November 1, 2011

• Objective:– Identify the 5 major

regions of Virginia

• Agenda:– Landscape Notes– Virginia Map– Virginia Map Analysis

– Homework:• Projects due Friday• Test is Friday

Landscapes

• What is a landscape?– A region on Earth’s surface in which various

landforms are related by a common origin.• What is a landform?

– Hills, valleys, and streams

Landscape Regions:

• Mountains are high elevations with steep gradients. They have faulted, folded, and tilted rocks.

• Plateaus are high elevations with horizontal layers. They usually have a fairly level slope

• Plains are level with little change in slope. They have a low elevation with horizontal rock layers.

The Five Physiographic Provinces of Virginia

The Five Provinces

Virginia is divided into 5 provinces based on their geologic formations.

1. Coastal Plain ( Tidewater)

The Coastal Plain runs from the fall line on the west, to the Atlantic

Ocean on the east

• It is a terraced landscape

• Sand, silt and clay produced by erosion of the Appalachian Mts. covers the plain

• As sea levels rose and fell, fossils were left at various layers

Virginia Fossils

• Fossils include various marine organisms like clams, scallops, sharks teeth, and other hard remains

Virginia Fossils

• Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic fossils are found in Virginia

2. Piedmont

Facts about the Va. Piedmont

• It is an area of rolling hills underlain by ancient igneous and metamorphic rock

• It is the largest of the provinces

Mining the Piedmont• High quality slate is

mined from this area• The Piedmont host

one of the worlds largest kyanite mines

( see picture of kyanite )

3. Blue Ridge Mountains

Blue Ridge Facts

• The billion year old igneous and metamorphic rocks are the oldest in the state

Blue Ridge Facts

• It is a high ridge separating the piedmont from the valley and ridge province

4. Valley and Ridge Province

Valley and Ridge• The Valley and

Ridge Province is an area of long parallel ridges and valleys underlain by ancient folded and faulted sedimentary rocks

Cambrian fossil algal structures are found in the V&R Province

Limestone outcrops are common in the Valley and Ridge Province

This area is also famous for Karst

• What does karst mean?• Karst is an irregular limestone

region with sinks, underground streams, and caverns

Sink holes!

Caverns!

5. Appalachian Plateau

Appalachian Plateau Facts

• The Appalachian Plateau has rugged, irregular topography and is underlain by ancient, flat-lying sedimentary rocks

Appalachian Plateau Facts

• Do you notice any thing in these layers?

COAL!

Virginia Coal

• Most of Virginia's coal is found in the Appalachian Plateau.

Virginia Coal

• These old sedimentary rocks contain many fossils and tons of coal.