Mystical Horizons
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Mystical Horizons is an astronomical-themed site located near Carbury, North Dakota on North Dakota Highway 43 near the North Dakota and Manitoba border. The attraction contains a working solar calendar built from granite pillars, intended to represent a 21st-century Stonehenge, and other instruments intended to explain astronomical phenomena and principles.
A plaque at the site reads "dedicated to Jack Olson's vision of a Century 21 Stonehenge". The concept was the vision of Jack Olson, an aerospace engineer and designer.[1] Though Olson died of cancer in 2001 before construction began, the community raised funds to make his dream a reality, along with partnerships including the North Dakota Forest Service, North Dakota Department of Transportation, and the city of Bottineau.[1] Mystical Horizons opened on October 21, 2005.[2]
Mystical Horizons includes multiple components designed to connect visitors with the cosmos:[3]
- six walls with slots that act as a solar calendar, with direct sunlight passing through the slots only on the winter and summer solstices and the vernal and autumnal equinoxes,[1]
- a sighting tube in fixed position demonstrating the location of Polaris,[4] and
- a human-sized sundial.[5]
Each instrument is accompanied by information about how to use the devices and explanations of the scientific principles demonstrated.
A panoramic view of the Turtle Mountains, as well as the surrounding valley, is available from the site.[4]
