Metagraywacke, massive, graded bedding common; includes dark-gray slate, mica schist, and nodular calc-silicate rock.
Beds and lenses of calc-silicate rock locally abundant; garnet, staurolite, and cross-biotite porphyroblasts common in fine-grained layers. Includes Hughes Gap and Hothouse formations in southern area; Horse Branch Member of Ammons Formation and Grassy Branch Formation in northern area.
Sericite schist with cross-biotite, staurolite, and garnet porphyroblasts; interbedded metagraywacke and quartz-pebble metaconglomerate.
Slate to schist, dark gray, graphitic and sulfidic; includes mica schist, metagraywacke, and metaconglomerate.
Nantahala Formation: slate and metasiltstone, dark gray, laminated to thin bedded, sulfidic; Tusquitee Quartzite: white to light yellowish gray, numerous, thin slate layers.
Slate to phyllite, dark gray, graphitic, sulfidic; includes metagraywacke with local graded bedding.
Dark gray, highly-sulfidic slate and metasiltstone interbedded and gradational with metagraywacke. Stratigraphic position uncertain. In Cherokee County includes upper part of Buck Bald Formation.
Cross-biotite schist; includes micaceous quartzite in lower part.
Thick metasedimentary sequence of massive to graded beds of metagraywacke and metasiltstone with interbedded graphitic and sulfidic slate and schist.
Great Smoky Group - Characterized by very massive layers of coarse graywacke and arkose. The formations have been mapped only in the region of the Great Smoky Mountains. Near Ducktown, in ascending order, the Copperhill, Hughes Gap, Hothouse, and Dean Formations are recognized. Thickness 14,000 to about 40,000 feet. Includes Anakeesta Formation - Dark-gray, bluish-gray, and black slate with dark-gray interbeds of fine-grained sandstone. Thickness 3,000 to 4,500 feet; Thunderhead Sandstone - Coarse, gray feldspathic sandstone, graywacke, and conglomerate; occurs in massive ledges; graded bedding and blue quartz characteristic. Thickness 5,500 to 6,300 feet; Elkmont Sandstone - Coarse to fine, gray feldspathic sandstone, graywacke, and fine conglomerate; generally finer grained beds in lower part; graded bedding typical. Thickness 1,000 to 8,000 feet.
Murphy Marble: calcareous to dolomitic; Andrews Formation: calcareous cross-biotite schist; Nottely Quartzite: meta-orthoquartzite with slate.
Great Smoky Group - Characterized by very massive layers of coarse graywacke and arkose. The formations at right have been mapped only in region of the Great Smoky Mountains. Thickness 14,000 to about 25,000 feet; includes Unnamed Sandstone Unit - Gray, coarse sandstone and fine conglomerate, similar to Thunderhead Sandstone. Thickness about 4,500 feet; Anakeesta Formation - Dark-gray, bluish-gray, and black slate with dark-gray interbeds of fine-grained sandstone. Thickness 3,000 to 4,500 feet; Thunderhead Sandstone - Coarse, gray feldspathic sandstone, graywacke, and conglomerate; occurs in massive ledges; graded bedding and blue quartz characteristic. Thickness 5,500 to 6,300 feet; Elkmont Sandstone - Coarse to fine, gray feldspathic sandstone, graywacke, and fine conglomerate; generally finer grained beds in lower part; graded bedding typical. Thickness 1,000 to 8,000 feet.