In 2008, Virginia Department of Energy received by donation from the University of Virginia (UVA) a large collection of rock, mineral, and fossil specimens that was at risk of imminent disposal or dispersal due to the lack of adequate storage facilities. The collection includes many valuable and irreplaceable geologic specimens collected in Virginia by UVA students, faculty, and geoscientists from the early Virginia Geological Survey. Parts of the collection were at one time displayed in the Lewis Brooks Hall of Natural Science, which opened in 1877. Following the closure of the UVA Department of Geology in the 1960s, the collection was moved to various warehouse storage areas, where it was largely forgotten and inadequately preserved. [...]
Summary
In 2008, Virginia Department of Energy received by donation from the University of Virginia (UVA) a large collection of rock, mineral, and fossil specimens that was at risk of imminent disposal or dispersal due to the lack of adequate storage facilities. The collection includes many valuable and irreplaceable geologic specimens collected in Virginia by UVA students, faculty, and geoscientists from the early Virginia Geological Survey. Parts of the collection were at one time displayed in the Lewis Brooks Hall of Natural Science, which opened in 1877. Following the closure of the UVA Department of Geology in the 1960s, the collection was moved to various warehouse storage areas, where it was largely forgotten and inadequately preserved. Inventory records for the collection are incomplete and deteriorating rapidly. The collection is now stored in our facilities in Charlottesville. Inventory, cataloging, and documentation of individual specimens is in progress. For the NGGDPP 2021 grant year, 2200 fossils were cleaned, boxed and photographed. A series of webpages were created for the public to learn more about this collection, fossil collecting in virginia, as well as K-12 resources. For the NGGDPP 2022 grant year, 1000 fossils, including microfossils, were photographed.
High resolution TIFF or JPG images are available upon request. Contact the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, Division of Geology and Mineral Resources at (434) 951-6341. Additional information and reports may be available using the OnlineResource Link.
Purpose
A collection of fossil specimen, photographs, references and other attributes for use by historians, scientists and other interested persons.
Rights
The collection represents fossils collected by the Virginia Geologic Survey and from the University of Virginia.
