Information about Geology Of Connecticut
As part of New England, Connecticut has undergone much geologic change shaped by plate tectonics, volcanism, and glacial activity.
Appalachian Mountains
During the early Triassic, the super-continent Pangea was formed as the Iapetus Ocean closed up and the proto-North American continent collided with Avalonia, part of modern-day Africa. This caused great uplift and the creation of the Appalachian Mountains, which, at the time, were bigger than modern-day Himalayas. Erosion of the Appalachian Mountains now exposes metamorphic rocks once very deep in the Earth’s mantle and uplifted during this time period.Eastern Border Fault
About 200 million years after this collision and the formation of Pangea, during the middle of the Mesozoic Era, the Atlantic Ocean floor started spreading and great extensional forces were experienced, resulting in faulting. Connecticut’s famous Eastern Border Fault was created, a fault which begins in New Haven, CT and stretches 130 miles up to Keene, NH. As a result, the land west of this fault was downset, causing a rift valley and the land to tilt an average of 15 to 25 degrees. The fault is currently inactive. The formation of this basin eventually refilled with soft fluvial and alluvial sediments.Ice Age
During Ice Ages, glacial activity shaped much of New England’s landscape, eroding mountains, leaving glacial till scattered everywhere, and forming glacial lakes. At its greatest extent, one of these glaciers leaves behind a moraine which becomes today's Long Island. One of the biggest glacial lakes of the time was Glacial Lake Hitchcock. It formed when the Laurentide ice sheet retreated and glacial meltwater began to accumulate at the glacier’s terminal moraine in Rocky Hill, Connecticut and back up into the Connecticut River. The glacial lake left behind a soft, varved landscape, gathering silt and sand in the summertime due to the influx of glacial meltwater and clay in the wintertime as the lake froze until it was later drained.River Valley
This soft surface has since been downcut, resedimented and oft flooded by the Connecticut River, making it a very soft, nutrient-replenished area and host to the majority of Connecticut’s farmland soils. The land on either side of the Connecticut River Valley is less suitable for farmlands. The eastern section holds the shallow Proto-North American Terrane while the western section contains the Iapetos and Avalonian Terranes, which still holds remnants of glacial till and lack the soft fluvial sediments so prominent in the Connecticut River Valley region.External links
New England
Political history
Chartering as Plymouth Council for New England 1620
Formation as United Colonies of New England 1643
Formation as Dominion of New England 1686
Admission to U.S.
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Political history
Chartering as Plymouth Council for New England 1620
Formation as United Colonies of New England 1643
Formation as Dominion of New England 1686
Admission to U.S.
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State of Connecticut
Flag of Connecticut Seal of Connecticut
Nickname(s): The Constitution State, The Nutmeg State[]
Motto(s): Qui transtulit sustinet[0]
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Flag of Connecticut Seal of Connecticut
Nickname(s): The Constitution State, The Nutmeg State[]
Motto(s): Qui transtulit sustinet[0]
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Plate tectonics (from Greek τέκτων, tektōn "builder" or "mason") is a theory of geology that has been developed to explain the observed evidence for large scale motions of the Earth's lithosphere.
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Volcano:
1. Large magma chamber
2. Bedrock
3. Conduit (pipe)
4. Base
5. Sill
6. Branch pipe
7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano
8. Flank 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano
10. Throat
11. Parasitic cone
12. Lava flow
13. Vent
14.
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1. Large magma chamber
2. Bedrock
3. Conduit (pipe)
4. Base
5. Sill
6. Branch pipe
7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano
8. Flank 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano
10. Throat
11. Parasitic cone
12. Lava flow
13. Vent
14.
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glacier is a large, slow moving river of ice, formed from compacted layers of snow, that slowly deforms and flows in response to gravity. Glacier ice is the largest reservoir of fresh water on Earth, and second only to oceans as the largest reservoir of total water.
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The Triassic is a geologic period that extends from about 251 to 199 Ma (million years ago). As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events.
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Pangaea or Pangæa (IPA: /pænˈdʒiːə/[1], from παν, pan, meaning entire, and γαια, gaia, meaning Earth
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The Iapetus Ocean was an ocean that existed in the Southern Hemisphere between Laurentia (Scotland and North America) and Baltica (Scandinavia) between 400 and 600 million years ago.
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Avalonia was an ancient microcontinent or terrane whose history formed much of the older rocks of Western Europe, Atlantic Canada, and parts of the coastal United States. The name is derived from the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland.
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Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30,221,532 km² (11,668,545 sq mi) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area, and 20.4% of the total land area.
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The Appalachian Mountains
Countries | United States,Canada
Regions |
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Appalachians in North Carolina
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Regions |
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Himalayas (also Himalaya, Hindi: हिमालय, IPA pronunciation: [hɪ'mɑlijə], [ˌhɪmə'leɪjə]
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The Appalachian Mountains
Countries | United States,Canada
Regions |
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Appalachians in North Carolina
Countries | United States,Canada
Regions |
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Metamorphic rock is the result of the transformation of a pre-existing rock type, the protolith, in a process called metamorphism, which means "change in form". The protolith is subjected to heat (greater than 150 degrees Celsius) and extreme pressure causing profound
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mantle is a ~2,900 km thick rocky shell comprising approximately 70% of Earth's volume. It is predominantly solid and overlies the Earth's iron-rich core, which occupies about 30% of Earth's volume.
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Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres (41.1 million square miles), it covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface.
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fault or fault line is a planar rock fracture, which shows evidence of relative movement. Large faults within the Earth's crust are the result of shear motion and active fault zones are the causal locations of most earthquakes.
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New Haven, Connecticut
Flag
Seal
Nickname: The Elm City
Location in Connecticut
Coordinates:
NECTA New Haven
Region
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Flag
Seal
Nickname: The Elm City
Location in Connecticut
Coordinates:
NECTA New Haven
Region
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City of Keene
Seal
Nickname: Elm City
Location in Cheshire County, New Hampshire
Coordinates:
Country United States
State
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Seal
Nickname: Elm City
Location in Cheshire County, New Hampshire
Coordinates:
Country United States
State
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rift valley in geology is a valley created by the formation of a rift. The Great Rift Valley, located in the Middle East and Africa, is the most famous of the world's rift valleys. Rift valleys are produced by tensional tectonic forces which occur at divergent plate boundaries.
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ice age is a period of long-term reduction in the temperature of Earth's climate, resulting in an expansion of the continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and mountain glaciers.
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glacier is a large, slow moving river of ice, formed from compacted layers of snow, that slowly deforms and flows in response to gravity. Glacier ice is the largest reservoir of fresh water on Earth, and second only to oceans as the largest reservoir of total water.
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New England
Political history
Chartering as Plymouth Council for New England 1620
Formation as United Colonies of New England 1643
Formation as Dominion of New England 1686
Admission to U.S.
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Political history
Chartering as Plymouth Council for New England 1620
Formation as United Colonies of New England 1643
Formation as Dominion of New England 1686
Admission to U.S.
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Till is an unsorted glacial sediment. Glacial drift is a general term for the coarsely graded and extremely heterogeneous sediments of glacial origin. Glacial till is that part of glacial drift which was deposited directly by the glacier.
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Moraine refers to any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past ice age.
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Long Island is an island in southeast New York, USA. It has an area of 3,567 square miles (10,377 km²) and a population of 7,448,618 as of the 2000 census, with the population estimated at 7,559,372 as of July 1, 2006, making it the largest island in the 48 contiguous U.S.
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Lake Hitchcock was a glacial lake that formed approximately 15,000 years ago in the late Pleistocene epoch. After the Laurentide ice sheet retreated, glacial ice melt accumulated at the terminal moraine and blocked up the Connecticut River, creating the long, narrow lake.
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Moraine refers to any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past ice age.
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Rocky Hill, Connecticut
Location in Hartford County, Connecticut
Coordinates:
NECTA Hartford
Region Capitol Region
Incorporated 1843
Government
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Location in Hartford County, Connecticut
Coordinates:
NECTA Hartford
Region Capitol Region
Incorporated 1843
Government
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