Willow Bend, Georgia natives often wonder about how this region’s unique geology can impact their geotechnical drilling project or other drilling projects in the area. When it comes to geotechnical drilling, Willow Bend is located in an area with lots of metamorphic rocks – a type of rock that includes some of the densest rocks on the planet. As a result, the unique geology in a particular region can have a significant impact on the difficulty and time frame of drilling projects.

Willow Bend geotechnical drilling technicians will take a slightly different approach depending upon your precise location.

Georgia does have some very unique geology, comprised of four separate and distinct geologic regions. These areas are the Coastal Plain, the Blue Ridge region, the Piedmont region and the Valley and Ridge region.
Willow Bend is located just south of Atlanta in the region known as the Piedmont region, which is home to lots of metamorphic rock, including gneiss’s, amphibolites, schist’s, and migmatites. This region is also the site of some igneous rock, such as granite, which is one of the hardest and most plentiful stone types on the planet.

These rock types are quite dense in many instances, which results in a slower, more time consuming geotechnical drilling operation. Although these rocks tend to be less prone to some problematic formations, such as the underground voids that can collapse into a sinkhole.

The Piedmont region is also home to the famous red soil that Georgia is known for. A blend of iron oxides, halloysite and kaolinite comprise this red soil, which is clay-rich and quite dense. This can make for rather challenging geotechnical drilling efforts due to the soil’s density. This also allows for less complexity in terms of construction projects since the soil is far more stable than the sandy soil that’s prevalent in other areas of the southern United States.

Georgia’s Piedmont region features lots of rolling hills and some larger mountains, including Pine Mountain and Stone Mountain. The latter features granite outcroppings.

These four regions of Georgia exist because a number of the Earth’s plates collided to form the Pangean super continent. This collision of multiple tectonic plates also led to the formation of the Appalachian mountain range, which is believed to have formed approximately 300 million years ago.

*Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of Amdrill Inc*