Cochise College Student Papers in Geology
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Roger Weller, geology instructor
wellerr@cochise.edu
Starved Rock
Kevin McCullough
Physical Geology- Fall 2006
Starved Rock, Illinois
Photos courtesy of Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Starved Rock is located in the northern part of Illinois along the Illinois River, right next to the city of Ottawa. The area contains 13 miles of hiking trials through 18 different canyons, with 7 different overlooks. There are many trials that start along the side of the road with little inlets where you can park your car. The park is open every day from 5:00am until 9:00pm and during the winter seasons it becomes an excellent place to watch eagles fly along the river. If you follow the road all the way down you will come to the official entrance where the lodge is located. The area derived its name from Illiniwek people forcing a group of Pottawatomi to the top and holding them there until the Indians eventually starved to death.
Photo courtesy of
www.blogula-rasa.com
Photo courtesy of http://jove.geol.niu.edu
The sandstone that makes up Starved Rock took millions of years to form and was carved away in a matter of a few thousand years. The area was originally located about 20 degrees south of the equator on the edge of a shallow marine area. The cliffs of the area were formed under water as all the rock there is sandstone. The sandstone there is very mature sandstone as it is almost purely made up of quartz known as St. Peter Sandstone named after the place it was first identified. This means that the sandstone was well filtered while it was still underwater, or along the waters edge. In some areas of the park the sandstone is over 520 ft. thick. Around the park there are also very large deposits of coal and shale. The area right at the actual starved rock the sandstone is approximately 100 ft. above the water and is solid as you move 3 miles east where it goes underground for over 1,000 ft. You can see the effects of the erosion taking place today as the wind and water take its toll on the sandstone. The park has put in wooden walkways to help prevent erosion of millions of people walking across the rock every year.
Approximately 14,000 to 15,000 years ago the Wisconsin Glacier began to melt and the vast amount of water broke through the moraines and flooded the Vermillion River, which is a tributary of the Illinois River causing what is referred to as the Kankakee Torrent. The flood became concentrated in the Illinois River area and scoured out glacier deposits and bedrock. Scientists believe that due to this happening the Illinois Valley was increased by about a half mile in width. Periodic flooding over the next 10,000 years added an additional 60 ft. worth of depth to the river.
The Starved Rock area is an excellent place to enjoy hiking, camping, fishing,
or getting away and staying at the lodge for a weekend. As fall comes all the
leaves turn colors and the area looks spectacular. In the winter time you can
see the eagles trying to get fish out of the Illinois River. Also during the
winter season the waterfalls freeze in place and you can go around behind the
falls into the caves that have formed behind them. The streams freeze almost
solid and can be walked across, just be wary of black ice.
Works Cited.
The best site I found for geological information.
http://jove.geol.niu.edu/faculty/fischer/429_info/429trips/starvedrock/starvedrock.html
http://environmentalalmanac.blogspot.com/2005/11/illinois-state-geological-survey-field.html
http://dnr.state.il.us/LANDS/LANDMGT/parks/i&m/east/starve/park.htm#Hiking