152 C. A. COTTON 
LITHOLOGICAL CHARACTER OF THE BEDS 
The topset beds deposited during stillstand will constitute such 
a small proportion of the whole mass of sediment that geologically 
they will be of slight importance in uplifted shelf deposits. Ocean- 
ographic data indicate that the materials of which they are com- 
posed vary widely, ranging from gravel and sand to mud, with or 
without shells. The bulk of the deposit will consist of foreset beds 
built out over a thinner series of bottom-set beds in which extremely 
fine particles that have remained a long time in suspension will be 
present mixed with organic remains. Farther seaward these will 
grade into pure pelagic deposits. 
TABLE I 
A=Composite analysis of green and blue muds 
B=Composite analysis of 78 shales 
A B 
Si Os ee waceyae esate: 57-05 58.38 
TO ieee oN a at! it By 0.65 
AE Osea rae: 09422 15.47 
1A Oe 28 ocho oun eee 5.07 4.03 
18S) O) ais! ale ee aes 2.30 2.46 
Vir OAR SMR ie Conia Fy ea Nie giles POEL a oe 
dN ed Qe eo hs dete cena Ege 27, 2.45 
CaO nee ena: 2.04 Boue 
Ba @ rae iesrel austen ane arts 0.06 0.05 
TKO ae aay gi mh) Was 3.25 
IN EIA OG ey vcilaiaailenee are 1.05 1.31 
12210 ra als Sanco Oecle ae 0.21 0.17 
SOTO pea ee een ue mete narnrec tile tale eee ae 0.65 
SIRS LD Cae a aes fovea Mir hl ea eee Ns oe ale 
COS ere sg steal osil lector sis ae ous one 2.64 
Cares is ae ea 1.69 0.81 (organic) 
BEL OS Sas At) sacri ibsley Tait] 5.02 
Other constituents... . OST QO Ai Mla anos A ieeca a aerate 
99.9964 100.46 
Leaving aside volcanic and coral muds, which require special 
conditions for their formation, we find that, as shown by samples 
obtained from the continental slopes, blue muds and green sands 
and muds are the most common materials of the foreset beds, the 
former where the supply of waste is ample and the latter where 
the supply is more meager. Both of these are well represented 
