Chatfield Hollow State Park

About Chatfield Hollow State Park

Relax in the cool water, explore rugged rocky outcrops and recesses or hike and hike. The rocks found in the park are covered with hard, bright colored granite rocks, Monson gneiss.

The metamorphosis of the former granite pluton was caused by pressure and high temperatures caused by collisions and subsequent folding of rocks. The rocks, now known as Monson gneiss, are the result of molten material from magma chambers that has not made it to the surface and has slowly cooled to granitic pluton. When the seabed plate was lowered below the continental plate, parts of it melted and were pushed to the surface. Originally, it was a "granitic hotbed" that formed when the Iapetos Ocean, which was rough in the area now occupied by the Atlantic, hit the North American continent. Later, the microcontinent Africa collided with North America as it closed itself off further.

Gneiss is a metamorphic rock, which means it was formed at great depths, where pressure and temperatures are much higher than at the surface. Millions of years of erosion of the rocks above have now exposed the rock of Monson gneiss on the surface. The rocks tend to break in many places, and when they reach the surface due to erosion of rocks under and above them, pressure is released.

The glacial ice that flows through the rocks moves them, and tree roots increase the cracks, as does water that freezes and expands them. Stone that has moved only a short distance is angular, because when it has travelled a long distance, it breaks, while those that have travelled a long distance before it are broken and rounded.

We started on a nature trail on the south side of the road and almost immediately came across a path through the large foothills of Monson gneiss. A fire pit along the path, which glowed green, followed a detailed description of the geology in the park. The large Gnesiss outcrop contained a small rock-slide cave, one of which had two entrances.

According to the park's website, the house may have been used as a hideout by Native Americans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as during the Civil War.

The path climbs to the southern end of the ledge and then follows it on the east side before crossing the road. It is a medium to coarse-grained rock, lightly coloured and consisting mainly of plagioclase, quartz and biotite minerals. In some places traces of garnet, epidote and magnetite can be found, and cracks in the rock can be seen.

There may be a few other types of rock, but the ice does not usually move the rock very far. So if you are looking for rocks to get used to how they look like, try to find loose boulders and other rocks in the park. The loose, round rocks known as glacial blocks are called monsoon ice because they are moved through the glacial ice here.

The round rocks found in the forests, especially outcrops, were deposited when the glacier ice melted about 17,000 years ago. Stones that are moved by water or ice lose their round shape due to abrasion and become rounded. The rocks that move through the glaciers are called boulders, and the round rocks are called monsoon ice.

Most of the boulders in the park are made of Monson gneiss, but sometimes you can find different looking rocks. At one point near the fireplace path there is a reddish-brown rock containing small pebbles.

Portland Arkose has been mined in Portland for many years and shipped to the USA and even California for use as a brownstone brick. There is a piece of Portland Arctic rock in the park near the fireplace path, just a few meters from the fireplace.

The piece in the picture is a bit difficult to identify due to its moss and a wicker carpet, but on closer inspection it becomes clear that there are small pebbles in the piece. Arkose is sedimentary rock created by the cementation of sedimentary grains, and it is a good example of Portland Arctic Rock.

Chatfield Hollow Brook runs through two high ridges covered in oak, beech and hickory. In 1934, the Civil Defence built an earth and stone dam above the creek to create a seven-hectare pond.

Pine trees planted at the same time now characterize the green surroundings of the pond, as well as a large number of trees and shrubs in the stream.

Indian paths ran parallel to the creek and snaked through the trees along what is now Park Road.

Indians visited the valley already in the late 19th and early 20th century. Many artifacts found in the caves of the Indian Council indicate that the indigenous people took refuge in rugged rocky outcrops and held tribal gatherings under rock overhangs.

The three Chatfield brothers, who arrived from England in 1639, are said to have operated a mill along the creek, and the early settlers used the creek for hydropower. One of the strangely shaped metal fragments found in the watercourse comes from an iron furnace that processed local ores into metal for household appliances.

The park and driveway sign overlooks Chatfield Hollow State Park on the west side of the creek, south of Chatsworth Road.