This strange sight has perplexed visitors since its discovery and spawned stories of giants balancing the rock into position, but geologists have a more realistic explanation: glaciers. This is not the first balanced rock to be discovered, and scientists believe that glaciers, capable of carrying such a heavy rock with them, left it behind when they retreated northwards more than 8,000 years ago. The power of glaciers surpasses even the giants.

The Kummakivi Balancing Rock is a natural feature located in a picturesque forested region of Ruokolahti, a municipality in the South Karelia region, in the southeastern part of Finland. This feature consists of two rocks, one placed precariously on top of the other. Although it seems that the upper rock would break away at any moment, this has not happened. Furthermore, if a human were to apply force to the rock, it would not move one bit.

The strange Kummakivi balancing rock

The name of this Finnish balancing rock, ‘Kummakivi’, has been translated as ‘strange rock’. Two rocks make up this unusual geological formation. The rock at the bottom is in the shape of a curved mound. It is lodged in the earth and has a smooth, convex surface.

Resting on top of this bedrock is another huge boulder measuring about 7 meters long (22.97 feet). The point of contact between these two rocks is quite small, and it appears as if the rock above is performing an impossible balancing act.

Anyone looking at the Kummakivi balance rock for the first time would probably expect the top rock to fall away at any moment. However, the rock is firmly anchored in the bedrock and has not yet been pushed (or even moved slightly) by any humans.

The ancient inhabitants of this area, who were no doubt perplexed by the sight of this natural wonder, sought an explanation as to how this balanced rock came to be in such a perplexing position. It is likely that this group of people attempted to move the Kummakivi balancing rock with their bare hands. However, upon realizing that the physical force they applied failed to move the rock, they speculated that a supernatural force must have moved it to the site.

In addition to providing people with interesting stories, balance rocks have also been used for more scientific purposes. In the US, for example, researchers have used balance rocks as a kind of natural seismoscope. While such rocks do not indicate when earthquakes occurred in the past, they are an indication that the region had not experienced earthquakes strong enough to topple them.

Information about the amount of force needed to move these rocks can provide details about the magnitude of previous earthquakes and the recurrence and intervals of large earthquakes in the area, which would be vital for probabilistic seismic hazard analyses. In other words, rock balancing can save lives!

To conclude, the Kummakivi Balancing Rock is indeed a natural wonder to behold. Although people in ancient times have attributed their formation to mythological giants, today a more scientific explanation is available.