As more and more of these sediments were deposited, they were eventually cemented together and changed into layers of rock over nine miles thick. Today these rocks are known as the Ocoee Supergroup and are subdivided into many smaller divisions of differing rock types. The different rock types reflect the range of climatic and topographic conditions that existed during their formation. The younger rocks of sedimentary origin formed during the Paleozoic Era, 450 to about 545 million years ago. These consist of compacted and cemented sand, silt, and clay deposited in an ancient shallow marine continental margin that existed in what is now the Appalachian region. Burrows and trails of worms, as well as small shells of crustaceans that lived in this shallow water along the ancient continental edge, are found in sandstone and shale in the northwestern part of the park. Fossils found in limestone rocks in Cades Cove are about 450 million years old.
[{"rock_types": "sedimentary ", "era_formed": "Paleozoic"}]
[{"rock_types": "sedimentary ", "era_formed": "Paleozoic"}]