Geologic Settings

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is located within the fold-and-thrust belt of the southern Appalachians.

Carbonate and siliciclastic sedimentary rocks of the Valley and Ridge Province underlie the campus, and sandstones outcrop atop the Cumberland Plateaus, about 15 kilometers west of the campus.

Metamorphic rocks of the Blue Ridge and the Piedmont provinces and igneous rocks east of the mid-province of the Blue Ridge are within half an hour to two hours trip from the main campus.

Excellent exposures of folds and  faults (brittle and ductile) are likewise located within 100 kilometers of the campus.