Figure 5a. The modern photo shows the same location as Shaler's Plate LXXIV, but if you compare both images you should see that there is a difference. The modern photo is from Kelley (2002), and he refers to the rock formation as "Chimney Rock." Shaler refers to the formation as "Pulpit Rock." The feature is a relict sea-stack found on Day Mountain and which formed at an elevation of an ancient marine shoreline. Compare it with the modern sea-stack at the shoreline in Monument Cove in the park. If you haven't noticed the difference between the modern photo and Shaler's plate of Pulpit Rock, look at the uppermost block of the ancient sea-stack. In Shaler's plate it looks somewhat like a profile of a dog's head, with an ear and snout. In the modern photo, you can no longer see the snout, but the ear is still there. Kelley (2002) relates the story of the stack: "Chimney Rock is such striking testimony to a raised sea level that wealthy Mt. Desert Island summer resident, John Rockefeller, was interested in it, and Chimney Rock was described in local newspapers. Most impressive was the uppermost stone, which must have been last turned by a great storm perhaps 13,000 years ago. Unfortunately vandals read of Chimney Rock and managed to topple the uppermost stone. As testimony to his fondness for science, Mr. Rockefeller had a crane brought up the nearby Carriage Path and replaced the fallen stone." One has to wonder if the vandals made off with the dog's snout as it must have broken off during its fall, and if it now sits in someone's yard, or is it lost to history? Click on the image to return to Shaler's plate.

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Last updated on December 9, 2011

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