Cheyenne Bottoms
Encyclopedia
Cheyenne Bottoms is one of 29 places in the United States on the List of Ramsar wetlands of international importance. It is located 2 miles (3.2 km) east of US Highway 281, midway between Hoisington
and Great Bend in Kansas.
The 41000 acre (165.92 km²; 64.06 sq mi) wetland
is said to be the largest wetland in the interior United States. Kansas claims that 45 percent of shorebirds in the United States stop at the marsh. At least 320 species of birds have been recorded there, including numerous Whooping Cranes
and thousands of Sandhill Cranes
.
A core 19857 acre (80.36 km²; 31.03 sq mi) parcel belongs to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks
(KDWP). The Nature Conservancy
owns an adjacent 7300 acre (29.54 km²; 11.41 sq mi).
On January 29, 2008, Quivira National Wildlife Refuge
and Cheyenne Bottoms were jointly named as one of the 8 Wonders of Kansas.
and the Kiowa
(or Pawnee) turned one of the streams blood red. Blood Creek now flows into the lowlands. Greyhound racing
in the United States traces its start to a coursing
event in the bottoms in 1886.
In 1900, a project known as the Koen Ditch attempted to divert Arkansas River
water 12 miles (19.3 km) to the bottoms so that it could be used for irrigation. The ditch washed out in a flood. During the 1920s various plans were put forth to drain the bottoms and convert it to farmland.
The debate over whether to convert it to farmland or use it as a hunting preserve continued through the early 1920s. Residents downstream at Hutchinson, Kansas
protested that draining the bottoms would create flood problems for them. The Little Cheyenne Creek drains into Cow Creek which joins the Arkansas at Hutchinson.
In 1925, the Kansas Forestry, Fish and Game Commission (now part of KDWP) was created to develop and care for the bottoms. In August 1927, 14 inches (35.6 cm) of rain upstream turned it overnight into "Lake Cheyenne," and caused flooding downstream of Little Cheyenne Creek. Clifford Hope, Charles Curtis
, Henry Allen
and Arthur Capper
made an unsuccessful plea to get federal money to convert it into a National Wildlife Refuge
.
Following the Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (named for Key Pittman
and A. Willis Robertson) of 1937, which taxed sporting arms and ammunition, funds became available to develop the bottoms.
In 1952, after the construction of dikes, roads and hunting blinds, part of the area was opened to public hunting. In 1957, a new canal from the Arkansas River was built. However, relatively little water from the Arkansas was pumped into the bottom because of drought and claims by other entities on the water supply. In the 1990s, an extensive renovation subdivided the marshes. The renovations allowed the marshes to be more self-sustaining, although an adequate water supply and management of water levels continue to be critical problems.
Also in the 1990s, The Nature Conservancy began acquiring land adjacent to the state wildlife area.
as high as 100 feet (30.5 m). The basin traps the water of Blood and Deception Creeks. One of the most popular theories is that Cheyenne Bottoms was created as a sinkhole
when incoming freshwater dissolved underground salt. However, this theory is challenged by critics who say that not enough salt is present in the base to cause this.
Other theories to explain the formation of Cheyenne Bottoms are that there was structural movement in its base, that it was part of a Pleistocene
drainage system involving the Smoky Hill River
, and that it was created by sand dunes
that scoured the flatlands and blocked drainage.
that come here to feed on the mudflats. As many as 600,000 shorebirds from 39 species pass through Cheyenne Bottoms during spring migration and up to 200,000 in fall. About 45 percent of all shorebirds in North America utilize the area. Cheyenne Bottoms is critical habitat for many endangered species, including the Whooping Crane
.
A total of 340 species of birds have been observed at Cheyenne Bottoms.
Hoisington
Hoisington can refer to:* Elizabeth P. Hoisington, American Army officer who was one of the first women to attain the rank of Brigadier General* Hoisington, Kansas, a town in the United States...
and Great Bend in Kansas.
The 41000 acre (165.92 km²; 64.06 sq mi) wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
is said to be the largest wetland in the interior United States. Kansas claims that 45 percent of shorebirds in the United States stop at the marsh. At least 320 species of birds have been recorded there, including numerous Whooping Cranes
Whooping Crane
The whooping crane , the tallest North American bird, is an endangered crane species named for its whooping sound. Along with the Sandhill Crane, it is one of only two crane species found in North America. The whooping crane's lifespan is estimated to be 22 to 24 years in the wild...
and thousands of Sandhill Cranes
Sandhill Crane
The Sandhill Crane is a large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird references habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills in the American Midwest...
.
A core 19857 acre (80.36 km²; 31.03 sq mi) parcel belongs to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks
Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks
The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks is a state cabinet-level agency led by a Secretary of Wildlife and Parks appointed by the Governor of Kansas. The Office of the Secretary is located in Topeka, the state capital of Kansas...
(KDWP). The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is a US charitable environmental organization that works to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive....
owns an adjacent 7300 acre (29.54 km²; 11.41 sq mi).
On January 29, 2008, Quivira National Wildlife Refuge
Quivira National Wildlife Refuge
Quivira National Wildlife Refuge is located in south central Kansas near the town of Stafford. It lies mostly in northeastern Stafford County, but small parts extend into southwestern Rice and northwestern Reno Counties. Its proximity to the Central Flyway migration route and the salt marshes on...
and Cheyenne Bottoms were jointly named as one of the 8 Wonders of Kansas.
History
According to legend, a battle in 1825 between the CheyenneCheyenne
Cheyenne are a Native American people of the Great Plains, who are of the Algonquian language family. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taeo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese .The Cheyenne are thought to have branched off other tribes of Algonquian stock inhabiting lands...
and the Kiowa
Kiowa
The Kiowa are a nation of American Indians and indigenous people of the Great Plains. They migrated from the northern plains to the southern plains in the late 17th century. In 1867, the Kiowa moved to a reservation in southwestern Oklahoma...
(or Pawnee) turned one of the streams blood red. Blood Creek now flows into the lowlands. Greyhound racing
Greyhound racing
Greyhound racing is the sport of racing greyhounds. The dogs chase a lure on a track until they arrive at the finish line. The one that arrives first is the winner....
in the United States traces its start to a coursing
Coursing
Coursing is the pursuit of game or other animals by dogs—chiefly greyhounds and other sighthounds—catching their prey by speed, running by sight and not by scent. Coursing was a common hunting technique, practised by the nobility, the landed and wealthy, and commoners with sighthounds and lurchers...
event in the bottoms in 1886.
In 1900, a project known as the Koen Ditch attempted to divert Arkansas River
Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...
water 12 miles (19.3 km) to the bottoms so that it could be used for irrigation. The ditch washed out in a flood. During the 1920s various plans were put forth to drain the bottoms and convert it to farmland.
The debate over whether to convert it to farmland or use it as a hunting preserve continued through the early 1920s. Residents downstream at Hutchinson, Kansas
Hutchinson, Kansas
Hutchinson is the largest city in and the county seat of Reno County, Kansas, United States, northwest of Wichita, on the Arkansas River. It has been home to salt mines since 1887, thus its nickname of "Salt City", but locals call it "Hutch"...
protested that draining the bottoms would create flood problems for them. The Little Cheyenne Creek drains into Cow Creek which joins the Arkansas at Hutchinson.
In 1925, the Kansas Forestry, Fish and Game Commission (now part of KDWP) was created to develop and care for the bottoms. In August 1927, 14 inches (35.6 cm) of rain upstream turned it overnight into "Lake Cheyenne," and caused flooding downstream of Little Cheyenne Creek. Clifford Hope, Charles Curtis
Charles Curtis
Charles Curtis was a United States Representative, a longtime United States Senator from Kansas later chosen as Senate Majority Leader by his Republican colleagues, and the 31st Vice President of the United States...
, Henry Allen
Henry Allen
Henry Allen or Henry Allan may refer to:* Henry Allen , Pulitzer Prize for Criticism winner* Henry Allen , Christian hymnwriter* Henry Allen , Mayor of Gloucester, England in 1873...
and Arthur Capper
Arthur Capper
Arthur Capper was an American politician from Kansas. He was the 20th Governor of Kansas from 1915 to 1919 and a United States Senator from 1919 to 1949....
made an unsuccessful plea to get federal money to convert it into a National Wildlife Refuge
National Wildlife Refuge
National Wildlife Refuge is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the world's premiere system of public lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife and plants...
.
Following the Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (named for Key Pittman
Key Pittman
Key Denson Pittman was a United States Senator from Nevada. He was a Democrat.Pittman was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, in 1872 and was educated by private tutors and at the Southwestern Presbyterian University in Clarksville, Tennessee. He studied law, then later became a lawyer...
and A. Willis Robertson) of 1937, which taxed sporting arms and ammunition, funds became available to develop the bottoms.
In 1952, after the construction of dikes, roads and hunting blinds, part of the area was opened to public hunting. In 1957, a new canal from the Arkansas River was built. However, relatively little water from the Arkansas was pumped into the bottom because of drought and claims by other entities on the water supply. In the 1990s, an extensive renovation subdivided the marshes. The renovations allowed the marshes to be more self-sustaining, although an adequate water supply and management of water levels continue to be critical problems.
Also in the 1990s, The Nature Conservancy began acquiring land adjacent to the state wildlife area.
Geology
The formation of the wetland in a natural basin in a semi-arid area is not entirely understood. It is surrounded on the north, east, and west by bluffsCliff
In geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually...
as high as 100 feet (30.5 m). The basin traps the water of Blood and Deception Creeks. One of the most popular theories is that Cheyenne Bottoms was created as a sinkhole
Sinkhole
A sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the Earth's surface caused by karst processes — the chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks or suffosion processes for example in sandstone...
when incoming freshwater dissolved underground salt. However, this theory is challenged by critics who say that not enough salt is present in the base to cause this.
Other theories to explain the formation of Cheyenne Bottoms are that there was structural movement in its base, that it was part of a Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
drainage system involving the Smoky Hill River
Smoky Hill River
The Smoky Hill River is a river in the central Great Plains of North America, running through the U.S. states of Colorado and Kansas.-Names:The Smoky Hill gets its name from the Smoky Hills region of north-central Kansas through which it flows...
, and that it was created by sand dunes
Dune
In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by wind. Dunes occur in different forms and sizes, formed by interaction with the wind. Most kinds of dunes are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune and have a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the wind...
that scoured the flatlands and blocked drainage.
Description
Historically, Cheyenne Bottoms has been a lake of varying size, a mudflat, or dry. With management to control water and provide a secure way-station for migrating waterfowl and shore birds, it now has 5 pools, crisscrossed by dikes, canals, and pathways, that cover most of the acreage of the wildlife management area. The pools average less than one foot deep. Pools one and five are closed to all human activities. Surrounding the pools are mudflats, ponds, and islands. Elevated areas are primarily grasslands with a few trees. The Kansas State and Nature Conservancy lands are managed with the objective of providing a diverse marsh habitat for the use of migrating and breeding waterfowl and shorebirds. Waterfowl hunting, primarily for geese, is permitted along the southern border of the state wildlife management area. The Kansas Wetlands Education Center within the wildlife management area interprets the wetlands and wildlife for visitors. Approximately 60,000 people visit Cheyenne Bottoms yearly.Birds
Cheyenne Bottoms is especially noted for the concentration of migratory shorebirdsWader
Waders, called shorebirds in North America , are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-footed seabird groups. The latter are the skuas , gulls , terns , skimmers , and auks...
that come here to feed on the mudflats. As many as 600,000 shorebirds from 39 species pass through Cheyenne Bottoms during spring migration and up to 200,000 in fall. About 45 percent of all shorebirds in North America utilize the area. Cheyenne Bottoms is critical habitat for many endangered species, including the Whooping Crane
Whooping Crane
The whooping crane , the tallest North American bird, is an endangered crane species named for its whooping sound. Along with the Sandhill Crane, it is one of only two crane species found in North America. The whooping crane's lifespan is estimated to be 22 to 24 years in the wild...
.
A total of 340 species of birds have been observed at Cheyenne Bottoms.