Ringing Rocks, Upper Black Eddy PA

Stones from Mysterious Bucks Co. Park are Capable of Playing Songs

Aug 8, 2007

Dr. Ott gave a concert playing the rocks, accompanied by a brass band. A Lafayette College geologist studied them in his lab. Why these rocks ring is still a mystery

Ringing Rocks State Park is in Upper Black Eddy, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, not far from where General George Washington crossed the Delaware River. The park has 128 acres that contains the field of rocks and Buck County’s largest waterfall. In addition to these attractions, the park also offers picnicking facilities and hiking trails. The only vegetation in the “stone pond” is the lichen that grows on the rocks. There are other boulder fields in the state which are at the bottom of hills or mountains and were deposited by glaciers. Ringing Rocks is towards the hill’s top, which means they are not a result of a melting mixture of snow, ice sediment and rocks.

Ringing Rocks

These rocks are not merely stones, but one third of them "ring " when struck with a hammer. All of the rocks seem to be made of the same material, mainly hard minerals and iron. This phenomenon is not confined to Bucks County and have been reported world-wide.

Ringing Rocks - A Musical Instrument

Dr. J. J. Ott gathered rocks that rang with different tones in June 1890. He played different songs backed up by the Pleasant Valley Band for the Buckwampum Historical Society at Stony Garden. Perhaps this bring new meaning to the term, “rock concert.”

Richard Faas, a geologist from Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania took some of the rocks to his lab to test them in 1965. He discovered that, when the rocks were hit with a metal object, they created sounds at frequencies that were inaudible to human ears. When the sounds interacted, they were able to be heard.

Theories about Ringing Rocks

While Fass’ experiments answered questions as to the character of the pitches, he could not figure out the mechanism the rocks contained that made them. Scientists think it might have something to do with the rock’s stress level.

Other theories involve meteorites, radioactivity and weird magnetic fields. There have been claims that compasses do not work in areas where there are ringing rocks, but attempts to prove these theories have been futile.

Apparently, there is a scientific explanation for ringing rocks which has not, yet been discovered, however, there are paranormal theories. It has been noted that there is something about these rock fields tend to scare animals. There is little or no flora, water, shelter or insects inhabiting the boulder fields and the fields are hotter than the surrounding woods in summer. These places are inhospitable to sustain life.

The copyright of the article Ringing Rocks, Upper Black Eddy PA in Mysterious Places is owned by Jill Stefko . Permission to republish Ringing Rocks, Upper Black Eddy PA in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.