Beartown Rocks! How They Got That Way

Does Beartown rock? You bet! Rocks, remarkably shaped and deeply colorful, are the main attractions at Beartown State Park in northern Greenbrier County (GPS: Lat. 38.05152, Long. -80.27526). Being a Geologist has allowed me, in my mind’s eye, to look into the past and interpret how rocks have been modified by erosion over thousands of years. The geologic name for the rock at Beartown is the Droop Mountain Sandstone (or Pottsville Sandstone), which was formed by the sands of an ancient sea some 300 million years ago. The rock is composed primarily of coarse grains of sand and small amounts of clay minerals—both visible to the naked eye. The sand and clay is cemented together by a hard silica matrix, which makes it resistant to decomposition.

Overhang of Droop Mountain Sandstone

Carved by time and the elements, these rocks have been wrought into angular boulders, rounded stones, and narrow crevices. The crevices cris-cross the area dividing the bedrock into large stone islands as shown on the Park Map. The intersecting crevices resemble streets, and the stone islands look like city blocks. Couple this with a natural habitat for bears in the clefts and caves, and you have the name Beartown. To make matters interesting, the Droop Mountain Sandstone sits on a soft layer of shale composed primarily of clay minerals. Thus the heavy sandstone blocks at Beartown are prone to sinking and tilting on this soft under layer.

Park Map

Tilting Sandstone Block

The display of stone is awesome and diverse. Some of the blocks are angular while others are softly rounded. Slabs of stone rest upon one another at uneasy angles. Vertical rock walls give way to gravity-defying overhangs. The diverse shapes suggest a sculptor’s hand at work. Indeed, the erosive processes of nature are the sculptors at Beartown, and her sculptures abound. Irregularities in the cementation of the sandstone have been accentuated by the elements. Water and ice have slowly but surely worn away the stone to varying degrees. The softer zones of the rock have been hollowed out leaving a dazzling array of vertical and horizontal flutes and narrow ridges. In other places, rounded depressions, shallow holes, and deep pits have been hollowed out of the exposed vertical walls of the Droop Mountain sandstone. The shapes formed by the erosion of the sandstone are exquisite in their diversity and will delight the eye of any passer-by.  

Deep Cleft in Rock

Pits and Flutes Carved in Sandstone