Aurora Glacial Features

Silsby Plain Glacial Remnant and Blueberry Barrens in Aurora (2013)

The town of Aurora is home to two geologic features created by ancient glaciers. Silsby Plain This feature is an example of geologic deltas, which are formed where streams produced by melting ice enter a body of water.  The Silsby Plain was a delta deposited into a narrow marine inlet when the sea was at…

Meteorites

Meteorite from NASA

At one time or another, almost everyone in Maine has glimpsed a swift little streak of light dashing across the night sky. These are meteors, commonly called falling or shooting stars. Because they arrive at very high speeds – anywhere from 7 to 46 miles per second – they vaporize by air friction in a…

Geology

Popham Beach

Geology in Maine is heavily influenced by collisions with the Earth’s plates and by the impact of glaciers. BEDROCK GEOLOGY The geologic history recorded in Maine’s bedrock covers close to 1.5 billion years – approximately one-third of the total age of the Earth. Over this period a variety of geologic processes – sedimentation, deformation (folding…

Earthquakes

Earthquakes in Maine, Maine Geological Survey

in Maine have been relatively mild since the reported “big one” on November 18, 1755, which was felt widely across New England and did great damage in Massachusetts. On April 20, 2002 people in Maine felt their houses shaking at 6:50 a.m. when a quake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale struck, the strongest in…