Friday 18 October 2019

Ploughing boulder on Gray Crag

I posted 3 years ago about ploughing boulders https://wigtonphysics.blogspot.com/2016/09/ploughing-boulder-on-whit-fell.html We came across this perfect example high on the slope of Gray Crag above Hayeswater on the route up from the old dam. Its furrow is several metres long so if it really does move at a few metres a year then this has been on the move for several centuries. Further to what I said about the frequency of freezing events on a fell near the Irish Sea, this boulder is on the east facing slope 30 miles from the sea on hills that are said to be the last in the Lake District to have retained glaciers in the Ice Age (as per the Paul Gannon book). So this hillside should see more freezing. It is also very steep so perhaps it moves further every year. The earth piled up in front of it is particularly impressive.