venturing4th: Crowburg Basin

Along the Atlantic Coast are a series of fault-edged rift basins that first filled with non marine sediments, then became even wider and deeper allowing the eventual invasion of salt-water seas. The deposition of marine sediments signals new ocean basin has been born.The Triassac red-bed basins that accessorize the Appalachian slopes represent the non marine phase in the birth of the Atlantic Ocean. Geologists have identified almost two dozen of these 235-million-year-old troughs trending subparallel to the Atlantic Coast.

One of the exposed basins is the geo-site for South Carolina. Compared to its much larger northern kin such as the Newark Basin of New Jersey and the Hartford Basin of Connecticut, the Crowburg Basin covering 7 square miles is minuscule. However, three accessible exposures define this red-bed evidence of continental extension and growth and visiting these sites were our goal today.

1. 0.9 mile northwest of Pageland, South Carolina, the contact between volcanic rock and maroon and red conglomerate and sandstone in an outcrop identifies the fault - the Pageland Fault - forming the southeastern edge of the Crowburg Basin.

Site #1

2. 1.9 miles farther northwest is an exposure of sedimentary rocks typical of the non marine strata that fill this basin.

Site #2

3. Finally, six miles west of Pageland, a second exposure of the Pageland Fault contact further defines the basin border. The red beds exposed here are lauded as the southernmost outcropping of Triassic sedimentary rock in the eastern United States.

Site #3

According to Albert Dickas ( 101 American geo-sites you've gotta see ), the Crowburg Basin offers convincing evidence to the field geologist how a small and unassuming countryside exposure can be large and of great importance in the interpretation of geologic history.

That is the geology part of today; there is a human side as well. We left the Airstream in Florence and travelled sixty miles north, almost to the boarder of North Carolina. It was 93 degrees when we entered the town of Pageland.

Nice welcoming sign.

Before we even got to Pageland, about a half mile before this welcome sign, we noticed the...

Northeastern Technical College. That's it. One brick building with a huge parking lot, obviously well used but with not a car in sight. The two signs on the door read, "Open, 8 - 12 Monday through Thursday", and, "No concealable weapons allowed."

We had to drive through Pageland to get to the sites so after Spock concluded his analysis we drove back into a very charming town.

Views of the main street. There were three stop lights in the town. If you got within twenty feet of the rose bushes and fragrance was divine.

As were we passing down to the street, we stopped at an antique store to look at some cast iron frying pans that were on display out front. Andrea came outside and invited us to come into the store. As we were talking she told us of plans to add some more attractions to the town to make it more like Mount Airy, North Carolina. We told her what we were doing, looking at a geo-site, and she became very interested and got her boss. I went and retrieved the book from the car and we spent some time talking about the area.

Talking with Andrea outside the store. Notice the frying pans on the shelves behind her.

Andrea's boss, Mike, looking at the geo-site book. The other man Mike called "Elvis" because he is an Elvis impersonator. We never did know his real name. Turns our "Elivs" lives on Crowburg Road. The ice cold water bottle on the table is one of two that Andrea brought out for Frederick and me; remember, it was 93 degrees out!

Walking down the street, a couple of items caught my eye.