Purgatory Chasm State Reservation is a

protected Protection is any measure taken to guard something against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although ...

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. Located within the

Blackstone Valley The Blackstone Valley or Blackstone River Valley is a region of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It was a major factor in the American Industrial Revolution. It makes up part of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor and Natio ...

, the reservation is managed by the

Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is a state agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, situated in the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. It is best known for its parks and parkways. Th ...

History

Previously owned by the

Whitin Machine Works The Whitin Machine Works (WMW) was founded by Paul Whitin and his sons in 1831 on the banks of the Mumford River in Northbridge, Massachusetts. The village in this section of Northbridge became known as Whitinsville in 1835, in honor of its foun ...

, Purgatory Chasm was declared a

in 1919. The reservation is notable for its ,

chasm In geology, a rift is a linear zone where the lithosphere is being pulled apart and is an example of extensional tectonics. Typical rift features are a central linear downfaulted depression, called a graben, or more commonly a half-graben w ...

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

bedrock In geology, bedrock is solid rock that lies under loose material ( regolith) within the crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface material. An exposed portion of bed ...

with abrupt

precipice In geography and geology, a cliff or rock face is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are co ...

s and

caves Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance underground (such as rock ...

. Various theories have been proposed to account for the creation of the chasm. According to one source, it was created when glacial

meltwater Meltwater (or melt water) is water released by the melting of snow or ice, including glaciers, glacial ice, tabular icebergs and ice shelf, ice shelves over oceans. Meltwater is often found during early spring (season), spring when snow packs a ...

ripped out bedrock at the end of the last

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

. Purgatory Chasm is open to the public, although the chasm proper is closed to hikers during the winter season because of icy hazards. There are of hiking trails, and

rock climbing Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending climbing routes, routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in c ...

is allowed by permit. The reservation also includes picnic areas, a visitor center, and a playground.

In popular culture

*A 1992 episode of

Rescue 911 ''Rescue 911'' is an informational docudrama television series that premiered on CBS on April 18, 1989, and ended on August 27, 1996. The series was hosted by William Shatner and featured reenactments (and occasionally real footage) of emergenc ...

concerned events at Purgatory Chasm. *Scenes from the 2015 film ''

The Sea of Trees ''The Sea of Trees'' is a 2015 American drama mystery film directed by Gus Van Sant and written by Chris Sparling. The film stars Matthew McConaughey, Ken Watanabe, Naomi Watts, Katie Aselton and Jordan Gavaris. The film is about an America ...

'' were filmed at Purgatory Chasm.

Gallery

File:Purgatory chasm plaque.jpg, A state plaque on the north side. File:Purgatory chasm view 3.jpg, Partial view of the park, looking south. File:Purgatory chasm tall rock 1.jpg, A rock formation. File:Purgatory chasm kings cave.jpg, View of King's Cave. File:Purgatory chasm lovers leap.jpg, View of Lover's Leap. File:Purgatory chasm view 1.jpg, Partial view of the park, with visitors.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Protected areas established in 1919 State parks of Massachusetts Landforms of Worcester County, Massachusetts Rock formations of Massachusetts Parks in Worcester County, Massachusetts Sutton, Massachusetts