Castle Rock State Park is an Illinois state park on in

Ogle County Ogle County is a county in the northern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 United States Census, it had a population of 53,497. Its county seat is Oregon, and its largest city is Rochelle. Ogle County comprises Rochelle, ...

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

, United States. A portion of the land was acquired by the "Friends of Our Native Landscape" in 1921.

Geology

Castle Rock is a bluff of exposed St. Peter Sandstone from the Middle

Ordovician The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period million years ago (Mya) to the start ...

period. Newly exposed sections are white

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...

, while older areas have browner tints from the formation of

limonite Limonite () is an iron ore consisting of a mixture of hydrated iron(III) oxide-hydroxides in varying composition. The generic formula is frequently written as FeO(OH)·H2O, although this is not entirely accurate as the ratio of oxide to hydroxid ...

. The bluff is along the axis of the

Sandwich Fault Zone The Sandwich Fault Zone is a fault zone that runs northwest from Oswego, Illinois, Oswego to Ogle County, Illinois, Ogle County, transecting Lee County, Illinois, Lee County in Northern Illinois. The fault has generally not been active, although t ...

, separating Ordovician exposures from those of the

Cambrian The Cambrian Period ( ; sometimes symbolized C with bar, Ꞓ) was the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and of the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 53.4 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran Period 538.8 million ...

period.

2008 closing

Castle Rock State Park was one of eleven state parks slated to close indefinitely on November 1, 2008, due to budget cuts by former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich.Dempsey, Pam G.
Governor closing 24 state sites, including Kickapoo State Park
, ''The News Gazette'' (

Champaign, Illinois Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropo ...

), August 29, 2008, accessed August 31, 2008. After delay, which restored funding for some of the parks, a proposal to close seven state parks and a dozen state historic sites, including Castle Rock, went ahead on November 30, 2008.Garcia, Monique and Gregory, Ted.
State park closings a tough pill for some to swallow
, ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'', November 29, 2008, accessed April 12, 2009. After the impeachment of Illinois Governor Blagojevich, new governor Pat Quinn reopened the closed state parks in February.Governor Quinn calls on IDNR to Reopen State Parks
", (

Press release A press release is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public release. Press releases are also considere ...

), ''

Illinois Department of Natural Resources The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is the code department of the Illinois state government that operates the state parks and state recreation areas, enforces the fishing and game laws of Illinois, regulates Illinois coal mines, ...

'', February 26, 2009, accessed April 12, 2009. In March 2009 Quinn announced he is committed to reopening the state historic sites by June 30, 2009.Quinn To Reopen State Parks And Historic Sites Closed By Blagojevich
, ''

The Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

'', via ''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'', March 25, 2009, accessed April 12, 2009.

Notes

References

* * {{authority control State parks of Illinois Protected areas of Ogle County, Illinois Protected areas established in 1921 Nature reserves in Illinois 1921 establishments in Illinois