Hole in the Mountain Prairie

Hole in the Mountain Prairie is a preserved remnant of the tallgrass prairie in southwestern Minnesota. It is owned and administered by The Nature Conservancy.

Geography

Hole in the Mountain Prairie is located on Buffalo Ridge near the town of Lake Benton in Lincoln County, southwestern Minnesota. It spans a valley of about a half-mile in width, with a total area of 1,364 acres (5.5 km2).[1]

Flora

The preserve is home to about 60 species of grasses and emergent vegetation, and about 200 species of wildflowers. Trees are a minor feature, with only about 10 species present.[1]

Fauna

Whitetail deer, foxes, and numerous rodents are present, but The Nature Conservancy touts the butterflies of Hole in the Mountain as the most unusual and significant of its creatures.

Geology

The preserve is located in a valley of Buffalo Ridge, which is in turn a portion of the Coteau des Prairies, a highland which originates in South Dakota and runs about 200 miles (320 km) south and southeast through part of Minnesota and into northwestern Iowa.

Notes

  1. 1 2 The Nature Conservancy in Minnesota - Hole-in-the-Mountain Prairie

Coordinates: 44°13′55″N 96°17′46″W / 44.232°N 96.296°W / 44.232; -96.296

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 3/6/2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.