Mille Lacs Kathio State Park near Onamia in Mille Lacs County, Minnesota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Oak Savanna

5,800 B.C.–2,000 B.C.

— Kathio Landmark Trail: The Forest through Time —

Oak Savanna Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by McGhiever, May 29, 2025

1. Oak Savanna Marker

Inscription.

By 7,800 years ago, the climate had become warm and dry. A great expanse of prairie spread across what would become the state of Minnesota, extending to within 70 miles of Mille Lacs Lake. Here, the land was covered with grasses and prairie plants with scattered oak trees. This landscape type, known as Oak Savanna, covered the region from 7,800 years ago until 4,000 years ago.

People found the Oak Savanna of the Mille Lacs region a good place to hunt and gather. At the southern end of Ogechie Lake, archaeologists found a site were people lived, hunted, and made tools of stone and native copper, nearly 4,000 years ago.

• White Pine Forest
• Northern Hardwood Forest
• Oak Savanna
• Red Pine Forest
• Spruce Forest
• Tundra

Erected 2013 by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Anthropology & Archaeology • Environment • Indigenous Peoples and Communities.

Location. 46° 8.892′ N, 93° 46.172′ W. Marker is near Onamia, Minnesota, in Mille Lacs County. It is in Mille Lacs Kathio

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State Park. It can be reached from no nearby street. The marker is on the east loop of the Kathio Landmark Trail. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Onamia MN 56359, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Central Minnesota.

It is also in the American Midwest

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Why Did the Ojibwe People Choose to Live Here? (within shouting distance of this marker); Red Pine & Jack Pine Forest (within shouting distance of this marker); Northern Hardwood Forest (within shouting distance of this marker); Spruce Forest (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); White Pine Forest (about 300 feet away); The Ice Age (about 400 feet away); Removal, Restoration, Reuse (about 400 feet away); Ogechie Lake (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map

Oak Savanna Marker on the Kathio Landmark Trail image. Click for full size.

Photographed by McGhiever, May 29, 2025

2. Oak Savanna Marker on the Kathio Landmark Trail

of all markers in Onamia.

Credits. This page was last revised on November 6, 2025. It was originally submitted on November 6, 2025, by McGhiever of Minneapolis, Minnesota. This page has been viewed 44 times since then and 9 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 6, 2025, by McGhiever of Minneapolis, Minnesota.