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Toimi Drumlins

Ecoregion in MN

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This ecoregion in the northeastern Minnesota “Arrowhead” region was formed by till plains, drumlins, moraines, and peatlands from the Rainy and Superior lobes of the Wisconsin glaciation (last of the Pleistocene glacial periods). Much of the central western part of the ecoregion is a northeast-southwest trending drumlin field of alternating woody wetlands in the plain and dryer mixed forest on the drumlin ridges. The land cover in the rest of the ecoregion is also a mixture of patches of forest and wetland with numerous lakes, but with less of a ridge and valley structure as in the drumlin field. The topography is rolling with some steep slopes in the drift complex that covers part of the southeastern section of the ecoregion. Presettlement vegetation was similar to Ecoregion 50o, with smaller patches and less area in conifer bogs and swamps and more in white and red pine, and more in aspen and birch. The soils are less developed forest Udepts with a number of patches of peatland Hemists. The Cloquet River flows through the center of the ecoregion until it meets the St. Louis River near the southwestern border, following the strong gradient in elevation from near 610 m in the northeastern end to about 365 m in the southwestern. About 50% of this ecoregion was wetlands and 40% deciduous, mixed, and evergreen forest in 2013. 50q. Itasca and St. Louis Moraines This ecoregion is moraine country. Multiple moraines from several glacial lobes, the Wadena Lobe in the west and the Rainy and St. Louis Lobes in the east, cover the area. There are also a drumlin field, outwash areas, till plains, lacustrine and drift complex areas on a topography with many short but steep slopes. The ecoregion is primarily covered with well to excessively drained forest Udalf soils with significant areas of sandy forest Psamments, smaller areas of moist but well drained Udoll prairie soils in the west, and somewhat poorly drained wet Aqualfs in the east. The Udolls support the only relatively intense agriculture but there are scattered areas of crops and pasture in the western part of the southern lobe of the ecoregion. The rest of the ecoregion is primarily forest and wetland intermixed with many lakes, the second highest number of lakes among all Minnesota’s Level IV ecoregions. The lake region from Leech Lake in the north to Brainerd in the south is part of Hart and Ziegler’s “Lakeshore Resort and Retirement Belt” (Hart and Ziegler 2008). Presettlement vegetation was a mosaic of aspen and birch, jack pine barrens, white and red pine, small patches of hardwoods, and small patches of conifer bogs and swamps. This ecoregion has the highest elevations in northwest Minnesota, about 580 m in southwest Clearwater County. The low elevations are about 365 m near the Mississippi River that forms the southeastern boundary. About 60% of this ecoregion was deciduous and evergreen forest, and 25% wetlands and open water in 2013.

— EPA

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Ecoregion