Quaternary Geology

See full Data Guide here. Quaternary Geology Feature Set is 1:24,000-scale data that illustrates the geologic features formed in Connecticut during the Quaternary Period, which spans from 2.588 ± 0.005 million years ago to the present and includes the Pleistocene (glacial) and Holocene (postglacial) Epochs. The Quaternary Period has been a time of development of many details of the Connecticut landscape and all surficial deposits. At least twice in the last Pleistocene, continental ice sheets swept across Connecticut from the north. Their effects are of pervasive importance to present-day occupants of the land.

The Quaternary Geology information illustrates the geologic history and the distribution of depositional environments during the emplacement of unconsolidated glacial and postglacial surficial deposits and the landforms resulting from those events in Connecticut. These deposits range from a few feet to several hundred feet in thickness, overlie the bedrock surface and underlie the organic soil layer of Connecticut. Quaternary Geology is mapped without regard for any organic soil layer that may overly the deposit.

For additional documentation including a description of the unconsolidated glacial and postglacial surficial deposits shown on the map, refer to the CT ECO Complete Resource Guide for Quaternary Geology.

The Connecticut Quaternary Geology information was initially compiled at 1:24,000 scale (1 inch = 2,000 feet) then recompiled for a statewide 1:125,000-scale map, Quaternary Geology Map of Connecticut and Long Island Sound Basin (PDF, 56 Mb) Stone, J.R., Schafer, J.P., London, E.H. and Thompson, W.B., 1992, U.S. Geological Survey Special Map, 2 sheets, scale 1:125,000, and pamphlet, 71 p. A companion map, the Surficial Materials Map of Connecticut (PDF, 26 Mb) Stone, J.R., Schafer, J.P., London, E.H., DiGiacomo-Cohen, M.L., Lewis, R.L., and Thompson, W.B., 2005, U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigation Map 2784, 2 sheets, scale 1:125,000, emphasizes the surface and subsurface texture (grain-size distribution) of these materials. The quaternary geology and surficial material features portrayed on these two maps are very closely related; each contributes to the interpretation of the other.