Chimney Rock - Bayard Nebraska is a photograph by Brian Harig which was uploaded on September 19th, 2013.
Chimney Rock - Bayard Nebraska
Chimney Rock National Historic Site is a United States National Historic Site located in Morrill County in the panhandle of western Nebraska. It... more
by Brian Harig
Title
Chimney Rock - Bayard Nebraska
Artist
Brian Harig
Medium
Photograph - Photographs - Photography
Description
Chimney Rock National Historic Site is a United States National Historic Site located in Morrill County in the panhandle of western Nebraska. It contains the famous landmark Chimney Rock, which helped emigrants on the Oregon Trail find their way.
Chimney Rock in western Nebraska is a sandstone rock formation which rises 325 feet over the North Platte Valley. It is noted for its strange spire formation and for its history with the Oregon, Mormon, and California Trails.
Chimney Rock has had a lot of history in its existence. Before the rock was just one, it was a large bluff connected with a series of bluffs right next to it. It was part of the ancient High Plains. After a while, erosion destroyed the weaker parts of the bluff and the stronger parts stayed such as Chimney Rock. It is believed that when the Native Americans used it, the rock was almost as tall as the nearby Scotts Bluff National Monument, which is 830 ft. tall. It is also believed that since the Native Americans called the rock "teepee", it used to be in the form of a mountain peak and erosion wore it down to make it look like a spire. Through the years, though, erosion weakened the rock and made it smaller. In the 1800s, emigrants began traveling west for a better life on the Oregon and Mormon Trails. As the emigrants passed by this rock, most of them noted in their diaries or journals that they "were glad to see that they are going the right direction" and it "spired to the heavens." It was the most-noted landmark along the Oregon Trail. It was about 490 ft. when the pioneers passed it. As time passed through the early 1900's erosion made it shorter and shorter faster than ever. In the 1970's, the National Park Service agreed to make Chimney Rock a national historic site. In 1995, a visitors center and museum was built on the national historic site. There are no trails or roads leading to the rock. In April 2006, Nebraska's state quarter was released with the rock on the back.
Uploaded
September 19th, 2013