GRAND TOWER, Ill. — As river levels on the Mississippi River continue to drop, a typically isolated rock formation roughly 100 miles south of St. Louis is turning into a tourist destination for people across the country.
Sitting in the middle of the Mississippi River, Tower Rock has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1970.
“When we were here years ago there might’ve been two cars down here,” said Dan Dunker.
These days Tower Rock has turned into a tourist destination after drought-like conditions drew the river down to a trickle.
“We had heard about this phenomenon going on and we thought what better way to say we’ve crossed the Mississippi River,” said Carol Emmett.
Carol Emmett and her granddaughter Christina made the trek from Bloomsdale, Missouri, to get a look at a place explorer Meriweather Lewis once noted as particularly beautiful.
“It’s actually a geological marvel if you think about the different layers of rock that have been settled over thousands of years,” said Emmett.
“It might be a long time before you see this again,” said Dan Dunker. “The river is about as low as it’s ever been.”
While some have called this a once-in-a-lifetime experience Olivia Dorothy with the American Rivers says it’s becoming all too common.
“This is the new normal,” Olivia Dorothy said. “Climate models have predicted that this region will shift to being prone to very long and dramatic droughts that will be punctuated by extreme fluctuation and flooding.”
Though that’s an obvious concern many who made the trek to Tower Rock they told 5 On Your Side it’s no excuse not to take in nature's beauty.
“Sometimes I think go in cycles,” Emmett said. “It’s a cycle and god willing we’ll get rain soon again and things will be rising and we’ll be back to normal so to speak.”
If you would like to see Tower Rock, it is currently accessible seven days a week from the Missouri side of the Mississippi River as long as the water levels stay low.
If you would like to take the opportunity to explore Tower Rock, click here.