Native Landscape - Forest, Wetland, Meadow and Cropland

A stop on Washington DC National Mall Walking Tour, a free self-guided tour.

Before you go in, walk the grounds. The museum's four acres are planted with about 33,000 plants of some 150 species native to the Chesapeake region, arranged as four habitats: a hardwood forest, a freshwater wetland, a meadow and traditional cropland, where corn, beans and squash grow together as many Native farmers planted them.

Around the building lie about 40 boulders called Grandfather Rocks, brought from Canada and blessed by Native elders. Look for four special stones placed along the building's north-south and east-west lines, from Hawaii, Canada, Maryland and Chile, to stand for the hemisphere's Native peoples.

Water runs along the north side in a stream and a falls. The landscape changes through the seasons, so it looks different each time you come.

Next, go inside to the Potomac atrium.

More on Wikipedia: National Museum of the American Indian · Three Sisters

Native Landscape - Forest, Wetland, Meadow and Cropland

Stops on this tour