295 Geologic Maps and Their Derivatives (Posters)

This poster session will highlight new geologic maps, mapping programs, and innovations in geological mapping, including data management, web accessibility, 3D, and applications in water and land management.

Wednesday, 22 October 2025
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
HBGCC, Hall 1

Structural Geology of the Brady Mountain Area, Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas: Integrating Field Mapping, Geospatial Techniques, Photogrammetry and 3D Modeling for Structural Analysis

Paper number: 295-4
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 8:00 AM – 8:00 AM

Authors

Abstract

The Brady Mountain area, located within the southern portion of the Benton Uplift, the orogenic core of the Ouachita Mountains of western Arkansas, offers limited but critical exposure of deformed Ordovician strata, including the Womble and Mazarn shales, Blakely Sandstone, and Crystal Mountain Sandstone. Although the study area is densely vegetated and outcrops are generally sparse, there are exposures which are generally confined to streams, road cuts, and ridgelines. This study integrates traditional, boots-on-the-ground field mapping with modern digital tools like LIDAR and photogrammetry to overcome difficulties presented by densely vegetated areas and improve spatial analysis. Preliminary mapping efforts reveal a structurally complex terrain characterized by east-west-trending, tight isoclinal folds, and bedding that dipping moderately to steeply (20–66°) towards the NE-SW. These folds are commonly associated with well-developed axial planar cleavage. Fracture sets from the northern portion of the study area are interpreted as largely a conjugate system, with sigma 1oriented NE-SW. In contrast, fracture trends in the southern portion are less clear, however, minor conjugate sets seem to indicate sigma 1 is SE-NW, which remain broadly consistent with the overall shortening direction in the study area. In the eastern portion of the study area, the mean fold axes are calculated to be 033°,70°. New data from this study indicate more variation in the fold geometry in the western part of the study area, the folds have variable vergence inconsistent with previous interpretations suggesting that folding across the study area is consistently overturned to the south. A 3D structural model and cross sections constructed in MOVE software is used to interpret the structural relationship and refine our understanding of deformation in this segment of the Ouachita orogenic belt.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 57, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-414926

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