View source for Mushroom Rock State Park

{{Short description|State park in Kansas, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox protected area
| name            = Mushroom Rock
| iucn_category   = 
| iucn_ref        = 
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| photo           = Mushroomsp.JPG
| photo_caption   = Pedestal formed by nonuniform weathering
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| map             = USA Kansas Ellsworth County
| map_image       = 
| map_size        = 
| map_caption     = Location of Mushroom Rock State Park in [[Ellsworth County, Kansas|Ellsworth County]], [[Kansas (U.S. state)|Kansas]]Map showing location of park
| relief          = 
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| location        = [[Carneiro, Kansas|Carneiro]] and [[Ellsworth, Kansas]], [[Ellsworth County, Kansas]], [[Smoky Hills]], [[Kansas]], [[United States]]
| nearest_city    = 
| nearest_town    = 
| coordinates     = {{coord|38|43|33|N|98|01|50|W|display=inline,title}}
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| length          = 
| length_mi       = 
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| width           = 
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| elevation       = {{convert|488|m|ft|abbr=on}}
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| designation     = 
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| authorized      = 
| created         = 
| designated      = 
| established     = 25 April 1965
| named_for       = 
| visitation_num  = 290,436
| visitation_year = 2022
| visitation_ref  = <ref>{{Cite web |date=August 18, 2023 |title=Top 5 most popular Kansas state parks revealed |first=Matthew |last=Self |url=https://www.ksnt.com/kansasoutdoors/top-5-most-popular-kansas-state-parks-revealed/ |website=KSNT}}</ref>
| governing_body  = 
| administrator   = 
| operator        = [[Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism]]
| owner           =
<!-- website, embedded --> 
| website         = [http://kdwp.state.ks.us/news/State-Parks/Locations/Mushroom-Rock KDWP Website]
| embedded        = 
|area=5 acres}}

'''Mushroom Rock State Park''' is noted for its [[mushroom rocks|mushroom rock]] [[Rock formations in the United States|formations]].  It is located in the [[Smoky Hills]] region of north-central [[Kansas]] in [[Ellsworth County, Kansas]], United States.

These rocks are the remains of beach sands and sediments of the Cretaceous Period, the interval of geologic time from about 144 to 66 million years ago. Sandstone and sedimentary rock are held together by natural cement. The concretions that make up mushroom rocks are cemented calcium carbonate. The largest rock measures 27 feet in diameter.<ref name=":0" /> Two mushrooms and a giant shoe rock, as well as numerous other rock formations, are in the {{convert|5|acre|ha|adj=on}} park.

Mushroom Rock is Kansas's smallest state park,<ref name="Mushroom Rock State Park">{{Cite web |title=Mushroom Rock State Park |url=http://www.kansastravel.org/mushroomrock.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230820070840/http://www.kansastravel.org/mushroomrock.htm |archive-date=August 20, 2023 |access-date=2020-02-17 |website=www.kansastravel.org}}</ref> as well as being "one of the eight wonders of Kansas geography."<ref name="Mushroom Rock State Park"/> Mushroom Rock State Park is managed by [[Kanopolis State Park]],<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=Kanopolis State Park |url=http://ksoutdoors.com/State-Parks/Locations/Kanopolis |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230820070853/https://ksoutdoors.com/State-Parks/Locations/Kanopolis |archive-date=August 20, 2023 |access-date=16 January 2018 |publisher=Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism}}</ref> under regulation of [[Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism]]. The rock once served as a meeting place for pioneers and Native Americans.<ref name=":0" />

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Mushroom Rock Kansas 1916.jpg|Rock formation at Mushroom Rock State Park, Kansas (1916)<ref>Darton, N.H. 1916. Guidebook of the Western United States: Part C - The Santa Fe Route, with a Side Trip to Grand Canyon of the Colorado. [[U.S. Geological Survey]]. Bulletin 613, 194 pp. (See Plate 3-A)</ref>
</gallery>

==See also==
Other rock formations in Kansas:
* [[Castle Rock (Kansas)]]
* [[Monument Rocks (Kansas)]]
* [[Rock City, Kansas]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.kdwp.state.ks.us/news/state_parks/locations/mushroom_rock Mushroom Rock State Park - Official Site]
* [http://www.washburn.edu/cas/art/cyoho/archive/KStravel/Comanche/Mushroom/ Mushroom Rock State Park - Trip Report]
* [http://www.kansastravel.org/mushroomrock.htm Mushroom Rock State Park - Photographs]
* [https://www.ksdot.org/burtransplan/maps/county-pdf/ellsworth.PDF Ellsworth County map], KDOT

{{Protected Areas of Kansas}}
{{Ellsworth County, Kansas}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Protected areas of Ellsworth County, Kansas]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Ellsworth County, Kansas]]
[[Category:State parks of Kansas]]
[[Category:Rock formations of Kansas]]
[[Category:Protected areas established in 1965]]
[[Category:Landforms of Ellsworth County, Kansas]]


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