Taum Sauk Mountain is part of a large parks-and-wilderness area.

Taum Sauk Mountain in the Saint Francois Mountains is the highest point in the U.S. state of Missouri, 1,772 feet (540 m) above mean sea level. The topography of Taum Sauk is that of a somewhat flat ridge rather than a peak. Description: View from Proffit Mountain to Taum Sauk Mountain in the St. ... Description: View from Proffit Mountain to Taum Sauk Mountain in the St. ... This shaded-relief map shows the location and extent of the St. ... A state of the United States (a U.S. state) is any one of the fifty states (four of which officially favor the term commonwealth) which, along with the District of Columbia, form the United States of America. ... Official language(s) none, English most common Capital Largest city Jefferson City Kansas City Area  - Total   - Width   - Length    - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 21st 69,709 sq mi  180,693 km² 240 miles  385 km 300 miles  480 km 1. ... For considerations of sea level change, in particular rise associated with possible global warming, see sea level rise. ... Surface of the Earth Topography, a term in geography, has come to refer to the lay of the land, or the physiogeographic characteristics of land in terms of elevation, slope, and orientation. ...

While not as impressive at 1,772 feet as other peaks, Taum Sauk and the St. Francois range are true mountains, being the result of a volcanic orogeny. Whereas vertical relief in the rest of the Ozarks region is the result of erosion of sedimentary strata, the St. Francois are an ancient Precambrian igneous uplift several times older than the Appalachians. Geologists believe that Taum Sauk and its neighbors may be among the few areas in the US never to have been submerged in ancient seas. The peaks of the St. Francois range existed as islands in the shallow seaway throughout most of the Paleozoic Era as the sandstones, limestones, and shales typical of the Ozarks were deposited. Weathering and erosion of these ancient peaks provided the clastic sediments of the surrounding rock layers. This page is a candidate to be moved to the Wikimedia Commons. ... Mount McKinley (Denali) in Alaska (USA) has the largest visible base-to-summit elevation difference on Earth. ... A volcano is a geological landform usually generated by the eruption through a planets surface of magma, molten rock welling up from the planets interior. ... Orogeny is the process of mountain building, and as such is both a tectonic structural event, a geographical event and a chronological event, in that orogenic events happen within a time frame, affect certain regions of rocks and crust, and cause distinctive structural phenomena and related tectonic activity. ... Ozark redirects here. ... Shaded relief map of Cumberland Plateau and Ridge and Valley Appalachians on the Virginia/West Virginia border A dissected plateau is an area that has been uplifted, then severely eroded so that the relief is sharp. ... Two types of sedimentary rock: limey shale overlaid by limestone. ... This article is about the geologic use of the term, for other uses see Stratum (disambiguation) Interstate road cut through limestone and shale strata in eastern Tennessee In geology and related fields, a stratum (plural: strata) is a layer of rock or soil with internally consistent characteristics that distinguishes it... The Precambrian is an informal name for the eons of the geologic timescale that came before the current Phanerozoic eon. ... Igneous rocks are formed when molten rock (magma) cools and solidifies, with or without crystallization, either below the surface as intrusive (plutonic) rocks or on the surface as extrusive (volcanic) rocks. ... A rainy day in the Great Smoky Mountains, Western North Carolina The Appalachian Mountains (French: les Appalaches) are a vast system of North American mountains, partly in Canada, but mostly in the United States, forming a zone, from 100 to 300 miles wide, running from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, 1500... The Paleozoic Era is a major division of the geologic timescale, one of four geologic eras. ... Sandstone near Stadtroda, Germany Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-size mineral or rock grains. ... Limey shale overlaid by limestone. ... Shale Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. ... Weathering is the process of disintegration of rocks, soils and their minerals through natural, chemical, and biological processes. ... Severe soil erosion in a wheat field near Washington State University, USA. Erosion is the displacement of solids (soil, mud, rock, and other particles) by the agents of wind, water, ice, movement in response to gravity, or living organisms (in the case of bioerosion). ...

Missouri has created a 7,448 acre (30 km²) state park on the mountain which has a rustic campground and a paved trail to the highpoint. A lookout tower from which a good view can be had is available to the public; the dense forest on the mountain obscures the view from most other vantage points. This park, the Bell Mountain Wilderness Area, and nearby Johnson's Shut-ins State Park make up part of a large wilderness area that is very popular with hikers and backpackers. A reservoir is located at the top of the mountain. The Taum Sauk section of the Ozark Trail is considered by many to be the most scenic and appealing. An acre is an English unit of area, which is also frequently used in the United States and some Commonwealth countries. ... State park is a term used in the United States and in Mexico for an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or other reason, and under the administration of the government of a U.S. state or one of the states of Mexico. ... Johnsons Shut-Ins State Park is a Missouri state park on the Black River in Reynolds County. ... Beautiful natural scenes are common hiking destinations Hiking is a form of walking, undertaken with the specific purpose of exploring and enjoying the scenery. ... Backpacking in the Grand Teton National Park, United States Backpacking (also tramping or trekking in some countries) is the complete combination of hiking and camping. ...

Mina Sauk Falls, the highest waterfall in Missouri, is on Taum Sauk and can be visited by hiking a rugged trail that makes a three-mile loop from the highpoint parking area. These falls normally have water cascading over them only during times of wet weather. At other times they are reduced to a trickle or less.

The Taum Sauk pumped storage plant, which failed on December 14, 2005 sending a flash flood 20 feet deep down the Black River, is not actually on Taum Sauk Mountain. It is on Proffit Mountain, about five miles southwest. An aerial photo of the upper reservoir of the Taum Sauk plant. ... December 14 is the 348th day of the year (349th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Template:Diffgggtgerent calendars 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Black River is a common name for streams and communities around the world, as well as the Spanish and Portuguese translation for Rio Negro. ...

Taum Sauk State Park is in the same jurisdiction with Johnson's Shut-ins State Park and the complex is the second largest state park in Missouri (Lake of the Ozarks is larger). Jerry Toop, superintendent of the combined park, his wife and their three young children were swept away in the December 14 disaster when a wall of water obliterated their home in a matter of minutes. All five survived but their problems were compounded by improper treatment for Hypothermia. Johnsons Shut-Ins State Park is a Missouri state park on the Black River in Reynolds County. ... The Lake of the Ozarks is a large man-made reservoir created by impounding the Osage River in central the Missouri Ozarks. ... Hypothermia is a medical condition in which the victims core body temperature has dropped to significantly below normal and normal metabolism begins to be impaired. ...

See also

• Geography of Missouri
• Missouri National and State Parks
• Taum Sauk pumped storage plant
• List of tallest mountains of U.S. states

Missouri, a state near the geographical center of the United States, has three distinct physiographic divisions: a north-western upland plain or prairie region part of the Interior Plains Central Lowland (areas Osage Plain 12f and Dissected Til Plains 12e) known as the northern plains a lowland in the extreme... National Parks and Recreation Areas Missouri is home to many national forests, parks and recreational areas as well as state parks. ... An aerial photo of the upper reservoir of the Taum Sauk plant. ... This is a list of tallest mountains of U.S. states: Alabama - Cheaha Mountain - 2,407 ft. ...

References

Unklesbay, A.G; & Vineyard, Jerry D. (1992). Missouri Geology — Three Billion Years of Volcanoes, Seas, Sediments, and Erosion. University of Missouri Press. ISBN 0-8262-0836-3.