Windfall Prairie Nature Preserve

County: Vermilion
Ownership: Vermilion County Conservation District
Dedication: May 1979
Size: 32 acres

Windfall Prairie is a scenic prairie found on a high, southwest-facing bluff overlooking the Middle Fork of the Vermilion River within the Vermilion River Section of the Wabash Border Natural Division. Glacial drift hill prairie occupies the bluff's upper sloves, and calcareous seeps occur on the lower slopes.

The prairie is characterized by the grasses little bluestem, Indian grass, and side-oats grama, and also by many showy forbs such as prairie dock, Indian paintbrush, stiff gentian, and downy phlox. The prairie is surrounded by upland forest of oaks and hickories with sugar maple and basswood on the slopes and ravines.

The fragile seeps harbor a diversity of fen and wetland plants including many distinctive plants such as marsh lousewort, Indian plantain, and grass-of-Parnassus. Spring water percolating through the soil has deposited layers of calcium that contain fossilized plant and animal materials. The seeps are periodically subject to natural erosion caused by the river's fluctuating water levels.

Special Note: Due to the fragile nature of this hill prairie, access to this preserve is by permission only.

updated: January 10, 2002
www: www.prairienet.org/gpf
email: gpf@prairienet.org