The Coteau des Prairies is a
plateau
In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...
approximately 200 miles in length and 100 miles in width (320 by 160 km), rising from the
prairie
Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
flatlands in eastern
South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large po ...
, southwestern
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...
, and northwestern
Iowa
Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
. The southeast portion of the Coteau comprises one of the distinct
regions of Minnesota, known as
Buffalo Ridge.
The
flatiron
Flatiron or flat iron may refer to various things, often in the shape of a wedge:
Objects
*Clothes iron
* Hair iron
Places
* Flatiron Building, New York City, at the intersection of 5th & Broadway
**Flatiron District, New York City, named afte ...
-shaped plateau was named by early French explorers from
New France
New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...
(
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...
), ''coteau'' meaning "hill" in
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
; the general term ''coteau'' has since been used in English to describe any upland dividing ridge.
The plateau is composed of thick
glacial
A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betwe ...
deposits, the remnants of many repeated glaciations, reaching a composite thickness of approximately 900 feet (275 m). They are underlain by a small ridge of resistant
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...
shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especiall ...
. During the last (
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
) Ice Age, two lobes of the Laurentide glacier, the James lobe on the west and the Des Moines lobe on the east, appear to have parted around the pre-existing plateau and further deepened the lowlands flanking the plateau.
The plateau has numerous small glacial lakes and is drained by the
Big Sioux River
The Big Sioux River is a tributary of the Missouri River in eastern South Dakota and northwestern Iowa in the United States. It flows generally southwardly for ,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataTh ...
in South Dakota and the
Cottonwood River in Minnesota.
Pipestone deposits on the plateau have been quarried for hundreds of years by
Native Americans, who use the prized, brownish-red mineral to make their sacred
ceremonial pipe
A ceremonial pipe is a particular type of smoking pipe, used by a number of cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Americas in their sacred ceremonies. Traditionally they are used to offer prayers in a religious ceremony, to make a ceremonial ...
s. The quarries are located at
Pipestone National Monument in the southwest corner of
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...
and in adjacent
Minnehaha County, South Dakota
Minnehaha County is a County (United States), county on the eastern border of the U.S. state, state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 197,214, making it the state's most populous county. It con ...
.
Numerous wind farms have been built on the area's surface to take advantage of the high average wind speeds.
Photos from North Dakota
File:CoteauDesPrairiesFromNorth.jpg, Northern tip of Coteau des Prairies, as seen from 139th Ave SE near Havana, ND
File:CoteauDesPrairiesFromNortheast.JPG, Coteau des Prairies as seen from the northeast, near Lidgerwood, ND
File:HeadOfCoteauDesPrairies-fromNE.JPG, The northern head of the Coteau des Prairies, as seen from the Northeast near Lidgerwood, ND.
See also
*
Missouri Plateau
References
External links
USGS Siteon the Coteau des Prairies
Glacial Historyof Coteau des Prairies (
University of South Dakota
The University of South Dakota (USD) is a public research university in Vermillion, South Dakota. Established by the Dakota Territory legislature in 1862, 27 years before the establishment of the state of South Dakota, USD is the flagship uni ...
).
{{coord, 44.0000, N, 96.3167, W, source:wikidata, display=title
Great Plains
Plateaus of the United States
Landforms of Iowa
Landforms of Minnesota
Landforms of South Dakota
Ecoregions of Minnesota
Regions of South Dakota