DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR

BULLETIN 483

ECONOMIC GEOLOGY

OF

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, AND VICINITY

BY

N. H. DARTON

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1911

CONTENTS.

Page.

Introduction ............................................................. 5

Geographic features....................................................... 5

General structural relations ............................................... 6

Description of the rocks.........................................:......... 8

Granite.............................................................. 8

General features.................................................. 8

Structural relations............................................... 9

Petrography ..................................................... 9

Analyses............................................:............ 12

Potomac group ....................................................... 13

Patuxent formation............................................... 13

General relations and character................................ 13

Local features................................................ 14

Pamunkey group..................................'..,................ 15

Aquiaformation.................................................. 15

General relations and character................................ 15

Shockoe Valley .........................:L............'....... 16

. Twenty-eighth Street to Gillis Creek........................... 17

Almond Creek southward..................................... 17

Chesapeake group.................................................... 18

Ciilvert formation ................................................ 18

General relations and character................................ 18

List of diatoms................................................ . 21.

Basal contact................................................. 23

Western margin.............................................. 25

Outlier south of Manchester. .................................. 26

Analyses............... ..... 1............................... 2(5

Lafayette formation .................................................. 27

General relations and character..................................... 27

Exposures............................................. ........ 27

Columbia group undifferentiated ...................................... 29

Economic geology...............................'.......................... 31

Granite.. 1........................................................... 31

General character ................................................ 31

Quarries south of James River..................................... 32

Quarries north of James River .................................... 34

Shipping ......................................................... 35

Brick clay ........................................................... 36

Columbia group.................................................. 37

Manchester.................................................. 37

Rocketts..................................................... 38

Lafayette formation .............................................. 38

Fort Lee............;........................................ 38

West End.................................................... 39

Calvert formation ................................................ 40

Analyses and lire tests.... ........................................ 40

Molding sand ........................................................ 43

Diatomaceous earth................................................... 44

Ocher ................................................................ 46

Concrete materials..............................1..................... 46

Index ............. .'. .................................................... 48

3
ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page. 

PLATE I. Map showing economic geology of Richmond, Va., and vicinity.... 6

II. A, The Lafayette plain near Richmond, Va.; B, James River falling

over granite ledges above Richmond, Va....................... 8

III. A, West slope of Shockoe Creek valley, Richmond, Va.; B, Patuxent

formation in cut of Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, Richmond, Va... 14

IV. A, Calvert formation in cut near Eleventh and Turpin streets, Richmond, Va.; B, Contact of Calvert and Aquia formations at 

Twelfth and Leigh streets, Richmond, Va...................... 22

V. A, Calvert formation on granite near foot of Pine Street, Richmond, 

Va.; B, Columbia group on Patuxent formation on south bank of 

Gillis Creek near its mouth, Richmond, Va.................... 24

VI. A, Belle Island granite quarry and crusher; B, Smith granite quarry,

2 miles above Richmond, Va.................................. 32

VII. A, McGowan granite quarry, 3 miles south of Manchester, Va.; B,

Richmond Granite Co. quarry, 4 miles northwest of Richmond, Va. 34

VIII. A, Granite quarry of J. A. McCloy, in western part of Richmond,

Va.; B, Upper clay at Davis brickyards, Manchester, Va........ 34

I.. A, Main working face of Davis brickyards, Manchester, Va.; B,

Typical face of brick clay at Rocketts, Va.......... '. ........... 38

X. A, Lafayette formation in brickyard of Fuller Co., 5 miles southeast 

of Richmond, Va.; B, Working face of Lafayette formation in 

West End brickyards, Richmond, Va. ........................^ 38

FIGURE 1. Section across Church Hill, Richmond, Va., along line of old tunnel,

Chesapeake &. Ohio Railway .................................. 24
ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, 

AND VICINITY.

By N. H. DARTON.

INTRODUCTION.

The geologic formations in the vicinity of Richmond contain materials of considerable economic importance, notably a very large 

amount of high-grade granite and wide areas of valuable brick clays. 

Both of these are extensively utilized, not only for local consumption 

but for shipment to other places. The granite industry is in a moderately prosperous condition, but the production was formerly much 

greater than it is at present. Richmond is most favorably situated 

for the distribution of its economic products, for it has several railroads and is on tidewater.

There is not much literature on the geology of the Richmond region. 

In the report of the Geological Survey of Virginia, by Prof. W. B. 

Rogers, issued in 1836-1840, the general relations of the rocks were 

described and some additional facts have been published by subsequent observers. 1

Some features of the economic geology were described by T. L. 

Watson in 1906 2 and in a later report on the granites of the southeastern Atlantic States. 3

GEOGRAPHIC FEATURES.

Eastern Virginia consists of two provinces the Coastal Plain to the 

east and the Piedmont province to the west but the two merge insensibly along a zone which lies near Richmond, Fredericksburg, and 

Washington. The Piedmont province is a region of hard rocks and 

rolling topography. It was formerly a plateau, but now is so deeply 

eroded by drainageways that but little of the plateau surface remains.

1 Coryell, Martin, Diatomaceous sands of Kichmond, Va.: Proc. Am. Inst. Min. Eng., vol. 4, p. 230; 

The Virginias, vol. 2,1881, pp. 6-7. Barton, N. H., Mesozoic and Cenozoic of eastern Virginia and Maryland: 

Bull. Geol. Soc. America, vol. 2, 1891, pp. 431-450. Fontaine, W. M., The Potomac formation in Virginia: 

Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey, No. 145,1896. Darton, N. H., Artesian well prospects in the Atlantic Coastal 

Plain region: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey, No. 138, 1896.

2 Watson, T. L., Mineral resources of Virginia: The Virginia Jamestown Exposition Commission, 

Lynchburg, 1907. 

s Watson, T. L., Granites of the southeastern Atlantic States: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 420, 1910.
6 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OF RICHMOND; VA.

In its eastern part it has an average altitude of about 200 feet above 

sea level, but it rises gradually toward the west. The streams that 

cross it flow through narrow valleys in rocky channels. The Coastal 

Plain is a region of clay, sand, and other soft materials, laid down 

in a succession of relatively thin sheets on an eastward-sloping floor 

of granite and other crystalline rocks and dipping gently to the east. 

It consists mainly of a wide plateau of moderate height trenched by 

broad, terraced valleys of numerous streams. The larger streams 

that flow from the Piedmont province are tidal estuaries as far inland as the zone in which the hard rocks rise from under the deposits 

of the Coastal Plain and become sufficiently high to cause rapids. As 

the rise of these rocks is in general moderately steep the river valleys 

narrow in a short distance into rocky gorges which mark the change 

from the Coastal Plain to the Piedmont province. Richmond is 

situated at the head of the estuarine portion of James River, and is 

built partly on the Coastal Plain plateau and partly on the slopes that 

descend to the river. Manchester is built on a river terrace. The 

plateau in the Richmond region stands at an average altitude of 200 

feet above sea level and has a notably smooth surface. (See PL II, A.) 

It stretches far to the west, northeast, and southeast, but is deeply 

trenched by numerous minor streams, notably Shockoe and Gillis 

creeks and their branches, and has been widely removed by James 

and Chickahominy rivers. It reappears south of James River, in the 

region west of Manchester, where its .altitude for some distance is 

about 200 feet above sea level. The smoothness and the gentle eastward slope of the plateau are notable. West of longitude 77° 30' it 

rises at a slightly more rapid rate. The valley of James River is bordered at several heights by terraces, the most extensive of which is the 

broad one extending southward from Manchester. This terrace 

rises from the freshet plain of the river and by successive steps attains 

an altitude of about 100 feet and a width of nearly 2 miles. Apparently it is developed on granite thinly covered with clay, sand, and 

gravel. A portion of this terrace lies on the north side of the river 

in Richmond, where it constitutes a well-defined shelf having an altitude of 70 to 90 feet along Carey Street and Canal Street, from Sixth 

to Eleventh Street. It also borders the valleys of Shockoe and Gillis 

creeks, where it has an Altitude of 30 to 80 feet. Rocketts is built 

on part of this terrace and there are other parts of it on the east side 

of the river below the mouth of Almond Creek.

GENERAL STRUCTURAL RELATIONS.

The cross section in Plate I shows the principal structural features 

of the Richmond region. It passes through the center of Richmond 

from northwest to southeast. The granite of the Piedmont region 

descends abruptly under sedimentary strata of the Coastal Plain in
U.S.GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

GEORGE OTIS SMITH DIRECTOR BULLETIN 4-83 PLATE I

A.

\t "*

Ura lrvcl\ * / '

77°25-

Lalayette ( alvevt foiTuatitm

Slated formation

Aqiua foimatioTi

an.d ami

D Gravel pit Pits tin

molding sand

ranite qoarty X

Topography by M.Hacket-t 

and L.C.Barnard. MAP SHOWING ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OF RICHMOND,VA., AND VICINITY

BY N.H.UAItTON 

Scale 82500

Mile, s

Contour interval 2O feet. 

1911

~

B ...

SECTION ALONG LINE A-B
GENERAL STRUCTURAL RELATIONS. r

the central part of the city and farther southeast it lies several hundred feet below the surface.

The succession of overlying strata is as follows:

Sedimentary rocks in the Richmond region.

System.

Quaternary.

Cretaceous.

Series.

Pleistocene.

Pliocene ( ' *)

Miocene.

Eocene.

Lower Cretaceous.

Group.

Columbia.

Chesapeake.

Pamunkey.

Potoinac.

Formation.

UndifTerentiated.

Calvert.

Aquia.

Patuxent (may possibly include some Patapsco at top).

Character.

Loam, sand, and gravel 

on terraces.

of orange tint.

Clay with sand and 

diatom admixture.

Dark sand; gravel at 

base.

A r kos i c sand with 

gravel, cross-bedded.

Thickness.

Feet. 5-35

30

0-80

0-25

0-50

Except the deposits of the Columbia group, which lie in terraces 

in the valleys, these strata form a succession of widely extended 

sheets that dip gently to the east. The Lafayette formation constitutes the mantle of the general plateau of the region and extends far 

to the west, overlapping the edges of the older formations. Its inclination to the east is slight and irregular and it also slopes to some 

extent into the valleys.

To the east it lies unconformably on the Calvert formation, but without notable discordance of dip or deep channeling.

The Calvert is the lowest formation of the Chesapeake group and, 

as the other formations of the group are absent, a long interval of 

time between the Calvert and Lafayette formations is not represented by deposits at Richmond. The Calvert formation overlaps 

on to the granite in the western part of the city and has a general dip 

to the east at a very low rate. It lies unconformably on the Aquia 

formation and thickens slightly to the east and southeast. The 

Aquia formation is the lower formation of the Pamunkey group, the 

upper formation of that group, the Nanjemoy, being absent. Therefore there is a considerable hiatus between the Aquia. and Calvert 

formations., The Aquia formation is a thin sheet of dark sand developing into a marl toward the east. It dips gently eastward and also 

gradually thickens in that direction. It lies unconformably on the 

Potomac group, there being a hiatus between the two, represented 

in the other regions by earlier Tertiary and a great thickness of Cretaceous sediments. The Potomac group present in this area probably comprises only the Patuxent formation of the region farther 

north. The beds lie unconformably on a somewhat irregular surface 

of the old granite. This surface rises to the west as a shore line
8 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OF RICHMOND, VA.

against which the edges of the Patuxent and Aquia formations abut 

a short distance west of Shockoe Creek valley, as shown in the cross 

section on Plate I. Both of these formations and most of the 

Calvert deposits have been removed in the area west of the river, 

through Manchester, and for some distance south.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ROCKS.

GRANITE.

General features. The granite which underlies the Richmond 

region is mostly massive and is of light-gray color. It consists 

mainly of the three crystalline minerals, quartz, feldspar, and mica, 

uniformly intermixed but varying somewhat in proportions and texture. In the western part of Richmond and to the west, and in 

Chesterfield County, the rock'is at or near the surface, although it 

is extensively mantled by the Lafayette formation on the higher 

land. In the central part of Richmond and farther east the granite 

sinks at a steep grade and passes beneath the Patuxent formation. 

In its area of outcrop much of it is decomposed, so much so in 

some places that the resulting material is scarcely more than a compact sand, mostly of reddish and yellow tints. The granite outcrops 

extensively in the cliffs along both sides of James River above Richmond and causes the falls which begin at the old Manchester bridge. 

The granite is revealed by Brook Run and on Goode Creek and Broad 

Rock Branch east and south of Cldpton. It appears in a small outcrop in the west bank of James River just below the mouth of Goode 

Creek and is exposed at intervals in the terrace slopes southeast of 

Manchester. (See PL II, £.)

In dredging and deepening the channel it has been found that the 

rock extends all along the river bottom for several miles below 

Richmond. Granite has been reported at the following depths in 

borings in the Richmond region:

Borings reaching granite in the Richmond region.

Feet.

Hotel Jefferson, Franklin and Jefferson streets .................... 118

Murphy's Hotel, Broad and Eighth streets........................ 140

Richmond Apartments, Ninth and Grace streets ................... 140

Chesterfield Apartments, Franklin and Shaf ter streets ............ 95

Kingan Slaughterhouse.......................................... 90

Kingan & Go., Fifteenth and Carey streets ......................... 12

Home Brewery, Harrison and Clay streets ........................ 98

Merchants Cold Storage, Sixth and Byrd streets ................... 69£

Ginter Park..................................................... 165

Bellevue Park. ........................ J^............. '........... 85

Paul Ice Factory, Manchester................................... 12£

Westhampton Park.............................................. 120
BULLETIN 483 PLATE II

A. THE LAFAYETTE PLAIN NEAR RICHMOND, VA.

S. JAMES RIVER FALLING OVER GRANITE LEDGES ABOVE RICHMOND, VA.
DESCRIPTION OF THE ROCKS. 9

In some of these records, notably the last, the figures given denote 

depth to "hard rock," the overlying decomposed granite being disregarded by the driller. Some years ago a small outcrop of granite 

with quartz veins was visible in the west bank'of Shockoe Creek just 

south of Marshall Street. Rogers also referred to one of hornblende 

granite to the left (north) of the crossing of Main Street. Both were 

overlain by the Patuxent formation and are now covered.

Structural relations. -The granite of the Richmond area appears to 

be a huge batholith extending far to the north and south. It passes 

beneath the Triassic overlap to the west and underlies the Coastal 

Plain to an undetermined distance east. Its contacts with adjoining old rocks have not been studied, and therefore its age is not 

known. Some portions of this great granite mass show gneissic 

structure, but this is only noticeable at a few places and is a very 

subordinate feature about Richmond. Watson l has described an 

occurrence of inclosed blocks of banded granite gneiss in the McCloy 

quarry, 2 miles south of Manchester. The blocks are several feet 

wide, and the massive granite cuts across the schistosity and a thin 

inteiiaminated mass of pegmatite. Still later dikes of pegmatite cut 

both rocks. These relations show that the gneiss was developed 

before the intrusion, and doubtless it is the rock through which the 

granite was forced. Watson reports an outcrop of gneiss in the old 

State quarry north of Granite station, but the contact is not exposed. 

The coarser-grained lighter-colored granite is cut by dikelike masses 

of the finer-grained darker-colored granite, and both are cut by the 

narrow pegmatite dikes and a few other later intrusives. Some of 

the most instructive exposures of these features are in the Smith 

quarry, on the south bank of James River, 2 miles above Richmond. 

As described by Watson, there are here several intrusions of the dark 

finer-grained rock in the coarser granite, and at one point masses of 

the latter are included. Narrow pegmatite dikes cut across the contact at several places in this quarry.

Petrography. In order to ascertain the mineral character of the 

granites in the Richmond region, a series of representative samples 

was collected, mostly from quarries in operation. These were examined under the microscope by E. S. Bastin. All of the granites were 

found to be closely similar in mineralogic composition, consisting of 

quartz, feldspars, and biotite in granular aggregation. Quartz and the 

feldspar known as microcline are the predominant constituents, and 

there are smaUer varying amounts of the feldspars known as orthoclase and oligoclase. The greenish brown mica of the variety known 

as biotite is present in moderate amount. Various other minerals

i Watson, T. L., Granites of the southeastern United States: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 426,1910, 

p. 80.
1C ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OP RICHMOND, VA.

occur in small proportions. The rocks differ mainly in coarseness, 

in regularity of grain, and in percentage of the subordinate feldspars. 

Rock from the McCloy quarry is almost identical with samples from 

the James River Granite Corporation quarries. Closely similar but 

somewhat coarser rocks were collected at the McGowan quarry and 

on the river bank south of BeUe Island. Granites from the Wade 

and the Green quarries are also closely similar. Granites from the 

McGowan quarry and the quarry near the mouth of Goode Creek are 

more irregular in texture than the others and characterized by 

greater abundance of micrographic intergrowths of feldspar and 

quartz. They therefore show pegmatitic tendencies, though this is 

hardly apparent in the hand specimens. Incipient gneissic structure 

appears in some of the specimens.

The rocks collected were very fresh and constituents injurious 

from the commercial standpoint are practically absent from ah1 .

McCloy quarry: The rock at the McCloy quarry is of granular 

texture with grains of nearly uniform size averaging about one-half 

millimeter in diameter. The dominant light-colored minerals are 

microcline and quartz, with orthoclase subordinate and an occasional 

grain of oligoclase. The principal dark-colored mineral is greenishbrown biotite. The minor constituents are muscovite, magnetite in 

small grains, and apatite. Occasional micrographic intergrowths occur 

at contact of quartz and microcline grains, and secondary muscovite 

has developed along cleavage cracks in some of the feldspars.

Richmond Granite Co.: This granite is a light-colored rock of 

somewhat irregular granular structure in which the feldspars are 

as much as 5 millimeters in length. The average size of grains, 

however, is about 1£ millimeters. The dominant light-colored minerals are microcline and quartz; and though oligoclase is abundant, 

it is less in amount than the microcline. The only dark-colored 

mineral is greenish-brown biotite, but some of the light-colored mica, 

muscovite, is present.

The rock exhibits signs of slight alteration, for the biotite shows 

some development of chlorite and the oligoclase is frequently clouded 

with secondary muscovite and some calcite. The microcline shows 

very little alteration, but secondary muscovite often forms strips 

along cleavage cracks in the feldspar. There are occasional grains of 

epidote which may be primary. The rock differs from most of the 

other granites in being somewhat coarser and showing a greater 

abundance of oligoclase.

Wade quarry: The granite at the-Wade quarry is of nearly uniform 

granular texture, and the average size of grain is about 1 millimeter. 

The dominant light-colored minerals are microcline and quartz, the 

latter occurring in part as small globules inclosed by the feldspar. 

There is also some orthoclase and a very small amount of oligo-
DESCRIPTION OP THE ROCKS. 11

clase. The dominant dark-colored mineral is olive-green biotite in 

flakes, some of which are 4 millimeters in length, though most are 

less than 2 millimeters. There is a smaller amount of muscovite and 

a few small crystals of zircon. The quartz and feldspar show some 

micrographic intergrowths.

The rock is very fresh, though some shreds of secondary muscovite are developed in a few of the feldspars.

Alvin Netherwood quarry, Granite station: The structure of this 

granite is granular, and the grains are of nearly uniform size, averaging 2 millimeters in diameter, although some of the feldspars are 

3 millimeters long. The dominant light-colored minerals are microcline and quartz with orthoclase and oligoclase in subordinate 

amounts. Ohvergreen biotite is the only abundant dark-colored 

mineral. A small amount of muscovite is present, some of it intergrown with biotite, and there are scattered grains of magnetite and

original epidote. There is some micrographic intergrowth of feldspar 

and quartz. Some of the biotite flakes show partial alteration to 

chlorite, and some secondary muscovite and a little calcite are developed in the feldspars.

Green quarry: The granite at the Green quarry is of granular 

structure, the grains, which are of nearly uniform size, being about 

1 millimeter in diameter. The dominant light-colored minerals are 

microcline and quartz, and greenish-brown biotite is the only abundant dark-colored constituent. Magnetite, muscovite, apatite, and 

zircon occur in small amounts. Micrographic intergrowths of quartz 

and feldspar are occasionally present. Secondary muscovite is 

developed in many of the feldspars, and some epidote associated with 

biotite is probably secondary.

James River Granite Corporation: The ordinary granite from the 

quarry of this company is of uniform grain whose average size is 

about one-half millimeter. The dominant light-colored minerals 

are microcline and quartz with oligoclase also moderately abundant. 

Greenish-brown biotite is the principal dark-colored mineral. Muscovite, magnetite, apatite, and zircon occur in minor proportions. 

Micrographic intergrowths of quartz and feldspar are present but 

not abundant. Shreds of secondary muscovite are developed in 

some of the feldspars.

McGowan quarry: The granite from the McGowan quarry is a 

beautiful gray stone of uniform texture. Under the microscope it 

shows considerable variation in the size of the mineral grams, the 

average size being about 1 millimeter. The dominant light-colored 

minerals are microclme and quartz, and oligoclase is moderately 

abundant. Grayish-brown biotite is the only dark-colored mineral. 

Muscovite, epidote, and zircon also occur in small amount, and the 

epidote, though generally associated with biotite, has sharp borders
12 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OF RICHMOND, VA.

and appears to be an original constituent. Micrographic intergrowths of quartz and feldspar are abundant. Secondary muscovite 

is developed in some of the feldspars.

Smith quarry: The coarser variety of the granite in the Smith 

quarry shows much variation in size of the mineral grains, and though 

the average size of gram is about 1^ millimeters some feldspars are 

4 millimeters long and some biotite flakes 3 millimeters. The dominant light-colored minerals are microcline and quartz and considerable oligoclase is also present. Greenish-brown biotite is the principal dark-colored mineral and it is notable that apatite is abundant. 

Muscovite, magnetite, and zircon occur in smaller amounts. Micrographic intergrowths are moderately abundant. Secondary muscovite and a little calcite develop in some of the feldspars.

The finer-grained rock in the Smith quarry has grains of nearly 

uniform size, the average diameter being about one-half millimeter. 

The dominant light-colored minerals are microcline, quartz, and orthoclase. Oligoclase and muscovite occur in smaller amounts. Theprincipal dark-colored mineral is greenish-brown biotite. Apatite, magnetite, 

zircon, and original epidote occur in scattered grains. Some micrographic intergrowths of quartz and feldspar are present. Secondary 

muscovite is developed in some of the feldspars. Part of the rock 

in this quarry shows considerable schistosity.

South end of bridge to Belle Island: A sample of granite from an 

old small quarry on the south bank of James River, opposite Belle 

'Island, has the common granular structure, with grains of nearly uniform size averaging about 1 millimeter in diameter. The dominant 

light-colored minerals are microcline and quartz, with orthoclase and 

oligoclase subordinate. The principal dark-colored mineral is 

greenish-brown biotite. Magnetite and apatite occur in scattered 

grains. Micrographic intergrowths of feldspar and quartz are present but not abundant. Secondary muscovite and some calcite are 

abundant in many of the feldspars.

Quarry on west bank of James River at mouth of Goode Creek: This 

granite has an irregular granular structure, the grains varying greatly 

in size; the average diameter is about one-half mil.Umeter. The 

dominant light-colored minerals are microcline and quartz with muscovite and oligoclase subordinate. The principal dark-colored mineral 

is greenish-brown biotite. Apatite and epidote occur as scattered 

grains. Secondary muscovite develops in some of the feldspars.

Analyses. Analyses of composite samples of various kinds of granite have been made by William M. Thornton, jr., in the laboratory 

of the Virginia Geological Survey.1 They are as follows:

1 Bull. Virginia Geol. Survey No. 1 A, Ann. Kept, of mineral production of Virginia for 1908, p. 81.
DESCRIPTION OF THE. ROCKS. 

Analyses of granites from Richmond area.

13

Silica (SiOj). ........................................

Lime (CaO). ........................................

Soda (NajO). . ........................................

Potash (K2 0).. . .....................................

Water to 110°C. .....................................

Water 110°C. . ..........:............................

Phosphoric acid (PjOs) ..............................

1

72.27

14.30

1.16

.97

.70

1.56

3.46

. 5.00

.04

.25

.31

.21

.02

100. 25

2

71.19

14.01

1 66

1.29

.44

2.04

3.56

4.45

.04

.33

.35

.02

.34

99.72

3

70.83

12.70

2.67

1.36

.53

1.88

3.49

4.83

.07

.34

.41

.03

.33

99.47

4

69.44

15.46

1.31

1.43

1.01

2.11

3.97

4.25

.07

.29

.48

.03

.22

100. 07

5

69.29

14.07

2.59

2.03

1.32

2.70

2.89

2.87

.06

.37

.50

.08

.20

99.09

1. Westham quarries, Chesterfield County, Va., 4£ miles west of Richmond. Medium textured and medium gray biotite granites.

2. McGowan, Netherwood, and Donald quarries, Chesterfield County, and Mitchell and Copeland quarries. Fine-grained dark blue-gray biotite granites.

3. Netherwood, Old Dominion Granite Development Co., Kremm and Middendorf quarries, Chesterfield County. Medium coarse textured and medium gray biotito granites. \

4. Mclntosh quarry, Chesterfield County, Smiles west of Richmond, Va. Medium textured and medium 

gray biotite.

5. Middendorf quarry near Manchester. Medium coarse toxtured gray biotite granite.

POTOMAC GROUP. 

PATUXENT FORMATION.

General relations and character. The Patuxent formation underlies 

the eastern part of Richmond and the region east and south. Its 

western margin probably is near the capitol building, where it abuts 

against an upslope of granite, as shown in the cross-section (PL I). 

Its outcrop extends along the east bank of James River to the south 

from the mouth of Shockoe Creek, and there are extensive exposures 

in the river bluffs and along Shockoe and Gillis creeks. In this area 

the formation is less than 50 feet thick, but doubtless the thickness 

increases somewhat in the underground extension of the formation 

to the eastward. It is possible that the Patuxent formation as here 

described and mapped may include a representative of the Patapsco 

formation at the top, but it is believed that all of the deposits belong 

to the Patuxent.

The materials of the Patuxent formation are mainly sand and 

gravel. The sand consists largely of angular grains of quartz, but it 

is generally mixed with feldspar in a more or less decomposed condition. This mixture is commonly known as arkose. Considerable 

mica is present in places. Clay occurs in streaks and admixture with 

the sand and also in the form of pebbles. The character of the deposit is so variable that no two exposures present the same succession, 

but the arkosic sand containing pebbles and bowlders predominates. 

Most portions of the exposures show strong cross-bedding and rapid 

changes in the character of the material. Some of it is consolidated 

into a soft sandstone which disintegrates rapidly on exposure. The
14 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OP EICHMOND, VA.

gravel and bowlders occur in irregular deposits through the sands 

and consist largely of quartz and quartzite with granites and other 

varieties of crystalline rocks.

Local features. The Patuxent formation appears most extensively 

in the face of the low bluff just south of Carey Street from Twentyfourth Street to Rochelle Street and thence in slopes east to Williamsburg Avenue and Thirty-second Street. East of Twenty-fourth 

Street it rises from 3 to 5 feet above the railroad to a contact with 

the Aquia formation at 20 feet above sea level. The material is a 

coarse light gray and buff cross-bedded arkosic sand containing some 

bowlders. One bowlder bed 3 feet below the base of the Aquia 

formation is 2 feet thick and 25 feet long. The formation rises 

higher east of Twenty-eighth Street, cutting off -the Aquia beds, and 

is well exposed in deep cuts of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway extending to Rocketts Avenue and beyond. The cut exposes 25 feet in its 

deepest part, as shown in Plate III, B. The arkosic sand contains 

pebbles of clay and quartzite. This exposure continues eastward to 

Thirty-second Street, where there is an excellent outcrop of the 

contact of the Patuxent and Aquia formations in and near a small 

creek which crosses the Williamsburg Road at Thirty-second Street. 

The formation appears again in- a large gravel pit a few rods farther 

south on the south bank of Gillis Creek. This pit is a few yards above 

the crossing of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway. The formation here 

consists of the common cross-bedded arkosic sand of gray color containing pebbles and bowlders. It is overlain by the Columbia 

group, consisting largely of bowlders .and pebbles. The features at 

this place are shown in Plate V, B, in which the Columbia-Patuxent 

contact is nearly on a level.with the heads of the men. Farther up 

Gillis Creek there are scattered outcrops of the formation, notably at 

the bridge of the National Cemetery Road, where the exposure is

continuous for some distance. The, materials are light-gray arkosic 

sand, with scattered deposits of pebbles. - Its surface rises somewhat 

up stream from the bridge, but in about one-half mile it passes 

beneath the Aquia formation in the bottom of the creek. The contact is covered. There was formerly a 15-foot bluff of the formation 

between the creek and the road on the south side of Gillis Creek, just 

east of the crossing of the Williamsburg Road. It contained bowlders 

of green clay and was capped by the deposits of the Columbia group. 

The Patuxent formation is extensively exposed along the river bank 

in Rocketts from the cedar works to the wharfs near the mouth of 

Almond Creek a distance of about three-fourths of a mile. The 

best exposures are at Louisiana and Orleans streets, where the formation rises about 30 feet above the river to the base of the Columbia 

group, which caps the terrace at Rocketts. According to 'wellborings its base is 15 feet below sea level where the granite is found.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVE 1 BULLETIN 483 PLATE III

WEST SLOPE OF SHOCKOE CREEK VALLEY, NEAR INTERSECTION OF TWELFTH AND LEIGH 

STREETS, LOOKING SOUTHWEST. CALVERT FORMATION CAPPED BY LAFAYETTE.

7;. PATUXENT FORMATION IN CUT OF CHESAPEAKE & OHIO RAILWAY AT BRIDGE 

OF MAIN STREET AT LESTER STREET, RICHMOND, VA.
DESCRIPTION OF THE ROCKS. 15

The material is the typical arkosic sand, with pebbly anb powlclery 

streaks. One thin layer of carbonaceous sandy shale occurs in the 

formation in this exposure.

Two small exposures appear on the east side of Almond Creek, one 

on the road and another at the pit for molding sand east of the brickyards. Here the Patuxent is capped by the Aquia formation 3 to 5 

feet above the bottom of the valley. The principal exposure of the 

formation in the bank of Shockoe Creek extends from a point near the 

intersection of Eleventh and Balding streets nearly to the TurpinWashington Street crossing. It exhibits from 5 to 16 feet of crossbedded arkosic sand, with bowlder beds in part conglomeratic. It is 

overlain by deposits of the Columbia group. Many years ago, according to Prof. Rogers, 8 feet of the formation were exposed in a low knoll 

in the bottom of the valley just north of Main Street. There was a 

mill at this place and the beds were cut by the race, the underlying 

granite outcropping in the creek nearby. These features have long 

since been covered. A small exposure of Patuxent formation lying 

on granite was visible some years ago on the west bank of Shockoe 

Creek just below Marshall Street. The thickness exposed was 8 feet 

and the material a gray and buff arkosic sand, with pebbles scattered 

through it. At the base is a 6-foot layer of conglomerate. Another 

exposure appeared on the west bank of the creek at Clay Street, 

capped by weathered Aquia formation with a pebbly bed at the base 

such as commonly occurs. The contact is about 32 feet above sea 

level. A small exposure was noted in a sewer near the corner of 

Turpin and Thirteenth streets, capped by deposits of the Columbia 

group. This is a short distance south of the large exposure extending 

along the creek bank nearly to Balding Street. Just above the point 

at which the Seaboard Air Line Eailway crosses Shocko.e Creek at 

Fourteenth Street below Turpin Street, there is a ledge of brown conglomerate 30 feet long, 20 feet wide, and 2 feet thick. Though it 

is probably the base of the Columbia, it may be the Patuxent. The 

same doubt exists as to a gravel bed at the bridge. The Patuxent formation was reported in a well at the Exchange Hotel, on Broad and 

Thirteenth streets. This well penetrated a bowlder bed at a depth 

of 77 feet, probably at the base of the Aquia formation, lying on 

Patuxent beds extending to the bottom of the well at a depth of 

84 feet.

PAMTJNKEY GROUP.

AQUIA FORMATION.

General relations and character. The only formation of the Pamunkey group which is present in the Richmond area is the Aquia. 

The western edge of the Aquia formation extends into the central 

part of Richmond, where it becomes thinner against the rising slope of
16 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OF RICHMOND, VA.

the granite. Probably it overlaps a short distance beyond the edge 

of the Patuxent formation not far west of the capitol building. The 

formation is cut through by the lower parts of valleys of Shockoe, 

Gillis, and Almond creeks, in which it is exposed at intervals lying on 

the Patuxent formation. It also appears in various gullies along the 

east bank of James River south of Almond Creek. The principal material is a soft sand, mostly of a mottled gray and black color, which 

weathers to a reddish buff tint on the oxidation of the contained iron. 

At the base is a bed of gravel about a foot thick. The greatest thickness of the formation, so far as could be ascertained, is 25 feet, but in 

places it is only 12 to 15 feet thick.

Shockoe Valley. In ravines on the west side of Shockoe Creek valley, W. B. Rogers 1 reported the following beds in the Aquia formation:

The lower portion, from 6 to 10 feet thick, consists of a sand mixed with a s^mall 

proportion of clay of yellowish gray color mottled with brown. It contains greensand (glauconite) grains irregularly scattered through it. Abundant casts of Cardita 

planicosta, Turritella mortoni, and other forms, in part with the shells in very soft 

condition. Next above is a member consisting of a mixture of dark olive or greenish 

clay and sand containing grains and granules of greensand. This bed, which is 

about 12 feet thick at most, abounds in fish teeth, especially of genus Otodus and 

Ondontapis, and coprolites, mostly small. Next above is a second sandy bed of lightyellowish tint mottled with brown and barred by thin irony layers. It is also highly 

fossiliferous. Some distance up the ravine it is 8 feet thick, but it thins out to the 

east towards the mouth of the hollow, and its upper surface exhibits evidence of irregular denudation prior to the deposition of the deposits of Miocene age which lie on it.

The formation is well exposed at intervals along the west side of 

Shockoe Valley, notably in the three deep gullies between Leigh 

Street and the locomotive works at Seventh Street crossing, and also 

in the railroad cut near the line of Eleventh Street (extended). There 

is a member of dark sand at the top lying on a harder layer containing 

Considerable iron. The latter weathers to a buff color and grades 

down into 15 to 20 feet of dark-gray sands containing considerable 

glauconite and many fossils, mostly in the form of casts. The total 

thickness is about 25 feet. The upper surface appears to rise somewhat in the vicinity of Eighth Street. In the deep gully on the line of 

Eighth Street the upper 12.feet of the formation is well exposed, consisting of dark sand overlain unconformably by clay of the Calvert 

formation. There are exposures of Aquia formation in the bank of 

Shockoe Creek, notably on the line of Eighth and Ninth streets and 

halfway between Tenth and Eleventh. The formation extends up 

the creek bed to a point a rod or two above the first main forks (Seventh Street), but the contact here is concealed by filling. A small 

outcrop of the Aquia formation is visible on Valley Street on the east 

side of Shockoe Yalley near the line of Fourteenth Street extended 

northward.

i Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., vol. 7, pp. 61-62, 1861.
DESCRIPTION" OF THE BOCKS. 17

A small projection of the Aquia formation appears in the bluff south 

of Carey Street just east of Twenty-fourth Street and extends for 200 

to 300 yards. About 10 feet of the formation are exposed, lying on 

the irregular surface of the Patuxent formation at an altitude of 20 

feet, and capped by deposits of the Columbia group and street filling. 

The material is greenish-gray, mottled sand containing gravel and 

bowlders in the lower 2 or 3 feet, the coarsest part being at the bottom. 

A rise of the Patuxent surface to the east cuts off the formation near 

Twenty-sixth Street.

Twenty-eigWi Street to Gillis Greek. The Aquia formation is extensively exposed along the base of the hills on Main Street and Williamsburg Avenue from Twenty-eighth Street east to Gillis Creek. On the 

northwest corner of Williamsburg Avenue and Thirtieth Street, just 

above the street level, are 3 feet of coarse brown sand and 5 feet of 

coarser sand of green color variegated with buff blotchings, both 

typical of the formation in its weathered condition. On its surface 

lies the Calvert formation, of which the base consists of clay with 

sandy streaks, clay breccia and ironstone layers. Main Street rises to 

the top of the Aquia formation between Twenty-seventh and Twentyeighth streets, where exposures cease. Williamsburg Avenue rises 

to the top, or very near to it, at Thirty-first Street, and as it descends 

to the southeast this avenue cuts into the formation until between 

Thirty-first and Thirty-second streets the full thickness of 25 feet is 

exposed. The material is sand of mottled brown and green color 

with a 10 to 20 inch deposit of bowlders and pebbles at the base. 

Next below is exposed 4 feet of arkose belonging to the Patuxent 

formation. The top of the Aquia formation extends north from 

this point up the depression followed by the old railroad line to a 

point within a few yards of the»mouth of the tunnel, or approximately 

at the intersection of Thirtieth and Grace streets. The formation 

contains a zone of iron concretions about a foot below the Calvert 

contact. It is all somewhat glauconitic.

There are only a few exposures of Aquia formation in Gillis Creek 

valley. There was formerly a pit for sand in the fiat west of the 

crossing of the National Cemetery Road by the railroad and west of 

a small gully. There are several pits for molding sand and overlying 

gravels south of the National Cemetery Road south of the creek. Its 

basal gravelly bed is in contact with Patuxent formation a half mile 

above that road. The formation -is exposed in stream cuts at the 

dam, where it is capped by deposits of the Columbia group. It does 

not quite reach the mouth of Stony Run.

Almond Creek southward. The Aquia formation is well exposed in

molding sand pits on the east bank of Almond Creek just southeast of

Rocketts, where the thickness is 15 feet from Patuxent to Calvert

contacts. The material is gray and greenish sand mottled with buff.

99488° Bull. 483 ML 2
18 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OF RICHMOND, VA.

It contains a small amount of clay. At the base for about a foot it is 

filled with gravel. This material appears1 again a quarter of a mile 

farther down the creek and on the same side in a pit by the side of the 

road which passes through the brickyards and joins the Osborn Road. 

This exposure can be traced at intervals down the east bank of James 

River, but lies back some distance in ravines heading in the plateau. 

There is a sand near the top of the bank at the brickyards on Maury 

Street near Fourteenth in Manchester which is very like the Aquia in 

appearance.

CHESAPEAKE GROUP 

CALVERT FORMATION.

General relations and character. The plateau at Richmond and to 

the north, east, and southeast is underlain by the dark.clay and sand 

of the Calvert formation, the only formation of the Chesapeake group 

which is present in the Richmond area. Its western margin lies under 

the Lafayette formation along a line extending north from Hollywood 

Cemetery and passing near the Hermitage Road. Along its western 

edge it overlaps on to the granite, but to the east it lies on the Aquia 

formation. It also thickens greatly to the east, for in a well at the 

Jefferson Hotel it is 75 feet thick, in Church Hill tunnel it is 85 feet 

thick, and in the region south of Gillis Creek it exceeds 80 feet. The 

general relations are shown in the section in Plate I. Its base is at 

an altitude of 150 feet in Brook Run, northwest of Brook Hill, at 80 

feet at foot of Pine Street, 62 feet at Jefferson Hotel, 55 feet on Williamsburg Avenue near Thirtieth, 50 feet on Gillis Creek, and 30 feet 

on south bank of Almond Creek, but it appears to rise slightly farther 

south. The small showing of the formation which appears in the 

cut of the Belt Line Railroad, one-half mile northwest of Clopton, is

at an altitude of 175 feet.

The most extensive exposure of the Calvert formation is in the 

steep slopes of the valley of Shockoe Creek, beginning at Franklin 

Street and extending continuously far to the north and west up the 

main valley and its branches (PL III, B}. Its basal contact on the 

Aquia formation is above the valley bottom to Seventh Street, where 

the top of the latter formation passes underground. It extends up 

Bacons Quarter Branch to a point within a few yards of the city 

boundary at Lombardy Street, where its top passes beneath the conglomerate at the base of the Lafayette formation. Apparently it 

rises again from beneath this conglomerate and is exposed in the 

creek at two or three points about one-quarter of a mile east of the 

crossing of Hermitage Road. There are extensive exposures of 

the formation along the east slope of Shockoe Valley and extending 

along the base of the plateau on which Chimborazo Park is situated 

into Gillis Creek valley. Some of the largest outcrops are at Twenty-
DESCRIPTION OF THE ROCKS. 19

first and Grace streets, Twentieth and Marshall streets, and along 

Lester Street and Williamsburg Avenue east from Twenty-seventh 

Street.

The principal material is dark-gray clay, which merges into deposits 

of very fine laminated sand of buff color. In the lower beds there is 

an admixture of diatom remains in variable proportions, notably at a 

horizon from 5 to 20 feet above the base. Some of the material contains so large a proportion of these diatoms that it may be classed 

as "diatomaceous earth," which has some economic value. In its 

imweathered condition the clay of the Calvert formation varies in 

tint from pale dove color, through lead gray, nearly to olive green. 

On weathering, various shades of color result. The portions rich in 

diatom remains become nearly pure white, and other portions 

become brownish gray, yellowish brown, or buff and yellow, depending

upon the degree of oxidation of iron and amount of carbonaceous

matter. The material is very massive when fresh, but after weathering it shows much banding and lamination. Some of this banding is due to alternations of sandy beds with nearly pure clay. There 

is considerable iron pyrites in the deposits, and on weathering this 

gives rise to an acidic iron, solution, which in some places stains the 

beds yellow and in others bleaches out the color to light tints. Much 

of the clay has a sulphurous odor from this source. Shells and 

impressions of shells occur in large numbers in most of the beds.

The diatoms occur mainly in a stratum about 20 feet thick, beginning some 4 feet above the base of the formation, and more sparingly higher in the formation. The richer deposits occur mostly 

iii streaks and irregular masses, grading into clay that contains a 

greatly diminished proportion. It is a mistaken idea that there is a 

thick continuous deposit of high-grade diatomaceous earth underlying Richmond. In Church Hill tunnel, according to Coryell, the 

formation is 85 feet thick, and the diatoms were in large proportion 

50 feet above the base, whereas the basal and top.portions were 

nearly barren of them (PI. IV, A, and fig. 1).

The diatomaceous member is overlain by 20 to 50 feet of gray clay 

containing sand in general admixture and in varying proportions in 

different beds, but the character of this material is exceedingly 

variable. The following description of the formation, especially the 

diatom-bearing member, is from the report of W. B. Rogers, as State 

geologist of Virginia for 1840:

The material in question [diatomaceous earth], composing a thick stratum between 

beds of sand and clay, is more or less mingled with them, particularly in the vicinity 

of its bounding surface. But throughout most of its thickness it presents a very fine 

texture, admitting of being bruised by the fingers into an almost impalpable powder, 

and singularly free from gritty particles. Its color is a very light gray to white, but the 

fragments into which it spontaneously divides at the exposed surface of the stratum 

often present externally a slight ocherous tinge. It is .decidedly, though sometimes
20 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OF RICHMOND, VA.

indistinctly, laminated, the planes of the thin flakes or sheets being horizontal. When 

moistened, it displays considerable tenacity, and hence has hitherto been regarded 

as a fine clay or fuller's earth. Of all its peculiarities, however, capable of being 

readily discovered, its great lightness is the most extraordinary and characteristic. 

When quite free from moisture, a pure specimen has a specific gravity of only 0.33, or 

one-third the weight of water, bulk for bulk.

It is composed almost entirely of microscopic remains of numerous forms of diatoms' 

and rhizopods, many of which are round or oblong disks or cylinders. The former are 

mostly from one one-hundredth to one six-hundredth of an inch in diameter, and the 

latter from one three-hundredth to one four-hundredth of an inch long and one twelvehundredth to one sixteen-hundredth of an inch in diameter, but there are numerous 

smaller ones. They are marked with many intricate features or divisions of the most 

remarkable delicacy of form. The number of individuals in a cubic foot is many 

millions.

This stratum shows itself at nearly the same level on the hillside and in the ravines 

on both sides of the valley of Shockoe Creek and may be traced on the Shockoe Hill 

side of the valley without interruption as far as the crossing of the Hanover Road 

toward the head of the valley and near Turner's mill. From a point on the slope of 

Church Hill a little beyond Butchertown, commanding a view of the hills and ravines 

from the poorhouse down, it is easy to trace the broad belt of this deposit by its surface 

being comparatively deprived of herbage and presenting a white and barren aspect. 

The thickness of the stratum varies at different points from 12 to 25 feet, the most 

striking exposures being those met with in the ravine behind the Monumental Church 

and that between Col. Ambler's and the French Garden. The same or a very similar 

order is observed in the exposures visible on the opposite side of the valley along the 

slope of Church Hill. At the bottom of the ravine we see the upper portion of the 

Eocene and over this the infusorial stratum showing itself plainly and of great thickness at the following points:

1st. Just back of Butchertown on the two roads that extend up the hill.

2d. At the foot of the abrupt base bank which has been cut into north of Main Street 

on Church Hill and thence south nearly to the next street.

Indeed, along the slope of Church Hill, on the other side of the valley, this stratum 

may be found in all the ravines and cuttings at the proper level.

Above the infusorial stratum are lead-colored and ocherous sands and clays sometimes nearly resembling it in color but readily distinguished by their greater heaviness. Those Which belong to the Miocene division of the Tertiary are remarkable for 

containing near and for some distance above the infusorial stratum numerous vegetable 

markings of a vague description, as well as many well-defined impressions of leaves 

and stems; and toward the top impressions of scallop shells (Pecteri) and other Miocene 

fossils. Among the numerous points at which these strata are exposed, the following 

may be mentioned as interesting and easy of access:

1st. On Governor Street as you descend Main Street, where the impressions of 

shells are very numerous.

2d. The steep bank opposite the synagogue. Here the clays near the base abound 

in vegetable impressions, among which are admirably defined leaves. Toward the 

top the more sandy material contains impressions of pectens.

3d. On Church Hill back of Mr. Van Lew's garden and the bare bank exposed along 

the valley side of the hill behind Mr. Greaner's dwelling. The base of this bank 

is on a level with the top of the infusorial bed.

A section in the principal ravine on the west side of the valley of 

Shockoe Creek is given as follows by Rogers:
DESCRIPTION OP THE. ROCKS. 21

At base 3 feet of "lead-colored heavy clay with greenish tinge," 

then 20 feet of infusorial stratum, 6 feet of greenish-brown and leadcolored clays with vegetable impressions, and 14 feet of more sandy 

stratum of mottled gray and yellowish-brown vegetable impressions 

and prints of pectens. In a later description by Rogers, in 1859, 1 he 

stated that the "infusorial deposit" varies in thickness from 20 to 30 

feet on the north side of Shockoe Creek valley and 50 feet on the Church 

Hill side. It is separated from the Eocene by a thin deposit of whitish 

and sometimes ocherous clay mingling toward the top with the lighter 

material of the infusorial stratum. The beds overlying the latter are a 

series of strata consisting of various intermixtures of clay and sand, 

of which the lower is generally a compact, light-colored clay, the next 

a bluish or grayish, more arenaceous mass, and the uppermost an 

argillaceous stratum of light-brown and mottled appearance. The 

total thickness of this series is about 25 feet. There are many fossils, 

among the most common of which are Fusus quadricostatus, Panopsea 

reflexa, and Miocene species of Pecten, Area, Crassitella, Cytherea, 

Venus, Astarte, Turritella, etc. In the lower dark-colored stratum 

are "stems and woody pieces which from microscopic indications 

seem to be coniferous, while on the argillaceous layers both beneath 

and above are prints of dicotyledonous plants." The diatoms are 

microscopic forms of plants which live in salt water as well as fresh, 

and have the power of secreting silica to form their shell or test. 

When the plant dies these minute structures of silica accumulate' on 

the bottom, but undoubtedly a very long period was required for the 

formation of the thick beds which we now find, especially the purer 

layers, which have but little admixture of clay or sand. The diatom 

tests are very beautiful objects under the microscope.

List of diatoms. Stodder has given a list of the species of diatoms 

from various horizons from samples collected in a ravine on the west 

side of Shockoe Hill.2 Four horizons were selected the first, 5 feet 

below the surface of the exposure; the second, 11 feet below; the 

third, 14 feet below; and the last on the north side of the ravine "40 

feet below the top, from a bed apparently the continuation of the 

14-foot bed on the opposite side, the hill being higher on the north 

side." All. the specimens are similar in appearance excepting those 

from the lower bed, which are much darker. The material is very like 

clay, of light-drab color and very low specific gravity. The upper bed 

has a smaller proportion of diatoms, about 20 per cent, but they are 

in more perfect condition, whereas in the deeper beds they are more 

broken. The lower layers contain 50 to 80 per cent of organic forms, 

of which diatoms constitute by far the greater part. The other

1 Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., vol. 7,18C1, pp. 59-64.

2 Idem, vol. 18, 1877, pp. 206-209.
22 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OF RICHMOND, VA.

material is clay and fine silt. The following table shows distribution 

of species, and it will be. noted that the principal difference is in the 

upper or 5-foot layer, for it lacks many of the genera or species of 

the lower strata:

Diatoms in the Miocene deposit at Richmond, Va.

velatus ........................... ........... ........

marginatus. ........................ ^.. ..................

centralis. ................................................

Asterolampra brebissonii Greg ..................' ..................

RHIZOPODS.

Actinisceae:

fibula. ..................................................

Phytolitharia Eh., Spongolithis accicnlaris, S. caputserpentis; spines

5 feet.

X 

X

X

X 

X

X -X 

X

X 

X

X

X 

X 

X

X

X

X

X

XXXXX 

11 feet.

XXXX

XXXXXXXX

X 

X

X 

X

xxxxx

X 

X 

X

X 

X 

X 

X

X

X

xxxxx

XXXX

X

14 feet.

X

X 

X

X 

X 

X

X

X

X 

X

X

xxxx

X

X 

X

X 

X

X

X

40 feet.

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X 

X 

X

X 

X

X 

X 

X

xxxx

X 

X

It has not been thought advisable to attempt to identify all of Ehrenberg's species, 

as his plan was to found a species upon any variation in the number of rays in the 

circular forms of the Diatomacese, a principle now generally rejected.

One striking fact is the great abundance in all the layers of Galionella sulcata Eh.= 

Orthosira marina, W. Smith, which is more numerous in some slides than all the other 

forms together.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 483 PLATE IV

A. CALVERT FORMATION IN CUT NEAR ELEVENTH AND TURPIN STREETS, RICHMOND, VA. 

DIATOM-BEARING CLAYS.

IS. CONTACT OF CALVERT AND AQUIA FORMATIONS IN GULLY AT TWELFTH AND LEIGH 

STREETS, RICHMOND, VA. LOOKING SOUTH.
DESCRIPTION OF THE EOCKS. 23

Basal contact. The contact of the Calvert and Aquia formations 

is exposed at many places along the west side of Shockoe Valley from 

Seventh Street crossing to Broad Street, and'although not everywhere equally distinct there is marked unconformity throughout. 

The top of the Aquia formation is irregularly eroded and faintly channeled with depressions in places an inch or two deep. Some of the 

dark sand of the Aquia formation is mixed with the first deposits of 

the Calvert formation.

An exposure of the contact beginning a few yards northwest of the 

intersection of Leigh and Thirteenth streets extends into the gully 

a few rods north of there and thence for some distance along the foot of 

the slope by Twelfth and Turpin streets. (See PI. IV, B.) Near 

the top of the Aquia formation is a hard layer, in part ferruginous, 

3 to 5 inches thick, grading up into 2 feet of dark-gray sand with

considerable clay admixture. On the irregularly eroded surface of 

the latter lies the base of the Calvert formation, a gray clay with 

many dark sand grains and scattered quartz pebbles. In places 

where the basal Calvert contains much dark sand, the contact is not 

very distinct.

In the cut of the Seaboard Air Line Railway, on the west side of 

Shockoe Creek near the line of Eleventh Street, the contact is 

exposed for 125 feet about 10 feet above the tracks. It is somewhat indistinct owing to the dark color and sandy nature of the basal 

member of the Calvert formation for about a foot above the contact. 

Many scattered pebbles occur in the deposit, and it weathers lighter 

than the underlying Aquia formation. At the top of the latter are 2 

feet of dark sand, grading down into a hard layer 8 inches to 1 foot 

thick, which weathers to a buff or yellow color. In this vicinity 

the diatoms extend down to within a short distance of the contact 

apparently because the plane of contact rises somewhat. There 

are extensive exposures of the Calvert and underlying beds in the 

large gully from the west which empties into Shockoe Creek near 

Eleventh and Balding streets. The basal contact is clearly exhibited and the diatom-bearing deposits extend nearly to the base of 

the Calvert formation. At the base there is, as at other places, considerable sand and scattered pebbles. The contact plane presents 

many small irregularities and in general it shows a slight rise to the 

north and west probably some of it crossing the Calvert strata.

The Calvert-Aquia contact crosses Shockoe Creek just above the 

line of Seventh Street somewhat above the main forks of the creek, 

but it is covered by rilling. It is well exposed for about 100 yards in 

a gully on the west side of the valley a few rods south of this place 

or on a line with Eighth Street. Here it is particularly distinct, for 

at the top of the Aquia formation is 12 feet of dark-colored sand 

and the plane of contact is notably irregular. The gully is cut deep
24 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OF RICHMOND, VA.

into overlying Calvert beds which are diatomaceous down nearly to 

their base. The basal bed is sandy and contains many small scattered 

pebbles of quartz and grains of glauconite.

The Calvert formation and its basal contact are well exposed at 

the. southeast end of Main Street at its junction with Williamsburg 

Avenue at Twenty-eighth Street, and extending around the south 

end of the high bluff to the old railroad tunnel. The contact is 8 

feet above the street grade at Thirtieth Street and Williamsburg 

Avenue, or at about 55 feet above sea level. The brown and green 

mottled sands of the Aquia formation are planed off nearly smooth, 

and on them lies a thin deposit of clay containing sand layers and 

streaks and considerable ironstone. Some brecciated masses of clay 

occur in this layer. Next above is a 4-foot bed of very stiff bluegray clay grading sharply into compact clays containing a large proportion of diatom remains, of which 50 feet or more are exposed up

James 

River

Tide level

Horizontal scale 

1000 aooo 3000 Feet

Vertical scale

so 100 zoo Feet

FIGURE 1. Section across Church Hill, Richmond, Va., along line of old. tunnel, Chesapeake & Ohio 

Railway after M. Coryell. The horizontal broken lines represent Calvert formation; the overlying 

material is Lafayette gravelly orange sand; below is Aquia sand lying on Patuxent sand and gravel.

to the capping of Lafayette formation on the plateau. Williamsburg Avenue rises very nearly to the base of the Calvert formation 

at Thirty-first Street, apparently within 2 feet. The contact extends 

eastward and then north up the depression followed by the old line 

of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway to a point within a few yards of 

the mouth of the tunnel. It is very smooth, has slight local irregularities, and dips gently to the east at a very low rate. The basal 

bed is a dark, tough, sticky clay about 4 feet thick. Its basal portion contains some gray sand and glauconite grams from the underlying Aquia formation. The old tunnel is entirely in the basal portion of the Calvert formation, as shown in figure 1.

The formation is largely exposed on the north side of the valley 

of Gillis Creek in banks 10 .to 50 feet high. The material is dark, 

clay containing diatom remains which are in considerable proportion 

in some beds. The richly diatomaceous material weathers out in soft
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

A. CALVERT FORMATION ON GRANITE ON NORTH BANK OF JAMES RIVER, 

NEAR FOOT OF PINE STREET, RICHMOND, VA,

COLUMBIA GROUP ON PATUXENT FORMATION ON SOUTH BANK OF GILLIS CREEK, NEAR 

ITS MOUTH, RICHMOND, VA.
DESCRIPTION OF THE ROCKS. 25

chalky masses of light weight and nearly pure white color. The 

basal contact is exposed just north of the National Cemetery Road 

in the bed of a small creek near the line of the prolongation of Broad 

Street or just west of the point where that road crosses Gillis Creek. 

The contact is near the level of the road. The Calvert formation is 

well exposed on the south side of the valley from the National Cemetery Road northward and they extend down to the creek a short 

distance west of the main road crossing at the mouth of Stony Run. 

Western margin. The western margin of the Calvert formation 

extends across the edges of the Aquia and Patuxent formations, as 

shown in the section in Plate I, to an irregular line extending along 

the east side of Hollywood Cemetery and near the Hermitage Road 

to a point not far west of Brook Hill. Possibly in the higher part 

of the western portion of Richmond it extends some distance west of

the line, as far even as Acca. There are exposures of the thin edge

of the formation lying on granite in the railroad cuts on the north 

bank of the river at the foot of Pine and Laurel streets. A view of 

a portion of the exposure is shown in Plate V, A.

The material at this place is fine, loamy sand containing a few 

pebbles and quartz fragments in its basal portion. The thickness 

is about 6 feet. The contact is very irregular, being marked by 

channels or pot holes, one of which is shown in Plate V, A. Nearer 

Pine Street there is considerable gravel in the basal part. The formation thins out to the west, but owing to the presence of talus it was 

not possible to locate its margin; it may extend into Hollywood 

Cemetery back some distance from the river. The formation thickens 

to the east and 20 feet appear in the bank near the foot of First 

Street. It was formerly exposed in the steep slopes of the park 

just opposite, and it is penetrated by the railroad tunnel under Byrd 

Street between Third and Fourth streets.

The formation was penetrated by the well at the Hotel Jefferson, 

of which the following record is given:

Record ofivell at Hotel Jefferson, Richmond, Va.

Feet. 

Soil and gravel (Lafayette)................................... 0- 43

Yellow clay................................................. 43- 4-5

Black clay................................................... 45- 75

Sand....................................................... 75- 90

Sand with shells and a little water.........................'... 90-102

Blue clay.................................................... 102-118

Soft granite.................................................. 118-123

Hard and soft granite with water at 410 and 438 feet............ 123-445

The Calvert and overlying Lafayette formations are 98 feet thick 

at the brewery on the corner of Harrison and Clay streets, where a 

well reached the granite at that depth.
26 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY Of RICHMOND, VA.

The cuts of the Ashland Railroad just northwest of Brook Hill 

expose 50 to 60 feet of the Calvert formation, part of which consists 

of fine buff sand in layers. A mile farther north, on the north side 

of Brook Run, material of this kind extends down to the granite, 

although there is slight possibility that some of it may be Aquia.

The Calvert formation is exposed at intervals along the slopes of 

the highlands on the south side of the Chickahominy Valley. One 

notable exposure of 30 feet of beds is in a gully below the dam of a 

pond 1J miles southeast of Huntslet. Many fossils occur at this 

place.

Outlier south, of Manchester. The typical gray clay of the formation is exposed for a few rods in a cut of the Belt Line Railroad half 

a mile west of Clopton. It is the top of a low mound which rises 8 

feet above the railroad under a heavy mantle of Lafayette formation. 

This formation may underlie an area of considerable extent in the 

ridges southwest of Manchester, but at all other points the Lafayette 

appears to come down to the granite or to the level of the upper edge 

of deposits of the Columbia group to the east.

Analyses. An analysis of material collected by H. Ries 1 from 

Seventh Street near the locomotive works is as follows:

Analysis of clay of Calvert formation at Richmond, Va. 

[Made at Virginia Polytechnic Institute.]

Silica (SiO2) ........................................................................

Lime (CaO). ........................................................................

Potash (K2 0) .......................................................................

Soda (Na2O) ........................................................................

Titanic oxide (Ti02 )... .........................................................;...

A

70.42 

15. 15 

5.17 

.14 

.79 

2.24 

.39 

.44 

5.21

 99.95

B

03.17 

19.30 

G.32 

.00 

.09 

2.45 

.09 

.88 

0.39

99.95

The material of sample A was somewhat weathered and contained 

but few diatoms. Sample B was collected from the same locality but 

deeper in the bank. The weathered material was much more siliceous 

and contains a small amount of fine particles and soluble substances 

due probably to the action of water on the exposed surface.

Another analysis of the diatom deposits from Shockoe Creek valle%y 

was made by J. M. Cabel in 1884 2 at the State University. The 

sample was collected from the middle of the bank just below the 

colored normal school on President Hill and consists almost entirely 

'of diatoms. It was white with a tinge of yellow, and a mass of it 

covered with varnish had specific gravity .922. The specific gravity 

of the powder was 2.321.

1 Preliminary report on clays of Virginia: Bull. Virginia Geol. Survey No. 2,1900, p. 143.

2 University of Virginia University Notes, 110; The Virginias, vol. 0,1885, p. 3.
DESCRIPTION OF THE ROCKS."

Analysis of diatom deposit at Richmond, Va..

Silica (Si02)................................................... 75= G8

Alumina (A1203).............................................. 9. 88

Iron oxide (Fe2 03 )...............................................2. 92

'Lime (CaO).................................................... .29

Magnesia (MgO)................................................ . G9

Potash (K20).. ................................................ .02

Soda (Na20)................................................... .08

Nitrogenous matter (N.rG) ...................................... .84

Water (by H2S04 ).......................................... 3. 37

Water at 100° C............................................ 1.17

(Less N) by ignition...................................... 3. 83

98.77

' On boiling in 20 per cent solution of sodium hydrate it was found 

that somewhat more than one-third of the silica was dissolved; a

small additional amount dissolved in another hour and over 50 per 

cent remained insoluble.

LAFAYETTE FORMATION.

General relations and character. The plateau surface lying between 

the larger valleys of the Coastal Plain is covered by a thin sheet of 

Lafayette formation which also extends westward into portions of 

the Piedmont province. It consists of sand, gravel, and loam, mostly 

of pale orange tint, about 30 feet thick. Its surface is remarkably 

smooth and it mantles unconformably an equally remarkably smooth 

eroded surface of the older formations. In the Richmond region it 

lies on the Calvert formation to the east and overlaps on to the granites 

to the west. It slopes to the east at a rate of about 5 feet to the 

mile in the eastern part and 20 feet or more to the mile in the granite 

region. It also slopes down into the larger drainage basins, which 

evidently were outlined before the deposition of the formation. This 

 local downward slope is well exhibited in the ridge next south of 

Gillis Creek east of Rocketts and in slopes west of Clopton and along 

.James River above Richmond and Manchester.

The Lafayette formation has been removed along the valleys of 

James and Chickahominy rivers and their affluents. The smaller 

branches of the lesser creeks, however, head in the formation and 

there are wide areas on the divides where the plateau is not incised 

by drainage and the run-off is sluggish or imperfect and there is considerable seepage underground.

Exposures. There are some excellent exposures of Lafayette deposits in gravel pits in the north slope of the valley of Bacons Quarter 

Branch, one-fourth mile beyond the city boundary (Lombardy 

Street). The cuts show 10 feet of the formation. The upper 3 feet 

is red loam, which grades down into gravel and coarse buff sands, 

partly arkosic. Pebbles nearly an inch in diameter predominate, 5
28 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OF RICHMOND, VA.

per cent being 2 inches and a few as much as 4 inches. All the 

pebbles lie flat and the deposit has an obscure bedding. Some are 

white, others more or less deeply stained orange. Quartzite predominates, but some pebbles and bowlders are quartz and a very 

few are granites and other crystalline rocks. The red loam at the top 

thickens to the north and shows pebbly streaks. At one place it is 

underlain by a layer of gray clay 20 inches thick, pebbly at the base 

but giving place abruptly to the gravel bed below. In part of this 

exposure the gravel bed is banded in lighter and darker buff-brown 

and pinkish tints of varying thickness and continuity. Here the base 

of the formation is coarse brown conglomerate lying on an irregular 

surface of the Calvert formation. It appears in the creek just east of 

Lombard Street and again at a point halfway between that street 

and Hermitage Road crossing. Fine exposures of the Lafayette are 

presented just south of the point where Hermitage Road crosses 

Bacons Quarter Branch.

There are numerous deep cuts in the Lafayette formation in the 

plateau on the east side of Shockoe Valley, notably at Marshall 

Street and Twentieth and Twenty-first streets, where the lower member, 8 to 15 feet thick of sand and gravelly sands, grades up into an 

upper member of orange loam. In the shafts descending to the old 

Church Hill tunnel the formation was 30 feet thick according to 

Coryell 1 (see fig. 1, p. 24), and in the well at Hotel Jefferson it was 

43 feet to the base of the gravel, lying on yellow clay of the Calvert 

formation.

The long cuts of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway through the 

divide northeast, of Highland Park present extensive exposures of the 

Lafayette formation. The principal material is an orange loam, 

some portions having a buff tint. It is mostly fine grained, but the 

lower beds contain much gravel. The cuts of the Ashland Railroad

near Brook Hill are in Lafayette formation for some distance. The 

material is orange loam, gravelly at the base. There are deep cuts in 

the formation along the Belt Line Railroad on both sides of James 

River. The deepest cuts begin near Clopton and extend west for more 

than a mile. In places they are 30 feet deep. The material is the 

common sandy loam of orange tint, but there are many irregular 

streaks of gravel and some clay. There is much crossbedding of the 

coarser materials and local unconformities. The changes in character 

of sediments are numerous and abrupt. That the orange tint is deepened by weathering is plainly shown in one cut through a rounded 

knoll, where the deeper orange tint extends to a depth of about 6 feet 

and curves closely parallel to the surface. There are very instructive 

cuts along the Belt Line Railroad a short distance north of the bridge

1 Coryell, Martin, Diatomacpous sands of Richmond, Va.: Proc. Am. Inst. Min. Eng., vol. 4, p. 230; 

The Virginias, vol. 2, 1881, pp. 6-7.
DESCRIPTION OF THE BOCKS. 29

over James River. There the Lafayette lies on the crystalline rocks with 

many irregularities of contact and variations in composition. The 

upper part is a bright orange sandy loam; lower down are streaks and 

lenses of gravel exhibiting much cross-bedding. Half-a mile northeast is the yard of the West End Brick Co., where there is an extensive 

exposure of the orange sandy loam which caps the plateau on which 

Richmond is built. At .the top is 6 feet of bright orange red loam. 

It grades down into mottled buff and red loam. A view of this 

exposure is given in Plate X, B.

The Lafayette formation mantling the plateau west of Manchester 

presents its common characteristics of orange sand or loam with 

more or less gravel intermixed. The top member is an orange-tinted 

sandy loam from 3 to 6 feet thick. The most extensive exposures 

are those above mentioned along the Belt Line Railroad. There are 

cuts also on Semmes Avenue near Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth 

streets, exposing 6 feet of bowldery orange loam with pebbly streaks 

lying on decomposed granite. Some of the bowlders are a foot in

diameter.

COLUMBIA GROUP UNDIFFEBENTIATED.

The terraces in the lower part of Richmond and along James River 

southward are occupied by loams, sands, and gravels of the Columbia 

group, which also floors the valley of Chickahominy River and extends 

up the valleys of Shockoe, Gillis, and Almond creeks. The thickness 

of most of the deposits ranges from 20 to 30 feet and the altitude 

ranges from sea level to slightly over 100 feet.

There are remains of two terraces of the Columbia group in the 

south central part of Richmond. The higher one, with an altitude 

of about 85 feet, constitutes a very distinct bench occupied by the 

old canal basin and Byrd Street depot. It may extend to the corner 

of Main and Twelfth streets and on Canal Street it extends almost or 

quite to the corner of Seventh Street. The deposits are well exposed 

on Seventh Street between Byrd and Brace streets and on Tenth 

Street above and below Byrd Street. Deposits of the Columbia 

group at a lower level are exposed in the east end of the inclosed yard 

of the Tredegar Iron Works, at the foot of Seventh Street. The 

altitude here is about 50 feet, and 8 feet of gravelly sand are exposed, 

in part stratified. Considerable sand lying on granite on the east 

end of Mayo Island is probably post-Columbian.

A wide area of deposits of the Columbia group extends along the 

east side of Shockoe Creek valley and thence along the river bank to 

Thirtieth Street. Main Street traverses them from the creek crossing 

nearly to Twenty-seventh Street. They constitute a sloping plain 

which rises to an altitude of 77 feet at the corner of Main and Twentysixth streets and terminates in a low bluff with an altitude of 28 to 40
30 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OF BICHMOND, VA.

feet just south of Carey Street from Nineteenth to Thirtieth Street. 

This bluff exposes buff sandy loam with pebbly streaks lying on the 

Patuxent formation and near Twenty-fifth Street on the Aquia formation. In the deep cut of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway at 

Rocketts Street the Columbia lying on the Patuxent is a buff loam 

with sandy layers and pebbly streaks, its top being about 44 feet 

above sea level. A narrow strip of the terrace extends along the 

south side of Williamsburg Avenue in the vicinity of Thirty-first and 

Thirty-second streets, rising nearly to an altitude of 50 feet. Near 

the bank of Shockoe Creek at Turpin and Thirteenth streets is a 

small mass of deposits of the Columbia group. It has been dug for 

gravel and consists of sand and gravel irregularly intermixed or 

interbedded.

Columbia deposits are well exposed, capping the 40-foot bluff 

which extends along the river bank from Rocketts nearly to 

Almond Crjeek. At the top are 3 to 4 feet of brown loam, which 

thickens to the east and is extensively worked for brick clay on" the 

flat terrace extending to the base of the hills. Next below is a gray 

loam containing scattered pebbles and lying on brown sand which 

rests on the Patuxent formation.

There are long exposures in the railroad cuts in the southern part of 

Rockets, where the Columbia group lies on the arkosic sands of the 

Patuxent formation. The lower beds contain a large number of 

bowlders, some of them 3 to 4 feet in diameter, derived from many 

kinds of rocks, including granites, gneiss, quartzite, and other crystalline rocks, and sandstone. This member grades upward into sand 

and sandy loam 10 to 20 feet thick.

There are three terraces of the Columbia group on the west side of 

James River east and southeast of Manchester. The first is the 

freshet plain, the second is about 20 feet higher, and the third is 30 feet

still higher. The first two are fiat, but the surface of the highest one 

is rolling. Granite appears in the steeper slopes and juts up at intervals in the terraces.

In the railroad cuts near the intersection of Semmes and Co warden 

streets the Columbia group capping decomposed granite is well 

exposed. It is 8 to 10 feet thick and consists of gray graveUy loam. 

At Seventh and McDonough streets there is a 20-foot cut in fine brown 

loam containing very few small streaks of gravel; this loam was at one 

time worked for brick clay. At McDonough and Fifth streets the 

railroad cut exposes granite capped by brown loam with many 

bowlders and pebbles.

The Columbia deposit near Goode Creek lies on granite. It is a loam 

with pebbly streaks and has many bowlders in the basal portion. It 

extends west at an altitude of 110 to 115 feet to the Atlantic Coast 

Line Railroad where there is a rapid rise to the Lafayette plain.
GRANITE. 31

A fragment of a Columbia terrace extends up the small branch 

of Gillis Creek, which empties a few rods west of the point where the 

National Cemetery Road crosses that creek. The beds constitute a 

small, narrow flat and end upstream with sharp boundaries on 

adjoining slopes at about 80 feet above sea level. The Columbia 

group extends up Gillis Creek valley in a terrace nearly one-quarter of 

a mile wide, but the deposits are cut through nearly as far as the 

Charles City Road crossing, where there is a wide flat. The Columbia 

group extends some distance up Stony Run valley, where two faint 

terrace levels are presented.

ECONOMIC GEOLOGY.

GRANITE. 

GENEKAL CHAKACTEE.

The massive granite which comes to the surface over a large area

in the western part of Richmond is in greater part well suited for 

building stone of the highest grade and the supply is inexhaustible. 

It has been quarried extensively for many years and furnished most 

satisfactory material for a large number of buildings in Richmond 

and elsewhere. One of the most notable structures built partly of it 

is the State, War, and Navy Department building in Washington, the 

rock for which came from theWestham quarries. The granite is of 

bluish-gray to light-gray color, remarkably uniform in composition 

and texture, and free from minerals which cause staining or decomposition. Like most granites it darkens somewhat on long ^exposure 

to the weather. The rock is so massive that blocks of the largest 

sizes can be worked, and large bodies of it are so free from irregularities in texture or color that dimension stone which will match 

perfectly may be obtained in any quantity desired. There are two 

principal varieties one a light-gray rock of moderately coarse grain, 

which is used for building, and the other a finer-grained, darker 

bluish-gray rock, which is selected for monumental work. Nearly 

all of the granite is jointed in such a manner that it can be worked 

with great convenience and the presence of heavy flat jointing or 

"sheeting" is especially advantageous. Ordinarily the joints are 

so widely spaced that they cause but little waste in quarrying. 

The surface of the granite is decomposed to a moderate extent in 

most parts of the area, but the depth to solid rock is seldom greater 

than 5 feet. In some localities the unweathered granite is found at 

the surface. The amount of cover or "overburden" varies greatly 

with the locality. On the high plateau surfaces the covering of 

Lafayette formation may be 30 feet thick, but on the slopes of the 

larger depressions the granite comes almost or quite to the surface, 

and but little stripping is necessary. In places the granite is cut by
32 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OF RICHMOND, VA.

narrow dikes of pegmatite and some portions contain knots of darker 

or lighter rock, but these materials affect little of the stone.

QUARRIES SOUTH OF JAMES RIVER.

There are 23 large quarries in the vicinity of Richmond, but some 

of them are not in operation and most of those that have been 

abandoned are full of water. Some details regarding quarries have 

been published by Watson.1 Views of several representative workings are shown in Plates VI to VIII, which illustrate the conditions 

of quarrying, the nature of the jointing, and other features of the 

industry.

Granite station on the Richmond & Danville branch of the Southern 

Railway, about 4 miles west of Richmond, is an important center 

of the granite industry. A few rods north of the station is a large 

quarry now worked by Alvin Netherwood for building stone, paving 

blocks, and crushed stone. About an acre of the granite has been 

stripped and excavated to a depth of 30 feet. The present working 

faces are 250 feet long on one side of the quarry and 125 feet long on 

the other. A large amount of dimension stone is being produced for 

shipment to various places. The rock is jointed into very thick, 

nearly horizontal sheets, and there is also vertical jointing at various 

intervals, which features facilitate the excavation of large blocks. 

Most of the granite is of light-gray color, moderately coarse texture, 

and uniform tint, so far as can be judged by the fresh material. A 

few rods north is the old State quarry, not now in operation. There 

are two deep openings, one of thsm 600 feet long and 200 feet wide. 

It is stated that material for "the present Richmond post office was 

obtained at this quarry. The granite, which is of medium tint and 

texture, presents the usual heavy horizontal jointing as well as vertical joints andls cut by a few small pegmatite dikes. Watson found 

a mass of banded gneiss in the lower side of the larger opening, but its 

relations are not exposed.

A short distance southwest of Granite station are several large 

quarries, among them the Mackintosh and the Middendorf. The 

former is probably the largest quarry now being worked in the State. 

The working area is about 2 acres and a portion has been excavated 

to a depth of 40 feet. There is a nearly horizontal jointing, which 

gives the rock a bedded structure favorable for quarrying and'also 

numerous nearly vertical joints trending about N. 10° W. and N. 

65° E. In places considerable stripping is necessary. The quarry 

is equipped with machinery for large output of dimension stone 

and the material is of most satisfactory quality and appearance. 

Most of it is of moderately light color and grain, but there is also

'Watson, T. L., Granites of the southeastern Atlantic States: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey. No. 426, 

1910.
BULLETIN 433 PLATE VI

.1. BELLE ISLAND GRANITE QUARRY, FACE AND CRUSHER, FROM NORTH BANK OF JAMES RIVER,

IN UPPER RICHMOND, VA.

B. SMITH GRANITE QUARRY, ON SOUTH BANK OF JAMES RIVER, 2 MILES ABOVE RICHMOND,
GRANITE. . 33

i

some of the finer-grained, darker rock. The product of this quarry 

was used extensively in the State capitol at Richmond.

The Smith quarry, formerly well known as the Netherwood, is an 

extensive opening on the high south bank of James River, about 2£ 

miles west of Richmond.. It is said to have been in operation for 

over 65 years. The quarry is about 200 feet long, 200 feet wide, 

with a working face about 40 feet high. Part of this face is shown 

in Plate VI, B. Two varieties of rock are found one fine grained 

and of bluish appearance, used for monumental work, and the other 

light gray and coarser grained, worked for building stone, paving 

blocks, crushed stone, etc. As in most of the quarries, there is a nearly 

horizontal system of joints, dividing the granite into sheets from 2 to 

20 feet thick, and a vertical system, trending northeast and northwest, cutting these sheets into huge blocks. Dimension stone of any 

desired size and of remarkable uniformity in color and texture can 

be obtained. The fine-grained stone is in a thick vertical mass, which 

cuts the coarse grained variety, but merges into it in a short distance. 

Another mass of fine-grained granite in the western part of the quarry 

is separated by a vertical fault along which the rock is considerably 

shattered for a few feet1 on either side. Small streaks of the rock 

are too coarse grained or pegmatitic for use in building, but this 

material is utilized for paving blocks or crushed.

Half a mile above the Smith quarry there is a smaller opening 

known as the Wray quarry, which yields dimension stone and paving 

blocks of moderately coarse-grained granite of exceptionally good 

quality. It is on the south bank of the river and slightly above the 

level of the railroad tracks. The flat jointing is well developed here 

and the thick sheets of granite dip gently to the southeast. There is 

widely spaced jointing trending east and west and north and south. 

The quarry face is about 40 feet long and 30 feet high.

The next quarry on the south bank of the river comprises a series 

of large openings made by the James River Granite Corporation. It 

is on the south side of the Southern Railway, half a mile below the 

crossing of the Belt Line Railroad. The working face is about 110 

feet long and 40 to 50 feet high. At the top is about 12 feet of gravel 

belonging to the Lafayette formation, which has to be stripped. 

The horizontal jointing is not so well developed here as in some of 

the other quarries. There are strong vertical joints, mostly trending northeast and southwest. The material is of fine uniform texture 

and mostly of dark blue-gray color. The rock is cut by numerous 

dikes of/pegmatite and there is a dike of light-colored granite cutting the dark-gray rock in the west end of the quarry. Formerly 

some excellent dimension stone was quarried here, but now the product is crushed rock for road material and concrete work. This 

material sells for about $1 a ton, free on board at Richmond. 

99488° Bull. 483 11 3
34 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OF RICHMOND, VA.

There are high banks of excellent coarse-grained gray granite 

extending continuously along the south side of James River below 

.Smith quarry to Manchester, but the rock is not quarried. There is 

however, a small old quarry at the south end of the bridge to Belle 

Island. It has a 30-foot face showing massive coarse-grained granite 

with considerable variation in color from place to place. The flat 

jointing is well marked, the joints having low inclination to the southeast, and there are wide-spaced vertical joints. '

The ledges on Belle Island have been extensively quarried by the 

Old Dominion Iron & Nail Works mainly to furnish crushed rock 

for road material and concrete. The quarry face, 60 feet highland 

the crusher are shown in Plate VI, A. The horizontal sheeting of 

the granite is well marked. On the granite there is a cap of gravel 

and loam belonging to the Columbia group, 5 to 15 feet thick, which 

has to be stripped. There are two varieties of the rock, one light 

colored and coarse grained and the other darker colored and finer 

grained; also scattered pegmatite dikes.

There are two granite quarries south of Manchester one, now 

abandoned, on the west bank of James River just below the mouth 

of Goode Creek, and the other, known as the McGowan quarry, on 

Broad Branch Run a few hundred yards east of the Petersburg Pike. 

The McGowan quarry is an extensive producer of granite of exceptionally fine quality used mainly for monuments. The principal 

working face in the quarry is shown in Plate VII, A. The overburden 

-of Columbia deposits and decomposed rock which has to be stripped 

is about 5 feet thick. The opening is about 125 feet square and 20 

to 40 feet deep. The nearly flat jointing is well developed, and the 

vertical joints are so widely spaced that very large blocks are obtainable. The color and texture of most of the granite are remarkably 

uniform, and the quarry is capable of producing a large amount of

dimension stone.

The old quarry on the west bank of James River at the mouth of 

Goode Creek has been worked largely for riprap and crushed rock. 

The excavation is about 100 feet long and 30 to 40 feet deep and 

considerable stripping is necessary. Some of the rock is much broken 

and cut by pegmatite dikes, but other portions would afford good 

dimension stone of medium color and moderately fine even grain.

The old Westham and Green quarries, on the south bank of James 

River a mile northwest of Granite station, are not now in operation. 

They were extensively -worked in years past and show very large 

working faces of high-grade rock in very thick beds.

QUARRIES NORTH OF JAMES RIVER.

The largest quarries north of Richmond are those of the Richmond 

Granite Co., on Brook Run a short distance northeast of Morrison
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 483 PLATE VII

McGOWAN GRANITE QUARRY, ON BROAD ROCK BRANCH, NEAR PETERSBURG PIKE, 3 MILES 

SOUTH OF MANCHESTER, VA.

11. ONE OF THE QUARRIES OF THE RICHMOND GRANITE CO. JUST EAST OF THE RICHMOND, 

FREDERICKSBURG & POTOMAC RAILROAD, 4 MILES NORTHWEST OF RICHMOND, VA. SHOWS

DIAGONAL JOINTING.
BULLETIN 483 PLATE VIII

.1. GRANITE QUARRY OF J. A. McCLOY, ON GROVE AVENUE, IN WESTERN PART OF RICHMOND, VA.

^

l:. UPPER C_AY AT uA/.s BRICKYARDS, ON MAURY STREET, MANCHESTER. VA.
GRANITE! 35

station on the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad. One 

of the principal openings is shown in Plate VII, B, which is near 

the eastern end of the property. The workings extend for 600 feet 

along the hill slope, and portions of them are 40 feet deep, so that the 

amount of granite in sight is very great. There is heavy horizontal 

"bedding" in part of the area and well-pronounced diagonal joints, 

trending northeast and northwest, some of which are shown in Plate 

VII, B. Most of the rock is very massive and of uniform texture 

and color, yielding very high-grade dimension stone of any size 

desired. There are local developments of irregularly coarse-grained 

rock, but it does not interfere with the quarrying. A small amount 

of gravel and sand has to be stripped and some of the surface rock is 

too much decomposed to be used. Considerable granite from this 

quarry is cut into paving blocks, and the waste is crushed for concrete

and road metal.

The McCloy quarry is on the western margin of the city of Richmond about 500 yards west of the new reservoir. The working face 

is about 100 feet long and 20 feet high, and there is a thin capping of 

sand and gravel of the Lafayette formation which has to be stripped. 

A portion of the workings is shown in Plate VIII, A. The rock 

is fine-grained bluish-gray and generally of uniform composition, 

texture, and color. The horizontal jointing, so general in the Richmond region, is well developed and there are also wide-spaced upright 

joints trending in various directions and sloping to different degrees. 

A moderate amount of dimension and monumental stone of superior 

} quality is now produced, together with paving blocks and crushed 

stone. The quarry could be opened much more extensively and a 

large quantity of high-grade material could be obtained easily.

The Winston quarry is on the north bank of James River near 

the James River branch of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, about 

4 miles west of Richmond. It is in a bluff with a working face about 

100 feet high opened over an area of about 1 acre. The common 

horizontal jointing is a prominent feature together with steep dipping 

joints, which trend N. 5° W. and N. 30°-70° E. The granite is 

sheeted with sheets thickest at the bottom and thinnest at the top. 

This quarry is capable of furnishing dimension stone in large amount, 

but has been worked mainly to supply crushed stone and rough 

blocks. Several other quarries have been worked along the same 

bluff above and below the Winston openings and all present the same 

features.

SHIPPING.

There are excellent facilities for shipping in most parts of the 

Richmond granite area, for it is traversed by several railroads. The 

only quarry on tidewater is the abandoned one on the west bank
36 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OF RICHMOND, VA.

of the James River at the mouth of Goode Creek, but it is only a 

short haul from other quarries to barges and other means of water 

transportation to all parts of the east coast of the United.States. 

Above the old Manchester bridge the James River is not navigable, 

but the canal follows the foot of the granite bluffs on the north side 

of the stream. The quarries near Granite and on the south bank 

of James River have their outlet by the Southern Railway; the 

McGowan quarry is on a spur of the Seaboard Air Line Railway, and 

the Richmond Granite Co.'s quarries are on a spur of the Richmond, 

Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad. The expense of getting the 

stone to market is relatively small as compared with the cost of preparing it in the quarry and shop. As the demand for stone increases, 

new quarries could be opened at many points along both banks of 

James River and also in the Brook Run and other smaller valleys 

which traverse the granite area. These could easily be reached by 

spurs from the various railroads. t

Nearly all of the granite is workable, although some portions of it 

are of better quality than others, and the items of stripping, drainage, 

and jointing are factors of greater or less importance. The principal need is to create an increased demand by securing contracts 

which now go to other granite markets. A necessary condition also 

is to manage the quarry so as to fulfill contracts rapidly and with 

stone of satisfactory character as to color and finish.

BRICK CLAY.

There are extensive deposits of loamy clays constituting portions 

of the Columbia group and the Lafayette formation in the Richmond region, and the clays of the Calvert formation may prove to 

be suitable for brick making. There are many brickyards utilizing 

the clays Of the Columbia group and in two places the loams of the 

Lafayette are used. Most of the brick produced are not of especially 

high grade. They are used locally and scarcely supply the present 

active demand. Some of the yards use primitive methods of treatment and burning, and with more modern methods the product could 

be materially improved. The largest plant is that of the Fuller Brick 

Co., on the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway 4 miles southeast of the cityr 

where high-class methods are employed.

The clay used in the Richmond region is more or less mottled, 

gritty, yellow or reddish, some of it sandy and much of it contains 

streaks of pebbles and large bowlders, which differ in amount in 

adjoining yards. The clay differs in quality, even in the space of 

a single working face, and a combination of the varieties has been 

found to produce the best results. The depth of the clay varies 

from 6 to 18 feet, and in most areas the clay is underlain by a bed of 

sand.
BRICK CLAY. 37

A. detailed investigation of the brick clay of Virginia has been 

made by Heinrich Hies * for the Geological Survey of Virginia, and 

most of the following data are taken from' his report.

COLUMBIA GROUP.

Manchester. Four yards are in operation in Manchester, just 

across the river from Richmond. They are all in the vicinity of 

Knight and Maury streets. These yards manufacture soft-mud 

brick, but they also produce a small amount of pressed brick. The 

clay used is more or less mottled, gritty, yellow or reddish, and 

is covered by a thin layer of sandy soil and commonly underlain 

by a bed of sand. In the yard of Green & Harrison the underlying granite is reached. The clays in general are very tough and 

plastic, but portions are sandy, and some contain a variable quantity of stony material which ranges in size from small pebbles to 

large bowlders, most of these being of crystalline character. This

stony material is not uniformly distributed through all the clay, 

but lies in streaks, the greatest quantity occurring in the yards of 

W. J. Ready and Green & Harrison.

The yards of W. J. Ready, G. E. Redford, and W. B. Davis adjoin. 

Ready's has the deepest pit, and it also lies at a slightly lower level, 

for the upper surface of the clay is uneven and slopes toward the 

river. The thickness of the clay is said to be 18 feet and over. The 

clay is somewhat similar to that found in the neighboring yards, but 

it varies rather markedly in character, containing more stones and 

bowlders. Three different kinds are recognized in a. working face 

about 200 feet long; of these only one, that from the northwest 

corner of the bank, can be used alone with good results. The clay 

from the west side of the bank is too tough and would crack on 

drying or burning, so it is tempered by admixture with the very 

sandy clay in the southeast corner of the bank. Analyses and tests 

of these clays are given below.

In Redford's yard the clay is from 12 to 17 feet thick, but the 

working face has a height of only 6 to 8 feet. It is a mottled, gritty 

clay with mica fragments and many limonite stains scattered through 

it, and it contains also many decomposed pebbles of crystalline rock. 

The material is red burning. The pit is a large shallow excavation, 

and the run of the bank is used,'for the clay, like that in Ready's 

yard, varies in physical character and unless mixed yields imperfect 

products. The bricks are molded by hand, dried in open yards, and 

burned in updraft kilns with permanent side walls. The fuel is wood 

or coal.

Davis's yard, on Fourteenth Street just south of Maury, contains a 

large shallow pit, with a working face 8 to 12 feet high. (See Pis.

1 Preliminary report on a part of the clays of Virginia: Bull. Virginia Geol. Survey, No. 2.
38 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OF EICHMOND, VA.

VIII, B, and IX; A.) The clay is like that used in Redford;s yard, but 

contains fewer stones. From the evidence of a 16-foot well in the 

yard it is believed that the clay is 20 to 25 feet thick and underlain 

by whitish sand. The brick, which are of the soft-mud variety, are 

made in a Hercules machine, dried in open yards, and burned in 

updraft kilns with permanent side walls. The fuel is wood and coal. 

The capacity is about 50,000 a day.

The Green & Harrison yard is just 'east of Ready's. It has a small 

pit, and a portion of the clay contains many bowlders. In its northwest corner the granite has been reached.

Rocketts. The Fulton Brick Co. operates a yard for common brick 

west of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway roundhou'se. It is commonly spoken of as the Westford yard. The clay is removed to a 

depth of about 10 feet. Portions of it contain many cobblestones. 

It is underlain by a fine sand, at least 8 feet thick, which is used for 

sanding the brick molds. The clay is tempered in ring pits, molded 

by hand, and burned in Dutch kilns.

Two yards are operated by the Baltimore Brick Co. at Rocketts, 

near the intersection of Ohio and Williamsburg avenues. The clay 

is tempered in ring pits, molded by hand, and burned in Dutch kilns. 

It is dug from pits in the vicinity of the yard and averages from 15 

to 18 feet in thickness, being underlain by sand. The clay is similar to 

that in the yards at Manchester, but lacks the stones and bowlders. 

In the southern yard the clay is molded by hand and burned in Dutch 

kilns. The product has a good ring, but is not very smooth or bright 

in color.

Southeast of this yard is one "operated by Maynard & Powers. It 

is stated that the clay runs 20 feet in depth and is underlain by a 

bluish-gray sand. The working face is about 12 feet high and shows 

a sandy, mottled, yellowish-brown, and gritty clay similar to that 

occuring in the other pits in the vicinity. A sample (No. 1300) 

representing run of the bank was analyzed and tested, with results 

given below. The clay is tempered in ring pits, molded by hand, 

dried in open yards, and burned in Dutch kilns. A dry-pressed 

bricklet burned to cone 1 had a fire shrinkage of 4 per cent and 

burned to a light-red color. The clay is classed as a common .brick 

clay which burned steel-hard and had an excellent color at cone 05. 

It gives a rather rich red at cone 1, but at cone 3"the color is too deep 

to be attractive.

LAFAYETTE FORMATION.

Fort Lee. A group of yards is located at Fort Lee on the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, about 4£ miles southeast of Richmond. The 

general run of clays is like those used nearer Richmond, but the 

stony material is lacking.
U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 483 PLATE IX

A. MAIN WORKING FACE OF DAVIS BRICKYARDS ON MAURY STREET, MANCHESTER, VA. SHOWING

COLUMBIA FORMATION.

11. TYPICAL FACE OF BRICK CLAY AT ROCKETTS, RICHMOND, VA. SHOWING COLUMBIA FORMATION.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 483 PLATE X

.1. LAFAYETTE FORMATION IN BRICKYARD OF FULLER CO., WEAK FuKi i_tt, 3 MlLES 

SOUTHEAST OF RICHMOND, VA.

IS. WORKING FACE OF LAFAYETTE FORMATION IN WEST END BRICKYARDS, NEAR CAREY STREET

ROAD, RICHMOND, VA.
BEICK CLAY. 39

The C. H. Oliver yard is located 1 mile west of Fort Lee. The 

clay here lies at the surface and the bank shows 12 feet of it, although 

the total thickness is said to be 20 feet. A bed of gravel and sand 

of unknown thickness underlies it. For making bricks the run of 

"the bank is used. The clay is mottled in character, the mottling 

consisting of yellow and bluish-white clay, the latter being tougher 

than the former, and unless the material is. thoroughly pugged before 

molding the bluish-white clay shows up in the product in the form 

of light-colored lumps. Analyses and fire tests of the clay from 

this bank are given in the table below. The clay may be classed as 

a common-brick clay, which burns to an excellent light-red color up 

to cone 03, rich red at cone 1, and vitrifies not far from cone 5. At 

cone 8 it begins to swell, owing to the fact that portions of it fuse. 

These fused parts are evidently small specks of iron oxide which are 

scattered through the clay. Care has to be taken to pug the clay 

thoroughly or the lumps will cause trouble in drying and burning. 

The clay is put through rolls and then through a soft-mud machine. 

The bricks are dried on pallets and burned in Dutch kilns.

Adjoining this yard on the west is that of J. M. Davis where the clay 

is similar. It is molded by hand, dried in kilns and on pallets, and 

burned in Dutch kilns. A few hundred feet up the track on the north 

side are two yards operated by the Fuller Brick Co. (See PI. X, A.) 

The material is practically the same as that in the Davis yard. Here 

the clay is loaded on tramcars and hoisted into the plant'. It passes 

first through rolls and then into a Freese side-cut auger machine. 

The clay does not appear to be difficult to work, but still the lumps 

of bluish gray clay are not throroughly broken and they show in 

the finished product. The material flows very smoothly through the 

die of the machine. It next passes to drying tunnels which are steam 

heated and remains from 38 to 40 hours. The burning is in Dutch 

kilns. It is evident from the results obtained that the clay will not 

stand rapid drying in the steam tunnels, for there are many cracked 

bricks. In the burning also it was noted that in several of the kilns 

the two rows coming above the arch were" nearly vitrified, while the 

others were by no means so.

Kies calls attention to the fact that the clays of the Fort Lee 

area are less stony and less sandy than most of the others now worked 

about Richmond, and they could be manipulated to advantage by 

more improved methods. They are somewhat too siliceous for any 

other use than brickmaking, although probably draintile and hollow 

brick could be made from them, especially if purer clays are mixed in.

West End. West of the reservoir in the city of Richmond is the 

West End yard. It is an extensive excavation in the Lafayette 

formation, which here consists mainly of loam. In places the loam 

is 20 feet thick, but portions of it contain considerable sand streaked 

with gravel. Part of the working face is shown in Plate X, B.
40 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OF RICHMOND, VA.

CALVERT FORMATION.

The clays of the Calvert formation underlie all of the high ground 

in the central part of Richmond and to the south, but as yet they 

have been utilized at only one yard, that of Cheatwood & Blunt. 

They are largely covered by the Lafayette formation, but at many 

points they could be .excavated at moderate expense. Some of 

these clays are very pure and run low in silica, but others are more 

sandy and some consist of alternations of clay and sand which could 

be mixed together.

At the Cheatwood & Blunt brickyard, east of Brook turnpike north 

of Bacons Quarter Branch, clay of the Calvert formation is used. It 

is mixed with 15 to 20 per cent of sand from the upper part of the 

Lafayette formation. The clay contains fine sand and diatoms and 

apparently also a large proportion of .silicate of alumina. When 

used pure it shrinks greatly on burning, one test brick 9^ inches 

long shrinking to 7£ inches. The mixing with sand is done by hand 

and is not very thorough, but the finished product is a compact 

brick of good color and great hardness. The capacity of the yard is 

about 28,000 a day.

Ries examined an outcrop of the clay belonging to the Calvert 

formation on the Williamsburg Road leading to Stagg's mill about 

half a mile west of the point where the road crosses the railroad. 

It is exposed on a sloping hillside and in such position that a large 

quantity can be removed without having to strip off much overburden. It is also well located for shipment. As. far as can be 

foretold the bed is not less than 20 feet thick. It is a grayish clay 

which slacks slowly and works with 27.8 per cent of water to a mass 

of high plasticity. Its air shrinkage, 12.6 per cent, is somewhat high; 

as is also its average tensile strength of 300.9 pounds to the square 

inch. This clay is more plastic, denser burning, and less sandy than 

any of the clays now being worked in the Richmond area. Tempered 

With sand it could be utilized for brick making.

 ANALYSES AND FIRE TESTS.

Analyses and results of fire tests by Ries of this and other clays are 

given in the following tables:

Analyses of brick days from Richmond, Va. 

Silica (SiOa)..............................

Potash (KaO). .............................

Soda (Na 0) ..............................

.Titanic oxide (TiO2 ) ......................

Total...............................

No. 1324.

73.38

. 13. 53

5.53

,58

.14

2.32

.47

4.03

99 98

9.04

No. 1325.

69.43

14.79

6.70

.57

.63

2.26

.71

' 4.85

99.94

10.87

No. 1320.

72.61

' 13. 08

5.61.

.96

.23

2.45

.44

.44

3.65

99. 96

10.18

No. 1300.

71.50

13.86

7.48'

.56

.11

2.29

.81

1.44

4.61

99.96

8.55

No. 1302.

69.55

15. 79

6.05

.08

1.54

.38

1. 00

5.52

99.97

8.C5

No. 1330.

0,3. 06

20.90

6 29

.16

.45

3.13

.68

.04

5.29

99.97

10.68
BRICK CLAY. 41

Nos. 1324 to 1326 are from W. J. Ready's pit in Manchester. The 

first can be used alone, but the other two have to be mixed. No. 

1324 is from the northwest corner of the bank. It burns to a good 

red color up to cone 03, but above that it becomes unsightly and at 

cone 5 it is very close to melting. No. 1325 is from the west side of 

the bank and is too tough to be used alone. When wet it is very 

plastic, .but also gritty. It does not burn to a very dense body and has 

a comparatively low fire shrinkage. It becomes steel-hard at cone 1 

and at cone 8 is very close to melting. No. 1326, from the southwest 

corner of the bank, is very sandy and has a low fire shrinkage..

No. 1300 is from Maynard & Power's pit in Rocketts.

No. 1302 is from the yard of C. H. Oliver, 1 mile west of Fort Lee. 

A dry-pressed bricklet burned at cone 1 showed a light-red color and 

a shrinkage of 4 per cent. 

No. 1330 is on the Williamsburg Road leading to Stagg's mill about 

one-half mile west of the point where the road crosses the railroad. 

It becomes steel hard at cone 05. It has a light-red color up to cone 

03, but at cone 1 gives an excellent dark-red color. Vitrification is 

reached at about cone 3 and at cone 5 it was well past vitrification, 

having swelled considerably.

Fire tests of brick clays from Richmond, Va., region.

WET MOLDED BR1CKLETS.

Color...........................

Grit............................

CONE 010. 

ITirc shrinkitrc

Color...........................

CONE 05.

Color...........................

CONE 03.

Color...........................

CONE 1.

Color...........................

CONE 3.

Color...........................

CONE 5.

CONE 8.

Color......... .................

No. 1324.

Yellow buff........... 

20.3 per cent..........

Good..................

93.7...................

Light reel.............. 

15.S...................

1.3....................

Red................... 

12.9 ...................

1.6....................

Red...................

11.4...................

3.7....................

6.2....................

5.3....................

3.4....................

5.......................

1.4....................

5.5....................

0.2....................

No. 1325.

Brown................ 

20. 3 per cent...........

Good..................

Sandy.......!.........

132;...................

Light red...... ........ 

17.5...................

2

Light red.. ............ 

16.8...................

2.6....................

12.1...................

3.6....................

9.8....................

4..........:...........

8.7....................

5......................

6.3....................

1.5....................

No. 1320.

Brown buff. 

18. 7 per cent.

Fast.

Fair. 

Sandy.

0 per cent.

99.

Light red. 

16.4.

0.6.

Red. 

15.1.

1.

Red.

14.4.

2.

Red..

10.3.

3.

8.2.

5.0.

Red.

1.6.

6..
42 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OF RICHMOND, VA.

Fire tests of brick clays from Richmond, Fa., region Continued.

Color...........................

Grit............................

Air shrinkage..... . .............

CONE 010.

Color...........................

CONE 05. 

Fire stirinlcucG

Color. . . .............:.........

CONE 03.

Color...........................

CONE 1.

CONE 3.

Color...........................

CONE 5.

CONE 8.

Color...........................

No. 1300.

Yellow burl...........

20.9 percent..........

Good..................

6.4 per cent...... ...... 

89.6...................

0...... ................

Light red .............

1.6.............. ......

Light red .............

15.1.......... .........

1.6....................

Light red .............

5......................

Red...................

7.1....................

6.3 ....................

4......................

6.0 ....................

6.3....................

i ^

No. 1302.

Yellow buff ... .......

Good..................

8.6 per cent.. ......... 

00.6 ...................

0.. ....................

20.2 ...................

1.6....................

Light red .............

17.6...................

4......................

14.1 ...................

6.3....................

Light red..............

7.5....................

7......................

Light red..............

5.9 ....................

8.3....................

2.6....................

7.3....................

Brown ................

1.1....................

No. 1330.

Slowly.

12. 6 per cent. 

301.

1.

Pink.

3.

Pink.

8.9.

5.

5.7.

7.6. '

Red.

1.1.

7.6.

0.1.

2.

2.4.

0.3.

Drab.

1.0.

Representative samples of brick clays from Rocketts and from 

West End Yards were collected by the writer and sent to the chemical 

laboratory of the United States Geological Survey at Pittsburg, Pa., 

for analyses. In drawing these samples a large amount of material 

was taken from various parts of the banks and quartered down. 

The following analyses and tests were made by A. V. Bleininger:

Analyses of brick clays from Richmond, Va.

Lime (CaO) ........................................................................

Soda (Na20). . ......................................................................

Potash (K2 0) ...................:.........-......-..-..........................-....

 Water at 100° C .....................................................................

A

73.39

'14.07

4.31

1.02

.09

.35

.16

.42

1.32

. 4.91

B

70.91

15.91

3.15

1.01

.15

.66

.47

1.24

1.85

4.75

A. From Lafayette formation in yards of West End Brick Co. 

B. From Rocketts Yards.
MOLDING SAND. 43

The material of analysis A is a reddish clay, very high in sand, and 

is so deficient in plasticity that it can not be worked by the stifF-mud 

process, but only by hand molding or in the soft-mud machine. Its 

drying shrinkage, however, is 7.4 per cent in terms of the dry length 

and the burning shrinkage 2.2 per cent at 1,150° C. The clay stands 

up well in the fire and is not easily overburnt. It can not, however, 

be made to produce vitrified products without serious kiln loss. The 

color is a good clean red.

The other sample (analysis B) is a soft,.buff-colored clay, possessing 

good working plasticity, which would make it suitable for the manufacture of stiff-mud brick, tiles, etc. Its texture is very much finer 

than that of sample A. It does not check or warp in drying. The 

drying shrinkage is 6.8 per cent in terms of the dry length. The burning shrinkage is 1.3 per cent at 1,150° C. and 5.8 per cent at 1,250°. 

The clay has a long vitrification range, and hence is a safe material to 

burn, resulting in low kiln loss. The color is an excellent clean red.

The material of analysis B is greatly to be preferred to that of 

analysis A in every respect as far as working quality, drying, and 

burning behavior are concerned, and in addition the strength of the 

former when burnt is decidedly greater than that of the latter, which, 

unless burnt to about 1,150° C., is inferior in this respect and apparently not able to withstand the effects of freezing and thawing for any 

considerable number of years.

MOLDING SAND.

Portions of the Aquia formation and the Columbia group consist 

of sand suitable for molding and they are the source of local supply. 

Certain peculiar features are requisite in molding sand. It must be 

sufficiently fine grained and coherent to take sharp impressions in 

the molds, resistant to heat, porous enough to permit escape of steam 

and gas, and free from materials which will give off gases or cause 

shrinkage. A small percentage of clay is necessary to make the sand 

coherent, but if the amount is too great it causes shrinkage, which 

is a most disadvantageous quality.

The largest pit is in the sand of the Aquia formation on the south 

side of Almond Creek, one-fourth mile above the crossing of the road 

that passes through the Rocketts brickyards to join the Charles City 

Road. The deposit is overlain by the Calvert formation and the face 

exposed is about 15 feet high. The sand is gray and greenish, mottled with buff blotches. Another smaller pit is on the east side of the 

road above mentioned, just south of the crossing of Almond Creek.

The sand undersong the brick clay in G. E. Redford's yard in the 

vicinity of Knight and Maury streets, Manchester, is used to a considerable extent for molding.
44 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OF RICHMOND, VA.

A number of molding sands from the Richmond region,, collected by 

H. Ries, were analyzed at the.Virginia Polytechnic Institute 1 by 

J. 11. Eoff, jr., and J. li. Gibboney, with the following results:

Analyses of molding sands from Richmond, Va.

Silica (SiOs)...... .............................................

Soda (NasO).. ....................................................

Titanic oxide (TiO2 ) .............................'..............

Water (HaO). ..................................................

No. 1.

81.59

6.46

4.94

.14

.22

1.19

.59

1.90

1.63

1.46

100. 12

No. 2.

82. 08

7.12

4.63

.36

.35

1.28

.41

.30

1.66

1.52

99. 71

No. 3.

66. 12

16.54

4.46

.40

' .22

2.67

.35

.14

4 90

' 4.15

99. 95

No. 4. ' 

82. 32

7.80

3.98

.54

.41

1.64

.80

.22

.19

.14

98.04

3.1. Sand (Bedford pit) from foundry, Manchester, Va. 

a. 2. Yellow sand collected at Redford pit, '

No.

No. 2. Yellow sand collected at Redford pit, Manchester, Va.

No. 3. Coarse sand, Harbaugh pit, Richmond, Va.

No. 4. .Used sand, Redford pit, Manchester, Va.

The following physical tests were made by Ries.

Physical tests of molding sands from Richmond, Va.

Sample.

No. 2............................

No. v.... ............ ..........

No. 4 ...........................

20 mesh.

1.51

42.48

5.34

40 mesh.

1.26

12.90

14.73

60 mesh.

1.27

6.16

10.41

80 mesh.

0.56

.85

1.28

100 

mesh.

6.27

1.70

14. 61

100 

mesh. 1

71. 69

8.58

59.37

Clay.

Per cent. 

16.52

26.44

3.52

1 Passed through 100-mesh sieve. 

DIATOMACEOTJS EARTH.

The diatom deposits forming part of the Calvert formation about 

Richmond have so far not been utilized. The deposits are irregular 

in form and the amount of high-grade material available is not as 

large as at some other localities in Virginia and Maryland. The 

purer deposits a,re soft claylike material, which when dry is of very 

porous texture, of white color or .slightly yellowish tint, and exceedingly light weight. It is mostly fine silica and consists of the minute 

frustules of plants known as diatoms. The chief use for diatomaceous earth is for cleaning and polishing, either in the form of powder 

or mixed with soap. It is an effective nonconductor of heat and 

has been used alone or with various compounds for coverings for 

boilers, steam pipes, and safes, and in fireproof cements. Its great 

absorbent qualities fit it admirably for use in water filters and for 

dynamite. For the latter use it is mixed with wood pulp. It is used 

largely by paint manufacturers as a wood filler. Boiled with shellac

Mineral resources of Virginia, pp. 394-395.
DIATOMACEOUS EARTH. 45

it is made into records for talking machines. In Germany it has been 

used for absorption of liquid manures so that they could be utilized 

as fertilizers, as a source of silica in making water glass, in the manufacture of cement, tile glazing, artificial stone, ultramarine and other 

pigments of aniline and alizarine colors, paper filling, sealing wax, 

fireworks, hard-rubber objects, matches, papier-mache, for solidifying bromine, and for many other purposes. In preparing the earth 

for market it is first roasted in large rooms in order rto expel much of 

the water and organic matter. It is then transferred to a furnace 

and heated to a moderately high temperature, but with care not to 

destroy the porosity by overheating. It is then ground fine between 

rollers, sieved, and promptly sacked to prevent reabsorption of 

moisture. For some uses it is only necessary to give a prolonged 

drying in a chamber heated b}7 steam pipes prior to grinding and

sieving. The value runs from $6 to $9 a ton. California, Illinois,

Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, and New York are the principal 

sources in this country, and about 3,000 tons a year are imported.

Two samples of the diatom deposit in the Calvert formation in 

Richmond have been tested by Eies as to their suitability for brick 

or other wares. They were collected from Seventh Street near the 

locomotive works. One sample (A) was weathered material, the 

other was from a point deeper in the bank. Analyses are -given on 

page 26, which indicate that in the material of sample A 8.73 per cent 

of fluxes are contained and 31.6 per cent of water was required. 

Some grit was found and the air shrinkage was 13. In sample B 

there are 10.21 per cent of fluxes, 34.6 per cent of water was required, 

and air shrinkage was 14.

The fire tests give the following results:

Fire tests of diatom deposits from Richmond, Va.

Sample A: 

Fire shruibColor .......

A bsorption . 

Sample B: 

Fire shrinkage.......

Absorption.

1.720° F., 

cone 010.

0.6

Light red.

14.6 

0.0

14.9

1,922° F., 

cone 05.

0.6

13.0 

2.3

10.9

1,994°F., 

cone 03.

2.0

12.4 

3 3

9.0

2,102° F., 

cone 1.

3 n

9.1 

5.0

.4.2

2,174° F., 

cone 3.

3

0

6.9 

6.0

2.3

2,240° F., 

cone 5.

5.0

5.0 

0.0

1.7

2,354° F., 

cone 8.

2.0

2.0 

5.5

1.1

A sample of much finer material from Maryland, when tested with 

cone 27 (temperature 3,038° F.), fused into a brownish glass, which 

demonstrates that it is not refractory at high temperature.

The higher silica content in sample A appears to affect its porosity 

and shrinkage in burning.
46 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OF RICHMOND, VA.

OCHER.

For many years yellow ocher of fine quality was produced near 

Bermuda Hundred, 15 miles southeast of Richmond. The mine was 

on the north branch of Appomattox River just below the mouth of 

Ashton Creek, 4 miles southeast of Bermuda Hundred. The first 

extensive operations were in 1872, when the material was placed on 

the market as ""Bermuda ocher" at 2£ cents a pound in competition 

with imported ocher selling at 3f cents a pound. Its superior quality 

was at once recognized, and for many years it found a ready market, 

although the price dropped to an average of $22 a ton. In 1880 the 

production was 1,000 tons, produced by 30 workmen. The crude 

ocher was washed, dried, and ground, and three grades were produced, 

"single washed," "double washed," and "extra floated." The 

values were, respectively, $18, $21, and $27 per ton. Production of 

of this material continued for about 30 years, when apparently the 

deposit gave out. The place is now abandoned and the workings 

are caved in. '

The ocher is a yeUo'w earthy mineral consisting of sesquioxide of 

iron in hydrous form mixed with a small amount of clay. In observations made 15 years ago the writer found that it occurred in a bed 

3 to 5 feet thick, of which the upper 2 feet or more was the purest. 

It is a member of the Patuxent formation, and at the mines was overlain by about 30 feet of typical arkosic gravelly sand of that formation capped by gravels of Lafayette formation. Below the ocher is 

green sandy clay grading into 80 feet of gray sand.

The ocher was exposed for about 800 feet along the slope of the 

bluff. Its western termination was not visible, but to the east it 

was seen to thin rapidly and to disappear a few rods east of the pits.

Here the green sandy clay and sand thicken to 10 Or 14 feet and are 

underlain by typical arkosic sands filled with pebbles and bowlders 

extending down to the water. It is believed that the ocher was 

deposited as a bog iron ore in some pool of restricted area.

This occurrence of ocher in the Patuxent formation is a most 

exceptional feature, for no deposits of the material have been found 

in it elsewhere. It is possible, however, that they may occur, and 

the material should be carefully looked for in new cuts and wells 

throughout the area of the formation. A deposit similar to the one 

west of Bermuda Hundred would be of considerable value.

CONCRETE MATERIALS.

An abundant supply of crushed granite and coarse river sand is 

available for concrete in Richmond. One large quarry, on Belle 

Island in James River, is worked by the Old Dominion Iron & Nail 

Works to supply crushed granite, which is sold in Richmond for $1.60
CONCEETE MATERIALS, 47

to $1.80 a ton delivered. A sample (No. 9) of this material was sent 

to the .laboratory in Pittsburg to be tested.

Gravel is dug at several pits within the city limits and brings at 

present from $1 to $1.25 a yard delivered. It is a quartz and quartzite 

mixture, consisting mainly of very hard material. One pit on Gillis 

Creek screens gravel from the Patuxent formation. Others in the 

northern part of the city on. Cannon Creek screen the Lafayette 

formation, which here consists largely of gravel. Nearly all the 

contractors in Kichmond have a strong preference for the crashed 

granite.

Sand for concrete is pumped from James River through washers 

and screens. One of the principal producers is Stephen A. Ellison 

& Co., at Seventeenth and.Dock streets. A sample (No. 8) of this 

sand was sent to the Pittsburg laboratories. The sand is sold for 50 

cents a yard on the bank of the river. An examination of this sand

made September 23, 1908, by Froehling & Robertson, chemists, of 

Richmond, showed the following sizes of grains:

Per cent.

I to fa inch................................................ 7.1

fa to fa inch..--...--...-----..--..--..-...---....--..-.-.. 16. 5

fa to fa inch......:,.....'.................................... 15. 5

 fa to fa inch................................................. 27.1

fa to fa inch.................................................. 19. 4

fa to fa inch................................................. 3. 0

fa to fa inch................................................. 10. 2

fa to Tfor inch - v ............-.."...-.......... -t............... 1.0

Finer than Tfa inch.......................................... .2

100. 00

These proportions are highly advantageous and briquet tests made 

with high-grade Portland cement showed very high strength. The 

grains are nearly all quartz, and sharp. The freedom from silt is 

due to the vigorous washing which the sand receives when it is 

pumped into the scows.
INDEX.

Page. 

Almond Creek valley, stratigraphy of..... 17,18,30

Aquia formation, contact with Calvert...... 23-25

general relations and character of........ 15-16

occurrence of.......................... 7,15-18

Baltimore Brick Co., brickyard of, description of........................... 38

Belle Island, quarry near, description of..... 34

quarry near, mineral character of granite

from............................ 12

Cabel, J. M., analysis of diatom deposits by.. 26-27 

Calvert formation, analyses of................ 26-27

basal contact of......................... 23-25

diatom remains in....................... 19-22

economic employment of................ 40

general relations arid character of........ 18-21

occurrence of.................... 7,18-19,25-20

Cheatwood & Blunt, brickyard of, description of........................... 40

Church Hill, stratigraphy of, figure showing. 24 

Clay, brick, analyses and fire tests of........ 40-43

brick, occurrence of...................... 36

Coastal plain, character of................... 5-6

Columbia group, economic employment of... 37-38 

occurrence of.......................'... 7,29-31

Concrete materials, supply of ................. 46-47

Davis, J. M., brickyard of, description of.... 39

Davis, W. B.,brickyard of, description of.... 37-38

Diatom deposits, analyses of................. 26-27

character of............................. 44

fire tests of.............................. 45

Diatom remains, occurrence of.............. 19-21

species of.....'.......................'.... 21-22

Earth, diatomaceous or infusorial. See Diatom deposits.

Fire tests. See Clay, brick. 

Fort Lee, brickyards at..................... 38-39

Fuller Brick Co., brickyard of, description of. '36 

Fulton Brick Co., brickyard of, description of. 38 

Geography of Richmond arid vicinity....... 5-6

Gillis Creek valley, stratigraphy of.... 17,18,24,31

Goode Creek, quarry near, description of..... - 34

quarry near, mineral character of granite

from............................ 12

Granite, analyses of......................... 12-13

character of........................... 8,31-32

petrography of.......................... 9-12

structural relations of.................... 9

Gravel,, supply of............................ 47

Green & Harrison,brickyard of, description of. 37,38 

Green quarry, description of................. 34

granite from, mineral character of....... 11

James River Granite Corporation', product of,

mineral character of............. 11

quarry of, description of................. 33

Jefferson, Hotel, record of well at............ 25

48

Page. 

Lafayette formation, economic employment

of........................ ...... 38

general relations and character of........ 27

occurrence of.......................... 7,27-29

Literature of the region....................... 5

McCloy quarry, description of.............. 35

granite from, -mineral character of........ 10

McGowan quarry, description of............ 34

granite from, mineral character of........ 11-12

Mackintosh quarry, description of.. ; ........ 32

Maynard & Powers, brickyard of, description

of............................... 38

Middendorf quarry, location of.............. 32

Netherwood, Alvin, quarry of, description of. 32

quarry of, granite from, mineral character

of............................... 11

Ocher, character and occurrence of.......... 46

Old Dominion Iron & Nail Works, quarry of,

description of.................... 34

Oliver, C. H., brickyard of, description of..... 39

Patuxent formation, general relations and

character of..................... 13-14

local features of.......................... 14-15

occurrence of........................ 7-8,14-15

Piedmont province, location and character of. 5-6 

Ready, W. J., brickyard of, description of... 37 

Redford, G. E., brickyard of, description of.. 37 

Richmond and vicinity, geography of....... 5-6

stratigraphy of.......................... 7

structural relations of................... 6-8

Richmond Granite Co., product of, mineral

character of..................... 10

quarry of, description of............. '.... 34-35

Ries, Heinrich, on brick clays of Virginia.... 37-43

Rocketts, brickyards at..................... 38

Rogers, W. B., on Aquia formation in Richmond ........................... 16

on diatomaceous earth.................. 19-20

Sand for concrete, character and occurrence of. .47

molding, analyses of..................... 44

description of....................... 43

Shipping facilities of the Richmond district.. 35-36 

Shockoe Creek valley, stratigraphy of. 16,18,23,29 

Smith quarry, description of................ 33

granite from, mineral character of....... 12

Stodder, Charles, on species of diatoms from

the Richmond district".......... 21-22

Stratigraphy of the region.........'.......... 7

Structural geology of the region............. 6-8

Wade quarry, granite from, mineral character

of.........................'...... 10-11

West End brickyard, description of......... 39

Westham quarry, description of............. 34

Winston quarry, description of.............. 35

Wray quarry, description of................. 33

o