Clifty Falls was created during Earth’s most recent ice age, which lasted from 2.6 million years ago to 11,700 years ago. During this time, the southward flowing waters of Clifty Creek met the Ohio River in a waterfall that some speculate was 200 feet high.
The waterfall has since cut upstream into bedrock more than two miles north of its original position. The park’s 425-million-year-old shale and limestone rocks contain numerous marine fossils and are among the oldest bedrock exposures in Indiana.
