PLANT-BEAKIXG OUTCROPS. 47 



HENRY COUNTY. tioii of tho Faloozoic flicrts to the eastward. 



These clay lenses are numerous and range fioiii 



Henry County lies on the divide between the .^ j^.^j or two in thickness and an acre or less 



Tennessee and the Mississippi drainaj^'c basins, j,^ .^,.^..^ j„ ,„,,i^ ofJ feet thiek that cover 5 to 



A little more than its western iialf is underlain ^q jj^,,.j.^_ I,, ^r^,„,,,.,,i^ thi.^o lenses are .dlipti- 



by the beds of Wilcox age, which are chiefly ^^^ j^ i,„iizontal oullinc with their long a.xes 



white or gray siliceous clays. Proliably more approximately parallel to tlie Wilcox shore 



clays arc worked in this county than an\nvhere ji,^^,^ .^^ interpreted l)y the writer. Scailcrcd 



else in the Wilcox area. Thel)est pits are close |,..|j- i,nprossions are not rare in these clays, but 



to the eastern edge of the outcrop of the licds ,i(.^u..^],i^, specimens are scarce. Carlxmaceous 



of Wilcox age and near tlie towns of Puryear, ^.^^^^ q^.^,,. .,, various levels, l)Ul no exiensive 



Wliitlock, Paris, and Henry. The basal strata ^^^^^ of lignite were oi)served. Only a fcNV 



of Wilcox age in this area consist largely of sections wUl be given to illustrate the mate- 



sauds wdth lenses of gray or white clay contain- i.j.j^ .„i,i ^l^^> criteria tliey offer for (K'termining 



ing more or less silica in tlie form of rock the conditions of sedimentation. 

 flour, probably deri\cd from tlie disintegra- 



Scclion al nil Jk niih.t .south of I'uiiimr, Tcnn., worhid In/ MamUc-Sdnt Co. 



Feet. 



1. Brown Iciam with seal tercel in'!)l)los 5 



2. Gravel IkmI of aiii;ular chert ami rouniled quartz pebbles as miu-h :is 3 inches in diameter 



with semi-indiirated l'<Truf;inous liands an inch or two thick toward tho top 4 



3. ( 'oarso or fine i;ray or lirown eomiiact. sand with iron eru.sts at the to]); about tO 



4. Laminated jnnkish and liuff lerrui,'inon.s sandy clay ll)-2.") 



5. Lens of Ijlack to gray pla.stic clay, in places massive and elsewhere laminated and somewhat 



sandy, with scattered carbonaceous impressions of leaves 0-1.5 



G. Gray clay, exposed 5 



The upper 9 or 10 feet is probably Pleisto- Recent sections of some of our meandering 



cene, although I suppose it would bo called Coastal Plain rivers that I have seen. Beds 



Lafayette by some geologists. No identifiable Nos. 3, 4, 5, and G are of Wilcox ago. 



plants w'ere collected at this outcrop, but the About one-fourth of a mile south of tluMlepot 



section is interesting, as the lens of carbona- at Puryear (elevation 612 feet) and inimedi- 



ceous clay showni in cross section on the west ately west of the Xashville, Chattanooga & St. 



wall of this extensive opening obviously repre- Louis "Railway is a clay pit of remarkable sci- 



sents a section across an estuary bayou or entific interest. The section exposed is not 



oxbow of Wilcox age. In its general features extensive, but it shows the following sequence 



it is very similar to a ntunber of Pleistocene or of materials. (See PI. IV, .1, j). 38.) 



Section at run/car, Tnin. 



Feet. 



1. Yellowish cf)arsc argillaceons sand with a few pebbles -- 8 



2. White to brown chert and flint gravel with scattered angular bowlders of sandstone, the 



largest 2 or 3 feet in diameter, and some well-rounded quartz pebbles 0- G 



3. Gray or buff, faintly stratified, and in place.s .sandy hard clay that dries nearly whito ID-l.') 



4. Flat iKMich, plastic brown siliceous, thinly laminated clay, with abundant jjlant remains; 



dries nearly white 5-8 



5. Buff |)lastic clay carrying nvimeroiis leaves of Sahalitcs gnu/anus: aljout lo 



6. Coarse white sand, exposed in borings. 



Beds Nos. 1 and 2 are probal)ly of Pleisto- itself. Beds Nos. 3, 4, 5, and 6 are of Wilcox 



cene (so-called Lafayette) age. The whole age. 



clay lens probably covers 5 or 6 acres, but oidy This is the most remarkable leaf-bearing clay 



about one-sixth has been stripped. It woukl that I have ever seen at any geologic iiorizon. 



be interesting to determine whether the leaf- The fossiliferous layers are practically without 



bearing layers are as extensive as the lens sand and nmst have been deposited in very 



