the recrystallized mineral grains to align with each other, giving metamorphic rocks a strongly layered texture. Frequently, the many layers are intricately folded, like compressed strands of cooked spaghetti. There are two main types of metamorphic rock in Connecticut: schist and gneiss. Schist is the more finely layered of the two and generally splits easily; it also contains more quartz and more mica, a flat and shiny mineral that gives a little sparkle to schist. Gneiss (pronounced "nice") is coarser, contains more feldspar, and often has a banded appearance. But the main way to identify most metamorphic rock is that it looks as though it's been through the wringer, the imprint of the Earth's internal forces.

The metamorphism of a large area of the Earth's crust, such as the Eastern and Western Uplands of Connecticut, is a very significant event in geologic history. (Much will be said about this event in the second half of the book.) Millions of years ago tremendous pressure was applied to the region from the east and west that considerably compressed the area of the Earth's surface that was to become Connecticut. In response to the compression, the bedrock metamorphosed and realigned its structure north-south, perpendicular to the pressure. This alignment gave a grain to the bedrock that the forces of erosion have followed ever since, etching out hills and valleys that also run predominantly north-south.

But, as we shall see, the hills don't always run north-south and the river valleys don't always follow the path of easiest-etched rocks. Nor are all the Uplands rolling hills - much of it is shaped into ridges and high plateaus. And not all of the Uplands are underlain by metamorphic rocks. These variations serve to distinguish the otherwise similar Eastern Uplands from the Western Uplands.

Eastern Uplands

The Eastern Uplands are a herd of hills, closely crammed together, almost nudging each other for more space. When viewed from a good vista point, the tops of the many hills merge in the distance into a high, flat plane. Few hilltops in the region stand conspicuously higher than

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