Date of Award

Fall 1984

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Ocean & Earth Sciences

Program/Concentration

Oceanography

Committee Director

Carl F. Koch

Committee Member

Randall Spencer

Committee Member

Ramesh Venkatakrishnan

Call Number for Print

Special Collections LD4331.G4L36

Abstract

Biostratigraphic analysis of Late Miocene and Pliocene strata along the Piankatank River in eastern Virginia exposes a juxtaposition of the Eastover and Yorktown Formations. This structure is situated on a NE trending alignment of geological, geomorphic, and geophysical features which run from southern Virginia to northern Delaware. Tectonic jointing in isolated sandstone bodies and fracture controlled drainage patterns provide further evidence of post-middle Pliocene tectonism in the region. The lateral spacing of this structure from the Stafford and Brandywine fault zones and other linear features on the Coastal Plain strongly implies that a structural similarity exists between the Piankatank structure and the previously identified fault zones. This analogy suggests that the Piankatank structure is a tectonically induced flexure resulting from periodic movement along a series of high-angle reverse faults rooted in the basement. The latest period of activity in the Piankatank region has occurred subsequent to the middle Pliocene deposition of the Yorktown Formation.

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DOI

10.25777/1v2w-r646

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