Calgary’s Last Free Erratic Earthcache

Calgary’s last free erratic is now an earthcache. Nestled in the bushes in Bridlewood, this particular erratic has gone unnoticed by generations of (okay, a few) earthcachers.

Definition: An erraticis a boulder transported and deposited by a glacier having a lithology different than the bedrock upon which it is sitting. Erratics are useful indicators of patterns of former ice flow.

"As a huge Stone is sometimes seen to lie
Couched on the bald top of an eminence;
Wonder to all who do the same espy,
By what means it could thither come, and whence;
So that it seems a thing endued with sense:
Like a Sea-beast crawled forth, that on a shelf
Of rock or sand reposeth, there to sun itself."

W Wordsworth 1807 The Leech Gatherer

[the above section is courtesy of http://www.fettes.com/Cairngorms/glacial%20erratics.htm ]

This rock is unlike the others in the immediate locale. It is what is known as a “glacial erratic”. This rock has made a journey as part of the erratic train that extends from Jasper, Alberta south through foothills of the Rocky Mountains. In fact, this erratic is related to another well known erratic nearby.

During the last ice age, this rock broke off a mountain in the Jasper area, and landed on the Athabasca Glacier (which, itself is a virtual cache: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=fd66e039-9678-469c-8abf-421c0eb67994 ) The glacier then carried it down through the Foothills, whereupon it melted to the point that the rock stopped moving.

The rock has a carving on it, placed by the parks department, that will give the required answers below.

TO LOG THIS CACHE:

1. Email the owner the type of rock that comprises this erratic.
2. Email the owner the estimated length of the Foothills Erratic Train.
3. Email the owner the name of the erratic to which this one is believed to be related.
4. Optional: post a photo of yourself at the erratic, but please, DO NOT POST THE PLAQUE, AS THIS IS A SPOILER.

Enjoy!