The Couler Valley is a valley near Dubuque, Iowa, and has the Bee Branch Creek, previously known as the Couler Creek, located in it. It is about long. It is found in the Driftless Area.

Etymology

The name ''Couler'' has unknown meanings, however it could originate from the French or "to cast." Previously, the lower section went by Langworthy Hollow.

History

It has been interpreted that the

Little Maquoketa River The Little Maquoketa River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 13, 2011 direct tributary of the upper Mississippi River. The Little Maquoketa River is largely confin ...

used to flow through the Couler Valley. Mining started in the valley in 1788 when Julien Dubuque befriended the

Fox Indians The Meskwaki (sometimes spelled Mesquaki), also known by the European exonyms Fox Indians or the Fox, are a Native American people. They have been closely linked to the Sauk people of the same language family. In the Meskwaki language, the ...

. Most of the Couler Valley was included in the land grant to Dubuque by the Spanish Empire. After Dubuque's death, the Indians took over mining and exported lead to white settlers who had a furnace on a

Mississippian Mississippian may refer to: * Mississippian (geology), a subperiod of the Carboniferous period in the geologic timescale, roughly 360 to 325 million years ago *Mississippian culture, a culture of Native American mound-builders from 900 to 1500 AD ...

Island. In 1833, settling was permitted west of the Mississippi and mining was resumed by settlers.

Geography

The Couler Valley stretches for about in between the valleys of the Little Maquoketa River in Sageville to the Mississippi River in Dubuque in the south. It is drained southeastwardly by the Bee Branch. During high floods, the Little Maquoketa River can also occupy parts of the valley. It is deep, wide, and has a flat alluvial bottom.

Geology

The ore district around the Couler Valley has large amounts of zinc and lead. Those minerals were mined extensively in the 19th century. The

lithology The lithology of a rock unit is a description of its physical characteristics visible at outcrop, in hand or core samples, or with low magnification microscopy. Physical characteristics include colour, texture, grain size, and composition. Lit ...

of the surface consists of

loess Loess (, ; from german: Löss ) is a clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loess or similar deposits. Loess is a periglacial or aeolian ...

and residuum.

References

{{Reflist Dubuque, Iowa Canyons and gorges of Iowa