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This is one of a series of EarthCaches along the Upper Mississippi River. Enjoy learning about these wild places on the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. This area is open from dusk to dawn and is open 365 days a year. Stop by the Lost Mound Unit office and pickup some information as you head out to the cache. You will pass through some very unique habitat as you travel, but be sure to follow the brown signs to the observation deck. Other roads are off limits to the public. Visitors must stay on the roadway. Be sure to bring your binoculars so you don’t miss the excellent wildlife viewing opportunity.
The Army operated the Savanna Army Depot from 1917 through 2000. The Depot manufactured, tested and stored munitions.
On March 18, 2000 the Depot was officially closed and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) received 9,827 acres which became the Lost Mound Unit of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. The unit derives its name from a prominent geologic feature ‘Lost Mound’ located in the adjacent bluffland. The Lost Mound Unit is managed by the FWS in cooperation with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). The area is listed as a statewide significant natural area by the Illinois Natural Areas Inventory and 47 Illinois endangered and threatened plant and animal species have been observed.
Before Europeans settled the Midwest in the 1800s,Ilinois was covered with 22 million acres of prairie. Since then, the Prairie State has lost 99.9% of its pre-settlement prairie. Most of these remnants are small and not large enough to provide adequate habitat for grassland animals that have declined or disappeared along with the prairie. In 2004, Lost Mound was designated as one of 52 Important Bird Areas throughout Illinois by the National Audubon Society. In 2005, Lost Mound was identified as part of one of 32 Conservation Opportunity Areas in the Illinois Wildlife Action Plan (IWAP) and provides habitats for at least 110 species in greatest need of conservation and habitats, potentially, for an additional 129 species, particularly prairie insects.
The uplands at Lost Mound support the largest contiguous remnant of sand prairie/sand savanna in Illinois, making it a vital refuge for plants, animals, and people. Because of this large expanse of habitat, the prairie provides significant habitat for declining grassland birds, including upland sandpiper, western meadowlark, loggerhead shrike, and grasshopper, Henslow’s, and lark sparrows. In addition, Lost Mound and the adjacent bluffland is the only location in Illinois where a continuum of riverine, prairie, and upland forest communities occur as an ecosystem landscape. The diversity of habitats is important for both breeding and migrant birds. The 250 bird species recorded at Lost Mound include 110 spring or fall migrants, 38 year-round residents, 89 summer residents, and 13 winter residents. Lost Mound is home for both nesting and large concentrations of wintering bald eagles.
There is also another geological feature at this location. Confluence, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water. It usually refers to the point where a tributary joins a more major river. The Mississippi River is the second longest river in the United States, with a length of 2,340 miles (3,770 km) from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico. The Mississippi River has the third largest drainage basin (or catchment) in the world, exceeded in size only by the watersheds of the Amazon River and Congo River. The basin covers more than 1,245,000 sq mi (3,225,000 km²), including all or parts of 31 states and two Canadian provinces. The drainage basin empties into the Gulf of Mexico.
One of those tributaries is the Maquoketa River. The Maquoketa River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 140 miles (about 211 km) long. Its watershed covers 1,694 square miles (4,387 km2) within a rural region of rolling hills and farmland southwest of Dubuque. The river and its tributaries mark the border of the Driftless Area of Iowa, with the areas east of it not having been covered by ice during the last ice age. The Maquoketa rises in southeastern Fayette County, Iowa. The Maquoketa then flows generally eastward in a meandering course as it approaches the Mississippi. It enters Pool 13 of the Mississippi from the southwest in eastern Jackson County a few miles upstream from Sabula, Iowa approximately 30 mi (48 km) southeast of Dubuque.
To receive credit for this EarthCache, you must complete 2 requirements:
1) Take a picture of yourself with your GPSr, with the confluence in the background.
2) Email through our profile, the answer to the following question, do not post them on the cache page: How long is the natural dune system located in the area?
Additional Hints
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