Mess Lake Lava Field black young basalt. Its westernmost and southwesternmost ends are flanked by the Mess Creek Escarpment, forming a steep prominent cliff. This cliff exposes several layers of black columnar basaltic lava flows with distal rock fragments and pyroclastic deposits. Eruptions of the young Mess Lake Lava Field basalts cascaded down this steep lava cliff similar to what occurs at the island of Hawaii and covered some of the columnar basalt jointing. Near Mess Lake, inactive hot springs can be found and are most likely associated with the most recent eruptive activity in the Mess Lake Lava Field. Hot springs are closely
West Rock Ridge in faults created by the rifting apart of North America from Eurasia and Africa over a period of 20 million years. Erosion occurring between the eruptions deposited deep layers of sediment between the lava flows and around the dike, which formed sedimentary rocks. The resulting "layer cake" of igneous and sedimentary sheets was later faulted and tilted upward. Subsequent erosion wore away the weaker sedimentary layers a faster rate than the lava layers, leaving the abruptly tilted edges of the lava sheets exposed, creating the distinct linear ridge and dramatic cliff faces visible today along the Metacomet Ridge. West Rock