A Resource for Information on the Commonwealth's Geology
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 […]
The level of the sea has been measured at Sewells Point, Virginia continuously since 1928. In 1928 the mean level of the sea was ~45 cm ( ~18″) lower than it is in 2016. Sea level rise and regional land subsidence is creating an ever-growing problem in Hampton Roads and most of coastal Virginia.
When large quantities of magma intrude and solidify in the Earth’s crust they form bodies of intrusive igneous rock known as plutons. The featured image nicely illustrates the edge (geologic contact) of a granitic pluton in the Blue Ridge Mountains of central Virginia. The granite is part of the 706 ± 4 million year old […]