The Highlands Biological Foundation will welcome back Philip S. Prince, project geologist with Appalachian Landslide Consultants and researcher with Virginia Tech’s Department of Geosciences, for a presentation titled “The Blue Wall: What We Know — and Don’t Know — About Southern Appalachia’s Enigmatic Weather-Making Landform,” at 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 25.”
Prince’s 2025 Zahner Lecture, “Understanding Helene as a Geologic Event in Southern Appalachia,” sparked tremendous interest and discussion among attendees, and HBF is excited to welcome him back for another fascinating exploration of our region’s geology.
Highlands owes much of its natural beauty and unique environment to its location atop the Blue Ridge Escarpment, a dramatic 1,500- to 3,000-foot topographic step that stretches from northeastern Georgia to Roanoke, Virginia. The Escarpment influences river systems, shapes weather patterns and forms a natural barrier between the mountains and the Piedmont. Yet despite its immense ecological and geographic significance, geologists still do not fully understand how or why it formed. In this lecture, Prince will explore what scientists know about the escarpment’s role as a river divide and weather-maker, as well as the enduring mysteries surrounding its origins, history and relationship to the broader Appalachian Mountains.
Admission is free.