Fults Hill Prairie State Natural Area, also known as the Fults Hill Prairie Nature Preserve, is an State Park and nature reserve on in Monroe County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. A key feature of the preserve is a hill prairie located on the east bluff of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

overlooking the

American Bottom The American Bottom is the flood plain of the Mississippi River in the Metro-East region of Southern Illinois, extending from Alton, Illinois, south to the Kaskaskia River. It is also sometimes called "American Bottoms". The area is about , mo ...

near Fults, Illinois. The Fults Hill Prairie has been listed as a

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best ...

Natural resources

The preserve is dominated by steep Mississippi River limestone bluffs and ravines. On top of the bluff lies a thick coating of windblown loess soil. This parcel of land has grown into a hill prairie of grasses and

forb A forb or phorb is an herbaceous flowering plant that is not a graminoid (grass, sedge, or rush). The term is used in biology and in vegetation ecology, especially in relation to grasslands and understory. Typically these are dicots without woo ...

s characteristic of the tallgrass prairie, and varied by snatches of fire-resistant trees such as the

bur oak ''Quercus macrocarpa'', the bur oak or burr oak, is a species of oak tree native to eastern North America. It is in the white oak section, ''Quercus'' sect. ''Quercus'', and is also called mossycup oak, mossycup white oak, blue oak, or scrub o ...

. The preserve is home to a wide variety of species found in few other locations in Illinois. Some of these include

big bluestem ''Andropogon gerardi'', commonly known as big bluestem, is a species of tall grass native to much of the Great Plains and grassland regions of central and eastern North America. It is also known as tall bluestem, bluejoint, and turkeyfoot. Taxon ...

grass, plains

scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always en ...

, cactus, skinks, and fence lizards.

History and description

The upland or ''hill prairie'' was once the dominant ecosystem for much of the land that became the U.S. state of Illinois, the ''Prairie State''. The state's Department of Natural Resources, which owns the prairie parcel, describes it as containing "the largest complex of the highest quality, essentially undisturbed loess hill prairies along the Mississippi River in Illinois." Most of the prairie acreage that makes up this parcel apparently remained un- plowed during the

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and de ...

years of the 1800s. The nature preserve was dedicated as an Illinois Nature Preserve in 1970, and was listed as a

in 1986. The preserve is located approximately south of Fults. It is owned and managed by the

Illinois Department of Natural Resources The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is the code department of the Illinois state government that operates the state parks and state recreation areas, enforces the fishing and game laws of Illinois, regulates Illinois coal mines, ...

References

External links

* * * State parks of Illinois Protected areas of Monroe County, Illinois Protected areas established in 1970 State Natural Areas of Illinois 1970 establishments in Illinois National Natural Landmarks in Illinois {{MonroeCountyIL-geo-stub

Natural resources

History and description

See also

References

External links