In March 2022, over 80 participants signed into a virtual exploration of the ground beneath our feet, led by Will Amidon, Associate Professor of Geology at Middlebury College.  

As geologists do, Will started back in time when the bedrock was forming and the land that would become Vermont was at the equator, some 500 million years ago. During the glacial period, glaciers moved back and forth over the Champlain Valley with Vermont sometimes under 3 km of ice.  As the last glacier receded, it first formed Lake Vermont when Cornwall was under ~150 ft. of water; then later, as it moved further north, salt water rushed in from the ocean to form the Champlain Sea.

Will described the relatively recent glacial and fluvial forces that have sculpted the Cornwall landscape with its bedrock ridges and created its rich alluvial valleys, the Lemon Fair, and the Cornwall Swamp.  The presentation ended with a lively Q&A discussion.

Please check out the recording at: https://youtu.be/PUs_TDUmxvA

And, for an interesting VPR discussion of how the geology of Vermont has affected its character, go to:  https://www.vpr.org/programs/2017-09-08/how-has-the-geology-of-vermont-affected-its-character