Geology of Virginia Project
Virginia is divided into six provinces. The provinces are distinct based on their physiographic features (topography) and their geology. These provinces from east to west are:
- Coastal Plain (aka Tidewater)
- Piedmont
- Triassic Basins
- Blue Ridge
- Valley and Ridge (aka Appalachian Mountains)
- Appalachian Plateau (aka Allegheny Plateau)
There are many good resources/references on the Geology of Virginia; simply conduct an Internet search. Here are some good references that I know contain the information that you need.
- See: http://geology.blogs.wm.edu/
- Also: http://geology.teacherfriendlyguide.org/downloads/se/tfggse_1_geolhistory.pdf
- Also: http://csmres.jmu.edu/geollab/vageol/vahist/physcity.html
- Also: http://www.virginiaplaces.org/geology/
These provinces are not unique to Virginia; each province extends from Georgia to New York in roughly parallel NE-SW trending bands of similar rocks that have been brought together through geologic and tectonic history that spans over 1 billion years! Each Province has a unique geologic history including rock of different ages, different (or no!) fossils and the different tectonic structures. The provinces have been pieced together tectonically through a series of mountain building (orogenic) events. Take a journey through Virginia’s geologic history by completing the following requirements.
Watch the video summarizing the Geology of Virginia at: Geology of VA
Requirements for your project:
| Included in the project should be the following:
Discuss the overall geologic history of Virginia. The following geologic events must be detailed in content and explanation to assure that you understand: ● Grenville Orogeny ● Rodinia Supercontinent ● Break-up of Rodinia and formation of the Iapetus (proto-Atlantic) Ocean ● Taconic Orogeny ● Acadian Orogeny ● Alleghenian Orogeny ● Pangaea Supercontinent ● Formation of the Atlantic Ocean ● Chesapeake Bay Meteorite Impact | ● Map of Virginia’s geologic provinces ● General explanation of the following from each of the Provinces: ○ General rock types found in each province ○ How each province differs in geologic structure (folds, flat layers, topography) ○ How each province differs in geologic age
● Maps/Diagrams/Pictures are a must! ● Three reference minimum required
Format: NO POWERPOINT!!!! But, you can create: A digital poster, a Prezi, write a research paper, a blog post, a screen-cast; there are so many creative software options available for free! |
| Geology of Virginia Grading Criteria | Points Available | Points Received | Comments |
| Each episode in VA geologic history was thoroughly researched; project included quality explanation of: (4 pts each) o Grenville Orogeny o Rodinia supercontinent o Break-up of Rodinia and formation of Iapetus (proto-Atlantic) Ocean o Taconic Orogeny o Acadian Orogeny o Alleghenian Orogeny o Pangaea supercontinent o Break-up of Pangaea and Formation of Atlantic Ocean (including Triassic Basins) o Chesapeake Bay Meteorite Impact
Map of Virginia’s geologic provinces (1 pt)
Quality explanation of the differences between each of the Provinces including: o General rock types found in each province (3 pts) o How each province differs in geologic structure (folds, flat beds, overall topography) (3 pts) o How each province differs in geologic age (2 pts) | 45 points
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| ● Grammar, spelling ● Reference citation | 3 points 2 points | ||
| Total | 50 points |