EUTAW SANDS. 15 
The material at the water's edge is identical with the greensand in the bluff above the 
bridge at Columbus and belongs to the Eutaw formation. The upper part of the bluff 
represents the "blue rock" of the Selma. A deep gully a few yards to the north has ;i 
continuous section of the Selma from the top of the Eutaw to the Selma prairie soil. The 
contact between the Eutaw and Selma is therefore shown in the section given above. ' Nos. 
1 to 9, inclusive, mark the sandy phase of the Eutaw, and No. 10 the clayey portion of the 
Selma, containing more or less sand. 
The above section is at or near the locality mentioned by Hilgard in his Geology and 
Agriculture of Mississippi, page 74, where many fossils were collected by Dr. William Spill- 
man, of Columbus, from the upper part of the "Tombigbee sand." A list of the fossils as 
identified by Spillman is published in the report just cited, page 389. According to (his 
list the fauna is somewhat closely related to that of the overlying Selma and Ripley forma- 
tions, many of the species cited ranging to the top of the Ripley, but at least one of the am- 
monite species belongs to a generic type that is not known above the horizon of the Eutaw. 
There seems to be a gradual transition, both lithologically and faunally, from the upper 
calcareous sands of the Eutaw to the lower division of the Selma. 
The underlying larger portion of the Eutaw has yielded very few fossils other than ligni- 
tized wood, but at a few places in Alabama species of Exogyra, Ostrea, Anomia, Placen- 
ticera, etc., have been found. 
The line of contact between the Eutaw and the overlying Selma at the Alabama line is 
near Tombigbee River, which practically forms the boundary between the two formations 
south of Columbus. Near the mouth of James Creek, in the northeast corner of Noxubee 
County, the greensands of the upper Eutaw are exposed at intervals for 2 miles or more 
along Tombigbee River. James Creek has cut its channel into these greensand beds. 
The east bank of the Tombigbee also shows a 10-foot section of the same greensand beds, 
which here contain a large amount of clay. 
The following section on the Southern Railway 3J miles east of Corinth shows the contact 
between the upper Eutaw and the Selma chalk: 
Section on Southern Railway S\ miles east of Corinth. 
Feet. 
4. Lafayette sands 6 
3. Joint clay, bluish when fresh H 
2. Green calcareous sand, very f ossiliferous, thinning to the east 7 
1. Yellow calcareous coarse-grained sand, with thin ledge of indurated sandstone 8 
In the branch to the west the coarse greensands of the Selma are present at a lower ele- 
vation than No. 1 of the above section. The strata here dip to the east, or in an opposite 
direction to the general dip of the district. The base of the greensand stratum, No. 2, at 
the west end of the cut is 4 feet above the railroad track. At a distance of 800 feet to the 
east the top of this stratum has dipped below track level. 
The country to the east of the Eutaw-Selma contact is hilly; that to the west is rolling 
or level. The western edge of the Eutaw can be traced southwest from the above section 
by a line of hills which form a sharp contrast to the level or rolling country of the Selma 
prairies to the west. 
Three miles south of Corinth in a deep cut on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad the following 
section, which is very similar to the one given above, is exposed: 
Section on Mobile and Ohio Railroad 3 mdes south of Corinth. 
Ft. In. 
8. Lafayette sands capping hills 8 10 
7. Gray joint clay containing large oyster shells 5 
6. Greensand containing same fossils as No. 7 5 
5. Indurated calcareous sand, yellow at bottom and passing into deep-yellow, coarse, sharp- 
grained sand with few fossils 3 6 
4. Unconsolidated greensand, noncalcareous 1 6 
3. Unconsolidated yellow sand, noncalcareous 1 - 
2. Greensand, noncalcareous ! G 
1. Pale greensand, becoming a deeper green at bottom of cut. In the branch below this sand 
alternates with thin bands of clay 5 
