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Ha
Ha Tonka State Park
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Ha
Ha Tonka State park is
comprised of approximately 2,697 acres on the Niangua Arm of
the Lake of the Ozarks, five miles southwest of Camdenton,
Missouri.
The most significant natural and man-made features, however,
are concentrated in a 750 acre area adjacent to the lake and
its confluence with Ha Ha Tonka Spring. Within this
area exists a rich mixture of natural beauty, geologic
oddity, and abiding mystery unequaled in Missouri |
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Cultural
History:
The
vertical stone ruins of Ha Ha Tonka castle are nearly all
that remain of one man's dream. In the early 1900's
Robert Snyder conceived a private retreat, the centerpiece
of which would be a magnificent European-style mansion or
castle. The mansion was designed with 60 rooms grouped
on three floors around a central hall rising
three-and-a-half stories upward to a skylight. A stone
carriage house, an 80 foot high water tower, and nine
greenhouses were built to attend the main house. |
Photo (c) Dennis Jones,
DLJonesPhotography |
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Natural
History:
Geologically,
Ha Ha Tonka is a classic example of "karst" topography, a
landscape that is characterized by sinks, caves, underground
streams, large springs, and natural bridges. Karst
topography is the result of water percolating through porous
underlying dolomite bedrock and causing it to dissolve.
The weathering action of the water on the rock after many
years forms the various karst features.
In
a broader sense, Ha Ha Tonka State Park is part of the Osage
River Hills region of the Ozarks, a transition area between
the prairie landscape farther west and the rugged forested
hills farther east. Trail users will find not only a
diverse assemblage of natural geologic wonders, but also a
wide array of forest, savanna, and glade communities. |
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~
Bull Run Bluff Campground and RV Park ~
~ just outside Camdenton, Missouri ~
~ Lake of the Ozarks ~ |
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