The Great Snake Migration Of LaRue Road

Twice a year, LaRue Road closes down to vehicular traffic to allow hundreds of snakes to cross between LaRue swamp and limestone bluffs that they overwinter in. I'm here to investigate why this seems to happen here, and only here!
Music & Sound Effects:
Bio Unit - Flotation: nultielrecords...
All sound effects from epidemicsound.com
External Videos:
"If You're Scared of Snakes, Don't Watch This | National Geographic": • If You're Scared of Sn...
www.pexels.com...
Sources & Further Reading:
"Geology of Illinois": www2.illinois....
"A Floristic Study of a Southern Illinois Swampy Area": kb.osu.edu/bit...
"Comprehensive Plan for the Illinois Nature Preserves System - Part 2": www.genesisnur...
"Natural Areas of the Shawnee National Forest": www.fs.usda.go...
Interactive Map of the Natural Divisions of Illinois: idnr.maps.arcg...
"Guide to the Geology of the Garden of the Gods Recreation Area, Shawnee National Forest, Saline, Gallatine, Pope, and Hardin Counties, Illinois": library.isgs.i...
"The Shawnee Area - An Inventory of the Region's Resources": www2.illinois....
"LaRue-Pine Hills/Otter Pond Research Natural Area": www.nrs.fs.fed...
"LaRue-Pine Hills": www.fs.usda.go...
"The Fish Population of a Spring-Fed Swamp in the Mississippi Bottoms of Southern Illinois" Source: Ecology, Vol. 26, No 4 (Oct., 1955), pp 552-528
"Fieldbook of Illinois Mammals"
Source: Illinois Natural History Survey, Manual 4
Link: www.originalwi...
"Herptofaunal Survey of the Pine Hills Area of Southern Illinois"
Source: The Quarterly Journal of The Florida Academy of Science, Volume 21, pp 207-228
Link: www.biodiversi...
"The Amphibians and Reptiles of Illinois"
Source: Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Volume 28, Article 1
Link: iopn.library.i...
"Snake Migration - Illinois's Shawnee National Forest is famous for its Snake Road.": www.nationalge...
"Chillin' and Sliding: Snake Migration in Vermont": www.burlington...
"Do Rattlesnakes Migrate?": baynature.org/...
"RED-SIDED GARTER SNAKE MORTALITY ON PTH#17 AT NARCISSE WMA": www.carcnet.ca...
Misc. documents received directly from the U.S. Forest Service:
Geology of Pine Hills
Geology and Mineral Resources of the Shawnee National Forest and Southern Illinois
LaRue Pine Hills Appreciation Day Pamphlet Map
Maps of species ranges taken from Peterson Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes (Second Edition) and Peterson Field Guide to Mammals of North America (Fourth Edition)
Paleogeographic maps by C. R. Scotese: www.earthbyte....
Special thanks to the following individuals for their input on the scripts and drafts of this video:
Suzanne Hirsch (Public Affairs Specialist | Shawnee National Forest)
Mark Vukovich (Wildlife Biologist | Shawnee National Forest)
Scott Ballard (Southern Region E&T Recovery Species Specialist/Herpetologist | Illinois Department of Natural Resources)

[@JimHerbertOutdoors]

Man what a cool video. Way better than my snake road vid 🙈 That glacial melt is suposedly what formed the kankakee sand deposits, was called the great kankakee torrent. Now it's home to bull snakes, racers & hognose. That kinda stuff is really interesting. I look for rocks and fossils everywhere i go. In kansas u can flip snakes under fossil filled rocks along the road. Gotta love when 2 hobbies combine into 1

[@iquitos46]

Living in Union County makes Snake Road an easy trip and great fun for me. While LaRue-Pine Hills has a great show so do several other places in this end of the state. Heron Pond Swamp in Johnson County feels like a Jurassic vacation. I believe it is the northern most Cyress/Tupelo swamp in the country and to be in the swamp gives a feeling of awe sadly lost by human misuse and abuse. I've seen lots of Copperheads and Cottonmouths in and along the trail. The swamp has a floating walkway extending into it and on a weekday with few visitors its a trip back into time. I liked your video a lot. Hopefully people will want to explore this area and also respect it. Good Show.

[@DoahnKea_Tuber]

Snakes definitely need a new P.R. Firm.... Fantastic Narration / Very Interesting!

[@karenebner8808]

Fascinating!

[@smetlogik]

Informative video, nice idea rather than the normal, "Cottonmouth #25" video. There are some more unknown places in TN that rival Snake Rd with similar diversity and migration patterns.

[@ReadTheUnderstory]

Interesting, I didn't know that about TN. I'll have to look into it, thanks!

[@theresareynolds3133]

Snakes terrify me