Old Rag Mountain
| Old Rag Mountain | |
|---|---|
Old Rag Mountain
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 3,284 ft (1,001 m) |
| Prominence | 1,355 ft (413 m) |
| Coordinates | 38°33′06.6″N 78°18′52.3″W / 38.551833°N 78.314528°WCoordinates: 38°33′06.6″N 78°18′52.3″W / 38.551833°N 78.314528°W |
| Geography | |
| Location | Madison County, Virginia, U.S. |
| Parent range | Blue Ridge Mountains |
| Topo map | USGS Old Rag Mountain |
| Geology | |
| Age of rock | Precambrian |
| Mountain type | Granite |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | Hike |
Old Rag Mountain is a popular hiking destination with a summit elevation of 3,291 feet (1,003 m), located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia's Madison County, near Sperryville.
In contrast to most mountains of the Blue Ridge, Old Rag has an exposed (rocky) summit.
Old Rag Mountain is underlain by Old Rag Granite, named for its ubiquitous exposure on the mountain, formed during the Grenville Orogeny about a billion years ago. About 400 million years after the Grenville orogeny during the Catoctin Formation, deposition of basaltic magma occurred during the formation of the Iapetus Ocean, forming a layer of greenstone over the granite. This was followed by the Weverton Formation, Harpers Formation, and Antietam formation in which sand and rock sedimented on the ocean floor forming quartzite and sandstone deposits. Finally a period of sedimentation of shells and skeletons of foraminifera resulted in deposition of a layer of limestone. Approximately 700 million years after the Greenville Orogeny, the Iapetus Ocean began to close resulting in the Alleghenian Orogeny when the Old Rag Granite and layers of rock deposited upon it were transported westward and eventually thrust up over the limestone bed around it, forming Old Rag and the Blue Ridge Mountains.
The summit of Old Rag is accessible via a system of trails in Shenandoah National Park. The shorter, most common way is from a parking area at the end of Virginia State Route 601 off Virginia State Route 231, at the base of the mountain. A 9-mile (14.5 km) circuit hike or a 5.4-mile (8.7 km) out-and-back hike to the summit can be made. The circuit hike makes use of the Ridge Trail which ascends the mountain 1.6 miles (2.6 km) to the first false summit. The trail then turns into a rock scramble, which can be strenuous for inexperienced hikers, for 1.1 miles (1.8 km) to the summit and intersection with the Saddle Trail which descends 1.9 miles (3.1 km) down the saddle of the ridge past Byrds Nest #1 shelter and Old Rag shelter to the junction with Weakley Hollow Fire Road. The Fire Road then descends 2.5 miles (4.0 km) to the Old Rag parking area.
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Wikipedia