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State Park Overview |
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Nature of the Area |
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Camdens cool wooded valley cuts through the open prairie and offers visitors the opportunity to observe plants and animals of woodlands and prairies. Springtime flowers, white trillium, trout lilies, bloodroot and violets, color Camdens woodlands. The prairie comes alive in spring with pasque flowers and prairie smoke. In summer, purple coneflowers and blazing stars add color to the prairie. In the fall, goldenrods, asters and gentians bloom on the prairie. Reds, yellows and golds from maples, basswoods, ash, cottonwoods and hackberry make the fall colors great at Camden State Park.
Camden lies in an area of southwestern Minnesota called Coteau des Prairies, which means highland of the prairie. It is a high plateau that rises 900 feet, at its summit. During the last Ice Age, glaciers covered the shale and sandstone bedrock of this area with layers of mixed rock, gravel, sand and clay, which together are known as till. Where the glaciers ended their advance or held steady, the till piled up into long, high ridges called moraines. Camden lies atop the Altamont moraine, the second highest and most eastern moraine in the Coteau. Not all of the topography in this park is a direct result of glacial activity. The Redwood River Valley was formed after the glaciers had receded to the north. Water draining and flowing off the land cut into the till and carved out the Redwood River Valley.
One hundred fifty years ago, buffalo, elk, wolves, prairie chickens, and golden eagles were an integral part of life here. They are gone now. Today, mink, raccoons, songbirds, hawks, coyotes, and a large winter herd of whitetail deer flourish in the park. Bass and bluegill are found in Brawner Lake, and brown trout are stocked in the Redwood River each year. |
History of the Area |
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