Dutch Creek Hoodoos facts for kids
The Dutch Creek Hoodoos are amazing, tall rock formations located in British Columbia, Canada. You can see them along British Columbia Highway 93/British Columbia Highway 95 as you travel between Canal Flats and Fairmont Hot Springs, British Columbia.
These special hoodoos are part of a 67-acre conservation area. This area is looked after by the Natural Conservancy of British Columbia. It connects with another protected area called the Nature Trust Hoffert Property. Together, these places are a safe home for many different plants and animals. Some of the animals you might find here include the American badger, Lewis's woodpecker, Eagle, and Hawk. There's also a unique plant called Hooker's Townsendia. You can explore the Dutch Creek Hoodoos by following a 4.6-mile trail. This trail goes up about 95 meters in height, offering great views!
How Hoodoos Form
The Dutch Creek Hoodoos are formed in a cool way, just like other hoodoos around the world. It's a slow process that takes a very long time!
First, as the ground slowly moves and shifts, tiny cracks start to appear in the rocks. When rain falls, it easily gets into these cracks and can collect in small pockets inside the rock.
Next, when the weather gets cold, this water freezes. When water freezes, it expands, pushing against the rock. This pushing can make the cracks bigger and even cause pieces of rock to break off. This process is called ice wedging.
Over many, many years, this repeated freezing and expanding of water creates a thin wall of rock, which geologists call a fin. As ice wedging continues within this fin, a hole can form, known as a window. Eventually, if the window gets too big, the rock above it can't hold its weight anymore and breaks off. What's left standing is the tall, pillar-like rock we call a hoodoo!
The Ktunaxa Creation Story
The Ktunaxa Nation is a group of Kootenai people who have lived for a long time in parts of Idaho, Montana, and British Columbia, Canada. They have a very old and special story about how their land, including the lakes and rivers, was created.
Long, long ago, in an ancient world, there were only animals, because humans hadn't been created yet. During these times, a scary sea monster named Yawunik was known for harming many animals. So, the animals held a meeting. Their chief, Nalmuqcin, led the council to figure out how to defeat Yawunik.
The council came up with a clever plan. They decided to connect the Kootenay River and Columbia River systems to trap Yawunik in Columbia Lake. They chased Yawunik through the river system. As they chased him, Yawunik gave names to many well-known places near the rivers and lakes in Canada.
Even after trying many times, they couldn't capture Yawunik. Nalmuqcin sat by the river and talked with Kikum, a very wise old animal. Kikum suggested that Nalmuqcin use his huge size and strength to block the river's flow into the lake. This way, they could finally trap Yawunik.
They put the plan into action, and it worked! The council successfully trapped Yawunik. Then, another animal named Yamakpal delivered the final blow and pulled Yawunik's body onto the shore. The story says that Yawunik's bones were scattered around. His ribs are what we now call the Dutch Creek Hoodoos!
The different colored parts of Yawunik's body were spread across the new land. These different colors were said to represent the different groups of people who would eventually live in that area, including white, black, yellow, and red people.
The story ends when Nalmuqcin stands up, very happy about what the council had achieved. He accidentally hits his head on the sky, which causes him to fall down. The different parts of his very large body are said to be found in many famous places, like Yellowhead Pass, Yellowstone Park, and the Rocky Mountains. The Ktunaxa Nation believes that after this, humans were created and became the protectors of the land. The many animals were able to go up to the sky and become spirit guides for the people who remained on Earth.
