COULEE
Mines of Spain State Recreation Area, Dubuque, Iowa—September 2016 42° 27’ 49”N 90° 38’ 14”W Elevation 650 feet
The Trumpet cairn rests on a rock outcropping, overlooking this dry streambed, or coulee, in the Mines of Spain State Recreation Area. This valley was once a channel of the Mississippi river, which now flows 350 feet to the east. The name of the area comes from the lead ore first mined by the Mesquakie people. In 1796, the Spanish governor granted Julien Dubuque the right to the land with the condition that it be named the “Mines of Spain.”
The Trumpet cairn rests on a rock outcropping, overlooking this dry streambed, or coulee, in the Mines of Spain State Recreation Area. This valley was once a channel of the Mississippi river, which now flows 350 feet to the east. The name of the area comes from the lead ore first mined by the Mesquakie people. In 1796, the Spanish governor granted Julien Dubuque the right to the land with the condition that it be named the “Mines of Spain.”