America's Volcanic Past -
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| "Though few people in the United States may actually experience an erupting volcano, the evidence for earlier volcanism is preserved in many rocks of North America. Features seen in volcanic rocks only hours old are also present in ancient volcanic rocks, both at the surface and buried beneath younger deposits." -- Excerpt from: Brantley, 1994 |
Volcanic Highlights and Features:
[This list is just a sample of
various Vermont volcanic features or events and is by no means inclusive.]
Vermont has a number of rock and mineral based industries that are important
both historically and economically. Vermont has three State
Rocks - granite, marble and slate.
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The Appalachians:3
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Vermont's Precambrian:1
Vermont's Cambrian Rocks:1
Vermont's Ordovician Rocks:1
Vermont's Silurian-Devonian Rocks:1
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| Vermont's Volcanic Rocks |
Vermont State Rocks:1
Vermont is host to a great variety of rock types which are
valued as dimension stone (stone used in the construction of
buildings and structures, as well as for sculptural media).
Vermont's State Rocks,
granite, marble and slate, are known
for quality the world over.
Vermont's Igneous Rocks:1
Granite, syenite, basalt,
dunite, peridotite, and serpentinite.
Granite and serpentinite being
predominant or important.
Vermont's Granite:1
Granite, an igneous rock,
occurs as small to large plutons in eastern Vermont. Most
granite in Vermont is
part of the New Hampshire
Plutonic Series and is Devonian in age, making it quite a bit
younger than the slates and marble of western Vermont. The granite from
Barre is world famous for its use as monument stone.
Vermont Resources:1
Granite, marble, slate, talc, verde antique, soapstone, schist,
sand and gravel, crushed limestone, marble, dolomite,
granite, quartzite and slate are all products of Vermont.
In 2000, the estimated non-fuel mineral production for Vermont
was $74.6 million (USGS Mineral Industry Survey).
| Ascutney State Park |
Ascutney State Park:2
The original park, being the summit road, the stone toilet buildings,
campsites 1 to 18, and the ranger's quarters had all been completed by
1939 when the CCC camp moved to Okemo.
The stonework is all of
Ascutney granite.
The ranger's quarters and entrance are at an elevation
of 550 feet. The summit road wends a steep path through mixed
hardwoods to a parking lot at an elevation of 2,800 feet in a saddle
between the south peak and summit. A 0.8 mile foot trail takes you the
additional 344 vertical feet to the summit.
| Crystal Lake |
Crystal Lake:2
At one time, there was a granite
quarry on the east side of Crystal
Lake.
Near the turn of the century, steamboats barged stones across
the lake. The park's beach house was made of granite quarried beside
the lake. It was constructed in the late thirties by the CCC. It has a very
unusual architectural design and received prominent recognition the year
it was built.
Crystal Lake is approximately three miles long and about one mile in
width. In some places it is known to be more than 100 feet deep. It is a
glacial lake beautifully situated among roughhewn mountain sides.
| Green Mountains |
Green Mountains:1
The Green Mountains are comprised of folded and faulted
metasedimentary rocks, metamorphosed
volcanic rocks and slivers of ocean crust
(serpentinized ultramafic rocks).
Talc, soapstone, and
verde antique are associated with the ultramafic rocks.
| Hazen's Notch |
Hazen's Notch:2
Hazen's Notch Natural Area (273 acres),
Hazen's Notch State Park, Town of Westfield, Vermont:
Hazen's Notch
is a steep-walled gap between Sugarloaf and Haystack Mountains,
with impressive south-facing cliffs.
The cliffs are of serpentine rock
and support rare alpine and serpentine-adapted plant species.
Peregrine falcons nested here historically.
The Long Trail passes through the Natural Area.
Excerpts from:
1) Vermont Geological Survey Website, 2001
2) Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, & Recreation Website, 2001
3) USGS/NPS Geology in the Parks Website, 2001
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