Appomattox Court House National Historical Park Geologic Resources Inventory Report
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National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Program Center Appomattox Court House National Historical Park Geologic Resources Inventory Report Natural Resource Report NPS/NRPC/GRD/NRR—2009/145 THIS PAGE: Plain Run Branch, in Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, is one tributary of the Appomattox River (also present in the park). The boulders are Cambrian-age metamorphic rock that formed deep within the Earth, in association with the Appalachian Mountains. ON THE COVER: The rolling forested hills of the Piedmont Province of Virginia form the landscape of Appomattox Court House National HistoricalHistorical Park. The low hills contain rocks that formed deep within the Earth during the uplift of the Appalachian Mountains. NPS Photos courtesy Brian Eick (NPS APCO) Appomattox Court House National Historical Park Geologic Resources Inventory Report Natural Resource Report NPS/NRPC/GRD/NRR—2009/145 Geologic Resources Division Natural Resource Program Center P.O. Box 25287 Denver, Colorado 80225 September 2009 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Natural Resource Program Center Denver, Colorado The National Park Service, Natural Resource Program Center publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public. The Natural Resource Report Series is used to disseminate high-priority, current natural resource management information with managerial application. The series targets a general, diverse audience, and may contain NPS policy considerations or address sensitive issues of management applicability. All manuscripts in the series receive the appropriate level of peer review to ensure that the information is scientifically credible, technically accurate, appropriately written for the intended audience, and designed and published in a professional manner. This report received informal peer review by subject-matter experts who were not directly involved in the collection, analysis, or reporting of the data. Views, statements, findings, conclusions, recommendations, and data in this report are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect views and policies of the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the National Park Service. Printed copies of reports in these series may be produced in a limited quantity and they are only available as long as the supply lasts. This report is also available online from the Geologic Resources Inventory website (http://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/inventory/ gre_publications.cfm) and the Natural Resource Publication Management website (http://www.nature.nps.gov/publications/NRPM/index.cfm) or by sending a request to the address on the back cover. Please cite this publication as: Thornberry-Ehrlich, T. 2009. Appomattox Court House National Historical Park Geologic Resources Inventory Report. Natural Resource Report NPS/NRPC/GRD/NRR—2009/145. National Park Service, Denver, Colorado. NPS 340/100277, September 2009 ii Contents Figures .......................................................................................................................... iv Executive Summary ...................................................................................................... v Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 Purpose of the Geologic Resources Inventory ........................................................................................................... 1 Park Setting ................................................................................................................................................................ 1 Geologic Issues ............................................................................................................. 5 Surface Water Issues and Channel Morphology ........................................................................................................ 5 Seismicity and Mass Wasting ..................................................................................................................................... 6 Anthropogenic Impacts ............................................................................................................................................... 7 Mine Features ............................................................................................................................................................. 7 Hydrogeologic Modeling ............................................................................................................................................. 7 Future Facility Planning .............................................................................................................................................. 8 Miscellaneous Action Items ........................................................................................................................................ 8 Geologic Features and Processes ............................................................................. 11 Geologic Structures .................................................................................................................................................. 11 Geology, Biology, and History Connections ............................................................................................................. 11 Map Unit Properties .................................................................................................... 14 Map Unit Discussion ................................................................................................................................................. 14 Geologic History.......................................................................................................... 19 Proterozoic Eon ........................................................................................................................................................ 19 Late Proterozoic Eon–Early Paleozoic Era ............................................................................................................... 19 Middle Paleozoic Era ................................................................................................................................................ 20 Late Paleozoic Era ................................................................................................................................................... 20 Mesozoic Era ............................................................................................................................................................ 21 Cenozoic Era ............................................................................................................................................................ 21 Glossary ....................................................................................................................... 28 References ................................................................................................................... 32 Appendix A: Geologic Map Graphic .......................................................................... 35 Appendix B: Scoping Summary ................................................................................. 37 Attachment 1: Geologic Resources Inventory Products CD APCO Geologic Resources Inventory Report iii Figures Figure 1. Maps of Appomattox Court House National Historical Park ........................................................................... vi Figure 2. Location of the park relative to the physiographic provinces and subprovinces of Virginia ............................. 3 Figure 3. Locaction of the park relative to the geologic terranes of the Piedmont physiographic province of Virginia ... 4 Figure 4. The “Tibbs vernal pool” in Appomattox Court House National Historical Park ................................................ 9 Figure 5. McLean House, the surrender site. Photo by Landry C. Thornberry. ............................................................ 10 Figure 6. Appomattox County Courthouse. Photo by Landry C. Thornberry. ............................................................... 10 Figure 7. Generalized geologic map of Appomattox and South Boston 30- x 60-minute quadrangles ........................ 13 Figure 8. Geologic time scale ....................................................................................................................................... 23 Figure 9. Geologic time scale specific to Virginia ......................................................................................................... 24 Figure 10. Geologic evolution of the Appalachian Mountains in the Appomattox area (Proterozoic–Cambrian) .......... 25 Figure 11. Geologic evolution of the Appalachian Mountains in the Appomattox area (Cambrian–Mississippian) ...... 26 Figure 12. Geologic evolution of the Appalachian Mountains in the Appomattox area (Permian–Present).................. 27 iv NPS Geologic Resources Division Executive Summary This report accompanies the digital geologic map for Appomattox Court House National Historical Park in Virginia, which the Geologic Resources Division produced