Falls of the Ohio State Park

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Falls of the Ohio State Park
Jeffersonville Limestone Formation on the Ohio River

Jeffersonville Limestone Formation on the Ohio River

location Clark County in Indiana (USA)
surface 0.67 km²
Geographical location 38 ° 16 ′  N , 85 ° 46 ′  W Coordinates: 38 ° 16 ′ 21 "  N , 85 ° 45 ′ 39"  W
Falls of the Ohio State Park (Indiana)
Falls of the Ohio State Park
Setup date 1990
administration Indiana Dept. of Natural Resources
f6
Visitor Center of the Falls of the Ohio State Park

The Falls of the Ohio State Park is the location of 386 million year old fossils from the Devonian . The 67-acre state park was established in 1990 and is accessible via Interstate 65 . It is located on the Ohio River near Clarksville in Clark County in the US state of Indiana .

In prehistoric times, the fossil beds were the seabed with corals and other living things that sank after their death and were covered by sediments . When the Ice Age glaciers retreated, the cover layers were washed away and today 89 hectares of exposed fossil deposits are accessible when the water is low . In these Jeffersonville Limestone Formations , more than 250 types of fossilized corals and a total of over 600 different types of fossils such as armpods , arthropods , echinoderms , stromal pores , molluscs and microbes have been found, including about two-thirds initial descriptions.

The "Ohio Falls" are rapids with a gradient of 8 meters in altitude over a distance of 4 kilometers, the only obstacle to navigation on the course of the Ohio River. Most of the rapids are now in the dammed area behind the McAlpine Dam, built in 1920. George Rogers Clark , the older brother of the explorer William Clark , founded the town of Clarksville in 1783. The area where he lives is also part of the state park, even if the property is no longer preserved.

John James Audubon made 200 sketches of 14 bird species during his stay in the area and 270 bird species have now been registered. 130 species of fish are listed in the extensive stretch of the Ohio river, including endangered paddlefish .

In the visitor center there are various exhibitions on geology, prehistory, cultural history and local history with over 100 exhibits, as well as aquariums, classrooms, observation zones for wild animals and viewing areas. In 2008 over 450,000 visitors were counted in the state park.

Web links

Commons : Falls of the Ohio State Park  - Collection of Pictures, Videos, and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ DNR: Falls of the Ohio State Park. Retrieved June 29, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Archive link ( Memento from September 6, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed on September 6, 2010)
  3. ↑ Archive link ( Memento from July 24, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed on September 6, 2010)
  4. ↑ Archive link ( Memento from September 7, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed on September 6, 2010)
  5. ↑ Archive link ( memento of October 21, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed on September 6, 2010)
  6. ↑ http://www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/files/falls_of_the_ohio_trail.pdf (accessed on September 6, 2010)
  7. ↑ http://www.fallsoftheohio.org/ (accessed on September 6, 2010)
  8. ↑ Archive link ( Memento from September 8, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed on September 6, 2010)
  9. ↑ http://www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/files/sp-SPR_Visitation_FY08.pdf (accessed on September 6, 2010)