Stairway on an Island?

I don't know if this is the place to post but it seems fitting but if it's not please move the appropriate place Mods and thank you.


These stairs we found on my duck hunting trip yesterday and we came upon these stairs, my father in law says its natural but to me the lines are far to straight and looks to man made to be natural. It looks like it was cut into the granite but I don't know how and when, maybe with a lot of heat but it had to be done after the last ice age and after lake agassiz receded and became lake Manitoba and lake Winnipeg or before the last ice age. This picture was taken in the Northern part of lake Winnipeg in one of the lakes near my home of the Nelson River.

I want all of you to look at the pictures and I ain't no archeologist and I know some of you have it in your blood and very well schooled on the subject, I just want your thoughts and ideas on if it's natural or man made.

Looks like someone had a dock there.

It must have been built at least 50 years ago. Cool pics.

I would say man-made. Did you list the location of this? I would say someone carved it.

It's always possible, I suppose, that's it's a natural formation, but I'll lean towards created.

we have tons of those around the tahoe area where I live. I would imagine a busy body miner or something of the likes had a nice cabin there and would use the steps as safer river/lake/water access.

reply to post by WarriorOfLight96


It certainly does not look like a natural formation. Very cool picture! I would imagine with some detective work you could likely dig up some more information on that. I would be really surprised if no one has noticed those before and not written about them. Cool find!!

One clue might be in the average height of the risers of the stairs. Do you know how high each step is? i should add that the depth of the treads is important also. A person doing all that work cutting rock would tend to build them to fit a human foot.

Having stairs with sidewalls appear due to the forces of nature is one thing, but to have nature cut them to fit the human body's size is quite more of a coincidence!

Thank you all for your quick responses and I find it strange for it to be in the middle of nowhere but than again we humans are a crazy bunch.

Maybe some sort of hermit lived there, there isn't anything else than stairs? Not any foundations nearby?

i think man made too, they're too regular for a natural formation imo, great find!

reply to post by blu3nowh3r3


No signs of a cabin or miners and they would have nothing to mine on that island its far to small but i will take some more pictures of the never ending forests surrounding the lake and the island.

Funny how if it is not maintained many things we build will quickly return to nature. Dirt builds up from not being swept, soon plants grow and root into the cracks in the rock splitting it further. Making something that built maybe 50-100 years ago look ancient.

reply to post by Thebel


Maybe it was done by one of my ancestors a long tome ago and I do have some more pictures of rock paintings but it's nowhere near this location on a different lake all together and you have to drive their to get to that lake.

reply to post by WarriorOfLight96


Looks like man made, although step formations do also occur naturally (depending upon the rock type).

However, given its location (Lake Manitoba) is it possible it was an early staging post / shelter / store for the early Fur and Trapping companies that the British and French established in Canada? If you read any of the early accounts, much travelling was done by boat and canoe so an island location would fit in.......

Or, if im honest, that could also be waaaay off the mark.

Originally posted by WarriorOfLight96
reply to post by Thebel

 

Maybe it was done by one of my ancestors a long tome ago and I do have some more pictures of rock paintings but it's nowhere near this location on a different lake all together and you have to drive their to get to that lake.

edit on 11-9-2012 by WarriorOfLight96 because: (no reason given)

Well, those look that they are max 500 years old, but at least 50 years old. They would be hard to recognize if they were older.

reply to post by Flavian


Yes I was thinking that as well and it's awesome to find stuff like this and thanks for the response my friend.

reply to post by Thebel


Cool thank you friend and I new I would find some answers here, thanks a lot friend.

I'm gonna put a cabin their .

reply to post by WarriorOfLight96


No problems at all. This was a very interesting spot by you, so thanks in return. Any signs of anything else nearby? Possibly not on the island itself but maybe on nearby shorelines? I do not really know but i am guessing that the type of structures that the traders and trappers were building do not really last that well in the harsh Canadian winters? Meaning any remains would be very difficult to find.....

reply to post by Flavian


I will do some more looking around this weekend but I would say it could be at least a hundred years or so, when york boats used to come by here and on their way to Churchill.

This episode 4 in the tv series called Quest For The Bay they had on tv awhile back and i remember they came by our town on their way through to Churchill. If your interested in watching its on youtube just search for Quest For The Bay.