Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type. Temperate grassland regions include the Pampas of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, and the steppe of Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan. Lands typically referred to as "prairie" tend to be in North America. The term encompasses the area referred to as the Interior Lowlands of Canada, the United States, and Mexico, which includes all of the Great Plains as well as the wetter, hillier land to the east.
Peoria Heights is a village lying in Peoria County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 6,156 at the 2010 census, down from 6,635 in 2000. Peoria Heights is a suburb of Peoria, is sometimes referred to as Uptown, and is surrounded by the city except for its eastern boundary on Peoria Lake, a relatively wider section of the Illinois River. It is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Crowley's Ridge is a geological formation that rises 250 to 550 feet (170 m) above the alluvial plain of the Mississippi embayment in a 150-mile (240 km) line from southeastern Missouri to the Mississippi River near Helena, Arkansas. It is the most prominent feature in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain between Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and the Gulf of Mexico.
The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America. Historically, natural and anthropogenic fire, as well as grazing by large mammals provided periodic disturbances to these ecosystems, limiting the encroachment of trees, recycling soil nutrients, and facilitating seed dispersal and germination. Prior to widespread use of the steel plow, which enabled large scale conversion to agricultural land use, tallgrass prairies extended throughout the American Midwest and smaller portions of southern central Canada, from the transitional ecotones out of eastern North American forests, west to a climatic threshold based on precipitation and soils, to the southern reaches of the Flint Hills in Oklahoma, to a transition into forest in Manitoba.
An oak savanna is a type of savanna—or lightly forested grassland—where oaks are the dominant trees. The terms "oakery" or "woodlands" are also used commonly, though the former is more prevalent when referencing the Mediterranean area. These savannas were maintained historically through wildfires set by lightning, humans, grazing, low precipitation, and/or poor soil.
The Driftless Area, also known as Bluff Country, the Blufflands, the Paleozoic Plateau, and the Coulee Region, is a topographical and cultural region in the Midwestern United States that comprises southwestern Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa, and the extreme northwestern corner of Illinois. The Driftless Area is a USDA Level III Ecoregion: Ecoregion 52. The Driftless Area takes up a large portion of the Upper Midwest forest–savanna transition.
Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens is an arboretum and botanical garden that was opened in 1991. It is located a mile west of U.S. Highway 69 on 179th Street, Overland Park, Kansas. It is operated by the City of Overland Park, Kansas, a city in the greater Kansas City metropolitan area.
The Loess Hills are a formation of wind-deposited loess soil in the westernmost parts of Iowa and Missouri, and the easternmost parts of Nebraska and Kansas, along the Missouri River.
Sand Ridge State Forest is a conservation area located in the U.S. state of Illinois. Containing 7,200 acres (2,900 ha), it is the largest state forest in Illinois. It is located in northern Mason County. The nearest town is Manito, Illinois, and the nearest numbered highway is U.S. Highway 136. It is located on a low bluff, or "sand ridge", overlooking the Illinois River, hence the name.
Coffeen Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area is an Illinois state park on 297 acres (120 ha) in Montgomery County, Illinois, United States just south of Coffeen.
Spring Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area is an Illinois state park on 2,032 acres (822 ha) in Tazewell County, Illinois, United States.
Fults Hill Prairie State Natural Area, also known as the Fults Hill Prairie Nature Preserve, is an Illinois Nature Preserve on 997 acres (403 ha) in Monroe County, Illinois, United States. A key feature of the preserve is a 532-acre (215 ha) hill prairie located on the east bluff of the Mississippi River overlooking the American Bottom near Fults, Illinois. The Fults Hill Prairie has been listed as a National Natural Landmark.
Carpenter Park is a 322-acre (1.30 km2) park on the north bank of the Sangamon River on the far north side of the city of Springfield, Illinois. Part of the park is a dedicated Illinois Nature Preserve and has been designated as an Important Bird Area of Illinois. The park, which is operated by the Springfield Park District, is one of the roadside attractions of old Route 66.
Cedars of Lebanon State Park is a state park in Wilson County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. It consists of 900 acres (364 ha) situated amidst the 9,420-acre (3,810 ha) Cedars of Lebanon State Forest. The park and forest are approximately 10 miles (16 km) south of Lebanon, Tennessee.
The Ozark Highlands is a Level III ecoregion designated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in four U.S. states. Most of the region is within Missouri, with a part in Arkansas and small sections in Oklahoma and Kansas. It is the largest subdivision of the region known as the Ozark Mountains, less rugged in comparison to the Boston Mountains in Arkansas, the highest part of the Ozarks.
The Interior Low Plateaus are a physiographic region in eastern United States. It consists of a diverse landscape that extends from north Alabama across central Tennessee and Kentucky into southern Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Its natural communities are a matrix of temperate forests, woodlands, and prairies.
Revis Hill Prairie State Natural Area, also known as Revis Hill Prairie Nature Preserve, is a 412.7-acre (167.0 ha) state park located six miles south of Easton in Mason County, Illinois. It is operated by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) as a tallgrass prairie nature preserve and as a fish and wildlife area managed for deer hunting.
The Sand Prairie-Scrub Oak State Nature Preserve, formerly called the Mason County State Wildlife Refuge and Recreation Area, is a natural area located in the U.S. state of Illinois. Containing 1,460 acres, it is a dedicated state nature preserve. It is located in western Mason County. The nearest town is Kilbourne, Illinois and the nearest numbered highway is Illinois Route 97. It contains fragmentary examples of the ecosystem described in its name.
The Western Corn Belt Plains is a Level III ecoregion designated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in seven U.S. states, though predominantly in Iowa.
