Painted Rocks State Park Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Painted Rocks State Park
Location	Ravalli County, Montana, United States
Nearest town	Darby, Montana
Area	23 acres (9.3 ha)
Elevation	4,754 ft (1,449 m)
Designation	Montana state park
Established	1963
Administrator	Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
Website	Painted Rocks State Park

Painted Rocks State Park is a public recreation area located at the southern end Painted Rocks Reservoir, 24 miles (39 km) south of Darby, Montana. The state park received its name from the green, yellow and orange lichens which cover the grey and black rock walls of the granite and rhyolite cliffs.

History

The reservoir is in the West Fork Valley of the Bitterroot Mountains, which was an important place for the Salish people. The reservoir was created with the impoundment of the West Fork of the Bitterroot River in 1939. The park was created in 1963.

Wildlife

The park is home to elk, mule deer, white-tailed deer, black bear, and moose. In the 1980s, bighorn mountain sheep and peregrine falcons were reintroduced to the area. The reservoir is a stopping ground for waterfowl during spring and autumn migrations. Residential birds include osprey, great blue heron, spotted sandpiper and bald eagles.

Protected areas of Montana

Federal

National Parks	Glacier Yellowstone

National monuments	Little Bighorn Battlefield Pompeys Pillar (BLM) Upper Missouri River Breaks (BLM)

National Battlefield	Big Hole

National Historical Parks & Historic Sites	Grant-Kohrs Ranch NHS Nez Perce NHP

National Historic & Scenic Trails	Lewis and Clark NHT Nez Perce NHT Continental Divide NST Pacific Northwest NST

National Recreation Area	Bighorn Canyon

National Wildlife Refuges	Benton Lake Black Coulee Bowdoin Charles M. Russell Creedman Coulee Hailstone Halfbreed Lake Hewitt Lake Lake Mason Lake Thibadeau Lamesteer Lee Metcalf Lost Trail Medicine Lake National Bison Range Ninepipe Pablo Red Rock Lakes Swan River UL Bend War Horse

National Forests	Beaverhead Bitterroot Custer Flathead Gallatin Helena Kootenai Lewis and Clark Lolo

National Wilderness	Absaroka–Beartooth Anaconda–Pintler Bear Trap Canyon Bob Marshall Cabinet Mountains Gates of the Mountains Great Bear Lee Metcalf Medicine Lake Mission Mountains Rattlesnake Red Rock Lakes Scapegoat Selway-Bitterroot UL Bend Welcome Creek

National Wild & Scenic Rivers	Flathead Missouri

State

State Parks	Ackley Lake Anaconda Smoke Stack Bannack Beaverhead Rock Beavertail Hill Big Arm Black Sandy Brush Lake Chief Plenty Coups Clark's Lookout Cooney Council Grove Elkhorn Finley First Peoples Buffalo Jump Fort Owen Frenchtown Pond Giant Springs Granite Ghost Town Greycliff Prairie Dog Town Hell Creek Lake Elmo Lake Mary Ronan Lewis and Clark Logan Lone Pine Lost Creek Madison Buffalo Jump Makoshika Medicine Rocks Missouri Headwaters Painted Rocks Parker Homestead Pictograph Cave Pirogue Island Placid Lake Rosebud Battlefield Salmon Lake Sluice Boxes Smith River Spring Meadow Lake Thompson Falls Tongue River Reservoir Tower Rock Travelers' Rest Wayfarers West Shore Whitefish Lake Wild Horse Island Yellow Bay

State Forests	Clearwater Coal Creek Lincoln Lubrecht Experimental Forest Stillwater Sula Swan River Thompson River

Wildlife Management Areas	Amelia Island Aunt Molly Badlands Beartooth Beckman Big Lake Blackfoot-Clearwater Blackleaf Blue Eyed Nellie Bowdoin Buffalo Head Park Bull River Calf Creek Canyon Creek Canyon Ferry Dodson Creek Dodson Dam Dome Mountain Ear Mountain Elk Island F Island Flathead Lake Flathead River Fleecer Mountain Fox Lake Freezout Lake Fresno Reservoir Fresno Tailwater Gallatin Garrity Mountain Grant Marsh Gravelly-Blacktail Haymaker Hinsdale Horseshoe Lake Howard Valley Isaac Homestead Judith River Kootenai/Falls Kootenai/West Kootenai/Woods Ranch Lake Helena Lost Creek Lower Stillwater Lake Madison-Bear Creek Madison-Wall Creek Milk River Mount Haggin Mount Jumbo Mount Silcox Nevada Lake Ninepipe North Swan Valley CE Pablo Ray Kuhns Robb-Ledford Rookery Roundhom Sanders Seven Sisters Silver Gate Silver Run Smith River Sun River Swan Lake Thompson-Fisher CE Three Mile Threemile Vandalia War Dance Island Warm Springs

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Painted Rocks State Park Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.

Painted Rocks State Park facts for kids

History

Wildlife