Monument Rocks (also Chalk Pyramids) are a series of large chalk formations in

Gove County, Kansas Gove County (county code GO) is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 2,718. Its county seat is Gove City, and its most populous city is Quinter. History Early history Eighty (80) million y ...

, rich in fossils. The formations were the first landmark in Kansas chosen by the US

Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

as 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 ...

. The chalk formations reach a height of up to and include formations such as buttes and arches. The

carbonate A carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid (H2CO3), characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, a polyatomic ion with the formula . The word ''carbonate'' may also refer to a carbonate ester, an organic compound containing the carbonate g ...

deposits were laid down during the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

Period in what was then the

Western Interior Seaway The Western Interior Seaway (also called the Cretaceous Seaway, the Niobraran Sea, the North American Inland Sea, and the Western Interior Sea) was a large inland sea that split the continent of North America into two landmasses. The ancient sea, ...

, which split the continent of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

into two landmasses. They are estimated to have been formed 80 million years ago.

History

On January 29, 2008, Monument Rocks, 25 miles south of

Oakley, Kansas Oakley is a city in Gove, Logan, and Thomas counties in the U.S. state of Kansas. It is the county seat of Logan County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,046. History The area that would later become Oakley was settled ...

, and Castle Rock, 31 miles to the east, were jointly named as one of the 8 Wonders of Kansas.http://www.nps.gov/tapr/learn/news/upload/8wndrsAnncmntNEWSRELEASE.pdf

Gallery

File:A328, Monument Rocks National Natural Landmark, Gove County, Kansas, 2011.JPG, Wide view of largest formation and arch File:MonumentRock.JPG, Southernmost rock in the early 1890s File:Monument rocks view.jpg, Wide view from the west File:MonumentRock car.jpg, With car for scale File:Milky Way over Monument Rocks, Kansas, USA.jpg, alt=Milky Way over Monument Rocks, Kansas, USA, Night view with Milky Way

References

External links

Monument Rocks (Chalk Pyramids)Gove County Map
KDOT {{authority control Natural arches of Kansas Landforms of Gove County, Kansas National Natural Landmarks in Kansas Landmarks in Kansas Tourist attractions in Gove County, Kansas

History

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links