What is the geography of Fredericktown, Missouri?
The location of Fredericktown at the border of the northeastern edge of the Ozark Mountains provides a sharp contrast in geography as one travels from east to west. The eastern edge of Madison County, MissouriMadison County consists largely of gentler, more rolling hills ridges of sedimentary dolomite, while the western edges of the county consist of steep-sided, round-profile hills consisting largely of far more ancient Precambrian rhyolites (heavily compacted and heat-fused volcanic minerals) and beautiful pink granites. By driving west from Fredericktown on Highway 72 and looking further west, one can witness a rare geological oddity: the fossilization not just of a plant or animal, but of an entire very ancient landscape. As viewed from that vantage point, the round-profile rhyolite and granite hills of the western side of Madison County resemble an archipelago of heavily weathered islands, with the shallow tree-filled valleys taking the place of shallow seas. The resemblance is no
