Rice County

www.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rice_County_Minnesota_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Northfield_Highlighted.svg

Topography

http://www.co.rice.mn.us/uploadedcontent/forms/demmap.pdf

Climate

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:USAClimates.PNG

Dfb- Humid continental

This climate has warm, humid summers with storms occurring often.

Winters are cold and frequently have snow precipitation.

Average TemperatureTemperatures were taken in Faribault, MN, Rice County.

http://www.idcide.com/weather/mn/northfield.htm

Highest temperature on record is 104 F in 1988.

Lowest temperature on record is -36 F in 1972.

http://justfood.coop/free-saplings-for-northfielders-just-food/

http://gogreentravelgreen.com/green-travel-news/where-we-are-now-belize-to-minnesota/

Average Precipitation

http://www.idcide.com/weather/mn/northfield.htm

Measurements taken in Faribault, MN, Rice County.

http://www.3dsmaxresources.com/tutorial_display.php?id_tut=16

Bedrock Geology

ftp://mgssun6.mngs.umn.edu/pub3/c-9/c9_plt2_bedrock.pdf

Prairie Du Chien Group- Made up of dolostone, sandstone and shale.

The upper part of this group is a thin to medium, yellow gray dolostone that has scattered layers of quartzose sandstone and shale.

The lower section has a medium to thick bedded, yellow, gray dolostone which contains some pockets of quartzose sandstone.

Dolostone Bedrock

http://acad.carleton.edu/projects/ethanol/pdc-jaquifer.html

Bedrock Geology Cont.Decorah, Plateville, and Glenwood Formations - made up of limestone, shale and dolostone.

Decorah shale is grayish green, and has scattered beds of fine grained limestone in thin layers.

Platteville Formation is made up of limestone, and has very shale like dolostone mixed in with the limestone.

Glenwood Formation is greenish gray, sandy and has a layer of shale 3 to 5 feet thick.ftp://mgssun6.mngs.umn.edu/pub3/c-9/c9_plt2_bedrock.pdf

http://home.att.net/~bjgoetteman/MNGeolColumn.html

http://home.att.net/~bjgoetteman/MNGeolColumn.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenwood_Shale

More Bedrock GeologyFranconia Fromation- sandstone

Franconia, sandstone layer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platteville_Limestone

Jordan Sandstone- medium to coarse grained, friable, yellow, gray, quartzose sandstone with feldspathic sandstone in the mid to lower regions of the this formation.

Jordan Sandstone

http://www.crwp.net/About/AboutCRW.html

ftp://mgssun6.mngs.umn.edu/pub3/c-9/c9_plt2_bedrock.pdf

Soil

Lester-Hamel- Le SueurKilkenny-Derrynane-LerdalRacine-Littleton-LindstromClarioin-Nicollet-Webster

http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov/Manuscripts/MN131/0/pdfmaps/gsm.pdf

Eastern Half of Rice County

Soil

Western half of Rice county

http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov/Manuscripts/MN131/0/pdfmaps/gsm.pdf

Moland-Morton-MaxcrookHayden-Le Sueur-DundasHayden-HamelRacine-Kenyon-NerwoodsKenyon-Klinger-MaxfieldEstherville-Colo-Waukegan

Area/ Soil classification

Drainage Pattern

Parent Material

Surface Texture

Lester Well Drained

Till Loam

Hamel Poorly Drained

Alluvium or colluvium and till

Loam

Le Sueur Moderately well drained

Till Clay loam

Kilkenny Moderately well drained

Glaciolaclusterine deposits and till

Clay loam

Derrynane Poorly drained

Alluvium or colluvium and till

Clay loam

Lerdal Somewhat poorly drained

Glaciolacusterine deposits and till

Clay loam

Soil Cont.Area/ Soil classification

Drainage Pattern

Parent Material

Surface Texture

Racine Well drained

Glaciolacustrine deposits and till

Silt loam

Littleton Somewhat poorly drained

Alluvium or colluvium and till

Silt loam

Lindstrom Well drained

Alluvium or colluvium

Silt loam

Clarion Well drained

Till Loam

Nicollet Somewhat poorly drained

Till Clay loam

Webster Poorly drained

Till Clay loam

Main soil content of Rice Countyhttp://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov/Manuscripts/MN131/0/pdfmaps/gsm.pdf

Soil Cont.Parent Material Types Surface Material Types

AlluviumFormed from moving water such as rivers, streams, etc.ColluviumSmall to medium pebbles that are transported mainly by gravity.http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/gtr-168/09-lisle.html

Till(Glacial Till)Formed from the dragging of glacial activity.http://www.bcgrasslands.org/SiteCM/i/upload/04F0258613A64D5A1974E0ACF1ACFE69DCE75686.jpg

http://www.earthscienceworld.org/images/search/results.html?Keyword=Glacial%20Lakes

Glaciolacustrine Deposit Formed from sediment layering in glacial lakes.

Loam (course loam)- sandy, course to fine sand.

http://www.soils.umn.edu/academics/classes/soil2125/doc/lestrsw.htm

Clay loam (Fine loam)-may contain sandy clay, silty clay or clay. Smallest particle of soil composition.

http://www.core.org.cn/OcwWeb/Civil-and-Environmental-Engineering/1-322Spring-2005/CourseHome/index.htm

Silt loam (medium loam)- intermediate between course and fine loam. Very fine sand to courser clay loam.

http://www.uky.edu/Ag/Agronomy/Department/soils/landjudg/intermed.htm

Soil ErosionAreas more susceptible to high erosion rates.

http://www.soils.umn.edu/academics/classes/soil2125/doc/s10chap3.htm

http://www.soils.umn.edu/academics/classes/soil2125/doc/s10chap3.htm

http://www.soils.umn.edu/academics/classes/soil2125/doc/s10chap3.htm

http://www.co.rice.mn.us/uploadedcontent/forms/waterplan2.pdf

Three forms of water erosion.

Vegetation

http://www.co.rice.mn.us/uploadedcontent/forms/originalvegetation.pdf

PrairieWet PrairieAspen-OakOpen Oaks and Barren OaksHardwoods (Oak, Hickory, Basswood)Water

Vegetation Cont.PrairieWet PrairieAspen-OakOpen Oak and Barren Hardwoods

http://mnprairieroots.wordpress.com/2009/08/01/fishing-flowers-and-farming-rice-county-mn/

http://www.wisconsinbirds.org/Plan/habitats/WetPrairie.htm

http://anthropologylabs.umn.edu/wlana/first/part1/chapter1.php

http://web4.msue.msu.edu/mnfi/abstracts/ecology/Oak-pine_barrens.pdf

http://www.anokanaturalresources.com/res_mgnt/ecosystems/mesic_forest/mesic_images/WhtPineForest2.jpg

Land Features

http://www.co.rice.mn.us/uploadedcontent/forms/waterplan2.pdf

Seasonally Flooded basinMeadow Shallow marshDeep MarshShallow open waterShrub SwampWooded SwampBogsUpland system

Aquifers

Bodies of water

Buried aquiferExposed aquifer

Aquifer Recharge Area

http://www.co.rice.mn.us/uploadedcontent/forms/naturalresources.pdf

http://snr5.unl.edu/realtimewater/images/confined-unconfined-aquifer.gif

WatershedsRiverLake

Cannon River WatershedMinnesota River WatershedZumbro River Watershed

Cannon River

http://www.co.rice.mn.us/uploadedcontent/forms/naturalresources.pdf

All three watersheds have a dendritic drainage pattern.

GlaciersLaurentide Glacier

http://www.uleth.ca/vft/Oldman_River/Glaciation.jpg

Occurred between 95,000 and 20,000 years ago during the Quaternary Period

Rice County after the Laurentide Glacier.

The Laurentide Glacier left behind Till of the Bemis Moraine

http://www.d.umn.edu/~pmorton/4110/notes/001_Mn_Quaternary.pdfDes Moines Lobe

Esker

Eskers are located in central and north central Rice county.

They are formed when a glacier has a river running underneath it and when the glacier melts the river disappears and leaves an elevated river bed.

http://jove.geol.niu.edu/faculty/fischer/429_info/429trips/NIF/Kame_Kettle_Esker_Formation_files/image007.jpg

MoraineBemis Moraine, which was formed from the Des Moines Lobe during the Laurentide Glacier.

http://plantsci.sdstate.edu/woodardh/geology/eastern/Glacial_Features_Large/glacial_features_large.htm

The Bemis Moraine is a lateral moraine that was created during the Laurentide Glacier on the eastern side of the Des Moines Lobe.

ScarpClear Channel ScarpLocated mainly along the Cannon River.

http://www.belmont.sd62.bc.ca/teacher/geology12/photos/erosion/LandSlideScarp.jpg

Scarp

Flat-Topped Hill

http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/diary/perched_lake.jpg

Flat-Topped Hills are located in eastern Rice County.

Formed where saturated debris, unsorted by water filled low in the stagnant ice.

When the ice melts the debris is left behind creating a flat-topped hill.

Karst

Active

TransitionalBuried

http://www.co.rice.mn.us/uploadedcontent/forms/waterplan2.pdf

http://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/groundwater/karst.html

Photo inside a karst

http://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/groundwater/karst.html

Karsts form from acidic rain flowing through the ground and dissolving limestone rock.

Wind

http://www.state.mn.us/mn/externalDocs/Commerce/80_Meter_Wind_Speed_013106115153_80MeterWindSpeed.pdf

Rice County

Wind speed on average is between 16mph-18mph.

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~dopila/files/wind-turbine.jpg

Northfield in Rice County has several wind turbines.

Rice CountyRice county has a wide variety of physical features such as karsts and moraines.

There is diverse vegetation which ranges from prairie to hardwood forests.

Overall Rice County has a very unique history, climate and geology.

www.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rice_County_Minnesota_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Northfield_Highlighted.svg http://www.co.rice.mn.us/uploadedcontent/forms/demmap.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:USAClimates.PNG http://www.idcide.com/weather/mn/northfield.htm http://justfood.coop/free-saplings-for-northfielders-just-food/ http://gogreentravelgreen.com/green-travel-news/where-we-are-now-belize-to-minnesota http://www.idcide.com/weather/mn/northfield.htm http://www.3dsmaxresources.com/tutorial_display.php?id_tut=16 ftp://mgssun6.mngs.umn.edu/pub3/c-9/c9_plt2_bedrock.pdf http://home.att.net/~bjgoetteman/MNGeolColumn.html http://acad.carleton.edu/projects/ethanol/pdc-jaquifer.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenwood_Shale http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platteville_Limestone http://www.crwp.net/About/AboutCRW.html http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov/Manuscripts/MN131/0/pdfmaps/gsm.pdf http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/gtr-168/09-lisle.html http://www.bcgrasslands.org/SiteCM/i/upload/04F0258613A64D5A1974E0ACF1ACFE69DCE75686.jpg http://www.earthscienceworld.org/images/search/results.html?Keyword=Glacial%20Lakes http://www.soils.umn.edu/academics/classes/soil2125/doc/lestrsw.htm http://www.core.org.cn/OcwWeb/Civil-and-Environmental-Engineering/1-322Spring-2005/CourseHome/index.htm http://www.uky.edu/Ag/Agronomy/Department/soils/landjudg/intermed.htm

Bibliography

http://www.co.rice.mn.us/uploadedcontent/forms/waterplan2.pdf http://www.soils.umn.edu/academics/classes/soil2125/doc/s10chap3.htm http://www.co.rice.mn.us/uploadedcontent/forms/originalvegetation.pdf http://www.anokanaturalresources.com/res_mgnt/ecosystems/mesic_forest/mesic_images/WhtPineForest2.jpg http://web4.msue.msu.edu/mnfi/abstracts/ecology/Oak-pine_barrens.pdf http://anthropologylabs.umn.edu/wlana/first/part1/chapter1.php http://www.wisconsinbirds.org/Plan/habitats/WetPrairie.htm http://mnprairieroots.wordpress.com/2009/08/01/fishing-flowers-and-farming-rice-county-mn http://mnprairieroots.wordpress.com/2009/08/01/fishing-flowers-and-farming-rice-county-mn/ http://www.co.rice.mn.us/uploadedcontent/forms/waterplan2.pdf http://www.co.rice.mn.us/uploadedcontent/forms/naturalresources.pdf http://snr5.unl.edu/realtimewater/images/confined-unconfined-aquifer.gif http://www.uleth.ca/vft/Oldman_River/Glaciation.jpg http://www.d.umn.edu/~pmorton/4110/notes/001_Mn_Quaternary.pdf http://jove.geol.niu.edu/faculty/fischer/429_info/429trips/NIF/Kame_Kettle_Esker_Formation_files/image007.jpg http://plantsci.sdstate.edu/woodardh/geology/eastern/Glacial_Features_Large/glacial_features_large.htm http://www.belmont.sd62.bc.ca/teacher/geology12/photos/erosion/LandSlideScarp.jpg http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/diary/perched_lake.jpg http://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/groundwater/karst.html http://www.co.rice.mn.us/uploadedcontent/forms/waterplan2.pdf http://www.state.mn.us/mn/externalDocs/Commerce/80_Meter_Wind_Speed_013106115153_80MeterWindSpeed.pdf http://www-personal.umich.edu/~dopila/files/wind-turbine.jpg

Bibliography