Geological History

The last two million years or so Minnesota has seen the formation and disappearance of the glaciers of the Great Ice Age. The last of the major glacial advances retreated from Minnesota blanketing the state with glacial deposits of sand, gravel and boulders. As the climatic conditions changed the Wadena lobe of the vast glacier melted, causing it to retreat north then advance southward to a new position where it remained for thousands of years. It shaped the huge field of 1,200 drumlins (elongated ridges) centered around Wadena. The lobe also created an important terminal moraine (accumulation of boulders and debris) which forms a major portion of the Alexandria Moraine Complex.

Alexandria Moraine

After the Wadena Lobe shrank from its maximum position, it slowly readvanced to construct a massive pile of sediment now known as the Alexandria Moraine. Although later overridden by other glaciers, the moraine owes its impressive height and expanse to the earlier activity of the Wadena Lobe.

Behind the moraine, ice currents molded the land surface into a swarm of drumlins. Of these, approximately 1,200 individual streamlined hills of glacial sediment fan across Otter Tail, Wadena, and Todd counties. First trending southernly, then southwesterly and finally westerly, the pattern represents the radiating flow of the Wadena Lobe in its waning stages. Eventually, flow stopped altogether and the dirty ice (glacier ice containing debris) margin slowly collapsed to form a broad, hummocky moraine dotted with lakes.

Otter Tail County

Otter Tail County is covered by a thick layer of glacial deposits, mainly in the Alexandria Moraine Complex, with flatter areas of outwash in the central portions. The largest moraine development in the state extends in a semicircle from Fergus Falls to the south county line, northeast to East Leaf Lake near Deer Creek, and north to Pine Lake just east of Perham. Otter Tail County contains the greatest number of lakes of any county in the state, all associated with the ancient glaciers.

Spectacular Views

Inspiration Peak, is the tallest hill of the drumlins. It rises about 400 feet above its surrounding countryside, to an elevation of about 1,750 feet above sea level. It is the central feature of Inspiration Peak State Wayside Park. With its steep sides, Inspiration Peak affords spectacular views in three directions. The 1⁄4 mile winding trail to the summit passes through a beautiful hardwood forest that opens to an expanse of rolling hills known as the Seven Sisters. Within the panoramic view of Leaf Mountains, is Christina Lake. It is the largest migratory layover in Minnesota. The average depth of 4.5 feet allowing aquatic plants to grow providing food for a variety of waterfowl such as canvasbacks, redheads, ringnecks, scaup, coots, geese and sandhill cranes.

Rustling Leaf Mountain

The hills that include Inspiration Peak were known to the Ojibwe as Gaskibugwudjiwe. A missionary recorded and translated their name to mean Rustling Leaf Mountains. Early pioneers referred to the peak as Leaf Mountain until Sinclair Lewis, a Nobel Prize- winning novelist shared his passion for the peak with his readers. Lewis cherished the “enchanted peace and seclusion of this place for contemplation.” After Lewis wrote about the peak, people began calling it Inspiration Peak and in 1932 it became the official name when the site was designated a Minnestota State Wayside.