Last updated: July 9, 2024
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NPS Geodiversity Atlas—Kings Mountain National Military Park, North Carolina
Geodiversity refers to the full variety of natural geologic (rocks, minerals, sediments, fossils, landforms, and physical processes) and soil resources and processes that occur in the park. A product of the Geologic Resources Inventory, the NPS Geodiversity Atlas delivers information in support of education, Geoconservation, and integrated management of living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) components of the ecosystem.
Introduction
Kings Mountain National Military Park (KIMO) is located just south of the North Carolina–South Carolina border, approximately 26 km (16 mi) northeast of Gaffney in Cherokee and York Counties, South Carolina. Established on March 3, 1931, KIMO contains 1,596 hectares (3,945 acres) and commemorates the Battle of Kings Mountain, the first major Patriot victory of the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution on October 7, 1780 (National Park Service 2016a). The battle is regarded as a major turning point in the war, effectively destroying the left wing of Lord Cornwallis’ army and ending loyalist ascendance in the Carolinas (Thornberry-Ehrlich 2009). Thomas Jefferson referred to the decisive Patriot victory as “The turn of the tide of success.” The park preserves the entire battlefield site and contains some of the best-preserved remnants of Colonial-era roads and trails that are associated with the route traveled by the troops in the Kings Mountain campaign.
Geologic Setting
Kings Mountain National Military Park is situated in the Piedmont physiographic province, a unique geographic region formed by a combination of accretion, folding, faulting, uplift, and erosion associated with the formation of the Appalachian Mountains. Located within the Kings Mountain sequence of the Carolina terrane, the KIMO area has a complex geologic framework and includes structures such as shear zones, normal faults, folds, and areas of varying metamorphic grade (Thornberry-Ehrlich 2009). The setting of the Kings Mountain sequence along the boundary between the Carolina and Inner Piedmont terranes makes understanding the geology vital to interpreting the geologic history of the region. Geologic units mapped within KIMO are Neoproterozoic-age metasedimentary and metaigneous rocks of the Battleground Formation and Blacksburg Formation that record several phases of deformation and pulses of metamorphism.
Regional Geology
Kings Mountain National Military Park is a part of the Piedmont Physiographic Province and shares its geologic history and some characteristic geologic formations with a region that extends well beyond park boundaries.
The Geologic Resources Inventory produces digital geologic maps and reports for more than 270 natural resource parks. The products listed below are currently available for this park, check back often for updates as many maps, reports, and posters are still in progress.
- Scoping summaries are records of scoping meetings where NPS staff and local geologists determined the park’s geologic mapping plan and what content should be included in the report.
- Digital geologic maps include files for viewing in GIS software, a guide to using the data, and a document with ancillary map information. Newer products also include data viewable in Google Earth and online map services.
- Reports use the maps to discuss the park’s setting and significance, notable geologic features and processes, geologic resource management issues, and geologic history.
- Posters are a static view of the GIS data in PDF format. Newer posters include aerial imagery or shaded relief and other park information. They are also included with the reports.
- Projects list basic information about the program and all products available for a park.
Source: Data Store Saved Search 2994. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.
A NPS Soil Resources Inventory project has been completed for Kings Mountain National Military Park and can be found on the NPS Data Store.
Source: Data Store Saved Search 3041. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.
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Kings Mountain National Military Park
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National Park Service Geodiversity Atlas
The servicewide Geodiversity Atlas provides information on geoheritage and geodiversity resources and values within the National Park System. This information supports science-based geoconservation and interpretation in the NPS, as well as STEM education in schools, museums, and field camps. The NPS Geologic Resources Division and many parks work with National and International geoconservation communities to ensure that NPS abiotic resources are managed using the highest standards and best practices available.