Salt Creek Woods

Description

Prior to settlement, Salt Creek Woods Nature Preserve was composed primarily of upland oak-dominated woodland, floodplain woods along Salt Creek, and some prairie. Although nearly all of the prairie that formerly occurred on this site has been lost, important elements of the prairie survive at Wolf Road Prairie Nature Preserve, located nearby at the northwest corner of the intersection of 31st Street and Wolf Road. The woodlands that remain at Salt Creek Woods are distributed along a moisture gradient from dryer sites along the upper slopes of the gently rolling Tinley ground moraine to more moist sites located along Salt Creek. Along the dryer slopes, bur and white oak, and hickory predominate. In the alluvial deposits along Salt Creek and near the small glacial ponds that dot the preserve, elm, cottonwood, and silver maple commonly occur.