Located in the western basin of Lake Erie - 12 miles north of Sandusky - Kelleys Island is nearly 4.5 square miles. The popular vacation destination attracts visitors with its small size, which makes it easy to bike - or hike- around the island.
But did you know the island is home to the one of the largest examples of glacial grooves in the world? That's the result of a glacier that passed through around 30,000 years ago, slowly carving up the limestone bedrock as it advanced.
Listed on the national register of historical places, the glacial grooves state memorial allows visitors the chance to be up close and personal with science and history at the same time. The grooves on Kelleys Island are 400 feet long, 35 feet wide and 10 feet deep! Due to its size and accessibility, the famous site attracts geologists and science lovers from all over the world. Scientists can determine the direction of the glacier, in addition to the time period just by looking at the form of the limestone.
And that's not all...forty seven different types of fossils, or preserved remains of plants and animals, have been discovered in the grooves, making Kelleys Island a truly fascinating trip for scientists and visitors alike.