Talladega “Series” rock units in Polk and Paulding Counties have been mapped through the Cartersville area along the southeastern fault boundary of the “Corbin granite complex,” and correlated with rock units of the Great Smoky Group in Cherokee County. The Talladega “Series” in this area is bounded on the northwest by the Emerson (Cartersville) fault, along which the Talladega was thrust over (1) Valley and Ridge rocks ranging in age from Early Cambrian (Chilhowee Group) to Mississippian (Fort Payne Chert), (2) the Ocoee Supergroup, and (3) the “Corbin granite complex.” The Emerson fault also overrode the Great Smoky fault, which separates Ocoee from Chilhowee rocks in the Cartersville area.

The thrust fault along the southeastern boundary of the Talladega “Series” is only one of numerous closely spaced imbricate faults within and southeast of the Talladega. The presence of closely spaced thrusts within the Talladega, the association of Hillabee Chlorite Schist-“Pumpkinvine Creek” lithologies with many of these faults, and the fact that detailed mapping has not been completed between the Rockmart-Yorkville area and the Alabama state line emphasize the need for caution in projecting correlations and interpretations across this area.