Rocks

Franklin Park has a rock that is unique:  Roxbury Puddingstone.  Boston is the only place in the country you can find this rock.

Created by glaciers crushing stones and pebbles together to form a solid rock, puddingstone looks like an old fashioned pudding with nuts and raisins in it.   It's all over the park--Scarboro Hill, the Wilderness--once you start looking for it, it'll be easy to spot. Park designer, Frederick Law Olmsted, used Roxbury Puddingstone to build the Overlook Shelter, the Schoolmaster Hill promenade, and park walls. In the photo above by local artist and Frankin Park user, Robin Radin, a large boulder, called an erratic, looks like it could roll downhill any minute. In fact, it has been in the same place for thousands of years.

 

Are you a geologist? Do you know about other rock formations in the park?  We'd love to host a geology tour of Franklin Park. If you can help, contact webmaster@franklinparkcoalition.org.