John E. Sanders and Charles Merguerian between 1988 and 1998. In pure Stenoan and Huttonian delight, we here present the seven-layer cake model that has proved so effective in simplifying the complex geology of the region. Under continual scrutiny and improvement, we provide this updated web-based information as a public service to all students and educators of geology. We fully encourage any comments, additions, or corrections that would lead to improvements. References cited can be sought by following this link.
Quaternary sediments consist chiefly of till and outwash.
By contrast, on Staten Island, tills and interstratified lake sediments predominate and sandy outwash appears only locally, near Great Kills beach. These strata underlie the submerged continental terrace. Eroded Newark debris is present in L. Cretaceous sands, but in U. Cretaceous through Miocene units, Newark-age redbed debris is conspicuously absent. A notable lake deposit includes the Lockatong Formation, with its analcime-rich black argillites, which attains a maximum thickness of about 450 m in the Delaware River valley area. Interbedded with the Jurassic part of the Newark strata are three extrusive complexes, each 100 to 300 m thick, whose resistant tilted edges now underie the curvilinear ridges of the Watchung Mountains in north-central New Jersey.