What are the Montana Megaliths?
By Jon Anderson
It’s 3pm and the wind is picking up on a late October afternoon. It’s the kind of strong gust that lets you know that winter is not far away—and that’s it’s best to dress appropriately. My friends and I had made the 4-hour trek from Coeur d’Alene and arrived at a dirt pullout just at the base of a short trail. The terrain of North Montana is dotted with Lodgepole and Ponderosa pines mixed with an copious amount of boulders and rock formations. Framed below Montana’s Big Sky, it makes for one of the most stunning backdrops in America. As we walked up the trail past an indistinct grouping trees, we reach a clearing that gave way to a series of unusual rock formations.
“Woah!” was about all I could muster. The nickname I had heard, Playground of the Giants, immediately made sense.
To our right were some massive boulders that simply looked out of place and to the left a huge circular stone balanced on a stack of rocks that seemed to defy logic. Little did we know that these two initial formations were just the beginning of a series of strange features in this mysterious place an hour North of Missoula.
A good place to start with when it comes to locations where rocks are involved is in the fundamentals of geology. It can be all too tempting to make assumptions about strange places, so why not start with some science. A “dolmen” is a type of megalith structure consisting of a large, flat stones laid horizontally on top of up upright stones. They are generally considered to have served as tomb or burial chambers, often dating back to the Neolithic period (around 4,000 – 3,000 BCE) and are found primarily in Europe, Asia, and Africa. One of the most recognizable dolmens is the Polnabrone Dolmen in Ireland’s high Burren Plateau. Yet, here were were. Standing in a obscure forest trying to stay warm in… Montana.
Playground of the Giants, Formation #2
There is also a running theory that these rocks were simply positioned by retreating glaciers and there’s no way humans could have handled the weight of these massive stones. The rocks are simply too big to have been moved by people. If you believe that theory, I’ve got a pyramid to sell you.
Photo by @INCREDHISTORY
Local researchers have done the hard work of locating these sites, but are cautious about broadcasting all of their locations in order to ensure their preservation. One such researcher is Julie Ryder, who has done extensive work to catalog the variety of formations, and provided a detailed naming convention used in this article. Dive deeper into the rabbit hole at her terrific website: https://www.montanamegaliths.com/
Although our visit to the site was of the weekend warrior variety, we bounced around some very intriguing spots both geologically and energetically speaking. Here’s a collection of what we explored and observed during our short visit:
Formation #1 - Evergreen Dolmen
Perched 20 feet above lays a huge flat rock.
Observations:
Massive flat rock on top of dolmen.
The stacking order of the elongated boulders would have to been done before the flat rock was put into position.
Potential tool marks including: what appears to be cut marks and chisel marks on the back of flat surfaces.
What look like cut marks leave edges of the rock that are sharp to the touch.
As with all the other locations, this site also included a flat rock at the front of the structure. Almost like a sign post.
Formation #2
Perfectly balanced flat rocks.
Observations:
Two flat rocks rely on the balance on each other creating a perfectly stabilized dolmen.
The smaller of the two flat rocks has minimal contact with the vertical rocks below.
As with all the other locations, this site also included a flat rock at the front of the structure. Almost like a sign post.
Formation #3 - Giant’s Playground
Stacked rocks
Observations include:
Grouping of elongated boulders stacked on each other.
Each vertical boulder in of similar size (length, height, and width).
Lower boulders show signs of rounded edges that do not align with typical erosion patterns.
Boulder to the right (West) proves that each boulder is an individual rock as opposed to one large bolder that eroded.
Light colored rocks are out of place and show signs of cut marks.
As with all the other locations, this site also included a flat rock at the front of the structure. Almost like a sign post.
Unusual Energy
Heart-shaped rock atop the stacked rocks.
As if the dolmens and stacked rocks weren’t peculiar enough, at the top of the stacked rocks was a place that was giving off an unusual vibrational energy. It just felt strange. Given that I was traveling with some very capable and talented healers, we didn’t hesitate to start tapping into the energy that was there. Earlier, my friend took a photo at the top of the stacks and this was the result…
Look closely at this photo by Michael H.
Now I have many theories about this image that I won’t dive into on this post (but feel free to leave your comments below), but I can say with certainty that I have been involved in the photography business for 25+ years and never seen anything like this. Without a doubt there was a strong energy in that location.
Additionally, we ventured to what clearly looked like a ceremonial area with several modest sized boulders placed in a circle. As each of us walked through the center of the circle we felt a pushing sensation toward the ground. Then, when stepping a few feet away from the center of the circle we each felt a lifting sensation as if standing on the edge of a toroidal. We spent a delightful hour just enjoying the energy in this fascinating space.
There were other experiences that I’ll save for another time, but like all mysteries, this one is worth coming back to.
Rocks formations including the Sage Wall
Jon Anderson
Local Healers founder, Jon Anderson, is a seeker, spiritual healer, creator, connector, and purveyor of all things positive. His 25+ year career as a designer and creative director as led him around the world and he currently calls Coeur d’Alene, Idaho home.
