Five more of the maps I scanned from my recently-entered-the-public-domain copy of Vernon Quinn's book A Picture Map Geography of the United States. As before, clicking on the image will take you to a bigger version of the map. Enjoy!

Labels: art, books, california, georgia, idaho, maps, utah, west virginia

When I visited the exposures along newly-minted New Route 55 in West Virginia in March, I was so impressed, I decided to bring my structural geology students there on our trip. Now, after two stops in the Blue Ridge and a late afternoon anticlinorama, we woke, broke camp, and ate some great eggs and sausage (mine were swimming in coffee due to an accident with the French Press, but hey -- it all goes the same place, right Ben?) and set off to the west.

Hanging Rock Anticline roadcut:


Hanging Rock Anticline as viewed from the valley of the Lost River, where Old Route 55 wends and winds:


Ben, Dave, and Joe on the berm (note the thrust fault above their heads):


Plenty of primary structures to be seen here, too, like these trace fossils:


A hand-sample of trace-fossils (Arthrophycus, I think):


...or this beauty:


Small reverse fault with an offset of ~1 meter:


Here's a fossil (??) that I don't understand and cannot identify. I saw four of these out there. Can anyone (Tom, ReBecca?) help me identify this sucker and understand how it formed?










We moved on down the road a bit, to this lovely monocline (Jim & Jay for scale):


John, Karine, & Ryan take a closer look at primary and secondary structures in these strata:


Lovely flute casts:


Plumose structure #1:


Plumose structure #2:


Paleo-river channels incised into these strata (at the time of their deposition):


Reduction "halo" around a carbonaceous plant fragment fossil:


Ripple marks:


More plant fossils (these were the largest I saw):


Lots of carbon films of shredded up plant chunks:


Ball & pillow / flame structures:


Ditto, and note the graded bedding in the upper sandstone layer, too:


Great trip, everyone! Thanks!

Labels: field trips, fossils, primary structures, sediment, structure, teaching, valley and ridge, west virginia

Yesterday, four Honors students and I went out to West Virginia's route 55 (between Wardensville and Moorefield), to look at some sedimentary strata and associated tectonic structures. Our guide was my friend David Dantzler, an enthusiastic amateur geologist. Here's a map of the terrain we traversed:



As you can see, this is part of the Valley & Ridge province, an area of the country defined by Paleozoic rocks that were folded and thrust-faulted during the Alleghenian phase of Appalachian mountain-building. Recently, a new road has been constructed traversing these valleys and ridges. It's a bit of a boondoggle, a pet project of West Virginia senator Robert Byrd which funneled federal dollars into the Mountain State, ostensibly to make it easier for the chicken farmers of Moorefield to get their birdie bits to market on the east coast.

This image ought to give you a sense of the project's scale (big bridge), and how much use it gets (no one on the bridge):


But the U.S. taxpayer's loss is the geologist's gain... There are some pretty spectacular new exposures of Valley & Ridge rocks along the new route 55. Here's the NOVA van parked at an outcrop of Tuscarora Sandstone that is arched up into a broad anticline. Again, notice how few people are driving on route 55 here:


Ooh, look: heavy traffic!


Contact between the lower Tuscarora Sandstone (a Silurian-aged extremely pure quartz sandstone, variably fused to quartzite), and the overlying (darker-colored) formation, which is either the Rose Hill Formation or the Mackenzie Formation at this location:


We found oodles of cool trace fossils:







But it wasn't just sedimentary layers. There were also some cool tectonic structures, like this joint in the Tuscarora, showing a beautifully developed hackle fringe:



Here's some "pencil cleavage" where fine-grained shale develops cleavage that intersects the planes of fissility, causing it to fracture in long slivers:



I slammed on the brakes for this one: an awesome anticline...


I forced David and the students to act out the orientation of the bedding planes at this anticline:


Honors student Jason points out a small thrust fault in the outcrop above him: You can see the offset in a greenish/gray shale layer:


In case it wasn't obvious above, here's a zoomed-in shot, with the offset layer highlighted (the miracles of Photoshop!) and the fault labeled:


We all had a grand day outside, and the rain held off until our return trip, which was pretty great. Thanks to David for showing us these rocks, and thanks to my students for being smart and inquisitive and into field trips.

Labels: appalachians, devonian, field trips, fossils, mountains, nova, politics, primary structures, sediment, silurian, structure, teaching, valley and ridge, west virginia

It's getting to be springtime... and that means field trips!

My first field trip of the semester is tomorrow: my friend David Dantzler has organized a trip to look at stratigraphy and structure out on a new highway in West Virginia. I'm supplying half a dozen Honors students and a NOVA minivan, but David's handling the content. And of course, I'll be on hand to comment on "teachable moments." Looking forward to it.

Other trips upcoming this semester: Billy Goat Trail (x4!), Massanutten Mountain, Old Rag Mountain, Washington DC walking tour, and a weekend-long structural geology trip to the Blue Ridge and Valley & Ridge provinces. I love field trips; really they were the aspect of majoring in geology that appealed to me the most - the fascination with Earth processes took longer to develop.

See you in the field!

Labels: blue ridge, field trips, maryland, nova, piedmont, teaching, valley and ridge, virginia, west virginia

This was forwarded to me today; I'm posting it as a "public service announcement" for local cavers:


Prepared by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Natural Heritage Program in consultation with members of the caving community and staff from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF). This statement is supported by the Virginia Cave Board, the Virginia Speleological Survey, the Cave Conservancy of the Virginias, the Board of the Virginia Region of the National Speleological Society, and the Butler Cave Conservation Society.

White Nose Syndrome (WNS) is a condition that has resulted in the deaths of hundreds-of-thousands of bats in the northeastern United States since 2006. It is associated with a Geomyces sp. fungus that grows at cold temperatures and colonizes the skin of animals in cold environments. This is consistent with properties predicted for a causative agent of WNS-associated cutaneous infection. More on WNS can found here.

This winter cases of White Nose Syndrome (WNS) have been confirmed in Pendleton County, West Virginia. In February, surveys of significant bat and recreational caves in adjacent Highland and Bath counties in Virginia discovered what appears to be WNS in Breathing Cave in Bath County, located near the Highland County border. On March 3 in response to caver reports of dead bats, a survey of Clover Hollow Cave in Giles County identified a second apparent WNS outbreak. Specimens from both sites have been sent to USGS National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisconsin for analysis.

This winter, 18 Virginia caves in Giles, Bland, Page, Wise, Lee, Bath, and Highland counties have been surveyed for WNS. So far, signs of WNS have only been observed in Bath and Giles counties. However, since Highland County lies directly between Bath County and Pendleton County, West Virginia, along the same belt of karst, it is likely that WNS is present there as well. There is mounting evidence that humans may play a significant role in transmitting biological agent(s) responsible for WNS in bats. The strongest such evidence is that WNS is showing up first in the Virginias in recreational caves with high visitation. It is known that some of those cavers visiting the affected West Virginia Caves had previously visited WNS affected caves in New York. While it is unlikely that humans are the sole or even the primary vector, transmission of the disease by humans may increase both the rate of expansion and geographic extent of WNS.

The Virginia Cave Board and Natural Heritage Karst Program are asking for a moratorium (a voluntary ban) on all underground caving activity in Virginia until April 15, 2009. A new statement will be issued on or before that time. Please note that at that time, we may ask to further extend the moratorium. During the moratorium, three tasks will be accomplished.

1. Scientists from DGIF and DCR will work to identify significant bat caves to which access will be limited in an attempt to slow the spread of WNS by humans. A significant bat cave is defined as a cave used by rare or endangered bat species, significant numbers of common bat species, and/or a high diversity of bat species. Input from cavers is sought and encouraged. A list of these caves will be posted on the VAR List of Closed and Limited Access Caves. Please note that many of the significant bat caves are already gated, closed, and/or have limited (seasonal) access.

2. Additional caves will be visited by biologists to better assess the current extent of WNS in Virginia. We will work to temporarily restrict access to caves in which WNS is present.

3. DGIF and DCR scientists will work with other biologists studying WNS to establish and refine protocols to reduce the possibility of transmission of WNS by cavers. The two major protocols under consideration are listed below. Comment on these protocols is welcome, especially during the moratorium period. Cavers choosing not to observe the moratorium are strongly urged to follow these draft protocols. Once the moratorium is lifted, all cavers will be asked to follow protocols to reduce the risk of transmission of WNS.

Draft protocols to reduce transmission of WNS in Virginia by humans

1. Geographic isolation of caving activity and/or gear: Cavers are requested to limit their caving activity to one caving area as defined by a county or group of counties. The designation of caving areas appears at the end of this document. We are asking this because sterilization procedures are likely not 100% effective, especially since neither the specific causal agent nor mode of transmission has yet been definitively identified. Cavers choosing to cave in more than one of the defined caving areas are asked to dedicate a specific set of clothing and caving gear for each respective caving area. If you must go caving in multiple areas, complete disinfection of vehicles is recommended between trips to different areas. Special care should be taken to segregate any cave clothing and equipment dedicated for use in a given area from all other sets of clothing and equipment dedicated for use in other caving areas.

2. Strict adherence to decontamination procedures when moving between caves (even within the same geographically designated area). After exiting one cave and prior to entering another cave, even within a designated caving area, decontamination practices as outlined by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must be strictly adhered to. ALL equipment must be cleaned! These procedures are posted online here. To reduce the risk of harboring or carrying the disease on their persons, cavers should thoroughly clean and scrub themselves with soap and hot water following each trip to each cave. All clothes worn while traveling to and from the caving area should be laundered as soon as possible following caving trips.

List of Virginia Caving Areas
Alleghany Highlands: Alleghany, Bath and Highland counties
Shenandoah Valley: Frederick, Clarke, Warren, Shenandoah, Rockingham, Augusta, and Page counties
Middle James and Roanoke River basins: Botetourt, Rockbridge, Roanoke, Craig (except RT 42 south of Newcastle) counties
New River North: Giles, Montgomery, and Craig counties (only RT 42 south of Newcastle)
New River South: Bland, Pulaski, and Wythe counties
*Holston: Smyth and Washington counties
*Clinch: Scott, Russell, and Tazewell counties
*Powell: Lee and Wise counties
_________________________________________________________________________________
* - These areas are in the upper Tennessee River basin, and include the northeastern boundary of the range of the Gray Bat (Myotis grisescens). This species is not yet affected by WNS. If you are caving in these areas, please only cave in these areas. If you are not caving in these areas, please do not start.

Labels: caves, disease, mammals, virginia, west virginia

Strange Maps has an interesting piece up today about where West Virginia came from (as a state): turns out it was all about the Civil War. The accompanying map shows the original proposed name for West Virginia, "Kanawha," as well as a proposed demarcation between Virginia and Maryland that trended along the western margin of the Blue Ridge physiographic province. If this boundary had come to pass, Virginia would have gotten the Valley & Ridge province, but Maryland would have retained the Blue Ridge, Piedmont and Coastal Plain.

Labels: blogs, blue ridge, coastal plain, history, maps, maryland, piedmont, valley and ridge, virginia, west virginia

NOVA students: This is a reminder that I'm going to be leading a two-day caving trip through the Annandale campus' Office of Student Activities. The trip runs from 8am on Saturday, September 13 to about 7pm on Sunday, September 14. We'll be going to a series of caves near Franklin, West Virginia: Trout, New Trout, Hamilton, and Keys. We'll also drive out to the Spruce Knob area to take in Stillhouse Cave and the Sinks of Gandy (which has a river flowing through it). I've led this caving trip many times over the past 15 years; it's awesome. Last time I took students there was for a GMU GeoClub trip in Fall 2005. Some photos from that trip are available here.

There is space for about 15 students on the trip. The trip has a cost of $35, which covers all food except for Saturday's lunch (bring that in a bag). For dessert on Saturday night at the campground, I'll be fixing Grandma Bentley's famous peach cobbler. If you're interested in going, please contact Jessie Zahorian in the Office of Student Activities at 703-323-3484 or jzahorian [AT] nvcc.edu. First come, first served! Other denizens of the geoblogosphere: sorry, but it's only open to NOVA students.

Labels: caves, nova, west virginia

NOVA students: I'm going to be leading a two-day caving trip through the Annandale campus' Office of Student Activities. The trip runs from 8am on Saturday, September 13 to about 7pm on Sunday, September 14. We'll be going to a series of caves near Franklin, West Virginia: Trout, New Trout, Hamilton, and Keys. We'll also drive out to the Spruce Knob area to take in Stillhouse Cave and the Sinks of Gandy (which has a river flowing through it). There is space for about 15 students on the trip. The trip has a cost of $35, which covers all food except for Saturday's lunch (bring that in a bag). For dessert on Saturday night at the campground, I'll be fixing Grandma Bentley's famous peach cobbler. If you're interested in going, please contact Jessie Zahorian in the Office of Student Activities at 703-323-3484 or jzahorian [AT] nvcc.edu. First come, first served! Other denizens of the geoblogosphere: sorry, but it's only open to NOVA students.

Labels: caves, nova, west virginia