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Tucked now in a residential park in Bonney Lake, Washington is this andesite glacial erratic deposited 13,000 years ago from the Cordilleran Ice Sheet. It is known as Skystone & has a number of pits pounded on its surface that appear to be manmade by Native Americans, each pit pointing directly to some of the major stars in the sky, as well as the sun's position on the solstices & to some of the major nearby volcanoes in the region. A nearby sign reads the following:
Thousands of years ago, this large rock, known as a glacial erratic, was deposited by a retreating glacier during the last ice age. Its unusual size and unique location, which once commanded expansive views of a glacier carved valley, an immense island lake, and towering mountains, may have influenced the early Native Americans to utilize it.
The stone has been examined by astronomers, geologists, archaeologists, and Salish medicine men. It may have provided a map of the constellations, determined direction, or indicated seasonal changes. Thought and opinions may vary as to its original use, but the general conclusion is that the mysterious Sky Stone served as both a calendar and an astronomical observatory, with possible educational and religious purposes for the Native Salish Society centuries before the coming of the non-Native pioneers. Even after the arrival of these Euro-American settlers, the subsequent owners of this property continued to allow Native American access to this site because of its cultural importance.
From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skystone
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The United States is one of the most diverse countries on earth, jam packed full of amazing sights from St. Patrick's cathedral in New York to Mount Hollywood California.The Northeast region is where it all started. Thirteen British colonies fought the American Revolution from here and won their independence in the first successful colonial rebellion in history. Take a look at these rolling hills carpeted with foliage along the Hudson river here, north of New York City.The American south is known for its polite people and slow pace of life. Probably they move slowly because it's so hot. Southerners tend not to trust people from "up north" because they talk too fast. Here's a cemetery in Georgia where you can find graves of soldiers from the Civil War.The West Coast is sort of like another country that exists to make the east coast jealous. California is full of nothing but grizzly old miners digging for gold, a few gangster rappers, and then actors. That is to say, the West Coast functions as the imagination of the US, like a weird little brother who teases everybody then gets famous for making freaky art.The central part of the country is flat farmland all the way over to the Rocky Mountains. Up in the northwest corner you can find creative people in places like Portland and Seattle, along with awesome snowboarding and good beer. Text by Steve Smith.
