If These Rocks Could Talk!

Where You’ll Find Me: Arches National Park in Utah

My Stone Story: I’m made of sandstone, but 200 million years ago I was part of a giant sand dune, or hill. Back then, sand dunes covered this area for many miles. Over thousands of years, pressure forced the grains of sand together to form sandstone. Then erosion slowly caused the softer stone around me to crumble away. That’s why I’m shaped like this today! Nearby arches formed the same way. Erosion will cause us all to fall eventually. It’s happened about 50 times in the last 40 years!

Where You’ll Find Me: Arches National Park in Utah

My Stone Story: I’m made of sandstone. But I was part of a giant sand dune 200 million years ago. These hills covered this area for miles back then. Pressure forced the grains of sand together over thousands of years. That formed sandstone. Then erosion slowly caused softer stone around me to crumble away. That’s why I’m shaped like this! Nearby arches formed the same way. Erosion will cause us all to fall someday. It’s happened about 50 times in the past 40 years!

Where You’ll Find Me: Northern Ireland

My Stone Story: According to old Irish legend, a giant named Finn McCool made my stunning six-sided columns. But here’s the real story! Volcanoes deserve the credit. More than 50 million years ago, volcanoes erupted, covering the area with lava. As the lava cooled, it cracked into perfectly hexagonal, or six-sided, rock columns. Surprised visitors think my rocks are human-made, but I’m all natural!

Where You’ll Find Me: Northern Ireland

My Stone Story: I’m part of an old Irish legend. It says the giant Finn McCool made my amazing six-sided columns. But here’s the real story! Volcanoes deserve the credit. Volcanoes erupted more than 50 million years ago. They covered the area with lava. The lava cracked as it cooled. It formed perfectly hexagonal columns. Surprised visitors think my six-sided rocks are human-made. But I’m all natural!

Where You’ll Find Me: Bolivia

My Stone Story: I am the largest salt flat in the world—bigger than the state of Delaware! But if you catch me on the right day, you can see what I looked like 15,000 years ago: a giant lake. Back then, melting snow and rainwater from the Andes Mountains filled my basin. That water contained salt and other minerals. Over time, the water evaporated, leaving the minerals behind. That eventually created a thick layer of salt—up to 33 feet (10 meters) in some places! Now I’m a vast plain of dried-up salt. When it rains, water sits on my surface, briefly turning me into a shallow lake—and giving you a glimpse into my past!

Where You’ll Find Me: Bolivia

My Stone Story: I am the largest salt flat in the world. I’m bigger than the state of Delaware! On some days, it’s possible to see what I looked like 15,000 years ago. I was a giant lake back then. Melting snow and rainwater from the Andes Mountains filled my basin. That water contained salt and other minerals. The water evaporated over time. The minerals were left behind. Over many years they formed a thick layer of salt. It was up to 33 feet (10 meters) in some places! Now I’m a huge plain of dried-up salt. Water sits on my surface when it rains. That briefly turns me into a shallow lake. It gives you a peek into my past!

Where You’ll Find Us: The Greek island of Crete

Our Stone Story: Did you know that rocks can fold? With enough time and pressure they can. We folded into this zigzag shape! About 45 million years ago, we were limestone rocks lying flat on the ocean floor. Limestone is common in the ocean; it’s made up of fossils from tiny ocean animals. Over time, the tectonic plates beneath us slowly squeezed us together with a mineral called silica. It took millions of years, but the force made us fold and pushed us to the surface, where you can see us today. Keep an eye out for others like us. You can find folded rocks in many places around the world!

Where You’ll Find Us: The Greek island of Crete

Our Stone Story: Did you know that rocks can fold? With enough time and pressure they can. We folded into this zigzag shape! We were limestone rocks lying flat on the ocean floor. That was about 45 million years ago. Limestone is common in the ocean. It’s made up of fossils from tiny ocean animals. Tectonic plates beneath us slowly squeezed us together with a mineral called silica. It took millions of years. The force made us fold. It also pushed us to the surface, where you can see us today. Keep an eye out for folded rocks like us in other places around the world!

Where You’ll Find Me: Off the coast of Belize

My Stone Story: I began as a limestone cave that formed during the last Ice Age, about 150,000 years ago. Back then, this whole area was above sea level. When it rained, water would seep through the soil. That water trickled into the limestone underground and wore it away. Erosion created the cave that’s there today. As the sea level rose over thousands of years, the cave filled with water. Eventually, its roof collapsed forming a sinkhole.

Can you guess how deep I am? You would have to dive more than 400 feet (122 meters) to reach the bottom. My name “Great Blue Hole” suits me, don’t you think?

Where You’ll Find Me: Off the coast of Belize

My Stone Story: I began as a limestone cave. It formed during the last Ice Age. That was about 150,000 years ago. This whole area was above sea level back then. Water would seep through the soil when it rained. That water wore away the limestone underground. This erosion created a cave. The sea level rose over thousands of years. The cave filled with water. Eventually, its roof fell in, forming a sinkhole.

Can you guess how deep I am? You’d have to swim down more than 400 feet (122 meters) to reach the bottom. I’d say the name “Great Blue Hole” suits me well. Do you agree?