Saint Anthony Falls

November 1st brought him to Lake Pepin, near which he discovered what appeared to be the remains of extended entrenchments, centuries old, as he thought, but which are now known to be Indian mounds, probably erected as sites for their wigwams so as to keep them above the annual overflow and inundation.

The coming of winter and the forming of river ice obliged him to quit his canoe opposite the mouth of the St. Peter or Minnesota River, whence by land he reached the Falls of St. Anthony on November 17th, 1766, probably the first white American to visit them.

The noise and appearance of the Falls of St. Anthony impressed Carver very strongly, and his account of them is worthy of reproduction in view of the changes that have taken place within the past 130 years.

This amazing body of waters, which are about 250 yards over, form a most pleasing cataract.

They fall perpendicularly about 30 feet, and the rapids below, in the space of 300 yards more, render the descent considerably greater, so that when viewed at a distance they appear to be much higher than they really are.

Fruit, vegetables, and nuts were represented as being particularly abundant, and the sugar maple grew in amazing numbers.

In April 1767, the Santees descended the Minnesota in order, among other things, to bury their dead near a remarkable cave on Lake Pepin, known to the Indians as the dwelling of the Great Spirit.

Finding that supplies had not been sent to the Falls of St. Anthony, Carver returned to Prairie du Chien in order to get sufficient stores to enable him to reach Lake Superior, whence he hoped to be able to cross the continent from Grand Portage.

Let's keep going.

The next one on his list, Niagara Falls and St. Anthony Falls.

He says both have gorge formations pointing to a starting date... around the same window, and it matches his timeline, that 11,000 to 6,500 years.

Then he goes, what about Pajark Marsh, Australia? Which I said, I don't know what the hell a Pajark Marsh, Australia is.

We also have John Anfinson here, a Mississippi River historian and author, as well as a former superintendent of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.

He previously worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and is currently the part-time river historian at the University of Minnesota St. Anthony Falls Laboratory.

He is a founding board member of Friends of the Mississippi River and is active in many other river-related organizations and initiatives.

Good morning, John.

Dam.

For people who don't understand or know the significance of a lock and dam, what are you talking about and why should we be paying attention to this?

So any towboat in barges that goes up past the Bedote, the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers, up what we call the gorge towards St. Anthony Falls, there's two locks and dams in there.

Lock and dam one, about two miles up, it is a 38-foot lift or increase in height.