Submitted by beatsmaestro t3_xvswwo in vermont
I recently purchased a raised relief map of Vermont, and immediately noticed a flat area in the NEK. The westernmost part is at Island pond, and it contains most of the Silvio Conte wildlife refuge.
My immediate thoughts are glaciers or aliens, but was curious if anyone has any more information beyond that.
This is definitely it!! Thank you, and I appreciate you sharing the link as well with the description!
Thanks for the puzzle! :)
For people wondering here’s a picture
Oh hey that's kinda neat
Good thing it had 15 blue circles around it. I might have missed it.
Pic would be helpful. I’ve spent hours upon hours of my life scouring google maps and google earth, including the NEK, and never noticed it. I’m on google maps right now and not noticing anything, even utilizing the 2D topographical view.
Realistically it’s probably from glaciers. That’s what almost all of our land formations in this region come from
Image search "topo map vermont" and you'll see what OP means. It must be glacial somehow, but it is weird. It looks volcanic with how round it is.
Have seen it on a bumpy map for years, don't have a clue why though.
It's wetlands.
It's actually one of the nicest secret spots in the nek. There are roads and trails throughout. The great northern powerlines run through it and is an extremely popular area for snowmobiles.
Definitely Nulhegan! Super cool area and I believe has a lot of cultural/religious significance for native Americans (although my mind may be making that up).
Nulhegan is a cool name.
Where did you purchase your raised relief map, if you don’t mind?
Is where the inner-earth people got tired of the antics of those outer-earth jerks and sealed off the entrance.
you seem like a fun person
I'm reading this post thinking, "reminds me so much of how Willoughby came to formation." Then I viewed the image provided in a comment and yep! I didn't know about Nulhegan Basin, but it is verily close to Willoughby gap which was definitely formed by a glacier long ago. So cool, really cool post and comments all around, TIL for sure!
precursive t1_ir3c5sr wrote
I think what you are looking at is the Nulhegan Basin. Google for "Nulhegan Basin geologic history". One source: "The Nulhegan Basin was formed when a pool of magma formed within existing metamorphic rock. The magma cooled into a relatively soft granite rock called quartz monzonite. Once erosion wore away the cap of metamorphic rock, the softer monzonite eroded more rapidly than the surrounding metamorphic rock. This resulted in a relatively flat, circular area, roughly 10 miles in diameter, surrounded by hills. " (https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC4J611_the-nulhegan-basin?guid=035bf082-3180-40c9-8190-095bf75b5da1)