The Garden of the Gods Wilderness is a parcel of land listed as a

Wilderness Area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is located within the

Shawnee National Forest The Shawnee National Forest is a United States National Forest located in the Ozark and Shawnee Hills of Southern Illinois, United States. Administered by the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, it consists of approximately 280,000 acres (1,100 km²) ...

in Hardin,

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

, Saline, and Gallatin counties in the U.S. state of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. The nearest town of any size is

Equality Equality may refer to: Society * Political equality, in which all members of a society are of equal standing ** Consociationalism, in which an ethnically, religiously, or linguistically divided state functions by cooperation of each group's elite ...

Geology

During the

Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carbonifero ...

period (circa 300 million years before the present), local geological conditions laid down a thick bed of gray

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

in what is now southern Illinois. This bed of sandstone was later uplifted, and the Garden of the Gods is part of an uplifted sandstone plateau. Unlike much of Illinois, this plateau was never covered by glaciers; the furthest advance of ice sheets during the

Illinoian The Illinoian Stage is the name used by Quaternary geologists in North America to designate the period c.191,000 to c.130,000 years ago, during the middle Pleistocene, when sediments comprising the Illinoian Glacial Lobe were deposited. It precedes ...

glaciation stopped just north of Garden of the Gods. The morphology of Garden of the Gods is much steeper and rockier than in much of Illinois. Comparatively dramatic

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...

patterns have created

hoodoos A hoodoo (also called a tent rock, fairy chimney, or earth pyramid) is a tall, thin spire of rock formed by erosion. Hoodoos typically consist of relatively soft rock topped by harder, less easily eroded stone that protects each column from the ...

and other unusual sandstone formations, as well as scenic overlooks such as Buzzards Point from which raptors, scavenger birds, and humans can look out over the Shawnee National Forest. Several of the hoodoos have evocative names, including Anvil Rock, Camel Rock, and Table Rock. As with other wilderness areas within Shawnee National Forest, the Garden of the Gods Wilderness is made of

second-growth A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. ...

forested areas that were used, until the land acquisitions of the 1930s, as

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

land.

History

was created in 1939. In 1990, Congressman

Glenn Poshard Glendal William Poshard (born October 30, 1945) is an American educator and former politician who served as a Illinois State Senator and U.S. Congressman. He was also a Illinois gubernatorial candidate, and president of the Southern Illinois Univ ...

sponsored and Congress passed the Illinois Wilderness Ac

which set aside seven separate parcels of land within this National Forest as relatively small wilderness areas. The Garden of the Gods Wilderness, one of these parcels, is a roadless parcel of land within the national forest. A tongue of non-wilderness land provides a route for a paved road from Buzzards Point to a hiking, campsite, and public-use location in the southeastern corner of Saline County. From this location, hiking trails provide access to much of the Wilderness, making Garden of the Gods the most-visited wilderness area in Illinois. The trails and overlooks are often utilized by visitors during the fall autumn leaf color, color season. Garden of the Gods Wilderness is served by the

River to River Trail The River to River Trail is a 160 mile (256 km)-long hiking trail that serves Shawnee National Forest in far southern Illinois. The trail is used by both equestrians and hikers. About half is on off road trails. Its eastern terminus has his ...

. In 2016, 300 million quarters were

minted Minted is an online marketplace of premium design goods created by independent artists and designers. The company sources art and design from a community of more than 16,000 independent artists from around the world. Minted offers artists two bus ...

that featured an image of a hoodoo from the Garden of the Gods Wilderness. An image of Camel Rock was struck on one set of quarters as part of the U.S. Mint's 56-image ''

America the Beautiful "America the Beautiful" is a patriotic American song. Its lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates and its music was composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward at Grace Episcopal Church in Newark, New Jersey. The two never m ...

'' series.

References

External links

United States Forest Service , Shawnee National ForestShawnee National Forest , Garden of the Gods Recreation Area
{{Protected Areas of Illinois IUCN Category Ib Protected areas established in 1990 1990 establishments in Illinois Protected areas of Gallatin County, Illinois Protected areas of Hardin County, Illinois Protected areas of Pope County, Illinois Protected areas of Saline County, Illinois Wilderness areas of Illinois Shawnee National Forest Hiking trails in Illinois