The Fort Ransom Writing Rock is a pit and groove or cup marked boulder located on private land in Fort Ransom, North Dakota. Fort Ransom, North Dakota is located in the Sheyenne River valley in southeastern North Dakota and is an area rich with historic and prehistoric archaeological sites including other carved rocks, Native American burial mounds, and the ruins of a 19th century military fort. Fort Ransom is 332 miles Northwest from Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Pitted boulders appear in Saskatchewan, South Dakota, Iowa and in other states.
Cup marks appear all over the world. This boulder has special properties involving amphitheater acoustics, location near a natural spring, possible use in fertility, mourning, rainmaking and vision quest rituals, and has a possible astronomical alignment of four pinkish grooves, each about five and one half feet long. The Writing Rock is located in a fenced former pasture in the Fort Ransom area. The boulder is a white color and stands out from the surrounding grass. Access is by permission of the landowners who are protective of this locally well known landmark.