FOR the COASTAL PLAIN of NORTH CAROLINA ~--E Roy"- Tj Y"",Cf'
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STRUCTURAL AND STRATIGRAPHIC FRAMEWORK FOR THE COASTAL PLAIN OF NORTH CAROLINA ~--e roY"- tJ y"",cf' Edited By Gerald R. Baum T:~-- w. Burleigh Harris ) And !~- Victor A. Zullo ;' -j Carolina Geological Society Field Trip Guidebook And October 19-21, 1979 Atlantic Coastal Plain Geological Association Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina Cover illustration: Major structural features of the North Carolina Coastal Plain. (Figure 1 from Harris, Zullo and Baum) Layout by Anne Virant-Lazar and Ben McKenzie Copies of this guidebook can be purchased fram: Geological Survey Section Department of Natural Resources and Community Development P. O. Box 27687 Raleigh, NC 27611 Ii CAROLI NA GEOLOGI CAL SOC IETY AND ATLANTIC COASTAL PLAIN GEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION October 19-21, 1979 STRUCTURAL AND STRATIGRAPHIC FRAMEWORK FOR THE COASTAL PLAIN OF NORTH CAROLINA Edited by Gerald R. Baum Department of Geology College of Charleston Charleston, South Carolina 29401 W. Burleigh Harris and Victor A. Zullo Department of Earth Sciences University of North Carolina, Wilmington Wilmington, North Carolina 28403 Carolina Geological Society 1979 Officers President: Arthur W. Snoke Department of Geology University of South Carolina Columbia, South Carolina Vice-President: Robert E. Lemmon Department of Geography and Earth Sciences University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, North Carolina Secretary-Treasurer: S. Duncan Heron, Jr. Department of Geology Duke University Durham, North Carolina Membership Chairman: Paul Nystrom South Carolina Geological Survey Columbia, South Carolina Atlantic Coastal Plain Geological Association 1979 Officers Secretary-Treasurer: Tom Pickett Delaware Geological Survey University of Delaware Newark, Delaware Field Trip Leaders: Gerald R. Baum Department of Geology College of Charleston Charleston, South Carolina W. Burleigh Harris and Victor A. Zullo Department of Earth Sciences University of North Carolina at Wilmington Wilmington, North Carolina Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler. A. Einstein CONTENTS page PREFACE •••••.••..•.••.•.•.••.••••••••..••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••..••••.••••.•.•••• vi1 HISTORICAL REVIEW OF EOCENE TO EARLY MIOCENE STRATIGRAPHY, NORTH CAROLINA Gerald R. Baum, W. Burleigh Harris and Victor A. Zullo ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 1 TECTONIC EFFECTS ON CRETACEOUS, PALEOGENE, AND EARLY NEOGENE SEDIMENTATION, NORTH CAROLINA W. Burleigh Harris, Victor A. Zullo and Gerald R. Baum ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 17 PLIO-PLEISTOCENE CRUSTAL WARPING IN THE OUTER COASTAL PLAIN OF NORTH CAROLINA Victor A. Zullo and W. Burleigh Harris ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 31 SOME STRATIGRAPHIC PROBLEMS OF THE PLEISTOCENE STRATA IN THE AREA FROM NEUSE RIVER ESTUARY TO HOFMANN FOREST, NORTH CAROLINA Walter H. Wheeler, Raymond B. Daniels and Erling E. Gamble ••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 41 ORIGIN OF AN OUTLIER OF THE EOCENE CASTLE HAYNE LIMESTONE IN DUPLIN COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA Lee J. 0 t te ....•.•..•.......•..•....•...•.•..•.•........•..•.•.•.•.........•......... 51 SPONGE-BEARING HARDGROUNDS IN THE CASTLE HAYNE LIMESTONE Michael L. Upchurch 59 CALCAREOUS NANNOFOSSILS FROM THE LOWER TERTIARY OF NORTH CAROLINA Thomas R. Worsley and Kevin P. Turco ••....•...•.•....•..•...••.•••.•.•........•..•... 65 BIOSTRATIGRAPHY OF EOCENE THROUGH MIOCENE CIRRIPEDIA, NORTH CAROLINA COASTAL PLAIN Victor A. Zullo ...........................................•.......................... 73 TECTONIC HISTORY AND CORRELATION OF THE EOCENE STRATA OF THE CAROLINAS: PRELIMINARY REPORT Gerald R. Baum, Joan S. Collins, Richard M. Jones, Barbara A. Mad1inger and Richard J. Powell ..................................•...•................•............. 87 FIELD TRIP MAP ......................................................................... 96 FIELD TRIP LOG Gerald R. Baum, W. Burleigh Harris and Victor A. Zullo ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 97 v The North Carolina Geological Survey has for many years published the guidebook for the Carolina Geological Society's Annual Field Trip. This is done as a service to that group of professionals who contribute so much to the public's knowledge of North Carolina's geology and mineral resources and so that the itinerary of these very interesting trips can be duplicated by other citizens of the state and also visitors to North Carolina. This year's guidebook is somewhat unique as it contains a collection of previously unpublished papers on the stratigraphy of North Carolina's Coastal Plain province and each paper has a fairly comprehensive bibliography of additional published infor mation on the same subject. Even a casual reading of all these reports will lead the reader to the conclusion that there is some lack of consensus among the experts on the proper subdivision and classification of the Tertiary section found in the Coastal Plain of North Carolina. Also, there is considerable detailed work under way or planned for the immediate future in this area which has not been published upon but which will undoubtedly make substantial contributions to a resolution of the problems. Therefore, the North Carolina Geological Survey takes no official position at this time with respect to the accuracy of the opinions and conclusions contained in this guidebook and the reader should understand that survey publication here is for the primary purpose of making the rest of the geologic community aware of the ongoing work. PREFACE Many individuals have suggested that the Atlantic Coastal Plain has been affected by tectonism (e.g., Hobbs, 1904; Stephenson, 1923; Cedarstrom, 1945; LeGrand, 1955; Ferenczi, 1959; Doering, 1960), but few have considered tectonics relative to stratigraphic interpretation. Recognition of tectonically controlled depositional patterns is dependent upon an understanding of superpositional relationships and areal dis tr~bution of lithic units; a goal that has been hampered by lack of exposures, repetition of lithologies, and absence or poor preservation of diagnostic fossils. The increased availability of surface and sub surface data in the past two decades, coupled with advances in litho- and biostratigraphic methodology, have resulted in refinements and revisions of the stratigraphic framework. These changes, in turn, pro vide evidence of tectonic controls. Gibson (1969) and Brown et al. (1972) were the first to suggest a broad scale correlation between tectonism and sediment distribution in the Atlantic Coastal Plain. BrolYn ~ al. (1972) showed a relation ship between tectonism and sediment deposition for subsurface units in the North Carolina Coastal Plain. However~ the subsurface units were not correlated with previously recognized surface stratigraphy. We have attempted to relate the tectonic framework of Brown ~ al. (1972) to our interpretations of the exposed Tertiary sequence. and in so doing have detailed certain aspects of the framework. No geologic investigation is ever final; interpretations change. We are presenting a model that differs from those presented in the past and hope that this approach will be considered in future studies on the Atlantic Coastal Plain. We are indebted to many people: Eldon Allen and Edward Burt (North Carolina Department of Natural Resources and Community Development, Geological Survey Section); Warren Blow (U. S. National Museum); Philip M. Brown (U. S. Geological Survey); Laurel M. Bybell (U. S. Geological Survey); Joseph G. Carter (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill); G. Arthur Cooper (U. S. National Museum); Janice Cooper (University of North Carolina, Wilmington); Robert Edwards (Martin-Marietta Corporation); Paul D. Fullagar (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill); Lloyd N. Glawe (Northeast Louisiana University); S. Duncan Heron (Duke University); Roy L. Ingram (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill); Porter M. Kier(U. S. National Museum); F. Stearns MacNeil (U. S. Geological Survey); H. Weinburg Rasmussen (Geologisk Museum, Denmark); Daniel A. Textoris (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill). We are also indebted to the many quarry owners and operators who have provided unlimited access to their facilities. The following have provided funding for this research: College of Charleston, Faculty Research and Development Fund; Marine Sciences Council of the University of North Carolina; North Carolina Board of Science and Techn0logy; Program for Marine Sciences Research and the Faculty Research and Development Fund, the University of North Carolina, Wilmington; North Carolina Department of Natural Resources and Community Development; Sigma Xi; Smith Fund at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; and the South Carolina Geological Survey. Sincere thanks are extended to Sandra Cromwell, College of Charleston and Cathy Morris, UNC-W, for typing, editing, and general preparation of the guidebook. Gerald R. Baum W. Burleigh Harris Victor A. Zullo vii II HISTORICAL REVIEW OF EOCENE TO EARLY MIOCENE STRATIGRAPHY 1 NORTH CAROLI NA Gerald R. Baum Department of Geology College of Charleston Charleston, South Carolina 29401 W. Burleigh Harris and Victor A. Zullo Department of Earth Sciences University of North Carolina, Wilmington Wilmington, North Carolina 28403 r'------,.------,-:·:-:r,.::-.""':".."7.",,~,..=-.::':'"iH:::;--'r-------,···----.. STRATIGRAPHY Mesozoic-Cenozoic Boundary Due to the confusion of Cretaceous and Eocene strata in the Wilmington-Castle Hayne area, the Mesozoic-Tertiary boundary eluded American geologists in the Coastal Plain of North Carolina. Stanton (1891)