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A glacial erratic is a piece of rock that differs from the size and type of rock native to the area in which it rests. "Erratics" take their name from the latin word "errere", and are carried by glacial ice, often over distances of hundreds of kilometres. Erratics can range in size from pebbles to large boulders such as Big Rock (16,500 tons) in Alberta.
Geologists identify erratics by studying the rocks surrounding the position of the erratic and the composition of the erratic itself. Erratics were once considered evidence of a massive flood approximately 10,000 years ago, similar to the legendary floods described in the texts of ancient civilizations throughout the world. Ancient legends of an epic flood come from many cultures including Mesoamerican, Sumerian (Epic of Gilgamesh), Hebrew (Old Testament) and Indian culture. In the 19th century, many scientists came to favor erratics as evidence for the end of the last glacial maximum (ice age) 10,000 years ago, rather than a flood. Geologists have suggested that landslides or rockfalls initially dropped the rocks on top of glacial ice. The glaciers continued to move, carrying the rocks with them. When the ice melted, the erratics were left in their present locations.
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Examples
Glacier-borne erratics
The largest known Glacial erratic is Big Rock near Okotoks, Alberta, Canada. Other examples of glacial erratics include:
- A fern-covered erratic the size of a garage is found on Cougar Mountain near Seattle.
- White Rock, British Columbia gets its name from a coastal erratic the size of a garage found on the beach at Semiahmoo Bay, right at the border with Washington.
- The Foothills Erratics Train is a deposit of rocks of many sizes. These deposits stretch in a narrow belt for about 600 km (400 miles) from Alberta's Athabasca River Valley to the southwest of the province.
- Doane Rock, the largest exposed boulder in Cape Cod.
- Madison Boulder, a 5,000 ton glacial erratic the size of a small house in Madison, New Hampshire.
Flood-borne erratics
In the event that glacial ice is "rafted" by a flood such as that created when the ice dam broke during the Missoula Floods, the erratics are deposited where the ice finally releases its debris load. One of the more unusual examples is found far from its origin in Idaho at Erratic Rock State Natural Site just outside McMinnville, Oregon. The park includes a 40 ton specimen, the largest erratic found in the Willamette Valley.
References
- Imbrie, J. & K. P. Imbrie. Ice Ages, Enslow Publishers, Hillside, New Jersey, 1979.
See also
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External links
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