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J. Wright Horton, Jr., Ph.D.

Wright is an emeritus Research Geologist in the USGS Florence Bascom Geoscience Center. He has decades of experience in southern and central Appalachian geology, served as co-leader and leader of the USGS Chesapeake Bay Impact Crater Project, is involved in eastern U.S. earthquake studies, and explores terranes and basins beneath the Atlantic Coastal Plain.

Research Interests

Structural geology and tectonics, metamorphic and igneous rocks, impact craters and crater materials, fault zones and fault rocks, Southern and Central Appalachian regional geology and tectonics, pre-Cretaceous terranes and basins beneath the Atlantic Coastal Plain, significance of Mineral, Virginia, earthquake for understanding intraplate earthquakes in eastern North America, geologic mapping, hydrogeology, scientific drilling, geologic interpretation of potential-field geophysics, and multidisciplinary collaborations.

Projects

  • Project Leader, USGS Coastal Basement Geology of the Southeastern U.S. Project. 2018-2020
  • Task Leader, Central Virginia Seismic Zone Overview and Synthesis task of USGS Geologic Framework for Seismic Hazards in Central Virginia and the Eastern U.S. Project, 2014–2018
  • Coastal Basement Task Leader, USGS Geology of Atlantic Watersheds Project, 2008–2014
  • Project Leader (2007–2008) and Co-leader (2004–2007), USGS Chesapeake Bay Impact Crater Project
  • Cooperating Principal Investigator, ICDP-USGS Chesapeake Bay Impact Structure Deep Drilling Project, 2004–2009
  • Co-leader, Crater Materials Science Team, ICDP-USGS Chesapeake Bay Impact Structure Deep Drilling Project, 2004–2009
  • Task Co-leader, USGS Chesapeake Bay Impact Crater Project, 2000–2004
  • Task Co-leader, Hydrogeologic framework of the Piedmont and Blue Ridge, North Carolina task of USGS Bedrock Regional Aquifer Systematics Study (BRASS) Project, 2000–2005
  • Staff Scientist, USGS Office of Eastern Regional Geology (2002)
  • Task Leader, Geology of the Washington-Baltimore Urban Area task of USGS Appalachian Regional Geology and Hydrology Project, 1998–2002
  • Project Chief, USGS Geology of the Mid-Atlantic Urban Corridor (GOMAC) Project, 1995–98
  • Project Chief, USGS Geology of the South-Central Virginia Piedmont Project, 1991–95
  • Assistant Branch Chief, USGS Branch of Eastern Regional Geology, 1984–85
  • Project Chief, USGS Raleigh Belt and Eastern Slate Belt Project, 1983–91
  • Geologic mapping, USGS projects in Charlotte (NC-SC) and Greenville (SC-GA) 1° × 2° quadrangles, 1980-89

Professional Experience

  • Scientist Emeritus, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, USGS, Reston, VA, 2020-present

  • Research Geologist, USGS, Reston, VA, 1980–2020

  • National Research Council Postdoctoral Associate at USGS, Reston, VA, 1978–80

  • Assistant Professor of Geology, Univ. Southern Maine, 1977–78

Education and Certifications

  • Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Geology), 1977

  • M.S., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Geology), 1974

  • B.S., Furman University (Geology), 1972

Affiliations and Memberships*

  • AAAS, Am. Geophysical Union, Carolina Geol. Soc. (President, 1981–82)

  • Geol. Soc. America (Fellow)

  • Geol. Soc. Washington (Councilor, 2009–10)

  • Meteoritical Soc.

  • SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology)

  • Sigma Xi

Science and Products

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A map showing the Coastal Basement Geology of the Southeastern U.S. Project

Coastal Basement Geology of the Southeastern U.S. Project

This project, centered on South Carolina and Georgia, extends coastal-basement geologic mapping and related research south of a geologic map in production for pre-Cretaceous rocks beneath the Atlantic Coastal Plain from Virginia to southern New Jersey, and adds detail to a national-scale basement domain map constructed to delineate mineral-resource prospectivity. Plans include efforts to build on...
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Florence Bascom Geoscience Center
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Coastal Basement Geology of the Southeastern U.S. Project

This project, centered on South Carolina and Georgia, extends coastal-basement geologic mapping and related research south of a geologic map in production for pre-Cretaceous rocks beneath the Atlantic Coastal Plain from Virginia to southern New Jersey, and adds detail to a national-scale basement domain map constructed to delineate mineral-resource prospectivity. Plans include efforts to build on...
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Geologic Map of the Charlotte 1 degree × 2 degrees Quadrangle, North Carolina and South Carolina

The geodatabase for the Charlotte 1 degree × 2 degrees quadrangle by Goldsmith and others (1988) was compiled in the Geologic Map Schema (GeMS). The geologic map extends across four lithotectonic belts of the Piedmont from the Coastal Plain and Wadesboro Triassic basin on the east to the Blue Ridge belt in the vicinity of the Grandfather Mountain window on the west. The Wadesboro Triassic basin co
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Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Borehole data for pre-Middle Jurassic basement rocks beneath the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains, Florida and Alabama

Data from 316 boreholes (including coreholes) that penetrated buried pre-Middle Jurassic basement rocks that lie beneath Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain sedimentary deposits in Florida and Alabama were compiled from non-proprietary, mostly published sources in order to support subsurface geologic mapping, geologic interpretation of geophysical data (aeromagnetic, gravity, seismic), topical studies
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Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Database of the Geologic Map of the Greenville 1 degree x 2 degree Quadrangle, South Carolina, Georgia, and North Carolina

Regional geologic investigations show that all the metamorphosed crystalline rocks underlying the Greenville 1 degree x 2 degree quadrangle are allochthonous. Seismic-reflection studies, the COCORP line (Cook and others, 1979), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) seismic lines (Harris and Bayer, 1979; Harris and others, 1981) present seismic profiles across different parts of the southern Appala
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Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Borehole data for pre-Cretaceous basement rocks beneath the Atlantic Coastal Plain, Georgia and South Carolina

Data from 391 boreholes (including coreholes) that penetrated buried pre-Cretaceous basement rocks that lie beneath Atlantic Coastal Plain sedimentary deposits in Georgia and South Carolina were compiled from non-proprietary, mostly published sources in order to support subsurface geologic mapping, geologic interpretation of geophysical data (aeromagnetic, gravity, seismic), topical studies as in
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Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Database for the Geologic Map of the South Boston 30' x 60' Quadrangle, Virginia and North Carolina

The 1:100,000-scale geologic map database of the South Boston 30' x 60' quadrangle, Virginia and North Carolina, provides geologic information for the Piedmont along the I-85 and U.S. Route 58 corridors and in the Roanoke River watershed, which includes the John H. Kerr Reservoir and Lake Gaston. The Raleigh terrane (located on the eastern side of the map) contains Neoproterozoic to early Paleozoi
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Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Geologic map of the South Boston 30' × 60' quadrangle, Virginia and North Carolina

This 1:100,000-scale geologic map of the South Boston 30’ × 60’ quadrangle, Virginia and North Carolina, provides geologic information for the Piedmont along the I–85 and U.S. Route 58 corridors and in the Roanoke River watershed, which includes the John H. Kerr Reservoir and Lake Gaston. The Raleigh terrane (located on the eastern side of the map) contains Neoproterozoic to early Paleozoic(?) pol
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Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Geologic map of the South Boston 30' × 60' quadrangle, Virginia and North Carolina

This 1:100,000-scale geologic map of the South Boston 30' × 60' quadrangle, Virginia and North Carolina, provides geologic information for the Piedmont along the I–85 and U.S. Route 58 corridors and in the Roanoke River watershed, which includes the John H. Kerr Reservoir and Lake Gaston. The Raleigh terrane (located on the eastern side of the map) contains Neoproterozoic to early Paleozoic(?) pol

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Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Geologic Map of the Kings Mountain and Grover Quadrangles, Cleveland and Gaston Counties, North Carolina, and Cherokee and York Counties, South Carolina

This geologic map of the Kings Mountain and Grover 7.5-min quadrangles, N.C.-S.C., straddles a regional geological boundary between the Inner Piedmont and Carolina terranes. The Kings Mountain sequence (informal name) on the western flank of the Carolina terrane in this area includes the Neoproterozoic Battleground and Blacksburg Formations. The Battleground Formation has a lower part consisting o

Geologic Map of the Upper Wolf Island Creek Watershed, Reidsville Area, Rockingham County, North Carolina

This geologic map provides a foundation for hydrogeologic investigations in the Reidsville area of Rockingham County, north-central North Carolina. The 16-mi2 area within the Southeast Eden and Reidsville 7.5-min quadrangles includes the watershed of Wolf Island Creek and its tributary, Carroll Creek, upstream of their confluence. Layered metamorphic rocks in this area of the Milton terrane, he
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Water Resources Mission Area, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)

Geologic map of the Stafford Quadrangle, Stafford County, Virginia

Introduction The Stafford 7.5-minute quadrangle, comprising approximately 55 square miles (142.5 square kilometers) of northeastern Virginia, is about 40 miles (mi) south of Washington, D.C. The region's main north-south transportation corridor, which connects Washington, D.C., and Richmond, Va., consists of Interstate 95, U.S. Highway 1, and the heavily used CSX and Amtrak railroads. Although
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Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Geologic map of the Stafford quadrangle, Stafford County, Virginia

Introduction The Stafford 7.5-minute quadrangle, comprising approximately 55 square miles (142.5 square kilometers) of northeastern Virginia, is about 40 miles (mi) south of Washington, D.C. The region's main north-south transportation corridor, which connects Washington, D.C., and Richmond, Va., consists of Interstate 95, U.S. Highway 1, and the heavily used CSX and Amtrak railroads. Although
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Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Suitability of bedrock for construction stone in the Greenville 1° x 2° quadrangle, South Carolina, Georgia, and North Carolina

This map presents a qualitative regional assessment of the resource potential of bedrock for use as construction stone the the Greenville 1° by 2° quadrangle. Other studies will include metallic minerals (D'Agostine and others, in press a), gold (D'Agostino an others, in press b), and non-metallic commodities (D'Agostino and others, in press c). Construction stone, as used here in the context of b
Image: Measuring Gravity in Earthquake Area
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Filter Total Items: 84

Rift basins and intraplate earthquakes: New high-resolution aeromagnetic data provide insights into buried structures of the Charleston, South Carolina seismic zone

The delineation of faults that pose seismic risk in intraplate seismic zones and the mapping of features associated with failed rift basins can help our understanding of links between the two. We use new high-resolution aeromagnetic data, previous borehole sample information, and reprocessed seismic reflection profiles to image subsurface structures and evaluate recent fault activity within the Ch
Authors
Anjana K. Shah, Thomas L. Pratt, J. Wright Horton,
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Earthquake Hazards Program, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, Geologic Hazards Science Center, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center

Unzipping supercontinent Pangea: Geologic, potential field data, and buried structures, and a case for sequential Atlantic opening

Amalgamation of Pangea culminated with zippered N-to-S closing of the Theic ocean during the Alleghanian orogeny. Transpressional-rotational collision produced widespread dextral faulting throughout the eastern Appalachian hinterland, and thrust faulting in the western hinterland and foreland. The partially buried southern Appalachian Eastern Piedmont fault system is a product of late Paleozoic tr
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Aaron G. Stubblefield, Robert D. Jr. Hatcher, J. Wright Horton,, David L. Daniels
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Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Shallow faulting and folding in the epicentral area of the 1886 Charleston, South Carolina, earthquake

The moment magnitude (⁠Mw�w⁠) ∼7 earthquake that struck Charleston, South Carolina, on 31 August 1886 is the largest historical earthquake in the United States east of the Appalachian Mountains. The fault(s) that ruptured during this earthquake has never been conclusively identified, and conflicting fault models have been proposed. Here we interpret reprocessed seismic reflection profiles, reproce
Authors
Thomas L. Pratt, Anjana K. Shah, R.C Counts, J. Wright Horton,, M.C. Chapman
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, Geologic Hazards Science Center, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Ten years on from the quake that shook the nation’s capital

No abstract available.
Authors
Thomas L. Pratt, Martin C. Chapman, Anjana K. Shah, J. Wright Horton,, Oliver S. Boyd
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, Geologic Hazards Science Center

Dendritic reidite from the Chesapeake Bay impact horizon, Ocean Drilling Program Site 1073 (offshore northeastern USA): A fingerprint of distal ejecta?

High-pressure minerals provide records of processes not normally preserved in Earth’s crust. Reidite, a quenchable polymorph of zircon, forms at pressures >20 GPa during shock compression. However, there is no broad consensus among empirical, experimental, and theoretical studies on the nature of the polymorphic transformation. Here we decipher a multistage history of reidite growth recorded in a
Authors
Aaron J. Cavosie, Marc C Biren, Kip V. Hodges, Jo-Anne Wartho, J. Wright Horton,, Christian Koeberl
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Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

(U-Th)/He zircon dating of Chesapeake Bay distal impact ejecta from ODP site 1073

Single crystal (U‐Th)/He dating has been undertaken on 21 detrital zircon grains extracted from a core sample from Ocean Drilling Project (ODP) site 1073, which is located ~390 km northeast of the center of the Chesapeake Bay impact structure. Optical and electron imaging in combination with energy dispersive X‐ray microanalysis (EDS) of zircon grains from this late Eocene sediment shows clear evi
Authors
M.B. Biren, J.-A. Wartho, M.C. van Soest, K.V. Hodges, H. Cathey, B.P. Glass, C. Koeberl, J. Wright Horton, W. Hale
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Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Chesapeake Bay impact structure—Development of "brim" sedimentation in a multilayered marine target

The late Eocene Chesapeake Bay impact structure was formed in a multilayered target of seawater underlain sequentially by a sediment layer and a rock layer in a continental-shelf environment. Impact effects in the “brim” (annular trough) surrounding and adjacent to the transient crater, between the transient crater rim and the outer margin, primarily were limited to the target-sediment layer. Anal
Authors
Henning Dypvik, Gregory Gohn, Lucy Edwards, J. Wright Horton,, David Powars, Ronald Litwin
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Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Geologic map of the Washington West 30’ × 60’ quadrangle, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C.

The Washington West 30’ × 60’ quadrangle covers an area of approximately 4,884 square kilometers (1,343 square miles) in and west of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The eastern part of the area is highly urbanized, and more rural areas to the west are rapidly being developed. The area lies entirely within the Chesapeake Bay drainage basin and mostly within the Potomac River watershed. It
Authors
Peter T. Lyttle, John N. Aleinikoff, William C. Burton, E. Allen Crider, Avery A. Drake, Albert J. Froelich, J. Wright Horton, Gregorios Kasselas, Robert B. Mixon, Lucy McCartan, Arthur E. Nelson, Wayne L. Newell, Louis Pavlides, David S. Powars, C. Scott Southworth, Robert E. Weems
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Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Amplification of earthquake ground motions in Washington, DC, and implications for hazard assessments in central and eastern North America

The extent of damage in Washington, DC, from the 2011 Mw 5.8 Mineral, VA, earthquake was surprising for an epicenter 130 km away; U.S. Geological Survey “Did-You-Feel-It” reports suggest that Atlantic Coastal Plain and other unconsolidated sediments amplified ground motions in the city. We measure this amplification relative to bedrock sites using earthquake signals recorded on a temporary seismom
Authors
Thomas L. Pratt, J. Wright Horton, Jessica Munoz, Susan E. Hough, Martin C. Chapman, C. Guney Olgun
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Earthquake Hazards Program, Geologic Hazards Science Center

Geology of the eastern Piedmont in Virginia

No abstract available.
Authors
J. Wright Horton, Brent E. Owens, Paul C. Hackley, William C. Burton, Paul E. Sacks, James P. Hibbard
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Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Geology of the western Piedmont in Virginia

No abstract available.
Authors
James P. Hibbard, James S. Beard, William S. Henika, J. Wright Horton
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Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Centimeter-scale surface deformation caused by the 2011 Mineral, Virginia, earthquake sequence at the Carter farm site—Subsidiary structures with a quaternary history

Centimeter-scale ground-surface deformation was produced by the August 23, 2011, magnitude (M) 5.8 earthquake that occurred in Mineral, Virginia. Ground-surface deformation also resulted from the earthquake aftershock sequence. This deformation occurred along a linear northeast-trend near Pendleton, Virginia. It is approximately 10 kilometers (km) northeast of the M5.8 epicenter and near the north
Authors
Richard W. Harrison, J. Stephen Schindler, Milan J. Pavich, J. Wright Horton, Mark W. Carter
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Florence Bascom Geoscience Center
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Virginia Earthquake Aftershocks Identify Previously Unknown Fault Zone

RESTON, Va.-- Aftershocks from the 2011 Virginia earthquake have helped scientists identify the previously unknown fault zone on which the earthquake...

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*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government