Pierre des Marmettes

Depiction of the foundling by Johann von Charpentier (1841)

1905

The Pierre des Marmettes is a 1600 m³ boulder near Monthey in the Swiss canton of Valais . It was transported by a glacier from Val Ferret to the Monthey area. The boulder is made of Mont Blanc granite . Erratic boulders were used as building material until the 19th century (e.g. for building railways and roads). To protect the boulder, the Swiss Natural Research Society bought it in 1906 after lengthy negotiations with the owner. The Swiss Nature Conservation Commission (SNK) was founded because of the threat to the Pierre des Marmettes .

The erratics served Johann von Charpentier as evidence for his thesis of a previous Ice Age , during which this and other erratic boulders were dragged along by glaciers.

Web links

Commons : Pierre des Marmettes - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Pierre des Marmettes, Monthey. History and photos

Individual evidence

↑ Emanuel Maurer (2005): "In the interest of science and for the honor of the country" - The protection of boulders in the canton of Bern , in: Mitteilungen der Naturforschende Gesellschaft in Bern, Volume 62, (PDF; 286 kB)

46.252388888889 6.9415277777778Coordinates: 46 ° 15 '8.6 " N , 6 ° 56' 29.5" E ; CH1903: 561664 / 122451

[Maurer_2005-1] Emanuel Maurer (2005): "In the interest of science and for the honor of the country" - The protection of boulders in the canton of Bern , in: Mitteilungen der Naturforschende Gesellschaft in Bern, Volume 62, (PDF; 286 kB)