2015 Spring Field Trip - The Coastal Geology of Eastern Connecticut: Bluff Point, Groton, CT to Meigs Point, Madison, CT
The object of the trip was to explore the bedrock and glacial history of the CT coast as expressed in outcrops, landforms and beaches easily and safely visited at Hammonasset, Rocky Neck, and Harkness Memorial State Parks, Bluff Point Coastal Reserve and Waterford Town Beach. Each of these sites also allows for an examination of the modern processes that are currently working to modify the coast and a few missteps humans have made in trying to return things to “normal”.
The trip started with a brief 8:00AM introduction at UConn-Avery Point where, on a clear day, the terminal moraine and most of the offshore recessional moraines of eastern Connecticut can be seen. This was followed by an examination of the origins of the various beach compositions found at Bluff Point. After lunch, Waterford Beach and Harkness Memorial provided an opportunity to examine typical eastern Connecticut sandy beaches, developed on glacial deltas, and pinned between rocky promontories. There were also interesting “management” issues to discuss. Rocky Neck offers bedrock outcrops, glacial deposits, and coastal features/processes that can be used to explain the genesis of most of the landforms that are common in eastern Connecticut. Crawling around the coastal moraine, beach and marsh at Hammonasset capped things off.
The trip started with a brief 8:00AM introduction at UConn-Avery Point where, on a clear day, the terminal moraine and most of the offshore recessional moraines of eastern Connecticut can be seen. This was followed by an examination of the origins of the various beach compositions found at Bluff Point. After lunch, Waterford Beach and Harkness Memorial provided an opportunity to examine typical eastern Connecticut sandy beaches, developed on glacial deltas, and pinned between rocky promontories. There were also interesting “management” issues to discuss. Rocky Neck offers bedrock outcrops, glacial deposits, and coastal features/processes that can be used to explain the genesis of most of the landforms that are common in eastern Connecticut. Crawling around the coastal moraine, beach and marsh at Hammonasset capped things off.