Quechee Gorge
{{Short description|Canyon in Quechee, Vermont, US}}
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File:Quechee Gorge, Vermont.jpg.]]
The Quechee Gorge is located in Quechee, Vermont along U.S. Route 4. The gorge is 165 feet deep and is the deepest gorge in Vermont. It serves as a popular tourist attraction in Quechee State Park and can be viewed from the U.S. Route 4 bridge and from trails on both sides of the gorge. Many people from around New England flock to the gorge for the views.{{cite web|url=http://www.vtstateparks.com/htm/quechee.htm |title=Quechee State Park |author= |year=2009 |website=State of Vermont |access-date=February 11, 2014 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140215202100/http://www.vtstateparks.com/htm/quechee.htm |archive-date=February 15, 2014 }} The Ottauquechee River flows through the bottom of the gorge and is a popular whitewater kayak run.{{cite web |url=https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/detail/id/2047/ |title=American White Water - Just above Route 4 to 1 Mile below Route 4 (Quechee Gorge) |author= |date=1999–2014 |website=State of Vermont |access-date=February 11, 2014}}
Geology
The gorge was carved approximately 13,000 years ago as the Laurentide Ice Sheet retreated across the region. The carving is thought to be a result of rapid downcutting of the Ottauquechee River after the drainage of glacial Lake Hitchcock.{{cite web |url=http://www.vtstateparks.com/pdfs/quecheegeo.pdf |title=Quechee Gorge Geology |author= |year=2009 |website=State of Vermont |access-date=February 11, 2014}} The gorge cuts through bedrock of the Devonian Gile Mountain Formation and Mesozoic mafic dikes can be seen on the west wall.{{cite web |url=http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/geo/quechee.htm |title= Geology of Vermont, Quechee Gorge, Hartford, VT |author= |year=2009 |website=State of Vermont |access-date=February 11, 2014}}McHone, Gregory, 1981, The origin of the Quechee Gorge: Green Mountain Geologist, Vt Geological Society, Fall 1981, Vol. 8, #3.
References
{{reflist}}The National Geological Society, Vol. 12 2009.
External links
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- {{official website|https://vtstateparks.com/quechee.html}}
- [http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/geo/quechee.htm Geology of Vermont Quechee Gorge, Hartford, VT (VGS)]
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Category:Canyons and gorges of Vermont
Category:Landforms of Windsor County, Vermont
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