Effigy Mounds National Monument , an area of 10 square kilometers with numerous ancient Native Americans Grab and ceremonial hill in northeast Iowa , United States, on Mississippi , a few miles north of McGregor. Established in 1949, the monument is perched on bluffs overlooking the river and features 195 known mounds. Most of the mounds are conical, but about 30 are effigies in the form of birds and bears. The oldest mounds have been dated to about #450, but the mounds themselves were from a later Culture built (probably between 500 and 1300 n . Chr .). Many of the mounds have yielded copper, bone, and stone tools of Native American origin. The largest of the bear mounds is 42 meters long and 1 meter high. Surrounding area is mixed deciduous forest and tall grass prairies. wildlife species White-tailed Deer and a variety of birds, particularly bald eagles, which nest in the cliffs along the Mississippi River.
