Carolina Slate Belt

Found in the Appalachian Region, the Juniata Formation extends from central-southern Pennsylvania to Tennessee (Davies 2010). Though the thickness of the Juniata Formation is far from constant across its lateral extent, it is approximately 2000 feet thick in northern Pennsylvannia and thins towards the southwest (Crowder 1980). Named for the Juniata River running through southern Pennsylvania, this formation consists of sediments from the Taconic Orogeny in the late Ordovician period (Crowder 1980). Figure one displays the characteristic layers of alternating red sandstones and shales, which are divided into three distinct units (Darton

     In Southern Africa, there were mineral discoveries in the 1860, 70, and 80’s. These discoveries had an enormous impact on Southern Africa. These discoveries lead to a “rush” of many fortune hunters and the establishment of the town of Kimberly, which grew quickly and soon became the largest urban society in the interior of Southern Africa. Soon the diamond industry was controlled by one monopolistic company. This was one negative effect of imperialism in Africa.

Alaska's rich soil was found to have large amounts of gold. The first gold was found in the Yukon area, instantly providing the United States citizens some excitement about the new found land. It instantly lured many miners to the land, searching for gold. Alaska became the leading gold miner of 1896 with the Klondike gold fields.

The placer miners mined by washing silt in stream beds, and this was done by individuals hoping to get rich. This cheap way of mining rarely brought riches. Quartz and hydraulic mining were done by either using machinery to crush the rock, or high-powered streams were used to “wash out” gold. This was orchestrated by corporations who hired individuals to do their dirty work. However, in eight to ten years most lodes played out. This resulted in communities changing or corporations abandoning towns and leaving behind ghost towns. The miners were significant to the shaping of America, largely because minerals mined were used for war and to industrialize the U.S. The actions of the miners also focused interest in the West, and brought organizations to the mountain regions they left

The Lord Proprietors were founded SC in 1663. This charter issued by King Charles II of England, proposed the formation of the Lords Proprietors and gave the lands of Carolina to the eight proprietors.

By 1919, the largest nonunionized coal region in the United States was Mingo and Logan counties in West Virginia. In September 1919, rumors of miners being harassed and beaten for attending labor meetings reached Charleston. Around 5,000 miners met at Marmet, near Lens Creek, they prepared to go to Logan County. Since Governor John Cornwell was aware of the danger, he went to Marmet to convince the miners to go home. Almost all of the miners went home.

In Little River County in Arkansas, United States, there is a small town called Foreman. Forman’s town website explains how Native Americans once said that Willow Springs, the original name of Foreman, was named for the springs that ran through the willow trees that then ran through the lime rock. Then animals would come and drink from the springs resting under the trees. From this they called the land “Rocky Comfort.” It then mentions that by 1850 that Rocky Comfort became a booming community over the next ten years the courthouse, inn, and blacksmith shop began to spread. And then became the County seat by 1868, it would stay there until 1880 when it was later moved to Richmond (History, 1). Now, according to the 2010 USA census the population is at 1011 (Teske 1).

What were the principal gold and silver boom areas from 1858 to 1874? What other mineral extraction became economically important?

Exploration was a huge part of the 1600’s. A ton of countries competed to try to claim land in the new world. Lots of countries tried to claim land but in South Carolina, but failed because of its geography, resources, and diseases. When South Carolina was finally claimed the settlers had to face the difficulties of settling there.

Randolph County, also known as Piedmont Plateau, was created by an act of Alabama General Assembly on December, 18, 1832. The county is named for John Randolph, a former Virginia statesman. The county is named in Wedowee in 1834-35. The county encompasses 585 square miles. Randolph County had many popular towns which were, Rock Mills, Louina, Wadley, Wedowee, Graham, and a town that was taken that is now known as Clay Central. With Randolph County having gold, copper, Mica, tin, graphite, Kaolin, and Iron; Randolph County was one of the richest counties in state. The first white settlers noted that the county had an abundance of the “purest and coldest water in the world.” The county was developed for agriculture, specifically cotton plantations.

Founded in 1651 by Englishman, Major John Boone, Boone Hall is renowned for its lovely gardens

The California economy boomed after the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill in 1849, spurring a huge demand for shipping. Henry Wells and William Fargo joined with several other New York investors to create Wells, Fargo and Company to serve and profit from this demand. In July 1852, the company began transporting its first loads of freight between the East Coast and the isolated mining camps of California. From the beginning, Wells, Fargo and Company also engaged in banking, making good profits in the traffic of gold dust and providing loans that helped sustain the growth of the California economy.

By 1876, gold had been discovered in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The gold was found on Sioux land, and this region was considered sacred to the Lakota Sioux Indians. The he land was to be protected and respected by the United States Army, because of the Fort Laramie Treaty of 18681, but the Army could not keep miners off the Sioux ground, which led to the increase of Sioux grievances towards the Americans; some grievances that are still taken offense to today. These battles and negotiations soon were known at the Great Sioux War of 1876.

This formation is a very fine grain Mississippian limestone. To test to see if this was the Bangor formation we used HCL and because there was a reaction we know its limestone. This formation could also be described as gray in color as well as an average thickness of 700 feet. We see the Bangor until stop eight, where we see a very different vertical bedding. Also different at stop eight is the outcrop no longer reacts with HCL. From this we gathered that we had moved into the Hartselle formation. In the Hartselle Formation, Mississippian aged sandstones are dominant. This particular stop had a large amount of jointing. After the Hartselle, we figured the Pride Mountain Formation would be next, however at stop nine we see the Maury Formation present. This stop focused on the rock located inside the creek. Because we were unable to go into the creek to get the strike and dips, we once again had to do a projected orientation. Also found on this stop were natural sulfur springs, easy to notice with the smell that it gives off. The Maury formation consist of Mississippian- Silurian aged shale. At the next stop, stop 10, we encounter the Ft. Payne formation. Although this area location was thickly vegetated, we were able to conduct the acid test and saw that the HCL reacts in some places but not all. From this we concluded that this was the cherty limestone of the Ft. Payne formation. The following stop, 12, we went up section and arrived at the Maury Formation once again. At the final stop, location 13, we see Ft. Payne Formation. All of the metamorphism and deformation in the southernmost Appalachians can be related to the movement of the thrust sheets and stacks (Higgins,

The Piedmont is located between the Coastal Plain and the Mountain regions, in the middle region of the state. The origins of Piedmont are French, meaning “foot of the mountain”, because it’s located at the base of the Appalachians Mountains. From the western Coastal Plane to the mountains, the elevations range from about 300 feet to near 1,500 feet (Seaman 2006). The fall line, or fault zone, lies between the Coastal Plain and the Piedmont. The rivers that flow along the fault line are formed from shoals, low waterfalls and rapids. As the rivers flow from the Piedmont to the coastal Plain the rocks become younger and softer. The streams below the fall line are usually lethargic and smooth-flowing. The streams above the fall line are gravelly and shallow, making boating difficult. As for the land, the Piedmont is called a plateau because it is high and mostly flat. Most geologist separate the Piedmont into two different areas because the rock suites are so different. The eastern part, known as the Carolina Slate Belt and then the western part, known as the Inner piedmont. My main area of focus will be the Carolina Slate Belt, with attention to the ancient