FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

March 5, 2009

CONTACT:
Lisa Davol, Turners Falls RiverCulture, Phone: 413-230.9910
riverculture@montague-ma.gov      www.turnersfallsriverculture.org

The Turners Falls RiverCulture Project Produces a Self Guided Booklet of the Great Falls Geowalk. Booklet Celebration March 21st.

Turners Falls, MA, March 3, 2009 –  The popular Great Falls Geowalk, led by Turners Falls geologist Steve Winters, is now available in a colorful and engaging booklet written by Winters and designed by artist Nina Rossi also of Turners Falls.  A celebration to mark the release of A Geologic Walking Tour of Turners Falls will be held at the Great Hall of the Great Falls Discovery Center, March 21, 1:30 – 3:30 PM, 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls.

For the past three years, Steve Winters has been leading the Great Falls Geowalk up and down the streets of Turners Falls, which has some of the most interesting geology of the Pioneer Valley—most of it is visible from sidewalks, footpaths, and bike paths.  He stresses, “Unless you stop to look, and maybe talk about what you see, you’ll never notice the wonder beneath our feet.”  His walk gives a glimpse of the geologic history that is captured, like snapshots in the rocks and stones of the village. Lisa Davol, Coordinator of the Turners Falls RiverCulture Project, says, “the geology of the village is one of its distinguishing characteristics and adds to a unique sense of place.  We want to be able to share this knowledge with all who live here and come to visit.”

The geologic story of Turners Falls begins about 250 million years ago when all the continents on Earth had joined to form one large supercontinent called Pangea. Around 245 million years ago Pangea began to break apart forming the continents we know today. The village of Turners Falls lies roughly in the middle of an extensive rift valley that spanned Pangea’s heart.  A

Geologic Walking Tour of Turners Falls provides short but complete descriptions of ten of Winters’ favorite geologic stops in the village, including the River Rock Overlook at the fish ladder, the glacially polished sandstones at Our Lady of Czestochowa church on K Street, and the world famous mudballs at Unity Park. 

A celebration of the new publication will take place at the Great Falls Discovery Center on March 21^st from 1:30 – 3:30 and will include refreshments, music by Steve Alves, a special display of the Discovery Center’s fossilized dinosaur footprints, and a short presentation by Steve Winters who will then lead an actual tour of the sites from the booklet.  Copies of the 18-page booklet will be available at the event as well as at  the Great Falls Discovery Center, Carnegie Library, Town Hall and other downtown venues—free for the taking, however donations would be gratefully accepted! 

Geologic Walking Tour of Turners Falls was made possible through grants and contributions from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, The Town of Montague, Western Massachusetts Electric Company, Hillside Plastics, Fostering the Arts and Culture Partnership and Greenfield Savings Bank.  

Steve Winters is a hydrogeologist and earth science educator.  Steve teaches geology at Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester and at Holyoke Community College in Holyoke.  Through Boston University's Prisoner Education Project, he teaches environmental geology and math at Framingham women's prison and astronomy at Norfolk men's prison.  Steve lives in Turners Falls.  He can be reached at science_matters@yahoo.com.

For more info on the Turners Falls RiverCulture Project, please call 413-230-9910. Click Here to download the Geologic Walking Tour of Turners Falls.