Geolex — Beech publications

National Geologic Map Database
Geolex — Significant Publications

Geologic Unit: Beech

Usage in publication:
- Beech granite*
Modifications:
- Named
Dominant lithology:
- Granite
AAPG geologic province:
- Piedmont-Blue Ridge province

Publication:

Keith, Arthur, 1903, Cranberry folio, North Carolina-Tennessee: U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Atlas of the United States Folio, GF-90, 9 p., scale 1:125,000

Summary:

Named Beech granite for Beech Mountain, Watauga (now Avery) Co., NC. Consists of huge masses of coarse granite, usually porphyritic and seldom fine-grained. In the porphyritic varieties, constituting bulk of formation, the feldspars make greatest part of rock, giving it a dull whitish or light-gray color. Biotite is more prominent in massive portions, and causes a distinct spotted appearance. A third variety, of considerable extent, is a coarse red granite found near border of the area. Unit cuts the Cranberry granite and Blowing Rock gneiss and is youngest massive plutonic rock in the region. It is of Precambrian age.

Source: GNU records (USGS DDS-6; Reston GNULEX).

Usage in publication:
- Beech Suite
Modifications:
- Revised
AAPG geologic province:
- Piedmont-Blue Ridge province

Publication:

Goldberg, S.A., Butler, J.R., Trupe, C.H., and Adams, M.G., 1992, The Blue Ridge thrust complex northwest of the Grandfather Mountain window, North Carolina and Tennessee, IN Dennison, J.M., and Stewart, K.G., eds., Geologic field guides to North Carolina and vicinity: University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Department of Geology Geologic Guidebook, Joint annual meeting of Geological Society of America, Southeastern Section, Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, Eastern Section, and Paleontological Society, Southeastern Section, Winston-Salem, NC, March, 1992, no. 1, p. 213-233.

Summary:

The Beech Mountain thrust sheet, a part of the Blue Ridge thrust complex of NC and TN, includes numerous intrusions of the Beech Suite, as unit is referred to here. Compositionally the Beech is an alkali granite. Though Rankin grouped it along with other plutonic and volcanic rocks into the Crossnore Plutonic Volcanic Complex, authors here prefer to differentiate the Bakersville, Beech, and Crossnore Suites and volcanic units as distinct subdivisions, as the entire complex is not co-magmatic.

Source: GNU records (USGS DDS-6; Reston GNULEX).

Usage in publication:
- Beech Granite*
Modifications:
- Geochronologic dating
AAPG geologic province:
- Piedmont-Blue Ridge province

Publication:

Rankin, D.W. (editor), Chiarenzelli, J.R., Drake, A.A., Jr., Goldsmith, Richard, Hall, L.M., Hinze, W.J., Isachsen, Y.W., Lidiak, E.G., McLelland, James, Mosher, Sharon, Ratcliffe, N.M., Secor, D.T., Jr., and Whitney, P.R., 1993, Proterozoic rocks east and southeast of the Grenville Front, IN Reed, J.C., Jr., and others, eds., Precambrian; conterminous U.S.: Geological Society of America, The Geology of North America, The Decade of North American Geology (DNAG), v. C-2, p. 335-461.

Summary:

Beech Granite has Rb-Sr whole-rock isochron age of 706 +/-6 Ma (Bryant and Reed, 1970; Odom and Fullagar, 1984).

Source: GNU records (USGS DDS-6; Reston GNULEX).

For more information, please contact Nancy Stamm, Geologic Names Committee Secretary.

Asterisk (*) indicates published by U.S. Geological Survey authors.

"No current usage" (†) implies that a name has been abandoned or has fallen into disuse. Former usage and, if known, replacement name given in parentheses ( ).

Slash (/) indicates name conflicts with nomenclatural guidelines (CSN, 1933; ACSN, 1961, 1970; NACSN, 1983, 2005, 2021). May be explained within brackets ([ ]).

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