This
Plateau Separates The Rivers Flowing Into Hudson's Bay From Those
Flowing Into The Mississippi River.
The Mouse River valley, in the
western portion of Minnesota, is from ten to twenty miles broad; is
separated from the Missouri River by the Coteau du Missouri, some six
hundred feet high, and it is about the same level as the parallel
valley of the Missouri." (Report, ch.
4.)
M. Nicollet was a scientific or matter of fact man, who preferred to
talk about "erratic blocks" and "cretaceous formations" rather than to
indulge in poetic descriptions. The outline which follows, however, of
the western part of the territory is what he considers "a faint
description of this beautiful country." "The basin of the Upper
Mississippi is separated in a great part of its extent from that of
the Missouri, by an elevated plain; the appearance of which, seen from
the valley of the St. Peter's or that of the Jacques, looming as it
were a distant shore, has suggested for it the name of Coteau des
Prairies. Its more appropriate designation would be that of plateau,
which means something more than is conveyed to the mind by the
expression, a plain. Its northern extremity is in latitude 46 degrees,
extending to 43 degrees; after which it loses its distinctive
elevation above the surrounding plains, and passes into rolling
prairies. Its length is about two hundred miles, and its general
direction N. N. W. and S. S. E. Its northern termination (called Tete
du Couteau in consequence of its peculiar configuration) is not more
than fifteen to twenty miles across; its elevation above the level of
the Big Stone Lake is eight hundred and ninety feet, and above the
ocean one thousand nine hundred and sixteen feet.
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