Red Rocks

South Burlington, VT  2015

Here's another interesting geologic formation seen along the shores of Lake Champlain.  The red color of these rocks comes from the high iron oxide content.  The sediments forming these rocks were laid down 500 million years ago when Vermont was close to the equator and under a tropical sea.  Over time the sediments became cemented into sandstone.  The heat and pressure which resulted from tectonic forces about 450 million years ago changed the sandstone into quartzite seen today.  This is part of the Monkton Quartzite formation.  This rock was quarried and can be found in some of the redstone buildings in Burlington and on the campus of the University of Vermont.