Photo Gallery: Grasslands, Prairies, and Savannas

Coreopsis Wildflowers

Photograph by Joel Sartore, National Geographic

Coreopsis wildflowers bloom on the Texas coastal prairie.

Snow Prairie Fence

Photograph by Tom Murphy, National Geographic

An old rail fence runs through snow-dusted prairie. Much of the prairie land in the United States has been developed or converted to agricultural purposes, leaving only a few state and national parks as a reminder of their wild, wide-open past.

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American Bison

Photograph by Lela Bouse-McCracken, Your Shot

An American bison stands in a field on the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Oklahoma. The preserve, maintained by the Nature Conservancy, is the largest preserved portion of what was once 140 million acres (362.5 million hectares) of grassland in the American Midwest. There are about 2,500 American bison, which were once hunted to a few hundred animals, roaming the preserve.

Swarm of Insects

Photograph by Maria Stenzel, National Geographic

A swarm of insects hovers over grassland in Madagascar. The island nation has problems with locusts, insects that can destroy crops and grasslands quickly.

Wisp Grass Badlands

Photograph by Raymond Gehman, National Geographic

Wisp grass seedpods sway in the wind in South Dakota's Badlands National Park. Fifty-six different grass species are found in Badlands.

Clouds Over Wyoming Prairie

Photograph by John Eastcott and Yva Momatiuk, National Geographic

Thin clouds drift above the gentle contours of the Wyoming prairie lands.

Acacia Sunrise

Photograph by Balazs Buzas, My Shot

An acacia tree stands tall as the sun rises over Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. The savannas of the Serengeti stretch over Tanzania and Kenya, and support hundreds of species of plants and animals.

Prairie Dog, South Dakota

Photograph by Raymond Gehman, National Geographic

A black-tailed prairie dog perks up outside his burrow in South Dakota. These playful rodents live in well-organized underground burrows called towns that can have populations in the thousands.

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Winter Wheat, Colorado

Photograph by Richard Olsenius, National Geographic

Rows of winter wheat wind their way to the Colorado horizon. Because North American grasslands have such fertile soil, most of the natural landscape has been converted to farmland.

Lion in Kenya

Photograph by Jodi Cobb, National Geographic

A mature male lion rests in the grasses of the Kenyan savanna. Almost all life in the savanna depends on the grass; carnivores lurk in it to stalk the herbivores feeding on the grass.

Amber Waves of Grain

Photograph by Richard Olsenius, National Geographic

Amber grasses wave their dark-colored seed heads on Montana's Front Range with the shadow of the Rocky Mountains in the background.

Tarangire National Park, Tanzania

Photograph by Timothy G. Laman, National Geographic

Acacia trees dot the landscape of Tarangire National Park in Tanzania, Africa. Contrasting seasons of rain and drought characterize the savanna climate, typically with more dry months than wet.

Spider Lilies, Texas

Photograph by Raymond Gehman, National Geographic

Spider lilies grow among sedges and rushes in the coastal prairie land of Texas' Brazos Bend State Park. Trees are sparse on grasslands due to seasonal floods and droughts, heavy grazing, and fires.

Rheas in Brazil

Photograph by Joel Sartore, National Geographic  

Greater rheas graze in the tall savanna grass of Brazil's Pantanal. More than half of the world's savanna area is in Africa, but South America, Asia, and Australia also have these habitats.

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Sunset on the Prairie

Photograph by Alinde Fojtik, My Shot  

A sunset colors clouds and prairie grasses on the Konza Prairie in Kansas.