Lava flows and intrusive sills form northerly trending Ridges in Connecticut's Central Valley. These volcanic rocks were emplaced some 200 million years ago during the embryonic stage in the separation between North America and Africa.

Their present topography resulted from eastward tilting and erosion by massive glaciers that scraped the land during the last Ice Age.

Yale's geologist Benjamin Silliman described these hills as "composed of precipitous cliffs of naked frowning rock, hoary with time... an immense work of art." Nineteenth century artists, especially those that enjoyed the back-to-nature movement wholly agreed. Several famous painters such as Thomas Cole and Frederick Church eternalized the "mountains," as did many lesser known landscape artists.

The course will consist of an evening lecture and an afternoon field trip to the Hanging Hills of Meriden and New Haven's West Rock.