GEOLOGY AND STRUCTURE OF THE BURNT HICKORY RIDGE QUADRANGLE, GEORGIA

Along the trace of the Appalachian orogen at the latitude of the Cartersville recess, the Cartersville and Allatoona faults converge in the Burnt Hickory Ridge quad. At this location, the frontal fault system (Talladega-Emerson-Cartersville-Great Smokey) of the Blue Ridge/Talladega belt is folded by a broad, regional, southeast plunging antiform. In the core of this recess, lower Cambrian strata of the southeastern most foreland thrust sheet are truncated by the frontal fault. Two kilometers to the southeast and trending N 57 E, the Allatoona fault forms the boundary between the Talladega belt/western Blue Ridge and possibly exotic terranes of the eastern Blue Ridge. The presence of these two faults in such proximity constricts western Blue Ridge and Talladega belts to outcrop widths of <2 km. Detailed study of lithology and stratigraphy of these belts will allow their correlation around the Cartersville recess. Differentiation of the western Blue Ridge and Talladega belts into at least the following members should facilitate correlation: sericite phyllite with local cross micas, garnet muscovite schist, locally graphitic muscovite or sericite phyllite or schist, interbedded metagraywacke and sericite phyllite, and highly graphitic phyllite. The Allatoona fault brings the Pumpkinvine Creek (PC) metavolcanic complex of the eastern Blue Ridge into contact with the western Blue Ridge. Overlying the PC is a metaplutonic complex of metagabbro and granitic gneiss containing fine-grained mafic xenoliths.