A Glacial Landscape

A Glacial Landscape June 21

Camden, Me.-Woody Thompson, glacial geologist with the Maine Geological Survey, will give an illustrated talk at the Camden Public Library about the mid-coast region as it emerged from the last glacial ice sheet 15,000 years ago. He will describe how this process affected the land, along with related sea-level changes and the importance of glacial deposits to coastal homeowners and the economy. This part of Maine was flooded by the ocean at the close of the Ice Age, and the influence of ice and sea left us with soil materials ranging from gravel to clay. Places that were shorefront property in those days are now 270 feet above sea level. The talk is at 6:30 pm on Thursday, June 21, and all are welcome.

Thompson has researched the glacial geology of Maine since 1975. During the last few years he mapped the region between Wiscasset and Camden, and most recently in the Jefferson-Union area.

Woody Thompson grew up in New Hampshire and majored in geology at Dartmouth College. He later earned his Master’s degree from the University of Vermont and Ph.D. from Ohio State University. He formerly worked in Connecticut for the U.S. Geological Survey, and has been with the Maine Geological Survey since 1975. He was chief compiler and science editor on the glacial geologic map of Maine and also worked on the state map of Connecticut.

Woody teaches geology courses and has collaborated on numerous research projects with the University of Maine (including field work in Antarctica). He has published extensively on the glacial geology of Maine and the White Mountains and belongs to several professional societies in the U. S. and Canada. Woody’s hobby interests include the minerals and mining history of New England and the UK.

Photos by Woody Thompson, sand pit, glacial scouring, and glacial erratic, all in the midcoast area “and not far from Camden,” says Woody.