St Louis
Missouri
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Photographs of the St Francois Mountains in the Missouri Ozarks
The St Francois Mountain range is comprised of some of the oldest exposed igneous rocks in North America.
Clear streams have sculpted their way through these mountains cascading through valleys and ravines of granite and rhyolite boulders. In some instances, the streams have actually carved their way down to the bedrock creating natural geologic formations called shut-ins. After heavy rains, these streams can become a torrent and the slippery rocks should be traversed with care. In the summer, when the water is low, the slow moving streams can provide lazy pools for swimming and cooling off. There is also the danger of one of Missouri's most venomous snakes, water moccasin or cottonmouth, which are territorial. More than once I have been surprised by them when photographing and know I should give them a wide berth.
The geology of this region is fascinating. Grey and pink stone dominates the area and is often covered in lichens. It is not unusual to see basalt dikes in the rock were magma from beneath the earth's crust was forced through cracks and cooled. The geologic formation on Hughes Mountain is a unique feature called Devil's Honeycomb which is only found in a few places on earth, Giant's Causeway in Ireland and Devil's Tower in Wyoming are examples of this type of geologic formation. Vegetation growing in this rocky region is diverse and provides photographic opportunities as well.
To see more of my images from the St. Francois Mountains view the individual galleries by location:
Taum Sauk Mountain , Johnson's Shut Ins State Park , Black Mountain , Millstream Gardens , Marble Creek , Elephant Rocks State Park