Unconventional reservoirs produce gas and/or oil from fracture porosity and permeability. Therefore, understanding natural fracture patterns is important for effective production from unconventional gas-shale reservoirs in that natural fractures influence reservoir behavior and performance as they play vital roles in the movement of fluids such as oil and gas. Understanding natural fractures within gas-shale reservoirs is also a critical factor in the distribution of hydraulic fracture treatment design. The objective of this investigation is to perform outcrop scale evaluation of fracture intensity by LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) survey on organic rich Chattanooga Shale. Evaluation of fracture intensity is done by determining the Fracture Spacing Index (FSI) of the shale at given stratigraphic intervals. Organic rich Chattanooga Shale, a black shale formation, outcrops in several locations in Northeastern Alabama. Two outcrops, of this study, are located along the backlimb of the Wills Valley Anticline. During this investigation several close-up laser-scanned images of the shale were collected across the outcrops using LIDAR. The outcrops are similar in their stratigraphy and lithology; the base of the Chattanooga formation at both locations unconformably overlies the Red Mountain formation. Its lower part is ductily deformed, while the upper units of the shale at each outcrop become brittle and well-jointed with vertical fractures. LIDAR provides highly accurate, representative data of natural fractures at the surface that can improve subsurface models leading to more realistic reservoir characterization. Laser scanned images at each outcrop provided highly accurate and precise digitized data which was analyzed to determine the relationship between bedding thickness and fracture spacing. The FSI, determined from bed thickness/fracture spacing relationships, varies from 1.09 to 1.53 within the brittle part of the Chattanooga Shale in both outcrops, implying a measure of heterogeneity. Analysis of petrographic thin sections indicates that the brittle unit, with a high index, is rich in quartz content with correspondingly larger grain sizes. This suggests that there is a positive correlation between brittleness of a shale unit and its Fracture Spacing Index.