Grandad Bluff on a sunny afternoon

Grandad Bluff (also Granddad Bluff) is a mesa on the west side of La Crosse, Wisconsin. A mesa ( Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic for "table" is an elevated area of land with a flat top and sides that are usually steep cliffs La Crosse is a city in and the County seat of La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States. It is the highest point in La Crosse County. La Crosse County is a county located in the US state of Wisconsin. Grandad Bluff is approximately 570 feet above the surrounding land.

Bliss Road proves access to the bluff; however, the road was closed due to the recent floods of August 2007, the 2007 Midwest flooding. The 2007 Midwest flooding was a major Flooding event that occurred in the Midwestern United States in the third week of August 2007 ^[1] There is a park shelter at the top where visitors are able to view La Crosse from a fenced off area atop the bluff. Included at the park is a panorama of La Crosse taken in 2004, with annotations of famous La Crosse landmarks below. Notable locations visible from the bluff include the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, the Mississippi River, bluffs in Minnesota, and Interstate 90. The University of Wisconsin–La Crosse (also known as UW–La Crosse, Wisconsin-La Crosse, or UW-L) is a Public university located in La The Mississippi River is the second longest River in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to Minnesota ( Native Americans demonstrated the name to early settlers Interstate 90 (I-90 is the longest interstate highway in the United States at nearly 3100 miles (5000 kilometers ^[2]

Geology

The panoramic sign and the panorama from the bluff.

The landscape has a geomorphically young appearance because of its Pleistocene history. The Pleistocene ('plaɪstəsin is the epoch from 18 million to 10000 years BP covering the world's recent period The Mississippi River probably did not occupy this course before the Pleistocene. The bluffs along this portion of the Mississippi River are Prairie du Chien dolostone capping Cambrian sandstone. Dolostone is a sedimentary Carbonate rock that contains a high percentage of the Mineral Dolomite. The Cambrian is a geologic period and system that began about Ma (million years ago at the end of the Proterozoic eon and ended about Ma with Sandstone is a Sedimentary rock composed mainly of Sand -size Mineral or rock grains. Grandad Bluff is a classic mesa, as are all the bluffs along the river. A mesa ( Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic for "table" is an elevated area of land with a flat top and sides that are usually steep cliffs ^[3]

History

On June 23, 1850, Father James Lloyd Breck of the Episcopal Church said the first Christian liturgy (Episcopalian liturgy) in La Crosse on top of Grandad Bluff. Events 1180 - First Battle of Uji, starting the Genpei War in Japan 1305 - The Flemish For the game see 1850 (board game. 1850 ( MDCCCL) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link James Lloyd Breck ( June 27, 1818 – April 2, 1876) was a Priest, Educator and Missionary of the Episcopal ^[4][5]

Grandad Bluff was mentioned in Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain. Life on the Mississippi is a Memoir by Mark Twain detailing his days as a Steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River before the Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30 1835 – April 21 1910 better known by the Pen name Mark Twain, was an American Humorist, satirist ^[6]

References

External links

• Articles about Grandad Bluff, La Crosse Public Library, La Crosse, Wisconsin
• Photos of Grandad Bluff
• Topographical Map of Grandad Bluff