Canada/Alberta: Red Rock Coulee

This little known place was absolutely insane – giant spherical boulders all around the badlands hills and ravines, some just totally massive. There are similar geologic formations in other parts of the world and we have seen them in New Zealand, Kazakhstan, and North Dakota. The boulders are known as concretions and formed millions of years ago. They began forming when mineral-rich water deposited layers of sediment around a core, such as a fossil or organic material, and then slowly over time, these layers solidified into hard, rock-like formations. Erosion over time gradually exposed these concretions on the surface, resulting in the striking landscape seen today. The iron oxide in the sandstone gives the boulders the distinctive red color. The spherical boulders range in size, with diameters between 0.5 to 2.5 m (1.6-8.2 feet). Some of the larger boulders are among the largest concretions found in Canada. The landscape looks stunning at sunset with red boulders looking even more red in the setting sun light.