Ogden Standard-Examiner | 1921-01-12 | Page 9 | Ice Caves Found in Iowa Parks

ICE CUKES FOUNO"' IN I0I PARKS nRS moInks la., Jaii. 11. loWal b.,s- achieved such remarkhle reaulta in -.late park create. n and develop-j ment that the first national conference on parks Is Being held in this elty under John auspices 6C the de-, parUneot of the Interior and the suitor suit-or Iowa, Expert from every state j are present 'o (facuea par prob-Inns prob-Inns and Incidentally io learn how rows has been able t" 'Io so much. Klnety-sevbq out or every one linn-dred linn-dred acres in lowu are capable of ctil-ilvatlr.n. ctil-ilvatlr.n. according to official statistics. loavtrtfi onlv three per cent of parka-' ble lund. That three pen cent, how-1 ever, contains some interesting nut doQl things. The Indian mounds, tor Instance, ievetal hundred of which are scattered dvci the state, are In a! minor1 way to tho United B tat as what the ii. rjimlds arc to DgVpt. reli. s of lail ancient civilization. AbOut fifty 01 the mounds are within stute parks, whlb the other will be included in thi parka to be laid out in the future 'Some ..; them have been despoiled for their treasures of potter. beads and t ! fighting Implements; but many remain Intact and ofllelals of tho Iowa Historical His-torical Department hope some day to have nn adequate collodion of the utensils which tho first Americans used In their every day life. The Ice caves of Iowa are another Interesting part or its park syBtom. They owe their existence, probably, to those prehistoric seas which once cov-j orod this territory, for thoy arc found in limestone regions, where the rock is porous. In the winter these cavities, store up cold air. When summer comes ami the corn begins to grow under un-der the Impulse of a burning sun, tho frigid air escapes slowly, coating the month of the eaves with grime and hoar-frost. These envois In turn give rise to one, of the iiujsi interesting botanical! phenomenon m i bis country the survival sur-vival in Iowa of trees nnd flowers that have their nor il range far to the north. While t ..va swelters, tho temperature tem-perature of the soil on tho rocks near the caveS remains at OO to 55 degrees and there frequently grow X ho balsnrn fir of tho north woods nnd tho acon-nlto acon-nlto or monk's hood of the mountains, in Iowa parks may bo seen the most southwestern distribution of white pine in the United States, while in western Iowa are found arid plants commonly associated with tho desert and high mountain plateaus of the far west.