The Birthplace of Modern Ecology

The Indiana Dunes along the southern shore of Lake Michigan have been described as the birthplace of ecology. Starting in the late 1890s, University of Chicago botanist Henry Cowles used the dunes to develop the foundational theory of ecological succession, the process by which plant communities change over time. His observations of how bare sand gradually transforms into oak savanna and then forest became the cornerstone of modern ecology. The dunes became a National Park in 2019.

Source: Wikipedia