Buffalo Rock State Park (Ill.)

Buffalo Rock State Park & Effigy Tumuli is an Illinois state park on 298 acres (121 ha) in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States. The park sits across the Illinois River from Starved Rock State Park, just south of the Illinois and Michigan Canal trail. According to legend, it was once used as a "blind canyon" for Indians to capture buffalo. Effigy Tumuli, an art exhibit on the park property, consists of five earth art animal sculptures native to the Illinois River. It was constructed as a tribute to Native American tradition. The park is located 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Utica, Illinois (Starved Rock State Park), and approximately 85 miles (137 km) southwest of Chicago, Illinois. Its sandstone bluffs were carved by the Illinois River near the end of the Pleistocene epoch, and now serves as a State Park for local residents and tourists.