My Texas Alphabet: E for Enchanted Rock

 

Made of red granite, magnificent and epic, it just is. Where? In Central Texas (the Hill Country). 

The rock makes a picturesque view and is clearly noticeable while driving along a local road.

The mountain is an igneous rock (batholith) that was formed under the surface of the Earth during the process (intrusion and turning solid) of changing the properties and state of magma (1). Erosion of the Earth uncovered the underneath pink granite rock. The Enchanted Rock is the largest batholith in Texas and the second largest (after the Stone Mountain, Georgia) in the United States. 

The pink Rock is also called a singing mountain as people visiting the area can sometimes hear a strange, humming-like sound there. The rock was regarded as a sacred and haunted one by the Native American Nations. According to the Tonkawas, the strange lights seen near the rock peak were campfires lit by spirits. According to the Apaches, mountain spirits live in the place. Another explanation is that the increased level of some unknown energy produces mysterious lights and sound (2). Well, the energy might be spirits, mightn't it?

We have not climbed it/walked around the Enchanted Rock area yet. When we visit it on foot, I will post an update here.

 

A visit to the Enchanted Rock State Natural Area requires a reservation. To find out more about it, visit the website.

1. Encyclopedia Britannica

2. "Weird Texas. Your Travel Guide to Texas's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets." by Wesley Treat, Heather Shade, and Rob Riggs, Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., New York, 2005.