In geology, a boulder is a rock with grain size of usually no less than 256 mm (10 inches) diameter. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In common usage, a boulder is too large for a person to move. Smaller boulders are usually just called rocks or stones. The word boulder comes from Middle English "bulder" which was probably of Scandinavian origin such as dialectal Swedish "bullersten" meaning "noisy stone" (Imagine a large stone in a stream, causing water to roar around it) from "bullra" (to roar, cf. Dutch "bulderen", with the same meaning) and "sten" (stone).
In places covered by ice sheets during Ice Ages, such as Scandinavia, northern North America, and Russia, ice has moved and formed granite boulders, also named glacial erratics. One of the largest is used as the pedestal of the Bronze Horseman in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Some noted rock formations involve giant boulders exposed by erosion, such as the Devil's Marbles in Australia's Northern Territory, the Wairere Boulders in New Zealand, where an entire valley contains only boulders, and The Baths on the island of Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands.
The climbing of large boulders often requires months or even years of practice, and has given rise, since the late 19th century, to the sport of bouldering.
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Boulders |
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 30 December 2008, at 04:27.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by PediaView.com. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with PediaView.com.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Boulder".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.