10 Journal of the Mitchell Society [June 



counties are for the most part marble and qiiartzite, bordered 

 by gneiss and crystalline schists. Repeated dynamic movements 

 have twisted and folded the strata to such an extent that their 

 original structure has been almost wholly obliterated, and in 

 many cases it has changed considerably their mineralogical char- 

 acter. Part of the limestone has been metamorphosed and re- 

 crystallized into compact marbles of the finest quality, while the 

 sandstone has been converted into a quartzite which at times is 

 almost without perceptible granular structure. 



So far as these beds of marble have been examined, they are 

 for the most part free from layers of silicates or quartz, except, 

 of course, those in proximity to the contact with the quartzite. 

 Near the contact, but in the marble, nearly pure white tremolite 

 in prismatic crystals as large as a quarter of an inch in diameter 

 has been found. The limestones which were first laid down and 

 which were subsequently covered by the sandstone can be traced 

 from about a mile east of Hewitts, Swain County, in a south- 

 west direction across Swain, Macon, and Cherokee counties into 

 Georgia. The wudtli of this marble belt varies from a few hun- 

 dred yards to over half a mile along Valley River, near An- 

 drews, Cherokee County. The Valley River mountain ridge, 

 the boundary between Macon and Cherokee counties, is an anti- 

 clinal fold, with a northwest-southeast trend which marks rather 

 sharply in some respects the character of certain formations to 

 the northeast from those to the southwest. East of this ridge 

 the marble quartzite formation is bounded on the north and 

 south by a slate, while west of this ridge this formation is bound- 

 ed on the south by crystalline schists and slates, on top of which 

 are numerous beds of limonite. The depth of the stratum of 

 marble has not been determined, but it is known to be over 

 100 feet. 



The strata dip at all angles, due to their being repeatedly 

 folded, but have a general trend of about N. 35° E. 



It is in connection with this marble formation that the de- 

 posits of talc occur. What was formerly supposed to be a 

 regular vein of the talc was probably a series or pocket of this 

 mineral of varying thickness, lying for the most part directly 



