Massacre Rocks State Park
|
Massacre Rocks State Park
|
||
 Devils's Gate |
||
| location | Power County in Idaho (USA) | |
| surface | 4 km² | |
| Geographical location | 42 ° 44 ′ N , 112 ° 56 ′ W | |
|
||
| Setup date | 1967 | |
| administration | Idaho Dept. of Parks and Recreation | |
Massacre Rocks State Park is a state park in the US state of Idaho . It is located on the Snake River west of American Falls . The park is home to the Massacre Rocks, a well-known site along the Oregon Trail and California Trail during the 19th century .
The large boulders in the park, which besides "Massacre Rocks" are also known as "Gate of Death" or "Devil's Gate", got their names from settlers who feared this place because of an Indian attack. According to the diary, on August 9 and 10, 1862, a group of five settlers was attacked by Indians of the Shoshone tribe. Ten settlers were killed. However, this incident took place east of today's park and not directly at the rock group.
However, the rock group was often used by settlers' treks as a rest area and tent camp, as evidenced by the names of the pioneers carved into the rock. These are now protected to prevent vandalism. The former passage through the rocks is now Interstate 86 .
From a geological point of view, the park or its landscape was created by the brisk volcanic activity of the Snake River Plain . The rocks were deposited there about 14,000 years ago towards the end of the last Ice Age, when a flood disaster caused a large part of the water of Lake Bonneville to flow down the valley of what is now the Snake River. In the park there is a visitor center with access to the river and an attached campsite.
Web links
- Massacre Rocks State Park at Idaho Dept. of Parks and Recreation