Castle Rock State Park (Illinois)

Castle Rock State Park
Map showing the location of Castle Rock State Park
Map of the U.S. state of Illinois showing the location of Castle Rock State Park
Location Ogle County, Illinois, United States
Nearest city Oregon, Illinois
Coordinates 41°58′08″N 89°22′55″W / 41.96889°N 89.38194°W / 41.96889; -89.38194Coordinates: 41°58′08″N 89°22′55″W / 41.96889°N 89.38194°W / 41.96889; -89.38194
Area 2,000 acres (809 ha)
Established 1921
Governing body Illinois Department of Natural Resources

Castle Rock State Park is an Illinois state park on 2,000 acres (809 ha) in Ogle County, Illinois, United States. A portion of the land was acquired by the "Friends of Our Native Landscape" in 1921.

View of the Rock River from Castle Rock.

Geology

Castle Rock is a bluff of exposed St. Peter Sandstone from the Middle Ordovician period. Newly exposed sections are white quartz, while older areas have browner tints from the formation of limonite. The bluff is along the axis of the Sandwich Fault Zone, separating Ordovician exposures from those of the Cambrian period.[1]

2008 closing

Castle Rock State Park was one of eleven state parks slated to close indefinitely on November 1, 2008 due to budget cuts by former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich.[2] After delay, which restored funding for some of the parks, a proposal to close seven state parks and a dozen state historic sites, including Castle Rock, went ahead on November 30, 2008.[3] After the impeachment of Illinois Governor Blagojevich, new governor Pat Quinn reopened the closed state parks in February.[4] In March 2009 Quinn announced he is committed to reopening the state historic sites by June 30, 2009.[5]

Notes

  1. Wiggers, Ray. Geology Underfoot in Illinois. pp. 39–41. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  2. Dempsey, Pam G. "Governor closing 24 state sites, including Kickapoo State Park", The News Gazette (Champaign, Illinois), August 29, 2008, accessed August 31, 2008.
  3. Garcia, Monique and Gregory, Ted. "State park closings a tough pill for some to swallow", Chicago Tribune, November 29, 2008, accessed April 12, 2009.
  4. "Governor Quinn calls on IDNR to Reopen State Parks Archived 2009-04-08 at the Wayback Machine.", (Press release), Illinois Department of Natural Resources, February 26, 2009, accessed April 12, 2009.
  5. "Quinn To Reopen State Parks And Historic Sites Closed By Blagojevich", The Associated Press, via Huffington Post, March 25, 2009, accessed April 12, 2009.

References

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