Agencies
Services
Nature Preserve Area
3
County
Cook
Location And Access
The preserve is located in the Chicago Lake Plain Section of the Northeastern Morainal Natural Division of Illinois in the southern part of Cook County. It is in portions of Sections 26, 27, 34 and 35 of Thornton Township (Township 36 North, Range 14 East of the Third Principal Meridian). The site extends north of Thornton Lansing Road, encircling Wampum Lake, and extending to the north side of the I-80/I-294 interstate. North of this interstate, the boundary extends east to the Calumet-Kingery Interchange. Access to Wampum Lake Forest Preserve is provided by an access road that extends north of Thornton-Lansing Road to Wampum Lake.
Description
Wampum Lake Nature Preserve is largely defined by its sandy soil, a remnant of the post-glacial stages of Lake Michigan that once covered the area, and the course of Thorn Creek, which bisects the preserve. Its 380 acres consists of a mosaic of Grade B sand seep, Grade C freshwater marsh, Grade C dry-mesic upland forest, Grade C wet floodplain forest, Grade A eroding bluff community, and a low-gradient stream. The site includes all the Wampum Lake Seepage Area INAI site and a portion of the Thornton-Lansing Road INAI site. Wampum Lake Nature Preserve has supported human occupation for an extended period of time, dating back from the Archaic period (8,000 – 1,000 B.C.) and continuing through the Upper Mississippian period.
Ownership
Forest Preserve District of Cook County
Dedicated
August 2019
Size
380 acres
Topographic Quad
Calumet City
For Further Information
Forest Preserve District of Cook County, Conservation Department
536 North Harlem Ave
River Forest, IL 60525
708-771-1330