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Wind, water and erosion are chipping away at rocks as we speak. Over the years, the elements can create some pretty fantastic rock formations. Here are a few that can be found in Canada.

Six strange rock formations found in Canada


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    Cheryl Santa Maria
    Digital Reporter

    Friday, May 15, 2015, 5:10 PM - Wind, water and erosion are chipping away at rocks as we speak. Over the years, the elements can create some pretty fantastic rock formations.

    Here are a few that can be found in Canada.


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    6. ATLANTIC CANADA -- BALANCING ROCK

    The famed Balancing Rock in between Tiverton and Central Grove in Digby, Nova Scotia is one of the area's most photographed sites.

    It is situated at the end of a 2.4-kilometre trail that travels across woodlands brimming with vegetation.

    You'll have to descend down 235 steps to get to the formation, but visitors say it's worth the hike.

    Photo credit

    5. ATLANTIC CANADA -- THE HOPEWELL ROCKS

    This list wouldn't be complete without a hat tip to the Hopewell Rocks -- arguably one of the most famous natural formations in the country.

    Located in the Bay of Fundy, which stretches between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, this area is home to the highest tides in the world, and visitors can see them rise twice a day, every day.


    TRAVEL GUIDE: Check out the Bay of Fundy's best hikes and fossils  


    Standing between 12 and 20 metres high, the Hopewell Rocks attract countless visitors each year and are the result of years of erosion.

    Photo credit

    4. QUEBEC -- PERCÉ ROCK

    This large sheer rock formation in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence off  Percé Bay is one of the world's largest natural arches and a provincial icon, attracting thousands of visitors each year.

    Photo credit

    3. ONTARIO -- FLOWERPOT ISLAND

    Located in Tobermory, Ontario, Flowerpot Island has been touted as one of the country's most fascinating natural attractions.

    Famous for its flowerpot-shaped sea stacks, along with caves and hiking trails, the area is only accessible by boat.


    RELATED: Can rocks restore the climate?


    Currently, there are two "flowerpots" in the park. There was a third, but it crumbled over a century ago.

    The unique shape of the rocks is due to years of the weather elements chipping away at the stone.

    Photo credit

    2. PRAIRIES -- ALBERTA BADLANDS

    Alberta's Badlands are home to striking topography and a spectacular night sky.

    Here you'll find Dinosaur National Park, a UNESCO World heritage site about two and a half hours southeast of Calgary, that is rich in dinosaur fossils. To date, forty dinosaurs species and more than 500 specimens have been recovered at the site. 


    MORE EYE CANDY: Visit Banff, Alberta 


    And then there's the hoodoos -- incredible rock formations that took millions of years to form. Standing between 5 and 7 metres tall, the protected rock formations are fragile and can whittle away if their capstone falls off.

    In the Blackfoot and Cree traditions, Hoodoos are thought to be petrified giants who come to life at night to throw rocks at unwanted visitors.

    The Badlands is one-of-a-kind in its beauty, and it's a must-see when visiting western Canada.

    Photo credit

    1. BRITISH COLUMBIA -- SIWASH ROCK

    It may not look as strange as some of the other rocks on this list, but B.C.'s Siwash Rock is quite the local celebrity.

    Located in Vancouver's Stanley Park, this formation was born 32 million years ago, when a volcanic dike formed in the sandstone and mudstone that lines the area.

    Magma was forced to the surface through a fissure, creating a stack that's more resistant to erosion that the sandstone that used to surround it.

    Over the years the sandstone washed away, leaving the Siwash Rock behind.

    It's the only formation of its kind in the area.

    Photo credit


    HELP US CREATE OUR NEXT LIST: What's your favourite natural rock formation in Canada? Let us know and we'll try to include it the next time around!


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