Hidden · Harpers Ferry, Iowa, United States
Effigy Mounds
More than 200 ancient earth mounds above the Mississippi River, some shaped like bears and birds, still tied to living Native nations.
Mounds shaped like bears and birds on the Mississippi bluffs.
Effigy Mounds National Monument preserves 206 mounds on 2,526 acres in northeastern Iowa, mostly in Allamakee County. Pre-Columbian peoples built them, largely in the first millennium CE, during the later part of the Woodland period. Thirty-one are effigies, earthworks shaped like animals such as bears and birds. Mounds in these shapes were built mainly in southern Wisconsin, northeast Iowa and small parts of Minnesota and Illinois.
The largest, Great Bear Mound, measures 42 meters from head to tail and rises more than a meter above the original ground. The North Unit has 67 mounds and the South Unit has 29, side by side along the river. The Sny Magill Unit, with 112 mounds, lies about 11 miles to the south and has no visitor facilities.
The land sits where eastern hardwood forest meets central prairie, with wetlands and rivers close by, so people could draw on many resources. It is also in the Driftless Area, a region that escaped the last glaciation, which is why its river valleys are so deeply cut.
A protected place with living ties to Native nations.
The monument was proclaimed on October 25, 1949, after archaeologists with the Iowa Archaeological Survey mapped the area and argued for its protection. The National Park Service recognizes cultural ties between the monument and about twenty present-day nations, including the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin, the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska and several Sioux communities.
The monument has also had to face hard chapters. From 1999 to 2009, construction of boardwalks and trails damaged archaeological resources without proper consultation with affiliated tribes, and the remains of 41 ancient people were wrongly removed from the museum’s holdings. Later staff worked to repair the damage and rebuild trust. In 2022 the Park Service and the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska signed the first Tribal Sister Park agreement between a national park and a Tribal Nation’s park.
Many of the mounds are burial places, so this is a place to visit with respect.
Mounds and landscape.
Practical notes.
Before you go.
What is an effigy mound?
An earthwork built in the shape of an animal, such as a bear or a bird. The monument holds 206 mounds, of which 31 are effigies.
Who built the mounds?
Pre-Columbian peoples, mostly in the first millennium CE. The National Park Service recognizes cultural ties with about twenty present-day tribal nations.
How big is Great Bear Mound?
It is 42 meters from head to tail and rises over a meter above the original ground level.
Can you stay overnight in the monument?
No. There is no lodging or camping inside. Nearby state parks and forests have campgrounds, and motels are across the river in Wisconsin.
Around Iowa
Walking tours, day trips and experiences around this area, on GetYourGuide.