United States
The United States of America known as the United States or America, is a country composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U. S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D. C. and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico; the State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean; the U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The diverse geography and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.
Paleo-Indians migrated from Siberia to the North American mainland at least 12,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century; the United States emerged from the thirteen British colonies established along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the colonies following the French and Indian War led to the American Revolution, which began in 1775, the subsequent Declaration of Independence in 1776; the war ended in 1783 with the United States becoming the first country to gain independence from a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, with the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, being ratified in 1791 to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties; the United States embarked on a vigorous expansion across North America throughout the 19th century, acquiring new territories, displacing Native American tribes, admitting new states until it spanned the continent by 1848. During the second half of the 19th century, the Civil War led to the abolition of slavery.
By the end of the century, the United States had extended into the Pacific Ocean, its economy, driven in large part by the Industrial Revolution, began to soar. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the country's status as a global military power; the United States emerged from World War II as a global superpower, the first country to develop nuclear weapons, the only country to use them in warfare, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Sweeping civil rights legislation, notably the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968, outlawed discrimination based on race or color. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union competed in the Space Race, culminating with the 1969 U. S. Moon landing; the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the world's sole superpower. The United States is the world's oldest surviving federation, it is a representative democracy.
The United States is a founding member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States, other international organizations. The United States is a developed country, with the world's largest economy by nominal GDP and second-largest economy by PPP, accounting for a quarter of global GDP; the U. S. economy is post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge-based activities, although the manufacturing sector remains the second-largest in the world. The United States is the world's largest importer and the second largest exporter of goods, by value. Although its population is only 4.3% of the world total, the U. S. holds 31% of the total wealth in the world, the largest share of global wealth concentrated in a single country. Despite wide income and wealth disparities, the United States continues to rank high in measures of socioeconomic performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP, worker productivity.
The United States is the foremost military power in the world, making up a third of global military spending, is a leading political and scientific force internationally. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a world map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America in honor of the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci; the first documentary evidence of the phrase "United States of America" is from a letter dated January 2, 1776, written by Stephen Moylan, Esq. to George Washington's aide-de-camp and Muster-Master General of the Continental Army, Lt. Col. Joseph Reed. Moylan expressed his wish to go "with full and ample powers from the United States of America to Spain" to seek assistance in the revolutionary war effort; the first known publication of the phrase "United States of America" was in an anonymous essay in The Virginia Gazette newspaper in Williamsburg, Virginia, on April 6, 1776. The second draft of the Articles of Confederation, prepared by John Dickinson and completed by June 17, 1776, at the latest, declared "The name of this Confederation shall be the'United States of America'".
The final version of the Articles sent to the states for ratification in late 1777 contains the sentence "The Stile of this Confederacy shall be'The United States of America'". In June 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote the phrase "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" in all capitalized letters in the headline of his "original Rough draught" of the Declaration of Independence; this draft of the document did not surface unti
1910 United States Census
The Thirteenth United States Census, conducted by the Census Bureau on April 15, 1910, determined the resident population of the United States to be 92,228,496, an increase of 21.0 percent over the 76,212,168 persons enumerated during the 1900 Census. The 1910 Census switched from a portrait page orientation to a landscape orientation; the 1910 census collected the following information: Full documentation for the 1910 census, including census forms and enumerator instructions, is available from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series. The column titles in the census form are as follows: LOCATION. Street, road, etc. House number. 1. Number of dwelling house in order of visitation. 2. Number of family in order of visitation. 3. NAME of each person whose place of abode on April 15, 1910, was in this family. Enter surname first the given name and middle initial, if any. Include every person living on April 15, 1910. Omit children born since April 15, 1910. RELATION. 4. Relationship of this person to the head of the family.
PERSONAL DESCRIPTION. 5. Sex. 6. Color or race. 7. Age at last birthday. 8. Whether single, widowed, or divorced. 9. Number of years of present marriage. 10. Mother of how many children: Number born. 11. Mother of how many children: Number now living. NATIVITY. Place of birth of each person and parents of each person enumerated. If born in the United States, give the state or territory. If of foreign birth, give the country. 12. Place of birth of this Person. 13. Place of birth of Father of this person. 14. Place of birth of Mother of this person. CITIZENSHIP. 15. Year of immigration to the United States. 16. Whether naturalized or alien. 17. Whether able to speak English. OCCUPATION. 18. Trade or profession of, or particular kind of work done by this person, as spinner, laborer, etc. 19. General nature of industry, business, or establishment in which this person works, as cotton mill, dry goods store, etc. 20. Whether as employer, employee, or work on own account. If an employee— 21. Whether out of work on April 15, 1910.
22. Number of weeks out of work during year 1909. EDUCATION. 23. Whether able to read. 24. Whether able to write. 25. Attended school any time since September 1, 1909. OWNERSHIP OF HOME. 26. Owned or rented. 27. Owned free or mortgaged. 28. Farm or house. 29. Number of farm schedule. 30. Whether a survivor of the Union or Confederate Army or Navy. 31. Whether blind. 32. Whether deaf and dumb. Special Notation In 1912 and 1959, New Mexico, Arizona and Hawaii would become the 47th, 48th, 49th and 50th states admitted to the Union; the 1910 population count for each of these areas was 327,301, 204,354, 64,356 and 191,909 respectively. On this basis, the ranking list above would be modified as follows: First 42 ranked states - positions unchanged New Mexico, Arizona, Hawaii, Wyoming and Alaska; the original census enumeration sheets were microfilmed by the Census Bureau in the 1940s. The microfilmed census is available in rolls from the National Records Administration. Several organizations host images of the microfilmed census online, along which digital indices.
Microdata from the 1910 census are available through the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series. Aggregate data for small areas, together with electronic boundary files, can be downloaded from the National Historical Geographic Information System. 1911 U. S Census Report Contains 1910 Census results Historic US Census data census.gov/population/www/censusdata/PopulationofStatesandCountiesoftheUnitedStates1790-1990.pdf
Dells of the Wisconsin River
The Dells of the Wisconsin River called the Wisconsin Dells, is a 5-mile gorge on the Wisconsin River in south-central Wisconsin, USA. It is noted for its scenic beauty, in particular for its unique Cambrian sandstone rock formations and tributary canyons; the cliffs, some over 100 feet high, side canyons are closed to the public to protect sensitive ecological features. The viewing of the rock formations by water is a popular tourist attraction in the area; the nearby city of Wisconsin Dells is the center of summer tourist activity, much of it in the form of the theme parks unrelated to the river features. The Dells of the Wisconsin River is owned by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, it was established as a State Natural Area in 1994. The Dells was formed during the last ice age 15,000 years ago, although the rock itself is much older, dating from the Cambrian 510-520 million years ago when the area of Wisconsin was at the bottom of a shallow sea. 19,000 years ago, the Dells was at the extreme western margin of the continental glacier.
However, the Dells itself was never covered by glacial ice sheets - it was part of the large Driftless Area, bypassed by the ice. The melting of the glacier formed Glacial Lake Wisconsin, a lake about the size of Great Salt Lake in Utah and as deep as 150 feet; the lake was held back by an ice dam of the remaining glacier. The eventual bursting of the ice dam unleashed a catastrophic flood, dropping the lake's depth to 50 feet and cutting deep, narrow gorges and unusual rock formations into the sandstone seen today; the area of the Dells provides a mixture of plant communities, including northern and southern oak and pine forests, as well as oak savanna, moist cliffs, dry cliffs. The cliffs provide unique niches for plants, some of which are rare in Wisconsin, including: Cliff cudweed, known in only two places on Earth - in the Dells and in the Kickapoo Valley, grows on protected rock ledges. Lapland azalea Round-stemmed false foxglove Maidenhair spleenwort Fragrant fern. Among the rare animals in the dell are six dragonfly species, including the Royal river cruiser, six rare mussels and numerous species of birds.
The cultural history of the area stretches back several thousand years, from early Paleo-Indian people to the more recent Native American peoples, such as Ho-Chunk and Menominee, who left behind effigy and burial mounds and village sites, garden beds, rock art. The Dells were made famous in 1886 by the photographer H. H. Bennett, who took the first stop-action photo of his son jumping onto Stand Rock; the area is now owned by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and was designated a State Natural Area in 1994. Ice Age Trail Missoula Floods Miller, F. A.. Kilbourn and the Dells of the Wisconsin, Chicago: Gen. Passenger Dept. Chicago, Milwaukee, & St. Paul Railway. Stewards of the Dells of the Wisconsin River Down and Out in a Repurposed Troop Carrier
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad
The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad; the company went through several official names and faced bankruptcy on multiple occasions throughout the 1970s and 1980s. In 1980, it abandoned its Pacific Extension as a cost-cutting measure following a 1977 bankruptcy. What remained of the system operated for another six years until it merged into the Soo Line Railroad, a subsidiary of Canadian Pacific Railway, on January 1, 1986. Although the "Milwaukee Road" as such ceased to exist, much of its trackage continues to be used by multiple railroads, it is commemorated in buildings like the historic Milwaukee Road Depot in Minneapolis and in railroad hardware still maintained by rail fans, such as the Milwaukee Road 261 steam locomotive. The railroad that became the Milwaukee Road began as the Milwaukee and Waukesha Railroad in Wisconsin, whose goal was to link the developing Lake Michigan port city of Milwaukee with the Mississippi River; the company incorporated in 1847, but changed its name to the Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad in 1850 before construction began.
Its first line, all of 5 miles, opened between Milwaukee and Wauwatosa, on November 20, 1850. Extensions followed to Waukesha in February 1851, the Mississippi River at Prairie du Chien in 1857; as a result of the financial panic of 1857, the M&M went into receivership in 1859, was purchased by the Milwaukee and Prairie du Chien in 1861. In 1867, Alexander Mitchell combined the M&PdC with the Milwaukee and St. Paul under the name Milwaukee and St. Paul. Critical to the development and financing of the railroad was the acquisition of significant land grants. Prominent individual investors in the line included Alexander Mitchell, Russell Sage, Jeremiah Milbank and William Rockefeller. In 1874, the name was changed to Chicago, St. Paul after absorbing the Chicago & Pacific Railroad Company, the railroad that built the Bloomingdale Line as part of the 36-mile Elgin Subdivision from Halsted Street to the suburb of Elgin, Illinois. By 1887, the railroad had lines running through Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
The corporate headquarters were moved from Milwaukee to the Rand McNally Building in Chicago, America's first all-steel framed skyscraper, in 1889 and 1890, with the car and locomotive shops staying in Milwaukee. The company General Offices were located in Chicago's Railway Exchange building until 1924, at which time they moved to Chicago Union Station. In the 1890s the Milwaukee's directors felt they had to extend the railroad to the Pacific in order to remain competitive with other roads. A survey in 1901 estimated costs to build to the Pacific Northwest as $45 million. In 1905 the board approved the Pacific Extension, now estimated at $60 million, equal to $1.67 billion today. The contract for the western part of the route was awarded to Horace Chapin Henry of Seattle. Construction began in 1906 and was completed in 1909; the route chosen was 18 miles shorter than the next shortest competitor's, as well as better grades than some, but it was an expensive route, since the Milwaukee received few land grants and had to buy most of the land or acquire smaller railroads.
The two main mountain ranges that had to be crossed required major civil engineering works and additional locomotive power. The completion of 2,300 miles of railroad through some of the most varied topography in the nation in only three years was a major feat; some historians question the choice of route, since it bypassed some population centers and passed through areas with limited local traffic potential. Much of the line paralleled the Northern Pacific Railway. Trains magazine called the building of the extension a long-haul route, "egregious" and a "disaster." George H. Drury listed the Pacific Extension as one of several "wrong decisions" made by the Milwaukee's management which contributed to the company's eventual failure. Beginning in 1909, several smaller railroads were acquired and expanded to form branch lines along the Pacific Extension; the Montana Railroad formed the mainline route through Sixteenmile Canyon as well as the North Montana Line which extended North from Harlowton to Lewistown.
This branch led to the settlement of the Judith Basin and, by the 1970s, accounted for 30% of the Milwaukee Road's total traffic. The Gallatin Valley Electric Railway built as an interurban line, was extended from Bozeman to the mainline at Three Forks. In 1927 the railroad built the Gallatin Gateway Inn, where passengers travelling to Yellowstone National Park transferred to buses for the remainder of their journey; the White Sulphur Springs & Yellowstone Park Railway built by Lew Penwell and John Ringling carried lumber and agricultural products. Operating conditions in the mountain regions of the Pacific Extension proved difficult. Winter temperatures of −40 °F in Montana made it challenging for steam locomotives to generate sufficient steam; the line snaked through mountainous areas, resulting in "long steep grades and sharp curves." Elect
ZIP Code
A ZIP Code is a postal code used by the United States Postal Service in a system it introduced in 1963. The term ZIP is an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan; the basic format consists of five digits. An extended ZIP+4 code was introduced in 1983 which includes the five digits of the ZIP Code, followed by a hyphen and four additional digits that reference a more specific location; the term ZIP Code was registered as a servicemark by the U. S. Postal Service, but its registration has since expired; the early history and context of postal codes began with postal district/zone numbers. The United States Post Office Department implemented postal zones for numerous large cities in 1943. For example: The "16" was the number of the postal zone in the specific city. By the early 1960s, a more organized system was needed, non-mandatory five-digit ZIP Codes were introduced nationwide on July 1, 1963; the USPOD issued its Publication 59: Abbreviations for Use with ZIP Code on October 1, 1963, with the list of two-letter state abbreviations which are written with both letters capitalized.
An earlier list in June had proposed capitalized abbreviations ranging from two to five letters. According to Publication 59, the two-letter standard was "based on a maximum 23-position line, because this has been found to be the most universally acceptable line capacity basis for major addressing systems", which would be exceeded by a long city name combined with a multi-letter state abbreviation, such as "Sacramento, Calif." along with the ZIP Code. The abbreviations have remained unchanged, with the exception of Nebraska, changed from NB to NE in 1969 at the request of the Canadian postal administration, to avoid confusion with the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Robert Moon is considered the father of the ZIP Code; the post office only credits Moon with the first three digits of the ZIP Code, which describe the sectional center facility or "sec center." An SCF is a central mail processing facility with those three digits. The fourth and fifth digits, which give a more precise locale within the SCF, were proposed by Henry Bentley Hahn Sr.
The SCF sorts mail to all post offices with those first three digits in their ZIP Codes. The mail is sorted according to the final two digits of the ZIP Code and sent to the corresponding post offices in the early morning. Sectional centers do not deliver mail and are not open to the public, most of their employees work the night shift. Mail picked up at post offices is sent to their own SCF in the afternoon, where the mail is sorted overnight. In the case of large cities, the last two digits coincide with the older postal zone number thus: In 1967, these became mandatory for second- and third-class bulk mailers, the system was soon adopted generally; the United States Post Office used a cartoon character, which it called Mr. ZIP, to promote the use of the ZIP Code, he was depicted with a legend such as "USE ZIP CODE" in the selvage of panes of postage stamps or on the covers of booklet panes of stamps. In 1971 Elmira Star-Gazette reporter Dick Baumbach found out the White House was not using a ZIP Code on its envelopes.
Herb Klein, special assistant to President Nixon, responded by saying the next printing of envelopes would include the ZIP Code. In 1983, the U. S. Postal Service introduced an expanded ZIP Code system that it called ZIP+4 called "plus-four codes", "add-on codes", or "add-ons". A ZIP+4 Code uses the basic five-digit code plus four additional digits to identify a geographic segment within the five-digit delivery area, such as a city block, a group of apartments, an individual high-volume receiver of mail, a post office box, or any other unit that could use an extra identifier to aid in efficient mail sorting and delivery. However, initial attempts to promote universal use of the new format met with public resistance and today the plus-four code is not required. In general, mail is read by a multiline optical character reader that instantly determines the correct ZIP+4 Code from the address—along with the more specific delivery point—and sprays an Intelligent Mail barcode on the face of the mail piece that corresponds to 11 digits—nine for the ZIP+4 Code and two for the delivery point.
For Post Office Boxes, the general rule is. The add-on code is one of the following: the last four digits of the box number, zero plus the last three digits of the box number, or, if the box number consists of fewer than four digits, enough zeros are attached to the front of the box number to produce a four-digit number. However, there is no uniform rule, so the ZIP+4 Code must be looked up individually for each box; the ZIP Code is translated into an Intelligent Mail barcode, printed on the mailpiece to make it easier for automated machines to sort. A barcode can be printed by the sender, it is better to let the post office put one on. In general, the post office uses OCR technology, though in some cases a human might have to read and enter the address. Customers who send bulk mail can get a discount on postage if they have printed the barcode themselves and have presorted the mai
Minnehaha County, South Dakota
Minnehaha County is a county on the eastern border of the state of South Dakota. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 169,468, making it the most populous county in South Dakota, its county seat is the largest city in the state. The county was created in 1862 and organized in 1868, its name was derived from the Sioux word Mnihaha, meaning "rapid water," or "waterfall". Minnehaha County is part of the Sioux Falls, SD Metropolitan Statistical Area, the largest in the state, it is the site of a former listed Superfund site, the Williams Pipeline Company Disposal Site, cleaned up under direction of the US Environmental Protection Agency to contain and remove environmental hazards. Minnehaha County lies on the east side of South Dakota, its east boundary line abuts the west boundary line of the state of Minnesota as well as the north and west boundary lines of the state of Iowa. The Big Sioux River flows south-southeasterly through the east central part of the county, its terrain consists of rolling hills, devoted to agriculture except around built-up areas, dotted with lakes and ponds in its western portion.
Its terrain slopes to the south, in addition the east and west edges slope to the river valley through the center of the county. Its highest point is in the NW corner, at 1,752' ASL. Minnehaha County has a total area of 814 square miles, of which 807 square miles is land and 6.7 square miles is water. Sioux Falls Regional Airport Wheelborg Landing Field, a small airport in Dell Rapids As of the 2000 United States Census, there were 148,281 people, 57,996 households, 37,581 families in the county; the population density was 183 people per square mile. There were 60,237 housing units at an average density of 74 per square mile; the racial makeup of the county was 93.03% White, 1.51% Black or African American, 1.85% Native American, 1.01% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.04% from other races, 1.51% from two or more races. 2.15% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 57,996 households out of which 33.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.80% were married couples living together, 9.50% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.20% were non-families.
27.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.60% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.04. The county population contained 26.20% under the age of 18, 10.80% from 18 to 24, 32.00% from 25 to 44, 20.00% from 45 to 64, 11.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $42,566, the median income for a family was $52,031. Males had a median income of $32,208 versus $24,691 for females; the per capita income for the county was $20,713. About 5.00% of families and 7.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.90% of those under age 18 and 7.20% of those age 65 or over. As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 169,468 people, 67,028 households, 42,052 families in the county; the population density was 210.0 inhabitants per square mile.
There were 71,557 housing units at an average density of 88.7 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 88.1% white, 3.8% black or African American, 2.5% American Indian, 1.5% Asian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 1.8% from other races, 2.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 4.1% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 43.8% were German, 17.7% were Norwegian, 11.6% were Irish, 6.8% were Dutch, 6.3% were English, 3.2% were American. Of the 67,028 households, 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.7% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.3% were non-families, 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.03. The median age was 34.5 years. The median income for a household in the county was $51,799 and the median income for a family was $64,645. Males had a median income of $40,187 versus $31,517 for females.
The per capita income for the county was $26,392. About 6.9% of families and 9.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.2% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over. Minnehaha is a Republican county with only one Democratic presidential candidate, Michael Dukakis in 1988, receiving an absolute majority in the last fifty years. Humboldt Sherman Anderson Meadow View Addition Pine Lakes Addition Renner Corner East Sioux Falls Eminija South Sioux Falls West Sioux Falls Wingert National Register of Historic Places listings in Minnehaha County, South Dakota Minnehaha County, SD government website Envision 2035 Comprehensive Plan webpage Capture Minnehaha County website "Minnehaha"; the American Cyclopædia. 1879
Sioux Quartzite
The Sioux Quartzite is a Proterozoic quartzite, found in the region around the intersection of Minnesota, South Dakota, Iowa, correlates with other rock units throughout the upper midwestern and southwestern United States. It was formed by braided river deposits, its correlative units are thought to define a large sedimentary wedge that once covered the passive margin on the then-southern side of the North American craton. In human history, it provided the catlinite, or pipestone, used by the Plains Indians to carve ceremonial pipes. With the arrival of Europeans, it was quarried for building stone, was used in many prominent structures in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and shipped to construction sites around the Midwest. Sioux Quartzite has been and continues to be quarried in Jasper, Minnesota at the Jasper Stone Company and Quarry, which itself was posted to the National Register of Historic Places on January 5, 1978. Jasper, Minnesota contains many turn-of-the-century quartzite buildings, including the school and several other public and private structures abandoned.
The Sioux Quartzite is a red to pink Proterozoic quartzite. It is a thick stratigraphic unit that crops out in southwestern Minnesota and south-central South Dakota, northwestern Iowa, a small part of northeastern Nebraska, it is correlated with other sandstone and quartzite units across Wisconsin, southeastern Iowa, southern Nebraska, north-central New Mexico and southeast-central Arizona. Its age is constrained to be between 2280 ± 110 Ma from the uranium-lead dating of a rhyolite that underlies it in northwestern Iowa, 1120 Ma from a potassium-argon date of deformation of the Sioux Quartzite in Pipestone, Minnesota, its age can be better-constrained by extrapolation correlative units to between 1760 ± 10 Ma. and 1640 ± 40 Ma This period in which the Sioux Quartzite and its correlative units were deposited is known as the Baraboo interval, in which high relative sea levels covered a large amount of North America. The Sioux quartzite was formed by braided river deposits, of quartz arenite composition, with 95% of the rock being composed of rounded, fine to medium sand-size quartz grains.
The rivers are believed to flow southeast, at a shallow gradient. Its basal conglomerate is thought to be braided stream deposits that are more proximal to the source, there is possible marine influence on the upper part of the unit – this interpretation is supported by evidence of marine sediments atop its correlative unit in Baraboo, Wisconsin. In addition, the unit contains ~1 meter beds of claystone, which are known as catlinite or pipestone, because these beds were used by the natives of the area to carve pipe bowls, it is thought that the Sioux Quartzite and its correlative units are parts of a once-laterally-extensive sedimentary wedge that covered the then-southern passive margin of the North American craton. The Sioux Quartzite is resistant to erosion, has formed a topographic high through most of Phanerozoic time, it was inundated by Phanerozoic seas during the periods of maximum sea level, subsequent erosion removed these sedimentary units. For this reason, the only geologic units to sit atop the Sioux Quartzite are of Cretaceous age, deposited when a large portion of North America was covered by the Cretaceous Interior Seaway.
Many present-day outcrops of Sioux Quartzite were exposed by glacial erosion during the Quaternary. Some of these have been dated with the cosmogenic radionuclides beryllium-10 and aluminium-26 to determine how long ago the Laurentide Ice Sheet retreated from the Upper Midwest; these dates show that southwestern Minnesota was last covered in glacial ice at least 500,000 years ago. Several mansions and other notable buildings have been built using Sioux Quartzite; these include: George W. and Nancy B. Van Dusen House Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1888, 12,000 ft2, National Register of Historic Places 1995 David Whitney House, Michigan, 1894, 21,000 ft2, National Register of Historic Places 1972 John Pierce House, Sioux City Iowa, 1893, 23 rooms, National Register of Historic Places Fowler Methodist Episcopal Church, Minneapolis John Rowe House, Minnesota, 1903, National Register of Historic Places 1980 Jasper High School, Minnesota, 1911 1939 1957 Bauman Hall, Minnesota, constructed in 1891, National Register of Historic Places, 1979 Hattie Phillips House, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, 1885, razed 1966, however foundation reused Pipestone City Hall, Minnesota, 1896 now the Pipestone County Museum 1884 Syndicate Block, shop buildings in Pipestone, Minnesota The Calumet Inn, Minnesota Several buildings at the South Dakota School for the Deaf - high school, administration and other buildings / additions since razed Queen Bee Mill in Falls Park Old Sioux Falls Light & Power hydro plant in Falls Park South Dakota State Penitentiary, Sioux Falls SD, 1881 The Pipestone County Courthouse, Minnesota, 1902 Pipestone Carnegie library, Minnesota, 1904 St. Mary's Catholic Church, South Dakota Rock County Courthouse and Veterans Memorial, Minnesota 1888 Rose Stone Inn, Dell Rapids, South Dakota, 1908 The Odd Fellows Home of Dell Rapids, Dell Rapids, South Dakota, 1910 National Register of Historic Places 2012 Old Central School opened its door in 1879, known as Washington High School, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Now bearing the name, Washington Pavilion, it opened its doors in 1999 as an arts and sci