Georgia State Division of Conservation DEPARTMENT OF MINES, MINING AND GEOLOGY Garland Peyton, Director THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Bulletin Number 54 GEOLOGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE PALEOZOIC AREA IN NORTHWEST GEORGIA By Charles Butts Geologist, U. S. G. S. (Retired) and Benjamin Gildersleeve Geologist, TVA Published in Cooperation with the Tennessee Valley Authority ATLANTA 1948 Georgia State Division of Conservation DEPARTMENT OF MINES, MINING AND GEOLOGY Garland Peyton, Director THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Bulletin Number 54 GEOLOGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE PALEOZOIC AREA IN NORTHWEST GEORGIA By Charles Butts Geologist, U.S. G. S. (Retired) and Benjamin Gildersleeve Geologist, TVA Published in Cooperation with the Tennessee Valley Authority ATLANTA 1948 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL Department of Mines, Mining and Geology Atlanta, November 8, 1947 To His Excellency, M. E. Thompson, Acting Governor Commissioner Ex-Officio, State Division of Conservation Sir: I have the honor to submit herewith Georgia Geological Survey Bulletin No. 54, "Geology and Mineral Resources of the Paleozoic Area in North­ west Georgia," by Charles Butts and Benjamin Gildersleeve. The publica­ tion of this bulletin at this time fills an urgent and long-felt need for an up-to-date treatise upon the geology and mineral resources in one of Georgia's most active commercial mining areas. The report contains a manuscript on the geology and stratigraphy, a companion manuscript on the economic minerals of the area, a mineral map and a geologic map, both of which are on a scale large enough to be of practical use. It is believed that this report will be received with universal approval and utilization by both geologists and industrialists. One unusual economic feature is the inclusion in the bulletin of complete chemical analyses made on representative samples of all the limestone in northwest Georgia. This will enable the industrialist to determine before­ hand the approximate location of the type of limestone for which he may have need in his manufacturing process. Another unusual feature of the report is the publication for the first time in a Georgia Geological Survey bulletin of a representative group of fossil plates and pictures. The manner of preparing and publishing this report is another example of the value of cooperation between a federal and a state agency. The Department of Mines, Mining and Geology did not have available the personnel or the facilities for doing the field work and preparing the bulletin and the maps alone. Due to a working agreement which has existed between this department and the Tennessee Valley Authority. we were able to obtain the cooperation of the Minerals Research Section of the Commerce Department of the 'I'ennessee Valley Authority. This cooperation included the revision of existing geologic manuscripts and maps, the preparation of the economic section of the report, the preparation of illustrations and fossil plates, and the publishing of the two large-scale maps referred to above. Without this cooperation, it would h<ive been utterly impracticable for this department to have undertaken such a ramified project alone. It is our belief that the publication of this excellent report at this time will serve to stimulate increased activity leading toward a more proper development and utilization of the mineral resources of northwest Georgia. Very respectfully yours, Garland Peyton, Director. IIJ CONTENTS Page Preface .................................................................................................................. 1 GEOLOGY OF THE PALEOZOIC AREA IN NORTHWEST GEORGIA, by Charles Butts........................................................................ 3 Introduction ................ .. .............. ....... ..... .... .............. .... ........................................ 3 Location and extent.......................................................................................... 3 Previous work .... ......... ........... .... ...... .......... .... .. ...... ...... .................... ................ 3 Physiography ......................................................................................................... 5 Stratigraphy ........................................................................................................ 7 Cambrian system .... ................ ..... ............ ......... ................................................ 8 Weisner quartzite ........................................................................................ 8 Shady dolomite .............................................................................................. 9 Rome formation ............................................................................................ 11 Conasauga formation .................................................................................. 14 Cambrian and Ordovician (U.S.G.S.) or Ozarkian and Canadian (of E. 0. Ulrich) ............................................................................ 16 Knox dolomite ................................................................................................ 16 Ordovician system ................................ ............ ............ ............ ............ ............ 18 "Chickamauga limestone" .......................................................................... 18 N ewala limestone .... ................................ ........ ........ .................. .................... 19 Hiatus ............................................................................................................ 22 Stones River group ........................................................................................ 22 Murfreesboro limestone .......................................................................... 22 Mosheim limestone ...................................................................................• 24 Lenoir (Ridley) limestone........................................................................ 25 Lebanon limestone .................................................................................... 26 Blount group ................................................................................................ 27 Holston marble .......................................................................................... 28 Athens shale ................................................................................. ~ ............ 28 Tellico formation ··········································'··········································· 29 Otto see (Sevier) shale.............................................................................. 29 Lowville-Moccasin limestone ...................................................................... 30 Trenton limestone ........................................................................................ 32 Maysville formation .................................................................................... 32 Silurian system ....... ......................... .... ............ ................ ........................ ........ 33 Sequatchie formation .................................................................................. 33 Red Mountain formation .............................................................................. 35 Devonian system ........ ......... ............... ........ .. .. ........ .............................. ........ .... 38 Armuchee chert ............................................................................................ 38 Chattanooga shale ........................................................................................ 39 Mississiopian system ........................................................................................ 41 Fort Payne chert............................................................................................ 42 "Bangor" limestone ................ .................... ........ .... .............. .......... .............. 45 St. Louis limestone........................................................................................ 45 Ste. Genevieve limestone.......................................................................... 46 Gasper limestone ...................................................................................... 46 Golconda limestone .................................................................................. 47 Hartselle sandstone ........................................................................... :....... 48 Bangor limestone (restricted) ................................................................ 48 Pennington shale ...................................................................................... 49 Floyd shale ............. ....... ....... ... .. .... ................ .... .... ........ .. .. ............................ 49 v CONTENTS- (Continued) Page Rockmart slate .............................................................................................. 52 Pennsylvanian system ...................................................................................... 54 Pottsville formation ..................................................................................... 54 Structure .................................................................................... :...•....................... 56 General statement ............................................................................................ 56 Details of structure ..........................................................................................