THE MURFREESBORO STAGE OF OUR EAST COAST 



MIOCENE 



BY 



AXEL OLSSON 



CONTENTS 



Introduction 



Position and Lithology 



Areal Distribution and Former Correlation 



Age Determination and Paleontology 



The Maryland Miocene 



General Correlation 



Introduction 



Forming a no small part of the sedimentary deposits com- 

 posing the northern half of our eastern Coastal Plain in New- 

 Jersey, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina are the beds 

 collectively known as the Miocene. They consist of clays, 

 sands, marls or their mixtures, often with an abundant and inter- 

 esting fauna, which has been the subject of study of several 

 paleontologists since the time of Thomas Say. On the basis of 

 faunal differences and stratigraphy, the series may be divided 

 into stages; and, when these are studied, the former transgres- 

 sions of the Miocene sea at the corresponding ages are deter- 

 mined. The stages which may be recognized at present, are the 

 following: 



f Upper f Duplin stage, south of the Hatteras axis 

 Upper -j ( Yorktown stage, north of the Hatteras axis 



( Lower — Murfreesboro stage {new) 

 Middle — St. Mary's stage 



Lower I U PP er— Choptank stage 

 ( Lower — Calvert stage 



