Hydrogeology of the Gatlinburg area, Tennessee

Open-File Report 79-1167
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Abstract

A study of ground-water availability in the Gatlinburg area, Tenn., was undertaken to improve concepts of ground-water occurrence in the Blue Ridge and demonstrate that ground water is present in sufficient quantities to provide an alternative to surface water as a source of supply. Of 25 test wells, 8 produced between 50 and 116 gallons per minute. The Gatlinburg area, located on the northern flank of the Great Smoky Mountains , is underlain by fractured, variably metamorphosed, sedimentary rocks. The most effective criteria for choosing well sites were valley areas with 7 percent or less land slope, presence of fracture traces, and deep overburden. Mapped faults were not a good indicator of ground-water occurrence. The largest amounts of ground water occur in irregularly shaped zones of deep and intense weathering in the rocks underlying broad, fracture-controlled valleys. Permeable zones along fractures at depths of 170 feet or less supply most of the water. (USGS)
Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Hydrogeology of the Gatlinburg area, Tennessee
Series title Open-File Report
Series number 79-1167
DOI 10.3133/ofr791167
Edition -
Year Published 1979
Language ENGLISH
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey,
Description vii, 76 p., 9 over-size sheets :ill., maps (some fold.) ;27 cm.
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