Effigy Mounds National Monument, Archaeological site and national monument in Allamakee County, Iowa, United States

Effigy Mounds National Monument preserves 206 earthen mounds in northeastern Iowa, 31 of them shaped as bears, birds and other animals. The mounds are low, rounded and grass-covered, rising 60 cm to just over a metre, with the Great Bear Mound measuring 42 metres from head to tail. They stand in groups on wooded bluffs above the Mississippi River.

The oldest mounds in the region date to around 500 BCE, when burial practices of the red ochre type appeared. Animal-shaped effigies emerged around 700 CE and were built until about 1200 CE. The builders were the last hunter-gatherers in the area, and their culture is called the Effigy Mounds Culture. The monument was proclaimed on October 25, 1949, after Charles R. Keyes and Ellison Orr surveyed and mapped the mounds.

The mounds served not only as burial sites but also as gathering places for ceremonies and spiritual events among Mississippi River communities. Today descendants of those peoples regularly visit the area to maintain their connection to ancestors and their understanding of the world.

The visitor center in Harpers Ferry offers exhibits and information about the mounds before heading out on the trails. Paths wind through wooded sections and open slopes, with some portions steep enough to require sturdy footwear.

Some mounds sit so close to the bluff edge that visitors can look out over the river valley from their outlines. The largest bear effigy measures roughly 42 meters (138 feet) from head to tail and rises more than one meter (3.3 feet) above the surrounding ground.