Maine’s 100-Ton Rock That Defies Gravity in Acadia National Park

Maine's famous Bubble Rock traveled 30 miles before resting in a place that defies gravity in Acadia National Park.

Bubble Rock Sits Perched on a Cliff at Acadia National Park

There's something about Bubble Rock that makes my stomach go all oogy. I'm not great with heights, and it's 766 feet to ground level beneath that 100-ton boulder. Some might consider walking up to it to snap a selfie, but you won't see me near it. What if my weight is exactly what it would take to dislodge it? I'm not taking any chances.

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It's an incredible sight, like someone super-glued the boulder to the cliff's edge, overlooking Acadia National Park. But that's impossible. So how did it get there?

The Granite of Bubble Rock is Different Than the Bedrock Granite

The story is pretty interesting. In this picture, look at the granite that makes up Bubble Rock and then the granite of South Bubble where it sits. They look different, don't they?

That's because they are different.

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According to the National Park Service, South Bubble is made of Cadillac Mountain granite, which you'll find on Cadillac Mountain and all around the park. But Bubble Rock is made of Lucerne granite, which comes from, you guessed it, Lucerne, Maine. So how did it end up more than 30 miles away in Acadia?

There's a Reason Why They Call a Bubble Rock a Glacial Rock

Of course, the answer is glaciers. Bubble Rock was carried by a glacier, earning it the appropriate name of 'glacial rock.' As the glacier traveled across the ground, the sharp edges of Bubble Rock were worn away, making the boulder smooth and rounded.

As the glacier melted, Bubble Rock fell to the ground and landed where it sits today, precariously perched on the edge of a cliff.

My brain understands it's been sitting there for thousands of years, and the chances it would tumble when I approached it are astronomical. Still, I'll keep my distance and admire its strange and majestic beauty from afar. Chicken? Yup, that's me.