Okotoks Erratic: Difference between revisions
means "rock", not "large rock" |
|||
| Line 6: | Line 6: | ||
Big Rock is one of several thousand erratics found in [[Alberta]] and [[Montana]] called the [[Foothills Erratics Train]], which originated from a [[landslide]] in the [[Tonquin Valley]] of [[Jasper National Park]], from [[Lower Cambrian]]-aged Gog Group.<ref name="canqua99">{{cite journal |year=1999 |title=CANQUA 99 Guidebook: Late Quaternary Geology of the Foothills, from Calgary to the Alberta–Montana Border |author=Lionel E. Jackson, Jr., Elizabeth R. Leboe, Edward C. Little, Philip J. Holme, Stephen R. Hicock, and Kazuharu Shimamura |url=http://www3.telus.net/lejgeology/etrain/PDF/CANQUA%2099%20SW%20AB%20Field%20Guide.pdf }}</ref> Big Rock was transported on the [[Cordilleran Ice Sheet]] approximately 12 to 18 thousand years ago<ref>{{cite journal |title=Cosmogenic <sup>36</sup>Cl dating of the maximum limit of the Laurentide Ice Sheet in southwestern Alberta |first=Lionel E. |last=Jackson |coauthors=Fred M. Phillips, and Edward C. Little |year=1999 |journal=Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences |volume=36 |issue=8 |pages=1347–1356 |url=http://pubs.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/cgi-bin/rp/rp2_abst_e?cjes_e99-038_36_ns_nf_cjes8-99 |doi=10.1139/cjes-36-8-1347 }}</ref> to its present location. |
Big Rock is one of several thousand erratics found in [[Alberta]] and [[Montana]] called the [[Foothills Erratics Train]], which originated from a [[landslide]] in the [[Tonquin Valley]] of [[Jasper National Park]], from [[Lower Cambrian]]-aged Gog Group.<ref name="canqua99">{{cite journal |year=1999 |title=CANQUA 99 Guidebook: Late Quaternary Geology of the Foothills, from Calgary to the Alberta–Montana Border |author=Lionel E. Jackson, Jr., Elizabeth R. Leboe, Edward C. Little, Philip J. Holme, Stephen R. Hicock, and Kazuharu Shimamura |url=http://www3.telus.net/lejgeology/etrain/PDF/CANQUA%2099%20SW%20AB%20Field%20Guide.pdf }}</ref> Big Rock was transported on the [[Cordilleran Ice Sheet]] approximately 12 to 18 thousand years ago<ref>{{cite journal |title=Cosmogenic <sup>36</sup>Cl dating of the maximum limit of the Laurentide Ice Sheet in southwestern Alberta |first=Lionel E. |last=Jackson |coauthors=Fred M. Phillips, and Edward C. Little |year=1999 |journal=Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences |volume=36 |issue=8 |pages=1347–1356 |url=http://pubs.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/cgi-bin/rp/rp2_abst_e?cjes_e99-038_36_ns_nf_cjes8-99 |doi=10.1139/cjes-36-8-1347 }}</ref> to its present location. |
||
The people of the [[Blackfoot]] [[First Nation]] used Big Rock as a landmark for finding a crossing over the [[Sheep River]] (where Okotoks stands today) long before European settlement. The town's name Okotoks is derived from ''"o'kotok"'' {{IPA-alg|ˈokətok|}}, meaning " |
The people of the [[Blackfoot]] [[First Nation]] used Big Rock as a landmark for finding a crossing over the [[Sheep River]] (where Okotoks stands today) long before European settlement. The town's name Okotoks is derived from ''"o'kotok"'' {{IPA-alg|ˈokətok|}}, meaning "rock" in the [[Blackfoot language]].<ref>[http://www.okotoks.ca/default.aspx?cid=337&lang=1 Town of Okotoks - Okotoks' Beginnings] Retreived 2012-02-09</ref> The rock also contains native pictographs and was considered a medicine rock to the natives. In the 1970s the government declared it a Provincial Historic Site in order to protect its geological and cultural importance. |
||
The first [[geologist]] to discover Big Rock was [[James Hector]] in 1863, who misidentified the feature as a [[klippe]].<ref name="canqua99"/> |
The first [[geologist]] to discover Big Rock was [[James Hector]] in 1863, who misidentified the feature as a [[klippe]].<ref name="canqua99"/> |
||
Revision as of 20:15, 9 February 2012
Big Rock (also known as Okotoks Erratic) is a glacial erratic situated between the towns of Okotoks and Black Diamond, Alberta, Canada (18 kilometres south of Calgary). The 15,000 tonne (16,500 short ton) quartzite boulder is the world's largest known glacial erratic.[1]
History
Big Rock is one of several thousand erratics found in Alberta and Montana called the Foothills Erratics Train, which originated from a landslide in the Tonquin Valley of Jasper National Park, from Lower Cambrian-aged Gog Group.[2] Big Rock was transported on the Cordilleran Ice Sheet approximately 12 to 18 thousand years ago[3] to its present location.
The people of the Blackfoot First Nation used Big Rock as a landmark for finding a crossing over the Sheep River (where Okotoks stands today) long before European settlement. The town's name Okotoks is derived from "o'kotok" Template:IPA-alg, meaning "rock" in the Blackfoot language.[4] The rock also contains native pictographs and was considered a medicine rock to the natives. In the 1970s the government declared it a Provincial Historic Site in order to protect its geological and cultural importance.
The first geologist to discover Big Rock was James Hector in 1863, who misidentified the feature as a klippe.[2]
Present day
The erratic is clearly visible from the side of Highway 7, and public parking is available at the turn-off. While there is a fence around the Big Rock and a sign telling people not to climb, thousands of people visit the rock and ignore the warnings to either boulder or climb the 9 metre tall erratic.
Erosion has caused noticeable signs of mass wasting documented in 1991.[citation needed]
In popular culture
Big Rock Brewery in Calgary is named after Big Rock.
References
- ^ "Okotoks Erratic". Government of Alberta.
- ^ a b Lionel E. Jackson, Jr., Elizabeth R. Leboe, Edward C. Little, Philip J. Holme, Stephen R. Hicock, and Kazuharu Shimamura (1999). "CANQUA 99 Guidebook: Late Quaternary Geology of the Foothills, from Calgary to the Alberta–Montana Border" (PDF).
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Jackson, Lionel E. (1999). "Cosmogenic 36Cl dating of the maximum limit of the Laurentide Ice Sheet in southwestern Alberta". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 36 (8): 1347–1356. doi:10.1139/cjes-36-8-1347.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Town of Okotoks - Okotoks' Beginnings Retreived 2012-02-09
