Glacial Boulder - Wyoming
Posted by: 
Volcanoguy
N 44° 57.626 W 110° 34.104
12T E 534040 N 4978645
A large glacial erratic along the half mile long boardwalk for the Forces of the Northern Range Self-Guiding Trail in Yellowstone National Park.
Waymark Code: WMD9W9
Location: Wyoming, United States
Date Posted: 12/10/2011
Views: 6
The Forces of the Northern Range Self-Guiding Trail is a half mile long boardwalk loop trail with ten interpretive signs dealing with the geology, view, wildlife and plants. The trail is located along the Grand Loop Road about eight miles east of Mammoth.
The interpretive sign at this location is titled “Glacial Boulder.”
Text of sign:
The large boulder beside you was left by a glacier -- the glacier that sculpted the broad valley you are standing in.
A Cold Ride
How did this boulder get here? Like many others scattered across Yellowstone, it was scraped from the mountains by a glacier, then carried by the ice to a new site. This granite boulder traveled from the northeast for many miles before settling here when the glacier melted.
Frozen Landscapers
Glaciers, like those in Alaska today -- and Yellowstone thousands of years ago -- form in frigid climates where more and more snow accumulates and turns to ice. These massive “rivers of ice” carve the land as they slowly advance downslope.
Yellowstone’s Ice Past
As you look at Yellowstone’s beautiful mountains and valleys, imagine ice and snow in every direction. Thousands of years ago, the ice was so thick that only the highest mountain peaks rose above the frozen landscape. The glaciers that buried Yellowstone shaped the mountains that you see today.
Sign also include a map showing the probable route of transport of the boulder.
Type of Display: Erratic
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