Origin, age, and scale of eruptions The Uwharrie Mountains are the ancient remains of a
Neoproterozoic to early
Paleozoic volcanic/sedimentary island arc that is a part of the larger
Carolina terrane, a peri-
Gondwanan arc
microcontinent later accreted to eastern
Laurentia (ancestral North America). Within this terrane, the Uwharrie and adjacent ranges expose the Albemarle Group, which includes the Uwharrie, Tillery, and Cid formations, of the Carolina Slate Belt. This area is dominated by felsic metavolcanic rocks, with lesser amounts of meta-intermediate volcanic rocks, and metamorphosed mafic rocks (also known as greenstone and
greenschist.). U–Pb zircon dating places Uwharrie volcanism in the
Ediacaran (~570–550 million years ago). Additional research ages felsic flows and tuffs (
rhyodacite to
rhyolite) in the Uwharrie Formation at around 568 ± 6 and 558 ± 8 million years, with other research dating igneous rocks between ~586 ± 10 and 554 ± 15 million years. These short timeframes show short-lived, highly explosive island arc volcanic system.
Post volcanism and accretion Volcanic activity in the Uwharrie Mountains waned by the late Ediacaran to the early
Cambrian. The youngest volcanic rocks date to around 554 million years. There is no evidence for volcanic rocks younger than that. They give their name to the
Uwharrie National Forest. Once entirely cleared for timber and farmland, the mountains were designated a
U.S. National Forest in 1961 by President
John F. Kennedy. The woodlands have since returned, providing a haven for a diversity of wildlife, recreational facilities, and numerous
Native American archeological sites. In 1799, the discovery of
gold at the nearby
Reed Gold Mine in Cabarrus County led to America's first
gold rush. ==Protected areas==