Geology of Virginia | Geology of VA

Generalized Geologic Map of the Virginia Piedmont and Blue Ridge lthough geologists have been studying the Virginia landscape and its rocks and fossils for nearly 150 years, our understanding of the geology is incomplete. New ideas and better techniques for analyzing earth materials are developed all the time: the Chesapeake Bay Impact Structure was recognized only in the past decade; new fieldwork is leading to significant revisions in existing geologic maps; using tools such as mass spectrometers and electron microprobes geologists can accurately determine the age of many rocks and understand the details of mineral chemistry.

This new research is significant, as evidenced by the Old Hickory Heavy Mineral Deposit in Dinwiddie County. This deposit was discovered by a Virginia Division of Mineral Resources geologist mapping sedimentary deposits along the Fall Zone and is currently being commercially mined. Much of the new research into the Geology of Virginia is presented at professional meetings and is published in technical journals. In an effort to disseminate this new and exciting information to a broader audience we've begun posting review articles that summarize new findings concerning the geology of Virginia.

Identity Crisis: From where did the Goochland Terrane Originate?

In Virginia, the Piedmont Province is comprised of a series of terranes, which are typically defined as fault-bounded regions of shared stratigraphic and tectonic character, each with a unique geologic history.(more)

Snapshots of a Violent Impact: The USGS-NASA Langley and Eyreville Deep Coreholes

35 million years ago, a hurling mass ended its journey across the universe exploding into a shallow ocean, blasting out water, sand and rock, spawning giant tsunamis that radiated out in all directions before vaporizing. All it left was a mysterious scar that became slowly buried over millions of years. (more)

Wearing down the mountains: the role of debris flows in long term landscape denudation of the Virginia Appalachians

The rugged topography of Virginia's western highlands is being assaulted by processes ranging from the slow creep of soil down slope to roiling debris flows of mud, rock, and water moving at speeds exceeding 40 km per hour (25 mph). Geologists call the lowering of the landscape by erosion denudation. (more)

Shaken! Earthquake Rocks Central Virginia

...Virginia was jolted by an earthquake at 3:59pm on December 9th, 2003. The quake occurred in the central Virginia Piedmont between Columbia and Goochland Courthouse, approximately 40 miles west of Richmond. Shaking was felt throughout Virginia and as far as 600 km (450 miles) from the epicenter. (more)

Confederate Gunpowder and Western Virginia Caves

Gunpowder was a critical material during the Civil War and much of the Confederate gunpowder supplies were derived from niter (saltpeter) deposits that form in western Virginia caverns. Robert Whisonant from Radford University provides a thorough overview of the geology and history of saltpeter production during the Civil War in the November 2001 issue of Virginia Minerals. (more)

New Ages on Some Old Rocks

Some of the oldest rocks in the Appalachian Mountains are exposed in the Virginia Blue Ridge. At the Geological Society of America’s annual meeting in November, Richard Tollo from George Washington University and John Aleinikoff from the U.S. Geological Survey report new isotopic age dates from the northern Virginia Blue Ridge. (more)

The Kyanite Blues

Kyanite (Al₂SiO₅) is a common accessory mineral in metamorphic quartzites exposed in the central Virginia Piedmont. At Willis Mountain in Buckingham County kyanite is pale blue-gray to white, whereas kyanite at Baker Mountain in Prince Edward County has a deep blue-gray to blue-green color. (more)