A New Addition to the Garden

The UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research has taken delivery of a splendid new addition: a 24 tonne granite boulder. This rock was deposited by glacial ice some 18,000 years ago on the flank of Hollyburn Mt, about 10 kms north of the garden. Its modern-day owner, Kathleen Whitehead, has generously donated it and arranged for it to be moved to the UBC Botanical Garden for all to appreciate.

Such deposited boulders (often transported a very long distance by ice) are known as glacial erratics. They are revered both for their beauty and for their graphic evidence of the monumental geological forces that sculpt the planet's landscape. The rock now graces Meyer Meadow at the end of the Asian Garden, where it forms a splendid artistic and educational feature. It provides a new destination and focal point for visitors to the David C. Lam Asian Garden.

Link: Photographs

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 3:59 PM on November 22, 2004