For a long time, people have been fascinated by a large rock sitting on top of a smaller rock in Kummakivi, Ruokolahti, Finland. This unique rock formation is called Kummakivi Balancing Rock. In 2022, it gained more attention when pictures of it were shared on Reddit. Some posts in February 2023 claimed that the rock weighs an incredible 500,000 kg (1.1 million pounds) and has been balanced like this for an amazing 11,000 years.
However, science explains that such formations, known as “precariously balanced rocks” (PBRs), have more down-to-earth origins. They can form when harder rocks stay behind as softer rocks erode, or when landslides or retreating glaciers move them to unusual positions.
The Kummakivi rock is estimated to be between 8,000 and 12,000 years old. The Saimaa Geopark in Finland, which is recognized by UNICEF as a Global Geopark, says it’s approximately 11,500 years old and about 7 meters (around 23 feet) long.
