Miller Esker

An esker is a long, narrow ridge of sand and gravel which was once the bed of a stream flowing under or in the ice of a glacier, and left behind when the ice melted.

Pictured is Miller Esker Natural Area near Moraine State Park. Measuring 3.0 miles long, 360 feet wide, and 40 feet high, Miller Esker is the largest and best remaining example of this type of glacial deposit in western Pennsylvania. An esker is a collection of gravel and other sediments deposited durring the melting process of a glacier. These formations are often in a serpentine configuration, marking the first meltwater channels between the glacier and the ground. Although much of the esker has eroded or been mined for its sand and gravel, the 700-foot section owned by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy as Miller Esker Natural Area is entirely preserved. Because a portion of the natural area is mowed annually, the esker's form is visible as an open, mounded field. The eastern section of the natural area is forested.

Visit this undisturbed example of a glacial formation and imagine the harsh conditions in this region during the ice age responsible for its creation. Visitors to the esker's top are permitted, but to reach the esker one must cross agricultural fields and crops growing there should not be trampled. If you visit, please walk along the edges of the field.

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