DOCSLIB.ORG

Cultural Resource Assessment Survey Report – Volume 1 of 2

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Cultural Resource Assessment Survey Report – Volume 1 of 2 Cultural Resource Assessment Survey Report –Volume 1 of 2 SR 60 PD&E Study From Valrico FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Road to the Polk County Line DISTRICT 7 Hillsborough County WORK PROGRAM ITEM SEGMENT NUMBER: 430055‐1 November 2013 Project Development & Environment Study SR 60 PD&E Study From Valrico Road to the Polk County Line Cultural Resource Assessment Survey (CRAS) Report WPI Segment No.: 430055-1 Hillsborough County Prepared for the Florida Department of Transportation District Seven Prepared by: Archaeological Consultants, Inc. 8110 Blaikie Court, Suite A ▪ Sarasota, FL ▪ 34240 In association with: Rummel Klepper & Kahl, LLP 101 West Main Street, Suite 240 ▪ Lakeland, FL ▪ 33815 August 2013 Volume 1 of 2 Table of Contents Section Page Section 1 – Executive Summary ..........................................................................................1 Section 2 – Introduction .......................................................................................................4 2.1 Project Description .............................................................................................4 2.2 Purpose and Need ..............................................................................................4 2.3 Purpose of Report ..............................................................................................6 2.4 Existing Facility and Proposed Improvements ..................................................7 Section 3 – Environmental Setting ......................................................................................9 3.1 Location and Setting ..........................................................................................9 3.2 Physiography and Geology ................................................................................9 3.3 Soils and Vegetation ........................................................................................11 3.4 Paleoenvironmental Considerations .................................................................12 Section 4 – Cultural Chronology .......................................................................................14 4.1 Paleo-Indian .....................................................................................................16 4.2 Archaic .............................................................................................................18 4.3 Formative .........................................................................................................21 4.4 Mississippian....................................................................................................23 4.5 Colonialism ......................................................................................................24 4.6 Territorial and Statehood .................................................................................26 4.7 Civil War and Aftermath .................................................................................31 4.8 Twentieth Century ...........................................................................................35 Section 5 – Research Considerations and Methods ...........................................................40 5.1 Background Research and Literature Review ..................................................40 5.1.1 Archaeological Considerations .........................................................40 5.1.2 Historical Considerations ..................................................................45 5.3 Field Methodology ...........................................................................................48 5.4 Unexpected Discoveries ...................................................................................48 5.5 Laboratory Methods and Curation ...................................................................49 Section 6 – Survey Results ................................................................................................50 6.1 Archaeological Survey Results ........................................................................50 6.2 Historical/Architectural Survey Results ..........................................................58 6.3 Conclusions and Recommendations ..............................................................123 Section 7 – References Cited ...........................................................................................125 Volume 1 Appendices Appendix A: Research Design and Survey Methodology Approval Appendix B: Demolished Buildings Letter Appendix C: Survey Log Volume 2 Appendix Appendix D: FMSF Forms i List of Figures Figure 2-1. Location of the SR 60 PD&E Study corridor ..................................................... 5 Figure 3-1. Environmental setting of the SR 60 PD&E Study corridor. ............................. 10 Figure 4-1. Florida Archaeological Regions. ...................................................................... 15 Figure 4-2. 1936 Hillsborough County Highway Map showing route of SR 60, then SR 79. ............................................................................................................... 39 Figure 5-1. Location of the previously recorded archaeological sites and Zones of Archaeological Potential (ZAPs) in the western portion of the SR 60 PD&E Study corridor. .................................................................................................. 41 Figure 5-2. Location of the previously recorded archaeological sites and Zones of Archaeological Potential (ZAPs) in the eastern portion of the SR 60 PD&E Study corridor. .................................................................................................. 42 Figure 5-3. Location of previously recorded historic resources within the SR 60 project APE. ................................................................................................................. 46 Figure 6-1. Approximate location of the shovel tests along the SR 60 PD&E Study corridor (Valrico Road to Orchid Grove). ........................................................ 51 Figure 6-2. Approximate location of the shovel tests along the SR 60 PD&E Study corridor (Orchid Grove to Calhoun Road). ...................................................... 52 Figure 6-3. Approximate location of the shovel tests along the SR 60 PD&E Study corridor (Calhoun Road to James L. Redman Parkway). ................................. 53 Figure 6-4. Approximate location of the shovel tests along the SR 60 PD&E Study corridor (James L. Redman Parkway to Horton Road). ................................... 54 Figure 6-5. Approximate location of the shovel tests along the SR 60 PD&E Study corridor (Horton Road to County Line Road). ................................................. 55 Figure 6-6. Location of the previously recorded and newly recorded historic resources, and newly recorded historic resource groups along the SR 60 PD&E Study corridor (Valrico Road to St. Cloud Avenue). ................................................. 63 Figure 6-7. Location of the previously recorded and newly recorded historic resources, and newly recorded historic resource groups along the SR 60 PD&E Study corridor (St. Cloud Avenue to Dover Road).. .................................................. 64 Figure 6-8. Location of the previously recorded and newly recorded historic resources, and newly recorded historic resource groups along the SR 60 PD&E Study corridor (Dover Road to Sydney Washer Road). ............................................. 65 Figure 6-9. Location of the previously recorded and newly recorded historic resources, and newly recorded historic resource groups along the SR 60 PD&E Study corridor (Turkey Creek to west of Farkas Road). ............................................ 66 Figure 6-10. Location of the previously recorded and newly recorded historic resources, and newly recorded historic resource groups along the SR 60 PD&E Study corridor (Farkas Road to Wallace Road). ......................................................... 67 ii List of Figures Figure 6-11. Location of the previously recorded and newly recorded historic resources, and newly recorded historic resource groups along the SR 60 PD&E Study corridor (East of Wallace Road to west of Bugg Road). .................................. 68 Figure 6-12. Location of the previously recorded and newly recorded historic resources, and newly recorded historic resource groups along the SR 60 PD&E Study corridor (West of Bugg Road to James L. Redman Parkway). ........................ 69 Figure 6-13. Location of the previously recorded and newly recorded historic resources, and newly recorded historic resource groups along the SR 60 PD&E Study corridor (East of James L. Redman Parkway to east of CSX railroad). ......... 70 Figure 6-14. Location of the previously recorded and newly recorded historic resources, and newly recorded historic resource groups along the SR 60 PD&E Study corridor (West of Smith Ryals Road to Horton Road). .................................... 71 Figure 6-15. Location of the previously recorded and newly recorded historic resources, and newly recorded historic resource groups along the SR 60 PD&E Study corridor (Horton Road to English Creek). ........................................................ 72 Figure 6-16. Location of the previously recorded and newly recorded historic resources, and newly recorded historic resource groups along the SR 60 PD&E Study corridor (English Creek to County Line Road). ............................................... 73 Figure 6-17. 1936 Hillsborough
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 2.0 Current Freight Rail System and Services in Florida
    Investment Element of the 2010 Florida Rail System Plan 2.0 Current Freight Rail System and Services in Florida 2.1 Overview The Florida rail system is comprised of 2,786 miles of mainline track, which are owned by 15 operating line-haul railroads and terminal or switching companies, as well as 81 miles owned by the State of Florida. Florida’s rail system includes 2 Class I Railroads (CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Corporation), 1 Class II (Florida East Coast Railway), 11 Class III (Alabama and Gulf Coast Railway AN Railway, Bay Line Railroad, First Coast Railroad, Florida West Coast Railroad, Florida Central Railroad, Florida Midland Railroad, Florida Northern Railroad, Georgia and Florida Railway, Seminole Gulf Railway, and South Central Florida Express) and 1 railroad specializing in switching and terminals (Talleyrand Terminal).9 The largest operator in the State is CSX Transportation, which owns more than 53 percent of the statewide track mileage. In 2008, Florida’s railroads carried nearly 1.6 million carloads – 19 percent less than in 2006 – and approximately 83 million tons of freight, representing a 25 million ton (23 percent) decrease from 2006.10 During that year, railroads handled freight equivalent to roughly 5.0 million heavy trucks.11 Nonetheless, railroads continue to support thousands of jobs throughout the State and assist Florida’s industries to remain competitive with international and domestic markets for fertilizer, construction rock, consumer goods, paper products, processed 9 U.S. Class I Railroads are line-haul freight railroads with 2007 operating revenue in excess of $359.6 million (2006 operating revenues exceeding $346.7 million).
    [Show full text]
  • 2004 Freight Rail Component of the Florida Rail Plan
    final report 2004 Freight Rail Component of the Florida Rail Plan prepared for Florida Department of Transportation prepared by Cambridge Systematics, Inc. 4445 Willard Avenue, Suite 300 Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815 with Charles River Associates June 2005 final report 2004 Freight Rail Component of the Florida Rail Plan prepared for Florida Department of Transportation prepared by Cambridge Systematics, Inc. 4445 Willard Avenue, Suite 300 Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815 with Charles River Associates Inc. June 2005 2004 Freight Rail Component of the Florida Rail Plan Table of Contents Executive Summary .............................................................................................................. ES-1 Purpose........................................................................................................................... ES-1 Florida’s Rail System.................................................................................................... ES-2 Freight Rail and the Florida Economy ....................................................................... ES-7 Trends and Issues.......................................................................................................... ES-15 Future Rail Investment Needs .................................................................................... ES-17 Strategies and Funding Opportunities ...................................................................... ES-19 Recommendations........................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • “From Bone Valley to 'Far Places': a Global Environmental History of The
    Edward D. Melillo – Please do no cite or copy without author’s permission “From Bone Valley to ‘Far Places’: A Global Environmental History of the 1919 Phosphate Miners’ Strike in Mulberry, Florida” Edward Melillo, Amherst College Introduction In her 1942 autobiography, Dust Tracks on a Road, writer Zora Neale Hurston vividly depicted the miners of Polk County, Florida, their “sweating black bodies, muscled like gods…. They go down in the phosphate mines and bring up the wet dust of the bones of pre-historic monsters, to make rich land in far places, so that people can eat.”1 Hurston’s narrative suspended readers between the immediacy of sinew and bone and the remoteness of the “far places” that reconstituted their soils with fertilizer from Florida’s phosphorus-rich fossil deposits. Among the sites where Hurston gathered folklore for the Works Projects Administration (WPA) in the late 1930s was the town of Mulberry, thirty-two miles (52 km) east of Tampa in Polk County. This railroad outpost in Florida’s “Bone Valley” region—a zone where phosphate-laden skeletons accumulated millions of years ago when much of the area was beneath the ocean—has long been a place where the gritty labors of a southern community converged with the demands of distant environments.2 This article chronicles a 1919 strike during which 3,000 black and white miners from the International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers targeted seventeen of 1 Zora Neale Hurston, Dust Tracks on a Road: An Autobiography (1942; New York: HarperCollins, 2006), 147. 2 On May 6, 1935, United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt created the WPA by Executive Order #7034.
    [Show full text]
  • Florida Phosphate Mining
    UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA Tampa Division ______________________________________ ) CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY; ) MANASOTA-88, INC; PEOPLE FOR ) PROTECTING PEACE RIVER; and ) SUNCOAST WATERKEEPER, ) ) Plaintiffs, ) Civil No: ) v. ) ) U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS; ) LT. GEN. TODD T. SEMONITE, in his ) official capacity as Commanding General and ) Chief of Engineers of the U.S. Army Corps of ) Engineers; COL. JASON A. KIRK, in his ) official capacity as District Commander of the ) U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; U.S. ) DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; ) RYAN ZINKE, in his official capacity as ) Secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior; ) U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE; and ) JIM KURTH, in his official capacity as ) Acting Director of U.S. Fish and Wildlife ) Service, ) ) Defendants. ) ______________________________________ ) PLAINTIFFS’ COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF I. INTRODUCTION 1. The Center for Biological Diversity; ManaSota-88, Inc.; People for Protecting Peace River; and Suncoast Waterkeeper (collectively, Plaintiffs) challenge two related 1 actions by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (Service): (1) the decision to grant a 20-year Clean Water Act Section 404 permit for the South Pasture Extension Mine, permit numberSAJ-1993-01395, which would strip mine 7,513 acres in the Peace River watershed for phosphate; and (2) the decision to rely on an incomplete and unlawfully insufficient National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis to support the South Pasture Extension Mine permit as well as three other proposed phosphate strip mining permits, which together cover more than 50,000 total acres of vital ecosystems and watersheds in an area of central Florida known as Bone Valley.
    [Show full text]
  • RAIL SYSTEM PLAN December 2018 Table of Contents
    2015 FLORIDA RAIL SYSTEM PLAN December 2018 Table of Contents FLORIDA RAIL SYSTEM PLAN - 2018 UPDATE The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Freight and Multimodal Operations Office (FMO) present this 2018 update of the 2015 Florida Rail System Plan. As new challenges have had a great impact on the needs and future projects identified in the 2015 Rail System Plan, FDOT prepared this update. CHALLENGES • New State Rail Plan Guidance was created in 2013 to set a standard format and elaborate on required elements of the plan to include a 5-year update cycle, and a requirement for states seeking capital grants under Sections 301, 302, and 501. See https://www.fra.dot.gov/Page/P0511. Thereafter, FDOT prepared a 2015 Rail System Plan that was completed in December 2015. The Plan was not published at that time, as major industry changes were expected and no public outreach had yet been conducted. • Major industry changes occurred that impacted most of the rail mileage in Florida: o CSX hired Hunter Harrison in spring of 2017, and radically changed the company by imposing precision-scheduled railroading instead of a hub-and-spoke system. This approach has been continued by CSX leadership through 2018. o Grupo México Transportes (GMXT), the leading rail freight transportation company in Mexico, successfully completed the acquisition of Florida East Coast Railway in 2017. o Brightline began service in 2018 between West Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, and Miami later in the year, and with plans to connect to Orlando and potentially to Tampa in the future. APPROACH • The FAST Act (Title 49, Section 22702) passage in December 2015 changed the 5-year update cycle to a 4-year update cycle.
    [Show full text]
  • PHOSPHATE ROCK by Stephen M
    PHOSPHATE ROCK By Stephen M. Jasinski Domestic survey data and tables were prepared by Hoa P. Phamdang, statistical assistant, and the world production table was prepared by Glenn J. Wallace, international data coordinator. Phosphorus is an essential element for plant and animal After reaching a 35-year low in 2001, domestic production nutrition and it is consumed primarily as a principal component of marketable phosphate rock grew by 13% in 2002, owing to of nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium (NPK) fertilizers that are an increase in production of phosphoric acid and phosphate used on food crops throughout the world. Phosphate rock fertilizers (table 3). Mine capacity utilization was at 83% in minerals are the only significant global resources of phosphorus. 2002 compared with 74% in 2001, when several mines were The United States is the world’s leading producer and consumer temporarily closed for short periods throughout the year. Output of phosphate rock and phosphate fertilizers. Throughout this from mines in Idaho and Utah was slightly lower in 2002 report (unless noted otherwise), mine production is reported in because of the closure of the Astaris LLC elemental phosphorus terms of marketable production, which refers to beneficiated plant in December 2001 and the company’s associated transition phosphate rock, with a phosphorus pentoxide (P2O5) content of to manufacturing purified phosphoric acid. greater than 27.5% for phosphoric acid or 20% for elemental In 2002, Florida accounted for more than 75% of domestic phosphorus production. production and about 20% of world production, which was The world phosphate market began to recover in 2002, greater than Morocco, the world’s second largest producer following more than 2 years of weak market conditions that (Florida Phosphate Council, 2003).
    [Show full text]
  • CCMP: Committing to Our Future
    Committing to Our Future A Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan for the Greater Charlotte Harbor Watershed from Venice to Bonita Springs to Winter Haven Update 2013 The Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) was first adopted by the CHNEP Policy Committee on April 13, 2000. It was updated and adopted on March 24, 2008 and again on March 18, 2013. The Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP), this document, may be obtained as a PDF from the website. For additional copies of the printed book, please contact the Program Office or place an order through the website. Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program 1926 Victoria Avenue Fort Myers, FL 33901-3414 239/338-2556, Toll-free 866/835-5785 www.CHNEP.org The CCMP was developed in part with funds provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4 through a cooperative agreement with the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program. Cover art donated by Linda Soderquist (www.LindasIslandArt.com) to the CHNEP originally for the Charlotte Harbor Nature Festival. © 2000. Revised 2008 and 2013. Printed on recycled paper. Committing to Our Future A Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan for the Greater Charlotte Harbor Watershed from Venice to Bonita Springs to Winter Haven Update 2013 The Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program (CHNEP) is a partnership of citizens, elected officials, resource managers and commercial and recreational resource users who are working to improve the water quality and ecological integrity of the CHNEP study area. A cooperative decision-making process is used within the program to address diverse resource management concerns in the 4,700-square-mile CHNEP study area.
    [Show full text]
  • Florida Freight Rail Needs Assessment
    final report 2006 Florida Freight & Passenger Rail Plan prepared for Florida Department of Transportation prepared by Cambridge Systematics, Inc. Bethesda, MD February 2007 final report 2006 Florida Freight & Passenger Rail Plan prepared for Florida Department of Transportation prepared by Cambridge Systematics, Inc. 4800 Hampden Lane, Suite 800 Bethesda, Maryland 20814 February 2007 2006 Florida Rail Plan Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction................................................................................................................... 1-1 1.1 Introduction and Purpose.................................................................................... 1-1 1.2 Authority ................................................................................................................ 1-2 1.3 Contents.................................................................................................................. 1-3 2.0 Policy Issues, Roles, and Responsibilities............................................................... 2-1 2.1 Overview ................................................................................................................ 2-1 2.2 Public Sector Involvement in Florida Railroads ............................................... 2-2 2.3 Hurricane Response.............................................................................................. 2-11 3.0 The Demand for Rail Services in Florida ................................................................ 3-1 3.1 Demographic and Socioeconomic Trends
    [Show full text]
  • Phosphate Mining I Thn E Bone Valley
    Phosphate Mining ithin the Bone Valley Mark Peterson Tampa Permits Office January 14, 2011 US Army Corps of Engineers BUILDING STRONG® JACKSONVILLE DISTRICT Phosphate History •River Pebble Phosphate was discovered along the Peace River in 1881. •Early mining was by hand using wheelbarrows, picks and shovels. •Mechanized excavation began between 1900 and 1905 with steam shovels. •Draglines first utilized in the1920s and 1930s. •Technological advancements allowed miners to move from the river-pebble to the land-pebble and hard-rock phosphates, and then to mining the finer-grained “phosphate matrix ” •Phosphate matrix occurs over a wide area of west-central Florida known as the “Bone Valley”. •In 1900 it took 3-4 years to mine 15 acres with pikicks an d s hove ls. In the ear ly days o fthf the sma ll draglines, about 5 acres were mined in a year. •As draglines grew in size, companies were able Source: to mine 500-600 acres a year. Currently, http://www.lakelandgov.net/library/oldspeccoll/fscsan/ph draglines are able to mine 15 acres a month. os1a.htm BUILDING STRONG® Source: www.baysoundings.com BUILDING STRONG® Central Florida Phosphate Region “Bone Valley” • Geologist named the Florida phosphate reserve “Bone Valley”. • The Central Florida Phosphate Region consists of Hillsborough, Polk, Hardee, DeSoto and Manatee Counties . • Watersheds include the Alafia River Watershed, the Peace River Watershed, the Manatee River Watershed, the Little Manatee River Watershed and the Myakka River Watershed. • Current Phosphate mining companies: Mosaic and CF Industries. • OihOne mine has operate didfBVlliHild outside of Bone Valley in Hamilton County in North Florida.
    [Show full text]
  • Bizarre Dolphin Lower Jaw Fragment Features  Goniodelphis-Like Dolphin Jaw  Deer Evolution  Bone Handles  Burrowed Coprolites
    The ECPHORA The Newsletter of the Calvert Marine Museum Fossil Club Volume 30 Number 2 June 2015 Bizarre Dolphin Lower Jaw Fragment Features Goniodelphis-like Dolphin Jaw Deer Evolution Bone Handles Burrowed Coprolites Inside Girdled Dogwhelk Modified Meg Teeth? Peace River Meg Tooth James River Donations Sculpey Octopus Wentletrap shells, Epitonium rupicola Megalodon Nail Polish Megalodon Chocolate Mighty Mako Gary Grimsley recently found this short but most unusual section of a ☼ Beautiful Projectile Point toothed whale lower jaw. It is unusual because it is so narrow from side to New Jersey C. carcharias side (upper-most image), but very deep, almost keel-like (photo Shark-bitten Rib immediately above); notice the empty tooth sockets (upper-most image). It Collington Community is similar (but not identical) to Goniodelphis (below), a very poorly known Fossil Exhibit dolphin that has only been found in Florida. Most researchers attribute Fossil Club Events Goniodelphis, a Miocene dolphin, to the Iniidae, the family that includes the living Amazon River dolphin (Inia geoffrensis). Type specimen of Goniodelphis hudsoni Allen, 1941; partial skull in dorsal view (front to the left). Lower jaw of Goniodelphis hudsoni (MCZ 17881; Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard). Hands by M. Baughman. Photos by S. Godfrey. CALVERT MARINE MUSEUM www.calvertmarinemuseum.com 2 The Ecphora June 2015 Deer Evolution in North America were inherited from earlier, antler-less deer [1], see Figure 3. George F. Klein The article and photographs of a possible partial deer antler found along Calvert Cliffs that appeared in the March (2015) issue of The Ecphora inspired a bit of research on my part.
    [Show full text]
  • Central Florida Phosphate District Third Edition
    Southeastern Geological Society Field Trip Guidebook No. 67 Central Florida Phosphate District Third Edition Photo provided by The Mosaic Company July 30, 2016 Edited by Marc V. Hurst Field Trip Committee Clint Noble Samantha Andrews Tom Scott Natalie Whitcomb Pete Karashay Harley Means Southeastern Geological Society Guidebook No. 67, July 30, 2016 Central Florida Phosphate District Third Edition Southeastern Geological Society Field Trip Guidebook No. 67 July 30, 2016 Edited by Marc V. Hurst Field Trip Committee Clint Noble Samantha Andrews Tom Scott Natalie Whitcomb Pete Karashay Harley Means Southeastern Geological Society Guidebook No. 67, July 30, 2016 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Much of this guidebook was originally published in the Southeastern Geological Society (SEGS) Guidebook No. 57, dated August 11, 2012. It was revised, updated, and published for the 30th Florida SME and Dreyer Conference, dated October 6, 2015. It was updated again for this edition; and new articles were added. i Southeastern Geological Society Guidebook No. 67, July 30, 2016 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION TO FLORIDA PHOSPHATE by: Marc V. Hurst, Jon L. Courtney, and Glen Oswald...................................................... 1 THE NORTH AND SOUTH PASTURE MINES by: Kevin D. Farmer and Pete Karashay…....................................................................... 21 THE FOUR CORNERS MINE by: Glen Oswald, Joe T. Alex, and Marc V. Hurst ........................................................... 23 GEOLOGIC OVERVIEW OF FLORIDA by: Thomas M. Scott …...................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Stratigraphic Modeling for Concealed Phosphate Deposits in Virginia's
    Stratigraphic Modeling for Concealed Phosphate Deposits in Virginia’s Coastal Plain Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy Division of Geology and Mineral Resources in cooperation with United States Geological Survey Mineral Resources External Research Program COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT: G10AP00054 FINAL TECHNICAL REPORT Aaron Cross and William L. Lassetter 2011 "Research supported by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Department of the Interior, under USGS award number G10AP00054. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Government." “Opportunities for new discoveries are good, and the increasing knowledge about the origin and occurrence of phosphate deposits should aid prospecting.” V. E. McKelvey, 1967 Abstract A study to outline an exploration program for phosphates beneath Virginia’s Coastal Plain was undertaken by the Virginia Division of Geology and Mineral Resources with funding support from the U.S. Geological Survey. An in-depth literature review highlighted the importance of two primary stages in the development of phosphate deposits in the geologic setting of the mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain. During stage one, primary phosphatic material was precipitated in the early Paleogene marine environment from nutrient-rich, oxygen-poor seawater. During stage two, primary phosphate deposits were exposed to weathering, reworked, and concentrated. The model presented here, at its simplest, advocates the concept of a genesis unit, the Paleocene-Eocene Pamunkey Group, bounded on top by an unconformity, which is overlain by the host unit, the Miocene Calvert Formation, whose base contains a lag deposit of phosphatic sand and gravel.
    [Show full text]