The Environment of West Virginia encompasses terrain and ecosystems ranging from plateaus to mountains. Most of West Virginia lies within the Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests ecoregion, while the higher elevations along the eastern border and in the panhandle lie within the Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests.
The Chilhowee Group is a sedimentary body composed of early Cambrian siliciclastic sedimentary rocks which crop out along the eastern margin of the Blue Ridge province in Maryland, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. They represent a rift to passive margin sequence, with mostly coarse, feldspathic sandstones and conglomerates in the lower member and shales and phyllite in the upper members.The Chilhowee Group contains four formations; the Loudoun Formation, Weverton Formation, Harpers Formation and Antietam Formation. Another name for the Harpers formations is the Hampton formation, and the Antietam Formation is also known as the Erwin Formation. The Hampton Formation has minor economic importance in the area near the James River Face Wilderness. As of 1982 there were three quarries operating near the James River Face Wilderness. Those quarries produced roofing shale, light weight aggregate, and various materials for brick making. The Antietam Formation also had a minor economic importance, particularly from 1945 up until 1966. There were three quarries producing crushed quartzite, which was used to produce concrete aggregates, road metal and railroad ballast .
The Conococheague Formation is a mapped Appalachian bedrock unit of Cambrian age, consisting primarily of limestone and dolomite. It occurs in central Maryland, southern and central Pennsylvania, the Valley and Ridge of Virginia and easternmost West Virginia.
The Cambrian Muav Limestone is the upper geologic unit of the 3-member Tonto Group. It is about 650 feet (198 m) thick at its maximum. It is a resistant cliff-forming unit. The Muav consists of dark to light-gray, brown, and orange red limestone with dolomite and calcareous mudstone. The Muav is overlain in some areas by the Devonian Temple Butte Limestone, but the major unit above are the vertical cliffs of Mississippian Redwall Limestone. The Muav is located in the lower elevations of the Grand Canyon, Arizona.
Paleontology in West Virginia refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of West Virginia. West Virginia's fossil record begins in the Cambrian. From that time through the rest of the early Paleozoic, the state was at least partially submerged under a shallow sea. The Paleozoic seas of West Virginia were home to creatures like corals, eurypterids, graptolites, nautiloids, and trilobites at varying times. During the Carboniferous period, the sea was replaced by lushly vegetated coastal swamps. West Virginia is an excellent source of fossil plants due to these deposits. These swamps were home to amphibians. A gap in the local rock record spans from the Permian to the end of the Cenozoic. West Virginia was never the site of glacial activity during the Ice Age, but the state was home to creatures like mammoths, mastodons, and giant ground sloths. One local ground sloth, Megalonyx jeffersonii, was subject to the scholarly investigations of Thomas Jefferson, who misinterpreted the large-clawed remains as belonging to a lion-like predator. In 2008, this species was designated the West Virginia state fossil.
Paleontology in Virginia refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Virginia. The geologic column in Virginia spans from the Cambrian to the Quaternary. During the early part of the Paleozoic, Virginia was covered by a warm shallow sea. This sea would come to be inhabited by creatures like brachiopods, bryozoans, corals, and nautiloids. The state was briefly out of the sea during the Ordovician, but by the Silurian it was once again submerged. During this second period of inundation the state was home to brachiopods, trilobites and entire reef systems. During the mid-to-late Carboniferous the state gradually became a swampy environment.
The Cambrian Bright Angel Shale is the middle member of the 3-member Tonto Group. It is about 500 feet (152 m) thick at its maximum. It is a nonresistant slope-forming unit. The Bright Angel Shale consists of green and purple-red, siltstone and shale which is interbedded with red-brown to brown sandstone that is similar in lithology to the underlying Tapeats. The Bright Angel Shale underlies and interfingers with Muav Limestone. The Bright Angel Shale is located in the lower elevations of the Grand Canyon, Arizona.
The Shady Dolomite is a geologic formation in Virginia. It preserves fossils dating back to the Cambrian period.
The Rome Formation is a geologic formation in Tennessee. It preserves fossils dating back to the Cambrian period.
The Tomstown Dolomite or Tomstown Formation is a geologic formation in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. It preserves fossils dating to the Cambrian Period.
The Conasauga Formation is a geologic formation in Georgia. It preserves fossils dating back to the Cambrian period.
The Knox Group is a widespread geologic group in the Southeastern United States. Though not commonly fossiliferous, it preserves fossils dating back to the Cambrian period. Typical lithologies include thick-bedded cherty dolomites and limestones. Associated minerals include barite, fluorite, lead, and most importantly zinc in the form of the mineral sphalerite. Oil and gas also occur in the Knox Group beneath the Appalachian Plateaus.
The Antietam Formation or Antietam Sandstone is a geologic formation in Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia. It is largely quartz sandstone with some quartzite and quartz schist. It preserves Skolithos trace fossils dating back to the Cambrian Period.
The Harpers Formation is a geologic formation in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, consisting of schist, phyllite, and shale. It dates back to the early Cambrian period. It is considered part of the Chilhowee Group.
The Weverton Formation is a quartzite geologic formation in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. It is considered the basal member of the Chilhowee Group. The Weverton Formation dates back to the Cambrian period.
The Waynesboro Formation is a limestone, dolomite, and sandstone geologic formation in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. It some areas it is composed of limestone and dolomite. The Waynsboro Formation is one of the formations that make up the Shenandoah Valley. It dates back to the Cambrian period and is not considered fossiliferous.
The Elbrook Formation is a geologic formation in West Virginia. It dates back to the Cambrian period.
The Rome Group is a geologic group in West Virginia. It dates back to the Cambrian period.
