Stratigraphic Revision of the 

Middle Eocene, Oligocene, and 

Lower Miocene^ 

Atlantic Coastal Plain of 

North Carolina

SURVEY BULLETIN 1457-F

Stratigraphic Revision of the 

Middle Eocene, Oligocene, and 

Lower Miocene 

Atlantic Coastal Plain of 

North Carolina

By LAUCK W. WARD, DAVID R. LAWRENCE, and 

BLAKE W. BLACKWELDER

CONTRIBUTIONS TO STRATIGRAPHY

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1457-F

A lithostratigraphic study of carbonate and 

clastic Eocene to lower Miocene rocks 

on the North Carolina Coastal Plain

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1978
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

CECIL D. ANDRUS, Secretary

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

H. William Menard Director

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Ward, Lauck W

Stratigraphic revision of the middle Eocene, Oligocene, and lower Miocene 

Atlantic Coastal Plain of North Carolina.

(Contributions to stratigraphy) (Geological Survey bulletin ; 1457-F)

Bibliography: p.

1. Geology, Stratigraphic Eocene. 2. Geology, Stratigraphic Oligocene. 3. 

Geology, Stratigraphic Miocene. 4. Geology North Carolina. I. Lawrence, 

David R., joint author. II. Blackwelder, Blake W., joint author. III. Title. 

IV. Series. V. Series: United States. Geological Survey. Bulletin ; 1457.

QE75.B9 no. 1457 [QE692.2] 557.3'08s [551.7'8] 78-606092

For sale by Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office 

Washington, D.C. 20402

Stock Number 024-001-03129-9
CONTENTS

Page

Abstract _____________________________________ Fl

Introduction ___________________________________ 1

Acknowledgments ____________________________ 2

Geologic history ________________________________ 2

Eocene Series __________________________________ 3

Castle Hayne Formation _______________________ 3

New Hanover Member _____,____________ 6

Comfort Member __________________________. 8

Spring Garden Member ___________________ 9

Oligocene Series _______________________________-___ 1C

River Bend Formation _________________________ 10

Miocene Series ______________________________ 13

Belgrade Formation _________________________-___ 13

Pollocksville Member _______________________ 14

Haywood Landing Member ____________________ 15

Locality register _______________________________ 16

Descriptions of type and supplementary sections ____________ 18

References cited ________________________________ 23

ILLUSTRATIONS

Page 

FIGURE 1. Composite section of outcropping Tertiary formations

studied in this report ____________________ F4

2. Base map showing basin configurations and localities __ 5

3. Correlation chart of the Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene,

and Miocene stratigraphic units _____________ 7

ill

CONTRIBUTIONS TO STRATIGRAPHY

STRATIGRAPHIC REVISION OF THE MIDDLE

EOCENE, OLIGOCENE, AND LOWER

MIOCENE ATLANTIC COASTAL PLAIN OF

NORTH CAROLINA

By LAUCK W. WARD, DAVID R. LAWRENCE/ and 

BLAKE W. BLACKWELDER

ABSTRACT

A review of past work on the Eocene, Oligocene, and lower Miocene 

sediments of the Coastal Plain of North Carolina, together with fieldwork 

in that area, has indicated the necessity of a thorough stratigraphic revision 

of those beds. The Castle Hayne Formation (middle Eocene) is redefined 

and divided into three units the New Hanover, the Comfort, and the Spring 

Garden Members. It is recommended that the name Trent Marl be 

abandoned. Beds previously assigned to the Trent Marl are placed in the 

Castle Hayne and in two new formations, herein described as the River Bend 

Formation (middle and upper Oligocene) and the Belgrade Formation (lower 

Miocene). The Belgrade Formation is divided into two units the Haywood 

Landing and the Pollocksville Members. Lithologies, areal distributions, 

stratigraphic relationships, ages, correlations, and outcrop descriptions 

are given for the three formations.

INTRODUCTION

Our stratigraphic studies in eastern North Carolina during 

1976-77 have enabled us to describe the depositional history from 

Eocene to Miocene time. The inadequacy of previous lithostratigraphic terminology had obscured much of this geologic history, 

and a stratigraphic revision was necessary. Most of the work of 

the 19th-century geologists in the Coastal Plain of North Carolina 

concerned the age assignments of various exposed units. The

i Department of Geology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.

PI
F2 CONTRIBUTIONS TO STRATIGRAPHY

20th century marked the first attempts at lithostratigraphic 

division of the Coastal Plain. Miller (1910, 1912) was the first to 

divide the North Carolina limestones into formations. Kellum 

(1925, 1926) later revised Miller's stratigraphy but failed to 

provide an adequate lithostratigraphic scheme. Different beds of 

Eocene, Oligocene, or Miocene age were still included within one 

unit. Later attempts to revise the stratigraphy were informal or 

relied too much upon the earlier assignments of Miller and Kellum. 

Generally, the units have remained rather loosely defined and not 

related to specific type sections.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors would like to thank C. H. Lee and D. S. VanNieuwenhuise, both of the University of South Carolina, for their 

help in the field. Technical support on the various fossil taxa was 

given by J. E. Hazel, C. W. Poag, L. M. Bybell, and N. 0. Frederiksen, of the U.S. Geological Survey, and P. M. Kier of the 

Smithsonian Institution. Our special thanks to P. M. Philips and 

the operators of the Martin Marietta Corp. quarries at New Bern, 

Belgrade, and Castle Hayne, N.C.; also David Brisley of the 

Georgetown Plant, S.C. Most cooperative were the personnel of 

the East Coast Limestone Quarry, N.C. Lime Inc. Quarry, Ideal 

Cement Co. Quarry, B. B. Fussell Co., Inc., Quarry, and the 

Atlantic Limestone Co. Quarry.

GEOLOGIC HISTORY

Overlapping the eroded surface of the Upper Cretaceous rocks 

on the North Carolina Coastal Plain, a middle Eocene (Claibornian) sea transgressed as far west as the Piedmont. A thick 

sequence of limestone was deposited in this shallow tropical 

marine basin. This limestone constitutes the Castle Hayne Formation (herein redefined) and consists largely of size-sorted, sometimes crossbedded, bryozoan hash. During the late middle Eocene, 

the Castle Hayne sea regressed as the Cape Fear arch to the 

south and the Norfolk arch to the north became positive. During 

this regression, an arenaceous molluscan limestone (the Spring 

Garden Member of the Castle Hayne) was deposited in the Neuse 

River area.

During the late Eocene (Jacksonian) and early Oligocene (early 

Vicksburgian), the exposed Eocene carbonate rocks on the Coastal 

Plain of North Carolina were eroded subaerially. This erosion pro-
ATLANTIC COASTAL PLAIN OF NORTH CAROLINA F3

duced an uneven surface and removed the Castle Hayne entirely 

in some areas. A middle Oligocene (late Vicksburgian) transgression centered in the area of the Neuse River and persisted 

through the late Oligocene (Chickasawhayan). Covering less than 

a tenth of the area overlapped by the Castle Hayne sea, this 

Oligocene sea was shallow near its perimeter, where barnacleshell hash limestone is commonly crossbedded (herein termed the 

River Bend Formation).

Uplift of the Coastal Plain at the end of the late Oligocene 

(Chickasawhayan) again exposed the carbonate sequences of the 

Castle Hayne and the newly deposited sediments of the River 

Bend to subaerial solution and erosion.

During the latest Oligocene or earliest Miocene, a small marine 

embayment evolved in the Jones, Onslow, Carteret, and Craven 

Counties area. Normal-saline seas overlapped part of the now 

well-indurated River Bend limestone. Marine currents swept the 

underlying limestone clear of sediment, while marine mollusks 

bored the exposed rock substrate. A thin phosphate coating 

formed on the limestone surface, and marine oysters attached to 

this substrate. As an offshore bar became prominent, quartz-rich 

sandy sediment was deposited in the basin.

Contained fossils indicate that the basin was at first of nearnormal salinity. As the barrier prograded seaward, salinities 

decreased, and groups restricted to normal marine conditions 

disappeared, while the oyster, Crassostrea, thrived in this sand, 

herein named and described as the Pollocksville Member of the 

Belgrade Formation.

During the early Miocene, a small marine transgression eroded 

the mollusks from the Pollocksville Member into the open marine 

deposits of the Haywood Landing Member of Belgrade Formation 

(herein named and described). The Haywood Landing sea did not 

transgress over the full area covered by the Pollocksville sediments, and, as a result, these marginal marine deposits are 

preserved in the northern and northwestern perimeter of the 

Belgrade Formation. Figure 1 is a composite, section showing the 

outcrop record compiled from localities shown in figure 2.

EOCENE SERIES 

CASTLE HAYNE FORMATION

The following redefinition of the Castle Hayne Formation is 

proposed because of the ambiguous nature of the original descrip-
F4 CONTRIBUTIONS TO STRATIGRAPHY

CROATAN

FORMATION

(LOWER PART)

DUPLIN 

FORMATION

O ui ss 

EC/5

Unstudied later Pleistocene deposits 

Silty, sandy shell bed

Sandy shell bed

Silty, sandy shell bed and 

sandy oyster bed

Sandy, molluscan-mold 

btocalcirudite

-48

-42

-39

-36

Molluscan-mold biocalcirudite 

some crossbedded shell hashes

Sandy, molluscan-mold 

biocalcirudite

Light-gray calcarenite, 

some crossbedded bryozoan hashes

Conglomerate in a 

light micrite matrix

Sandy molluscan-mold 

biocalcirudite

FIGURE 1. Composite section of outcropping Tertiary formations studied

in this report.
ATLANTIC COASTAL PLAIN OF NORTH CAROLINA

78° 77° 76°

F5

FIGURE 2. Base map showing basin configuration of the Castle Hayne

(solid line), River Bend (dashed line) and Belgrade (dotted line)

formations. Locations of type and reference sections are numbered.

tion (Miller, 1910, 1912), the lack of a type locality, and the 

failure of subsequent studies (Kellum, 1925, 1926; Cooke and 

MacNeil, 1952; LeGrand and Brown, 1955) to clearly define the 

limits and various units of the formation. 

The Castle Hayne Formation was named for limestone near
F6 CONTRIBUTIONS TO STRATIGRAPHY

Castle Hayne in New Hanover County, N.C. The Ideal Cement Co. 

quarry just east of Castle Hayne, New Hanover County, N.C. 

(loc. 32, fig. 2), is here designated the type locality of the Castle 

Hayne. The formation is redefined to include three new members: 

phosphatic lithocalcirudite facies {New Hanover Member), bryozoan and echinoidal biocalcarenite facies with micrite matrices 

(Comfort Member), and siliceous pelecypod-mold biocalcirudite 

facies (Spring Garden Member).

NEW HANOVER MEMBER

The name New Hanover Member is proposed for a slightly 

arenitic, micritic, phosphatic lithocalcirudite. This member consists of cobble- to pebble-sized, sandy, calcareous clasts, usually 

subrounded to well-rounded and often coated with phosphate and 

glauconite. Occasional quartz pebbles and flat clay chips are also 

present, along with very fine sand, glauconite, and phosphate in a 

cream-colored micrite matrix. Common ingredients also are shark 

and ray teeth, occasional worn bone, calcitic mollusks such as 

Pecten and Ostrea, echinoids, crabs, and molluscan molds. The 

New Hanover Member ranges in thickness from 0 to 2 m.

Best exposures of the New Hanover are in three large quarries 

in the Castle Hayne area (Iocs. 30, 2 31, and 32). The Martin 

Marietta quarry in New Hanover County (loc. 31) is here designated the type locality for the New Hanover Member. The New 

Hanover is easily delineated from the underlying Peedee Formation, a gray mold-and-cast siliceous limestone of middle Maestrichtian (Late Cretaceous) Age. The New Hanover occupies erosional 

channels in the Peedee. The contact between the two is sharp, 

and much of the conglomeratic material in the New Hanover 

was derived from the underlying Cretaceous. Clasts in the New 

Hanover fine upward.

The uneven upper surface of the New Hanover is apparently 

due to erosion after lithification, and it is overlain by the sharply 

contrasting bryozoan biocalcarenite of the Comfort Member. The 

two members are nowhere seen to grade; they have an abrupt, 

uneven contact. There was apparently only a short hiatus between 

deposition of the New Hanover and that of the overlying unit. The 

New Hanover contains molluscan molds of nautiloid cephalopods, 

gastropods, and various bivalve species, many of which also occur 

in the overlying Comfort Member. The presence of Cubitostrea

2 Only type and reference sections are shown in flg. 2.
ATLANTIC COASTAL PLAIN OF NORTH CAROLINA F7
F8 CONTRIBUTIONS TO STRATIGRAPHY

sellaeformis in the New Hanover Member at locality 31 suggests 

that this unit is middle middle Eocene and is equivalent to the 

Lisbon Formation of Alabama. Figure 3 shows the correlation of 

this unit with other Coastal Plain units.

COMFORT MEMBER

The name Comfort Member is proposed for a gray to creamcolored, bryozoan-echinoid calcirudite, grading to a fine calcarenite, containing small admixtures of fine quartz, detrital and 

authigenic glauconite, and some detrital phosphate. This member 

consists of several depositional cycles, which begin with a medium 

to fine bryozoan and echinoid fragmental calcirudite and grade 

upward to a fine calcarenite. Glauconite and phosphate pebble 

concentrations mark breaks in deposition. Under increased energy 

conditions, deposition resumed, resulting in coarse bryozoan 

hashes above the glauconite and phosphate pebble beds. The 

Comfort Member is generally soft and friable but locally may be 

cemented by a dense micrite matrix. The N.C. Lime Excavating 

Co. quarry at Comfort, Jones County (loc. 27), is designated as 

the type locality. The Comfort Member is the most widespread of 

the Castle Hayne units (see fig. 2). The best localities are in 

several quarries (Iocs. 27-32).

The Comfort ranges in thickness from approximately 3 m at 

Maple Hill and Castle Hayne (Iocs. 30, 31) to at least 10 m at 

Rose Hill (loc. 28), Magnolia (loc. 29), and Comfort (loc. 27), 

and probably accounts for about half of the 260 m of the middle 

Eocene reported by Brown and others (1972) in the subsurface 

in the Core Sound, N.C., area.

The Comfort Member unconformably overlies the New Hanover 

Member in the southern part of the basin at the previously mentioned quarries (Iocs. 30, 39, 31, 32). Below Goldsboro on the 

Neuse River (loc. 46) and on Moseley Creek (loc. 47), the Comfort 

Member overlies the sandy, argillaceous sediments of the Beaufort 

Formation (Paleocene); this is also true in the subsurface in the 

northeast area of the basin. In the more eastern counties, the 

Comfort Member directly overlies a sequence of lower Eocene 

carbonate rocks; to the west, it contains progressively more 

detrital quartz, consists of a limy sandstone in Johnston County 

(loc. 45), and is considered a nearshore, sandy facies.

The Spring Garden Member overlies the Comfort in the area 

of the Neuse River from Rock Landing (loc. 2) to New Bern (loc. 

5) and near Trenton on the Trent River. At Biddle Landing (loc.
ATLANTIC COASTAL PLAIN OF NORTH CAROLINA F9

1), lower Pliocene shelly sands of the Duplin Formation directly 

and unconformably overlie the Comfort Member, as is also true 

southward in the basin at Natural Well, Duplin County (loc. 43). 

On the New River (loc. 42), the Comfort is directly overlain by 

the calcarenite units of the River Bend Formation (Oligocene).

The Comfort Member is Claibornian (late middle Eocene) in 

age and is equivalent to the Gosport Sand of Alabama. Pecten 

membranosus Morton, found both in the Santee Limestone and 

the Comfort, is a senior synonym of Pecten wautubbeamis Dall 

found in the Claibornian of Alabama. Also common are Pecten 

clarkeanus Aldrich and Crassatella alta Conrad, both found only 

in Claibornian beds in Alabama.

SPRING GARDEN MEMBER

The name Spring Garden Member is proposed for tan to gray 

arenaceous molluscan-mold biocalcirudite along the Neuse River 

from Rock Landing (loc. 3) to New Bern (loc. 5) in Craven 

County. This gray and normally siliceous rock is well cemented 

by sparry calcite. Molluscan bivalve molds are partly or completely filled with silica, which forms siliceous pseudomorphs 

after the dominant mollusk, Macrocallista neusensis (Harris). 

Fine detrital phosphate is a common accessory in the member, 

in amounts as great as 5-10 percent. Molluscan bivalves originally 

accounted for as much as 75 percent of the rock. Spring Garden 

Landing (loc. 4) on the Neuse River, Craven County, is designated 

the type locality a natural exposure of rock as much as 3 m 

thick. The Martin Marietta quarry at New Bern (loc. 5), where 

6 m of well-indurated sandy limestone is exposed, is designated 

a supplementary reference locality.

The Spring Garden Member overlies the gray calcarenite of the 

Comfort Member conformably at Rock Landing (loc. 2), and is 

exposed above and below Rock Landing (loc. 3), at Spring 

Garden Landing (loc. 4), and at New Bern (loc. 5). At the Martin 

Marietta quarry in New Bern, the upper surface of the Spring 

Garden is extremely uneven because of solution and erosion. The 

surface is thinly coated by a veneer of phosphate upon which are 

attached middle Oligocene oysters. Overlying this surface is a 

tan barnacle hash in a calcarenite matrix, of Oligocene age, which 

ranges from 0 to 2 m in thickness and may be found in the 

molluscan molds and burrows in the top 7 cm of the Spring Garden 

Member. Because of erosion and channeling, shelly quartz sand 

of the Duplin Formation directly overlies the Spring Garden
F10 CONTRIBUTIONS TO STRATIGRAPHY

(middle Eocene) in the center of the pit, whereas on the flanks of 

the pit, the Duplin overlies Oligocene calcarenite deposits.

Along the Trent River, the Spring Garden overlies the Comfort 

Member and crops out intermittently from above Trenton to just 

below Prettyman Landing (loc. 44), where it dips below water 

level. At Prettyman Landing, the Spring Garden is overlain by 

the calcareous molluscan-mold sandy biocalcirudite of the River 

Bend Formation (Oligocene). The contact between the two units 

is sharply unconformable and is marked by a coarse conglomerate 

at the base of the River Bend.

The Spring Garden Member represents the latest Claibornian 

(latest middle Eocene). The molluscan assemblage is dominated 

by Macroccdlista neusensis (Harris) (=Macrocallista perovata 

(Conrad)), which is a common Claibornian form. Also present are 

Crassatella alta Conrad and Bathytormus protextus (Conrad), 

both of which are known from the Gosport Sand of Alabama.

OLIGOCENE SERIES

RIVER BEND FORMATION

The name River Bend Formation is proposed for a series of 

limestones which were originally included in the Trent Marl by 

Miller (1910, 1912) and later in the Castle Hayne by Brown 

(1955) and LeGrand and Brown (1955). Kellum (1925, 1926) 

included some of these rocks in his treatment of the Trent and 

believed them equivalent to the unconsolidated sandy shell beds 

at Silverdale.

Because of the resulting confusion as to the specific identity 

of the Trent Marl, it is herein recommended that the name Trent 

be abandoned and that this limestone, which made up part of the 

original Trent, be given the name River Bend Formation. The 

River Bend Formation receives its name from the River Bend 

Estates (loc. 38) on the Trent River, Craven County.

The formation consists of biocalcarenite, molluscan-mold biocalcirudite, arenaceous barnacle hash, and very arenaceous pelecypod biocalcirudite. Near its base, in most areas, the River Bend 

contains little or no quartz sand and consists mainly of barnacle 

plates and molluscan molds in a calcarenite matrix. Toward the 

center of the basin, in the Trent and White Oak River areas, the 

River Bend Formation grades vertically into a very arenaceous, 

slightly phosphatic pelecypod biocalcirudite. This sandy limestone 

is similar to the Spring Garden Member of the Castle Hayne
ATLANTIC COASTAL PLAIN OF NORTH CAROLINA Fll

Formation, but the two are never in contact. Only the lower 

calcarenite facies of the River Bend is in contact with the Spring 

Garden, and the two units are easily distinguishable.

The River Bend Formation occupies the area outlined by Brown 

and others (1972) as Oligocene; it has maximum thicknesses of 

150 m in the Cape Lookout area. The River Bend is approximately 

3 m thick at the Martin Marietta quarry at New Bern (loc. 5) 

and is exposed intermittently along the Trent River from New 

Bern to Prettyman Landing (loc. 44). Large quarries at Belgrade, 

Onslow County (Iocs. 19, 20), have exposed 10 m of the very 

sandy limestone facies of the River Bend. Several small outcrops 

(Iocs. 23-26) on the New River at Camp Lejeune, Onslow County, 

are also assigned to the River Bend Formation.

The River Bend Formation crops out along the Trent River 

in the area of River Bend Estates, Craven County, where the 

barnacle calcarenite, the biocalcirudite, and the upper very 

arenitic molluscan-mold biocalcirudite facies may be seen. The 

exposure here at Rhems Landing (loc. 38) is designated the type 

locality. The right bank of the Trent River 0.5 km below Bells 

Landing and just below the mouth of Raccoon Creek is designated 

as a supplementary reference locality for the River Bend (loc. 

13). Another supplementary reference locality, the right bank of 

the Trent River, 0.4 km below the mouth of Clayhill Branch, is 

selected to demonstrate the nonsiliceous lower beds of the formation (loc. 11). These beds may also be seen at locality 12 on the 

left bank of the Trent River, 4 km below the mouth of Clayhill 

Branch. The more arenaceous pelecypod-mold facies may be seen 

at the above-designated type locality, in the area of Whitford 

Landing at River Bend (loc. 37), and on the right bank, 0.4 km 

below the mouth of Miry Hole Branch (loc. 16), all on the Trent 

River.

The River Bend Formation crops out in Onslow, Jones, and 

Craven Counties, and Oligocene deposits probably referable to 

the River Bend are present in the subsurface in Carteret, Pamlico, 

Hyde, and Dare Counties.

The River Bend overlies the Castle Hayne Formation at the 

Martin Marietta quarry at New Bern (loc. 5). Here, a light-tan 

barnacle calcarenite deposit overlies a phosphate and Pycnodonte 

veneer on the very sandy Spring Garden Member of the Castle 

Hayne. The calcarenite deposit is overlain by a molluscan-mold 

biocalcirudite deposit, also belonging to the River Bend. The 

contact between the River Bend and the Castle Hayne is sharp
F12 CONTRIBUTIONS TO STRATIGRAPHY

and uneven; a slight angular unconformity is evident on the 

southwest wall of the quarry. The unconformable nature of the 

Castle Hayne-River Bend contact can also be seen at Prettyman 

Landing (loc. 44) on the Trent River where the mold and cast 

biocalcirudite deposits of the River Bend unconformably overlie 

the siliceous, very indurated limestone of the Spring Garden 

Member of the Castle Hayne. The two units are sharply separated 

by an uneven contact marked by a coarse basal conglomerate 

consisting of clasts as large as cobbles. In the New Bern area, the 

River Bend dips east and south. The stratigraphically higher 

sandier limestone dominates the surface outcrops from the River 

Bend area to Belgrade. Subsequent erosion and solution have 

beveled and cut channels into the indurated upper surface of the 

River Bend.

Overlying this surface and occupying the eroded channels from 

Pollocksville to Belgrade is a friable arenaceous Crassostrea bed 

of the Pollocksville Member of the Belgrade Formation (lower 

Miocene). To the east, the River Bend is directly overlain by the 

Haywood Landing Member of the Belgrade Formation, as at the 

Martin Marietta quarry at Belgrade (loc. 20).

Near the mouth of the Trent River, at Price Creek (loc. 18), 

the River Bend carbonate deposits are overlain by upper Miocene 

leached, clayey sands. In the Martin Marietta quarry at New 

Bern (loc. 5), the River Bend Formation is overlain partly by the 

shelly sand of the Duplin Formation and partly by tan and orange 

leached clean sand, which may represent the Pleistocene in the 

area.

The River Bend Formation ranges in age from middle Oligocene 

(late Vicksburgian) to late Oligocene (Chickasawhayan). The 

presence of Ficus mississippiensis Conrad, Oniscia harpula Conrad, Dentalium mississippiensis Conrad, Cardium diversum Conrad, and Chione imitabilis (Conrad) in the River Bend at the 

Martin Marietta Plant at New Bern (loc. 5) indicates a late 

Vicksburgian age. The calcarenite beds at the North Carolina 

Highway Department pit north of Pollocksville (loc. 12) on the 

Trent River are also believed to be late Vicksburgian in age on 

the basis of the abundance of Pecten perplanus byramensis 

Gardner. On the basis of ostracodes, J. E. Hazel (written commun., 1977) has determined that the higher sandy limestone beds 

of the River Bend are Chickasawhayan. Mollusks in this facies 

include Chlamys waynesis Mansfield, Anomia taylorensis Mansfield (a junior synonym of = Anomia ruffini Conrad), and many
ATLANTIC COASTAL PLAIN OF NORTH CAROLINA F13

venerid species, which indicate a Chickasawhayan age. Also indicative of a post-Eocene age are the abundant remains of balanid 

barnacles. Barnacles are extremely rare to absent in the Eocene 

deposits on the Atlantic coast. However, in the Vicksburgian sediments, Hesperibcdamts is extremely common.

The lower calcarenitic beds of the River Bend Formation have 

been found to be equivalent to the upper Vicksburgian Stage and 

specifically to the Byram Formation of Mississippi and Alabama. 

Beds of this age are found at the Martin Marietta quarry at New 

Bern (loc. 5) and along the Trent River from New Bern to 

Pollocksville.

The upper, very sandy beds containing abundant large molds 

of mollusks, especially venerids, are considered to be of Chickasawhayan Age and may be correlated with the upper beds of the 

Cooper Formation in South Carolina (Hazel, 1976), the Suwannee 

Limestone of Georgia and Florida, and the Chickasawhay 

Formation and Paynes Hammock Sand of Alabama and Mississippi 

(Poag, 1975). The upper beds of the River Bend Formation are 

also correlated with unnamed Chickasawhayan sediments along 

the Pamunkey and Chickahominy Rivers in Virginia.

MIOCENE SERIES 

BELGRADE FORMATION

Beds herein assigned to the Belgrade Formation were not 

included by Miller (1910, 1912) in his definition of the Trent Marl, 

but Kellum (1925, 1926) considered them equivalent to beds on 

the Trent River below Pollocksville. Using the mollusks found in 

the Silverdale area, Kellum concluded that the Trent was early 

Miocene in age and included rocks now known to be middle 

Eocene and middle and late Oligocene in that age assignment. The 

sediments herein assigned to the Belgrade Formation represent a 

distinct and sharply contrasting lithology and are deserving of 

formational rank.

The Belgrade Formation consists usually of unconsolidated, 

very arenaceous shell beds of two lithologies a tan, somewhat 

leached, very arenaceous oyster (Crassostrea) member and a 

moderately phosphatic (as much as 15 percent), slightly calcareous, silty, arenaceous shell member containing occasional, 

thinly laminated olive clays.

The Belgrade Formation crops out from the mouth of the 

White Oak River to Belgrade, Onslow County, and north to
F14 CONTRIBUTIONS TO STRATIGRAPHY

Pollocksville in Jones County. Quarries expose Bi 1 grade beds 3 

m thick or more in the vicinity of Silverdale, and small exposures 

are known along the White Oak River and in the Croatan National 

Forest.

The Belgrade is named for deposits found in the area of Belgrade, Jones County, and is well exposed at the type locality, the 

Martin Marietta quarry (loc. 20).

The Belgrade Formation overlies the River Bend Formation 

unconformably, and it progressively overlaps older sediments of 

the River Bend from Belgrade to Pollocksville. The Belgrade 

Formation is divided into two members the Pollocksville and the 

Haywood Landing.

POLLOCKSVILLE MEMBER

The Pollocksville Member consists of a leached, tan to orange, 

unconsolidated very arenaceous Crassostrea bed, which has been 

described by Lawrence (1975). It reaches a maximum thickness of 

3 m. This member crops out from Belgrade to Pollocksville and 

along the Trent River in that area.

The Pollocksville Member is named for excellent exposures of 

this bed in the vicinity of that town, where, at the type locality 

along the Trent River (loc. 8), 4 m crops out.

In its type locality, the Pollocksville unconformably overlies 

an uneven and eroded River Bend Formation surface. Here, the 

River Bend consists of a moderately arenaceous to calcarenitic 

limestone of Vicksburgian Age. In the vicinity of Belgrade, the 

Pollocksville overlies, and occupies channels in, the very hard 

eroded surface of the River Bend.

We believe that the Pollocksville Member was deposited in 

early Miocene time. The earliest deposition somewhat preceded 

that of the Haywood Landing Member, but the two members 

were, in part, penecontemporaneous. The large fossil assemblage 

in the Haywood Landing Member indicates that it and also the 

Pollocksville are age equivalents of the Tampa Limestone (lower 

Miocene) of Florida. Giant oysters of the species found in the 

Pollocksville are common in the lower Miocene part of the Catahoula Sandstone of Mississippi and Alabama. The Crassostrea 

are also found in a silty, sandy bed just below the weathered, 

burrowed sands of the Hawthorn Formation at Shell Bluff, Ga. 

The section at Shell Bluff shows approximately the same sequence 

found in the Coastal Plain of North Carolina coarse crossbedded 

calcareous sands of Claibornian Age overlain by a middle to
ATLANTIC COASTAL PLAIN OF NORTH CAROLINA F15

upper Oligocene siliceous limestone. A silty Crassostrea bed overlies the Oligocene and is in turn overlain by orange to tan, 

burrowed, mottled sands of the Hawthorn (middle Miocene).

Although Crassostrea is found in the upper Chickasawhayan 

sediments of the River Bend Formation, we believe that the oy sters 

of the Pollocksville Member and at Shell Bluff represent the early 

Miocene appearance of Crassostrea gigantissima (Finch).

HAYWOOD LANDING MEMBER

The Haywood Landing Member usually consists of unconsolidated, gray to brown, moderately phosphatic, and, in some areas, 

somewhat calcareous, clayey, very shelly quartz sands. These 

shells occasionally constitute more than 50 percent of the bed 

and range from leached to excellently preserved material. In the 

western wall of the Martin Marietta quarry at Belgrade (loc. 20), 

the sandy shell deposit grades upward into a laminated olivegreen clay. This clay bed has not been traced beyond the quarry 

but may represent a quiet lagoonal facies of the Haywood Landing Member.

The Haywood Landing Member is approximately 3 m thick at 

Belgrade, at Haywood Landing (loc. 21) on the White Oak River, 

and in the borrow pits at Silverdale (loc. 22). Brown and others 

(1972) included beds here assigned to the Belgrade Formation 

in their maps and sections of the Oligocene. Their plate 26 includes a core section (NC-CR-OT-30) that shows beds of Haywood Landing lithology at the interval of 25.4 m to approximately 

57 m, giving a total thickness of approximately 31 m in this far 

southeastern section of Craven County. The Haywood Landing 

Member is in the shallow subsurface in the Bogue Inlet and 

New River Inlet areas.

The Haywood Landing Member is named for a small outcrop 

(the only known natural outcrop) at Haywood Landing on the 

Trent River, Jones County, its type locality (loc. 21). A supplementary reference locality is at the Martin Marietta Co. quarry 

at Belgrade (loc. 20).

The Haywood Landing Member apparently overlies the limestone of the River Bend Formation in its entire geographic area. 

However, this relationship is only well exposed in the walls of the 

Martin Marietta quarry at Belgrade (loc. 20). In the southeastern 

wall, the Haywood Landing overlies an oyster-covered, thin 

phosphatic veneer on the surface of the River Bend indurated 

biocalcirudite beds. In the northwestern corner of the pit at
F16 CONTRIBUTIONS TO STRATIGRAPHY

Belgrade, a 15-cm-thick shelly deposit of Duplin age overlies the 

olive clay bed of the Haywood Landing.

The Haywood Landing Member is the offshore, open-marine 

equivalent of the Pollocksville Member. The Haywood Landing 

contains a very large molluscan fauna that shares many forms 

with the Tampa Limestone in Florida.

LOCALITY REGISTER

1. Biddle Landing, right bank of Neuse River, 3.2 km north of Ft. Barnwell, Craven County, N.C.

2. 180 m above Rock Landing at mouth of Turkey Quarter Creek, right 

bank of Neuse River, Craven County, N.C.

3. Rock Landing, 4 km north of Jasper, right bank of Neuse River, Craven 

County, N.C.

4. Spring Garden Landing, 5.2 km east-northeast of Jasper, right bank of 

Neuse River, Craven County, N.C.

5. Martin Marietta Co., New Bern quarry, northwest of New Bern, 0.8 km 

northeast of Route 55 on County Road 1402, Craven County, N.C.

6. Right bank of Neuse River below New Bern just below (50 m) mouth of 

Trent River, Craven County, N.C.

7. Left bank of Trent River, 1.2 km above Pollocksville, just below abanoned railroad trestle, Jones County, N.C.

8. Left bank of Trent River next to Seaboard Coastline Railroad trestle, 

Pollocksville, Jones County, N.C.

9. Small pit on left bank of Mill Creek at Route 1004 bridge over Mill 

Creek, just north of road, Jones County, N.C.

10. Small borrow pit, 0.3 km south of railroad trestle over Trent River, just 

east of railroad tracks, Pollocksville, Jones County, N.C.

11. Right bank of Trent River, 0.4 km below mouth of Clayhill Branch, 

Jones County, N.C.

12. N.C. Highway Dept. borrow pit, 4 km north-northeast of Pollocksville 

on left bank of Trent River, Jones County, N.C.

13. Right bank of Trent River, 0.5 km below mouth of Raccoon Creek, 

Jones County, N.C.

14. Simmons borrow pit, left bank of Trent River, 0.5 km above mouth of 

Scott Creek, Jones County, N.C.

15. Debruhls Landing, left bank of Trent River, Jones County, N.C.

16. Right bank of Trent River, 0.4 km below mouth of Miry Hole Branch, 

Jones County, N.C.

17. Abandoned borrow pit on right bank of Brice Creek, 3.2 km southwest 

of James City, Craven County, N.C.

18. Right bank of Trent River, just below mouth of Brice Creek, 1.6 km 

southwest of James City, Craven County, N.C.

19. Abandoned quarry, 1.6 km south of Maysville, just east of Route 17 

and just north of White Oak River, Jones County, N.C.

20. Martin Marietta Co., Belgrade Quarry, just east of intersection of 

Route 1434 and U.S. 17, Belgrade, Onslow County, N.C.

21. Haywood Landing, left bank of White Oak River, 1.2 km below mouth 

of Holston Creek, Jones County, N.C.
ATLANTIC COASTAL PLAIN OF NORTH CAROLINA FIT

22. Silverdale Marl Company quarry at Silverdale, 0.4 km southeast of 

intersection of Routes 1434 and 1442, Onslow County, N.C.

23. Right bank of New River at Hines Point, Onslow County, N.C.

24. Right bank of New River, 0.8 km above Catfish Point, Onslow County, 

N.C.

25. Right bank of New River, 0.4 km above mouth of Mill Creek, Onslow 

County, N.C.

26. Left bank of New River, 0.4 km below mouth of Goose Creek, Onslow 

County, N.C.

27. N.C. Lime Excavating Co. quarry, 6.4 km west of Comfort, just north 

of Route 41, Jones County, N.C.

28. Billy B. Fussel Company, Inc., Quarry, Box 400, Rose Hill, 1.6 km west 

of Rose Hill on Route 1102, Duplin County, N.C.

29. Atlantic Limestone Company Quarry, 4 km south-southeast of Magnolia, 

just east of Route 117, Duplin County, N.C.

30. East Coast Limestone Company Quarry, 2.4 km west of Maple Hill, 

1.6 km southwest of intersection of Routes 53 and 50, Pender County, 

N.C.

31. Martin Marietta Co., Castle Hayne quarry, 2.8 km east of Castle 

Hayne, 0.8 km north of Route 1002, New Hanover County, N.C.

32. Ideal Cement Co. quarry, 4 km east of Castle Hayne, north of Route 

1002 at end of Route 2023, New Hanover County, N.C.

33. Martin Marietta Co., Georgetown quarry, 4.8 km west-northwest of 

Jamestown, just west of Route 17A, Georgetown County, S.C.

34. Martin Marietta Co., Cross quarry, 2.4 km south of Routes 6 and 59 

intersection, Berkeley County, S.C.

35. Giant Portland Cement Co. quarry, 3.2 km north of Harleyville, just 

east of Route 453, Dorchester County, S.C.

36. 0.3 km below mouth of Mill Creek on right bank of Trent River, 

Jones County, N.C.

37. Whitford Landing, right bank of the Trent River at River Bend, 

Jones County, N.C.

38. 0.3 km above Rhems Landing, left bank of Trent River, just below 

River Bend, Craven County, N.C.

39. Lanes Ferry Park, right bank of the Northeast Cape Fear River, just 

below the Route 210 bridge, Pender County, N.C.

40. Right bank of Trent River 1.2 km southwest of Comfort Depot, Jones 

County, N.C., on farm of Miss Sally Simmons. In a vertical bluff 7.6 

m high, extending for 150 m along the right side of the river.

41. Right and left banks of New River, just above and below the Route 

1316 bridge, Onslow County, N.C.

42. 0.3 km below Route 1316 bridge over the New River on the left bank, 

just downstream from the small falls over limestones of the Comfort 

Member of the Castle Hayne Formation, Onslow County, N.C.

43. Natural well, 2.9 km southwest of Magnolia, just east of Route 1003, 

Duplin County, N.C.

44. Prettyman Landing, left bank of the Trent River, Jones County, N.C.

45. Pine Hollow Golf Course, just east of the Wake-Johnston County line, 

just north of Route 1004, Johnston County, N.C.

46. 2 km upstream from the Route 111 bridge over the Neuse River on the 

right bank, Wayne County, N.C.

47. 0.8 km above the Route 55 bridge over Moseley Creek on the right and 

left banks of the creek, Craven and Lenoir Counties, N.C.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO STRATIGRAPHY

DESCRIPTIONS OF TYPE AND SUPPLEMENTARY SECTIONS

Locality 4. Craven County (type locality of Spring Garden Member of 

Castle Hayne Formation)

Thickness 

(meters) 

Root-covered soil and rock (inaccessible) ___ 1-76

Castle Hayne Formation (middle Eocene): 

Spring Garden Member (uppermost middle Eocene):

Molluscan-mold biocalcirudite, light-gray (Nl) 3, very sandy, in 

micrite matrix; sand-sized phosphate common; molds iron 

stained and commonly partly or completely filled by silica 1.95

Sea level

Locality 5. Craven County (reference locality of Spring Garden Member

of Castle Hayne Formation; reference locality of River Bend Formation)

[Altitude at top of pit Is 5 m above sea level]

Thickness 

(meters) 

Soil ________________________________-_- 0.3

Croatan Formation (lower Pleistocene and upper Pliocene):

Fine sand, tan to orange, somewhat massive near base and grading 

to crossbedded above ___________ 1-8

Duplin Formation (lower Pliocene):

Phosphate-shell bed, tan to orange, sandy; some bones, teeth along 

contact __________________ 0.2

River Bend Formation (upper and middle Oligocene): 

Gastropod biocalcirudite, light-gray (Nl), in matrix; very small

amounts of very fine sand _________ 1-1 

Barnacle calcarenite, light-yellowish-gray (5Y 7/2); few small

mollusks ______ ______ 1-0 

Large pycnodonts common, adhering to thin (6 mm) black phosphate coating _____________ 0.2

Castle Hayne Formation (middle Eocene): 

Spring Garden Member (uppermost middle Eocene):

Molluscan-mold biocalcirudite, light-gray (Nl), very sandy, very 

hard, slightly phosphatic; some siliceous infilling; very many 

molds, some in living position ________ 1.5 

Molluscan-mold biocalcirudite, light-gray (N7), very sandy, 

moderately hard, slightly phosphatic; very many bivalve 

molds, some in living position ___ 4.5

Quarry floor

8 Color designations are based on the "Rock-Color Chart" of the National Research 

Council (Goddard and others, 1948).
ATLANTIC COASTAL PLAIN OP NORTH CAROLINA F19

Locality 8. Jones County (type locality of Pollocksville Member of Belgrade

Formation)

Thickness 

(meters) 

Sloped and plant-covered (inaccessible) 2.0

Belgrade Formation (lower Miocene): 

Pollocksville Member (lower Miocene):

Crassostrea bed, grayish-orange (10YR 7/4), weathered, very 

sandy; oysters very rotten 4.0

Sea level

Locality 11. Jones County (reference locality of River Bend Formation)

Thickness 

(meters) 

Covered by vegetation and sloped (inaccessible) 2.5

River Bend Formation (upper and middle Oligocene): 

Molluscan-mold biocalcirudite, grayish-orange (IOYR 7/4), very 

sandy ____ _____ ______ 1.0

Calcirudite, grayish-orange (IQYR 7/4), slightly sandy, friable, 

fine; some small molds; small pectens common (Pecten trentensia, P. byromensis) __________________ 1.0

Sea level

Locality 18. Jones County (reference locality of River Bend Formation)

Thickness 

(meters) 

Covered by vegetation __ _____ __ 1.4

River Bend Formation (upper and middle Oligocene): 

Molluscan-mold biocalcirudite, pale-yellowish-orange (10YR 8/6), 

very sandy. Many large bivalve molds in excellent shape; very 

hard and indurated ___________________ __ 1.0 

Barnacle-fragment biocalcirudite, grayish-orange (IQYR 7/4), 

slightly sandy, steeply current bedded (45°), somewhat friable 

and less indurated; bivalve molds common ____________ 0.95

Locality 20. Onalow County (type locality of Belgrade Formation; reference 

locality for its Haywood Landing Member)

[Altitude at top of soil la 10 m above sea level]

Thickness 

(meters) 

Soil _______________________________________ 0.4

Sand, crossbedded, fine, tan _______________ 2.0

Discoidal pebble lag on Duplin surface ________________ 0.1

Duplin Formation (lower Pliocene): 

Duplin shell and lag, small pockets __________________ 0.1
F20 CONTRIBUTIONS TO STRATIGRAPHY

Belgrade Formation (lower Miocene): 

Haywood Landing Member (lower Miocene) : 

Disconformity, uneven surface, thinly laminated green clay

interbedded with shell bed below ________ 1.0 

Shell bed, slightly calcareous, very phosphatic, very sandy, slightly 

clayey; many preserved mollusks, most water-worn; bones, 

teeth ___________________________________ 1.0 

Oyster community adhering to phosphate _______ _ 0.05 

Phosphate-coated surface, irregular, uneven _______ 0.05

River Bend Formation (upper and middle Oligocene): 

Molluscan-mold biocalcirudite, light-gray (N7), very sandy, very 

hard, coarse; small amounts of very fine phosphate in a micrite 

matrix. Molds sometimes partially filled with Si or CaCO3 . Many 

large Mercenaria molds ________________ _ 1.4 

Sand, tan, fine, calcareous, friable ___________- _ 0.2 

Molluscan-mold calcirudite, medium-gray (N5), medium-grained, 

in micrite matrix; small amounts (5-10 percent) very fine quartz 

sand _____________________________________ 1.7 

Mollusk molds, mostly fragmentary; some preserved Pecten, Anomia, 

many barnacle plates ________________________ 1.7

Grades into t

Quartz arenite, light-gray (NT), somewhat calcareous, containing 

abundant preserved Anomia, some Pecten, barnacles __________ 1.3

Grades into

Molluscan-mold calcirudite, tan to light-gray (Nl), very sandy,

crumbly; molds mostly gastropods, Balanus common ____ _ 1.2

Quarry floor

Locality 21. Jones County (type locality of Haywood Landing Member of

Belgrade Formation)

IA small exposure of shelly sand on this otherwise covered and overgrown bank of 

the White Oak River is considered to be the type locality for the Haywood Landing 

Member of the Belgrade Formation because it is the only known natural outcrop]

Thickness 

(meters)

Belgrade Formation (lower Miocene): 

Haywood Landing Member (lower Miocene):

Shell bed, tan to orange, sandy; weathered on surface but has 

fresher shell several inches into exposure; many well-preserved 

bivalves and gastropods; phosphatic sand throughout 1.0

Locality 27. Jones County (type locality of Comfort Member of Castle

Hayne Formation)

[Land surface is 20 m above sea level]

Thickness 

(meters)

Covered __ _ 1.0
ATLANTIC COASTAL PLAIN OF NORTH CAROLINA F21

Pleistocene (?) deposits:

Sand, tan, fine ___________ 0.50 

Clay, dark-gray, sticky, soft 0.25

Eocene (?) deposits:

Sand, orange, leached; many small molds __ 0.8

Castle Hayne Formation (middle Eocene): 

Comfort Member (upper middle Eocene) :

Bryozoan and foraminiferal calcarenite, light-gray (Nl) to 

yellowish-gray (5Y 8/1), medium-grained. Abundant pectens, 

especially near top; small echinoids common 2.0

Grades into P

Bryozoan biocalcirudite, light-gray (N7), fine, slightly glauconitic. Consists mainly of ground-up and sorted bryozoan and 

echinoidal fragments; whole echinoids common, other macrofossils rare; large Foraminifera abundant. Contact below 

burrowed, marked by rubble of cobble-sized, phosphate- and 

glauconite-coated clasts __ _________ 1.5

Shelly calcarenite, yellowish-gray (5F 7/2), very glauconitic 

(5-10 percent), moderately sandy (very fine, clear, angular). 

Macrofossils common, abundant in pockets; pectens predominant, echinoids common _______________________ 1.5

Quarry floor

Locality 31. New Hanover County (type locality of New Hanover Member 

of Castle Hayne Formation; reference locality of Comfort Member of 

Castle Hayne)

[Land surface Is approximately 3 m above sea level]

Thickness 

(meters) 

Soil ___________________________________________ 0.5

Pleistocene (?) deposits:

Sand, tan to orange, coarse to medium, massive ___________ 1.5 

Sand, dark-gray humate, containing logs, roots, stumps ______ 1.0

Castle Hayne Formation (middle Eocene): 

Comfort Member (upper middle Eocene): 

Massive to crossbedded, tan, bryozoan fine biocalcirudite to tan

biomicrite; molluscan molds ____________,________ 1.0 

New Hanover Member (middle middle Eocene):

Lithocalcirudite, sandy, phosphatic, glauconitic, conglomeratic, 

coarse, in very light gray micrite matrix ____________ 1.0

Peedee Formation (Upper Cretaceous) :

Molluscan-mold biosparrudite, very sandy, very many bivalve molds 5.0 

Biosparrudite, alternating with loose quartz arenite ________ 3.0 

Quartz arenite, unconsolidated _____________________ 1.0

Quarry floor
F22 CONTRIBUTIONS TO STRATIGRAPHY

Locality 82. New Hanover County (type locality of Castle Hayne Formation; reference localities of its New Hanover and Comfort Members)

[Land surface is approximately 7 m above sea level]

Thickness 

(meters)

Pleistocene (?) deposits:

Sand and clayey sand, tan to orange, filling solution-pocked upper

surface of underlying limestone ____-- 2.0 

Clay (residue of dissolved limestone), green, containing glauconite 

and phosphate near base _______>_ 2.5

Castle Hayne Formation (middle Eocene): 

Comfort Member (upper middle Eocene) :

Biocalcarenite, tan, soft _______ - 0.5

Calcarenite, tan, hard, containing burrows filled with fine shell __ 0.5 

Biocalcarenite, tan, soft ___________ _ 0.3 

Calcarenite, tan, hard, containing burrows filled with fine shell __ 0.5 

Biocalcarenite, tan, soft ___________ 0.8 

Calcarenite, tan, hard, containing burrows filled with fine shell __ 0.5 

Biocalcarenite, yellow-gray (5F 8/1), fossiliferous, soft and 

friable; fossils mainly molds of mollusks, some calcitic forms 

preserved, many bryozoans; glauconitic, limy nodules, indicating possible diastem _________________-_ 4.8 

Bryozoan dense micrite, very light gray (NS), fine, some molds, 

glauconite, phosphate; upper surface irregular, phosphate 

coated __________________________________ 0.3 

Crossbedded, light-gray (Nl), fine bryozoan biocalcirudite to 

medium Calcarenite in micrite matrix ___________ 1.0

New Hanover Member (middle middle Eocene): 

Lithocalcirudite, sandy, phosphatic, glauconitic, in very light gray 

(NS) micrite matrix _______________________ 0.7

Peedee Formation (Upper Cretaceous):

Molluscan-mold biocalcirudite, light-gray (Nl), sandy, cemented 

by calcite spar _______________________________ 1.3

Quarry floor

Locality 38. Craven County (type locality of River Bend Formation)

Sloped and covered _______________________________ 3.0

River Bend Formation (upper and middle Oligocene):

Molluscan-mold biocalcirudite, yellowish-gray (5F 7/2), indurated 

but partially friable, very sandy. Small amounts of phosphatic 

sand; very many molluscan molds, mostly Mercenaria ________ 8.0

Sea level
ATLANTIC COASTAL PLAIN OF NORTH CAROLINA F23

REFERENCES CITED

Brown, P. M., 1955, Stratigraphic revision of the Trent marl of North 

Carolina [abs.]: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 66, no. 12, pt. 2, p. 1686.

Brown, P. M., Miller, J. A., and Swain, F. M., 1972, Structural and stratigraphic framework, and spatial distribution of permeability of the 

Atlantic Coastal Plain, North Carolina to New York: U.S. Geol. Survey 

Prof. Paper 796, 79 p.

Cooke, C. W., and MacNeil, F. S., 1952, Tertiary stratigraphy of South 

Carolina: U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 243-B, p. 19-29.

Goddard, E. N., and others, 1948, Rock-color chart: Washington, B.C., Natl. 

Research Council, 6 p. (Republished by Geol. Soc. America, 1951, reprinted 1970.)

Hazel, J. E., 1976, Cooper Marl in the Coastal Plain of South Carolina and 

Georgia, in Cohee, G. V., and Wright, W. B., Changes in stratigraphic 

nomenclature by the U.S. Geological Survey, 1975: U.S. Geol. Survey 

Bull. 1422-A, p. 54-55.

Kellum, L. B., 1925, The age of the Trent Marl in North Carolina: Jour. 

Geology, v. 33, no. 2, p. 183-187.

 1926, Paleontology and stratigraphy of the Castle Hayne and Trent 

marls in North Carolina: U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 143, 56 p.

Lawrence, D. R., 1975, Paleoenvironmental setting of Crassostrea gigantissima (Finch) communities, coastal plain of North Carolina: Southeastern Geology, v. 17, no. 2, p. 55-66.

LeGrand, H. E., and Brown, P. M., 1955, Guidebook of excursion in the 

coastal plain of North Carolina, October 8-9, 1955: Carolina Geol. Soc., 

43 p.

Miller, B. L., 1910, Erosion intervals in the Tertiary of North Carolina and 

Virginia: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 20, p. 673-678.

 1912, The Tertiary formations in Clark, W. B., and others, The 

coastal plain of North Carolina: North Carolina Geol. and Econ. Survey Bull., v. 3, p. 171-258.

Poag, C. W., 1972, Planktonic foraminifers of the Chickasawhay Formation, 

United States Gulf Coast: Micropaleontology, v. 18, no. 3, p. 257-277.

 1975, The Chickasawhay Stage: Gulf Coast Assoc. Geol. Socs., 25th 

Meeting, Field Trip Guidebook, p. 87-111.

 &U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1978 O 281-359/154


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