Iconic New Brunswick flowerpot rock collapses: park official
Posted Mar 14, 2016 09:32:58 PM.
Last Updated Mar 15, 2016 10:29:58 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
HOPEWELL CAPE, N.B. – An iconic East Coast landmark has collapsed.
A spokesman for New Brunswick’s Hopewell Rocks provincial park says a large section of the flowerpot rock known as ‘the Elephant’ has caved in.
Kevin Snair, the park’s supervisor of interpretive services, told NEWS 95.7 he was the first to notice it Monday morning when he went down to the beach.
“I got to Lover’s Arch, and off in the distance I could see something didn’t look quite right,” he explained. “I booked it right down there, and sure enough there was one heck of a lot of rubble laying on the beach.”
Snair said he was shocked to see such a big change to one of their major formations.
He added rock falls are common in the spring because when snow melts, water flows into cracks in the rocks, then freezes again when temperatures drop at night, and that weakens the stone.
“Of this magnitude though, probably the last one of this size was back in 2002 when Castle Rock collapsed.”
He said experts will come in and assess the safety of the rockfall, but ideally they hope to keep the new look because they aim to keep the site as natural as possible.
The rock is one of 17 formations on the Hopewell Rocks shoreline and is best known for its depiction on New Brunswick’s Medicare card.
Snair said this is the second transformation Elephant Rock has undergone since that photo was taken in the mid-90s.
“The trunk itself of the elephant fell off in 1997,” he said.
The park is still closed for the season, but visitors are welcome to explore at their own risk right now.
Snair said before the official opening on May 20th, and experts will assess every bit of rock in the park to ensure the site is as safe as possible.
