Friday, May 12, 2006

A Comparison of Two RI Propped Boulders

While exploring a newly-opened conservation area near Usquepaug, RI, I followed a stone wall off-trail to an outcropping. On top of the outcropping I noticed a boulder. It was the shape that caught my eye. After bush-whacking a bit through the briars and up the hill, I realized that the boulder had been propped. Also, you can see some quartz bulging from the top.


A few months later a gentleman named William Ladd sent me a photograph of a propped boulder he found in North Kingstown, RI. I immediately recalled the Usquepaug boulder upon seeing his photograph.


The two propped boulders share some striking similarities. They both share the same basic shape -- what I would call an eagle head. They are both of similar size. They both appear at the top of outcroppings, but on a slight downslope. They are both propped in the same way at almost the same point below.

The alignments of the boulders are unknown and both certainly deserve more investigation. But I would be willing to make a wager that there are more such boulders of similar shape and propped in a similar way out there in the woods of New England. So please keep your eye out for the eagle head propped boulder.

-Jim Porter

2 comments :

pwax said...

Welcome Jim, and thanks for the observations. There might be a couple of examples like this in the article on Townsend State Forest.

Anonymous said...

both of these rocks look exactly like on in the woods in the woody hill management area in westerly r.i. i at first thought i was looking at this very rock.