Three Creeks Conservation Area is a nature preserve in

Boone County, Missouri Boone County is located in the U.S. state of Missouri. Centrally located in Mid-Missouri, its county seat is Columbia, Missouri's fourth-largest city and location of the University of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 183,61 ...

. Its

Ozark 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 portio ...

terrain has many

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

features including caves, springs, and sinkholes. It is located south of

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is the county seat of Boone County and home to the University of Missouri. Founded in 1821, it is the principal city of the five-county Columbia metropolitan area. It is Missouri's fourth ...

and the more well-known

Rock Bridge Memorial State Park Rock Bridge Memorial State Park is a geological preserve and public recreation area encompassing , south of Columbia in Boone County, Missouri off of Missouri Route 163. The park is home to 12 caves. The state park is noted for its excell ...

. The conservation area is named after the three streams which flow through it: Turkey Creek,

Bass Creek Bass Creek is a stream in Boone County in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is a tributary of Bonne Femme Creek, which flows into the Missouri River. The creek is one of the "three creeks" of Three Creeks Conservation Area. It is a losing stream a ...

, and Bonne Femme Creek. Its nearly 1500 acres are mostly forested and managed by the

Missouri Department of Conservation The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the Missouri Conservation Commission were created by Article IV Sections 40-42 of the Missouri Constitution, which were adopted by the voters of the state in 1936 as Amendment 4 to the constitution ...

. There are numerous trails for hiking. In 2019, former

Columbia Daily Tribune The ''Columbia Daily Tribune'', commonly referred to as the ''Columbia Tribune'' or the ''Tribune'', is one of two daily newspapers in Columbia, Missouri, the other being the '' Columbia Missourian''. It is the only daily newspaper in Columbia who ...

owners Hank Waters and Vicki Russell donated 207 acres adjacent to the park for the construction of a nature school. The school will be a cooperative effort between

Columbia Public Schools The Columbia Public School District is located in Columbia, Boone County, Missouri. The district is Accredited with Distinction by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. 19,052 students are enrolled as of 2020. The dist ...

and the Missouri Department of Conservation. Much of the land around and in Three Creeks was purchased and farmed by African-Americans after the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. The area is part of the Bonne Femme Watershed Project.http://www.cavewatershed.org/ Boone Femme Watershed Project

References

External links

Official siteArea map
{{Protected Areas of Missouri Conservation Areas of Missouri Protected areas of Boone County, Missouri Landforms of Boone County, Missouri African-American history in Columbia, Missouri

See also

References

External links