To log this cache, remember to email me your answers to the
following questions:
a) To transform sand layers into the extremely tough and durable
Quartzite, considerable ____ and
________ are required.
b) What is the maximum fine you could receive under the Historical
Resources Act, for vandalism (such as graffiti) of the Big
Rock?
c) Assure me that you did not climb on the Big Rock, and did your
best to CITO (Cache In, Trash Out).
Ten kilometers west of Okotoks on
Highway 7 is the Big Rock, the largest glacial erratic in the
world. These boulders are believed to have traveled from Jasper
during the Ice Age when a landslide deposited them on an advancing
glacier. It is the largest of the Foothills Erratics Train, a
series of boulders stretching over 700 kilometers along the eastern
Foothills of the Rocky Mountains from Jasper to Montana. This
enormous quartzite block weighs about 16, 500 tonnes. Geologists
attribute natural processes as to why the Big Rock has split,
however, a Blackfoot legend tells a different story. Ethnographer
George Bird Grinnell recorded a story in the 1800s of Napi, the
supernatural Trickster of the Blackfoot who sat upon the rock to
rest. Because it was so hot, Napi threw his robe over the rock,
saying, "Here I give you my robe because you are poor and have let
me rest on you. Keep it always." Napi walked on and it began to
rain. Napi returned to the rock and asked it to lend him the robe
but the rock refused. Napi got angry and took the robe, and as he
walked away he heard a loud noise, the rock was chasing him. Napi
was scared and ran away. His friends, the buffalo, deer and
antelope tried to stop the rock but were crushed. Napi called upon
some bats for help. The bats dove at the rock and one hit it in the
middle and split it in two. The Big Rock has served as a landmark
for native people and early pioneers. More recently it has
attracted tourists and picnickers. In an attempt to prevent further
deterioration of the Big Rock, rock climbing is discouraged. In the
1970s, the Big Rock was the first "natural feature" to be
designated as an official provincial historic site. The Big Rock
was located on private land until 1987 when the province purchased
the land on which the Big Rock now sits. Parking and an
interpretive sign are located on the site.
Reprinted with kind permission of the
Okotoks Western Wheel Newspaper.
Make a day of it! Link to
zip file with 17 +/- Okotoks Area caches
<Visit
Link> (.loc, .gpx, .gdb, .prc formats)
PS> Don't miss logging
GC2388 - Where the beer got it's name! by Ed & Dr Haggis
Don't stop here, check out info on
Napi - the Trickster
The Big Rock
Enjoying Alberta
The Legend of the Big Rock
Local agencies attempt to preserve historical significance of the
Big Rock