Much of the history of John Bryan State Park is "written in the rocks" of the Little Miami River gorge • Entering the area at Clifton, at 980 feet above sea level, the Little Miami drops 130 feet through layer upon layer of bedrock • Each layer has a story to tell of times when the area was covered by warm, shallow seas or was a part of a muddy river delta or was scoured by tons of slow-moving glacial ice • Each layer has its own characteristics as well • Some of the shale layers are easily worn away by the forces of erosion, causing undercutting in the cliff face • The more erosion-resistant dolomite or limestone rocks above are weakened by this undercutting and large "slump blocks" fall away, creating unusual rock formations including Steamboat Rock • Springs feeding small waterfalls and cascades are common