prairie potholes
Duck breeding marshes
Prairie potholes are shallow wetland depressions scattered across the northern Great Plains of North America, formed by glacial retreat.
These water-filled basins vary seasonally—some permanent, others drying up in summer—and serve as critical breeding habitat for migratory waterfowl: The prairie pothole region produces most of North America's ducks.
- moraineGlacier-deposited debris pile
- sloughsSwampy depressions or discards
- playaDried lakebed in desert
- habitat restorationReviving degraded natural environments
- migratory birdsSpecies traveling between seasonal habitats
spring migration · duck hunting · coteau · flood mitigation · carbon sequestration · nesting sites · drainage tile · native grasses · water retention · aquatic ecosystems · cattails · geomorphology · marshes · sedges · ephemeral · breeding · shallow · migration
- Midwest natureGreat Lakes, Great Plains, bison, white-tailed deer, Mississippi River
- North DakotaBismarck, Fargo, Grand Forks, Badlands, Red River
- prairietallgrass, bison, native grasses, shortgrass, buffalo grass
- prairiesprairies, grasslands, grassland, tallgrass, plains
- Plains Geologybadlands, buttes, mesas, loess, shale
- seasonal poolsrock pools
prairie potholesocean
Massive saltwater body
sea · river · Great Lakes · deep lake · inland sea
prairie potholesdesert
To leave behind completely
mountain · mountain peak · sand dune · mountain range · high desert
prairie potholesriver
Large flowing watercourse
stream · creek · river system · drainage network · river channel