THE HISTORY AND CURRENT STATUS OF THE STRATIGRAPHIC NOMENCLATURE APPLIED TO THE UPPER CRETACEOUS SERIES OF THE CAPE FEAR RIVER BASIN, NORTH CAROLINA

Numerous outcrops that represent most, if not all of the Upper Cretaceous Series of the Coastal Plain of the Carolinas are exposed along the banks of the Cape Fear River, NC. Stratigraphic studies of these outcrops began with Stephenson in the early 1900s and have been conducted for more than 100 years. During this time, more than a dozen names have been applied to these lithologic units. Some names have been introduced, abandoned, and subsequently reintroduced. Some authors interpret units as stratigraphically superposed whereas others interpret these same units as facies related. Some authors have applied names to units in the Cape Fear River region that were established for lithologic units as far away as the eastern Gulf Coastal Plain. And most units have been assigned incorrect ages at least once.

To provide stability to the stratigraphic nomenclature and interpretation of the Upper Cretaceous Series of the Cape Fear River, river outcrops with reliable calcareous nannofossil and palynological biostratigraphic control are placed into a refined, robust, and integrated litho-, bio-, allo-, and chronostratigraphic framework. The framework is based on studies of more than 30 continuously cored wells drilled throughout the Coastal Plain of the Carolinas. Development of this framework involved personnel from the U.S. Geological Survey, several state agencies, and several universities. As a result of the study, more than a dozen regional unconformities were recognized within the Upper Cretaceous Series. Unconformities not only bound traditional lithostratigraphic units, they occur within them. In addition, the study documents significant facies changes in both the strike and dip direction of unconformity-bound stratigraphic units.

Ultimately, the results of the Cape Fear study will be published detailing the age, formational assignment, biostratigraphic zonal assignment, significant geological features, and elevation above MSL for each outcrop.