This five hundred foot high pink dome which stands silently in Llanos Uplift, approximately fifteen miles from Fredericksburg has its own story to tell. The enchanted rock state natural area today spread over an area of 1643.5 acres of area over Big Sandy Creek.

This huge pink granite piece is nothing but the magma which   cooled at depth about one billion years ago and got exposed to the surface due to erosion and exfoliation.

The pink dome was acquired in 1978 by the Nature Conservancy of Texas, by warranty deed, from the Moss family in order to protect the area from development. It was later taken up by the State of Texas in 1979, which added the facilities there and reopened it for the visitors in March 1984 for different activities such as tracking, hiking, rock climbing and the likes.

Enchanted Rock is famous among the archeologists and geologists. The rock not only has a geological history but also appear in the many Indian legends.  Some legends ascribe magical powers to this rock while others tell you that the rock is inhabited by the ghosts.

There are several interesting legends which the folklore and the natives of this place have in store. The name enchanted rock is derived from these very interesting legends. The natives of this place to hide form the Anglo invaders settled around the two tiers of the rocks. The Anglo invaders were unable to track them from the ground and the natives believed that the rocks due to its magical and spiritual powers made them invisible.

The area was also inhabited by the Tonkawa in sixteenth century who believed that the ghost fires flickered at the top of the dome. They believed that the rock is inhabited by the ghosts who gave unexplained creaking and groaning sounds at night and hence the name Enchanted rock. The word in fact derives from the Spanish text which means crying rock.

This one billion year old pink dome is visited by humans since 11,000 years. The first exploration of this area began after 1973 when the Spanish invaded the area and intensified their effort to colonize Texas.

Today it is a most famous place among the visitors who enjoy tracking, camping, hiking and stargazing.

Tags: features of park, hill country park, history of enchanted rock state natural area