DEPARTMENT OF .THE INTERIOR 

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR 

PnoFESSIONAL PAPEn 85-:-B 

rrHE MUD "LUMPS Arr rrHE ~IOUrfHS 01~ 

rrHE MISSISSIPPI 

BY 

EUGENE WESLEY SHA vV 

Publishetl December 20, 1913 

PART B OF PROFESSIONAL PAPER 85, "CONTRIBUTIONS 

TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1913" 

WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1913 
I 

CONTENTS. 

Introduction ........................................................................................... . 

Present and preceding investigations .......................... ~ .......................................... . 

The lower end of the delta ...................................... · ......................................... . 

Amount of available information ...................................................................... . 

General features .................................................................................... . 

Composition and structure ........................................................................... . 

Processes and conditions affecting mode of growth ........................................... ." ......... . 

The mud lumps ......................................................................................... . 

Mud springs .............................. · .............................................................. . 

Gas emanating from the mud lumps ....................................................................... . 

Conclusions ............ ; .............................................................................. : .. 

ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PLATE I. A, Mud-lump islands 2 to 3 miles southeast of Pass a Loutre Lighthouse; B, View about 3 miles 

seaward from end of Southwest Pass; C, Mud spring at top of wave-cut cliff on mud lump 3 miles 

southeast of Pass a Loutre Lighthouse ......................................................... . 

II. Map of the bar and vicinity at the outer end of Southwest Pass, showing changes effected in the 

last 13 years by the building of jetties and dredging .......................................... . 

III. A, Wave-cut cliff on Gibraltar mud lump, Red Fish Bay; B, Mud lump 3t miles southeast of Pass a 

Loutre Lighthouse ................ _. .. ~ ........................ · ............................. : .. 

FIGURE 1. Sketches showing depth and condition of channel on successive dates and development of mud 

lumps at entrance to Southwest Pass ............................................. : ........... . 

2. Sketch map of lower end of Delta of the Mississippi, showing approximately areas of land and water 

formed since the last detailed and complete survey was made .................................. . 

3. A, Profiles showing present and past land surface and sea bottom near mouths of the Mississippi. .. . 

4. Cross section from south-southwest to north-northeast through Port Eads and Balize ............... . 

5. Two charts of the entrance to Southwest Pass .................................................. . 

6. Partly hypothetical cross section of eighth mud lump southeast of Pass a Loutre Lighthouse ..... -.. . 

II 

Page. 

11 

12 

13 

13 

14 

15 

17 

22 

25 

25 

26 

Page. 

12 . 

12 

24 

11 

14 

17 

18 

23 

24 

... 

.'I 
THE MUD LUMPS AT THE MOUTHS OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 

By EUGENE WESLEY SHAW 

INTRODUCTION. 

The territory within a mile or two of each of tho mouths of the Mississippi is characterized 

by large swellings or upheavals of tough bluish-gray clay, to which has been applied the name 

"mud lumps." Many of these mud lumps rise just offshore and form islands having a surface 

extent of an acre or more and a height of 5 or 10 feet (see Pl. I, A), but some do not reach the 

water surface. They rise and subside at irregular rates, some of them suddenly, and they have 

been spoken of as the evil genii of the · 

Passes, for constant vigilance is necessary ~~~~~~~~~[iil to keep charts of these waters properly 

corrected. (See fig. 1.) 

Almost all the mud lumps occur near 

bars at the mouths of the river. These bars 

are great piles of sediment which accumulate 

where the branches or passes of the river 

enter the sea. Their crests are naturally 

only about 10 feet under water, whereas 

for 200 miles upstream the river is 50 to 

200 feet deep, but the United States engineers have made channels 30 to 35 feet 

deep and several hundred feet wide across 

the bars at South and Southwest passes . 

The natural bar of Southwest Pass and the 

changes made in it by the engineers are 

illustrated in Plate II. 

An immense amount of traffic fmds its 

natural course southward ancl eastward 

from the north side of the Gulf of Mexico, 

and this commerce, which is certain to 

augment, must be protected and the ap- soo o 

LEGEND 

Depth more than 35 feet, 

Depth 30-35 feet 

D Depth less than 20 feet 

Mud 

~ 

~ lump 

pro aches to New Orleans improved ancl FIGURE I.-Sketches showing depth and condition of channel at different 

tl · t 1 · t · ] dates and development of mud lumps at entrance of Southwest Pass. even 1e1r pres en arge capacl Y IncreaSe( · From data furnished by United States Corps of Engineers. 'fhe area lies in 

New Orleans, although over 100 miles the middle of the channel and just outside the jetties. Sketches a, b, and c 

f h · th :fift th 1 were prepared from soundings made Apr. 29, May 10, and May 19, respcc- rom t e sea, lS nOW e een argest tively. One of the mud lumps rose in the middle of the channel where, on city and the Second largest port in the Apr. 29, there was 45 feet of water but on May 19 only 23 feet. Apparently 

United States, so that the seaward outlet some of the lumps shifted slightly in position and others subsided while new ones rose near by. '!.'he shape of the bottom here at any particular time is a for her commerce is of vital importance. result of the work of the river, the acfivitiesof the mud 1\]mps, and the GovThe mud lumps are also of considerable ernment dredging operations. 

purely scientific interest, for their development is not included in the usual concept of delta 

growth, and although several hypotheses concerning them have been advanced, their cause 

must still be regarded as uncertain. 

11 
12 CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1913. 

PRESENT AND PRECEDING INVESTIGATIONS. · 

The present study of the mud lumps, which is a part of the Coastal Plain investigations of 

the United States Geological Survey, has been only begun, and this report is but a brief sUm.mary 

of existing lmowleclge of the mud lumps and of features and processes which may throw light 

on their origin. It includes some facts and ideas gathered in a few weeks spent at the mouth of 

the river in the fall of 1912 and the summer of 1913. On the first trip the United States engineers 

gave much assistance and furnished many important data, and on the second, through the 

courtesy of Dr. H. F. Moore, of the Bureau of Fisheries, the United States steamship Fish Hawk 

was made available for ·collecting samples of water and mud just offshore. T. Wayland 

Vaughan and others have furnished valuable suggestions and Prof. E. W. Hilgard and several 

n1embers of the United States Engineer Corps and United States Geological Survey have very 

kindly read and criticized the manuscript. 

Comparatively little geologic field work has been 9-one on the problems of the Mississippi 

Delta or the mud lumps. Lyell and I-Iilgard have made the'principal contributions, their results 

being set forth in several publications. Lyell's conclusions are summarized in his textbook, and 

I-Iilgard's in a recent paper entitled ''A new development in the Mississippi delta," published 

in the Popular Science Monthly for March, 1912, and also in several papers published in the 

American Journal of Science in 1871. The engineering problems connected with the mud lumps 

have been extensively discussed, particularly in the annual reports of the United States engineers. The lumps are probably peculiar to the delta of the Mississippi, but, as Hilgard says, it 

seems remarkable that upheavals so extensive should escape discussion or even reference in 

most of the best textbooks on geology. Potonie,I however, has described a growth similar, in 

some respects at least, to the mud lumps and concludes that it was produced by marsh gas, clay 

having flowed into the cavity as the gas escaped, making the island permanent. 

Several hypotheses concerning the cause of the lumps are worthy of consideration, though 

few have been set forth in print. .Volcanism, faulting, the accumulation of bodies of rock salt 

or sulphur or oil like laccoliths below the surface, an~ the forcing up of the clay by hydraulic 

pressure transmitted through water from higher points to the landward through inclosed porous 

strata seem to be out of the question as cau~es of the phenomenon. The two ideas most favored 

);lave been (1) that the lumps are upheaved by gas, ·and (2) that the pressure of the constantly 

increasing deposits· of the delta has in some way caused the upheavals. 

ffilgard contends that the mud lumps owe their existence to the pressure of a layer of 

sand and silt, perhaps 30 or 40 feet thick, on a thinner layer ofvery fluid mud below, which in 

turn rests upon a stratun1 that he calls Port Hudson clay-a deposit very different from any 

being formed to-clay. He believes that just offshore much river-borne colloidal sediment ~s 

being flocculated by the salt of the sea and is slowly settling, forming a layer of sludge; that a 

more granular and compact layer is built out on this sludge, giving rise to an unstable condition; 

and finally that wherever the crust, so to speak, is weakest the sludge is forced 'up to the surface 

through the weight of the sand and silt. It thus becomes of prime importance to determine 

whether or not the bottom offshore is very fluid mud. 

When Capt. James B. Eads proposed to ,put in jetties at the end of South Pass to cause 

the river to scour deeper and do some of the work that the dredges had been doing in keeping 

a navigable depth of water over the bar Hilgard wrote to Eads saying that if this plan were put 

into operation a deeper channel would be ·scoured, but that the scouring would weaken the 

crust of silt so much that the fluid mud from below would break up through, obstructing the 

channel more seriously than the fine sand of the bar. Eads had encountered considerable 

objection to his plan of building jetties, but he was .a man of both means and determination 

and his final proposal to advance the funds for building the jetties and ask no reimbursement' 

until the desired depth of water was obtained was· accepted. He replied to Hilgard that a 

surcease from the heavy burden of dredging for 20 or 30 years would be worth the cost of the 

1 Potonie, H., Eino im Ogelsee (Prov. Brandenburg) p!Otzlich neu entstandene Insel: K. preuss. geol. Landesanstalt zu Berlin Ja)¥b., Band 

32, Teil1, pp. 187-218, 1911. 

... 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 85 PLATE I 

A . MUD-LUMP ISLANDS 2 TO 3 MILES SO UTHEAST OF PASS A LOUTRE 

LIGHTHOU SE. 

All th ese islands have been formed in th e last few years by the swe lling up of portions of the sea 

flo or, so recently t hat none of th e m are shown on t he latest cha rt. Like other mud lumps 

th ey a re comparative ly flat-topped and concordant in height. 

B. VIEW ABOUT 3 MILES SEAWARD FROM END OF SOUTHWEST PASS. 

Show ing li ght-co lored, muddy river water in foreground and dark, c lear sea wat e r in distance . 

T he boundary betw een the two is very sha rp, and there seems to be also a difference in wave 

form between th e c lear and the muddy water. 

0. MUD SPRING AT TOP OF WAVE-CUT CLIFF ON MUD LUMP 3 MILES SOUTHEAST 

OF PASS A LOUTRE LIGHTHOUSE. 

This and the other photographs were t ake n in the low-water season, when t he springs and mud 

lumps are least active. T o JUdge by the fact that the rim of th e " crater" has been bu ilt uo 

on ly a few inche~ th e discharge from th is spring, even when most active, is probab ly very 

s light. T hese sp lutte rin g, vo lca no- like gas-m ud s prings seem a fitting acco mp ani ment t o th e 

weird , si lent, and unfo reboded rise and s ubsidence of the islands. 
u. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 85 P~A TE II 

Tidal flat 

Mud lump? 

B 

Tidal flat 

----

----

---- c -------- 0 Yz !Mile 

MAP OF THE BAR AT THE OUTER END OF SOUTHWEST PASS. 

Showing changes effected in the last 13 years by the building of jetties and dredging. From data furnished by United States engineers. A shows the pass as it is in 1913. B shows comparative profiles of the center of the 

channel in 1898 and in 1913. Cshows the pass as it was in 1898, when the controlling depth on the bar was only about 10 feet. Corresponding positions are shown directly above and beneath each other. Whether 

any of the elevations on the crest of the bar in 1898 were mud lumps is not known, but the fact that at that place, which has since been deeply scoured, there are to-day no mud lumps and that on the crest of the present 

bar, where in 1898 there was over 70 feet of water, mud lumps are numerous seem to militate against the idea that "mud lumps commonly arise in a pass immediately inside of the steep upstream slope of the 

bar, * ·* * where the depth is greatest and where the bottom can therefore most readily yield."' 
THE MUD LUMPS AT THE MOUTHS OF THE MISSISSIPPI. ·13 

jetties and begged Hilgard not to press his objection. Hilgard agreed but prophesied that 

mud lumps would appear wit,hin 30 or 40 years on the inner slope of the bar where the river was 

caused to scour tnost deeply. Forty years has passed and the appearance of a mud lump at 

the end of South Pass according to Hilgard's prophecy is the principal theme of his recent 

pap or. 

THE LOWER END OF THE DELTA. 

AMOUNT OF AVAILABLE INFORMATION. 

Geologists are exploring in greater or less detail about one-fourth of the earth's surface, 

the re:maining three-fourths being covered with water. They have obtained nluch information 

coneerning the underlying rocks and the geologic hist~ry of all lands but have learned so little 

of the sea bottmn-both its .underlying materials and its history in ages gone by-that the 

perm.anency of ocean basins is still a subject of .discussion. The interpretation of ancient 

sedimentary deposits has reached an advanced stage, but not with the assistance of any large 

anHnmt of exact detailed information on present depositional conditions and processes now in 

operation. ]~rosion has been studied in detail and the effects of its various factors have been 

carefully evaluated, but sedimentation appears not to have received its share of attention .. 

Tho study of the composition, structure, and mode of growth of the ~~ississippi Delta is therefore 

of great interest, for here a new geologic forn1ation is now d~veloping and processes of sedimenta..,. 

tion are operating rapidly and on a large scale. 

The lower end of the Mississippi Delta seems to be a region m.uch frequented but little 

known. Every year multitudes of people visit New Orleans, but travel is confined for the 

n1ost part to .the four or five main rail and water rot1tes. Between these routes lie great areas 

of marsh which n1an has not put to his service and which are not often traversed either by 

naturalists or by others. Perhaps it has been thought that the mode of growth of the Delta is 

so siinple and so well understood that investigation would reveal nothing new. The prevailing 

idea seems to be that deltas are built up regularly by the addition of topset, foreset, ancl.bottonlset beds, and that this process and the constant shifting of the netwo.rk of channels constitute 

about all that happens. But numerous facts-for example, the fact that the mouths of the 

Mjssissippi are apparently not shifting-do not accord with this idea. 

N otwithstancling the fact that the region is in some respects an uncomfortable dwelling 

pln.ce it has 1nany attractive features. Mosquitoes are somewhat troublesom:e, particularly a 

few :miles back fron1 the open sea, and sand flies are abundant along the coast at certain times 

of the year. The marshes are comn1only too soft for travel of any kind, so that houses and 

wn1ks n,re built on piles a few feet above the marsh, the interior of which would be· almost 

. hiaccessible were it not for the passes and bayous that ramify it. But the discomforts are more 

than overbalanced by the featu~es of interest, especially in th~ autumn. Orange groves border 

the river frotn New Orleans down almost to the _IIead of the Passes, below which hunting, trapping, :fishing, and oyster growing occupy the time of n1ost of those not engaged in Government 

work. or as pilots. The region abounds in water fowl and in rabbits, nluskrats, and raccoons. 

The proxin1ity of the sea almost precludes oppressive heat and the temperature rarely, if ever, 

ren,ches the freezing point. Laborers, however, sometin1es cease working ill winter on account 

of cold winds. Large areas in the newer part of the Delta are not forested; indeed, all the 

plants of the region seem to be marching toward the sea by groups in orderly fashion. 

The 1nost striking evidence that the Delta is little known is that its geography is quite 

different from that inclicatecl on the latest charts. (See fig. 2.) No less than 100 square n1iles 

of land is represented on these charts as water; and, what is still more .remarkable, many square 

tniles of wa~er are shown as land. All the best n1aps of the lower end of the Delta show a deep 

indentation, called Garden Island Bay, between South Pass andSoutheast Pass. As a matter of 

f~tct, there is only a small reentrant between these passes, and the maps were out of elate 15 or 

20 years ago. The ren,son for the inaccuracy is that the territory between the passes is not 

often visited and has not recently been surveyed. The coast chart has been corrected from 

tin1e to tilne, but only from d~ta concerning the traveled passes. 
14 CONTH.IBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1013. 

GENERAL FEATURES. 

In order to formulate working hypotheses concerning the mtlcl lun1ps it semns necessary 

first to learn as l'nuch as possible of the cmnposition, structure, and mode of growth of the Delta. 

A considerable part of southern Louisiana is less than 10 feet above sea level n.nd nn1Ch of 

it is inundated every year, receiving ·at each inundation a greater or less an1ount of sedi1nent. 

The land surface is also losing smne n1aterial through solution and stremn'transportation, but 

on the whole it is being gradually built up, or at least it was being built up before the levees 

wer'e built and n1u'ch of the flood water was shut out. Along the border of this flood plain 

lie other' lowlands, only a few feet higher but having an aspect so different as to soil, vegetation, 

and fonn of sudace that they are easily distinguished. The highest land lies along the tiver, 

to'~~~~----~~~~~~----~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~----~ a' 

• ~Afud 1 I ,:9

'lunzps 

~~~)(.;::.{:j New land areas· 

IIIII N~w water areas 

551 

zo'· 15' !01 5'. 

FIGuRE 2.-Skctch map of lower end of Delta of the Mississippi, showing approximately areas of hnd and water formed since the last detailed and 

complete survey was made. 'l'he coast chart has been corrected almost yearly for modifications in the territory immediately adjacent to the 

well-traveled passes, but not fJr the extensive changes that have taken place in the great marshes and bays between the pa.sses. Although the 

Delta receives from the Mississippi about 400,000,000 tons of sediment every year and its front is commonly said to be advancing into the sea at 

thc'ratc of 340 feet a ycsr, tlic sea is at many places encroaching on the land. 'l.'he immense amount of new land that has recently been 

formed in Garderi. Island Bay is a result of a crevasse that was formed several years ago near the Head of the Passes. 

the banks of which slope grn,dually from heights 1.0 to 15 feet above low water at New Orleans 

to sea level at the n1ouths of the river, and the high-water profile has a similar decline. 

To an observer at the n1outh of the river the idea that the region is a great dtnnping ground 

for a large part of the United States is most in1pressive. · The land is being built out into the 

sea at an estimated aven~;ge rate of about 300 feet a year, and although this estimate may be 

high, the rate is certainly rapid, as the constantly changing coast line and aspect of the vegetation bear witness. In some places it is much rnore rapid than others. In one place in Garden 

Island Bay the land appears to have advanced 2,000 feet in the spring of 1912. 

Not only does the rate of advance differ fron1 place to place, but the shore is in places actually 

retreating, not so n1uch by sea erosion as by settling, which in places predominates over 

up building. 

: .. 
THE MUD LUMPS AT THE MOUTHS OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 15 

COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE . 

.Lt appears that in·general the upper 50 feet, at least, of the deposits near the mouth of the 

·~ ver consist of thin layers of dark-blue clay and fine sand and a great n1any thin beds of interlncd1ate character, each of which grades into the adjacent beds. Layers of clay almost free 

fro.m sand and beds composed of a mi.-x:ture of clay and fine sand are common, and the rni-x:ture 

of clay and sand is much n1ore rigid than nearly pure clay. · 

Sotne of the material falls no doubt into the class known as topset b~ds, and some of it 

belongs to the foreset beds. l{~nowledge sufficient to afford a basis for classifying the beds by 

thc:ir physical character is not yet available. The topset beds at the head of the passes are 

. probably at least 10 and not more than 100 feet thick, and along any pass they probably thin 

tow11rd the c0ast. The deposits between the passes are more difficult to classify. The topset 

beds are on the whole 1nost sandy and resistant near the passes and most clayey in the bays 

and :marshes between; the foreset beds appear also to be in general coarsest near the passes, but 

the a:rnount of sand they contain decreases not only laterally but downward for 40 or 50 feet, 

the lower 1naterial having no doubt been deposited in deep water some distance offshore. · But 

there t'tppear to be sandy layers throughout both topset and foreset beds, and all the strata are 

~nore or less lenticulm·. 

The 1nechanical chtuacter of the sediment being deposited near the n1outh of the river is 

shown in the following table: 

:Mechimical analyses of samples of eart.h obtained near the mouth of .Mississi]Jpi Ri1;er. 

[Analyses mado by Bureau of Soils, United States Department of Agriculture.] 

Fine I Co~oo Medium l<'inc Very fine Silt (0.05 Clay gravel sand sand sand sand (0.005 No. J.ocallty. Depth. (2 to 1 I \!.~S:' (0.5 to (0.25 to (0.1 to to 0.005 mm. or mm.). 0.25mm.). 0.1mm.). 0.05mm.). mm.). less) . 

.. 

26196 ~ milo cast or Burrwood ....... 5 feet below surface .............. 0.0 0.1 0.2 . 5.5 64.0 2i. 0 2. 9 

26107 ..... do ......................... 33 feet below surface ............. .0 .0 .1 1.4 1.4 48.9 48.0 

26l!l8 3 miles north or Burrwood ..... !l~ to 10 feet below surface ....... .0 .0 .1 .8 20.6 68.1 10.4 

2619!) South sldo of H.cdfish Bay ..... 6 feet below bed of sea ........... .0 .0 .2 . 2 9. 6 63.2 26.6 

2!1200 :J>Uottown Whnrf ............. 10 to 10~ feet below surface ...... .0 .0 .1 .4 42.4 51.7 5. 1 

26201 2 miles west of Burrwood ...... 2~ feet below water surface ...... .o .2 .1 .6 22.0 58.6 18.6 

26202 Point of lnnd where South 12 feet below surface ............. .0 .0 .1 2.3 8.1 66.8 22.6 Pass ancl Southwest Pass 

s~arato. 

20203 Mu lump noar Pass a Loutrc. 9 feet below surface of mud lump. .2 .3 .2 1.5 .6 39.2 58.0 

20204 200 foot from river, Port Eads .. 11 feet below surface ............. .0 .1 .1 2.5 36.9 51.8 8. 7 26205 Mouth of Mississippi Hiver .... Composite made uR of 235 sam- .3 .5 .2 6.5 28.2 51.2 13.0 

Y,l~~~tainod be ow Head of 

--------------------- Average or all analyses except No. 26205 ................... .005 .12 .14 2.1i 23.38 52.65 21.39 

'l'he 1nost important· and in1pressive part of the above table is the analysis of sample No. 

26205, which shows that fine gravel, coarse sand, and mecliun1 sand are present in the upper 

part of the Deltt'L, though only in minute quantity. Fine sand makes up about one-fifteenth 

of the material and very fine sand a little over one-fourth. The great bulk of the n1aterial is 

silt, over one-half ot all the particles measuring between 0.05 and 0.005 millin1eter, or about 

0.002-0.0002 inch. Even clay is present in the subordinate amount of 13 per cent, or a little 

~nore ·than one-eighth. 

The chemical character of the n1ateriallying near the surface in the vicinity of the n10uths 

of" the river is shown in the following table giving a preliminary report of an. analysis of the 

coraposite sample nu1nberecl 26205 in 'the above table, which is being made by George Steiger 

in the chemical laboratory of the United States Geological Survey, and also analyses of mudlump clay and of river-borne sediment, made by Walter N. Howell. · 
16 ·coNTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, i913. 

Chemical analyses of air-dried samples of material from uppe:r part of Mississippi Delta. 

2 3 

Si02............................................................................................ 69.9 62.36 63.71 AhOa........................................................................................... 10.6 17.34 16.17 

!i~·>:i i:: ~~: ~: ~ ~~: ·:: : :~·. ~: ~ : ~ ~- ~ _: ~ -~: : ·:: ~ •.. :· :~ ": ; :~.: ~ :~: : ~ .~ ~~ l ::: ::: ::: 

CaO . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. 0 1. 56 1. 54 Na20........................................................................................... 1. 5 1. 05 ·1. 47 K20 •....................... ·. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. 3 Trace. Trace. 

!:8 !iT~~o~~~:~:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:":":"::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::.::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ........... -~:;.} ~.95 2. 04 

Ti02······ ................................ :..................................................... .6 ................. : ........... ,,~ .. 

~~~;tile ·a~d.- ~~g;mic. matter~: :: : :: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :: : : : : : : : : : :: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : ............ ~~ ~ _ } 8. 91 8. i3 

P205···························································································· .2 ............................... . Mn 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 · Trace. Trace. CI. ........................................... :. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1. 40 2. 08 S08••••••••••••••••••• •• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• • • • • •• • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • .81 . 74 Zr............................................................................................... .5 ............................... . 

99.6 99.94 99.91 

1. Composite made up of 235 samples collected by E. W. Shaw within 45 feet of surface in marshes and shallow water below Head of Passes, most of the material from the upper 20 feet of the Delta. George Steiger, analyst. 2. Sample of mud-lump clay from near Burrwood. · 3. Sample of silt from bed of river near west side opposite Burrwood. Analyses 2 and 3 made for United States engineers by W. N. Howell. 

In order to determine the character and arrangement of the material in the Delta, a sampling 

rod was used for getting samples beneath· the surface, the rod being pushed down to the· place 

w:Q.ere it was desired to take the sample. The various degrees of resistance of the sands and 

clays, or rather sandy silt and clayey silt, were thus readily noted.. The "quicksand" of the 

Delta is not so quick or fluid as the clay. The sampler passes very easily through beds of clayey 

silt but can be forced only with difficulty through layers containing a considerable amount of. 

sand, and often -the sand prevents it f:rom reaching a depth of 20 feet. The sand is so much 

more resistant than the Clay that piles sunk in New Orleans for the larger buildings are driven 

down throu'gh clay and silt to a cmnparatively thick bed of sand that lies 60 to 80 feet pelow 

the surface and serves as a firm foundation. 

It appears that the most rigid material in the Delta is a mixture of sand and clay in certain 

definite proportions. Crusty .layers "as hard as asphalt" are sometimes reported, and it 

seen1s probable that such layers do not consist of iron oxide or· other uncommon material but 

of a sand-clay mixture, and that there is every stage of gradation between this unusually 

resistant material and the very fluid clays. Experiments are now being made with mixtures 

of sand and clay which it is hoped will furnish further information on this subject. 

The total thickness of the material properly referable to the :Mississippi Delta is not definitely known but is probably at least 2,000 feet. The shape of th~ rock basin on which this 

material rests is also unknown; its sides may be concave or convex, and som~ think that it is 

traversed by a large central trench. Several wells haye been sunk 2,000 feet or more into this 

Delta material, and although logs of some of them have been kept and fossils preserved, the 

identification of the beds is still uncertain. An unusually large amount of data seems ·to be 

needed to determine positively the age of these strata. 

The general character of the Delta material down to a depth of about 1,000 feet is illustrated by the record of a well drilled in 1895 on the :Magnolia sugar plantation, on the west 

bank of :Mississippi River, about 4& miles below New Orleans. The well is owned by ex-Gov. 

H. C. Warmoth, who furnishes· the following record: . ' 

Record of well on Magnolia sugar plantation. 

~~~d~~~:: -~1~~1~-i~~:~::·.-.-.-.-.-.-:~: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ~~~d ~~g-sort· mud~::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::;.:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 

~~~~:P:f~bAlt~~i1l:~~!~ ~~~~~~::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::.::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 

Sana, with salt '3later shooting above the well with gas ................................................................... . 

Thickness. 

Feet. 40 

30 

50 

40 

200 

210 

377 

33 

Depth. 

Feet. 40 

70 

120' 

160 

360 

570 

947 

980 

\. 
THE MUD LUMPS AT THE MOUTHS OJ!"' THE MISSI::iSIP PI. 17 

Silt is accu.mulating just offshore at the rate of several inches a year, as 1nay be show_r:t by 

taking a profile of the ocean. bottom adjacent to the 1nouths of the river and drawing a parallel 

line to correspond to the estimated annual seaward advance, about 300 feet. (See figs. 3 and 4.) 

The character of the material deposited appears to vary fro'1n season to season. During the 

period of high water, which generally includes the·:first half of the calendar year, the sediment 

is noticeably coarser than during the period of low water, which includes roughly the second 

b11lf of tb.e year. The apparent result is a structure somewhat resembling the annual rings of 

growth of trees. As the sampling rod is forced into the earth it moves downward easily for 

a few inches, and then with difficulty for a few inches, and ·so on, in alternation. The minuteness and legibility of the record remain to be ·determined, but the principal floods and the 

principal tin1es of drought are probably recorded. 

The tnaterial collected by the Fish Hawk expedition frmn the botton1 of the Gulf off the 

n1outh of the :Mississippi also indicates that t~e ·deposits consist in general of alternating layers 

Sea level· 

l:iorizontal scale· 

0 2 3 4 

·Vertical scale 

oL., __ '....~.9_o __ -z.~...po_·_3...J?~.-o __ 4....~.9_o _....~s?O feet 

Horizontal s·cale 

YzMile o. 

Vertical scale 

0 10 20 30 40 so Feet 

b 

FlOURg 3.-Profllos showing prosunt and past land surface and sea bottom near mouths of Mississippi. a, Generalized profile' of present land 

surface and sea bottom from tho Head of the Passes to a point 4 miles beyond end of South Pass jetties and also of position of correspondIng SUI'faco 100 yom·s ago. Shows the groat thickn~s of the foreset beds of the Delta as compared with that of the topset beds, which apparently would be only about one-tenth as thick as they are if they were not affected by subsidence. ln order to show the topset beds at all it 

is necossm·y to exaggerate grossly the vertical scale. b, Enlarged section of the foreset beds represented by the finely mled portion of a, showing annualund seasonal growth layers. 'fhe estimated advance of the bars at the mouths of the Passes of 340 feet a year is believed to be 

considombly greater than the aver.age rate at which the land is pushing out to sea. The above diagrams represent an annual advance of 265 

fellt, which is possibly too large. 

of sandy and clayey silt. The dredges brought up from the bottom a mixture of clark clay and 

light··gray sandy slime, the two apparently coming from different layers. The core samples 

consist uniformly of stratified n1aterial with stiff clay or sandy clay at the botton1 and beds of 

increasing fluidity to the top, which is nearly clear water. The most co1npact material was 

found near the ends of the Passes in less than 5 fathoms of water. 

PROCESSES AND CONDITIONS AFFECTING MODE OF GROWTH. 

Certain features of the Delta suggest that it is affected by a process which heretofore seems 

not to have been suspected, namely, a bodily flowage toward the sea. The surface receives a 

new layer of sediment at each flooclJ but its altitude above sea does not seem to show a corresponding increase. Timbers and other objects left on the surface appear to sink down into the 

eart.h, unci on careful examination it becomes evident that the Delta is sinking as well as building 

upward and outward, the coast being most affected. The tide··gage records at Port Eads show 

a gradual increase in the apparent height of mean tide.from 2 feet 20 years ago to 4 fee.t now; 

12023°-13-2 

0 
() 

18 CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENER:AL GEOLOGY, 19~3. 

in other words, that part of the Delta is sinking at n rnte of a tenth of a foot a year. The shape 

of the sea bottom just offshore suggests local bulging of the Delta front, for it is characterized 

by irregular swells and hollows which change from time to time in form nnd position and by an 

absence of well-defined channels. In 1905 and 1907 shoaling was 

reported fully 25 miles southeast of Port Eads, depths of only 65 to 

100 fathoms being found where before the depth was 300 to 600 fathoms. The character of the coast itself in places whei:e sedimentation 

is not now rapid strongly suggests subsidence·, especially the coast near 

Barataria Bay and on Breton and Chandeleur sounds. In these areas 

the boundary between land and sea is intricately irregular, small islands 

rise just above -the sea, and shallow lakes and bays are abundant. 

The shore features seem to be just those which would result from 

gentle subsidence of a.low-lying, slightly uneven surface. The sinking 

is due in part, no doubt, or perhaps entirely, to the compacting of the 

sediment. Whatever its exact nature, the facts that the subsidence 

is greatest where the Delta is growing most rapidly and that because 

of the very watery condition of the material it is presumably becoming 

more compact make it seem probable that the process is only in part, 

if at all, one of isostatic adjustment. At a depth of 5,000 feet there 

may be no downward movement. 

However, certain facts suggest that in comparatively late geologic 

time this region has been affected by crustal deforn1ation. Deposits 

which outcrop in a district farther north and which have been described 

as the Lafayette formation, the loess, and the Port I-Iudson clay have 

been thought to indicate general elevation and subsidence, and in the 

vicinity of New Orleans, at least, coarse sand evidently deposited in 

shallow water occurs at. various depths down to 3,000 feet, but in 

addition differential uplift appears to have occurred in the vicinity 

of Natchez. Otherwise the gravel, which contains· pebbles brought 

apparently from Canada and lies as much as 200 feet above the present 

stream, calls for an extremely low gradient upstream and an almost 

impossibly high gradient downstream. The narrowness of the flood 

plain at N at.chez and the outline of the area less than 100 feet above 

sea level, this ·area being considerably broader above than opposite 

Natchez, suggest the same conclusion. 

In this connection it is interestirig. to note that in the recent 

determinations of intensity of gravity made by the Coast and Geodetic 

Survey the earth near New Orleans was found not to have an excess 

<?f mass, as might be expected from the vast amount of sediment 

which. has accumulated there, but a deficiency equivalent to a lack of 

about 430 feet of strata. In other words, if the surface at NewOrleans 

were buried under 430 feet of solid rock, the district would then be in 

approximate balance with the rest of the world. 

Below Baton Rouge the river .flows southeastward and the great 

body of the delta has developed in that direction. It is only about 

a third as far from Baton Rouge to. the sea in a southwesterly direction as it is in a straight line to the mouths of the river. The reason 

for this trend may be that a westward littoral current tends to throw 

the sediment in that direction from the n1ouths of the river and in 

this way to crowd the outlet eastward, but ~he known facts d9 not appear sufficient to 

·warrant a definite conclusion. 

· _ The protruding character of the coast at the mouth of the river is a somewhat striking 

testimony against the idea that subsidence always produces deep bays. The form of a coast 
THE MUD LUMPS AT THE MOUTHS OJ!' THE MISSISSIPPI. 19 

depends on 1nany fn.ctors-scditncntation, erosion, deforn1ation, and the nattu·e and extent 

of the work done in previous cycles. 

IIilgn.rd has pointed out that the l\1ississippi Delta differs markedly fr01n other de!tas, 

and also frmn an ideal delta. l-Ie says: a 

. The bird-foot shape of the lower Mississippi Delta, with ·deep embayments in between, is unexampled in any other 

large river delta in the world. The bays between the delta fingers ("passes") are being very slowly shallowed, chiefly 

by wnve and tidal action from the Gulf carrying in the bar sands, and only subordinately by river overflow. The 

. river in this lower delta region is for 50 miles below Fort Jackson bordered by narrow banks of unyielding gray clay, 

between which is carried the entire volume of the river through the narrow-banked "neck" until it reaches a common 

point of divergence, the Head of the Passes, whence similarly narrow-banked channels diverge, unbranched, in birdfoot form. 

The usuall::lhape of a normal delta is a. COJlvex protrusion beyond the main shore line, with usually slight protrusions 

at the mouths of the distributaries, as can be seen by an inspection of the maps of the deltas of any of the larger rivers, 

such as the Nile, Ganges, Bmhmaputra, Danube, Volga, Lena, and others. \Vithin the delta .areas of these streams 

huge and small distributaries form a complex network, frequently changing at times of high water. No such changes 

are shown by the narrow-banked, diverging arms of the lower Mississippi Delta, which steadily advance into the Gulf 

singly, and without any permanent distributaries being formed. 'l'he only approach to the form and structure of an 

ordinary delta occurs about 3 miles above the Head of the Passes, on the east side, where small and shallow channels 

connect with the main river through Cubit Gap, a shallow lateral outlet. 

The typicn.l deltn. developments at Cubit Gap, at the Jump, and in Garden Island Bay, 

not yet represented on charts, have resulted fr01n unusual conditions-accidents, so to speakin tho course of delta development. The full 4istory of the land development -at the Jun1p is 

not known, but in the other two places, and probably at all three, the river has broken through 

narrow banks which separated it from the sea, and very rapid sedimentation has followed. 

The astounding fact in this connection is that the river does not more frM_ucntly cut through 

its nn.rrow bn.nks, although it often overflowed these banks before the levees were built, during a 

time when the present features were developing.· At Bird Island Sound the river nught reach 

sen. level in a quarter of a mile, but instead it takes a course of about 25 n1iles. Just below New 

Orlen.ns the river nTight reach sea level by flowing eastward less than 10 nules through territory subject to overflow, but instead it flows fu Uy 100 miles southwestward. IIilgard believes 

that these rmnarkable features are due to "a compact, impervious gray clay, corresponding 

exactly to the n1atcrial constituting the mud lumps," clay which "so long as it remains subnlergecl or fully wetted * * * resists erosion to a remarkable degree." To the present 

writer, however, this inference docs not seen1 well founded. The exposures and bor!ngs along 

the river banks show a large proportion of fine sand, which is easily washed. Several borings 

were 1nade at and near the IIead of the Pn.f;lscs to test this point and sand was found in all of then1. 

(See the 1ncchanical analysis of sample No. 26202.) Clay is present in places and may possibly 

be the re.mains of old 1nud lumps, but a large part of the material appears to be incoherent 

sand. To-day the coarsest sediment is being deposited on or near the river banks, where it 

accu:mulates to such an extent as to form natural levees that border the river almost if not 

quite to the sea, and just offshore in the immediate viciillty of the ends of the passes. The 

finer particles are carried by the river water in times of overflow into the marshes at some 

distance from the river and by the sea water at all times into the bays between the passes and 

to a large surrounding area of deep water lying at a distance greater than 2 or 3 nliles fron1 the 

1·ivcr 1nouths. As indicated in figure 4, the sandiest material found in th~ borings lay near 

the river banks and the rriost clayey material in the n1arshes several miles fron1 the river. 

AU the l110Vements of the sea water at the lllOuths tend to sort out the :finest sedinlent 

there discharged and carry it to distances depending in part on the size of the particles. In a 

few places, particularly in the n1ost exposed positions, n.s n,t the outcrn1ost ends of the passes and 

a Hilgard, E. W., A new development in the Mississippi Delta: Pop. Sci. Monthly, March, 1912. 
CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL ~EOLOGY, 1913. 

also where the sediment is accumulating slowly, as -in Bird Island Sound, this process goes so 

far as to develop sand beaches. The very fine material consists not only of the finest solid 

particles, brought down in that form by the river, but also of matter transported in a colloidal 

form and flocculated by the salt of the sea, and it is comn1only apparent in the water 10 miles 

or more from land. At times and in places the line between the muddy and the clear water is 

very sharp, as shown in Plate I, B. 

Thus it seems to the writer, both from field evidence and fron1 indirect theoretical considerations, that the river banks consist not of clay which, though yielding to pressure, is so 

resistant to corrasion that it determines the location of the river channels, but of sand which 

. is resistant to pressure and yielding to water currents, with perhaps some mud-lump clay here 

and there. It seems probable that the form of the river here, as elsewhere throughout its course 

below Cairo, mu~t be produced in detail by a balance among the hydraulic forces involved in 

the river flow; that the stream is so large and powerful that no clay could long prevent it from 

cutting just such a channel as a balance ftmong its forces demands. Yet this must be regarded 

only as a suggestion, for although much is known concerning the hydraulics of river flow many 

phenomena are not yet fully understood. For example, above Baton Rouge the river is broad 

·and very shallow, carries much coarse sand, and has a tendency to meander which seems beyond 

human power to control, whereas below that city it is little more than half as broad, is 100 to 

200 feet deep, has little tendency to meander, and seems adjusted to its load of very fine sand 

n.ncl silt and quite competent to carry it. To the writer it seems probable that the peculiar 

form of the river near its mouths is related in cn.use to these phenomena. 

The offshore movement of the river water is indicated by the following analyses of samples, 

most of which were collected on the Fish Hawk expedition. The samples that show the largest 

an1ount of chlorine are, of course, those that contain the least river water. The regularly 

greater chlorine content of the bottom samples accords with the conditions elsewhere and is 

clue to the fact that river water, having less density than sea water, flows out at the surface 

of the sea. The table includes also analyses of a few samoles of sludge from springs on mud 

lumps. 

The examinations of chlorine in this table were made by E. C. Bain, under the direction 

of R. B. Dole. The tests were made by means of a salinity outfit supplied by the Copenhagen 

laboratory of the Conseil Permanent International de la :Mer; which was obtained through 

the courtesy of the United States Bureau of Fisheries. The procedure is an adaptation of 

the usual method of estimating chlorine by titrating with silver nitrate in presence of potassium 

chromate. An essential feature is a sealed tube of standard sea water whose content of 

chlorine has been very carefully determined. This water is used for comparison, and the 

pieces of the apparatus are so constructed and calibrated as to insure maximum accuracy. 

Standard sea water No. P 7 2/2, 1912, with a chlorine content of 19.386 grams per· kilogram, 

was used, but as only a little of it was availabl~, a large sample of nearly normal sea water 

. was very carefully titrated and used for frequent comparison during the tests. Float burette 

No. 8, measuring about 1 .. 5 millimeters betw.een gradations, and pipette No. 3, having a capacity 

of 15.04 cubic centimeters, were u.sed. 
THE MUD LUMPS AT THE MOU.THS OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 21 

'J.'able showing chlorine ~ontent, 'specific gravity, temperature, and other data concerning water samples collected near mouths 

of Mississippi River. 

n'hc measurements or spcclflc gravity .arc only approximate and subject to a correction of ± 0.002~ the average error being probably not over 0.0005; · distances arc given m statute miles and bearings are true; samples were collecteu on June 22, 23, 24, and 25, 1913.) 

Station 

No. 

7000 

7901 

7902 

7003 

7903.1 

790:1. ~~ 

7003.4 

7904 

7005 

7906 

7907 

7908 

7908a 

7908b 

7909 

7910 

7910 

7911 

7911 

7912 

7913 

7914 

7915 

7916 

7917 

7918 

7919 

7919 

7920 

7921 

Location. 

Depth of water 

(feet). 

Position of water. 

Chlorine (grams per Tempera- Specific 

kilogram). ture (° F.). gravity. 

84 miles from Galveston and 29 miles S. 51 o E. of Sabine Bank light ..... 57 {Surface ....... . Bottom ...... :. 

{

11 miles S. 74° K of Trinit;y Shoal buoy, about midway between } 48 {Surface ....... . Galveston and Southwest Pass. Bottom ...... . 

3om " il S 71 o E• fT.. 't Sl I b {Surface.······· es . . . o rm1 y 1oa uoy... .......... .. . ...... ....... .. . 63 Bottom ...... . 

{

20 miles S. 42° E. of Timbalier Island light, nearly 50 miles west of } 102 {Surface ....... . Southwest Pass. Bottom ...... . About8 miles west of ends of Southwest Pass jetties................... . . . . . . . . . . Surface ....... . About 3l miles west of ends of Southwest Pass jetties. (Clear water.) ........... Surface ....... . Abont a miles west of ends of Southwest Pass jetties. (Yellowish .. .. .. .. .. Surface ........ . 

13.00 

18.73 

15.76 

17.22 

16.90 

17.64 

13.42 

19.91 

13.65 

15.62 

5.08 

muddy water.) 

1! miles S.ll oW. of lig.ht on cast jetty of Southwest Pass ............. . 72 {Surface a...... 8. 63 Bottom ................. .. 

3 miles S. 45° 1~. of lightship just outside of Southwest Pass ........... . 228 {Surface........ 2. 11 Bottom. .. .. . . 17. 79 

357 {Surface a...... 12.64 Bottom. . . . . . . 19. 28 

585 {Surface ... :.... 14.46 

73 miles S. 33° K of lightship just outside of Southwest Pass .......... . 

7ft miles S. 17° K of station 7906 ..................................... . Bottom....... 19. 05 

1~ mile S.l7° K of cast jetty light, South Pass ....................... . 102 {Surface........ 5. 86 Bottom ................. .. About 600 feet below surface of sea and about 18 miles S. 16° 'N. of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.99 

South Po.c;s,II~ht. . . 1! miles S. 80 .1~. ofoastjctty hght, South Pass........................ .. .. .. . .. . Surface ...... .. 

{

lH miles S. 45° E. of Southwest Pass light; 14~ miles S.l6° W. of South } 456 {Surface ....... . Pass light. ' Bottom ...... . 

8t miles south of South Pass light..................................... 306 {~~~~~::::::: 

Sruno, Plunger sample . .. . .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. . .. .. .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. 306 Bottom ..... .. 

11 1 II S 45° F f S tl P s l'ght {Surface ...... ·· ·~ m es . ~. o ?U 1 . as 1 .. . .. .. .. . .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 252 Bottom ..... .. 

Same, plunger sample................................................ 21i2 Bottom ...... . 

9i nliles S. 50° E. of Soutli Pass light .................... ;···· ........ 336 {~~~~~~·::::::: 

12~ miles S. 51° E. of South Pass light................................. 732 {~t~~~~::::::: 

10 miles S. 82° 1<~. of South Pass light................................. 288 {~~~~~::::::: 

10' miles N. 78° E. of South Pass light................................ 204 {~t~~.~~::::::: 

Oi miles S. 283° E. of Pass a Lontre light.............................. 72 {~~~~~~.':::::: 

5 miles S. 36° K of Pass a Loutrc light................................. 16 {~~~~~~~·::::::: 

7' miles S 47° K of Pass a Loutre light ... ,........................... 126 {~~~~~~c;ii::::::: 

ll'mllesS.51°E.~f J'assaLoutrelight ................. :............ 330 {~~1t~<;.~;::::::: Same, plunger sample ............. ,................................... 330 Bottom ...... . 

5~ miles S. 56° E. of station 7919... ................................... 486 {~t~~~~~·::~::::. 

46 miles N. 39° 1~. of station 7917...................................... 102 {~~~~~~·::~:::: 

.36 

13.88 

19.85 

7. 42 17.12 

19.81 

9.15 

19.69 0 19.53 

13.62 

19.97 

14.16 

19.82 

10.60 

18.47 

6. i1 

19.27 

2.66 

6.24 

1. 65 

10.70 

2. 67 2.62 

9.01 

19.79 

19.83 

12.79 

18.14 

13.52 

17.08 

a Strong odor of hydrogen sulphide. Gas driven off by boiling before determ'ination of chlorine. 

Chlorine content of additional samples, in grams per kilogram of water. 

80 ............................... 80 ........... . 79 

80 

79! 

82 

74 

80~ 

77 

81 

72~ 

82~ 

77 

82 

79~ 

82! 

73~ 

..... i.'oi9 .. 1. 0205 1. 015 

1. 02425 

1.0095 

........ 998'" 

1. 0'21 1. 013 1. 0235 

1.015 

1. 022 1. 00525 

· · · · · · · · si · · · · · · · i: oi5 · · i1 1. 0235 

79 1. 00825 

69 1. 021 

········so·· ····'i.'oio·· 

64! 1. 0235 

· · · · · · · ·8i · · · · · · · i: oi35 · 66~ 1. 023 

81 1. 014 67~ 1. 024 

82 1. 0115 

76! 1. 0225 83 1. 006 68~ 1. 023 84~ 1. 000 72 1. 00625 

85 . 9985 

78 1. 0125 

86 1.000 

68 1. 000 

83 1.00925 

64 1.02425 

........ 82~· ..... i:oia .. 74 1. 021 82~ 1.014 

73 . 1.022 

Surface sea water in West Bay t mile north of first lump north of Bald Lump, 1 mile west of Burrwood, La.; 

Nov. 15, 1912, depth 8 feet ......................................................................... . 

Black mud spring on minor Cactus lump, Burrwood, La., 1 foot below surface of water; Nov. 16, 1912 .......... . 

Mud spring in marsh !mile east of Spanish Fort; Nov. 17, 1912 .............................................. . 

Sludge from mud spring on fourth right mud lump off Pass a Loutre (Muq Spring special No.3); Nov. 20, 1912 .. . 

The following data nuty be used for c01nparison: 

Chlorine, in grams per kilogram, contained 'in water taken from dijj'erent places. 

Average for Mississippi River at New Orleans for 1905-6. (Analyses by J. L. Porter, chemist, New Orleans 

7.68 

15.99 

18.81 

17.18 

Water and Sewerage Board, U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 236, p. 77, 1905) .................. 0. 0097 

Sen. water from southwest channel,< 'l'ortugas, Fla. (Sample collected in 1\by, 1912, and tested at the 

Plymouth, :England, laboratory) ..................................................................... 19.99 

Average of 52 samples collected in May and June, 1913, from southwest channel, Tortugas, Fla. (Deter-

. minations made by R. B. Dole, U. S. Geological Survey) .............................................. 19.95 

Avern.ge content of normal sea water. (Standard sea water, P7 2/2, 1912, issued by the Conseil Permanent 

International de la Mer) ............................ -...................................... _. . . . . . . 19. 386 

• 
• 

22 CONTRIBUTIONS TO. GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1913. 

The principal processes affecting the lower end of the Delta may be summarized briefly. 

The n1ost important is the building out of the coast line through the accumulation of sediment 

brought clown by the river, the rate of progradation varying frmn season to season. Throughout 

the lower part of the river's course it tericls to build natural levees-that is, to make the land 

near the river higher than that at a distance--and this tendency or a stiff clay or smne other 

factor has caused the delta to assun1e a bird-foot form. Littoral currents and practically all 

other n1ovements of the sea water tend to spread and sort the sediment. These movements 

vary greatly fro:o-1 time to time and the method and extent of the distribution of sediment 

are unknown, though probably :n;tore sediment goes westward than eastward. The beating of 

the waves, though much less severe than in many other regions, produces some modifications 

of the shore line. General subsidence, perhaps brought about by simple compacting and perhaps 

by bodily flowage, allows the sea to encroach on the land where s.edimentation is not most· · 

active. Plants advance seaward by groups and check the transportation of s.ed.iment in the 

areas of which they take possession. Lastly, there is this strange growth, of mud lumps, which 

plays an important part in arranging the material within the· delta and perhaps also, as Ifilgarcl 

thinks, in locating and permanently confining the river channels. 

THE MUD LUMPS. 

The mud lun1ps generally lie within a mile of the end of a pass, no pass_ being entirely free 

from then1, and are most numerous on the right side of each channel. One is now active 

1 n1ile south of the old Spanish magazine, 2 miles north of the mouth of Balize Bayou,, and 

perhaps its development .is clue to the fact that this bayou has recently become· much enlarged. 

A few others have been reported at somewhat greater distances from the end of a pass, but 

most of then1 cluster rather closely about the outlets of the river. Just now they are most 

numerous south of the end of Pass a Loutre, a chain of 20 or 3Q lumps having developed in· this 

district in the last few years. North, Northeast, and Southeast passes each contain a few. 

South Pass contains four or five; and So-.;tthwest Pass about a dozen. 

The lumps are conunonly 20 or 30 rods broad and stand 20 or 30 feet above the adjacent 

bottom. With reference to sea level their heights are somewhat closely concordant, few extending n1ore than 8 or less than 2 feet above the water. They are rounded or elliptical at first but 

their exposed portions are soon carved into irregular shapes and son1e are cut in two by wave action. 

Their growth occupies from a few hours to several years and is usually irregular. Generally a 

mud lump rises in a few weeks or months to a height of 4 or 5 feet above the surface of. the 

water. Then it rmnains quiescent and is beaten clown by the waves in the course of a :few years. 

:Many of them _subside, ho~ever, and some have disappeared in a night. Those that rise slowly 

are considerably worn before they stop growing. Those that rise mo~·e.rapidly and in protected 

places are c~tpped by lanunatecl silt having a maxin1um tlrickness of 10 feet. The lumps are 

·appreciably more active during an·cl immediately after high water. This is well shown in figure 5. 

Concerning the date given in this figure Mr. J. L. Hortenstine, of the United States Corps of 

Engineers, says in a letter: 

There was d~posited ip. this area a total of 2,500,000 cubic yards of material during the recent high stage of the river.: 

This material was deposited during the months of March, April, and May, 1913. The additional material caused an 

increased pressure over the a.rea of 1,800,000 tons, or a mean pressure of 400 pom~ds per square foot. 'fhe maximum 

pressure is found at a distance of 600 feet upstream from the chain of mud lumps shown on chart No. 5 [fig. 5, a] and 

this pressure is approximately 825 pounds per square foot. 

The stories related by sailors and pilots concerning the mode of growth of the mud lumps 

are fairly consistent. One man states that the growth of a mud lump was accompanied by a 

rather loud roar as it rose above the water, and another states that he once saw flashes of light 

rising frmn ~t mud lu1np, but these statements are very different from· the great mass of testimony concerning the lun1ps, and it seems probable that they are not based on fact . 
ENTRANCE 

RANG£ 

ENTRANCE 

.RANG£ 

THE MUD LUMPD AT THE MOUTllS 0.1!' TilE MISSISSIPPI. 

LEGEND 

Ill 

25?3'~~~t 

-

20?2f~~et 

~ Depth 15-20 feet 

23 

FIGURE 5.-Two charts of U10 entrance to Southwest Pass. a, Chart showing actiYity of mud lumps from :llay 20 to June 6, 1913, at tho close of a 

high-water period; b, Chart showing mud-lump quiescence from August 1 to 13, 1913, during a low-water period, when the apparent absence 

of lumps is due to subsidence (perhaps through moYement elsewhere and perhaps tluough the remo,·al of the surplus load of water) or to 

cutting away by degrees and to filling in the hollows between with sediment. From data furnished by United States Corps of Engineers. 
24 CONTRIBUTIONS ·TO. GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1913. 

The structure of the mud lumps appears to be c01nparable to that of bysmaliths. (See fig. 6.). 

A dark bluish-gray clay of medil!m s'tiffness and great stickiness forms the central core. As 

shown in the ap.alysis of sa1nple No. 26203, this clay contains some sand and silt, though not 

in amounts sufficiently large to affect its consistency perceptib~y. Upon and around the clay 

core lies a series of faulted and folded strata of sand and silt which have been carried up fr01n 

0 

a: 

c( 

~ <( 

w 

If) 

0 

a: 

~ 0 

z 

<( 

..J 

the sea bottom and defonned in the upheaval. The upper 

parts of the mud lumps bear numerous fissures and some 

normal faults, fine examples of block faults being common. A peculiarity of many of the new mud lumps is 

that their surface resembles a plowed field, being covered 

with irregular furrows running in every direction. This 

effect, which has excited 1nuch wonder, appears to be 

the result of slight erosion on an extensively fissured 

surface. 

One of the most significan·t facts concerning the 1nud 

lun1ps is that they contain 1nuch 1nore clay than has been 

found in other parts of the Delta deposits. Boring~, several of them 45 feet and many of them 35 feet deep, were 

sunk in the mud lumps in the fall of ~912, and they show 

that most ·of this material is structureless clay. Si1nilar 

borings in other places in the region have found stratified 

materials containing much sand. Sandy layers also commonly occur above and below the massive clay of the 

mud lumps .. A radial series of borings made on a mud 

lump about 2 miles west of Burrwood showed that the 

Clay decreases and the sandy n1aterial increas.es in thickness away frmn the center of the lump. This strongly 

suggests that the mud lu1nps have been produced by 

the lateral flowage of soft layers of clay, for no such 

thick strata of clay have been found elsewhere in the 

Delta. 

The color of the clay, thoi1gh generally dark bluish 

or greenish gray, appears to change under certain conditions to chocolate or reddish. Such tints are common 

along cracks and arc developed in some of the cones built 

up by the springs on the lumps. On drying, the gray 

clay becomes somewhat lighter in color and crumbles, as 

shown in Plate III, A. In this behavior and in its general 

appearance it resmnblcs the "buckshot" clay of northern 

Louisiana and adjacent territory and the very sticky 

and somewhat 1nucky cl,ay that is comn1only deposited 

in 1narshes. The clay is so stiff that even where wet one 

may walk upon it without sinking more than a few inches; 

in fact the surface of the mud lumps is the firmest to 

be found below Head of the Passes. Hence, although 

the n1ud-lump islands are easy to reach and cross the 

lumps surrounded by marsh are very difficult of access. 

In the hope that organisms or organic remains might 

be found in the clay which would show whether it is· of marine or fresh-water origin, seven 

samples were examined by Dr. Albert Mann, of the United States Bureau of Plant Industry, a 

special search being made for diatoms. Concerning them he says: 
U. S. GEOLOG ICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 85 PLATE Ill 

A . WAVE-CUT CLIFF ON GIBRALTAR MUD LUMP, RED FISH BAY. 

T he mound on wh ich the man stands was built by a mud spring now extinct, and its crest is nearly 15 

feet above mean tide, a height considerably greater than most mud lumps attain . On t he left is 

shown a luxuriant growth of grass such as commonly flourishes on mud lumps. 

B. MUD LUMP 37:! MILES SO UTHEAST OF PASS A LOUTRE LIGHTHOU SE. 

T he men stand beside mud springs each of which is associated with a fissure . In the distance are 

other mud-lump islands. 
THE MUD LUMPS. AT THE MOUTHS Ol!, THE MISSISSIPPI. 25 

No:ne 9f these samples are in any true sense mud coutaining diatoms. * * * I am not at all certain that all the 

diatonu1 here listed would not be found in any sample of mud located in or near the mouth of a river. * * * The 

rare specimens of diatoms discovered by great labor are not sufficiently frequent to indicate a marine or fresh-water 

origin for anv of the material. 

MUD SPRINGS. 

A.tnong tho most conspicuous and impressive features of tho mud lumps ~re the mud springs 

that n.ro activo on many if not all of them. (See Pl. I, 0.} The discharge from these springs 

consists of salt, watery 1nud (sludge), and gas. The amount of sludge discharged is very small 

and the :flow of gn.s is only 5 to 10 cubic feet an hotn·: When placed in a bottle tho sludge 

settles readily, leaving clear water at the top. Owing probably to evaporation and to a variable 

adnlL'<:ture of rain water the saltness of this water ranges frmn son1ewhat 1no_re to somewhat 

less than that of sea water. Tho 1nud slowly accumulates nround the vents and forms cones 

ranging in height frmn a few inches to several feet (see Pl. III, A), resmnbling 1niniature volcanoes. 

Careful examination reveals the fact that many and perhaps all of the gas-mud springs 

are closely associated with fissures.· (See Pl. III, B.) Comn1only the fissures are so nearly 

obliterated that it is difficult to 1nake sure of tllis fact, but on the freshest lumps both the 

associa.tion ·of the springs with fissures and their absence between fissures are evident. It 

seo.ms:, therefore, that when a lump is pushed up its upper part, especially the sand and silt 

cn.p, is so:mewhat extensively fissured. Water rises in the fissures at least to tho level of the 

sea, and gas bubbles rise through the water, causing erosion of the sides of the fissure. In 

places· along fissures· where conditions are favorable the rise of gas t>ubbles causes sufficient 

erosion to keep a vent open long after the remainder of the fissure closes entirely. The delta 

materials contain a largo amount of both n1arsh gas and water, so that wherever a hole a few 

feet doep is 1nade it aln1ost imn1ediately fills with water and bubbles with gas. 

Tho following considerations seen1 .to militate against the idea that the sludge discharged 

by the springs co1nes from a buried thick layer. of flocculated clay. (I) The sludge settles 

readily, leaving clear water at the top. (2) The :flow is s1nall, irregular, and long continued. 

(3) The sludge in each spring has the color of the surrounding material. Two miles west of 

Burrwood there are two springs less than 100 feet apart, in one of which the sludge is yellowish 

and in the other nearly black. In the former the sludge rises through laminated yellowish silt 

and in the latter through dark-gray clay. ( 4) The bottoms of several mud lumps of various 

ages seem to have been reached and no layer or reservoir of sludge has been found. 

It 1nay be added that si1nilar springs are associated with fissures elsewhere-for example 

along Steeles Bayou, just north of Vicksburg. I-Iere the springs rise in fissures in an oversteepened bn.nk. Where the quantity of water is considerable a clear stream flows from a small 

depression like an ordinary s'pring, but where it is s1nall and the water en1its bubbles of marsh 

gas the sides of the vent are eroded; the water beeomes very n1uddy, and the slight overflow,. 

accompanied by evn.porntion and absorption of water, leads to the growth of cones. 

This hypothesis of the origin of the n1ud springs se~ms to be further supported by the fact 

that the vents are commonly constricted at the top, where they are oniy at certain times covered 

with the bubbling fluid mud and hence subjected to less wear than the·· deeper pn.rts. Most of 

the vents are only a few inches in diameter at the top but widen to 1 or 2 feet a short distance 

down. The sounding rod, which was pushed down to a depth of 40 or 45 feet in many of the 

vents, penetrn.ted 2 to 9 feet of thin watery mud,·then thicker and thicker mud to a depth of iO 

or 15 feet, where it encountered ordinary, somewhat stiff 1nud-lump Clay, and finally, at a 

depth of 30 to 35 feet, stratified sand and silt. 

GAS EMANATING FROM THE MUD LUMPS. 

Gas escapes at many places on the surface of the Delta, the vents appearing to be most 

numerous and largest on and near the n1ud lumps, though the rate of flow rarely, if ever, exceeds 

a few cubic feet an hour. Gus rises in bubbles in all the mud springs, though its rate of issue 

varies.. It also escapes frmn·many crp.cks in the mud, rising bubbles being noticeable in many 

places in the shallow water around the lumps. 

,I 
26 CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1913. 

Two samples of gas 'were collected from the mud springs and on analysis; were found to 

consist principally of n1arsh gas (CH4 ), mixed with son1e oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide. 1 

Other samples have been collected by E. W. Hilgard and A. L. ~1etz, and the analyses given by 

them show si1nilar results 1 except that Hilgard reports no oxygen. 

· The results. of the analyses are believed to show correctly the general cmnposi.-tion of the 

gas, at .least at the particular vents where the samples 'vere taken. They appear to indicate 

that the gas is not· of deep-seated origin but has developed within a few feet of the surface, 

for it lacks certain hy<;lrocarbons commonly present in gas found deep in the earth. The 

principal constituent, 1nethane (CH4 ), emanates from most if not all marshes and generally 

carries with it minor and variable amounts of nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxid-e, all of 

which are produced in the decay of vegetable matter. Hence it appears probable, though not 

certa;in, that the gas from the mud lumps is produced in the ordinary reduction process which 

affects plant material in marshes. 

CONCLUSIONS. 

The facts that the mud lumps are by far the thickest bodies of clay found in the Delta and 

that the clay is overlain and underlain by materials sinlilar to those found elsewhere throughout the lower end of the Delta suggest that they are produced by a squeezing of the soft layers 

and an accumulation of clay from such layers in places where the pressure is less strong, and 

that the lumps are not upheaved by any such force as volcanisn1 or by pressure from the 

accumulation of salt, sulphur, or gas below the surface. 

The reasons for believing that the mud lumps are not of gaseous origin may be summarized 

as follows: (1) Their growth does not increase rapidly and terminate with something like an 

explosion through which the gas pressure is relieved. (2) Numerous borings which have recently 

been made have penetrated apparently to the bases of the lumps (to layers of sandy and clayey 

silt like those found elsewhere throughout the Delta), without opening any considerable gas 

reservoirs. (3) The lumps are so~ewhat closely associated with the ends of the passes and 

there would seem to b.e no reason for this a$soci-ation if they were due to gas pressure. (4) The 

more fluid clayey layers are greatly thickened instead of thinned in the upheaval. (5) The 

gas given off is small in amount. (6) ·The lun1ps seem to reach equilibrium when they rise to 

sea level or a few feet above. If they were due to gas they would presumably not be concordant 

in height. 

I-Iilgard's idea concerning the origin of the lumps-namely, that they are produced by the 

pre~sure of a heavy resistant layer i1pon a fluid layer below-appears to be in accord with s01Ile 

of the facts, but the results of borings recently inade do not appea;r to suppO'rtit, because, so 

far at least, no layer of fluid material has been found below the surface, but instead alternating 

thin layers of somewhat stiff sand and somewhat fluid clay. The process of flocculation by salt 

water is no doubt continually in vrogress, but the small percentage of clay in the sediment, the 

seasonal changes, and the work of littoral currents appear to prevent the accumulation of a thick 

body of semifluid clay. Another point in I-Iilgard's theory which seems open to question is 

his idea that the lumps rise where the current has scoured to a greater depth than before existed, 

thus weakening the crust of silt. (See Pl. II.) The mud lump in South Pass Channel to 

which he refers and also the lumps in Southwest Pass are beyond the ends of the jetties, where 

. the bottom instead of being scoured deeper has been silted up. . 

The results of the recent work, though considerably more extensive than was hoped fron1 

an investigation covering so short a time, are meager. The inferences as to the significance qf 

the data so far gathered may be incorrect, and new work may lead to conclusions very different 

from those which now seem most reasonable. For example, it may be found that at a depth 

of 50 feet or more the material is quite diffe;r0nt from that which has so far been penetrated, 

that it is more fluid, and that it has played the most active part in mud-lump growth. 

The new hypothesis, which seen1s better favored by the data now in hand than any other, 

is· that the mud lumps are produced by a gentle seaward· flow of layers of semifluid clay under 

1 Shaw, E. W., Gas from mud lumps at the mouths of the Mississippi: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 541-A, pp. 12-15, 1913. 
THE MUD LUMPS A1; THE MOUTHS OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 27 

the land and the shallow water near the ends of the passes, where this fiow is opposed by the 

co.mparatively resistant parts of the foreset beds. The tendency to flow is assumed to be due to 

pressure developed by constant additions of sediment. Between the passes, where the material is cln.yey and very yielding, this fiow may reasonably take place without much upward 

budding anywhere, but near the ends of the passes, where wave and current action sort the 

sediment and carry away some of the :fine particles, leaving the more resistant n1aterial, the 

n1ateriu.l is ·n1ore sn.ncly and resistant. Also there is a greater lack of equilibrium between the 

hen.vy land on the one side of a well-defined line and the water-only about half as heavy-on 

the other than there is between the passes, where the angle between the top and front of the 

Delta is not nearly so well defined. It seems reasonable to suppose that in places along the 

border between the con1paratively resistant and steeply clipping parts of the foreset be.cls and the 

cln.y-bearing beds toward the land the pressure n1ay be relieved by upward buckling accompanied 

by great thickening of the clay. Such phenomena are not rare. The fiowage of sen1ifluid clay 

has bet;}n frequently observe·d. It sometimes causes· great difficulty in railway building or gives 

rise to surprising changes in swan1ps. The unequal and intermittent settling of jetties, though 

they are well founded on large willow mattresses, also suggests squeezing and flowage. This 

settling luts caused the abandonment of concrete for jetty building and a return to the use of 

large blocks of crushed stone. The mud lumps appear to be the product of flow, because in 

no other places have such thick bodies of clay been found, and the facts that they occur almost 

exclusively nen.t· the ends of the passes-n1ost commonly west of them, where probably the 

principal part of the sediment is being deposited-and that they are most active during and 

after times of high water seem to be in accord with the hypothesis here presented. 

The full details of the process will probably not be know.n until much more :field work has 

been done. Perhaps if the origin of the mud lumps can be learned, th~ir formation in places 

where they are objectionable 1nay be prevented by shifting the locality of deposit or by modifying in some way the distribution of the sediment. The fact that other large deltas are without mud lumps appears to o:ffe:r encouragement that n. solution of the problen1 n1ay be found. 

0