Geology Of The Seaford Area, Delaware

Abstract

This report supplements the map "Geology of the Seaford Area, Delaware" (Andres and Ramsey, 1995). The map portrays surficial and shallow subsurface stratigraphy and geology in and around the Seaford East and Delaware portion of the Seaford West quadrangles. The Quaternary Nanticoke deposits and Pliocene Beaverdam Formation are the primary lithostratigraphic units covering upland surfaces in the map area. Recent swamp, alluvial, and marsh deposits cover most of the floodplains of modern streams and creeks. The Miocene Choptank, St. Marys, and Manokin formations occur in the shallow subsurface within 300 ft of land surface. The Choptank, St. Marys, and Manokin formations were deposited in progressively shallower water marine environments. The Beaverdam Formation records incision of underlying units and progradation of a fluvial-deltaic system into the map area. The geologic history of the Quaternary is marked by weathering and erosion of the surface of the Beaverdam and deposition of the Nanticoke deposits by the ancestral Nanticoke River. Depositional environments in the Nanticoke deposits include fresh water streams and ponds, estuarine streams and lagoons, and subaerial dunes.