This one-day field trip will focus on the tectonic and landscape evolution history at the boundaries of the Blue Ridge Anticlinorium. We will examine the early Cambrian Chilhowee group exposed at Thoroughfare Gap at the western edge of the Culpeper basin and see where Mesozoic rocks of the basin are in fault contact with the Blue Ridge Anticlinorium. The trip will continue and move towards the western limb of the anticlinorium and into the Shenandoah Valley where we will discuss Alleghenian compression leading to ductile deformation, as well as some ambiguous breccia bodies in the Antietam formation. We will also see sites and discuss recently acquired cosmogenic burial age dates of surficial deposits that reveal the history of Shenandoah River incision.
Come prepared for inclement, cold weather and some minimal walking over uneven, steep terrain.
Please RSVP to Dan Doctor (dhdoctor at usgs.gov) by Nov. 18 if you wish to attend. Meeting time: 9 AM. Meeting point: Sheetz in Haymarket, Virginia at the intersection of Rt. 55 and Rt. 15. Leaders: Alan Pitts, Dan Doctor, Will Odom.
The flyer is here, and a map of the area is here. Hope to see you there for our annual field trip!
The trip can accommodate a limited number of vehicles; car-pools will be arranged as needed and vehicles left at the Sheetz station meeting site. All field trip attendees will be required to bring a mask and wear it while car-pooling in vehicles. We will ask to see proof of vaccination against COVID-19, and will require attendees who have not been fully vaccinated against COVD-19 to drive in a separate vehicle. In addition, field trip attendees will be asked to sign a liability waiver to attend the trip.
