We have not claimed a better soil than that of adjoining counties, but in the number of character of its streams, and facilities for water power, Lyon County surpasses any portion of Northwestern Iowa.

The county is drained by the Rock and Big Sioux rivers and their tributaries.

THE ROCK RIVER

And its numerous effluent's drain the central and eastern portions of the county.  This stream takes its name from a bold outcrop of the red quartzite rock, called the "Blue Mounds," near the town of Luverne, Minnesota, from which the Yanktons gave it the name of "River of the Red Rock."  It rises in Minnesota, about seventy-five miles north of the State line, and flows southward, passing nearly through the center of Lyon County, and unites with the Big Sioux about fifteen miles below its southern boundary.  Its length is about one hundred miles, and it drains over a million acres of farming lands.

It is a clear, rapid and powerful stream, with a rocky or gravel bed, and an average width of from eighty to one hundred feet, and a depth of from three to six feet.  It flows through a beautiful valley from one to three miles wide, the sides of which blend gracefully with the prairie beyond.  Between the line of highest overflow and the prairie there stretches a continued level plane, which will serve the excellent purpose of a bed for a railroad-which must follow the development of this rich valley.

Aside from the many other advantages of this river, are the facilities which it affords for milling and manufacturing purposes, in its magnificent water powers.  Those in Lyon County are among the finest in the Northwest, and are the source of great future wealth, and deserve the early attention of capitalists.

The scenery on this stream, especially in the summer, is most delightful.  The beholder, at each sweeping bend of the river, is startled by a prospect of groves, parks, waterfalls and green slopes.  The view in the distance is lost in the dim outline of the winding forest, or in other places is arrested by the cultivated field, the farm-house, or the thriving village.

The principal tributaries of the Rock are the Little Rock, Otter Creek, West Branch, Kanaranzi and Tom Creek.  These are swift and sparkling streams, fed by springs.  They rise in Minnesota, and in winding their way to a junction with the Rock, completely water all parts of the county.

THE BIG SIOUX RIVER

Received its name from Lewis and Clark, who passed its mouth on the 21st of August, 1804, on their great exploring expedition to the Northwest.  These explorers reported it as a navigable stream, but this has not proved to be true, though steamboats have at times ascended the river some distance.  This stream is somewhat larger than the Rock, and partakes of the same general description.  It rises near Big Stone Lake, Dakota, and flows southward, dividing Lyon County from Dakota Territory, and emptying into the Missouri a short distance above Sioux City.

The valley of the Sioux is very extensive and fertile, being from three to six miles wide.  On the Iowa side this valley is guarded by a line of bluffs from one hundred to two hundred and fifty feet high, which render the scenery picturesque and beautiful.

The facilities for manufacturing on this stream are excellent.

Good judges estimate that a fine water power may be found as often as once every two miles throughout its entire length, from the northwest corner of the State to the mouth of Rock River.  With these advantages, the building of a railroad up this valley-already begun-and our fine field for sheep raising, the development of woolen manufacture promises much for the future of this country.

The streams in Lyon County all abound with many excellent varieties of fish, which are taken at all seasons of the year.  Their valleys are inhabited by elk, deer, beaver, otter and other game, and by flocks of wild geese, ducks, pelicans, swans and other wild fowl, furnishing a fine opportunity for sporting.