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Mineral Resources > Online Spatial Data > Geology > by state > Tennessee Geology

Geologic units in Claiborne county, Tennessee

[Additional scientific data in this geographic area]

Breathitt Formation, middle part (Pennsylvanian) at surface, covers < 0.1 % of this area

Breathitt Formation, middle part

Lithology: sandstone; shale; siltstone; coal; limestone

Maynardville Limestone (Cambrian) at surface, covers 0.6 % of this area

Maynardville Limestone - Thick-bedded, bluish-gray, ribboned (silt and dolomite), nodular limestone; light-gray, fine- grained, laminated to thin-bedded, noncherty dolomite in upper part. Thickness 150 to 400 feet.

Lithology: limestone; dolostone (dolomite)

Rome Formation (Cambrian) at surface, covers 2 % of this area

Rome Formation - Variegated (red, green, yellow) shale and siltstone with beds of gray, fine-grained sandstone. Maximum exposed thickness 1,500 feet.

Lithology: shale; siltstone; sandstone

Chepultepec and Copper Ridge Formations (Cambrian-Ordovician) at surface, covers < 0.1 % of this area

Chepultepec and Copper Ridge Formations - Dolomite, minor limestone, chert, and calcareous sandstone.

Lithology: dolostone (dolomite); limestone; chert; sandstone

Fort Payne Formation (Mississippian) at surface, covers 0.9 % of this area

Fort Payne Formation - Bedded chert, calcareous and dolomitic, somewhat crinoidal; and minor shale. Thin green shale (Maury) at base. Average thickness about 200 feet.

Lithology: chert; shale

Hardy Creek Limestone through Dot Limestone (Ordovician) at surface, covers < 0.1 % of this area

Hardy Creek Limestone through Dot Limestone - Limestone, in part cherty; and calcareous shale. Includes Hardy Creek, Ben Hur, Woodway, Hurricane Bridge, Martin Creek, Rob Camp, Poteet, and Dot Limestones.

Lithology: limestone; shale; chert

Crab Orchard Mounatins and Gizzard Group (Pennsylvanian) at surface, covers 4 % of this area

Crab Orchard Mountains and Gizzard Groups - Sandstone, conglomerate, siltstone, shale, and thin coal beds. From top down Crab Orchard Mountains group includes Rockcastle Conglomerate, Vadever Formation, Newton Sandstone, Whitwell Shale, and Sewanee Conglomerate; Gizzard Group includes Signal Point Shale, Warren Point Sandstone, and Raccoon Mountain Formation. Thickness about 1,200 to 1,400 feet.

Lithology: sandstone; conglomerate; shale; siltstone; coal

Nolichucky Shale (Cambrian) at surface, covers 0.5 % of this area

Nolichucky Shale - Pastel-colored (pink, greenish, olive), flaky clay shale; gray, commonly oolitic, shaly limestone lenses; locally stromatolitic limestone layers; thin, blocky siltstone near middle. Thickness 500 feet in the east to 900 feet in the west.

Lithology: shale; limestone; siltstone

Rockwood Formation (Silurian) at surface, covers 1 % of this area

Rockwood Formation - Brown to maroon shale, thin gray siltstone and sandstone, and thin lenticular layers of oolitic and fossiliferous red hematite. Thickness 200 to 800 feet.

Lithology: shale; siltstone; sandstone

Rockwood Formation and Clinch Sandstone (Silurian) at surface, covers 3 % of this area

Rockwood Formation - Brown to maroon shale, thin gray siltstone and sandstone, and thin lenticular layers of oolitic and fossiliferous red hematite. Thickness 200 to 800 feet; and Clinch Sandstone - Clean, white, well-sorted sandstone; locally gray siltstone and shale. Combined Rockwood and Clinch thicknesses about 700 feet.

Lithology: sandstone; shale; siltstone

Middle and Lower parts of Chickamauga Group, including Moccassin Formation, Bays Formation, Sevier Shale, Ottosee Shale, Holston Formation, Lenoir Limestone, and Athens Shale (Ordovician) at surface, covers < 0.1 % of this area

Middle and Lower Parts of Chickamauga Group - A sequence of about 1,400 feet of limestone in the northwest part of Valley and Ridge, which thickens and becomes more clastic to the southeast and is divided into the formations shown at right. Maximum thickness about 7,000 feet. Includes Moccasin Formation - Maroon calcareous shale, siltstone, and limestone; thin metabentonite layers in upper part; mud cracks, ripple marks common. Thickness 800 to 1,000 feet;. (Ob) Bays Formation - Maroon, well-jointed claystone and siltstone, commonly mottled greenish, evenly bedded; light- gray sandstone beds and metabentonite in upper part. Maximum thickness 1,000 feet; (Osv) Sevier Shale - Calcareous, bluish-gray shale, weathers yellowish-brown; with thin, gray limestone layers; sandstone, siltstone, and locally conglomerate to the east. Thickness 2,000 to 7,000 feet; (Oo) Ottosee Shale - Bluish-gray calcareous shale, weathers yellow; with reef lenses of coarsely crystalline reddish fossiliferous limestone ("marble"). Thickness about 1,000 feet; (Oh) Holston Formation - Pink, gray, and red coarsely crystalline limestone (Holston Marble); in many areas upper part is sandy, crossbedded ferruginous limestone and brown to greenish calcareous shale. Thickness 200 to 600 feet; (Ol) Lenoir Limestone - Nodular, argillaceous, gray limestone; in places basal sedimentary breccia, conglomerate, quartz sand; Mosheim Limestone Member (dense, light- to medium-gray limestone) near base. Thickness 25 to 500 feet; (Oa) Athens Shale - Medium- to dark-gray, calcareous, graptolitic shale; calcareous gray sandstone, siltstone, and locally fine-pebble quartz conglomerate; nodules of shaly limestone near base. Maximum thickness 1,500 feet.

Lithology: shale; limestone; sandstone; siltstone; claystone; bentonite; conglomerate

Chattanooga Shale (Mississippian and Devonian) at surface, covers 1 % of this area

Chattanooga Shale - Black carbonaceous shale, fissile. Thickness 20 to 30 feet in most areas; thickens abruptly to about 100 feet near east edge of sheet. (Mapped with Mfp on West-Central sheet)

Lithology: black shale

Unnamed (middle part of Knox Group), including Longview Dolomite and Chepultepec Dolomite (Ordovician) at surface, covers 19 % of this area

(Olc) Unnamed (middle part of Knox Group) including (Olv) Longview Dolomite - Siliceous, gray, fine-grained, medium-bedded dolomite; interbeds of gray limestone in upper part. Thickness about 300 feet.; and (Oc) Chepultepec Dolomite - Light-gray, fine-grained, well-bedded dolomite, moderately cherty; fine-grained limestone locally in upper part; quartz sandstone beds at base. Average thickness about 800 feet.

Lithology: dolostone (dolomite); limestone; sandstone

Pennington Formation (Mississippian) at surface, covers 0.6 % of this area

Pennington Formation - Highly variegated clay shale, distinctive; contains siltstone and locally gray, fine-grained sandstone. Thickness 400 to 700 feet.

Lithology: shale; siltstone; sandstone

Nolichucky Shale, and Maryville, Rogersville, and Rutledge Formations, and Pumpkin Valley Shale (Cambrian) at surface, covers 2 % of this area

(Cn) Nolichucky Shale - Pastel-colored (pink, greenish, olive), flaky clay shale; gray, commonly oolitic, shaly limestone lenses; locally stromatolitic limestone layers; thin, blocky siltstone near middle. Thickness 500 feet in the east to 900 feet in the west.; (Cmr) Maryville, Rogersville, and Rutledge Formations - Maryvile and Rutledge are gray limestone, in part oolitic, with gray dolomite locally. Rogersville is green clay shale. Thickness 400 to 1,000 feet. Pumpkin Valley Shale - Dull-brown to maroon shale with numerous interbeds of thin, blocky, sandy siltstone. Thickness 100 to 600 feet.

Lithology: shale; limestone; dolostone (dolomite); siltstone

Indian Bluff Formation (Pennsylvanian) at surface, covers 2 % of this area

Indian Bluff Formation - Shale, sandstone, siltstone, and thin coal beds; from Pioneer Sandstone Member to Jellico coal. Thickness 150 to 250 feet.

Lithology: shale; sandstone; siltstone; coal

Conasauga Group, including Maynardville Limestone, Nolichucky Shale, the Maryville, Rogersville, and Rutledge Formations, Pumpkin Valley Shale, Rome Formation, and Shady Dolomite (Cambrian) at surface, covers 2 % of this area

Conasauga Group - Mostly shale northwest of a line connecting Etowah and Bearden (Knoxville); to the east it consists of the six formations at right [Cmn, Maynardville Limestone. Ccl including Cn, Nolichucky Shale, Cmr Maryville, Rogersville, and Rutledge Formations, and Pumpkin Valley Shale; Cr, Rome Formation, and Cs, Shady Dolomite. Thickness about 2,000 feet.

Lithology: shale; limestone; dolostone (dolomite); sandstone; siltstone

Newala Formation, including Mascot Dolomite and Kingsport Formation (Ordovician) at surface, covers 9 % of this area

(On) Newala Formation, including (Oma) Mascot Dolomite - Light-gray, fine-grained, well-bedded cherty dolomite; mottled (red and green) dolomite characteristic; interbeds of bluish-gray limestone in upper part; chert-matrix quartz sandstone at base. Erosional unconformity at top. Thickness 350 to 800 feet; and (Ok) Kingsport Formation - Gray, fine-grained, sparingly cherty dolomite with basal dense, gray limestone sequence. Thickness about 250 feet.

Lithology: dolostone (dolomite); limestone; sandstone

Chattanooga Shale and Wildcat Valley Sandstone (Devonian-Mississippian) at surface, covers < 0.1 % of this area

Chattanooga Shale and Wildcat Valley Sandstone - Black, fissile shale and siltstone; calcareous sandstone

Lithology: black shale; siltstone; sandstone

Lee Formation (Mississippian to Pennsylvanian ) at surface, covers < 0.1 % of this area

Lee Formation

Lithology: conglomerate; sandstone; siltstone; shale; coal

Slatestone Formation (Pennsylvanian) at surface, covers 6 % of this area

Slatestone Formation - Shale, sandstone, siltstone, and several important coals; from Jellico coal to Poplar Creek coal. Thickness 500 to 650 feet.

Lithology: shale; sandstone; siltstone; coal

Cross Mountain Formation (Pennsylvanian) at surface, covers < 0.1 % of this area

Cross Mountain Formation - Mostly shale, interbedded with sandstone, siltstone, and thin coal beds; base at top of Frozen Head Sandstone. Maximum preserved thickness 270 feet.

Lithology: shale; sandstone; siltstone; coal

Juniata Formation (Ordovician) at surface, covers 0.6 % of this area

Juniata Formation - Maroon, claystone, siltstone, and shale; uniformly bedded; some faint greenish mottling; less calcareous than Sequatchie Formation. Thickness about 300 feet.

Lithology: claystone; siltstone; shale

Maryville, Rogersville, and Rutledge Formations (Cambrian) at surface, covers < 0.1 % of this area

Maryville, Rogersville, and Rutledge Formations - Maryville and Rutledge are gray limestone, in part oolitic, with gray dolomite locally. Rogersville is green clay shale. Thickness 400 to 1,000 feet.

Lithology: limestone; shale; dolostone (dolomite)

Newman Limestone (Mississippian) at surface, covers 1 % of this area

Newman Limestone - Gray limestone sequence near Cumberland Plateau and on Whiteoak Mountain. Shaly limestone, shale, siltstone, and sandstone on Chilhowee Mountain. Thickness about 700 feet.

Lithology: limestone; shale; siltstone; sandstone

Grainger Formation (Mississippian) at surface, covers 0.3 % of this area

Grainger Formation - Gray to green shale with siltstone and fine-grained glauconitic sandstone; in some areas quartz-pebble conglomerate. Thickness about 1,200 feet.

Lithology: shale; siltstone; sandstone; conglomerate

Sequatchie Formation, Reedsville Shale, Trenton Limestone, Eggleston Formation (Ordovician) at surface, covers < 0.1 % of this area

Sequatchie Formation, Reedsville Shale, Trenton Limestone, Eggleston Formation - Shale, siltstone, limestone, and sandstone.

Lithology: shale; siltstone; limestone; sandstone

Breathitt Formation, lower part (Pennsylvanian) at surface, covers 0.3 % of this area

Breathitt Formation, lower part; lower part which includes Livingston Conglomerate Member of Lee Formation in eastern Rockcastle County

Lithology: shale; siltstone; sandstone; coal; conglomerate

Mascot and Kingsport Dolomites (Ordovician) at surface, covers < 0.1 % of this area

Mascot and Kingsport Dolomites - Dolomite, chert, and minor limestone.

Lithology: dolostone (dolomite); chert; limestone

Crooked Fork Group (Pennsylvanian) at surface, covers 3 % of this area

Crooked Fork Group - Shale, sandstone, siltstone, and thin coal beds; from top down group includes Poplar Creek coal, Wartburg Sandstone, Glenmary Shale, Coalfield Sandstone, Burnt Mill Shale, Crossville Sandstone, and Dorton Shale. Thickness 200 to 450 feet.

Lithology: sandstone; shale; siltstone; coal

Sequatchie Formation (Ordovician) at surface, covers 0.5 % of this area

Sequatchie Formation - Maroon and gray shaly limestone, mottled greenish; with interbeds of calcareous, olive to maroon shale and siltstone. Average thickness about 200 feet.

Lithology: limestone; shale; siltstone

Chickamauga Group, includes Upper part of Chickamauga Group (Reedsville Shale, and Unnamed limestone unit) and Middle and Lower part of Chickamauga Group (Moccasin Formation, Bays Formation, Ottosee Shale, Holston Formation, Lenoir Limestone, Athens Shale, and Sevier Shale) (Ordovician) at surface, covers 15 % of this area

Chickamauga Group - In the northwest part of the Valley and Ridge a predominantly limestone sequence about 2,000 feet thick. Becomes progressively more clastic and thicker to the southeast, including Upper part of Chickamauga Group (Reedsville Shale- Greenish-gray calcareous shale. Thickness 0 to 400 feet, and Unnamed Limestone Unit - Medium-grained, fossiliferous, gray limestone, shaly in part. Thickness as much as 600 feet ) and.Middle and lower parts of Chickamauga Group (Omlc)

Lithology: limestone; shale; siltstone; sandstone

Mississippian Formations Undivided (Mississippian) at surface, covers < 0.1 % of this area

Mississippian Formations Undivided - Includes Pennington Group, Bluefield Formation, Greenbrier Limestone, Maccrady Shale and Price Formation; Includes Newman Limestone, Fort Payne Chert, and Grainger Formation in western Lee County

Lithology: shale; limestone; sandstone; siltstone; dolostone (dolomite); conglomerate; mudstone; arenite; coal; evaporite; chert

Redoak Mountain Formation (Pennsylvanian) at surface, covers 1 % of this area

Redoak Mountain Formation - Shale, sandstone, siltstone, and several important coals; from Pewee coal to Windrock coal. Thickness 340 to 420 feet.

Lithology: shale; sandstone; siltstone; coal

Vowell Mountain Formation (Pennsylvanian) at surface, covers 0.4 % of this area

Vowell Mountain Formation - Shale, sandstone, siltstone, and coal; from Frozen Head Sandstone Member to Pewee coal. Thickness 300 to 375 feet.

Lithology: shale; sandstone; siltstone; coal

Sneedville Limestone (Devonian to Silurian) at surface, covers 0.6 % of this area

Sneedville Limestone - Gray silty limestone and dolomite, minor shale, and fine-grained, greenish-gray sandstone; fossils locally abundant. Thickness 100 to 300 feet.

Lithology: limestone; dolostone (dolomite); shale; sandstone

Graves Gap Formation (Pennsylvanian) at surface, covers 1 % of this area

Graves Gap Formation - Shale, sandstone, siltstone, and coal; from Windrock coal to top of Pioneer Sandstone. Thickness 200 to 350 feet.

Lithology: shale; sandstone; siltstone; coal

Hancock, Rose Hill, and Clinch Formations (Silurian) at surface, covers < 0.1 % of this area

Hancock, Rose Hill, and Clinch Formations - Limestone and dolomite; dusky-red and green shale and sandstone; and sandstone, shale and conglomerate.

Lithology: shale; siltstone; sandstone; dolostone (dolomite); limestone; conglomerate

Unnamed (upper part of Knox Group), including Newala Formation, Mascot Dolomite, Kingsport Formation, Longview Dolomite, and Chepultepec Dolomite (Ordovician) at surface, covers 7 % of this area

(Onc) Unnamed (upper part of the Knox Group), including the (On) Newala Formation; (Oma) Mascot Dolomite - Light-gray, fine-grained, well-bedded cherty dolomite; mottled (red and green) dolomite characteristic; interbeds of bluish-gray limestone in upper part; chert-matrix quartz sandstone at base. Erosional unconformity at top. Thickness 350 to 800 feet; (Ok) Kingsport Formation - Gray, fine-grained, sparingly cherty dolomite with basal dense, gray limestone sequence. Thickness about 250 feet. and (Olc) Unnamed (middle part of the Knox Group), including (Olv) Longview Dolomite - Siliceous, gray, fine-grained, medium-bedded dolomite; interbeds of gray limestone in upper part. Thickness about 300 feet; (Oc) Chepultepec Dolomite - Light-gray, fine-grained, well-bedded dolomite, moderately cherty; fine-grained limestone locally in upper part; quartz sandstone beds at base. Average thickness about 800 feet.

Lithology: dolostone (dolomite); limestone; sandstone

Copper Ridge Dolomite (Cambrian) at surface, covers 15 % of this area

Copper Ridge Dolomite - Coarse, dark-gray, knotty dolomite, asphaltic in places, with much gray, medium-grained, well- bedded dolomite; abundant chert; cryptozoans typical. Thickness about 1,000 feet.

Lithology: dolostone (dolomite); chert

Pumpkin Valley Shale (Cambrian) at surface, covers < 0.1 % of this area

Pumpkin Valley Shale - Dull-brown to maroon shale with numerous interbeds of thin, blocky, and sandy siltstone. Thickness 100 to 600 feet.

Lithology: shale; siltstone