User:InexorableAlloy/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
Driftless Area

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
The Driftless Area is of particular interest to me and a subject matter I'm quite familiar with already. I've noticed an existing gap in content- there isn't much at all mentioned of the culture and politics of the Driftless, which is of national importance. It's been demonstrated in other areas of the country that the topography and geology of an area can reliably affect the political makeup of the area. There is some brief cultural context provided but largely of its agricultural importance.

Evaluate the article
Lead Section

The lead section of the article does a good job of generally outlining where the Driftless Area lies in the United States, how it formed, what its characteristics are, and some prominent natural features in the area.

Content

In general the content is up to date and is well-cited. The layout is very logical and its flow makes it easily readable. It also lists each state that lies within the Driftless and some of its characteristics.

Again- missing content would be politics and culture- a colloquially known part of the area but may not be known to the reader. Much of its draw is its small towns, fly-fishing economy and hunting, for example. Viroqua, in addition, is a destination location, locally, for tourists. Additionally, in the economic sphere, well-known companies are based in the Driftless, such as Wonderstate Coffee, Mathews Bows, 1 Up bicycle racks and Ashley Furniture to name a few.

Equity-related I was surprised to see very little mention of indigenous peoples that inhabited or still inhabit the region. I did see mention of Effigy Mounds monument but little was spoken of its origin. I was even more surprised to not see anything about the Black Hawk War, part of which took place in the Ocooch Mountains of the Driftless.

Tone

Delightfully unbiased. Very objective and well-studied with many sources attached. A lot of the content does focus on Wisconsin, but that's likely because most of the Driftless is within Wisconsin territory. I would like to see more of Illinois and Iowa.

Sources

Checking through the 'talk' section I see a lot of conversation between those in different fields of study. There are almost 60 sources listed below, many related to geology, geography, ecology, etc.

Organization

Well-written, well organized. Mostly natural area content, which is relevant due to the fact that the Driftless was formed by natural processes. I think "Other Characteristics" could be broken up a little, as it serves as more of a sort of "additional information" section. I don't think it would hurt to break these things up and introduce smaller subcategories, as these could then narrow the scope of concentration within smaller topics rather than having too wide a scope in one area.

Images and Media

There are a good enough amount of images to provide the reader a sufficient idea of what is present in the Driftless. I am irked a bit at the fact that many of the photos are within the Missisipppi River Valley. Would like to see more rocky features, and smaller blind valleys, etc. commonplace in the Driftless.