Stevenson.] ■•■^^ [Nov. 21, 



The road leading to Dump creek past the Harrold's "Valley Baptist 

 Church lies south from the Clinch fault. The area of Knox limestone 

 begins to narrow at a little way beyond the church, and a new line of hills, 

 composed of Devonian and Lower Carboniferous, comes in between the 

 road and the Clinch river. These are due to the cross-fault, which unites 

 with the Clinch fault near the Gravel Lick road at Caney fork of Dump 

 creek. This cross-fault is crossed by the Harrold's Valley road just where 

 it emerges from the limestone ridge upon the valley of Dump creek. 

 There one passes at once to the Hamilton shales lying south-east from the 

 Knox limestone and in contact with it. The width of the limestone area 

 here is less than half a mile, and it decreases rapidly, for no limestone 

 crosses Caney fork, and on the east side of that stream the Clinton (?) 

 shales are in contact with the Middle Coal measures along the Clinch fault. 



A coal bed has been exposed on the Gravel Lick road at the mouth of 

 Bee branch of Caney fork by Mr. A. Kiser. So far as shown, it contains 

 about four feet of good coal, but it dips at 55 degrees toward S. 25° 

 E. The line of faulting passes very near this place on Caney fork, and 

 near the mouth of Hurricane fork further east. Important developments 

 of the coal beds have been made on Hurricane fork, where beds, answering 

 to the Lower Splint, the Imboden, and an intermediate bed of the Powell 

 river sections, have been opened. The thickness is reported to be greater 

 than at localities on the headwaters of Powell river in Wise county. 



The Devonian rocks are well shown along both Dump creek and 

 Caney fork, each of which flows for a considerable distance at the 

 northerly foot of the Brushy ridge, lying between Caney fork and the 

 river. The Chemung rocks are well shown on the road following Caney 

 fork, where they are more fosslliferous than at localities examined in the 

 Holston area. Immediately below the mouth of Caney fork, Dump creek 

 enters a short gorge through this ridge. The St. Louis limestone is reached 

 above the store, the Vespertine apparently being absent. The exposure of 

 the limestone and its associated shales extends for little more than 300 

 feet. The New Garden fault is crossed in the ravine below the store. 

 Thence to the river the road lies in contorted shales with occasional lime- 

 stones, belonging most probably to the Knox group. 



The Knox limestones dipping south- eastward at thirty to eighty degrees 

 are reached at the mouth of Mill creek on the southerly side of Clinch 

 river. The dip is very irregular and the steeper dips of the undulations 

 are on the south-easterly side. The top of the massive limestone is reached 

 beyond the first mill, and the shales are shown just above. These hard 

 limestones form a line of abrupt ragged hills, which are characteristic 

 features of the Knox topography. Exposures along this creek are not suffi- 

 cient to show the structure distinctly above Jesse's mill ; but the dip 

 appears to be continuous south-eastward. The Trenton marbles are reached 

 near the summit between this and Little Cedar creek, where some of them 

 are remarkably handsome. The clayey limestones marking the top of the 

 Trenton succeed, and the south-easterly dip continues to where the road 



