Iowa Has An Ancient Secret That’s Hiding In Plain Sight
The next time you hear someone say "Iowa is flat and boring", let this be your rebuttal. Because Iowa has such a strange geographical oddity lying within it's borders, that it's only found in one other place, on the other side of the world.
It's a land that has been sculpted by the wind, like monuments. And the story of why it looks the way it does has captivated people from around the world since it was first discovered.
Iowa's Mysterious and Remarkable Loess Hills
Iowa's Loess Hills are a unique and remarkable geological oddity that run from Sioux City in the northwest part of the state, all the way down to the outskirts of St. Joseph, Missouri. They are no larger than 15 miles wide and 200 miles long.
The Loess Hills were formed between 25,000 and 12,500 years ago, when the glaciers began to retreat from the state. But it wasn't just the glaciers that shaped the hills, it was the wind.
An abundance of fine silt was left behind in and around the Missouri River. When the river was experiencing lower water flow, high winds would pick up the silt and deposit it across the valley, thus forming the Loess Hills we know today. The hills themselves can climb as high as 200 feet in length, surrounding the Missouri River Valley.
The Only Other Place You Can Find Hills Like These Is Found In China
The Loess Plateau can be found in north-central China, southeast of the Gobi Desert. It was formed in a similar way to the Iowa Loess Hills, but is much larger, covering over 245,000 square miles. This makes it the largest and thickest area of loess deposit on planet earth.
The Loess Hills State Forest can be found in the Iowa counties of Harrison and Monona and cover over 11,000 acres.
To learn more about the Loess Hills formation, check out the YouTube video below.
Story Sources: Iowa Geological Survey Website, Visit Loess Hills Website
Top Things Most Iowans Were Afraid Of When They Were Kids
More From KXRB
