28 GOLD AND TIN DEPOSITS OF SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 
o 
ing southwest from Kings Mountain were similarly connected when in their original hori- 
zontal position. The schist which appears between the two limestone beds is the lowest 
member of the series exposed, and the schist overlying the quartzite is the highest member 
which can with certainty be assigned a definite geologic position. 
In some places along this belt only one bed of limestone has been found; in other places 
three or four layers are said to occur. It may be that two strata of limestone are present; 
if so, four outcrops would normally occur wherever erosion has extended sufficiently deep 
to cut the lower stratum. If the lower stratum is barely exposed, then three bands would 
appear on the surface, while if erosion had cut down only to the upper bed but one band 
would be exposed on the surface. On the other hand, it may be that faulting parallel 
with the axis of the fold has caused a repetition of some of the beds by uplift or a disap- 
pearance of some by depression. However, since the limestone outcrops are generally 
obscured by coverings of clay and other detrital material, it is easily conceivable that out- 
crops actually present have never been discovered. Since limestone is the one member 
of the series by which the details of structure are at all readily deciphered, and since the 
data which it furnishes are not conclusive, it is impossible without further study to decide 
the direction and amount of pitch of the fold and whether or not faulting has taken place.a 
Both Tuomey b and Lieberc recognized this anticlinal structure. 
The foliation of the igneous masses, the amphibolite, and the gneiss is of course parallel 
with that of the sedimentary rocks, since both were subject to the same forces. 
Granite, pegmatite, and diabase have been intruded since the folding and foliation took 
place, and hence are massive and almost unchanged. The form and distribution of the 
granite and pegmatite bodies were largely influenced by the structure of the rocks which 
they invaded, and hence they are elongated masses striking with the surrounding rocks. 
The pegmatite of course occurs as dikes. The diabase also is in the form of dikes, but 
more commonly cuts across the formations than runs parallel with them. 
The general trend of the Blacksburg anticline is northeasterly, but certain irregularities 
are worthy of mention. At GafTney, S. C, the rocks and the axis of the fold strike about 
N. 45° E. From a short distance northeast of GafTney to Kings Mountain the strike is 
about N. 55° E. Thence into Lincoln County the strike is about N. 20-25° E. This jog 
or bend in the fold near the State line corresponds on a reduced scale with the similar 
change of trend of the Appalachians to the northwest. 
An interesting side light on the structure of this region is the behavior of the well which 
supplies the water for the town of GafTney, S. C. This well, about 550 feet deep, is said to 
be wholly in schistose and gneissic rocks. With the exception of such minor elevations as 
Draytonville and Thickety mountains and slight ridges and valleys occurring here and 
there, the country is practically level for miles around. In spite of this fact, the well for 
some time after completion was of the artesian type, a steady flow of water rising several 
inches above the top of the pipe. This phenomenon may possibly indicate that GafTney is 
located on a syncline, but is probably to be explained by some other peculiarity of structure. 
OTHER PARTS OF THE AREA. 
Interpretation of the structure in other portions of the area is much more difficult, prin- 
cipally because of the lack of distinctiveness in the formations exposed. Quartzite is 
known in isolated localities, as on Henry Knob and Nannies Mountain, but definite strati- 
graphic relations have not been found outside of the Kings Mountain Range, where the 
limestone is the main factor in solving the problem. 
Nevertheless, it is believed that the general conclusions reached in the Kings Mountain 
belt may be applied to some extent to other portions of the region. It is probable that a 
fold so marked as the Blacksburg anticline would be accompanied by — would, in fact, be 
nLieber, O.M., Survey ^of South Carolina, vol. 3, 1859, pp. 112, 116. 
y of South Cai 
Survey No.'l, 1893, 
b Rept. Geol. and Agr. Survey, South Carolina, 1844, p. 16; Geology of South Carolina, 1848, p. 99. 
c Op. ci.t., vol. 1, p. 92, PI. V. Cf. also Nitze, H. B. C, Bull. North Carolina Geol. Survey No. 1. 
map opp. p. 
