What is the Driftless Area?
And what makes it so cool
The Driftless Area, located in southwest Wisconsin, is unique in that it was never covered by glaciers, so there is no glacial "drift" in this region. Hence, the name "Driftless". Glacial drift is the sedimentary material that is dragged along the glacier's bottom. Drift is made of debris including sand, gravel, clay, silt and boulders. Instead, the Driftless Area boasts a pristine, ancient topography, featuring rare plant species and extraordinary rock formations. The striking limestone rock formations, which protrude from the earth in this area, are referred to as “karst”. One such notable rock formation can be found just down the road towards Hollandale- see the photo below!
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North America experienced at least four major glacial ice ages during the Pleistocene epoch, named from oldest to youngest: Nebraskan, Kansan, Illinoian, and Wisconsin ice ages. About 100,000 years ago, the climate cooled and created the last of the four glaciations, the Wisconsin glaciation, which left many impacts on the North American landscape. This included the formation of the Driftless Area and the creation of many lakes in northern Canada. The glaciations were all separated by warm interglacial periods. All 4 glaciers in these periods moved around or encircled, but never covered, the Driftless Area- Even Mother Nature stood in awe of these beautiful lands, as she skirted the glaciers around the Driftless Area!​
This area of Wisconsin, starting just east of Iowa County, was never glaciated, so instead of having a flat terrain, we have sculpted, ancient landscapes that are higher and rougher than any other scenery in the Midwest. This gives us unique attractions like the Blue Mounds (visible when you look North from the yard or house windows), with Blue Mounds State Park and the underground Cave of the Mounds, world-class freshwater trout streams, impressive limestone bluffs, and beautiful wetlands and prairies! Just down the road from Sundance Villa in the Driftless is West Blue Mound. Look North! This is the highest point in the entire Driftless Region.
The Driftless area was also home to some incredible ancient creatures. The icy cold weather that arrived with the last glacier in Wisconsin created an ideal habitat for the wooly mammoth, who thrived on a diet of grass. As the climate warmed near the end of the glaciation, icy conditions gave way to lush spruce forests creating a perfect home for the American Mastodon. These enormous creatures fed on twigs, cones, and grass, and weighed up to 24,000 pounds!
Tabletop Rock
Local karst topography