Speaker to lead ‘Look through Geologic Time’

At various times, Connecticut had mountains the size of the Himalayas and was buried under a mile of ice.

WASHINGTON — Gunn Memorial Library in Washington will present a talk and visual program, “A Look through Geologic Time (The Real Reason New Preston and Washington Seem Worlds Apart),” Oct. 11 at 6:30 p.m.

Geologist Ray Underwood, a Washington resident and native of New Preston/Marbledale, will lead the talk at the Wykeham Road library.

At different times in Connecticut’s geologic history there were mountains that rivaled the Himalayas, it was connected to Western Europe, Ireland, and Africa, the region was buried under a mile of ice and the Atlantic Ocean tried to split it in two.

Connecticut’s geologic history, currently cloaked mostly by our forests and farm lands, has at different times been much more “active.”

The talk will explore the reasons the hills came to be and the complexity of the local, state, and regional environment.

Underwood, who received bachelor and master degrees in geosciences from University of Connecticut, a Kleinfelder field geologist, Geodesign field geologist and specializes in structural geology and quantitative analysis utilizing 3D imaging.

He is also a NEIGC Field trip leader and charter member of Connecticut State Geological Association. He co-authored “Orogenic Curvature in the Northern Taconic Allochthon and its Relation to Footwall and serves as an Adjunct Professor at Uconn Waterbury and Torrington.

The program is free but registration is recommended by calling 860-868-7586.