Exit78 Photo of the Day #134
In 2013, we took a roundabout, meandering route on our way to visit Jessica and family in Wisconsin. Part of it was through western Minnesota.
Minnesota River Valley National Scenic Byway, Minnesota, September 7, 2013 (Pentax K-r)
Minnesota River Valley Scenic Byway (HowStuffWorks.com)
Historical Qualities of the Minnesota River Valley Scenic Byway
Once a wild and untamed river valley, the land of the Minnesota River Valley Scenic Byway used to belong solely to the Dakotas. The land was rich and fertile and seemed ripe for the picking, yet struggles erupted during the same years that the Civil War was raging.
In 1862, the largest and bloodiest Native American war in the history of the United States occurred. For ten years, the land was divided between the Dakota people and new settlers and the first reservations were developed, but the Dakotas eventually wanted their land and their way of life back. The result was a six-week war in which many settlers and Dakotas were killed.
When the war was over, Abraham Lincoln pardoned many of the more than 300 Dakota men who were going to be hanged. The remaining 38 men became part of the largest mass execution in U.S. history.
Natural Qualities of the Minnesota River Valley Scenic Byway
When you aren’t driving through enchanting towns and pastoral fields, you see that the land is overtaken by nature and the wilderness that’s native to Minnesota. Prairies and woodlands combine to form natural areas full of plants and animals. The natural areas along the byway are perfect places to see the Minnesota River Valley’s natural ecosystems.
The Minnesota River is now gentle and calm. However, the river valley was once filled by the Glacial River Warren. The glacial river carved the valley down into ancient bedrock and exposed outcrops of gneiss. The valley topography varies from one to five miles in width and from 75 to 200 feet deep. The Minnesota River flows from the Hudson/Mississippi Continental Divide in Browns Valley through the steep bluffs and low floodplain area that characterize one of the most impressive landscapes in Minnesota.
(Note: I am also posting photos in a series called Photography Now & Then at Haw-Creek.com)
Series notes:
- The photos in this series are (usually) randomly selected from a batch of photos specifically “curated” for Exit78 Photo of the Day.
- Each photo in this series is an “original work” – a copyright term – of Michael Goad.
