<
 
 
 
 
×
>
hide You are viewing an archived web page collected at the request of University of Alberta using Archive-It. This page was captured on 17:57:16 Dec 08, 2010, and is part of the HCF Alberta Online Encyclopedia collection. The information on this web page may be out of date. See All versions of this archived page. Loading media information
 
   
 
 
 

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
 
 

Okotoks Erratic eee + rat + ics

One of these things is not like the other; one of these things does not belong. That’s what “erratics” are like. They are rocks that look out of place (they do not belong) when compared to other rocks around. This means that erratics have been transported (moved) somehow to where they are now. Weird don’t you think? Some of these erratic rocks are huge! So how do they travel long distances? Does someone carry them? The answer to the last question is No. Nobody carries them! In the mountains there are rivers of ice called glaciers. Long ago glaciers covered much of Alberta. When the ice started to melt and the glacier began its retreat, the rocks, known as “erratics”, were left behind. The largest glacial erratic in North America is in Okotoks, Alberta. It weighs as much as three or four elephants! Scientists think a glacier dropped the erratic there 12,000 years ago.