Whitewater State Park

Infobox nrhp
name =Whitewater State Park CCC/WPA/Rustic Style Historic Resources
nrhp_type = hd


caption = Sign at the south entrance to the park on Minnesota State Highway 74
location = On MN 74 between St. Charles and Elba
nearest_city = Elba, Minnesota
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added = October 25, 1989
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refnum =89001661
mpsub = Minnesota State Park CCC/WPA/Rustic Style MPS
governing_body = Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

Whitewater State Park is a Minnesota state park in Winona County in the southeastern blufflands area of the state. The convert|2700|acre|km2|0 park features scenic overlooks and excellent trout fishing in the spring fed Whitewater River and Trout Run Creek. It has about 300,000 visitors annually, and is located 7 miles (11 km) north of St. Charles on Minnesota State Highway 74 which runs through the park.

Landforms

The bedrock here is lower Paleozoic sedimentary rocks, with limestone and dolomite especially prevalent near the surface. It is is highly dissected, and the Whitewater River has cut deep valleys into the bedrock. It is an area of karst topography.

Lifeforms

The park is located where the Rochester Plateau Subsection and the Blufflands Subsection meet, both of which are part of the Paleozoic Plateau section of the Eastern Broadleaf Forest Province. [Ecological Classification System, [http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ecs/222L/index.html Paleozoic Plateau Section] , [http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ecs/222Lf/index.html Rochester Plateau Subsection] ] , and [http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ecs/222Lc/index.html The Blufflands Subsection] ; all published by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.]

2007 flood

The August 18 and 19, 2007 Midwest flooding caused extensive damage to the park. The park is in the Driftless Area, where soils are thin and less able to retain water; they lie atop porous rock into and through which surface waters can rapidly drain into the water table. [Citation | last = Ojakangas | first = Richard W. | last2 = Matsch | first2 = Charles L.| title = Minnesota's Geology | place= Minneapolis | publisher = University of Minnesota Press | year = 1982 | id = ISBN 0-8166-0953-5 ] The steep hills and bluffs and deep coulees give steep gradients to the drainage and makes streams highly erosive. As the rains far exceeded the absorption rate of the soils, flash floods rapidly overflowed the river and spread across the valley floors.

About 500 campers were staying in the park at the time. [cite web| title =Flooding shuts down state's No. 2 campground, ruins hatcheries| publisher =Rochester Post-Bulletin| date =2007-08-25| url =http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?a=304678&z=2| accessdate =2007-08-25] Three bridges were destroyed, and campgrounds, bathhouses, a group dining hall, and water and sewer systems suffered extensive damage. Damage was in excess of four million dollars, and the park was closed to the public on August 20, 2007, [cite web| title =Flooding| publisher =MN DNR| date =2007| url =http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/news/flooding.html| accessdate =2007-08-24] and remained closed the balance of the year. On March 1, 2008 it partially reopened, but many of its amenities still had unrepaired damage. [http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/03/01/whitewater/ "Whitewater State Park partially reopens"] , Minnesota Public Radio, March 1, 2008.]

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http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/climate/floods/2007/floodphotos.html Photographs of Whitewater area showing flood damage]

References

* [http://www.mnhs.org/places/nationalregister/stateparks/Whitewtr.html Rustic Style Resources in Minnesota State Parks: Whitewater State Park]

External links

* [http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/whitewater/narrative.html Whitewater State Park website]