Effigy Mounds National Monument

Effigy Mounds National Monument

Effigy Mounds National Monument, area of 4 square miles (10 square km) containing numerous ancient Native American burial and ceremonial mounds in northeastern Iowa, U.S., on the Mississippi River, a few miles north of McGregor. Established in 1949 and located on bluffs overlooking the river, the monument has 195 known mounds. Most of the mounds are conical, but about 30 are effigies in the shape of birds and bears. The oldest mounds have been dated to about 450 bce, but the effigy mounds themselves were built by a later culture (probably in 500–1300 ce). Many of the mounds have yielded copper, bone, and stone tools of Native American origin. The largest of the bear mounds is 137 feet (42 metres) long and 3.5 feet (1 metre) high. Mixed deciduous forests and tallgrass prairies are found in the area. Wildlife species include white-tailed deer and a wide variety of birds, notably bald eagles that nest in the bluffs along the Mississippi.