Piedra Movediza, Granite balancing rock in Tandil, Argentina.
Piedra Movediza was a large granite mass that balanced on a hill edge in Tandil and moved each day. A newly installed replica now stands in the same spot while fragments of the original stone rest in the valley below.
The original rock fell on February 29, 1912, and broke into several pieces. A lightning strike in 1848 may have weakened its stability until motion eventually brought it down.
The name appears on storefronts and business signs throughout town even now. Visitors notice these reminders of the original stone while walking through streets and up the hill.
Climbing the granite steps to the summit takes about 30 minutes at a moderate pace. The replica is always visible while the broken pieces below the hill are often hard to make out.
Visitors used to place glass bottles beneath the swaying mass and watch the motion crush them. This practice demonstrated the daily mechanical force of the stone before it fell.
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