위네식 카운티‬에서 가장 멋진 ‪8‬개의 천연기념물

멋진 동굴입니다. 70도 중반의 날씨였는데, 여기서 나오는 공기는 30도 정도였을 겁니다. 손전등이나 마이크로스파이크를 챙기지 않았지만, 언젠가 다시 돌아와서 더 깊이 들어가 보고 싶습니다.

Siewers Spring, located a mile south of Decorah, is Iowa’s second-largest natural spring. It’s the vital water source for the Chuck Gipp Decorah Fish Hatchery, where rainbow trout are raised and visible to the public. Enjoy walking paths, picnic spots, and streamside fishing at the spring and nearby Trout Run. With a history dating to 1832, Siewers Spring once powered local industries before becoming a state park and hatchery in the 1930s, with Civilian Conservation Corps-crafted limestone buildings.

Siewers Spring, located a mile south of Decorah, is Iowa’s second-largest natural spring. It’s the vital water source for the Chuck Gipp Decorah Fish Hatchery, where rainbow trout are raised and visible to the public. Enjoy walking paths, picnic spots, and streamside fishing at the spring and nearby Trout Run. With a history dating to 1832, Siewers Spring once powered local industries before becoming a state park and hatchery in the 1930s, with Civilian Conservation Corps-crafted limestone buildings.

Pulpit Rock, a prominent limestone bluff in Decorah, Iowa, is a picturesque natural landmark in Will Baker Park. This striking geological formation, sculpted by centuries of erosion, offers dramatic views of the Upper Iowa River and the surrounding cityscape. A moderately challenging one-mile loop trail, featuring some steep sections and stone steps, leads hikers to the summit. From this vantage point, visitors are rewarded with panoramic vistas of the Decorah Community Prairie and the scenic rolling hills characteristic of Iowa's Driftless Area.

The medallion marking the scientific point of impact for the Decorah meteorite was installed at Van Peenen Park in Decorah, Iowa, on or around April 22, 2024. The large bronze medallion is set in a concrete base and commemorates the 465-million-year-old impact crater buried 100 feet beneath the city.

The water that feeds Dunning Spring comes from near the base of the Galena Aquifer. Beneath this aquifer is the much less permeable Decorah Shale, which acts as a "confining bed" or "floor" for the aquifer. When the Decorah Shale is exposed near the surface of the land, particularly on the sides of river valleys, it causes groundwater to discharge. This process creates beautiful waterfalls and springs, such as Dunning Spring.

About 465 to 470 million years ago, a meteorite struck near present-day Decorah, Iowa, creating a 3.5-mile (5.6 km) wide impact crater buried beneath the city's surface. Although this highlight is named “Decorah Impact Crater Marker”, at the time of my most recent hike to this highlight, on August 2, 2025, there was no marker or monument nearby. However, there is a large bronze medallion set in concrete marking the precise meteorite impact site located about 0.2 miles west-southwest of this highlight.. The marker can be found at GPS coordinates 43.31580, -91.77474. I have made this location a komoot highlight as well. The bottom of the impact crater now lies about 300 feet below the marker due to geological changes that have occurred over the millennia following the meteorite strike. The crater and its discovery are significant because it is one of fewer than 200 recognized impact structures on Earth. It has preserved a unique fossil record of ancient life, including the nearly 6-foot sea scorpion known as Pentecopterus decorahensis.

The distance to the spring from the small parking lot at the trailhead is one mile.