Structural Measurement Atlas
Atlas / States / North Carolina

North Carolina strike and dip data

18,766 structural measurements in North Carolina, digitized from 440 published geologic maps across 4 sources. Every row carries its azimuth, inclination, measurement type, location confidence and the citation of the map it came from.

Open North Carolina on the map

What kinds of measurement

The Atlas separates planar structures, recorded as a strike and dip, from linear ones, recorded as a trend and plunge. This is what North Carolina holds:

Measurement typeGeometryMeasurementsShare
Foliation Planar — strike and dip 8,07143%
Joint Planar — strike and dip 4,36923%
Other Planar — strike and dip 1,82710%
Bedding Planar — strike and dip 1,2407%
Cleavage Planar — strike and dip 1,1296%
Lineation (mineral, stretching) Linear — trend and plunge 8505%
Vein / dike Planar — strike and dip 5723%
Fold hinge / axis Linear — trend and plunge 3772%
Fault plane Planar — strike and dip 2211%
Slickenline Linear — trend and plunge 110<1%

Where the data comes from

Each source is a survey, agency or program whose published mapping was harvested and reconciled into one schema. Rows are published only where the source's terms permit redistribution.

SourceMeasurementsShare
NPS GRI parks 11,32560%
USGS NGMDB GeMS 5,16128%
NGMDB legacy quads 1,83310%
USGS data releases · MRDS 4472%

Most-measured published maps

The individual quadrangles and data releases contributing the most measurements in North Carolina. The full citation for every map behind a selection ships in the sources.csv of any export.

Published mapYearScaleMeasurements
adapted from: Merschat, Carl, Carter, Mark, and Wooten, Rick, 2008, Geologic Map of Blue Ridge Parkway (North Carolina portion): North Carolina Geological Survey, unpublished digita data, scale 1:240002015 240008,030
Merschat, A.J., Carter, M.W., Lynn, A.S., Weinmann, B.R., Odom, W.E., McAleer, R.J., Mahan, S.A., Stewart, K.G., Holm-Denoma, C.S., and Crider, E.A., Jr., 2026, Preliminary geologic map of the Sparta East, Sparta West, and parts of the Glade Valley and Whitehead 7.5-minute quadrangles, North Carolina and Virginia, and the epicentral area of the August 9, 2020, Mw 5.1 earthquake near Sparta, North Carolina: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2026–1010, 1 sheet, scale 1:24,000.2026 1:24,0005,161
adapted from: Southworth, Scott, Schultz, Art, Aleinikoff, J.N., and Merschat, A.J., 2012, Geologic Map of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Region, Tennessee and North Carolina: U.S. Geological Survey, Scientific Investigations Map SIM-2997, scale 1:100,0002016 1000001,811
Geologic map of the Kings Mountain and Grover quadrangles, Cleveland and Gaston Counties, North Carolina, and Cherokee and York Counties, South Carolina2006 1:24,0001,223
adapted from: Lemmon, R.E., 1978, Manuscript Geologic Map of the Hendersonville Quadrangle, North Carolina: North Carolina Geological Survey, unpublished map, scale 1:24,0002009 240001,035
Geologic map of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park region, Tennessee and North Carolina2005 1:100,000610
adapted from: Boland, Irene B., 2010, Geologic Map of the Chesnee Quadrangle, Cherokee and Spartanburg Counties, South Carolina and Cleveland and Rutherford Counties, North Carolina: South Carolina Geological Survey, Open File Report OFR-159, scale 1:24,0002024 24000404
adapted from: Horton, J., Wright, Jr., 2006, Geologic Map of the Kings Mountain and Grover Quadrangles, Cleveland and Gaston Counties, North Carolina, and Cherokee and York Counties, South Carolina: USGS Scientific Investitigations Map SIM-2981, 1:24,000 scale2015 2400031
adapted from: Carpenter, P.A., 1982, Geologic Map of Region G, North Carolina: North Carolina Geologic Survey, Regional Geology Series (discontinued), scale 1:125,0002021 12500014
Bat Shaft — https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/show-mrds.php?dep_id=10071280— —2
Carolina Talc Mine — https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/show-mrds.php?dep_id=10026134— —2
Cox No. 1 Feldspar and Kaolin Mine — https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/show-mrds.php?dep_id=10026051— —2
Dunn Mine — https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/show-mrds.php?dep_id=10079195— —2
Gardner Hill Mine — https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/show-mrds.php?dep_id=10026443— —2
Gold Hill Mines — https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/show-mrds.php?dep_id=10093647— —2

Most-measured map units

Where a source recorded the geologic unit a measurement was taken on, the Atlas keeps it. These are the units carrying the most measurements in North Carolina.

Map unitAgeLithologyMeasurements
Metagraywacke and schist of the Ashe Metamorphic Suite CZa Cambrian to NeoproterozoicMedium and high-grade regional metamorphic rock, of unspecified origin2,924
Amphibolite of the Ashe Metamorphic Suite CZaa Cambrian to NeoproterozoicMeta-mafic rock774
Pinstriped mica gneiss and schist of the Alligator Back Metamorphic Suite CZab Cambrian to NeoproterozoicSchist and gneiss, of sedimentary-rock origin488
Metagraywacke and graphitic schist of the Lynchburg Group Zl NeoproterozoicSchist and gneiss, of sedimentary-rock origin418
Meta-ultramafic schist of the Ashe Metamorphic Suite CZau Cambrian to NeoproterozoicMeta-ultramafic rock236
Biotite granitic gneiss Ybgg MesoproterozoicMeta-felsic and intermediate rock125
Metaconglomerate and metagraywacke of the Ashe Metamorphic Suite CZac Cambrian to NeoproterozoicMetasedimentary rock67
Pegmatitic granite Mpg MississippianCoarse-grained, felsic-composition intrusive igneous rock47
Muscovite schist and metagraywacke of the Ashe Metamorphic Suite CZas Cambrian to NeoproterozoicSchist and gneiss, of sedimentary-rock origin35
Metagabbro of the Lynchburg Group Zlg Ordovician to NeoproterozoicMeta-mafic rock27
Graphitic schist of the Lynchburg Group Zlp NeoproterozoicSchist and gneiss, of sedimentary-rock origin15
Metaconglomerate and metagraywacke of the Lynchburg Group Zlc NeoproterozoicSchist and gneiss, of sedimentary-rock origin4

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