Posted 3:03 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28, 2011
"The journey from my hometown of Edgerton, Wis., to UW-La Crosse is one that I first took 11 years ago during my freshman year of college. This trip up I-90 went from a glacial plane to a beautiful river valley during the160-mile trip. It did not take long to fall in love with the area for many reasons."
[caption id="attachment_827" align="alignleft" width="700" caption="A view near mile marker 40 on Interstate 90"]
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“The journey from my hometown of Edgerton, Wis., to UW-La Crosse is one that I first took 11 years ago during my freshman year of college. This trip up I-90 went from a glacial plane to a beautiful river valley during the160-mile trip. It did not take long to fall in love with the area for many reasons.
“I knew my journey north was in range when I reached mile marker 40 near Tomah. Upon reaching the crest of the rolling hill at this location, the entire river valley was visible to admire.
“I never thought that this area had much significance other than my personal satisfaction until talking with another UW-L alumnus. I taught and coached with Chris Herriot, ’00, at Arrowhead High School for one year.
"Chris is from Wales, Wis., and made the same journey from the southern part of Wisconsin up to La Crosse. We were discussing our adventures one day when we both brought up the location of the mile marker.”
– Andrew McGlenn, ‘05
Why does the land look this way?
Channeling of ice to the west and east by the Lake Superior and Michigan basins protected the Driftless Area from the multiple glaciers that covered the upper Midwest during the Quaternary Period (the last 2 million years). These giant rock crushers left behind a relatively flat landscape with an abundance of lakes and wetlands. The Driftless Area, on the other hand, remained a landscape of steep bluffs and deep coulees, carved primarily by rivers and streams incising through ancient — 450-550 million year old — sedimentary rocks over millions of years.
– Colin Belby, UW-L assistant professor of Geography.
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“The journey from my hometown of Edgerton, Wis., to UW-La Crosse is one that I first took 11 years ago during my freshman year of college. This trip up I-90 went from a glacial plane to a beautiful river valley during the160-mile trip. It did not take long to fall in love with the area for many reasons.
“I knew my journey north was in range when I reached mile marker 40 near Tomah. Upon reaching the crest of the rolling hill at this location, the entire river valley was visible to admire.
“I never thought that this area had much significance other than my personal satisfaction until talking with another UW-L alumnus. I taught and coached with Chris Herriot, ’00, at Arrowhead High School for one year.
"Chris is from Wales, Wis., and made the same journey from the southern part of Wisconsin up to La Crosse. We were discussing our adventures one day when we both brought up the location of the mile marker.”
– Andrew McGlenn, ‘05
Why does the land look this way?
Channeling of ice to the west and east by the Lake Superior and Michigan basins protected the Driftless Area from the multiple glaciers that covered the upper Midwest during the Quaternary Period (the last 2 million years). These giant rock crushers left behind a relatively flat landscape with an abundance of lakes and wetlands. The Driftless Area, on the other hand, remained a landscape of steep bluffs and deep coulees, carved primarily by rivers and streams incising through ancient — 450-550 million year old — sedimentary rocks over millions of years.
– Colin Belby, UW-L assistant professor of Geography.