find its present path through Ashokan which was well-blocked by glacial moraine. Winchell's Falls and Cathedral Gorge are relatively recent (past ten-thousand years) features. The newly uncovered till (glacial soil) was rocky and sterile, and much like northern Canada today. It was covered by tundra where feeding mammoths and other ice age mammals migrated along the un-crossable Esopus. As the climate continued to warm, the open landscape gave way to spruce and fir of the boreal forest. Mastodons and woodland caribou took over the trail blazing begun by earlier mammals. At some point during this time, the first people entered the area hunting the ice-age "mega-fauna". Evidence of these first people is scant in this area, but they undoubtedly followed the game trails along the Esopus. See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Ulster County, New York References External links Ashokan's Website Education in Ulster County, New York Nature centers in New York (state) Protected areas of Ulster County, New York National Register of Historic Places in Ulster County, New York Historic districts in Ulster County, New York 1967 establishments in New York (state) Catskills