VIRGINIA GEOLOGY

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VIRGINIA PHYSIOGRAPHY
MATHEMATICS SCIENCE CENTER
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Go to website http//arcims.mathsciencecenter.info
Then click on Virginia Physiography
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1998 Geology Summer Field School Radford
University
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Courtesy of Virginia Division of Mineral Resources
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Courtesy of USGS
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THE COASTAL PLAIN

• A region of sedimentary strata consisting of
  sands, muds, and gravels
• Tidal waters occupy not only the Chesapeake Bay,
  but also lower portions of the James, York,
  Rappahannock and Potomac rivers
• Extends inland for more than 100 miles and is
  monotonously flat

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Courtesy of Virginia Division of Mineral Resources
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1998 Geology Summer Field School Radford
University
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Courtesy of Carroll Ellis, Physical Geology, 2003
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Courtesy of Carroll Ellis, Physical Geology, 2003
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1998 Geology Summer Field School Radford
University
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1998 Geology Summer Field School Radford
University
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1998 Geology Summer Field School Radford
University
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1998 Geology Summer Field School Radford
University
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1998 Geology Summer Field School Radford
University
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THE PIEDMONT

• Largest province extending from the Fall Line
  westward to the Blue Ridge Mountains
• Comprised of a complex of metamorphic and igneous
  rocks, overlain in a few places by Triassic-age
  sedimentary beds
• Important rocks and minerals include pegmatites,
  slate, kyanite, gold and pyrite

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Courtesy of Virginia Division of Mineral Resources
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1998 Geology Summer Field School Radford
University
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1998 Geology Summer Field School Radford
University
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1998 Geology Summer Field School Radford
University
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The Blue Ridge Mountain

• A long narrow, northeast-southwest trending
  mountain chain
• Consists of old Precambrian-age sedimentary and
  volcanic rocks
• Old Rag Granite is the oldest rock unit dated in
  Virginia at 1.2 billion years
• The two highest mountains in the state, Mt Rogers
  (elevation 5,719 ft.) and White Top (elevation
  5,520 ft.) are both in the southern Blue Ridge

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Courtesy of Virginia Division of Mineral Resources
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http//www.goodearthgraphics.com
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The Valley and Ridge

• Composed of folded and faulted 550 to 300
  million-year-old sedimentary rocks
• Most ridges are held up by resistant sandstone,
  and most valleys are underlain by less resistant
  shale, limestone, and dolostone
• Karst features, such as caves and sinkholes are
  common throughout this province

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Courtesy of Virginia Division of Mineral Resources
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Courtesy of Virginia Division of Mineral Resources
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The Appalachian Plateau

• Contains deep narrow valleys and steep, rugged
  mountain sides caused by downcutting by streams
• Consists of 320 to 280 million-year-old sandstone
  and shale with coalbeds
• Most of the rock layers are relatively flat-lying
• Coal is Virginias most important mineral resource

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