Editing Nobles County, Minnesota (section)

==Geology==
[[Image:Buffalo Ridge.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Buffalo Ridge]]Nobles County sits atop the [[Buffalo Ridge]], a large expanse of rolling hills in southwestern Minnesota reaching a height of {{convert|1,995|ft|m|abbr=on}} ASL. The Buffalo Ridge marks the most southerly extent of the last glaciation, and extends {{convert|60|mi|km}} through [[Lincoln County, Minnesota|Lincoln]], [[Lyon County, Minnesota|Lyon]], [[Pipestone County, Minnesota|Pipestone]], [[Murray County, Minnesota|Murray]], [[Rock County, Minnesota|Rock]], and Nobles counties. It is a [[water divide|drainage divide]] separating the [[Drainage basin|watersheds]] of the [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]] and [[Missouri River]]s. Because of its elevation and constant winds, Buffalo Ridge has become a major site for wind energy. Over 200 [[wind turbine]]s stand along the Ridge.

Buffalo Ridge is part of the inner coteau and is the highest point of the [[Coteau des Prairies]] in Minnesota.<ref name="DNR">DNR, ''Minnesota DNR'', http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ecs/251Bc/index.html.</ref> Its [[bedrock]] is formed of [[Cretaceous]] shale, sandstone and clay that lie above the pinkish-red Upper [[Precambrian]] [[Sioux Quartzite]].<ref>Anderson RR (1987) Precambrian Sioux Quartzite at Gitchie Manitou State Preserve, Iowa. Centennial Field Guide Vol. 3: North-Central Section of the Geological Society of America: Vol. 3, No. 0 pp. 77–80. [http://www.gsajournals.org/perlserv/?request=res-loc&uri=urn%3Aap%3Apdf%3Adoi%3A10.1130%2F0-8137-5403-8.77]</ref> These units are covered in most areas by thick deposits of glacial drift, which consist of up to {{convert|800|ft|m|abbr=on}} of pre-[[Wisconsonian glaciation|Wisconsin]] age [[Till|glacial till]] left after the glaciers receded. The inner coteau is made up of extremely stream-eroded glacial deposits of pre-Wisconsin glacial drift, which is then covered by a 6-15' (1.8-4.6m) thick deposit of a wind-blown silt called [[loess]].<ref name="DNR" /> This covering results in the creation of an area with long, gently sloping hills. Loess is an easily eroded material, resulting in few lakes and wetlands in the inner coteau area. Loess however promotes well-established dendritic drainage networks flowing into the [[Missouri River]] and [[Minnesota River]] systems.