Collections of these dome-like hills are common in landscapes throughout the United States. Depending on your region, you might know them as Mima mounds, hogwallow mounds, or even pimple mounds–and their origin isn’t always clear. Theories range from seismic activity to gophers—and even just an accumulation of sediment. The prairie mounds on our homepage today are part of Oregon’s Zumwalt Prairie, a protected grassland area in northeast Oregon. Encompassing some 330,000 acres, it’s of one of the largest remaining tracts of bunchgrass prairie in North America. Once part of an extensive grassland in the region, this portion has remained preserved due to its high elevation, which made farming difficult.
Mysterious prairie mounds abound
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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Prague, Czech Republic
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Atlantic puffin, Iceland
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Veterans Day
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Great Fountain Geyser, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
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Young black caiman, Tambopata National Reserve, Peru
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Take the Stairs Day
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Have fun storming the castle
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Tom Turkey takes Manhattan
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Honoring the first American woman in space
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National Hummingbird Day
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Bản Giốc–Detian Falls, Vietnam
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World Jellyfish Day
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Goliath heron in Kruger National Park, South Africa
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Canada Day
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Seasonal lights dazzle in Japan
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Total solar eclipse
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Happy anniversary to the National Park Service!
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Celebrating Norwegian Constitution Day
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Ukrainian Independence Day
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International Mountain Day
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A house of grand scale(s)
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Dark skies over New Mexico
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Monarch butterflies, Pismo Beach, California
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Celebrating Panama s independence
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Happy Lunar New Year!
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A visit to Limerick on Limerick Day
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Napping away New Year s Day
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International Lighthouse Weekend
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Black Fell in England s Lake District
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A river runs through it