins and their and below it, scientists discovered much about the most interpretive facilities are not yet available, but a com­ part in the glacial story. recent period of glaciation. Radiocarbon dating shows munity-oriented picnic, boating, and fishing area is near While overlooks and exhibits have not yet been con­ that this forest was alive 11,850 years ago. Water- the dam off County Trunk P immediately west of Elk­ structed, roads in the area offer an opportunity for a deposited materials indicate that twice after the ice re­ hart Lake. Future development will include nature trails leisurely scenic drive. Along the way you'll see the pat­ treated this land was covered by waters about 100 to facilitate observation of the marsh's abundant plant terns of man's use of the land. meters above the present-day levels of Lake Michigan. and animal life. Exhibits on a high hill overlooking the As you view the rounded contours of the drumlins, This adds to our knowledge of the effect of glaciers and marsh will tell how the glaciers formed Lake Sheboygan try to imagine this landscape when it was covered by their melt water on levels of the Great Lakes. and how the lake became a rich marshland. hundreds of meters of glacial ice. Future plans include an archeological dig to reveal the buried organic materials. Exhibits will show how the environment was changed during glacial periods, the present distribution of some of the plants buried here, and how and why the lake levels changed.

CROSS PLAINS UNIT FEES This area provides striking evidence of the glacier's Entrance and use fees are charged farthest venture into the Driftless Area, an "island" of at some units of the Scientific Reserve. nearly 4,000,000 hectares (9,600,000 acres) in Both the Federal Golden Eagle and Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin that was appar­ Golden Age Passports and Wisconsin ently never covered by ice. Its high bluffs, rugged cliffs, Department of Natural Resources and well drained river valleys are in marked contrast to Admission Stickers are honored in much of Wisconsin's topography. The area provides a payment of these fees. glimpse into the past; much of Wisconsin looked like this before the visits of the glaciers. At Cross Plains, where the glacier's movement ceased, the end moraine is relatively thin and rests on bedrock. At one point just a few meters from the moraine are WE'RE JOINING THE METRIC WORLD sculptured limestone outcrops that would have been destroyed had glacial ice covered them—clues indica­ The National Park Service is ting the line of farthest glacial advance. introducing metric meas­ Located above Wisconsin's Black Earth Creek Valley, urements in its publications to Superlative among the Ice Age units from the stand­ moulin kames here are further accentuated because Forest. Thousands come each year to camp, hike, fish, this area also provides evidence of the formation of help Americans become acquainted point of variety, abundance, and magnitude of its glacial they rise from a broad, flat, plain formed by sediments or just enjoy the varied landscape. small marginal proglacial lakes and marginal drainage- with the metric system and to features is the northern unit of the Kettle Moraine State that inwashed between the two moraines. Interpretation of Ice Age features is an important ways. One of these drainageways actually cut back make interpretation more Forest. Located 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Mil­ Winding through parts of the Kettle Moraine Ice Age part of the State forest program. Roadside markers under the ice sheet itself, forming a deep gorge running meaningful for park visitors waukee, this Ice Age area can be reached easily via U.S. unit is Parnell Esker, one of the best known examples of along a self-guiding auto trail tell part of the glacial north and south through the unit. from other nations. 45 and Wis. 67 from Milwaukee or Fond du Lac, or via this glacial feature—a sinuous ridge formed by water story. The Glacial Hiking Trail winds over and past many The entire unit remains in private ownership and is Wis. 23 from Sheboygan. The Kettle Moraine Scenic running beneath the ice sheet. Portions of other eskers significant features. Naturalists present programs on not yet open to the public. In the future, exhibits will Highway provides access to and circulation through the not destroyed by erosion or by man's activities can also glacial history along with other programs of human and explain the glacial story. An interpretive trail will allow State Forest. be seen here. natural history. visitors to view the end moraine, sculptured limestone The famous Kettle Moraine was formed as the ice of For a long time, Indians lived here, foraging, hunting, Information about these trails and interpretive pro­ formations, and glacial drainageways, and will provide a the Green Bay lobe and the Lake Michigan lobe came and fishing. Early settlers found the flat inwash land be­ grams, as well as the recreational facilities of the area, splendid view of the Driftless Area and the Black Earth together. Blocks of ice buried within the deposited ma­ tween the rugged, forested hills valuable for farming. may be obtained at the State Forest Headquarters at Creek Valley. A self-guiding auto and biking tour from terial melted to form the numerous kettles that dot the In recent years, the area has been increasingly impor­ Mauthe Lake, 11 kilometers (7 miles) south of Dundee Madison to Cross Plains will follow the end moraine surface and give the rugged interlobate moraine its name. tant for recreational purposes, and the State of Wiscon­ off County Trunk G. closely, with views of both glaciated and unglaciated Aside from the diverse sizes and shapes of the kettles, sin has been acquiring land for Kettle Moraine State Additional interpretive displays and exhibits, an Ice landscape. many other splendid examples of glacial features cre­ Age Visitor Center, and increased naturalist programs To see the contrast between the Driftless Area to the ated by ice and water action are present. Here are are planned for the future. west and the glaciated lands to the east and north, drive found some of the world's finest examples of moulin west from Madison on Wis. 151, west on County High­ kames. These are conical hills formed when material is way PD, Shady Oak Lane, and Timber Lane, and then washed by streams into holes in the glacial ice. Many north to Cross Plains along Cleveland Road. MILL BLUFF CHIPPEWA INTERSTATE UNIT UNIT MORAINE UNIT

One of the most startling of the Ice Age units is Mill A short 10-kilometer (6-mile) drive north of the Town The westernmost of the nine Ice Age units comprises Bluff. Rising abruptly from the relatively flat terrain of of Bloomer along State Highway 40 takes you to a an area of ancient lava flows, large water-formed pot­ the Camp Douglas area along Int. 90-94 are towering woodland of jumbled hills set with more than 300 kettle holes in the hard lava, and an outstanding scenic gorge rocky buttes that capture the imagination of passing lakes, ponds and pools standing above the surrounding By visiting these four units of the scientific reserve, you of the St. Croix River, once a principal glacial drainage- travelers. Two U.S. 12 and 16 interchanges of Int. cultivated plains. This is the Chippewa Moraine Ice Age can see various features left by glaciation, including way. Served by a system of existing State park roads 90-94—at Oakdale, 5 kilometers (3 miles) west, and at unit, an unusual landscape formed by the advancing (from left): Devils Lake and the glacial path through the joining U.S. 8 on the north and County Trunk S on the Camp Douglas, 3 kilometers (2 miles) east—provide Chippewa lobe of the Wisconsin glacial epoch. bluffs in the southeast corner; rocky buttes rising south, Interstate Ice Age unit lies 100 kilometers (62 easy access to the unit's north-south bisecting access Travelers on Int. 94 may reach this Ice Age unit by abruptly from the plains at Mill Bluff; kettle ponds at miles) northeast of Minneapolis-St. Paul via Int. 35 and DEVILS exiting on U.S. 53 north to Bloomer. There, Wis. 40 Chippewa; the deep gorge of the St. Croix River and U.S. 8. Its landforms attest to the tremendous erosive LAKE UNIT and circulation road, County Trunk W. Once small rocky islands in a now-extinct glacial lake, north will take you to County Trunk M. A drive east on large potholes at Interstate Park. force of glacial melt waters. Nowhere in Wisconsin is the dramatic force of con­ the imposing buttes of the Mill Bluff Ice Age unit are County M routes you through the heart of this hilly, Before glacial ice moved into Wisconsin, the St. tinental glaciation more apparent than at Devils Lake. landmarks to travelers of Wisconsin's Interstate system forested, lake-dotted area. Croix River flowed farther west through Minnesota Situated 5 kilometers (3 miles) south of Baraboo and just as they were to settlers following the flat lands of While to the east the Green Bay and Lake Michigan than it does today. Glacial deposits blocked the old only 32 kilometers (20 miles) from the popular Wiscon­ the lake bottom. Together, the remnant glacial lake and lobes moved down the lowlands into Illinois, the river channel and melt water cut new drainage patterns sin Dells area, this unit of the Ice Age is served by Wis. its hardened sandstone islands provide an interesting Chippewa lobe moved more slowly, retarded by the near the river's present location. 1 59 and 1 23 from the north, Wis. 1 1 3 from the north story. Blocking the channels of rivers and streams as massive northern Wisconsin highlands. To the north and east, the glacial ice scoured out the and east, and South Shore Drive from the west. Major they moved, glacial ice sheets formed temporary lakes Driving north from Chippewa Falls along U.S. 53 Lake Superior Basin. Ice blocked the eastern drainages access along these highways is from U.S. 12 1.5 kilo­ throughout Wisconsin. Ice of the Green Bay lobe you'll see scenic, wooded hills that rise from a flat of ancestral Lake Superior and melt waters filled it to meters (1 mile) west of Devils Lake and from Int. 90-94 moving against the highlands of the Driftless Area outwash plain, marking the end moraine of the Chippewa almost 200 meters (650 feet) above its present level. interchanges 20 kilometers (1 2 miles) east and north of blocked the channel of the Wisconsin River, forming lobe. Unlike the higher hills of the interlobate moraine We call this former vast inland sea Glacial Lake Duluth. the unit. one such lake now known as Glacial Lake Wisconsin. in the Kettle Moraine Ice Age unit, the features here are For hundreds of years, waters of Glacial Lake Duluth Millions of years before the Ice Age, the ancient This glacial lake eventually covered 460,000 hectares those of a stagnant or "dead-ice" moraine. flooded southward, down the St. Croix River Valley. Wisconsin River cut a gorge, more than 250 meters (1,150,000 acres) to a depth of 20 to 25 meters (60 As the ice lay stagnant, many cracks, crevasses and At St. Croix Falls, the river, using rocks as cutting (800 feet) deep, through the ancient quartzite of the to 80 feet). The wave action and currents of its waters breaks formed in its surface. Debris carried in melt tools, cut a narrow, steep-walled gorge through layers Baraboo Range. Later, ice of the Green Bay glacial eroded materials from sandstone outliers of the Drift- water filled many of these fissures, forming a variety of sandstone and Precambrian lava. Water cascading lobe spread around these hills, damming both ends of less Area, depositing tons of suspended glacial materials of ridges. The breaking, "rotten" ice, covered by debris, through the gorge created whirlpools. Scientists believe the narrow gorge with ice and moraine and creating the in the lake. Some stacks of hardened sandstone, how­ later melted to form kettles. Many small, shallow that the Lake o' the Dalles, located within this Ice Age Devils Lake Basin. ever, did not erode as readily. They survive today as kettles now mark this moraine, producing a curious unit, was once a gigantic whirlpool, and examination of For many years the ice sheet slowly struggled up the islands rising from the flat plain that marks the old knob-and-swale topography. its bottom materials have revealed clues about the plants slopes of the Baraboo Hills. During this time, melt water lake bed. One of the most interesting features of the dead-ice and animals inhabiting the area after the glacier's retreat. pouring off the two glacial fronts carried tons of sedi­ Indians, early explorers, and pioneers used these moraine are ice-walled lake plains. The features began Potholes of varying sizes were carved by rocks caught ments into the large lake then filling the gorge. Today, bluffs as trail guideposts; and, to avoid the uneven as moulin kames—conical piles of debris under the ice. in these currents. Large potholes up to about 5 meters Devils Lake lies atop a hundred meters (325 feet) of this topography of the Driftless Area, railroad and highway As the glacier melted down and thinned, large holes (16 feet) deep located high above the river attest to the glacial debris, and its morainal dams form broad hills at builders used the flat land of the old lake bed. opened in its surface. Water pouring into these holes tremendous volume of water that cut this gorge. Below either end of the gorge. If you view the morainal dams Mill Bluff State Park protects the bluffs and spires of dumped great amounts of debris, often filling them to the gorge the river cut a wide, deep valley for nearly 80 forming Devils Lake and realize that the Wisconsin this area and offers limited opportunities for camping, the surrounding ice surface. Lakes formed as the under- kilometers (50 miles) before joining the Mississippi River now flows about 1 5 kilometers (9 miles) to the picnicking and swimming. Hiking trails wind through ice drainages were blocked. Filled by inwashing debris. River.

east, you can appreciate how huge the glaciers were. they became flat lake beds. When the glaciers melted In 1900, the State of Wisconsin made the Dalles of The vegetation within Devils Lake State Park is varied. completely, circular hills with flat or dish-shaped tops the St. Croix its first state park. Later, Minnesota made Remnants of plants now associated with more northern appeared. Within the Chippewa Moraine are several of its side of the river a state park and the two were climes are found in cool, sheltered areas, while on the these large, elevated inwash plains. designated Interstate Park. Three campgrounds, hiking dry, high bluffs prairie species grow. This variety of As the moraine formed, melt waters carried sediment trails, a swimming beach and the beauty of the river vegetation attracts an outstanding array of birds and off its front, forming a large outwash plain. Farms now gorge and surrounding forested land attract many other animals. occupy the flat land of this outwash, providing a con­ visitors to this Ice Age unit. Many people believe the scenery at Devils Lake to be trast to the wooded hills of the moraine. Ice Age interpretation at Interstate will complement the most spectacular in Wisconsin. More than 1.5 At present there are no facilities at Chippewa and expand the park's present program. The creation of million persons come each year to camp in the park's Moraine; but more than 400 hectares (1,000 acres) of the Dalles through action of glacial waters will be the 450 campsites, to hike on the trails, and to swim, fish, the Ice Age unit lie within the Chippewa County Forest, prominent story. Glacial movement in northwest or sail on Devils Lake. Others picnic or simply enjoy the affording opportunities for hiking and other recreational Wisconsin and its effects will also be covered. Today, a beauty of the 2064-hectare (5100-acre) State Park. activities. Although land acquisition has begun, most of number of hiking trails afford splendid views of the Interpretive exhibits in the park nature center explain the island remnants of Glacial Lake Wisconsin. From the unit's remaining 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres) are narrow St. Croix River gorge. Information on these the geologic history and the formation of Devils Lake. atop these spires, the broad lake bed, features of the still privately owned. Please respect the rights of trails and interpretive services may be obtained at Naturalist programs and guided walks allow visitors to Driftless Area, and other bluffs may be seen. property owners while exploring this land. park headquarters. learn more of the park's geologic, glacial, and natural Future interpretive displays will help visitors under­ In the future an interpretive center, exhibits, and history. Information on these services may be obtained stand the formation of this large lake. New and improved displays will explain the dead-ice moraine of this Ice Age at park headquarters at the north end of the lake. trails will provide a means to explore the old lake bed unit and its features. Hiking trails and a self-guiding auto Future facilities and services will include a new inter­ and view the steep-walled buttes and rocks. and biking tour will provide opportunities to view pretive center, trails, and self-guiding hiking and tour firsthand many of the unit's glacial features. routes which will expand the park's interpretive program.

THE GLACIAL STORY USING AND PROTECTING THE SCIENTIFIC RESERVE

The Wisconsin of today is not the Wisconsin of the own pressure it was changed to ice. In time this pro­ and leaving undrained, rolling lands. This layer of debris, have been destroyed as man removed the water-sorted Use the Ice Age National Scientific Reserve care­ Ice Age. Each year we see the face of northern America duced an ice sheet more than 1 600 meters (1 mile) varying from a few centimeters to a hundred meters or sands and gravels they contain. fully and help us protect and preserve its resources. altered by the cycle of the seasons. Green summers thick. The sheer mass of this ice produced pressures more, is the legacy of the glaciers. Huge lakes were formed when the glaciers blocked Protect wildlife and leave shrubs and flowers for give way to the varying hues of autumn. In winter, that caused it to spread outward. Year by year and The glaciers did not advance and retreat in one con­ natural drainages with the bulk of their ice and deposits. others to enjoy. fingers of ice form on shallow ponds and gently falling meter by meter it moved across the land, engulfing soil tinuous movement. During a period of thousands of As the glaciers retreated northward, many of these lakes Be careful with fire. Build fires only in grills, fire­ snowflakes cover the land in a blanket of white. and rock and incorporating them into its mass. Trillions years the glacial ice moved slowly forward, stopped, drained, leaving broad, flat lake beds that are now rich places, or fire rings provided. Spring arrives: warm breezes and sunlight thaw the of tons of materials were lifted, ground, and mixed to­ retreated, and moved forward again. Suspended mate­ agricultural lands. Large marshes providing rich habitat Place refuse in containers provided. snow and ice, and winter's grip is released to reveal gether in glacial ice as they were carried southward. rial would be deposited at the glacier's outer edge as for birds and other wildlife have developed in other old Keep pets on a leash and under physical control the pastel hues of spring's rebirth. Over the million years of the Ice Age, many meters the front melted and slowed. During periods of glacial lake beds. Many thousands of years of gradually warm­ at all times. But during a recent period of geologic time this land of materials were removed from hills and bluffs; land advance much of this same material was lifted and ing climate forced the glaciers to retreat to the northern Operate motor vehicles only where permitted. did not undergo such change. Great areas lay under was leveled and the enormous weight of the glaciers pushed into ridges or moraines. latitude of their origin. Plant and animal life driven Please remember that some lands in the Scientific southward by the glacial advance again began moving thick layers of ice. For more than a million years, in at even caused the earth's surface beneath to depress. Materials were deposited at the leading edge of the Reserve are not in public ownership. RESPECT northward. Today, in some locations, relict populations least four major periods of glacial advances, ice covered Variations in topography and snowfall caused the ice sheets, forming end moraines—bands of hills PRIVATE PROPERTY AND THE RIGHTS OF OTHERS. much of Canada and the northern United States. massive ice sheet to move across the land at an uneven marking the farthest points of the glacial advance of plants associated with cooler northern climates These four glacial stages, Nebraskan, Kansan, llli- pace. While the glaciers could move more easily down across the State. occur in deep gorges and valleys. SAFETY noian, and Wisconsinan, are named for their most south­ river valleys and drainages, contact with massive hills Although the end moraine is no longer a continuous Man and His Role . . . The safety of you and those with you depends erly advances. slowed their movement as they laboriously crept up the band of hills because of erosion by rain, frost, wind, and As plants and animals again reclaimed the land, no­ upon your judgment. Be careful at all times, and The latest, Wisconsinan, stage covered much of the slopes. Higher upland areas caused the ice sheet to running water, it is useful to scientists in their studies of madic man (Paleoindians) arrived also. Small groups please impress safety precautions upon your chil­ northern United States from the Atlantic coast to the separate into tongues or lobes of ice moving outward glacial movements. followed the game and foraged for plants. Over the dren! Many of the units have rugged terrain, rela­ Rocky Mountains, as recently as 1 2,000 years ago. No­ from the mass. At some points within the moraines, large blocks of years their numbers grew and many tribes evolved. tively isolated areas, and large bodies of water. where is the evidence of the glaciers better preserved Four major lobes of the Wisconsin Glacier are recog­ ice buried under a layer of debris melted and the soil The extensive waterways left by the glaciers provided, Drive carefully. than across Wisconsin. Myriad lakes and ponds, for­ nized across the State: Superior, Chippewa, Green Bay, above caved in, creating a depression, or kettle. Today, relatively easy transportation routes for early and mod­ When hiking, STAYON DESIGNATED TRAILS. ested hills and ridges, and gently rolling to perfectly and Lake Michigan lobes. Wisconsin's glacially formed landscape is dotted with ern man. The wetlands also provided homes for fish, Swim only in authorized areas when lifeguards level farmlands remind us of the glacier's visit. lakes, ponds, marshes, and swamps marking these Mark on the Land. . . fowl, and furbearing animals. It was this combination are on duty. kettles. that attracted early explorers. A Moving Ice Sheet. . . The glacial story of Wisconsin is told by remaining Always be careful with campfires and when Water from melting glaciers created many features. To understand the changes the glaciers brought, we formations. We can only speculate about what Wisconsin The waterways were important in locating the first using gas stoves and heaters. As melt water running along the surface of the ice must first grasp their magnitude. looked like before the glaciers. Undoubtedly, much of permanent settlements. Forests seemed to spread un­ If you injure yourself or become ill, contact the sheet cascaded off the glacial face or plunged into holes Over periods of thousands of years the cold of the it was well drained land like the southwestern portion of endingly across the land, and soon man was harvesting park office or nearest law enforcement agency in the ice sheet, the sand, gravel, and rocks carried by arctic climates moved southward. Falling snow did not Wisconsin, an area left virtually untouched by glaciers the timber and shipping it east via the waterways. The office for assistance in securing proper medical the water formed conical hills known as kames. Water melt but accumulated year after year, and under its and known today as the Driftless Area. relatively flat land left by the glaciers was fertile and attention. running beneath the ice mass deposited glacial debris to As glacial ice advanced southward, hills and bluffs readily adapted to farming. Soon much of Wisconsin form long, sinuous ridges we call eskers. often were sheared off right down to bedrock. As the became farm land. Besides providing easy transportation, glacial front retreated, however, glacial debris sus­ Few of these relatively fragile formations remain, the water draining the land provided power to run mills. pended within the ice was deposited, filling depressions because the ice or water quickly eroded them. Others