Qualla: Interstate Park https://qualla.com/interstate-park en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:05 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/c/b/n/4/interstate-park-wp/glacial-pothole-wi.jpg Qualla: Interstate Park https://qualla.com/interstate-park Interstate Park: Introduction https://qualla.com/interstate-park/ Photo credit Aaron Fulkerson (AaronRoe at English Wikipedia), CC BY 2.5. The Bottomless Pit drops sixty feet straight down through solid basalt, twelve to fifteen feet wide, polished smooth by glacial floodwaters that stopped flowing roughly 10,000 years ago. It is the deepest explored pothole in the world, and it sits in a gorge that straddles two states. Interstate Park -- actually two adjacent state parks, one in Minnesota and one in Wisconsin -- protects the Dalles of the St. Croix River, where dark volcanic rock walls rise fifty feet and more above the current waterline. The gorge exposes rocks from three different geological eras spanning over a billion years, making this narrow stretch of river borderland one of the most remarkable open-air geology classrooms in North America.

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Image: Aaron Fulkerson (AaronRoe at English Wikipedia) | CC BY 2.5

]]> Thu, 05 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/c/b/n/4/interstate-park-wp/cbn4-interstate-park-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Interstate Park: A Billion Years in Basalt https://qualla.com/interstate-park/ Photo credit Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota, CC BY-SA 2.0. The oldest rocks at Interstate Park belong to the Keweenawan Supergroup, a thick sequence of volcanic and sedimentary layers that filled a segment of the Midcontinent Rift System roughly 1.1 billion years ago. At least ten separate basaltic lava flows are exposed within the park,...

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Image: Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota | CC BY-SA 2.0

]]> Thu, 05 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/c/b/n/4/interstate-park-wp/cbn4-interstate-park-a-billion-years-in-basalt.mp3 0:06 2 full Interstate Park: The Travel Agent Who Built Two Parks https://qualla.com/interstate-park/ Photo credit Royalbroil, CC BY-SA 4.0. Steamboat service to Taylors Falls began in 1838, and by the time a railroad connection arrived in 1880, the Dalles had become a popular tourist destination. A travel agent named George Hazzard saw both a natural wonder and a political opportunity. He launched a campaign to prote...

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Image: Royalbroil | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Thu, 05 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/c/b/n/4/interstate-park-wp/cbn4-interstate-park-the-travel-agent-who-built-two-parks.mp3 0:06 3 full Interstate Park: New Deal Stonework https://qualla.com/interstate-park/ Photo credit Royalbroil, CC BY-SA 4.0. The 1930s transformed Interstate Park from scenic curiosity into a developed recreation area. U.S. Route 8 was blasted through the Minnesota side in 1931, and the state built stone overlooks and guardrails along the highway. In 1935, Civilian Conservation Corps Company 633 arrive...

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Image: Royalbroil | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Thu, 05 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/c/b/n/4/interstate-park-wp/cbn4-interstate-park-new-deal-stonework.mp3 0:06 4 full Interstate Park: The Devil's Chair and What Was Lost https://qualla.com/interstate-park/ Photo credit McGhiever, CC BY-SA 3.0. Among the park's rock formations, one landmark stood out for generations: the Devil's Chair, a basalt pinnacle on the Minnesota side that resembled a high-backed throne. In April 2005, the formation collapsed. An investigation determined that vandals had used crowbars and possibl...

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Image: McGhiever | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Thu, 05 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/c/b/n/4/interstate-park-wp/cbn4-interstate-park-the-devils-chair-and-what-was-lost.mp3 0:06 5 full