Geologic mapping was conducted at 1:12,000 with a 1-ft contour basemap. In some instances, stratigraphic boundaries drawn at topographic breaks reflect detailed mapping using LiDAR data. Elevations of stratigraphic contacts along stream valleys are projected from subsurface data. Except for a few erosional bluffs, these contacts are covered by colluvium. This map supersedes this portion of Geology of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal Area, Delaware: Delaware Geological Survey Geologic Map Series No.

Mapping was conducted using field maps at a scale of 1:12,000 with 2-ft contours. Stratigraphic boundaries drawn at topographic breaks reflect detailed mapping using contours not shown on this map. Most stratigraphic units mapped in stream valleys are projected from subsurface data. Except for a few erosional bluffs, these units are covered by colluvium. This map supersedes Geology of the Middletown-Odessa Area, Delaware: Delaware Geological Survey Geologic Map Series No. 2 (Pickett and Spoljaric, 1971).

Delineation of map units is based on sediment-core descriptions (e.g., texture, color, and composition) from 469 locations and seafloor morphology, which was assessed from a seamless NOAA/USGS topo-bathymetric model (Pendleton et al., 2014).

A parameterization of tidal marsh inundation was developed for the 1,200 hectares of tidal marsh along the 12-km reach of the tidal Murderkill River between Frederica and Bowers Beach in Kent County, Delaware. A parsimonious modeling approach was used that bridges the gap between the simple and often used “bathtub model” (instantaneous inundation based on tides in Delaware Bay), and the more complex modeling of shallow overland that results in the wetting and drying of tidal marshes.

The geological history of the surficial units of the Clayton, Smyrna, and the Delaware portion of the Millington Quadrangles are the result of deposition of the Beaverdam Formation and its modification by erosion and deposition of the Columbia Formation during the early Pleistocene. These units were then modified by the Lynch Heights and Scotts Corners Formations as a result of sea-level fluctuations during the middle to late Pleistocene. The geology is further complicated by periglacial activity that produced Carolina Bay deposits in the map area, which modified the land surface.

Open-File Report 50 presents and describes a database of geochronological information for coastal deposits of the US Atlantic and Pacific coasts, as well as for sites from the Pacific coast of South America. This database represents a synthesis of nearly forty years of study conducted by John F. Wehmiller and students in the Department of Geological Sciences, University of Delaware, as well as many collaborating colleagues.