The Atlantic Coastal Plain of eastern North Carolina (Fig. 1) is poorly understood from scientific, stratigraphic, and mapping perspectives. It is mantled primarily by Pliocene and Pleistocene deposits that have map extents, allostratigraphy, and relationships to global sea level cycles that are mostly undefined. Outcrops are rare, and the new subsurface data necessary to define units and map this region is expensive. Except for recent STATEMAP (SM) deliverables, detailed geologic maps at 1:24,000-scale for the Coastal Plain do not exist. The current geologic map (NCGS, 1985) does not show surficial units for the Coastal Plain, it shows underlying sub-crops (Fig. 1A). In recent SM areas (FY10-19), the Pliocene Yorktown Formation is supposedly the principal subcrop (NCGS, 1985); this unit is affiliated with a regional-scale shallow confining unit. Detailed mapping (FY10-19) shows that the Yorktown (Fig. 1A) is thin, absent, or misidentified. Isotopic age dates suggest that basal, clastic carbonate beds that define the base of the Plio-Pleistocene, correlate with the Chowan River Formation, rather than the Yorktown. If this is the case the Yorktown is essentially absent in this area of the NC Coastal Plain. The post-Chowan River section includes several early Pleistocene units in ramp or interfluve settings; younger terraces and alluvium occur in incised valleys.
By Kathleen M. Farrell, Erik D. Thornton and Colby W. Brown, 2021. Approximate scales - 1:24,000 and 1:12,000. Approximate size of map - 96" x 42".
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