Dalles of St. Croix

The basalt that forms the Dalles was laid down by volcanoes in Precambian times. The Dalles themselves were formed when the St. Croix River drained an enormous glacial lake. The flow was so tremendous that whirlpools caused holes to form on the river bottom, and when a rock would finally get trapped in one of these holes it would grind around until enormous potholes were formed. These are still visible today. The Dalles today is a busy tourist area. Interstate Park runs along both sides of the river in the area of the Dalles. On the Wisconsin side, one of the interpretive signs relates that while Minnesota has bigger and deeper potholes, they are more numerous on the Wisconsin side. What could be a better example of what Minnesota was and is, than the Dalles? From volcanoes and glaciers, through Native settlement and European migration. The fur-trading voyageurs, lumbermen, merchants, and farmers that called this place home. To the present day as a busy tourist area close to the biggest Metro area between Chicago and Denver.