The object of this field trip is to examine the geology, landforms, soils, and land use in the eastern Blue Ridge and western Piedmont geologic provinces in Orange County in central Virginia. A complex mix of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic bedrocks, ranging in age from Mesoproterozoic to Triassic (possibly some Jurassic) underlie the area. Soils are equally varied with a total of 62 series mapped in Orange County alone. The area being relatively stable tectonically, landforms generally reflect the resistance to weathering of the bedrock. Area landforms range from a low ridge over Catoctin greenstone to a gently rolling Triassic basin. Soils examined on the trip represent three orders: Ultisols, Alfisols, and Inceptisols. Residual soils clearly reflect the compositions of the parent rocks and saprolites are common. Map patterns of forested versus nonforested lands bear a striking resemblance to the distribution patterns of the different soil and bedrock types. Our work has shown that the vast majority of the land in central Virginia, even that forested today, shows evidence of past clearing and cultivation. However, the harsh demands of growing tobacco wore out the less fertile and more erodible soils by the mid-nineteenth century resulting in their abandonment and the subsequent regeneration of the vast tracts of hardwood forests we see today. Only the most productive soils remain in agriculture.