Geology topics

Research about Bedford County, Rockbridge County, Virginia

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Bedford County, Rockbridge County, Virginia.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS1982

Geochemical survey of the James River Face Wilderness, Bedford and Rockbridge counties, Virginia

The Wilderness Act (Public Law 88-577, September 3, 1964) and related acts require the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Bureau of Mines to survey certain areas on Federal lands to determine their mineral resource potential. Results must be made available to the public and be submitted to the President and the Congress. This report presents the results of a geochemical survey of the James River Face Wilderness, Jefferson National Forest, Bedford and Rockbridge Counties, Va. The area was established as a wilderness by Public Law 93-622, January 3, 1975.

Virginia↗

USGS1982

Map showing quarries, mines, prospects, and sample data in and near the James River Face Wilderness, Bedford and Rockbridge counties, Virginia

The james River Face Wilderness comprises 8,800 acres in the Jefferson National Forest and occupies parts of Bedford and Rockbridge Counties, west-central Virginia. It is about 2 mi southeast of Natural Bridge Station and 0.5 mi south of Glasgow (fig. 1). Access is provided by U.S. Route 501, State Route 130, and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Interior access is provided by the Appalachian Trail, other marked foot trails and a graded bridle path. The area, on the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains, is drained by small tributaries of the James River. Altitudes range from 600 ft where U.S. Route 501 crosses the James River to 3,073 ft on Highcock Knob.

Virginia↗

USGS1982

Mineral resource potential map of the James River Face Wilderness, Bedford and Rockbridge counties, Virginia

The rocks in the James River Face Wilderness are shales and quartzites that overlie a meta-igneous basement. They are folded into a large southwestward-plunging anticline that is cut off on the east and south by an extensive thrust fault that brings old basement rocks over the younger sedimentary rocks. Geochemical studies of stream sediments, soils, and rocks do not reveal any unusually high metal concentrations, but a large resource of metallurgical-grade quartzite and shale suitable for structural clay products and lightweight aggregate is in the wilderness. Antietam (Erwin) Quartzite has been quarried at three sites in the wilderness as raw material for silicon used in the manufacture of ferrosilicon. Other uses included crushed rock for concrete aggregate, road metal, and railroad ballast, and sand for cement and mortar. Potential uses include ganister for silica brick and specialty sands such as filter and furnace sand. Firing tests on samples of shale from the Harpers (Hampton) Formation show that it could be used for the manufacture of brick and as lightweight aggregate. Of marginal economic interest are heavy-mineral layers in the basal Unicoi (Weverton) Formation.

Virginia↗