BROWN AND YELLOW LOAM OF NORTH MISSISSIPPI 293 



2. Having traced the surface formations from Bear Creek, 

 on the Alabama-Mississippi-Tennessee lines, to the Mississippi 

 River at Memphis, and to the " bluffs," 40-50 miles below, 

 I found the loess and the loam to be absolutely continuous, the 

 former usually being absent, or not characteristically developed, 

 except within a few miles at most of the existing "bluffs "'and 

 frequently in the " bluffs " themselves replaced entirely, locally, 

 by loam, with characteristic ferruginous " buckshot," to the 

 very base. 



The following characteristic sections will serve for illustra- 

 tions : 



A. Sections at Memphis, Tenn. — [a) Bluff just north of 

 Custom House ; at base, typical bluff-colored loess, non-efferves- 

 cent throughout its mass, but containing characteristic concre- 

 tions, calcareous and ferruginous, — the latter tubular or cylin- 

 drical rather than rounded — and obscure fossils. This passes 

 laterally into yellow or brown loam, and also becomes loamy at 

 the top — as the loess quite frequently does. Evidently the 

 loam here is only modified loess, or the latter is only a peculiar 

 phase of the loam. This is the most characteristic exposure of 

 the loess observed at Memphis. Going down the river both 

 fossils and concretions (of the loess proper) become less 

 frequent. ($) Section about one-half mile north of the river 

 bridge; 60-70 feet (estimated) of typical brown loam with its 

 characteristic "buckshot" to the very water's edge, where it 

 rests unconformably on the Lafayette — the loess being entirely 

 absent. Exposures near here show a loess-like loam devoid of 

 fossils and concretions, (c) Section about one-third mile north 

 of river bridge. (1) At top 60-70 feet of loam. (2) White and 

 reddish sand, cross laminated, and containing occasional peb- 

 bles, sometimes stratified, 10 feet. (3) Stratified Lafayette 

 gravel, 2-3 feet exposed. The lowest 5 or 6 feet of (1) are 

 pronouncedly sandy, the upper part of (2) humus stained, 

 indicating an old soil, (d) Section about 30 yards south of 

 the last. Here we have about 60 feet of yellow loam, with 

 "buckshot" at its very base, resting directly upon stratified 



