Illinois State Beach
Trail map has links to
images of communities.Illinois Beach is a unique and captivating natural resource created by the gigantic forces of glacial advance and retreat of glaciers in Illinois region. The park has dunes and swales with sprawling marshes, forests of oak and vast arrays of animal life and vegetation.
More than 650 species of plants have been recorded in the dunes area. Depending on the area, several communities exist: Prickly pear cactus thrives in large colonies in the dry areas; wet prairies are carpeted with a wide variety of grasses and sedges; the sandy ridges are crowned by black oak forests with an open, savanna-like appearance; and marsh in the swales support dense stands of cattail, bluejoint grass, prairie cordgrass, reed grass, big bluestem, and sedges.
The Dead River which actually is a stream that is blocked by sandbars much of the year forming an elongated pond. When the water finally rises high enough, it breaks through the sandbar and drains the surrounding marshes. The abundance of aquatic plants and fish flourishing in this changing environment belie its name.
Area:
4,160-acre park
Contact:
Lake Front
Zion, IL 60099
847-662-4811
Fax: 847-662-6433Hours:
Park Hours: From Memorial Day to Labor Day Sunrise to 8:00 p.m. From Labor Day to Memorial Day Sunrise to Sunset.
Specific images
Images include both Flora(Flowers, Tree, & Grass) and the Cultural landscape. The cultural landscape includes homes build, erosion due to people not walking on the trails, and paths cut in the landscape to decrease erosion and damage to endangered species.
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