Belleplain Member of the Kirkwood Formation (middle Miocene, Serravallian)Belleplain Member - Clay to silty clay at the base and sand at the top. Clay, massive to laminated, gray-brown, locally contains abundant diatoms and scattered small shell fragments. Sand, fine- to medium-grained, pale-gray to white, somewhat micaceous and woody with scattered shell fragments. Most Belleplain sand is quartz with lesser amounts of feldspar and mica. Pyrite is common in clayey strata. The Belleplain subcrops beneath surficial deposits where the overlying Cohansey Formation was eroded away. Along the Atlantic Ocean, the member is exposed on the southern sheet between Beach Haven Terrace, Ocean County, and Brigantine, Atlantic County, where the unit is overlain by thin to thick deposits of alluvium. The member is as much as 15 m (49 ft) thick. The basal contact with the underlying Wildwood Member is sharp and unconformable with a thin bed of reworked coarse-grained quartz sand at the base. A middle Miocene age for the Belleplain was determined from diatoms. Specifics of the diatom biostratigraphy are discussed in the Description of Subsurface Units. Shells from this unit had a strontium-isotope age estimate of 13.2 Ma (Sugarman and others, 1993).
Cheesequake Formation (Upper Cretaceous, lower Campanian and upper Santonian)Cheesequake Formation - Clay and clay-silt, micaceous, thin-bedded to laminated, dark-gray; weathers light tan. Contains abundant wood fragments intercalated with light-colored, fine-grained micaceous quartz sand and is rarely crossbedded. Rock fragments and feldspar are minor sand constituents. Small cylindrical burrows occur in the updip area. Abundant, rounded, pale-gray siderite concretions (about 8 cm (3 in) in diameter) occur in thin discontinuous beds. Sand interfingers rapidly within a short distance with extensively bioturbated, dark-gray, very micaceous, somewhat woody clay-silt. The basal clay-silt has extensive cylindrical burrows filled with fine-grained, light- to medium-green botryoidal glauconite. The basal contact with the underlying Magothy Formation is sharp. Reworked siderite concretions and some glauconite and coarse-grained quartz sand are found along the contact within the Cheesequake. Unit exposed only in the South Amboy and Keyport quadrangles. The unit is about 14 m (46 ft) thick. The age of the Cheesequake was determined from pollen (Litwin and others, 1993), which indicates the unit is between the Merchantville Formation microflora (CA2 Zone of Wolfe, 1976, lower Campanian) and the uppermost Magothy microflora (?Pseudoplicapollis cunceata-Semioculopollis verrucosa Zone of Christopher, 1979, upper Santonian). It is probable that the Cheesequake Formation contains the Santonian-Campanian boundary. This unit was not recognized by Petters (1976) who concluded that the Magothy and Merchantville interfingered in the subsurface and the Merchantville was, in part, Santonian.
Cheesequake Formation (Upper Cretaceous, lower Campanian and upper Santonian)Cheesequake Formation - New unit named herein for outcrops in gullies at Cheesequake in the eastern part of the South Amboy 7.5-min quadrangle. Basal sand, quartz and glauconite, fine-grained, clayey, thin-bedded, dark-greenish-gray; middle part, quartz sand, very fine grained, thick-bedded, dark-gray, micaceous, and clayey silt with scattered and varying amounts of glauconite sand; upper part, quartz sand, fine-grained, clayey, thinbedded. Sand, excluding glauconite sand beds, is primarily quartz with small amounts of feldspar and mica. In most areas, particularly in the updip sections, the upper sand has been eroded away. This formation underlies most of the map area and is as much as 43 m (141 ft) thick. Nannofossils obtained from the Toms River and Freehold drillholes indicate that the Cheesequake Formation is latest Santonian at the base to earliest Campanian at the top (P.C. Valentine, oral commun., 1989) or equivalent to Zones CC16 to CC17. Thus the Santonian-Campanian boundary lies within the Cheesequake Formation. Studies of pollen (Litwin and others, 1993) in outcrop indicate a pollen assemblage containing elements of the ?Pseudoplicapollis cuneata-Semioculopollis verrucosa Zone (Vc of Christopher, 1982) and the CA2 Zone of Wolfe (1976).
Cohansey Formation (Middle Miocene, Serravallian)Cohansey Formation - Sand, white to yellow with local gravel and clay. Locally stained red or orange brown by iron oxides and (or) cemented into large blocks of ironstone. Unweathered clay is typically dark gray, but commonly weathers white where interbedded with thin beds of ironstone. Unit is a complex of interfingering marine and nonmarine facies. Sand is typically medium grained and moderately sorted although it ranges from fine to very coarse grained and from poorly to well sorted. Sand consists of quartz and siliceous rock fragments. Some beds are locally micaceous, and in the Lakehurst area, Ocean County, some beds have high concentrations of "black" sand (pseudorutile) that was once extensively mined. In general, the sand is crossbedded, although the style of crossbedding varies significantly with the paleoenvironment. Trough crossbedding predominates, especially in the nonmarine channel fill deposits, and the scale of the crossbeds varies from small to large. In some areas, planar bedding is well developed in sections that have abundant marine burrows (mostly the clay-lined trace fossil Ophiomorpha nodosa). Such marine-influenced beds (largely foreshore deposits) occur on the central sheet west of Asbury Park, near Adelphia, Monmouth County, north of the Lakehurst Naval Air Station, Ocean County, and at Juliustown, Burlington County (Owens and Sohl, 1969), and on the southern sheet as far north as Salem, Salem County. Gravel beds occur locally, especially in updip areas such as near New Egypt, Ocean County, in the Atlantic Highlands and in the highlands west of Barnegat, Ocean County, in the southern part of the central sheet and in mixed marine and nonmarine facies in the northeastern part of the southern sheet where gravel occurs in well-defined channels. Most of the gravel is 1.3 to 2.5 cm (0.5-1.0 in) in diameter, but pieces as long as 10 cm (4 in) are present. The gravel is composed of quartz with small amounts of black chert and quartzite. Clay commonly occurs as discrete, thin, discontinuous beds, is dark gray where unweathered, white or red where weathered. Lesser, thin laminated clay strata also are present. Locally, as near Lakehurst, thick, dark-gray, very lignitic clay was uncovered during the mining of ilmenite and is informally called the Legler lignite (Rachele, 1976). An extensive, well-preserved leaf flora was collected from a thick clay lens in a pit near Millville, Cumberland County. The leaf flora was dominated by Alangium sp., a tree no longer growing in eastern North America (J.A. Wolfe, written commun., 1992). Maximum thickness in the map area is about 60 m (197 ft); however, thickness is difficult to determine because of the irregular basal contact and extensive post-depositional erosion. There is as much as 18 m (59 ft) of relief along the basal contact. The basal contact is sharp, undulatory, and directly overlain by a thin gravel bed. The Cohansey Formation unconformably overlies the Kirkwood Formation and is found in channels cut down into the Kirkwood. Where the Kirkwood consists of sandy, light-colored sediments, the basal contact of the Cohansey is drawn below crossbedded sediments. Where the Kirkwood consists of dark-colored silty beds, the basal contact is drawn between light-colored Cohansey sediments and the underlying dark-colored sediments. The Cohansey was markedly thinned because of erosion prior to deposition of overlying units in the western and southern parts of the southern sheet (Owens and Minard, 1975). The unit has been extensively eroded and stripped from large areas of the New Jersey Coastal Plain, particularly in the central sheet where outliers are common. In spite of its widespread nature, the Cohansey is poorly exposed because of its loose sandy composition, which causes it to erode easily (Newell and others, in press). Because of this same sandy nature, the Cohansey has been widely mined for sand, and manmade exposures are common in many areas. The age of the Cohansey is controversial because no calcareous microfauna or macrofauna have been found in this formation. The best indication of age comes from pollen and spores obtained from dark carbonaceous clay. Rachele (1976) analyzed the microflora from the Legler site and noted that the Cohansey had a rich and varied assemblage including several genera labeled "exotics" which no longer occur in the northeastern United States: Engelhardia, Pterocarya, Podocarpus, and Cyathea. Greller and Rachele (1984) estimated a middle Miocene age. Ager's (in Owens and others, 1988) analysis of the Cohansey from a corehole at Mays Landing also suggests a middle Miocene (Serravallian) age.
Englishtown Formation (Upper Cretaceous, lower Campanian)Englishtown Formation - Sand, quartz, fine- to coarsegrained, gravelly, massive, bioturbated, medium- to dark-gray; weathers light brown, yellow, or reddish brown, locally interbedded with thin to thick beds of dark clay. Abundant carbonaceous matter, with large lignitized logs occur locally, especially in clay strata. Feldspar, glauconite, and muscovite are minor sand constituents. Sand is extensively trough crossbedded particularly west of Mount Holly, Burlington County. In a few places in the western outcrop belt, trace fossils are abundant, typically the burrow Ophiomorpha nodosa. Unit is pyritic, especially in the carbonaceous-rich beds where pyrite is finely disseminated grains or pyritic masses as much as 0.6 m (2 ft) in diameter. Lowest part of unit is a massive sand that contains small to large, soft, light-gray siderite concretions. The Englishtown underlies a broad belt throughout the map area and ranges from about 45 m (148 ft) thick in the northern part of the central sheet to 30 m (98 ft) thick in the western part of the central sheet to 15 m (49 ft) in the southern sheet. Best exposures occur along Crosswicks Creek in the Allentown quadrangle and along Oldmans Creek. The basal contact with the underlying Woodbury Formation or Merchantville Formation is transitional over several meters. The age of the Englishtown in outcrop could not be determined directly but was inferred from stratigraphic position and pollen content. Wolfe (1976) designated the microflora of the unit as Zone CA4 and assigned it to the lower Campanian.
Hornerstown Formation (lower Paleocene, Danian)Hornerstown Formation - Sand, glauconite, clayey, extensively bioturbated, massive, medium-green in the shallow subsurface. Common to abundant microfauna in the subsurface are not present in outcrop. In the deep subsurface, the Hornerstown Formation consists of glauconite sand at base, overlain by a thin, laminated, dark-gray clay-silt that grades upward into a finegrained, clayey glauconite quartz sand. The formation is very thin and rarely exceeds 7.5 m (25 ft) in thickness. The basal contact with the underlying Kc4 cycle is difficult to place because both units are glauconitic sand; however, the basal Hornerstown contains dark-brown phosphatic debris. Less commonly the contact is marked by extensive burrows filled with glauconite sand that project downward into the underlying unit. Gamma logs from the Hornerstown have a very large gamma kick at the base of the formation. The age of the Hornerstown is early Paleocene (Danian) based on the presence of calcareous nannofossils (Chiasmolithus consuetus and Ellipsolithus macellus) and foraminifera characteristic of zones NP 3 and NP 4, and P1a to P1c (Chengjie Liu, Rutgers University, written commun., 1993), respectively.
Hornerstown Formation (lower Paleocene, Danian)Hornerstown Formation - Sand, glauconite, fine- to medium-grained, locally clayey, massive, dark-gray to dusky-green; weathers dusky yellow or red brown, extensively bioturbated, locally has a small amount of quartz at base. Glauconite grains are typically dark green and have botryoidal shapes. The Hornerstown weathers readily to iron oxide because of its high glauconite content. The Hornerstown in most areas is nearly pure glauconite greensand. The Hornerstown crops out in a narrow belt throughout most of the western outcrop area. In the northern part of the central sheet, it is extensively dissected and occurs as several outliers. Throughout its outcrop belt in the central sheet, the Hornerstown unconformably overlies several formations: the Tinton Formation in the extreme northern area; the Red Bank Formation in the northwestern and west-central areas; and the Navesink Formation in the west-central and southern areas. In the southern sheet, it unconformably overlies the Mount Laurel Formation. The unconformable basal contact locally contains a bed of reworked phosphatic vertebrate and invertebrate fossils. For the most part, however, the basal contact is characterized by an intensely bioturbated zone in which many burrows filled with bright green glauconite sand from the Hornerstown Formation project down into the dark-gray matrix of the underlying Navesink Formation. In a few exposures, a thin layer of medium- to coarse-grained quartz sand separates the Hornerstown from the underlying unit. The Hornerstown is 1.5 to 7 m (5-23 ft) thick. A Cretaceous age was assigned to this unit by Koch and Olsson (1977) based, in part, on a vertebrate fauna found at Sewell, Gloucester County. However, early Paleocene calcareous nannofossil Zones NP 2-4 were found in a core at Allaire State Park, Monmouth County. This is the only locality in New Jersey where Zone NP 2 was observed; otherwise, the Hornerstown is confined to Zones NP 3 and NP 4. Lowermost Paleocene Zone NP 1 was not identified, and it is thought that the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in New Jersey may be unconformable. A complete Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary section was recovered at the Bass River borehole (ODP Leg 174AX). It contained the uppermost Maastrichtian calcareous nannofossil Micula prinsii Zone below a spherule layer and the basal Danian planktonic foraminiferal Guembeletria cretacea P0 Zone just above the layer (Olsson and others, 1997).
Lower Member of the Kirkwood Formation (lower Miocene, Aquitanian)Lower Member - Complex unit in which facies changes are common. In outcrop, some of the lower member is a light-colored quartz sand (Grenloch facies of Isphording, 1970). The facies pinches out rapidly in the subsurface, and the unit is primarily a massive to finely laminated, dark-gray clay (Alloway clay of Kummel and Knapp, 1904). This clay facies occurs as far south as Clayton, Gloucester County, where the lower part changes to a fossiliferous clayey silt. The lower clayey facies thickens to over 30 m (98 ft) in the coastal region. Here, the lower facies is mostly dark-gray clayey silt that is locally very fossiliferous. The unit varies in thickness but is thickest, as much as 80 m (262 ft), in the southeastern part of the central sheet. South of Bridgeton, Cumberland County, sand is present at the top of the member. This sand thickens to over 23 m (75 ft) at the coast where it is part of the "800 foot" sand, the principal aquifer in the coastal region. Quartz and siliceous rock fragments are the major sand minerals. Feldspars typically constitute less than 10 percent of the sand fraction except in the reworked beds where they make up as much as 25 percent of the sand. Mica and wood fragments are minor constituents. The basal contact with the underlying unit is sharp and unconformable. Commonly there is a 0.3- to 1-m (1- to 3-ft)-thick zone along this contact in which coarse-grained quartz sand and some gravel are present. Because of the quartz sand in the lower member in outcrop, some considered the lower member and the Cohansey Formation to be transitional (Isphording, 1970). Obviously this is not the case as there are three other members (Shiloh Marl, Wildwood, and Belleplain) lying between the lower member and the Cohansey. The age of the lower member was determined from planktic foraminifera and diatoms, and from strontium-isotope age estimates. The foraminiferal assemblage includes Globigerina praebulloides, Globigerinoides trilobus, G. altiapertura, and Globorotalia siakensis. These species are characteristic of the lower Miocene Zone 5 of Blow (1969) of Burdigalian age. The diatom assemblage is characterized by Actinoptychus heliopelta, Aulacodiscus rogersii, Coscinodiscus lewisianus, Sceptroneis caduceus, and Triceratium acutum. These diatoms are characteristic of ECDZ 1 of Andrews (1988), which is considered to be early Miocene (Burdigalian) in age. The strontium-isotope analyses of shells from this member indicate ages from 23 to 20.2 Ma (Aquitanian), thereby extending the age of this member (Sugarman and others, 1993). The pollen in the clay facies of the Kirkwood, as determined from the ACGS-4 drillhole, are oak, hickory, and pine with smaller amounts of beech, black gum, sweet gum, alder, elm, linden, and birch. The sandy facies has essentially the same assemblage but has unusually high concentrations of beech. Exotic species such as Podocarpus and Momipites are common in the unit. The cool floral elements found in the overlying Belleplain and Wildwood Members were not found in the lower member.
Lower Member of the Kirkwood Formation (lower Miocene, Burdigalian and Aquitanian)Lower Member - Sand and clay. Upper sand facies: sand, typically fine- to medium-grained, massive to thick-bedded, locally crossbedded, light-yellow to white, locally very micaceous and extensively stained by iron oxides in near-surface beds. The thick-bedded strata commonly consist of interbedded fine-grained, micaceous sand and gravelly, coarse- to fine-grained sand. Some beds are intensely burrowed. Trough crossbedded strata with high concentrations of ilmenite and a few burrows are most commonly seen in the Lakewood quadrangle. Lower clay facies: clay and clay-silt, massive to thin-bedded, dark-gray, micaceous, contains wood fragments, flattened lignitized twigs, and other plant debris. Locally, the clay has irregularly shaped sand pockets, which may represent some type of burrow. In the least weathered beds, the sand of the upper sand facies is principally quartz and muscovite with lesser amounts of feldspar. The light-mineral fraction of the dark-colored clay has significantly more feldspar (10-15 percent) and rock fragments (10-15 percent) than the upper sand facies, where the feldspar was probably leached during weathering. The basal beds have a reworked zone 0.3 to 1.2 m (1-4 ft) thick that contains fine- to very coarse grained sand and, locally, gravel. These beds are very glauconitic and less commonly contain wood fragments. Reworked zones are present throughout the lower member. The lower member consists of a lower finegrained, clayey, dark-colored, micaceous sand (transgressive) and an upper massive or thick-bedded to crossbedded, light-colored sand (regressive). The lower, dark clayey unit was formerly called the Asbury Park Member. The clay-silt was previously called the Asbury Clay by Kummel and Knapp (1904). The upper sand facies has been observed only in pits and roadcuts. It is poorly exposed because of its sandy nature. In the central sheet, the lower clay facies is exposed in pits north of Farmingdale, Monmouth County; in a few cuts along the Manasquan River, north of Farmingdale; and along the Shark River, northeast of Farmingdale. In the southern sheet, the lower clay facies is exposed only where the Coastal Plain was deeply entrenched and stripped away. In the southwesternmost part of the southern sheet, for example, the Cohansey Formation and much of the upper sand facies were stripped away by successive entrenchments of the Delaware River. On the central sheet, the lower member ranges in thickness from 20 to 30 m (66-98 ft) along strike, but thickens to over 60 m (197 ft) to the southeast. On the southern sheet, the unit ranges in thickness from 15 to 25 m (49-82 ft). The age of the lower member is based on the presence of the diatom Actinoptychus heliopelta, which was recovered from an exposure southwest of Farmingdale near Oak Glen, Monmouth County (Goldstein, 1974). This diatom places the lower member in the lower part of the ECDZ 1 of Andrews (1987), indicative of an early Miocene (Burdigalian) age (Andrews, 1988). Sugarman and others (1993) report strontium-isotope ages of 22.6 to 20.8 Ma, thereby extending the age of the unit to Aquitanian.
Magothy Formation (Upper Cretaceous, middle and lower Santonian)Magothy Formation - Sand, fine- to coarsegrained, locally very gravelly (pebbles less than 1.3 cm (0.5 in) in diameter) especially in updip areas, typically cross stratified, massive, horizontally bedded, light-gray to white, carbonized wood (several centimeters long) and colorless mica scattered throughout. Black to dark-gray, very carbonaceous clay is locally interstratified with the sand. No calcareous fossils were recovered from the Magothy Formation in the shallow subsurface. In the Freehold drillhole the thin basal bed of the Magothy is composed of quartz gravel (maximum clast diameter, about 2.5 cm (1 in)). The lower part of the formation above the gravel consists of thin-bedded white clay interbedded with fine- to coarse-grained, poorly sorted, thickbedded, light-colored, somewhat micaceous quartz sand. The interbedded clay becomes dark gray up section and the sand is slightly glauconitic and locally shelly. Quartz is the major sand mineral. Siliceous rock fragments, mica, and feldspar are minor constituents. In general, this formation appears to be fluvial near the base (upper delta plain) and gradually becomes more marine upward (shelf). The overall sedimentologic pattern suggests a net transgression during deposition of the Magothy with shelf deposits overriding a nonmarine (probably deltaic) facies. Downdip at Buena, Atlantic County, the Magothy is 22 m (72 ft) thick and is primarily a massive to finely laminated, dark-gray, woody clay-silt. Unit is as much as 55 m (180 ft) thick in the northern part of the central sheet and generally thins to the southwest. The age of the Magothy is best defined by pollen. Christopher (1979) placed this palynoflora in his Zone V of early and late Santonian age. He also recognized three assemblage zones within Zone V, the Complexiopollis exiqua-Santalacites minor Zone (lowest), the ?Pseudoplicapollis longiannulata-Plicapollis incisa Zone (middle), and the ?Pseudoplicapollis cuneata-Semioculopollis verrucosa Zone (highest). All three zones are present in the Magothy in New Jersey. The foraminifera Marginotruncana marginata and Rosita fornicata were collected from the Island Beach corehole at 550 m (1804 ft) and are indicative of the Dicarinella asymmetrica Zone. Because of the overall character of the foram assemblage it is probable that these fossils indicate a late Santonian rather than early Campanian age (H.J. Dowsett, written commun., 1992). The Magothy, therefore, is Santonian or older in age.
Magothy Formation (Upper Cretaceous, middle and lower Santonian)Magothy Formation - Sand, quartz, fine- to coarse-grained, locally gravelly (especially at the base), white; weathers yellow brown or orange brown, interbedded with thin-bedded clay or dark-gray clay-silt mainly at the top of the formation. Muscovite and feldspar are minor sand constituents. Large wood fragments occur in many clay layers. Clay weathers to gray brown or white. Formation characterized by local vertical and lateral facies changes. The Magothy is best exposed and thickest (about 80 m (262 ft)) in the Raritan Bay area. The outcrop belt is widest in the north and narrows to the southwest. The formation is about 25 m (82 ft) thick or less in the southern sheet. The formation is poorly exposed because of its sandy nature and its widespread cover by younger sediments. The old geologic map of New Jersey (Lewis and Kummel, 1910-1912, revised 1950) showed the Magothy to consist of only one lithology (Cliffwood beds at Cliffwood Beach, Monmouth County). Subsequent pollen studies of the Magothy and the underlying Raritan Formation showed most of the Raritan to be the same age as the Magothy. Wolfe and Pakiser (1971) redefined and considerably expanded the Magothy. Kummel and Knapp (1904) had already recognized that the Magothy, as used here, contained a large number of lithologies. At the time of their study, the Magothy was extensively mined for clay and sand and was well exposed. Their subdivisions had economic designations (for example, Amboy stoneware clay). Barksdale and others (1943) later gave geographic names to these subdivisions, discussed individually below. The lower contact of the Magothy in the Delaware River valley is difficult to place because the lower part of the Magothy is lithically similar to the underlying Potomac Formation. The contact is placed at the base of the lowest dark-gray clay in the Magothy. The best faunas from the Magothy were obtained from siderite concretions and slabs in and near Cliffwood Beach representing only the top of the formation. These faunas were discussed in detail by Weller (1904, 1907) and supplemented by Sohl (in Owens and others, 1977). The presence of Ostrea cretacea in the Cliffwood Beach fauna suggests that the upper part of the Magothy is late Santonian in age. Wolfe and Pakiser (1971) and Christopher (1979, 1982) discussed the microfloral assemblage in the Magothy. Christopher subdivided the Magothy into three zones: Complexipollis exigua-Santalacites minor (oldest), ?Pseudoplicapollis longiannulata-Plicapollis incisa (middle), and ?Pseudoplicapollis cuneata-Semioculopollis verrucosa (youngest). The oldest zone, originally considered to be as old as Turonian, was subsequently considered to be post-Coniacian Christopher, 1982). The middle and upper zones are also probably Santonian. Christopher (1979) followed the nomenclature for the subdivisions elaborated upon earlier. The Cliffwood and Morgan beds, and, presumably the upper thin-bedded sequence, would include the youngest pollen zone; the Amboy Stoneware Clay Member and perhaps the uppermost part of the Old Bridge Sand Member, the middle pollen zone; and the lower part of the Old Bridge Sand Member and South Amboy Fire Clay Member, the oldest pollen zone. The Magothy is considered herein to be of Santonian age. Cliffwood beds - Typically very sandy, horizontally bedded to crossbedded, mainly small-scale trough crossbeds. Thin layers of dark, fine, carbonaceous matter are interbedded with sand. Carbonaceous units are conspicuously micaceous; the sand is less so. Sand is typically fine to medium grained and locally burrowed. Burrows include the small-diameter Ophiomorpha nodosa and some that are not clay lined. Slabs of dark-reddish-brown siderite were common at the base of the bluff at Cliffwood Beach before the outcrop was covered. Some of these slabs had many fossil molds, typically a large number of pelecypods. Lower in the section, between high and low tide level, there is a pale-gray clay-silt about 1.5 m (5 ft) thick with many small reddish-brown siderite concretions. These concretions have many fossils that were described in detail by Weller (1904). The Cliffwood beds are about 7.5 m (25 ft) thick in outcrop. Equivalents of the Cliffwood beds are exposed near the Delaware River between Trenton and Florence, Burlington County. These beds are mainly sand, as are those at Cliffwood Beach, but they tend to have more crossbedding than the typical Cliffwood strata and no burrows or marine fossils. In addition, beds of quartz gravel are present in the Cliffwood near Riverside, Burlington County. Morgan beds - Occur only in the northern part of the central sheet. They consist of interbedded, thin, dark-colored clay and fine-grained, light-colored, micaceous sand. Clay is locally more abundant in the Morgan than in the Cliffwood beds. Sand ranges from massive to locally crossbedded and locally has fine organic matter. This unit is exposed only in the South Amboy quadrangle where it is as much as 12 m (39 ft) thick. It grades downward into underlying clay. Amboy Stoneware Clay Member - Crops out only in the South Amboy quadrangle in the central sheet and is mainly dark-gray, white-weathering, interbedded clay and silt to fine-grained quartz sand. Clay has abundant, fine, carbonaceous matter and fine mica flakes. Small cylindrical burrows are abundant in this unit. Locally, the clay is interbedded with sand and contains large pieces of lignitized, bored (Teredolites) logs. Large slabs of pyrite-cemented sand are associated with the woody beds. Amber occurs in some of the wood. Unit is approximately 7.5 m (25 ft) thick, but pinches out along strike. The Amboy Stoneware is disconformable on the underlying sand. Old Bridge Sand Member - Predominantly a light-colored sand, extensively crossbedded and locally interbedded with dark-gray laminae; clay is highly carbonaceous, woody, in discontinuous beds, especially near the base. The scale of crossbedding varies from small to large. Locally, small burrows are present. Unit is as much as 12 m (39 ft) thick and rests disconformably on the underlying unit. South Amboy Fire Clay Member - Basal member of the Magothy Formation. Unit resembles the Amboy Stoneware Clay Member, particularly in its lensing character. Unit is best exposed in the central sheet in the South Amboy quadrangle and in the Delaware River valley at the base of the bluffs at Florence. The South Amboy is a dark, massive to finely laminated clay, locally oxidized to white or red. Unit fills large channels and has local concentrations of large, pyrite-encrusted, lignitized logs. Some of the clay is slumped, suggesting post-depositional undercutting during channel migration. The clay is interbedded with fine- to medium-grained, crossbedded sand. The basal contact with the underlying Raritan is well exposed in the Sayre and Fisher Pit in Sayreville, Middlesex County, where the contact is marked by a deeply weathered gravel zone.
Manasquan Formation (lower Eocene, Ypresian)Manasquan Formation - Clay to clay-silt, massive to finely laminated, green to gray-green, extensively bioturbated. Calcareous microfossils are abundant in this unit. In the northwestern outcrop belt and shallow subsurface of the central sheet, the lower beds of the Manasquan Formation consist of a maximum of 10 m (33 ft) of fine- to coarse-grained, somewhat clayey, bluish-green glauconitic quartz sand. No calcareous macrofossils were found in this lithology. The sand minerals in the basal sand facies, excluding glauconite, consist of quartz, feldspar (10 to 25 percent), and siliceous rock fragments (a few percent). The glauconitic quartz sand is overlain to the southwest by a light- to dark-green, locally glauconitic, sandy clay-silt. This clay-silt is present at the base of the unit in the shallow subsurface. Eastward and in the intermediate subsurface, the Manasquan is primarily a clayey glauconite sand. In the deep subsurface, the Manasquan is primarily a massive to finely laminated, lightyellow clay-silt that has high concentrations of calcareous microfossils and has several hard indurated layers. In general, the formation thickens to the southeast where it is more than 60 m (197 ft) thick. The basal contact with the underlying Vincentown Formation is sharp and contains a thin zone, typically 0.61 m (2 ft) thick, of reworked glauconite sand, phosphatic debris, and sparse quartz granules. Gamma-ray logs through the Manasquan Formation have a large gamma spike along the basal contact. The age of the Manasquan was determined from calcareous nannofossils and, to a lesser degree, from foraminifera. The lower part of the Manasquan is assigned to the upper part of Zone NP 9 on the basis of the calcareous nannofossils Campylosphaera dela and Lophodolithus nascens and the absence of Zone NP 10 species. The upper part of the formation lies within Zone NP 13. This zone is characterized by the absence of Rhomboaster orthostylus and the presence of Discoaster lodoensis (Poore and Bybell, 1988). The foraminifera Planorotalites palmerae, which is present in this unit, has a range that correlates with the lower part of Zone NP 13 (Poore and Bybell, 1988).
Marshalltown Formation (Upper Cretaceous, upper and middle Campanian)Marshalltown Formation - Sand, quartz and glauconite, fine- to medium-grained, silty and clayey, massive, dark-gray; weathers light brown or pale red, extensively bioturbated. Very glauconitic in basal few meters; glauconite concentration decreases upward so that in upper part of unit, quartz and glauconite are nearly equal. Feldspar, mica, pyrite, and phosphatic fragments are minor sand constituents. Locally, very micaceous (mostly green chlorite) with sparse carbonized wood fragments. Fine-grained pyrite abundant throughout formation. Local thin, pebbly zones with large fossil impressions occur in the middle of the formation. In the upper part of the formation, quartz increases to about 40 percent. Unit crops out in a narrow belt throughout the map area and forms isolated outliers in the central sheet. Best exposures are along Crosswicks Creek in the Allentown quadrangle. In the southern sheet, the Marshalltown underlies a narrow belt in the uplands and broadens to the southwest. Many Marshalltown exposures occur along Oldmans Creek and its tributaries near Auburn, Gloucester County. The contact with the underlying Englishtown Formation is sharp and unconformable. The basal few centimeters of the Marshalltown contain siderite concentrations, clay balls, and wood fragments reworked from the underlying Englishtown. Many burrows, some filled with glauconite, project downward into the Englishtown for about one meter (3 ft) giving a spotted appearance to the upper part of the Englishtown (Owens and others, 1970). The Marshalltown is the basal transgressive unit of a sedimentation cycle that includes the regressive deposits of the overlying Wenonah and Mount Laurel Formations resembling the overlying Red Bank Formation to Navesink Formation cycle in its asymmetry. Within the map area, only a few long-ranging megafossils occur in the Moorestown quadrangle (Richards, 1967). To the south, in the type area, Weller (1907) reported diverse molluskan assemblages indicating a Campanian age. More importantly, Olsson (1964) reported the late Campanian foraminifera Globotruncana calcarata Cushman from the upper part of the formation. No G. calcarata were found during our investigations. Wolfe (1976) assigned the pollen assemblage of the Marshalltown to the CA5A Zone considered to be Campanian. The Marshalltown has most recently been assigned to Zone CC 20-21 (Sugarman and others, 1995) of middle and late Campanian age (Perch-Nielsen, 1985).
Merchantville Formation (Upper Cretaceous, lower Campanian)Merchantville Formation - Sand, glauconite, locally has high quartz content, very clayey and silty, massive to thick-bedded, grayish-olive-green to dark-greenish-gray; weathers moderate brown or moderate yellow brown. Mica, feldspar, and pyrite are minor sand constituents. Very micaceous at base. Locally, has extensive iron incrustations in near-surface weathered beds. Fossil molds are mostly phosphatic. Fossils typically occur in siderite concretions. No calcareous fossils were found in outcrop. The Merchantville forms a continuous narrow to wide belt throughout the map area. The unit is about 6 m (20 ft) thick in the northern part of the central sheet, about 20 m (66 ft) thick in the Trenton area, and 12 to 15 m (39-49 ft) thick throughout the southern sheet. The formation is best exposed in the Trenton East quadrangle, mainly in the tributaries on the western side of Blacks Creek and south of Bordentown, Burlington County, where the entire thickness of the formation can be seen in gullies (Owens and Minard, 1964b). The basal contact with the underlying Magothy or Cheesequake Formations is sharp and disconformable. At most places, a reworked zone about 0.3 to 1 m (1-3 ft) thick is present at the base. This basal bed contains reworked lignitized wood, siderite concretions as much as 13 cm (5 in) in diameter, scattered pebbles and coarse-grained quartz sand and is burrowed. Most burrows project downward into the underlying formations. The Merchantville is the basal bed of a lower Campanian transgressive-regressive cycle that includes the overlying Woodbury and Englishtown Formations. Merchantville faunas were analyzed by Sohl (in Owens and others, 1977) who concluded that northern fauna represented deposition on a lower shoreface or in the transition to an inner shelf, whereas the southern fauna was a deeper water assemblage, probably inner shelf. Macrofossils occur as internal and external molds and include the ammonites Menabites (Delawarella) delawarensis and Scaphites (Scaphites) hippocrepis III. The Scaphites is of the type III variety of Cobban (1969) and is indicative of the lower, but not the lowest, Campanian. More recently, Kennedy and Cobban (1993), detailing the ammonite assemblage that includes Baculites haresi, Chesapeakella nodatum, Cryptotexanites paedomorphicus sp., Glyptoxoceras sp., Menabites (Delawarella) delawarensis, M. (Delawarella) vanuxemi, Menabites (Bererella) sp., Pachydiscus (Pachydiscus) sp., Placenticeras placenta, Pseudoscholenbachia cf. P. chispaensis, Scaphites (Scaphites) hippocrepis III, Submortoniceras punctatum, S. uddeni, and Texanites (Texanites) sp., concluded that the Merchantville is of late early Campanian age. Wolfe (1976) indicated that the Merchantville microflora was distinct from overlying and underlying units and designated it Zone CA2 of early Campanian age.
Mt. Laurel Formation (Upper Cretaceous, upper Campanian)Mt. Laurel Formation - Sand, quartz, massive to crudely bedded, typically coarsens upward, interbedded with thin clay beds. Glauconite and feldspar are minor sand constituents. Muscovite and biotite are abundant near the base. Lower part of formation is a fine- to medium-grained, clayey, dark-gray, glauconitic (maximum 25 percent) quartz sand. Typically weathers to white or light yellow and locally stained orange brown by iron oxides. Small pebbles scattered throughout, especially in the west-central area. Locally, has small, rounded siderite concretions in the interbedded clay-sand sequence. Granules and gravel are abundant in the upper 1.5 m (5 ft). Upper beds are light gray and weather light brown to reddish brown. The Mount Laurel is 10 m (33 ft) thick from the Roosevelt quadrangle to the Runnemede quadrangle in the central sheet. Thickness varies in the northern part of the map area due, in part, to extensive interfingering of this formation with the underlying Wenonah Formation. Weller (1907) and Kummel (1940) recognized only about 1.5 m (5 ft) of the Mount Laurel in the north. In this report those beds are assigned to the overlying Navesink Formation. The interbedded sequence, the major facies in the north, ranges to about 4.5 m (15 ft) thick. These interbeds have well-developed large burrows (Martino and Curran, 1990), mainly Ophiomorpha nodosa, and less commonly Rosselia socialis. The Mount Laurel is gradational into the underlying Wenonah Formation. A transition zone of 1.5 m (5 ft) is marked by an increase in clay, silt, and mica into the Wenonah, especially in the west-central area of the central sheet. The oyster Agerostrea falcata occurs in the lower part of the formation. Exogyra cancellata and Belemnitella americana are abundant in upper beds in the west-central area of the central sheet (New Egypt quadrangle). The Mount Laurel Formation is of late Campanian age based on the assignment of Zone CC 22b to the formation by Sugarman and others (1995) and the occurrence of Exogyra cancellata near Mullica Hill, Gloucester County.
Navesink Formation (Upper Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)Navesink Formation - Sand, glauconite, medium-grained, clayey and silty, massive, dark-gray to dark-gray-green, extensively bioturbated, locally contains large calcareous shells; sand-size mica, locally abundant; weathers light brown or red brown. Basal quartz sand is fine- to coarse-grained, pebbly, massive, light-yellow, and somewhat glauconitic, as much as 2 m (7 ft) thick and formed by the reworking of the underlying Mount Laurel Formation (Owens and others, 1977). Exogyra costata and the belemnite Belemnitella americana occur in the basal quartz sand. Crops out in a narrow belt throughout map area. Fresh exposures occur along tributaries of Raccoon Creek near Mullica Hill, Gloucester County. The Navesink is 3 to 7.5 m (10-25 ft) thick. The Navesink and Red Bank deposits represent a transgressive (Navesink)-regressive (Red Bank) cycle of sedimentation (Owens and Sohl, 1969). The cycle is unconformity-bounded at top and bottom. Within the cycle, the formational contact is gradational. The age of the Navesink was determined from both the macrofauna and microfauna. Planktic foraminifera from the lower part of the Navesink are indicative of the Rugotruncana subcircumnodifera Subzone of early Maastrichtian age (Smith, in Owens and others, 1977). The upper part contains the mollusks Exogyra costata, Sphenodiscus lobatus, and Pycnodonte vesicularis indicating a middle to late Maastrichtian age. Planktic foraminifera from the upper part represent the Gansserina gansseri Subzone of middle Maastrichtian age (Smith, in Owens and others, 1977). Pollen in the Navesink and Sandy Hook Member of the Red Bank are similar; the Navesink microflora is a CA6/MA-1 Zone in Wolfe's (1976) classification. The Navesink, therefore, ranges from early to late Maastrichtian. Sugarman and others (1995) assigned a middle Maastrichtian Zone CC 25 to the Navesink.
Potomac Formation (Upper Cretaceous, lower Cenomanian)Potomac Formation - Predominantly clay to clay-silt, thinly laminated to thick-bedded, mottled red, white, and orange-brown, less commonly dark-gray and woody; interbedded with thin beds and lenses of very fine to medium-grained, massive, white to orange-brown, micaceous sand. Lithologies are typical of the shallow subsurface. Down dip, these lithologies interfinger with thin to thick beds of marine clay-silt, commonly glauconitic and locally shelly. Marine beds are most prevalent in the southernmost part of the southern sheet. Unit 3 was cored in its entirety at Freehold where it is approximately 75 m (246 ft) thick. In the core, the basal 6 m (20 ft) consists of red or mottled red and white clay interbedded with gravel and fine- to coarse-grained sand. The clay is pervaded by reddish-brown siderite. Most of the overlying beds consist of interbedded dark-colored clay, locally weathered to pale yellow or white, and fine- to medium-grained, light-colored sand. Layers that contain fine black carbonaceous material to large lignitized wood pieces are common in unit 3 in this core. At Toms River, the unit is about 60 m (197 ft) thick and consists of dark- to pale-gray clay, locally weathering to white or yellowish gray, and light-colored, micaceous sand. In general, the darker colored clay is more common in the upper part of the section. Locally, the sand has very small amounts of glauconite which may indicate some local marine influence during sedimentation. The age of unit 3 was determined from pollen in the nonmarine deposits and foraminifera in the marine sections. Typical forms found in Zone III in New Jersey are Ajatipollis sp. A, Tricolpites nemejci, T. vulgaris, Tricolporoidites bohemicus, Tricolporoidites sp. A, T. sp. B, and Tricolporopollenites sp. B (Doyle and Robbins, 1977). In the marine facies, Petters (1976) reports a planktic foraminiferal suite containing Praeglobotruncana delrioensis and Rotalipora greenhornensis. Both the pollen and foraminiferal assemblages suggest an early Cenomanian age.
Potomac Formation, unit 3 (Upper Cretaceous, lower Cenomanian)Potomac Formation - Sand, fine- to coarse-grained, locally gravelly, crossbedded, light-colored, interbedded with white or variegated red and yellow, massive clay, and rarely dark-gray, woody clay. The Potomac Formation crops out only in the Delaware River valley where the river and its tributaries have eroded away the overlying formations. The Potomac has been mapped in a broad belt parallel to the inner edge of the Coastal Plain. Although mapped in a broad belt, the Potomac is very poorly exposed because of the widespread cover of surficial sediments. The best exposures occur where surficial material is mined away in the Camden area. Unit is about 45 m (148 ft) thick. Contact with the overlying Magothy Formation is difficult to pick where the basal Magothy also contains variegated clays. Most of the basal Magothy has more dark-colored clay, and the contact was drawn by using this criterion. The basal contact of the Potomac with the underlying crystalline rock is not exposed in New Jersey. Biostratigraphically, the Potomac has been separated into pollen zones I, II, and III (Doyle, 1969; Doyle and Robbins, 1977). Samples from the Potomac Formation in the Camden area and along the Delaware River nearby contain pollen assemblages of early Cenomanian age (Zone III) (Les Sirkin, written commun., 1988).
Raritan Formation (Upper Cretaceous)Raritan Formation (Cook, 1868) - Consists of upper clayey-silt (Woodbridge Clay Member) and lower sand (Farrington Sand Member) in map area. Woodbridge Clay Member is palered-orange weathering, grayish-black to dark-gray micaceous silt, very clayey; interbedded and locally interbedded with light-gray, very clayey, fine- to very-fine-grained micaceous sand containing primarily quartz and feldspar. Abundant layers of small, pyrite-coated wood fragments. Siderite in discontinuous beds and in flattened slab concretions as much as 1 m (3 ft) in diameter are common. Mollusk casts common in siderite near top of formation. Typically about 24 m (80 ft) thick. Farrington Sand Member is white, fine-to medium-grained, very micaceous, crossbedded sand, interbedded with thin to thick, darkgray, silty beds. Exposed only in pits dug below the overlying Woodbridge Clay Member. Typically about 8 m (25 ft) thick. Fossils include late Cenomanian ammonites Metoicoceras bergquisti and Metengonoceras sp. in upper part of Woodbridge (Cobban and Kennedy, 1990) and pollen of the Complexipollis-Atlantopollis assemblage zone (= Zone IV) of late Cenomanian to early Turonian age (Christopher, 1979; 1982).
Raritan Formation (Upper Cretaceous, upper Cenomanian)Raritan Formation - Clay, silty, massive, dark-gray, shelly. Unit is generally restricted to the deep subsurface and only subcrops in the northern part of the central sheet. Petters (1976) proposed a new formation, the Bass River Formation, which included the Raritan as well as the lowermost part of the Magothy and the uppermost part of the Potomac Formation, unit 3. In this report, the name Bass River is not used. Thickness values were obtained from interpretations of geophysical logs from the few drillholes that penetrated this formation; consequently, these values are, at best, speculative. It is estimated that the Raritan is at most 100 m (328 ft) thick in the southernmost part of New Jersey. The formation contains both nonmarine and marine facies. The Freehold drillhole shows the best section containing both facies. In this drillhole the Raritan is approximately 60 m (197 ft) thick. The lower 12 m (39 ft) consists of interbedded, fine- to medium-grained, thin- to thick-bedded, light to dark-colored quartz sand and light- to dark-colored clay or clayey silt. Small to large pieces of lignitized wood are characteristic of and common to abundant in these beds. The middle 30 m (98 ft) consists of laminated to thinly bedded, dark-gray, micaceous clay and fine-grained, light-colored, micaceous quartz sand. Reddish-brown secondary cementation is common in the strata of this interval. Lignitized wood fragments are also locally abundant in these beds but on average the wood pieces are much smaller than those seen in the basal beds. The upper 18 m (59 ft) also is dominated by the laminated to thin-bedded sequences of micaceous clay and quartz sand but has small amounts of glauconite sand. A thin layer of large fossils (primarily Exogyra woolmani) is present in these upper beds. At the very top of this interval some of the beds are cemented by siderite. In general, the Raritan appears to be fluvial in the lower part, marginal marine in the middle, and marine at the top. North and west of the Freehold drillhole the Raritan is mostly interbedded nonmarine crossbedded sand and black to variegated clay. At Island Beach, southwest of Freehold, the Raritan is wholly marine and consists largely of dark-gray, shelly, micaceous clay at the base and fine-grained, dark-gray, shelly, micaceous clay at the top. It is assumed that the Raritan is late Cenomanian to possibly early Turonian in age as determined from northern New Jersey sections. In outcrop, the Raritan is early late Cenomanian in age on the basis of ammonites (Cobban and Kennedy, 1990). Pollen from these outcrops belongs to the Complexiopollis-Atlantopollis Assemblage Zone (zone IV, Christopher, 1979). Downdip, Petters (1976) reports the planktic foraminifer Marginotruncana helvetica, a middle Turonian marker, from beds assigned to pollen zone IV at Toms River, Ocean County.
Raritan Formation (Upper Cretaceous, upper Cenomanian)Raritan Formation - Consists of an upper clayey silt (Woodbridge Clay Member) and a lower sand (Farrington Sand Member). Formation occurs only in northern part of central sheet. Woodbridge Clay Member - Silt, clayey, dark-gray; weathers to red brown or white, locally interbedded with light-gray, clayey, fine- to very fine grained sand (primarily quartz and mica with little feldspar). Very micaceous (muscovite, chlorite, and biotite) in both silty and sandy beds. Very woody, mostly fine pieces in layers and coated with pyrite. Locally, tree stumps, in upright position, are found near base of unit as are transported individual logs several feet in length. Siderite occurs in discontinuous beds and as flattened slab concretions as much as 0.6 m (2 ft) in maximum diameter. Fossil casts of marine mollusks are present, particularly near the top of the formation. Locally, well-developed burrows of Ophiomorpha nodosa filled with iron oxides weather out of the clay-silt. The Woodbridge is approximately 20 m (66 ft) thick in the vicinity of Sayreville, Middlesex County, where the South River has stripped away the overlying Magothy Formation, and it crops out in many places in the Perth Amboy and New Brunswick quadrangles to the north, but not in the quadrangles to the south or southwest. The Woodbridge does not crop out in the Delaware River valley southwest of Trenton. The late Cenomanian ammonites Metoicoceras bergquisti and Metengonoceras sp. were described from the upper part of the Woodbridge (Cobban and Kennedy, 1990). Pollen from the unit belongs to the Complexipollis-Atlantopollis Assemblage Zone of latest Cenomanian and early Turonian age (Christopher, 1979, 1982). Farrington Sand Member - Sand, quartz, fine- to medium-grained, crossbedded, very micaceous, white, interbedded with thin to thick, dark, silt beds. Rock fragments are a minor sand constituent. No burrows were observed in the unit. Unit is exposed only in pits dug below the overlying Woodbridge Clay Member. Typically, thickness is about 9 to 10.5 m (30-34 ft). Pollen from the Farrington is similar to the pollen in the Woodbridge.
Sandy Hook Member of the Red Bank Formation (Upper Cretaceous, upper and middle Maastrichtian)Sandy Hook Member - Sand, quartz, fine-grained, clayey, very micaceous, massive, dark-gray, fossiliferous. Feldspar, muscovite, chlorite, and biotite are minor sand constituents. Well exposed at Poricy Brook in the Long Branch quadrangle. The Sandy Hook is much thinner than the overlying Shrewsbury Member and is a maximum of 10 m (33 ft) thick.
Shark River Formation (upper and middle Eocene, Priabonian through Lutetian)Shark River Formation - Glauconite sand, silt, and clay, medium- to coarse-grained, light-brown to medium-gray, locally indurated at top and noncalcareous throughout. Mollusk impressions (mainly Venericardia perantiqua) were observed in the Farmingdale quadrangle. The Shark River is exposed only at a few localities in the central sheet near Farmingdale, Monmouth County, along the Manasquan and Shark Rivers and in several tributaries to Deal Lake near Asbury Park in the Asbury Park quadrangle (Sugarman and Owens, 1994). Most outcrops are small, less than 3 m (10 ft) in height. The contact with the underlying Manasquan Formation was not observed. The Shark River is about 18 m (59 ft) thick and consists of two fining-upward cycles: a glauconite sand is present at the base and a clay or silt is present at the top of each cycle. Calcareous nannofossils in subsurface Shark River sections indicate Zones NP 14 through NP 18 (Martini, 1971) (middle Eocene and early late Eocene).
Shark River Formation (upper and middle Eocene, Priabonian through Lutetian)Shark River Formation - Consists of three lithofacies, a basal clayey, greenish-gray glauconite sand; a middle dark-green to gray-green silty clay or clayey silt; and an upper medium-gray to gray-green, silty quartz sand. Updip beds are cyclic with a fine- to medium-grained, somewhat clayey, fossiliferous, dark-green, glauconite-quartz (25 percent) sand at the base. The basal lithofacies is about 12 m (39 ft) thick in the southern sheet and 3 m (10 ft) thick in the central sheet. There is a general increase in quartz sand upward and a change in color to dark gray or brownish gray. Locally, some of the beds are more clayey and have more calcareous shell fragments. The middle clay and silt facies is typically the thickest lithofacies in most Shark River sections (as much as 38 m (125 ft) thick) and is massive to thick bedded. The thick-bedded parts typically consist of intercalated silty and clayey beds that are extensively bioturbated. Macro- and microfossils are abundant in this facies. Most of the macrofossils are thin-walled pelecypods. This facies is gradational into the upper quartz-sand facies. The quartz sand is well developed in the Toms River Chemical Plant drillhole, Toms River, Ocean County (sheet 1). This facies apparently was beveled off in the updip areas during erosion prior to deposition of the Kirkwood Formation. The Shark River Formation in the updip area near Bridgeton, Cumberland County (sheet 2), is about 52 m (171 ft) thick. All of the Shark River lithologies in the downdip area are extensively bioturbated. The Shark River is thickest (more than 60 m (197 ft)) in a trough that lies near the middle of the southern sheet. The contact between the Shark River and the underlying Manasquan Formation is sharp and contains a thin zone of reworked glauconite sand, granules of quartz, and phosphatic debris. On most gamma-ray logs through this contact, there is a sharp gamma high reflecting the concentration of phosphatic sediment. The vertical arrangement of facies in this formation is from a transgressive (mostly clay) facies at the base to a regressive (mostly sand) facies at the top. Calcareous nannofossils and foraminifera were used to date this unit. Where the unit is thickest, the nannofossils range from the upper part of Zone NP 14 (Rhabdosphaera inflata) to the lower part of Zone NP 18 (Chiasmolithus oamaruensis). The entire sequence of Zones NP 14 through NP 18 was observed only in the ACGS-4 corehole near Mays Landing. The planktic foraminifera zones range from the Turborotalia frontosa Zone at the base to the Turborotalia pomeroli/Turborotalia cerroazulensis Zone at the top. A middle to early late Eocene age for the Shark River is indicated by these zones (Poore and Bybell, 1988).
Shiloh Marl Member of the Kirkwood Formation (lower Miocene, Burdigalian)Shiloh Marl Member - Consists of (1) a lower laminated, micaceous, locally fossiliferous (typically thin-walled, small mollusks), dark-gray clay interbedded with very fine grained sand and (2) an upper medium- to coarse-grained, gravelly, massive, pale-brown to medium-gray sand with scattered thin-walled mollusks. Thin, dark-gray clay layers interbedded with thin layers of lignite are common in this upper interval. Like the Wildwood, this unit occurs mainly within the southern sheet and the southeastern part of the central sheet. Thicknesses vary within the basin but are a maximum of 55 m (180 ft). In the Island Beach corehole the unit is clayey at the base and sandy at the top. The basal contact with the underlying unit is sharp but there is little reworked debris along this contact. In detail, the lowest 4.5 m (15 ft) of the unit is a fine- to medium-grained, massive, micaceous, extensively bioturbated, somewhat clayey, quartz sand. Small wood fragments are common. This basal sand bed grades upward into a sequence of horizontally bedded, light- to dark-gray clay and very fine grained, somewhat micaceous quartz sand. Color banding in this interval is strong. A very coarse grained, pale-gray quartz sand with some granules is interbedded with this dominantly clayey sequence. The clayey sequence is overlain by a medium-grained, massive, bioturbated, medium-gray sand similar to the basal sand. This sand grades into a thin- to thick-bedded and crossbedded sequence of dark-gray and brown sand that increases in grain size from coarse to very coarse grained up section. Most of the sand is quartz with lesser amounts of potassium feldspar (6 to 16 percent of the sand fraction). Near the top of the unit, quartz gravel is a common constituent in the very coarse grained sand bed. The age of the Shiloh is early Miocene (Burdigalian) as determined from diatoms. The Shiloh contains Actinoptychus heliopelta (ECDZ 1 of Andrews, 1987, 1988). Strontium age determinations on shells from this unit yielded ages of 20.9 to 19.7 Ma confirming the early Burdigalian age. Pollen studies indicate that the Shiloh has unusually high concentrations of Fagus (beech). Other pollen includes Quercus (oak), Carya (hickory), Pinus (pine), and Ulmus (elm) along with exotics. Overall the assemblage, except possibly for the high concentration of Fagus, indicates a warm-temperate climate during the time of deposition.
Shrewsbury Member of the Red Bank Formation (Upper Cretaceous, upper and middle Maastrichtian)Shrewsbury Member - Sand, quartz, fine- to coarse-grained, somewhat clayey and micaceous, mostly massive with local small-scale crossbedding, light-yellow to red or dark-brown, slightly glauconitic at the base. Feldspar is a minor sand constituent. The Shrewsbury is extensively burrowed but is otherwise unfossiliferous. Locally, small "Callianassa"-type burrows are present. Maximum thickness is over 30 m (98 ft) in the highlands near Matawan. Unit thins southwestward and pinches out near Arneytown, Ocean County. The transition to the underlying Sandy Hook Member occurs within several feet and is characterized by an increase in clay, quartz, silt, mica, and fine pieces of wood downward.
Tinton Formation (Upper Cretaceous, upper Maastrichtian)Tinton Formation - Sand, quartz, and glauconite in varying proportions, very clayey and locally indurated by siderite into hard, massive ledges. Sand is dark gray to dark yellow where unweathered; where weathered, siderite changes color of unit to orange brown because of iron oxides, and the formation is stained or cemented in exotic patterns. The Tinton crops out in the northern part of the central sheet from Sandy Hook, Monmouth County, to the northernmost part of the Roosevelt quadrangle, near Perrineville. Unit unconformably overlies the Red Bank Formation in the high hills of the northern Coastal Plain, most notably near Perrineville and Morganville, Monmouth County. In these updip areas, fine gravel, 1 cm (0.4 in) maximum diameter, or large shell concentrations are found along the basal contact. The typical basal bed is a massive, glauconitic (10-35 percent), fine to medium-grained quartz sand with scattered gravel. The massive character of the basal bed is the result of extensive bioturbation. Burrows, filled with glauconite sand of the Tinton, project down into the quartz sand of the underlying Red Bank Formation. At lower elevations downdip, the Tinton is less weathered, much darker, more glauconitic, and typically indurated. The type locality on Pine Brook at Tinton Falls, Monmouth County, is in this downdip area. At Tinton Falls, 7 to 8 m (23-26 ft) of the Tinton is exposed and has a higher glauconite content than in the updip area. Glauconite at Tinton Falls is light green to pale yellow, and many of the grains have a smooth polished surface that is almost lustrous. Thin sections of the Tinton reveal that many of the grains are oolitic (Owens and Sohl, 1973). X-ray analyses indicate the presence of mixed clay minerals; therefore, the unit is not pure glauconite. The Tinton Formation at Tinton Falls has scattered molds of calcitic fossils and aragonitic shells. Richards (1958) recorded 30 species of mollusks from the Tinton in this area. Of importance are Sphenodiscus lobatus, Cucullaea (Idonearca) littlei, and Scabrotrigonia cerulia. In New Jersey, Scabrotrigonia cerulia is restricted to the Tinton. All three species are common to the upper Maastrichtian Haustator bilira Zone of Sohl (in Owens and others, 1977). Strontium-isotope analysis on calcareous shells from the Tinton yielded ages of 66.2 to 65.6 Ma or a late Maastrichtian age (Sugarman and others, 1995).
Unnamed Formation at Cape May (upper Pliocene)Unnamed Formation at Cape May - Interbedded gravel, sand, and clay, massive to thickbedded. Informal unit described from a corehole at the Cape May Airport. The lower 18.3 m (60 ft) consists of interbedded gravel; medium- to very coarse grained, poorly sorted sand; and thin to thick beds of medium- to dark-gray, very woody clay. Gravel clasts are typically less than 0.64 mm (0.025 in) in diameter. The upper 12.2 m (40 ft) consists of a thick-bedded, medium-gray, extensively bioturbated clay-silt, which is overlain by an extensively burrowed, fine- to medium-grained glauconitic (about 5 percent) quartz sand. Quartz and siliceous rock fragments compose most sand grains. Feldspar is present in most samples but usually constitutes less than 10 percent of the sand fraction. No calcareous macrofossils were found in the burrowed intervals. Unit is known only to occur on the Cape May peninsula where it lies within a large channel. The unit is about 60 m (197 ft) in maximum thickness. The contact with the underlying Belleplain Member of the Kirkwood Formation is sharp and unconformable; a basal gravel bed as much as 1 m (3 ft) thick is present along the contact. The pollen assemblage in the lower part of the unit is dominated by pine and oak with somewhat lesser amounts of hickory and basswood. Spruce, hemlock, beech, alder, and black gum are minor constituents. Traces of fir, willow, birch, and sweet gum are present, as is exotic Engelhardia. The nonarborial pollen are a Multisia-type composite of the present-day Andean provenance which indicate an exotic cool climate. The lower assemblage suggests a cool-temperate climatic regimen. The pollen assemblage in the upper beds is dominated by oak and hickory with minor amounts of basswood, sweet gum, pine, and Multisia-type composite. Traces of cedar, willow, birch, alder, grass, and Sphagnum spores also are present. This assemblage probably represents a temperate climatic regimen (Les Sirkin, Adelphi University, written commun., 1991). The low percentage of exotic species is characteristic of the late Pliocene, and therefore, the unnamed unit at Cape May may be equivalent to the Beaverdam Formation of the Delmarva Peninsula of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.
Vincentown Formation (upper Paleocene, Selandian)Vincentown Formation - Upper part, sand, glauconite (35-40 percent) and quartz (60-65 percent), fine- to very fine grained, very clayey and silty, massive, dark-gray, bioturbated, very micaceous. Lower part, sand, massive, less micaceous and clayey, dark-gray-green. The lower 4.5 m (15 ft) of the formation is a fine- to medium-grained, clayey glauconite sand. Locally, there is an accumulation of disarticulated calcareous shells along the contact with the underlying Hornerstown Formation. These shells are commonly the brachiopod Oleneothyris harlani or the mollusk Gryphaea dissimilaris. Where the shell bed is absent it is difficult to separate glauconite sand of the basal part of the Vincentown from the underlying Hornerstown Formation, which also is a glauconite sand. Gamma logs through this interval show that there is a small gamma spike along the contact between the glauconite sands. The grain size decreases and the formation is significantly more clayey downdip. At Allaire State Park, Monmouth County (drillhole Allaire-C), for example, the bulk of the Vincentown is a clayey, very micaceous, dark-gray, slightly feldspathic quartz sand. Large fossils, which are abundant in the near-surface beds, are absent. In addition, the basal glauconite beds tend to thicken somewhat downdip. Farther basinward, the bulk of the formation is an unfossiliferous, gray-green to locally tan clayey silt or silty clay. Locally, a thin- to thick-bedded glauconite sand occurs at the base. In the thickest downdip section penetrated at Island Beach, the Vincentown is mostly a pale-gray to dark-gray clay-silt. No megafossils were observed in the Island Beach core. On the basis of geophysical log interpretations in the deepest subsurface, this unit has a maximum thickness of about 38 m (125 ft). The age of the Vincentown is best indicated by calcareous nannofossils, which indicate Zones NP 5 to NP 9 (Bybell, 1992). Common nannofossils from Zone NP 5 are Chiasmolithus bidens, Ellipsolithus distichus, Fasciculithus tympaniformis, Scapholithus fossilis, and Toweius eminens. Common nannofossils in Zone NP 9 are Biantholithus astralis, Chiasmolithus bidens, Discoaster multiradiatus, D. salisburgensis, Fasciculithus involutus, F. schaubii, F. thomasii, and Lophodolithus nascens. The upper part of the Vincentown falls within the upper part of Zone NP 9 and therefore is late Paleocene (Selandian) in age.
Vincentown Formation (upper Paleocene, Selandian)Vincentown Formation - Sand, quartz, medium-grained, well- to poorly sorted, dusky-yellow to pale-gray; weathers orange brown or red brown, typically very glauconitic and clayey near base; glauconite decreases up section. Feldspar and mica are minor sand constituents. Unit best exposed in the Pemberton, New Egypt, and Mount Holly quadrangles of the central sheet where the overlying formations have been stripped away. The Vincentown Formation is as much as 30 m (98 ft) thick and averages 3 to 15 m (10-49 ft) in its subcrop belt. Where unweathered the unit is generally a shelly sand; where weathered the unit is largely a massive quartz sand. The unweathered sand of the Vincentown is exposed intermittently along the Manasquan River near Farmingdale, Monmouth County. The calcareous nature of the unweathered Vincentown was observed in several coreholes in the vicinity of Farmingdale. The contact with the underlying Hornerstown Formation is disconformable; locally shell beds (bioherms) up to 1.5 m (5 ft) thick are found along the contact. Shells in the bioherms are typical of a restricted environment and contain the brachiopod Oleneothyris harlani (Morton) in the lower beds and the oyster Pycnodonte dissimilaris in the upper beds. The basal contact and the Oleneothyris bioherms are exposed along Crosswicks and Lahaway Creeks and their tributaries. Where bioherms are absent, the basal contact is difficult to place within a sequence of glauconite beds. In general, glauconite beds of the Vincentown are darker gray than glauconite beds of the Hornerstown, and the Vincentown has more quartz sand. Upper beds of the Vincentown are as much as 12 m (39 ft) thick and are mostly silty, darkgray to green-gray, massive, glauconite sand that contains a small percentage of quartz. Calcarenite or coquina, characterized by an abundance of bryozoans, occurs locally along the western belt. These fossiliferous beds, 6 to 7.5 m (20-25 ft) thick, are best exposed along Shingle Run in the New Egypt quadrangle area and in streams that cross the Vincentown outcrop belt in the Pemberton quadrangle. Calcareous nannofossils, present in some Vincentown outcrops, are from Zones NP 5 (the Oleneothyris beds) and NP 9 (late Paleocene). Vincentown sediments are much more fossiliferous in the subsurface and contain Zones NP 5 through NP 9, inclusive. Therefore, the Vincentown corresponds in age with the Aquia Formation of Virginia and Maryland. Numerous studies of the foraminifera of the Vincentown from calcareous beds in the western outcrop belt indicate that the Vincentown includes the planktic foraminifera Zones P3b through P6a (Olsson and others, 1988). A potassium-argon age of 56.4 +/- 18 Ma was determined for basal beds near New Egypt, Ocean County (Owens and Sohl, 1973).
Wenonah Formation (Upper Cretaceous, upper Campanian)Wenonah Formation - Sand, quartz and mica, fine-grained, silty and clayey, massive to thick-bedded, dark-gray to medium-gray; weathers light brown to white, extensively bioturbated, very micaceous, locally contains high concentrations of sand-sized lignitized wood and has large burrows of Ophiomorpha nodosa. Feldspar (5-10 percent) is a minor sand constituent. Unit crops out in a narrow belt from Sandy Hook Bay on the central sheet and pinches out southwest of Oldmans Creek, Salem County, on the southern sheet. Isolated outliers of the Wenonah are detached from the main belt in the central sheet area. Thickness is about 10 m (33 ft) in the northern part of the central sheet, 20 m (66 ft) in the southwestern part of the central sheet, and 7.5 m (25 ft) in the southern sheet. The Wenonah is gradational into the underlying Marshalltown Formation. A transition zone of several meters is marked by a decrease in mica and an increase in glauconite sand into the Marshalltown. Fossil casts are abundant in the Wenonah. Weller (1907) reported Flemingostrea subpatulata Hop Brook in the Marlboro quadrangle indicating a late Campanian age. Wolfe (1976) placed the Wenonah microflora in his CA5A assemblage, considered to be of late Campanian age. Kennedy and Cobban (1994) identified ammonites including Baculites cf. B. scotti, Didymoceras n. sp., Menuites portlocki, Nostoceras (Nostoceras) puzosiforme n. sp., Nostoceras (Nostoceras) aff. N. colubriformus, Parasolenoceras sp., Placenticeras placenta, P. minor n. sp., and Trachyscaphites pulcherrimus. The presence of M. portlocki and T. pulcherrimus indicates late, but not latest, Campanian.
Wildwood Member of the Kirkwood Formation (middle and lower Miocene, Langhian and Burdigalian)Wildwood Member - New member named for a well drilled at Wildwood, Cape May County. Typically consists of a very fossiliferous, micaceous, darkgray clay-silt interbedded with fine- to medium-grained, pale-gray-brown sand in lower half of the member. The upper half of the member is more sandy (mostly fine-grained, micaceous quartz sand), thin-bedded to laminated, commonly interbedded with thin-bedded, gray-brown, micaceous clay; wood fragments are common. The basal contact with the underlying unit is sharp and has considerable relief. A 1-m (3-ft)-thick bed of gravel (1 cm (0.4 in) in maximum diameter) with pieces of quartz and worn shells, commonly occurs along the contact. Thickness of the unit varies widely because of the undulating basal contact. The maximum thickness, 80 m (262 ft), was penetrated in the Wildwood well. At the Island Beach well (290019) at Island Beach State Park, Ocean County, the Wildwood is over 30 m (98 ft) thick. The lower 6 m (20 ft) consists of thick interbeds of fine- to medium-grained, massive to locally thick-bedded, extensively bioturbated, micaceous quartz sand and dark-brown and grayish-brown silty clay. The middle part is mostly massive to finely laminated, dark-gray to gray-brown silt to clay. The upper 6 m (20 ft) consists of fine- to coarse-grained, locally gravelly, thin- to thick-bedded sand interbedded with the clay and silt. The age of the Wildwood was determined from diatoms and strontium-isotope age estimates of mollusk shells. The diatom assemblages in this unit fall within Andrews (1988) ECDZ 2, thus indicating a considerable unconformity between this member and the overlying Belleplain (ECDZ 6). ECDZ 2 is in the Delphineis ovata Zone and contains the characteristic diatoms Coscinodiscus lewisianus, Delphineis lineata, Rhaphidodiscus marylandicus, Rhaphoneis fusiformis, R. margaritata, R. wicomicoensis, Sceptroneis caduceus, S. grandis, and S. hungarica. Strontium-isotope analyses on shells from this interval indicate an age range of 17.4 to 15.5 Ma (Sugarman and others, 1993). The isotopic and paleontologic ages suggest that the Wildwood Member straddles the early-middle Miocene boundary (Langhian-Burdigalian boundary). Pollen from the Wildwood has warm-temperate affinities in the lower part and mixed warm- and cool-temperate affinities in the upper part suggesting an overall cooling of the climate during the time of deposition. Collectively, the Wildwood and Belleplain Members constitute the section that Woolman (1889-1902) assigned to his "great diatom bed".
Wildwood Member of the Kirkwood Formation (middle and lower Miocene, Langhian and Burdigalian)Wildwood Member - Clay, silty, massive to finely bedded, dark-gray to olive-gray, locally interbedded with thin beds of light-colored sand. Contains small shell fragments primarily at base. Upper beds are more sandy than lower beds but also contain many thin to thick beds of clay. The sand is fine to medium grained, light gray, and commonly has dispersed wood fragments. Shell fragments are locally present in this facies. Basal beds are micaceous, locally diatomaceous, and contain wood fragments. Quartz is the major sand constituent with minor amounts of siliceous rock fragments and feldspar. The Wildwood subcrops beneath surficial deposits where the Belleplain Member and Cohansey Formation were stripped away. Along Delaware Bay, the Wildwood subcrops from near the Cohansey River to Fortescue, Cumberland County. Along the Atlantic Coast, the unit subcrops from Bay Shore Park to near Beach Haven Park, Ocean County. The maximum thickness of the unit is about 18 m (59 ft). The contact with the underlying Shiloh Marl Member is sharp and unconformable. Diatoms from the Wildwood Member are from the East Coast Diatom Zone (ECDZ) 2 of Andrews (1988) indicating a latest Burdigalian and Langhian age (late early and early middle Miocene).
Woodbury Formation (Upper Cretaceous, lower Campanian)Woodbury Formation - Clay-silt, dark-gray; weathers brown and orange pink. Iron oxides fill fractures or form layers in the most weathered beds. Unit is massive except at the base where thin quartz sand layers occur. Locally, thin stringers of pale-greenish-brown, smooth-surface glauconite occur near the top. Unit conspicuously micaceous throughout and contains finely dispersed pyrite, carbonaceous matter, and small pieces of carbonized wood as much as 30 cm (12 in) in length. Small siderite concretions are abundant in the Woodbury in the northern part of the outcrop belt. Unit forms a broad belt in the central sheet from Sandy Hook Bay, southwest to area around East Greenwich, Gloucester County, where it pinches out or changes facies. The Woodbury maintains a thickness of about 15 m (49 ft) throughout most of its outcrop belt. Fossil imprints are abundant. An extensive Woodbury macrofauna was described by Weller (1907) from siderite concretions from a tributary to the Cooper River in the Camden quadrangle. This assemblage is unusual in that it is the only existing outcrop of the Woodbury where calcareous and aragonitic shells are still intact. Most fossils are small, fragmented, and concentrated in small pockets, but larger intact calcareous fossils are scattered throughout the Woodbury. Weller (1907) recorded 57 species from this locality. In addition, this is the same locality that contains fossils of the dinosaur Hadrosaurus foulkii. Pollen collected from the Woodbury was assigned to the CA3 Zone by Wolfe (1976). Biostratigraphic data suggest that the Woodbury is of early Campanian age.
