Connecticut Geography and Topography

Connecticut, one of the thirteen original states of the Union, is forty-eighth in terms of geographical size in the United States; only Rhode Island and Delaware are smaller in area. It is bounded on the north by Massachusetts, on the east by Rhode Island, on the south by Long Island Sound, and on the west by New York; its southwest corner projects along the sound, indenting New York for about thirteen miles, and coming within thirteen miles of New York City. Connecticut can be divided into four natural regions: the Taconic Range; the New England Highland, or Upland, which is comprised of the Eastern Highland and the Western Highland; the Connecticut Valley Lowland; and the Seaboard Lowland, all of which are part of New England province, which in turn is part of the Appalachian region. Connecticut lies in the southern portion of New England, on a land surface of considerable area and slight relief shaped by erosion. Of its total area of 5,009 square miles, 110 are water surface. Topographically, its surface is that of a gently rolling upland, divided near the middle by the Connecticut Valley lowland, which is the most striking physiographic feature of the state. The upland rises from the low south shore of the state at a rate of about twenty feet in a mile, until its mean elevation along the north shore reaches one thousand feet or more; a few points in the northwest rise to about two thousand feet above the sea. The lowland rises slowly from under the water of Long Island Sound in the south to a height of only about one hundred feet above where it crosses the north border. In the north, the lowland is about twenty miles wide. In the south, it narrows to only about five miles. Its total area is about fourteen hundred square miles. Connecticut was formed by the removal of a band of weak rocks by erosion, which occurred after the general upland surface had been formed near sea level, then elevated and tilted south or southeast. In this band of weak rocks, several sheets of hard igneous rock inclined from the horizontal several degrees; so resistant were they that they remained to form ridges such as West Rock Ridge near New Haven and the Hanging Hills of Meriden. The ridges are generally deeply notched, but their highest points rise to the upland heights directly to the east or west. To anyone driving a car over the ridges and vales in northwestern Connecticut, the chief characteristic of the topography seems to be irregularity. Nevertheless, the surface of the state, viewed as a whole, may be described as an old plain, gently tilted from northwest to southeast, and more or less dissected by streams. The truth of this statement is demonstrated by study of a relief model made of plaster or clay and showing all landscape features in proper scale. A sheet of cardboard laid on such a model is not held up by a few scattered high points; it rests rather snugly across many broad areas that are nearly flat or gently rolling; it slopes gradually from the northern boundary to the shore of Long Island Sound. It is evident that if the stream valleys on the model were filled, the cardboard would then fit the top of the model rather accurately. In other words, the ruggedness of the upper Housatonic Valley and similar areas is chiefly due not to scattered peaks and ridges that rise to exceptional height, but to numerous steep-walled valleys cut below a surface that originally was remarkably even. The part of the state that would require the largest amount of fill to raise it to the level of the ideal plain is the wide lowland belt bordering the Connecticut River in the vicinity of Hartford, and extending generally southward to New Haven Harbor. This belt includes much of the best farming land of the state. The soil is predominately reddish in color, in agreement with the bedrock beneath, which consists largely of red-tinted sandstone and shale. On the other hand, the higher ground on each side of the low belt is underlain by granite and similar rocks that are much more resistant than the sandstone and the shale. Within the low belt itself are steep-sided ridges, such as Mount Carmel, Pistapaug Mountain, and the Hanging Rocks of Meriden. These ridges are on dark basaltic rock, as hard and resistant as granite. It seems, then, that there is a general relation between the topography of the state and the character of the bedrock. The north-south belt of low country mentioned above is called the Central Lowland. The higher areas east and west of it are known respectively as the Eastern and Western Highlands. Contrary to common opinion, the ice sheets of the Ice Age did not erode deeply into bedrock and fashion the topography anew. It is clear that the ridges and valleys we now see were formed, long before the Ice Age, by running water. The moving ice used its energy chiefly in moving soil cover and dumping it haphazardly, thus modifying the older topography more largely by deposition than by erosion. Large piles of this glacial debris form the elongate “drumlins” near Storrs and elsewhere in the state. In the last stages of the glacial history, when the rotting ice was transected by long crevices, running water filled many of these elongate depressions with sand and gravel. When the surrounding ice melted away, these deposits remained as long, narrow ridges. Elsewhere, isolated masses of ice were partially buried in gravely deposits, and later melted to leave the un-drained depressions known as “kettles.” The haphazard shifting of debris by the glacier ice resulted in many changes of the older drainage. The Farmington River flowed south in pre-glacial times, and emptied into New Haven Harbor. After the ice disappeared, the old channel was left filled with glacial deposits in the vicinity of Plainville, and the river found it necessary to seek out a new route to the north, through an old gap at Tariffville, and finally into the Connecticut River at Windsor. Dumping of glacial debris obstructed many smaller stream valleys to create the lakes and swamps that are so common in all parts of the state. The Connecticut shoreline is made ragged by many deep bays and inlets, and the rocky islands offshore of Long Island Sound are numerous. The lower parts of the large stream valleys are “drowned” to form estuaries, and in the Connecticut River the tides reach as far inland as Hartford. All of these features suggest recent sinking of the coastal belt; but at least a part of the real cause is actual rise of sea level due to return into the sea of vast quantities of water that were locked up in the great ice sheets during the Ice Age. Connecticut’s shoreline, when taking all of the bays and inlets into account, have a total length of 618 miles. There are several harbors dotted along the coast, the most important being that at New Haven. All of the numerous effects of glaciation form conspicuous features in the Connecticut landscape of today, but these effects are merely a veneer superposed on older features of the bedrock. Glaciation occurred only yesterday, from the geologic point of view. It is barely ten thousand years since the last of the glacier ice wasted away, but millions of years have elapsed since the Connecticut and Housatonic rivers began to cut their present valleys, and the old plain that was partly destroyed by the valley cutting was formed tens of millions of years ago. In the bedrock itself can be seen evidence of great changes in still earlier times, including the uplift of lofty mountains beneath which lay the granite now so widely exposed. Like human civilizations, landscapes come and go, each built on the ruins of the other. There are three major rivers draining the state, flowing southward to Long Island Sound. The Connecticut River, the longest in New England, flows from Massachussetts to enter Long Island at the point of Old Saybrook. The mouth of the river valley is a deep estuary stretching twenty miles in length. The Housatonic River, the only other river that crosses the entire width of the state, enters Connecticut in the northwest, near Canaan, and then flows across the Western Highland to the Sound. Its main tributary is the Naugatuck, which joins the principal stream at Derby. The Thames River, a long tidal estuary, flows into the Sound at New London. The Thames forms the mouth of the Yantic and Shetucket rivers, which together with the Quinebaug, the Willimantic, and the Highland, are the main rivers of the Eastern Highland. There are many short streams that are not related to the three major river systems. The state has around six thousand lakes and ponds, the largest, Candlewood in the Western Highland, being a reservoir covering only nine square miles. The largest natural lake, Bantam in the Western Highland, covers only five square miles. The streams of the state provided early mills with an abundance of waterpower. As industry expanded in Connecticut, the rivers became progressively more important to the growth of the state and its economic self- sufficiency. Waterpower used directly at the site is still important, and an abundance of electrical energy is generated from the rivers that plunge over the Fall Line on their path to the sea. Scarcely a single community in Connecticut has suffered from a lack of water supply. Watersheds are usually controlled by municipalities. The watersheds are vigilantly protected and conserved. Pine plantings around reservoirs are seen in almost every section of the state. Notices warning the passer-by of the dangers of fire and pollution are posted, and all watersheds are patrolled. Pollution is being controlled on streams not used for public water supply, and industry is becoming more conscious of the necessity for better and more sanitary disposal of waste materials. The state is alert to the necessity of planning for eliminating the menace of floods such as those that swept the state in the early twentieth century. Losses in soil were not as severe as they could have been, but the economic waste through lost time on production and the damage to industrial equipment were so costly as to create a major problem. Connecticut’s interest and position in the matter of flood control were, of course, largely influenced by the attitude and action of the states to the north. Construction of dams on streams tributary to the Connecticut River in New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts assisted all these states in controlling the damages of flooding. The southwestern coastal area is generally the warmest area in the state during the summer, and the Taconics are the coldest in the winter. Precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year, with most areas receiving between forty and fifty inches per year. There have seldom been severed draughts. Rain and hail storms are common in the summer, and snowfall can be heavy in the winter, especially in the northwest region. The growing season averages about 150 days in most areas of the state, and 190 days in the more protected areas near the coastline. Among the state’s plant life, to be found mostly in wooded areas, are a large variety of herbs, including pennyroyal and lobelia, whose medicinal properties have long been valued by the well-informed herbalist and homeopath. Partridgeberry, a tiny woodland vine found creeping beneath the running or Princess Pine, produces a brew which was believed to lessen the dangers of childbirth for pioneer women and their Indian predecessors. Witch-hazel, a shrub blooming in October, has a delicate yellow flower; it furnishes a lotion, once concocted at home, that is now manufactured in distilleries in the state. The root of the aromatic sassafras, found along the edges of the woods and in fence corners, has been used both as a flavoring and as a cure for throat ailments. Black birch, a tree which blossoms in the form of a tassel, has been valued for the preparation known as “oil of birch,” used as a substitute for wintergreen. Old charcoal pits provide ideal soil conditions for growths of pokeberry and mullen. Mullen tea, it has been believed, is effective in treating fever and reducing bruises. Thoroughwort, or boneset, with a white blossom, and skullcap with a blue one, are other common and useful Connecticut plants. The deciduous woodlands of Connecticut vary from the soft maple and pepperidge in the swamps to the oak, ash, birch, hickory, poplar, yellow poplar, sycamore, beech, hard maple, and butternut of the ridge. Northward, the woodland changes from hardwood second growth to a predominance of evergreens, ranging from seedling plantings to the towering white pines of Cornwall. Spruce and balsam are not plentiful, but hemlock and white pine are abundant and readily reseed and flourish. Beautiful stands of hemlock are numerous, notably at Sandy Hook, along the Mianus and Shepaug rivers, at Cornwall, Canaan, New London, Hartland, and Goshen. Red pine, which has proved resistant to rust and blister, covers many of the state’s watersheds. Tamarack, or eastern larch, which is still plentiful, furnished the early settlers with ideal wood for snowshoe frames, ship timbers, ladders, and fence posts. Tamarack gum was regarded as superior to spruce gum as a balm for wounds. The hop-hornbeam and ironwood (or blue beech) are both common, and their wood is used for whipstocks and tool handles. Black walnut and hickory are fast disappearing in commercial quantities. The elm and sugar maple are favorite shade trees of Connecticut. Willow, one of the first trees to show leaves in the spring, supplied material for basket splints, and its charcoal was a base for gunpowder. The persimmon has been grown as far as Rockville. Catalpa, horse chestnut, and locust are introduced species in the state, and have become naturalized in various locations. The smaller mammals all adjusted themselves to conditions in this industrial region, and as more lands were returned to forest cover through state, municipal, or federal purchases, they seemed to multiply and thrive. Among the most common wildlife are: skunk, woodchuck, white-tailed deer, fox, muskrat, raccoon, gray squirrel, coyote, opossum, and cotton-tail rabbit. The numbers of the white-tail deer were once seriously depleted, but have once again become populous thanks to conservation actions taken by the government. Fur-bearing animals were once plentiful enough in the state to furnish a highly valued fur crop each year. Muskrats, mink, and otter were used for this purpose, however, recent decades have seen this trade all but vanish due to the overall decrease in demand for “genuine” animal furs for fashion. Consequently, the populations of these animals has increased significantly. Among the game birds, the fresh-water duck became the most important but, with the exception of the local black duck and the protected wood duck, it rapidly became scarce, owing largely to continued overshooting. Second in importance is probably the ruffed grouse, which has continued to hold its own, particularly in protected woodlands, despite the ravages of obscure and supposedly exotic diseases. The bobwhite or quail are now protected and in consequence, have slowly but surely regained their insecure foothold as a characteristic bird of orchard, pasture, and thicket. The ring-necked pheasant thrived after its introduction as a game bird, and has offered good sport to local hunters. The only common wild life in Connecticut that is regularly avoided, however, are skunks, copperheads (in the swampy lands), and rattlesnakes (in a few isolated hill regions). There are few states where the rocks and minerals are so well exposed for observation as in Connecticut. Minerals occur in great diversity of genetic types, but their commercial exploitation has not been substantially profitable. The garnet and iron mines of Roxbury, the nickel mines of Litchfield, and the iron mines of Salisbury have long since ceased production. Copper mining at Granby, Bristol, and Cheshire was attempted during the years of the two World Wars, but the workings are now idle. Roxbury granite is only locally important, Portland brownstone went out of fashion, but the trap-rock quarries are always busy, supplying stone for highway and construction work. The lime kilns of the state are rusted remnants of their former selves, the breakwater stone quarries are idle, and the last silica mill was torn down many decades ago, but the Strickland quarries in Portland produce material for a well-known commercial scouring agent. Most of the state’s soils are thin and stony, and generally infertile and unsuitable for the farming of crops. There are deeper soils to be found in the Connecticut, Housatonic, and Naugaticuck river valleys. There are also terraces on the sides of the Connecticut River valley, as well as other valleys, that contain stone-free soils that can be farmed. The soil of the Seaboard Lowland and in the Connecticut Valley Lowland is sandy and of poor quality for agricultural uses. Nevertheless, the soils of Connecticut have furnished a livelihood for many farmers and dairy producers. Connecticut has many fine markets close to the fields were the crops are grown; few other states are so free from problems of drought, soil depletion, and erosion. Early in the history of the state, Yankee farmers learned the rudiments of “side-hill farming.” The state’s agricultural service assisted farmers in perpetuating the fertility of the land and encouraged the wise utilization of the soil, and the state made the most of this rather limited resource. With an occasional exception, such as the early conservation work of the Shaker Colony at Enfield, where a pine grove was planted under the direction of Elder Omar Pease in 1866, the preservation and renewal of Connecticut’s forests were grossly neglected by past generations. The chestnut, the fastest growing of the state’s timber trees, for many years supplied most of the wood cut for commercial use, but a chestnut blight in the early years of the state destroyed these trees, and sawmill operators moved to new areas. In the first decade of the twentieth century, timber production dropped from record figures of over 168,000,000 board feet, cut by 420 mills in 1909, to less than 21,000,000 board feet, cut by eighty-five mills in 1930. A majority of cuts after this time were in hardwoods. Forests were depleted, and new plantings were scattered and thin. Before state control and the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, about 27,000 acres of forest, on a yearly average, were devastated by fire. A similar loss was suffered from the ravages of insects and ice-storm damages. In the early 1900s, the state began working to steadily increase its depleted forest lands. By the 1930s, forests covered 56 percent of the state’s total area, an increase of 300,000 acres in fifteen years. Reforesting formerly depleted areas continues to be a goal of Connecticut’s citizens and its legislature. Preservation programs for the state’s natural resources, particularly forests, soils, water, and fisheries, have been intensified in recent decades. There has been a widespread reforestation program. Fish and game resources, once severely depleted, have increased as a result of the conservation programs. Concern over the depletion of wildlife resulted in the legal restriction of dredging and developing marshes and tidal wetlands. There were fifteen hazardous waste sites listed within the state in 2004, and efforts were begun to address the problem. Overall progress in the effort to reduce pollution levels continued, as the state witnessed a reduction of nearly fifty percent in terms of the amount of toxic chemicals released into the environment during the years 1995 to 2000.