Medicine Rocks State Park facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Medicine Rocks State Park
IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)
Medicine Rocks State Park
Location	Carter County, Montana, U.S.
Nearest city	Ekalaka, Montana
Area	330 acres (130 ha)
Established	1957
Governing body	Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks

Medicine Rocks State Park is a special park in Montana, United States. It's about 25 miles (40 km) west of Baker, Montana, and 11 miles (18 km) north of Ekalaka, Montana. The park is famous for its "Medicine Rocks." These are tall sandstone pillars, like natural sculptures, that stand 60 to 80 feet (18 to 24 m) high. They have strange shapes, holes, and tunnels.

Many Native American groups consider these rocks a sacred and holy place. You can even find ancient rock art on them! The park covers 330 acres (130 ha) and is managed by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Theodore Roosevelt, a former U.S. President, once said Medicine Rocks was "as fantastically beautiful a place as I have ever seen." The park was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2017, which means it's a very important historical site.

How Were the Medicine Rocks Formed?

Medicine Rocks is part of the Fort Union Formation. This is a large area of rock layers found in Montana, Wyoming, and other nearby states. These layers contain coal, sandstone, and shale.

Ancient Rivers and Seas

About 61 million years ago, a long time ago in the Paleocene Epoch, a freshwater river flowed across what is now eastern Montana. This river carried a lot of very fine sand. This sand settled and eventually turned into the sandstone we see today.

On top of this freshwater sandstone, there was also sand from a saltwater area called an estuary. This is a place where a river meets the sea. Scientists know this because they found signs of ancient marine worms in this layer.

Fossils Tell a Story

Many fossils have been found at Medicine Rocks. These fossils are about 63.3 million years old. They help scientists figure out the age of the sandstone. Some fossils found here include ancient snakes. Scientists also found teeth from Plesiadapis anceps, which was an early mammal similar to a primate. In 1935, the fossil remains of another ancient mammal called Baiotomeus were discovered here.

Nature's Sculpting Tools

Over millions of years, wind, dirt, sand, and rain slowly carved the sandstone. This natural sculpting created the amazing shapes we see today. You can find arches, caves, columns, holes, and tall, flat-topped towers.

Some of these sandstone structures are 60 to 80 feet (18 to 24 m) tall and can be 200 feet (61 m) wide. There are more than 100 of these unique rocks and spires in the park. Some are grouped together, while others stand alone on the prairie.

A geology professor named Ed Belt said that the Medicine Rocks sandstone is very special. It's hard to find similar sand deposits of the same age anywhere else.

Who Lived at Medicine Rocks?

Evidence shows that people have lived near Medicine Rocks for about 11,000 years! Native Americans were drawn to this place for many reasons. The rock formations looked other-worldly, and many medicinal plants grew there. They could also collect fossil seashells for decorations.

Native American Tribes and Their Beliefs

Many Plains Indian tribes lived here, either permanently or for a while. These included the A'aninin, Arikara, Assiniboine Sioux, Cheyenne, Crow, Mandan, and Sioux. For example, the Cheyenne would stop at Medicine Rocks on their way to the Black Hills each summer.

The Crow people called the area Inyan-oka-lo-ka, which means "rock with a hole in it." All the tribes who stayed at Medicine Rocks thought the place was holy. The Crow believed some "Little People" lived here. These were tiny, powerful spiritual beings. Each year, the Crow would leave gifts for them, like beads, paint, or tobacco. They also made "fasting beds" from rocks. People would lie on these beds to seek visions and dreams.

Archaeologists have found many artifacts at Medicine Rocks. These include bone and stone tools, fire rings (circles of stones for bonfires), pottery, and teepee rings (circles of stones used to hold down teepees).

Early Settlers and Park History

White settlers started moving into the area around Medicine Rocks in the 1880s. A large cattle ranch, the "101 Ranch," was set up nearby in 1888. Many cowboys worked there, and some stayed, helping to settle the land. These cowboys often carved their names into the sandstone rocks.

In the early 1900s, Medicine Rocks became a popular picnic spot for local families. They would often visit on Sundays for fun and relaxation.

Medicine Rocks was privately owned until the 1930s. Then, Carter County took ownership because of unpaid taxes. In 1957, the county gave the land to the state of Montana, and it became a state park.

There were some attempts to change how the park was run. In 1990, the state tried to close the park at night, but many angry citizens protested. In 1991, they tried to charge a $3 entrance fee, but this was also protested and never enforced. The fee was removed in 1993. At that time, the state decided Medicine Rocks would be a "primitive" park. This meant they would not add new improvements or provide regular maintenance like trash removal.

Most of the famous "medicine rocks" are inside the park. However, some are on private land next to the park, on the Medicine Rocks Ranch. These private rocks are sometimes better preserved and have less graffiti.

Visiting Medicine Rocks State Park

Medicine Rocks State Park is free to enter. It's open all year round, but you get there by a dirt road. This road can be hard to use after heavy rains.

What to Expect When You Visit

The park has twelve simple campsites. There are also picnic tables, fire rings, vault toilets, and cold spring water from a hand pump. Visitors are asked to take all their trash with them when they leave.

There's a 6-mile (9.7 km) trail with signs that explain things about the park. There's also a steep 1-mile (1.6 km) trail that goes down to the nearby badlands.

Wildlife You Might See

When you visit the park, you might spot many different animals! Look for bluebirds, coyotes, ferruginous hawks, golden eagles, kestrels, meadowlarks, merlins, Merriam's wild turkeys, mule deer, pronghorn, red foxes, nuthatches, prairie falcons, sharp-tailed grouse, and turkey vultures.

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  Medicine Rocks State Park