The Nulhegan lies in an upland basin ringed by mountains and veined with streams and wetlands. The soil is relatively thin and infertile, and the growing season is short.
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. Glaciers later deposited sand and gravel in the bottom of the basin. Elevations range from approximately 1,000 feet to 2,800 feet above sea level.
The Nulhegan Basin is the primary watershed of the Nulhegan River, an important tributary of the Connecticut River. The mainstream of the Nulhegan River runs adjacent to the south boundary of the refuge. Three of the four major tributaries of the Nulhegan River - the North, Yellow, and Black Branches - run south through the refuge. A network of smaller streams feed these branches. The 68-acre Lewis Pond is also located in the northwest portion of the Nulhegan refuge.
What was once bubbling with hot magma is now one of the coldest lowland areas in the Northeast. Annual snowfall averages 100 inches and typically there are about 100 frost-free days each year.
Temperatures range from the low 90’s (F) in the late summer months to almost -40 degrees (F) in the dead of winter.
Well, let's begin with the word igneous. It is kind of a strange word. Where in the heck did it come from? Well, the word igneous is derived from the Latin word ignis. The word ignis means fire. Igneous rocks result basically from fire - well, from volcanoes, which are pretty hot!
Igneous rocks are the classification of rocks which are pretty much a direct result of volcanic activity. When a volcanic eruption occurs, no matter what type of eruption happens or what form of lava is expelled, igneous rocks form when the material cools and solidifies. The resulting solidified material is referred to as igneous extrusive or volcanic rock. Oftentimes, the magma never makes it to the surface of the Earth and freezes deep underneath the Earth's surface. The resulting rock is called igneous intrusive or plutonic rock.
A pluton in geology is a body of intrusive igneous rock (called a plutonic rock) that is crystallized from magma slowly cooling below the surface of theEarth. Plutons include batholiths, stocks, dikes, sills, laccoliths, lopoliths, and other igneous bodies. In practice, "pluton" usually refers to a distinctive mass of igneous rock, typically several kilometers in dimension, without a tabular shape like those of dikes and sills. Batholiths commonly are aggregations of plutons.
The most common rock types in plutons are granite, granodiorite, tonalite, monzonite, and quartz diorite. Generally light colored, coarse-grained plutons of these compositions are referred to as granitoids.
Geological basins are one of the two most common places inland which collect sediment, the other being lakes. The type of rocks which form there tell about the palaeoclimate of the continent.
QUESTIONS TO ANSWER
1. What kind of rock was formed when the Magma cooled?
2. What is the average annual snowfall in the Basin?
3. What is the Bear (at the listed coords) wearing ?
4. Name 2 other types of animals you might see from the lookout?
Please submit your answers to my profile or my email address