Falls of the Ohio State Park
Encyclopedia
Falls of the Ohio State Park is a state park
in Indiana
. It is located on the banks of the Ohio River
at Clarksville, Indiana
, across from Louisville, Kentucky
.
The park is part of the Falls of the Ohio National Wildlife Conservation Area
. The main feature of the park is the exposed fossil
beds of the Jeffersonville Limestone
dated from the Devonian
period.
The park includes an interpretive center open to the public, built on the grounds where Camp Joe Holt
once existed. In 1990 the Indiana state government hired Terry Chase, a well-established exhibit developer, to design the center's displays. Building started in September 1992, costing $4.9 million with a total area of 16000 sq ft (1,486.4 m²). The center functions as a museum with exhibits that concentrate on the natural history
related to findings in the nearby fossil beds as well as the human history of the Louisville area, covering pre-settlement, early settlement, and Louisville and southern Indiana
history all the way up through the 20th century.
Unlike at other Indiana state parks, annual entrance permits do not allow unlimited free access (rather, only five people per pass per visit) to the interpretive center, as fees are still needed to reimburse the town of Clarksville for building the center.
The Woodland Loop Trail has ten new stainless steel markers denoting the plant life of the trails, thanks to an Eagle Scout project.
Strange wildlife has a habit of showing up in the park. Living alligator
s and crocodile
s have also been seen in the park. In August 2006 a fisherman hooked a dead octopus
. Zachary Treitz, a 21-year-old Louisville college student, admitted he had put the octopus there after purchasing it dead from a local seafood shop for a film project.
State park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...
in Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
. It is located on the banks of the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
at Clarksville, Indiana
Clarksville, Indiana
Clarksville is a town in Clark County, Indiana, United States, along the Ohio River as a part of the Louisville Metropolitan area. The population was 21,724 at the 2010 census. The town, once a home site to George Rogers Clark, was founded in 1783 and is the oldest American town in the Northwest...
, across from Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
.
The park is part of the Falls of the Ohio National Wildlife Conservation Area
Falls of the Ohio National Wildlife Conservation Area
The Falls of the Ohio National Wildlife Conservation Area is a national, bi-state area on the Ohio River near Louisville, Kentucky in the United States, administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Federal status was awarded in 1981.- Overview :...
. The main feature of the park is the exposed fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
beds of the Jeffersonville Limestone
Jeffersonville Limestone
The Devonian Jeffersonville Limestone is a mapped bedrock unit in Indiana and Kentucky. It is highly fossiliferous.-Description:The Jeffersonville is a coarse grained, dark gray, thick bedded, fossiliferous limestone.R. D...
dated from the Devonian
Devonian
The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya , to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya...
period.
The park includes an interpretive center open to the public, built on the grounds where Camp Joe Holt
Camp Joe Holt
Camp Joe Holt was a Union base during the American Civil War in Jeffersonville, Indiana, across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky on land that is now part of Clarksville, Indiana, near the Big Eddy. It was a major staging area for troops in the Western Theatre of the War, in preparation for...
once existed. In 1990 the Indiana state government hired Terry Chase, a well-established exhibit developer, to design the center's displays. Building started in September 1992, costing $4.9 million with a total area of 16000 sq ft (1,486.4 m²). The center functions as a museum with exhibits that concentrate on the natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
related to findings in the nearby fossil beds as well as the human history of the Louisville area, covering pre-settlement, early settlement, and Louisville and southern Indiana
Southern Indiana
Southern Indiana, in the United States, consists of the 33 counties located in the southernmost part of the state. The region's history and geography has led to a blend of Northern and Southern culture distinct from the remainder of Indiana. It is often considered to be part of the Upland South...
history all the way up through the 20th century.
The Woodland Loop Trail has ten new stainless steel markers denoting the plant life of the trails, thanks to an Eagle Scout project.
Strange wildlife has a habit of showing up in the park. Living alligator
Alligator
An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....
s and crocodile
Crocodile
A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...
s have also been seen in the park. In August 2006 a fisherman hooked a dead octopus
Octopus
The octopus is a cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda. Octopuses have two eyes and four pairs of arms, and like other cephalopods they are bilaterally symmetric. An octopus has a hard beak, with its mouth at the center point of the arms...
. Zachary Treitz, a 21-year-old Louisville college student, admitted he had put the octopus there after purchasing it dead from a local seafood shop for a film project.
See also
- The Filson Historical SocietyThe Filson Historical SocietyThe Filson Historical Society is a historical society located in the Old Louisville neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky. The organization was founded in 1884 and named after early Kentucky explorer John Filson, who wrote The Discovery, Settlement, and Present State of Kentucke, which included one...
- List of attractions and events in Louisville, Kentucky
- List of fossil sites
- Old Clarksville SiteOld Clarksville SiteThe Old Clarksville Site is along the waterfront of Clarksville, Indiana, roughly between the Interpretive Center and Clark Homesite of Falls of the Ohio State Park...
External Links
- http://www.uky.edu/KGS/geoky/fieldtrip/2005%20AIPG%20Guidebooks/FallsofOhio.pdf Silurian and Devonian Geology and Paleontology at the Falls of the Ohio, Kentucky/Indiana, 42nd Annual Meeting of the American Institute of Professional Geologists, fieldtrip guidebook, 2005