Dr. Todd Bittner described the formation of Ithaca’s beautiful gorges in great detail. It was a fascinating talk about how erosion and glaciers changed the face of the landscape. The most interesting part about the talk to me was the fact that the earth is continuously changing. Erosion and glaciers change the earth at an incredibly slow rate, so the amount of time that passed in order for the gorges to be formed is staggering. The forces of erosion are working on the landscape on a daily basis, chipping away at the rock little by little. If these gradual forces can shape Ithaca so much, it is interesting to think what the earth will look like after millions of more years. It will likely be unrecognizable, and landmarks we take for granted now will likely be gone. The power of natural forces has always amazed me, but the talk with Dr. Bittner highlighted how they could form beautiful natural attractions in our local area. It really inspired me to go hiking on the gorge trails, which is something I have been wanting to do since I moved in. He also told me about a website detailing the various trails around Ithaca, and I have already used this resource pick the trail that I hiked on Friday with a friend. We went to Robert H. Treman State Park, and it was a beautiful hike along the stream with an amazing waterfall. I highly recommend it, and the talk with Dr. Bittner enriched the experience by giving me a thorough understanding of how the gorges were formed, and I was able to see evidence of erosion along the trail.