Standing Rock - Katy Trail State Park near Steedman
N 38° 42.487 W 091° 47.930
15S E 604438 N 4285071
The Standing Rock provided by nature sits near the roadbed of the old Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad--now Katy Trail State Park. Signage at the spot relates the mysteries associated with the rock and also a little Lewis & Clark Expedition history.
Waymark Code: WM9DQ3
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 08/07/2010
Views: 8
The “Standing Rock” is a unique object that stands by the former roadbed of the Missouri-Kansas-Railroad. Nature placed this big rock on the spot where it could be seen by the traveling public and train crews on its route that hugs the river bluffs in Callaway County.
Standing Rock may have even been seen by the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804 as they struggled up the Missouri River at flood stage.
This spot is at Mile Marker 120.4 on the Katy Trail biking/hiking trail that is now Missouri’s longest state park. It is is quite popular with national and international outdoor enthusiasts who hike or bike here. The spot has signage that includes the rock’s geology, the railroad’s gamble, and the travels and discoveries of the Lewis & Clark “Corps of Discovery” on their upstream adventure in 1804.
Here is a quote from the “Mysteries of Standing Rock” sign:
“Standing Rock looks like an isolated boulder that fell from above, but it is actually a remnant of the bluff that has resisted erosion. The rock is a fine-grained sandstone that may have formed when sand filled in a sinkhole or joint within the older dolomite, the primary rock of these river bluffs. But, like similar “mystery sandstones” in the Ozarks, its origin is unclear.
Geology is not the only mystery surrounding Standing Rock: the identity of those who marked river levels throughout the previous century on its face is also unknown. Standing Rock records water levels for at least seven floods: 1903: 1923; 1935;1943; 1944;1947; 1993. The earliest record in 1903 marks a major June flood that was one of Kansas City’s great natural disasters. Other readings are more difficult to read.”
The surveyors who chose the route of the KATY were either gamblers or unaware of the Missouri River’s flood history, because they built their tracks in the floodplain as opposed to the Missouri Pacific Railroad’s wiser choice on the other side of the river. Even though the river is more than a mile away, its power to reek havoc is still present.
In any event, this spot is a very nice place to contemplate a little geology. One can also think of all the travelers who saw Standing Rock in the 19th and 20th century. Some like Lewis & Clark’s men were keel boat haulers. In the 20th century travelers steamed up the river or rode the rails on WWII troop trains, passenger trains and freight trains on the KATY.
There are two park benches at the site. You can also visit it by car with a short walk up the trail from where it intersects a county road 457.
Standing Rock is also noted the Lewis & Clark bicentennial’s “Lewis & Clark in Missouri” as Trail sign #24 of the 100 such signs across Missouri. The Burlington limestone bluffs and the St. Peter sandstone and the crops in the fertile Missouri River valley are worth stopping for a while to take in a little of Missouri's history.
Type of Display: Erratic
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