New bridge (and some ancient history) at Kent Falls

KENT — Kent Falls State Park on Route 7 is a popular attraction for local residents and for tourists who come from all across Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts. To get to the falls and the park around the falls, one has to cross a creek that runs beside the parking lot. There are only two ways across: a covered bridge on the north end of the parking lot and a smaller foot bridge on the parking lot’s southern end.The storm in October 2011 destroyed the smaller foot bridge. Since that time, access has been limited to the covered bridge.The state of Connecticut has recently completed a new foot bridge that replaces the one lost last year.The new bridge is several feet higher than the old one. It’s a wooden structure supported by steel beams, so it should be able to withstand future storms.The Connecticut State Parks website says the water at the falls cascades 250 feet down on its way to joining the Housatonic River.Interestingly, that website notes, “The most obvious feature at Kent Falls is, of course, the falls. Actually, they are a series of falls and cascades. Multiple falls and cascades, such as these, generally form where the bedrock contains alternating hard and soft layers. “This part of Connecticut was once made of coral reefs, offshore from the northwestern part of the state. “As the Iapetos Ocean closed when Europe and Africa moved our way, these reefs were squeezed and buried under other rock. With increasing heat and pressure, the minerals in these rocks recrystallized, and the former coral reefs turned to marble. Sand and mud around the reefs formed the impurities in the marble that cause some layers to be more resistant to the effects of the flowing water.”