Utah's Weathered Giant

Balanced Rock is a classic example of a hoodoo, a rock spire composed of horizontal strata of varying hardness that erode at different rates, thus creating strange shapes. The "balanced" rock is not resting loose on its pedestal, but is physically attached to the base. The feature's total height is 128 ft/39 m, with the boulder atop the pedestal standing at 55 ft/17 m. This large boulder weighs approximately 3,577 tons (over 3,000,000 kg), or the equivalent of about 1,600 full sized cars. April 27, 2009