WalkAbout Home

Your Exact Time of Arrival U.S.A. CST is:

Monday, the 15th of March in the year 2010, at 11:35:11am

A New Site Dedicated to Initiating and/or Enhancing Understanding & Appreciation for Southern Illinois' Unheralded Natural Uniqueness. Also, many links are provided to help one find ways to become active in Wild and Natural Area preservation efforts locally and/or globally. A Work In Progress - You Can Watch the Most Complete Southern Illinois Specific Set of Flora & Fauna Checklists Develop Right Before Your Eyes!

Southern Illinois, in our context, includes Jackson, Williamson, Saline, Gallatin, Union, Johnson, Pope, Hardin, Alexander, Pulaski, and Massac counties. The Shawnee National Forest occupies significant acreage in each of these counties.

~ Creation of the Shawnee NATIONAL Forest ~

To the south the ancient Cache River Basin has presence in, from east to west, Pope, Massac, Johnson, Pulaski, Union, and Alexander counties.

Southen Illinois' Sparta Shelf consists, generally speaking, of limestone bluffs and hills along the Mississippi, graduating to sandstone counterparts as its J-shaped southerneastern tail courses somewhat concentric with the Ohio River.

North and east of or directly overlaying the shelf are the Ozark Foothills (Uplift) and the Shawnee Hills. West and south of the Sparta Shelf the landmass drops considerably in elevation, flattens and becomes predominantly bottomlands of the Coastal Plains region. Near the Mississippi River Inspiration Point, in the LaRue-Pine Hills area, (near Wolf Lake) and about fifty miles to the east at Trigg Observation Point (near Simpson and the National Historic Register's archeological site, Millstone Bluff) one can both observe and feel where the extreme southernmost reaches of Illinois appear to just drop out of sight. Bracing one's stance, in an ever-present gale, one is overcome with this "I can't be in Illinois" sensation when standing panoramically awestruck on a bluffs stony edge.

A COMMON VIEW AND A SHARED APPRECIATION

As recently as July 6, 2005 I gained unsolicited insight into something I had long wondered. "How does Southern Illinois' GARDEN OF THE GODS WILDERNESS compare in beauty and grandeur with that of Colorado's Garden of the Gods?"

Standing atop one magnificent rock formation I heard these words echoing from another towering sandstone sculpture, one created by nature's eonic artful forces. "You know, this Garden of the Gods is even more beautiful than the Garden of the Gods in Colorado!"

Curious, I made it a point to approach the two men who obviously agreed on the superior grandeur of Southern Illinois' most visited natural wonder.

Dave Fearday and Dennis Alexander, from the Effingham Illinois area, were happy to honor my request that I convey their appreciation for Southern Illinois' Garden of the Gods. Both men said they had visited Colorado's version of our giant rock garden. Their enthusiasm for the beauty and great geological diversity of Southern Illinois was apparent. I hope you will too, if you have not already, develop a great understanding of and appreciation for some of nature's most fascinating displays, tucked away among our diverse forests and rugged terrain... right here in our own backyard.

Few places offer so striking geological and biological contrasts in such a relatively small region.

The Cache River Basin includes the Cypress Creek National Wildlife Area and the Cache River Wetland, a "Wetland of International Importance", as designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)during the Ramsar Convention on January 11, 1994.

The State of Illinois' official dedication: May 4th 1996.

http://ramsar.org/'>

One of only 19 U.S. Designations

Cache River is Home to National Natural Landmarks Heron Pond, Little Black Slough, and Lower Cache River Swamp.

Explore this high quality NATURAL DIVISIONS MAP of the Cache River Basin.
>>> Map Key <<<

Note: I've lost (maybe permanently) my E-Photos of the Cache River! I'll be honored to display and credit your best Cache River Photography.