Buffalo River (Tennessee) - Geology

Geology

All except a very small section on the southern end of the watershed is part of the Western Highland Rim, one of 25 Level IV subecoregions in the state. The dissected, rolling terrain in this area is of long ridges with fairly steep sides and deeply eroded hollows into those ridges, with the river in a wide flood plain of "bottom land". The elevation typically varies from 400 to 1,000 feet (120 to 300 m).

The predominant geology of the area is that of Paleozoic limestones. The Mississippian limestone base along with chert and shale is overlaid by fairly thin soils of moderate fertility that tend to be acidic. Much of the diffential erosion leading to the terrain features is a result of the differences in deposition and mineralization of the various types of limestone in the area and the presence of large portions of chert. Some of the chert bears small quantities of the iron-containing mineral hematite or other oxides of iron. During the mid-to-late 19th century there was considerable iron-ore related mining and smelting of Limonite ore.

The sizable tributary streams mostly flow out of fairly narrow hollows into the Buffalo; only the largest ones have true stream valleys of their own. Streams are fairly clear with a moderate gradient.