Avalonia Land Conservancy Trails

Avalonia Land Conservancy
Griswold, Groton, Ledyard, North Stonington, Preston, Stonington

0e6b0ac619b3762eOkay, who took geology in college? You did? Awesome. I did too and while it was just one sort of side class for me I really enjoyed it. And no, “Rocks for Jocks” doesn’t count, I mean real geology class. UConn has a rather good program; one where we got out into the field and really explored Connecticut’s rocks and dirt and rivers and hills and stuff.

So if you’re still with me, surely you recall Avalonia. I mean, who could forget that it was a microcontinent in the Paleozoic era. But moreover, remember how it developed as a volcanic arc on the northern margin of Gondwana and how it eventually rifted off, becoming a drifting microcontinent? And it goes without saying how the Rheic Ocean formed behind it, and the Iapetus Ocean shrank in front. I mean, duh. But then, as you’ll recall, things got cooler when it collided with the continents Baltica, then Laurentia, and finally with Gondwana, ending up in the interior of Pangea. In the interior of Pangea! That’s where all the action was! Anyway, just to button up what everyone already knows, when Pangea broke up, Avalonia’s remains were divided by the rift which became the Atlantic Ocean.

avaWhich means, of course, that bits of Avalonia now make up Newfoundland on down to Main and the present-day New England coastline. Which includes, you guessed it, Griswold, Groton, Ledyard, North Stonington, Preston, Stonington – the towns that provide the land in which the Avalonia Land Conservancy holds preserves.

(Incidentally, up in northeast Connecticut, you can go see a really cool formation called the Wilsonville fault right off of 395 in Thompson. Or you could just read my page on it here. it’s interesting, trust me.)

Anyway, there you go. Not what you came here to read about. You’re hear to see what’s up with the Avalonia’s Land Conservancy’s trails and properties. So let’s get to that.

Avalonia Land Conservancy
Preserves and Maps

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The Preserves/Hikes:

Griswold

Burleson Woodlands
Linnea Richardson Nature Preserve
Scola Preserve
Dutka Family Preserve
Robe Conservation

Groton

Moore Woodlands

Ledyard

Avery Preserve
Barrett Preserve
Pine Swamp Wildlife Corridor

North Stonington

Donald R. Henne Memorial Shunock River
Jean & Hobart Mitchell Preserve and Eleanor & Flood Read Memorial Woodlands
Tefftweald at Birchenturn
Yannatos Preserve

Preston

Preston Nature Preserve

Stonington

Knox Family Farm Preserve, February 1, 2014
Knox Preserve (south)
Dodge Paddock and Beal Preserve
Hoffmann Evergreen Preserve
Pequotsepos Preserve (Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center)

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CTMQ’s Land Trust Trails Page
CTMQ’s Non-CFPA Trails page

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