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"If I were giving a tour for aliens from another planet that came to Austin and I could make three stops in Austin, I would show him Mount Bonnell, I would show him Barton Springs and I would show him Pilot Knob."
That's what geologist Chock Woodruff has to say about hidden gem Pilot Knob.
Pilot Knob is an extinct volcano in southeast Austin. It's located near Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and McKinney Falls State Park, according to KXAN. While at first glance it might look like a stretch of hills, it was once an active body of magma. It was active in its prime about 144 million to 66 million years ago in the Cretaceous Period, which ended with the extinction of dinosaurs.
At that time, what we know as Austin now would have been underwater. Pilot Knob mirrored a tropical island, rising above sea level surrounded by a reef.
Woodruff teaches an engineering geology course every summer at the University of Texas at Austin where he takes his students to visit the historic site. "It allows them to visualize this ancient geologic feature that you don’t just have everywhere. I’m proud of it. I think it’s great," he said.