Massacre Rocks State Park

Massacre Rocks State Park
Idaho State Park
Boulders in Massacre Rocks State Park deposited during the Bonneville Flood
Country	United States
State	Idaho
County	Power

Location	American Falls
- elevation	4,400 ft (1,341 m)
- coordinates	42°40′43″N 112°59′9″W / 42.67861°N 112.98583°W / 42.67861; -112.98583Coordinates: 42°40′43″N 112°59′9″W / 42.67861°N 112.98583°W / 42.67861; -112.98583

Area	990 acres (401 ha)

Founded	1967
Management	Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation

IUCN category	V - Protected Landscape/Seascape

Location of Massacre Rocks State Park in Idaho

Massacre Rocks State Park is a state park of Idaho, USA, featuring the Massacre Rocks, a famous spot along the Oregon Trail and California Trail during the middle 19th century. The park is located in Power County, along the Snake River west of American Falls.

Description

Massacre Rocks, viewed from the Visitor Center

The park features a famous configuration of boulders along the south bank of the Snake River along the trail, known alternatively as Massacre Rocks, "Gate of Death", or "Devil's Gate". Emigrants gave this name to the narrow passage of the trail through the rocks, from the fear of possible ambush by Native Americans. According to diaries of emigrants, settlers in five wagons clashed with Shoshoni just east of the rocks on August 9–10, 1862. Ten emigrants died in the fight, which involved four wagon trains. The skirmishes took place east of the park and not at Devil's Gate as commonly believed. Some confrontations may have occurred there, but they remain unverified.^[1] The Clark Massacre of 1851 occurred just west of Massacre Rocks, closer to the Raft River.

The rocks were often used as campsite for wagon trains along the trail. Many emigrants carved their names and dates on Register Rock, which is now protected by a shelter.^[2] The actual passage through the rocks is now the route of Interstate 86 along the south edge of the park.

Geologically the park was created during the repeated volcanic activity on the Snake River Plain. The rocks themselves were deposited in their present location at the end of the last ice age, approximately 14,500 years ago, during the catastrophic flood known as the Bonneville Flood, when much of Lake Bonneville surged down the Snake River.^[1] A notch in the cliff on the north bank of the Snake opposite the park was the site of an ancient waterfall of a side channel of the waters in the aftermath of the flood.

Ruts of the Emigrant Trail near Massacre Rocks

The park also includes a visitor center describing the history and geology of the park. It has access to the Snake River, as well as a campground. It is accessible by automobile on Interstate 86. It is also accessible on a foot trail from nearby rest areas just east of the park on Interstate 86. The footpaths also provide access to remnants of the original Oregon Trail on the south side of the highway.^[2]

Massacre Rocks became a state park in 1967, having previously been a roadside park managed by the Idaho Department of Transportation.^[3]

References

1 2 Digital Atlas of Idaho. "Massacre Rocks". Idaho Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
1 2 Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation. "Massacre Rocks State Park". Retrieved 2011-03-05.
↑ "State Lands in Idaho: History". Idaho Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 2011-03-05.

External links

Massacre Rocks State Park

Protected areas of Idaho

Federal

National Parks	Yellowstone

National Historic Sites & Historical Parks	Minidoka NHS Nez Perce NHP

National Monuments	Craters of the Moon Hagerman Fossil Beds

National Forests	Bitterroot Boise Caribou-Targhee Clearwater Coeur d'Alene Idaho Panhandle Kaniksu Kootenai Nez Perce Payette Salmon-Challis Sawtooth St. Joe Wallowa–Whitman Wasatch-Cache

National Grasslands	Curlew

National Recreation Areas	Hells Canyon Sawtooth

National Wildlife Refuges	Bear Lake Camas Deer Flat Grays Lake Kootenai Minidoka Oxford Slough Waterfowl Production Area

National Conservation Areas	Snake River Birds of Prey

Wilderness Areas	Big Jacks Creek Bruneau–Jarbidge Rivers Craters of the Moon Frank Church–River of No Return Gospel Hump Hells Canyon Hemingway–Boulders Jim McClure–Jerry Peak Little Jacks Creek North Fork Owyhee Owyhee River Pole Creek Sawtooth Selway-Bitterroot White Clouds

State

State Parks	Bear Lake Bruneau Dunes Castle Rocks City of Rocks Coeur d'Alene Parkway Dworshak Eagle Island Farragut Harriman Hells Gate Henrys Lake Heyburn Lake Cascade Lake Walcott Land of the Yankee Fork Lucky Peak Massacre Rocks McCroskey Old Mission Ponderosa Priest Lake Round Lake Thousand Springs Three Island Crossing Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes Winchester Lake

Wildlife Management Areas	Big Cottonwood Billingsley Creek Blackfoot River Boise River Boundary Creek Camas Prairie Centennial Marsh Carey Lake Cartier Slough Cecil D. Andrus C.J. Strike Coeur d'Alene River Craig Mountain Deer Parks Farragut Fort Boise Georgetown Summit Hagerman Market Lake McArthur Lake Montour Montpelier Mud Lake Niagara Springs Payette River Pend Oreille Portneuf Red River St. Maries Sand Creek Snow Peak Sterling Tex Creek

Idaho Department of Parks & Recreation (website)

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