page_title: Prairie Pothole Region
hierarchical_section_title: Prairie Pothole Region
caption_attribution_description: English: I said, looky! pretty lake! Too bad it wasn't a lake, it was a slough, but it was still pretty.
context_page_description: The Prairie Pothole Region is an expansive area of the northern Great Plains that contains thousands of shallow wetlands known as potholes. These potholes are the result of glacier activity in the Wisconsin glaciation, which ended about 10,000 years ago. The decaying ice sheet left behind depressions formed by the uneven deposition of till in ground moraines. These depressions are called potholes, glacial potholes, kettles, or kettle lakes. They fill with water in the spring, creating wetlands, which range in duration from temporary to semi-permanent. The region covers an area of about 800,000 sq. km and expands across five U.S. states and three Canadian provinces. The hydrology of the wetlands is variable, which results in long term productivity and biodiversity. The PPR is a prime spot during breeding and nesting season for millions of migrating waterfowl.
context_section_description: The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) is an expansive area of the northern Great Plains that contains thousands of shallow wetlands known as potholes. These potholes are the result of glacier activity in the Wisconsin glaciation, which ended about 10,000 years ago. The decaying ice sheet left behind depressions formed by the uneven deposition of till in ground moraines. These depressions are called potholes, glacial potholes, kettles, or kettle lakes. They fill with water in the spring, creating wetlands, which range in duration from temporary to semi-permanent. The region covers an area of about 800,000 sq. km and expands across five U.S. states (Minnesota, Iowa, North and South Dakota, and Montana) and three Canadian provinces (Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta). The hydrology of the wetlands is variable, which results in long term productivity and biodiversity. The PPR  is a prime spot during breeding and nesting season for millions of migrating waterfowl.
caption: Barringer Slough in Iowa, a remnant of the extensive prairie wetlands that once covered the region.
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