Upland prairies represent the drier end of the prairie continuum and contain soil moisture ranging from mesic to dry. Like wetland prairies, some uplands often occur on deep clay soils that hold moisture well into the growing season. Upland prairies often occur on all aspects, often containing a white oak (Quercus garryanna) overstory component. For this discussion, we are not including upland prairies that occur on dry, south facing slopes with shallow soils. The extremely harsh conditions of these sites probably resulted in communities dominated by Stipa lemonnii, Poa secunda, annual native plants, and crytogamic crusts.