Windy City Wild

When most people think of the Chicago metropolitan area they usually don't envision captivating natural beauty, but within a 55-mile radius of the city there are no less than five distinctive ecosystems, including tall-grass prairies, oak savannas, forests, lakeshores, and wetlands. Several of the natural communities preserved here are among the rarest in the world, including 181 species listed as endangered or threatened. These spectacular colour photographs uncover Chicago's natural wonders, including vistas of shooting stars at Chiwaukee Prairie, blazing star and goldenrod at Gensburg-Markham Prairie, a luscious green canyon at Camp Sagawau, a pair of sandhill cranes feeding along the banks of the Fox River, a carpet of trilliums in Messenger Woods, fog rising over the Volo bog, and a fox family venturing out at dawn.