MSGID: 1:317/3 633c74e9   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    EPOD - a service of USRA   
      
   The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes   
   and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and   
   archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory   
   captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The   
   community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and   
   relevant links.   
      
      
    Quechee Gorge in East Central Vermont   
      
      October 04, 2022   
      
       PattiW_IMG_0088 (003)a   
      
       PattiW_IMG_0084 (003)a   
      
      Photographer:  Patti Weeks   
      
      Summary Author:  Patti Weeks   
      
      The  Quechee Gorge is a 165-feet deep (50 m), 1-mile long (1.6 km)   
      narrow chasm on the  Ottauquechee River. As Vermont’s deepest gorge,   
      it is nicknamed by locals as “ Vermont’s Grand Canyon.” It was   
      formed following the retreat of the massive  Pleistocene   
       Laurentide Ice Sheet, which covered all of present-day Canada and   
      much of the northern United States, between 95,000 to 20,000 years ago.   
      
      When the ice sheet began its retreat about 18,000 years ago, the   
      Ottauquechee River re-emerged and began to flow east again, but was   
      redirected from the Connecticut River to the newly-formed narrow   
       Glacial Lake Hitchcock, which ran nearly 200 miles (320 km) from   
      what is now northern Vermont to central Connecticut. A glacial   
       terminal moraine (near present day Hartford, Connecticut) called   
      the Rocky Hill Dam, blocked the flow of the  Connecticut River for   
      approximately 4,000 years, during which the Ottauquechee River filled   
      the lake with 170 feet (52 m) of sand, mud and silt. When the dam   
      eventually broke, the river made a sharp turn to the south, rapidly   
      cutting through the soft mud. Geologist  Frederick Larsen estimated   
      that this initial erosion occurred in less than a week. The river has   
      been slowly carving through the hard  Devonian age  schist and   
       quartzite bedrock, the  Gile Mountain Formation, ever since —   
      for the past 13,000 years.   
      
      Now, the Quechee Gorge is a tourist attraction. The Ottauquechee River   
      is also rated as a  Class III+(V) whitewater river for 3.7 miles   
      (6.0 km). According to a report by  American Whitewater, the water   
      level was low (<30 cfs) most of this past summer. Bottom photo shows   
      whitewater details. Even at its best whitewater level, however, there   
      is a challenging rapid area called “Well Enough.” After a thorough   
      scouting, you might need to leave “well enough” alone and just portage.   
      The second photo, focusing nearly straight down into the gorge from the   
      bridge, shows some large rocks that could make rafting navigation   
      challenging, whether the water covers them or not. Photos taken on July   
      19, 2022.   
      
      
      Quechee Gorge, Vermont Coordinates: 43.6374, -72.4085   
      
      
   Related EPODs   
      
       Quechee Gorge in East Central Vermont  Limestone Stratification   
      near Modica, Sicily  Strawberry Moon and Etna Exhaust  Kodachrome   
      Basin State Park, Utah  Idaho’s Gravity-Defying Balanced Rock   
       Eastern Flank of Mt. Etna   
       More...   
      
   Geography Links   
      
        *  Atlapedia Online   
        *  CountryReports   
        *  GPS Visualizer   
        *  Holt Rinehart Winston World Atlas   
        *  Mapping Our World   
        *  Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection   
        *  Types of Land   
        *  World Mapper   
      
   -   
      Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the  Universities   
      Space Research Association.   
      
   https://epod.usra.edu   
       
   --- up 31 weeks, 1 day, 21 minutes   
    * Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)   
   SEEN-BY: 15/0 106/201 114/705 123/120 153/7715 226/30 229/110 111   
   SEEN-BY: 229/112 113 317 400 426 428 470 664 700 292/854 298/25 305/3   
   SEEN-BY: 317/3 320/219 396/45   
   PATH: 317/3 229/426