Falls of the Ohio State Park

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Falls of the Ohio State Park
USA Indiana location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Map of the U.S. state of Indiana showing the location of Falls of the Ohio State Park
Location Clark County, Indiana, US
Nearest city Clarksville, Indiana
Coordinates 38°16′32″N85°45′49″W / 38.27556°N 85.76361°W / 38.27556; -85.76361
Area165 acres (67 ha)
Established1990
Visitors158,680(in 2018–2019<) [1]
Governing body Indiana Department of Natural Resources

Falls of the Ohio State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of 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 exposed fossil beds of the Jeffersonville Limestone dated from the Devonian period are the main feature of the park, attracting about 160,000 visitors annually. [1] The Falls was the site where Lewis and Clark met for the Lewis and Clark Expedition at George Rogers Clark's cabin. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Contents

Fossil formations (Devonian Jeffersonville Limestone) found along the shores of the Ohio River. Fossil beds on the Ohio River.JPG
Fossil formations (Devonian Jeffersonville Limestone) found along the shores of the Ohio River.
View of the fossil bed from the overlook 2016WIKI FallsOfTheOhioSP1June13.jpg
View of the fossil bed from the overlook

The park includes an interpretive center open to the public. In 1990, the Indiana state government hired Terry Chase, a well-established exhibit developer, to design the center's displays. Construction began in September 1992, costing $4.9 million with a total area of 16,000 sq ft (1,500 m2). [8] 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 the history of Louisville and southern Indiana through the 20th century.

Large rugose coral (above hammer) at the Falls of the Ohio Rugose2.jpg
Large rugose coral (above hammer) at the Falls of the Ohio

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 features ten stainless steel markers denoting the plant life of the trails, thanks to an Eagle Scout project. [9]

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Rogers Clark</span> American military officer and surveyor (1752–1818)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portland, Louisville</span> Neighborhood in Louisville, Kentucky

Portland is a historic district. neighborhood and former independent town northwest of downtown Louisville, Kentucky. It is situated along a bend of the Ohio River just below the Falls of the Ohio, where the river curves to the north and then to the south, thus placing Portland at the northern tip of urban Louisville. In its early days it was the largest of the six major settlements at the falls, the others being Shippingport and Louisville in Kentucky and New Albany, Clarksville, and Jeffersonville on the Indiana side. Its modern boundaries are the Ohio River along the northwest, north, and northeast, 10th Street at the far east, Market Street on the south, and the Shawnee Golf Course at the far west.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlestown State Park</span> State park in Clark County, Indiana

Charlestown State Park is an Indiana state park on 5,100 acres (20.64 km2) in Clark County, Indiana, in the United States. The park is on the banks of the Ohio River, 1 mile (2 km) east of Charlestown. It was once part of the Indiana Army Ammunition Plant (INAAP), and was donated in separate parcels to the Indiana state government. In 1993, the state of Indiana was given 859 acres (3.48 km2), and in 1994 was given an additional 1,125 acres (4.55 km2). When the park opened in 1996, it encompassed 2,400 acres (9.7 km2). With an additional 2,600 acres (10.5 km2) given by the INAAP in 2004, the park has 5,100 acres (20.6 km2), making it the third largest state park in Indiana. The park attracts nearly 200,000 visitors annually.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clifty Falls State Park</span> State park in Indiana, United States

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The 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. Officially its address is restricted by the National Register, as much of it is on private property where there is no public access to the Ohio River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vincennes Trace</span> Trackway

The Vincennes Trace was a major trackway running through what are now the American states of Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois. Originally formed by millions of migrating bison, the Trace crossed the Ohio River near the Falls of the Ohio and continued northwest to the Wabash River, near present-day Vincennes, before it crossed to what became known as Illinois. This buffalo migration route, often 12 to 20 feet wide in places, was well known and used by American Indians. Later European traders and American settlers learned of it, and many used it as an early land route to travel west into Indiana and Illinois. It is considered the most important of the traces to the Illinois country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeffersonville Limestone</span> Bedrock unit in Indiana and Kentucky, United States

The Devonian Jeffersonville Limestone is a mapped bedrock unit in Indiana and Kentucky. It is highly fossiliferous. The Vernon Fork Member contains Volcanic ash associated with the Tioga Bentonites.

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References

  1. 1 2 "2018 / 2019 Estimated Fiscal Year Visits for Indiana State Parks ~ Alphabetical" (PDF). Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  2. "Indiana Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commission". In.gov. Archived from the original on February 17, 2009. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  3. "Kentucky places : Louisville and the Falls of the Ohio". Lewis and Clark in Kentucky. Archived from the original on February 10, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  4. "At the Falls of the Ohio". Lewis-clark.org. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  5. "Old Clarksville Site-Lewis and Clark Expedition: A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary". Nps.gov. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  6. "IHB: Lewis and Clark-Indiana connections - Focus". In.gov. June 16, 2009. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  7. "Part 4: Ohio River - Lewis and Clark - Corps of Discovery - U.S. Army Center of Military History". History.army.mil. Archived from the original on January 23, 2015. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  8. Kramer, Carl. This Place We Call Home (Indiana University Press, 2007) p.495)
  9. "Scout project enhances Woodland trail". News and Tribune.