List of National Natural Landmarks in Illinois

From List of National Natural Landmarks, these are the National Natural Landmark

National Natural Landmark

The National Natural Landmark program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only natural areas program of national scope that identifies and recognizes the best examples of biological and geological features in...

s in Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

. There are 18 in total, X are lakes or pond, Y are forests, Z are other.

	Name	Location	County	Description
1	Allerton Natural Area Robert Allerton Park The Robert Allerton Park is a 1,517 acre park, nature center, and conference center located near Monticello, Illinois on the upper Sangamon River...		Piatt Piatt County, Illinois Piatt County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 16,729, which is an increase of 2.2% from 16,365 in 2000...	Contains relatively undisturbed examples of bottomland and upland forests.
2	Bell Smith Springs Shawnee National Forest The Shawnee National Forest, located in the Ozark and Shawnee Hills of Southern Illinois, consists of approximately 280,000 acres of federally managed lands. In descending order of land area it is located in parts of Pope, Jackson, Union, Hardin, Alexander, Saline, Gallatin, Johnson, and Massac...		Pope	A fragile area containing some of the best examples of ecosystems typical of sharply dissected sandstone substrates.
3	Busse Forest Nature Preserve	Schaumburg, Illinois Schaumburg, Illinois Schaumburg is a city located in Cook County in northeastern Illinois. A common misspelling of the city name is Schaumberg, a spelling which persists on some modern maps. Schaumburg is located just under northwest of downtown Chicago and approximately northwest of O'Hare International Airport. As... 42.04209°N 88.003407°W	Cook Cook County, Illinois Cook County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, with its county seat in Chicago. It is the second most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County. The county has 5,194,675 residents, which is 40.5 percent of all Illinois residents. Cook County's population is larger than...	A surviving fragment of flatwoods, a type of damp-ground forest in the Great Lakes Great Lakes The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume... region. Characterized by red maple Red Maple Acer rubrum , is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern North America. It ranges from the Lake of the Woods on the border between Ontario and Minnesota, east to Newfoundland, south to near Miami, Florida, and southwest to east Texas... , swamp white oak Swamp White Oak Quercus bicolor, the swamp white oak, is a medium-sized tree of the north central and northeastern mixed forests. It has a very large range, and can survive in a variety of habitats. It grows rapidly and can reach 300 to 350 years... , and black ash trees. It is part of the larger Ned Brown Forest Preserve Ned Brown Forest Preserve The Ned Brown Forest Preserve, popularly known as Busse Woods, adjoining Elk Grove Village, Illinois and Schaumburg, Illinois, is a 3,700-acre unit of the Cook County Forest Preserve system... , managed by the Cook County Forest Preserves Cook County Forest Preserves The Cook County Forest Preserves are a network of open spaces, containing forest, prairie, wetland, streams, and lakes, that are set aside as natural areas. Cook County contains Chicago, Illinois, and is the center of a densely-populated urban metropolitan area in northeastern Illinois... .
4	Forest of the Wabash Beall Woods State Park Beall Woods State Park is Illinois state park on bordering the Wabash River and Keensburg in Wabash County, Illinois in the United States. of the state park is an old-growth forest designated as an Natural Area by the state of Illinois. The trees within the forest consist overwhelmingly of...		Wabash Wabash County, Illinois Wabash County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 11,947, which is a decrease of 7.7% from 12,937 in 2000...	Essentially undisturbed upland and bottomland forests lying along the Wabash River.
5	Fults Hill Prairie Nature Preserve Fults Hill Prairie State Natural Area Fults Hill Prairie State Natural Area, also known as the Fults Hill Prairie Nature Preserve, is an Illinois Nature Preserve on in Monroe County, Illinois, United States. A key feature of the preserve is a hill prairie located on the east bluff of the Mississippi River near Fults, Illinois...		Monroe Monroe County, Illinois Monroe County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 32,957, which is an increase of 19.3% from 27,619 in 2000. Its county seat is Waterloo...	Essentially undisturbed loess hill prairies.
6	Funks Grove		McLean McLean County, Illinois McLean County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. McLean County is included in the Bloomington–Normal, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 169,572, which is an increase of 12.7% from 150,433 in 2000. Its county seat is...	Rare example of the virgin forests once isolated on the prairies of the Midwest.
7	Giant City Giant City State Park Giant City State Park is an Illinois state park on in Jackson and Union Counties, Illinois, United States. Illinois acquired more than in 1927, and dedicated the park as Giant City State Park. A lodge and visitor center welcome state park guests. The park is served by the River to River...		Union	An exceptional example of gravity sliding, consisting of massive joint-bounded sandstone blocks of Pennsylvanian Pennsylvanian The Pennsylvanian is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the younger of two subperiods of the Carboniferous Period. It lasted from roughly . As with most other geochronologic units, the rock beds that define the Pennsylvanian are well identified, but the exact date of the start and end are uncertain... age.
8	Heron Pond - Little Black Slough Heron Pond - Little Black Slough Nature Preserve Heron Pond – Little Black Slough Nature Preserve is a parcel of protected wetland property located approximately 5 miles southwest of Vienna in Johnson County, Illinois. It is a National Natural Landmark...		Johnson	Largest remaining cypress Cypress Cypress is the name applied to many plants in the cypress family Cupressaceae, which is a conifer of northern temperate regions. Most cypress species are trees, while a few are shrubs... -tupelo Tupelo The tupelo , black gum, or pepperidge tree, genus Nyssa , is a small genus of about 9 to 11 species of trees with alternate, simple leaves... swamp in Illinois.
9	Horseshoe Lake Horseshoe Lake (Madison County, Illinois) Horseshoe Lake , a National Natural Landmark, is located in the American Bottom of Illinois within the greater St. Louis metropolitan area, is in size, and is the second-largest natural lake in Illinois after Lake Michigan. An oxbow lake which is a remnant of a Mississippi River meander, the...		Alexander Alexander County, Illinois Alexander County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 8,238, which is a decrease of 14.1% from 9,590 in 2000. Its county seat is Cairo. Alexander County is part of the Cape Girardeau–Jackson, MO-IL Metropolitan Statistical...	Contains diverse aquatic and terrestrial flora and fauna and mature stands of bald cypress.
10	Illinois Beach Nature Preserve Illinois Beach State Park Illinois Beach State Park is part of the Illinois state park system and is located along Lake Michigan in northeast Illinois in unincorporated Zion, Illinois and the Village of Winthrop Harbor. The park is broken into two units that encompass an area of and contains over six miles of Lake Michigan...		Lake County Lake County, Illinois Lake County is a county in the northeastern corner of the state of Illinois, on the shore of Lake Michigan. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 703,462, which is an increase of 9.2% from 644,356 in 2000. Its county seat is Waukegan. The county is part of the Chicago metropolitan area...	Supports over 60 species of animals and plants that are threatened or endangered in Illinois.
11	LaRue-Pine Hills Ecological Area Clear Springs Wilderness The Clear Springs Wilderness is a 4,730-acre parcel of land listed as a Wilderness Area of the United States. It contains the LaRue-Pine Hills Ecological Area, a National Natural Landmark noted for a large and diverse population of snakes....		Union	One of the finest assemblages of diverse vegetation in the Midwest.
12	Little Grand Canyon Little Grand Canyon The Little Grand Canyon is a canyon located in Jackson County, Illinois. The area is well known as a haven for hibernating snakes. The area was designated a National Natural Landmark in February 1980...		Jackson Jackson County, Illinois Jackson County, incorporated January 10, 1816, is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 60,218, which is an increase of 1.0% from 59,612 in 2000...	A large box canyon with vertical overhanging walls.
13	Lower Cache River Swamp Cache River (Illinois) The Cache River is a waterway in southernmost Illinois, in a region sometimes called Little Egypt. The basin spans and six counties: Alexander, Johnson, Massac, Pope, Pulaski and Union. Located at the convergence of four major physiographic regions, the river is part of the largest complex of...		Johnson, Pulaski	Remnant of the swampy flood plain forest and open swamp that once covered an extensive area at the junction of the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys
14	Lusk Creek Canyon Lusk Creek Canyon Lusk Creek Canyon is the name of a canyon and National Natural Landmark located within the Shawnee National Forest in Pope County, Illinois. The area is a large gorge formed by the erosion of sandstone....		Pope	An excellent example of a gorge-like valley formed by mass wasting and stream erosion in lower Pennsylvanian Pennsylvanian The Pennsylvanian is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the younger of two subperiods of the Carboniferous Period. It lasted from roughly . As with most other geochronologic units, the rock beds that define the Pennsylvanian are well identified, but the exact date of the start and end are uncertain... sandstones.
15	Markham Prairie Gensburg-Markham Prairie The Gensburg-Markham Prairie, also known as Markham Prairie, is a high-quality tallgrass prairie located in Markham in the Chicago Metropolitan Area...		Cook Cook County, Illinois Cook County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, with its county seat in Chicago. It is the second most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County. The county has 5,194,675 residents, which is 40.5 percent of all Illinois residents. Cook County's population is larger than...	Largest and highest quality prairie in Illinois.
16	Mississippi Palisades Mississippi Palisades Mississippi Palisades State Park, is a National Natural Landmark located in Carroll County, Illinois just north of the town of Savanna. It is a partially conserved section of the Mississippi Palisades. The area contains many caves and large cliffs along the Mississippi River at the mouth of the...		Carroll	Deep V- shaped valleys, caves and sinks, and massive cliffs along the Mississippi River.
17	Volo Bog Nature Preserve		Lake Lake County, Illinois Lake County is a county in the northeastern corner of the state of Illinois, on the shore of Lake Michigan. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 703,462, which is an increase of 9.2% from 644,356 in 2000. Its county seat is Waukegan. The county is part of the Chicago metropolitan area...	Contains many unusual or rare plants that are characteristic of the classic northern quaking bog.
18	Wauconda Bog Nature Preserve Wauconda Bog Nature Preserve Wauconda Bog Nature Preserve is a tamarack bog located in Wauconda, a suburb of Chicago, located in Lake County, Illinois. It is a National Natural Landmark.-Biological history:...		Lake Lake County, Illinois Lake County is a county in the northeastern corner of the state of Illinois, on the shore of Lake Michigan. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 703,462, which is an increase of 9.2% from 644,356 in 2000. Its county seat is Waukegan. The county is part of the Chicago metropolitan area...	Mature bog with bog vegetation at their farthest southern extension in Illinois.

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