Taum Sauk Mountain in the

Saint Francois Mountains The St. Francois Mountains in southeast Missouri are a mountain range of Precambrian igneous mountains rising over the Ozark Plateau. This range is one of the oldest exposures of igneous rock in North America. The name of the range is spelled out ...

is the highest natural point in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

at 1,772 feet (540 m). The

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sc ...

of Taum Sauk is that of an elongated ridge with a NNW-SSE orientation rather than a peak.

Description

While relatively low in terms of elevation at compared to other peaks, Taum Sauk and the St. Francois range are true

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...

s, being the result of a

volcanic A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...

orogeny. Whereas vertical relief in the rest of the

Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant port ...

region is the result of

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 dis ...

sedimentary 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 ...

strata, the St. Francois are an ancient Precambrian

igneous Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or ...

uplift several times older than the

Appalachians The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

. Geologists believe that Taum Sauk and its neighbors may be among the few areas in the US never to have been submerged in ancient seas. The peaks of the St. Francois range existed as islands in the shallow seaway throughout most of the

Paleozoic The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838 by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ' ...

Era as the

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 ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

s, and shales typical of the Ozarks were deposited.

Weathering Weathering is the deterioration of rocks, soils and minerals as well as wood and artificial materials through contact with water, atmospheric gases, and biological organisms. Weathering occurs ''in situ'' (on site, with little or no movement) ...

and

of these ancient peaks provided the clastic

sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sa ...

s of the surrounding rock layers. Taum Sauk is said to be named for a

Piankeshaw The Piankeshaw, Piankashaw or Pianguichia were members of the Miami tribe who lived apart from the rest of the Miami nation, therefore they were known as Peeyankihšiaki ("splitting off" from the others, Sing.: ''Peeyankihšia'' - "Piankeshaw Per ...

chief named Sauk-Ton-Qua. — See also Combinations of vowel letters. Though Taum Sauk Mountain is the highest mountain in Missouri, it is not the most prominent. Taum Sauk rises from an already elevated base. Mudlick Mountain rises from a lower base to an elevation of . Black Mountain, in Madison County, has the highest rise in elevation in Missouri. From its base, along the St. Francis River (540 feet above sea level) to its summit ( above sea level), Black Mountain rises just under in elevation from the valley below.

State park

Missouri - Taum Sauk-J Shutins area shaded relief

In 1991 Missouri created Taum Sauk Mountain State Park, a state park on the mountain: it has a rustic campground, a paved trail to the highpoint marked by a polished granite plaque, and a lookout tower from which a good view can be had; the dense forest on the mountain obscures the view from most other vantage points. Taum Sauk State Park is in a common jurisdiction with nearby Johnson's Shut-ins State Park, and together they comprise the second largest state park in Missouri with a total area of . These parks and the adjacent Bell Mountain Wilderness Area make up part of a large wilderness area that is very popular with

hikers Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Hist ...

and backpackers. The Taum Sauk section of the Ozark Trail is considered by the Ozark Trail Association to be one of the finest trails in Missouri. Mina Sauk Falls, the highest waterfall in Missouri, is on Taum Sauk and can be visited by hiking a rugged trail that makes a loop from the highpoint parking area. These falls normally have water cascading over them only during times of wet weather. At other times they are reduced to a trickle or less. The

Taum Sauk pumped storage plant The Taum Sauk pumped storage plant is a power station in the St. Francois mountain region of Missouri, United States about south of St. Louis near Lesterville, Missouri, in Reynolds County. It is operated by Ameren Missouri. The pumped-sto ...

, which failed on December 14, 2005 sending a flash flood 20 feet (6 m) deep down the Black River, is not actually on Taum Sauk Mountain. It is on Proffit Mountain, about five miles (8 km) southwest. Taum Sauk Mountain topography

File:Taum sauk tour (19).JPG, Taum Sauk lookout tower. File:Taum sauk tour (4).JPG, View from lookout tower. File:Highest natural point in Missouri.JPG, The highest natural point in the U.S. state of Missouri at 1,772 feet. File:MO High Point Taum Sauk Plaque.JPG, Granite plaque placed by the Missouri Association of Registered Land Surveyors File:Mina Sauk Falls.jpg, Mina Sauk Falls, the highest waterfall in Missouri.

References

Specific references

General references

* Unklesbay, A.G; & Vineyard, Jerry D. (1992). Missouri Geology — Three Billion Years of Volcanoes, Seas, Sediments, and Erosion. University of Missouri Press. .

External links

* {{U.S. State Highest Points Mountains of Iron County, Missouri Mountains of Missouri St. Francois Mountains Highest points of U.S. states