Plymouth Rock
November 23, 2000
Provided by: BBC News
Summary authors & editors: Jim Foster
Though it's no Rock of Gibraltar, Plymouth Rock is perhaps the most famous hunk of rock in America. It's located close to Plymouth Harbor on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, but it has been moved more than once. During the Revolutionary War it was dragged to the town square in order to inspire American patriotism. Basically, Plymouth Rock is a lump of glacial moraine, about the size of a coffee table, with about 1/3 of it above the sandy surface. The date "1620" was carved into it, not by the Pilgrims, but rather by Plymouth's citizens, near the end of the 19th century. While it's unlikely that Plymouth Rock was the first solid ground the Pilgrims actually stepped on after their arduous voyage from England, it serves as an historical marker to commemorate the establishment of the Plymouth settlement in 1620 and is considered to be a stepping-stone to independence and religious tolerance. Hope you have a nice Thanksgiving!
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