i:> 



JOURNAL 



OF THE 



WASHINGTON ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 



Vol. VIII DECEMBER 19, 1918 No. 21 



GEOLOGY. — Titanium-bearing corundum spinellite (rock em- 

 ery): a preliminary statement of its occurrence and co7nposi- 

 tion in Virginia. Thomas L. Watson, University of Vir- 

 ginia, and George Steiger, United States Geological 

 Survey. 



It is proposed in this paper to summarize brieflj^ the geologic 

 occurrence and composition of a type of mineral deposit (rock 

 emerjO in Virginia that possesses considerable scientific interest 

 as well as commercial importance. The rock name spinellite 

 applied in 1893 to certain ore deposits at Routivare, Sweden, is 

 suggested for the ilmenite-magnetite-conmdum-spinel aggregate 

 from Mrginia. The geology of the Virginia area, including the 

 bodies of rock emery, will be treated at some length in a report 

 of the State Geological Survey, which is in an advanced stage of 

 preparation. 



resume of the areal geology 



The area is in the north-central part of Pittsylvania County 

 near to and along the west side of the Southern Railway, about 

 40 miles south of Lynchburg, and 20 miles north of Danville. 

 Whittles, a station on the Southern Railwa}^, 5 miles north of 

 Chatham, the county seat, is the present shipping point. 



As mapped by the Virginia Geological Survey, the area com- 

 prises approximately 20 square miles. It forms a part of the 

 crystalline rock complex of the Piedmont Plateau province. 

 Its surface is maturely dissected, averaging in elevation about 



665 



