The graphics on this page were developed for the Iowa's Nature Series, a collaborative project to produce educational resources on Iowa's natural world. You can learn more about the series and download the original publications featuring these graphics at this series' website. Each graphic or commissioned photograph or map developed for the series is available for high-resolution download on this page for educational applications. Attribution to the Iowa's Nature Series and the original author is encouraged in all non-commercial educational uses of the graphics. In some instances noted below, special attribution to the original producers or data sources is required as indicated by copyrights.
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Landforms and Geology | Soils | Prairies | Forests | Aquatic Environments | Vertebrates | Invertebrates | Plants | State Symbols | Influential Voices | Supplemental figures
Landforms and Geology
Soils
| Resource | Description |
|---|---|
 | Soil color, clay content, structure, and organic matter content that is expected to be found at each of the soil horizons. Illustration by Madeline Schill. |
 | Soil texture triangle showing the types of soils for varying percentages of sand, silt, and clay. |
 | Particle sizes of sand, silt, and clay, compared to the lead of a mechanical pencil. Illustration by Irah Dhaseleer. |
 | Graphic representations of the five soil-forming factors: parent material, topography, climate, biota, and time. Illustration by Madeline Schill. |
 | Map showing the distribution of the two dominant soil orders in Iowa. Mollisols are the most common and are found in areas that were historically prairie. Alfisols are more abundant in the south and east where forests were more common. Data source, U.S. General Soils Map (STATSGO 2), Natural Resources Conservation Service. |
 | Map of the major landform regions of Iowa: Alluvial Plains, Loess Hills, Northwest Iowa Plains, Des Moines Lobe, Southern Iowa Drift Plain, Iowan Erosion Surface, and the Paleozoic Plateau. |
 | Soil food web showing examples of producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, and tertiary consumers that are part of the soil ecosystem. Illustration by Madeline Schill. |
 | Graph showing how changes in land use have affected soil organic matter content over time. Illustration by Madeline Schill. |
 | Pie chart showing the critical services that Iowa's soils provide including habitat for organisms, provisioning of food, fiber, and fuel, nutrient cycling, water infiltration and storage, foundation for human infrastructure, and storage of carbon. Illustration by Alison Peters. |
Prairies
| Resource | Description |
|---|---|
 | Map of the historic extent of prairie types showing shortgrass prairie in the western Great Plains, transitioning to mixed-grass prairie, and tallgrass prairie in the eastern Great Plains. Adapted from U.S. EPA Ecoregions. |
 | Map of the historic landcover in Iowa circa 1830. Source data from General Land Office surveys summarized and distributed by the Iowa Geographic Map Server. |
 | Map of the modern landcover in Iowa. Source data from 2016 National Land Cover Dataset. |
 | Prairie plant gradient showing examples of species found in dry, mesic, and wet soil conditions. Illustration by Irah Dhaseleer. |
 | Prairie food web showing examples of producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, tertiary consumers, and detritivores that are part of the prairie ecosystem. Illustration by Madeline Schill. |
Forests
| Resource | Description |
|---|---|
| Map of the historic landcover in Iowa circa 1830. Source data from General Land Office surveys summarized and distributed by the Iowa Geographic Map Server. |
| Map of the modern landcover in Iowa. Source data from 2016 National Land Cover Dataset. |
 | Forest food web showing examples of producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, tertiary consumers, and detritivores that are part of the forest ecosystem. Illustration by Madeline Schill. |
 | Landscape illustration showing common places trees are found in Iowa including windbreaks, woodlots, riparian areas along rivers, and urban areas. Illustration by Travis James. |
 | Landscape illustration showing five ways forests contribute to healthy waterways. Roots reduce erosion by holding soil in place. Tree material increases habitat and slows water flow. Trees slow water during floods, which helps deposit sediment. Trees soak water into the soil, reducing the speed and intensity of flooding. Forests along rivers help filter pollutants before they reach the water. Illustration by Travis James. |
Aquatic environments
Vertebrates
Invertebrates
Plants
| Resource | Description |
|---|---|
 | Plant classifications showing several ways plants can be categorized including spore-producing and seed-producing plants, vascular and non-vascular plants, and flowering and non-flowering plants. Features plant examples including liverwort, ostrich fern, white pine, and wild rose. Illustration by Madeline Schill. |
 | Diagram of the parts of a flower. Reproductive parts include the female pistil, which is comprised of the stigma, style, and ovary, and the male stamen which is comprised of the filament and anther. Non-reproductive parts include petals, sepals, and the receptacle. Illustration by Travis James. |
 | Illustration of the process of photosynthesis in which chloroplasts in plant cells combine carbon dioxide and water, producing glucose and oxygen. Illustration by Madeline Schill. |
 | Comparison of the fibrous root system of prairie cordgrass with the taproot system of cylindrical blazing star. Illustration by Alison Peters. |
 | Pouring milkweed seeds into an oil extractor at Iowa State University. Photo from Iowa State University Library Digital Collections. |
State Symbols
Influential Voices
| Resource | Description |
|---|---|
 | George Washington Carver graduation photo taken in 1893. Photo from Iowa State University Library Digital Collections. |
 | Louis H. Pammel (left) and his wife Augusta standing with Tuskegee Institute Presiedent Robert R. Moton and George Washington Carver (right). Photo from Iowa State University Library Digital Collections. |
 | Ada Hayden standing in College Pasture in 1926. Photo from Iowa State University Library Digital Collections. |
Supplemental Figures
| Resource | Description |
|---|---|
 | Classifications of plants, vertebrates, and invertebrates featuring example organisms from Iowa. Illustration by Madeline Schill. |
 | County map labeled with 32 locations where people can go see features of Iowa's landforms and geology. Download the Geological Places to Visit article to identify each of the numbered locations. |
 | Bedrock age map labeled with 32 locations where people can go see features of Iowa's landforms and geology. A diversity of bedrock ages from different periods in Iowa's history are visible at many places throughout the state. Download the Geological Places to Visit article to identify each of the numbered locations. |
 | Landform regions map labeled with 32 locations where people can go see features of Iowa's landforms and geology. The map highlights at least one place to visit on each of Iowa's major landform regions. Download the Geological Places to Visit article to identify each of the numbered locations. |