On May 31, 1897, a strong earthquake occurred in Giles County, Virginia. It caused damage to chimneys in Bluefield, West Virginia - some 40 kilometers away. An April 23, 1959, earthquake located on the Virginia - West Virginia border region caused minor damage in Giles County, Virginia. The strongest, most widely felt earthquake in West Virginia's history occurred on November 19, 1969. It was a magnitude 4.3 earthquake. Damage consisted chiefly of cracked and fallen plaster and broken windows at Athens, Lerona, Elgood, and Pipestem. Similar damage was reported from Glen Lyn and Rich Creek, Virginia. Loud earth noises accompanied the tremor at many places. The earthquake was felt over approximately 260,000 square kilometers of West Virginia, Virginia, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
The Appalachian Mountain Range in West Virginia is made up of two types of mountains. The first, and most common, are erosional mountains. These are mountains that were formed as rivers and streams eroded the Appalachian Plateau. The second type are complex mountains. They are located along and east of the Allegheny Front and the St. Clair Fault. The Allegheny Front is a high, east-facing escarpment (cliff or steep slope). The St. Clair Fault is the western most fault in the Valley and Ridge Province in West Virginia, an area that contains long, northeast-southwest oriented valleys separated by equally long parallel ridges. The border regions of Mercer and Monroe counties lie within this area.
The objective of this cache is to visit both a geologic fault and fold in Mercer County, West Virginia.
A fault is a break in the earth's crust along which movement can take place causing an earthquake.
A fold is a portion of strata that is folded or bent, as an anticline or syncline, or that connects two horizontal or parallel portions of strata of different levels.
The listed coordinates will take you to the fault shown in the first picture above. It is located on the westbound lane of Route 460 just east of Princeton. Folds can be found on the outcrops on either side of U.S. Route 460 from the location of the fault east to the Mercer County / Giles County line. TO RECEIVE CREDIT FOR THE FIND 1) FIND A FOLD LOCATED ALONG RT. 460 AND POST THE GPS COORDINATES WHEN YOU LOG YOUR VISIT 2) ESTIMATE THE LENGTH OF THE FAULT LINE THAT IS VISIBLE AT THE POSTED COORDINATES AND EMAIL ME THE ANSWER 3) OPTIONAL - POST A PICTURE OF YOURSELF AT THE FAULT (NOT REQUIRED)