Pulpit Rocks is a geological formation adjacent to Pike Road, or Alexandria Pike Road, Old

U.S. Route 22 U.S. Route 22 (US 22) is a west–east route and is one of the original United States highways of 1926, running from Cincinnati, Ohio, at US 27, US 42, US 127, and US 52 to Newark, New Jersey, at U.S. Route 1/9 in the Newark Airport Interchange ...

, northwest of

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...

Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania Huntingdon County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,092. Its county seat is Huntingdon. The county was created on September 20, 1787, mainly from the northern part of Bedford Count ...

. These weathered rock formations were instrumental in the determination of the stratigraphy of the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

in the mid-19th century by the Pennsylvania Geological Survey. This work was influential in opening up new fields of geological research. The site was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1993. and It is partially owned by

Juniata College Juniata College is a private liberal arts college in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1876 as a co-educational school, it was the first college started by members of the Church of the Brethren as a center for vocational learning for those wh ...

, whose geology department uses the site for educational purposes. A plaque marks its location.

Description and history

The Pulpit Rocks are located along Warrior Ridge, a formation located between Huntingdon and

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

in the

in centrak

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. They are located on the north side of Pike Road, an old alignment of US 22, which now runs further south. The rock formations are essentially weathered pillars, about in height, that are isolated from one another by about , spaces wide enough for a human to pass through. At the time research on this formation was first published in 1858, the accompanying watercolor painting (pictured here) was described as an accurate rendition of their state. The rocks are formed out of what is called Oriskany sandstone, and rest upon layers of limestone. The stone was laid down about 390 million years ago, when the area was covered by an inland sea, and have been eroding slowly ever since. Pennsylvania's Geological Survey was established in 1836, with its survey work conducted between 1836 and 1842. The Huntingdon area was one of the first to be surveyed, and John Frazer, one of the geologists on the survey team, realized that the geology of this area strongly suggested that conventional wisdom about its structure was incorrect. The prevailing belief at the time was that there were single layers of sandstone and conglomerate underlying the ridges. In this area, in particular around the Pulpit Rocks, it was clear that there were in fact multiple layers of sandstone, separated from one another by thick layers of other types of rock. This realization immediately illuminated findings of surveys in neighboring

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

as to the structure of the mountain formations in those states. The Pennsylvania Geological Survey's first major report, published in 1858, featured the watercolor pictured here, highlighting the formation's importance in furthering the understanding of Appalachian (and more broadly all mountain) geology.

References

External links

Pulpit Rocks
- LocalHikes.com report {{National Register of Historic Places National Historic Landmarks in Pennsylvania Geography of Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania

Description and history

See also

References

External links