Читать книгу The History of Minnesota and Tales of the Frontier - Charles E. Flandrau - Страница 12

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While on the subject of the source of the Mississippi river, I may as well speak of the elevations of the state above the level of the sea. It can be truthfully said that Minnesota occupies the summit of the North American continent. In its most northern third rises the Mississippi, which, in its general course, flows due south to the Gulf of Mexico. In about its center division, from north to south, rises the Red River of the North, and takes a general northerly direction until it empties into Lake Winnipeg, while the St. Louis and other rivers take their rise in the same region and flow eastwardly into Lake Superior, which is the real source of the St. Lawrence, which empties into the Atlantic.

The elevation at the source of the Mississippi is 1,600 feet, and at the point where it leaves the southern boundary of the state, 620 feet. The elevation at the source of the Red River of the North is the same as that of the Mississippi, 1,600 feet, and where it leaves the state at its northern boundary 767 feet. The average elevation of the state is given at 1,275 feet, its highest elevation, in the Mesaba range, 2,200 feet, and its lowest, at Duluth, 602 feet.

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