Monument Rocks (Kansas)

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Monument Rocks
Protected Area
Monument Rocks.jpg
View of the Monument Rocks
Country  United States
State  Kansas
Region Smoky Hills
District Gove County
City South of Oakley, Kansas
River Smoky Hill River
Elevation 802 m (2,631 ft)
Coordinates 38°47′26″N 100°45′45″W / 38.79056°N 100.76250°W / 38.79056; -100.76250Coordinates: 38°47′26″N 100°45′45″W / 38.79056°N 100.76250°W / 38.79056; -100.76250
Biome Temperate grassland
Geology Niobrara Chalk (erosional remnant)
Period Late Cretaceous
Plant Tallgrass prairie
Animal Whitetail, Pronghorn, Prairie Dog, Coyote
Designated National Natural Landmark
Date 1968
Owner Private property
Map showing location of Monument Rocks
Website: Washburn University website
Designated 1968

Monument Rocks (also Chalk Pyramids) are a series of large chalk formations in Gove County, Kansas, rich in fossils. The formations were the first landmark chosen by the US Department of the Interior as a National Natural Landmark. The chalk formations reach a height of up to 70 ft (21 m) and include formations such as buttes and arches. The carbonate deposits were laid down during the Cretaceous Period in what was then the Western Interior Seaway, which split the continent of North America into two landmasses. They are estimated to have been formed 80 million years ago.

History[edit]

On January 29, 2008, Monument Rocks, 25 miles south of Oakley, Kansas, and Castle Rock, 31 miles to the east, were jointly named as one of the 8 Wonders of Kansas.[1]

Gallery[edit]

See also[edit]

Other geological formations in Kansas:

References[edit]

  • S. W. Williston, The Niobrara Cretaceous of Western Kansas, Transactions of the Annual Meetings of the Kansas Academy of Science, Vol. 13, (1891 - 1892), pp. 107–111.

External links[edit]