7 October 2011
Friday fold: the Devil’s Backbone
Posted by Callan Bentley
This photo was taken by James Edward Bailey, a 5th grade student from Reston, Virginia. Young James got interested in geology through participation in a USGS summer program. The anticline shown is known as “the Devil’s Backbone.” It is located near Marlinton, West Virginia, right on the boundary between the Valley & Ridge province and the Appalachian Plateaus. It clearly shows differential weathering of weaker layers and tougher layers. …Also some lovely fall colors!
James’ father is also named James Bailey, and it was he who e-mailed me the photo and shared these details. He describes it this way:
What a patriotic American fold…West Virginia style! You’ll notice the American flag placed on the site by a private landowner, as I understand it. I guess the next development step for the site would be to add a McDonald’s next to the flag pole.
More images from the same trip can be seen in the elder James’ Flickr photoset.
Thanks for sharing the image, Jameses! Happy Friday, all! Enjoy your weekends.
Callan Bentley is Associate Professor of Geology at Piedmont Virginia Community College in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America. For his work on this blog, the National Association of Geoscience Teachers recognized him with the James Shea Award. He has also won the Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council on Higher Education in Virginia, and the Biggs Award for Excellence in Geoscience Teaching from the Geoscience Education Division of the Geological Society of America. In previous years, Callan served as a contributing editor at EARTH magazine, President of the Geological Society of Washington and President the Geo2YC division of NAGT.
Hi Callan,
Thanks so much for sharing my son’s photograph. He’s very excited about sharing your post with his teachers and classmates. I also greatly appreciate what you do to help inspire a younger generation’s interest in geology.
James W. Bailey
This is “National Geographic standard” photography. This guy has a good future with his camera, that is for sure! What a nice composition, light and colour contrast. Congratulations for the nice work!