The northeast corner of Iowa is commonly referred to as the Driftless Region, an area of the Midwest left untouched by glaciers.

This created a unique landscape of breathtaking views filled with beautiful hills, spring-fed waterfalls, cold-water streams, and limestone bluffs.

We are very much unique to not only Iowa, but to other parts of the world, as well.

The Driftless Area is made up of parts of four states -- northeast Iowa, southeast Minnesota, southwest Wisconsin, and northwest Illinois.

It's about 24,000 square miles total.

But, you know, in the scheme of things, that's a pretty small area.

Kohlsdorf: To learn more about how this region came to be, we stop at the Driftless Area Education & Visitors Center, situated just south of Lansing.

You know, we knew going into the building of this center that there's no way we could cover everything there is to see in the Driftless Area.

So we just wanted to give people a 30-second snippet of everything from the Mississippi River to the cold-water streams to the effigies, like at Effigy Mounds National Monument, to, you know, everything that they could imagine when they're in this small ecosystem of the Driftless Area.

Kohlsdorf: Opened in August of 2017, the nationally recognized interpretive museum has a front-row seat on the Mississippi River.

The center provides educational opportunities for travelers to explore the science, history, and culture of the Driftless Region along the Great River Road.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ The history and culture of river life is on full display at the Driftless Area Education & Visitors Center.