Hydrogeology of the Gatlinburg area, Tennessee

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)