SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHY OF CAMPANIAN/MAASTRICHTIAN OUTCROPS ALONG THE LOWER CAPE FEAR RIVER AND CORRELATION TO THE KURE BEACH CORE, SOUTHEASTERN NORTH CAROLINA

Eight outcrops between Donoho Creek and Wanets Landing on the Cape Fear River have been described, parasequences and disconformities identified, and mineralogy, grain size distribution, percent organics and insoluble residue determined. Four depositional sequences are recognized and correlated to sequences in the Kure Beach core.

The upper part of the Bladen Formation represents sequence 1 and consists of medium to very coarse quartz sand interbedded with gray to black clay; the sand commonly displays composite cross bed sets and minor bivalves. The boundary between sequences 1 and 2 occurs below calcite cemented fossiliferous quartz sand or coarse shell lag and separates the Bladen from the Donoho Creek Formation. The Donoho Creek Formation may represent two sequences, a lower and an upper. The lower (2) consists of muddy, poorly sorted, medium sand with up to 5% glauconite and 10% phosphate in the sand fraction. The upper (3) consists of calcareous, muddy, well sorted, medium sand with a trace of glauconite and up to 5% phosphate. The boundary between the lower and upper Donoho Creek is defined at the top of massive, 0.5 m bioturbated muddy quartz sand. The contact between sequences 3 and 4 is a distinctive irregular erosional surface that is overlain by large bivalves and phosphate cobbles. Sequence 4 is represented by the lower part of the Peedee Formation and consists of muddy, generally moderately sorted, fine to medium sand with between 15-20% glauconite and up to 5% phosphate in the sand fraction. Sequences 1-4 are correlated to the Tar Heel II, Donoho Creek I, Donoho Creek II and Peedee I sequences in the Kure Beach core.