Monday, February 28, 2011

A Glacier Carved This Graceful Slope. . .


A Glacier Carved This Graceful Slope. . .
Photo & Text © 2011 Kim- Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved; no use, alteration, reproduction or republishing in any media.
How do I have a clue this is so? Well, turn 180 degrees with me via the picture below and you will see the talisman it left behind in this street scene in the Wedgwood neighborhood.

. . .and This Is What It Left Behind

No, that's not human landscaping in front of of two houses on this otherwise ordinary residential street in the Wedgwood neighborhood. That is Big Rock (called Wedgwood Rock by geologists), the second largest glacial erratic in Washington (the largest is in Coupeville on Widbey Island). It was left behind by Vashon Glacier thousands of years ago. The area around it was forested when it was a well known landmark to the native people. It stands 9 feet tall and over 75 feet in circumference. Boy Scouts, rock climbers and even famous mountaineers such as Jim Whittaker practiced their technical skills here decades ago; but, there has been a city ordinance against climbing on it since 1970. I was glad the woman in the blue coat walked by to help you get a sense of its scale. And yes, that is ice on the road and snow was falling when I shot this. For more photos from several angles around this rock, see my More Seattle Stuff page.

8 comments:

Stefan Jansson said...

Interesting. That looks very much like the Mystery Rock at my place.

RoeH said...

I love this post! So interesting.

Pat said...

Thanks, Kim, for this interesting post. I never really think much about geology's effect on places I pass by....I did when I had a geology course in college, but not much now. I should take a good look around!

Genie -- Paris and Beyond said...

Wonderfully scripted narrative to go with this history/geology lesson. I have been to Coupville too but do not think that I would have noticed a rock like this unless there was a sign or someone in a shop had pointed it out to me. I love geology stories!

Bises,
Genie

Oakland Daily Photo said...

Love learning about the geology of a place. Makes the experience that much richer.

aliee.kittiee. said...

Awesome Big Rock photo! I love how it looks like it is just right in the middle of town. Or maybe just a neighborhood.

Kim said...

Wow, Steffe! Now I want to know what sliced your rock in half like that! Thanks for sharing your erratic.

I think all of us are suckers for a good roadside mystery. . .that's why the Roadside Geology series is so popular. I traveled all through Northern California with one after driving past mile after mile of Placer-mined earth and needed to know how all those acres and acres of stone mounds came to be :-). Every generation of Seattlites has marveled at this particular rock.
-Kim

Regina K said...

Very informative and interesting post. The photos were great also!