What formed the Shenandoah Valley?

What formed the Shenandoah Valley?

These cracks widen by tiny increments until they are enormous. Some have expanded to the point that boulders of the Old Rag Granite have up to 10 feet between them. The other rock unit as old as the Old Rag Granite, the Pedlar Formation, is made of a rock called gneiss (pronounced “nice”).

What is the geology of Shenandoah National Park?

The Shenandoah National Park is underlain by three general groups of rock units: (1) Mesoproterozoic granitic gneisses and granitoids, (2) Neoproterozoic metasedimentary rocks of the Swift Run Formation and metabasalt of the Catoctin Formation, and (3) siliciclastic rocks of the Lower Cambrian Chilhowee Group.

What type of tectonic event formed the main structures in the Valley and Ridge province of Virginia?

Continental collision in the late Paleozoic produced a fold and thrust belt in which Paleozoic sedimentary rocks of the Valley & Ridge were folded and transported westward along thrust faults.

What mountains make up the Shenandoah Valley?

The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians (excluding Massanutten Mountain), to the north by the Potomac River and to the south by the James River….

Shenandoah Valley
Traversed by	I-64 / I-81 / US 11 / US 33 / US 50 / US 250

Why is it called Shenandoah?

Etymology. The word Shenandoah is of unknown Native American origin. Schin-han-dowi, the “River Through the Spruces”; On-an-da-goa, the “River of High Mountains” or “Silver-Water”; and an Iroquois word for “Big Meadow”, have all been proposed by Native American etymologists.

What mountains border the Shenandoah Valley?

The Shenandoah Valley lies between the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east and the Allegheny Mountains to the west. It stretches approximately 200 miles from Harpers Ferry, West Virginia to Roanoke, Virginia.

What mountains run through Shenandoah National Park?

Shenandoah National Park lies astride a beautiful section of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Shenandoah River flows through the valley to the west, with Massanutten Mountain, 40 miles long, standing between the river’s north and south forks. The rolling Piedmont country lies to the east of the park.

Which mountains border the Shenandoah Valley?

What type of deformation structures dominate the Valley and Ridge province of the Appalachian Mountains?

The rocks of the Valley and Ridge province are thrown into long, closely spaced folds, whose northwest sides are commonly over-turned or broken by thrust faults. These faults increase in number and magnitude to the SW and in Tennessee dominate the folds.

What are the geologic formations in Shenandoah National Park?

Geologic Formations. Shenandoah National Park straddles the Blue Ridge, a unique line of mountains forming the easternmost rampart of the great Appalachian Range. The story of Shenandoah’s mountains is the story of two mountain ranges, spanning over one billion years of earth’s history.

What is the story of the Shenandoah Mountains?

Shenandoah National Park straddles the Blue Ridge, a unique line of mountains forming the easternmost rampart of the great Appalachian Range. The story of Shenandoah’s mountains is the story of two mountain ranges, spanning over one billion years of earth’s history.

Are there any rivers in Shenandoah National Park?

There are also important rivers that flow through the park.The Shenandoah River stretches 55.6 miles long and is a tributary off of the Potomac River. Other famous rivers in the park include the Rappahannock River, and the James River.

How tall are the Blue Ridge Mountains in Shenandoah?

Geology & landforms Three hundred square miles of the Blue Ridge Mountains of the central portion of the Appalachians, lie within Shenandoah giving the park its color and beauty. The mountain’s current highest elevation sits only at 4,051 feet, but geologists believe that these mountains used to be as tall as the Rockies.