Raleigh Sandstone

From West Virginia (WV) Cyclopedia

In the central and southern New River Gorge region, the Raleigh Sandstone is the most obvious cliff-forming strata and has helped preserve large parts of southern Fayette County and central and eastern Raleigh County from erosion. Like the Nuttall Sandstone, to the north, the Raleigh Sandstone supports large areas of tableland, notably in the areas of Grandview, Scott Ridge, and eastern parts of Beckley. Lower in the strata of the New River Gorge than the Nuttall Sandstone, the Raleigh Sandstone forms towering cliffs farther down the flank of the gorge in the north and its tributaries. It is geologically divided into two beds, or ledges, similar to those of the thicker Nuttall Sandstone.

Upper Raleigh Sandstone -- the upper ledge of the Raleigh Sandstone has been described by the West Virginia Geological Survey as "heavy- to current-bedded, medium- to coarse-grained, micaceous to quartzitic, usually conglomeratic, grayish-white to grayish-brown." The Upper Raleigh Sandstone forms cliffs high on the valley walls of the southern New River Gorge, including those at Grandview, including Turkey Spur Rock.

Lower Raleigh Sandstone -- the lower ledge of the Raleigh Sandstone has been described by the West Virginia Geological Survey as resembling the upper ledge in "texture and physical appearance." The bed is an important cliff-former, particularly in the southern gorge and along the walls of the gorges of the Piney Creek and Glade Creek. Among its most accessible outcrops are its cliffs on the upper rim of the Manns Creek Gorge in Babcock State Park.