For millions of years, cycles of compression, uplift, and erosion have worked to create a complex system of ridges that are among the oldest in North America. The Middle Appalachians have four geographic regions: Appalachian Plateau, Valley and Ridge, Blue Ridge, and Piedmont.

Saltville is located in the Valley and Ridge Province and was once covered by a sea. The climate changed and the seawater evaporated, leaving deposits of salt and gypsum buried in layers of shale and limestone.