GEOLOGY OF CHATTANOOGA: ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY WITH ITS FOUNDATION

Chattanooga, Tennessee, known as the Scenic City, has a captivating story steered by its landscape and natural resources. The city’s rich history contributes to its allure as a top destination for new residents and visitors. The goal of this project was to build stronger connections between people and their surroundings using web-based Story Maps. Three Story Maps were constructed using ESRI ArcGIS, each containing the history of Chattanooga framed by the geography and geology of a site of interest, specifically: an old stone church, Stringer’s Ridge, and Cameron Hill. Links between each Story Map were established as the project progressed and connections between the sites were discovered specific to the geology of the region. For example, Stringer’s Ridge and Cameron Hill are related as limbs of the same anticline, and similar rocks are exposed at both locations. By linking the geologic history to recent cultural events and events throughout history, the Story Maps become of interest to a broad, interdisciplinary audience. The Story Maps can be experienced on any internet-accessible device, ideally while physically at the site of interest. Additional side Story Maps were added to allow users to explore some of the topics in depth without distracting from the flow of the main narrative. The next step for the project includes launching the Story Maps publicly with an attached survey that will be used to assess the effectiveness of the project at achieving its goal.