1. Mineral Resources
  2. Online Spatial Data
  3. Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS)

Elizabeth Furnace Mines

Past Producer in Shenandoah county in Virginia, United States with commodity Iron
Map
XML
JSON
KML
B
Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Commodities
  6. Materials information
  7. Host and associated rocks
  8. Nearby scientific data
  9. Geologic structures
  10. Ore body information
  11. Controls for ore emplacement
  12. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  13. Mining district
  14. Land status
  15. Ownership information
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10080700
MRDS ID W032041
Record type Site
Current site name Elizabeth Furnace Mines

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -78.33083, 38.93143 (WGS84)
Elevation 268
Relative position 6.7 KM (4.2 MI) SOUTHEAST OF STRASBURG AND 0.4 KM (0.26 MI) NORTHWEST OF ELIZABETH FURNACE.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Shenandoah(county)

Virginia(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Strasburg(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Front Royal(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Charlottesville(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

North Fork Shenandoah(hydrologic unit)

Potomac(hydrologic accounting unit)

Potomac(hydrologic subregion)

Mid Atlantic(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

George Washington National Forest(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

George Washington and Jefferson National Forest(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Virginia Shenandoah

Comments on the location information

  • 0.24 KM (0.15 MI) NORTH-NORTHWEST UP A TRIBUTARY TO PASSAGE CREEK FROM STATE ROAD 678 AT ELIZABETH FURNACE RECREATIONAL AREA. MINE EXTENDS TO THE SOUTHWEST FOR 0.27 KM (0.17 MI) AND TO THE NORTHEAST FOR ABOUT 0.4 KM (0.25 MI) FROM THE UTM COORDINATES GIVEN. ADDITIONAL MINE AREA IS LOCATED JUST TO THE EAST-SOUTHEAST FROM ELIZABETH FURNACE ON THE RIDGE OVERLOOKING THE FURNACE ALONG PASSAGE CREEK FOREST TRAIL AT UTM COORDINATES N 4311860, E 732060, ELEV. 268 M.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Iron Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Limonite Ore

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Mudstone
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Sandstone
    Rock unit name Ridgeley Sandstone;Bloomsburg Formation
    Rock description Ridgeley Sandstone;Bloomsburg Formation

Nearby scientific data

(1) -78.33083, 38.93143
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Ne-Sw Trend, Massanutten Synclinorium
Type of structure Local
Structure description Syncline, Normal Fault

Ore body information

  • General form LINEAR

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Bedding Planes And Fractures In The Sandstone

Comments on the geologic information

  • THE NORTHWESTERN MINE IS THE MAIN MINE AND IT IS IN THE BLOOMSBURG FORMATION. THE SOUTHEASTERN MINE IS IN THE RIDGELEY SANDSTONE AND THE BLOOMSBURG FORMATION.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1835
Year of first production 1835

Mining district

District name Fort Valley Area

Land status

Ownership category National Forest

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner George Washington National Forest

Comments on the workings information

  • NORTHWESTERN MINE CONSISTS ON NUMEROUS PITS, SHAFTS, TUNNELS, OPENCUTS AND DUMPS. THE LARGEST SHAFT IS ABOUT 6 M (20 FT) IN DIAMETER AND 2 M (7 FT) DEEP. ONE TUNNEL IS OPEN AND PARTIALLY WATER-FILLED AS IT IS LOCATED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TRIBUTARY TO PASSAGE CREEK. THE SOUTHEASTERN MINE CONSISTS OF NUMEROUS PITS, AT LEAST 3 CAVED TUNNELS AND DUMPS.

Comments on development

  • ELIZABETH FURNACE WAS BUILT IN 1836 AND IT IS ASSUMED THESE MINES WERE OPENED ABOUT THE SAME TIME.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    RADER, E.K., AND BIGGS, T.H., 1976, GEOLOGY OF THE STRASBURG AND TOMS BROOK QUADRANGLES, VIRGINIA: VA. DIV. MIN. RES., REPT. OF INVESTIGATIONS 45, 104 P.

  • Deposit

    CHERRYWELL, C.H., 1982 - PERSONAL COMMUNICATION

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Discovery Year: 1830'S

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUN-1982 Trimble, David C. (Sweet, Palmer C.) Virginia Division of Mineral Resources

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.

Maps centered on this site