IC 26

GEORGIA STATE DIVISION OF CONSERVATION

DEPARTMENT OF MINES, MINING AND GARLAND PEYTON, Director

THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Information Circular 26

GEOLOGY AND GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF DADE COUNTY,

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 s y stern ______------______6 Cambrian and sys terns ______6 Knox dolomite ______------6 Ordovician system _ ------8 Chickamauga limestone ______------. ______- ______------8 ______------.------______------8 system __ -... ------9 Red Mountain formation ______------9 and systems ------9 ______------9 rocks - Mississippian system __ ------.------9 Fort Payne chert ______------9 St. Louis limestone ______------10 Ste. Genevieve limestone ------10 Gasper formation ____ _ ------10 Golconda formation and __ 10 Bangor limestone ___ _ 10 Pennington shale ______------11 Carboniferous rocks- system ______------·------11 Gizzard member of Lookout sandstone ______------11 Sewanee member of Lookout sandstone ______11 Whitwell shale ______-- 11 Bonair sandstone ____ ------11 Vandever shale ______-- --- __ --- -- _ 12 castle sandstone ______12 Lower sandstone member ------______12 Middle shale member ------______------12 Upper sandstone member ______·------12

1 CONTENTS-Continued

Geology - continued Page 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 of Georgia and ______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 Chattanooga, Tenn., and Birmingham, Ala. The penetrated by wells. The Ordovician system also Southern Railroad roughly parallels U.S. Highway includes the Chickamauga limestone and the Se­ 11. Georgia Highway 143, a scenic route over quatchie formation (limestone, siltstone, sand­ Sand and Lookout Mountains, traverses the county stone, and shale). The Red Mountain formation in an easterly direction. of Silurian age consists of limestone, siltstone, Timber and agriculture are the chief industries shale, and sandstone; it is overlain by the Chat­ in the county although coal mining formerly was tanooga shale of Devonian and Mississippian age. relatively important. Rocks of the Mississippian system consist of the Fort Payne chert, St. Louis limestone, Ste. Gene­ Climate vieve limestone, Gasper formation, Golconda for­ The climate of Dade County is relatively mild mation, Hartselle sandstone, Bangor limestone, and humid; summers are long and warm and win­ and Pennington shale. The Pennsylvanian system ters are short and cool. The average annual pre­ consists of the Gizzard and Sewanee members of cipitation recorded by the U. S. Weather Bureau the Lookout sandstone, the Whitwell shale, the at Rising Fawn for the period 1947-58 is 53.1 Bonair sandstone, the Vandever shale, and the inches. This amount is probably general through­ Rockcastle sandstone. out the county. Most of the precipitation occurs Throughout all but the northwestern part of as rain, although snow is common in the winter the county the rocks are broadly folded into the months. According to Thomson and Carter (1955, Lookout Valley and Wills Creek anticlines and the p. 8) the average surface runoff is about 20 to 25 syncline. The east flank of the inches. The annual mean temperature recorded by Lookout Valley anticline is thrust faulted. the U.S. Weather Bureau at nearby Chattanooga, Ground water has been developed primarily for Tenn. in 1957 was 61 °F. The temperature of domestic and farm use. Wells of highest yield are springs closely approximated this mean. Figure 2 in the carbonate rocks such as the Knox, Chicka­ shows the monthly mean temperature recorded at mauga, and Fort Payne formations. Extensive Chattanooga in 1957. The average growing season solution channels occur along bedding planes, frac­ in Dade County is about 200 days. tures, and other openings in these rocks. The The greatest precipitation occurs during the water from the carbonate rocks is generally hard, winter and spring and the least during the sum­ but ground water from the Fort Payne chert is of mer and fall. Figure 3 shows the seasonal distri­ excellent chemical quality and is soft to mod­ bution of precipitation for the 11-year period erately hard. Water from the Fort Payne chert is (1946-58). The average for January through suitable for municipal and industrial use. March, the months of greatest precipitation, was between 5.5 and 6.0 inches each month. From INTRODUCTION April through June the precipitation averaged 3.5 to 4.6 inches. During July, a month of heavy Location summer showers, the precipitation averaged 5.1 Dade County is in an area underlain by Paleo­ inches. The lowest average of about 2.5 to 3.9 zoic rocks in the northwest corner of Georgia. inches was during August through October. The Tennessee borders Dade County on the north, Ala­ precipitation for November and December aver­ bama borders it on the west, and Walker County, aged about 4.8 to 4.9 inches. 3 EXPLANATION

• Areo described in this report

DADE ~ Areas described in previous reports

N t 25• • •0 25 50 MILES

Figure I.-Map of Georgia showing Dade County and areas described in previous reports.

4 surface of Lookout and . The floor of Lookout Valley represents the latest erosion cycle. Rising a few hundred feet above Lookout Valley are numerous monoclinal ridges composed ·o; 7or-----­ of cherty carbonate rocks and shale. The crest of .s::: c the ridges is believed by some geologists to repre­ ~ .c. sent an intermediate erosion cycle. ~ "' Streams "' ..:;. 601----- More than half of the county is drained by "0 .: Lookout Creek and its tributaries. Lookout Creek i flows northward the entire length of Lookout " Valley and empties into . The E creek generally flows on the east side of the ~ 50 1---FFt= .,E valley. Sand Mountain is drained by Cole City 1- Creek, Higdon Creek, and Bullard Branch. Sink­ holes are prominent along stream courses on the western fringe of the valley. 40 Purpose and Scope of Investigation 1957 Figure 2.- Monthly mean temperature at Chattanooga, Tenn. During the drought of 1954 water shortages became acute in many areas throughout Georgia. As a result, the U.S. Geological Survey was re­ quested, as part of a cooperative investigation with the Georgia Department of Mines, Mining, and Geology, to study ground-water conditions in

1946-58

Figure 3. -Average monthly precipitation at Rising Fawn, Go.

Topography Dade County is mountainous and lies within and at the edge of the , but much of the terrain resembles that of the Valley and Ridge province. A greatly elongated north­ ward-trending erosional valley, Lookout Valley (fig. 4), occupies the central part of the county and separates Sand Mountain on the west from Lookout Mountain on the east. The gently rolling uplands on Lookout Mountain are about 1,800 to 2,000 feet in altitude and the uplands on Sand Mountain are about 1,500 feet in altitude. A steep escarpment separates the mountains from Look­ out Valley, which is about 700 feet in altitude and generally less than 3 miles wide. Monoclinal ridges, which flank the valley on both sides, rise a few hundred feet above the floor. Differential erosion has formed the physio­ graphic features of Dade County (fig. 4). The valleys are carved in easily eroded limestone and dolomitic rocks. The ridges and mountains are carved out of resistant sandstone, shale, and N cherty rocks. In general the valleys mark the site of anticlines and the mountains mark synclines. Prior to dissection and development of the inter­ 1 vening valleys the upland surfaces of the moun­ tains were probably connected and formed a broad rolling tableland. A few isolated resistant monad­ nocks, such as Round Mountain, rise above the Figure 4.- Topographic features of Dade County, Ga. 5 Dade County. The investigation is part of a more Johnson (1946) made a preliminary study of extensive study of the Paleozoic area of Georgia the coal deposits and the Pennsylvanian rocks on begun in 1957. Fieldwork for this report was be­ Sand and Lookout Mountains. He differentiated gun in October 1958 to determine the location, Hayes' original Lookout and Walden formations. extent, and thickness of the aquifers, and the Wilson, Jewell, and Luther (1956) extended termi­ chemical quality of ground water in Dade County. nology for the Pennsylvanian rocks of Tennessee Field and office work, which was completed in and from the Cumberland Plateau in July 1959, included collection and compilation of Tennessee to the Sand and Lookout Mountain water-level records and well and spring data, con­ area of Georgia. Their studies included detailed struction of a geologic map, and collection of and reconnaissance mapping of the Pannsylvanian water samples for chemical analyses. rocks. Some excellent exposures of the Pennsyl­ This investigation was under the immediate vanian rocks which occur in Cloudland supervision of J. T. Callahan, former district geol­ State Park have been described and mapped by ogist, and P. E. LaMoreaux, former chief of the Croft (1959). Ground Water Branch of the Geological Survey; Other reports by Rodgers (1953), and Allen and the State Cooperator was Garland Peyton, Direc­ Lester (1957) are excellent source material and tor, Georgia Department of Mines, Mining, and guides to the stratigraphy and economic geology Geology. of the area. Acknowledgments Cambrian System Acknowledgment is made to the citizens of Dade County who were most helpful in supplying The Weisner, Shady, Rome, and Conasauga for­ information on ground-water withdrawals and mations of Cambrian age, which underlie the records of wells. Knox dolomite, are not exposed in Dade County. These formations probably occur at depth, as they GEOLOGY have been mapped in areas adjoining the county, but they have not been penetrated in deep wells. Introduction Table 1 lists the geologic formations in Dade The consolidated rocks exposed at the surface County and summarizes their stratigraphy and in Dade County range in age from Cambrian to water-bearing properties. Pennsylvanian. Rocks of Cambrian and Ordovi­ cian age occur along the crests of anticlines which Cambrian and Ordovician Systems closely parallel the axis of Lookout Valley. The Silurian, Devonian, and Lower Mississippian rocks Knox Dolomite generally occur in ridges which flank the center The Knox dolomite crops out in the southern of Lookout Valley. Upper Mississippian rocks part of Dade County, extending northward from occur on the sides of Lookout and Sand Moun­ the line along the axis of the northeast­ tains. The rims and surfaces of the mountains are ward plunging Wills Creek anticline. Unweath­ capped by Pennsylvanian rocks, which mark syn­ ered exposures of the Knox dolomite are rare, but clines. The geologic map (fig. 5) shows the distri­ may be seen three-quarters of a mile south of bution of the mapped formations and the axes of Cloverdale Church. There the Knox dolomite con­ the anticlines and synclines. The dip and strike of sists of light- to dark-gray, fine- to coarse­ the rocks on the flanks of the folds were measured grained, cherty limestone and dolomite. Also at in a few places. In general the single measurement this locality several large trochoid gastropods shown on the map represents the prevailing dip were observed in the rocks. The limestone and for the area. Several formations were mapped as dolomite generally weathers to a deep, slightly one unit, although described separately in the reddish, cherty soil from which most of the car­ text, because of the thinness of the formation or bonate material has been leached. The Knox dolo­ the lack of beds which could be easily identified mite is about 4,000 to 4,500 feet thick but only or traced. about 200 feet of the upper part is exposed in Previous Geologic Work Dade County. C. W. Hayes, of the U.S. Geological Survey, In adjacent states the Knox dolomite forms a made the first geological studies of the area. His group, which is subdivided into Copper Ridge analysis of the structure and geology were pub­ dolomite, Chepultepec dolomite, and Longview lished in the Ringgold and Stevenson folios limestone. These formations have been recognized (Hayes, 1894, 1895). As the region was explored also in Georgia (Butts and Gildersleeve, 1948, p. for its natural resources, stratigraphic terms 17-18). However, the greater part of the Knox were applied in greater detail and extended to dolomite exposed in Dade County is believed to be northwestern Georgia from Alabama and Tennes­ equivalent to the Longview limestone. see. The Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, and Mis­ The Knox dolomite yields sufficient water for sissippian rocks were delineated in Alabama by domestic and farm use to the relatively few wells Charles Butts (1926) and later in the Paleozoic in Dade County that penetrate it. Water is stored area of Georgia (Butts and Gildersleeve, 1948). in joints, bedding planes, and in solution cavities Terms used by Butts are still generally applicable in the rock. The formation probably is an excel­ and his descriptions of the formations are accu­ lent aquifer and properly developed wells might rate. prove to have high yields. 6 Table 1. Geologic formations in Dade County, Ga. ~-~ - Thickness System Stratigraphic unit (ft.) Character of rocks Water-bearing properties -- - Unconsolidated boulders, Undeveloped; material is gravel, sand silt, and clay; permeable and should yield Quaternary Alluvium 0-50 (?) fanlike deposits in Lookout moderate supplies of water, Valley. low in mineral content. ----. -~ ~ ------~---~ --- ! Sandstone; fine- to coarse- Undeveloped; not important ! I Q) Upper sandstone 20-40 grained, thick-bedded. as potential aquifer owing ~ 0 I member Caps top of Round to small area of outcrop .., I Mountain at Durham. and topographic position. Ul I I ~ I "'oS Shale; gray- to black, Undeveloped; probably Ul I Middle I contains a sandstone unit I capable of furnishing Q) I :;J shale 270-310 about 20 to 30 feet thick. I sufficient quantities of Ul I I oS member Shale below sandstone is water for domestic and t) highly fossiliferous. farm use. ~ t) I 0 Lower sandstone Sandstone; thick- to thin- Yields small quantities of ~ member 150 I bedded, fine- to coarse- water, generally high in grained. iron. -- ~------~-1 ----- Shale; light- to dark-gray, ! Yields small quantities of Vandever 200 I interbedded with siltstone water, generally high in

~ shale and fine-grained iron. oS I sandstone. ·a ---- ! oS I I Sandstone; crossbedded, Yields small to moderate ~ Bonair white to pale reddish- qautities of water suffi- Ul i ~ sandstone 200± brown. I cient for domestic and farm ~ I Q) I ' use. Water generally high p.. in iron. _j I ---- Shale; light- to gray-black, Relatively impermeable. Whitwell shale 12-35 fissile; and contains silt- j_ stone and sandstone. ---· - Sandstone; thick-bedded, Yields small quantities of Q) Sewanee white to pale reddish- water sufficient for farm ~ 0 member brown. Contains beds of and domestic use. Water .., orthoquartzite and con- generally high in iron. Ul "' ::s ~ glomeratic sandstone. 0 "'oS ------~0 ' Ul ....."'Q) .., I Shale; yellowish to gray, I Yields small quantities of ::s I fissile; interbedded with I water sufficient for farm ·s0 0 ~ Gizzard 200-353 siltstone, coal, and fine- and domestic use. of 0 member I grained sandstone. Developed only on Sand oS 0 I 0 H Mountain. Water generally high in iron. ----- I Pennington Shale; green and red, fissile, Relatively impermeable; I shale 100-200 highly fossiliferous. yields little or no water to wells or springs. Limestone; gray, oolitic Undeveloped but capable of Bangor and fine- to coarse- yielding at least moderate limestone 480 grained, fossiliferous. I supplies from numerous Interbedded with shale in intersecting joints and upper part. I solution cavities. Shale; green, fissile. Contain Yields little or no water to Hartselle sandstone I thin-bedded, gray, fossili- wells or springs. and 15-20 ferous limestone. Sand- ~ oS Golconda formation stone of the Hartselle is ·s. I rarely exposed. ·;;~ I Ul ! Limestone; gray, oolitic, Penetrated by few wells ·;; : Ul non-cherty, thick bedded I because the formation Gasper to massive. generally crops out on ~ i ! formation I 150 steep slopes. However, I would yield moderate I quantities of water from I solution channels. Ste. Genevieve Limestone; gray, rarely I Similar to Gasper. Springs limestone 245 cherty, oolitic and fine- i issue from solution I grained, thick bedded. channels. Limestone; gray, thin- to Penetrated by few wells; St. Louis 120 thick-bedded and very believed capable of limestone cherty. i yielding large quantities I I of water. 7 Table 1. Geologic formations in Dade County, Ga.- continued

Thickness System Stratigraphic unit (ft.) Character of rocks Water-bearing properties

Ul ::; 1=1 Limestone; gray, highly An excellent aquifer, highly 0 ·ac:\l cherty, and fossiliferous. jointed, yields moderate to ""Ql Weathers to a reddish- large quantities of water 'H .e- Fort Payne 160 ·s chert brown cherty soil. to wells that intersect 0 -~"' -e "' solution cavities. Water of c:\l "' excellent quality. 0 ~ Mississippian an Chattanooga Shale; black, fissile, I Relatively impermeable; Devonian shale 15-25 carbonaceous. I yields water of poor I quality. Limestone; gray, thin- Yields small quantities of Red Mountain bedded; shale; fissile, water for domestic and Silurian formation 150-200 greenish, interbedded with farm use. Not developed siltstone, sandstone, and because of geographic oolitic hematite. location. Limestone; gray, fossili- Yields moderate quantities Sequatchie ferous; interbedded with of water to wells that formation 75-80 siltstone, shale, and penetrate solution cavities sandstone. in the limestone. Water Ordovician probably of good quality. Limestone; gray, fossili- Yields large quantities of Chickamauga ferous, cherty, thin- to water to wells that inter- limestone 1,000+ thick-bedded. A few beds sect solution cavities. of dolomite occur in lower Water commonly sulfurous part of formation. and hard. Limestone and dolomite, Relatively undeveloped, the Cambro- Knox 4,000- gray, fine- to coarse- few wells obtain water Ordovician dolomite 4,500 grained, medium- to thick- sufficient for farm and bedded, cherty. domestic use. Rock is jointed and cavernous. Weisner!, Shady, Rome These formations occur at Data not available. Cambrian and 10,000± great depth and have not Conasauga formations been penetrated by wells in Dade County.

1Numerous reports by other geologists are listed in references in which detailed descriptions of the Weisner, Shady, Rome and Conasauga for­ mations can be found.

Ordovician System (fig. 5). This green chert may be traced easily and divides the formation roughly into two equal Chickamauga Limestone parts. The green chert zone corresponds to the The Chickamauga limestone crops out in Look­ "zero" zone of Allen and Lester (1957, p. 63-67) out Valley and along the Wills Creek anticline and is well exposed 0.4 mile west of Trenton on (fig. 5). The formation is exposed along U.S. Georgia Highway 143. Highway 11 between Wildwood and Trenton and The Chickamauga limestone is a highly produc­ a well exposed section overlies the Knox dolomite tive aquifer and has been extensively developed west of U.S. Highway 11 about 0.2 mile north of for domestic and farm supplies by several hundred the Alabama line. The Chickamauga limestone is shallow drilled wells in Lookout Valley. Water more than 1,000 feet thick in Lookout Valley occurs in the rock in numerous intersecting frac­ where it is composed of light- to dark-gray, cherty, tures, joints, bedding planes, and solution cavities and fossiliferous limestone. In the lower part of and a few wells yield large quantities. Many wells the Chickamauga limestone there are a few beds probably are capable of yielding 200 gpm (gallons of dolomite. per minute) or more. Water from the Chicka­ Butts and Gildersleeve (1948, p. 18-33) and mauga limestone commonly has a sulfurous taste Allen and Lester (1957) recognized units within and characteristically is hard. the Chickamauga limestone that have been mapped as formations elsewhere, but in this re­ Sequatchie Formation port the Chickamauga limestone is used to include The Sequatchie formation, which is exposed as the rocks that unconformably overlie the Knox a thin band on the flanks of Lookout Valley, was dolomite and underlie the Sequatchie formation. mapped with the Red Mountain formation of The Chickamauga limestone is subdivided into an Silurian age because the two formations are simi­ upper limestone member and a lower limestone lar lithologically. Johnson (1946) also included and dolomite member at a thin zone of green the Sequatchie in Lookout Valley with the Red chert and bentonite, which is about 20 feet thick Mountain formation on his map. The Sequatchie 8 formation consists of thick bedded to massive, of . Because of its thinness the gray, fossiliferous limestone interbedded with cal­ Chattanooga shale was mapped with the Fort careous sandstone, siltstone, and shale. A thin bed Payne chert and the St. Louis limestone in figure of oolitic hematite occurs generally near the base. 5. The Chattanooga shale is an excellent strati­ Where deeply weathered the limestone has been graphic marker, separating the underlying Red completely dissolved and the weathered material Mountain formation and the overlying Fort Payne is characteristically reddish-brown sandy soil. A chert. thick-bedded fossiliferous limestone that is pre­ The Chattanooga is a poor aquifer because the dominant in the upper part of the formation dis­ shale is generally impermeable and transmits tinguishes it from the overlying Silurian Red little water. Wells that penetrate it commonly Mountain formation. The Sequatchie is about 75 obtain some water having a high iron content. to 80 feet thick. The Sequatchie formation under­ lies the Red Mountain formation and overlies the Carboniferous Rocks-Mississippian System Chickamauga limestone with which it is in sharp contact. Fort Payne Chert The Sequatchie formation yields adequate sup­ plies of water to a large number of domestic wells, The Fort Payne chert crops out as a wide band 50 to 130 feet deep, that tap the nearly flat-lying capping the ridges that flank Lookout Valley. In beds between the town of Wildwood and the Ten­ Dade County it consists of thick bedded, gray, nessee State line. However, probably most of the cherty limestone. The chert is highly fractured wells also penetrate the underlying Chickamauga and occurs as nodules and stringers commonly limestone. Water is stored in the aquifer in joints, more than 1 foot thick. In the lower part of the bedding planes, and solution cavities in the lime­ formation chert forms the greater part of the stone. Wells that penetrate the underlying Chicka­ unit. The Fort Payne is very fossiliferous and mauga limestone or encounter large solution cavi­ contains abundant crinoid stem plates up to 1 inch ties in the Sequatchie formation yields as much aR in diameter and several large forms of the genus 200 gpm. Spirifer. The upper part of the formation is gen­ erally deeply weathered and forms a characteris­ Silurian System tic reddish soil containing blocky, fossiliferous fragments of chert. Because the upper part of the Red Mountain Formation formation weathers similarly to the overlying The Red Mountain formation occurs in resistant St. Louis limestone, the two formations were not ridges flanking Lookout Valley. The ridges are differentiated on the geologic map (fig. 5). The capped by the overlying Fort Payne chert. The Fort Payne chert is 157 feet thick at Trenton. incompetent beds of the Red Mountain formation Above this section is 20 feet of deeply weathered consist of thin-bedded, gray limestone, fissile rock which may be either Fort Payne chert or greenish shale, claystone, siltstone, and fine­ St. Louis limestone. grained sandstone. Thin beds of oolitic hematite The Fort Payne chert is an excellent aquifer occur sporadically but rarely are more than a foot although in Dade County it has been developed thick. The formation is 150 to 200 feet thick. only for domestic and farm use. Its water is gen­ According to Butts and Gildersleeve (1948, p. 36), erally soft and of excellent quality. Many springs a hiatus within the formation separates it into flow more than 100 gpm from the formation and two divisions. wells generally have large yields. Water occurs in The Red Mountain formation has not been ex­ many intersecting joints, bedding planes, and so­ tensively explored for water. The few wells that lution cavities. penetrate the aquifer obtain adequate supplies for domestic and farm purposes and are generally St. Louis Limestone located near houses perched atop ridges. The wells The dark-gray, cherty, fine-grained limestone are generally about 150 feet in depth. Water is of the St. Louis limestone overlies the thick­ stored in the formation in joints, bedding planes, bedded cherty limestone of the Fort Payne chert. and other fractures. The formation may be con­ The St. Louis limestone is exposed as a thin band sidered only as a moderately productive aquifer at the base of Sand and Lookout Mountains and as the yield is probably less than 25 gpm from is best exposed in gullies on the lower flanks of most wells. Sand Mountain. The formation was mapped as Fort Payne chert by Johnson (1946). The lime­ Devonian and Mississippian Systems stone is generally thick-bedded and contains many large nodules and stringers of chert which are Chattanooga Shale most abundant in the upper part. The St. Louis The Chattanooga shale is exposed near the crest limestone contains several colonial corals. Well of the ridges that flank Lookout Valley. In Dade preserved and weathered-out specimens of Litho­ County it is about 15 to 25 feet thick and consists strotionella hemisphaerica were collected in stream of black, fissile, carbonaceous shale, overlain by debris in a branch of Crawfish Creek near Byrds several feet of greenish-gray shale. According to Chapel, and Dorlodotia sp. and Syringopora sp. Butts and Gildersleeve (1948, p. 40), the greenish­ were noted in the upper part of the formation just gray shale corresponds to the Maury green shale below the old farmhouse about 1.4 miles due east 9 of the road junction at New England. At several paleontological studies are needed to define the localities several inches of greenish shale were upper and lower contacts of the Gasper formation. observed in the lower part of the formation. In It is about 150 feet thick in Dade County. the valley areas the St. Louis limestone weathers The Gasper formation is a potentially produc­ to a reddish cherty soil and is difficult to distin­ tive aquifer as the rock is readily soluble and guish from the Fort Payne chert. The formation contains solution channels and cavities along the is about 120 feet thick. bedding and joint planes. However, the formation The St. Louis limestone is an excellent aquifer. yields little water to wells because of its general The rocks are highly jointed and contain extensive occurrence on steep mountain slopes. solution cavities. The water is generally of good quality. Golconda Formation and Hartselle Sandstone Ste. Genevieve Limestone Rocks tentatively identified as the Golconda The Ste. Genevieve, Gasper, Golconda, Hartselle, formation and the overlying Hartselle sandstone and Bangor formations are lithologically similar crop out at least as far south as Trenton in Dade and difficult to map separately. Therefore, al­ County. They are well exposed west of Trenton though each is discussed separately, they have on Georgia Highway 143 where the highway not been differentiated in figure 5. In many pre­ bends to the south to ascend Sand Mountain. In vious reports these formations have been mapped Slygo Cove the shale crops out about 0.4 mile as the Bangor limestone. The Ste. Genevieve lime­ northeast of Bethlehem Church. The Golconda stone is composed of about 245 feet of light- to formation consists of thin-bedded fossiliferous dark-gray, oolitic, fine- to coarse-grained lime­ limestone and greenish shale and in most localities stone. The limestone contains a few nodules and is difficult to locate or trace. The Hartselle sand­ stringers of gray chert, which generally has an stone consists of calcareous sandstone but is poorly oolitic texture. The rocks are thick bedded to exposed. The two formations together are about massive and commonly contain numerous solitary 15 to 20 feet thick. The beds are stratigraphically corals and other . At Rising Fawn the Ste. and lithologically similar to the rocks described Genevieve limestone is deeply weathered to a red­ by Butts and Gildersleeve (1948, p. 47-48) at the dish soil which contains large fragments of chert. north end of Lookout Mountain in Tennessee. A few wells penetrate the formation in Slygo Because they are thin and occur only on steep Cove where the formation crops out in the valley. mountain slopes, the Golconda formation and Elsewhere it yields little water to wells as it gen­ Hartselle sandstone have not been explored for erally crops out on the flanks of Lookout or Sand domestic water supplies. Mountains. Wells in Slygo Cove yield adequate water for domestic and farm use from joints and Bangor Limestone solution cavities in the rock. The Bangor limestone occurs on the flanks of Gasper Formation Lookout and Sand Mountains. The rock consists The Gasper formation crops out on the flanks of light- to dark-gray thin- to thick-bedded, fine­ of Lookout and Sand Mountains above the Ste. to coarse-grained limestone. It contains a few beds Genevieve limestone. It is a non-cherty, oolitic, of oolitic limestone. In the upper part, limestone and fossiliferous limestone and is distinguished is interbedded with shale. Blocky black chert by the compound coral tentatively identified by nodules and forms of Pentremites and Archimedes Helen Duncan of the U.S. Geological Survey as occur commonly throughout the limestone and aid Campophyllum gasperense. The coral occurs about in distinguishing it from the Ste. Genevieve lime­ 35 feet above the probable base of the formation stone and the Gasper formation. A coral similar and forms a 1- to 2-foot bed, which is generally to Campophyllum gasperense was observed in the easy to locate and trace. Samples were collected Bangor limestone on Georgia Highway 143 on the in Slygo Cove about 1.3 miles northeast of Bethle­ west rim of Lookout Mountain west of Cloudland hem Church and in a small gully about 1 mile Canyon. The Bangor is about 480 feet thick. southwest of Bethlehem Church. However, two The Bangor limestone, because it is soluble, is species of Palastraea, also identified by Helen cut by many intersecting solution channels along Duncan, occur in the same zone. Palastraea sp. was considered by Butts and Gildersleeve (1948, joints and bedding planes. Springs emerge on the p. 47) to be restricted to the Golconda formation. sides of the mountains where solution channels Palastraea cf. P. mcfarlani was collected about intersect the surface and where shale prevents the 100 feet west of Bethlehem Church. Palastraea cf. downward movement of water. The only wells P. compressa was collected about 1.4 miles south­ that penetrate the Bangor limestone are west of west of Hooker, and about 1.3 miles west of Tren­ Hooker, where the yield is sufficient for farm and ton. Both Palastraea cf. P. compressa and Campo­ domestic use. Elsewhere the Bangor crops out on phyllum gasperense were collected about 150 steep slopes. On Sand Mountain, wells of high yards south of Bethlehem Church. All collections yields probably could be developed from this aqui­ were believed to be from one coral zone along the fer at depths of 600 to 700 feet. On Lookout Moun­ strike of the beds and about 122 feet below the tain the Bangor limestone is more than 1,000 feet Golconda formation. Additional stratigraphic and below the surface. 10 Pennington Shale Mountain. The member is composed of yellowish The Pennington shale, which consists of red and to gray fissile shale intercalated with thin-bedded green fissile shale interbedded with sandstone and siltstone, coal, and fine-grained sandstone. The limestone, crops out on the sides of Lookout and Gizzard member is 353 feet thick in the Shell­ Sand Mountains. An exposure may be seen on mound quadrangle about 3 miles north of New Georgia Highway 143 on Sand Mountain west of Hope Church in Tennessee (Wilson, Jewell, and Trenton. The shale contains an abundant marine Luther, 1956, p. 19). The member appears to thin fauna of bryozoans and brachiopods. The Penning­ to the southeast from this area. The Gizzard ton generally is obscured by talus from the over­ member is the lower unit of Lookout sandstone lying Pennsylvanian rocks and its thickness can­ which is equivalent to the Raccoon Mountain for~ not be determined accurately. For this reason it mation of Wilson, Jewell, and Luther (1956). was included with the overlying Gizzard member The Gizzard member is tapped by wells only on of Lookout sandstone on figure 5. The thickness Sand Mountain where the formation crops out in of the Pennington shale probably ranges from 100 deep swales and ravines. Water is obtained from to 200 feet. Wells have not been drilled in the fractures, joints, and bedding planes by shallow Pennington shale because of its relative inaccessi­ drilled wells. The yield is adequate for domestic bility, but it probably would yield only a little and farm use. water because its permeability is low. Sewanee Member of Lookout Sandstone Carboniferous Rocks-Pennsylvanian System The Sewanee member crops out extensively in Recent detailed and reconnaissance mapping in Dade County and forms the rimrock and mesa-like the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee has resulted surface of Sand Mountain and forms much of the in a revision by Wilson, Jewell, and Luther (1956) rimrock on Lookout Mountain. The Sewanee the of Pennsylvanian stratigraphy. Rocks which they upper unit of Lookout sandstone, is compos~d of mapped as Gizzard and Crab Orchard Mountain massive, -forming, crossbedded, conglomeratic groups can be traced throughout the Sand and sandstone and orthoquartzite. The sandstone is Lookout Mountains area and coal seams in many fine to coarse grained, and white to pale reddish of the formations are also correlative. Table 2 brown. In Cloudland Canyon State Park the mem­ shows the equivalent rock units of Johnson (1946) ber is 240 feet thick. The Sewanee member is whose terminology is followed in this report. equivalent to the Warren Point sandstone (table Butts (1926, p. 204-208) believes that the Penn­ 2) of Grundy County, Tenn., where it is 65 feet sylvanian rocks unconformably overlie the Missis­ thick (Wilson, Jewell, and Luther, 1956, p. 4). sippian rocks. The member thickens southward. Wells that penetrate the Sewanee member of Gizzard Member of Lookout Sandstone the Lookout sandstone obtain water from frac­ The Gizzard member crops out on the flanks of tures, bedding planes, and joint planes. The sand­ Lookout Mountain and on the sides and in deep stone is well cemented with silica and calcite and swales and gullies on Sand Mountain. It generally is not highly permeable. Shallow drilled wells forms a steep talus-covered slope beneath the which rarely exceed 150 feet, yield adequate sup~ ledges of the Sewanee member of the Lookout plies for farm and domestic use. The maximum sandstone. For this reason exposures are generally yield from the wells is probably less than 30 gpm seen only in road cuts, as on Georgia Highway 143 except from highly fractured zones. ' just below the east and west rims of Lookout Whitwell Shale

Table 2. Correlation of equivalent Pennsylvanian The Whitwell shale was observed only on Look­ formations of the Cumberland Plateau of out Mountain where it is generally poorly exposed Ge.orgia and Tennessee except in road cuts although it is well exposed in

-- -~------~~-~--~--- -- Cloudland Canyon. Because of its thinness the Wilson, Jewell, and Whitwell shale was mapped with the Bonair sand­ Johnson (1946) Luther (1956) stone. It consists of thin-bedded, black to light­ ---- ~ -- gray shale, siltstone and fine-grained, thin-bedded Rockcastle ! sandstone. On Signal Mountain in Tennessee the Upper shale unit of conglomerate I Rockcastle sandstone Whitwell is 52 feet thick but is only about 12 feet Vandever formation thick on the western rim of Lookout Mountain. Lower sandstone unit of Newton sandstone It appears to be about 35 feet thick on the eastern Rockcastle sandstone rim. Vandever shale Whitwell shale The formation is not an important aquifer. Bonair sandstone Sewanee conglomerate : Bonair Sandstone - Po Whitwell shale Signal Point shale ::I The Bonair sandstone crops out extensively on I 0 .., ,::::Q) Sewanee member Warren Pomt bD Lookout Mountain where it consists of thin, well­ 5.s sandstone ~ cemented, white to pale reddish-brown, fine­ .!I:"' 1------. 01 grained, crossbedded sandstone. The sandstone g] Gizzard member Raccoon Mountain '"'~ ..:los commonly contains pebble conglomerates. The formation 6 "' ~--~----~------Bonair sandstone is about 200 feet thick in Cloud- 11 land Canyon, and in some localities forms a second the "A" or No. 1 coal seam. It may be seen near line of cliffs above the Sewanee member of the Durham about 0.8 mile east of the junction of Lookout sandstone. Georgia Highways 170 and 157. The upper part Ground water is stored in fractures, joints, and of the middle shale member forms the abrupt bedding planes in the rock. Numerous wells, which horseshoe-shaped ridge known as Round Moun­ are generally less than 100 feet deep, yield suffi­ tain. It is composed of about 200 feet of inter­ cient water for domestic and farm use. The yield bedded gray to black carbonaceous and buff sandy is similar to that of the Sewanee member of the siltstone and shale. Lookout sandstone. The tripartite character of this member is dis­ tinctive of the Vandever formation in the Cum­ Vandever Shale berland Plateau of Tennessee (Wilson, Jewell, and The Vandever shale crops out on Lookout Moun­ Luther, 1956, p. 4). The middle sandstone unit of tain north of Johnson Creek and it is well exposed the shale member of the Rockcastle sandstone along Georgia Highway 157, 1.9 miles north of the may be correlative with the middle unit of their Junction with Georgia Highway 143. The forma­ Vandever which also is a thick sandstone. tion consists of light to dark-gray, thin, fissile The middle shale member of the Rockcastle shale intercalated with grayish-orange siltstone sandstone has not been explored for water in Dade and fine-grained sandstone. The Vandever shale County, owing partly to the rugged relief and is about 200 feet thick. The formation yields partly to its small extent. Wells capable of yield­ ground water from fractures and bedding and ing domestic and farm supplies probably could be joint planes in the rock. Shallow drilled wells, developed in the formation. generally less than 75 feet in depth, are capable Upper sandstone member.-The upper sand­ of furnishing water for farm and domestic use stone member of the Rockcastle, which caps the but generally yield less than 25 gpm. horseshoe-shaped ridge east of the junction of Georgia Highways 157 and 170, is believed to be a Rockcastle Sandstone remnant equivalent of the Rockcastle sandstone of Wilson, Jewell, and Luther (1956). The rock con­ The Rock castle sandstone as described by John­ sists of fine- to coarse-grained sandstone and is son (1946) consists of two distinct lithologic u_nits, generally thick bedded. About 20 to 40 feet of the a lower unit of sandstone and an upper umt of member is present. This member was not differen­ interbedded shale and sandstone. The upper unit tiated by Johnson (1946). is further subdivided in this report into the middle Because of its topographic position the sand­ shale and upper sandstone members which are stone is not a significant source of water in Dade equivalent to the Vandever and Rockcastle forma­ County. tions of Wilson, Jewell, and Luther (1956). The lower member is equivalent to their Newton sand­ Quaternary System stone. Lower sandstone member.- The lower sand­ Alluvium stone member crops out extensively near Cloud­ Fairly thick deposits of alluvium are present at land Canyon and near Durham in Walker County. scattered localities in Dade County. The alluvium Several small outliers also occur along Lookout consists of poorly sorted boulders, gravel, sand, Mountain northeast of Cloudland Canyon. The and clay. Most of the material appears to have lower member is about 150 feet thick and consists been derived from the Bonair sandstone and of resistant thick to thin crossbedded sandstone. Sewanee member of the Lookout sandstone, as It forms a prominent bench above the Vandever fragments and boulders containing the charac­ shale. teristic pebbles and conglomerate of those units The sandstone yields an adequate supply of are predominant. water for domestic use to a relatively few shallow The thickest and most extensive deposits are at drilled wells along Georgia Highway 157. Ground the mouths of deep where the material water occurs principally in fractures and bedding has been deposited as alluvial fans in the valleys. and joint planes in the indurated sandstone. Yields Good examples are the deposits on the south side to wells are small, generally less than 30 gpm. of the large amphitheatre known as Johnson Crook, and the deposits at the mouths of Rich­ Middle shale member.-The middle shale mem­ mond Hollow and Cloudland Canyon. Their thick­ ber of the Rockcastle consists of three distinct ness is not known but is probably less than 50 feet. lithologic units which crop out on Lookout Moun­ The alluvial deposits have not been developed as tain east of Georgia Highway 157 and south of a source of water supply. However, they appear Georgia Highway 170. The lower part, about 50 to be permeable, have considerable areal extent to 80 feet thick, is composed of gray to black and thickness, and are continually being recharged carbonaceous and buff shale. The shale contains by streams flowing from the canyons. an abundant flora. The middle part of the shale member, composed of fine- to coarse-grained Structure well-indurated sandstone, is generally thick bed­ ded and forms a low but prominent bench. The Folds middle sandstone of the shale member is about The most prominent structural features of Dade 20 to 30 feet thick and occurs several feet below County are the northeast-trending anticlines and 12 synclines in the southern and eastern part of the According to Wilson and Stearns (1958, p. 1290- county (fig. 5). They include the Lookout Valley 1293), Pennsylvanian rocks in the southern part anticline, the Wills Creek anticline, and the Look­ of the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee and out Mountain syncline. The rocks in the north­ Georgia were involved in a flat, bedding-plane western part of the county are generally flat thrust. Movement may have occurred along bed­ lying. ding planes within the Pennsylvanian rocks in The Lookout Valley anticline is an asymmetri­ Dade County, although no evidence of this was cal fold; dips on the east flank are about 12°-59°, found. and are generally steeper than dips on the west flank which are about 2 o -21 o. The rocks on the GROUND WATER west flank flatten out and form the plateau of Use of Ground Water in Dade County Sand Mountain. To the southwest the anticline terminates several miles south of the Georgia line An estimated 800,000 gallons of ground water in Alabama; it extends northeast about 20 miles is used daily in Dade County, primarily for domes­ into Tennessee. The outcrop pattern of the green tic and farm supplies. About 800 shallow drilled chert in the lower member of the Chickamauga and dug wells, most of which are less than 150 limestone suggests that the crest of the anticline feet deep, have been developed throughout the is near the north edge of the town of Trenton. valley and mountain areas of Dade County for There is a marked sag in the anticline just north local water supplies. About 90 to 95 percent of the of Wildwood. wells were drilled. Dug wells generally are inade­ The Wills Creek anticline, a prominent struc­ quate even for domestic supplies owing to the tural feature of Alabama, extends into Georgia thinness of the residuum. Records of wells and and passes through Johnson Crook. Dips of 26° springs that were inventoried may be examined and 65 o were measured on the east limb and dips in the district office of the U.S. Geological Survey, of 13 ° to 44 o were measured on the west limb of Ground Water Branch, , Ga. Locations of the fold. The Knox dolomite, the oldest formation the wells and springs are shown on figure 5 and exposed in Dade County, forms the core of the are numbered by quadrangles. structure. Two communities in Dade County, Trenton and The rocks of Lookout Mountain in the north Rising Fawn, obtain municipal supplies from part of Dade County are folded into the broad springs. Trenton has developed three springs on Lookout Mountain syncline. Dips along the west­ the east face of Sand Mountain. The combined ern rim of the mountain are about 13 o to 21 o and flow from two of the springs was about 80 gpm flatten out along the axis. The structure extends in October 1958. About half of this flow was used. northward into Walker County, Ga., where the The flow from the other springs was fully used axis roughly parallels the Dade-Walker line. South­ and could not be determined. Poplar Spring, which ward the structure terminates near Fox Mountain. furnishes the water supply for Rising Fawn, flowed about 35 gpm in December 1958 and is Faults fully used. Private wells and springs are being Rodgers (1953, p. 130) states that the east limb developed to supplement the public supply in of the Lookout Valley anticline is cut by a south­ newly developed residential districts adjoining east-dipping thrust fault which extends into Trenton and Rising Fawn. Throughout the county Georgia. The trace of this fault closely parallels many springs and seeps with flows of one to Lookout Creek and was mapped from the Tennes­ several hundred gpm have been developed for see state line southwest to Sitton Gulch. The Fort farm and domestic use. Payne chert is thrust over the Ste. Genevieve The only industrial well in the county is at a limestone. The fault may extend southwestward lumberyard at New England where about 10,000 beyond Sitton Gulch but limited examination did gpd (gallons per day) is used in a boiler. The not disclose it. Wildwood Sanitarium, about 1 mile north of Wild­ The fault, which is exposed wood, uses about 18,000 gpd for irrigation and about 10 miles west of Dade County in Tennessee domestic purposes. and Alabama, is believed to be horizontal and probably underlies Lookout Valley, and Sand and Lookout Mountains at relatively shallow depth. The rocks exposed in Dade County are on the General Statement upper plate of the fault. Rodgers (1953, p. 127- Two principal types of aquifers occur in Dade 128) suggests this is the attitude of the Sequat­ County; limestone and dolomite (carbonate rocks) chie Valley fault north of Dade County and that aquifers which crop out in the valley areas and it underlies in Tennessee. As evi­ on the mountain slopes, and sandstone and shale dence, Rodgers cites areas of Ordovician and (clastic rocks) aquifers which crop out in the Silurian rocks in Roane and Rhea Counties, Tenn., mountain area. The limestones commonly are Which he interprets as windows showing through highly permeable because they contain widespread this fault. A similar window involving rocks of well-developed solution channels; the sandstone comparable age was mapped by Butts and Gilder­ and shale units generally are not highly perme­ sleeve (1948, p. 61) east of Lookout Mountain, able. The geologic formations and their physical Walker County. However, Butts did not interpret character and water-bearing properties are de­ it as a window. scribed in table 1. 13 Limestone and Dolomite Aquifers spects comparable to a surface drainage system. The carbonate rocks of the valley areas gen­ Subterranean drainage systems adjust themselves erally are excellent aquifers as the solution chan­ to a base level, which in Dade County would be nels act as conduits for ground water. The forma­ Lookout Creek and other large streams. tions of primary importance for water supplies Many wells in Lookout Valley penetrate water­ for domestic, industrial, and municipal supplies in filled solution cavities in limestone. Fortunately the area are the Fort Payne chert and the St. these openings are so extensive that wells 150 Louis limestone. Water from these formations is feet deep may encounter several and at few places generally of good quality. The Knox dolomite, the is it necessary to drill deeper. Most of the deeper Chickamauga limestone, the Sequatchie formation wells, generally less than 270 feet deep, are on top and the Ste. Genevieve limestone will yield suffi­ of hills. Should a well fail to encounter solution cient water of good quality for domestic and agri­ channels of sufficient size to furnish an adequate cultural supplies. quantity of water above 250 feet, or if the well is The primary source of ground water in Dade dry, it is generally the custom to select a new site. County is precipitation on the land surface. The However, wells that yield no water are rare in rocks contain openings along joints, bedding Dade County. planes and other fractures which permit the water Wells at Huntsville, Ala., that tap the Fort to infiltrate to the ground water. In percolating Payne chert (Malmberg and Downing, 1957, p. 31- through the soil, water generally becomes charged 39), generally are capable of yields of 250 gpm, with carbon dioxide and organic acids. Thus, the and exceptional wells are capable of yields of 1,000 charged water readily dissolves the limestone and gpm or more. The wells having the highest yields dolomite enlarging both vertical and lateral open­ are located in synclinal troughs or basins. Accu­ ings (fig. 6). Solution of carbonate rocks is be­ rate data are not available on the yield from the lieved to be generally most active near the water Fort Payne chert and St. Louis limestone in Dade table where descending water is more highly County but wells of comparable yields probably charged with carbon dioxide and acid. Where an could be drilled in the Fort Payne chert in the extensive subterranean drainage system becomes Lookout Mountain syncline near Rising Fawn and developed in carbonate rocks, it is in many re- on the flanks of the Lookout Valley anticline.

EXPLANATION

F/O:l Soil

~ Water

@ Limestone

Figure 6.- Diagram showing the occurrence of ground water in solution channels in a limestone area. 14 Additional studies of the stratigraphy, water­ poses. According to the U.S. Public Health Service bearing characteristics, and chemical quality of (1946), municipal and domestic supplies generally water of these aquifers should be made because should not contain more than 500 ppm (parts per of their importance to the potential economic million) of dissolved solids, 250 ppm of chloride, development of the area. Adjoining areas also 250 ppm of sulfate, and 125 ppm of magnesium would benefit by the information obtained. or more than 0.3 ppm of iron; to prevent mottling of teeth, fluoride should not exceed 1.5 ppm. Sandstone and Shale Aquifers Water with a hardness greater than 150 ppm Until recently there has been little demand for tends to cause excessive use of soap. Chemical ground water from the sandstone and shale rocks analyses of water from wells and springs made as of the mountainous area of Dade County, which is part of this investigation are listed in table 3. sparsely settled. However, recent highway im­ For certain industrial uses of water additional provements have resulted in a steady increase of restrictions may be placed on the dissolved con­ population in those areas and a greater demand stituents (California State Water Pollution Con­ for water. The aquifers of these areas, the Se­ trol Board, 1952). Hardness and silica are of pri­ wanee member of the Lookout sandstone, the mary importance because of boiler scale and soap Bonair sandstone, the Vandever shale, and the consumption. To meet certain industrial require­ Rockcastle sandstone, generally yield less water ments, water should not contain dissolved oxygen, to wells than the carbonate rocks. However, yields carbon dioxide, free acid or suspended matter. from shallow domestic wells are adequate; they The temperature of ground water is of importance range from less than 1 gpm to not more than 30 to some industries because of cooling require­ gpm. A few of the shallow wells can be pumped ments. dry by the small pumps which are installed to The results of analyses from two well waters supply household water. This situation could be in the Knox dolomite had a total hardness of 165 alleviated by drilling deeper wells so that they and 223 ppm as CaC03 , dissolved solids of 194 and would tap more water-filled fractures in the rock. 241 ppm, and bicarbonate of 162 and 253 ppm. Sufficient water for industrial and municipal sup­ Data from three analyses of water from the plies probably could be obtained from large­ Chickamauga limestone and Red Mountain forma­ diameter wells as much as 400 feet deep. Ground tion show similar chemical quality. The hardness water in the mountainous areas might also be ranged from 210 to 446 ppm and the dissolved obtained by drilling through the sandstone and solids ranged from 260 to 510 ppm. Bicarbonate shale of Pennsylvanian age into the underlying varied from 224 to 475 ppm. One sample of water Bangor limestone of Mississippian age. from the Chickamauga limestone reported by the Georgia Department of Mines, Mining, and Geol­ Springs ogy contained 1,390 ppm of chloride and 3,050 Springs occur where there is a discharge of ppm of total dissolved solids. Water of this quality ground water at land surface. In Dade County the is rare and the salinity suggests that it may be more important and larger springs occur in Missis­ dilute marine water which became entrapped dur­ sippian carbonate rocks and may be classified as ing deposition of the sediments. Water from many tubular or fracture springs. The openings are wells in the Chickamauga limestone has a sul­ generally large fractures or caves which extend furous taste. for considerable distances into the rock. Forester One water sample from the Sequatchie forma­ Spring (SP-1) and Skyuka Spring (SP-4) in the tion contained 163 ppm dissolved solids and a Cedar Grove quadrangle, and 0. R. Haswell Spring hardness of 150 ppm. The water contained 0.12 (SP-2) in the Hooker quadrangle, probably flow ppm of iron and 181 ppm of bicarbonate. from fractures, but the openings are covered by Ground water from the Fort Payne chert is of alluvium (fig. 5). Many small springs in the excellent chemical quality. Hardness of water in county may be classified as contact, fracture, or three samples ranged from 17 to 134 ppm and the seepage spring. iron content ranged from 0.05 to 0.1 ppm. The water contained 0.4 to 13 ppm of nitrate and the Chemical Quality of Water bicarbonate content ranged from 24 to 150 ppm. Rain and occasional snowfall are the primary Chloride ranged from 1.0 to 6.8 ppm and fluoride source of ground water in Dade County. Rain and from 0.0 to 0.1 ppm. Data from four analyses of snow contain only minute quantities of dissolved water from the Pennsylvanian rocks, including matter, but upon contact with the soil and rock, samples from the Sewanee member of the Look­ the water begins to dissolve minerals and organic out sandstone, Bonair sandstone, Vandever shale, substances. The quantity and type of dissolved and the lower member of the Rockcastle sand­ solids in ground water is dependent upon the com­ stone, indicate that all yield water of similar position of the rocks through which it flows, the chemical quality. Iron ranged from 0.4 to 2.2 ppm organic material present, and the length of time and the total hardness as CaC03 ranged from 6 to that the water is in contact with them. The salts 54 ppm. Bicarbonate ranged from 24 to 66 ppm. of sodium, calcium, magnesium, iron, and alumi­ The pH ranged from 6.0 to 7.5 units. num are the most common dissolved constituents. Water from Forester Spring (SP-1) in the A high content of dissolved constituents in Cedar Grove quadrangle is of excellent chemical ground water may limit its use for various pur- quality. An analysis of the water showed a hard- 15 Table 8. Chemical analyses of ground water, Dade County, Ga.

Parts per million

Well or Quadrangle Aquifer Date of Owner 0 spring collection z no. § '

Well 1 Hooker Red Mountain formation 12-29-58 J. E. Tittle 13 0.22 85 21 23 5.0 352 52 7.5 0.2 1.2 370 298 7.4 4 do Fort Payne chert 12-29-58 L. L. Bridgeman 7.6 .05 4 1.6 1.0 .1 24 .6 6.8 .0 .4 37 17 6.8 17 do Sequatchie formation 12-29-58 W. R. Fuller 11 .12 54 3.8 1.7 .6 181 4.8 1.5 .2 .0 163 150 7.7 27 do Fort Payne chert, 12-29-58 W. H. Kimsey 8.9 .10 43 6.4 1.4 .3 150 .5 3.0 .1 13 142 134 7.7 St. Louis limestone 28• do Chickamauga limestone 10-27-11 L. F. Shelton 32 1.4 8 3.1 .660 476b 277 1,394 .4 35 do do 12-29-58 D. T. Brown 7.9 .08 74 6.2 6.0 2.7 224 31 8.5 .1 2.4 260 210 7.2 Lumber Co. 19 Trenton do 12-29-58 0. Reeves 13 .00 118 37 7.5 1.6 475 28 36 .1 2 510 446 7.3 39 do Sewanee member of 12-29-58 L. C. Adams 12 1.3 3.0 2.1 1.3 .8 24 3.4 1.8 .1 .2 39 16 6.0 Lookout sandstone 7 Durham Lower member of 12-30-58 J. 0. Veazey 13 2.2 5 2.9 1.8 .2 26 9.6 .2 .1 .0 48 24 6.3 Rockcastle sandstone 11 do Bonair sandstone 12-30-58 L. R. Moore 11 .4 19 1.6 1.4 .2 66 3.7 1.0 .1 .5 60 54 7.1 26 do Vandever shale 12-30-58 L. Gray 15 1.3 2 1.3 2.2 .2 28 1.5 .8 .0 .0 32 10 7.5 3 do Alluvium, Fort Payne chert 12-29-58 W. W. Tinker 5.5 .09 21 2.8 1 .4 74 4.7 1.0 .1 .4 76 64 7.7 11 Sulphur Knox dolomite 12-29-58 B. Forrester 8.0 .01 38 17 3.2 .8 162 6.8 7.0 .1 22 194 165 7.9 Springs 12 do do 12-29-58 H. G. Hawkins 8.6 .03 63 16 1.8 .2 253 3.4 5.5 .1 11 241 223 7.6

Spring 2 Hooker Contact of St. Genevieve 12-29-58 0. R. Haswell 59 8.7 .04 42 5.1 1.0 .1 142 5.6 1.5 .1 2.5 132 126 7.6 limestone; St. Louis limestone 1 Cedar Grove Alluvium 12-29-58 P. Forester 49 4.5 .04 6 .5 .6 .5 18 3.6 1.2 .o .1 26 18 6.8 (Forester Spring) 7• Trenton Bangor limestone 8-22-52 M. Cureton 80 11 .00 48 150 3.0 2.0 .o .0 165 105 7.7 (Poplar Spring) 2, 3' do 2-Fort Payne chert; 6- 3-59 City of Trenton 60 7.8 .02 45 4.7 .4 .5 157 4.6 1.5 .o .5 143 132 7.4 3-St. Louis limestone

a Analysis by Georgia Department of Mines, Mining, and Geology. bcarbonate (COa) of 82ppm. cCom.bined flow of both sprinas. ness of 18 ppm, 26 ppm of dissolved solids, 0.04 Callahan, J. T., 1958, Large springs in northwestern ppm of iron, and 18 ppm of bicarbonate. Chemical Georgia: Georgia Geol. Survey Mineral Newsletter, analyses of the combined flow of water from the v. 11, no. 3, p. 80-86. ---1958, Ground water in Floyd County, Georgia: two springs supplying Trenton show that water Georgia Geol. Survey Mineral Newsletter, v. 11, no. 1, from those springs is of good quality. Water from p. 16-18. the 0. R. Haswell Spring and Poplar Spring, which Croft, M. G., 1959, The geology of Cloudland Canyon State supplies water for Rising Fawn, is also satisfac­ Park, Dade County, Georgia: Georgia Geol. Survey tory. Mineral Newsletter, v. 12, no. 3, p. 84-90. Hayes, C. W., 1891, The overthrust faults of the southern Future Development of Ground Water Appalachians: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 2, p. 141- 154. The population of Dade County may be ex­ ---1894, Description of the Ringgold quadrangle pected to grow and additional sources of water [Georgia-Tennessee]: U.S. Geol. Survey Geol. Atlas, will be needed in the future. The development of Folio 2. ground-water resources offers an economical and Hayes, C. W., 1895, Description of the Stevenson quad­ rangle [Alabama-Georgia-Tennessee]: U. S. Geol. practical means of obtaining future supplies. Survey Geol. Atlas, Folio 19. Abundant ground-water supplies of good chemical Johnson, Vard H., 1946, Coal deposits on Sand and Look­ quality and adequate for both municipal and in­ out Mountains, Dade and Walker Counties, Georgia: dustrial uses can be obtained easily throughout U.S. Geol. Survey, prelim. map. many parts of the county. Large supplies of LaMoreaux, P. E., and Swindel, G. W., Jr., 1950, Ground­ ground water of good chemical quality can be water resources of the Huntsville area, Alabama: obtained economically from wells of shallow depth Alabama Geol. Survey Bull. 62, 82 p. Malmberg, Glenn T., and Downing, H. T., 1957, Geology that penetrate the Fort Payne chert and the St. and ground-water resources of Madison County, Ala­ Louis limestone. Municipal and industrial supplies bama: Alabama Geol. Survey, County Rept. 3, 225 p. can be obtained from these formations at Hooker McCallie, S. W., 1904, Coal deposits of Georgia: Georgia and Rising Fawn as these communities are in Geol. Survey Bull. 12. areas where these formations are found at shal­ ---1913, Mineral springs of Georgia: Georgia Geol. low depth. These two formations crop out in the Survey Bull. 20. vicinity of the springs that now furnish the water ---1910, Mineral resources of Georgia: Georgia Geol. at Trenton and in Back Valley. The Chattanooga Survey Bull. 23. Meinzer, 0. E., 1927, Large springs in the : shale, which underlies the Fort Payne chert, yields U.S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 557. water of poor quality. Water in sufficient quanti­ Rodgers, John, 1953, Geologic map of with ties for irrigation can be obtained in many parts explanatory text: Tennessee Div. of Geol. Bull. 58, of the county that are underlain by carbonate pt. 2, 168 p. rocks. Teas, L. P., 1921, Preliminary report on the sand and gravel deposits of Georgia: Georgia Geol. Survey Springs offer an economical means of obtaining Bull. 37. water of generally good quality. Only a few of Thomson, M. T., and Carter, R. F., 1955, Surface-water the springs have been developed. Several springs resources of Georgia during the drought of 1954: in the county, such as Forester Spring, have flows Georgia Geol. Survey Inf. Circ. 17. of more than 100 gpm which are not used. Thomson, M. T., Herrick, S. M., and Brown, Eugene, 1956, The availability and use of water in Georgia: Georgia SELECTED REFERENCES Geol. Survey Bull. 65, 329 p. Allen, Arthur T., and Lester, James G., 1957, Zonation of Troxell, John R., 1946, Exploration of Lookout Mountain the Middle and Upper Ordovician strata in north­ and Sand Mountain coal deposits, Dade and Walker western Georgia: Georgia Geol. Survey Bull. 66, Counties, Georgia: U.S. Bureau of Mines Rept. Inv. 110 p. 3960. Butts, Charles, 1926, , the Paleozoic U.S. Public Health Service, 1946, Drinking water stand­ rocks: Alabama Geol. Survey, Spec. Rept. 14, p. 41- ards: Public Health Rept., v. 61, no. 11, p. 371-384. 230. Wilson, Charles W., Jr., Jewell, John W., and Luther, Butts, Charles, and Gildersleeve, Benjamin, 1948, Geology Edward T., 1956, Pennsylvanian geology of the Cum­ and mineral resources of the Paleozoic area in north­ berland Plateau, Tennessee: Tennessee Div. of Geol­ west Georgia: Georgia Geol. Survey Bull. 54, 176 p. ogy, Folio, 21 p. California State Water Pollution Control Board, 1952, Wilson, Charles W., Jr., and Stearns, Richard G., 1958, Water-quality criteria: California State Water Pollu­ Structure of the Cumberland Plateau, Tennessee: tion Control Board pub. 3. Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 69, no. 10, p. 1283-1296.

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