Lusk Creek Canyon

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Lusk Creek Canyon

Lusk-Creek-Canyon.jpg

Lusk Creek Canyon
USA Illinois location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Map of Illinois
Location Pope County, Illinois
Nearest city Eddyville
Coordinates 37°31′08″N88°32′24″W / 37.51889°N 88.54000°W / 37.51889; -88.54000 Coordinates: 37°31′08″N88°32′24″W / 37.51889°N 88.54000°W / 37.51889; -88.54000
Area 906 acres (367 ha)
Designated 1980

Lusk Creek Canyon is the name of a 906 acres (367 ha) canyon located within the Lusk Creek Wilderness Area of the Shawnee National Forest in Pope County, Illinois. The area is a large gorge formed by the erosion of Pennsylvanian sandstone around a large horseshoe bend in the creek. It contains plants such as fan leafed clubmoss, cinnamon fern, royal fern as well as ten endangered or threatened plant species. [1] It was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1980. [2]

Canyon Deep ravine between cliffs

A canyon or gorge is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic timescales. Rivers have a natural tendency to cut through underlying surfaces, eventually wearing away rock layers as sediments are removed downstream. A river bed will gradually reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water into which the river drains. The processes of weathering and erosion will form canyons when the river's headwaters and estuary are at significantly different elevations, particularly through regions where softer rock layers are intermingled with harder layers more resistant to weathering.

Lusk Creek Wilderness

The Lusk Creek Wilderness is a 6,293-acre (25.47 km2) parcel of land listed as a Wilderness Area of the United States. It is located within the Shawnee National Forest in Pope County, Illinois. The nearest town of any size is Eddyville, Illinois. It includes the Lusk Creek Canyon National Natural Landmark.

Shawnee National Forest

The Shawnee National Forest is a United States National Forest located in the Ozark and Shawnee Hills of Southern Illinois, United States. Administered by the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, it consists of approximately 280,000 acres (1,100 km²) of federally managed lands. In descending order of land area it is located in parts of Pope, Jackson, Union, Hardin, Alexander, Saline, Gallatin, Johnson, and Massac counties. Forest headquarters are located in Harrisburg, Illinois. There are local ranger district offices in Jonesboro and Vienna. The Shawnee National Forest is also the single largest publicly owned body of land in the state of Illinois.

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References

  1. Mohlenbrock, Robert H. (April 30, 2006). This Land: A Guide to Eastern National Forests. University of California Press. p. 79.
  2. "National Natural Landmark: Lusk Creek Canyon". National Park Service. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
The Canyon in March 2018 Lusk Creek Canyon - Indian Kitchen Panorama.jpg
The Canyon in March 2018