Two grains of sand met on a deserted beach outside of what is now Minneapolis, Kansas. Iron oxide, calcium carbonate, and pressure cemented their relationship. Other grains of sand followed suit and bonded with them. Gradually, a sandstone sphere emerged, ever larger, ever larger. With enough time and materials the natural progression would lead to multiple sandstone spheres, merging into one massive layer or strata of Dakota sandstone.
A day late and a dollar short, the spheres outside Minneapolis stopped progressing. Softer rock filled in between the spheres and eventually eroded away. One hundred million years after the grains of sand first bonded, Rock City became a small tourist attraction. Like giant pool balls after a break, the giant spheres are randomly arrayed upon a grassy lawn, the size of two football fields.
It is the arrested development of the spheres and how they are exposed, which makes Rock City unique.
Take a walk with Birkenstock.
