Not too far from our home is an unusual geologic feature that we visited just the other day. It turns out that during the last glacial period (about 10,000 years ago), what is now called the St. Croix River was quite a bit deeper than it now is. Great rushes of water swept down its length, roaring over basalt. In places, sand and tiny rocks would create small eddies, swirling in whirlpools and eating their way down into the basalt. The result is an incredible array of potholes — smooth-sided depressions found all along the high cliffs. Some are quite tiny -
While others are big enough to stand in -
And others are quite immense -
Many remain unexcavated, and could be sixty feet deep or more! It was interesting to consider the small ponds that had made their homes in the potholes, and it would be a fun project to document the life that calls these ‘pothole ponds’ home.
We also had other adventures at Interstate Park. We rescued a confused and exhausted goose that was running about in a local intersection- with some difficulty we caught it and took it down the riverbank. We also had some great fun climbing the cliffs.
Kenton on his way up.
Rebecca scouting her next move.
Interstate Park is definitely worth the visit — it boasts the highest concentration of these potholes in the world. We’d recommend a week-day visit if you can, however, as it is VERY popular, and the weekends can be extremely crowded. Do let us know if you pay it a visit!
Posted on September 24th, 2009 by Kenton and Rebecca
Filed under: Natural Phenomena
Just, Holy Moly, that’s cool stuff you two…
Thanks Jay! That’s much how we felt — Holy Moly, this is some impressive stuff sculpted out of stone and water . . .
No shoes. Is that a new trend in rock climbing?
Hi Eric! It’s nearly impossible to get shoes on Kenton — now that the snow is deep, he’s finally submitted . . .
- Rebecca =)