Yet all this activity is recent when compared with the 550 million year old bedrock of the Champlain Valley. The rock at the summit of Mt. Philo, also at Redstone Natural Area, is Monkton Quartzite. The oldest rocks are usually at the bottom of a deposit, but at Mt. Philo, the rocks at the summit are older than the rocks in the valley. The rocks moved up through the geologic section along faults. Marble, Danby, VT Photograph courtesy of H. Mango Cut marble blocks await shipment from the underground quarry in Danby.
Marble is used as dimension stone and in paper and plastic.
The marble from Danby was used for the Jefferson Memorial, Washington D.C. and the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial in Taiwan. Pothole, Cavendish Gorge, VT Photograph courtesy of M. Gale Potholes form in streams by the grinding action of stones as they swirl around in eddies.