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Connecticut Valley

Ecoregion in Appalachian Mountains in CT, MA, VT, NH

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The Connecticut Valley of southern New England is a distinctive ecoregion where the boundaries are easily defined by bedrock geology and physiography. The topography is mostly level to rolling, with some higher hills. Although the dominant geology is sedimentary, such as arkose, siltstone, sandstone, shale, and conglomerate, tilted basalt layers have formed distinctive ridges in many parts of the valley. The Jurassic-age Holyoke basalt results in a prominent north-south trending ridge from southern Connecticut into central Massachusetts, which then curves to trend east-west in the Holyoke Range. Surficial geology deposits in the valley are relatively thick and include outwash, alluvial, and lake bottom deposits, in contrast to the mostly till deposits of adjacent ecoregions. With a climate milder than that found on surrounding uplands, and with relatively rich soils and level terrain, the valley has long attracted human settlement. Urban and suburban land cover is common, along with cropland and pasture, and deciduous forest mostly on the ridges. The forests contain central and transition hardwoods, and floodplain forests of silver maple and cottonwood occur. Surface water nutrients and alkalinity in the ecoregion are relatively high. A small disjunct area of the ecoregion occurs in the Pomperaug Valley of western Connecticut.

— EPA

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