Park History

History:

The word “Isanti” comes from a division of the Dakotas known as the Izatys, which may be translated to mean “Dwell at Knife Lake”, where they resided.

Click on map to enlarge

The name “ Rum River ” is thought to be a mistranslation of the Dakota word Wakan Wakpa meaning “Spirit River", which flows out of Mde Wakan, “Spirit Lake” or Lake Mille Lacs. In 1767 Jonathan Carver stopped at what is now Peninsula Point Two River Historical Park. He is credited with naming the Rum River.

Geology, Soils, and Topography:

Isanti County is dominated by glacial deposits. They include morainic hills, outwash sand plains, glacial lake beds and numerous marshes, lakes and streams. Two kinds of glacial drift of different age and composition have been deposited in the County. The older is the middle Wisconsin drift which advanced from the northeast, commonly called the red drift due to the color of the material which is coarse textured, stony and low in lime. The more recent drift was deposited by the Grantsburg sublobe of the Des Moines lobe as it advanced from the northwest. This material is grey when unweathered and is derived mostly from limestone and calcareous shale. It is less stony than red drift and is normally fine textured. Grey drift is relatively high in lime.

Lake Grantsburg, a lake formed at the same time as the advancement of the latest
sublobe, provided the origin for the fertile, silty soils found along the northern border of
the county.

The        The Anoka Sand Plain which covers about 60% of the county was formed by the
             Mississippi River as it retreated from the Grantsburg sublobe. The sand plain is
             characterized by relatively smooth finger-like depressions, many small isolated marshes,
             and scattered dune-like knolls of wind-deposited materials. In most places, the sand
             overlays grey drift in thickness of sand that range from a few inches to many feet. The
             Zimmerman loamy fine sand and fine sands are the most c omm on soils developed from
             these sandy glacial outwash deposits.

             Several belts of morainic hills formed from material deposited during an early glacial period
             extend across the County. One of the most prominent is located in the southwestern corner
             occurs in Maple Ridge Township. This crest of the ridge which is the highest point in the
             county is 1,150 feet above sea level. Areas of rolling topography also occur in Stanchfield,
             Springvale and Cambridge Townships. In Isanti and North Branch Townships the landscape
             is relatively smooth. Topography is rolling and steep again near the Chisago County line
             and rises 40 to 70 feet above the lakes and marshes.

The       The lowest elevation in the county is 875 feet above sea level at a point where the North
            Branch of the Sunrise River crossed the eastern boundary of North Branch Township. The
maxi    maximum elevation change is 275 feet.