We begin looking at the physical landscape of minnesota with the divides on the map below. they denote areas of uplift in the earth’s crust that determine the general cardinal direction of water runoff in different regions. mountains mark the boundaries for much of the east and west coast, but not so for minnesota (at least recently in geologic history). two divides, the laurentian and st. lawrence, converge here, and formed primarily from erosion rather than plate tectonics. all water runoff from precipitation, including streams and rivers, generally flows 3. from the lower 2/3rds of the state and north for most of the upper third. the exception to this north-south axis is far northeastern minnesota, which drains into the great lakes.