Turkey Run State Park

05-07-2018

Writer(s): Dan Shepardson

Turkey Run is one of my favorite Indiana state parks. I find that it has some of the more rugged and stunning landscapes found in Indiana. Over the years I have hiked and photographed the park at different times of the day, different times of the year, and under different lighting and meteorological conditions. Because of these experiences and my appreciation for the natural beauty of Turkey Run, I have created a nature photography and natural history book about the park titled A Place Called Turkey Run.  I have organized the book around six topics or chapters that reflect my experiences and that provide different perspectives of the park, while overlapping:

 

 

Chapter 1, “Sandstone,” takes an up-close look at the rock that makes up the Turkey Run landscape. The colors, textures, shapes, and patterns of the Mansfield sandstone—revealed through weathering, erosion, and mass wasting—are captured in the images of this chapter.

Chapter 2, “Bluffs and Canyons,” explores the impressive landforms and landscapes that were carved by melting glaciers and are slowly deepened and widened today by flowing water. Think about how the bluff faces and canyon walls have changed over time and how they will continue to change.

Chapter 3, “Flowing Water,” the geological processes of weathering and erosion are captured in time and space. The many faces of Sugar Creek show the fluvial processes that transport and deposit sediments, forming sand and gravel bars.

Chapter 4, “Snow and Ice,” takes a special look at how water, “frozen” in time, shapes the landscape and gives Turkey Run a different look and feel.

Chapter 5, “Tall Trees,” takes a hike through the deciduous forest of the park, foregrounding their importance and relationship to life in the park.

Chapter 6, “Flowers, Ferns, and Fungi,” provides a look at the many life forms that make up the forest floor or cling to sandstone cliffs for life. The spring flowers create a landscape awash with brilliant and subtle colors that draw our attention. The ferns and fungi, however, have their own appeal and place if we look more closely.

Yeison Rueda Pineda has taken images from the book to create a YouTube video that may be accessed at:  https://youtu.be/dP9w80jo2Lk

If you would like to order the book from Purdue University Press: http://www.thepress.purdue.edu/subject/midwest-natural-history