Natural History of Sandhill

Sandhill Wildlife Area’s gently rolling land belies a violent past when titanic forces settled mountains into seas, raised ocean bottoms and flooded its plains with lakes and marshes. The surrounding landscape you see when you visit Sandhill was shaped by the forces of land, water and weather.

The foundation of all life is the soil. Sandhill’s soils were created when great continental glaciers stalled 10,500 years ago about 15 miles northeast of our north property boundary. Lake Wisconsin formed as the glaciers melted. The melt waters deposited finely sorted sands on the lakebed. As the ancient glacial lake drained over the centuries, it left behind an expansive sandy, gently rolling land interspersed with saturated swamps covering parts of 7 central Wisconsin counties. The sandy soils are "nutrient poor" and trees have a hard time achieving optimal growth at Sandhill.

Learn more about Sandhill's Natural History:

• Wetlands
• Forests
• Prairies & Barrens