Paleozoic fossils in Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee and North Carolina
Repetski JE. 1997. Paleozoic fossils in Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee and North Carolina. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Open-File Report. 97-747. U.S. Geological Survey. Reston, VA
Unlike the vast majority of the bedrock underlying the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which is barren of fossils, the bedrock of much of Cades Cove (Figure 1) is carbonate sedimentary rock of marine origin. These lower Paleozoic carbonate rocks, assignable to the Jonesboro Limestone of the Knox Group (Upper Cambrian - Lower Ordovician), do contain the fossilized remains of several groups of marine animals. Although fossils are not uncommon in these rocks, they are mostly so small that they are easily overlooked, or they require a microscope for examination. For a variety of reasons, the limestones and dolostones of Cades Cove have received very little paleontological attention. This report is a preliminary summary of the fossils known or available from Cades Cove.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Repetski, John
- Date of Issue
- 1997
- Publisher
- U.S. Geological Survey
- Units
- GRSM , HIST
- Keywords
- Cades Cove, ehistory, Fossils, Geology, History, Paleozoic