Lithostratigraphy and petrography of the upper cambrian Maynardville formation within the Hunter Valley fault belt of East Tennessee.

Ever since the Maynardville Formation was first defined by C. R. L. Oder in 1934, it has been the subject of considerable controversy. Although the dispute regarding the position of formational boundaries has been partly resolved, it has yet to be definitely established whether the Maynardville should be grouped with the alternating shales and carbonates of the subadjacent Conasauga Group or with the supe:radjacent dolomites and limestones of the Knox Group. The basic source of the controversy is the transitional nature of-the Maynardville Formation which contains attributes of both the Conasauga (containing limestones) and of the Knox (containing dolomite, stromatolites, chert, and oolites). Although there is a definite change or lithology from the Nolichucky Shale, the basal Maynardville boundary is gradational and shales are interbedded with limestones. The upper Maynardville boundary is even less well defined, being determined by the relative abundance of certain lithologic types.