Check Out The Mysterious Mima Mounds In Washington State

One of the most unusual places to visit in Washington State almost feels like an alien world.

dnr.wa.gov/mima mounds
dnr.wa.gov/mima mounds
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445 Acres Of Unusual Bumps Populate This Washington State Nature Preserve

Unusual land bumps can be found in the Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve. The mounds are thought to be over 16,000 years old and their origins are unknown and mysterious.

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You can visit the Mima Mounds near Olympia Washington and explore the Nature Reserve.

youtube/david carlos
youtube/david carlos
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Speculation Remains On How The Mima Mounds Were Formed In Washington State

How did these mysterious mounds form?

A lot of speculation points to prairie dogs or ice and glaciers causing the mounds that exist over the 600+ acres of the Mima Mounds Natural Reserve in Washington State.

dnr.wa.gov/mima mounds
dnr.wa.gov/mima mounds
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Take A Video Tour Of The Mima Mounds In Washington State

Here are details of the site from the Mima Mounds website:

Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve (NAP) was established in 1976 to protect rare examples of “mima mound” landforms and Puget prairie grasslands.

The site includes a small Garry oak woodland and savannah (widely spaced oak trees with grass understory) and also supports a variety of prairie-dependent butterflies and birds and Douglas-fir forest.

The NAP currently comprises 641 acres of grassland-covered mima mounds, forest, and oak woodland. In 1966, the National Park Service designated Mima Mounds Preserve as a National Natural Landmark, for its representation of our nation’s natural landscape; one of only 17 such landmarks in Washington state.

youtube/david carlos
youtube/david carlos
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You can take an ariel view of the mounds with the video provided by David Carlos

Here is how you get to the Mima Mounds:

From southbound or northbound Interstate 5, take Exit 95 and turn west on Highway 121 (Maytown Road SW) toward Littlerock.
In Littlerock, continue west (forward past the school, past the intersection with Littlerock Road that curves south, and past the mini-mart/gas station on the right) onto 128th Avenue.
Travel about 0.8 mile where 128th Avenue ends at a 'T.' on top of the hill. Turn right onto Waddell Creek Road and travel about 1 mile. The entrance to Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve will be on the left.
A Washington State Discover Pass is required for parking at this site
The Mima Mounds origins might be never solved but at least we get to enjoy this mysterious hiking site in Washington State.

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