Bedrock, as it appeared during the first season of The Flintstones

Bedrock is the fictional prehistoric city that is home to the characters of the television animated series The Flintstones. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... This list is of fictional cities: villages, towns, and cities that do not exist in the world we know. ... Prehistory (Greek words προ = before and ιστορία = history) is the period of human history prior to the advent of writing (which marks the beginning of recorded history). ... An animated series or cartoon series is a television series produced by means of animation. ... The Flintstones is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. ...

Size

Though the first several seasons' opening credits of the original Flintstones series stated the town's population as only 2,500, Bedrock was generally presented as a medium-sized American city, with all the amenities of such, but with a "prehistoric" twist. For instance, dinosaurs were seen being used as cranes at the town's most well-known employer, "Slate Rock and Gravel" (also known as "Rockhead and Quarry Cave Construction Company" in the series' earlier episodes). Orders & Suborders Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Theropoda Ornithischia Thyreophora Ornithopoda Marginocephalia Dinosaurs were vertebrate animals that dominated the terrestrial ecosystem for over 160 million years, first appearing approximately 230 million years ago. ...

Features

The climate of Bedrock was somewhat undetermined, since different Flintstones episodes and media have portrayed it differently. Palm trees and cycads were common yard trees, suggesting a warm climate. However, episodes and movies set at Christmas time depicted plenty of snow. Sometimes the wilderness on Bedrock's outskirts appeared to be desert-like, whereas other times it resembled a tropical/subtropical jungle. Genera Many; see list of Arecaceae genera Arecaceae (also known as Palmae or Palmaceae), the palm family, is a family of flowering plants, belonging to the monocot order Arecales. ... Families Cycadaceae cycas family Stangeriaceae stangeria family Zamiaceae zamia family Cycads are an ancient group of seed plants which are characterized by a large crown of compound leaves and a stout trunk. ...

In terms of educational features, Bedrock apparently had just one high school, Bedrock High School, alma mater of Fred Flintstone, and later his daughter Pebbles. Near Bedrock could also be found "Prinstone University" (a parody of Princeton University). Alma mater is Latin for nourishing mother. It was used in ancient Rome as a title for the mother goddess, and in Medieval Christianity for the Virgin Mary. ... Fred Flintstone. ... Pebbles Flintstone (left) and Bamm-Bamm Rubble, as infants. ... Princeton University is a private coeducational research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States of America. ...

For a town its size, Bedrock has a sizeable concentration of media. Bedrock had at least one radio station (which had the call letters "BDRX") several television stations, and several newspapers. One of the newspapers was The Daily Granite, edited by Lou Granite, that for a time employed Wilma Flintstone and Betty Rubble as reporters. Another was The Daily Slab. Television programs produced in Bedrock included the cooking program The Happy Housewife Show and the teen dance program Shinrock (a parody of 1960s television program Shindig!). Other favorite programs of Bedrock citizens, though not produced there, included such fare as Peek-a-Boo Camera (a parody of Candid Camera) and variety program The Ed Sulleystone Show (a parody of The Ed Sullivan Show). Betty Rubble and Wilma Flintstone. ... Betty Rubble and her friend, Wilma Flintstone. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... Shindig! was the name of a music variety show which was aired every week on the American ABC network from September 16, 1964 to January 8, 1966. ... Candid Camera is a long-running television series, created and produced by Allen Funt, which initially appeared on radio as Candid Microphone in the 1940s, then screened in the United States in the 1950s, with local versions produced around the world. ... The Ed Sullivan Show is an American television variety show that ran from June 20, 1948 to June 6, 1971, and was hosted by former entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. ...

Bedrock at night, as seen in the closing credits of the first several seasons of The Flintstones.

In terms of entertainment, Bedrock featured a drive-in movie theater where films such as The Monster would play, the amphitheater The Bedrock Bowl, and several nightclubs, ranging from middle-class to high-end, exclusive clubs for the city's rich citizens. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Drive-in, a facility such as a bank, restaurant, theatre or even a church where one can literally drive in with an automobile for service. ... The name amphitheatre (alternatively amphitheater) is given to a public building of the Classical period (being particularly associated with ancient Rome) which was used for spectator sports, games and displays. ...

There were plenty of dining options in Bedrock as well, including a drive-in restaurant serving Brontosaurus ribs and numerous fast-food outlets. Binomial name Apatosaurus excelsus (Marsh, 1879) vide Riggs, 1903 Synonyms Brontosaurus excelsus Marsh, 1879c Brontosaurus (pronounced ), meaning thunder lizard (from the Greek brontē/βροντη meaning thunder and sauros/σαυρος meaning lizard), is a deprecated genus of sauropod dinosaurs. ...

Regarding health care, Bedrock had the Rockapedic Hospital, where Pebbles was born. A police department helps protect the residents, as does a volunteer fire department, although the episode in which the volunteer fire department was introduced suggests the uselessness of such a service in a city of stone buildings; instead, its members use it as an excuse to create a social club. However several other episodes feature a more traditional full-time firefighting service.

Other businesses included bowling alleys, pool halls, health clubs, hotels, one catering service (as the owner proclaimed, "we're the only caterer in town!"), an amusement park, football arena, and the Pyrite Advertising Agency, where Pebbles worked as an adult. Bedrock Airport was served by Pterodactyl Airlines. In one of the earliest episodes (in which Fred switches places with his double, J. P. Gotrox), Bedrock is introduced by a narrator as having, "a butcher, a baker and a pizza pie maker".

Not much is known of the layout of Bedrock, but it does include Cobblestone Way, the street the Flintstones and the Rubbles live (though the original series also listed it as Cobblestone Lane and as Stonecave Road). The town is shown consistently to include areas of suburban development, as well as a well-developed downtown core, complete with multi-storey skyscrapers. The city is also served by a freeway system that is shown in numerous episodes to be subject to gridlock, despite Bedrock's modest stated population. Illustration of the backyards of a surburban neighbourhood Suburbs are inhabited districts located either on the outer rim of a city or outside the official limits of a city (the term varies from country to country), or the outer elements of a conurbation. ... For specific systems, such as the Autobahns of Germany, see list of highway systems with full control of access and no cross traffic. ... Gridlock is a term describing an inability to move on a transport network. ...

The people of Bedrock tended to be fairly friendly, if not without having various quirks. The denizens of Bedrock had a strong sense of civic spirit, and tended to participate in various charities, parades, and so forth. The city is home to a number of service organizations, the best known of which (in the context of the Flintstones television series) was the Loyal Order of Water Buffalos, which counted among its membership Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble.

Location

Bedrock was located in fictional Cobblestone County, and stated in the first season episode "The Tycoon" to be 200 feet below sea level; presumably, the nearby town of Red Rock was located in Cobblestone County as well. However, no further information was ever given for any of these locations, besides being set in a prehistoric version of the United States.

Bedrock was in one episode shown as being a two day drive from "Rock Vegas" (a parody of Las Vegas, Nevada) and, in another episode, several hours' drive from "Indiarockolis" (a parody of Indianapolis, Indiana). In another episode, traveling to "New Rock City" (a parody of New York City) to make it to the 'big time'. Travel to "Hollyrock," a parody of Hollywood, California, usually involved an "airplane" flight --- the "plane" in this case often shown as either a giant pterodactyl or a wooden plane with smaller pterodactyls on each wing as the "engines". Another episode had the Flintstones and Rubbles visiting the Grand Canyon – being several million years in prehistoric times, the canyon was little more than a small stream. For further information, see Las Vegas metropolitan area and Las Vegas Strip. ... The Indianapolis skyline Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana. ... Official language(s) English Capital Indianapolis Largest city Indianapolis Area  Ranked 38th  - Total 36,418 sq mi (94,321 km²)  - Width 140 miles (225 km)  - Length 270 miles (435 km)  - % water 1. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Evening light falls on view of Bright Angel Point (to left) just West of the Grand Canyon Lodge on North Rim The Grand Canyon is a very colorful, steep-sided gorge, carved by the Colorado River in the U.S. state of Arizona. ...

Tourist attractions

Several small tourist attractions and/or camper parks have been built in honor of Bedrock. The most famous and oldest is Bedrock City in Custer, South Dakota which opened in 1966 and is still around. There is also a Bedrock City in Valle, Arizona which opened in 1972. Two Canadian Bedrock Cities, both in British Columbia, were closed and/or demolished in the late 1990s. One in Kelowna, British Columbia was closed in 1998, demolished and changed into the Landmark Grand 10 multiplex theatre & a strip mall. The second one located in Chilliwack, British Columbia was closed in 1994 and was changed into a dinosaur theme park called "Dinotown" . Bedrock City is a campground and 30 acre theme park in Custer, South Dakota in the Black Hills which features buildings and characters inspired by The Flinstones television series. ... Custer is a city located in Custer County, South Dakota. ... Valle lies at , , at the junction of US Highway 180 and Arizona Highway 64, in Coconino County, Arizona. ... Kelowna (2006 population 106,707, metropolitan area 162,276) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada. ... Landmark Cinemas is a film exhibition chain in Western Canada that has 39 theatres. ... Chilliwack is a Canadian city in the Province of British Columbia. ...

The reason for the closure of the two Canadian theme parks was due to licensing. "Throughout the 80s and 90s the licensing for any intellectual properties of Hanna-Barbera changed hands numerous times before they ended up in the possession of Time Warner" [1]. Cartoon Network Studios, formerly known as Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ...

References

• "Dino-mite theme park" by Robyn Chambers, The Chilliwack Times, July 27, 2005, retrieved September 5, 2006
• Tropiano, Stephen (2000). TV Towns. New York, NY: TV Books L.L.C.. ISBN 1-57500-127-6. 

External links

• Information on the Bedrock Theme Parks
• - Bedrock City, Custer, South Dakota
• Webrock - The Flintstones and Hanna Barbera Page
• Dinoland Chilliwack Official Site