Case file · Folklore / legend
Giant Rock splits
In February 2000 a large slab broke off Giant Rock, the seven-storey boulder near Landers that was a centre of 1950s contactee meetings. Some New Age followers read it as a sign of a new era.
2000 CE · 34.33, -116.39 · status: explained
The account
The boulder is a single block of granite, long said to be sacred to local peoples and a gathering place for UFO believers.
The sceptical view
Weathering, heat cycles and water in cracks routinely split desert boulders.