DID YOU KNOW? The State of Illinois Now Has an Official Rock

I'm not a rock expert or collector but my 6-year-old daughter has a little collection from the backyard and one looks like Illinois' official state rock.

I'm sure that someone is going to call me out on this one but I just saw that announcement from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker. His announcement was actually a designation that named an official state rock for Illinois.

I honestly didn't know an official rock was something that states do. I did find out that not every state has an official rock but now Illinois does and we have some young students to thank for this designation.

CentralIllinoisProud.com shared the details of House Bill 4261 that would not have happened if not for the work of the students at Pleasantdale Middle School in Burr Ridge and Maplebrook Elementary School in Naperville. They created a ballot for students across the state to vote for a winner.

The Official Rock of Illinois is the Dolostone

Part of me thought that for sure when I heard what rock it was that I would have at least heard of it, but that was not the case.

What is a Dolostone?

Here's the answer:

Dolostone is a form of Limestone that forms the majority of the state’s bedrock, which establishes the foundation for the state’s other natural terrain.

During part of his designation, Governor Pritzker said,

They could not have picked a better rock to represent the strength and stability of Illinois.”

 

Pardon me while I put aside this state rock, and grab a hot bag of the official state snack of Illinois.