On a beautiful morning last weekend I got to hike along one of my favorite places on campus, but this time I gained a new layer of appreciation. Todd Bittner, who is part of the Cornell Plantations, took us on a detailed tour of the Cascadilla Gorge and told us all about its early significance to Cornell, its geological history, and its lasting impact on students and outdoor learning.

From the time that the gorge was first used as a quarry to build Cascadilla Hall, the first residence hall on Cornell’s campus, the gorge has served multiple important functions to the Cornell community. In the early days when most students lived in the town of Ithaca rather than on campus, it was a popular route to travel along in order to get to class. For the past several years, however, the gorge was closed due to unsafe conditions, but only recently reopened after being majorly renovated.

Despite the changes though, many things look the same as they did 150 years ago. Todd Bittner showed us the view of the waterfall (depicted below) in an old photograph that features nearly the same sight. Of course, nature’s powerful and dynamic forces changed the landscape perhaps more than humans have. The waterfall is more staircase-like nowadays, versus being more vertical as recently as when the original photograph was taken. On a geological timescale, however, the changes are vast. The entire landmass of New York State moved slowly from near the equator, causing the land beneath the moving faults to warp, and during the last ice age thousands of years ago, the gorge was further carved by receding glaciers. The natural history shows in the clear, angular layers of different kinds of rock that are exposed on all faces of the gorge, an evident stratification of events through time.

On top of being a lovely walk, Cascadilla Gorge is an important landmark in Cornell’s history, and continues to be a fascinating place for outdoor learning.

Waterfall in Cascadilla Gorge