Formation of the Metacomet Ridge

Investigate how Earth's internal and surface processes created the iconic trap rock ridges (like Higby and Beseck Mountains) around Middletown, Connecticut, over 200 million years ago.

Geologic Time Controls

Trigger the sequence of events that shaped the Hartford Basin during the breakup of Pangaea.

Current Process:

Pre-rifting continuous continental crust (Pangaea).

Key:

  • Pre-existing Metamorphic Rock
  • Brownstone (Sandstone/Shale)
  • Basalt (Trap Rock)
  • Magma

Pedagogical Connection (NGSS HS-ESS2-1)

This simulation models how internal processes (mantle upwelling causing rifting and volcanism) interact with surface processes (sedimentation from rivers, erosion from glaciers and water) over vast temporal scales (200 million years) to form the specific continental features observed in Central Connecticut today.