Billion-year-old boulder unearthed in construction to be placed in Toronto parkette

A granite boulder estimated to be between 1.2 and 1.5 billion years old will have a new home.

According to the Bloor Annex BIA, the 2,000 kg boulder was unearthed at Major and Bloor Streets during the construction of a new BIA parkette on Wednesday.

The BIA said that University of Toronto expert professor Joseph Desloges said “this rock likely travelled here from Georgian Bay lodged in an iceberg between 12-15,000 years ago when Lake Iroquois dominated the landscape. As the iceberg melted the rock fell approximately 150 ft to the lake bed now called the Annex.”

And just a day after being found, the BIA announced the granite boulder will be incorporated into one of the new parkettes, at Howland and Bloor.

Great news! Our granite boulder will be incorporated into one of our new parkettes, at Howland & Bloor (pictured here, pre-boulder). Thank you to our partners @DTAHtoronto and @m_layton for their support. For more info on our parkettes please visit https://t.co/6tcA1LdAeD (1/2) pic.twitter.com/mmAAh2TdBN

— Bloor Annex BIA (@BloorAnnexBIA) July 25, 2019

“The vision for the parkettes are small cottage oases-with granite, wildflowers, wood decking, trees,” said Brian Burchell, BIA chair. “We are excited to incorporate this erractic rock (from errare-to wander) that literally dropped on our doorstep 12k years ago.”

Design firm DTAH says it plans to place the boulder in the “pollinator planting area at Howland Parkette.”

How exciting! We now have the wonderful opportunity to incorporate this boulder into our design of the @BloorAnnexBIA parkettes, and plan to place it in the pollinator planting area at Howland Parkette adjacent to the recently completed the Bee Mural https://t.co/J5JFn1d4Yb

— DTAH (@DTAHtoronto) July 25, 2019