GEOLOGIC MAPPING IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN FORELAND FOLD-THRUST BELT: A REVIEW OF NEW INTERPRETATIONS BY THE TENNESSEE DIVISION OF GEOLOGY

Geologic mapping of the Camp Austin, Elverton, Camelot, Mosheim, and Newport 7˝' quadrangles in the Tennessee portion of the southern Appalachian foreland fold-thrust belt has been recently completed by the Tennessee Division of Geology. Except for the Camp Austin and Elverton quadrangles, mapping was partially funded by the USGS STATEMAP program, and the maps are available in an open file GIS-format. These quadrangles are distributed across the Valley and Ridge Province from the Cumberland Plateau front to the Blue Ridge front and were mostly chosen by the Tennessee Mapping Advisory Committee (TMAC). The TMAC was formed according to STATEMAP program guidelines, and prioritizes quadrangle mapping based on criteria that do not include the need to investigate a particular geologic issue. Regardless, a number of new structural and stratigraphic interpretations have been proposed based primarily on the detailed mapping, but before additional work can be conducted to further test these new interpretations we proceed to another STATEMAP funded map area.

My purpose is to present some of these new interpretations in order to generate some interest and discussion. First, part of the Emory River fault zone was mapped on the Camp Austin and Elverton quadrangles, and may be associated with the development of a Type-II triangle zone in Pennsylvanian rocks. Second, mapping in the Camelot Quadrangle supports unpublished work showing that the southeast limb of the Greendale syncline is overturned and that there is an antiformal stack (?) duplex between the Saltville and Town Knobs faults. Third, mapping in the Mosheim Quadrangle divided the Sevier Shale into three members, which helped better constrain the location of faults associated with the development of the Mosheim and Oven Creek anticlines. Finally, mapping within an undivided section of the Knox Group in the Newport Quadrangle has lead to the interpretation that a fault, which may be the Pulaski fault, juxtaposes the eastern limestone facies of the Knox Group against the western dolomite facies. Although multiple working hypotheses will be presented for some of these areas, when it comes to meeting a USGS map deliverable deadline, only one interpretation can be shown on the geologic map and cross section.