Unexplained tree-top boulders found in forest (URBs)

Brown County Democrat ^ | 10/22/2003 | Judy Hess

[billbears]

later read

[FixitGuy]

"drivel on demand..."

I love the way Freepers turn a phrase.

Sounds like a wonderful new acronym for Dept. of Defense next time it's needed.

[Doctor Stochastic]

Thanks. Look the guy up. Finally a thread that has some connection with the tag.

[Doctor Stochastic]

The "how" is easy. The "why" would take several six-packs.

[Terry Mross]

There's an old saying: "There are two ways to get to the top of an oak tree. Climb to the top or sit on an acorn." I think the tree carried the boulder with it as it grew. It's a lazy boulder.

[Fzob]

It sits high on a south-facing slope overlooking a ravine near Tulip Tree Road in western Brown County and is thought to weigh at least 400 pounds.

How about snow? Or an avalanche? Snow could get really deep on the south side of a ravine in a harsh winter. Perhaps when the trees were smaller, but strong enough, to support this weight the snow was very deep and the boulders roiled into the right spot. Summer comes and viola a rock in the tree.

[Smokin' Joe]

How far to the nearest Frat house?

Are there any good ol' boys milking this attraction?

BUSH DID IT!

[F.J. Mitchell]

Some rich practical joker with access to one of those utility helicopters used in heavy construction, could have easily accomplished this little stunt.

[F.J. Mitchell]

Could have been done by a local farm boy, practicing to become an olympic shot putt champion.

[teeman8r]

i believe i saw a pbs documentary with a solution to the large rock, to build the pyramid question...

semi circles were constructed(4) and then place on the rectangular blocks, latched together and then the block was wheeled into position up ramps to the final resting places...

a lot easier than using the papyrus reeds and ufos...

teeman

[madison10]

Saskwatch, Yeti, Big-foot put them up there...or a powerful tornado.

[madison10]

or catapult

[SauronOfMordor]

That's assuming a rope to be heavy-duty-moving-equipment.

In the picture, there are several sturdy branches above the point where the rock sits. Some rope and block-and-tackle gear would get the rock up there with an afternoon's work and a bit of climbing

[FreePaul]

Perhaps a hunter can tell me if they make "turkey call" doodads kind of like the "duck call" thingies?

Yes, they make, or used to make, turkey callers. A friend had one along with a record (a 78 no less) of calls and how to make them.

[_Jim]

This tree looks like many old trees around my place. In 1979 hurricane Fredric broke all the tops out of the trees, some in half. When the trees re-grew, they formed a cradle like in this tree...I don't have any boulders in my trees though.

I'll bet you used to pound that 'Enter' key on the 914 terminals at TI mercilessly too <grin> ...

[Timesink]

Unexplained Resting Boulders

As opposed to normal boulders which are constantly on the move.

[bondserv]

Ahhhh! I hadn't put the two ideas together.

Thank you.

[Polybius]

[tortoise]

How about snow? Or an avalanche?

Yep, that will do it. I own a chunk of aspen forest in the Nevada mountains. For a couple years both I and my friends could not make heads or tails of some of the really odd things that were in evidence in that forest. Things way out of place and with no good explanation of how they got there. Pieces of tree in the tops of other trees, healthy trees snapped off halfway up the trunk. Big rocks in places we couldn't explain.

One year I went up to the property with some friends in early spring, when there was still some snow on the ground. In the valley, the snow never becomes more than a few feet deep, so it never occurred to us that avalances were possible. And then we saw a huge avalanche barrel down the mountain-side, taking huge boulders with it and crashing into the forest. It suddenly explained everything that had puzzled us over the years.

We actually climbed to the top of the mountain that the property backs onto that day (safe, since only the north-facing slope still had a significant snowpack) and discovered that the snowpack was still around 20 feet deep up near the top. We did not know that it EVER got that deep, but apparently that is a normal snowpack for that time of year. Not bad for a piece of Nevada desert, and it explains why the aquifers are always full down below where there is only a few inches of water precipitation a year.

Back to the topic, an avalanche will definitely do it, and you can find avalanche damage in places where you normally wouldn't think to look for it. In our case, only the tops of the mountains had serious snowpack, but we only had mild precipitation further down. The heavy snowpack at the top of the mountain would come barrelling down and do damage that otherwise would be inexplicable after the snow melted because there was little evidence down below that avalanches of that size could occur.

[Swordmaker]

As I understand it, the science of modern concrete is barely 200 years old.

Strange... what about the concrete Roman viaducts?