Prairie Mounds in Bryce Canyon National Park

Mouat, Robin; Tetlow, John; Gibson, Lay; Reeves, Richard

In his dissertation on the plant ecology of Bryce Canyon National Park, Buchanan (1960) describes the occurrence of slightly elevated mounds within sagebrush flats on the plateau area of the park. These mounds were first noticed on aerial photographs of the upper tributaries of East Creek. The mounds appeared superficially inconspicuous on the ground and were distinguished chiefly by differences in the height and composition of vegetation on mounds and between mounds. Buchanan identified the mounds as Mima mounds and suggested they were constructed by Prairie Dogs. Mima mounds were named after the type locality of their occurrence, the Mima Prairie of western Washington. There exists a considerable literature on mima mounds and correspondingly a great range and opinions as to their origin. They are, in most recent studies, however considered a geomorphic or pedologic phenomena not a biological one as Buchanan suggests. It is the purpose of this paper to examine the mounds Buchanan identified in Bryce Canyon National Park, with particular regard to 1) geographic distribution in and around the plateau area of the park, 2) their morphology, 3) their spacing with respect to each other, 4) the differences in the height of vegetation on mounds and between mounds, and 5) the soil depth and profile in and adjacent to the mounds.