Culture is shaped by geology and climate, and few regions have more interesting climatic and geological history than the Connecticut River Valley. What made this river a center of agriculture, industry and science dates back 15,000 years to the formation of Glacial Lake Hitchcock . Lake Hitchcock formed following the retreat of the last ice age, which had covered what is now New England with ice thousands of feet thick. Alter, "Geology of Connecticut - Glacial History" It stretched from Rocky Hill, Connecticut north some 200 miles into Vermont/New Hampshire and was 20 miles wide at points until it drained some 12,000 years ago.
This lake laid down thick sediments that not only preserved the history of dinosaurs and mastadons and the "armored mud balls" found nowhere else, but also formed the foundation for a rich agricultural and industrial future. Little, Geological History of the Connecticut River Valley
This weblog is about the cultures that grew in this well-watered valley.
DougSimpson.com/river
Posted by dougsimpson at June 11, 2003 05:13 AM | TrackBack