Rock Dunder
Encyclopedia
A tiny rock island extending just above the waters of Lake Champlain
roughly 2.8 miles (4.5 km) due SW from the Burlington
, Vermont
ferry dock. The water level averages 95.5' ASL, and the rock protrudes only a few feet above that. The island becomes somewhat larger at low water.
Dunder and much larger nearby Juniper Island
(visible in the background of the picture) are remnants of a large belt of Utica slate which once filled Lake Champlain from Shelburne
to South Hero, part of a belt extending northward from the Hudson River
. The base of the rock is strewn with large boulders of Winooski limestone and Laurentian gneiss.
According to Abenaki legend, Oodzee-hozo ("he who created himself") lived before the invention of legs. As he dragged his body around, he created mountains, valleys and rivers, as well as Lake Champlain, which is holy to the Abenaki. Oodzee-hozo turned himself into this rock in the lake, and there his spirit lives.
An 1896 newspaper article says the Huron and Iroquois
would meet here at what they called Wujahose to make their treaties. While there is similarity between this name and the Abenakis', the question arises as to whether the Iroquois and Huron knew of or cared about the Abenaki legend and whether they would have been meeting here if they believed it was the embodiment of such a powerful spirit.
No documentation of the modern name has ever turned up. It is thus assumed that someone way back when called it a dunder (stupid) rock, most likely referring to its danger to navigation on the lake.
Local legend holds that, one night, during the Battle of Lake Champlain (aka the Battle of Plattsburgh) during the Revolutionary War, British ships mistook the island for an American vessel. The ships wasted time, ammunition, and manpower firing on the island all night long. When the morning light revealed it was an island, a Hessian officer declared, "It's a rock, by dunder!" ("By dunder" being a variation of the curse "by thunder.")
Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain is a natural, freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of the United States but partially situated across the Canada—United States border in the Canadian province of Quebec.The New York portion of the Champlain Valley includes the eastern portions of...
roughly 2.8 miles (4.5 km) due SW from the Burlington
Burlington, Vermont
Burlington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the shire town of Chittenden County. Burlington lies south of the U.S.-Canadian border and some south of Montreal....
, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
ferry dock. The water level averages 95.5' ASL, and the rock protrudes only a few feet above that. The island becomes somewhat larger at low water.
Dunder and much larger nearby Juniper Island
Juniper Island (Lake Champlain)
Juniper Island is a island in Lake Champlain, approximately southwest of Burlington, Vermont's King Street Ferry Dock. The island is home to the Juniper Island Lighthouse...
(visible in the background of the picture) are remnants of a large belt of Utica slate which once filled Lake Champlain from Shelburne
Shelburne
-Places:In Canada:* Shelburne, Nova Scotia* Shelburne, Nova Scotia * Shelburne County, Nova Scotia* Shelburne, Ontario* Shelburne * Shelburne In the United States:...
to South Hero, part of a belt extending northward from the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
. The base of the rock is strewn with large boulders of Winooski limestone and Laurentian gneiss.
According to Abenaki legend, Oodzee-hozo ("he who created himself") lived before the invention of legs. As he dragged his body around, he created mountains, valleys and rivers, as well as Lake Champlain, which is holy to the Abenaki. Oodzee-hozo turned himself into this rock in the lake, and there his spirit lives.
An 1896 newspaper article says the Huron and Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
would meet here at what they called Wujahose to make their treaties. While there is similarity between this name and the Abenakis', the question arises as to whether the Iroquois and Huron knew of or cared about the Abenaki legend and whether they would have been meeting here if they believed it was the embodiment of such a powerful spirit.
No documentation of the modern name has ever turned up. It is thus assumed that someone way back when called it a dunder (stupid) rock, most likely referring to its danger to navigation on the lake.
Local legend holds that, one night, during the Battle of Lake Champlain (aka the Battle of Plattsburgh) during the Revolutionary War, British ships mistook the island for an American vessel. The ships wasted time, ammunition, and manpower firing on the island all night long. When the morning light revealed it was an island, a Hessian officer declared, "It's a rock, by dunder!" ("By dunder" being a variation of the curse "by thunder.")