MORE STUFF FROM THE ROANOKE VALLEY

BOG IRON

Bog Iron is the common name for Limonite. It can be found in bogs and swamps throughout the New England States. Limonite is a hydrated iron oxide mineral and it is sometimes use as a source of ocher and umber pigments. As ground water percolates down through the ground, the Bog Iron gets filtered out in gravel layers. Bog Iron forms concretions that can range in size from less than one inch to several feet in diameter. The outside layer usually forms yellow to brown coatings that can be very rough. The inside of the concretions can have large masses and what can best be described as stalactites. The specific hardness ranges from about 4 to 5.5. Bog Iron has a long history of use by humans. Evidence suggests that it was mined in Europe as early as 2000 BC. Several pieces of iron slag were found at a Viking Age settlement in Newfoundland. This is a good indication that the people living there were extracting Bog Iron Ore.It also proves that Europeans came to North America long before coumbus did. When the United States declared war on England, Bog Iron suddenly became an important source of iron ore. Bog iron was melted down to make ingots of pure iron. This iron was in turn made into cannon balls and even cannons. During the Revolutionary War the British were concerned enough about the Bog Iron industry that they attacked the town of Batsto, New Jersey. To produce Iron the early settlers first had to collect the Bog Iron and bring it to a central location for processing. They would make charcoal from the abundant native pines that grew at the time. They built a huge furnace to melt the Bog Iron. They would place a layer of coal, then a layer of bog iron, then a layer of seashells. The lime in the seashells acted as a flux that helped the iron flow out the bottom of the furnace where it was collected and made into useful tools. Bog Iron production flourished in America for about a century; lasting from 1760 until the mid eighteenth century. Whole towns sprang up around the bog iron furnaces. When Iron Ore was discovered in Michigan it quickly replaced Bog Iron as America's primary source of Iron. I recently discovered some interesting specimens of Bog Iron Concretions at a Gravel Pit in Eastern North Carolina. They are hollow on the inside and some have water trapped in them. They range in size from a few inches to about a foot in diameter. They are dull brown on the outside but on the inside they have some great formations and colors. They range in color from deep yellow to orange and dark red. They slice very easy on a diamond saw, and each one can be quite different from the next one. These Bog Iron "geodes" can be a great addition to anyone's rock and mineral collection.






















ABANDONED BRIDGES

THERE ARE MANY ABANDONDED BRIDGES IN THE ROANOKE VALLEY, SOME ARE OLD HIGHWAY BRIDGES, SOME ARE OLD RAILROAD BRIDGES. THIS PICTURE AND THE NEXT TWO SHOW THE ABANDONED RAILROAD BRIDGE OVER THE ROANOKE RIVER IN WELDON, NORTH CAROLINA. THE FIRST RAILROAD BUILT IN THE STATE RAN FROM HERE TO PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA.









IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY YOU CAN SEE THREE GENERATIONS OF BRIDGES IN THIS PHOTO. THE SOLID CONCRETE COLUMNS IN THE CENTER OF THE PHOTO IS THE FIRST GENERATION. THE CONCRETE COLUMNS TO THE RIGHT OF THE PICTURE IS THE SECOND GENERATION. AND IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY AT THE LEFT CENTER OF PICTURE YOU CAN SEE THE MODERN STEEL RAILS OF THE PRESENT BRIDGE.







THIS ABANDONED BRIDGE HAS STALACTITES GROWING FROM IT. THEY HAVE FORMED THE SAME WAY THEY DO IN CAVES. AS RAINWATER SEEPS THROUGH THE CONCRETE BRIDGE IT PICKS UP LIME AND OTHER PARTICLES. THEN WHEN THE WATER REACHES THE BOTTOM OF THE BRIDGE AND BEGINS TO DRIP OFF IT LEAVES BEHIND SOME OF THE IMPURITES WHICH LOOK LIKE SNOW WHITE ICICLES. THERE ARE MANY BRIDGES THAT HAVE THESE STALACTITES GROWING ON THEM. THERE IS A BRIDGE NEAR LOUISBURG THAT IS STILL IN USE AND HAS DOZENS OF STALACTITES GROWING ON IT.



THIS STALAGMITE WAS FORMED WHERE THE WATER DRIPPED ONTO THE GROUND, IT IS ABOUT ONE FOOT ACROSS.











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