Minneapolis Explorations
Learn more about Minneapolis by following the links below:
Climb a giant rock!Address:
1051 Ivy Road
About this Exploration: Wear sturdy shoes for this adventure! You can climb over, around, and even through some of these rocks!
Many stories have circulated about glaciers, Indians, and inland seas forming the giant cannonball boulders. Feel free to create your own stories about this "national natural landmark". To get you started thinking, here is a tale told to young women in the past:
"Maiden Hole Rock" (renamed "donut hole" later) has a hole through it. If a maiden could NOT crawl through the hole, she would never marry!
Science Bugs, this is for you:
HOW DID THE ROCKS GET HERE?
Deposited over 100 million years ago, during the Cretaceous Period, ground water circulated through sandy rock and left a limy cement that grew outward in all directions from calcite crystals or limy fossil fragments. As the uncemented parts weathered away, these concretions remained.
Science Bug question #2:
WHY ARE THERE ANGLED LINES ON THE ROCKS?
These crossbedding lines are caused by water currents in the sand as it was deposited.
Science Bug question #3:
WHY ARE THERE ROUND STEPPING STONES?
These are babies...time and erosion will reveal these as the tops of giant boulders!
And speaking of bugs, it is wise to don bug spray if you plan to hike the nature trail.
Rock City is easily reached by driving or cycling 3.6 miles south of Minneapolis on K-106. Turn right on Ivy Road. As you top the hill, the entrance will be on your right. The address is 1051 Ivy Road, Minneapolis, Kansas 67467. The park is open from dawn to dusk, with a gift shop open 9-5 from May 1st to Labor Day in September. $3 admission is asked to pay for mowing and improvements (like the gazebo, picnic tables, and new bathrooms).
Rock City is easy to research on the internet:
http://www.kansastravel.org/rockcity.htm has some great old photos.
http://www.washburn.edu/cas/art/cyoho/archive/KStravel/rockcity/ tells how the concretions formed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1DefTlUE0w is a visitor's video.
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/12630 rates Rock City as "worth a detour".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_City,_Kansas gives fairly detailed scientific information.
|
Minneapolis Area Chamber of Commerce
200 W. 2nd Street
Minneapolis, KS 67467 Phone: 785.392.3068 |