Geomorphology and soil survey

Abstract

The Coosawhatchie River, through erosion and downcutting, carved a fluvial valley through the Wicomico and Pamlico marine terraces during the late Pleistocene-Holocene period. The floodplain is relatively small and immature compared to the major river systems of the South Carolina Lower Coastal Plain. Consequently, the classic geomorphic features of a larger fluvial system are subtly expressed. The study area is composed of two weakly developed terraces, distinguished primarily by flooding frcquency and surface sand size. The soils of the lower terrace consist of highly variable loamy and clayey Pamlico and recent fluvial sediments over older sandy fluvial beds. The soils of the upper terrace along the western edge of the floodplain consist of clayey and loamy Pamlico sediments with an alluvial surface layer. Small amounts of sediment from sandy, upland Wicomico deposits are - delivered via A short, well-dissected drainageways. The underlying stratigraphy consists of unconsolidated Quaternary and Pliocene marine and fluvial sediments blanketing semilithified Miocene through Cretaceous marine sediments (Colquhoun 1965, 1974; Dubar 1971; Hughes and others 1989).

Parent Publication

• The Coosawhatchie Bottomland Ecosystem Study: A Report on the Development of a Reference Wetland

Citation

Murray, Laura A.; Eppinette, Bob; Thorp, John H. 2000. Geomorphology and soil survey. In: Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-38. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. p. 7-9.