Prairie Pothole Region

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Map of the Prairie Pothole Region of North America (U.S. Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center)

The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) is an area of the northern Great Plains and midgrass and tallgrass prairies that contains thousands of shallow wetlands known as potholes. These potholes are the result of glacier activity in the Wisconsin glaciation, which ended approximately 10,000 years ago. The decaying ice sheet left behind depressions formed by the uneven deposition of till in ground moraines, and melting ice blocks which created kettle lakes. These depressions filled with water, creating the potholes.

More than half of the potholes have been drained and converted to agriculture.^[1]^[2] Pothole loss is 90% or more in places.^[3] Those potholes that remain are important habitats for migratory waterfowl and other wildlife, supporting more than 50% of North America's migratory waterfowl.^[2]

[edit] References

^ Wetlands of the Prairie Pothole Region. Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, USGS (2006-08-03). Retrieved on 2008-05-20.
^ ^a ^b The Prairie Pothole Region, National Biological Information Infrastructure website
^ Wetlands. Fact Sheets. Minnesota River Basin Data Center, Minnesota State University, Mankato (2004-11-15). Retrieved on 2008-05-20.

[edit] External links

Euliss, Ned H., Jr., David M. Mushet, and Dale A. Wrubleski. 1999-09-02. Wetlands of the Prairie Pothole Region: Invertebrate Species Composition, Ecology, and Management. Pages 471-514 in D. P. Batzer, R. B. Rader and S. A. Wissinger, eds. Invertebrates in Freshwater Wetlands of North America: Ecology and Management, Chapter 21. John Wiley & Sons, New York. Jamestown, ND: Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Online. Accessed on 2008-05-20.
Prairie Potholes. Mountain-Prairie Region, South Dakota. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved on 2008-05-20.
Prairie Potholes. Wetlands. United States Environmental Protection Agency (2006-02-22). Retrieved on 2008-05-20.
Wetlands of the Prairie Pothole Region, US Geological Survey Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center website