World Art Utopia

Mushroom Rock State Park

A sandstone rock at Mushroom Rock State Park, Kansas: a wide dark cap balanced on a pale narrow stem, like a giant mushroom in a prairie field
Artwork FileEllsworth County, Kansas, USA

Mushroom Rock State Park

SeenApr 2021

Natural rock formation · Ellsworth County, Kansas, USA

Photo: Nationalparks at English Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.5)

Mushroom Rock State Park protects sandstone formations in Ellsworth County, Kansas. Their broad, resistant caps stand on narrower stems. The Kansas Geological Survey explains that the sandstone formed from sediments deposited beside a Cretaceous sea about 100 million years ago; later cementation and erosion produced the shapes seen today. Source Reported

Photographed Apr 2021. Evidence date: 2021-04-26. Source Reported

💡 4 things to know

  1. Hard caps, soft stemsThe Kansas Geological Survey says the softer sandstone stem eroded faster than the harder concretion above it. Source Reported
  2. Natural cementCirculating water deposited limy cement between sand grains, creating harder concretions within the surrounding sandstone. Source Reported
  3. From an ancient shorelineThe original sand and other sediment accumulated along a Cretaceous sea about 100 million years ago. Source Reported
  4. A small parkWikipedia lists a five-acre park, established on 25 April 1965. Source Reported

📍 Where it is

Mushroom Rock State Park, Ellsworth County, Kansas · Ellsworth County, Kansas, USA Source Reported

Open in Maps

Map pin is approximate; use the named site or address to locate the formation.

🗓️ Sightings

  1. 1997

    Featured in KGS GeoRecord, Winter 1997

  2. 200619 Apr

    Photo uploaded

  3. 201627 Aug

    Photo taken

  4. 202126 Apr

    Moonrise photo taken

Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark records or reports; red stamps mark loss. Publication dates are not camera dates.

✅ The facts

Formation type
Natural sandstone concretions Source Checked
Rock
Dakota Formation sandstone; original sediments deposited about 100 million years ago Source Checked
Park size
5 acres, according to Wikipedia Source Reported
Largest rock
27 feet across, according to Wikipedia Source Reported
Cement
Limy cement between sand grains Source Checked
Established
25 April 1965, according to Wikipedia Source Reported

🔗 Related

All sources & image credits

Photo: Nationalparks at English Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.5)

Last checked: 26 October 2026 · How we verify art