In Podcast #7 the Virginia Trekkers take you to the Fall Line in Richmond where the Piedmont Region drops down to the Coastal Plain Region. It drops 105 feet in just 7 miles! (Source) This drop in elevation and the change in the type of rocks causes waterfalls and rapids, which meant that the Fall Line was where many ships sailing west had to stop.  That made it a great place to settle.  In this podcast you’ll explore where Christopher Newport landed; see kayakers enjoying the rapids;  learn why water levels in the Coastal Plain change with the tides; and review the four major rivers of Virginia.  Come on!  Let’s go trekkin’! (Trouble viewing the YouTube video? Try Vimeo or direct link).

There is a monument to mark the spot near where Christopher Newport and John Smith landed on May 24, 1607.  They set up a wooden cross on one of the small islands in the James River and inscribed it with the words Jacobus Rex, 1607 (“King James, 1607”).  The actual cross has long since rotted away, so a bronze cross was used for this memorial, and it stands on top of a pyramid of James River granite.  The monument has been moved two times.  When it was first built in 1907, it was located in Gamble’s Hill Park, overlooking the river; then in 1983 it was moved to Shockoe Slip, closer to the river;  finally in 2003 it was moved to its present location along the canal walk, even closer to the landing spot of Christopher Newport. You can read more about it here. (Image credit)


Here is a Google map of the fall line on the James River. Can you find Christopher Newport's cross?



This is a 360 view of the fall line on the James River. Take a look around!



This is an old Flash animation about the fall line near Richmond. We got it to work using Ruffle!


Social Studies

1.3 (2015) The student will describe the stories of influential people in the history of Virginia and their contributions to our Commonwealth, with emphasis on

c) Christopher Newport;


1.5 (2023) The student will apply history and social science skills to describe contributions of Virginia’s diverse people and the stories of changemakers in the history of Virginia and their contributions to our Commonwealth, including but not limited to

b. Explorers: John Smith and Christopher Newport;


1.7 (2023) The student will apply history and social science skills to connect geography to historical events of Virginia and the United States by

a. identifying landforms and bodies of water of Virginia and describing how they affect the way people live;


VS.2 (2015) The student will demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between physical geography and the lives of the native peoples, past and present, of Virginia by

b) locating and describing Virginia’s Coastal Plain (Tidewater), Piedmont, Blue Ridge Mountains, Valley and Ridge, and Appalachian Plateau;

c) locating and identifying water features important to the early history of Virginia (Atlantic Ocean, Chesapeake Bay, James River, York River, Potomac River, Rappahannock River, and Lake Drummond and the Dismal Swamp);


VS.1 (2023) The student will apply history and social science skills to explain the relationship between physical geography and the lives of Virginia’s peoples, past and present by

c. locating, identifying, and describing the impact of Virginia’s bodies of water on its history, economy, and culture.


Science

4.8 The student will investigate and understand that Virginia has important natural resources. Key resources include

a) watersheds and water;

c) minerals, rocks, and ores; and


5.8 The student will investigate and understand that Earth constantly changes. Key ideas include

c) the rock cycle models the transformation of rocks;

d) processes such as weathering, erosion, and deposition change the surface of the Earth;