giant glacial pet rocks by friz hoffmann

a 40-ton erratic found at the colville indian reservation in washington state from the series ‘pet rocks’ by fritz hoffmann, 2012 all images © the artist and national geographic

american documentary-style photographer fritz hoffmann has developed the series ‘pet rocks’. the work is a narrative explanation of the geological phenomenon of the glacial erratic, or the seemingly random placement of gigantic boulders. glacial erratic is a rock which has been transported by growing and then receding glaciers which melted millions of years ago. as the glaciers shrink, massive rocks were left behind after traveling great distances. these stones are often left as they have been found, giving them nickname ”leaverites’ or leave ‘er right there’, as glacial erratics are too big to move.

hoffmann’s interest in this specific pictured project peaked after noticing boulders strewn alongside the roads of his new england home while driving near plymouth, massachusetts, USA. the artist notes, ‘I made a U-turn and found the nearest tourist center. I raced in there with one question. is plymouth rock a glacial erratic? the woman behind the counter replied, ‘a glacier moved it here if that is what you mean’ so then the pilgrims stepped off the mayflower onto a glacial erratic!‘ after hoffmann realized that the historical stone on which europeans first set foot in what is now the USA was one of these gigantic glacial rocks, the ‘pet rock’ series became a country-wide photographic survey of these boulders. the photographer’s focus was on both on the landscapes in which these stones reside in addition to the modern societal interaction with this bizarre geological phenomenon.

a glacial erratic in new york city’s central park

an avenue in glen rock, new jersey, USA weaves around either side of a massive erratic in the center of the road.

the town of glen rock, new jersey, USA was named for this 570-ton boulder. scientists believe a glacier moved the erratic from approximately 20 miles north of the region. however, the area’s first inhabitants, the lenape native americans called the rock ‘pamachapuka’—stone from the sky.

the bedrock of olmsted point of yosemite national park, USA was formed by glaciers that also left behind massive rocks when it retreated thousands of years ago

a boulder assimilating to modern life- pictured in the parking lot of a supermarket in mystic, connecticut, USA

‘one element that I wanted to instill in the images was the concept of time. I thought about this while sitting on top of a ten foot step ladder in a grocery store parking lot waiting for something to happen near a rock, reading john mcphee’s book, ‘in suspect terrain’ watching people hustling by, the glacial rock sitting where it may have been placed 18,000 years earlier. the rocks move and we move at different speeds.‘ -fritz hoffmann

two young girls rest near one of the many of the massive boulders used as a surface for the display of text or images left by both ancient and modern people

‘yeager rock’, pictured above, stopped its glacial move in northern washington state, USA and served as a tool for geologists to map how far south the ice sheet pushed these massive stones

many glacial erratics have been left in their new homes being that developers of modern parks and roadways are either unwilling to disrupt (or unable to finance the movement of) these rocks

a melting segment of juneau, alaska, USA’s mendenhall glacier moves a smaller boulder from the mountains to the surface of mendenhall lake.

a glacial erratic in motion at mendenhall glacier

via national geographic