I have to admit that even the weirdest things on this earth can be fascinating sometimes. So in a weird way, even rocks on earth can be fascinating sometimes because of their weirdness. Moeraki Boulders are such that deserves a visit of anyone interested in them. They are found in Koekohe Beach between Moeraki and Hampden of Otago coast, New Zealand. These boulders are large in size and spherical in shape with diameters varying from 0.5m to 1m like and looks like large bean bags lying on the beach.
Moeraki Boulders which are grey-colored septarian concretions can occur as either isolated or clusters of boulders. Wave action like bedrock and landslides, exposure make mudstone erode naturally. Although the striking feature of Moeraki Boulders is their spherical shape and large size, they cannot be considered entirely one of a kind because of other boulders found around the world like from North Dakota, Kansas and Ontario. These Ontario spherical concretions are smaller in size and known as "kettles".
The boulders have been experimented under various scientists to identify their composition using optical mineralogy, X-ray crystallography, and electron microprobe and there has been found that the boulders consist of mud, fine silt and clay, cemented by calcite. Also the cementation varies from relatively weak in inside to harder outside. Boulders are very often cracked with large cracks which are known as "septaria". These formation of "septaria" remains an unsolved mystery for many although there are possible theories explained. However it is calculated that larger boulders with diameters at least of 2m must have taken 4 to 5.5 million years to grow. Once they are formed septaria cracks form and get filled with brown calcite, yellow calcite, and small amounts of dolomite and quartz.
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Naturally, Moeraki Boulders are bonded with many legends. They say as in Māori legends, these are what is left of eel baskets, calabashes, and kumara that got to the shore from wreck of an Arai-te-uru. Because of the significant difference from usual rocks we see, Moeraki Boulders attract many tourists in large numbers every year.
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