The valley where Friendship is located in this area preserves a large sample of what the rest of Wisconsin, as well as northern and eastern United States, were like before the Glacial Period.
The name covering this part of southwestern Wisconsin comes from the absence of glacial drift, which are the deposits of silt, gravel and rocks that glaciers would have left behind had they passed through.
“For long periods of time, rivers cut down through the bedrock. When glaciers were in surrounding areas, the meltwater sometimes made its way into the Driftless Area and contributed to the incision that formed the valleys and bluffs.
“It’s really fun to think about. Why did all this come together? If you go back far enough, it’s related to oceans that were here 500 million years ago. And (as) you come closer to (the) present, it’s tied to glacial activity in the region and then post-glacial activity of the past 11,000 years.”
— Colin Belby, head of the geography and Earth science department and professor at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
The bluffs, rock outcroppings, rivers, streams steep valleys and hills offer wonderful opportunities for great biking, hiking, cross country skiing canoeing, kayaking and fishing. Leaving the main highways, one is gifted with breath taking geological landscapes of sandstone and limestone as well as a unique diversity of wildlife vegetation.
Explore and enjoy this wonderful region of Wisconsin.