Glacial Repercussions
on Rock Point
Glacial Whiplash: Katrina, Ursula,
Andrew, Baad, Antoine, Genna, Larissa, Emma,
Max and Kellie
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Objective of Project
 We researched how the glaciers changed
Vermont’s geologic features and land
forms into what it is today.
 Through the soil samples, water tests
and tree measurements, we formulated
proof of the glaciers that existed long
ago.
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Info on Glaciers
Glaciers are formed by an
accumulation of snow that
doesn’t melt each year that
builds into ice.
13,000 ago, a massive glacier was
melting over Vermont and the
surrounding area. This form
moved slowly from North to
South “bulldozing” anything in its
path. Boulders under the glacier
dragged across the landscape,
changing its form.
As the glacier melted, a massive
meltwater lake formed, covering
much of northern Vermont.
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Rock Point
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Thrust Fault
 The thrust fault is a place where
one tectonic plate experienced
extreme pressure from a
conflicting plate. One section was
pushed under the other, making
layers of two different rocks:
shale and dolostone.
 In this area, it was very rocky.
Because of the calcium in the
soil, the trees were mostly
softwood (ie: cedar tree). Also,
we learned that the dolostone
was much older than the shale.
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Sandy area
 The sandy area refers to a
place at Rock Point north of
Eagle Bay. The soil was very
sandy, unlike silty clay soil
that we encountered at many
locations.
 We were surprised to find
sand and coarser pebbles in
the soil. The area was
originally a river channel
during the melting of the ice
sheet. The river eventually
dried out as the water line
receded to where the beach is
now.
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North Beach
 When using an soil bucket auger to dig at the
beach, we found that the water table depth was
3’ 1”, which was about the same as the water
in the lake. The upper 2 feet were sand with 7
inches of sand and conglomerations of clay.
 Because Lake Champlain was substantially
larger from run off water after the last ice age,
we can tell that the beach line used to be much
higher than it is now.
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Beaver Pond

The area surrounding the Beaver
Pond was primarily man-made (ie:
parking lots, and planted trees).
We found that the water table
depth was 3’6”. As we dug farther
down, the soil turned to mud.

We were not able to dig further
than 4’ because we hit asphalt that
was indicating a parking lot some
time many years ago. The
pavement fragments and fill found
four feet down suggest that
humans have impacted the site,
causing the water to remain in the
beaver pond.
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The Gorge
 We analyzed soils and vegetation at two sitesthe first up the hill from the stream and the
second within the streambed. After digging a
foot or two, the soil was silty-clay. At the
streambed site, clay was found very near the
surface.
 At the top of the gorge, there were a majority of
softwoods. The soil was basic (7.2) and the
presence of oxidized Rhizospheres indicating
that the soil is occasionally wet while at the
bottom of the gorge the soil became more basic
(7.4). We also found that at the streambed site,
the water table was only 2 inches from the
surface.
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Air Quality
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Conclusion
Our research focused on
the following components:
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Soil Analysis
pH Analysis
Tree Carbon Analysis
Sediment Stratification
Tree Abundance
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Thank You!!
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