![Kings bluff front side](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Kings_bluff_front_side.jpg)
Great River Bluffs State Park is a
state park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...
of
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, United States, on the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
southeast of
Winona. Originally known as O. L. Kipp State Park, it was renamed in the late 1990s to describe better its resources. The park preserves steep-sided bluffs rising above the river and the narrow valleys between them, which support rare and fragile plant communities. Two of the bluffs have received further protection under the
Minnesota Scientific and Natural Areas Minnesota Scientific and Natural Areas (SNAs) are public lands in the state of Minnesota that have been permanently protected to preserve any one or combination of the following:
* Native plant and animal communities
* Rare species
* Places of biodi ...
program, which are known as King's and Queen's Bluff Scientific and Natural Area.
Geology
The region lies on
sedimentary rock
Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...
layers deposited on the floor of a shallow sea 500 million years ago. The lower, older layer is
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) ...
overlain by more recent
dolomite rock. Much later a deep channel was carved into this stone by the ancient Mississippi River, which 10,000 years ago was greatly swollen from the melting glaciers to the north. The softer sandstone was eroded more easily, undercutting the dolomite on both banks of the river. The dolomite fractured off along vertical
joints
A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...
, leaving sheer rock faces still visible today. Side streams flowing into the Mississippi cut gullies into the river banks, creating a series of bluffs capped with erosion-resistant dolomite. Located in the
Driftless Region
The Driftless Area, a topographical and cultural region in the American Midwest, comprises southwestern Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa, and the extreme northwestern corner of Illinois.
Never covered by ice during the last ...
of
southeast Minnesota
Southeast Minnesota comprises the corner of the U.S. state of Minnesota south of the Twin Cities metropolitan area extending east, and part of the multi-state area known as the Driftless Area. Rochester is the largest city in the area; other majo ...
, the area was missed by the most recent
Wisconsonian glaciation
The Wisconsin Glacial Episode, also called the Wisconsin glaciation, was the most recent glacial period of the North American ice sheet complex. This advance included the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which nucleated in the northern North American Cor ...
, and therefore is a region of deep river valleys dissecting the upland plains.
Park creation
In the 1960s a state park was envisioned on the Mississippi river bluffs in the proximity of a highway bridge which carried many westbound travelers into Minnesota. Legislation authorizing a park was passed in 1963. The layout was a long, narrow strip along the blufftops between
La Crescent and
Dresbach, sandwiched between
U.S. Route 61
U.S. Route 61 or U.S. Highway 61 (U.S. 61) is a major United States highway that extends between New Orleans, Louisiana and the city of Wyoming, Minnesota. The highway generally follows the course of the Mississippi River and is designate ...
at the foot of the bluffs and a county road atop them. To befit a roadside park, the state highway department was asked to provide a name. They suggested O. L. Kipp State Park after Orin Lansing Kipp, who had worked for them from 1916 to 1955 and helped establish the
Minnesota state highway system. However, when the state contacted the current private owners of the designated land, they proved unwilling to sell their river views, and none of the property was ever acquired.
However an alternative property to the north appeared which was both better shaped ''and'' already owned by the state. The
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, or Minnesota DNR, is the agency of the U.S. state of Minnesota charged with conserving and managing the state's natural resources. The agency maintains areas such as state parks, state forests, recre ...
' Division of Forestry had been buying up lots in the region since 1962 for what was to become the
Richard J. Dorer Memorial Hardwood State Forest. Legislation in 1971 transferred from the forestry division to the parks division, and O. L. Kipp State Park finally came into being. Development of the modest recreational facilities was slow, and the park officially opened to the public in 1976.
Flora and fauna
![KingsAndQueensBluffs](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/KingsAndQueensBluffs.jpg)
European settlers had cleared much of the land for farming, but this led to significant erosion on the steep slopes. The state forestry division had been planting nonnative as well as native trees to curtail the erosion and produce harvestable timber. Under the Division of Parks and Recreation, the plantations of nonnatives like
red pine
''Pinus resinosa'', known as red pine (also Norway pine in Minnesota), is a pine native to North America.
Description
Red pine is a coniferous evergreen tree characterized by tall, straight growth. It usually ranges from in height and in trun ...
went against the policy of restoring a natural habitat. As a compromise, the nonnative trees are being harvested as they reach maturity and are being replaced with more appropriate vegetation.
High up on the sides of several bluffs are rare habitats called
goat prairies by locals, because they are so steep it would seem only goats could graze on them. These patches of prairie grow only on slopes between 40 and 50 degrees which face south to southwest. This orientation catches prodigious amounts of sunlight, which in winter means the ground thaws daily and freezes nightly, retarding the establishment of any woody plants.
The park also contains a
relict
A relict is a surviving remnant of a natural phenomenon.
Biology
A relict (or relic) is an organism that at an earlier time was abundant in a large area but now occurs at only one or a few small areas.
Geology and geomorphology
In geology, a r ...
stand of
northern white cedar
''Thuja occidentalis'', also known as northern white-cedar, eastern white-cedar, or arborvitae, is an evergreen coniferous tree, in the cypress family Cupressaceae, which is native plant, native to eastern Canada and much of the north-central and ...
on Queen's Bluff, well south of its normal distribution. It arose during glacial periods and survived the subsequent warming of the local climate.
Recreation
![Great River Bluffs State Park welcome center](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Great_River_Bluffs_State_Park_welcome_center.jpg)
Development in the park was limited by the steep terrain and fragile habitats. Thus the roads and trails snake along the ridgetops and are fairly level despite the varied topography. The King's Bluff Nature Trail leads out onto King's Bluff (although the far tip is still privately owned). Other short trails lead out to viewpoints, some of the Mississippi River and
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
shore, and some to goat prairies overlooking a narrow valley. Queen's Bluff and certain other areas of the park are off-limits except for research, due to the rare plants and treacherous slopes (in 1976 an early visitor fell to her death from Queen's Bluff). There is a picnic area whose tables are screened from each other by trees. The campground features 31 sites and a restroom with showers and flush toilets. The separate group camp can host up to 80 tenters. There is also a five-site campground at the base of the bluffs for bicyclists traveling the
Great River Road
The Great River Road is a collection of state and local roads that follow the course of the Mississippi River through ten states of the United States. They are Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Miss ...
.
References
* Meyer, Roy W. ''Everyone's Country Estate: A History of Minnesota's State Parks''. Minnesota Historical Society Press: St. Paul, 1991.
* Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Great River Bluffs State Park signage, brochures, and website.
External links
Great River Bluffs State Park
{{authority control
1971 establishments in Minnesota
Driftless Area
Protected areas established in 1971
Protected areas of Winona County, Minnesota
Protected areas on the Mississippi River
State parks of Minnesota