East Bluff State Natural Area

East Bluff is a continuum of natural communities of great ecological interest grading from open talus slopes, to dry prairie and glade, to open oak woodland, and finally a closed canopy southern hardwood forest. A moist, shaded grotto is also present downslope. Deposited by glacial action, the extensive 400 foot high talus slope is composed of angular blocks of quartzite below the vertical cliffs. Perched atop the quartzite talus is a curious open woodland - a pygmy forest of stunted shagbark hickory and white ash. And along the bluff edge are among the best examples of dry prairie and bedrock glade within Wisconsin. Trees average only 4 to 6 feet in diameter and 20-30 feet in height.