Buford Mountain Conservation Area is a 3,824-acre protected landscape in southeastern Missouri, north of Ironton and southwest of Bismarck. Its central feature, Buford Mountain, rises 1,740 feet above sea level and is composed mostly of rhyolite. Although the area is relatively dry and has few permanent water sources, it includes an unusual cluster of eight fishless ponds, each about a quarter acre in size. The mountain was named for the local Buford family who settled there. The Missouri Department of Conservation acquired the property from the Nature Conservancy in 1979. A 10.5-mile hiking trail now crosses the area and its summit, and seasonal hunting is permitted with required permits.

Caledonia, Missouri · USA