A Resource for Information on the Commonwealth's Geology
Aerial view (to the southeast) towards the mouth of the Rappahannock River. Photo by C. M. Bailey
The Rappahannock River forms a broad estuary as it flows to towards the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia’s Coastal Plain province. To the south the Piankatank River is also visible. The Rappahannock and Piankatank rivers are tidal estuaries.
This image illustrates part of the geological map of Highland County, Virginia in the Valley & Ridge province. Note the linear belts Paleozoic sedimentary rocks that are repeated by folding. From oldest to youngest these include O1 = lower Ordovician strata, O2 = upper Ordovician strata, S1 = Silurian strata, SD = Silurian-Devonian strata, D1 […]
Many of the highest peaks in Shenandoah National Park (including Hawksbill, Stony Man, and Hightop Mountain, just to name a few) are underlain by distinctive bluish-green rocks that were once ancient lava flows (Virginia is for Lavas!), and are part of a geologic unit known as the Catoctin Formation. From the presidential retreat at Camp David to Jefferson’s […]