The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1879-10-09
For the VALLEY VIR GINIAN
Rambles IN Virginia, No. 9.
THE GEOLOGICAL AMBIGUITY OF eastern

THE GEOLOGICAL ANTIQUITY OF EASTERN
vIRGINIA-THE SOILS OF PIEDMONT AND
THE BLUE RIDGE-A WORD OF AGRI-
" CULTURAL CHEMIsTRY-IMPROvEM
IN VIRGINIA AGRICULTURE
AND NATIVE FARMERS.
From Charlottesville. which Edward King
justly calls tone OF the loveliest of Virginia
towns, it is again but brief and charming
trip by the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad to
the top of the Blue Ridge. Each turn as we
climb the mountain unfolds new beauties in
the landscape until at last from the summit
under which the greattunnel is cut,we view
Eastern Virginia, spread out below our feet
on the one side, and the Great Valley and
Appalachian ranges beyond it on the other.
1t is three thousand miles westward as the
crow flies, from here to the Golden Gate Of
the Pacific. Ancient enough, you will say.
is this great continental area now teeming
with millions of people, yet it is young COM
pared with the rocks beneath our feet
When these great masses OF granite and
gneiss. Of states and chrystaline schists, that
extend from here to Richmond, and range
from Canada to Georgia, first rose above the
waters, all to the westward and northward
to the great lakes lay beneath the ocean
waves. Fossil remains OF the mastedon and
other animals that roamed the earth long be-
fore the advent of man have been taken
from the pliocene beds of the upper Ms.
souri, and along the Atlantic coast yet that
formation is one OF the most recent, and
compares in age with these pl imary or azo-
ic rocks as the new born babe to the white
haired old man. The lofty snow-crowned
peaks Of the Rocky mountains are younger
.han the Blue Ridge, yet the latter was not
raised much above the general level until
after the waves had washed this granite
shore for ages. This ancient peninsula,
which probably formed part of continent
now mostly submerged beneath the Allan.
tic, was for long periods Of time subjected
to gradual elevation and depression. The
floods ground its rocks to powder and fur
rowed it with valleys; the gradual cooling
and contraction Of the earth's crust wrinkled
its surface into ridges and mountains; vol
canic eruption fissured it In every direction
and filed the gaps with lava. flow Of trap
and greensboro. And constantly the pow
erful and long continued force OF water
eroded 1t as it still does to-day, cutting down
the mountains and fl ling up the valleys.
Gradually to the westward was formed the
successive deposits, literally miles in thick
ness, o! the Siurian, Devnnian and Carbon
ferrous ages, and long after the great Appa.
lachian coal beds were formed, this ancient
land sank once more beneath the sea. Dur
ing this last su5mergence were formed jus
rassic or triassic sandstones, the remains OF
which oyerlie the granite and gneiss in de-
tached patches. One Of these beds of new red
sandstone occupies much Of the Connecticut
valley and its lodges are found to be covered
with ripples and rain marks and the tracks
of reptiles. Another stretches from the
Palisades OF the. Hudson far into Virginia,
and another extends from Virginia into
North Carolina. Numerous intrusions OF
trap and basalt mark these sandstones which
are fissured in every direction and some-
times vitrified by the intense heat. An in
teresting example OF these is the Palisades
of the Hudson, formed by an eruption OF
trap flowing over and partly covering the
sandstone. This great dixie is cut by the
Bergen tunnel back of Jersey City where
1t is well exposed and may be studied
fn Itrat Il -l,,<, ~. Sc
period were formed the valuable coal beds
| near Richmond and Farmville, on the Dan,
| and on Deep river in North Carolina. And
| at the same time new extension of che
stene, mari AM clay from the upper coun-
| try.
| But OF what use are these geological
facts? ask many who deem them more Gu
rious than valuable. The answer is simple
and plain. They lie at the basis OF agricul-
ture and mining,and millions OF money are
wasted liz both pursuits which practical
knowledge OF them would save. II we I'M
derstand the principles Of t. e formation Of
rocks and minerals, we learn to read the
characteristics Of the soils they form, and
where and urder what circumstances to
search for these metals and minerals valua'
Bile to man. Come down FROM the mountain
| top and lift handful OF this red earth from
the bank of the Rivanna, which is the pre-.
vailing soil Of this famous Piedmont region
What is it? A red clay many would call it.
But what aud where does ir come from
What are its properties? Has it any supe
riority over other soils, and il SO, wherein
does that superiority consist? How many
who delve in it from one years end to an
other, or are looking for farms and new
homes, can tell.
| Like al soils it is produced by the me
chanical action in water, which from the be
ginning of geologic time to the present ha
been grinding the rocks into fragments, ant
by the chemical action OF air and water ant