Pre-Meeting Trips
1. Geology along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia.
Mon., 27 March — Canceled
2. From Laurentia to Iapetus: Traversing the Blue Ridge–Piedmont Terrane Boundary in Central Virginia.
Anna V. Spears, College of William and Mary, avspears@email.wm.edu; Christopher M. Bailey, College of William and Mary, cmbail@wm.edu; Aaron Marshall, College of William and Mary.
Depart: Tues., 28 March, noon
Return: Wed., 29 March, 5:30 p.m.
Length: 1.5 days, 1 night
Fee: US$170
Neoproterozoic rifting along the southeastern margin of Laurentia opened the Iapetus Ocean by the Early Cambrian. This trip will examine rocks in the central Virginia Blue Ridge and Piedmont that record faulting, sedimentation, and volcanism associated with rifting, passive margin development, and the subsequent closure of Iapetus in the Paleozoic.
3. Fossil-Collecting from the Middle Miocene Carmel Church Quarry Marine Ecosystem.
Alexander K. Hastings, Virginia Museum of Natural History, alexander.hastings@vmnh.virginia.gov; Ray Vodden, Virginia Museum of Natural History, raymond.vodden@vmnh.virginia.gov; Christina Byrd, Virginia Museum of Natural History, christina.byrd@vmnh.virginia.gov.
Depart: Wed., 29 March, 8 a.m.
Return: Wed., 29 March, 5:15 p.m.
Length: 1 day
Fee: US$70
Attendees will travel to the Carmel Church Quarry (Ruther Glen, Virginia) to collect fossils from a Paleocene to Pleistocene stratigraphic sequence, including a highly fossiliferous exposure of the Miocene Calvert Formation. Common fossil finds include shark teeth and whale bones, to be curated at the Virginia Museum of Natural History.
Midlothian Mines. © Richmond Region Tourism.
4. Geology and Geomorphology of Belle Isle, Richmond.
Depart: Wed., 29 March, 1 p.m.
Return: Wed., 29 March, 5 p.m.
Length: 1/2 day
Fee: US$20
Karen M. Layou, Reynolds Community College, klayou@reynolds.edu; Brent Owens, College of William and Mary, beowen@wm.edu.
This afternoon walking tour of Belle Isle in downtown Richmond will explore a variety of geological features in easily accessible exposures of the Petersburg Granite at the Falls of the James. The history of human interactions with this landscape will also be discussed. Students are particularly encouraged to participate.
Post-Meeting Trips
5. Geologic Controls on Cave Development in the Burnsville Cove Area, Bath and Highland Counties, Virginia.
Christopher Swezey, USGS; cswezey@usgs.gov; John Haynes, James Madison Univ., haynesjx@jmu.edu; Phil Lucas, Virginia Speleological Survey; Rick Lambert, Virginia Speleological Survey.
Depart: Sat., 1 April, 8 a.m.
Return: Sun., 2 April, 6 p.m.
Length: 2 days, 2 nights
Fee: US$200
This two-day trip will examine the principal Silurian and Devonian stratigraphic units associated with cave development in and around the Burnsville Cove, one of the most significant karst areas in the Appalachian Mountains. As part of the stops on this field trip, participants will have the opportunity to enter caves in the area to see the stratigraphic units from the "inside-out" so that their influence on cave development can be better explained and understood.
6. Tertiary Strata and Paleontology of the James River Region, Virginia..
Sat., 1 April — Canceled
7. Geologic Evolution, Modern Processes, and Management Strategies of Virginia’s Mainland Beaches and Barrier Islands.
Sat., 1 April — Canceled
8. Geology and Biostratigraphy of the Potomac River Cliffs at Stratford Hall, Westmoreland County, Virginia.
Sat., 1 April — Canceled
9. Geology of the Petersburg Batholith, Eastern Piedmont, Virginia.
Brent Owens, William & Mary, beowen@wm.edu; Mark Carter, USGS, mcarter@usgs.gov; Christopher M. Bailey, William & Mary, cmbail@wm.edu.
Depart: Sat., 1 April, 7 a.m.
Return: Sat., 1 April, 6 p.m.
Length: 1 day
Fee: US$70
This trip will explore the geology of the ~300 Ma Petersburg granitic batholith, one of the largest Alleghanian plutonic complexes in the southern Appalachians. Stops will include the extensive exposures at the Falls of the James, an active quarry, and several additional outcrops in the Richmond area.
10. Geology and the Petersburg Campaign in the American Civil War.
Aaron Cross, VDGMR, Aaron.Cross@dmme.virginia.gov; C.R. Berquist, VDGMR, crberq@wm.edu; Marcie Occhi, VDGMR, Marcie.Occhi@dmme.virginia.gov; Jessica Strand, VDGMR.
Depart: Sat., 1 April, 7 a.m.
Return: Sat., 1 April, 6 p.m.
Length: 1 day
Fee: US$60
This field trip will reveal the relationship between geology and style of combat during the 1864-1865 Petersburg Campaign, which sprawled across the Coastal Plain, the Fall Zone, and the Piedmont in south-central Virginia.
11. Industrial Minerals and Mines in the Arvonia Formation of the Chopawamsic Terrane, Buckingham County, Virginia.
Chee Saunders, Cardno Inc., chee.saunders@cardno.com.
Depart: Sat., 1 April, 7 a.m.
Return: Sat., 1 April, 6 p.m.
Length: 1 day
Fee: US$70
The Arvonia Formation in the Chopawamsic Terrane is actively mined for slate and kyanite at localities in Buckingham County, Virginia. This field trip will include a regional overview of the Chopawamsic Terrane and stops at both Buckingham Slate to view the quarry as well as slate processing facilities and Kyanite Mining Corporation to examine the quarry, and kyanite processing facilities.