Forestville Mystery Cave State Park

Forestville Mystery Cave State Park
Minnesota State Park
A passage in Mystery Cave
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
County	Fillmore

Location	Preston
- elevation	1,266 ft (386 m) ^[1]
- coordinates	43°38′23″N 92°12′43″W / 43.63972°N 92.21194°W / 43.63972; -92.21194Coordinates: 43°38′23″N 92°12′43″W / 43.63972°N 92.21194°W / 43.63972; -92.21194

Area	3,170 acres (1,283 ha)

Founded	1941
Management	Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

Location of Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park in Minnesota


Forestville Townsite--Meighan Store
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Historic bridge to Forestville
Show map of Minnesota Show map of the US
Architect	Robert Foster; Felix Meighen
NRHP Reference #	73000976
Added to NRHP	April 13, 1973

Forestville Mystery Cave State Park is a state park in Minnesota. It contains the village of Forestville, which has been restored to a 19th-century appearance. The Minnesota Historical Society operates it as a historic site. Below ground the park contains Mystery Cave, the state's longest cave, which is open to the public. The park is between Spring Valley and Preston, Minnesota.

Mystery Cave

The park is in the Driftless Area, noted for its karst topography, which includes sinkholes and caves. The park is about 5 miles (8.0 km) from Mystery Cave and occupies approximately 3,170 acres (12.8 km²), with camping, interpretive programs, and hiking, horseback, cross-country skiing trails, cold water streams and excellent trout fishing. The cave includes stalactites, stalagmites, and underground pools, and is a constant 48 °F (9 °C). It has over 13 miles (21 km) of passages in two rock layers and is being resurveyed and remapped by volunteers.

Geologic history

About 450 million years ago sedimentary rocks were deposited as the land was intermittently covered by shallow seas that transgressed and regressed. Over the eons the alternating deposits of mud and oceanic debris were compressed to form limestone, shale and sandstone layers. Today these layers are 1,300 feet (400 m) above sea level. Within the last 500,000 to 1,000,000 years, flood waters dissolved along fractures in the limestone bedrock to create most of the cave. Acidic rainwater also sculpted the land above and around the cave, creating thousands of sinkholes and other karst features in the surrounding county.

Wildlife

The park contains a range of wildlife, from relatively rare species such as glacial snails and timber rattlesnakes to common species such as deer, raccoon, beaver, mink, opossum, woodchuck, four species of squirrels, and red and grey fox. At least 175 species of birds have also been recorded. The South Branch of the Root River contains brown trout, brook trout, and rainbow trout.

Historic Forestville

The Minnesota Historical Society operates Historic Forestville as a living museum set in 1899. Costumed interpreters portray Forestville residents and go about daily activities in the general store, house, kitchen, farm, and barn.

Forestville was a rural trade center in the 1800s that declined after the railroad was built elsewhere in 1868.^[2] Thomas Meighen, son of one of the town's founders, owned the entire village by 1890, including the general store, and the local residents worked on his property for housing and credit in the store.

Admission to Historic Forestville is separate from the caves. Historic Forestville is open from May through October.

References

↑ "Forestville State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. 2004-10-04. Retrieved 2011-02-24.
↑ http://www.mnhs.org/places/sites/hf/visitforestville.html Visit Forestville

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park.

Protected areas of Minnesota

National

Parks	Voyageurs

Monuments	Grand Portage Pipestone

Rivers	Mississippi National River and Recreation Area Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway

Scenic Trails	North Country Trail

Wildlife Refuges	Agassiz Big Stone Crane Meadows Glacial Ridge Hamden Slough Mille Lacs Minnesota Valley Northern Tallgrass Prairie Rice Lake Rydell Sherburne Tamarac Upper Mississippi River

Wetland Management Districts	Big Stone Detroit Lakes Fergus Falls Litchfield Minnesota Valley Morris Windom

Forests	Chippewa Superior

Natural Landmarks	Ancient River Warren Channel Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve Itasca Natural Area Keeley Creek Natural Area Lac la Croix Research Natural Area Lake Agassiz Peatlands Natural Area Pine Point Research Natural Area Upper Red Lake Peatland

Wilderness	Agassiz Boundary Waters Canoe Area Tamarac

State

Parks	Afton Banning Bear Head Lake Beaver Creek Valley Big Stone Lake Blue Mounds Buffalo River Camden Carley Cascade River Charles A. Lindbergh Crow Wing Father Hennepin Flandrau Forestville Mystery Cave Fort Ridgely Fort Snelling Franz Jevne Frontenac George H. Crosby Manitou Glacial Lakes Glendalough Gooseberry Falls Grand Portage Great River Bluffs Hayes Lake Hill-Annex Mine Interstate Itasca Jay Cooke John A. Latsch Judge C. R. Magney Kilen Woods Lac qui Parle Lake Bemidji Lake Bronson Lake Carlos Lake Louise Lake Maria Lake Shetek Lake Vermilion Maplewood McCarthy Beach Mille Lacs Kathio Minneopa Monson Lake Moose Lake Myre-Big Island Nerstrand-Big Woods Old Mill Rice Lake Saint Croix Sakatah Lake Savanna Portage Scenic Schoolcraft Sibley Soudan Underground Mine Split Rock Creek Split Rock Lighthouse Temperance River Tettegouche Upper Sioux Agency Whitewater Wild River William O'Brien Zippel Bay

Recreation Areas	Big Bog Cuyuna Country Garden Island Greenleaf Lake Iron Range Off-Highway Vehicle La Salle Lake Minnesota Valley Red River Saint Croix Islands

Waysides	Caribou Falls Devils Track Falls Flood Bay Inspiration Peak Joseph R. Brown Kodonce River Ray Berglund St. Croix Boom Site Sam Brown Memorial

Forests	Badoura Battleground Bear Island Beltrami Island Big Fork Birch Lakes Blackduck Bowstring Buena Vista Burntside Chengwatana Cloquet Valley Crow Wing D.A.R. Emily Finland Fond du Lac Foot Hills General C. C. Andrews George Washington Golden Anniversary Grand Portage Hill River Huntersville Insula Lake Jeanette Kabetogama Koochiching Lake Isabella Lake of the Woods Land O'Lakes Lost River Lyons Mississippi Headwaters Nemadji Northwest Angle Pat Bayle Remer Richard J. Dorer Memorial Hardwood Rum River Saint Croix Sand Dunes Savanna Smokey Bear Smoky Hills Snake River Solana Sturgeon River Two Inlets Waukenabo Wealthwood Welsh Lake White Earth Whiteface River

Scientific and Natural Areas	List of scientific and natural areas

Local

Parks	County and regional parks Three Rivers Park District

Other

Minnesota Historical Society	Alexander Ramsey House Birch Coulee Battlefield Charles A. Lindbergh House Comstock House Folsom House Forest History Center Forestville Fort Renville Fort Ridgely Fort Snelling Grand Mound Harkin's General Store James J. Hill House Jeffers Petroglyphs Lac qui Parle Mission Lower Sioux Agency Marine Mill Mill City Museum Mille Lacs Indian Museum Minnehaha Depot Minnesota History Center Minnesota State Capitol Morrison Mounds North West Company Post Oliver H. Kelley Homestead Sibley House Historic Site Split Rock Lighthouse Stumne Mounds Traverse des Sioux Upper Sioux Agency W. W. Mayo House

Nature centers	List of nature centers

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

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