Earth Science Teacher, Ms. G., shares information about the geology of the region. We hike to the beginning of a tributary of the West Branch of Limestone Creek. Descending into the steeply eroded gorge can be tricky. The rocks are wet, moss covered, and slippery. After hiking downstream for about an hour - and 50 million years in geologic history, we pause to learn why the limestone is cracked.
Glaciers are heavy stuff.
Along the way we search for clay deposits. In 1995 a significant clay bed was discovered which we named the Andrea clay deposit after the student from ES-M High School who discovered it. Since then, the clay bed has been buried under gravel, mud, and uprooted trees by the great storm of 1998, and by erosion caused by logging on the steep banks along the stream. We come to the main branch of the stream. Long before then the clay had probably been used as early as the 15th Century by the Pre Columbian Iroquois, Chance Phase culture.