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Hydrogeology of the Gatlinburg area, Tennessee

Open-File Report 79-1167
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https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr791167

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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)

Suggested Citation

Zurawski, A., 1979, Hydrogeology of the Gatlinburg area, Tennessee: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 79-1167, vii, 76 p., 9 over-size sheets :ill., maps (some fold.) ;27 cm., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr791167.

ISSN: 2331-1258 (online)

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
Year Published 1979
Language ENGLISH
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey,
Description vii, 76 p., 9 over-size sheets :ill., maps (some fold.) ;27 cm.
Additional publication details