Field Trips
A Geologic Transect of the Central Appalachians
September 12 - 17, 2006
Wednesday, September 13 - Driving! We departed from Denison University at 4:30 p.m. Drove to the Seneca Rocks area in eastern West Virginia. We spent the night in Seneca Rocks, WV.
Thursday, September 14 - Valley and Ridge ProvinceOverview of the structure, stratigraphy and landforms of the Valley and Ridge province. We concentrated on rocks and structure exposed in a transect across the Wills Mountain anticline, finishing with at hike to the top of Seneca Rocks. We again spent the night in Seneca Rocks, WV.
Friday, September 15 - Allegheny Plateau to the Blue Ridge Province. Departed early and drove to Spruce Knob, the highest point along the Allegheny Front in West Virginia, for an overview and comparison of the Allegheny Plateau with the Valley and Ridge province. We descended west from there to the Sinks of Gandy, and had an opportunity to go underground to investigate a natural cave system. We then drove eastward through the Valley and Ridge and across the Great Valley of Virginia, stopping at various points of interest and ending the day in Proterozoic crystalline rocks at Front Royal, Virginia. We spent the night in Front Royal, VA.
Saturday, September 16 - Blue Ridge Province. we explored the Proterozoic igneous and metamorphic rocks that make up the Blue Ridge province, which are beautifully exposed along Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park. We also investigated massive debris flows that were shed off the slopes of the Blue Ridge mountains after a rainstorm in 1995. We again spent the night in Front Royal, VA.
Sunday, September 17 - Back across the Valley and Ridge to Ohio. We returned across the Valley and Ridge to Ohio, with a stop at the classic Sidling Hill Syncline on I-68 in Maryland. We returned to Denison about 6:00 PM
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