Rocks worthy of legend

Before science became humanity's preferred method for understanding the natural world, myth and geology went hand in hand. Anyone who travels a bit is sure to run across local legends that strive to explain odd natural phenomena in fictional terms. Every single culture around the world tells these kinds of stories. There's the Chimera of Turkey (methane gas vents in the side of a mountain rendered by Homer as a fire-breathing "lion-fronted, snake behind, goat in the middle" creature); the fire-belching goddess Pele living in Hawaii's Kilauea crater; or the story of a pair of mountains that split due to irreconcilable differences (Mount Rainier took off in the heat of an argument packing up all the prettiest wildflowers).

Continue Reading...