402 
CONTRIBUTIONS    TO    ECONOMIC    GEOLOGY.    li»(Mi,   PART    T. 
DISTRIBUTION   AND   GENERAL   CHARACTER. 
Mica-bearing  pegmatites  occur  over  a  wide  area  in  North  Carolina, 
roughly  bounded  by  the  State  lines  on  the  northeast  and  southwest. 
This  area  extends  about  50  miles  southeast  of  the  Blue  Ridge  and 
northwestward  nearly  to  the  Tennessee  line.  (See  fig.  13.)  Mica 
mining  has  been  carried  on  in  eighteen  or  more  of  the  counties  included 
in  this  area.  The  largest  producers  have  been  Mitchell,  Yancey, 
Macon,  Jackson,  Haywood,  Ashe,  and  Cleveland  counties.  Good 
deposits  have  been  discovered  in  other  counties,  and  sonic  have 
yielded  considerable  mica. 
Most  of  the  mica  mined  comes  from  three  belts  in  the  western  part 
of  the  State.     These  may  be  called  the  Cowee-Black  Mountain  belt, 
<  'liicily  clear  rum 
colored  mica. 
Ireas  of  principa  I  <  Ihiefl]  dark  colored 
production.  or  specked  mica. 
Fig.  13.     Map  showing  areas  in  North  Carolina  in  which  mica  has  been  mined. 
the  Blue  Ridge  belt,  and  the  Piedmont  belt.  The  first  of  these  extends 
nearly  through  the  State,  parallel  to  and  near  its  northwestern  border. 
It  lies  northwest  of  the  Blue  Ridge  and  includes  part  of  Macon,  Jack- 
son, Transylvania,  Haywood,  Buncombe,  Yancey,  Mitchell,  Watauga, 
and  Ashe  counties.  The  second  bell  follows  the  Blue  Ridge  through 
the  State  and  extends  several  miles  to  the  southeast  among  the  foot- 
hills of  the  ridge.  It  is  of  relatively  small  importance  as  compared 
with  the  other  two.  The  Piedmont  belt  lies  wholly  in  the  Piedmont 
Plateau,  southeast  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  mainly  in  Cleveland,  Lincoln, 
Burke,  and  Stokes  counties.  Commercial  mica  deposits  have  not 
been  found  in  unbroken  succession  through  the  whole  length  of  any 
one  of  these  belts. 
