THE TRAPROCK LANDSCAPES OF NEW ENGLAND
A DRIFTLESS CONNECTICUT SERIES BOOK
This book is a 2016 selection in the Driftless Connecticut Series, for an outstanding book in any field on a Connecticut topic or written by a Connecticut author.
Peter M. LeTourneau PHOTOGRAPHS BY ROBERT PAGINI
The Traprock Landscapes of New England
ENVIRONMENT, HISTORY, AND CULTURE
Wesleyan University Press Middletown, Connecticut
Wesleyan University Press
Middletown CT 06459
Text © 2017 Peter M. LeTourneau
Photographs © Robert Pagini
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Designed by Mindy Basinger Hill
Typeset in Electra LT Standard
The Driftless Connecticut Series is funded by the Beatrice Fox Auerbach Foundation Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.
Images available from Robert Pagini Photography.
Contact [email protected].
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
NAMES: LeTourneau, Peter M. | Pagini, Robert.
TITLE: The traprock landscapes of New England: environment, history, and culture / Peter M. LeTourneau and Robert Pagini.
DESCRIPTION: Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press, 2016. | Series: Driftless Connecticut series | Includes bibliographical references and index.
IDENTIFIERS: LCCN 2016032965 (print) | LCCN 2016044992 (ebook) | ISBN 9780819576828 (pbk.: alk. paper) | ISBN 9780819576835 (ebook)
SUBJECTS: LCSH: Landscapes—Connecticut River Valley. | Natural history—Connecticut River Valley. | Connecticut River Valley—History.
CLASSIFICATION: LCC QH76.5.C8 L38 2016 (print) | LCC QH76.5.C8 (ebook) | DDC 333.7209746—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016032965
5 4 3 2 1
Cover photo: Alpenglow, Robert Pagini.
For Jelle Zeilinga de Boer (1934–2016),
Harold T. Stearns Professor of Earth Science, Wesleyan University,
BELOVED TEACHER, MENTOR, AND FRIEND
and to our children and grandchildren,
who will inherit the earth we leave behind:
ANNIE, JEFFREY, KEVIN, EMMA, AND KAITLYN
CONTENTS
| Preface | xi |
| Note on Terminology and Usage | xiii |
| 1 Welcome to Traprock Country | 1 |
| 2 Rising in Shapes of Endless Variety | 17 |
| Geography of the Traprock Highlands | |
| 3 Born of Fire Traprock Geology | 43 |
| 4 Sky Islands Ecology and Water Resources | 71 |
| 5 A Valley of Extreme Beauty and Great Extent | 121 |
| Traprock Landscapes and Legacy | |
| 6 These Mural Cliffs | 157 |
| Sculpted by Nature, Painted by Time | |
| 7 So Fine a Prospect | 197 |
| Landscapes of National Significance | |
| Appendix Places to Visit in Traprock Country | 211 |
| Notes | 219 |
| References | 221 |
| Index | 229 |
Sunset lights up the cliffs of Beseck Mountain at Black Pond State Fishing Area, Middlefield, Connecticut.
PREFACE
This book is our love letter to a landscape and a call for action. We were both born in Meriden, Connecticut, and have lived all, or most, of our lives surrounded by