Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 8 · column 4 of 4 · from the scan, no model involved
The fourth layer
The fourth layer contains no organic material, just weathered stone from the bedrock, with lots of minerals.
Water getting this far may pick up an odd taste, smell, or leave a deposit, i.e., iron, copper, etc. |
Eventually, water reaches bedrock: granite, basalt, quartzite, limestone or sandstone. Water then seeks small cracks and fissures to descend further. . .
Transit time through soil takes years, decades. >
Water percolating through soil in the Shenandoah National Park may take 10 years to reach a stream lower down. A very deep aquifer may receive water that has traveled downward for 10,000 years.
Surface water
Surface water is nature’s third line of defense against pollution. Streams, ponds, reservoirs, and especially wetlands act on pollutants by diluting them.
Heavy contaminants sink to the bottom. Wetlands are very effective due to their mix of vegetation, soil, and surface water.
Again, the interaction of the biology of microorganisms and the chemistry of organic components and minerals seeks to oleanse the water, but many times the process; is overwhelmed by excessive pollution or nutrients flowing in from the nearby land.
How do these three lines of nature’s defense against pollution work specifically in the Clevenger’s Corner area and in Rappahannock County? Next time.
Correction: in the last article, a sentence should have read, “By 2004, Virginia could be furnishing over 30 percent of the entire increased national demand for electricity.”
This is one of a series of articles about Clevenger’s Corner and its potential impact on Rappahannock County.
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