Newark Road Prairie

State Natural Area (No. 113)

Location: Rock County. T1N-R11E, Section 13 SE¼SW¼. 33 acres.

Access: From the intersection of Hwys. 213, Q, and Newark Road, northwest of Beloit, go west on Newark Road 2.5 miles to the site, which lies north of the road.

Description: Newark Road Prairie is a wet-mesic prairie remnant of the extensive prairie that covered Rock County in presettlement times. It is the largest known wet-mesic prairie in the county. A moisture gradient across the site results in differences in species composition. In the center is a sedge meadow that becomes drier on slight slopes to near mesic conditions on the west. Stands of tall cord grass and blue-joint grass dominate the lower portions; big blue-stem, Indian grass, and switch grass dominate the higher ground. More than 100 species of prairie plants have been recorded from the site including cream wild indigo, rattlesnake-master, shooting-star, sneezeweed, prairie blazing-star, Michigan lily, compass plant, prairie dock, asters, goldenrods, and milkweeds. Newark Road Prairie is owned by Beloit College and was designated a State Natural Area in 1974.