Pewits Nest State Natural Area is a nature reserve of Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

, USA, that includes a deep gorge formed during the retreat of the last glacier

Glacier

A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...

. Pewits Nest is outside of Baraboo

Baraboo, Wisconsin

Baraboo is the largest city in, and the county seat of Sauk County, Wisconsin, USA. It is situated on the Baraboo River. Its 2010 population was 12,048 according to the US Census Bureau...

 in Sauk County

Sauk County, Wisconsin

Sauk County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2000, the population was 55,225. Its county seat and largest city is Baraboo. Sauk County is included in the Baraboo Micropolitan Statistical Area and in the Madison Combined Statistical Area....

. At one time a waterwheel and mill

Watermill

A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...

 were located on the site and "an individual lived in the solid sandstone, like a gnome in a cavern." The name of the site was a result of early settlers calling it "Peewit's Nest" after the abode, ten feet above a deep pool of water, resembling the nest of a phoebe

Eastern Phoebe

The Eastern Phoebe is a small passerine bird. This tyrant flycatcher breeds in eastern North America, although its normal range does not include the southeastern coastal USA....

 (or peewit, an earlier name for this bird).

The water-wheel once turned lathe

Lathe

A lathe is a machine tool which rotates the workpiece on its axis to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, or deformation with tools that are applied to the workpiece to create an object which has symmetry about an axis of rotation.Lathes are used in woodturning,...

s for repairing or manufacturing equipment, but no evidence of it remains. Pewits Nest is owned by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is an agency of the state of Wisconsin. Its purpose is to preserve, protect, manage and maintain the natural resources of the state. The WDNR has the authority to set policy for itself and to recommend regulations for approval by the State Legislature...

 and was designated a State Natural Area

Wisconsin State Natural Areas Program

The Wisconsin State Natural Areas Program is a conservation program created to highlight and protect areas with outstanding natural or archaeological resources in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. There are currently 609 State Natural Areas encompassing a total of more than...

 in 1985.

Prehistory

When Glacial Lake Baraboo drained, Skillet Creek cut a narrow canyon through the Cambrian

Cambrian

The Cambrian is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, lasting from Mya ; it is succeeded by the Ordovician. Its subdivisions, and indeed its base, are somewhat in flux. The period was established by Adam Sedgwick, who named it after Cambria, the Latin name for Wales, where Britain's...

 sandstone, forming a number of potholes and waterfalls. The creek that runs through the cliff is Skillet Creek. The layers of Cambrian sandstone show that finer-grained sediment was laid down by the Cambrian seas, Sandstones are found in layers. Forest cover includes red cedar, white pine, red pine, and yellow birch.

Description

The area includes red cedar

Juniperus virginiana

Juniperus virginiana is a species of juniper native to eastern North America, from southeastern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, east of the Great Plains...

, white pine

Eastern White Pine

Pinus strobus, commonly known as the eastern white pine, is a large pine native to eastern North America, occurring from Newfoundland west to Minnesota and southeastern Manitoba, and south along the Appalachian Mountains to the northern edge of Georgia.It is occasionally known as simply white pine,...

, hemlock

Tsuga

Tsuga is a genus of conifers in the family Pinaceae. The common name hemlock is derived from a perceived similarity in the smell of its crushed foliage to that of the unrelated plant poison hemlock....

, and yellow birch

Yellow Birch

Betula alleghaniensis , is a species of birch native to eastern North America, from Newfoundland to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, southern Quebec and Ontario, and the southeast corner of Manitoba in Canada, west to Minnesota, and south in the Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia.It is a...

 trees as well as Skillet Creek, shaded cliffs, and a northern dry-mesic

Mesic habitat

In ecology, a mesic habitat is a type of habitat with a moderate or well-balanced supply of moisture, e.g., a mesic forest, a temperate hardwood forest, or dry-mesic prairie. Compared to a dry habitat, a mesic habitat is moister....

 forest. It is located 1.5 miles (2.4 km) off U.S. Highway 12 and County W in southwest Baraboo.

External links

• Pewits Nest State Natural Area