“This park offers an interesting history of geology. The rippled rocks speak of the water currents that covered the land about 500 million years ago.
The velocity of the water shows itself in the striations seen in the cliff-side. Small holes can be identified in the rocks as wormholes, one of the most advanced species of their time. If you follow the Riverwalk Trail along the Winooski River, the trail will take you all the way to a viewing area off of Intervale Road.”
Salmon Hole Park has impressive cliff sides surrounding the deepest area of its body of water, which invoke a sense of magnificence and grandeur along with great history upon viewing. The weathered stone is another addition to the greater geologic history of the Burlington area of VT, which has a multi-million year history involving massive earthly collisions, the flooding and melting of seas, and the creation of the Adirondack and Green Mountain Ranges.
“The rock layers at the Salmon Hole record sediment that was deposited on the shoreline of an ancient ocean approximately 540 million years ago. The red-colored sandstone rock unit that is found here at Salmon Hole and at several other locations around Burlington (ex, Red Rocks Park) is called the Monkton Formation. The rocks of the Monkton Formation preserve the sediment, structures formed by extinct marine organisms, and sedimentary structures that formed on the shoreline of an ancient ocean. Evidence for this interpretation can be seen by walking on the rock layers of the Salmon Hole and looking down at the rocks under your feet. You are literally walking on what was an ancient sea floor.”
Having learned of the history of marine organism deposits in VT and their impact of the geologic makeup of the area, specifically with reference to the calcium rich soil along with its relationship with limestone, it made my experience with Salmon Hole Park so much more special knowing that I was standing on ancient worldly history.