The 7 Wonders of Iowa

Cool Maps: 7 Wonders

Kinnick Stadium

"Kinnick Stadium is a stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the University of Iowa "Hawkeyes". Kinnick Stadium opened in 1929 and holds 70,585 people. It is named after Nile Kinnick, the 1939 Heisman Trophy winner and the only Heisman winner in school history, who died in World War II. It was named Iowa Stadium until 1972, when longtime lobbying by Cedar Rapids Gazette sportswriter Gus Schrader successfully convinced the UI athletic board to change the name."

Des Moines Botanical Center

"Today's Botanical Center includes tropical and sub-tropical plants, cacti, succulents, orchids from high rainfall and arid regions, all collected within a 150' geodesic dome. Large koi, white catfish, turtles, and free-flying birds are also housed within the Dome. Outdoor gardens include water gardens and cascades, with many beds of native plants, herbs, miniature roses, and dwarf conifers. "

State Capitol

"The dome of the capitol is gilded in tissue-paper thin sheets of pure 23-karat gold, with a protective layer sealing the gold from the elements. Restoration work was done by Conrad Schmitt Studios in 2003. "

Loess Hills

"The dominant features of this landscape are "peak and saddle" topography, "razor ridges" (narrow ridges, often less than ten feet wide, which fall off at near ninety-degree angles on either side for 60 feet or more), and "cat-step" terraces (caused by the constant slumping and vertical sheering of the loess soil). The soil has a characteristic yellow hue and is generally broken down into several units based on the period of deposition (Loveland, Pisgah, Peoria)."

Fenelon Place Elevator

"The Fourth Street Elevator is a funicular railway located in Dubuque, Iowa. Also known as the Fenelon Place Elevator, it is claimed to be the shortest and steepest railroad in the world (although several other funiculars also make this claim). It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. "

Grotto of the Redemption

"..the Grotto of the Redemption is the world's largest collection of minerals and petrifications at a single site. It is actually a conglomeration of nine grottos depicting scenes in life of Jesus. The Grotto of the Redemption is the largest grotto in the world. The total value of all the rocks and minerals which make up the grotto is over $4,308,000."

Effigy Mounds

"Prehistoric mounds are common from the plains of the Midwest to the Atlantic seaboard, but only in this general area was there a culture that regularly constructed mounds in the shape of mammals, birds, or reptiles. The monument contains 2,526 acres ..with 206 mounds of which 31 are effigies. The others are conical, linear and compound. Woodland period Indians built mounds from about 500 BC until the early European contact period. When the American prairies were plowed under by European settlers for agriculture, many mound sites were lost. Effigy Mounds National Monument is the largest known collection of mounds in the United States."