It may look like extraterrestrial, but there’s a place here on Earth that has giant mushroom-shaped rock formations. It’s nowhere near Stonehenge—although, like Stonehenge, there’s an air of mystery about the place. So where, and what, are these fungi-esque formations, anyway?
You can find these mushroom rocks at the smallest state park in Kansas, aptly called Mushroom Rock State Park. According to Kansas’ Department of Wildlife and Parks, the state park covers just five acres, but, considering it’s home to some of the weirdest rock formations we’ve ever seen, when you visit, you get a lot of awesome per acre.
Calcium carbonate—”natural cement”—holds the formations together, and the largest rock in the park is 27 feet across. The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks says: “Resembling giant mushrooms rising above the horizon, the Dakota formations of Mushroom Rock State Park are the remains of beach sands and sediments of the Cretaceous Period, the interval of geologic time from about 144 to 66 million years ago.”
The department says in the past, the rocks served as meeting places and landmarks for Native Americans and early pioneers. Today, they draw visitors to what seems like the middle of nowhere to marvel at nature’s wonders.
Would you visit this teeny state park to see some giant mushroom-shaped rocks?