Foothills Erratics Train

Foothills Erratics Train

This landscape feature of Alberta is comprised of thousands of boulders ranging in size from pebbles to immense boulders like 'The Big Rock'. These boulders are composed of pink and purple quartzites that are not native to this region of Alberta. Their source has been identified as being near Mount Edith Cavell in Jasper National Park, most likely in the Tonquin Valley. It is thought that these boulders are debris from a landslide that fell onto a glacier during the late Pleistocene epoch. This glacier then carried the boulders north and east until it met the more massive continental glaciers, which deflected the glacial stream to the south-east. The advance of this glacier carried boulders well into the state of Montana. Once the glaciers began melting, the boulders were dropped where they are now found. The Big Rock, the most well known example, is located just west of the town of Okotoks on Highway 7.

External links

* [http://www3.telus.net/lejgeology/etrain/ Alberta's Foothills Erratics Train] by Lionel E. Jackson, Jr.
* [http://www.sfu.museum/journey/03middle/foothills.php Foothills Erratic Train]
* [http://www.crlc.ca/crlcart2.htm How Did This Get Here?] by Murray Nicholson, Calgary Rock and Lapidary Club


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