Inspiration Peak is a glacial feature of the

Leaf Hills Moraines The Leaf Hills Moraines, sometimes called the Leaf Mountains, are a range of hills in west-central Minnesota. The land does not exhibit many characteristics of mountains, but nevertheless rises typically to a height of above the surrounding farmla ...

and of Otter Tail County in the

U.S. State In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

and is the second highest peak in Otter Tail County. It is northwest of

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

. The peak rises about above the surrounding plains, to an elevation of about above sea level. It is the central feature of Inspiration Peak State Wayside, a small recreation area maintained by the

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, or Minnesota DNR, is the agency of the U.S. state of Minnesota charged with conserving and managing the state's natural resources. The agency maintains areas such as state parks, state forests, recre ...

, which manages it from nearby Lake Carlos State Park. The wayside has a paved parking lot and a picnic area. The hike to the top is a short but strenuous walk up a well-worn trail from the parking lot. Higher terrain is located about five miles northeast of Inspiration Peak. Pekan Peak (unofficial name) in Section 32, Folden Township, Otter Tail County, discovered by John Sandy in February 2022, at coordinates 46°11′54.744″ N 95°30′4.248″ W (DMS), Latitude 46.19854 Longitude -95.50118 (DD), has an elevation of , measured by LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology. A conical-shaped hill, Inspiration Peak is a

kame A kame, or ''knob'', is a glacial landform, an irregularly shaped hill or mound composed of sand, gravel and till that accumulates in a depression on a retreating glacier, and is then deposited on the land surface with further melting of the g ...

formed atop the Alexandria Moraine, a

terminal moraine A terminal moraine, also called end moraine, is a type of moraine that forms at the terminal (edge) of a glacier, marking its maximum advance. At this point, debris that has accumulated by plucking and abrasion, has been pushed by the front edge ...

left by the Wadena and Des Moines lobes of the

Wisconsonian glaciation The Wisconsin Glacial Episode, also called the Wisconsin glaciation, was the most recent glacial period of the North American ice sheet complex. This advance included the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which nucleated in the northern North American Cor ...

. It is on the boundary between the

deciduous forest In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

to the east and

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

to the west. In fact both

biome A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...

s are present on the hill; its foot is covered with a predominantly

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

forest, while its open upper reaches have prairie species such as

pasqueflower The genus ''Pulsatilla'' contains about 40 species of herbaceous perennial plants native to meadows and prairies of North America, Europe, and Asia. Derived from the Hebrew word for Passover, "pasakh", the common name pasque flower refers to the ...

blazing star ''Blazing Star'' is a shoot 'em up video game developed by Yumekobo and published by SNK in 1998 for the Neo Geo arcade and home systems. It is a follow-up to '' Pulstar'' (1995) and features side-scrolling action similar to its predecessor an ...

aster Aster or ASTER may refer to: Biology * ''Aster'' (genus), a genus of flowering plants ** List of ''Aster'' synonyms, other genera formerly included in ''Aster'' and still called asters in English * Aster (cell biology), a cellular structure shap ...

s, and

goldenrod Goldenrod is a common name for many species of flowering plants in the sunflower family, Asteraceae, commonly in reference to the genus ''Solidago''. Several genera, such as ''Euthamia'', were formerly included in a broader concept of the genus ...

. Author

Sinclair Lewis Harry Sinclair Lewis (February 7, 1885 – January 10, 1951) was an American writer and playwright. In 1930, he became the first writer from the United States (and the first from the Americas) to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, which was ...

, a native of nearby

Sauk Centre, Minnesota Sauk Centre is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 4,555 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Sauk Centre is part of the St. Cloud, Minnesota, St. Cloud St. Cloud metropolita ...

, said of Inspiration Peak, "there's to be seen a glorious 20-mile circle of some 50 lakes scattered among fields and pastures, like sequins fallen on an old

Paisley shawl Paisley shawls were a fashionable item of women's clothing in the 19th century made of intricately woven and delicate wool. Although known as the Paisley pattern, the teardrop motif originated in Persia and India, becoming popular in Europe—and ...

References

{{authority control Kames State parks of Minnesota Mountains of Minnesota Protected areas of Otter Tail County, Minnesota Landforms of Otter Tail County, Minnesota