| Big Basin Prairie Preserve | |
|---|---|
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area) | |
 Kansas Historical Marker | |
  Big Basin | |
| Location | Clark County, Kansas, USA |
| Nearest city | Ashland |
| Coordinates | 37°14′25″N 099°59′51″W / 37.24028°N 99.99750°W[1] |
| Area | 1,818 acres (736 ha) |
| Established | 1978 |
| Operator | Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks |
| http://www.kdwp.state.ks.us/news/KDWP-Info/Locations/Wildlife-Areas/Region-3/Big-Basin-Prairie-Preserve KDWP | |
The Big Basin Prairie Preserve is a 1,818 acres (7.36 km2; 2.84 sq mi) nature preserve owned and managed by the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. The preserve is in the Red Hills near Ashland in Clark County, Kansas. The main features are St. Jacob's Well, a water-filled sinkhole which lies in the Little Basin, and the Big Basin, a lush mile-wide crater-like depression, also resulting from a sinkhole. The area is stocked with buffalo and is open to the public.
The Big Basin is transected by U.S. Route 283 and U.S. Route 160 which run together for a short ways. The portion of the basin west of the highway is privately owned. The property was acquired in 1974 from The Nature Conservancy which made operation as a nature preserve a condition of the sale. In December 1978, the preserve was designated as a National Natural Landmark and was added to the National Registry of Natural Landmarks.[2]
Elevations on the preserve range from 2,200 feet (670 m) to 2,360 feet (720 m) above sea level.[3]