Geologic Map of the National Parks in the National Capital Region, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia

Southworth, Scott; Denenny, Danielle

More than 51,000 acres within the National Capital Region are administered by the National Park Service (NPS). The land consists of parkways, trails, statues, monuments, memorials, historic sites, scenic areas, theatres, parks for performing arts, and Civil War battlefields. Although largely established for historical and cultural resources, each park is situated on a landscape that is influenced by the bedrock and surficial geology of the Central Appalachian mid-Atlantic region. Geologic mapping and field studies conducted for over 130 years by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Maryland Geological Survey (MGS), and Johns Hopkins University, are summarized to provide the earliest history of the parklands. The age, type, names, and the interpreted origin of the rocks, as well as the processes active in the formation of surficial deposits and the landscape are discussed for each park. The data and report are intended for management of natural resources and enhancement of educational and inter-pretative programs for visitors. The diversity of the National Capital Region (NCR) parks is astounding in both the types of geology and variety of human culture. Examples include the Washington Monument and the National Mall, Antietam National Battlefield (NB) of the Civil War, Rock Creek Park (the first and largest urban park in the Nation), the scenic George Washington Memorial Parkway, historical parks such as Harpers Ferry and the C&O Canal National Historical Park (NHP), Catoctin Mountain Park, and Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts (the first national park for the performing arts). Of all the park-lands, Antietam NB, Catoctin Mountain Park, Monocacy NB, Manassas National Battlefield Park (NBP), Prince William Forest Park, Great Falls Park, George Washington Parkway, and Rock Creek Park are emphasized in this report due to their noteworthy geologic features. An introduction to each park is followed by a discussion of the geologic setting, bedrock, structure, surficial deposits, and landforms. Most of the geologic maps presented here are confined to the NCR park boundaries. The single geologic map of Wash-ington, D.C. (plate 1), however, envelopes the smaller parks that are designated as NCR East and NCR West by the NPS. The geology for this map is centered on the Potomac River in a manner similar to that of the C&O Canal NHP geologic map (Southworth and others, 2001).

Geologic Map of the National Parks in the National Capital Region, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia

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