Taum Sauk Mountain State Park is a

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

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 ...

located in the

St. 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 ...

in 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 ...

. The park encompasses

Taum Sauk Mountain Taum Sauk Mountain in the Saint Francois Mountains is the highest natural point in the U.S. state of Missouri at 1,772 feet (540 m). The topography of Taum Sauk is that of an elongated ridge with a NNW-SSE orientation rather than a peak. Desc ...

, the highest point in the state. The Taum Sauk portion of the Ozark Trail connects the park with nearby Johnson's Shut-ins State Park and the Bell Mountain Wilderness Area, which together are part of a large wilderness area 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 Histor ...

and backpackers. In 2005, the Taum Sauk hydroelectric power plant was damaged and a billion gallons of water flooded parts of the park and other nearby areas.10 years since Taum Sauk dam gave way
/ref>

Activities and amenities

The park has a rustic campground, a paved trail to the highpoint, picnic facilities, and a lookout tower providing a view the dense mountain forest obscures from other vantage points. Mina Sauk Falls, the highest waterfall in Missouri, is reached via a rugged trail that makes a three-mile (5 km) loop from the highpoint parking area. The falls have cascading waters only during times of wet weather; at other times they are reduced to a trickle or less. File:Missouri - Taum Sauk-J Shutins area shaded relief.png, The contiguous Taum Sauk Mountain and Johnson's Shut-ins state parks consist of in the Missouri Ozarks. File:MO High Point Taum Sauk Plaque.JPG, High point plaque on Taum Sauk File:Mina Sauk Falls 2011-01-01 vpano.jpg, Mina Sauk Falls

References

External links

Taum Sauk Mountain State Park
Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Taum Sauk Mountain State Park Map
Missouri Department of Natural Resources {{authority control Protected areas of Iron County, Missouri State parks of Missouri State parks of the U.S. Interior Highlands Protected areas established in 1991 Protected areas of Reynolds County, Missouri 1991 establishments in Missouri