The Ordovician in Rhode Island, US

Paleontology and geology

A mountain-building episode called the Taconic Orogeny took place during the Ordovician. During this orogeny, the land that would become Rhode Island was added to the eastern edge of the North American continent. Although there are no surface exposures of Ordovician rocks shown on this map, metamorphosed sedimentary rocks, some of which are probably Ordovician, can be found on islands in Narraganset Bay in the eastern part of the state.