Geology of Ascension Island other volcanic islands, which only have a few mafic and felsic endmembers such as basalt or rhyolite, Ascension has a full-range from some of the most mafic to most felsic. This includes basalt, hawaiite, mugearite, benmoreite,trachyte and rhyolite. Potassium-argon dating indicates that the oldest rocks exposed above the water are one million year old rhyolites. Geologists have divided the island's mafic and felsic rocks into different named sequences and sub-divided mafic rocks based on their ratio of zirconium and niobium. The Sister's Peak region in northwest Ascension has intermediate mafic lava flows, scoria cones and mafic ash fall deposits near
Grayson Glades Natural Area Preserve Grayson Glades Natural Area Preserve Grayson Glades Natural Area Preserve is a Natural Area Preserve located in Grayson County, Virginia. Its centerpiece is an extremely rare wetland type known as a "mafic fen", which are situated upon soils rich in magnesium and fed by springs. The site is at the headwaters of a small stream system supporting additional mafic fens. Among the rare species found on the property are tuberous grass-pink ("Calopogon tuberosus"), ten-angled pipewort ("Eriocaulon decangulare" var. "decangulare"), large-leaved grass-of-parnassus ("Parnassia grandifolia"), queen-of-the-prairie ("Filipendula rubra"), sticky false-asphodel ("Triantha glutinosa") and Canada burnet ("Sanguisorba canadensis"). The preserve is owned and