Big Terraces

Being new to this part of Maine, today held several new encounters. Northeast of Rangeley, we found a massive glacial till quarry with walls over 30 meters tall. To see how much stuff the glaciers can pick up, move around, and deposit is amazing. “Glacial” was the feeling of the Dead River, where I decided not to jump in but let Dr. Erikson get a sample of bedrock poking through the surface. Appropriate for the area, we saw lots of moose sign, plus a good-sized moose in a swampy area. Before lunch we stopped along the Carrabassett River near Sugarloaf Mountain. This spot was very nice with lots of bedrock exposed above water which were eroded smoothly and contained potholes and crevices allowing the river the flow swiftly through unique paths. We also made a couple passes across a wire bridge in New Portland, which was built in 1846 with oxen! And it still supports the weight of vehicles.

The most exciting part of the day came late in the day. From the road we could spot a giant, 25-meter tall, eroded Quaternary stream terrace. We were pretty happy to see this, the only downside was its location … across the Carrabassett River. The river actually wasn’t as cold as we thought it was going to be. I thought it was refreshingly nice, especially on the cuts and bug bites on my legs. When we finally reached our destination, we had to climb way up the steep wall of cohesionless layers of sand and cobbles (see photo). The layering reflects changes in river-flow intensity, with the cobbles being higher flow and the sand being lower. Since we had to climb from the river bed to the top of the terrace, it’s amazing to think that the entire valley was once at that height, but now almost all of this once extensive terrace has been eroded and washed downstream.