Most mineral collectors will instantly recognize a road turning off to the left (27.8) as the way to the Westfield trap quarry. For years this locality has been as important a source of specimens to collectors as it has been of crushed rock to road-builders. Beyond the quarry road the valley narrows, and the terraces close in as the river enters the gap in the trap ridge. The black lava flow crosses the river (28.3) at the Westfield-West Springfield town line, and shortly the upper flow appears, resting on red shales in both railroad and road cuts (29.1). Actually there are two flows separated by an amygdaloidal band in the upper lava series at this place. The highway crosses the Boston and Albany tracks (29.3) and leaves the river. After passing the junction with the Holyoke road (31.0), the highway drops to the upper terrace level on the bed of glacial Lake Springfield (31.4). The upper terrace is narrow here, and the road soon descends to the meander-cut terraces of the floodplain (32.1). The road to Memorial Bridge turns right (32.3) and our route returns to the North End Bridge (32.8). _Westfield to the Westfield Marble Quarry_ This is a short drive of 5.7 miles each way from Westfield, with a mile walk from the Little Westfield road to the marble quarry. The view of the Little Westfield gorge and the entire Connecticut Lowland from Meriden to Amherst makes this trip well worth taking. The tour leaves Westfield on the Jacob’s Ladder road and soon reaches the terraced margin (1.6) of the Westfield valley. The numerous benches along the stream banks represent temporary flood-plain levels of the Westfield. The route turns left from the Jacob’s Ladder highway (4.0) and parallels the base of the western highland to the Little Westfield road (4.9). Throughout this distance the marble quarry derrick appears on the highland skyline. Our road turns right at the next crossing and winds along the edge of the Little Westfield gorge (see pp. 61-62). The narrow hill road to the marble quarry turns right (5.7), but it is inadvisable to drive. The walk is an easy one, and the view at the top is worth the moderate physical exertion. Optional Trips It must be plain, even to the casual reader, that the foregoing pages have been written with self-restraint. Many of the luring side roads were passed without so much as a pause; trips to the Cobble Mountain Reservoir west of Westfield, and to the Quabbin Reservoir east of Belchertown have not even been suggested; some of the main highways were slighted. For anyone who knows the byways and the hidden beauties that can be found in reasonably accessible places, this chapter will seem inadequate and incomplete. But it would take a volume far beyond the scope of this brief guide to do justice to the scenery, the geography, and the geologic detail of the Connecticut Valley and its bordering uplands. The authors can merely ask the indulgence of those who would like to know more.