IC-26 Geology and Ground Water Resources of Dade County, Georgia
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IC 26 GEORGIA STATE DIVISION OF CONSERVATION DEPARTMENT OF MINES, MINING AND GEOLOGY GARLAND PEYTON, Director THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Information Circular 26 GEOLOGY AND GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF DADE COUNTY, GEORGIA By M. G. Croft U.S. Geological Survey Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey ATLANTA 1964 CONTENTS Page A bs tract ------------------------------------------- _____________________________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------- 3 Introduction _____________ _____________________ ____________________ ___ ________________________________ __ _____ ___ ------------------------------------------------ 3 Location _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ -------------------------------- 3 CI i mate __ ___ ________ ___ ____ ______ ___ ______ _________ ____ _______ ___ __ ___ __ _______ __ _ ____ ________ __ __ __ __ _ __ __ ___ ___ __ _ __ _ _ __ _______ __ _ _ __ __ __ ___ __ ___ __ ____ __ __ _____ _ 3 To po gra p hy _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ -------------------------- _____________________ 5 G eo morpho Io gy ________________ . ____________________________________________________________________________ --------------------------- _________________ __ 5 Streams __ -------------------------------------------- ______________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _____________ 5 Purpose and scope of investigation _______________________________________________________ ---------------------------------------------- 5 AcknowIedgm en ts ------------------------------------------------------ ______________________________________________ -------------------------------- _ 6 Geo Io gy _____________________________ --------------------------------------- _--------- ___ -------------------- _________________ -------------------------------------------- 6 Introduction -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ____ ------------------------------------------------- 6 Previous geologic work __________________________________________________________ --------------------------------------------------------------- 6 Cambrian s y stern ___________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ 6 Cambrian and Ordovician sys terns ______________________ _________________ __________ ____________ ___________________________ ___________________ 6 Knox dolomite ___ _ _____________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------ 6 Ordovician system _ ------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------- ---------------------------------------------- 8 Chickamauga limestone _____________ ------------------------------------- -. ___________ - ________ --------------------------------------- 8 Sequatchie formation ________ --------------------------------------.-------------- _______ ------------------------------------------------- 8 Silurian system __ -... ------------------------------------------------- 9 Red Mountain formation _____________________________________________ _ ---- ---- ------------------------------------------------ 9 Devonian and Mississippian systems ----- -- --- ------------------------------------------- 9 Chattanooga shale ________ _ --------- ------ -- --- ---------------------------------------------- 9 Carboniferous rocks - Mississippian system __ ----------------- .- ------- - ----- ---------------------------- 9 Fort Payne chert _ _______ _ __ _ _______ _ - ----------------------------- 9 St. Louis limestone ____ _ _ ___ _ --------------------- - 10 Ste. Genevieve limestone --- ------ --------------------- 10 Gasper formation ____ _ ------------- ------------ --- 10 Golconda formation and Hartselle sandstone __ 10 Bangor limestone ___ _ 10 Pennington shale ____________________ _ -- -- -------- ------ ------ --------------------------------------- 11 Carboniferous rocks- Pennsylvanian system ______ ---- ------------------------------------ --------·------ 11 Gizzard member of Lookout sandstone ____________ _ ---- - ------ ------------------------------------------- 11 Sewanee member of Lookout sandstone _________ _ 11 Whitwell shale _ ____________________________________ _ -- 11 Bonair sandstone ____ ---------------------------------------------- -- 11 Vandever shale _____ ____ _ __ __________ _______ -- --- __ --- -- _ 12 Rock castle sandstone __ __ ______ ___ __________________________ __ __ ________ ________ _____ __ _ _______ 12 Lower sandstone member ---------------------------------------- ____________ ______________ _ _________ ________ __ ______ 12 Middle shale member -------------------------------------------------------- _____________________________ ------------------------------ 12 Upper sandstone member _____ ____________ ·------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------- 12 1 CONTENTS-Continued Geology - continued Page Quaternary s ystern .. ____ ---------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------- 12 All u vi urn _____ ____ ------------------------------------------- __________ ------------------------------------ __________________ __________________ __________ 12 Structure ______________________ . ______________________________ -------------------------------- _______ __ ____________ ___ ___ __ _______ ____ _________________________ __ 12 F o Ids __ ___ ___ __ __ _____ ___ ________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----·· ___________ ------------------------ __ __ 12 Faults ____ _____ ------------------------------------------------------- ______________ ---------------·-------------------------------------- 13 Ground water ____ ______________________________________________________________________ ---------------------------------------------- 13 Use of ground water in Dade County ______________ __ __________________ ________________ ------------------------------------- 13 HydroI o gy __ __ _ _______ ________ _____________________ -------------------------------------- ___________ ----------------------------------------- _________ 13 General statement _______________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------- __________ 13 Limestone and dolomite aquifers _________ __ __________ ______ _________ -------------------------------------------------------- 14 Sandstone and shale aquifers __ ------------------------------------------ -------------------- ---------------------------------------------- 15 Springs _______________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15 Chemical quality of water _ __ _ ------------------------------------------------------- _________ ---------------------------------------------- 15 Future development of ground water ___ _ _________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------- 17 Selected references --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17 ILLUSTRATIONS- LONG LIST Page Figure 1. Map of Georgia showing Dade County and areas described in previous reports . 4 2. Monthly mean temperature at Chattanooga, Tenn. 5 3. Average monthly precipitation at Rising Fawn, Ga. -- .. - -- --------------------- ------------ 5 4. Topographic features of Dade County, Ga. 5 5. Map showing geology, and well and spring locations, Dade County, Ga.____ __ _ _______ Pocket 6. Diagram showing the occurrence of ground water in solution channels in a limestone area 14 TABLES Page Table 1. Geologic formations in Dade County, Ga. 7 2. Correlation of equivalent Pennsylvanian formations of the Cumberland Plateau of Georgia and Tennessee _ ___ _ ____________________ ______ ____________________ ______________ 11 S. Chemical analyses of ground water, Dade County, Ga._ ·- -- ------------------------------------------- 16 2 GEOLOGY AND GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF DADE COUNTY, GEORGIA By Mack G. Croft ABSTRACT Ga. borders it on the south and east (fig. 1). Dade County, which is triangular-shaped, is about 25 Dade County is in an area of Paleozoic rocks in miles long, and about 13¥2 miles wide at the the mountainous northwest corner of Georgia. Georgia-Tennessee line. It includes 165 square The county, which is at the edge of the Cumber miles which lie within the Cedar Grove, Durham, land Plateau, includes 165 square miles. Land Fort Oglethorpe, Hooker, Shellmound, Sulphur surface altitude ranges from 700 to 2,000 feet Springs and Trenton topographic quadrangles of above sea level. The area receives about 53 inches the Geological Survey. Trenton, the county seat of precipitation annually, the greater part of and largest town, is in the central part of the which occurs during the winter and spring months. county. Agriculture is the principal industry. The Knox dolomite of Cambrian and Ordovician Dade County is traversed from north to south age is the oldest formation that crops out in the by U.S. Highway 11, a connecting route between county. Rocks older than the Knox have not been