Acoustic Levitation in Yellowwood State Park, IN
Unexplained tree-top boulders found in forest
Judy Hess for Brown County, IN
May 7, 2000
Something unnatural is going on in Yellowwood State Forest.
The mystery began a few years ago when a turkey hunter,
scouting in a remote area of the 23,000-acre forest, discovered a large boulder in the top of an 80-foot-tall chestnut
oak tree. What he saw wedged among its branches was a boulder about 4 feet wide and a foot thick.
The boulder was eventually dubbed Gobbler's Rock after
the turkey hunter. It sits high on a south-facing slope overlooking a ravine near Tulip Tree Road in western Brown
County and is thought to weigh at least 400 pounds.
After the initial sighting of Gobbler's Rock, hikers have found
at least two more giant sandstone boulders sitting in the top
limbs of two sycamores. One boulder is nearly 45 feet off the
ground and both rocks appear to weigh about 200 pounds.
The trees are 100 yards apart growing near the banks of
Plum Creek in a seldom-visited part of Yellowwood State
Forest, just southwest of Helmsburg.
Known to locals as URBs, or Unexplained Resting Boulders, officials can't explain how the boulders got
wedged into the branches in the first place. The huge rocks couldn't grow upward with the trees because
the saplings could not have withstood their weight. The boulders must have been placed high in the trees
after their trunks were sturdy enough to support them.
Sandstone boulders are a part of the natural Yellowwood setting. They are scattered around the forest
floor so the rocks could have originated near the trees. But officials can't find any proof that this was
caused by a natural event or that someone played a joke. A joke that would require heavy-duty moving
equipment to get the boulders into the branches.
As theories abound from fraternity pranks, tornadoes, to high winds or floods, the strange phenomenon is
now the focus of several UFO Web sites. In fact, the rock-in-a-tree is highlighted at abduct.com, a UFO-
related Web site. The Web site posts a few comments from a UFO investigator about Gobbler's Rock and
asks "Did a UFO put a boulder in this tree?"
"If the rock was blown into the tree, why isn't there some sign of damage to the bark? It had to be gently
rested in the branches, I would think, but by what?" the investigator asks.
Another UFO Web site ponders such questions like "Could an examination of the trees reveal whether they
had had damage at a young age? Can anyone think of a mechanism whereby the boulders were lifted as
the trees grew?"
Mark Shields, a Yellowwood employee, says "just about every theory has been shot down."
"If I had to guess, maybe a tornado," Mr. Shields said.
He stated it's unlikely that blasting at some nearby site would have blown the rock into its perch. The most
logical answer, he said, is that a tornado picked the rock up and dropped it in the branches. Although he
admits that theory's not very likely because of the way the boulder sits in the tree.
"The rocks sits right in the crown of the tree," Mr. Shields said. If you'd like to try finding the huge boulders,
you'll need a compass. The trees are a considerable distance from the nearest roadway.
Directions to Gobbler's Rock (GPS coordinates: N39 12.204, W86 21.955):
To find Gobbler's Rock from the Yellowwood State Forest office, head north on Yellowwood Lake Road,
then turn west on Lanam Ridge Road. From Lanam Ridge Road, turn left onto Indiana 45, and then quickly
turn south on Tulip Tree Road. Follow this gravel road about two miles, and park in a small pull-off near the
gate. Using a compass, continue walking south about a half-mile, and look for a cleared, grassy area on the
left. Look for an old logging path that leads east from the cleared area, and follow it east and south.
Gobbler's Rock is high on a south-facing slope overlooking a ravine.
Directions to the sycamore tree rocks (GPS coordinates: N39 14.986, W86 18.492):
Travel north on Yellowwood Lake Road about three miles from the Yellowwood State Forest office. Turn
east on Lanam Ridge Road. Follow the road about three miles, and turn west on Dollsberry Lane, about a
mile south of Helmsburg. Follow the gravel road until it ends. Park in a small parking area on the south side
of the roadway. From this point, a compass is required because there is no marked trail or path, and
underbrush in some areas is thick. Follow the old roadway west, and then southwest. South of the pond,
which is on private property, travel southwest to Plum Creek, following the creek as it meanders west. The
two sycamores holding the rocks are on the north creek bank, about a third of a mile west-southwest from
the parking area. The trees are about 100 yards apart, but not visible from each other.
Update on Gobbler's Rock-In-Tree!
by Fred Porcheddu
June 19, 2006
Gobbler's Rock Out Of Tree! It is with deepest sadness and regret that I report... that the tree inexplicably
supporting the large sandstone block in Yellowwood Park in Indiana has fallen over. We visited on 13 June 2006,
followed the very good directions given here, and came upon the disaster scene -- which must have taken place
only within the last few months, given that the leaves were still green. The uprooted oak was on the ground
with the partially dislodged rock.
We think that whatever the rock-in-tree's origin (possibly a small crane was used to lift it into place),
its weight overbalanced the tree. Visitors can still find a few smaller rocks perched nearby.
Analysis
It seems that the recent physics discoveries of acoustic levitation have not been considered
by any of the investigators of these anomalies. The piezoelectric properties of the quartz that
is the main constituent of the tree-top sandstone boulders allows their levitation by focused
soundwaves. The internal reflection of the parallel faces of the quartz crystals allows the
acoustic energy to be stored inside the stone. The build-up of vibratory energy within the
quartz lattice creates an electromagnetic field reducing the stone's weight until it becomes entirely weightless,
levitating without friction along the standing wave's arch.
In identical find has been reported in nearby Limon State Park, Indiana. The source of the focused standing wave energy levitating these stones is the Orion pyramids
at Giza, exactly 6,225 miles away (Gobbler's Rock - 39.20°N 86.35°W). This distance is precisely
25.00% of the Earth's mean circumference (of 24,892 miles).
Such unusual acoustic levitation is a sign that a new resonance is emerging in central Indiana, and will be building gradually into a higher energy level
that has already been observed at other infrasound focal points. Extreme manifestations of this resonance are waves of piezoelectric fires that are now
simultaneously occuring in Ratria, India,
Messina, Italy, Bodibe, South Africa and Santa Barbara, USA.