MO-Sioux+Passage+County+Park


 * =Birding in Missouri=

St. Louis County
=Sioux Passage County Park= 17930 Old Jamestown Road Florissant, Missouri 63034 Sioux Passage County Park webpage Sioux Passage County Park trail guide Sioux Passage County Park map

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Sioux Passage County Park
Coordinates: 38.8556505, -90.2772117 eBird links: Hotspot map View details Recent visits My eBird links: Location life list Submit data

About Sioux Passage County Park
Sioux Passage Park is located on the south end of a long portage between the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. Native Americans would use the overland journey between these two great rivers as a way to save time. Historically every expedition to explore the west moved up the river and passed today what is Sioux Passage.

During the heyday of the steamboat era literally thousands of steamboats carrying goods and supplies, and passengers would pass these waters every year. The Missouri River was notorious for destroying steamboat captains and steamboats. The Missouri River’s shallow ever-changing channel, snags and the velocity of the moving water spelled doom for many of the boats. In 1832 the Car of Commerce sank in the chute between Sioux Passage and Pelican Island. Steamboats of the day could be 250 feet long, 40 feet across and could carry 300 to 400 passengers and some 700 tons of freight. A steamboat this size could cost $50,000 to $75,000 to build. If the steamboat lasted long enough the investment could be recouped in a couple of seasons.

The park is situated on the Karst Plateau of north St. Louis County. Karst topography is the result of a collapse or the dissolving of bedrock which creates shallow depressions (sinkholes). Sometimes cave systems and springs are associated with karst topography. Additional karst areas occur in South County and mid-county. Mill Creek winds its way through the park cutting down through the loess soils before entering the Missouri River. These soil deposits date to a time of the last great ice sheet when waters of the Missouri carried glacial melt. During the winter months, the glaciers ceased melting drying up the waters in the river valley. This dry soil was blown about and deposited on the hills surrounding the river valley. Today Sioux Passage is a mixture of open areas and oak woodlands. There is one trail in which to explore the park. The park consists of 211 acres. From Sioux Passage County Park trail guide



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