Sculpting Earths Surface GLG150 Mount Carmels Sleeping Giant

Sculpting Earth’s Surface GLG/150

Mount Carmel’s “Sleeping Giant” Hamden, CT. is home to Mount Carmel of which has a famous landmark called “Sleeping Giant”. The mountain from afar resembles a large person laying on their back, and because of this, it is visited by thousands of people every year. Mt Carmel: “The Sleeping Giant” by Charles Farrer 1865

History v. Due to the separating of tectonic plates, lava eruptions occurred periodically over a 20 million year span v. Sediment buildup occurred in between eruptions v. Became sedimentary rock over time layered in with the basalt rock v. The sedimentary rock eroded faster than the basalt, resulting in the distinct cliff faces we see today, and the surrounding regolith Post pile of eroded basalt

Mountain Composition v The mountain is made up of basalt and extrusive volcanic rock with layers of sedimentary rock v Parts where iron in the rock is exposed have turned a rusty brown due to the oxygenation v The regional climate varies throughout the seasons, from overall lows of 9 degrees and highs of 95 v Very moist area, from the damp soil to the moss that layers the basalt

Physical Weathering v Igneous rocks do not have cleavage, they have fracture lines of which were evident most of the larger boulders v The mountain had many grooves carved by streams of water over many years v Wind and other weather related elements have made the once blocky mountain range rounded v Sedimentary rock eroded faster than the basalt creating the huge dips in between the “three” hills of sleeping giant Fracture lines seemed abundant in a lot of the larger rocks. Mechanical weathering is evident in the above picture. The tree took root in a small crack and as it grew larger it split the rock.

References v. A Volcanic Giant Sleeps in Hamden. (N. D. ). Retrieved from http: //connecticuthistory. org/a-volcanic-giant-sleeps-in-hamden/ v. Geology of Connecticut. (2015). Retrieved from http: //www. yale. edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1995/5/95. 01. x. html v. Sleeping Giant State Park. (2015). Retrieved from http: //www. wesleyan. edu/ctgeology/CTGeology. Illustrated/sleeping_gian t. html