By Steven Stokes Daniel Rollins Matthew Sahawneh Krystal Russell and Ashley Stewart Cheaha State Park Located in northern Clay and southwestern Cleburne counties May 2025 Where Were Going ID: 232124
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Slide1
The Talladega Slate Belt
By Steven Stokes, Daniel Rollins, Matthew Sahawneh, Krystal Russell, and Ashley StewartSlide2
Cheaha State Park
Located in northern Clay and southwestern Cleburne counties
May 20-25
Where We’re Going Slide3
Location:
North-Eastern
Alabama
Near the town of Sylacauga, AlabamaSlide4Slide5
Talladega Slate Belt
Composed primarily of low-grade metamorphic
rocks
Bounded to the Northwest by a foreland fold and thrust fault system known as the Talladega fault or the Columbiana faultT
o
the southeast is marked by high grade metamorphism caused by both the
Hollins
Line fault and the Goodwater-
Enitachopco
fault system.Slide6
Talladega Slate Belt
Alleghanian thrust sheet
Metamorphosed to lower green schist facies during the Acadian orogeny and thrust above the foreland fold and thrust belt.
Believed to be associated with main pulse of Early to Middle Devonian Acadian orogeny. Slide7
Sequences
Composed of 4 lithologic groups
Hillabee Greenstone
Sylacauga MarbleTalladegaKahatchee MountainSlide8
Hillabee Greenstone
2.6 kilometers thick
Ordovician Age 457m.y.
Greenstones and Greenschists What is a greenstone?Bulk of sequenceAlbite, Actinolite, Epidote, Zoisite, Clinozoisite, and Chlorite Tabular and extrusive Slide9
Sylacauga Marble
Jumbo Dolomite at base
Dolomite and Calcite marbles
Nature of Dolomite Nature and use of marbleSlide10
Sylacauga Marble
Below Lay Dam Formation of Talladega Group
Unconformity between the two
Diamictites What is diamictite? Lack of fossils make age correlation difficult Cambrian to OrdovicianSlide11
Talladega Group
Clastic
Divided into several formations
Lay Dam FormationCheaha Quartzite Member Erin Slate Member Butting Ram Sandstone Jemison Chert Slide12
Lay Dam Formation
Overlies Sylacauga
Oldest
Silurian to Lower Devonian. Greenish-gray, slightly calcareous sericite phyllites and slatesSandstone bodies small, grade into phyllitesRapid deposition.Slide13
Cheaha Quartzite Member
Metasandstone in Lay Dam Formation
Sandy phyllites and coarse grained quartzites
Fines upward Devonian Primary StructuresHorizontally bedded, graded intervalsLow angle pebbles structuresChannel fill depositsTabular and trough beddingSlide14
Erin Slate Member
Also member of Lay Dam Formation
Thick highly carbonaceous phyllites or slate
Less mature than Cheaha Quartzite member Lagoon depositional environment Slide15
Butting Ram Sandstone
Thin green chloritic, arkosic metasandstone
Subrounded to rounded quartz sand
FeldspathicTidal channel deposits Very discontinuous Points of elevated crestsSlide16
Jemison Chert Interval
Above Butting Ram Sandstone
Interbedded
white, paper thin quartzites Intercalated with black graphitic phyllites of Erin Slate
White
to pale light gray, very dense, very fined
quartzite
Complexly folded
Intense deformation
Lower Devonian Slide17
Kahatchee Mountain Group
Named Mountain Group because it can be found in the mountains northwest of Syllacuaga.
Width is highly variable.
Carboniferous in age. (Spores found that indicate carboniferous in metamorphic frontblock of sequence)Slide18
Formations within the Kahatchee Mountain Group
Waxahatchee Slate
Brewer Phyllite
Wash Creek SlateSawyer Limestone*Chilton FaultSlide19
Deformational Phase 1 – D1
F1 folds are invariably tight to isoclinal
Interlimb angle is 20 to 0 degrees
They are assymetric with stort limbs are 20% shorter than long limbsIt has S1 foliationsSlide20
Deformational Phase 2 and 3
F2 folds can be only seen in thin section
F3 folds are small folds 1mm to 1cm
F3 they distort both the compositional layersF3 crenulation fold axial plane with S1-S2 surfaceSlide21
Deformational Phase 4 – D4
F4 folds can be seen on regional map
F4 folds cut through the F1 folds
F4 axial plane strikes northwest to southeastA major faulting eventSlide22
Questions?