Taum Sauk Mountain

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Taum Sauk)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Script error: No such module "redirect hatnote". Template:Use mdy dates

Template:Infobox mountain

Taum Sauk Mountain Template:IPAc-en[1] in the Saint Francois Mountains is the highest natural point in the U.S. state of Missouri at Script error: No such module "convert"..[2] The topography of Taum Sauk is that of an elongated ridge with a NNW-SSE orientation rather than a peak.[3]

Description

While relatively low in terms of elevation at Script error: No such module "convert". compared to other peaks, Taum Sauk and the St. Francois range are true mountains, being the result of a volcanic orogeny. Whereas vertical relief in the rest of the Ozarks region is the result of erosion of sedimentary strata, the St. Francois are an ancient Precambrian igneous uplift several times older than the Appalachians. Geologists believe that Taum Sauk and its neighbors may be among the few areas in the US never to have been submerged in ancient seas.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". The peaks of the St. Francois range existed as islands in the shallow seaway throughout most of the Paleozoic Era as the sandstones, limestones, and shales typical of the Ozarks were deposited. Weathering and erosion of these ancient peaks provided the clastic sediments of the surrounding rock layers.

Taum Sauk is said to be named for a Piankeshaw chief named Sauk-Ton-Qua.[1]

Though Taum Sauk Mountain is the highest mountain in Missouri, it is not the most prominent. Taum Sauk rises Script error: No such module "convert". from an already elevated base.[4] Mudlick Mountain rises Script error: No such module "convert". from a lower base to an elevation of Script error: No such module "convert"..[5] Black Mountain, in Madison County, has the highest rise in elevation in Missouri. From its base, along the St. Francis River (Script error: No such module "convert". above sea level) to its summit (Script error: No such module "convert". above sea level), Black Mountain rises just under Script error: No such module "convert". in elevation from the valley below.

State park

File:Missouri - Taum Sauk-J Shutins area shaded relief.png
Taum Sauk is located in a large parks and wilderness area.

In 1991 Missouri created Taum Sauk Mountain State Park, a Script error: No such module "convert". state park on the mountain: it has a rustic campground, a paved trail to the highpoint marked by a polished granite plaque, and a lookout tower from which a good view can be had; the dense forest on the mountain obscures the view from most other vantage points. Taum Sauk State Park is in a common jurisdiction with nearby Johnson's Shut-ins State Park, and together they comprise the second largest state park in Missouri with a total area of Script error: No such module "convert".. These parks and the adjacent Bell Mountain Wilderness Area make up part of a large wilderness area that is very popular with hikers and backpackers. The Script error: No such module "convert". Taum Sauk section of the Ozark Trail is considered by the Ozark Trail Association to be one of the finest trails in Missouri.[6]

Mina Sauk Falls, the highest waterfall in Missouri, is on Taum Sauk and can be visited by hiking a rugged trail that makes a Script error: No such module "convert". loop from the highpoint parking area. These falls normally have water cascading over them only during times of wet weather. At other times they are reduced to a trickle or less.

The Taum Sauk pumped storage plant, which failed on December 14, 2005 sending a flash flood 20 feet (6 m) deep down the Black River, is not actually on Taum Sauk Mountain. It is on Proffit Mountain, about five miles (8 km) southwest.

File:Taum Sauk Mountain topography.jpg
USGS Topographic map of the Taum Sauk area

See also

Script error: No such module "Portal".

References

Specific references

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

  1. a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". — See also Combinations of vowel letters.
  2. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. Irontown, Missouri, 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1968 (1978 rev.)
  4. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

General references

<templatestyles src="Refbegin/styles.css" />

  • Unklesbay, A.G; & Vineyard, Jerry D. (1992). Missouri Geology — Three Billion Years of Volcanoes, Seas, Sediments, and Erosion. University of Missouri Press. Template:ISBN.

External links

Template:Sister project

Template:Mountains of Missouri Template:U.S. State Highest Points