10 BULLETIN 159, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGBICULTTJRE. 



although streams have cut shallow channels within the terrace and 

 low ridges and swells give a slightly undulating character to the 

 surface. There is normally a gentle rise toward the interior and 

 the landward margin of the terrace along the Delaware River side 

 is marked by a sharp rise or by steeper slopes. In the Atlantic 

 coast portion of southern New Jersey this interior escarpment is 

 not marked or ma}^ be entirely lacking. In the Delaware Valley 

 phase of this formation the upper level of its deposits lies between 

 35 and 50 feet above sea level. The interior margin of this forma- 

 tion is frequently bordered by delta deposits accumulated where 

 the larger streams brought other Coastal Plain material to the shore 

 of the estuary which was formed along the Delaware embayment. 

 These are usually sandy and gravelly in their character. They have 

 been derived from several of the older Coastal Plain deposits. 

 Within the level area of the Cape May terrace the materials consist 

 chiefly of gravel, sand, and loam, with small areas of stiff clay in some 

 localities. These materials have been derived both from the other 

 Coastal Plain deposits and from the glacial material which was 

 brought down by the Delaware River. There has also been a con- 

 siderable contribution of wind-blown sand which was either spread 

 out as a thin sheet over the surface of the water-laid deposits or even 

 heaped into low mounds and ridges. 



In general the surface material of the Cape May formation is 

 rather sandy and the soils which are derived from it consist largely 

 of the Sassafras sand, fine sand, and fine sandy loam. The Sassafras 

 silt loam is also developed to quite an extent in some parts of the 

 formation, notably near Salem, X. J. Even the level areas of the 

 Sassafras sand and fine sand are frequently underlain by this heavier 

 material and in some .localities by Miocene and Cretaceous clays, 

 and it is probable that in such situations they constitute a surface 

 deposit of wind-transported material laid down over the older 

 sediments. 



The next higher and older formation of Pleistocene age in south- 

 ern New Jersey has been called the Pensauken by the New Jersey 

 Geological Survey. It occupies elevations from about 50 feet above 

 tide level to an altitude of more than 200 feet in different parts of 

 the Coastal Plain. The Pensauken formation is most extensively 

 developed along the flanks of the Delaware Valley and on the slope 

 from the Coastal Plain toward the Piedmont Plateau between Tren- 

 ton and New Brunswick. Considerable areas are also found on the 

 slope between the high ridge within the Coastal Plain and the 

 margin of the Cape May formation along the Atlantic. 



The Pensauken formation is chiefly made up of cross-bedded 

 gravel and sand having a thickness ranging from 2 or 3 to 50 feet. 

 Over some portions of this coarser material there has been deposited 



