Effigy Mounds National Monument

Effigy Mounds National Monument: see National Parks and Monuments (table).

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Effigy Mounds National Monument

Archaeological site, northeastern Iowa, U.S. Located on the Mississippi River, it covers 4 sq mi (10 sq km). Established in 1949, the monument has 183 known mounds, some of which are in the shape of birds and bears. The mounds were built over the course of the Woodland period (1000 BC–AD 1200), with the effigy mounds probably constructed between AD 400 and 1200. Many mounds have yielded copper, bone, and stone tools of Indian origin. One of the bear mounds is 137 ft (42 m) long and 3.5 ft (1 m) high.

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Effigy Mounds National Monument

Parks Directory of the United States / US National Parks / National Monuments

Address: 151 Hwy 76
Harpers Ferry, IA 52146
Phone: 563-873-3491;
Fax: 563-873-3743;
Web: www.nps.gov/efmo/
Size: 2,526 acres.
Established: Proclaimed on October 25, 1949.
Location: 3 miles north of Marquette, Iowa, off IA 76.
Facilities: Rest rooms (é), visitor center (é), museum/exhibit, self-guided tour/trail. Entrance fee required.
Activities: Hiking, cross-country skiing, guided trail walks.
Special Features: The monument preserves more than 200 prehistoric American Indian mound sites built along the Mississippi River between 450 BC and AD 1300, including 31 effigy mounds in the shapes of birds and bears. The mounds are outstanding examples of a significant phase of mound-building culture.

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See other parks in Iowa.