SURVEY OF HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS IN THE TOWN OF STOWE, LAMOILLE COUNTY, VERMONT Prepared by STATE OF VERMONT AGENCY OF TRANSPORTATION MATERIALS & RESEARCH DIVISION ENGINEERING GEOLOGY SUBDIVISION Montpelier, Vermont March, 1980 State of Vermont ( Agency of Transportation Materials & Research Division March, 1980 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Page Acknowledgements 1 History 1 Enclosures 1 - 2 Location 3 County and Town Outline Map of Vermont Survey of Rock Sources Procedure for Rock Survey 4 Discussion of Rock and Rock Sources 5 - 5A Survey of Sand and Gravel Deposits Procedure for Sand and Gravel Survey 6 Discussion of Sand and Gravel Deposits 7 Summary of Rock Formations in the Town of Stowe 8 Glossary of Selected Geologic Terms 9 - 11 Bibliography 12 Partial Specifications for Highway Construction Materials Appendix I Stove Granular Data Sheets Table I Stove Property Owners - Granular Supplement Stove Property Owners - Rock Supplement Granular Materials Map Plate I Rock Materials Map Plate II 4- Page 1 Acknowledgments This project acknowledges the surf icial geological information obtained from Professor D. P. Stewart of Miami University, Oxford, Ohio and the bed- rock information from the Centennial Geologic Nap of Vermont, C. C. Doll. History The Materials Survey Project was initiated in 1957 by the Vermont Department of Highways with the assistance of the Bureau of Public Roads to compile an inventory of highway construction materials in the State of , Vermont. Previously, investigations for highway construction materials were conducted only as the immediate situation required and only limited areas were surveyed. Since no overall picture of material resources was available, highway contractors or resident engineers were required to locate the mate- rials for their respective projects and the samples were tested by the Materials & Research Division. The additional expense of exploration for construction materials resulted in higher construction costs being paid by the State. TheNateria1s Survey Project was formed to minimize this factor by enabling the State and the contractors to use available information on material resources and to project cost estimates. Knowledge of locations of suitable materials is an important factor in planning highways. The sources of construction materials are located by this Project through ground reconnaissance, study of maps and aerial photographs, and geological and physiographic interpretation. Maps, data sheets and work sheets furnish information of particular use to contractors and construction personnel, and should be studied together for maximum benefit. Enclosures Included in this report are two surface-geology maps, one defining the location of tests on bedrock, the other defining the location of tests on Page 2 granular materials. These maps are based on 15-minute or 7-½-minute quadrangles of the United States Geological Survey enlarged or reduced to 1:31250 or 1" = 2604'. The various rock formations and types are delineated on the Bedrock Map of the township. This information is obtained from: Vermont Geological Survey Bulletins, Vermont State Geologist Reports, United States Geological Survey Bedrock Maps, Centennial Geologic Map of Vermont, the Surf icial Geologic Map of Vermont and other references. The granular materials map shows areas of various types of glacial deposits (outwash, moraines, kames, kame terraces, eskers, etc.) which are potential sources of gravel and sand. This information was obtained primar- ily from a survey conducted by Professor D. P. Stewart of Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, who mapped the glacial features of the State of Vermont during the summer months from 1956 to 1966. Further information is obtained from the Soil Survey (Reconnaissance) of Vermont (conducted by the Bureau of Chemistry and Soils of the United States Department of Agriculture), avail- able Soil Surveys of individual counties (by the Soil Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture), Vermont Geological Survey Bulletins, United States Geological Survey Quadrangles, aerial photographs and other sources. The location of each test area is represented by a Map Identification Number. This report contains data sheets with detailed information on each test taken in the Granular and Bedrock areas. Data is also used from an active card file compiled by the Materials & Research Division over a period of years. Some cards are not used because they are incomplete or have unusable information on the location of the deposit. Work sheets containing more detailed information and a field sketch of the area, and laboratory test results are on file in the Materials & Research Division of the Agency of Transportation, State of Vermont. Page 3 LOCATION The Town of Stowe is in the southwest corner of Lamoille County in the northwest section of north-central Vermont. It is bounded on the northwest corner by Cambridge, the north and northeast by Morristown, the east and southeast by Worcester, the south by Waterbury, the southwest corner by Bolton, and the west by Underhill (see County and Town Outline Nap of Vermont on the following page). The western half of Stowe lies in the Green Mountain Physiographic, and the eastern half of Stowe lies in the Vermont Piedmont Physiographic Sub-divisions of the New England Upland. The Green Mountains are character - ized by rugged, steep-sided mountainous terrain; whereas, the Central Plateau Region of the Vermont Piedmont has broad valleys and rounded hills. Elevations range from 4,120 feet atop Adam's Apple (in the Mount Mansfield State Forest), to less than 600 feet where the Little River crosses the Waterbury Town Line. Little River was once known as Waterbury River. Major drainage is south via Little River into the Waterbury Reservoir, and east via West Branch Waterbury River into Little River. Secondary drainage is via Ranch and Peterson Brooks into West Branch Waterbury River; Bahannan, Sterling, Moss Glen, Gold, and Miller Brooks which are all tributaries to the Little River. Many unnamed small tributaries flow into the above brooks. Lake Mansfield (1,150') is the only large body of water in Stowe. A small part of Sterling Pond (3,008) is in Stowe. There are close to fifty small, unnamed ponds in town. 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UT 11151 ,i • i • 1(1(01 I I- I I I Lf (111110! *I50Tl1 1 11(1111 I 0010(11(1 I I 11(011 •ousu 1 I Pill I I I Ii r5S.( I L4ZL S. 10111101110._t I I 0 — 000011 10l* 1010001*1 (11(101 I 5111911 Ul100051(0 0110111 I I I I 1S/ S ----t----—.___I • I 0111101 1 I *1110111 SIllIll111 rUtUsllottb5bbh15T0 S j 5000101 I / "i (100(0 SIlF1Sll0Tji*S 0111110 I r — - ---- i I I 0(0(11! (_L___ I 110(10. -- - -r 10101111: 1111(001 I I I 11L1110111 I 011Ll011 J fl(P*RL* IT TIC VERMONT DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAYS I IS-S fr--a---- HIGHWAY PLANNING OIVISION (bUlL Is : lololui j_ I 11(1(10 : * 0 :bbbbbhb1 I 0lbllU__ — '—I DECEMeER 31,1974 I U A 3 3 A C H U S Page 4 SURVEY OF ROCK SOURCES Procedure for Rock Survey The method employed by the project in a survey of possible sources of rock for highway construction is divided into two main stages: office and field investigations.