Mushroom Rock State Park

January 18, 2023

 

JamesVanG_mushroom rock_1b

Photographer: James J. Van Gundy  

Summary Author: James J. Van Gundy 

The photo above shows one of the several unusual rock formations in Mushroom Rock State Park near Brookville, Kansas. The “mushrooms,” which are also termed hoodoos, and their related features are the result of differential weathering and erosion of mid-to-late Cretaceous-age Dakota sandstone, widespread in the western United States. Often associated with Dakota Sandstone are artesian aquifers, oil and gas-producing horizons, and important occurrences of dinosaur footprints and Mesozoic plant fossils. This sandstone is also responsible for the Dakota hogback ridges seen along the eastern margins of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and Wyoming. Photo taken on September 10, 2014.


Mushroom Rock State Park, Kansas Coordinates: 38.724593, -98.030644

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