This web site is a survey of the natural area within a 25 mile radius around Cortland, New York, USA

It is roughly bounded by Syracuse to the north, Ithaca to the west and Binghamton to the south. My intention in creating this site was to reveal the abundance and diversity of life, the hidden beauty that exists in such a relatively small geographic area.

Geologically, this area is part of the Allegheny Plateau: an area of upstate New York formed by erosion of an ancient mountain range that once existed to the east where the present day Catskill Mountains are found. Most of the exposed rock is of Devonian age, some 350 million years old. It is considered one of the best areas for collecting Devonian-age fossils in the entire world. To the west and north-west, the area encompasses some of the Finger Lakes, which were formed by the retreating glaciers of the Wisconsin Ice Age some 12,000 years ago. The glaciers deepened the river and stream beds and left the area full of valleys, gorges and kettle lakes.