Falls of the Ohio State Park

Infobox_protected_area | name = Falls of the Ohio State Park, Indiana, USA
iucn_category = III


caption = Map of the U.S. state of Indiana showing the location of Falls of the Ohio State Park
locator_x = 162
locator_y = 235
location = Clark County, Indiana, USA
nearest_city = Clarksville, Indiana
lat_degrees = 38
lat_minutes = 16
lat_seconds = 32
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 85
long_minutes = 45
long_seconds = 49
long_direction = W
area = convert|165|acre|km2|2|lk=on
established = 1990
visitation_num = 327,092
visitation_year = 2003-2004
governing_body = Indiana Department of Natural Resources Falls of the Ohio State Park is a state park in Indiana. It is located on the banks of the Ohio River at Clarksville, Indiana, across from Louisville, Kentucky.

The park is part of the Falls of the Ohio National Wildlife Conservation Area. The main feature of the park is the exposed fossil beds dated from the Devonian period.

The park includes an interpretive center open to the public, built on the grounds where Camp Joe Holt once existed. In 1990 the Indiana state government hired Terry Chase, a well-established exhibit developer, to design the center's displays. Building started in September 1992, costing $4.9 million with a total area of 16,000 sq.ft. [Kramer, Carl. "This Place We Call Home" (Indiana University Press, 2007) p.495)] The center functions as a museum with exhibits that concentrate on the natural history related to findings in the nearby fossil beds as well as the human history of the Louisville area, covering pre-settlement, early settlement, and Louisville and southern Indiana history all the way up through the 20th century.Unlike at other Indiana state parks, annual entrance permits do not allow unlimited free access (rather, only five people per pass per visit) to the interpretive center, as fees are still needed to reimburse the town of Clarksville for building the center.

The Woodland Loop Trail has ten new stainless steel markers denoting the plant life of the trails, thanks to an Eagle Scout project. [ [http://www.news-tribune.net/siteSearch/apstorysection/local_story_231185355.html The News and Tribune - Scout project enhances Woodland trail ] ]

Strange wildlife has a habit of showing up in the park. In August 2006 a fisherman hooked a dead octopus. Living alligators and crocodiles have also been seen in the park. [ [http://www.news-tribune.net/siteSearch/apstorysection/local_story_221171719.html The News and Tribune - Fisherman finds octopus in Ohio River ] ]

Gallery

ee also

*The Filson Historical Society
*List of attractions and events in Louisville, Kentucky
*List of fossil sites
*Old Clarksville Site

References

* [http://www.wikimapia.org/#y=38276797&x=-85763974&z=19&l=0&m=a WikiMapia]
* [http://www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/properties/park_fallsoftheohio.html Official web page]
* [http://www.fallsoftheohio.org Falls of the Ohio Organization]
*cite web
url = http://www.topoquest.com/map.asp?lon=-85.7636&lat=38.2756
title = Falls of the Ohio State Park, USGS New Albany (IN,KY) Topo Map
accessdate = 2008-06-29
author = United States Geological Survey
publisher = TopoQuest