The Little Grand Canyon (officially named Grand Canyon) is a

box canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency to cu ...

located in

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 Jackson County,

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

, United States, south of Murphysboro. It is located on east bank of the

Big Muddy River The Big Muddy River is a river in southern Illinois. It joins the Mississippi River just south of Grand Tower. The Big Muddy has been dammed near Benton, forming Rend Lake. The Big Muddy has a mud bottom for most of its length. Hydrography T ...

across from Turkey Bayou to the west, between Swallow Rock to the north and Chalk Bluff to the south. Access to the park is gained from Hickory Ridge Road to the east. The area was designated a

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best ...

in February 1980. Little Grand Canyon IL

Description

Erosion carved this deep box canyon from the sandstone of the Shawnee Hills, and it opens into the floodplain of 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 fl ...

near Turkey Bayou. The canyon contains several seasonal and a few permanent waterfalls, some descending through dramatic cascades of sculpted sandstone. The trail is marked by white diamond blazes and begins in the upland hardwood forest. The trail then descends through a steep and sometimes slippery sandstone side canyon to the lusher, damper habitat of the canyon floor. The ascent from the canyon requires a small amount of climbing at the Three Sisters Waterfall. Stone steps on parts of the trail were constructed by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

, not by Native Americans as some believe. There is about a difference in elevation between the bottom of the canyon and the trailhead. The trailhead facilities include a picnic area and pit toilet, and no water is available. Hikers should be aware of unmarked and unguarded cliff edges and the possibility of flash floods during heavy rain. The area was known in the 1930s as both the Hanging Gardens of Egypt and Rattlesnake Den. These names were references to the abundance of wildflowers in the canyon and one of the best rattlesnake dens in the United States, respectively. However, excessive collection of rattlesnakes greatly reduced the populations. There are a number of Little Grand Canyons across America, including this one in Jackson County, Illinois; another in Lumpkin,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

; and another in the Emery County,

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

References

Landforms of Jackson County, Illinois Landforms of Illinois Protected areas of Jackson County, Illinois Shawnee National Forest Hiking trails in Illinois Canyons and gorges of the United States National Natural Landmarks in Illinois {{JacksonCountyIL-geo-stub