Pocahontas County, West Virginia is a physiographically interesting area

 

Pocahontas County, West Virginia is a physiographically interesting area because it is the source or near the source of many of the major streams of the eastern United States. The present topographic features of the county are the result of movements of the Earth's crust followed by ages of erosion.

The eastern half of the county exhibits excellent examples of mountains due to folding and followed by erosion. This is because the county is located in the Appalachian Mountains, which were formed by the collision of two tectonic plates hundreds of millions of years ago. The collision caused the rocks in the area to be folded and uplifted, creating the mountains that we see today.

The western half of the county presents rugged mountain topography as the result of ages of cutting away by small streams. This is because the western half of the county is located on the Allegheny Plateau, which is a dissected plateau region. The Allegheny Plateau was formed by millions of years of erosion, which carved out the deep valleys and gorges that we see today.

The rocks of Pocahontas County are all of sedimentary origin, meaning that they were deposited in water of varying depths and salinity. The sandstone, limestone, and shale that are found in the county were all deposited in different environments, such as shallow seas, reefs, and lagoons.

The coals of Pocahontas County represent abundant vegetation spread over a low-lying swamp area. The swamp was located in a coastal plain environment, and the vegetation that grew there was eventually buried by sediment. Over time, the pressure and heat from the overlying sediment transformed the vegetation into coal.

The passage also mentions that the formation of a toxic acid in the swamp prevented the decomposition of the vegetation. This acid was most likely formed by the decay of organic matter in the swamp. The acid created an environment that was hostile to bacteria, which are the microorganisms that break down organic matter. This allowed the vegetation to be preserved and eventually transformed into coal.

Overall, Pocahontas County is a physiographically interesting area because it contains a variety of different landforms, including mountains, valleys, and plateaus. The rocks and coal of the county also provide evidence of the different environments that existed in the area millions of years ago.