|
Geology of the Blueridge and Western Blueridge Northern Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina |
|
|
The Blueridge Mountains provides some excellent examples of metamorphic rocks. The Henderson Gneiss provides an excellent example of a feldspar biotite augen gneiss. As we proceed into the Brevard Fault zone we see what happens too this biotite gneiss as it is caught up in a shear zone. At Toxaway Dome one can see beutiful examples of basement gneiss. Geologic Potholes can be seen along the water front ontop of the dome. Another feature at Toxaway is the 50 to 60 foot waterfall that plummets over the dome. At Lake Chatuge one will find an ultramafic assemblage sandwiched between two series of metamorphosed rock units. To this day there is still a question as to how the ultramafics were emplaced. At Chunky Gal we will see an assemblage of metasandstone and amphibolite with accessory talc-silicate quartzite. Winding Stair Gap provides us with some of the best exposure of granulite facies metamorphism in the Southern Appalachians. This metamorphism represents the peak thermal activity of Paleozoic metamorphism.
Links
Chunky Gal (web page is currently being modified)
Winding Stair Gap (web page is currently being modified)
Geosci 697 Fieldtrip Main Page
|
Page by Group C Geology 697-University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Last Updated May 4, 2004
|