Rock Formations
Unusual Rock Formations of the Shawnee National Forest and surrounding area of Southern Illinois
| General Area | Name | GPS Coordinates | Description | Photo Link | County | Public/Private |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dixon Springs | Fist of God | N37° 23.850' W88° 36.909' | The Fist of God / Haskins an unique formation that looks like a fore arm and fist sticking out of the ground. Some think it also looks like a morel mushroom. The formation has a waterfall behind it and pond in front of that was used by a local church for baptisms, hence the name. |  | Pope | Shawnee NF |
| Buzzard Point Area | Mushroom Rock | N37° 36.086' W88° 21.298' | A 20 foot high mushroom shaped monolith sticking up along the top of a bluff line. |  | Shawnee NF | |
| Buzzard Point Area | Twin Towers | N37° 35.942' W88° 20.923' | Two approximately 50' tall rock towers as measured from the south side. |  | Shawnee NF | |
| Buzzard Point Area | Rhombus Rock | N37° 36.133' W88° 21.217' | Rhombus Rock is exactly that. It is a large 40' tall rock monolith sticking up out of the ground along trail 137 about 0.2 miles north of the R2R trail. |  | Shawnee NF | |
| Garden of the God Area | Balanced Rock | N37° 35.431' W88° 23.709' | A triangular shaped rock about 20' tall and 3' wide balanced on one of the points. |   | Shawnee NF | |
| High Knob Area | Gorilla Rock | N37° 36.752' W88° 20.887' | This is a 15' tall large rock that resembles the profile of a gorilla head. |  | Shawnee NF | |
| Dutchman Lake Area | Sailboat Rock | N37° 30.450' W88° 52.667' | A 15' foot tall pedestal rock that resembles a sailboat hull. |   | Shawnee NF | |
| Dutchman Lake Area | Hanging Boulder | N37° 29.689' W88° 54.675' | A large boulder wedged 15' above the trail between two walls. |  | Shawnee NF | |
| Ferne Clyffe SP Area | Alligator Rock | N37° 31.456' W88° 59.762' | Alligator Rock is a cantilevered rock that resembles a a gator head near the Happy Hollow Trail. Is also a great overlook. |  | State Park | |
| Garden of the God Area | Pulpit Tower | N37° 36.017' W88° 23.083' | A 30' tall tower separated from the main bluff |  | Shawnee NF | |
| Giant City SP Area | Balanced Rock | N37° 35.702' W89° 11.588' | Continue on and walk under the balanced rock. Weighing tons, this rock seems to have slid downhill getting stuck in its present spot. Since most of the rock movement occurred during the glacial melting, it has most likely been hanging here for thousands of years. |  | State Park | |
| Giant City SP Area | Devil's Standtable | N37° 36.003' W89° 11.505' | You have reached the Devil’s Standtable. The “mushroom rock” presents a striking profile against the light sky as viewed from below. It was once a large block of the bluff that cracked loose during earth movements. The wind and rain erosion of the surface removed the softer areas of sandstone in the mid-section of the pillar leaving the large base and iron embedded cap much larger, which creates the mushroom-like appearance. |  | State Park | |
| Garden of the God Area | Noah's Ark | Shawnee NF | ||||
| Garden of the God Area | Mushroom Rock | Shawnee NF | ||||
| Garden of the God Area | Camel Rock | N37° 36.220' W88° 23.150' | Primary rock feature of the area that also happens to be featured on the Shawnee National Forest quarter issued in 2016. |  | Shawnee NF | |
| Garden of the God Area | Anvil Rock |  | Shawnee NF | |||
| Garden of the God Area | Monkey | N37° 36.220' W88° 23.150' | Shawnee NF | |||
| Garden of the God Area | Devil's Smokestack | N37° 36.220' W88° 23.150' |  | Shawnee NF | ||
| Dixon Springs | Knight/Horsehead Rock | N37° 24.133' W88° 35.683' | Unique rock formation in the shape of the chess piece Knight. |  | Shawnee NF | |