TKOOST S CRINOTDS OF TENNESSEE — E. WOOD. 5 



Towards the west of this line in Carter County, including Roan Mountain, the granite 

 prevails to about 12 miles west; then the granite retreats towards the east, and soon, 

 about the head of Indian Creek, it repasses the Tennessee line. We have then a 

 Silurian [Chilhowee] passing through Cocke County to Wolf Creek where the crystal- 

 line rocks again enter Tennessee. 



The highest ridge of the crystalline rocks is at the same time pretty nearly the 

 boundary line which separates North Carolina from the State of Tennessee, and it is 

 towards the west of this boundary that the fossiliferous strata make a beginning and 

 extend westwards, without interruption, as far as the head waters of St. Francia River 

 in the State of Missouri, where syenitic and hornblende rocks make their appearance. 

 Proceeding from the primordial or granite rocks in East Tennessee, we have first a 

 formation of slaty and conglomerate rocks, extending for several miles and composed 

 of slaty talc, roofing slate and several varieties of conglomerates generally called 

 Grauwacke [Ocoee series]. The ridge called Bay's Mountain traverses the State of 

 Tennessee 100 miles in a direction from north east to south west, dividing the counties 

 of Blount and Sevier from that of Knox, entering then Jefferson County, and separat- 

 ing Green from Hawkins County where it forms Chimney Top Mountain; continuing 

 thence more northwards towards Kingsport in Sullivan County where it constitutes 

 the elevated bank of the Holston River and terminates. This is the dividing line 

 between the Silurian and non-fossiliferous rocks." The lowest Silurian strata begin 

 then, as I have observed, somewhere near the boundary line which separates North 

 Carolina from Tennessee, protruding sometimes for a few miles into North Carolina, 

 sometimes into Tennessee, forming the Unaka, or Smoky Mountains, [Ocoee series] 

 the Bald Mountains, and the Iron Mountains, [Chilhowee series] the culminating 

 points of these mountains being generally composed of rocks in which I never found 

 any fossils, while towards the east and south east the crystalline rocks prevail. 



Leaving this ridge and continuing in a direction from north or rather north west, 

 we traverse a series of slaty rocks, which are sometimes chloritic and talcose contain- 

 ing much quartz. It is there that the first limestone makes its appearance. It is gen- 

 erally of a brown or reddish brown color, and of a fine granular structure and appears 

 to contain magnesia [Knox dolomite]; but I never found any trace of organic remains 

 in it. Such also is the limestone [Shady limestone] on the French Broad River about 

 five miles west from the granitic rocks which traverse the roads near the warm springs 

 in Buncombe County, N. Carolina. Upon the above named limestone follows a 

 series of alternating strata of sandstone and slaty rocks, as above mentioned, till about 

 four or nvs miles south from Newport on the French Broad River, where the granular 

 limestone makes its appearance again and traverses Cocke and Sevier counties in a 

 direction parallel to the principal ridge. They contain (I suppose) no fossils. 



Upon the rocks mentioned above, follow another series [Ocoee] composed of roof- 

 ing slate, glossy aluminous slate and sandstone. A stratum of roofing slate traverses 

 Sevier County [Ocoee series]. This series [the Chilhowee] commences with the 

 Stars, Tellico and Chilhowie Mountains in McMinn, Monroe and Blount Counties and 

 continuing parallel to the Smoky Mountain in a south e,ast direction, traverses Sevier 

 County. This series terminates towards the north by Bay's Mountain which is com- 

 posed of sandstone in which I did not discover any fossils. All these strata are highly 

 inclined, almost vertical. 



Towards the north of the above detailed series we arrive upon a series of limestone 

 strata in which fossils make their appearance, and increase as we proceed towards the 

 north west. The first fossils observed towards the north of Bay's Mountain are some 

 species of Orthoceratites and a species of Euomphalus described by Mr. Lesueur under 

 the name of Maclurites [Maclurea] and discovered by him near Lake Superior. b The 



« The Sevier shale east and west of Bay's Mountain is now known to be fossilifer- 

 ous.— E. W. 



b Probably Lake Champlain. — E. W. 



