Inventory & Monitoring at Hopewell Culture National Historical Park

At the southern terminus of the Wisconsin glaciations, Hopewell Culture National Historical Park is located in south central Ohio near Chillicothe in Ross County. The primary resource for which the park was established is the remnant large prehistoric geometric earthworks and mounds built by the Hopewell culture (200 B.C. to A.D. 500). The park is now composed of five geographically separate units that encompass a total of 1,170 acres. The National Park Service owns 1,086 acres and the park's partner, the Ohio Historical Society, owns 85 acres. The remaining 89 acres are in private ownership. Mound City Group, totaling 120 acres of which 40 are a hay field, 40 are an early successional mixed mesophytic forest, and the remaining acreage is developed, such as restored earthworks and mounds, parking lots, park offices and the visitor center.
The five units of Hopewell Culture National Historical Park are located within the Appalachian Plateau topographic province on floodplains and Wisconsin age terraces consisting predominantly of sandstone and shale. The park is located in the Scioto River watershed, and all five units are adjacent to or very near segments of the Scioto River and its tributaries. All five park sites are situated along rivers or creeks in a forest and grassland riparian landscape.

Check out the links below for other interesting science information about your park:

Air Quality in Parks
Learn about the air quality at your park and how it has changed over time.

NPS Geodiversity Atlas
An interactive map to explore the full variety of natural geologic (rocks, minerals, sediments, fossils, landforms, and physical processes) and soil resources and processes that occur in your park.

NPSpecies
Find out what plants and animals are present in your park or other parks.