The Four Elements at Nachusa

By Charles Larry
Friends of Nachusa Grasslands Board

It was the Greek philosopher Empedocles (c.450 BCE) who first presented the idea of the four elements: earth, air, fire, and water. He did not call them elements, but roots, and conceived of these not in terms of the physical properties we associate with the words, but as forms of energies whose various combinations make possible the structure of the physical world. This idea was later amplified by Plato, and then, especially, Aristotle. For the purpose of this blog post, however, earth, air, fire, and water are being used more as a conceit to imaginatively explore the elements as they may (loosely) apply to Nachusa. This exploration, in part, will utilize stories from Greek mythology.

​Earth

Heavy, dense, solid: earth. As Gaia the earth is the foundational mother of all living things. The name Gaia is now associated with many environmental concerns.

Nachusa Landscape

Is there any North American mammal more evocative of earth than a bison? Massive, strong, brown in color, the bison seems sculpted of earth.

Bison Bull

Rock: the bones of the earth. Nachusa's rock formations are mainly St. Peter Sandstone, which is composed of sand that once rested on the bottom of ancient seas. Over billions of years this sand sediment compacted and eroded, and after extensive land mass shifts with tectonic and glacial activity, the rock became exposed and left as outcrop.

St. Peter Sandstone

The earth with its layer of soil, giving foundation and nutrients and collecting moisture, provides growing things the necessities of life.

Pasque Flowers

Shooting Stars

The earth establishes a stable environment for plants, animals, and all creatures of the ​air.

Grazing Bison with a Flock of Flying Birds

​Air

Light, open, space: air. Air has been called the breath of life. It surrounds the planet in a protective layer and is a requirement for most living things.

Bison Breath

In The Odyssey, Aeolus, keeper of the winds, put all of the winds except the west wind in a bag and gave it to Odysseus. The west wind would take Odysseus and his men directly to their island home of Ithaca. But the men, thinking it was some treasure that Odysseus was keeping for himself, opened the bag and let loose the winds which drove them far from home, thus taking an additional ten years to reach home after having fought in Troy for ten years. There are times at Nachusa when it seems that bag has been opened on the prairie.

Wind!

The early pioneers, traveling across the tall grass prairie and observing the undulating waves of grasses caused by the wind, called it a "sea of grass."

The Sea of Grass

Wind also helps disperse seeds, such as the lithe milkweed seed.

Milkweed Seeds

Mankind, observing birds and flying insects, dreamed of taking to the air long before it became a reality. Daedalus, who designed the labyrinth imprisoning the Minotaur, himself became imprisoned, along with his son Icarus, to keep the secret of the labyrinth. Daedalus crafted wings made of wax so that he and Icarus could escape. This succeeded until Icarus, in his youthful headiness, flew too close to the sun, melting the wings, thereby plunging him into the sea, resulting in his death.

Sandhill Cranes at Dawn

Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly

White-faced Meadowhawk Dragonfly

There are times when the air, the sky with its cloud formations seems to be on ​fire.

A Sandhill Crane, A Fiery Dawn

​Fire

Hot, expansive, light: fire. Fire can be both constructive and destructive. In Greek mythology, Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to mankind as a gift, thereby creating technology and civilization. For this act he was punished by the gods by being chained to a rock, where an eagle each day ate his liver, which grew back overnight, only to be eaten again, over and over.

Fire, a Useful Tool

At Nachusa, fire usually means a prescribed burn. The prairie, like the Phoenix, needs fire for renewal.

A Prescribed Burn

Renewal after a Prescribed Burn

Our most pervasive source of fire/light is the sun.

Sunlight through the Trees at an Outcrop, Stone Barn Savanna

Sunlight is needed for plants to  photosynthesize. 

Sun Rays on Blazing Stars

Illuminating everything, the sun can seemingly perform magical transformations, such as becoming like molten gold on ​water.

Sunlight, like Gold on Water

​Water

Cold, contractive, fluid: water. Most of our planet is covered by water. Perhaps the most versatile of the elements, water can exist in different states. As a fluid it is water, as a gas it is steam or mist, and as a crystalline solid it is ice.

Fog at Hook Larson

Patterns on Ice

In Greek mythology it is Poseidon who rules the waters. Better known by his Roman name: Neptune, he is the Old Man of the Sea, covered by scales and holding a trident. Poseidon is the protector of all who live in the waters of the earth.

Crayfish

Frog in a Pond

It is Nachusa's ponds and streams which provide the life-giving element to all the creatures at home here.

One of Several Wetlands at Nachusa

Ducks Flying Up from a Pond

The most common source of water at Nachusa is, of course, rain.

Raindrops

Life-nourishing rain sweeps across the prairie and savanna in storms.

Storm Clouds

In winter, snow often blankets the land with needed moisture.

Three Deer in Snow Landscape

Water: the lifeblood of the earth.

Bison in One of the Ponds

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Charles Larry is a retired academic librarian  who has volunteered in various capacities at Nachusa for 15 years. He has been photographing at Nachusa since 1994.

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If you would like to volunteer at Nachusa Grasslands, consider joining our Thursday or Saturday Workdays.