The Historical Formation of West Virginia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Historical Formation of West Virginia - Essay Example According to Lessing (1996) "West Virginia basically consists of two areas: namely, the western area which is called the Appalachian Plateau Province, a plateau of relatively flat-lying rocks and the eastern part in which the Valley and Ridge Province lay which consist of folded and faulted rocks. These two areas are divided by the Allegheny Front. In the eastern part of West Virginia the oldest rocks can be found and as one proceeds westward, the rocks are younger and younger". At the beginning of the Devonian Period the Helderberg group was being formed, followed by the Oriskany Formation, the Millboro Formation, the Brallier Formation, the Foreknobs Formation and the Hampshire Formation. In this report the most important geological features are being explained in a historical order. At the beginning of the Devonian time (Upper Devonian) the Helderberg Group was being formed. Baedke and Fichter (2000) state that "during the end of the previous period (which is called the Silurian Period) West Virginia had been a desert since the sea had regressed. But by the beginning of the Devonian Time the Tippecanoe sea began its major transgression, which caused a rise in sea level and as a result of this the land flooded". According to Dorobek and Read (1986) the Helderberg Group is a "is a mix of siliciclastic-carbonate sediments that was formed during a relativ stable tectonic environment, namely on a slope that consisted of low-relief tectonic highlands on the eastern side of the Appalachian Plateau Province. Dorobek at al. state that the Helderberg Group lasted bout 8-10 million years. In this timeperiod three transgressive-regressive eras can be distinguished from each other. Each sequence was shaped over 2-3 million years. Finally the Helderberg Group was buried by t hick Middle Devonian siliciclastic sediments". "By the end of the Upper Devonian Period the sea level had reduced again because of a major regression of the Tippecanoe sea. Rocks that had been deposited in West Virginia were removed because of erosion. Pure black quartz sand was spread across West Virginia through which the Oriskany formation was formed. This all happened during a rare period of tectonic stability" (Baedke and Fichter (2000)). "Brame 2001 claims that at the beginning of the Middle Devonian Period the sea level changed again because of transgression of the sea. Through the rise of the sealevel the Millboro sequence, a deep water black shale, could be formed" (pp25-26). During the end of the Middle Devonian Period (when the tectonics where unstable again) and the beginning of the Lower Devonian Period the Brallier sequence was formed. According to Brame (2001) "a part of the Brallier Formation, namely the Back Creek Silt-stone Member, has been formed by a tectonically caused clastic wedge. Brame (2001) states that another sequence of the Brallier Formation, namely the Minnehaha Springs Member, has been formed by erosion as a result of sea-level regressions" (pp27-29). During the Lower Devonian Period, when the shoreline was shifting, the Foreknobs Formation was deposited in a shelf environment. "The Foreknobs exist according to Brame (2001) of siltstone and sandstone. Brame (2001) adds that "the Foreknobs Formation was separated into five sequences: namely, the Mallow, Briery Gap, Blizzard, Pound Sandstone, and Red Lick. The Foreknobs Forma

Middle East Conflicts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Middle East Conflicts - Essay Example Though history is replete with the countless wars fought between the followers belonging to divergent faiths, where both the sides asserted their claim to be the people of God, yet the Middle East crisis have witnessed over two centuries long clashes along with six decades long bloody struggle between the Jews and Muslims. Consequently, four wars have been fought between the two communities in order to win complete domination and hold in the region. Took place in 1948, 1967, 1973 and 2006, the Arab-Israel conflicts are the worst precedents of wars in the name of religion. Historical Background: During 19th century, when the nationalist movements began to emerge in Europe and Jews were being persecuted in Austria, Prussia and England by the orthodox Christians, the Jews started dreaming of acquiring their separate homeland, where no one could gather courage to hurt, humiliate and discard their community. Thus the Zionist movement came into being by the end of nineteenth century. The Jews started to shifting to Palestine and purchased land there en mass. Initially, the Arabs allowed them live side by side with them, but due to the continuous increase in Jewish population, the Arab nationalism emerged, and the young generation started resistance against further Jewish immigration in the region. Twentieth century brought the news of independence for countless nations in the aftermath of two Great Wars between the then superpowers of the world, which had weakened the UK, Germany, France, Austria and Japan. Palestine was under the subjugation of the Ottoman Empire till 1917, which was captured by the Allied Forces in the aftermath of WWI. The big powers allow the Jews to enter their ‘promised land’ Israel in the neighborhood of Jerusalem, the most sacred area for Jews on the earth. It was really perturbing for the Arabs, who had been in majority and political domination in the entire region for