Environment | Page 39

Root River

A view of a bridge spanning the Root River in Fillmore County, Minnesota, ca. 1940. Limestone bluffs are visible above the river and bridge.

Root River Valley

Highway 9 in the Root River Valley showcasing limestone bluffs outside of Lanesboro in Fillmore County, Minnesota. Photograph by Mathias O. Bue, ca. 1930.

Lynch Creek

Limestone bluffs along Lynch Creek southeast of Chatfield in Fillmore County, Minnesota, ca. 1900.

Karst sinkholes

Trees jut out from a karst sinkhole in a field near Harmony in Fillmore County, Minnesota. Photograph by Amy Jo Hahn, 2018.

Karst sinkholes

Trees jut out from a karst sinkhole in a field near Harmony in Fillmore County, Minnesota. Photograph by Amy Jo Hahn, 2018. Used with the permission of Amy Jo Hahn.

Aerial view of sinkholes in Fillmore County

Aerial view of sinkholes outside Fountain in Fillmore County, July 3, 2011.

Karst Topography in Fillmore County

Southeast Minnesota boasts a unique geological landscape of rolling hills, fertile fields, dramatic bluffs, and freshwater streams. Beneath its lush surface is a hidden world of underground caves and rivers created after thousands of years of rain and snow seeped through fractured bedrock, slowly softening and dissolving sedimentary rock.