Wednesday, September 16 - Driving!

Depart from Denison University at 4:30 PM. We drove to Seneca Rocks area in Eastern West Virginia.

Thursday, September 17 - Valley and Ridge Province

Overview of the structure, stratigraphy and landforms of the Valley an Ridge province. We concentrated on rocks and structure exposed in a transect across the Wills Mountain anticline, finishing with a hike to the top of Seneca Rocks.

Friday, September 18 - Allegheny Plateau to the Blue Ridge Province

Departed early and drove to Spruce Knob, the highest point along the Allegheny Front in West Virginia, for an overview and comparison of the Allegheny Plateau with the Valley and Ridge province. We descended west from there to the Sinks of Gandy, with an opportunity to go underground to investigate a natural cave system. We then drove eastward through the Valley and Ridge and cross the Great Valley of Virginia, stopping at various points of interest and ending the day in Proterozoic crystalline rocks at Front Royal, Virginia.

Saturday, September 19 - Blue Ridge Province

We explored the Proterozoic igneous and metamorphic rocks that make up the Blue Ridge province, beautifully exposed along Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park. These include crystalline basement of North American formed around 1.1 billion years ago, and rocks that filled a Neoproterozoic rift basin 600-700 million years ago.

Sunday, September 20 - Back across the Valley and Ridge to Ohio

We returned across the Valley and Ridge to Ohio, with a stop at the classic Sidling Hill Syncline on I-68 in Maryland. returning to Denison about 6:00 PM.

October 9, 2009