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The Minnesota River Valley is rich in
geologic formations.
The Minnesota River (formerly called the St. Peter River) occupies the
valley of Glacial River Warren, the river system that drained Glacial
Lake
Agassiz.
Some of the youngest rocks in Minnesota lie in the Hollandale Embayment of southeast Minnesota. Most of these are covered by glacial till but along the Minnesota River Valley enough till has been removed that there are outcrops to be observed. These rocks were formed during the Paleozoic time period and are mostly carbonate (limestone and dolomite) and sandstone. |
| Approaching St. Peter from the north on a county road there is very little evidence that the landscape will change quickly. In the distance there is what looks like a ridge of trees but the adjacent land is smooth with rich, fertile soil producing abundant crops. |  |
| A few miles north of St. Peter the landscape begins to change. Here you can see what looks like the start of rolling hills but it is not a series of rolling hills or any other landform left by glaciers. |  |
| The once flat prairie opens up to reveal a large river valley. At the bottom of the valley one expecting to find a rather large river, finds instead only a small creak. This is one of the river systems that fed the Glacial River Warren about 12,000 years ago. At the horizon about 2 miles away is the city of St. Peter, almost obscured from view as it sits in the River Warren valley. |  |
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At the intersection of Highway 22 at the outskirts of St. Peter. It doesn't look like you are only a 100 or so yards from a community of 10,000 people that would be home to Minnesota's State Capitol if not for some legislative trickery. |
| A closer camera view from the same position shows the St. Peter City sign on the right side of the road and across the horizon the other side of Glacial River Warren. |  |
| Looking west it is possible to see the moraines left by the Des Moines Lobe of the late Wisconsin Glacial period. The photos below show the Highway 99 bridge in St. Peter and the highway in the distance after it has crossed the Minnesota River. |  |
