Mt. Laurel Formation

Kml
#9ACF8B
Geologic Time Period
Upper Cretaceous

Coastal Plain - Primarily Subsurface Unit

The following description was published in GM13 Geologic Map of New Castle County, Delaware, Ramsey, K.W., 2005:

Slightly calcareous, glauconitic, quartz sand that is medium to fine grained. Contains about 3 to 5 percent glauconite. Sand is subrounded to subangular and slightly silty with a few moderately silty zones. Scattered belemnites are present as well as a few scattered shell fragments or thin shell beds. Uniform dark olive gray or yellowish-brown where weathered. In outcrop, reported to be extensively burrowed (Owens, et al., 1970). Where it is the surficial deposit south of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, the Mt. Laurel can be confused with the Columbia Formation, especially where the color is similar. Can be differentiated by ubiquitous presence of glauconite and generally better sorted sands of the Mt. Laurel. Marine in origin. Ranges from 30 to 100 ft in thickness.

Reference(s)

Owens, J.P., Minard, J.P., Sohl, N.F., and Mello, J.F., 1970, Stratigraphy of the outcropping post-Magothy Upper Cretaceous Formations in Southern New Jersey and Northern Delmarva Peninsula, Delaware and Maryland: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 674, 60 p.