Chimney Rock is a village in
Rutherford County,
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
, United States.
[ The population was 140 at the 2020 census. The village took its name from a large ]gneiss
Gneiss (pronounced ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. This rock is formed under p ...
outcrop
An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth and other terrestrial planets.
Features
Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most p ...
located on a summit above the village itself in Chimney Rock State Park.
History
A U.S. post office for Chimney Rock existed since at least 1843.[Powell, W.S., 1976. ''The North Carolina Gazetteer: A Dictionary of Tar Heel Places.'' Chapel Hill, North Carolina, The University of North Carolina Press. 608 pp. ]
On September 27, 2024, the majority of Chimney Rock was substantially damaged by flooding caused by Hurricane Helene
Hurricane Helene ( ) was a deadly and devastating tropical cyclone that caused widespread catastrophic damage and numerous fatalities across the Southeastern United States in late September 2024. It was the strongest hurricane on record to ...
, with the Broad River inundating the village. The flooding also heavily damaged the adjoining town of Lake Lure.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the village has a total area of , all land. The town shares a border with the town of Lake Lure. The villages of Chimney Rock and Bat Cave along with parts of Chimney Rock State Park lie within Hickory Nut Gorge. It is an incised, narrow, and relatively linear gorge likely eroded
Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is disti ...
by the Broad River preferentially along either a zone of highly fractured metamorphic rock
Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock ( protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, caus ...
associated with a regional fault or other linear geologic feature.[Eppes, M.C., ed., 2022]
''Hickory Nut Gorge: A Natural Laboratory to Advance Our Understanding of Progressive Rock Failure: Geological Society of America Penrose Conference Field Trip, June 22, 2022.''
Boulder, Colorado, Geological Society of America. 52 pp.
Geology
Geological mapping by Hadley and Nelsonbiotite
Biotite is a common group of phyllosilicate minerals within the mica group, with the approximate chemical formula . It is primarily a solid-solution series between the iron- endmember annite, and the magnesium-endmember phlogopite; more al ...
-microcline
Microcline (KAlSi3O8) is an important igneous rock-forming tectosilicate mineral. It is a potassium-rich alkali feldspar. Microcline typically contains minor amounts of sodium. It is common in granite and pegmatites. Microcline forms during s ...
augen
Augen (from German "eyes") are large, lenticular eye-shaped mineral grains or mineral aggregates visible in some foliated metamorphic rocks. In cross section they have the shape of an eye.
Feldspar, quartz, and garnet are common minerals which ...
gneiss
Gneiss (pronounced ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. This rock is formed under p ...
. It is finer grained and more foliated adjacent to the Brevard Fault zone and becomes coarser and less foliated towards the southeast.[Hadley, J.B., and Nelson, A.E., 1971. ''Geologic map of the Knoxville quadrangle, North Carolina, Tennessee, and South Carolina''. ''U.S. Geological Survey, Miscellaneous Geologic Investigations Map'', I-654, scale 1:250,000.][Robinson, G.R., Lesure, F.G., Marlow, J.I., Foley, N.K., and Clark, S.H., 1979]
''Bedrock geology and mineral resources of the Knoxville 1 degree X 2 degree quadrangle, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina''
U.S. ''Geological Survey, Open-File Report'', OF-2004-1075, scale 1:250,000. Where radiometrically dated, the Henderson Gneiss yielded an Rb-Sr whole-rock age of 535+27 Ma and U-Pb zircon
Zircon () is a mineral belonging to the group of nesosilicates and is a source of the metal zirconium. Its chemical name is zirconium(IV) silicate, and its corresponding chemical formula is Zr SiO4. An empirical formula showing some of th ...
ages of 592 and 538 Ma.[Odum, A.L., and Fullagar, P.D., 1973. ''Geochronologic and tectonic relationships between the Inner Piedmont, Brevard zones, and Blue Ridge belts, North Carolina''. ''American Journal of Science'', 73-A, pp. 133-149.][Sinha, A.K., and Glover, L., 1978. ''U-Pb systematics of zircons during dynamic metamorphism.'' ''Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology'', 66, pp. 305-310.] Near Bat Cave, North Carolina, a couple of (Triassic
The Triassic ( ; sometimes symbolized 🝈) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is t ...
?) diorite
Diorite ( ) is an intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock formed by the slow cooling underground of magma (molten rock) that has a moderate content of silica and a relatively low content of alkali metals. It is Intermediate composition, inter ...
dikes
Dyke or dike may refer to:
General uses
* Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian"
* Dike (geology), formations of magma or sediment that cut through and across the layering of adjacent rocks
* Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess ...
have been mapped cutting through the Henderson Gneiss west of Chimney Rock. The Henderson Gneiss lacks any cross-cutting pegmatite
A pegmatite is an igneous rock showing a very coarse texture, with large interlocking crystals usually greater in size than and sometimes greater than . Most pegmatites are composed of quartz, feldspar, and mica, having a similar silicic c ...
dikes and associated economic mineral deposits in the region of Chimney Rock and Bat Cave. The closest pegematite dikes, which lack any observed, commercial mineral deposits, occur in biotite
Biotite is a common group of phyllosilicate minerals within the mica group, with the approximate chemical formula . It is primarily a solid-solution series between the iron- endmember annite, and the magnesium-endmember phlogopite; more al ...
-muscovite
Muscovite (also known as common mica, isinglass, or potash mica) is a hydrated phyllosilicate mineral of aluminium and potassium with formula KAl2(Al Si3 O10)( F,O H)2, or ( KF)2( Al2O3)3( SiO2)6( H2O). It has a highly perfect basal cleavage y ...
granitic gneiss forming the upper part of Sugarloaf Mountain.[Lemmon, R.E., and Dunn, D.E., 1973]
''Geologic map and mineral resources summary of the Bat Cave quadrangle, North Carolina''.
''North Carolina Geological Survey, Geologic Map - 7.5-minute quadrangle maps and mineral resource summary''. GM 202-NE, scale 1:24,000.
The Chimney Rock - Hickory Nut Gorge area is part of a block of crust known now as the Tugaloo terrane. This piece of crust was a microcontinent
Continental crustal fragments, partly synonymous with microcontinents, are pieces of continents that have broken off from main continental masses to form distinct islands that are often several hundred kilometers from their place of origin.
Caus ...
that collided and accreted to North America during the Cambrian
The Cambrian ( ) is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 51.95 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran period 538.8 Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Ordov ...
and early Ordovician
The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era, and the second of twelve periods of the Phanerozoic Eon (geology), Eon. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years f ...
periods. It was at this time that massive amounts of granodiorite
Granodiorite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock similar to granite, but containing more plagioclase feldspar than orthoclase feldspar.
The term banatite is sometimes used informally for various rocks ranging from gra ...
s, including the precursor plutonic
Intrusive rock is formed when magma penetrates existing rock, crystallizes, and solidifies underground to form ''intrusions'', such as batholiths, dikes, sills, laccoliths, and volcanic necks.Intrusive RocksIntrusive rocks accessdate: Marc ...
rocks to the Henderson Gneiss, intruded into metasedimentary rocks at approximately 448 Ma. During this and later times, the rocks of the Tugaloo terrane experienced multiple periods intense folding
Fold, folding or foldable may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Fold'' (album), the debut release by Australian rock band Epicure
* Fold (poker), in the game of poker, to discard one's hand and forfeit interest in the current pot
*Abov ...
, faulting, and metamorphism. Between 390 and 340 Ma, the granodiorites were altered by a period of intense metamorphism
Metamorphism is the transformation of existing Rock (geology), rock (the protolith) to rock with a different mineral composition or Texture (geology), texture. Metamorphism takes place at temperatures in excess of , and often also at elevated ...
and thrust faulting
A thrust fault is a break in the Earth's crust, across which older rocks are pushed above younger rocks.
Thrust geometry and nomenclature
Reverse faults
A thrust fault is a type of reverse fault that has a dip of 45 degrees or less.
If ...
to form the Henderson Gneiss and the gently dipping northeast-southwest trending foliation and folding associated with it.[Moecher, D., Hietpas, J., Samson, S., and Chakraborty, S., 2011. ''Insights into southern Appalachian tectonics from ages of detrital monazite and zircon in modern alluvium''. ''Geosphere'', 7(2) pp. 1–19.][Hill, J., Wooten, R., Cattanach, B., Bauer, J., Bozdog, N., Douglas, T., Isard, S., Khashchevskaya, D., Korte, D., Kuhne, J., Owen, L., Prince, P., Scheip, C., Waters-Tormey, C., and Wegmann, K., 2024]
''Big slow-movers, debris slides and flows, and mega-boulders of the Blue Ridge Escarpment, western North Carolina, USA''.
In Merschat, A.J., and Carter, M.W., eds., pp. 13–67
''Geology and Geologic Hazards of the Blue Ridge: Field Excursions for the 2024 GSA Southeastern Section Meeting, Asheville, North Carolina, USA''.
''Geological Society of America Field Guide'', 67 106 pp.
During the post-Paleozoic
The Paleozoic ( , , ; or Palaeozoic) Era is the first of three Era (geology), geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Beginning 538.8 million years ago (Ma), it succeeds the Neoproterozoic (the last era of the Proterozoic Eon) and ends 251.9 Ma a ...
, stresses caused by the uplift, erosion, and decompression of the Henderson Gneiss fractured it into orthogonal, sub-vertical joints
A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...
. The timing of formation of these joints is poorly constrained. They typically occur as west-northwest - east-southeast and north-northeast - south-southwest systematic set of joints. These joint sets lie parallel and perpendicular to the Hickory Nut Gorge and define the rectilinear drainage networks. Because of a regional humid climate and steep gorge walls composed of systematically jointed and fractured bedrock, Hickory Nut Gorge has a long record of historical landslide events.[North Carolina Geological Survey, 2024]
''Landslides - Introduction to landslides in North Carolina.''
Last retrieved October 10, 2024.[North Carolina Geological Survey, 2024]
''Western North Carolina Landslide Hazard Data Viewer.''
Last retrieved October 10, 2024. The presence of extensive rock boulder and block deposits at the base the gorge's wall show that debris flow
Debris flows are geological phenomena in which water-laden masses of soil and fragmented Rock (geology), rock flow down mountainsides, funnel into stream channels, entrain objects in their paths, and form thick, muddy deposits on valley floors. ...
s and rock falls have been active along the steep gorge walls throughout the Quaternary
The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...
.
Government
Chimney Rock Village is governed by a five-member council. Council members serve four-year staggered terms. They are elected at large in non-partisan contests determined by plurality, with the person receiving the highest number of votes elected to the open seats. The council selects a mayor from among its members after each of its own elections. The village retains an administrator and a staff responsible to the council to carry out governmental functions.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 140 people, 81 households, and 48 families residing in the village.
2000 census
As of the census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.57% Native American, 2.29% from other races, and 2.29% from two or more races. Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 4.00% of the population.
There were 74 households, out of which 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.1% were married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 5.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.1% were non-families. 21.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.80.
In the village, the population was spread out, with 21.7% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 118.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 110.8 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $29,583, and the median income for a family was $29,583. Males had a median income of $28,250 versus $22,813 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the village was $17,142. About 15.8% of families and 14.7% of the population were below the poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 11.1% of those under the age of eighteen and 20.0% of those 65 or over.
Gallery
Image:Chimney Rock, North Carolina (2006).jpg, Chimney Rock, a gneiss monolith in Chimney Rock State Park near the village (2006).
Image:chimney rock2.jpg, View from the top of Chimney Rock (2011).
References
External links
Official website
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with Weather forecasting, forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, Hydrography, charting the seas, ...
, Washington, DC.
High resolution, post-Helene, aerial imagery for Bat Cave, Chimney Rock, and Lake Lure
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Washington, DC.
{{Rutherford County, North Carolina
Villages in North Carolina
Villages in Rutherford County, North Carolina