Abstract

Mount Mitchell lies within the Ashe Metamorphic Suite rock formation and consists of highly deformed and metamorphosed rocks. The suite consists primarily of metagreywacke rocks such as amphibolite gneiss and schist, mica gneiss and schist, quartzite, and even marble. The rocks are very resistant to weathering due to the high quartz content, allowing Mount Mitchell to remain North Carolina’s tallest peak. The rock types tell that this area was once a beach or shallow sea due to the clay-rich sedimentary protolith but have undergone metamorphism during the events that created the Appalachian Mountains. Mount Mitchell, along with the rest of the mountains in North Carolina is a primarily a product of three orogenies; the Taconic (460 million years ago), Acadian (410- 345 mya), and the Alleghanian (325 mya) which signaled the formation of Pangea. These mountain building events put the rocks in this region through some intense metamorphic changes that created the Ashe Metamorphic Suite. The exact temperature and pressure constraints of different rocks within the Mount Mitchell region during metamorphism is not fully known due to the lack of research in the last twenty plus years. However with more research opportunities such as this one being available, more answers can be found by studying the mineralogy in closer detail with modern instruments that acquire more precise and accurate data.

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