- Prairie Pothole Region
The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) is an area of the northern
Great Plains and midgrass and tallgrassprairie s that contains thousands of shallow wetlands known as "potholes". These potholes are the result ofglacier activity in theWisconsin glaciation , which ended approximately 10,000 years ago. The decaying ice sheet left behind depressions formed by the uneven deposition oftill inground moraines , and melting ice blocks which createdkettle lake s. These depressions filled with water, creating the potholes.More than half of the potholes have been drained and converted to agriculture.cite web | title = Wetlands of the Prairie Pothole Region | publisher = Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center,
USGS | date = 2006-08-03 | url = http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/wetlands/pothole/prairie.htm | accessdate = 2008-05-20 ] [http://mpin.nbii.gov/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=424&PageID=1410&cached=true&mode=2 The Prairie Pothole Region] , National Biological Information Infrastructure website] Pothole loss is 90% or more in places.cite web | title = Wetlands | work = Fact Sheets | publisher = Minnesota River Basin Data Center, Minnesota State University, Mankato | date = 2004-11-15 | url = http://mrbdc.mnsu.edu/mnbasin/fact_sheets/wetlands.html | accessdate = 2008-05-20 ] Those potholes that remain are important habitats for migratory waterfowl and other wildlife, supporting more than 50% of North America's migratory waterfowl. [http://mpin.nbii.gov/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=424&PageID=1410&cached=true&mode=2 The Prairie Pothole Region] , National Biological Information Infrastructure website]References
External links
*Euliss, Ned H., Jr., David M. Mushet, and Dale A. Wrubleski.
1999-09-02 . [http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/wetlands/pothole/index.htm 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 on2008-05-20 .
*cite web | title = Prairie Potholes | work = Mountain-Prairie Region, South Dakota | publisher = U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | url = http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/pfw/sd/sd4b.htm | accessdate = 2008-05-20
*cite web | title = Prairie Potholes | work = Wetlands | publisher =United States Environmental Protection Agency | date = 2006-02-22 | url = http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/types/pothole.html | accessdate = 2008-05-20
* [http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/wetlands/pothole/prairie.htm Wetlands of the Prairie Pothole Region] , US Geological Survey Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center website
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