USGI COMPILATIONS IN THE BLUE RIDGE AND INNER PIEDMONT, NORTH CAROLINA–SOUTH CAROLINA–TENNESSEE–VIRGINIA: TOWARD A SEAMLESS GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS

The Geologic Map Schema (GeMS)-Seamless Integrated Geologic Mapping (SIGMa) compilation of the northern Inner Piedmont and Blue Ridge is a multi-year effort supported by the USGS National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program (NCGMP) U.S. GeoFramework Initiative (USGI) to compile and synthesize geologic maps from the southern Appalachians. The task works in conjunction with the NCGMP Piedmont and Blue Ridge Project to help achieve the NCGMP decadal goal to create a seamless 2D and 3D geologic map of the U.S. by 2030. The task focuses on areas with an existing USGS mapping footprint and/or areas of expertise of the personnel. Compiled USGS legacy geologic maps include northeasternmost Tennessee (King and Ferguson, 1960; scale 1:48,000), the Grandfather Mountain area (Bryant and Reed, 1970; scale 1:62,500), Charlotte 1° x 2° quadrangle (Goldsmith et al., 1988; scale 1:250,000), Greenville 1° x 2° quadrangle (Nelson et al., 1998; scale 1:250,000), and the Great Smoky Mountains region (Southworth et al., 2012). GeMS level 3 geodatabases were constructed for these maps. Corrections were applied to fix topology of contacts, faults, bedrock and surficial polygons, and correct attribution of orientation points (structural measurements). The lithostratigraphy and correlation of map units were not changed. South and east of the Great Smoky Mountains map region, a large area of published and unpublished geologic mapping (including several EDMAP projects) in the central and eastern Blue Ridge, NC-SC-GA was also compiled into a GeMS level 3 geodatabase. The geodatabases of the published maps and newly compiled maps will be released and can be incorporated into different geologic mapping projects and compilation and synthesis projects by federal, state, and academic researchers. Ultimately, these maps and databases will help build a seamless national geologic map.