The Northern Wet Prairie of the United States: Nature, Sources of Information, and Extent

Abstract

W HEN I became interested in the occupation and utilization of formerly wet prairie in Iowa as a significant theme in historical geography, I was V t unable to a general study describing naturally poorly drained land in the state and giving its location. In fact, an examination of geographical writing about the prairies showed that geographers have been only little aware of the existence of the former wet prairies. The first problem was, then, to find the wet prairie of Iowa. In the search, the scope of the study was widened to include a more extensive general area of wet prairie in which the chief wet lands of Iowa were included. Some of the results of the inquiry into the degree of wetness and extent of the wet prairie at the time of settlement, together with an evaluation of types of source material, are presented in this paper. Briefly, the chief results of the search are, first, evidence that the wet prairie was at once type of natural vegetation, drainage condition, and natural land use classification; second, evidence that classification, description, and mapping of the soil constitute the most valid means of approximating the extent of the wet prairie which early pioneers encountered, with other types of information providing only secondary evidence; and third, a roughly comparable quantitative map showing the distribution of wet prairie at the time of white settlement in the north-central portion of the United States, with a more detailed map of Iowa.