The work of team M.A.G.I.C. continues. This is a lovely sample quartet of salt cast samples from Silurian-aged Tonoloway Formation limestone. I collected these samples on Corridor H’s newly-opened section west of Moorefield, West Virginia, last spring. The big one at the bottom was collected by my friend Leigh Henry, who graciously loaned it to … Read more
I think this one of the most fascinating batches of sand we’ve yet had the pleasure of macro-GigaPanning: [gigapan id=”140392″] link So much igneous goodness hidden in those grains, collected from a beach on the south of Iceland… The image was made by Robin Rohrback-Schiavone (my student at NOVA) as part of the Mid-Atlantic Geo-Image … Read more
I have two new GigaPans of hand samples to share with you this morning… The Edinburg Formation graptolites from Mint Spring, Virginia, that I featured here back in May, can now be explored in GIGAmacro hand sample: [gigapan id=”140510″] link Students: are these colonial or solitary organisms? Benthic, nektonic, or planktonic? Does this relate to … Read more
Kilbourne Hole is the crater of a maar volcano in southern New Mexico, just across the state line from El Paso, Texas. I went there the weekend before last with a team from El Paso Community College, led by Joshua Villalobos. This is the place where xenobombs come from! If you go to the right … Read more
We had another flood on Passage Creek on Wednesday, and into Thursday morning. Here are a few photos and GigaPans for those of you who like flood imagery: [gigapan id=”129543″] link [gigapan id=”129490″] link [gigapan id=”129569″] link Making GigaPans of the scene: Some images of the flood itself: Aftermath: http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/129490 http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/129543 http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/129569 10.3 feet was … Read more
Happy Friday! Here’s a view of the folded contact between the (older, lower) New Market Formation, and the (younger, upper) Lincolnshire Formation, as exposed in Staunton, Virginia: The contact has been folded, pretty intensely: The New Market Formation is massive, light-colored, and exhibits fenestral texture here. The Lincolnshire is darker, more thinly-bedded, and is chock … Read more
A week ago, I featured six new GigaPans here, of the extraordinary rocks in Klingle Valley, DC. I hadn’t been able to get the next phase of imaging that site ready in time for the post, but here it is: an annotated view of the outcrop. Annotation color code: PINK = Granite contact BLUE = … Read more
Last week, I mentioned some geologizing with the family in the Staunton area. The furthest west we ventured was to the road connecting Deerfield, Virginia, with West Augusta. There, the Brallier Formation is well exposed in a dramatic roadcut. Explore it for yourself in this M.A.G.I.C. GigaPan: [gigapan id=”128612″] link The Brallier is turbidites, shed … Read more
Following on yesterday’s post about the kink bands within the strained metagraywacke of the Laurel Formation in DC, let’s take the opportunity today to go to Klingle Valley, site of a different facies within the Laurel Formation: a strained metaconglomerate. Though the exposure isn’t as great as the Purgatory Conglomerate, I think you’ll find plenty … Read more
Two years ago, I took a trip to the Phoebe Hall Knipling Outdoor Lab, which is Arlington, Virginia’s outdoor education facility in the Pond Mountains (southern continuation of the Bull Run Mountains), on the eastern edge of the Blue Ridge geologic province. I was invited back last week to look at some new exposures. I … Read more