Crystalline limestones, or marbles, are found in 18 counties in the Central and Western Piedmont and Mountain Regions of North Carolina. They occur as far east as Stokes and Forsyth Counties, and as far west and south as Cherokee County. The bodies of marble in part form elongated areas of considerable size and in part linear groups and isolated lenses of comparatively small size. These areas include several different geologic formations which range in age from Precambrian, the oldest recognized age in the earth's history, to Lower Paleozoic (?).
The limestone resources of North Carolina can be classified into two broad groups. These are: (1) the limestones and marls of the Coastal Plain, and (2) the crystalline limestones, or marbles, of the Piedmont and Mountain Regions.
The fieldwork for this report was carried out during the summer and fall of 1958, and intermittently during the fall and winter of 1959. An important phase of the field work was to accurately locate and describe every known occurrence of limestone in the Piedmont and Mountain Regions of the State. Many of these deposits were discovered by the early settlers of North Carolina and used by them to provide lime for local use. Most of the deposits were worked from prior to the War Between the States to as late as 1900. Many openings were small and during the years of inactivity they have filled up and are grown over by trees and undergrowth. Consequently, in most cases there is very little physical evidence of their ever having existed. By Stephen G. Conrad, 1960. 56 pages.
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