his class uses multiple field sites to demonstrate how we understand key aspects of northern Vermont’s glacial geologic history. In particular, we will observe a variety of landforms and sediments created by glaciers and focus on the different geologic processes that were active when the landforms and sediments formed. We will then use our understanding of how these landforms and sediments formed to interpret the changing environments existing in northern Vermont during the last 25,000 years.

Course Objectives

• To learn how field observations of sediments and landforms are used to interpret the glacial geology of the region.
• To recognize the different types of sediments and landforms formed in glacial environments
• To understand the processes taking place as those sediments and landforms are created
• To interpret the changing environments existing in northern Vermont from peak glaciation to ice sheet retreat

About the Instructor(s)

Stephen Wright is a Senior Lecturer in the Geology Department at the University of Vermont. His current research utilizes extensive field work to further our understanding of the glacial history of northern Vermont. This work includes understanding the dynamics of ice flow and water flow within the big ice sheet that once covered Vermont and the histories of the many glacial lakes dammed by that ice sheet. During the summer months he frequently maps for the Vermont Geological Survey.

Recommended Readings

Course Slides

Glacial Geology Presentation Slides (PDF)

Books

• Bennet, M.R. and Glasser, N.F., First or Second Edition, “Glacial Geology: Ice Sheets and Landforms”

Articles and Field Trip Guides

(Don't be frightened away by the advanced content level. Just see if you can familiarize yourself with some of the big-picture concepts.)

• Larsen, F.D., 1987, History of glacial lakes in the Dog River valley, central Vermont; in Westerman, D.S., ed., New England Intercollegiate Geological Conference Guidebook, p. 214–236.
• Larsen, F.D., Wright, S.F., Springston, G.E., Dunn, R.K., 2003, Glacial, late-glacial, and post-glacial history of central Vermont; Guidebook for the 66^th Annual Meeting of the Northeast Friends of the Pleistocene, 62 p.
• Wright, S.F., 2015, Late Wisconsin ice sheet flow across northern and central Vermont, USA; Quaternary Science Reviews, Vol 129: 216–228.
• Wright, S.F., 2018, Surficial Geology and Hydrology of the Bolton Mountain 7.5-Minute Quadrangle, Vermont; Vermont Geological Survey Open File Maps and Report.
• Wright, S.F., 2019, Glacial Geology of the Miller Brook Valley, Stowe, Vermont: A Head to Toe Traverse; New England Intercollegiate Geological Conference Guidebook, p. B3-1–B3-22.
• Wright, S.F., Springston, G.E., and Van Hoesen, J.G., 2015, Ice retreat and readvance across the Green Mountain Foothills: Bolton and Jericho, Vermont; New York State Geological Association Guidebook Vol. 87: 327–352.