Pristine Virginia

Essay # 25211

Archaeology > Other Regions
Environmental Studies
Geography

Pristine Virginia

This paper looks in detail at the physical landscape of Virginia and how it has changed due to human cultural activity.

1,096 words () | 42 sources | MLA | 2001 Australia

Paper Summary:

Compared to the ancient landmass, humans are a recent arrival to what is considered the state of Virginia. This essay documents the extent to which human land use has impacted the Virginian landscape.

Table of Contents:
Ancient Virginia
Arrival of Humans
Archaic Woodland Period
Europeans
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Undoubtedly, Virginia is old with complex geology, to the west lies the ancient Appalachian and Blue Ridge province, formed on the margin of Laurentia during the Proterozoic over 1,100 million years ago. The largest physiographic province in Virginia is the Piedmont (appendix 1) comprised of weathered bedrock, overlain with saprolite, eroded in stream valleys. The Coastal plain is a terraced landscape, the bedrock consists of igneous and metamorphic rock, with various layers above comprised of sediment deposited in warm shallow seas, and eroded clay, sand, and gravel stripped from the Appalachians (Roberts and Bailey 2001). Remaining temperate forests seen below, possibly began forming about 10,000 years ago, when the Virginian shoreline extended some 30 miles further east onto the continental shelf, and glaciers withdrew as the climate warmed, though temperatures were still much colder than today (Riparian Forest Buffers 1996). The piedmont to the west, and coastal plain to the east is a dynamic environment, continually undergoing change through natural processes."