MPE - Georgia's Geologic History Lesson

 

Georgia's Geologic History

The Blue Ridge Mountains in North Georgia are made up of rocks that are approximately one billion years old. This region consists of metamorphic and igneous rocks. The highest natural point among the Blue Ridge mountain region is Brasstown Bald. The summit on Brasstown Bald has been worn away by erosion to expose very old rocks.  The metamorphic rocks that make up the summit began as sedimentary rocks during the Precambrian. The Brasstown Bald summit consists of metamorphic rocks that are among the oldest rocks in Georgia.  The Blue Ridge mountains are also a section of the southern Appalachians mountains that formed almost 500 million years ago. Mountains developed from the collision between the tectonic plates that made up Africa and North America during the formation of Pangaea.

Recall that the majority of fossils are found in sedimentary rocks. Shale and limestone are sedimentary rocks that can be found in Georgia. Many plant fossils from the late  Carboniferous period, have been found in "black" shale located in northwest Georgia. This region is also known as the "sedimentary region" because the rocks and minerals that developed in that area. During the Paleozoic era sand, mud, plants, and marine life were deposited in the shallow seas that are now the rocky beds of sandstone, shale, coal and limestone. While some fossils formed in mud which became shale, other fossils formed in limestone.

Many different types of fossils have been found in limestone along the Coastal Plain region of Georgia. Scientists have found the fossil remains of corals, clams, oysters, and reptiles. Ancient whales and shark fossil from about 40 million years ago have also been found in the Coastal Plain. Fossils are more likely to be found in Northwest Georgia because they were not destroyed by heat and pressure.

*Take notes as you watch this video, Georgia Stories 101: Geographic Environment of Georgia Links to an external site., to answer the questions below.

 

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