Pleistocene(?) and Holocene 

Fluvial History of U phapee Creek, 

Macon County, Alabama 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1522 

Pleistocene(?) and Holocene 

Fluvial History of U phapee Creek, 

Macon County, Alabama 

By HELAINE W. MARKEWICH and RAYMOND A. CHRISTOPHER 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1522 

A paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic 

reconstruction of Holocene 

sedimentation and incision in an 

upper Coastal Plain stream valley 

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1982 
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

JAMES G. WATT, Secretary 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

Dallas L. Peck, Director 

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data 

Markewich, Helaine W. 

Pleistocene(?) and Holocene fluvial history of Uphapee Creek, Macon County, Alabama. 

(Geological Survey bulletin ; 1522) 

Bibliography: p. 

Supt. of Docs. no.: I 19.3:1522 

1. Geology, Stratigraphic-Quaternary. 2. Geology-Alabama-Uphapee Creek watershed. 

3. Terraces (Geology)-Alabama- Uphapee Creek watershed. I. Christopher, Raymond A. 

II. Title. III. Series. 

QE75.B9 no. 1522 [QE696] 557.3s 81-607035 [551.7'9'0976149] AACR2 

For sale by the Distribution Branch, U.S. Geological Survey, 

604 South Pickett Street, Alexandria, VA 22304 
CONTENTS 

Page 

Abstract____________________________________________________________ 1 

Introduction --------------------------------------------------------- 1 

Acknowledgments ----------------------------------------~------- 2 

Geologic setting------------------------------------------------------ 2 

Results ------------------------------------------------------------- 4 

Lithologic characteristics of the Uphapee Creek valley fill_________________ 7 

Ages of the Uphapee Creek alluvial terraces____________________________ 7 

Paleontology ----------------------------------------------------- 10 

Discussion ---------------------------------------------------------- 12 

References cited ----------------------------------------------------- 16 

ILLUSTRATIONS 

FIGURE 1. Index map showing major rivers and streams between Auburn and 

Montgomery, Ala., and outcrop of Piedmont crystalline rocks and 

Page 

sediments of Late Cretaceous age ____________________________ 3 

2. Geologic map showing terraces along Uphapee Creek, cross-section 

lines, and exposures --------------------------------------- 6 

3, 4. Photographs showing3. Three lithologies composing the at3 valley fill at locality M-5 __ 8 

4. Clay lens containing plant megafossils in alluvium of at1 

terrace -------------------------------------------- 9 

5. Cross-valley profiles showing outcrop pattern of alluvial terraces along 

Uphapee Creek------------------------------------------- 15 

6. Photograph along Uphapee Creek and contact between gravelly 

alluvium of at1 terrace and red kaolinitic clay of Upper Cretaceous 

Tuscaloosa Group----------------------------------------- 16 

TABLES 

TABLE 1. Characteristics of the present flood plain and the three terraces identified along Uphapee Creek, Macon County, Ala., and of the 

alluvium underlying the present flood plain and two of the three terPage 

races identified along Uphapee Creek, Macon County, Ala.________ 4 

2. Relative frequency data for the microflora contained in carbonaceous 

clay of the at1 valley fill of Uphapee Creek and its stratigraphic 

equivalent from the Tallapoosa River _________________________ 11 

3. Occurrence of plant megafossils in carbonaceous clay incorporated in 

the at1 valley fill of Uphapee Creek ___________________________ 12 

III 
Metric unit 

millimeter (mm) meter (m) 

kilometer ( km) 

squar<> met<>r {m~) 

squar<> kilometer (km2 ) 

hectare ( ha) 

cubic centim,eter ( cm3 ) 

liter (L) 

cubic meter (m3) 

cubic meter cubic hectometer (hm:J) 

liter 

liter 

liter 

cubic meter 

cubic meter 

gram (g) 

gram 

m<>tric tons (t) 

metric tons 

kilogram per square 

centimeter (kg/cm2) 

kilogram per square 

centimeter 

cubic meter per second 

(m3 /s) 

CONVERSION FACTORS 

Inch-Poun<l equivalt>n t Metric unit Iueh-Pountl equivalent 

Length Specific combinations-Continued 

0.030:.::7 inch (in) 

3.28 feet ( ft) . 62 mile (mi) 

Area 

10.76 

.386 

2.47 

Volume 

0.061 

6'1.03 

35.31 

.00081 

=810.7 

2.113 

1.06 

.26 

.00026 

6.290 

Weight 

O.O:{ii 

.0022 

1.102 

0.9842 

square feet (ft2) 

S<JUare mile (mi2) acres 

cubic inch (in3) 

cubic inches 

cubic feet (ft3) tu~re-foot (acre-ft) 

acre-feet 

pints (pt) 

quarts (qt) 

gallon (gal) 

million gallons ( Mgal or 106 ~al) 

barrels (bbl) (1 bbl=42 ~al) 

ounce, avoirdupois (oz avdp) 

pound, avoirdupois Ob avdp) 

tons, short ( 2,000 lb) 

ton, long ( 2,240 lb) 

Specific combinations 

0.96 

.98 

3;).3 

atmosphere (atm) 

bar (0.9,869 atm) 

cubic feet per second (ft3/s) 

liter IWr ilecond (L/il) 

cubic meter per second 

per square kilometer 

[ ( m'~/s) /km2] nwter per day (m/d) 

meter per kilometer 

(m/km) 

kilometer per hour 

(km/h) 

nwter per second (m/s) 

meter squared per day (m2jd) 

cubic nwter per second 

(mil/s) 

cubic mo>ter per minute 

(ma;min) 

litH per second <L/s) 

liter per second per 

metPr [ (L/s)/m) 

kilonwter per hour 

(km/h) 

meter ver seeond (m/s) 

gram per cubic 

centimeter (gjcm."J) 

gram per square 

centimeter (g/cm2) 

gram per square 

c<>ntimeter 

degree Celsius ( oc) 

degrees Celsius 

(temr1erature) 

.0:353 

91.47 

3.28 

5.28 

.9113 

3.28 

10.7M 

22.826 

=264.2 

1G.85 

4.83 

.62 

2.237 

612.43 

2.048 

cubic foot per second 

cubic feet per second per 

square mile [ (ft:Jjs) jml2 ] 

feet per day (hydraulic 

conductivity) (ft/d) 

feet per mile (ft/mi) 

foot per second (ft/s) 

feet per second 

feet squared per day (ft2 /d) 

(transmissivity) 

million gallons per day 

(Mgal/d) 

gallons per minute (gal/min) 

gallons per minute 

gallons per minute per foot 

[ (gal/min) /ft] 

mile per hour (mi/h) 

miles per hour 

pounds per cubic foot (lb/ft3) 

pounds per square foot (lb/ft2) 

.0142 pound per square inch (lb/in2) 

Temperature 

1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (°F) 

= [ ( 1.8 X °C) +32] degrees Fahrenheit 
PLEISTOCENE(?) AND HOLOCENE FLUVIAL 

HISTORY OF UPHAPEE CREEK, 

MACON COUNTY, ALABAMA 

By HELAINE W. MARKEWICH and RAYMOND A. CHRISTOPHER 

ABSTRACT 

Uphapee Creek, Macon County, Ala., a fourth-order stream of the Mobile River basin, 

was chosen as a test drainage for a first attempt at reconstructing the Pleistocene and 

Holocene history of a stream in the Coastal Plain province of the Southeastern United 

States. Two distinct and several poorly defined terraces are present in the valleys of 

Uphapee Creek and its tributaries. The most extensive and well defined of these is the at1 

terrace, which is adjacent to the stream and which forms the present valley floor. 

Radiocarbon ages on wood from carbonaceous clay lenses within the at1 terrace alluvium 

are 6,360±110 and 7,520±110 years B.P. An age of 27,740±520 years B.P., obtained 

from wood incorporated in a clay pod that was reworked into the at1 alluvium, indicates 

at least one period of deposition and subsequent erosion during the late Pleistocene. 

Although we cannot determine the age of a distinct but dissected ats terrace at present, 

the soil and weathering profiles suggest a possible middle to late Pleistocene period of 

deposition. We found no evidence for Tertiary-age material within the valley ofUphapee 

Creek. If Tertiary deposits are present in the area, they are most probably represented 

by the high-level gravels that cap the Tuscaloosa Group 30 to 50 m above the present 

valley floor. Fossils from several localities within the present flood plain and the at1 terrace indicate that the valley fill was deposited under a humid subtropical climatic regime 

similar to that of the present. 

INTRODUCTION 

As part of a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) program designed to 

evaluate the Quaternary climatic history of the United States, we investigated the fluvial deposits of Uphapee Creek, Macon County, Ala., 

a fourth-order stream of the Mobile River basin. This investigation was 

an initial attempt at reconstructing and integrating the geologic and 

climatic histories of streams in the Coastal Plain physiographic province. A reconnaissance study of several streams in eastern Alabama 

and western Georgia that were suitable for such a pilot study showed 

that the alluvial deposits of Uphapee Creek are well exposed along its 

length and that its vall~y fill contains several carbonaceous clay lenses 

and fossil material for paleoecologic, paleoclimatic, and radiometric 

analyses. 

1 
2 FLUVIAL HISTORY, UPHAPEE CREEK, ALABAMA 

Our interpretation of the geologic history of Uphapee Creek is based 

on airphoto interpretation, field investigations, shallow augering, and 

sedimentary, paleontologic, and radiocarbon analyses. We restricted 

our study to the alluvial sediments contained within the valley of 

Uphapee Creek; high-level gravels that cap the surrounding Upper 

Cretaceous Tuscaloosa Group, 30 m or more above the present stream, 

will not be discussed here. Their relationship, if any, to Uphapee Creek 

is not clear at present. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

We are especially indebted to J. T. Hack, USGS, for the time he spent 

with us discussing many aspects of fluvial processes. Meyer Rubin, 

USGS, supplied radiocarbon ages; Donna L. Shipp, George Mason 

University, Fairfax, Va., identified the plant megafossils; T. J. Carrington, Department of Geology, Auburn University, Auburn, Ala., 

helped us with the logistics of the fieldwork; and Roy W. Owen, U.S. 

Steel, Birmingham, Ala., allowed us to use data collected by him while 

he was a student at Auburn University; for their help we are most 

grateful. 

GEOLOGIC SETTING 

Uphapee Creek is formed by the junction of Chewacla and Opintlocco 

Creeks, 6.4 km southeast of Tuskegee, Ala. (fig. 1). The creek joins the 

Tallapoosa River 19 km to the west, where the Tallapoosa changes its 

course from south-southeast to due west. Uphapee Creek is entirely 

within the Coastal Plain strata of the Upper Cretaceous Tuscaloosa 

Group, although two of its larger tributaries, Chewacla and Choctafaula Creeks, drain Piedmont crystalline rocks as well as sands and 

clays of the Tuscaloosa Group. Opintlocco Creek, the other major 

tributary to Uphapee Creek, drains both the Tuscaloosa Group and the 

overlying sands and clays of the Upper Cretaceous Eutaw Formation. 

The Piedmont rocks drained by tributaries of U phapee Creek include 

(1) feldspathic mica schist, biotite gneiss, granite, and augen gneiss of 

the Wacoochee Belt of Adams (1933), as modified by Bentley and 

Neathery (1970); (2) mylonite of the Goat Rock and Towaliga fault 

zones; and (3) schist and gneiss of the Opelika Complex of Bentley and 

Neathery (1970). The outcrop pattern of these rocks trends northeast, 

and many lithotypes extend into Georgia. To the southwest, in eastern 

Alabama, the Piedmont rocks are buried beneath the sands and clays of 

the Tuscaloosa Group. 

The two formations of the Upper Cretaceous Tuscaloosa Group that 

are recognized in western Alabama (the Coker and overlying Gordo 

Formations) cannot be discerned in the study area. However, four 
GEOLOGIC SETTING 3 

'• . . . 10 MILES·. . . . . . 

I I:·:·.<··,-:-.'·.:: .. : ... 

15 ~ILOMETERS .' . > : . . ... . . . . 

32°15'L: .:....· · ...:....:....:·~· ..:..:_. ~~...:.....:...· :..:.· ........:..:....:.:...:..~.:...:....:.~·:..:.·L·..:..,·~..:....:..· ·_,_..:..· ..:...,..:.·_· .:.......:.....:....,__·_·....:.·_·_,___· ·-=---'--'--___:.--'-'-~~ 

Index map 

8 

of Alabama 

showing area of report 

EXPLANATION 

CJ Eutaw Formation 

L2J Tuscaloosa Group 

!:::::::j Piedmont rocks 

FIGURE 1.-Index map showing the major rivers and streams beween Auburn and 

Montgomery, Ala., and the approximate outcrop patterns of the Piedmont 

crystalline rocks and the sediments of Late Cretaceous age. 

distinct lithologies can be differentiated within the Tuscaloosa Group of 

eastern Alabama: (1) crossbedded feldspathic and kaolinitic sand (the 

dominant lithology), which commonly contains gravel lenses and 

stringers; (2) interfingering red-mottled massive kaolinitic clay, commonly containing burrows, and green-mottled micaceous feldspathic 

medium- to coarse-grained quartz sand (the second most dominant 

lithologies); (3) and ( 4) rare occurrences of massive (3) and laminated ( 4) 

carbonaceous clay, commonly containing leaf fossils and lignitized, 

pyritized, or silicified wood. 

In eastern Alabama, the Eutaw Formation unconformably overlies 

the Tuscaloosa Group and consists of massive to crossbedded 

glauconitic fossiliferous sand alternating with planar to massively 

bedded marine silt and clay. 
4 FLUVIAL HISTORY, UPHAPEE CREEK, ALABAMA 

RESULTS 

We mapped three terrace levels within the valley of Uphapee Creek 

(fig. 2), primarily on the basis of airphoto interpretation and field investigations. Terrace levels at1 and at3 are geomorphically and 

lithologically distinct from one another but are relatively homogeneous 

within themselves; each represents a former flood plain of Uphapee 

Creek. Terrace at2 , restricted to the eastern part of the mapped area, is 

complex and consists of indistinct, poorly exposed terraces that may 

represent several depositional periods. Poor exposures and the localized areal extent of the at2 terrace prevented us from obtaining enough 

information to determine the number of depositional and erosional 

cycles included in this unit and to characterize the sediment of the individual terrace levels. Therefore, we defined the a~ terrace simply on 

the basis of its topographic position; it is a series of small isolated 

poorly preserved terraces at levels between those of terraces at1 and 

at3 • The most salient characteristics of the present flood plain and the 

three terraces in the valley of U phapee Creek are presented in table lA 

and B. 

Uphapee Creek is graded to the Tallapoosa River, and at the junction 

of these two streams, the present flood plains merge. The flood plain of 

U phapee Creek is most extensive in the lower half of the drainage 

basin. 

The topographies of the at1 and at3 terraces suggest that each terrace was at one time continuous across the valley as an undissected 

TABLE lA.- Characteristics of the present flood plain and the three terraces identified 

along Uphapee Creek, Macon County, Ala. 

Alluvium 

Present flood plain 

Terrace at, _____ _ 

Terrace at2 _____ _ 

Terrace a~ _____ _ 

Gradient 

(m/km) 

Top Bottom 

1.0 No data 

1.0 1.1-1.3 

Not applicable Not applicable 

1.5 No data 

Distribution 

Most extensive along lower half of Uphapee Creek. Upstream, flood plain forms small isolated patches. 

Maximum width is 1.0 km. Included in flood-plain deposits are sandbars associated with the present stream. 

Well-defined, continuous, along the length of Uphapee Creek. Grades downstream into terrace along 

Tallapoosa .River and upstream into flood plain of Opintlocco and Chewacla Creeks. Maximum width, 2.1 km. 

Indistinct levels, restricted to eastern part of map area. In this category we have grouped what may represent several small, 

poorly preserved terraces that 

have altitudes between those of terraces at, and at3 • 

A series of discontinuous surfaces 

that are best developed along the south valley wall of Uphapee Creek. Maximum width of terrace, 0.8 km. 

Vertical distance above present 

stream' 

(m) 

Lowest: 0 Average: 1.8 Highest: 6.1 

Lowest: 3.7 Average: 6.7 Highest: 9.1 

Lowest: 9.1 Highest: 13.7 

Lowest: 15.2 

Average: 19.8 Highest: 21.3 

1 For terraces measured at four or more localities, we have calculated the lowest, average, and highest vertical 

distances above the present stream. For terraces measured at fewer than four localities, only the lowest and highest 

values are provided. Measurements used to determine vertical distance were taken from midpoint of terrace width. 
RESULTS 5 

TABLE lB.- Characteristics of the alluvium underlying the present flood plain and two of 

the three terraces identified along Uphapee Creek, Macon County, Ala. 

[No data are available for alluvium underlying terrace at.d 

Alluvium Thickness' 

(m) 

Present flood plain Minimum: 2.1 

Maximum: 2.7 

Terrace at 1 ______ Minimum: 2.4 

Average: 3.7 

Maximum: 6.1 

Terrace at3 ______ Minimum: 9.1 

Maximum: 10.7 

Grain size 

Predominantly fine- to 

coarse-grained sand 

containing local beds 

of clay and silt. 

Sandbars, included in 

this flood plain, also 

contain cobble and 

small boulder gravel 

and an occasional 

piece of silicified 

Cretaceous wood 

measuring as much as 

0.5 m in diameter and 

1 m in length. 

Medium- to coarsegrained sand, and 

pebble to cobble gravel 

in approximately equal 

volumes. Silt and 

clay restricted to 

rare lenses at 

the base of the unit 

and to meander fills 

of channels cut 

into alluvium? 

Where exposed, alluvium consists of three 

lithologic units. 

Basal unit is a 

coarse-grained sand 

containing lenses of 

cobble gravel. Middle 

unit is a sandy clay. 

Upper unit is a fineto medium-, occa· 

sionally coarse-grained 

sand. 

Composition 

Quartz sand and quartzite 

gravel and cobbles and 

some rock fragments. 

Clays are predominantly 

kaolinitic, containing 

some illite and illite/ 

smectite. 

Quartz sand and quartzite 

pebbles and gravel 

containing some 

rock fragments. Local lenses of highly 

carbonaceous and 

fossiliferous clay 

are mixed kaolinite and 

illite-illite/smectite; 

kaolinite dominates. 

Quartz sand and quartzite 

gravels and cobbles 

and some rock 

fragments. Clay is 

kaolinite. 

Structures 

Sandbars show highangle crossbedding. 

No data available 

for other deposits 

associated with this 

terrace. 

Crossbedded, finingupward sequence, 

local planar 

bedding near the 

top of the alluvium. 

Local cut-and-fill. 

Most sand and gravel 

are crossbedded; 

clay and some finegrained sand are 

planar bedded. 

1 For alluvium underlying terrace at, which was measured at 18 localities, we have calculated the minimum, 

average, and maximum thicknesses. For alluvium underlying the flood plain and terrace ats, which was measured at 

fewer than four localities, only the minimum and maximum values are provided. 

2 See discussion in text of radiocarbon ages of alluvium underlying this terrace. 

valley fill. Further, the at1 terrace is inset into the valley that was entrenched into the at3 alluvial deposits. 

The at1 terrace surface is the most extensive and well defined of the 

three levels and forms most of the valley floqr of U phapee Creek. From 

its headwaters at the junction of Opintlocco and Chewacla Creeks, 

U phapee Creek cuts through the at1 valley fill into the underlying 

Tuscaloosa sand and clay; upstream, the at1 terrace forms the flood 

plain of each of these tributaries. The at1 terrace grades downstream 

into an extensive terrace adjacent to the Tallapoosa River. Neither the 

at2 terrace, restricted to the eastern part of the mapped area, nor the 

at3 terrace, best exposed along the south valley wall, can be easily 

traced into terraces downstream along the Tallapoosa River or 

upstream into the valleys of Opintlocco and Chewacla Creeks. 
85°52'30" 45' 8' 85°37'30" 

32°30' •. 

EXPLANATION 

I.:·. <:.·-:··.:1 Flood-plain deposits 

0 Alluvial deposits associated with 

terrace at, 

Alluvial deposits associated with 

terrace at 2 

Alluvial deposits associated with 

terrace at3 D D Upper Cretaceous Eutaw 

Formation and Tuscaloosa 

Group, undivided 

Index map of Alabama 

32°22'30" showing area of report 

0 1 2 MILES 

0 1 2 KILOMETERS 

FIGURE 2.- Geologic map showing the terraces along Uphapee Creek, the cross-section lines for the profiles in figure 5, and the locations of 

exposures referred to in the text. 

~ 

'"%j 

t""4 

c:::: 

-< 

> t""4 

~ ~ 

en 

~ 

0 

~ 

-~ 

C! 

'"'0 

~ 

> '"'0 

tz:j 

tz:j 

0 

~ tz:j 

~ 

> t""4 

> ttl 

> s:: 

> 
RESULTS 7 

LITHOLOGIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE UPHAPEE CREEK VALLEY FILL 

The lithology and sedimentary structures of the alluvial sediments of 

the present flood plain and those of the at1 and at3 terraces are similar. 

There are no outcrops of the a~ valley fill and therefore no available 

data. In all places, the sand fraction is dominantly quartz, as are the 

pebble- and cobble-size clasts; some rock fragments are present in the 

larger size categories. The clay-size fraction constitutes a small 

percentage of the alluvium of U phapee Creek. In fact, only the a~ 

valley fill has distinct clay beds that are continuous for several meters; 

clay lenses in the flood plain and the at1 terrace are thin and discontinuous. X-ray analyses show that kaolinite is the only clay mineral 

present in the at3 alluvium and is the dominant mineral in the floodplain deposits and at1 valley fill. Materials of both the flood plain and 

the at1 terrace contain minor amounts of illite and illite/smectite. 

Exposures of both the at1 and at3 valley fill, as well as those of the 

present flood plain, show fining-upward sequences that grade from 

crossbedded coarse sand and gravel at the base to planar-bedded 

medium sand at the top. This fining-upward sequence of sediments is 

consistent in all examined outcrops and auger samples of the at1 

alluvium. However, one exposure in the at3 terrace (fig. 2, loc. M-5) 

shows an interruption in this sequence; here, a distinct 25 m-long sandy 

clay bed, as much as 1 m thick, separates a 3-4-m-thick basal crossbedded coarse-grained sand and cobble gravel from an upper 

6-8-m-thick, fine- to medium-grained planar to crossbedded sand (fig. 

3). Sand and gravel bars in the flood plain of Uphapee Creek are 

dominantly coarse-grained quartz sand and pebble-cobble gravel, which 

have the same crossbedding characteristics that we observed in the 

basal sand and gravel of the at1 and at3 deposits. Fragments of 

petrified wood as much as 1 m in diameter have been observed. Both 

the flood plain and at1 valley fill are extensively mined for sand and 

gravel. Apparently the clay beds in the a~ alluvium preclude these 

deposits from being an economic source of sand and gravel. 

AGES OF THE UPHAPEE CREEK ALLUVIAL TERRACES 

We have assigned a Holocene age to the at1 valley fill on the basis of 

radiocarbon analyses, and an early to middle Pleistocene age for the at3 

alluvium on the basis of soil development and depth of weathering; 

hence, the early to middle Pleistocene age assigned to the at3 valley fill 

is subjective and may be modified as the result of further study. We 

consider the age of the flood plain of Uphapee Creek to be between that 

of the at1 terrace and the present. 

Wood incorporated in the at1 terrace alluvium yielded radiocarbon 

ages of 250 ± 70 (USGS Radiocarbon Lab. No. W -4282), 6,360 ± 110 

(W-4320), 7,520± 110 (W-4319), and 27,740± 520 (W-4281) years B.P. 
8 FLUVIAL HISTORY, UPHAPEE CREEK, ALABAMA 

FIGURE 3. -The three lithologies composing the ata valley fill at locality M-5 (fig. 2). 
RESULTS 9 

FIGURE 4.-Carbonaceous clay lens 20 em thick containing plant megafossils in gravelly 

alluvium of the at1 terrace. Note that the lens is immediately above the contact between 

the alluvium and the underlying red clay of the Upper Cretaceous Tuscaloosa Group. 

Outcrop is in the cutbank of Uphapee Creek near Chehaw, Macon County, Ala. (fig. 2, 

loc. M-4). 

(see tables 3 and 4 for radiocarbon ages associated with specific 

localities and paleobotanical data). Of these four ages, we consider only 

two (6,360 and 7,520 years B.P.; fig. 2, locs. M-4 and M-1, respectively) to reflect the true age of the at1 alluvium. The clays from which 

the wood was obtained are stratigraphically near the base of the unit 

and have internal bedding consistent with that of the surrounding 

deposits (fig. 4). This conclusion is substantiated by three similar 

radiocarbon ages-5,260±90 (W-4442), 5,470±100 (W-4406), and 

6,520±60 (W-4398) years B.P.-based on wood and disseminated carbonaceous matter from the Tallapoosa River valley fill that grades into 

the at1 terrace of Uphapee Creek. Therefore, the most extensive and 

well-defined terrace of Uphapee Creek is Holocene in age. The 

Holocene age for the at1 terrace deposits implies that for Uphapee 

Creek, the most recent phase of extensive alluvial deposition was between 6,360 and 7,520 years B.P., and the range in age of the at1 terrace deposits is on the order of 1,000 radiocarbon years. 

The radiocarbon age of 250±70 years B.P. (fig. 2, loc. M-2) is from 

wood incorporated in the fill of an abandoned meander cut into the 
10 FLUVIAL HISTORY, UPHAPEE CREEK, ALABAMA 

alluvium of the at1 terrace. At this locality, a cross section of this abandoned meander is exposed in a cutbank of the present stream. The vertical distance between the bottom of the present stream channel and 

the bottom of the meander is 2 m, which implies a maximum downcutting of 2 m within the last 250 radiocarbon years. 

The radiocarbon age of 27,740±520 years B.P. (fig. 2, loc. M-3) is 

from wood incorporated in a pod of carbonaceous clay that we interpret 

as having been reworked. Our interpretation is based on the lack of internal bedding within the pod and the random orientation of the wood. 

The radiocarbon age associated with this clay, however, implies alluvial 

sedimentation at 27,740 years B.P. Incorporation of this clay into the 

much younger at1 alluvium is evidence of an erosional period between 

the original deposition of the clay and the deposition of the at1 

alluvium. We found no other material of this age in the mapped area. 

The middle to late Pleistocene age of the alluvium of the at3 terrace is 

inferred from its weathering profile and soil development (loc. M-5). 

Whereas sediments of the present flood plain and the at1 terrace are 

weathered to a maximum depth of 2-2.5 m, the atg terrace is 

weathered to 10 m. The soil in the at1 terrace is thin (90-cm-thick 

pedon) and has only a cambic B horizon. The soil in the atg terrace is 

thick, having a pedon 300 em thick; the well-developed textural B 

horizon is deep red and is 150 em thick. Work is in progress relating soil 

development and degree of weathering to age of the surface in the Middle Atlantic States of New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia. Our data 

from Alabama appear to be comparable with those for soils assumed to 

be middle Pleistocene in age in the Middle Atlantic States, but as no 

surface has been definitely dated as middle Pleistocene in either region, 

our interpretation is both preliminary and subjective. The warmer 

climate of Alabama may produce much more intensely weathered and 

better developed soils than soils of the same age in similar material in 

the Middle Atlantic States to the north. Therefore, the atg valley fill 

may be as young as late Pleistocene (that is, several hundred thousand 

years old). 

PALEONTOLOGY 

Table 2 gives relative frequencies of spores and pollen from carbonaceous clays incorporated in the Uphapee Creek and Tallapoosa 

River valley fill; table 3 shows the occurrence of plant megafossils in 

these deposits. 

Both the microfossil and megafossil data show that the at1 terrace 

alluvium (fig. 2, locs. M-1, M-4) of Uphapee Creek and its stratigraphic 

equivalent along the Tallapoosa River (samples 79W-83a, 79W-121) 

were deposited under humid subtropical climatic conditions similar to 

those in the area today. During deposition of the at1 valley fill, the flora 
DISCUSSION 11 

TABLE 2. -Relative frequency da.ta (in percent) for the microj7ora contained in carbonaceous clay of the at1 valley fill of Uphapee Creek and its stratigraphic equivalent 

from the Tallapoosa River 

[ + present but not included in count: n.p., not present] 

Locality number and associated radiocarbon age 

(in radiocarbon years) 

Uphapee Creek Tallapoosa River 

Taxa 

M-1 M-2 M-4 M-3 79W-83a 79W-121 

250+ 70 7,520± 110 6,360± 110 27,740+520 5,470± 100 5,260±90 

Trees and shrubs: 

Pinus spp. (pine)-------------- 31.1 15.6 30.0 11.7 30.4 23.5 

Taxodiaceae-CupressaceaeTaxaceae (Taxodium types) ___ 3.6 2.0 1.9 11.0 1.7 3.4 Quercus spp. (oak) ____________ 18.2 39.4 32.1 10.0 27.4 28.2 

Liquidambar spp. (sweet gum) __ 3.6 1.9 5.7 n.p. 3.3 4.4 

Cary a spp. (hickory) ___________ 2.3 4.8 6.4 2.3 6.0 3.0 Betula spp. (birch) ____________ 2.7 8.9 5.4 .3 5.0 6.4 

Nyssa spp. (black gum) ________ 4.6 2.5 1.3 n.p. 2.3 1.3 

Ulmus spp. (elm)-------------- 2.3 1.6 .3 n.p. 1.7 5.4 

Ostrya-Carpinus (ironwood, 

hornbeam, hop hornbeam) ____ 6.0 7.3 6.0 n.p. 2.3 3.7 

Alnus spp. (alder) _____________ 1.0 1.0 n.p. .7 1.3 1.3 

Salix spp. (willow) ____________ 5.6 1.9 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.7 

Cornw; spp. (dogwood) _________ + 1.3 .6 n.p. n.p. .7 !lex spp. (holly) _______________ + n.p. n.p. n.p. .7 .3 

Castanea spp. (chestnut) _______ n.p. n.p. n.p. .7 n.p. .3 

Fraxinus spp. (ash) ___________ n.p. .6 .6 n.p. n.p. .7 

Gory/us spp. (hazelnut) ________ n.p. n.p. n.p. .7 n.p. .7 

Tilia spp. (basswood) __________ .3 .3 n.p. n.p. .7 n.p. 

Acer spp. (maple) _____________ 2.0 .3 .6 n.p. 1.7 n.p. 

Ericaceae (heath family) _______ n.p. n.p. n.p. n.p. .3 n.p. 

Juglans spp. (walnut) __________ n.p. .3 1.0 n.p. n.p. n.p. 

Herbs: 

Compositae, short-spined 

(composite family) ___________ 8.6 .3 .6 23.3 1.3 2.7 

Compositae, long-spined 

(composite family) ___________ n.p. n.p. n.p. 3.7 .7 1.3 

Gramineae (grass family) _______ .3 n.p. .6 .7 1.0 .3 

Chenopodiaceae (goosefoot 

family) -------------------- .3 n.p. n.p. 1.7 .7 .7 

Aquatic plants: Liliaceae (lily family) __________ .3 n.p. n.p. n.p. 1.0 n.p. 

Spores: Sphagnum spp. (moss) _________ .3 n.p. n.p. 2.7 n.p. n.p. 

Osmunda spp. (flowering fern) __ n.p. n.p. .6 n.p. n.p. n.p. 

Polypodium spp. (polypody fern) n.p. n.p. .6 n.p. n.p. n.p. 

Sellaginelloides -------------- n.p. n.p. n.p. 8.0 n.p. n.p. 

Indeterminate --------------- 1.7 2.5 n.p. 8.7 2.3 3.4 

Algae: Pseudoschizaea sp ____________ n.p. n.p. n.p. 1.3 1.0 .7 Reworked Cretaceous forms _______ n.p. n.p. n.p. .7 n.p. n.p. 

Others ------------------------- 5.0 2.9 3.8 11.0 6.0 6.8 

appears to have been dominated by a pine-oak forest composed 

primarily of arboreal hardwoods; herbs, aquatic plants, and ferns constitute only a small percentage of both the microflora and megaflora. 

Pollen data (table 2) suggest that similar climatic and vegetational 

conditions may have prevailed as recently as 250 years B.P. (fig. 2, loc. 

M-2), but at that time, herbaceous plants, specifically the composites, 

assumed a more dominant role, apparently at the expense of oak. The 

rise in herbaceous pollen at that time might reflect increased open-field 

conditions; megafossil data (table 3) suggest, however, that the flora 

was still dominated by oak. 
12 FLUVIAL HISTORY, UPHAPEE CREEK, ALABAMA 

TABLE 3.-Occurrence of plant megafossils in carbonaceous clay incorporated in the at1 

valley fill of Uphapee Creek 

[Analysis by Donna L. Shipp, Department of Botany, George Mason University, Fairfax, Va.; +,present] 

Locality number and associated radiocarbon age 

Taxa 

Trees and shrubs: 

Pinus spp. (pine)------------------------------------

P. taeda (loblolly pine)--------------------------------

Acer rubrum (red maple)-----------------------------

Betula nigra (river birch) -----------------------------

Fagus grandifolia (large-leaved beech) ------------------

Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip poplar)-------------------

Carya tomentosa (mockernut) -------------------------

Platanus occidentalis (sycamore) ----------------------

Quercus alba (white oak)-----------------------------

Q. coccinea (scarlet oak)------------------------------

Q. phellos (willow oak) -------------------------------

Q. nigra (water oak) ---------------------------------

Q. michauxii (swamp chestnut oak)---------------------

Q. stellata (post oak)---------------------------------

Carpinus caroliniana (American hornbeam) ____________ _ 

!lex opaca (American holly) ---------------------------

Salix n·igra (black willow)-----------------------------

Fmxinus sp. (ash)-----------------------------------

Viburnum dentatum (southern arrow-wood) -------------

Ulmus alata (wahoo elm) -----------------------------

Herbs: 

Rhychospora sp. (beak-rush) --------------------------

M-1 

250±70 

+ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

(in radiocarbon years) 

M-2 M-4 

7,520± 110 6,360± 110 

+ + 

+ 

+ + 

+ + 

+ + 

+ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

+ + 

+ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

Although pine and oak pollen dominate the arboreal pollen in a sample from locality M-3 (radiocarbon age 27,740±520 years B.P.), their 

total percentages are comparatively low; the herbaceous composites 

account for 27 percent of the assemblage. These data seem to indicate 

that at the time of deposition, herbaceous plants were far more dominant than they would be 20,000 radiocarbon years later. The 

microfloral assemblage from this sample can be correlated with Watts' 

(1973) zone G-4 (the Pinus-Quercus-Herb zone) that was established for 

Bartow County, northwest Georgia. According to Watts, this zone, 

dated as older than 29,630± 1,400 years B.P., suggests a dryprairielike 

herb-rich grassland that was locally treeless. Although Pinus and 

Quercus were both present, other tree species are poorly represented. 

DISCUSSION 

Our study of the history of U phapee Creek is an initial attempt at 

reconstructing the geologic and climatic histories of streams in the 

southeastern Coastal Plain. Our results demonstrate that a combination of soil studies, palynology, and plant megafossil evidence may provide a basis for interpreting the fluvial history of a part of the eastern 

Gulf Coastal Plain. Our data suggest that Uphapee Creek has been a 
DISCUSSION 13 

degrading stream throughout most of its history. The following is a 

chronology of events during part of the Quaternary in the valley of 

Uphapee Creek: 

1. Incision of the valley of Uphapee Creek into the Tuscaloosa Group 

as the result of one or more periods of erosion at some time prior 

to deposition of the at3 fill. 

2. Deposition of the atg valley fill, probably during the middle to 

late Pleistocene. Because of its thickness (10 m) and the three 

distinct lithologic units within the fill, we interpret the atg fill as 

reflecting a minor aggradational phase of Uphapee Creek. 

3. Entrenchment through the at3 valley fill into the Tuscaloosa Group 

by the trunk stream (Uphapee Creek), and dissection of the valley 

fill by lateral (that is, tributary) streams that may have been 

graded to the at3 valley fill prior to this period of entrenchment or 

that began during this period of downcutting. Some of these 

tributaries (for example, Choctafaula Creek) may also have cut 

through the valley fill into the Tuscaloosa Group. During this 

phase, a sequence of flood plains formed and were abandoned. The 

earlier ones are represented by the complex at2 terrace. The 

27,7 40 years B.P. clay pod probably has been reworked from one 

of these former flood plains. 

4. Deposition of the at1 valley fill. 

5. Entrenchment through the at1 valley fill downstream from the junction of Chewacla and Opintlocco Creeks. 

6. Deposition of the present flood plain. The 250 years B.P. meander 

fill is included with these deposits. 

The lack of data on the history of the valley, prior to deposition of the 

atg valley fill and between deposition of the at3 and the at1 valley fill, indicates that a large part of the Pleistocene record is missing. The few 

remnants of terrace levels mapped as at2 provide our only clues to the 

history of the valley between entrenchment through the at3 terrace and 

deposition of the at1 alluvium. However, because the at2 unit provides 

neither exposures nor radiometric ages, we can say nothing about the 

timing or extent of the periods of deposition and erosion. The 27,7 40 

years B.P. age for the clay pod reworked into the at1 alluvium suggests 

at least one period of fluvial deposition in the late Pleistocene. 

Although the paleontologic evidence indicates periods of fluvial deposition during climatic and ecologic conditions not too different from 

those at present, we have no evidence to suggest a cause (or causes) for 

initiation and (or) cessation of downcutting. A suggestion could be 

made that because the 5,260 and 7,520 years B.P. ages for the at1 terrace and the 27,740 years B.P. age for the reworked clay pod are in 

agreement with high stands of sea level (see, for example, Curray, 

1965; Milliman and Emery, 1968; Field and others, 1979), then periods 
14 FLUVIAL HISTORY, UPHAPEE CREEK, ALABAMA 

of fluvial deposition in the valley of Uphapee Creek coincide with intervals of warm humid climate. Although the paleontologic data support 

the contention that flood-plain formation took place during periods of 

humid subtropical climatic conditions, we believe that a direct causeand-effect relationship between high stands of sea level and flood-plain 

formation is spurious because of the limited effect that a rise in base 

level has on the upstream reaches of a drainage basin (Leopold and 

Bull, 1979). Therefore, we have not come to a conclusion on the causes 

of aggradation or degradation in this area. 

From cross sections of the valley of Uphapee Creek (fig. 5), which are 

based on field mapping and shallow augering, it appears that Uphapee 

Creek cut through its alluvium into the underlying Tuscaloosa sand and 

clay during each episode of downcutting. Exposures at the base of the 

present flood plain and at the base of the atg valley fill are too few for us 

to determine the nature of the contacts, but the contact between the at1 

valley fill and the Tuscaloosa red clay is essentially planar, having few 

or none of the irregularities usually associated with streambeds (fig. 6). 

This planar surface suggests periods of denudation that produced a· 

strath or bedrock terrace prior to deposition of the valley fill. 

The varying sizes of meander scrolls on the at1 terrace suggest 

periods of greater and lesser discharge than that of present Uphapee 

Creek. However, calculation of the stream-gradient index (of Hack, 

1973; a measure of the competence of a given reach of a stream) for the 

present Uphapee Creek results in a value of 71 gradient-meters. 

According to Hack (oral commun., 1979), this value suggests a stream 

capable of transporting, and therefore depositing, even the largest of 

the alluvial materials (cobbles as much as 10 em in diameter) incorporated in the U phapee Creek terrace alluvium. 

Our paleontologic, radiocarbon, sedimentologic, and pedologic data 

suggest that the valley of Uphapee Creek formed during the Quaternary Period; we have yet to demonstrate that any fluvial sediments are 

of Tertiary age. In fact, the extensive and well-defined terrace adjacent 

to both Uphapee Creek and the Tallapoosa River is middle Holocene in 

age. Similar ages are reported from the lower Tombigbee River terrace 

in southeastern Mississippi (F. L. Nials, oral commun., 1979). We consider the oldest terrace associated with Uphapee Creek, atg, to be middle to late Pleistocene in age. If there are any Tertiary deposits within 

the valley of U phapee Creek, they are represented by the erosional 

remnants of gravel at several levels 30 to 50 m above the present 

stream. The highest deposits of these gravels cap the divide between 

Uphapee Creek and Calebee Creek to the south; as yet, we have no 

evidence that they are related in any way to the formation of Uphapee 

Creek. Our results provide the basis for correlation of the Holocene, 

Pleistocene, and possible Tertiary alluvial deposits westward into the 

valley of the Tallapoosa River. 
A 

FEET 

350 

300 

250 

200 

8 

FEET 

350 

300 

250 

200 

DISCUSSION 15 

A' 

METERS 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

8' 

METERS 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

~---------------------------------------------------r50 

c 

FEET 

350 

200 

VERTICAL EXAGGERATION X 20 

EXPLANATION 

-;- -: 1 

~ : :· ~j Flood-plain deposits 

L Alluvial deposits underlying terrace at, 

Alluvial deposits underlying terrace at 3 

-J Upper Cretaceous Eutaw Formation and 

Tusca loosa Group, undivided 

C' 

METERS 

100 

FIGURE 5.-Cross-valley profiles showing the outcrop patte:~n of the alluvial terraces along 

Uphapee Creek. Locations of the profiles are shown on figure 2; A-A' is just upstream 

from the junction of Uphapee Creek and the Tallapoosa River. 
16 FLUVIAL HISTORY, UPHAPEE CREEK, ALABAMA 

FIGURE 6.-View along Uphapee Creek, Macon County, Ala. Head of the shovel is at the 

contact between the gravelly alluvium of the at1 terrace (above) and the red kaolinitic 

clay of the Upper Cretaceous Tuscaloosa Group (below). 

REFERENCES CITED 

Adams, G. I., 1933, General geology of the crystallines of Alabama: Journal of Geology, v. 

41, no. 2, p. 159-173. 

Bentley, R. D., and Neathery, T. L., 1970, Geology of the Brevard fault zone and related 

rocks of the Inner Piedmont of Alabama- Alabama Geological Society Field Trip, 8th 

Annual, 1970, Guidebook: University, Ala., Alabama Geological Society, 1970, 119 p. 

Copeland, C. W., 1968, Geology of the Alabama Coastal Plain: Alabama Geological 

Survey Circular 4 7, 97 p. 

Curray, J. R., 1965, Late Quaternary history, continental shelves of the United States, in 

Wright, H. E., Jr., and Frey, D. G., eds., The Quaternary of the United States: 

Princeton, N.J., Princeton University Press, p. 723-735. 

Field, M. E., Meisburger, E. P., Stanley, E. A., and Williams, S. G., 1979, Upper Quaternary peat deposits on the Atlantic inner shelf of the United States: Geological Society 

of America Bulletin, v. 90, no. 7, pt. I, p. I-618 to I-628. 

Hack, J. T., 1973, Stream-profile analysis and stream-gradient index: U.S. Geological 

Survey Journal of Research, v. 1, no. 4, p. 421-429. 

Leopold, L. B., and Bull, W. B., 1979, Base level, aggradation, and grade: American 

Philosophical Society Proceedings, v. 123, no. 3, p. 168-202. 

Milliman, J.D., and Emery, K. 0., 1968, Sea levels during the past 35,000 years: Science, 

v. 162, no. 3858, p. 1121-1123. 

Watts, W. A., 1973, The vegetation record of a mid-Wisconsin interstadial in northwest 

Georgia: Quaternary Research, v. 3, no. 2, p. 257-268. 

r:t U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1982-361-614/6