Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve
The rolling grasses and soft morning mist of Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, one of the rarest landscapes remaining in North America. The preserve protects a small surviving piece of the vast tallgrass prairie that once stretched across millions of acres from Texas north into Canada. Today, less than four percent of that original prairie ecosystem still exists.
The Flint Hills became one of the last refuges of the tallgrass prairie because the rocky limestone beneath the soil made large-scale farming difficult. While most of the prairie across the Midwest was plowed under for agriculture, these hills remained largely intact, preserving a glimpse of what early travelers and settlers once encountered as they moved westward across America.
Recognizing the rarity and importance of this disappearing landscape, Congress established Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in 1996 as part of the National Park system. Today, the preserve protects this unique ecosystem as well as a vanishing piece of the natural and cultural history of the American heartland.
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Mississippi National River and Recreation Area Minneapolis
While we were in Minneapolis teaching, we took some time to explore the Mississippi River. I had always associated the Mississippi with places much farther south, so it was particularly interesting to see the river here in Minnesota, relatively near the beginning of its long journey across the country. The Mississippi begins at Lake Itasca […]
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Munising, Michigan, was the first National Lakeshore established in the United States when it was created in 1966. Stretching for more than 40 miles along the southern shore of Lake Superior, it preserves a remarkable landscape of colorful sandstone cliffs, secluded beaches, waterfalls, forests, sand dunes, and crystal-clear water. Erin […]
George Rogers Clark National Historical Park
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