,illustration3 ,pl4 #a4 ,the ,connecticut ,valley as it is seen from ,mount ,sugarloaf4 ,the western highland shows through the pine boughs at the extreme right4 ,the eastern highland balances it on the far left4 ,the ,holyoke ,range hems the basin on the south except at the gap where the river escapes to the ,springfield area4 ,the ,flow of ,time ,,in ,,the ,,connecticut ,,valley ,geological ,imprints by ,,george ,w4 ,,bain and ,,howard ,a4 ,,meyerhoff ,the ,hampshire ,bookshop ,,booksellers ,,and ,,publishers ,,northampton1 ,,mass4 #aidb ,,copyright1 #aidb1 ,,by ,,the ,,hampshire ,,bookshop ,contents ,introduction ix ,today and ,yesterday #a ,the ,river ,works #a ,the ,landscape ,changes #d ,glaciers ,came #h ,just ,before the ,ice ,age #i ,rivers ,carried off the ,everlasting ,hills #aa ,before the ,rivers ,cut the ,valleys #ad ,the ,mosaic of ,central ,massachusetts #ah ,the ,red ,rock ,basin #ah ,a ,dinosaur ,diary #ba ,volcanoes #bc ,the ,original ,valley #bh ,hot ,springs in ,central ,massachusetts #cj ,the ,marginal ,uplands #cj ,the ,eastern ,upland #cb ,coal ,swamps in ,massachusetts and ,rhode ,island #cc ,the ,western ,upland #cd ,the ,story of ,central ,massachusetts #ch ,interesting ,places #ea ,mount ,lincoln in ,pelham #ea ,mount ,toby #eb ,the ,sunderland ,caves #ee ,mount ,sugarloaf #ef ,turners ,falls #eh ,the ,french ,king ,bridge #ei ,titan's ,piazza and ,titan's ,pier #fj ,westfield ,marble ,quarry #fa ,the ,old ,lead ,mines #fc ,the ,dinosaur ,tracks near ,holyoke #ff ,fossil ,fishing #fh ,calendar ,beds #fi ,the ,holyoke ,range #gj ,trips from ,northampton #gh ,northampton1 ,amherst1 ,pelham #gh ,belchertown1 ,amherst and ,northampton #hb ,south ,hadley1 ,amherst1 ,northampton #hc ,holyoke1 ,easthampton1 ,northampton #he ,northampton1 ,hadley1 ,sunderland1 ,hatfield #hf ,northampton1 ,cummington1 ,plainfield and ,south ,deerfield #hh ,trips from ,greenfield #ia ,mohawk ,trail1 ,adams1 ,plainfield and ,south ,deerfield #ia ,greenfield1 ,orange1 ,pelham1 ,amherst and ,deerfield #if ,greenfield1 ,turners ,falls1 ,montague1 ,north ,amherst #ii ,greenfield1 ,turners ,falls1 ,montague1 ,sunderland #ajj ,trips from ,springfield #ajb ,springfield1 ,holyoke1 ,easthampton and ,westfield #ajb ,westfield to the ,westfield ,marble ,quarry #ajd ,optional ,trips #aje ,mineral and ,rock ,collections #ajf ,the ,minerals #ajg ,the ,vein ,minerals #ajg ,minerals of ,pegmatites and ,igneous ,rocks #aji ,minerals of ,metamorphic ,rocks #aaa ,the ,minerals of ,soils and ,rock ,decay #aaa ,the ,minerals of ,sedimentary ,rocks #aaa ,the ,rocks #aab ,the ,sedimentary ,rocks #aac ,the ,igneous ,rocks #aad ,the ,dark ,rocks #aae ,the ,medium-,colored ,rocks #aaf ,the ,light-,colored ,rocks #aaf ,the ,metamorphic ,rocks #aag ,conclusion #abj ,indexes #aba ,plates #a4 ,the ,connecticut ,valley as it is seen from ,mt4 ,sugarloaf ,front4 #b;a4 ,air view of the ox-bow lake between ,northampton and ,mt4 ,tom #d #b;b4 ,roches moutonnes of the ,pelham ,hills seen from ,hadley #d #c;a4 ,mt4 ,sugarloaf1 a remnant of ,triassic rocks disappearing grain by grain down the ,connecticut ,river #ab #c;b4 ,mt4 ,monadnock1 a hill surmounting the ,new ,england peneplain1 seen from ,mt4 ,lincoln #ab #d;a4 ,a dinosaur walked from the raindrop marked surface at the right to a shallow pond at the left #bb #d;b4 ,volcanoes ejected much ash and many bombs to form the ,granby tuff #bb #e;a4 ,columnar lava rests upon red sandstone in the cliffs at ,greenfield #cb #e;b4 ,fissures were filled with liquid rock that became solid and bonded wall to wall at the ,windsor ,dam #cb #f4 ,view of the ,holyoke ,range from ,mt4 ,lincoln #eb #g;a4 ,view of the ,deerfield ,river gorge emerging on valley lowland as seen from ,mt4 ,sugarloaf #eh #g;b4 ,view of the ,french ,king gorge as seen from the bridge #eh #h;a4 ,view of ,titan's ,piazza at ,hockanum showing the columns resting upon the gently inclined sandstone #fj #h;b4 ,view of the ,springfield lowland from the ,westfield ,marble quarry #fj #i;a4 ,the dinosaur track preserve at ,smith's ,ferry near ,holyoke #ff #i;b4 ,varved clays or calendar beds on river bank south of ,hadley #ff #aj4 ,view of the ,deerfield gorge from the east summit of the ,mohawk ,trail #ib ,figures #a4 ,the ,connecticut ,river undercuts the ,hadley bank #b #b4 ,natural levees south of the ,sunderland ,bridge #b #c4 ,block diagram showing main features of central ,massachusetts at the present time #e #d4 ,block diagram showing main features of central ,massachusetts during recession of the ,ice ,sheet #e #e4 ,block diagram showing main features of central ,massachusetts during excavation of the lowland #ac #f4 ,block diagram showing main features of central ,massachusetts after ,triassic basins were filled #ac #g4 ,map of ,mount ,toby showing gorges filled with conglomerate #bj #h4 ,map showing agglomerate burying a fault scarp on ,notch power line #bd #i4 ,block diagram showing main features of central ,massachusetts during volcanic stage #bg #aj4 ,block diagram showing the ,triassic basins of central ,massachusetts #bg #aa4 ,map of old volcanic region near ,mount ,hitchcock and west of the ,notch #bi #ab4 ,block diagram showing topography during formation of the lead veins #ca #ac4 ,block diagram of region during ,middle ,ordovician time #ci #ad4 ,block diagram of region at end of ,ordovician time #ci #ae4 ,block diagram of region during ,devonian period #ci #af4 ,block diagram of region during ,carboniferous period #da #ag4 ,block diagram of region in early ,triassic time #da #ah4 ,block diagram of region in late ,triassic time #da #ai4 ,block diagram of region at opening of ,cenozoic era #de #bj4 ,block diagram of region at the present time #de #ba4 ,map showing location of interesting places #ec #bb4 ,meander scarps at edge of flood plain1 ,sunderland #eg #bc4 ,map of the ,leverett lead veins #fe #bd4 ,diagrams showing development of ,notch and ,notch ,mountain #gd ,introduction ,in every region there is an evening drive which lures the city dweller from the cramped vistas of the office1 the home1 and the dingy streets to the limitless expanse of hills and valleys1 where mental tension relaxes and vision broadens as the physical horizon expands and acquires depth4 ,in less favored localities1 the drive may be long and the relaxation short1 but not so in the ,connecticut ,valley4 ,half an hour of travel1 either to the east or to the west from any large community1 provides an escape to the hills1 where people1 cars1 houses1 and all the minutiae of urban civilization are blurred on the canvas of upland and lowland4 ,local pride and personal prejudice may proclaim one view superior to another2 but the praise so liberally bestowed upon the heights beyond ,westfield1 the ,mount ,tom ,reservation1 the land called ,goshen1 ,shelburne ,summit1 and many another site1 merely bespeaks the rivalry of equally favored vantage points4 ,perhaps the trail to ,pelham would not be singled out for special mention by the undiscriminating enthusiast1 but the connoisseur of ,new ,england's scenic beauty returns and follows it again and again4 ,a good road may take some credit for its popularity1 but there is a deeper cause than this which brings him back2 for1 if there is drama in scenery1 he finds it here4 ,the road leads out of ,northampton1 and from the graceful arch of the ,coolidge ,memorial ,bridge he views the flood-scarred lowlands that border the river1 and across the flat plain into ,hadley he sees visible reminders that river and farmer periodically struggle over ownership of the land4 ,then a rise in the road constricts the view but offers a promise of something different4 ,ahead1 rolling fields stretch to the beckoning hills beyond ,amherst1 but the hills appear and disappear in tantalizing cadence as the car tops each rise and drops into the ensuing hollow4 ,soon ,west ,pelham comes into view1 and the rise to the highland begins4 ,beside the road a brook tumbles into the valley2 and as the car climbs the heights to ,pelham1 and miles of wooded land are suddenly spread before the eye1 the wayfarer realizes that here is the dramatic climax to his trip and to the murmured story of the brook4 ,but the long ridges reaching out to the north and to the south1 the deep valleys between them1 and the sky which meets the farthest ridge do not enclose the panorama4 ,it has a fourth dimension--time--a dimension as limitless as the horizon4 ,with just a dash of imagination1 the wayfarer may journey backward through time2 through scenes of infinite variety2 through countless years of unceasing change2 through situations so different that he would scarcely have recognized his ,new ,england4 ,the scarred plain of the river1 the brook1 the soil1 the rocks1 the upland and the valley1--all tell a fascinating and a logical1 if surprising1 geological tale4 ,a detour down this fourth dimension promises as much interest as a journey through the other three4 ,today and ,yesterday ,from the ,coolidge ,memorial ,bridge the broad lowland seems to reach out in all directions towards the encircling hills4 ,far down the river1 the distant bank rises a sheer thirty feet from the water and is high enough to surmount even the worst of floods4 ,yet each year this bank recedes as the unconsolidated sediment at its base is sapped by the stream and is carried away4 ,three times the river road has been moved back from the insatiable ,connecticut1 and today the main ,hockanum highway takes the long route far from the water's edge4 ,the ,river ,works ,nearer the bridge the land is lower1 and it shows the effects of frequent inundation1 but not of scour4 ,a great sand bar lies in the curve of the stream1 and the low parallel ridges suggest that they1 too1 were awash in the ,connecticut before its eastern bank encroached so far upon the town of ,hadley4 ,the tongue of land which serves as ,northampton's airport is a succession of bars and abandoned channels which record the migration of the river away from its old bank along ,bridge ,street4 ,the ,connecticut is robbing ,hadley to pay ,northampton1 but there was a time when ,northampton was pilfered1 too4 ,swales line the landscape as far as ,hadley2 and each year1 at the time of high water1 they must now be content with the meager overflow1 where once they sped the entire stream upon its southward course4 ,but even now1 in flood1 their original function may be restored4 ,for the swale just west of ,hadley was a roaring torrent in #aich1 #aicf1 and #ahif4 ,indeed1 it threatened to appropriate the entire stream1 and each of the great curving hollows that furrow the lowland are scour-channels which were made at other times4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #a4 ,the ,connecticut ,river undercuts the ,hadley bank at ,hockanum4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #b4 ,natural levees border the ,connecticut ,river south of the ,sunderland ,bridge4 ,the river has moved at will from one side of its alluvial plain to the other1 and its threats to change its course are not to be taken lightly4 ,until #ahcj it flowed past ,northampton1 around the great ox-bow to ,easthampton and then back to the watergap between ,mount ,tom and ,mount ,holyoke4 ,it served as the main line of communication to the ,atlantic seaboard and was a much travelled route4 ,in the spring of that year high water breached the narrow neck of land between the two ends of the meander loop1 and practically overnight the route to ,new ,london was shortened by three miles4 ,although the event was not a source of rejoicing to the landowners1 ,northampton declared a day of thanksgiving because they were now1 thanks be to ,providence1 three miles nearer the sea4 ,how often the river has changed its course may never be determined1 but the floodplain is grooved with swampy or silt-filled ox-bow lakes1 not only near ,northampton1 but all the way from ,brattleboro1 ,vermont1 to ,middletown1 ,connecticut4 ,they tell of older shifts in the course of a river which still displays its brute power within the limits of its alluvial plain4 ,the inundation of #aicf did more than scour the river's floodplain2 it left thick deposits of sand and silt upon many of the fields4 ,each preceding flood has done the same sort of thing1 dropping coarse sand in greatest abundance on the banks where the river flowed straightest4 ,flood by flood1 the deposit has risen higher on these favored sites1 where the swift main current slackens as it spreads over the broad1 flat plain4 ,today the banks form natural levees sloping away from the river at many points southward from the ,sunderland ,bridge4 ,just when the river started to shift back and forth across its alluvial plain is not revealed1 but it was long before the white man penetrated the country4 ,indian graves and campsites have been laid bare as the high water of each new flood has removed the silt left during earlier inundations4 ,the sites rarely yield any implement brought by the ,europeans2 they record long years of ,indian occupation in the land called ,norwottock1 a land in which the red man found a river which temperamentally shifted its course in response to periodic floods4 ,the floodplain ends at a rise in the road not far east of ,hadley4 ,the rise is a scalloped embankment1 reminiscent of the high bank on the river bend downstream from ,hadley2 even the long narrow swamp at the base looks like a filled ox-bow1 and the scallops look like bites which the hungry river took from its banks4 ,this embankment continues northward past ,mount ,warner1 following the present channel closely through ,north ,hadley1 and it passes just east of ,sunderland village4 ,corresponding banks are present on the west side of the stream in ,south ,deerfield and ,hatfield4 ,within the confines of those terraces the ,connecticut has had free play1 but its course has never strayed east or west of these well defined boundaries4 ,wave-like hills of sand cap the embankments in several localities north of ,hatfield and ,north ,hadley4 ,some1 perched on the terrace edge1 were partly cut away when the river was establishing the limits of its floodplain4 ,wherever the pine trees are cut down1 or the grass plowed under1 the sand within these hills begins to drift4 ,they look and act like those hills of the desert1 the sand dunes1 and they record the drift of wind-whipped sand across a naked land1 before the river had established a floodplain within its present confines4 ,the ,landscape ,changes ,fine sand1 silt1 or clay is found beneath the windblown sand wherever the river banks undercut the dunes4 ,the clays are especially widespread1 for each of the numerous local brickyards has its clay pit1 and there are many more clay banks which have no brickyard4 ,the clays are rhythmically banded4 ,one band1 composed of very fine material which settles from suspension only after weeks of absolute quiet1 retains moisture tenaciously2 adjacent bands dry more rapidly1 are somewhat sandy1 and settle from suspension in less than a week4 ,a large body of quiet water in which so much fine clay could settle must have occupied the valley before the river was there1 and the only type of water body which could have provided the proper environment is a fresh-water lake1 free from agitation during the long winter months when its surface was frozen over4 ,these thin clay bands are deposits of a winter season1 when streams are low and their load light4 ,then1 even the finest particles can settle1 during the many weeks of quiet water1 as a paper-thin layer upon the lake bottom4 ,the coarser sandy layer just above the finest clay records the spring break-up1 the melting of the ice1 and resuscitated streams flowing from the hills with a vigor that can be acquired only when the melt-water from the winter snow combines with the normal run-off4 ,the sand which these freshets bring to the lake diminishes as the spring floods subside1 and the sediment becomes progressively finer until next spring comes around4 ,pl4 #b4 ,features of the landscape which originated during comparatively recent time4 ,illustration3 a4 ,air view of the ox-bow lake between ,northampton and ,mt4 ,tom4 ,illustration3 b4 ,roches moutonnes of the ,pelham ,hills seen from ,hadley4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #c4 ,block diagram showing the main features of central ,massachusetts at the present time4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #d4 ,block diagram showing the main features of central ,massachusetts during the recession of the ,ice ,sheet4 ,each sandy layer is a spring2 each clay band1 a winter2 and the two together mark the passage of a year4 ,high spring floods are rarely local2 floods on the ,connecticut are usually matched by floods in the ,merrimack watershed to the east and along ,housatonic to the west4 ,floods of the past were much the same1 and many of them can be identified readily in the banded clays of the ,connecticut ,valley4 ,each one can be traced in contemporaneous deposits which were formed in other parts of the lowland and in neighboring lake basins4 ,some of the winter bands1 together with the layers below them1 are torn and folded1 and the tops of the folds have been sheared off4 ,covering them invariably is the sand layer of the spring break-up4 ,plain from these features is a winter episode of freezing to the lake bottom1 and of ice contorting the clays as it expanded and contracted in response to fluctuations in the surface temperatures4 ,the normal cyclic repetition of sand and clay was resumed when these particularly hard winters came to an end4 ,at ,south ,hadley ,falls the lake clays rest upon a gravel bed1 and the bottom layer records the lake's first year of life in that locality4 ,the overlying bands provide the evidence of a characteristic climatic sequence which can also be recognized in the clays at ,chicopee and at other points still farther south in the lowland4 ,but at ,chicopee there are many layers which are older than the bottom layer at ,south ,hadley ,falls2 and at ,springfield many layers appear that are older than the basal band at ,chicopee4 ,from the sediment deposited in its waters1 the story of the lake is not difficult to decipher4 ,it existed at ,springfield years before it appeared at ,south ,hadley ,falls2 in fact1 it flooded the meadows near ,middletown1 ,connecticut1 for nearly #f1jjj years before its waters existed near ,northampton4 ,these beds of clay hold the moisture close to the surface throughout the lowland1 making it available to the fields of vegetables and tobacco4 ,towards the valley margins these crops disappear because the fine sediments end against the rocky shores of the adjacent hills which pass into and beneath sloping terraces of sand and gravel4 ,in the numerous terraces which fringe the hills1 the horizontal beds of gravel lie above lakeward-dipping beds of coarse sand2 they underlie broad flats furrowed by channel-like depressions which radiate from the valleys at the apex of each flat4 ,on these terraces one can easily picture sand-laden waters coursing through the channels and building deltas outward into the lake4 ,deltas were built wherever streams from the highlands entered the valley1 and they mark the ancient level of the lake4 ,strangely1 their elevation drops from #cae feet at ,montague to #cjj feet at ,amherst1 and is only #bfh feet at ,south ,hadley4 ,the changing elevation shows either that the lake surface sloped southward--and indeed this would be unique--or that the shoreline was raised in the north and that the lake drained southward4 ,the latter surmise is plainly the more plausible4 ,most deltas on the east side of the valley are pitted by numerous conical depressions4 ,in a depression on a delta plain near ,montague1 an excavation1 made to obtain road fill1 disclosed a mass of disordered gravel which must originally have been deposited in the horizontal top-set beds of the delta1 but which now lies in the bottom of a depression mingled with the fine sand of the underlying fore-set beds4 ,the top-set beds seem to have been supported for some time and then collapsed as if the underpinnings were removed4 ,the crudely circular or elliptical outlines of the depressions suggest that stray icebergs drifted upon the delta slopes1 where they were anchored or buried by the sandy outwash4 ,the buried ice-cakes survived until the lake was drained1 and the baselevel of the streams was lowered1 for the depressions have no outwash within them4 ,they collapsed soon after the lake vanished1 because water soaking through the delta sands melted the ice1 much as it thaws the ground for dredging in the ,yukon4 ,even today this gravelly ground1 particularly the beach of the ancient lake1 is well drained1 and it forms the best land for the apple orchards of the valley4 ,glaciers ,came ,the delta deposits and the clays form a thin veneer over a bouldery soil that comes to light along the delta-top margins and in gulches cut down through the gravel and sand4 ,some of the boulders are huge1 attaining diameters of twenty feet2 and all are strangers to their present resting places4 ,some are set upon a bare rock floor1 scratched as though by sandpaper1 and they teeter to the weight of a child2 most are embedded in soil4 ,these erratics seem to have been left like unwanted objects1 picked up and carried for a time1 and then dropped when the bearer wearied of their weight4 ,the scratches on the rock floor are parallel grooves1 all of which trend southward4 ,they are unmistakable tracks left by glaciers1 and the boulders are like the stones perched on glacial ice for a ride to the terminal moraine4 ,the land above the old lake shore is bare scratched rock or rocky soil called boulder till4 ,every hill farm has been cleared of more stones than trees1 and it is only with the vogue of the rock garden that these erratics have found any merit in man's estimation4 ,it has been said with a considerable element of truth that the lake margin can be identified by the stone fences heaped up by exasperated farmers at the line where the water once lapped the slopes of the glaciated hills4 ,striations and erratics decorate the tops of ,mount ,tom and ,mount ,holyoke1 and those who visit ,mount ,monadnock or ,mount ,washington will find they must inscribe their initials over the signature of the great ice sheet4 ,the stranger rocks or erratics1 stranded promiscuously over the countryside1 can be traced to hills farther north4 ,clearly the ice sheet was moving southward1 picking up debris and abrading the countryside like a great sanding machine4 ,northern slopes were worn to long gentle inclines and the southern slopes kept their original forms or were steepened as the ice plucked fractured blocks from their moorings4 ,one imaginative writer likened the glaciated rock hills to the wigs of sheep's wool worn by the jurists of his day2 the name stuck1 and they are still known as roches moutonnes4 ,look at the ,pelham ,hills from the ,coolidge ,memorial ,bridge and you will see the top of ,jeffrey ,lord ,amherst's wig facing towards ,canada4 ,within the ,connecticut ,lowland the moving ice often picked up a load of debris more cumbersome than it could drag along4 ,it handled the situation most satisfactorily by dropping the load and streamlining it1 and these piles of glacial debris with blunt north slopes and gentle southerly sides are drumlins4 ,when next you pass the apple orchards of ,south ,amherst1 recall that the smooth elliptical hill east of the road to ,south ,hadley is a drumlin1 a relic of an overloaded glacier4 ,just ,before the ,ice ,age ,the glacier advanced as far as ,long ,island and ,martha's ,vineyard1 and the lakes of the ,connecticut ,valley formed along the ice margin and spread northward as the ice front receded4 ,the distinct layers1 or varves1 of clay mark off #be1jjj years since the recession began1 but for a million years before its final retreat1 the ice covered all ,new ,england intermittently4 ,this length of time transcends human comprehension unless one considers years in terms of what has been done4 ,a million years is not too long for a sand-laden ice sheet1 moving only a few feet each year1 to grind tens of feet of solid rock off the north sides of the everlasting hills4 ,to those who study the earth1 ,before the ,ice ,age has about the same significance as ,before the ,hurricane has to the average citizen of ,new ,england4 ,it is in such terms that geologic time must be considered4 ,the ice sheet simply modified the pre-glacial topography2 it changed symmetrical hills to asymmetric roches moutonnes and left boulder till spread over much of the bedrock floor4 ,the greatest changes were effected in the ,white ,mountains1 where the steep-walled river valleys were changed to troughs with a ,u cross-section1 as in the scenic notches2 or with steep headwalls like that in ,tuckerman ,ravine1 a typical alpine cirque4 ,within the lowlands boulder till was left as a blanket1 concealing the irregularities which were made in the rock floor at an earlier geologic date4 ,these irregularities may pass unnoticed unless some construction project happens to reveal them4 ,bedrock is rarely over seventy feet down at any point in the lowland1 but work at the ,sunderland ,bridge and the ,coolidge ,memorial ,bridge encountered masses of glacial debris in a deep fluvial channel more than three hundred feet below the river surface and at least two hundred feet below the present level of the sea4 ,this deep trough is not over one hundred yards wide1 and if it were fully exposed to view1 it would look like a miniature ,saguenay gorge4 ,similar trenches in every part of eastern ,north ,america1 from ,hudson ,bay to ,cape ,hatteras1 show that the land once stood higher than it does now1 and that the main rivers flowed in deep1 narrow canyons1 although the upland surface between the rivers had its present characteristics4 ,thus1 in ,pliocene time1 while primitive members of the human race were entering old ,england1 ,new ,england rose high above sea level1 and its lowlands were trenched by quickened streams4 ,the narrow gorges are an eloquent1 if mute1 record of rivers suddenly rejuvenated1 their current accelerated and the exuberant waters cutting into freshly elevated rock4 ,massachusetts and the neighboring states along the ,atlantic seaboard formed a plateau-like upland1 perhaps one thousand feet higher than today1 and the coastline lay fifty to one hundred miles out under the present waters of the ,atlantic4 ,the ,pliocene episode of stream incision was of short duration4 ,the gorges are not wide1 and only near the sea do they cut deep into the coherent crystalline rock which gives ,new ,england its solid foundation4 ,nowhere did the land remain elevated long enough to permit the rivers to widen their canyons through the plateau-like country and to modify the essential features of the landscape4 ,the latter were acquired in an earlier geologic epoch called the ,miocene1 and the scenic pattern carved by running water in that relatively remote division of time still dominates the region's topographic form4 ,rivers ,carried ,off the ,everlasting ,hills ,every stream has its load of sediment1 as the silt- and sand-filled reservoirs along the edges of the valley so effectively testify4 ,each sandy river bed is an aggregate of rolling grains1 moving with the current1 slow where it is slow and faster where the current is accelerated1 but travelling always towards the sea4 ,every grain is a piece of the countryside lost to the land and soon to become a part of the ocean floor4 ,very little of this sand comes from the lowland itself1 for the ,connecticut may cut the bank below ,hadley1 but it leaves almost as much sand as it acquires on the opposite shore4 ,the river's burden is brought to it by swift tributaries--the brook at ,west ,pelham and hundreds more like it4 ,their sides are cut-banks1 but no extensive sand bars are built to balance their erosive work2 what they pick up they carry to the lowland1 and what they bring to the lowland is soon transported to the sea4 ,the contribution which the tributaries make to the lowland rivers was demonstrated only too conspicuously by the great fans of coarse debris spread across the valley of the ,deerfield ,river and the ,west ,river during the floods that accompanied the torrential rains of the hurricane4 ,parts of the village of ,townshend1 ,vermont1 nestling in the flat floor of the ,west ,river valley1 were buried in gravel wash1 and the hillside roads above were gullied ten feet deep4 ,one harassed traveler aptly remarked that the original road level could be recognized from the few concordant remnants of pavement beside the trout brook4 ,the hill slopes at ,townshend rise and end near ,jamaica1 about one thousand feet higher in elevation4 ,here the roads are in good condition4 ,there are no signs of erosion1 and the rolling uplands extend for miles with no signs of gullying or wash by the heavy rains4 ,the debris handled by the ,west ,river now and for ages past has come from the steep hill slopes along the main valley4 ,each load of sand has cut these slopes back from the main stream and has widened the lowland floor4 ,so1 for millions of years1 the tributaries of the ,connecticut have pushed the valley walls farther from the main river1 and their tributaries in turn have pushed their hill slopes back1 while the valley floors have steadily widened4 ,the ,connecticut ,lowland was broadened in this way1 and the tributary ,deerfield has developed its valley in similar fashion but to a lesser degree4 ,today streams near the headwaters acquire sediment1 not from the upland across which they flow to reach the deeply entrenched valleys1 but from the steep slopes in the most remote recesses of the upland on which they rise4 ,flat valley floors are broadened in coherent rocks as well as in unconsolidated sand--less rapidly1 indeed1 but just as surely2 and every region is worn down to the grade of the streams which drain it1 except for those rare masses of resistant rock which defy decay and yield reluctantly to their inevitable fate4 ,the rocks of the ,mount ,holyoke and ,mount ,tom ranges1 ,mount ,warner1 the ,pocumtuck ,hills and the highlands on both sides of the ,connecticut ,valley are made of tougher ingredients than the lowland1 and even millions of years of incessant onslaught by running water did not suffice to level them by ,miocene time1 when the lowland was excavated4 ,pl4 #c4 ,erosion remnants or monadnocks surmounting base levelled surfaces4 ,illustration3 a4 ,mt4 ,sugarloaf1 a remnant of ,triassic rocks disappearing grain by grain down the ,connecticut ,river4 ,illustration3 b4 ,mt4 ,monadnock1 a hill surmounting the ,new ,england peneplain1 seen from ,mt4 ,lincoln4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #e4 ,block diagram showing the main features of central ,massachusetts during the excavation of the lowland4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #f4 ,block diagram showing main features of central ,massachusetts after the ,triassic basins were filled4 ,the lowland extends beyond our immediate region4 ,it continues southward with diminishing elevation to ,new ,haven1 where it joins another broad depression1 now flooded by the waters of ,long ,island ,sound4 ,before the ,rivers ,cut the ,valleys ,those who would see the land as it was before the rivers carved the lowlands must put back every grain of sand the waters carried away2 they must fill in these valleys to the level of the ,jamaica upland4 ,then only will the country be as it was before the streams were rejuvenated and started to cut deep trenches and to widen them as the ,deerfield has done at ,charlemont4 ,broad1 open valley flats or straths surmount the steep ,v-shaped notches of both the ,deerfield and ,westfield ,rivers4 ,surely1 everyone who has paused at the lookout on the east summit of the ,mohawk ,trail has seen the upland sloping gently towards the ,deerfield and then breaking sharply at the top of the present canyon4 ,the same view confronts the motorist who drives from ,adams to ,cummington1 just after he leaves the village of ,plainfield4 ,here the shallow bowl in front of him holds no hint of the deep notch in which the ,westfield flows4 ,the gentle contour of the land suggests only the slow but methodical sort of change which comes with maturity4 ,those who favor air travel will see1 as they fly over ,mount ,tom1 a similar but more dissected strath reaching into the hills northwestward from ,northampton4 ,aeroplanes flying the ,boston-,new ,york route pass over straths which have been trenched by the ,connecticut along its course from ,middletown to ,new ,london4 ,the straths are part of a mature1 but ancient drainage system1 which was graded a thousand feet above the level of the present streams and only a few hundred feet below the main upland4 ,certain broad depressions through the highlands east of the ,connecticut ,lowland suggest that this drainage pursued a southeastward course to the ,atlantic1 and that the river did not establish its modern course until the straths were elevated and notched4 ,the land level above the strath-margins is a still older surface from which the rock-benches were cut4 ,the higher surface stretches to the horizon at ,pelham1 but ,mount ,monadnock and ,wachusett stand conspicuously above it4 ,and on the ,mohawk ,trail one must ascend the tower at the eastern summit before any higher land comes into view4 ,greylock's summit and the long chain of the ,green ,mountains attain greater elevations4 ,the ,west ,river and ,deerfield basins are graded to the level of this higher and older erosion surface1 but farther north a chain of peaks including ,stratton and ,okemo swing eastward towards ,ascutney4 ,they appear to have formed a divide on this ancient land1 as they do today2 and beyond their crests rivers have run to the ,saint ,lawrence and ,hudson basins from a time which antedated any of the familiar features of the ,new ,england landscape4 ,although this flat upland surface is more complex than it appears to the eye1 it dominates all of southern ,new ,england1 and ramifying arms of it penetrate northward into the ,white ,mountains of ,new ,hampshire and ,maine4 ,another great arm passes west of ,mount ,greylock and spreads out between the ,catskill ,mountains and the ,adirondacks4 ,during the long period of erosion when it was formed1 ,new ,england was reduced nearer to the grade of the main rivers than at any other time either before or since1 and only rocks which have effectively resisted all later assaults by the geologic processes of destruction surmount the surface4 ,to the eye1 the region appears so nearly planed that it has been called the ,new ,england peneplane4 ,the upland continues southward through the ,berkshire and ,litchfield ,hills1 descending in a series of almost imperceptible steps towards ,long ,island ,sound and the ,atlantic4 ,a few miles south of ,litchfield1 ,connecticut1 its low angle of declivity increases abruptly1 and the more steeply inclined surface passes beneath the waters of ,long ,island ,sound4 ,the sudden change in dip suggests that two erosional planes are present and that each was formed under somewhat different circumstances and in different periods of geologic time4 ,the soundness of this surmise can be demonstrated in ,long ,island where sediments laid in a ,cretaceous sea rest upon the older and more sharply inclined erosional plane and rise approximately to the level of the ,new ,england upland4 ,the deposits form a wedge between the two planes1 and their ,cretaceous age supplies a series of dates that would otherwise be difficult to establish in ,new ,england's geological history4 ,erosion fashioned the ,new ,england upland in the early and middle epochs of the ,tertiary period1 immediately following the deposition of sediments in the ,cretaceous sea4 ,and the southward sloping plane upon which those sediments rest records an even earlier episode of denudation--an episode lost in the shuffle of later events in ,massachusetts but preserved in fragmentary form in ,connecticut1 thanks to the protection afforded by the sedimentary cover4 ,had we lived in central ,new ,england when erosion of the upland and of the younger straths was in progress1 we would have noted that the valley forms were well defined in the headwaters and lower reaches of the streams1 which made their way through a country of light-colored or gray clayey soil4 ,in the middle reaches the valley boundaries were blurred and indistinct1 and the country through which they flowed was surfaced by red and sandy soil4 ,the middle region is now the lowland1 but even then it formed a depression athwart the topographic and hydrographic features of the country2 and its distinctive red soil resembled alluvial wash or fill in a long basin4 ,its low relief would have been as impressive in early ,tertiary time as its higher relief is today1 for then it had little topographic competition anywhere between the present sites of ,new ,haven1 ,connecticut1 and ,northfield1 ,massachusetts4 ,the land had one dominant characteristic--a relatively flat or faintly terraced surface4 ,but this surface concealed a mosaic made of an infinite variety of rocks1 each responding to the attack of weather in its own particular way4 ,erosion has brought out the pattern of the mosaic1 and we have retraced the steps in its development4 ,viewing the evolution of the countryside in retrospect1 we see its features take form much as a worker on an inlaid bronze might watch the design come out when it is etched4 ,the creation of the mosaic or inlay is another part of the history1 and the relief of the land now permits closer scrutiny of the pattern than would have been possible in ,cretaceous time4 ,the ,mosaic of ,central ,massachusetts ,the great artisan incorporated three main features in the mosaic beneath the ,new ,england upland1 and from them erosion developed the major pattern of the present landscape4 ,the three units of the pattern comprise a somewhat heterogeneous but durable foreground in the east1 a weak inlaid design in the center1 and a moderately homogeneous and durable background in the west4 ,the foreground and background are simply a suitable base for the younger1 central feature of the design--an inlay which was completed in ,triassic time1 while the mighty dinosaurs were beginning to gain confidence as the new rulers of the earth4 ,skillful artistry and complicated technique were expended on the ,triassic inlay1 for in part it was rolled in1 partly melted in1 and some of it was cut in amid the tougher materials now found on either side4 ,the ,red ,rock ,basin ,the youngest ingredients which were incorporated in the inlay are a series of fine-grained red sandstones and consolidated clays or shales4 ,they are horizontal layers1 turned up slightly at the edges of the lowland1 but elsewhere they lie in almost horizontal beds that extend from ,south ,hadley through ,chicopee 7,chicopee shale71 ,springfield1 and ,longmeadow 7,longmeadow sandstone7 to a point just south of ,hartford4 ,near the hills which form the eastern boundary of the lowland these fine-grained sediments locally give way to coarse tabular deposits of angular gravel1 which appear along the base of the ,wilbraham ,mountains and again in ,mount ,toby and northward4 ,the deposits are isolated or detached masses which resemble fans emerging from mountains1 not unlike the more modern sands and gravels which the ,westfield ,river left where it emerged from the western hills4 ,but the ,triassic gravels are red1 and they are firmly cemented into conglomerate2 yet it is plain that this part of the inlay was made by washing and rolling the red muds1 sands1 and cobbles into a depressed basin waiting to receive them4 ,the southern part of the basin was deepened1 and the highlands were rejuvenated spasmodically from ,springfield to ,new ,haven4 ,the sinking of the lowland on the west and the rising of the highlands on the east took place along a fracture plane1 commonly called the eastern border fault1 near the eastern limits of the red sediments throughout that part of the valley4 ,the rocks composing the alluvial fans are flexed sharply downward east of ,portland1 ,connecticut1 like compressed pages in a book1 where the great eastern mountain block pushed obliquely against them4 ,in this way the mountain range was renewed as erosion wore it away1 and the basin was deepened periodically as the wash from the highlands filled it4 ,the intermittent uplift sustained the growth of the fans along the edge of the lowland1 but the frequent recurrence of movement never permitted these graded accumulations of waste to extend far out from their mountain sources4 ,the great fracture1 which sharply delimits rocks of different origins1 and the deformation in the strata near ,portland record1 as surely as the writings of any human historian1 a tale of periodic rock compression and paroxysmal release that must have been accompanied by violent tremors4 ,connecticut and ,massachusetts had their earthquakes and had them as violent as any now originating in the western ranges of the ,united ,states and ,mexico2 but happily they shook a land which was overrun by the dinosaurs1 and which was not yet ready for human habitation4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #g4 ,map of ,mount ,toby showing gorges filled with conglomerate4 ,near the northern terminus of the ,triassic basin the eastern boundary was not subject to intermittent and violent movements during the later stages of sedimentation1 as it was in the south4 ,instead1 the youngest part of the red-rock inlay consists1 in some places1 of unfractured boulder beds which were washed far out towards the center of the lowland2 elsewhere1 landslides brought masses of rock debris upon soft red and gray shales1 which may have accumulated in shallow lakes2 in still other localities1 long stringers of red sediment reach far back into the eastern highlands4 ,many boulders in the conglomerate at the south end of ,mount ,toby are eight feet in diameter1 and torrential mountain streams brought them to their resting place4 ,a few are scratched and grooved1 much like the boulders in the till left by the ice sheet2 perhaps they signify the presence of snow fields and glaciers in the mountain range1 but the scratches may have been acquired by avalanching4 ,the landslide masses buried in the shales at the ,sunderland caves show that the mountain front was steep1 and the ancient talus or slide rock near the ,central ,vermont ,railroad south of ,roaring ,brook shows plainly that the mountain front was a precipitous cliff of granite4 ,the stringers of conglomerate extending eastward into the granite upland south of ,montague1 north of ,leverett station1 at ,amherst1 and again near ,granby1 are alluvial fill in ancient mountain gorges4 ,this old mountain mass stood out as a long1 straight range extending from a point east of ,new ,haven northward into ,new ,hampshire4 ,it was of moderate height in ,connecticut1 but it became higher and more rugged to the north2 glaciers may have nestled around its crest east of ,deerfield1 and its front was an impressive slope of slide rock4 ,granite gorges with tapering gravel plains1 dry one day and raging torrents the next1 fingered eastward into the mountain block4 ,at that time the ,connecticut ,valley was much like the land east of the ,sierra ,nevada in ,california1 where greater contrasts in heights and depths are to be found than in any other part of the ,united ,states4 ,a ,dinosaur ,diary ,like the valley east of the ,sierras1 the depression in central ,massachusetts contained playa lakes and intermittent streams4 ,sand brought by the mountain torrents clogged the channels and spread into broad alluvial plains1 while silt accumulated in muddy lake basins4 ,black sandy shales now mark the sites of the lake beds1 and their black color comes from the coaly remnants of ,triassic plants4 ,some swampy lake margins supported peat bogs1 which have been preserved in coal seams two to three inches thick between ,granby and ,south ,hadley4 ,many of the lakes lasted long enough to become stocked with half a dozen species of fish4 ,but the fish led a precarious existence1 and their skeletons were buried in great numbers in the upper lacustrine layers when the lakes dried up1 and dust and sand drifted over the parched basins at ,durham1 ,connecticut1 and at ,sunderland1 ,massachusetts4 ,the remains were interred even more effectively when cloudbursts in the hills brought thick layers of gravel out over the ancient lake beds4 ,most of the lakes and ponds were ephemeral1 but the fact that their presence was more than a mirage in a ,triassic desert is clear from the ripple-marks retained on their sun-hardened surfaces1 and from the impressions of objects which touched them while they were still soft4 ,stray series of parallel furrows record the passing of drifting shrubs1 and the abrupt disappearance of rain-drop imprints at a well defined line in the hardened mud marks the exact position of the water level in a few of these ,triassic water bodies4 ,footprints register the activities carried on by a bizarre animal population4 ,beside the road to the ,french ,king ,bridge and in the river bed at ,turners ,falls the ripple-marked surfaces contain the impressions of many feet1 and the dinosaur tracks at the ,riffles beside the ,northampton-,holyoke highway are known throughout the country4 ,in ,connecticut1 ,middletown and ,durham are famed for their tracks1 and the impressions left in the playa beds by muddy feet are so widely distributed throughout the lowland that it must have taken a lot of walking by many generations of dinosaurs to leave such an ample record4 ,pl4 #d4 ,rocks of the ,triassic basin and their record4 ,illustration3 a4 ,a dinosaur walked from the raindrop marked surface at the right to a shallow pond at the left4 ,illustration3 b4 ,volcanoes ejected much ash and many bombs to form the ,granby tuff4 ,some of these three-toed animals were like the modern lizards and walked on all four feet2 but the great majority walked on two feet and1 like the kangaroos1 used their tails to balance their bodies1 and their short fore limbs to support them when they crouched4 ,in any single playa deposit1 variations in the sizes and kinds of footprints reveal that many individuals made them2 yet strangely1 most of the tracks at any one place are headed in a single direction4 ,apparently the herd instinct must have been strong in these reptiles1 as it is in kangaroos or in a flock of turkeys1 all following a leader1 with only an occasional individual going off to one side or back-tracking in a display of independence4 ,and so the dinosaurs dominated the life in the early ,connecticut basin1 as it sank and trembled1 and as mountains rose to the east2 on dry days and days of cloudburst1 on hot days and days when frost crystals formed in the mud1 they roamed the plain1 as the lowland settled nearly two miles and filled to the brim with red sands1 muds1 and marginal gravels4 ,volcanoes ,red is the predominant color in the central inlay of the ,new ,england design1 but greens and blue-black lines have been worked into the pattern4 ,the dinosaur-ridden basin has a rim south of ,middletown in ,connecticut1 and another north of ,holyoke in ,massachusetts2 it lies just west of the dinosaur-track ledge near ,holyoke1 and the tracks themselves are only thirty feet above the bottom of the basin4 ,the rim is an odd ensemble--now red and now green2 here solid and hard and black1 there soft and fragmental and crumbly4 ,the fragments may be angular or round2 sandy or glassy2 dense and solid1 or full of bubble holes like molasses taffy4 ,the whole looks like the spread-out ash dump from a giant power plant4 ,and not only does it resemble an ash heap--it is the ash heap of a volcano2 and the hard black layers within it are lava flows interspersed with the heavy falls of ash4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #h4 ,map showing agglomerate burying a fault scarp on the power line through the east gap of the ,notch4 ,the ancient ash heap grows thicker east of the ,connecticut ,river1 and it is more than #c1jjj feet from top to bottom around a series of massive blue-black rock-columns southeast of the ,mount ,holyoke ,hotel4 ,these are the lava-filled necks of craters which became quiescent with the dawn of the dinosaur days4 ,the ash deposit1 called the ,granby tuff1 grows thinner eastward away from the craters and disappears completely northeast of ,granby1 where a stream deploying from a valley in the eastern mountains washed it away as fast as it fell and left coarse gravel in the form of a huge fan4 ,the floor on which the ash came to rest was not everywhere the same4 ,where now it crosses the ,northampton-,holyoke highway and the ,amherst-,south ,hadley road it was a lava flow2 but north of ,granby and at numerous places between the ,hockanum and ,amherst-,south ,hadley roads the ash lies on conglomerate4 ,along the ,amherst-,springfield power line1 a block of the conglomerate floor was pushed up five hundred feet above the same beds farther west1 forming a small block mountain which was entirely buried beneath the ash4 ,similar block mountains can be observed under the blanket of ash1 especially on the south side of the ,holyoke ,range2 and renewed movement subsequently affected many of the blocks north of ,granby1 where the ash deposit and even some of the sediments laid down in the earlier days of the dinosaurs were fractured and displaced4 ,as a rule1 along any one fault1 the block on the east was pushed up and moved southward2 and the block on the west was pressed down3 as a group1 the fractures may form the beginning of the great eastern border fault which bounds the basin farther south4 ,the volcanoes which made the ,granby tuff or ash bed erupted intermittently for a long period of time4 ,usually1 the river which emerged from the eastern mountain range brought so much fluvial debris that ash is not in evidence except in the immediate vicinity of the craters located between the ,notch and the summit of ,mount ,holyoke4 ,even though alluvial sands and gravels supplant the tuff here and there1 the river did not succeed in closing or quenching those fiery vents4 ,the rocks now present recount a struggle in which1 at times1 the river encroached upon the cinder cones2 at others1 the ashes choked the stream and buried its alluvial wash4 ,while the volcanoes rumbled and erupted1 earth forces intermittently thrust the eastern mountain range southward and upward1 dragging the eastern margin of the lowland with it and upturning the sedimentary fill1 much as a plow might upend a layer of snow at the roadside before shearing it off and pushing it out of the way4 ,the relentless movement caused the entire eastern floor of the basin to be broken into blocks2 the easterly ones were piled against the westerly1 and their eastern edges were pushed down into the basin floor and the western borders rode up on their neighbors4 ,through all this tremendous disturbance the great stream pouring out of the mountain pass kept the elevated blocks cut down and the small basins filled in4 ,earthquakes1 erupting volcanoes1 and shifting rivers made life for the dinosaurs troubled and a bit uncertain4 ,only once did the volcanoes dominate the situation in the valley1 and that was very early in their history4 ,a group of vents1 localized along a southward trending zone about a mile west of the ,notch1 and another group along the present course of the ,connecticut ,river from ,turners ,falls to ,sunderland poured out billions of cubic feet of black basaltic lava into the center of the lowland4 ,eruptions followed in such rapid succession that the rivers never scoured the surface of the earlier flows4 ,lava piled up #djj feet thick in the center of the basin east of the ,mount ,tom ,range2 it moved eastward in a flow which thinned against the fans of rivers issuing from the eastern mountain1 and it ended in a formidable wall of scoria confronting the mountain streams4 ,lava buried the northern basin from ,sunderland to ,turners ,falls and beyond1 while the southern basin filled from ,northampton to ,new ,haven4 ,but lava dominance was short-lived1 and even before its bubbly surface reddened to the weather1 streams had covered it with gravel4 ,the lava flows are the most resistant materials used in the lowland design4 ,they form the ridge east of ,greenfield in the northern basin4 ,the ,holyoke and ,mount ,tom ,ranges are remnants of these flows1 tilted at moderate but varying angles by the recurrent movements which enlivened the epoch of dinosaurs and volcanoes4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #i4 ,block diagram showing the main features of central ,massachusetts during volcanic stage4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #aj4 ,block diagram showing the ,triassic basins of central ,massachusetts4 ,the most spectacular episode of lava extrusion was localized in a small volcanic center situated about one mile west of the ,notch in the ,holyoke ,range4 ,all flows in the range moved away from this center1 and before the great outpouring took place1 minor explosive outbursts had built cones of ash with bases up to a mile in diameter4 ,small lava tongues are interspersed with the ash beds1 and mixtures of sand and lava tell of breaks through the #a1ejj feet of sandy fill which was rapidly accumulating in the basin4 ,throughout this early period of volcanic activity the streams brought out so much wash from the eastern mountains that they soon dominated the scene in ,massachusetts1 and in ,connecticut volcanoes gained ascendancy for one brief moment of geologic time1 when an early flow covered much of the valley from ,hartford south4 ,the ,original ,valley ,the first and oldest ingredients in the central design are entirely red4 ,the materials are fragments of older rocks--granite and gneiss1 schist and pegmatite1 feldspar and quartz4 ,they are invariably coarse1 for every layer of inwashed sediment has pieces over an eighth of an inch in diameter1 and only the coarser particles were smoothed4 ,the finer particles were not moved about enough to have their sharp corners worn away4 ,the pebbles and clay in the thick layers of conglomerate at the ,french ,king ,bridge were dropped by rushing1 overloaded torrents deploying on a lowland--a situation not unlike the one at ,townshend1 ,vermont1 during the hurricane deluge4 ,only fine debris was transported across the fans to the far side of the basin4 ,the western hills made small contributions of sediment2 but their streams brought particles which never exceeded an inch in diameter1 and in quantities so moderate that the fragments underwent some sorting and sizing as they were spread over the lowland4 ,from the very start the valley was deeper near the east wall than the west2 and the eastern mountain block was greatly elevated1 whereas the western block was simply a hilly upland4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #aa4 ,map of the old volcanic region near ,mount ,hitchcock and west of the ,notch4 ,the edge of the eastern mountain mass is located at the ,french ,king ,bridge and passes half a mile west of ,montague4 ,its location beneath the younger fill is known less perfectly farther south1 but it seems to extend through ,amherst1 certainly west of ,south ,amherst and ,granby and probably east of the ,notch4 ,at least two mountains rose above the ancient lowland floor2 the northern one is a long ridge of schist between ,bernardston and ,mount ,hermon1 and the other is ,mount ,warner4 ,mount ,warner is an island of highland rocks in a sea of red sandstone fill4 ,the ,bernardston ridge resembles a peninsula in somewhat analogous sedimentary surroundings4 ,the two eminences reveal the form of the valley floor and the western hills at the dawn of the ,triassic period1 for they were spared from destruction by burial1 until deep erosion exposed them again in ,miocene time4 ,hot ,springs in ,central ,massachusetts ,hot springs the world over register their presence by leaving deposits of unusual minerals1 and they have left this sort of record at ,loudville4 ,here the coarse sandstones of the lowland rest upon gneiss1 and at the south end of the ,loudville lead vein barium sulphate crystals1 called barite1 formed in the sand before it was cemented into solid rock4 ,the crystals are the product of highly charged mineral water1 rising through the sands from a subjacent fissure4 ,the fissure itself is also filled with barite1 and with galena and quartz as well4 ,it is the vein which was worked in the old ,loudville lead mine4 ,there are other veins in the western and eastern highlands at ,hatfield1 at the ,northampton reservoir near ,whately1 and at ,leverett4 ,all are in fractures which were still partly open when the valley first took form4 ,the ,marginal ,uplands ,the rocks which formed the high eastern mountain range of ,triassic time and the rocks which made the old western hills and underlay the basin floor comprise essentially a single group characterized by its complexity4 ,at one place the rock resembles sandstone1 but the layers stand on end2 at another1 it looks like shale1 but the stone breaks across the color banding instead of parallel to it2 and at a third place a fissure seems to have opened and had a crystallizing melt poured into it4 ,these tabular1 filled fissures can be found nearly everywhere1 coursing in every direction and at all conceivable inclinations to form a network that binds the older rocks into a firmly knit whole4 ,the fillings1 or dikes1 are like reinforcing rods1 holding the rocks together and withstanding the agents of destruction4 ,thus1 the story of the highlands has three distinctive phases1--a relatively young phase when the interlacing reinforcements were poured into fractures2 a somewhat more remote stage1 when the bedded rocks were crumpled into their inclined positions2 and an earlier stage1 when the bedded rocks were deposited4 ,the geologic dates of these three events may vary from one locality to another1 and they certainly are different in the ,eastern ,upland as compared with the ,western ,upland2 but the events always occurred in this sequence and constitute the broader aspects of the story at all places4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #ab4 ,block diagram showing topography during formation of the lead veins4 ,the ,eastern ,upland ,the ,eastern ,upland includes the land between the ,connecticut ,valley and the ,atlantic ,ocean4 ,at present1 it has the general form of a broad rolling highland with ridges and valleys that have a north-south trend4 ,close inspection shows that the rocks in the ridges are different from those in the long valleys4 ,also the layering of the materials ranges from a vertical attitude1 as at ,ware and ,brimfield1 to undulating and almost horizontal positions1 as at ,spencer and ,worcester4 ,through vertical and horizontal beds alike run those reinforcing sheets--some tabular and vertical1 called dikes2 others also tabular but horizontal1 called sills2 and some are just huge1 irregular masses without visible bottoms1 called stocks and batholiths4 ,some of them1 composed of uniform1 small1 light-colored minerals1 are granite2 others are made entirely of large minerals over an inch across and are called pegmatite2 a few1 with cuneiform intergrowths of a dark mineral in a light one1 arranged like ,arabic writing1 are known as graphic granite4 ,pl4 #e4 ,intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks4 ,illustration3 a4 ,columnar lava rests upon red sandstone in the cliffs at ,greenfield4 ,illustration3 b4 ,fissures were filled with liquid rock that became solid and bonded wall to wall at the ,windsor ,dam4 ,every one of these masses flowed into the rocks along fractures and other zones of weakness1 crystallizing as they lost their heat and solvents to the hot springs of that ancient time4 ,they are all invaders1 or intrusives1 which inserted themselves into the older beds4 ,whether they were squeezed into the fissures by the pressures that crumpled the original beds into their upturned positions1 or whether they1 like the liquid in a hydraulic press1 transferred pressure from a deep reservoir to the walls of the fissures and so pushed the beds into their distorted forms1 is unknown4 ,two features are clear2 the distortion of the beds and intrusion of the liquid bodies were almost simultaneous1 and the hot springs associated with them were still active at the dawn of ,triassic time4 ,these profound disturbances transformed the land into a series of elevated1 wave-like folds1 and rains promptly began to tear away at the summits of the newly raised mountains4 ,from them was carved a serrate and rugged landscape1 part of which was later buried beneath the ,triassic fill4 ,coal ,swamps in ,massachusetts and ,rhode ,island ,among the strata of the ,eastern ,upland which were folded1 intruded1 baked hard1 and stewed in hot spring water1 one group stands pre-eminent4 ,it forms a broad band starting north of ,worcester and reaching to ,providence and beyond4 ,nearly everywhere it carries coaly material or impressions of plants which are now extinct1 but which flourished in the ,coal ,age or ,carboniferous period4 ,some of the coal seams were mined in the ,providence basin1 but they had been so heated by intrusive granite that they are partly graphitic and proved difficult to burn4 ,the great extent of some of the coal seams suggests a panorama of immense swamps1 and of land so flat that1 for long periods1 streams brought no sediment1 and the trees and water-loving plants furnished the only fill4 ,at other times sluggish rivers1 flowing from the northwest1 laid thick layers of sandy mud over the surface of the bogs4 ,the alternating muds and coal seams are thousands of feet thick1 and they record the story of a basin which sank as fast as it filled--a depression which was never built high enough to be a well drained plain1 yet never subsided sufficiently to be inundated by the sea4 ,the ,carboniferous peat bogs and mud flats may have extended westward almost to the ,connecticut ,valley2 and farther to the northwest they were bounded by a chain of rolling hills4 ,the rock floor of the coal basin contains a variety of ancient materials4 ,some rocks were river deposits1 some were marine limestones1 a few were lava and volcanic ash1 and many were granite and gneiss which crystallized at great depths and became exposed only after streams had stripped away the thick overburden4 ,the basin floor thus holds a complex story1 in which land and sea1 vulcanism and quiet1 erosion and deposition1 all played their respective roles4 ,only in the west1 along the margin of the ,connecticut ,valley1 is the involved story at all clear4 ,and in the ,western ,upland across the red-rock inlay1 it is possible to see some of the land as it was before trees took root in the swamps1 and rivers brought sands and muds from the vegetated hills that hemmed in the coal basin4 ,the ,western ,upland ,many years ago1 when transportation facilities were not what they are now1 ,new ,england settlers mined iron ore from the hill north of ,bernardston and smelted it in local charcoal furnaces4 ,the rocks containing the iron are creased into sharp1 close folds1 and they came into such close contact with a hot granite intrusive that their minerals were changed by its action4 ,this granite1 however1 is older than the one which is associated with the disturbed ,carboniferous beds1 for it was intruded when the ,devonian sediments from ,gasp to ,connecticut were deformed4 ,it was this profound disturbance that turned the red rocks of ,roche ,perc from a horizontal to a vertical position and raised a mountain range which stretched through all of northern ,new ,brunswick1 ,maine1 the lowland section of ,new ,hampshire1 and a belt extending for some miles east and west of the ,connecticut ,valley4 ,the eroded remnants of these ,shickshock ,mountains formed the backdrop for the great ,carboniferous coal swamps in ,rhode ,island1 ,massachusetts1 and ,acadia4 ,the iron ore was a hot spring replacement of a limestone containing shells of sea organisms which lived when chordate animals first became abundant4 ,this was the ,devonian period in geologic history--the time when a backbone appeared essential in every really high-grade animal4 ,the limestone rests upon a beach gravel1 now consolidated into a quartzite conglomerate4 ,the gravel consisted of small white quartz pebbles which came from the many veins in the steeply inclined slates of the adjacent coast4 ,marine deposits of ,devonian age are found as far south as ,leverett1 and scattered outcrops indicate that the old seaway reached northward up the ,connecticut1 entering ,canada east of ,lake ,memphremagog4 ,thence it spread eastward to ,gasp and westward to ,montreal1 and around the north and west side of the ,adirondack ,mountains into ,new ,york ,state4 ,a low rolling land where the ,green ,mountains stand today formed the western shore of the ,devonian sea for many miles northward into ,quebec4 ,the ,adirondack and ,taconic ,mountains were a fused aggregate of undulating uplands which limited the seaway on the south along the ,international ,boundary4 ,its eastern shore lay far beyond the horizon of the region described in this brief account4 ,the rocks of the old ,devonian coast in ,massachusetts were chiefly slates1 cut by many quartz veins4 ,they are exposed along the ,mohawk ,trail in the ascent from ,greenfield to ,shelburne ,summit1 and they continue northward in an almost unbroken band through ,bernardston1 ,brattleboro1 and ,northfield 7,vermont7 to ,lake ,memphremagog4 ,they contain casts of planktonic life which inhabited the ,ordovician seas in these northern latitudes1 and the ,ordovician strata1 together with still older ,cambrian sediments found below them1 meet the ,devonian beach deposits at a sharp angle1 just as the slates along the coast of ,maine meet the modern beach sands and gravels4 ,like the slates of ,maine1 they were eroded deeply before the beach existed1 and their slaty structure and their steeply inclined attitudes were acquired in a still more ancient epoch of deformation4 ,the folded rocks of ,ordovician age flanked the highland area which now constitutes the axis of the ,green ,mountains4 ,west of the ,green ,mountains they make the ,taconic ,range1 and to the east they appear in ranges that go under a variety of names1 including the ,northfield and the ,lowell ,mountains4 ,in the ,taconics the folds have the shape of waves advancing westward from the center of disturbance in the ,green ,mountain axis2 within the ,connecticut basin the ,ordovician folds have wave-fronts which advance from the same axis eastward across the ,memphremagog sea4 ,along the eastern margin of the old land a series of dark green intrusives called peridotite welled up from the depths of the earth1 and they now cut through the rocks extending from ,chester1 ,massachusetts1 to ,thetford ,mines1 ,quebec2 they are like giant boundary posts marking the ancient line of demarcation between sea and land in ,cambro-,ordovician time4 ,originally the folded strata in the ,taconic region were deposited in clear marine waters1 where calcium carbonate accumulated rapidly4 ,but the sediments of the same age east of the ,green ,mountain land represent an unbroken succession of hardened muds1 which rest on sandy muds1 and on fine and coarse products of violent volcanic eruptions--tuffs and agglomerates--and lava flows4 ,no lime-secreting animals could thrive in this sea1 although they numbered billions in the western waters2 for only floating plankton could escape the interminable mud1 and they drifted up and down the coast from ,quebec to ,connecticut4 ,one or two straits may have connected the clear waters of the west with the muddy waters of the east1 for some of the planktonic organisms have been found in the muddier sediments of the westerly waterbody4 ,the ,cambro-,ordovician sea lapped even older rocks1 contorted and cut by intrusives which bonded them precisely as much younger invading liquid rock bonded the younger sediments of the ,eastern and ,western ,uplands4 ,the older rocks were also laid in a sea--a sea so much more ancient than the ,cambrian and ,ordovician seaways that its shoreline and even its form and extent are at best conjectural4 ,and when we study these oldest marine beds1 we find that their ingredients were in part derived from still more ancient sedimentary rocks1 which accumulated in the sea1 and that these old beds were elevated into the land that supplied the waste now found in the oldest coherent section of rocks in western ,new ,england4 ,indeed1 the dawn of the ,cambrian period1 when life first became abundant1 was merely a half-way mark through geologic time4 ,although half a billion years have elapsed from the ,cambrian to the present1 another half a billion years reach still farther back towards the beginnings of earth history1 beyond which science has not yet peered successfully4 ,these billion years are but a finite segment of history1 bounded by the infinite past and the infinity of the future4 ,it seems appropriate1 therefore1 to end our journey down the fourth dimension at this point1 and as we retrace our steps1 we can profitably survey the chronologic succession of events and scenes which followed each other from ,cambrian time to the ,twentieth ,century ,a4,d4 ,the ,story of ,central ,massachusetts ,the protracted story of central ,massachusetts might be that of many another section of eastern ,north ,america1 except for minor details4 ,in ,cambrian time an inland sea1 well stocked with simple marine organisms1 washed the shores of an archipelago which extended north and south through the ,berkshire ,hills1 the ,green ,mountains1 and the ,notre ,dame ,mountains4 ,composed of rocks which themselves had had a long and involved geological past1 the islands rose intermittently as streams and waves wore them away4 ,clear water and sandy beaches stretched along their western shore1 and the original ,adirondack ,mountains were just visible from the summits of the higher islands4 ,swift streams raced down their eastern slopes1 carrying gravels1 sands1 and silts into the eastern arm of the sea1 and only free-swimming animals could survive in its turbid waters4 ,for a time1 volcanoes erupted and fumed along the entire eastern coast from ,thetford ,mines1 ,quebec1 to ,plainfield1 ,massachusetts1 but their activity was short-lived4 ,only the streams which drained the broad islands endured1 and they never ceased to pour mud into the eastern ocean4 ,gaps in the island chain permitted some of the free-swimming organisms to migrate to the western sea1 where bottom-living plants and animals were actively secreting the limy shells and skeletons which helped build thick deposits of ,cambrian limestone4 ,these conditions continued into the ensuing ,ordovician period of geologic time1 but gradually the situation changed4 ,again the volcanoes renewed their activity1 and masses of dark peridotite were intruded along the eastern shore2 the island chain rose rapidly1 and the straits closed4 ,the elevated land began to expand outward1 and folds spread eastward on the east and westward on the west1 like waves from a center of disturbance4 ,so great was the pressure that portions of the old land were sheared outward over the folded sediments4 ,the ,taconic disturbance was on from the city of ,quebec to the city of ,washington2 and the streams1 like ants1 kept at their endless task of carrying sand and gravel into any and every depression they could find4 ,they piled up great thicknesses of ,silurian sandstone in ,maine and ,new ,york1 and so effectively did they tear down the ,taconic ,mountains that the ,silurian sea was ultimately able to penetrate the region from ,thetford ,mines1 ,quebec1 almost to ,white ,river ,junction on the ,connecticut ,river4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #ac4 ,block diagram showing main features of central ,new ,england during middle ,ordovician time4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #ad4 ,block diagram showing main features of central ,new ,england at the end of ,ordovician time4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #ae4 ,block diagram showing main features of central ,new ,england during the ,devonian period4 ,one period later a ,devonian sea followed in the wake of the ,silurian sea1 but its waters penetrated even farther south to ,leverett1 ,massachusetts4 ,the quartz gravels of its advancing beach covered the worn flanks of the ,taconic folds4 ,sea animals left their shells to form a bed of limestone which may be seen today at ,bernardston4 ,but again the sea was shouldered aside by the restive land1 which rose from ,gasp to ,virginia4 ,much of the region affected by the ,taconic disturbance was elevated again1 and a broad band of ,devonian sediments was folded closely through northern ,new ,brunswick1 southern ,quebec1 northern ,maine1 northern and central ,new ,hampshire1 and central ,massachusetts4 ,granites welled up into the sediments1 and dikes filled all the fissures4 ,the baking1 stewing1 and reinforcing they gave to the older sediments made them so firm that they are still one of the most coherent and resistant series of rocks in ,new ,england and maritime ,canada4 ,this was the ,shickshock or ,acadian disturbance4 ,meanwhile the first forests took root on the long piedmont plains that spread from the rising mountains westward into the ,catskill ,plateau of ,new ,york ,state 7,catskill sandstone7 and eastward to the coast of ,maine 7,perry formation74 ,the margins of the piedmont plain sank4 ,vast1 luxuriant swamps succeeded the old forests in ,pennsylvania on the western piedmont1 and in ,rhode ,island1 ,massachusetts1 and ,acadia on the eastern piedmont4 ,the swamp vegetation later became the coal seams of eastern ,north ,america1 and well does this time merit its name--the ,carboniferous period4 ,the ,shickshock ,mountains remained in the hinterland forming highlands from ,spencer1 ,massachusetts1 westward into ,new ,york ,state2 but they were shorn of their crags1 and only on rare occasions were the streams swift enough to carry silt into the swamps and to bury the accumulated peat4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #af4 ,block diagram showing the main features of central ,new ,england during the ,carboniferous period4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #ag4 ,block diagram showing the main features of central ,new ,england in early ,triassic time4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #ah4 ,block diagram showing the main features of central ,new ,england during late ,triassic time4 ,torn and twisted as ,new ,england had been by the two previous disturbances1 it was to suffer yet again4 ,the entire northern section of the eastern coal swamps began to rise1 and the movement spread southward through ,new ,jersey1 eastern ,pennsylvania1 ,maryland1 ,virginia1 the ,carolinas1 and ,georgia4 ,granites insinuated themselves once more into fissures in the elevated landmass2 the rocks were pushed outward from the raised block2 and the sediments of the coal fields were thrown into folds which diminished in magnitude towards ,ohio on one side and ,cape ,breton ,island on the other4 ,this was the ,appalachian ,revolution4 ,when it was over1 even the youngest sediments were interlaced with granite sheets and dikes2 they were cooked hard in hot spring waters2 and they were crumpled into close1 long north-south folds4 ,the landscape was changed completely3 mountains had replaced the peat swamps2 and from their summits alpine glaciers were plucking rock fragments which they dumped into the ,boston basin4 ,streams1 too1 cut deeply into the mountainous upland1 but there were no other local basins in which the fluvial debris could come to rest4 ,this was1 in brief1 the course of events which transpired in that era of geologic time called the ,paleozoic4 ,twice as long as all ensuing time1 the era was one of kaleidoscopic change1 with placid seas1 eruptive volcanoes1 swift streams1 and towering mountains competing for the lead roles in three rather similar historical cycles4 ,when the ,paleozoic era was over1 the matrix of tough1 resistant rocks was ready for the delicate inlaid design which was imposed upon it in the ,triassic period4 ,there was nothing tranquil about ,triassic time4 ,while hot springs1 born in the cooling granites1 still oozed from rents in the mountainsides1 a tremendous #ajj-mile-long rift tore through the east margin of the old ,shickshock ,mountain foundation4 ,the rift was a clean break at some places1 but elsewhere it was splintered and offset4 ,each northern sector of the break invariably ended west of the beginning of a southern one1 and the intervening rock is characterized by multiple fissures with more or less displacement of their walls4 ,the block east of the rift moved south and rose1 while that to the west was depressed into a tilted and asymmetric basin4 ,mountain streams flowing eastward to the ,atlantic were caught at the base of the rift1 and a new set of torrents dashed down the west-facing scarp of the elevated block4 ,after every cloudburst these new streams left their contributions of boulders in screes along the east side of the basin4 ,the gravels steadily increased in thickness1 covering the hills and valleys that furrowed the lowland floor4 ,much of the ancient relief still lies buried beneath the fill1 but some of the eminences were exhumed one hundred and fifty million years later and have received man-given names like ,mount ,warner and ,bernardston ,ridge4 ,as the basin subsided vertically for more than a mile1 the mountain streams spread fans westward across most of its floor1 restricting the contributions of the western rivers to a zone which is now less than two miles wide4 ,the largest of the eastern rivers wore a valley three miles wide where it entered the lowland northeast of ,granby4 ,then volcanoes broke loose in the basin floor4 ,lava oozed through the sand west of the ,notch in the ,holyoke ,range1 and it frothed out of the openings or was blown violently from them4 ,but by sheer persistence the rivers still dominated the scene as volcanic activity waxed and waned1 and #a1ejj feet of alluvial wash piled up around the volcanic cones4 ,the energy of the volcanoes was ultimately spent1 but for some time lava poured out of craters along a line extending southward from the main eruptive center1 and from a second center which approximates the course of the ,connecticut ,river from ,sunderland to ,turners ,falls4 ,it flowed westward into the middle of the basin in a series of sheets until it was #djj feet deep2 it pressed upward against the sand plains along the western hills2 it surged east up the fan slopes where it ended in a frothy wall2 and it spread southward from these two centers and from others to ,new ,haven4 ,the lava1 now tilted1 gives substance to the ,greenfield ,ridge1 the ,mount ,holyoke and ,mount ,tom ,ranges1 and the long line of hills that pass through ,hartford and ,meriden4 ,spectacular was this outburst in its time1 and profound was its influence upon later scenery1 but short was its duration4 ,before weather could redden the lava surface1 streams washed gravel over it2 and only at the main centers between the ,mount ,holyoke ,hotel and the ,amherst-,south ,hadley road were the volcanoes able to hold out against the relentless activity of running water4 ,the block east of the rift continued to move southward and to rise1 while the streams draining it entrenched themselves in an effort to remain at grade with the basin floor4 ,the moving mountain mass pushed the lava flow up on end and twisted its eastern edge around1 dragging it along to the south4 ,the rock splinters which were formed in the process sliced the basin sediments into small blocks1 some of which can be seen north of ,turners ,falls and also at the ,holyoke ,range4 ,ultimately the upward and southwestward movement along the rift piled the eastern blocks against the more westerly ones1 pushing the west side of each eastern block up on the east side of the adjacent western one1 and depressing its eastern side more deeply into the basin floor4 ,the many fractures which were made weakened the basalt lava sheet along certain zones where1 in recent time1 the elements have worn the notches in the ,holyoke ,range4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #ai4 ,block diagram showing the main features of central ,new ,england at the opening of the ,cenozoic era4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #bj4 ,block diagram showing the main features of central ,new ,england at the present time4 ,streams from the eastern highland stubbornly filled up the holes and planed off the raised blocks during the entire period of intermittent movement4 ,in the midst of the tussle between earth forces and fluvial agents the volcanoes again broke into explosive eruptions1 and volcanic ash filled many of the block-like depressions all the way from ,granby to localities south of ,holyoke4 ,then the fiery vents cooled1 and the earth movements diminished in their vigor4 ,but they left a mountain front so steep that talus and landslide deposits accumulated at its base near ,mount ,toby2 and the block mountain range was so high that glaciers may have wreathed its summit4 ,the mountain mass descended southward1 and it was penetrated by at least one low pass northeast of ,granby4 ,in the basin itself1 alluvial fans encroached from the eastern mountain front1 but out in the middle of the valley ephemeral playas and shifting lakes were numerous4 ,rushes fringed the lake shores2 fish stocked their waters2 and dinosaurs lumbered over the adjacent flats4 ,the region was one of violent rains and seasonal droughts1 of hot days and frosty nights--a semi-desert country lying in the lee of the ,appalachian ranges1 somewhat as the intermontane valleys of the ,west lie in the rain shadow of bordering mountains4 ,eight thousand feet of sediments poured into the ,triassic trough while these conditions lasted1 but the situation altered slowly as the ,jurassic period dawned4 ,throughout earth history1 vulcanism and mountain-making have been spasmodic events2 but so long as rain has fallen and water has run downhill to the sea1 the unspectacular rivers have never relinquished their task of reducing the lands to the lowest grade on which water will flow4 ,during all of the ,jurassic and ,cretaceous periods1 and even into the ,eocene epoch of the ,tertiary1 ,new ,england's rivers worked towards this end1 and they came as close to attaining their goal as the restless earth has ever permitted them to do4 ,the region from the ,atlantic to the bases of the ,green ,mountains and the ,white ,mountains was reduced to a broad1 faintly terraced erosional plain4 ,not all of it was leveled1 for ,mount ,wachusett1 ,mount ,monadnock1 the summits of ,mount ,greylock and ,mount ,ascutney resisted the wear and tear of the weather and of running water1 and retained some of their original stature4 ,at the headwaters of the streams the ,green ,mountain chain and the ,white ,mountains also withstood reduction to the common level1 forming the divide between ,st4 ,lawrence and ,atlantic drainage4 ,such rivers as the ,merrimack1 the ,west1 the ,deerfield1 and the ,farmington followed somewhat different courses than they do today1 for some of the drainage heading in the ,western ,upland of ,new ,england flowed straight across the red-rock valley to the sea4 ,during ,tertiary time the entire region rose vertically as a unit4 ,the rise was intermittent1 punctuated by long stillstands of the upland with respect to the sea4 ,one of the earlier uplifts carried the land some #bjj feet higher2 and although the rivers maintained their courses1 they deepened their valleys and ultimately widened them into broad1 open plains far back towards their headwater reaches4 ,in the resistant rocks on either side of the red-rock basin the valleys were sharp and well defined1 but in the soft ,triassic sediments the rivers cut wide swaths1 nearly eliminating the low divides which kept them in their independent courses4 ,in ,middle ,tertiary time renewed uplifts occurred1 and ultimately the strathed surface was elevated #a1hjj feet inland at the ,green ,mountain divide4 ,once more the rivers started busily cutting down2 but in a protracted stillstand1 while the ,new ,england upland still lacked #gjj feet of its present elevation1 the ,atlantic ,ocean planed off the hills in southern ,connecticut as far north as ,middletown1 and the ,farmington ,river adopted a more direct route across the marine plain to the sea4 ,before the ,west1 ,deerfield1 and ,westfield ,rivers could lower their channels to grade in the reinforced rocks of the ,eastern ,upland1 a tributary of the ,farmington worked headward along the poorly consolidated red rocks of the basin and diverted the waters of the northern streams into its own channel4 ,this was the birth of the ,connecticut ,river1 and in late ,tertiary time1 the energies of the new-born stream were effectively expended widening the whole of the ,triassic basin4 ,even some of its larger tributaries developed wide valley floors with steep walls in the hard crystalline rocks of the uplands4 ,only the lava flows and the buried old-rock mountains withstood planation in the red-rock basin4 ,the flows form such trap ridges as ,greenfield ,ridge1 the ,mount ,holyoke ,range1 the ,mount ,tom ,range1 the ,hanging ,hills of ,meriden4 ,exhumed mountains are typified by ,mount ,warner4 ,all of northeastern ,north ,america was raised to great heights in late ,pliocene time1 and the ,atlantic ,ocean withdrew at least fifty miles southeastward from the present shoreline4 ,the rejuvenated rivers deepened their valleys1 forming narrow1 sharply incised canyons like the gorges of the ,hudson and the ,saguenay2 and the ,connecticut made a deep groove in the lowland floor1 cutting to depths which have been partly disclosed by drilling at the ,calvin ,coolidge ,memorial ,bridge and the ,sunderland ,bridge4 ,while the land stood in this high position1 one winter's snow in the ,white ,mountains failed to melt before the next began to fall4 ,snowfall accumulated upon snowfall1 covering not only the ,white ,mountains1 but all of ,canada and ,new ,england2 and the ,ice ,age was here to stay more or less continuously for a million years4 ,the ice piled up against the highest mountains and ultimately rose so far above them that it slid over their tops without attempting to detour around them4 ,its surface may have been #ac1jjj feet above sea level in northern ,new ,hampshire1 and its surface slope1 which is estimated at #aej feet per mile1 would give a thickness of #aj1jjj feet at ,northampton4 ,the continent yielded slowly under this great load1 and it sank until all of the elevation gained in the ,pliocene movement was wiped out1 and more besides4 ,the ice radiated from the centers of maximum accumulation--at first from the ,white ,mountains1 and then from northern ,ontario1 and finally from ,labrador4 ,the continental glacier crept southward to ,long ,island and ,martha's ,vineyard1 where its front melted in the waters of the ,atlantic as fast as new ice came up behind4 ,it dragged and pushed and carried debris1 only to dump it in a hummocky ridge1 like a rampart1 to mark its farthest advance4 ,at last the glaciers started to melt even faster than new masses moved down from the north1 and the ice front began to recede #djj to #gjj feet per year4 ,the sea followed it1 up the ,hudson1 up the ,st4 ,lawrence1 in over the coastal lowlands for a short distance2 and everywhere pounding waves made beaches at the water line4 ,and in the path of its slow1 deliberate retreat1 the glacier left rock debris--boulders on the hills and in the valleys1 boulders everywhere2 all the landscape was marred and desolate4 ,the ice had weighed the pre-glacial valleys down more deeply in the north than in the south4 ,one such valley was the ,connecticut ,lowland1 in which water gathered to overflow-height at ,middletown4 ,thus ,lake ,springfield came into being1 and it spread northward as the ice front receded4 ,north of the ,holyoke ,range another lake formed1 and this northern body of water has been named ,lake ,hadley4 ,streams flowed off the ice1 off the hills--flowed with unimpeded vigor1 for there were no trees or grass to retard the run-off4 ,deltas grew out from the shores1 and annual layers of clay settled on the lake bed4 ,the ice grew thinner1 its area smaller1 and its load lighter2 and as ,mother ,earth lost her heavy burden1 the land rose1 more in the north than in the south4 ,the differential rise decanted the water southward out of the lake basins1 and the seas retired from the coastal lowlands4 ,old shores and sea beaches remained as flat terraces sloping gently southward4 ,the rivers raced down the steep beach slopes to the old lake floors and sea bottom4 ,they cut their channels deeply into the unconsolidated deltas and meandered back and forth over the flat1 ungraded lacustrine plains1 as if uncertain where to flow4 ,they flooded the lands in the spring1 leaving loose sand and silt for the winds to blow when the water was low4 ,sand dunes rose near the river banks at ,north ,hadley1 ,sunderland1 ,hatfield1 and ,south ,deerfield2 but the march of the dunes was arrested as post-glacial vegetation repossessed the land4 ,it was at this point in the story that man found and settled the ,connecticut ,valley1 becoming a witness to the geologic work of the river and an aid to the work of the wind as his plow bared the fertile soil to the elements4 ,interesting ,places ,books and periodicals supply dinner menus for the hostess and list theatrical offerings for the habitu4 ,surely suggestions of places for a picnic or an evening drive are equally in order4 ,experience1 some of it painful1 soon reduces the number of pleasant picnic sites3 poison ivy or a deceptive bog may linger in the memory and automatically eliminate some otherwise delightful spot4 ,but places suitable to every taste lie within the ,connecticut ,valley or along its fringing uplands4 ,some are near the highways and others are on woodland trails2 a few are interesting for their immediate surroundings and many because of their expansive view4 ,here is a landscape which can be appreciated without leaving or stopping the car2 but there is a sight which can be relished only from a trail1 or from a pinnacle accessible to the agile climber4 ,drives satisfy some tastes2 but places to stop1 meditate1 and conjure up the past appeal to others4 ,the ,valley and its environs have something for every temperament and every mood4 ,mount ,lincoln in ,pelham ,mount ,lincoln is remote enough from highways to offer some measure of retreat1 yet it is not discouragingly inaccessible4 ,the summit rises about #cjj feet above the nearest road1 which lies a mile away by woodland trail4 ,it is ,pelham's highest eminence1 and its height is enhanced by a fire tower which affords a magnificent view in every compass direction4 ,the gently undulating ,new ,england upland stretches off to the north and east for miles4 ,the innumerable hills which compose it integrate to form a horizontal skyline1 which suggests a flat erosional plane1 originally formed at1 or near1 the level of the sea4 ,to the northeast ,mount ,monadnock in ,new ,hampshire rises prominently above the general level1 for its extremely resistant rock withstood reduction by weather and water more effectively than the weaker bedrock on every side4 ,the valley lowland begins but three miles to the southwest4 ,the range of hills stretching away like beads on a string is the ,holyoke ,range4 ,mount ,toby1 ,mount ,sugarloaf1 and the ,pocumtuck ,hills are the prominences in the lowland to the northwest4 ,the lowland was eroded out of the ,new ,england upland after the land was elevated far back in ,tertiary time1 and the disintegrating rock was carried to the sea by the rivers4 ,the hills in the lowland were left where the rocks resisted destruction more successfully than elsewhere1 but they only approximate the level of the upland of which they were once a part4 ,mount ,lincoln and the surrounding hills are strewn with boulders4 ,every slope is dotted with large irregularly shaped rocks1 many of which have smoothed facets marred by minute scratches4 ,the boulders were left by the ,great ,ice ,sheet when it melted off ,new ,england1 and the scratches were made when the ice dragged the boulders over hard rock surfaces4 ,these stones came down from the north1 and among them you may recognize types which you have seen in the ledges around ,orange and ,northfield4 ,early ,pelham settlers found the boulders as much in their way as the trees2 so they burned or used the trees1 and they piled the stones in long rows to fence their fields4 ,stone fences characterize all glaciated regions1 and here they follow the roadsides for miles1 reaching to the edge of the deposits in glacial ,lake ,hadley4 ,mount ,toby ,let's go to ,mount ,toby usually means to go to the camp ground along ,roaring ,brook at the east base of the mountain1 or to one of the sugar camps on the west slope1 or to the ,sunderland ,caves at the north end4 ,all of these places are worth knowing1 but the view from the mountain top deserves at least one trip1 and the wood road from ,roaring ,brook is replete with interesting sights4 ,illustration3 ,pl4 #f4 ,view of the ,holyoke ,range from ,mt4 ,lincoln4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #ba4 ,map showing location of interesting places4 #a4 ,davis pyrite mine #b4 ,plainfield manganese mine #c4 ,lithia spodumene pegmatite #d4 ,chesterfield tourmaline locality #e4 ,westfield marble quarry #f4 ,williamsburg galena vein #g4 ,hatfield lead mine #h4 ,west ,farms lead mine #i4 ,loudville lead mine #aj4 ,westfield trap quarry #aa4 ,bernardston magnetite mine #ab4 ,gill dinosaur track quarry #ac4 ,mount ,toby #ad4 ,sunderland ,caves #ae4 ,roaring brook #af4 ,whittemore's ,ferry fish quarry #ag4 ,mt4 ,sugarloaf #ah4 ,leverett lead vein #ai4 ,notch quarry #bj4 ,northampton granite quarry #ba4 ,titan's ,piazza #bb4 ,titan's ,pier #bc4 ,ox-bow lake #bd4 ,smith's ferry dinosaur tracks #be4 ,varved clay pits #bf4 ,mt4 ,grace #bg4 ,french ,king bridge #bh4 ,mt4 ,lincoln #bi4 ,pelham asbestos mine ,the side road to ,roaring ,brook leaves the highway east of ,mount ,toby just north of the old cemetery1 and the camp site is on the west side of the ,central ,vermont ,railway tracks4 ,the gray rocks east of the tracks are part of the ancient mountains of ,triassic time4 ,their lofty summits have been worn away by the unceasing activity of weather and running water1 and they are now lower than the fans of waste which was discharged from the ancient valleys4 ,roaring ,brook is continuing the work of erosion as it tumbles down from ,mount ,toby1 and frost has loosened the great boulders that lie on the mountainside4 ,the rock along ,roaring ,brook is very different from that east of the railroad4 ,it looks a great deal like concrete1 with a large assortment of aggregate materials mixed in with the cement4 ,the rock is conglomerate1 a mass of coarse stones washed out of the ancient ,triassic mountains1 deposited at their base and in contemporary stream valleys1 and then cemented during the ensuing ages4 ,many of the pebbles in the conglomerate cannot be found in the old rocks east of the railroad tracks4 ,actually these rocks change in character at different levels in the uplands of today1 and still higher changes which were present in this mountain group during ,triassic time have been destroyed1 though the record of their presence has been retained in the fragments which compose the conglomerate4 ,the woodland trail starts up the mountain about #ajj yards north of the picnic grounds4 ,the rock beside it is red granite1 and the streams of ,triassic time flowed over it as they carried the gravel which now makes the ,mount ,toby conglomerate4 ,the latter first appears about #ajj feet uphill1 and it is virtually the only rock exposed from this point to the summit4 ,interspersed sandstone beds disintegrate easily and form quiet pools and basins in the adjacent brook2 the pools end a few feet upstream where the water cascades over the edge of the next higher conglomerate stratum4 ,mount ,toby's summit rises above any other eminence in central ,massachusetts east of ,ashfield and south of ,mount ,grace near ,northfield4 ,from it the entire country to the south appears low and flat1 except for the teeth of the ,mount ,holyoke ,range and the long ridge extending southward from ,mount ,tom4 ,a slope rises westward from the lowland to meet the edge of the flat ,new ,england upland along a line that passes through ,shelburne1 ,conway1 ,goshen1 and ,granville4 ,east of ,toby this same upland comes so close that it seems but a step across to it4 ,many peaks may be seen rising above the ,new ,england upland4 ,the one far to the east is ,wachusett4 ,up there to the north-northeast are ,monadnock and ,mount ,grace4 ,over in the northwest are ,stratton and ,glastenbury in ,vermont1 and much nearer and lower is ,bald ,mountain at ,shelburne ,falls4 ,mount ,greylock1 the highest point in ,massachusetts1 is almost due west4 ,the lowland was excavated after the ,new ,england upland was elevated1 and the main features which distinguish the present landscape were carved out before the end of the ,miocene epoch of ,tertiary time4 ,the high points which surmount the upland are monadnocks which1 like their prototype ,mount ,monadnock1 successfully resisted the ravages of time and ,new ,england's changing but rigorous climate4 ,the ,sunderland ,caves ,the ,sunderland ,caves are on the northwest side of ,mount ,toby1 just a short walk and an easy climb from ,state ,highway #fc4 ,they penetrate a cliff made of conglomerate overlying a shale which accumulated in a ,triassic lake4 ,the shale makes the floor of the cave4 ,joints1 forming a right angle with the cliff1 break the conglomerate into giant blocks4 ,frost1 smooth shale surfaces1 and gravity have caused the two end pieces to creep away from the other conglomerate blocks4 ,the second block from the end has fallen against the end block1 forming a high-roofed cave about #ajj feet long4 ,directly southwest of the lower entrance to the cave1 the shale beds are highly distorted along the borders of a trough-like mass of angular conglomerate or breccia1 in which boulders up to six feet in diameter are numerous4 ,it is believed to be the record of a ,triassic landslide1 which avalanched down the mountain front immediately to the east1 and into the old lake at the mountain base4 ,it plowed up the clays in the lake bed1 carried some of them away1 and furrowed the others into the crumpled forms that are clearly visible along the path to the caves4 ,mount ,sugarloaf ,mount ,sugarloaf does not offer ,mount ,lincoln's retreat from crowds nor ,mount ,toby's expansive landscape1 but it is accessible1 and it provides an unrivaled view of the valley between ,south ,deerfield and the ,holyoke ,range4 ,its red sandstones and conglomerates rise almost sheer for #ejj feet above the ,sunderland-,south ,deerfield road4 ,on the northwest and southeast sides the cliffs are determined by nearly vertical joint planes4 ,during the ,ice ,age1 the southward-moving glacier plucked away the loosely attached blocks facing the ,south ,deerfield and ,sunderland sections of the lowland1 leaving ,sugarloaf as a remnant between the joint surfaces4 ,the great bites which the meandering ,connecticut ,river has taken out of the lowland are visible east of ,sunderland village and south towards ,hatfield4 ,each arc in the edge of the scalloped flood plain is the extremity of a meander loop which the wandering river carved in its bank and then abandoned by breaking through the narrow base or tongue1 as it did at the ,northampton ox-bow4 ,an area of low1 rolling1 sandy hills extends through the pine woods for a mile southward from ,south ,deerfield4 ,the hills are dunes which formed when the ,connecticut was picking its channel across the newly exposed and barren bed of glacial ,lake ,hadley4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #bb4 ,meander scarps form a margin to the ,connecticut ,river flood plain at ,sunderland4 ,the panorama from the west side of ,mount ,sugarloaf centers about the deep gorge of the ,deerfield ,river4 ,the top of the gorge widens out into a broad strath and affords a glimpse of the more remote upland4 ,the river1 emerging from this canyon during post-glacial time1 built a huge delta into glacial ,lake ,hadley1 and much of the delta still remains in the terrace which is utilized by the ,boston and ,maine ,railroad as it descends into ,greenfield4 ,turners ,falls ,rushing water has a fascination which was frankly recognized by the highway engineers who made the parking place facing the ,connecticut where ,route #b passes along the north side of ,turners ,falls4 ,here the river drops over a series of sandstone ledges into a deep and narrow channel at the east base of the trap ridge4 ,waterfalls are not common in rivers flowing through lowlands2 they indicate disturbances of normal stream development and sometimes change in course4 ,the ,connecticut ,lowland is old1 but its ancient drainage lines were buried by the deposits left in glacial ,lake ,hadley4 ,the river's present course was established upon these lacustrine sediments1 and the inner valley plain is excavated in them4 ,before entrenchment took place1 the south-flowing reach of the river above ,millers ,falls was deflected westward across the lake plain by the delta of ,millers ,river4 ,it was turned southward once again by the trap ridge near ,turners ,falls4 ,the river soon cut through the unconsolidated lake beds and found that it was out of its pre-glacial channel4 ,the delta of ,millers ,river had diverted the water from the old rock valley beneath the ,montague sand plain1 across a rock divide1 and into the pre-glacial valley of ,falls ,river4 ,the lake-fill in ,falls ,river has been almost completely removed1 and ,turners ,falls now mark the spot where the ,connecticut pours over the bank and into the channel of its pre-glacial tributary4 ,the falls have receded upstream several hundred feet and have cut a deep gash in the ,triassic rocks4 ,pl4 #g4 ,gorges1 in highland and lowland alike1 were formed when the rivers were superimposed on coherent rock4 ,illustration3 a4 ,view of the ,deerfield ,river gorge emerging on valley lowland as seen from ,mt4 ,sugarloaf4 ,illustration3 b4 ,view of the ,french ,king gorge as seen from the bridge4 ,turners ,falls are the product of a series of coincidences4 ,first1 the ice sheet and ,lake ,hadley buried all established drainage lines and forced the streams to adopt new routes over the bared lake bottom4 ,while the lake existed1 ,millers ,river threw a weak obstruction in the path of the ,connecticut1 diverting it to that part of the lowland where one of its pre-glacial tributaries had excavated a slender rock gorge along a fault plane4 ,the river washed the lake deposits out of the gorge1 exposed the old bank of ,falls ,river1 and was busily cutting a new gorge back into this bank when the dam was constructed and its erosive activities were suddenly arrested4 ,the ,french ,king ,bridge ,the highway from ,greenfield to ,athol and ,fitchburg passes ,turners ,falls and crosses the ,connecticut ,river near ,millers ,falls by way of the ,french ,king ,bridge4 ,here the roadway is more than #acj feet above the water level4 ,a picnic ground and parking place at the west end of the bridge make it a particularly attractive place to stop and enjoy the view upstream towards ,northfield4 ,the river occupies a narrow rock gorge for a mile north of the bridge1 but at that point the valley widens out4 ,this entire section of the river's course was established on the old bed of glacial ,lake ,hadley2 but after the unconsolidated deposits were washed away1 the stream found itself flowing along the weak contact between the ,triassic conglomerate on the west bank and the metamorphic rocks of the highlands on the east bank4 ,the river deepened its channel on the weak contact zone and made the scenic cut over which the bridge was built4 ,the pre-glacial valley lies beneath the sand plain east of the river4 ,millers ,river crosses this old valley between ,millers ,falls and its confluence with the ,connecticut1 at the east end of the bridge4 ,the rapids at the junction can be traced to the ridge of crystalline rock between the east bank of the present ,connecticut and the west bank of the pre-glacial ,connecticut4 ,the resistant ledge forms a barrier which ,millers ,river has not yet eroded to its grade4 ,the conglomerate beds on the west wall of the gorge dip steeply eastward towards the river and end against the crystallines4 ,the beds were originally laid down with a gentle westward inclination4 ,they were tilted steeply in the opposite direction against the crystallines by faulting1 which elevated the ranges and pressed down the adjacent basin during ,triassic time4 ,titan's ,piazza and ,titan's ,pier ,not so long ago1 giants and the devil received the credit or the blame for such oddities in nature as rock-masses broken into six-sided columns4 ,ireland has its ,giant's ,causeway1 and ,yellowstone ,national ,park its ,devil's ,post-pile4 ,titan's ,piazza and ,titan's ,pier were likewise attributed to activities of the leader of fallen angels and were given names appropriate to such an origin by the early settlers4 ,dr4 ,hitchcock1 in characteristic fashion1 undertook the task of correcting the errors of puritanical psychology by renaming these places during one of the early ,mountain ,day trips from ,amherst ,college4 ,the entire college body sojourned to the west end of the ,holyoke ,range to hear the cliffs renamed and their true nature explained4 ,devil or no devil1 those huge columns had a hot origin4 ,the dark rock in them is part of the main lava sheet which stretches across the valley in the ,holyoke ,range and swings southward in the ,nonotuck--,mount ,tom ,range4 ,the lava poured out of a series of volcanoes which were strung out along a fissure about three miles to the east1 and the molten mass had a temperature of #abjj to #acjj ,c4 ,the hot lava radiated its heat to the sandstone below and to the air above2 and1 as it cooled1 it contracted like any other substance4 ,the shrinkage was so great that series of cracks formed in regular pattern1 with each crack perpendicular to the cooling surface4 ,the stresses producing the fissures were equal in all directions and would have made circular cracks and cylindrical columns2 but cylinders have non-cylindrical spaces between them1 and the pattern in which the columns are most nearly cylindrical and yet completely occupy all space is hexagonal4 ,so contraction broke the lava into hexagonal columns perpendicular to the cooling surface4 ,the columns are parallel where the lava floor is regular but are curved or radial where the floor is rolling4 ,pl4 #h4 ,trap ridges1 near and far4 ,illustration3 a4 ,view of ,titan's ,piazza at ,hockanum showing the columns resting upon the gently inclined sandstone4 ,illustration3 b4 ,view of the ,springfield lowland from the ,westfield marble quarry4 ,the ,wilbraham ,mts4 appear in the distance4 ,the trap ridge extends through the middle and is breached by the ,westfield ,river4 ,the columns on ,titan's ,pier lie across the river from the ,northampton-,holyoke road in the narrow gap at ,mount ,tom station4 ,the basalt flow is inclined #ae southeastward1 and the columns stand perpendicular to the surface--hence they are inclined with respect to the water level4 ,doubtless the devil docked his boat on the gently inclined rock surface of the cove on the downstream side of the pier4 ,titan's ,piazza is situated east of the road to the ,mount ,holyoke ,house4 ,it is an extremely narrow ledge backed by a stockade of columns4 ,the front of the piazza is literally strewn with wreckage from the house1 for a slope over #ajj feet high is covered with angular pieces of basalt which have fallen from the back wall4 ,the lower ends of the columns break off into shallow hexagonal saucers with the concave sides up4 ,many have slid down the slope1 to the delight of the birds that bathe in them4 ,higher up the cliff1 the saucers become deeper1 and towards the top the columns scale on into bullet shaped masses4 ,westfield ,marble ,quarry ,anyone who drives westward on the ,jacob's ,ladder route from ,springfield passes first through the open1 rolling country of the ,connecticut ,lowland4 ,hills are in sight1 but they seem remote until he leaves ,westfield1 and there the upland rises before him like a #ijj-;foot wall4 ,the road uses the gateway cut in the wall by the ,westfield ,river1 and the drive westward towards the headwaters of the river is one of the best known scenic attractions in western ,massachusetts4 ,but a greater treat awaits the person who will venture southward on the road along the ,little ,westfield ,river4 ,it follows the canyon brink about #ejj feet above the stream4 ,near the hilltop1 a side road turns north to the ,westfield ,marble quarry1 which provides a vantage point overlooking fifty miles of country to the north1 east and south4 ,the ,westfield ,river meanders eastward across the flat lowland4 ,its banks are terraced1 each level cut in the lake beds or in the delta which the river built in glacial ,lake ,springfield4 ,the scalloped margins of the terraces are the extremities of meander loops which developed when the river was not entrenched as deeply in the unconsolidated deposits as it is today4 ,the flatness of the twenty-mile strip of lowland is impressive1 for it ends only at the ,wilbraham ,mountains1 eight miles east of ,springfield4 ,beneath the lowland lie soft and gently dipping sandstones and sandy shales1 capped by a thin veneer of lake clays and river sands4 ,the shales are the youngest ,triassic beds remaining in the region1 and they outcrop between ,thompsonville and ,windsor ,locks1 ,connecticut4 ,younger shales above them succumbed to ,tertiary erosion4 ,the ,wilbraham ,mountains are granite and gneiss which formed the roots of the ancient ,triassic ranges4 ,their present accordant summits are a tribute to the leveling activities which running water performed on a quiescent land1 whereas the deep ,v-shaped valleys incised in the level summits record uplift and quickened erosion in ,tertiary and glacial time4 ,indeed1 the lowland itself owes its existence to the power of rejuvenated streams working on non-resisting rocks4 ,the ,holyoke and ,mount ,tom ranges are visible far to the northeast1 and a chain of low hills connects ,tom with the ridges between ,hartford and ,avon1 ,connecticut4 ,these linear hills surmount the lowland because they are made of basaltic lava1 which is better able to resist the rain and the weather than the sandstones and shales above and below4 ,scattered flat-topped hills between ,southwick and ,granby are sheets of basalt-like rock called diabase1 which was inserted between a sandstone roof and floor4 ,nowhere can one better appreciate the highly individualized imprint which each geological element has made upon the central ,new ,england landscape4 ,the ,old ,lead ,mines ,the colonial period in our nation's history was characterized by an ignorance of its mineral wealth and a dependence upon ,europe for most raw materials1 especially essential metals4 ,during the ,war for ,independence1 ,european supplies were cut off1 and ,yankee ingenuity had to make the most of local deposits of metallic minerals4 ,it was not long before mines were in operation on several lead veins in the ,connecticut ,valley1 yielding a supply of lead for the duration of the war4 ,but the mines were small1 and most of them were soon abandoned1 remaining only as historical sites1 or as collecting localities for the mineralogist4 ,five of these old deposits are still accessible3 four lie west of the valley at ,loudville1 ,west ,farms1 ,hatfield1 and ,williamsburg2 an important one is situated east of the valley at ,leverett4 ,all are very similar in geology and mineralogy1 yet each possesses its own individuality4 ,the ,loudville vein was worked intermittently as late as #ahfa4 ,it follows a fault fracture between walls of gneiss1 but at the southwest end of the vein some of the minerals are disseminated through the ,triassic sandstone and conglomerate4 ,this feature indicates that the sediments were unconsolidated at the time of mineralization4 ,the fault zone resembles many analogous fissures which give forth hot mineral-bearing waters in the ,basin and ,range region of ,nevada1 for the charged waters have impregnated the sands which cover the fissures4 ,the ,loudville vein contains numerous well-formed crystals4 ,barite was the first mineral deposited1 and it is readily recognized as a heavy1 easily scratched substance with one set of cleavage planes at right angles to two others4 ,gray metallic galena and resinous cleavable sphalerite or zinc blende occupy much of the space between the barite plates4 ,hard hexagonal crystals or white masses of quartz coat and even replace the barite plates4 ,spike-shaped crystals of calcite and siderite line many of the cavities and coat the quartz4 ,a patient search will be rewarded by the finding of other minerals1 including pyrite1 chalcopyrite1 pyromorphite1 wulfenite1 malachite and azurite4 ,the old shaft has been closed and the tunnel at the river level has collapsed1 hence the only exposures are in the open cuts4 ,the most interesting is the one at the south end1 where the barite plates are disseminated through the sandstone4 ,another series of pits can be found easily about #ajj yards west of the road to ,west ,farms and about one mile north of the ,loudville deposit4 ,the vein attains a maximum width of three feet between walls of gneiss1 and it occupies a fault fracture which seems to be continuous with the ,loudville zone4 ,included in the vein are many fragments of a black phyllite resembling the ,leyden argillite1 as well as pieces of gneiss4 ,the minerals are identical with those found in the ,loudville deposit1 but the specimens of quartz1 galena and sphalerite are more spectacular4 ,the ,hatfield vein occurs in a rock of igneous origin1 known as the ,williamsburg granodiorite4 ,it is exposed at the west edge of the valley1 about #bjj feet from ,federal ,highway #e1 at the northern limit of the settlement called ,west ,hatfield4 ,the workings are full of water1 and the very thorough mining activities carried on by mineral collectors and by ,smith ,college and ,amherst classes have reduced the waste pile to negligible proportions4 ,early collections and records reveal that the vein is essentially like those farther south4 ,at ,hatfield1 ,west ,farms and ,loudville the fractures do not parallel the systems in the ,triassic sediments and lavas4 ,a galena-bearing vein outcrops near the ,whately-,williamsburg town line at the north end of the ,northampton reservoir4 ,leyden argillite forms the walls of a fault fissure4 ,barite is absent from this vein1 but fine quartz1 pyrite and chalcopyrite coat the walls4 ,coarse comb quartz encrusts the older minerals1 together with breccia fragments and cubes of galena4 ,the vein is remote from the valley and differs in mineralogy and texture from those within the valley4 ,other deposits like it have been found in the nearby hills4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #bc4 ,geologic map of the region in the vicinity of the lead veins near ,leverett4 #a4 ,only barite in these veins #b4 ,best mineral locality #c4 ,best place to see fault #d4 ,slickensides and tension cracks show direction of movement on fracture making opening for vein #e4 ,best place to see quartz replacing barite along crush zones in vein ,the ,leverett lead vein is the most interesting of the group because it is so well exposed that the nature of the vein system is admirably displayed4 ,the deposit lies in a series of overlapping1 nearly vertical fault fissures in gneiss4 ,slickensides and tension cracks on the walls of the veins indicate that the movement was nearly horizontal from northeast to southwest4 ,wherever a fracture begins to narrow and close up1 another begins to widen and become conspicuous a few feet to the northwest of it4 ,several different fissures appear along the length of the mineral zone4 ,the same minerals are present as are found in the ,loudville1 ,west ,farms and ,hatfield veins1 but barite is more abundant and quartz less so4 ,numerous cavities lined with crystals indicate that the vein formed close to the earth's surface4 ,apparently the minerals entered fractures situated near the front of a range that bordered the basin in ,triassic time4 ,a fault zone so located would lack the great thickness of rock that once lay over the gneiss and would be free from any appreciable overburden of outwash within the ,triassic basins4 ,the ,dinosaur ,tracks ,near ,holyoke ,people still write from as far away as the ,rocky ,mountains to ask if the dinosaur footprints beside the ,connecticut ,river are still in place4 ,they are4 ,anyone may see them in that triangular area between the ,boston and ,maine tracks and ,federal ,highway #e about one-quarter mile north of the entrance to ,mountain ,park4 ,marvelous as their preservation from the assaults of man may seem1 it is even more amazing that they should have been preserved in rock at all4 ,illustration3 ,pl4 #i;a4 ,the dinosaur track preserve at ,smith's ,ferry near ,holyoke4 ,illustration3 ,pl4 #i;b4 ,varved clays or calendar beds on river bank south of ,hadley4 ,the footprint beds are shaly sandstones about thirty feet above the ,granby tuff--a bed of volcanic ash formed in late ,triassic time4 ,they are inclined #ae towards the river1 and even the higher strata which form the ,riffles are footprint-bearing4 ,the sandstones are ripple-marked1 and they contain worm trails and a few casts of salt crystals4 ,some beds have impressions of reeds4 ,the footprints range from half an inch to ten inches in length1 and the stride of the larger animals was from five to eight feet4 ,most of the tracks are headed up the present slope1 but a few are going in the opposite direction4 ,the sandstones were laid down as almost horizontal beds of sand which were occasionally covered and rippled by moving but rather shallow water4 ,rushes and reeds1 which have left stray impressions in the rock1 grew seasonally in the shallow waters1 but in between the periodic rains and floods1 the local climate seems to have been quite dry--and probably very warm4 ,the sedimentary record suggests a lowland much like some of the tropical valleys in the ,west ,indies1 lying in the rain shadow of adjacent mountains4 ,the large tracks invariably have impressions of three toes4 ,even a careful search does not disclose the double tracks which would have been left by quadrupeds1 and for years the bipedal impressions were called bird tracks4 ,but birds have spurs which leave a mark behind the middle toe2 these animals had no spurs and were not birds1 but reptiles4 ,gregarious animals generally follow a leader1 and only an occasional individual strays from the beaten path4 ,the tracks at ,holyoke suggest that these ,triassic reptiles traveled in small herds4 ,the modern silts of the ,connecticut ,valley are not a good medium for the preservation of tracks because they lack coherence1 and they drift with the wind as soon as they dry4 ,clays in a region of seasonal aridity are different4 ,they are baked hard in the hot sun1 and the water contains dissolved mineral matter which crystallizes in the clay and sand as the water evaporates1 cementing the particles into a rock-like aggregate4 ,impressions in this sort of mud are preserved4 ,the ,connecticut ,valley had the right kind of sediment and climate in ,triassic time2 impressions of salt crystals can be found in the shales where the tracks are clearest1 not only in this locality but elsewhere in the neighborhood of ,holyoke and ,west ,springfield4 ,these precipitated salts helped hold the clays together until they were effectively buried1 and afterwards a firmer cement was deposited around the particles4 ,footprints are known near ,south ,hadley1 at ,turners ,falls1 at ,gill1 and along the highway to the ,french ,king ,bridge2 but they do not portray the character of the animals1 their habits and the mode of preservation of their tracks as effectively as the tracks north of ,holyoke4 ,certainly no occurrence of tracks in situ is as accessible1 and no geological exhibit in ,new ,england has received so many visitors4 ,fossil ,fishing ,many years ago men were excavating to lay a foundation for a waterwheel at what was ,whittemore's ,ferry1 three miles north of ,sunderland4 ,they made a catch of some of the most ancient fish ever taken in ,new ,england1 but the fish were petrified and did not put up a fight4 ,they were found in layers of black shale1 in which skeletons and carbonized tissues were well preserved4 ,of the five genera identified1 all but one were ganoids4 ,the shale accumulated as mud on a ,triassic lake bottom1 and it was covered by a coarse stream-laid gravel which has since been cemented into rock4 ,the mud was not eroded by the stream which washed down the gravel1 and the pebbles are not even impressed into the underlying shale4 ,apparently the fish perished as the waters evaporated and the lake became a playa flat4 ,the limited variety of fish suggests that the connections with outside regions were restricted1 and that living conditions within the basin were rigorous4 ,the situation may have been like that found in the fresh water lakes along the western margin of the ,great ,basin in ,nevada and eastern ,california4 ,other lake deposits with fish remains appear at different levels from ,whittemore's ,ferry up to the ,sunderland ,caves4 ,each is covered by a conglomerate layer1 and at each place the lake clays had been partially hardened before the pebbles were washed over them4 ,seemingly dry alluvial plains followed transient lakes in kaleidoscopic but cyclic succession4 ,calendar ,beds ,the lakes in which the fish lived and died date back to late ,triassic time4 ,much younger were the lakes that followed the continental ice sheets1 and in many valley localities these younger water bodies have registered their brief span of geologic life4 ,for they1 too1 were settling basins for clays1 which are characterized by annual depositional bands like the growth rings in a tree4 ,these clays may be examined best in the clay pits at any of the brickyards1 particularly at ,south ,hadley ,falls1 or beside the high river banks rising above the ,connecticut flood plain just south of ,hadley4 ,the clays consist of alternating thin1 dark1 fine bands and thick1 light1 coarser ones4 ,the coarser bands are sandy1 and some of them have ripple-marks4 ,the total number of pairs of beds is the number of years that glacial ,lakes ,springfield and ,hadley inundated the valley1 but it is not a simple matter to count them4 ,actually the lake bottom deposits are but a small fraction of the total volume of material brought to the lake4 ,lake shore deposits and deltas grew outward and buried the bottom deposits after a few hundred years had passed4 ,thus in the pits at ,south ,hadley ,falls1 the clays rest upon glacial gravels1 and a scant hundred layers intervene between them and the sands above4 ,shore encroachment is not encountered at ,hadley1 but the shallow depth of the present water table hinders deep exploration1 and the ,fort ,river has removed many of the upper beds4 ,long winters result in thick winter deposits1 and heavy spring floods cause thick sand layers4 ,if the winter of any year is long at ,northampton1 it is usually long everywhere in ,new ,england2 and if the ,connecticut has floods1 most neighboring drainage systems have them1 too4 ,in this way1 similar layers1 or similar successions of layers1 are formed at different places at the same time2 and the lake deposits at ,white ,river ,junction1 ,deerfield1 ,hadley1 ,south ,hadley ,falls1 ,chicopee and ,springfield may be matched and dated with respect to each other4 ,the complete record in the valley shows that1 in the vicinity of the ,holyoke ,range1 the lake came into existence about #ah1jjj years ago4 ,in each of the clay pits every set of lines exposed on the working faces represents a year1 and the deposit as a whole is a calendar--in fact1 it is also a thermograph for part of the region's post-glacial history4 ,some bands at ,south ,hadley ,falls and along the ,hadley river bank are highly distorted1 and the distorted layers are planed off smooth4 ,spring sand covers the distorted beds4 ,the disturbance can be attributed to ice which froze to the lake bottom and dragged the clay layers as it expanded and contracted with changes in temperature4 ,locally the clays are exceptionally hard about certain centers1 forming clay stones or concretions4 ,a willow twig or shell or some organic substance is commonly present at their cores4 ,groundwater has deposited calcium and iron carbonate about the adjacent clay particles and cemented them into rock4 ,the ,holyoke ,range ,for years it has been a popular outdoor pastime to walk the ,range4 ,the distance is neither so great nor the route so rugged that it cannot be covered in the course of an afternoon1 even if ample time is allotted for stops at the many lookouts4 ,the latter provide ever changing views of the valley from ,greenfield and beyond1 to ,meriden1 ,connecticut4 ,the buildings in ,hartford are easily visible on a clear day4 ,the trail follows the crest of the ,range closely and only rarely leaves the basalt lava flow4 ,the trip is somewhat less arduous from west to east than it is in the opposite direction1 and the view from ,bare ,mountain is a pleasant climax for those ending their hike at the ,notch4 ,at the toll booth the trail leaves the road which ascends to the ,mount ,holyoke ,hotel and angles upward along the mountain slope4 ,overhead the dark basaltic lava columns rest upon red and white ,triassic sandstone1 and the path soon crosses the contact between the two types of rocks4 ,a short distance above the contact the trail takes advantage of a col and climbs to the top of the ridge4 ,down the steep southeasterly slope ,mount ,holyoke ,college appears in the distance through a screen of oak trees4 ,the remainder of the climb is gentle1 and soon the path enters the clearing around the hotel4 ,the view is arresting4 ,the ,connecticut emerges from behind ,mount ,sugarloaf1 wanders through the ,hadley fields1 flows through the watergap just west of ,mount ,holyoke1 and disappears far to the south beyond ,springfield4 ,northampton is spread out below4 ,automobiles on the ,hockanum ,road look like so many moving dots4 ,the hills between the ,range and ,south ,hadley are made of volcanic ash and lava2 many have pipe-like cores which were the necks of ancient volcanoes4 ,off to the east are higher points on the ,range which lie on the route to be followed4 ,the path continues along the crest of the range and descends gradually to the toll road level at ,taylor's ,notch4 ,here it is on sandstone1 and the lava-sandstone contact is exposed on both sides of the gap4 ,sandstone cliffs rise fifty feet high a few yards down the road2 and the fine arenaceous character of the rock and its bedding are visible at some distance4 ,the trail climbs steeply from this col and soon skirts the edge of an abrupt cliff1 in which are carved the initials of many hikers who paused on the ledge to rest and to enjoy the panorama4 ,eastward the path might well serve as the model for a roller coaster in an amusement park4 ,the ,sisters are a series of hills separated by sharp1 deep valleys2 and no sooner has one attained a summit than a drop down the other side is in order4 ,abrupt #cj-;foot cliffs trending north and south form many of the valley margins2 they are smooth joint surfaces where the rock is weak1 and where blocks were plucked out by the great ,ice ,sheet4 ,each of the ,sisters has a cleared lookout which affords a new picture of the ,hadley-,deerfield lowland to the north4 ,the last lookout is some distance below the succession of summits1 and it affords a view to the east4 ,a cliff drops #bjj feet vertically1 and about one-quarter of a mile farther east other cliffs of red-weathering basalt face towards it4 ,almost all of the broad1 low gap between the cliffs is underlain by a complicated mixture of volcanic ash1 agglomerate and irregular lava flows4 ,the cliff itself is thick columnar basalt1 and at its base is a coarse sandstone4 ,but the sandstone is thin and disappears in the depression1 whereas the agglomerate and lava become very thick and extend northward to the top of ,little ,tinker and the ,tinker4 ,they are part of an ancient volcanic cone1 buried in sandstone both to the east and to the west4 ,flow structures in the main sheet move away from this center1 which is believed to have been one of the volcanoes on the line which supplied the basalt for the great lava field4 ,in the depression1 the trail winds between hills of twisted lava and consolidated agglomerate4 ,when the trees are leafed out and the surrounding hills concealed1 it is easy to imagine oneself on the slope of a ,pacific volcano4 ,the trail divides at the lowest point in the depression1 and the less used fork goes north to the ,bay ,road at the northern base of the ,range4 ,the other fork ascends ,mount ,hitchcock1 and at a slight elevation above the low flat it crosses from the agglomerate to the ,holyoke basalt sheet4 ,the best lookout on the ,range between the ,mount ,holyoke ,hotel and ,bare ,mountain is on top of ,mount ,hitchcock4 ,a side trail leads out to a promontory1 from which one may peer along the face of the ,range1 look down upon the ,tinker and ,little ,tinker1 and gaze over the lowland which the ,connecticut has excavated in the ,new ,england upland through the long course of geologic time4 ,the east slope of ,mount ,hitchcock descends steeply1 and many a hasty hiker has made the trip in less time than he intended4 ,the path drops to a flat which measures about #a1jjj feet across1 and in which the sandstone lying below the lava sheet is sporadically exposed4 ,here the thick basaltic lava has been worn away2 and erosion ceases both east and west at conspicuous fracture surfaces which locally become fault planes4 ,beyond this low notch the trail leads irregularly upward and eventually comes out on ,bare ,mountain4 ,the top is bare indeed2 even scrub oak is absent from the summit4 ,the long south slope of the ,range is clearly visible1 and to the west is the ,mount ,holyoke ,hotel where the hike started4 ,the ,mount ,tom ,range1 with the ,connecticut ,river at its foot1 is just to the left4 ,due south are the towers of ,mount ,holyoke ,college and the cities of ,holyoke and ,springfield4 ,if the day is clear1 the tall buildings of ,hartford appear in the far distance4 ,six hundred feet directly below1 the highway goes through the ,notch1 and across the road is the trap quarry in ,notch ,mountain1 which supplies the crushed stone for the local highways4 ,the face of ,notch ,mountain lies north of the main line of the ,range because the basalt sheet has been displaced northward between fault planes that bound the eminences on either side4 ,the notches utilized by the highway and by the power line are due to facile erosion of the crushed rock along the fault planes4 ,farther to the east1 ,mount ,norwottock rises to the greatest height in the ,range1 and the view from its summit is at least the equal of that from ,bare ,mountain4 ,the ,hadley lowland stretches northward between the ,pelham ,hills on the east and the ,berkshire ,hills on the west1 and protruding above its relatively flat surface are ,mount ,warner1 ,mount ,sugarloaf and ,mount ,toby4 ,the ,deerfield gorge trenches the western upland just west of ,sugarloaf1 and on the skyline is ,glastenbury far off in ,vermont4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #bd4 ,diagrams showing the stages in development of topography in the vicinity of the ,notch4 ,illustration3 a4 ,the ,new ,england peneplain stage at the ,notch4 ,illustration3 b4 ,the incoherent rocks are removed from the lava flow4 ,illustration3 c4 ,the contours of the cliffs are smoothed out4 ,the downward trail follows the cliff above the highway4 ,the drop is rapid but not precipitous1 and soon the western half of the trail is behind4 ,the east end of the ,range1 especially beyond ,mount ,norwottock1 is less commonly visited1 but it offers much more of the valley's story4 ,here the ,range is more broken than it is in the western half1 and the trail winds through valleys for much of the distance4 ,long gentle slopes from the west lead to mountain summits1 and steep eastern descents take the hiker into the valleys4 ,plainly the walk is much easier from west to east than in the opposite direction4 ,the trail leads from the crusher scales around the north base of ,notch ,mountain and thence up the power line to the crest of the ridge4 ,the path lies on conglomerate below the lava sheet through most of the distance and returns to the lava only where it bends eastward along the crest line4 ,faulting east of ,notch ,mountain has moved the base of the lava southward until it abuts on the sandstone above the lava occurring west of the fracture4 ,thus1 the entire backslope of the ,range along the power line is coarse sandstone1 whereas in the woods to the east it is vesicular basaltic lava4 ,many small but abrupt descents occur along the path as it follows the ridge eastward4 ,each of them marks the position of a minor fault1 along which the eastern side has been pushed down and southward under the western side4 ,however1 the elevation of the trail increases gradually to the summit of ,mount ,norwottock1 which is almost as high as the uplands bordering the valley4 ,if one can momentarily overlook the lowland excavated on the incoherent ,triassic sandstones1 the regional surface seems to slope gently upward to the east1 the north and the west4 ,far to the east ,mount ,wachusett rises above the general level1 and there in the northeast is ,monadnock's sharp cone4 ,on the western skyline ,mount ,greylock's summit1 with the fire tower at the north end1 attains prominence as ,massachusett's highest peak4 ,the long ridge of ,glastenbury and the point of ,bald ,mountain are clearly visible in the northwest4 ,far to the south stretches the lowland1 and on a clear day ,hartford's towers stand sharp and clear against the sky4 ,the north face of the ,range is a sheer #bej-;foot cliff4 ,the south side is a half-mile-long1 #bj-;degree slope4 ,eastward the crest terminates in a precipitous drop1 and the trail winds down the corner between the north face and the cliffs at the east end4 ,it crosses the contact between the lava flow and the red ,triassic conglomerate about #aej feet below the summit4 ,the conglomerate beds are separated by shaly sandstones1 many of which have weathered out to make rock shelters2 these are the so-called ,horse ,sheds and are said to have been used during ,shays' ,rebellion4 ,the great cliff at the east end of ,norwottock was caused by the rapid erosion of the sandstones below the lava sheet1 which has receded steadily westward as it was undermined4 ,recession started at a fault plane about halfway between ,norwottock and ,hilliard ,knob1 for here displacement pushed the lava down and southward on the east side until the subjacent sandstone was exposed west of the fault4 ,exposure led to erosion and to recession of the lava cap4 ,the trail passes through the ,horse ,sheds to the south base of the ,range1 following the contact of the lava with the overlying sandstone for about one-half mile on the way towards ,hilliard ,knob4 ,this eminence lies over half a mile north of the crest of the ,range1 for it has been offset by faulting1 much like the displacements near ,mount ,norwottock and ,notch ,mountain1 and the trail passes suddenly from the conglomerate above the lava flow to the conglomerate below it4 ,trail markers must be observed closely through this section because many wood roads cross the path4 ,eastward the way again leads upward to the lava and follows the crest of a low section of the ,range1 but soon another fault breaks the continuity of the ridge1 and the high top of ,flat ,mountain stands out on the far side of a deep hollow4 ,the hollow is underlain by sandstone below the lava sheet1 and the trail follows down the steep dip slope of the beds1 only to ascend again towards the reddish basalt cliffs of the mountain4 ,at the base of the flow1 the bed of a dry brook exposes a mass of frothy lava4 ,the best views from the top of ,flat ,mountain are those along the south slope of the ,range towards ,mount ,tom1 and northward across the ,hadley lowland4 ,the path then turns down the north face of the mountain some #bjj yards along the crest from the west end and1 passing over a series of conglomerate ledges underlying the lava1 it continues along a wood road beside a steep-sided brook until it comes to the ,bay ,road at the fork to ,dwight and ,belchertown4 ,any nature lover will find the trail very interesting4 ,the views from the western half are unexcelled4 ,wild flowers and birds abound along the less frequented eastern section4 ,anyone wishing to see how molten lavas and earth movements in the distant past have influenced the topography of the present will find the far eastern walk a veritable revelation4 ,trips from ,northampton ,northampton makes an excellent base for many drives that will gratify the lover of scenery1 of rocks1 or of minerals4 ,the drives range from ten to one hundred miles in length1 and any one of them may be extended or shortened at the whim of the driver4 ,to the east the hard surface of ,route #i leads through ,amherst1 ,pelham1 and ,belchertown2 and to the west1 as the ,berkshire ,trail1 it rises to the western upland via ,williamsburg and ,goshen4 ,side roads go to ,ashfield and ,conway1 and permit a return by way of ,south ,deerfield2 or1 via ,cummington and ,west ,chesterfield1 one may come back by way of ,huntington and ,westhampton4 ,federal ,highway #e follows the ,valley north to ,greenfield1 whence optional return routes are available through ,shelburne ,falls1 ,conway and ,south ,deerfield in the western upland2 or through ,orange1 ,pelham and ,amherst in the eastern upland4 ,each of these routes offers arresting views of the broad ,connecticut ,valley1 the picturesque gorges along its margins1 and the even-crested highlands with distant peaks of greater elevation4 ,indeed1 the choice of attractive drives is bewildering1 even for those who are hesitant about wandering off the surfaced highways4 ,in the following pages only a few of the possibilities which are available to the motorist are described4 ,and for each one chosen1 the striking views and the significant geological features are indicated1 in the hope and belief that the traveler may turn explorer and1 in following other byways1 may reconstruct for himself many additional details of the region's geologic past4 ,northampton1 ,amherst1 ,pelham ,the route leaves from the ,court ,house corner on ,highway #e and the excursion follows ,route #i eastward across the ,coolidge ,memorial ,bridge 7#a4c71a where a panorama of the floodplain with its many channel scars and terrace levels is spread out below 7see pp4 #a-c74 ,beyond ,hadley 7#c4j7 the road tops the highest river floodplain at a conspicuous terrace 7#d4i7 and rolls gently over the ancient bed of ,lake ,hadley4 ,the shore line of this glacial lake appears as a broad flat between ,orchard ,street and ,lincoln ,avenue in ,amherst 7#f-i74 7,see pp4 #e-g47 ,the route turns left at the traffic intersection 7#g4b7 and continues to the north end of the common 7#g4d71 where it turns right on the ,pelham road4 ,this road crosses the lake bottom from the ,central ,vermont ,railroad tracks 7#g4i7 to the ,orient 7#i4i71 where the delta of glacial ,orient ,brook made a conspicuous gravel terrace at the farthest limit of the lake4 ,stone fences make their appearance 7see pp4 #h-i72 rocky ledges and erratics abound at higher elevations1 but perched shore lines of ice-margin lakes occur at many levels up ,pelham ,hill4 ,the road to ,mount ,lincoln 7see pp4 #ea-eb7 turns right 7#aa4b7 just west of the ,amherst reservoir 7#aa4d74 ,as the road approaches the hilltop 7#ab4i71 an opening westward through the trees reveals an unusual view of the ,holyoke ,range2 and the broad lowland valley from ,mount ,tom in the south to ,mount ,sugarloaf in the north spreads out below4 ,on the hilltop 7#ac4c7 the road enters the ,daniel ,shays ,highway 7#ac4i74 ,mount ,wachusett 7see p4 #ae7 lies straight ahead and projects above the great expanse of the ,new ,england upland 7see p4 #df72 ,mount ,monadnock rises even higher in the northeast1 and everywhere1 deep valleys furrow the highland and break its otherwise monotonous surface4 ,the ,daniel ,shays ,highway runs north to ,athol1 where it joins the ,mohawk ,trail2 but on this trip we shall turn to the right1 or south1 at ,pelham and follow ,federal ,highway #bjb along the valleys in the ,quabbin reservoir watershed4 ,pelham gneiss is the most abundant rock along the highway1 outcropping west of the road 7#ad4a7 in a series of eastward-dipping layers that resemble sandstone4 ,mount ,lincoln's fire tower stands high above the skyline directly west from the power line crossing 7#af4a74 ,the country has a gently rolling form1 which was imposed upon it by the ice sheet 7see p4 #i71 and the miles of stone fences represent glacial debris piled up by the early settlers in an effort to bring agricultural order out of geological chaos4 ,blossoms on the wild cherry trees along these fences and the flowering dogwood make this a particularly attractive drive in the spring4 ,a ledge of gneiss with large eye-shaped crystals of reddish feldspar lies east of the highway at #af4c miles4 ,as the road begins to descend 7#ah4a71 a panorama of the broad lowland between ,belchertown and ,palmer spreads out below4 ,view succeeds view as the road drops to lower levels3 ,at one place it is ,holyoke and ,springfield2 at another it is ,belchertown2 and finally the highway comes to the corners 7#ba4a7 where routes lead right to ,amherst1 left to ,worcester1 and straight ahead through ,belchertown to ,palmer1 ,springfield and ,holyoke4 ,the ,granby-,holyoke road 7,federal ,highway #bjb7 turns right at the south end of the ,belchertown common 7#bb4j74 ,after crossing the railroad 7#bb4d71 it passes out upon the plain of glacial ,lake ,springfield 7#be4c7 where the stone fences cease to line the roads1 because the lake deposits cover the glacial boulders4 ,rocky islands in glacial ,lake ,springfield surmount the flat lacustrine plain 7#bf4i74 ,granby is situated on a long rolling point 7#bh to #ca4f7 that is underlain principally by flat-lying arkosic conglomerate1 but more ancient crystalline rocks appear just a little farther east4 ,in this section the lake plain is very narrow1 and the drop to the ,connecticut ,river ,valley begins at #cb4c miles and continues to the junction with the ,south ,hadley road 7#cc4b71 where varved clay 7see pp4 #d-g7 makes its appearance in the pits to the right of the highway4 ,the itinerary of this excursion continues on ,federal ,highway #bjb through ,holyoke in preference to the alternate routes through ,south ,hadley and thence either by way of ,hockanum 7p4 #he7 or via ,amherst 7pp4 #hc-hd7 to ,northampton4 ,the ,holyoke road crosses the ,connecticut ,river 7#cc4h to #cd4a7 where the ,longmeadow or youngest ,triassic sandstone appears in a series of serrate ledges between the bridge and the dam at the right4 ,mud-cracks on some layers and ripple marks on others tell of wet and dry seasons at the time they were formed4 ,the route turns right just south of the ,holyoke post office 7#cd4f7 and right again into ,federal ,highway #e 7#cf4b71 which parallels the river4 ,the road has been built on a terrace which was once the flat bottom of glacial ,lake ,springfield 7#cg4h71 but at the north end of the city it descends towards the ,connecticut ,river1 utilizing the contact between the red layers of ,longmeadow sandstone and the massive1 dark green ,granby tuff with large volcanic bombs that are visible from the road4 ,the twin entrances to ,mountain ,park 7#ch and #ch4b7 may tempt the motorist to indulge in an attractive side trip1 but there is enough to occupy him on the main highway4 ,nearer the river 7#ch4e71 a ledge slopes from the roadway to the railroad tracks and to a series of riffles in the stream4 ,this is the ,smith's ,ferry footprint locality 7pp4 #ff-fg71 and the widened highway and the entrance to the ledges offer an invitation which cannot be declined 7#ch4f74 ,north of the dinosaur tracks1 road1 railroad and river run parallel4 ,lateral roads are few1 but there is a gateway 7#dj4b7 into the ,mount ,tom ,reservation4 ,the ,granby tuff1 which has outcropped persistently on the west side of the road1 rises to a high bluff and then passes eastward beneath the river 7#dj4f74 ,the underlying second lava replaces it in the road cuts and is especially conspicuous along the railroad 7#dj4i74 ,the next dark gray bluff west of the road 7#da4d to #da4f7 is part of the ,holyoke flow which caps the ,mount ,tom and ,mount ,holyoke ranges 7see pp4 #bf-bg74 ,soon it1 too1 crosses the river to ,titan's ,pier 7pp4 #fj-fa71 and old residents say that a ledge of it outcropped in the river bed at low water before the ,holyoke dam raised the water level4 ,directly ahead1 southward-dipping beds of conglomerate outcrop on either side of the road 7#da4j72 these beds underlie the lava forming the gentle southern slopes of the ranges1 and their position beneath the trap can be seen plainly on the steep northern slopes4 ,the road through the ,mount ,tom ,reservation rejoins the highway 7#db4b7 just south of the outlet from the ,oxbow ,lake 7#db4c71 the upper end of which also loops 'round and abuts against the highway 7#db4g74 7,see p4 #c47 ,annual floods inundate most of this section1 and even the banked-up road and railroad periodically go under the swirling waters of the swollen river4 ,a sign 7#dc4e7 announces that the roadway was #ac4e feet below water at the height of the #aicf flood1 but it is hoped that the new dike at the southern limit of ,northampton will hereafter turn the floods away from the lower sections of the city4 ,federal ,highway #e bears right 7#dd4j71 and the road ahead continues into the ,berkshire ,trail4 ,of passing interest is the fact that a well drilled near this junction penetrated #c1gjj feet of ,triassic arkose without reaching the crystalline rock floor4 ,the road crosses the unused bed of ,mill ,river 7#dd4b7 and comes once again to the ,court ,house corner in ,northampton 7#dd4f74 ,belchertown1 ,amherst1 and ,northampton ,in our first tour we noted that a road 7,route #i7 turns right to ,amherst at the south end of the ,daniel ,shays ,highway 7#ba4a71 and if we will return to this junction1 it will be worth our while to make the ,amherst run4 ,just beyond the intersection the highway traverses the level gravel plain of a nice margin lake 7see p4 #g7 before it descends 7#bb4j7 toward the ,lake ,hadley plain4 ,erratic boulders and stone fences are abundant on the slope1 and the bedrock is part of the pre-,triassic complex4 ,one very interesting pegmatite contains inclusions of contorted schist 7#bc4b74 ,the road soon leaves the rocky slopes for the gravel plain of ,lake ,hadley1 but only a short distance northward and westward lie the ,belchertown ,ponds1 which seem to occupy a large and deep kettle hole area 7see pp4 #g-h74 ,the road winds through pine-clad kame terraces1 left on the margin of the ice which filled the ,lake ,hadley basin2 and where it emerges from the woods 7#bd4d71 the line of hills making the ,holyoke ,range may be seen stretching westward in a series of sharp points4 ,these are the projecting edges of the ,holyoke lava flow which resisted erosion after all the softer sediment and volcanic debris flanking it were removed4 ,the road to ,mount ,lincoln turns right at ,pansy ,park 7#bd4i71 and north of this point the ,amherst road follows a kame terrace between the ,pelham ,hills on the right1 and the former ice-filled bed of glacial ,lake ,hadley on the left4 ,ultimately 7#bg4a7 the highway leaves the terrace and drops to a delta which was deposited in ,lake ,hadley4 ,the view northward shows ,mount ,toby and ,mount ,sugarloaf outlined sharply1 and to the east near the ,orient1 the sharp ,v-shaped notch of the north fork of ,fort ,river cuts one of the kame terraces4 ,the delta deposit 7#bg4e to #bg4g7 shows excellent fore-set beds in the gravel pit 7#bg4g71 and its entire surface is dotted with ponds which occupy irregular kettle holes 7see pp4 #g-h74 ,the highway continues down the delta slope and crosses the ,fort ,river 7#bh4d74 ,this river established a meandering course upon the bed of ,lake ,hadley1 but its floodplain is now excavated below the level of the lake deposits1 which form a terrace above the stream4 ,the road passes through ,amherst 7#cj4b7 and returns to ,northampton 7#cg4d7 by the outbound route4 ,south ,hadley1 ,amherst1 ,northampton ,the route #aaf north from the road junction at ,south ,hadley ,falls 7#cc4b7 also has its points of interest4 ,after it passes over the deeply dissected deposits in ,lake ,springfield1 it rises above the old lake level at the ,mount ,holyoke campus 7#ce4a7 and continues at this higher elevation beyond the ,hockanum-,amherst fork 7#ce4i7 in the center of ,south ,hadley4 ,along the right fork 7,state ,highway #aaf71 which leads to ,amherst1 horizontal ,longmeadow sandstone outcrops west of the road 7#cg4a7 where the slope to the valley of ,bachelor ,brook begins4 ,the flat lake plain extends from ,moody's ,corner 7#cg4d7 to the base of the ,holyoke ,range4 ,a gravel road turns right from the highway 7#ch4b7 and crosses the brook one mile east1 and from this locality were excavated many of the excellent dinosaur footprints in the ,amherst ,college collection4 ,the lake plain ends at ledges of ,granby tuff and agglomerate 7#ch4e74 ,the outcrops east of the road are grooved with glacial striations1 and the fragmental nature of the rock is clearly revealed in the smooth surface4 ,lava lies on the tuff west of the road 7#ch4g7 and also at the bottom of the volcanic series at the ,aldrich ,lake road 7#ci4j74 ,coarse conglomerates make recurrent ridges as far as the base of the ,range 7#ci4e71 where the road follows a shelf cut into the ,holyoke lava flow just west of the ,notch fault4 ,the conglomerate east of this fault was displaced downward2 and as it disintegrates easily1 a depression has been cut into the ,range east of the road4 ,the quarry situated at the top of the ,range 7#ci4h7 just north of the ,amherst town line1 has brought to light many fault fractures that have served the mineral collector well for almost a century4 ,the ,range trail 7see pp4 #gc-ge7 westward leaves the highway at the town line marker1 and the path eastward follows the old trolley line northeastward from the scales house4 ,the route begins its descent 7#dj4b7 through a cut in conglomerate1 and the entire northern valley is spread out below3 ,sugarloaf and ,toby close the eastern side of the view1 and hills far up in ,vermont form the background in the northwest4 ,the road quickly reaches the flat plain of ,lake ,hadley 7#dj4g71 with apple orchards stretching along its gravel shore line4 ,the ,bay ,road crosses the highway 7#da4a7 and parallels the ,range from end to end4 ,the lake deposits fail to conceal many earlier features4 ,two drumlins 7see p4 #i7 rise to the east of the road 7#da4h7 near ,south ,amherst4 ,south ,amherst 7#db4g7 is on an island in the old lake2 erratic boulders cover the hilltop1 and bare rocks mark the old wave-washed shore4 ,the highway crosses ,fort 7or ,freshman7 ,river 7#dc4h71 and at the railroad tracks 7#dd4f7 it rises to the old lake beach1 which is continued in the flat land on the south side of the ,amherst ,college campus4 ,the route turns left at ,northampton ,road 7,route #i7 and continues to ,northampton 7#eb4b74 ,the ,hockanum ,road 7,state ,highway #fc71 which follows the left fork at ,south ,hadley 7#cc4b71 crosses the ,lake ,springfield sand plain 7#cd4a7 and rises above the lake level beyond ,bachelor ,brook 7#cd4c71 staying at this higher altitude beyond the junction with the ,moody's ,corner road 7#ce4c74 ,the hills directly ahead are tuff1 agglomerate and lava1 and are products of the last volcanic episode in this region4 ,dry ,brook 7#ce4f7 flows on the sandstone overlying the ,holyoke lava sheet1 and the latter outcrops in the road cuts 7#ce4h7 and to the left in ,titan's ,pier 7see pp4 #fj-fa74 ,the road to the ,mount ,holyoke ,house and ,titan's ,piazza 7see p4 #fa7 turns right 7#cf4j7 where the highway breaks through the last of the lava mass4 ,the #aicf flood inundated this highway 7#cf4e to #cg4b71 and the old watermark may still be identified by debris caught in the bushes and left on pasture land4 ,the view upstream from the floodplain 7#cg4j7 shows where the ,connecticut is cutting into its eastern bank and causing it to recede 7see pp4 #a-b74 ,soon it will penetrate the valley of ,fort ,river4 ,the road passes through a woodland on the dissected lake-shore deposits1 but it soon emerges upon the lake bottom and early river silts 7#ch4f74 ,the ,bay ,road 7#ci4h7 enters from the east just south of the bridge over ,fort ,river 7#ci4i74 ,the road joins the outbound route at ,hadley 7#da7 and returns to ,northampton 7#dd74 ,holyoke1 ,easthampton1 ,northampton ,the return from ,holyoke 7#cf4b7 by way of ,easthampton leaves ,federal ,highway #e and rises westward across a ridge of ,granby tuff4 ,several small lakes 7#cf4g7 occupy basins on the friable second sandstone between the second lava and ,granby tuff1 which lie immediately to the east1 and the ,holyoke lava1 which lies below and to the west4 ,the sandstone is very thin1 and the road shortly begins to climb up the dip slope of the ,holyoke lava sheet4 ,sandstone crops out below the sheet at the west base of a low cliff 7#ch4a7 which continues northward to the south face of ,mount ,tom4 ,the ,christopher ,clark road through the ,mount ,tom ,reservation enters from the north at the summit 7#ch4e72 it follows a scenic route under the west cliffs of the ,range to its north end at ,mount ,nonotuck1 where it drops abruptly in a series of hairpin curves to ,mount ,tom ,junction on ,federal ,highway #e4 ,at the junction of the ,easthampton and ,christopher ,clark roads1 a turn-out offers an opportunity to view the ,western ,upland1 within which1 as it makes its way from ,goshen and ,williamsburg to ,northampton1 the ,mill ,river has cut an impressive valley4 ,on the long descent to the base of the mountain 7#ci4e71 the ,easthampton road is cut out of coarse arkosic sandstones1 but then it levels off abruptly on the flat plain of glacial ,lake ,hadley4 ,the lake sediments continue into the center of ,easthampton 7#da4c71 broken only by the shallow valley of the ,manhan ,river4 ,from ,easthampton the route utilizes the ,college ,highway 7,state ,highway #aj7 to ,northampton2 and its position on the lake beds affords good views of the ,range and of the abnormally broad floodplain of the meandering ,connecticut ,river in the vicinity of the ,oxbow4 ,just north and east of the ,new ,haven ,railroad's underpass1 the river has cut away the terrace followed by the road1 and this low stretch1 like the rest of the floodplain1 is subject to frequent inundations4 ,the road enters ,northampton east of the ,smith ,college campus 7#de4e7 and joins the ,berkshire ,trail4 ,a right turn at the traffic light leads to the ,court ,house corner 7#de4g74 ,northampton1 ,hadley1 ,sunderland1 ,hatfield ,this tour also leaves ,northampton by the ,coolidge ,memorial ,bridge1 but at ,hadley 7#c4j7 it turns north on ,state ,highway #fc and follows the river to ,sunderland4 ,here the route recrosses the river1 joining ,federal ,highway #e at ,south ,deerfield1 and from this point south to ,northampton the road lies almost literally in the shadow of the western upland4 ,in ,hadley 7#c4j7 the road turns north along ,center ,street and then swings right at the curve in the ,connecticut 7#c4e74 ,the river bank is lined with riprap to resist the current and to prevent the river from washing away a substantial section of the town4 ,across the stream in ,hatfield the ,connecticut very nearly achieved the type of destruction which the residents of ,hadley are trying to escape1 and the flood-channel1 or washout1 which was gouged by the swollen stream in the spring of #aicf1 may be seen 7#d4c7 on the way to ,north ,hadley4 ,the road approaches ,mount ,warner1 whose crystalline rocks appear at the south end of a long1 low spur 7#d4h7 on the edge of the river floodplain4 ,elsewhere along the base of the eminence1 which scarcely merits the name ,mount1 the crystalline rocks are hidden by a terrace1 but they crop out on the higher slopes4 ,the younger red ,triassic sandstones are present1 too1 and they may be seen dipping steeply westward in the brook bed between the bridge 7#e4i7 and the dam 7#f4a7 at ,north ,hadley4 ,sand dunes appear near the river on the outskirts of ,north ,hadley 7#f4c7 and extend north beyond ,mount ,warner 7#g4j7 to the point where the road drops from the terrace to the floodplain 7#h4b74 ,here the former bed of the river is occupied by a puny brook1 which enters the mainstream on the left4 ,the terrace marking the edge of the floodplain lies close to the east side of the road for a long distance 7#h4b to #i4h7 and then swings a half mile eastward4 ,the road follows a high area between two abandoned channels formerly used by the river 7#aa4c71 until it joins the ,amherst-,sunderland road 7#aa4h7 at the southern edge of ,sunderland4 ,the route turns left in the center of town 7#ab4d71 crossing the river beneath ,mount ,sugarloaf1 and it continues on to ,federal ,highway #e at the traffic light in ,south ,deerfield 7#ad4b74 ,on the trip south from the junction1 sand dunes appear east of the railroad between the ,boston ,maine 7#ad4f7 and the ,new ,haven crossings 7#ad4i74 ,the highway is situated on the flat bed of ,lake ,hadley from this point to ,hatfield4 ,the road to ,whately1 which turns west at #af4g1 offers some attractions4 ,it forks two miles beyond ,whately1 and the right branch leads to the ,northampton reservoir and to ,haydenville 7see p4 #hi74 ,the left branch follows ,west ,fork ,brook and comes back to ,federal ,highway #e at ,north ,hatfield 7#ai4a74 ,either route provides a scenic drive over little-frequented gravel roads4 ,from the main highway the delta built by ,west ,fork ,brook into glacial ,lake ,hadley appears as a flat terrace along the western highland 7#ah4b74 ,the rolling fields 7#ai4g7 east of the railroad are dunes which were once raised by the wind along the old ,connecticut channel4 ,mill ,river1 which rises near ,conway1 parallels the highway for #f4a miles and crosses it here to enter the ,connecticut 7#bj4c74 ,the road approaches the massive gray rocks of the western upland 7#bj4e71 and the ,hatfield lead vein 7see p4 #fd7 outcrops in a bluff on the right 7#bj4i74 ,the view south 7#bb4c7 shows the water gap between the ,mount ,holyoke and ,mount ,tom ranges4 ,at the ,state ,police barracks 7#bc4d7 the ,hatfield road turns left1 and a short distance beyond 7#bc4i71 on the west side of the road1 is the abandoned ,city ,quarry4 ,the granite exposed in the quarry contains a black1 radio-active mineral called allanite1 and each glistening black crystal is surrounded by a reddish halo caused by bombardment of the feldspar by alpha particles4 ,a road to ,florence branches right 7#bd4e7 near the railroad crossing1 and one to the ,coolidge ,bridge turns left across the ,boston ,maine tracks 7#bd4g74 ,a by-pass to the ,berkshire ,trail 7#be4f7 goes west1 and the tour returns to the ,court ,house corner 7#bf4a74 ,northampton1 ,cummington1 ,plainfield1 and ,south ,deerfield ,this tour includes a representative section of the ,connecticut ,lowland1 traverses rugged valleys on the western margin of the lowland1 and crosses a wide remnant of the ,new ,england upland4 ,the trip is #eh4f miles long1 and all of it except the last twelve miles moves through rapidly changing scenery4 ,the route leaves the ,court ,house corner on ,state ,highway #i1 the ,berkshire ,trail1 following ,main and ,elm ,streets past ,smith ,college4 ,at the ,cooley ,dickinson ,hospital the road rises from the bed of glacial ,lake ,hadley to the ,mill ,river delta1 which1 despite some dissection1 maintains the same general level through ,florence 7#b4f7 to ,look ,park 7#c4d71 where a ridge dotted with glacial erratics rises through it4 ,the road follows the delta margin past the ,veteran's ,hospital and shortly 7#d4c7 climbs to the land of erratics and stone fences4 ,the road from ,whately 7see p4 #hh7 enters from the right in ,haydenville 7#g4a71 and the ,trail continues up ,mill ,river to ,williamsburg 7#h4a74 ,not far beyond the center of ,williamsburg the road forks left for ,chesterfield and right for ,cummington4 ,the right hand route climbs a long wooded hill with a deep valley on the right and occasional cliffs of schist intruded by reinforcing granite dikes on the left4 ,the view back near the hilltop 7#ab4e7 offers1 through a frame of trees1 a panorama of the ,mount ,holyoke and ,mount ,tom ,ranges surmounting the ,connecticut ,lowland4 ,the ,new ,england upland begins at the hilltop 7#ac4a7 in ,goshen4 ,just past ,goshen ,pond 7#ac4f71 a road continues straight ahead to ,ashfield1 and the hard surface of the ,berkshire ,trail curves left4 ,ledges of flaggy ,goshen schist outcrop from ,goshen to ,swift ,river 7#ah4d72 the banding of the ledges is almost horizontal at one place 7#ad4f7 and makes excellent flagging for garden walks4 ,the west-flowing ,swift ,river tumbles into the deeply entrenched1 east-flowing ,westfield ,river at ,swift ,river village1 and the combined streams flow due south through a door in a vertical wall of ,goshen schist so narrow and inconspicuous that the water appears to run downhill and then up again4 ,the ,berkshire ,trail follows up the north bank of the ,westfield ,river as far as the lower bridge 7#ai4e71 at ,cummington1 where a road to ,chesterfield turns left 7#ai4f74 ,the ,plainfield road branches off to the right across the river at the center of ,cummington 7#bj4e71 and it climbs almost continuously from the ,westfield valley to the summit of the ,new ,england upland at the ,plainfield corner 7#bd4e74 ,here the broad1 gently rolling expanse of country offers no suggestion of the deep valley only three miles away4 ,the tour takes the road right 7,route #aaf7 to ,ashfield 7#cc4j71 ,conway 7#dj4b71 and ,south ,deerfield 7#df4f71 where it turns south on ,federal ,highway #e1 returning to ,northampton 7#eh4f7 over ground that is covered in another tour 7see pp4 #hg-hh74 ,the twenty-two miles of country between ,plainfield and ,south ,deerfield contain a succession of highland views1 glimpses into youthfully incised valleys1 and a final sweep of ,connecticut lowland that defy description4 ,nearly everywhere the glaciers of the ,ice ,age have scraped away the soil and have exposed the underlying metamorphosed sediments4 ,their high structures and their metamorphism show that they are merely the roots of an ancient range that once rose majestically to summits which1 were they restored1 would dwarf the planed upland of today4 ,rugged as some of the topography may seem1 prolonged erosion has greatly softened and tamed it4 7,for more details of the features which can be seen along this route1 see pp4 #id -#ie47 ,trips from ,greenfield ,the most popular drive from ,greenfield is westward over the ,mohawk ,trail1 but the eastward continuation of this highway to ,orange1 combined with the ,daniel ,shays ,highway to ,pelham1 offers almost equal attractions and should not be missed4 ,mohawk ,trail1 ,adams1 ,plainfield1 and ,south ,deerfield ,the ,mohawk ,trail 7,state ,highway #b7 heads west from the center of ,greenfield and crosses the ,green ,river 7#j4f7 before climbing out of the valley4 ,a lookout 7#b4a7 affords an excellent view of the north end of the ,connecticut ,lowland1 and the observation tower on ,shelburne ,summit 7#c4b71 situated on a shelf cut out of black ,ordovician slate 7see pp4 #ce -#cg71 provides a broader sweep of central ,new ,england scenery4 ,beyond1 the upland is gently rolling1 trenched by one deep valley at ,shelburne ,center 7#f4h74 ,the descent into this valley 7#e4f7 offers a glimpse to the south across the ,deerfield ,river gorge1 but the road soon rises again1 hovering #cjj feet above the sharply incised stream4 ,the ,sweetheart ,teahouse 7#i4i7 makes use of one of the ideal sites overlooking the gorge and river4 ,the highway to ,colrain 7#aj4b7 continues straight ahead1 but the ,trail turns left across the ,deerfield ,river 7#aj4f7 and then right in ,shelburne ,falls4 ,the road left leads to ,conway and ,south ,deerfield4 ,thick1 almost horizontal bands of gray granite gneiss are exposed in the road cuts 7#aa4f7 along the south bank of the ,deerfield ,river1 but the entrenched stream has left so little room for the highway that the latter soon crosses to the relatively low and more hospitable north bank 7#aa4i74 ,for many miles the road follows the stream so closely that spring floods occasionally cover its surface with ice cakes4 ,the drive along this stretch to the next bridge 7#ba4j7 contains the most restful scenery on the trip1 though the flat open valley is hemmed in by abrupt slopes which rise for #hjj feet4 ,nor does the flatness of the valley harmonize with the mountain-structure of the platy ,goshen schist1 which stands on edge all along the roadside4 ,davis ,brook 7#ah4g7 crosses the route1 and the road beside it leads up to the ,davis ,mine1 which once did a thriving business extracting iron pyrites for the manufacture of sulphuric acid4 ,once more the highway crosses the ,deerfield ,river 7#ba4j7 and enters ,mohawk ,park1 which invites the motorist to linger4 ,a mile farther on 7#bb4j7 the road leaves the ,deerfield ,river 7#bb4j7 and follows the narrow gorge of ,cold ,river1 which seems scarcely wide enough to accommodate it4 ,a shady picnic ground and auto camp 7#bc4f7 lie just below the narrowest and deepest part of the gorge 7#bd4e71 where the crowding summits seem to tower high above the puny cars4 ,the road crosses to the north bank of ,cold ,river 7#be4h7 and climbs a shelf cut into green volcanic schists 7#be4h to #bg4f74 ,leaving the gorge 7#bf4f71 it ascends to the upland 7#bi4j71 while in view below is the laborious route of the ,boston and ,maine ,railroad along the ,deerfield and thence through the east portal of the ,hoosac ,tunnel near ,zoar4 ,a lookout 7#bi4d7 affords a memorable view of the sharp ,v-shaped gorge of the ,deerfield ,river cut deep into the highland surface1 which stretches unbroken to the horizon1 with only a few divides rising to greater elevations in the west and northeast4 ,a set of broad rock benches1 about #bjj feet lower than the upland1 forms a strath terrace 7see pp4 #df-dg7 which closely follows the river's course4 ,great landslide scars1 caused by the heavy rains accompanying the #aich hurricane1 mar the valley walls far to the north and again eastward from ,zoar4 ,the road to ,zoar 7#cj4b7 turns right a short distance east of the ,whitcomb ,summit 7#cj4f71 where lookout towers at an elevation of #b1bdj feet enhance the excellence of the view westward across other straths to ,mount ,greylock1 the highest point in ,massachusetts4 ,from these same vantage points1 one may survey the deceptively smooth slope of the ,new ,england upland eastward down the course of the ,deerfield towards the ,atlantic coast4 ,illustration3 ,pl4 #aj4 ,view of the ,deerfield gorge from the east summit of the ,mohawk ,trail4 ,the high level flat to the extreme right and extreme left is the ,new ,england peneplain4 ,the terrace bordering the steep walls of the gorge is a strath4 ,the road crosses a series of strath heads1 which drain into the ,cold ,river1 and ascends to the west summit 7#cc4b74 ,at first it seems possible to throw a stone into ,north ,adams1 so abrupt is the western slope4 ,the city lies deep in a limestone valley1 and beyond it the ,taconic ranges rise steeply west of ,williamstown1 over six miles away4 ,on the long descent into the valley1 the roadway is cut into albite-biotite schists with horizontal cleavage4 ,above and below the sharp hairpin turn 7#ce4b71 there is a beautiful view to the south along the strike of the limestone trench and along the route 7,state ,highway #h7 which is to be followed from ,north ,adams 7#cg4h7 to ,adams4 ,not far south of ,north ,adams the road passes the west portal of the ,hoosac ,tunnel 7#ci4d74 ,boulders on the mountainside east of the highway are glacial erratics which were left above the level of the valley trains and above the surface of glacial ,lake ,bascom4 ,the limestone which outcrops on the slopes of ,mount ,greylock west of the road is used for lime 7#da4f71 and the quarries provide ideal exposures for a study of the rock4 ,the burning plant 7#db4b7 is at the roadside4 ,the road branches in the center of ,adams 7#dc4f71 one route 7,state ,highway #aaf7 continuing ahead to ,savoy and ,plainfield1 the other veering right to ,mount ,greylock1 ,dalton1 and ,pittsfield4 ,the ,savoy road follows a broad valley eastward into the hills4 ,a perceptible steepening of the slope occurs where it crosses from the dolomitic limestone below1 to the albite-biotite schist above1 at a thrust fault 7#dg4e74 ,hard white ,cheshire quartzite 7#dh4b7 and arenaceous limestone 7#di4j to #di4f7 overlie the schist and outcrop by the roadside1 and in places the arenaceous limestone has weathered to a white glistening sand4 ,the road soon drops into a wide and open valley 7#ej4a7 which seems to slope interminably southeastward2 this is the head of the ,westfield drainage1 and it has occupied this position in the ,westfield system far back in geologic time 7see p4 #ad74 ,the little village of ,savoy 7#ea4h7 nestles near the eastern edge of the valley1 and once beyond the settlement1 the highway tops a divide 7#eb4g7 comprised of rolling hills4 ,it skirts ,plainfield ,pond 7#ef4j to #ef4d7 and then comes out upon a panorama of the upland which embraces the entire ,westfield basin 7#eg4e74 ,this section is underlain by the ,savoy schist1 which is characterized by its many large red garnets4 ,at the hilltop 7#ei4g7 in ,plainfield the road forks1 the route to the right descending to the ,berkshire ,trail and the road ahead proceeding to ,ashfield4 ,this portion of the ,new ,england upland lies so far back from the main streams that the small tributaries have not yet cut deeply into its gently rolling surface1 and no hint of hidden valleys can be detected in the peaceful landscape4 ,the ,ashfield road traverses woodland country that is almost flat4 ,the stream valleys are broad and are rarely more than a hundred feet below divides4 ,even ,swift ,river 7#fc4i71 which crosses the road about two miles above the end of its entrenched gorge1 has not deepened its valley1 despite the long span of years since ,new ,england was raised to its present elevation 7see p4 #dg74 ,past the alternate road to ,cummington 7#fd4j71 the route continues across the flat country above ,ashfield2 but where the road to ,goshen turns south 7#ff4d71 deep dissection of the ,new ,england upland begins4 ,an opening in the trees 7#ff4f to #fg4a7 discloses the valleys along the ,south ,river in the vicinity of ,south ,ashfield1 as well as the level skyline in the highlands east of the ,connecticut ,valley4 ,the road drops into the ,south ,river valley at ,ashfield 7#fh4b71 where a choice of routes to ,greenfield is presented4 ,the road that follows the ,south ,river to ,conway 7#ge4d7 is the more interesting4 ,the river is joined by a tributary from the north at ,south ,ashfield 7#fi4i71 and the streams occupy deep but open valleys4 ,kame terraces flank the rivers and are a source of gravel for road ballast4 ,the old dam 7#gc4i7 near ,conway is a picturesque spot1 and the deep1 shady pool below is not neglected by anglers4 ,glacial erratics 7see pp4 #h-i7 dot the hill slopes1 but ledges are rare and consist of the locally named ,conway schist where the rock does appear at the surface4 ,the road branches again at ,conway3 the left fork goes north along the dissected brink of the ,deerfield gorge to ,shelburne ,falls1 but our choice falls upon the eastward route to ,south ,deerfield4 ,the highway climbs through a cut 7#ge4h7 in contorted1 gneissic ,conway schist1 which seems to be lined with twisted white quartz veins from this point to the margin of the ,connecticut ,valley4 ,the road levels off just before it reaches the ,new ,england upland1 and then it drops through rolling hill country to the shaded valley of ,mill ,brook 7#gg4d71 which it follows to the edge of the lowland 7#hj4a74 ,rocky ledges are common along this swiftly flowing stream4 ,a good view of the ,pocumtuck ,hills appears on the left 7#gi4g71 with the flat plain of the old ,deerfield delta stretching to their base4 ,the road crosses this plain and enters ,south ,deerfield 7#ha4h74 ,the tour turns north on ,federal ,highway #e1 which is built on the deposits spread in glacial ,lake ,hadley by the ,deerfield ,river from its mouth eastward to the foot of the ,pocumtuck ,hills of ,triassic conglomerate4 ,bloody ,brook 7#hb4b7 drains this part of the plain4 ,north of the road which goes through the notch between the ,sugarloafs 7#hb4f71 the delta deposits continue as a terrace along the base of the ,pocumtuck ,hills as far as ,cheapside4 ,but the ,deerfield has excavated its post-glacial delta1 and the roadway descends to the meander-cut floodplain 7#hd4d to #hh4a71 though it rises over one of the meander scarps 7#he4a74 ,remnants of the ,deerfield delta form a terrace due west across the valley and on the margin of the hills4 ,the entire lowland north of the meander-cut terrace was inundated in #aicf1 and the water level may still be identified by debris on the railroad embankment on the right4 ,old ,deerfield 7#hf4a7 itself is on a meander-scarp terrace1 and the #aicf flood line is well marked along it4 ,after the road crosses the ,deerfield ,river 7#hh4c71 it leaves the floodplain as it climbs to the center of ,greenfield 7#hi4h74 ,greenfield1 ,orange1 ,pelham1 ,amherst1 and ,deerfield ,route #b also leads eastward from ,greenfield to the ,french ,king ,bridge and ,millers ,falls4 ,the highway out from ,greenfield turns north 7#j4c7 along the west front of the trap ridge1 near the summit of which several individual lava flows are represented by separate sets of columns superimposed one upon the other 7see p4 #bf74 ,the underlying bedded sandstones outcrop in the lower wooded slopes4 ,a road branches right 7#a4g7 to ,turners ,falls and crosses the lava ridge1 but the main highway continues straight to a sharp curve near ,falls ,river 7#c4d74 ,pillow-shaped masses of lava characterize the bottom of the lava flow and lie above conglomerate in the bluff to the right4 ,the valley of ,falls ,river is a fault zone slicing across the lava sheet1 which reappears at the lookout-parking place at ,turners ,falls 7#c4e74 ,the extent to which the waterfall has receded 7see pp4 #eh-ei7 may be judged from the length of the gorge4 ,the route continues left past the bridge entrance 7#c4f74 ,ripple-marked red shales--once ,triassic muds in which stray dinosaurs left their tracks--outcrop by the roadside 7#d4f to #e4g71 and coarse conglomerate beds 7#e4i7 overlie the shales and dip steeply towards the river4 ,somewhat farther east a broad sand plain 7#f4j to #f4h7 of glacial outwash 7see p4 #ei71 which ends at the ,french ,king gorge1 buries the ,triassic bedrock1 but once again conglomerate appears and forms the west wall of the gorge4 ,pre-,triassic crystalline rocks 7#f4i7 likewise outcrop on the western cliffs1 and form a narrow ridge between the present course of the river and the pre-glacial channel1 which lies below the glacial delta 7#g4j to #g4i7 of ,millers ,river4 ,the road to ,northfield turns left 7#g4i7 and another 7#h4g7 leads right to ,millers ,falls1 but ,route #b continues east1 climbing high above the river 7#i4i71 which flows through a narrow gorge4 ,gneiss with horizontal banding outcrops 7#aa4b7 in mesa-like hills north of the highway1 which descends to a point 7#ab4e7 that was #e4e feet under water during the #aicf flood4 ,the road continues near the water's edge for almost half a mile1 and the narrow gorge through gneiss ends at ,erving 7#ac4h74 ,here the valley widens out into a hilly lowland which has been developed on schist with occasional bands of gneiss4 ,the road follows the north bank of the river across this lowland to ,orange 7#ag4i74 ,route #b continues to ,athol where the ,daniel ,shays highway enters from the south1 but an alternate route1 which turns right in the center of ,orange and crosses ,millers ,river 7#ah4j71 provides a preferable short-cut to the ,daniel ,shays ,highway 7#ba4h74 ,this section of road is lined with stone fences which memorialize the combined labors of the great ,ice ,sheet and the early settlers4 ,route #cb from ,petersham and ,worcester enters from the left 7#bb4g7 just before the highway dips into the creek bottom at the edge of the ,quabbin basin4 ,thence it ascends to the ,new ,england upland level1 where a lookout 7#be4e7 affords an expansive view to the east and north1 with ,mount ,monadnock rising prominently on the distant skyline4 ,new ,salem 7#be4h7 is on the hilltop4 ,hornblende schist outcrops at intervals across the broad ridge1 and especially near the descent 7#bh4d7 southwestward to another stream 7#cj4c7 which empties into the ,quabbin ,reservoir4 ,once again the highway climbs rather steadily for three and one-half miles1 passing the ,shutesbury road 7#ca4j7 on the right1 until it reaches another lookout 7#cd4f7 from which the trenched ,new ,england upland spreads out to the east4 ,pelham gneiss is the main rock on the broad ridge west of the ,quabbin basin1 especially in the vicinity of ,pelham 7#ce4b71 which gave the rock its name4 ,the tour turns east to ,amherst 7#da4g71 following a section which has been described elsewhere 7see pp4 #gh-gi74 ,the principal sights include the panorama of the ,connecticut ,lowland and the ice-margin lake deposits4 ,the drive from ,amherst to ,northampton 7see pp4 #gh-gi7 and from ,northampton to ,south ,deerfield 7see pp4 #hg-hh7 on ,federal ,highway #e has likewise been covered in other tours1 but some new features may be seen along the shorter route from ,amherst to ,sunderland4 ,the ,sunderland road turns right at the north end of the ,amherst common4 ,it descends1 first1 from ,amherst ,island1 in glacial ,lake ,hadley1 to the old beach at ,massachusetts ,state ,college 7#db4f71 and then from the beach to the lake bottom 7#dc4b7 north of the campus4 ,the route takes the left fork in ,north ,amherst 7#dd4b71 traverses part of the old lake bed1 swings west around the ,long ,plain delta 7#de4e71 and crosses its entrenched brook 7#df4a74 ,most of the stream's water seeps through the delta sands and gravels1 and emerges in springs at the ,fish ,hatchery 7#df4c74 ,gravel pits across the road furnish an excellent section of the fore-set and top-set beds of the delta4 ,the road right 7#df4h7 goes to the delta top east of ,mount ,toby1 ,montague and ,turners ,falls1 but the main highway continues north4 ,the road turns left and then right 7#dg4b71 cutting through a beach bar in glacial ,lake ,hadley1 and passing a sand dune area 7#dg4f7 which developed from the sandy braids in the channel of the ,connecticut when it first established its course on the lake bed 7see pp4 #d-f74 ,the route drops down from a terrace 7#dg4i7 to the highest floodplain level of the ,connecticut4 ,swales 7#dh4c and #dh4e7 on this flat represent former river channels1 and the scalloped embankment to the east records the lateral swing and undercutting of the meandering river4 ,the ,north ,hadley road 7#dh4g7 enters from the south along a low ridge between two swales1 and after the sharp right turn into ,sunderland 7#di4b71 the road divides1 one fork going north to ,montague1 the other west across the ,sunderland ,bridge to ,south ,deerfield4 ,the ,sunderland ,bridge 7#di4d to #di4f7 offers a good view downstream along the natural levees 7see p4 #b7 and westward to the cliffs of ,mount ,sugarloaf 7see pp4 #ef-eh74 ,the road rises above the floodplain 7#di4i7 and passes the ,sugarloaf trail 7#ej4j7 on the right4 ,a right turn into ,federal ,highway #e at ,south ,deerfield 7#ea4j7 brings the motorist back to a section of country already described in connection with the ,mohawk ,trail tour 7see pp4 #ie-if71 and another eight miles of driving brings him to ,greenfield 7#ei4a74 ,greenfield1 ,turners ,falls1 ,montague1 ,north ,amherst ,a variant of the drive east from ,greenfield is available in the route that turns right across the ,turners ,falls ,bridge 7#c4f to #c4h7 and follows the east side of the ,connecticut ,valley southward4 ,the road turns left in the center of ,turners ,falls 7#d4b7 and climbs the embankment which the river excavated in the old lake beds4 ,on the sand plain above 7#d4i71 the left fork goes to ,millers ,falls and the right1 to ,montague4 ,the ,montague road skirts the west side of a low line of hills which terminate at a depression 7#h4f7 on the pre-glacial course of the ,connecticut4 ,the road goes over ,saw ,mill ,river 7#i4d71 in the bed of which ,triassic conglomerate is exposed4 ,conglomerate also appears in the hills directly south1 but the older crystalline rocks crop out in an exhumed ridge to the southwest and in the highlands eastward4 ,the conglomerates form the south end of a ,triassic basin extending from ,mount ,hermon and ,northfield farther up the valley 7see p4 #bf74 ,beyond ,montague 7#i4g7 ,triassic conglomerate appears along the roadside 7#aj4a7 as far as the forks to ,sunderland and ,millers ,falls 7#aj4h74 ,the ,millers ,falls road follows the foot of a terrace which rises to the old delta level1 and at the next fork 7#aa4j71 the route keeps right and continues southward to ,north ,amherst4 ,the delta of the glacial stream buried many ice cakes which left numerous kettle holes 7#aa4j to #aa4e7 when they melted4 ,the stratification of the deposits is displayed in the many road cuts4 ,the route crosses the ,central ,vermont ,railroad 7#aa4e7 and follows an old outwash plain southward past the road to ,roaring ,brook 7#ac4a7 7see p4 #ed74 ,the tour continues through a narrow stretch in which crystalline rocks predominate1 as far as the ,long ,plain delta 7#ae4f74 ,mount ,toby rises steeply on the west side of the railroad4 ,a third of the way up the mountainside can be seen 7#ac4i7 a conspicuous bench1 which consists of an exhumed remnant of the ancient1 sloping granite mountain front on which the ,triassic sediments were laid 7see pp4 #bj-ba74 ,the bench level drops northward to the railroad at ,roaring ,brook1 and southward it crosses the road 7#ad4i74 ,the conglomerate east of the road 7#ad4i to #ae4c7 fills an old mountain valley4 ,a road east 7#ae4c7 goes to ,leverett1 and the lead vein is located just south of it at the hilltop4 ,the route skirts the margin of the crystalline rocks and crosses the railroad again 7#ae4f74 ,just beyond the road to ,leverett station 7#af4a7 the motorist may exercise the option of returning to the ,sunderland road 7#ag4c7 by going right across the ,long ,plain delta and thence to ,greenfield 7#bi4f7 via ,south ,deerfield 7see p4 #ie74 ,or he may extend his trip by taking the left fork of the ,mount ,toby road1 which follows the boundary between the ,long ,plain delta and the glaciated eastern highlands4 ,boulders and bare ledges feature in the landscape to the east1 whereas the flat delta and the level beach margin 7#ag4i7 lie to the west4 ,beyond the limits of the delta lies a series of bare ledges of gneiss4 ,after crossing ,factory ,hollow ,brook 7#ai4a71 the route joins the ,sunderland road 7#ai4b7 at the center of ,north ,amherst1 returning to ,greenfield 7#cd4a7 by way of ,sunderland and ,south ,deerfield1 as before 7see p4 #ih74 ,greenfield1 ,turners ,falls1 ,montague1 ,sunderland ,the ,sunderland road 7#aj4h7 just beyond ,montague turns right and climbs the terrace along the floodplain of ,saw ,mill ,river4 ,the plain is the delta which this stream built into ,lake ,hadley4 ,a few rock ridges project above it2 buried ice has melted to form kettle holes 7#aa4d7 7see pp4 #g-h72 and post-glacial streams have cut valleys in it2 yet it preserves its deltaic form to the old lake margin 7#aa4f74 ,low shed-like cliffs occur east of the road 7#aa4i72 the overhanging rock is ,toby conglomerate1 and the excavated shelter is a gray shale which was laid in a ,triassic lake bed 7see pp4 #bb and #fh74 ,these cliffs recede from the highway and end 7#ab4c7 at the ,sunderland ,caves 7see p4 #ee74 ,the route continues downhill and joins the river road on the floodplain of the ,connecticut 7#ad74 ,the road rises over a promontory 7#ad4a7 formed by the resistant ,deerfield lava sheet 7see p4 #bf7 and then descends to the river floodplain and meander-cut terraces 7see p4 #bb71 which cross to the east side of the highway and continue south beyond ,sunderland 7#ae4e74 ,in ,sunderland junction is made with the longer tour through ,amherst 7see p4 #ih71 and the return to ,greenfield may be made by that route 7#be4d74 ,trips from ,springfield ,in the vicinity of ,springfield the most interesting drives are to be found on the west side of the ,connecticut ,river1 for the comparatively flat land east of the river is thickly settled and heavily industrialized1 and geological phenomena are effectively masked4 ,the country to the west offers a display of features which may be traced to the activities of the river1 to the former presence of glacial ,lake ,springfield1 to the prolonged erosion of the ,triassic bedrock1 and to the resistance of the pre-,triassic rocks in the western highland4 ,almost any trip will include this entire suite of geological phenomena4 ,the distances which are given in the following tours have been taken from the west side of the ,north ,end ,bridge4 ,springfield1 ,holyoke1 ,easthampton1 and ,westfield ,this route follows north on the floodplain along the river bank via ,federal ,highway #e1 and the heavy retaining wall is designed to keep the river out4 ,the sand promontory which comes to the left side of the road 7#j4f7 is a remnant of the old lake--bottom deposits4 ,past the junction with the road through ,west ,springfield 7#j4h71 the highway utilizes the old lake beds1 which form a terrace above the present floodplain2 but ultimately 7#a4f7 it drops again to the floodplain level1 with its many abandoned channels1 although it discreetly stays on one of the higher1 and older1 meander-cut terraces4 ,a cut-off to ,chicopee turns right 7#b4d71 but ,federal ,highway #e continues north across the meander terraces to the forks 7#d4f7 which lead to the residential 7left7 and business 7right7 sections of ,holyoke4 ,here the main highway climbs steeply from the floodplain to the top of the lake deposits4 ,the view north shows the ,holyoke ,range rising above the roofs and chimneys of ,holyoke4 ,lake deposits form a broad flat between the ,triassic volcanic ridges which lie to the west and the trench cut by the ,connecticut ,river4 ,the road from ,westfield and the airport 7,federal ,highway #bjb7 from the left1 and the road to ,easthampton 7#g4f7 turns left from the main highway1 which continues north4 ,the north route1 described under the tours from ,northampton 7see pp4 #hj-hb71 features the dinosaur tracks and the succession of ,triassic rocks4 ,the ,easthampton road goes past the south end of the ,mount ,tom ,range1 and its scenic attractions have been dealt with elsewhere 7see p4 #he74 ,its most interesting sights are the line of lakes between the two volcanic series and the view from the summit of the ridge4 ,easthampton 7#ab4g7 lies on the old lake bottom1 from which an impressive view of the palisade of massive columns comprising the tilted lava flow of ,mount ,tom can be obtained4 ,at ,easthampton the tour turns south on the ,college ,highway 7,state #aj7 towards ,southampton and ,westfield4 ,the road follows the gravel plain which was spread into ,lake ,hadley by streams flowing out of the western highland4 ,the plain is dissected locally by the ,manhan ,river 7#ae4b and #ah4j7 which crosses the road twice1 and one small valley near ,southampton 7#ag4a7 discloses ,triassic arkose buried by the sand4 ,the road rises above the lake deposits 7#ag4d7 near the ,manhan ,river1 and at once glacial erratics become numerous4 ,the land of stone fences forms a narrow divide between the ,lake ,hadley basin and the ,lake ,springfield sand plain 7#ba4a71 which extends south to the valley of the ,westfield ,river4 ,the ,holyoke road 7#bb4e71 which enters from the left1 came over the trap ridge and across the lake plain4 ,as the ,college ,highway approaches the edge of the ,westfield valley 7#bc4f71 it slopes steeply down to the level floor cut by the river4 ,it crosses the ,westfield 7#bd4e7 and comes to the junction 7#bd4i7 with the ,jacob's ,ladder route 7,federal ,highway #bj71 which offers another interesting sidetrip into the ,western ,upland4 ,the route continues south to the center of ,westfield 7#be4b71 leaving the ,college ,highway at the south end of the common4 ,the ,springfield road goes around the central square and starts east in the valley which the meandering ,westfield ,river carved out of the ,lake ,springfield sediments4 ,the terrace levels and the scalloped pattern of the meander scarps are conspicuous along the lowland4 ,the highway crosses the ,little ,westfield ,river 7#bf4a7 and then the ,westfield itself 7#bg4j7 just beyond the entrance to ,robinson ,state ,park4 ,most mineral collectors will instantly recognize a road turning off to the left 7#bg4h7 as the way to the ,westfield trap quarry4 ,for years this locality has been as important a source of specimens to collectors as it has been of crushed rock to road-builders4 ,beyond the quarry road the valley narrows1 and the terraces close in as the river enters the gap in the trap ridge4 ,the black lava flow crosses the river 7#bh4c7 at the ,westfield-,west ,springfield town line1 and shortly the upper flow appears1 resting on red shales in both railroad and road cuts 7#bi4a74 ,actually there are two flows separated by an amygdaloidal band in the upper lava series at this place4 ,the highway crosses the ,boston and ,albany tracks 7#bi4c7 and leaves the river4 ,after passing the junction with the ,holyoke road 7#ca4j71 the highway drops to the upper terrace level on the bed of glacial ,lake ,springfield 7#ca4d74 ,the upper terrace is narrow here1 and the road soon descends to the meander-cut terraces of the floodplain 7#cb4a74 ,the road to ,memorial ,bridge turns right 7#cb4c7 and our route returns to the ,north ,end ,bridge 7#cb4h74 ,westfield to the ,westfield ,marble ,quarry ,this is a short drive of #e4g miles each way from ,westfield1 with a mile walk from the ,little ,westfield road to the marble quarry4 ,the view of the ,little ,westfield gorge and the entire ,connecticut ,lowland from ,meriden to ,amherst makes this trip well worth taking4 ,the tour leaves ,westfield on the ,jacob's ,ladder road and soon reaches the terraced margin 7#a4f7 of the ,westfield valley4 ,the numerous benches along the stream banks represent temporary flood-plain levels of the ,westfield4 ,the route turns left from the ,jacob's ,ladder highway 7#d4j7 and parallels the base of the western highland to the ,little ,westfield road 7#d4i74 ,throughout this distance the marble quarry derrick appears on the highland skyline4 ,our road turns right at the next crossing and winds along the edge of the ,little ,westfield gorge 7see pp4 #fa-fb74 ,the narrow hill road to the marble quarry turns right 7#e4g71 but it is inadvisable to drive4 ,the walk is an easy one1 and the view at the top is worth the moderate physical exertion4 ,optional ,trips ,it must be plain1 even to the casual reader1 that the foregoing pages have been written with self-restraint4 ,many of the luring side roads were passed without so much as a pause2 trips to the ,cobble ,mountain ,reservoir west of ,westfield1 and to the ,quabbin ,reservoir east of ,belchertown have not even been suggested2 some of the main highways were slighted4 ,for anyone who knows the byways and the hidden beauties that can be found in reasonably accessible places1 this chapter will seem inadequate and incomplete4 ,but it would take a volume far beyond the scope of this brief guide to do justice to the scenery1 the geography1 and the geologic detail of the ,connecticut ,valley and its bordering uplands4 ,the authors can merely ask the indulgence of those who would like to know more4 ,mineral and ,rock ,collections ,travelers are inveterate collectors of mementos1 and those who travel up and down and across the ,connecticut ,valley and who delve into its geologic history may well be interested in gathering records of its past4 ,the best records are not in notes or printed pamphlets--not even in this volume on the subject2 they are to be found imprinted in the rocks and minerals themselves4 ,but the value of records is measured solely by their utility1 and utility is achieved by systematic arrangement4 ,so the authors will venture a few suggestions on collecting and arranging the minerals and rocks which are present in the valley and in the bordering uplands4 ,one mineral may come from a vein1 which is the record of a fissure beneath a hot spring2 another comes from a dike1 which was a molten igneous rock4 ,this specimen is a conglomerate or consolidated gravel washed into place by an ancient stream2 that is a slate which was transformed from clay by intense squeezing and shearing4 ,and if these four specimens were to constitute the nucleus of a collection1 the need for classification is apparent4 ,the first two are minerals1 which are substances of limited chemical composition and well defined physical properties4 ,the last two are rocks1 which are aggregates of minerals or of mineral grains4 ,and the minerals may be further classified according to their separate modes of origin4 ,so1 too1 with the rocks4 ,their mineral composition indicates some of the conditions which existed where the minerals originated2 the shapes of the mineral grains reveal the process which moved them to their present site2 and the arrangement of grains discloses the conditions existing during aggregation at this new locality4 ,mineral make-up1 size1 shape1 and arrangement of the grains provide means of recognizing major rock varieties--namely1 sedimentary1 igneous and metamorphic types1--and also of reading each rock's history4 ,,the ,,minerals ,the vein minerals1 which are deposited in conduits for hot spring water1 commonly possess attractive crystal forms2 they include barite1 quartz and amethyst1 fluorite1 calcite1 datolite1 galena1 sphalerite1 pyrite and others almost too numerous to list4 ,almost equally attractive crystals may be obtained from some metamorphic rocks1 in which they have formed as heat and pressure abetted the growth of certain minerals at the expense of their less favored fellows2 this group contains garnet1 kyanite1 chlorite1 amphibole1 epidote and many others4 ,less spectacular are the minerals resulting from the decay of rocks by percolating surface water1 such as kaolin1 limonite1 some calcite1 and the bright-colored copper carbonates4 ,two additional types of minerals are formed as the result of normal sedimentary and igneous processes1 which will be described at length in connection with these two kinds of rocks4 ,so1 after the rock specimens are sorted from the minerals1 the latter may profitably be arranged into five groups3 #a4 ,the ,vein ,minerals4 #b4 ,the ,minerals of ,pegmatites and ,igneous ,rocks4 #c4 ,the ,minerals of ,metamorphic ,rocks4 #d4 ,the ,minerals of ,soils and ,rock ,decay4 #e4 ,the ,minerals of ,sedimentary ,rocks4 ,the ,vein ,minerals ,the mineral list which follows is far from complete2 it contains only those minerals which are most commonly found in casual visits to the localities discussed in connection with the local tours of the ,connecticut ,valley4 ,additional species are listed and described in any textbook on mineralogy4 ,,quartz is a hard1 white or colorless mineral which will scratch glass easily4 ,in the technical language of the crystallographer1 crystals are hexagonal or six-sided prisms1 terminated by hexagonal pyramids2 and the six flat faces which make the sides1 together with the six triangular faces which form the apex1 are readily recognized4 ,massive forms break with a curved or conchoidal fracture and were used by the ,indians to make arrow-heads4 ,the mineral is very abundant in all the lead veins and trap quarries2 and in some of the latter1 specimens of the purple variety of quartz1 amethyst1 are common4 ,a black1 smoky variety has been discovered in the pegmatite dikes of the highlands4 ,chemically quartz is the dioxide of silicon 7,si,o#b74 ,,calcite breaks along three smooth surfaces or cleavage planes4 ,each surface is rhomb-shaped1 and the six rhombic faces fit together into a characteristic rhombohedral form4 ,a knife will scratch the mineral easily4 ,calcite is abundant in the white veins of the trap quarries and is the principal constituent of the crystalline limestones in the ,hoosac ,valley between ,north ,adams and ,pittsfield4 ,calcite is a carbonate of lime 7,ca,c,o#c74 ,,barite resembles calcite because it can be scratched with a knife and has three smooth cleavage planes4 ,it differs in having one cleavage perpendicular to the other two1 which intersect at angles of #gh4 ,the mineral is more than four times the weight of an equal volume of water1 and it feels heavy4 ,it is found in the lead veins at ,west ,farms1 ,hatfield and ,leverett4 ,in large quantities it has commercial value as a source of the element barium1 for it is the sulphate of barium 7,ba,s,o#d74 ,,galena is the chief metallic mineral in the veins at ,leverett1 ,hatfield and ,loudville4 ,it is very heavy and has a metallic gray color2 it breaks into perfect cubes4 ,a knife scratches it easily and crumbles it to a black powder4 ,the mineral is a lead sulphide 7,pb,s74 ,,sphalerite is a lustrous1 resinous brown mineral in these same veins4 ,it cleaves into multi-faced fragments and is softer than a knife4 ,chemically it is the sulphide of zinc 7,zn,s74 ,,pyrite is the deceptive golden-colored1 metal-like mineral which has earned the name of fool's gold4 ,it will scratch glass1 and it crushes to a black powder4 ,the materials in it are iron and sulphur 7,fe,s#b74 ,,chalcopyrite resembles pyrite but will not scratch glass and has a greenish yellow color4 ,it is a compound of copper1 iron and sulphur 7,cu,fe,s#b74 ,the veins in the ,connecticut ,valley region contain many other minerals1 among which must be mentioned datolite1 natrolite1 apophyllite1 thomsonite1 fluorite and babbingtonite in the lavas2 and siderite1 rhodochrosite1 rhodonite1 wulfenite and pyromorphite in the older veins of the highlands4 ,minerals of ,pegmatites and ,igneous ,rocks ,the minerals found in pegmatites are legion4 ,more than thirty can be collected on any trip to ,collins ,hill near ,portland1 ,connecticut1 or to the ,ruggles ,mine near ,grafton ,center1 ,new ,hampshire4 ,only the minerals appearing most commonly in pegmatites are described1 but a list of others is appended as an aid in consulting a textbook4 ,igneous rocks contain practically the same suite of minerals as pegmatites1 but in smaller grains4 ,,microcline is a white to flesh-colored feldspar with two almost perpendicular cleavages4 ,it will scratch glass or a knife4 ,one cleavage face shows a grid of translucent and transparent lines intersecting at #ij4 ,,albite is the second most abundant feldspar4 ,it is white and may generally be recognized by its two cleavage surfaces at #hf4 ,its growth may be likened to piling a series of plates with their surfaces parallel to one of the cleavages2 during growth the plates are laid alternately face up and face down1 so that the #hf cleavage edges zigzag in and out1 forming a surface which1 on the average1 is perpendicular to the growth cleavage surface4 ,the separate plates can usually be detected as fine bands or striations4 ,the mineral scratches either glass or a knife4 ,,muscovite is the white mica found in tabular crystals that can be cleaved into flexible and elastic sheets4 ,it can be scratched and cut easily with a knife or shears4 ,,biotite is an amber-colored to black mica4 ,like muscovite it is flexible and elastic1 but it is slightly more brittle4 ,,tourmaline crystals occur in triangular prisms with the corners bevelled so as to give them a rounded appearance4 ,they lack cleavage1 are very brittle1 and will scratch glass4 ,black is their usual color1 but red and green varieties are present in many pegmatites4 ,,spodumene crystals are white to pale rose in color1 and they occur as flattened prisms with bevelled corners4 ,they cleave parallel to the surfaces bevelling the corners4 ,the mineral is much harder than a knife1 and the cleavage surfaces have a lustrous1 slightly satiny appearance4 ,,radioactive ,,minerals occur in many pegmatites and metamorphic rocks of this region4 ,the species which have been formed as a result of recent alteration are brilliant golden or green encrustations in cracks or on a pitchy-black nucleus4 ,the most abundant ones are uranite1 autunite and torbernite4 ,older primary or source minerals are pitchy-black and are surrounded by a narrow rusty red zone or halo1 #a_/af to #a_/h inch wide2 an elongate species resembling a rusty hand-made nail is allanite2 the more pitchy1 irregular-shaped mineral is usually uraninite or pitchblende4 ,other minerals found in pegmatites in the ,connecticut ,valley region include beryl1 apatite1 zircon1 garnet1 fluorite and lepidolite4 ,most of the minerals in normal igneous rocks are too minute to be recognized easily1 but a few have distinctive characteristics which serve to identify them4 ,,quartz is a hard1 dark1 glassy-looking mineral without cleavage4 ,,orthoclase and ,,microcline feldspar are hard1 flesh-colored 7occasionally white7 minerals with flat cleavage surfaces4 ,the minerals making the white lathlike mosaic on the weathered surface of the ,range at the ,mount ,holyoke ,house are ,,labradorite feldspar4 ,they are about inch long and #a_/ej inch thick--too small to permit testing by ordinary physical methods1 although unweathered pieces have essentially the same physical properties as orthoclase and microcline4 ,the ,,micas are flaky and reflect light like minute pieces of tinfoil2 muscovite is white1 and biotite is amber-colored to black4 ,,chlorite resembles mica but is less lustrous and is dark green4 ,some minerals of igneous rocks do not appear in pegmatites4 ,among them is ,,olivine1 which has almost the same color as chlorite but is harder than a knife and is massive or granular4 ,it is commonly associated with massive green ,,serpentine1 which is softer than a knife4 ,these three minerals are especially abundant in rocks found in the vicinity of ,blandford1 ,massachusetts1 and ,dover and ,chester1 ,vermont4 ,,augite is a dark brown to black pyroxene which occurs between the mosaic of whitish labradorite feldspar prisms in the weathered diabase near the ,mount ,holyoke ,house4 ,,amphibole crystals are dark green to black1 match-shaped crystals4 ,they have almost the same hardness as a knife and are characterized by two cleavages parallel to their length and intersecting at #ef4 ,the mineral is also abundant in metamorphic rocks and is frequently reported as a fossil fern from ledges at ,charlemont and ,shelburne ,falls4 ,minerals of ,metamorphic ,rocks ,the principal minerals of metamorphic rocks include many which are likewise present in pegmatites and igneous rocks1 such as microcline1 albite1 quartz1 muscovite1 biotite1 amphibole1 serpentine and tourmaline4 ,but there are others which are more exclusively metamorphic3 ,,garnet occurs in twelve- or twenty-four-sided red crystals4 ,it is much harder than a knife4 ,the geometric form is diagnostic1 and crystals up to an inch thick are obtainable in ,plainfield1 ,massachusetts1 and at ,grafton1 ,chester1 and ,gassetts in ,vermont4 ,they occur in a muscovite schist1 in which the muscovite flakes are wrapped around the individual crystals4 ,,talc is a white to pale-green mineral found around the margins of intrusive rocks that are rich in olivine and serpentine4 ,it is foliated and is so soft that even solid masses will rub off on cloth4 ,it is present in the green marble quarry near ,westfield4 ,,kyanite is a sky-blue1 bladed mineral1 with two excellent cleavages at nearly #ij1 and a good smooth fracture at almost #ij to both4 ,one face is harder than a knife and the other two are softer4 ,it is very abundant in the country rock southeast of the ,westfield marble quarry4 ,the ,minerals of ,soils and ,rock ,decay ,aluminous minerals decay to ,,kaolinite1 and those with a high iron content alter to ,,limonite4 ,both these products of decomposition form a sticky paste in their original forms4 ,kaolinite is white to yellow1 and limonite or ochre is yellow to orange4 ,limonite also appears in orange-colored or brown balls1 in icicle-like masses1 and in thin beds4 ,specimens have approximately the hardness of a knife4 ,quartz does not decay easily and remains behind in solid granules4 ,the ,minerals of ,sedimentary ,rocks ,most sedimentary rocks are formed by the cementation of deposits of transported waste1 derived from older materials4 ,they may contain anything4 ,the minerals which undergo rapid decay break down to limonite1 kaolinite and quartz1 leaving only the more resistant varieties1 which include1 in order of decreasing resistance1 quartz1 microcline1 orthoclase1 albite and muscovite4 ,less abundant constituents are garnet1 tourmaline1 zircon and magnetite4 ,certain kinds of sedimentary rocks may be formed through other agencies--for example1 limestone1 which is composed of calcite1 initially precipitated by lime-secreting organisms or by the evaporation of lime-charged waters4 ,the effects of organic activity may be seen in the limestone near ,bernardston1 but most of the calcite now present in the rocks of western ,massachusetts is of vein or metamorphic derivation4 ,salt 7halite7 and gypsum are formed by the evaporation of saline waters1 but only the vacated casts of salt crystals have been detected in the ,triassic sediments of the valley4 ,,the ,,rocks ,rocks record three distinct methods which nature employs in the aggregation of minerals4 ,the sedimentary rocks register the work of wind1 water and ice4 ,deposits left by wind and water are generally stratified or bedded1 and they1 together with glacial deposits1 are composed of fragments which touch one another and are cemented at the points of contact4 ,igneous rocks record the solidification of hot liquids which injected themselves into older rocks or filled crevices1 and which1 upon cooling1 formed masses of closely fitting crystals4 ,the third group includes types which are crystalline like the igneous rocks1 and which may be laminated somewhat like the sediments2 they show effects of heating and squeezing until their original forms and even their minerals were changed4 ,these are the metamorphic rocks4 ,anyone who wants an orderly record of geologic history will arrange his rocks into these three groups--the sedimentary1 the igneous1 and the metamorphic4 ,in the ,connecticut ,valley the metamorphic rocks reveal the ancient phases of earth history1 and the sediments contain the details of younger or later geological episodes4 ,the igneous rocks have a wider historical range2 and1 like the other types1 they record a long period of violence and upheaval which seems out of harmony with the placid countryside for which they now provide a solid foundation4 ,the ,sedimentary ,rocks ,the sedimentary rocks are built from the disintegrated wreckage of older ones4 ,the products of rock decay are picked up and dragged1 or carried in suspension or solution1 by wind1 running water1 or moving ice4 ,they are deposited when and where the transporting agent can no longer function4 ,such rocks are usually layered because the transporting power of the carrying agent fluctuates4 ,bands of one kind of material1 separated by dissimilar materials above and below1 are called beds4 ,the bedded or stratified rocks of the ,connecticut ,valley vary greatly1 from the coarse bouldery deposits in ,mount ,toby to the fine-textured1 red and black laminated beds at ,whittemore's ,ferry4 ,conglomerate1 arkose1 graywacke1 shale and even limestone are represented1 but there is little true sandstone4 ,sandstone is an even-textured1 granular rock1 most commonly composed of cemented quartz grains4 ,its uniformity of grain-size and composition reflects prolonged weathering of the original rock and good sorting of the fragments as they were transported to their new resting place4 ,the sequence of exposure1 transportation and deposition was too rapid in the ancient ,connecticut ,valley to permit appreciable decay and sorting2 hence sandstones are absent4 ,limestones and salt beds are likewise rare1 but the metamorphosed limestones which are found in the western highlands and in the ,berkshire valley demonstrate that limestone-forming processes played a significant1 if intermittent1 part in the history of the region4 ,,conglomerate is consolidated gravel4 ,pebbles and boulders of all sizes are packed together by the stream which was moving them1 and the spaces between the larger fragments are filled with the sand that settled in from the stream bed4 ,the entire mass is cemented by silica1 limonite1 carbonates or some other substance deposited by percolating ground-water4 ,the ,devil's football near the ,mount ,holyoke ,house is a famous piece which was dislodged from the hillside above2 and excellent specimens may be collected on ,mount ,toby1 on ,mount ,sugarloaf1 and in the cut at ,mount ,tom ,junction4 ,,arkose resembles conglomerate1 but the individual grains consist of mineral fragments1 among which reddish feldspar is prominent4 ,quartz and mica may be present1 too2 and all the pieces are characteristically angular1 commonly ranging from #a_/af to #a_/h inch in size4 ,the rock is red and crumbles easily4 ,beds of arkose alternate with conglomerate on the steep sides of ,mount ,sugarloaf4 ,,graywacke is light to dark gray in color1 and the fragments composing it are sand size pieces of older rocks4 ,a few mineral grains1 such as quartz1 may be present1 but mica is rare4 ,graywacke occurs interbedded with arkose in some parts of the valley4 ,,shale is a thinly laminated sediment composed of microscopic quartz1 feldspar1 mica and kaolinite grains4 ,most shales in the ,connecticut valley were deposited as muds in old lake beds4 ,some are red and record ephemeral pools1 but others show from their black color1 their coal layers1 and their fish skeletons1 that the water bodies in which they accumulated remained in existence for a comparatively long time4 ,,limestone is a rock composed of calcium carbonate1 and it consists essentially of an aggregate of calcite crystals or calcite fragments4 ,it will give off gas bubbles in a very dilute solution of hydrochloric acid1 and it exhibits other properties peculiar to the mineral calcite4 ,a thin1 sandy limestone bed has been identified in several sections of ,holyoke4 ,the ,igneous ,rocks ,igneous rocks were once molten1 and in this hot fluid state some were extruded at the surface as lava flows4 ,congealed flows reveal the motion1 which brought them to their present resting places1 in the banding and streaks that are so evident in the patterns of steam holes and minerals2 but their massive structure bears witness to stagnation as they hardened4 ,other molten masses insinuated themselves into underground openings1 where they solidified as intrusives1 varying in size from small dikes less than an inch wide1 to huge masses that can be measured in miles in any direction4 ,most of the igneous rocks in the highlands of western and central ,massachusetts are massive intrusive types2 light-colored varieties predominate1 but some dark-colored dikes cut the older rocks both east and west of the valley4 ,dark-colored1 massive and banded lavas are conspicuous in the ranges within the valley4 ,igneous rocks may be divided into three general groups for practical classification1 and each major group may be further subdivided4 ,rather conveniently each of the major groups may be recognized by the prevalent color of its rocks--whether dark1 medium-colored1 or light4 ,and within each major classification there may be flows1 characterized by banded structures and fine textures2 small intrusives composed of well formed crystals in a fine-grained groundmass2 and large intrusives consisting of goodsized1 equi-granular crystals4 ,not all of these types can be found in central ,massachusetts1 but the variety of igneous rocks is surprising and offers some excellent possibilities for the collector4 ,the ,dark ,rocks ,the dark rocks owe their color to iron-bearing minerals like olivine1 pyroxene 7augite71 amphibole and biotite4 ,all of these minerals weather to a rusty red surface1 which is typical of their outcrops at many places4 ,,basalt is a black rock1 dense in some places but perforated with bubble holes or vesicles1 at others4 ,it occurs throughout the length of the ,holyoke1 ,tom and ,pocumtuck ,ranges2 and fragments of basalt are abundant in the ,granby tuff and agglomerate4 ,,diabase resembles basalt but is distinguished by the thin1 short crystals embedded in it4 ,these crystals of labradorite feldspar resemble pieces of clipped thread1 and they sparkle in reflected light4 ,almost all dark-colored dikes and the slowly cooled central portions of thick lava flows consist of diabase4 ,,peridotite is a dark green1 coarse1 granular rock composed of olivine and subordinate amounts of pyroxene4 ,it occurs near ,westfield and ,blandford1 and at many places in ,vermont4 ,the ,medium-,colored ,rocks ,the medium-colored rocks contain approximately the same proportions of light- and dark-colored minerals4 ,the dark iron-bearing minerals are relatively stable1 but the light-gray feldspars decompose to kaolin and give the weathered rock a chalky white surface4 ,surface flows of this group are unknown in central ,massachusetts1 but the coarsely granular intrusives are well represented4 ,,granodiorite ,,porphyry is a greenish-gray rock occurring in many dikes in the western highlands4 ,it has rectangular crystals of andesine feldspar up to #a_/h inch across1 and these have a dull porcellaneous luster4 ,a few dark-green amphibole crystals are only slightly smaller4 ,both feldspars and amphiboles are embedded in a very fine-textured1 pale greenish groundmass4 ,,granodiorite is a gray equigranular rock containing flesh-colored microcline feldspar1 white andesine feldspar1 greenish flakes of chlorite1 needles of amphibole and sparse grains of brown biotite4 ,all crystals are about #a_/cb inch thick and commonly display a parallel arrangement4 ,this rock forms huge irregular masses at ,williamsburg1 ,whately and ,belchertown4 ,the ,light-,colored ,rocks ,the light-colored rocks are well represented by dikes and large masses but not by recognizable surface flows in central ,massachusetts4 ,their exposures have rarely weathered much1 because the predominant minerals are quartz1 microcline1 orthoclase and albite1 which resist decay4 ,,quartz ,,porphyry is a light gray rock that is found in dikes4 ,it has porcelain-white cleavable feldspars up to #a_/h inch thick1 and dark glassy quartz of equal size in a granular mass of very fine-grained crystals4 ,intrusives of this type are numerous in the vicinity of ,whately4 ,,gray ,,albite ,,granite occurs in many dikes and small irregular masses throughout the highlands4 ,all crystals have approximately the same size and rarely exceed #a_/cb inch in thickness4 ,they consist of white orthoclase and albite1 dark sugary quartz1 and brown to black biotite4 ,,red ,,microcline ,,granite is found in very large1 irregular intrusives in the highlands4 ,the crystals are #a_/af inch or more in thickness4 ,the red color is due to the flesh-colored microcline4 ,quartz is dark and glassy1 and muscovite is the typical mica4 ,the ,metamorphic ,rocks ,metamorphic rocks were once sedimentary or igneous rocks which have been changed by intense pressure1 by heat1 or by solutions moving through them4 ,pressure usually produces a sheeted or foliated structure along which the rock exhibits a tendency to part--somewhat like the pages in a book that was bound before the ink was dry4 ,percolating solutions may produce chemical alterations in the original materials and even crystallize new substances along the foliated surfaces within the rock1 much as water circulating through cooled soil may solidify to ice and cause heaving4 ,many of the rocks in the highlands bordering the ,connecticut ,valley are highly foliated or banded in consequence of the mechanical deformation they suffered when the ancient upland mountain system was created4 ,they include the slates1 schists and gneisses4 ,a few massive types1 like marble1 serpentine and soapstone1 owe their origins chiefly to the effects of heat or of the hot1 chemically charged solutions which permeated them4 ,,slates are fine-grained rocks characterized by flat1 parallel cleavage surfaces which usually cross the original sedimentary structure4 ,they were formed from shales1 by shearing and compression during ancient mountain-making movements4 ,slates crop out beside the station platform at ,brattleboro1 ,vermont1 and at many places southward along ,federal ,highway #e to ,greenfield4 ,,schist is foliated1 too1 but it is composed largely of cleavable minerals1 such as chlorite1 muscovite1 biotite and amphibole1 which are distributed along the cleavage surfaces4 ,these minerals result from the chemical activity of hot solutions circulating along a slaty cleavage1 re-crystallizing old materials1 and bringing in new to make these coarse mineral flakes4 ,the schist receives its specific name 7biotite schist1 chlorite schist1 etc47 from the mineral which accentuates its cleavage structure4 ,a few schists contain large crystals which bulge the schistose surfaces outward around them4 ,garnet is characteristic in this role1 and a muscovite schist with garnets in it is called a ,,garnetiferous 7or garnet-bearing7 ,,muscovite ,,schist4 ,other minerals with occurrences similar to the garnet are microcline1 albite1 staurolite1 amphibole1 tourmaline1 pyrite and magnetite4 ,,gneiss is a banded rock containing cleavable minerals1 but it lacks the cleavage structure of schist4 ,the cleavable minerals 7biotite1 muscovite1 amphibole1 etc47 may give the gneiss its specific name1 but as often as not1 the name is derived from the whole mineral assemblage1 or from an assumed origin1 as in the case of granite gneiss4 ,as in the igneous rocks1 the mineral ensemble is held together by interlocked quartz and feldspar grains4 ,black-banded biotite gneiss and hornblende gneiss are the most abundant varieties in the neighborhood of the metropolitan reservoir east of ,pelham4 ,,marble is a granular rock composed of calcite crystals4 ,it is formed when heat volatilizes the bituminous coloring agents of ordinary limestone and simultaneously causes enlargement of the calcite grains4 ,it is the principal rock in the ,berkshire ,valley in which ,north ,adams1 ,adams and ,pittsfield are located4 ,,ophicalcite is a lime-silicate rock4 ,it is formed by the chemical reactions of hot solutions on limestone or marble at considerable depth within the earth4 ,the original calcite is converted into diopside1 garnet1 vesuvianite and tremolite1 forming a rock that may be massive1 or which may preserve some of the original bedded structure4 ,it is found in association with the crystalline limestone and magnetite at the old iron mine1 located one mile north of ,bernardston4 ,,serpentine is a dark-green rock made almost exclusively of the mineral serpentine4 ,it results from the reaction of hot solutions on olivine and pyroxene rocks 7peridotites74 ,serpentinite is present in the ,westfield marble quarry and at ,zoar on the south side of the ,deerfield ,river4 ,,soapstone is composed principally of talc4 ,it1 too1 results from the chemical activity of hot solutions ascending through serpentine and causing the mineral transformation4 ,bodies of this material are associated with the serpentinite at ,westfield and ,zoar1 and northward in sections of ,vermont4 ,it is mined for talc1 but in colonial days it found many uses4 ,the colonists used cross-cut saws to make blocks for foot warmers in their sleighs1 to control the heat in the old wood-fired ovens and to make water pipes before iron and lead were available in adequate quantities4 ,many soapstone articles may be seen--and purchased--in ,wiggins ,country ,store and in other good antique shops through the valley4 ,one of the most primitive ,indian cultures in this region utilized soapstone pots1 and exhibits are on display at both the ,springfield ,museum of ,natural ,history and the ,amherst ,college ,museum4 ,conclusion ,to anyone who has had the patience to read through the preceding pages and to reach these concluding remarks1 it must be obvious that geology is not merely a pastime for specialists4 ,it does not take half a dozen college and university degrees to collect rocks and minerals1 and to understand what they mean2 or to appreciate not alone the beauty1 but also the long and involved1 yet logical1 origin of scenery2 or to comprehend from a rock-cut or cliff the vast changes which have occurred in the course of geologic time2 or to grasp the current significance1 as well as the historical importance1 of such rock and mineral products as the trap1 the limestone1 the pyrite1 the lead veins1 the soapstone1 the varved clay1 the gravel banks4 ,whether one's interests are practical1 historical1 acquisitive1 esthetic1 philosophical or scientific1 the geological features of the ,connecticut ,valley possess the variety to gratify them all4 ,one must indeed be blind if he cannot find something of interest--a hobby--even a profession in the geological display spread before him in central ,massachusetts4 ,let it not be thought that this little volume tells the whole story4 ,on the contrary1 its authors expect to have a difficult time justifying their sins of omission1 more particularly because many of the omissions have been conscious and deliberate4 ,but they trust they have left for the reader a wealth of features which he can make his own by right of discovery4 ,for it will not take him very long to penetrate the fourth dimension of geologic time more deeply and intimately than is possible in the pages of a book4 ,footnotes #a,the figures denote the distance in miles from the starting point to the feature mentioned4 ,general ,index ,p indicates plate following page number indicated ,a ,agglomerate1 #bb ,p1 #bd1 #cf1 #gb1 #hd ,albite1 #aji ,albite granite1 #aaf ,allanite1 #hh1 #aaj ,alluvial fans1 ,triassic1 #ai1 #bh1 #dc1 #df ,alluvial plain1 #c1 #ba ,alluvial wash1 #be1 #dc ,amphibole1 #aaj ,appalachian disturbance1 #db ,argillite1 ,leyden1 #fd ,arkose1 #aad ,arkose1 first sandstone1 #hf ,ash1 volcanic1 #bh1 #ff1 #ga ,augite1 #aaj ,autunite1 #aaj ,azurite1 #fd ,b ,bank1 undercut1 #b ,barite1 #cj1 #fc1 #ajh ,basalt1 #gb1 #aae ,basalt1 columns1 #ga ,basin1 ,triassic1 #bg1 #dc ,batholith1 #cb ,beaches1 sloping south1 #di ,bedrock1 depth1 #aj ,biotite1 #aji ,block mountains1 #be ,boulders1 striated1 #ba ,brickyards1 #d1 #fi ,c ,calcite1 #fd1 #ajh ,calendar beds1 #fi ,cambrian1 #cg1 #ch ,canyon1 ,little ,westfield ,river1 #fa ,carboniferous period1 #cc1 #db ,carboniferous swamps1 #cd1 #db ,caves1 ,sunderland1 #ee ,chalcopyrite1 #fd1 #ajh ,channel scars1 #gi ,chicopee shale1 #ah ,chlorite1 #aaj ,cinder cone1 #be ,cirque1 #aj ,clay1 #d ,clay beds1 #fi ,clay1 distorted1 #f1 #ff ,p1 #gj ,clay stones1 concretions1 #gj ,clays1 banded1 #d1 #f ,clays1 record climate1 #fi ,climate1 ,triassic1 #bc ,coal1 #cc ,coal basin1 #cd1 #db ,coal swamps1 ,carboniferous1 #cc1 #dj ,coal1 ,triassic1 #bb ,coherent rock1 effect1 #ab ,columns1 basaltic1 #fj ,concretions1 #gj ,conglomerate1 #bj1 #be1 #bh1 #ed1 #ef1 #ii1 #aac ,conglomerate1 boulder1 #ba ,conglomerate1 ,devonian1 #ce ,conglomerate1 ,mt4 ,toby1 #ed ,conglomerate1 ,triassic1 #ai1 #ba ,contact1 conglomerate with crystallines1 #ei ,crater1 #be ,cretaceous period1 #ag1 #df ,cretaceous sediments1 #af ,crops1 #g ,cut-banks1 #aa ,d ,delta1 #g1 #h1 #di ,delta1 ,deerfield ,river1 #eh1 #ie ,delta1 ,florence1 #hi ,delta1 glacial lakes1 #di1 #fi ,delta1 ,long ,plain ,brook1 #ih ,delta1 ,millers ,river1 #eh ,delta1 ,sawmill ,river1 #ii ,delta1 ,westfield ,river1 #fb ,desert climate1 ,triassic1 #df ,devonian1 #ci ,diabase1 #fb1 #aae ,dike1 #cb1 #cb ,p1 #db ,dinosaur habits1 #fg ,dinosaur tracks1 #bb1 #bb ,p1 #ff1 #ff ,p1 #ha1 #if ,dinosaurs1 #ah1 #df ,dinosaurs1 bipedal1 #fg ,disturbance1 ,appalachian1 #db ,disturbance1 ,shickshock1 #dj ,disturbance1 ,taconic1 #dj ,drainage1 ,atlantic1 #ae1 #dg ,drumlin1 ,south ,amherst1 #i1 #hd ,dunes1 #d1 #di1 #ef1 #hg1 #ih ,e ,earthquakes1 ancient1 #ai1 #bf ,eastern ,upland1 #cb1 #cc1 #cg ,entrenched valleys1 #ab ,eocene period1 #df ,erratics1 #h1 #hb1 #hi ,everlasting hills1 #aa ,f ,fans1 alluvial1 #ai ,fault1 buried1 #bd ,fault1 eastern border1 #ai1 #be ,fault fissure1 #ff ,faulting1 at ,notch1 #gc1 #ge ,fault movement1 #be1 #bf1 #fj ,faults1 ,turners ,falls1 #dd ,fish1 extinction of ,triassic1 #fh ,fish fossils1 ,durham1 ,conn41 #bb ,fish fossils1 ,sunderland1 ,mass41 #bb1 #fh ,fish1 living conditions1 #fh ,fish1 ,triassic1 #bb ,fish1 ,whittemore's ,ferry1 #fi ,flood level1 #aicf1 #hb1 #if1 #ig ,floodplain1 #c1 #d1 #gi ,floods1 #a1 #c1 #d1 #f ,floor1 ,triassic basin1 #cj ,folds1 #cd1 #cf1 #dj1 #db ,footprint localities1 #ff1 #fh ,footprints1 dinosaur1 #bb1 #bb ,p1 #fg1 #hd ,fore-set beds1 #h ,forests1 oldest1 #dj ,g ,galena1 #bj1 #cj1 #fc1 #ajh ,garnet1 #aaa ,glacier1 #h1 #i1 #ba1 #db1 #df ,glacier recession1 #i1 #di ,glacier slope1 #dh ,glaciers1 ,permian age1 #db ,gneiss1 #bh1 #aah ,gneiss1 horizontal1 #ig ,gneiss1 ,pelham1 #gi ,gorge1 ,cold ,river1 #ib ,gorge1 ,deerfield ,river1 #ef1 #ib1 #ib ,p ,gorge1 ,little ,westfield1 #aje ,gorges1 buried1 #aj ,gorges1 ,pliocene age1 #dh ,grade of rivers1 #ae ,granite1 #ba1 #bh1 #cc1 #cd1 #db1 #ed1 #aaf ,granite1 pre-,triassic1 #ajj ,granite quarry1 #hh ,granodiorite1 #aaf ,granodiorite porphyry1 #aaf ,granodiorite1 ,williamsburg1 #fd ,graywacke1 #aad ,h ,horse sheds1 #gf ,hot springs1 #cj1 #db ,hudson drainage1 #ae ,hurricane1 #ab ,i ,ice ,age1 #aj1 #dh1 #ef ,icebergs1 #h ,ice-cakes1 #h ,ice dispersal centers1 #dh ,ice recession1 rate1 #di ,ice sheet1 #e1 #i1 #eb1 #gb ,ice thickness1 #dh ,indian campsites1 #c ,indian graves1 #c ,intrusive1 #cc ,inundation1 #c ,iron ore1 #cd1 #ce ,j ,joints1 ,mt4 ,sugarloaf1 #ef ,jurassic period1 #df ,k ,kame terraces1 #hb1 #ie ,kaolinite1 #aaa ,kettle holes1 #hb1 #hc1 #ajj ,kyanite1 #aaa ,l ,labradorite1 #aaj ,lake ,bascom1 #ic ,lake beds1 #bb ,lake deposits1 ,triassic1 #ee ,lake ,hadley1 #e1 #di1 #eb1 #gj ,lake ,hadley1 glacial bed1 #ei1 #gi ,lake1 ice margin1 #hb ,lake shore1 ,amherst1 #gi ,lake shore1 old1 #g ,lake shore1 slope of1 #g1 #di ,lake ,springfield1 #e1 #di1 #ajc ,lake ,springfield1 antiquity1 #gj ,lake ,springfield1 frozen1 #gj ,lakes1 post-glacial1 #di ,lakes1 ,triassic1 #df1 #ef1 #fh1 #aja ,landslide deposits1 #df ,landslide1 ,triassic1 #ef ,landslides1 ancient1 #ai1 #ba ,lava1 amygdaloidal1 #ajd ,lava1 columnar1 #cb ,p1 #fj1 #fj ,p1 #ga ,lava1 ,deerfield flow1 #aja ,lava field1 #gb ,lava flow1 #be1 #bf1 #bh1 #dc1 #dd1 #dh1 #fj ,lava1 ,holyoke flow1 #bf1 #dd1 #ha1 #he ,lava1 pillow type1 #if ,lava1 second1 #he ,lead veins1 #cj1 #fc1 #fe ,limestone1 #ce1 #dj1 #aad ,limestone1 ,bernardston1 #dj ,limestone1 ,cambrian1 #ch ,limestone1 ,devonian1 #cd1 #ce ,limonite1 #aaa ,longmeadow sandstone1 #ah ,lowland1 excavated1 #ac ,lowland1 ,miocene age1 #ee ,lowland relief1 #ec ,m ,malachite1 #fd ,marble1 #aah ,marble1 ,westfield1 #fa1 #aje ,maturity1 #ad ,meander1 #c1 #fb ,meander scarps1 #ef1 #eg1 #ajd ,meander scarps1 ,sunderland1 #eg ,meanders1 ,westfield ,river1 #fb ,microcline1 #aji ,microcline granite1 #aag ,mine1 ,west ,farms1 #fd ,mineral1 definition1 #ajf ,minerals1 genetic classification1 #ajg ,minerals1 metamorphic1 #aaa ,minerals1 pegmatite1 #aji ,minerals1 sedimentary1 #aaa ,minerals1 soil1 #aaa ,minerals1 vein1 #fc1 #ajg ,mine shaft1 #fd ,miocene1 #aa1 #ad1 #cj1 #ee ,miocene lowland1 #ad ,monadnocks1 #ab ,p1 #ee ,moraine1 terminal1 #h1 #dh ,mountain1 eastern block1 #ai1 #bh ,mountain1 exhumed1 #dh1 #ajj ,mountain1 ,triassic1 #ba1 #ed ,mt4 ,warner rocks1 #hg ,muscovite1 #aji ,n ,natural levee1 #b1 #c ,new ,england landscape1 #ae ,new ,england peneplain1 #ab ,p1 #ae1 #de1 #gd1 #ib ,p ,new ,england upland1 #ea1 #ee1 #ij1 #id ,new ,england upland1 monadnocks1 #ee ,notch1 #be ,notch1 origin1 #dd1 #gd ,notch quarry1 #hd ,o ,olivine1 #aaj ,ophicalcite1 #aah ,orchard land1 #h ,ordovician1 #cf1 #cc1 #ci ,ox-bow1 #c ,ox-bow ,lake1 #d ,p1 #hb ,p ,paleozoic era1 #db ,pegmatite1 #bh1 #cb1 #hb ,peneplain1 erosional plain1 #df ,peneplain1 ,new ,england1 #ab ,p1 #ae1 #de1 #gd ,peridotite1 #cf1 #ch1 #aae ,piedmont plains1 #dj ,piracy by ,farmington ,river1 #dg ,pitchblende1 #aaj ,plains1 lacustrine1 #di ,plankton1 ,cambro-,ordovician1 #cf ,plants1 ,triassic1 #bb ,plateau-like upland1 #aa ,playa1 #ba1 #bb1 #bc1 #df1 #fh ,pliocene1 #aj1 #aa ,pliocene uplift1 #dh ,providence basin1 #cc ,pyrite1 #fd1 #ajh ,pyromorphite1 #fd ,q ,quarry1 ,westfield ,marble1 #fa1 #fb ,quartz1 #cj1 #fc1 #ajg ,quartz porphyry1 #aaf ,quartzite1 ,cheshire1 #ic ,quartzite conglomerate1 #ce ,r ,raindrop imprints1 #bb ,recession of ,atlantic1 ,pliocene1 #dh ,recession of ice1 #i ,red rock basin1 #ah ,reeds1 #fg ,rift movement1 #dc1 #dd ,rift1 ,triassic1 #dc1 #dd ,ripple-marks1 #bb1 #fi ,roches moutonnes1 #d ,p1 #i1 #aj ,rock-benches1 #ae ,rock1 definition1 #ajf ,rock1 extrusive1 #cb ,p ,rock1 history recorded1 #aab ,rock1 igneous1 #aad ,rock1 intrusive1 #cb ,p ,rock1 metamorphic1 #aag ,rock mosaic1 #ag ,rock1 sedimentary1 #aac ,rock1 story of igneous1 #aad ,rock1 story of metamorphic1 #aag ,rock1 story of sedimentary1 #aac ,rock varieties1 #ajf ,s ,salt crystals1 casts1 #fg ,sand bar1 #a ,sand dunes1 #d ,sandstone1 #ga ,sandstone1 ,longmeadow1 #hc ,sandstone1 second1 #he ,sandstone1 ,silurian1 #ci ,scallops1 #d1 #ef ,scallops1 meander scarps1 #ef1 #eg ,schist1 #bh1 #aag ,schist1 ,conway1 #ie ,schist1 garnetiferous1 #aah ,schist1 ,goshen1 #hi ,schists1 volcanic1 #ib ,scour-channels1 #a ,screes1 #dc ,sea1 ,cambrian1 #cf ,sea1 ,devonian1 #ce ,sea1 ,ordovician1 #cf ,sediments1 ,devonian1 #bd ,serpentine1 #aaj1 #aah ,shale1 #ba1 #bb1 #ee1 #fh1 #aad ,shale1 ,chicopee1 #ah ,sheets1 intrusive1 #db1 #fb ,shickshock disturbance1 #dj ,shore1 ,lake ,springfield1 #hj ,siderite1 #fd ,sill1 #cb ,silt1 #c1 #d1 #ba ,slate1 #ce1 #cf1 #aag ,slickensides1 #ff ,snowfields1 ,triassic1 #ba ,soapstone1 #aah ,soapstone1 uses1 #aai ,sphalerite1 #fc1 #ajh ,spodumene1 #aji ,springs1 hot1 #cj ,st4 ,lawrence drainage1 #ae1 #dg ,stock1 #cb ,stone fences1 #i1 #eb1 #hj ,strath1 #ad1 #ae1 #af1 #dg1 #eh1 #ib ,p1 #ic ,striations1 #i ,swales1 #a1 #ih ,swamps1 #dj ,t ,taconic disturbance1 #dj ,talc1 #aaa ,talus1 #df ,terminal moraine1 #h1 #di ,terraced surface1 #ag ,terraces1 #d1 #g1 #di1 #gi1 #ih1 #ajd ,terraces1 floodplain1 #hg ,terraces1 meander cut1 #ie ,tertiary period1 #af ,till1 #h1 #aj ,top-set beds1 #h ,torbernite1 #aaj ,tourmaline1 #aji ,tracks1 dinosaur1 #ff ,trail1 ,holyoke ,range1 #hd ,triassic1 #db ,triassic basin1 filled1 #ac ,tuff1 #be1 #cf1 #ha1 #hd ,tuff1 ,granby1 #bb ,p1 #be1 #he ,u ,upland1 ,eastern1 #cb ,upland1 ,new ,england1 #ah ,upland1 ,western1 #cb1 #cd ,uraninite1 #aaj ,uranite1 #aaj ,u-shaped valley1 #aj ,v ,varve1 #i ,varves1 annual deposits1 #fi ,vein1 ,hatfield1 #fd1 #hh ,vein1 ,leverett1 #fe1 #ff ,vein1 ,whately1 #fd ,veins1 lead1 #fc ,veins1 ,loudville1 #cj1 #fc ,volcanic necks1 #bc1 #ga ,volcanics1 ,cambro-,ordovician age1 #cf ,volcanics1 ,mt4 ,hitchcock1 #bi ,volcanoes1 #bc1 #bg ,volcanoes1 ,cambrian1 #ch ,volcanoes1 ,ordovician1 #ch ,volcanoes1 ,triassic1 #dc ,v-shaped valley1 #ad ,w ,washout by flood1 #hg ,watergap1 #c ,well1 deep hole1 #hb ,western ,upland1 #cb1 #cd1 #cg ,windblown sand1 #d ,wulfenite1 #fd ,geographic ,index ,p indicates plate following page number indicated4 ,a ,adams1 #ad1 #ic ,adirondack ,mountains1 #ae1 #ce1 #ch ,amherst1 #g1 #ba1 #be1 #ig ,amherst ,island1 #ih ,ashfield1 #ij1 #id ,atlantic1 #c ,b ,bare ,mountain1 view1 #gc ,belchertown1 #hj ,belchertown ,ponds1 #hb ,berkshire ,hills1 #ae1 #ch ,berkshire ,trail1 #hi ,bernardston1 #cd1 #ce1 #dj ,bernardston ,ridge1 #cj1 #dc ,blandford1 ,mass41 #aaj ,bloody ,brook1 #ie ,brattleboro1 #c1 #ce ,brimfield1 #cb ,c ,catskill ,mountains1 #ae1 #dj ,central ,vermont ,railroad1 #ba ,charlemont1 #ad ,cheapside1 #ie ,chester1 ,mass41 #cf ,chester1 ,vt41 #aaj ,chesterfield1 #hi ,chicopee1 #g1 #ajb ,christopher ,clark ,road1 #hf ,cobble ,mountain1 #aje ,college ,highway1 #ajc ,connecticut ,lowland1 #i1 #ab1 #ae1 #di1 #eh1 #fa1 #ig ,connecticut ,river1 #aa1 #ab ,p1 #ef1 #eg ,connecticut ,river1 birth of1 #dg ,connecticut ,river1 pre-glacial1 #eh1 #ei ,connecticut ,valley1 #f1 #i1 #ad ,conway1 #ee1 #ie ,coolidge ,memorial ,bridge1 #a1 #i1 #aj1 #dh1 #gh ,cummington1 #ad1 #hi ,d ,daniel ,shays ,highway1 #gi1 #ig ,davis ,mine1 #ib ,deerfield ,river1 #ab1 #ad1 #ba1 #dg1 #eh ,p ,dover1 ,vt41 #aaj ,durham1 ,conn41 #bb ,e ,easthampton1 #c1 #hf ,erving1 #ig ,f ,falls ,river1 #eh1 #if ,farmington ,river1 #dg ,fish ,hatchery1 #if ,flat ,mountain1 #gf ,fort ,river1 #he ,french ,king ,bridge1 #bb1 #bh1 #cj1 #eh ,p1 #ei ,g ,goshen1 #ee1 #hi ,grafton ,center1 ,n4 ,h41 #aji ,granby1 #ba1 #be1 #df ,greenfield1 #if ,greenfield ,ridge1 #bf1 #dd ,green ,mountains1 #ae1 #ce1 #cf1 #cg1 #ch1 #df ,h ,hadley1 #a1 #d1 #d ,p1 #aa1 #hg ,hadley lowland1 view1 #ga ,hartford1 #ah ,hatfield1 #d1 #cj1 #fd ,haydenville1 #hi ,hilliard ,knob1 #gf ,hockanum1 #a1 #b1 #be ,holyoke1 #bc1 #fg1 #hj ,holyoke ,range1 #be1 #eb ,p ,holyoke ,range1 view of1 #eb ,p1 #hc1 #hi ,hoosac ,tunnel1 #ib ,horse sheds1 #gf ,housatonic1 #f ,j ,jacob's ,ladder route1 #fa1 #ajc ,jamaica1 #ab1 #ad ,l ,leverett1 ,mass41 #ba1 #cj1 #ce1 #fe ,litchfield ,hills1 #af ,little ,tinker1 #bi1 #gb ,little ,westfield ,river1 #fa ,long ,island1 #i1 #dh ,long ,island ,sound1 #ad1 #af ,loudville1 #cj1 #fc ,lowell ,mountains1 #cf ,m ,maine1 #ae ,manhan ,river1 #ajc ,martha's ,vineyard1 #i1 #dh ,memphremagog1 #ce1 #cf ,merrimack ,river1 #f1 #dg ,middletown1 #c1 #g1 #bb1 #bc1 #di ,mohawk ,park1 #ib ,mohawk ,trail1 #ad1 #ce1 #ia ,montague1 #g1 #ba1 #cj1 #ii ,mt4 ,ascutney1 #ae1 #df ,mt4 ,grace1 #ee ,mt4 ,greylock1 #ae1 #df1 #ee ,mt4 ,hitchcock1 #bi1 #gb ,mount ,holyoke ,hotel1 #bc1 #ga ,mt4 ,holyoke ,range1 #c1 #i1 #ad1 #bf1 #dd1 #eb ,p1 #ga ,mt4 ,lincoln1 #ab ,p1 #ea1 #eb ,p ,mt4 ,lincoln1 road to1 #gi ,mt4 ,monadnock1 #e1 #i1 #ab ,p1 #df1 #eb1 #ee1 #ig ,mt4 ,nonotuck1 #hf ,mt4 ,norwottock1 view1 #ge ,mt4 ,okemo1 #ae ,mt4 ,sugarloaf1 #ab ,p1 #ef1 #eh ,p1 #hg ,mt4 ,toby1 #ah1 #bj1 #eb ,mt4 ,tom ,range1 #i1 #ad1 #bf1 #dd ,mt4 ,tom ,reservation1 #hf ,mt4 ,wachusett1 #ae1 #df1 #ee ,mt4 ,warner1 #d1 #ad1 #cj1 #dc ,mt4 ,washington1 #i ,n ,new ,hampshire1 #ae1 #dh ,new ,haven1 #ad1 #ag1 #ai1 #bf ,new ,london1 #c1 #ad ,new ,salem1 #ig ,north ,adams1 #ic ,northampton1 #a1 #c1 #d ,p1 #bf ,northfield1 ,mass41 #ag1 #eb ,northfield ,mountains1 #cf ,north ,hadley1 #d1 #hg ,norwottock1 #d 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#eh1 #if ,w ,ware1 #cb ,westfield ,marble ,quarry1 #fb ,westfield ,river1 #ad1 #fj ,p1 #hi ,west ,pelham1 #aa ,west ,river1 #ab1 #dg ,whately1 #cj1 #fd1 #hh ,whitcomb ,summit1 #ib ,white ,mountains1 #aj1 #ae1 #df1 #dg1 #dh ,whittemore's ,ferry1 #fh1 #fi ,wilbraham ,mountains1 #ah1 #fj ,p1 #fb ,williamsburg1 #hi ,williamstown1 #ic ,windsor ,dam1 #cb ,p ,worcester1 #cb ,z ,zoar1 #ib ,publications of ,,the ,,hampshire ,,bookshop ,birds of the ,connecticut ,valley1 by ,aaron ,c4 ,bagg and ,samuel ,a4 ,eliot4 #h4ej ,a large comprehensive and authentic book for bird lovers4 ,many illustrations with colored frontispiece by ,fuertes4 ,geology of the ,connecticut ,valley1 by ,william ,i4 ,miller4 #a4be ,first published in #aiba4 ,went into two editions and is now out of print4 ,retreat from ,reason1 by ,lancelot ,hogben4 4#ge ,with notes by ,isabel ,stearns4 ,first ,american edition #aicg4 ,an original and acute mind criticises the established order and makes suggestions for a new order4 ,the ,flow of ,time in the ,connecticut ,valley3 ,geological ,imprints1 by ,george ,w4 ,bain and ,howard ,a4 ,meyerhoff4 #b4jj ,a handbook for the amateur or the scholar4 ,a ,puritan ,town and ,its ,imprints3 ,northampton1 #aghf-ahde1 by ,barbara ,gilmore4 #c4ge ,,map ,pictorial ,map of ,northampton1 by ,priscilla ,paine4 4#di ,printed on rag paper in #d colors1 tragical1 historical1 and comical4 ,,pamphlets ,imagination and ,children's ,reading1 by ,grace ,hazard ,conkling4 4#ej ,out of print4 ,the ,american ,scholar1 by ,william ,allan ,neilson4 4#ae ,vesper ,address1 by ,william ,allan ,neilson4 4#ae ,the ,rights and ,privileges pertaining thereto 4441 by ,marjorie ,h4 ,nicolson4 #aici4 4#be ,approach to ,proust1 by ,marine ,leland4 4#ce ,,hampshire ,,bookshop ,,defense ,,pamphlets #a4 ,america's ,dilemma1 by ,william ,allan ,neilson4 #aida4 4#aj #b4 ,first ,things ,first1 by ,mary ,ellen ,chase4 #aida4 4#bj #c4 ,the ,liberal ,arts ,college in ,war ,time1 by ,esther ,cloudman ,dunn4 #aida4 4#bj #d4 ,guarding the ,line1 by ,william ,allan ,neilson4 #aidb4 4#ae ,,of ,,this ,,book ,,one ,,thousand ,,copies ,,were ,,composed ,,and ,,printed ,,in ,,the ,,spring ,,of #aidb ,,by ,e4 ,l4 ,,hildreth ,,company1 ,,inc41 ,,brattleboro1 ,,vermont1 ,u4,s4,a4 ,transcriber's ,notes --,retained publication information from the printed edition3 this e,book is public-domain in the country of publication4 --,silently corrected a few palpable typos4 --,in the text versions only1 text in italics is delimited by underscores4