Gitchie Manitou State Preserve

Gitchie Manitou is a 91-acre preserve best known for a natural outcropping of Sioux Quartzite. It is located in the extreme northwest corner of Iowa in Lyon County, just southeast of the suburbs of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In 1916, the state of Iowa purchased the first 47.5 acres for use as a quarry, but later transferred the area to the Board of Conservation. The area was initially classified as a state park, and later a “preserve.” It was formally dedicated as a geological, archaeological, historical, and biological state preserve in 1969. The preserve was named after a Sioux Indian name meaning “Great Spirit” or “Great Force of Nature.”

Directions

1. From the intersection of Highway 9 and Highway 75 on the west side of Rock Rapids, take Highway 9 west and north for 19 miles (through the towns of Lester and Larchwood) to 100th Street on the South Dakota/Iowa border (sign: Gitchie Manitou State Preserve). 
2. Turn west (left) and go 4 miles to County Road K10 (Adams Avenue). 
3. Turn south (left) and drive 0.5 mile to a parking area for the preserve on the west side of the road (sign: Gitchie Manitou State Preserve). 
4. Walk northwest about 0.5 mile along an access lane to the natural portion of the preserve.

Geological & Archaeological Features

Geologically, the preserve contains distinctive rock outcroppings of smooth, wind-polished, pink-colored Sioux Quartzite. At 1.6 billion years old, this is the oldest bedrock that can be seen at the land surface anywhere in Iowa. These outcrops are part of a 135-mile-long, east-westtrending ridge of ancient bedrock whose main axis extends from New Ulm, Minnesota, to Mitchell, South Dakota. The Iowa outcrops lie along the southern flank of this buried ridge. The name “Sioux Quartzite” was assigned to the rock unit by geologist Charles White in 1870 from the exposures at this site. Thus, Gitchie Manitou State Preserve contains the designated “type section” of the Sioux Quartzite, where its defining features were first described in the geological literature. From the 1890s to 1920, quartzite was quarried from what is now the northeast corner of the preserve. The quarry is now filled with water and is called “Jasper Pool.”  

Archaeological features of the preserve include seventeen conical mounds in the southern portion of the preserve and several Woodland or Great Oasis habitation sites. Further research is needed to understand the significance of these sites, which may be part of a larger complex including nearby Blood Run Historic Landmark. 

Historical Context

Historically, Lyon County’s first post office and land office were located at the northern edge of the preserve in the 1880s, at the “Rock Ford Crossing” of the Big Sioux River (used by stagecoaches en route to Sioux Falls). This was in a short-lived settlement named Gibraltar. The foundation of the post office is still visible. Later, the area was used for picnicking, and a stone shelter was constructed from the Sioux quartzite in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. 

Biological Diversity

Biologically, the preserve contains a prairie among the Sioux Quartzite outcrops with over 130 species of plants. In addition to big and little bluestem and leadplant, the prairie here also supports rare species on the eastern edge of their natural range such as blue grama, buffalograss, fameflower, and western cliff fern. Many interesting plants can be found among the quartzite outcrops, such as Whitlow grass, tumble­grass, and rock spikemoss. In the spring, pasqueflower, hoary puccoon, and spiderwort can be found blooming. Summer brings white and purple prairie clovers and ironweed. Fall continues with aromatic aster, dotted gayfeather, and downy gentian. In addition to the native prairie, other plant communities include the woodlands and wetlands around Jasper Pool, a successional grassland community in former cropfields in the southern part of the preserve, and a narrow floodplain along the Big Sioux River. A grand total of over 300 vascular species are known from the preserve, plus many additional species of bryophytes. 

Hunting is permitted. 

Other natural and cultural sites in the vicinity include the Blood Run National Historic Landmark and the Big Sioux Wildlife Area