| This armchair guidebook interprets the natural and cultural history of Watkins Glen State Park, New York. Through narrative and photographs, the reader takes an imaginary walk on the Gorge Trail under mossy cliffs, behind waterfalls, past deep rock pools, through tunnels, and up hundreds of stone steps by rugged walls. The story reveals how water created this craggy ravine, from its Ice Age origins to its erosion by Glen Creek in marine sedimentary bedrock. It shows how a varied recipe of sun, shade, temperature, and moisture produces diverse plant communities.; The walk continues on the rims of the gorge and upstream to the site of an old Civilian Conservation Corps camp. A chapter discusses changes in people's relationship to the glen from before the Revolutionary War, to a mill stream, to a Victorian resort, to the state park. Final sections discuss wildlife, threats from invasive organisms, and environmental stewardship. |
