38 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 127 
In the following portrayal of Appalachian stratigraphy I have arranged the 
formations alphabetically. To discuss them on a regional or structural basis 
would involve too much repetition. Consequently, formations proposed prior to 
1936 are given with a list of brachiopod species and notes on correlation. Forma- 
tions proposed after 1936, of which there are many, are described in more detail 
and the brachiopods listed. 
FACIES IN THE APPALACHIANS 
The idea of facies is as old as geology, but the application of the idea to the 
Appalachians is essentially new. Several of the pioneers in Appalachian geology 
knew and expressed ideas on shifts of lithologies from one part of the Appa- 
lachians to others. Keith, in particular, mentioned the passage of shales to lime- 
stones in certain instances, but at the turn of the century Appalachian stratig- 
raphy was explained by elongate seas and barriers. Lately this idea has been 
challenged, and the classical theory of interlocking facies to explain Appa- 
lachian sedimentation is now the vogue. It is possible to divide the facies into 
the three basic rock types: Sandstones, shales, and limestones. 
Sandstones——Among the sandstones several facies types can be recognized: 
(1) The conglomerates often seen at the base of many of the formations but also 
in great masses such as that at Fincastle, Va. Generally these make up a minor 
portion of any section. Usually a basal conglomerate exists above the great un- 
conformity on the Knox dolomite. (2) Coarse, clean quartz sands are not of 
common occurrence but are prominent in the Bays formation in Bays Mountain. 
(3) Shaly sandstones and mudstones are prominent, particularly in the upper 
part of the section. As exhibited by the Moccasin formation these may be red, 
green, or yellow and often mud cracked. The Bays and Moccasin formations 
are the great examples of the red-bed facies, but the same types are occasionally 
seen in the lower part of the section where they occur in the Surgener, Long 
Savannah, Attalla, or Blackford formations, but seldom compose the whole mass. 
Dirty sands, often ferruginous and occasionally with hematitic oolite, are ex- 
hibited by the Tellico and Red Knobs formations. 
Shales——The shales form rocks texturally intermediate between some of the 
limestones and the sandstones and usually contain combinations of the two op- 
posite types. (1) A prominent shaly type is the shaly sandstone or sandy shale 
which covers hundreds of square miles as the Sevier formation. This is gen- 
erally somewhat calcareous, and the fresh rock is a light blue. When leached 
and weathered, however, it is generally a dirty yellow. Fossils are rare in the 
Sevier, which generally is located in the easternmost belt of outcrop which is 
partly overridden by the Great Smoky Mountain mass. (2) Black shales are 
not prominent in the Appalachians except in a few areas such as that surround- 
ing the city of Bristol in Virginia-Tennessee and in the Catawba Valley. The 
black shales generally contain graptolites in more or less abundance. The grapto- 
lite shales in the Appalachians, rather than being indicators of deep water, ap- 
pear to be close shore deposits found in eastern belts or eastern belts that have 
been shoved to the west. The graptolite-bearing rocks of the easternmost belt of 
