Bore hole or what exactly is this from?

Anyone out there with a geological background that can possibly shed some light on this? Today we were up around lake Kookcanusa Mt doing some exploring. I was climbing on a rock formation when I found this on the top of one of the out croppings. Is this a bore hole for dynamite that I'm looking at from when they carved the road way out of the side of the mountain or what? this is like 40 or 50 feet above the roadbed. I looked all over the rest of the rock formations and this was the only such hole I found. I can't imagine someone climbing up this rock formation with a drill just for fun and doing this. It seemed very out of place for the setting. In all honesty the first thing I thought of was the rocks that were found that had bore holes in them from being used as anchors.

a reply to: w810i

Interesting! The last time I saw huge rocks with holes like that, they were shoring up coastal areas around artificial beaches.

The rock looks quarried to me. Is that right? If it is, I think they bore these holes to run chains through and drag them where they want them.

If it's not quarried, I'm as curious as you are to know why anyone would drill that hole.

Whatever it is must have taken some big equipment to do it. It's not a hatchet job either. I was going to say someone trying to be clever and doing this, but again, not something that wouldn't create alot of noise.
Well I'm stumpted.

Interesting to see if anyone else can shed light on this.

a reply to: Kandinsky

No it wasn't queried. This outcropping stands above the road bed a good 40 or 50 feet on the side of a mountain. On the other side of this outcropping is a sheer cliff that goes down a good couple hundred feet. Here is another picture from ground level. You can see the bore hole in it.

a reply to: w810i

Perhaps Ice created it. Then again this could be evidence of ancient aliens. 1000s of light years to zap holes in rocks.

Very strange indeed.

actually - such a hole can be drilled with man portable equipment

start with a :

hilti core driller

add a frame and the cutter size you wish -

generator supplied from the road with a cable running up - same for coolant water pipe

voila - one hole

thas all assuming that it was cut ` in situ `

is the rock - actually bedrock - or a freestanding boulder - is it ` origional ` or has it been moved on site

as for why it was cored - i dunno - without more information

but i can say - that doing it is not a tremendously big job - even in situ

a reply to: ignorant_ape

I couldn't tell you what type of rock it is. As for if its original or been moved to the site. Its a large rock that looks to be wedged into a crevice between two outcroppings.

originally posted by: TechniXcality
a reply to: w810i

Perhaps Ice created it. Then again this could be evidence of ancient aliens. 1000s of light years to zap holes in rocks.

Ice isn't going to make a hole that clean. Looking at it it was being used to move the rock. Notice above the whole is fractured bad like a chain ran through it. Now why they did it have no idea unless it was sliding down so they repositioned it??

a reply to: w810i

Thanks for the extra images. The formation reminds me of a local quarry with the way the rocks are sheared. Is it possible the area was quarried in the past? I remember seeing holes like this in the quarry near where I grew up. The quarrymen would drill a deeper hole than that and lower explosive in on the end of a length of cord.

The area could have been blasted to cut that road through. Train tracks, roads, access for utilities etc.

We've got a couple of geologist ATSers; I'll send a PM and ask them if they can help.

a reply to: Kandinsky

I don't think it was queried, on the other side of the rocks from where these pics were taken on the cliff face is the opening to a large cave. The opening looked to be 5-10 feet across.

a reply to: w810i

Looks like a bore hole that survived blasting to me.

I highly doubt that thin sliver of rock could bare the weight of the entire stone being lifted or dragged with a chain.
Large rocks are most often moved with large loaders or cranes (if it was moved at all). Hard to tell from the pictures.

It's probably a safe bet that they blasted a path through the area to build the road/highway, this is probably a remnant of that undertaking.

Very cool rock just the same.

my conspiracy guess : A giant laser from space ?

My realist guess : A random rock with a hole drilled into it by a random person perhaps ?

Test sample possible ?


Kap

a reply to: w810i

I reckon that road you were standing on was blasted out of the rock and that's what lends the formation a quarried appearance. The hole does look like the size and type that they drill to drop a charge down. It makes sense and you were probably right when you had the idea at the time.

despite other peoples opinions :

it is NOT a shot hole

shot holes are drilled - that was made with a core cutter

a reply to: w810i


Sorry, but somebody had to use this in this thread.



Threads like this keep me coming to ATS, thanks OP.
S&F

It appears like basalt - it's possible geologists at some point in time have taken a core sample for research purposes. They've targeted the narrowest area for convenience.

It's possible they were going to drag it down and break it up so it wouldn't be a hazard. Perhaps it wouldn't budge to their satisfaction and left it be.

... see below.


I stuffed up - haven't been around for awhile and not up to speed with some changes.

originally posted by: w810i
a reply to: Kandinsky

I don't think it was queried, on the other side of the rocks from where these pics were taken on the cliff face is the opening to a large cave. The opening looked to be 5-10 feet across.

This image clearly shows that the area has been subject to quarrying - note the striations on the rocks in the foreground.