Prairie Pothole EarthCache
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When settlers first came to the upper Midwest they gazed upon un-ending tracts of prairie grass. From north central Iowa to the northwest into Canada, wetlands and prairie potholes interrupted this sea of grasses and other vegetation. To make the land suitable for farming these areas were drained with man-made ditches and underground pipes called tiles. Pothole loss is as high as 90% in some regions and almost half of the original 20 million acres overall have been drained.
These potholes were depressions in the landscape left behind when the glaciers melted between 10 and 12 million years ago and became habitat and nesting grounds for many species of waterfowl in addition to other birds, mammals, reptiles, invertebrates and insects.
Another benefit of these wetlands is filtration and storage of rainwater and snow melt. In the spring, the water from melting snow in addition to spring rain drains into these low lying areas rather than into streams and rivers. This allows sediments to settle out and water to be absorbed slowly into the underground aquifer instead of rushing downstream carrying vital nutrients and topsoil to the Gulf of Mexico.
In recent years we have discovered that the wetlands also act as a filter to pollutants that man has introduced into the landscape. Fertilizers from the ground and chemicals that wash out of the sky with rains settle into these areas and get filtered by them before they seep into the underground water supply. For these reasons and to increase wildlife habitat many groups, both public and private have been rebuilding wetlands in hopes that water quality can be increased, wildlife habitat can be restored and downstream flooding can be reduced.
To claim this Earth Cache please do the following.
Email me the answers to the following questions:
1. How many acres is this prairie area.
2. Describe the difference between the prairie area and the area north across the road and how that difference affects water quality.
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