A Resource for Information on the Commonwealth's Geology
This micrograph colorfully illustrates deformed quartz grains in a well-cemented quartz sandstone from the Cambrian Antietam Formation, a prominent geologic unit in the Blue Ridge geologic province. Many of the individual sand grains are elongated (~horizontal orientation), but not recrystallized. Photo taken in cross polarized light with the gypsum plate inserted.
Mount Rogers is the highest peak in Virginia, with its summit 1,746 meters above sea level (5,729 ft). The peak is located in the Blue Ridge province in southwestern Virginia on the border between Grayson and Smyth counties. Mount Rogers is underlain by Neoproterozoic rhyolite. The upper reaches of the mountain are cloaked in alpine forests of red […]
Photomicrograph of fault breccia in the Cambrian Antietam Formation, Blue Ridge province. Breccias form when rocks are extensively fractured in fault zones and are cemented together when minerals precipitate in the cracks and fractures. Note the angular fragments (fr) of quartz sandstone in a matrix of fine-grained iron oxide cement (ic). Field of view 4 […]
The Cliffs of Westmoreland rise 30 to 45 meters (~100 to 150′) above the waters of the Potomac River. These bluffs expose Miocene to Pliocene sedimentary units, some which are quite fossiliferous. For more information on the geology of Westmoreland checkout the 2005 Virginia Geological Field Conference guidebook by Buck Ward and others. Note the […]
On July 1, 2016, Governor Terry McCauliffe signed a bill into law that made nelsonite the first official state rock of Virginia. The initiative for this project was led by students from Piedmont Virginia Community College. Michelle Stanislaus and her classmates from their Historical Geology class and Government class ran the petition for this law starting […]