Daggett Erratic EarthCache
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Glacial erratics are stones or boulders that differ in size or type of rock as compared to the area in which they rest and have usually been transported from a different location through the force normally with ice and/or water. Daggett Rock or sometimes called Daggett’s Rock is claim to being the largest Erratic in the State of Maine and one of the largest in the world. At an estimated weight of 8,000 tons and measuring 80 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 25 feet high, with only a portion of the rock exposed above ground. An erratic is a rock deposited by glaciers some distance from its original bedrock. From parking you will travel about 1/3 mile. Trailhead N 44 50.833 W 70 17.916 From South: Follow ME Route 142 North from the junction of ME Routes 4 and 142 in Phillips. Turn left onto Main Street at the stop sign. Continue on ME Route 142 (Main Street becomes Park Street and then Salem Road). Cross the Woolen Mill Bridge, take the second right onto Wheeler Hill Road and stay on this road until you reach the parking area on the right (about 2.3 miles from the junction). The trailhead is on the left side of the road. Room for 3-4 cars but this road is not traveled very much so people park on the side of the road as well. Questions: 1. How small can an Erratic be and still be considered an Erratic and do you see any or many of this size nearby? 2. Number of pieces the Daggett Rock has been broken into and has it changed since what is published on the internet? 3. It is believed by Geologist that this rock was plucked from what mountain and describe in your own words how it arrived here? 4. How far is it believed that this rock traveled before landing in its final resting location? 5. Describe the type of rock that Daggett Rock made of? Does it look like othe other rocks you can see on the ground around here? 6. As you hike up the trail, and look at the rock, describe which piece of the rock has some growth growing on it. Extra points if you know what the growth is. The growth isn't a tree... 7. Optional, take a photo with your GPS and the Daggett Rock in the background. 8. As you drive on Wheeler Hill Road toward the trailhead, take careful notice of what you will see along the road and in the woods and then estimate how many you see? Legend: 1. It suggest that the Daggett Rock fell from the sky and broke into pieces. Legend: 2 Is a much more colorful story-this legend has it that two hundred years ago Daggett, a local woodsman, came upon the rock while inebriated during a violent storm. Climbing atop the rock, he cursed his ill luck by taking the Lord's name in vain, whereupon a fantastic bolt of lightning struck the rock and split it into pieces. Geologic evidence, however, suggests that Daggett Rock split during its deposition here thousands of years ago. CONGRATULATIONS TO SERIOUS TOOL AND MERENNER ON TRAVELING THE GREATEST DISTANCE VIA OUT OF THE WAY LOCATIONS AND STILL BEING THE FIRST TO ENJOY THE DAGGETT STONES, CO-FTF!!!
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