So before you read too far down the description lets have some fun!!
***Please Note*** While this road is a quiet country road with little traffic, it IS still a public road and you should always be mindful of other vehicles traveling along here. When arriving at GZ, and before you start experimenting, please check that the road is clear.
Once you arrive at GZ, make sure your car is facing west and after you have established that the road is clear, turn your engine off, take your handbrake off and take your foot of the brake! [Insert X-Files Music here]. You can also park your car safely and facing west, try walking backwards and forwards!
STOP DONT READ ANY FURTHER UNTIL YOU HAVE DONE YOUR EXPERIMENTS AND OOHED & AAHED
So what exactly is going on here??
Read on.............
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The Geology of the area is made up predominantly of Sandstone which is a sedimentary rock made up of sand-sized grains of mineral, rock or organic material. Sandstone is one of the most common types of sedimentary rock and is often mined for use as a construction material. Other sedimentary rocks in the area, and particularly at GZ, are Siltstone, a fine-grained sedimentary rock consisting of consolidated silt. Shale, which is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of a mixture of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals, quartz and calcite. There is also Mudstone, a type of mudrock, a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. There is however, no Lodestone, a naturally magnetized piece of the mineral magnetite which can attract iron.
While the exposed rocks in the area look interesting, we have established that they are not magnetite so have nothing to do with this phenomenon. What is occurring here is actually an optical illusion caused by the landforms of the area as you look westward. The 'lay of the land' tricks your eyes into believing that the road has a downward grade, when it infact has a slight upward grade creating the illusion that your vehicle is being pulled up the hill magnetically.
Sorry..that huge magnet isn't real either....
To claim a smiley, send me an email or message describing the exposed rock at GZ (in front of the Magnetic Hill Sign). Is the condition of the exposed rock part of the illusion? Why?
Please feel free to log the find before receiving a reply from me, so you can keep the continuity of your finds. But I also reserve the right to delete logs if the above criteria is not met.
Optional I would love to see you upload a photo showing you or your team with GPS in hand standing in front of the Sign or Magnet, and a brief rundown of your experiences in the log
Enjoy, Have Fun and Be Safe!
For a comprehensive list of other sites like this one, visit :https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_gravity_hills