Bar Harbor in Hancock County, Maine — The American Northeast (New England)

Balance Rock and the Ice Age
⎯⎯⎯
Balance Rock Et L'ere Glaciarire

Bar Harbor, Maine

— The Museum in the Streets —

Balance Rock and the Ice Age Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, October 16, 2024

1. Balance Rock and the Ice Age Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

The large boulder on the shore in front of you is an excellent example of a glacial erratic and has been popular with the photographers for years. It has a different makeup than the surrounding rock, as can be seen by the color and texture of the stone compared to the ledge it sits on. It is not indigenous to this area and was left behind at the end of the last ice age more than 10,000 years ago. Geologists speculate that its origin is 40 miles northwest of here in the Lucerne area, just south of Bangor. The glacial ice was more than a mile thick and moved in a northwest-to-southeast direction. It played a major role in sculpting our bays, lakes, mountains and valleys, and scraped off the tops of the mountains, leaving them rounded rather than pointed like the younger Rockies.

Ce gros rocher en face de vous sur la berge est un excellent exemple du charivari glaciaire et un favori des photographes depuis des années. Sa composition differe des rochers qui l'entourent, comme l'indique la couleur et texture de la roche comparée à la corniche sur laquelle elle repose. Il n'est pas indigène à cette région et y a été trainé par l'ère glaciaire il y a plus de 10.000 ans. Les géologues fracent son origine à 65 km au nord-ouest d'ici, dans la région de Lucerne juste au sud de Bangor. La glace avait plus d'un km et demi d'épaisseur et se déplaçait du nord-ouest vers le sud-est. C'est elle qui a sculpté nos baies, lacs, montagnes et vallées, et dénudé le sonumet de nos montagnes vallonnées par contraste avec les sommets pointus des Rocheuses.

Erected by The

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

Museum in the Streets. (Marker Number 23.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Natural Features • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the The Museum in the Streets: Bar Harbor, Maine series list.

Location. 44° 23.34′ N, 68° 12.027′ W. Marker is in Bar Harbor, Maine, in Hancock County. It is on Albert Meadow east of Main Street when traveling east. Located in Shore Path Grant Park, near the Balance Rock Inn. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 21 Albert Meadow, Bar Harbor ME 04609, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Mount Desert Island

and in Downeast Maine. It is also in the American Northeast

and in New England.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Great North Woods,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France

and also Acadia.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Grant Park

Photographed by Sandra Hughes Tidwell, October 17, 2024

2. Balance Rock and the Ice Age Marker

(within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named Grant Park (within shouting distance of this marker); The Reading Room at the Bar Harbor Inn / La Salle De lecture A` L'Auberge De Bar Harbor (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Shorepath / Le Sentier Côtier (approx. 0.2 miles away); Arrival By Sea / Vocation Maritime (approx. 0.2 miles away); Bar Harbor Inn Gazebo (approx. 0.2 miles away); Bar Harbor Soldiers Monument (approx. 0.2 miles away); Village Green (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Bar Harbor.

Also see . . .
1. Balance Rock. Yelp website entry (Submitted on November 7, 2024, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)

2. Glacial Erratics. National Park Service website entry (Submitted on October 31, 2024, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA.)

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, October 16, 2024

3. Balance Rock and the Ice Age Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on February 26, 2026. It was originally submitted on October 31, 2024, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. This page has been viewed 880 times since then and 119 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on November 10, 2024, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. 2. submitted on October 31, 2024, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. 3. submitted on November 10, 2024, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. • Michael Herrick was the editor who published this page.

Editor’s want-list for this marker. A wide view photo of the marker and its surroundings. • • Can you help?

Balance Rock and the Ice Age⎯⎯⎯Balance Rock Et L'ere Glaciarire

Bar Harbor, Maine

— The Museum in the Streets —

Balance Rock and the Ice Age
⎯⎯⎯
Balance Rock Et L'ere Glaciarire