[TexanToTheCore]

A few words on the flooding that might have occurred in this area. The most recent example of wide area flooding that would float a viking boat or ship was relatively recent. It occurred along the Mississippi in 1993 and affected Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. At one point, in August or July one could have launched a viking ship just east of Des Moines, Iowa and sailed it into Illinois without touching bottom. So the idea that thousands of square miles of prairie could be flooded is not at all far fetched.

[Free Trapper]

Could the river have changed course even 40-60 miles years back?If so,the old riverbed would leave oxbows that tend to fill in and become marsh and eventually dry land.This can happen quickly under the right conditions.