For this week’s photo challenge, I’m taking you back to the summer of 2008 in my home state of Massachuestts. Our destination is Shelburne Falls, a quintessential New England town along the Mohawk Trail and Deerfield River. Isn’t it grand?
At the end of the last Ice Age, glaciers covering this area began to recede, swirling silt and granite in a scouring motion that drilled holes in the bedrock below.
As a result of the constant whirling of granite stones, the potholes (known geologically as “kettles”) took on a remarkably symmetrical and round shape.
Since 2002, access to the potholes is prohibited due to hazardous conditions and numerous injuries.
However, because this is Massachusetts, no one pays attention to the law, and the police know it’s useless to enforce…especially on hot August days! 😉
There are more than 50 potholes to explore, ranging in size from 6″ to 39′ in diameter.
The shadings and striations in the ancient granite are a grand geological sight.
I hope you enjoyed this testament to the grand power of time, ice, and rock! All glacial pothole photos taken on 8/17/08, copyright Terrence Mulhern,
Be sure to check out other interpretations of this week’s challenge at the Zemanta related links below!
Until next time….
🙂 🙂 🙂
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20 thoughts on “Weekly Photo Challenge: Grand (Glacial Potholes!)”
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small house/BIG GARDEN 
I love that place…Bridge of Flowers is there too, right?
Yes! I probably should have mentioned Bridge of Flowers, the wonderful old trolley-bridge-turned-garden, the only one of its kind in the world! For anyone who’d like more info, click here
wow. looks like a beautiful place
It really is…so unexpected, too, down a side street in a tiny New England town!
I know where that is! There’s the Lamson Knife factory and store at the top of the falls. I wasn’t able to get very good photos of the potholes when we were there though.
Yes! That factory is one of Shelburne Falls other claims to fame!
Grand indeed! I got sad there when I read that access was prohibited (that’s crazy!), but then rejoiced when you said that everyone ignores the laws. It looks like a wonderful place to visit and spend a day.
It really is!
Terrible to say people ignore the laws, but they really do…nowadays it seems there are so God damn many of them, with barely any driven by common sense!
Wow, I love it, the striations of colour are fantastic and bless that little shrub thrusting its way up against all the odds.
My son took all these pics and he has a good eye for that sort of thing. My fave is the photo with the dogs. 🙂
Nice place – and thanks for the link to my blog! Not sure how this pingsback works, tho…:)
Hi Giulia!
You’re obviously doing something REALLY right because your brand new blog popped up via the Zemanta links as one to which I should link.
In fact, I’m heading over to check out your work when I finish replying to comments. 🙂 more later!
Beautiful gallery! Sounds like a fascinating place!
Oh wow, what a cool place. I love the river and the all of the glacial potholes in the rock!
Ah, glacial landscapes. They left Illinois the flat pancake that it is. It’s so different living in an unglaciated area now with real topography—as long as I’m not on the Coastal Plain. 🙂 Looks like you had a fun place to hang out when you weren’t on the beach!
the craziest thing is where these are located–down a tiny street right in the center of this tiny New England town. There’s great Indian History to the place, too, as evidenced by this signon the observation deck overlooking the falls
That is very cool! I would have been one of those people ignoring the law. Too bad there is nothing like that here.