"Staples rock" in Orleans, Massachusetts is the new summer attraction on Cape Cod. "A must see!"
There's an unusual new attraction on Cape Cod this summer. It's the "Staples rock," a boulder in the parking lot of the Staples store on Route 6A in Orleans, Massachusetts.
The rock has gone viral and has become so popular it now has a on Google Maps.
Here are some of the reviews on Google:
"I get misty every time I visit. A must see!"
"Came for the printer ink, stayed for the monolithic geologic specimen in the parking lot."
The Staples rock story
So how did the big rock get there?
"I think we should bring an archeologist here to find out the true history of the Staples Rock," said visitor Anne Marie Leone.
Coincidentally, geologist Katie Castagno was visiting at the same time.
"It felt like it was under the cover of nightfall. All of a sudden, there's this huge rock in the parking lot," said Castagno.
"This rock was deposited by glaciers about 15,000 to 20,000 years ago," she said. When that ice sheet melted, she said it dropped boulders like this.
"The actual source of the rock is a little bit harder to tell. It will really depend on where the glaciers picked up the rock," Castagno said.
The property manager finally helped solve the mystery. She said it was unearthed during sewer work in the parking lot. Then, last year, a driver crashed a car through the wall of the Staples. No one was hurt. But, as a joke, someone suggested the rock stay in the parking lot to protect the building. And the rest is history.
"Better than the Plymouth Rock for sure," said visitor Anna Bassett.
