Cape May Formation — Local Details. 193 



erosion which this hypothesis implies seems excessive. The alter- 

 native seems to be that this region was an estuary while the side 

 valleys were filled, and that the central part of the estuary re- 

 ceived little sediment. 



The Cape May deposits cover most of the area drained by 

 the smaller creeks, and form narrow borders along the larger 

 ones which reach back into the higher land above Mickleton and 

 Asbury Station. 



Raccoon Creek. — The Cape May formation in this valley ex- 

 tends well up to the headwaters of the stream and its chief 

 tributaries. Its surface rises from 30' feet or less on the Dela- 

 ware lowland, to more than 100 feet above Ewans Mills, 5 miles 

 above Mullica Hill. 



On the Delaware flat and in the lower part of the Raccoon 

 Valley, the Cape May material is not abundant. It consists of 

 gravel and sand which cover the Cretaceous beds to the depth of 

 a few feet. The gravel is more abundant near the stream, and 

 finer material farther from it. The material takes the form of 

 terraces, or covers Cretaceous benches, but its surface does not 

 rise much above 40 feet up to Swedesboro. Half a mile below 

 this place, the sand and gravel are 20 feet deep, and the surface 

 of the terrace about 35 feet above tide. 



Just west of Swedesboro, on the south side of the stream there 

 is a remarkably flat terrace at about 30 feet, composed of well 

 stratified, incoherent sand and gravel. The gravel is fine, the 

 pebbles being mostly less than an inch in diameter, and clean and 

 fresh. The valley here was built up to 35 feet or so during the 

 epoch, with material brought down by the stream, The material 

 of Raccoon Valley is coarser than that of the Delaware, where 

 there may have been an estuary, or, at most, a very sluggish 

 current, at the time. 



A mile and a half above Swedesboro there is also a distinct 

 terrace at about 35 feet; but the depth of sand and gravel is only 

 10 feet, and there is more gravel than below. All the stony 

 material is of resistant sorts, — quartz, chert, ironstone, etc. A 

 layer of mud appears in the section here, near its base. 



13 OUAT 



