SOILS OF THE SASSAFRAS SERIES. 13 



loam, loam, and silt loam of the better- drained portions of this for- 

 mation all cover large areas. 



The next higher and older terrace of the Pleistocene is known as 

 the Wicomico formation in Maryland. Within the peninsula it occu- 

 pies all of the higher interior portion from a line drawn between 

 Wilmington, Del., and Elkton, Md., southward a little beyond the 

 southern line of Delaware. 



As has been noted, it is separated from the Talbot terrace only by 

 low slopes or indistinct scarps on the seaward side. Thence its sur- 

 face rises gently nearly to the eastern shore of Chesapeake Bay, but 

 sinks sharply to the surface of the Talbot formation or to the waters 

 of the bay along its western margin. A few small remnants of this 

 terrace are also found along the steeply sloping boundary between 

 the Piedmont and Coastal Plain from the vicinity of Wilmington to 

 that of Baltimore. • 



The materials which constitute the Wicomico formation in this 

 section consist chiefly of bowlders,, gravel, sand, and loam. The 

 coarser materials are generally found at the base of the formation, 

 and these are usually overlain by either a sandy loam or a rather 

 heavy silty loam surface deposit. Generally the gravel constitutes 

 a basal stratum rather sharply bounded by the underlying materials 

 of various older formations, while it grades upward into the loamy 

 covering which forms the Sassafras loam and silt loam. The slopes, 

 where somewhat eroded, give rise to a mingling of the loam with 

 underlying gravel, forming the Sassafras gravelly loam. Around 

 the head of Chesapeake Bay some areas of the Sassafras sand are 

 found within the limits of this formation. 



The highest Pleistocene terrace is represented on the Maryland- 

 Delaware Peninsula only by fragments, which are found along the 

 ridge of high land on Elk Neck and to a limited degree along the 

 steep slope which marks the inner border of the Coastal Plain around 

 the mouth of the Susquehanna River. This highest Pleistocene ter- 

 race is called the Sunderland formation by the Maryland Geological 

 Survey. A small portion of its surface is composed of materials 

 giving rise to the Sassafras silt loam. 



The Maryland-Delaware Peninsula constitutes the region within 

 which the soils of the Sassafras series are most widespread. They 

 are found at all elevations from the vicinity of tide level to altitudes 

 of more than 100 feet, while small remnants occur along the inner 

 margin of the Coastal Plain at elevations up to 240 feet. 



The materials which give rise to these soils consist of a mingling of 

 earthy matter from the Appalachian region and the Piedmont 

 Plateau with other materials derived from the underlying and older 

 Coastal Plain formations. In general, the coarser gravel and sandy 



