St. Croix State Park

St. Croix State Park is a state park in Pine County, Minnesota, USA. The park follows the shore of the St. Croix River for and contains the last of the Kettle River. At it is the largest Minnesota state park. It was developed as a Recreational Demonstration Area in the 1930s, and is one of the finest surviving properties of this type in the nation. 164 structures built by the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration survive, the largest collection of New Deal projects in Minnesota. As a historic district they were listed on the National Register of Historic Places and proclaimed a National Historic Landmark in 1997. Natural history The St. Croix River Valley was carved by meltwater during the last glacial period circa 10,000 BC. The water deposited a variety of sediments, which compose over 30 different types of soil within the park. Some soils are very sandy while others are made of red or yellow clay. The St. Croix River's exposure of a characteristic yellow clay deposit gave the historic Yellowbanks section of the park its name. The bedrock of the area is mostly buried under of these glacial till deposits. However the underlying basalt and sandstone is exposed in one area along the Kettle River known as the Highbanks, where a final ancient flood of meltwater scoured away the sediments. In addition to the two rivers, at least ten other streams flow through the park, creating a watershed of hundreds of square miles. St. Croix State Park is located on the eastern edge of the Mille Lacs Uplands. Initially dominated by red and white pines, the vegetation has been altered by logging and farming. The present secondary forest is a mix of pines, black spruce, sugar maple, and basswood. More open areas form meadows, oak savanna, and jack pine barrens. Numerous lakes, marshes, and streams support wetland and riparian zone plants. Wetlands with no outlet and high acidity support tamarack bogs.