Geodiversity Atlas—Cumberland Piedmont I&M Network Index

Geology and Stratigraphy of the Cumberland Piedmont I&M Network

The Cumberland Piedmont Inventory & Monitoring Network (CUPN) consists of 14 national park units in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. These units are: Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park (ABLI), Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site (CARL), Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park (CHCH), Cowpens National Battlefield (COWP), Cumberland Gap National Historical Park (CUGA), Fort Donelson National Battlefield (FODO), Guilford Courthouse National Military Park (GUCO), Kings Mountain National Military Park (KIMO), Little River Canyon National Preserve (LIRI), Mammoth Cave National Park (MACA), Ninety Six National Historic Site (NISI), Russell Cave National Monument (RUCA), Shiloh National Military Park (SHIL), and Stones River National Battlefield (STRI). Although they occupy some of the same geographic area, parks such as Great Smoky Mountains National Park are part of the neighboring Appalachian Highland Inventory & Monitoring Network that is largely situated in the Blue Ridge and Valley and Ridge Provinces. The park units that comprise the Cumberland Piedmont Network protect a combined 47,534 hectares (117,461 acres) and vary in size from 101 hectares (251 acres) in GUCO to 21,379 hectares (52,830 acres) in MACA.

The Appalachian Mountains are among the oldest mountain ranges on Earth. The long stability of the Appalachian Mountains, combined with its great variation in geology, landforms, and climate, have supported the evolution of a rich diversity of fauna and flora, especially in the southern regions which were not directly impacted by glacial activity. Park units of the Cumberland Piedmont Network cover parts of five physiographic provinces of the Appalachian Mountains that include (from east to west): (1) Piedmont; (2) Blue Ridge; (3) Valley and Ridge; (4) Appalachian Plateau; and 5) Interior Low Plateaus.

The Piedmont province is characterized by rolling hills with gentle slopes underlain by ancient Neoproterozoic- to Cambrian-age metamorphic rocks that originated as offshore sediments, volcanic rocks, and small landmasses that were accreted to the eastern margin of North America (Clark 2008; see Geologic Time Scale). The Blue Ridge province is a mountainous area that rises abruptly above valleys and hills of the Piedmont to the east and forms the backbone of the Appalachian Mountains. Rocks of the Blue Ridge are predominantly Neoproterozoic-age metamorphic rocks that include fragments of the former supercontinent Rodinia, thick sequences of sedimentary basin fill, marine sedimentary and volcanic rocks, and fragments of oceanic crust (Clark 2008).

West of the Blue Ridge, the Valley and Ridge province marks a transition to folded and faulted, non-metamorphosed Paleozoic-age sedimentary rocks that include sandstones, conglomerate, limestone, dolomite, and shale (mudstone), with some Pennsylvanian-age coal beds. Many of these rocks were deposited on the floor of a shallow inland sea that inundated most of the ancestral North American continent from the Cambrian to the Permian Periods ~540 to 270 Ma (mega-annum, million years ago) (Clark 2008). These sedimentary units are underlain by large thrust faults generated by numerous orogenies (mountain building episodes) associated with the formation of the Appalachian Mountains. The Appalachian Plateau (including the Cumberland Plateau) is a deeply dissected plateau comprised of relatively flat sedimentary strata that have been carved by water into a labyrinth of rocky ridges and deep gorges. Like the Valley and Ridge province, rocks of the Cumberland Plateau formed on the floor of an ancient inland sea. The Interior Low Plateaus province is similar to the Appalachian Plateaus but has gentler slopes (Clark 2008).

A Brief Geologic History

A few examples of events and Network resources in each geologic time period are highlighted below, from youngest to oldest.

• See also, Geologic Time Scale - Geology (U.S. National Park Service)

Geology & Soils—Cumberland Piedmont Network Parks

Type Sections—Cumberland Piedmont Network

The geologic history above is excerpted from a report titled, "National Park Service geologic type section inventory: Cumberland Piedmont Inventory & Monitoring Network". Type sections are essential reference locations for the geoscientists who study geologic history and paleontology. A summary of the type sections in each park can be found at the links below.

• Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park, Kentucky (no designated stratotypes identified)

• Camp Nelson National Monument, Kentucky

• Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, North Carolina (contains one identified stratotype)

• Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park, Georgia and Tennessee (no designated stratotypes identified)

• Cowpens National Battlefield, South Carolina (no designated stratotypes identified)

• Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia (contains seven identified stratotypes)

• Fort Donelson National Battlefield, Kentucky and Tennessee (no designated stratotypes identified)

• Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, North Carolina (no designated stratotypes identified)

• Kings Mountain National Military Park, North Carolina (contains one identified stratotype)

• Little River Canyon National Preserve, Alabama (no designated stratotypes identified)

• Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky (no designated stratotypes identified)

• Ninety Six National Historic Site, South Carolina (no designated stratotypes identified)

• Russell Cave National Monument, Alabama (no designated stratotypes identified)

• Shiloh National Military Park, Tennessee and Mississippi (no designated stratotypes identified)

• Stones River National Battlefield, Tennessee (no designated stratotypes identified)

The full Network report is available in digital format from:

• DataStore - National Park Service geologic type section inventory: Cumberland Piedmont Inventory & Monitoring Network (nps.gov)

Please cite this publication as:

• Henderson TC, Santucci VL, Connors T, Tweet JS. 2022. National Park Service geologic type section inventory: Cumberland Piedmont Inventory & Monitoring Network. Natural Resource Report. NPS/CUPN/NRR—2022/2390. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado.

NPS Stratotype Inventory

Fossil Resources—Cumberland Piedmont Network

Between 2002 and 2011, network-based paleontological resource inventories were completed for all the 32 I&M networks, and six of the earliest were completely updated between 2012 and 2016. The report linked below summarizes the paleontological resources of all park units in the Cumberland Piedmont Inventory & Monitoring Network (CUPN). The report provides geologic background and paleontological resource data for each park to support management operations, planning, and science-based decision making as required by NPS management policies and the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act (2009).

The full report is available in digital format from

• DataStore - Paleontological resource inventory and monitoring—Cumberland Piedmont Network (nps.gov)

Please cite this publication as:

• Hunt-Foster, R., J. P. Kenworthy, V. L. Santucci, T. Connors, and T. L. Thornberry-Ehrlich. 2009. Paleontological resource inventory and monitoring—Cumberland Piedmont Network. Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/NRPC/NRTR—2009/235. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado.

Related Links

• Cumberland Piedmont Inventory & Monitoring Network
• NPS Geodiversity Atlas
• NPS—Geologic Resources Inventory

Geodiversity Atlas pages—by Inventory & Monitoring Network

Geodiversity Atlas pages—by State, U.S. Commonwealth, and Territories