• Friday-What'sUP February 17 - 09:39 pm

You tell me...are these small rocks or are they huge boulders? The clever angle that Aladino Mandoli used to capture this Lake Superior scene makes you think they're bigger than life, but then he calls them sauna rocks, so I'm thinking they can't be as big as they look up close. If you're thinking about taking these home for use in your sauna, they'll take a little extra stoking of the fire to heat them up enough, since they must be well chilled amongst all that ice and snow!

Sauna rocks??? Neat pic!

If you squint you might think they're walrus'.

Well Mary, they could be sauna rocks.... for Paul Bunyon's sauna!! ;-)

That's a clear enough photo I can almost tell what kind of rocks those are. Most are native, but at least one is a transplant....

Capt. Paul-- Which one is the transplant?

Sauna Rocks for Giants, I'd like to see my son toss those in the lake!

Nice angle, they really aren't that big, though, look at the sand and snow grains. Not a lot of fresh snow there, either or they'd be blanketed. Is the nearest one the most obvious import? Looks like granite compared to the others and I can't name them either. Help us out Capt. Paul, please?

Nice photo!

Geologists actually have names for different sizes of rocks like that. My estimate is those would be considered cobbles, which are 64-256mm in diametre, the perfect size for sauna rocks. Boulders are bigger than 256mm in diametre.

Have a happy Friday, everyone! I'm off to class now to teach about pebbles, cobbles, and boulders!

Definitely one granite in there (the rock with the Pasty.Com watermark on it). There looks like a couple of light gray monzonites poking out as well; these are the transplants brought down from Canada by the glaciers. There could be more, I just dont see them in the photo.

The darker gray/black rocks are basalts. One of the basalts (the one nearest the granite) appears to be a vesicular basalt. I also see a couple of red coloured rocks on the left which are likely rhyolites, but could be sandstone or conglomerate as well. Who knew one simple photo could tell so much?? ;-)

Another well-described geology lesson. Who knew that there was so much info on one single rock, or should I say cobble?

They're sauna rocks if you feel like chipping them down. I think the angle is very deceiving though.

Mmmmm...sauna rocks. I would love to be sitting in a nice hot sauna right about now. I can imagine my handcrafted Finnish sauna stove with just ONE of those giant rocks ;-) on the top and me throwing a ladle of water on it. Hisssssss....aaaahhhh....Heaven on earth...Close your eyes and feel the steam and feel all of your cares disappear.

Thank you for the lessons in rock size, Dr. Nat.

Those cobbles & that beach look very familiar to me. Where was this photo taken? I think I have several pictures that we have taken of that beach, if I go back in my collection, but I don't remember exactly where it is, or what its name is?

Dr Nat--is that where cobblestone (usually in the context of a building material for a house, chimney, or a path in the yard) came from?

My daughter got a rock tumbler a few years ago and one of our goals while UP north is finding the rocks that will look best all shiny. We dip them in the lake and try to get the most color, or unique patterns.

Very nice shot! Like the different textures - snow, rocks, pebbles, water. Just neat to look at! Thanks!

Sorry Aladino, I totally forgot to mention that your picture is just beautiful, it almost looks like a UP Stonehenge.

This looks a little like a different planet from Star Trek. I expect to see alien creatures peeking out from behind the rocks.

Thanks Capt and Dr. I appreciate your "lessons."

Actually, cobblestone is a Middle English word. I think geologists decided it was a good word to describe that size rock, so now it's part of our geologic language.

Anr rock that weighs more than 40 pounds is called a LEAVERITE....Too heavy so leaverite there.

Beautiful, beautiful picture. It's one of those pictures that make me want to crawl right into my computer.

Tom, gotcha, been there, done that. Love that description, and don't need a geologist to explain that one!

I neglected to mention that that is a great picture! Thank you for sharing!

Cindy Pihlaja Russell (Gone2long)
What a great description for a sauna. Living downstate sure has it's disadvantages - no sauna! We're working on one and I can't wait till we finally get it done so I can "close my eyes, feel the steam and watch my cares disappear."Great picture too!!
Eliisa

I don't know about leaverite.... I have several large (over 100 lbs.) pieces of copper and a 300 lb. BIF that makes a good traction weight in the back of the truck; there was no way I was going to leave them anywhere!!

Neat pic..Where was it taken?

Marianne, this picture was taken at "Bucky's", better known as the Calumet Waterworks. Not a whole lot of snow considering it was taken Jan. 12 this year.

If those are sauna rocks, that gotta be a HUGE sauna.

Great picture!