Editing Craftsbury, Vermont (section)

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of 39.7 square miles (102.9&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), of which 39.3 square miles (101.7&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) is land and 0.4 square mile (1.1&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) (1.11%) is water.
[[Image:Craftsbury.png|thumb|right|245px|A view across Craftsbury Common showing the United Church of Craftsbury, and bandstand.]]

Craftsbury is on a plateau on the [[Catamount Trail]].<ref>{{cite book |title = Northeast Kingdom of Vermont - Things to do and Places to go | publisher = Paul Essaff - Northeast Kingdom Business Directory | year = 2007}}</ref>

There are many hills and valleys. The soil varies from alluvial meadows to clay and gravel. There are more numerous grades and varieties of soil than is usual.<ref name=Child />

There are five ponds or lakes.

Lake Elligo (also known as Eligo Pond) is partially in [[Greensboro, Vermont|Greensboro]]. It is about two miles long and half a mile wide. Unusually, it has two outlets: one flows to the north and the other to the south. The northern outlet is one of the head branches of [[Black River (Lake Memphremagog)|Black River]]. The southern flows through Little Elligo Pond and on to the [[Lamoille River]] in [[Hardwick, Vermont|Hardwick]]. The eastern shore rises to cliffs. The western shore rises gradually. Near the center of the pond are two small islands. The lake was formerly a hunting-ground of the [[Abenaki|St. Francis Indians]], who named it Elligo Scoloon.<ref name=Child />

The others are Great Hosmer Pond, lying partly in [[Albany, Vermont|Albany]], Little Hosmer Pond, and two other small ponds. The Black River is the main river in the town. It was called Elligo-sigo by the natives. Its current is slow. The drop from its source to [[Lake Memphremagog]], including the falls at [[Irasburg, Vermont|Irasburg]] and [[Coventry, Vermont|Coventry]], is 190 feet. Wild branch, a tributary of the [[Lamoille River|Lamoille]], rises in [[Eden, Vermont|Eden]] and flows through the western part of the town. The valley of the Black river in Craftsbury is a muck bed averaging a quarter of a mile in width.<ref name=Child />

===Geology===
Geologically, the town varies in its structure to an unusual degree. There is [[granite]] in the east part of town. This alternates with [[gneiss]] and [[mica slate]]. In the central portions of town, the previous rocks are replaced by dark argillaceous slate. This alternates with siliceous [[limestone]].<ref name=Child /> These rocks are from the [[Devonian]] Period and are part of the Waits River Formation.<ref name="c120613">{{Cite news | first=Julia | last=Shipley | title=Geological read of Craftsbury reveals history | newspaper=the Chronicle | location=Barton, Vermont | page= 31 | date=June 13, 2012 }}</ref>

The rocks on the west side of the [[Black River (Lake Memphremagog)|Black River]] also vary.  These are older rocks from the [[Cambrian]] Period, Moretown Formation. State Route 14 runs along a seam where these east and west rock formation converge.<ref name="c120613"/> Strata of mica slate, argillaceous, and chlorite slates, and limestones, alternate. An extensive deposit of gray granite is near Craftsbury village. It is broken on the surface. This rock is filled with nodules of black mica and quartz, in concentric layers. These are about one inch in diameter.
<!---the following was taken from two different sources written a century apart. Not sure it's the same object. the "biotite orbicules" (20th century) replaced "geodes" (19th century guess)--->
In much of the area, the [[biotite|biotite orbicules]] are so numerous that a hundred may be counted within a circle two feet in diameter. In some parts of the ledge these nodules are flattened, as if subjected to an immense vertical pressure when the mass was in a semi-fluid state. In the nineteenth century these rocks were once believed to be unique from any other found in America or Europe.<ref name=Child /> Today, it is known that they resemble those found in [[Bethel, Vermont|Bethel]] granite.<ref>{{cite book | author = Van Diver, Bradford B. |title = Roadside Geology | publisher = [[Mountain Press Publishing Company]] | year = 1987}}</ref>

As the last glacial period ended, part of the town became submerged under the transient Lake Winooski which drained when its ice dam melted 14,000 years ago.<ref name="c120613"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/geo/pdfdocs/barrewestwright.pdf |title=Welcome to DEC &#124; Department of Environmental Conservation |publisher=Anr.state.vt.us |access-date=October 1, 2019}}</ref>