356 THE COASTAL PLAIN OF NORTH CAROLINA.

The materials of the formation consist of calcareous marls, fossilifer-
ous limestones, and fine-grained, siliceous sandstones. |The maximum
thickness of the formation is thought to be about 140 or 150 feet. The
formation rests unconformably upon Upper Cretaceous strata belonging
to the Peedee formation. The strata dip slightly to the southeast. To
the’ southward the formation is believed to pass unconformably be-
neath the Castle Hayne formation of the Eocene, and is believed to
have been encountered in well borings in New Hanover County. To
the northeast it passes unconformably beneath Miocene strata. Over
much of the area the formation is covered by thin, surficial Pleistocene
deposits.

Inexhaustible supplies are available from the. porous, sandy strata
intercalated within the limestones, and probably also to some extent
frqm.solution channels and caverns within the limestones themselves.
These horizons have been tapped at Jacksonville in Onslow County,
at Trenton in Jones County, at New Bern in Craven County, at Wash-
ington in Beaufort County, and to a limited extent at intermediate
points.

In quality the Trent waters are, with very few exceptions, hard to
a greater or lesser degree, due to the presence of calcium carbonate in

solution. In places. the hardness is not excessive. Elsewhere it be-

comes so excessive as to render the waters unpalatable, and unfit for
laundry, boiler, and manufacturing purposes unless subjected to special

chemical treatment. Iron salts are present in many of the waters and-

in some cases the amount is excessive. Unfortunately, over much of
this area, including parts where some of the larger towns are situated,
as at Jacksonville, Trenton, New Bern, and Washington, no other source
of potable artesian waters is available, for by deeper drilling hori-
zons of water high in sodium chloride (common salt) would in all
probability be encountered. It remains, therefore, for the people to
make the best use possible of this water, which though rendered ob-
jectionable in places by its lime content, is nevertheless obtainable in
unlimited quantities. It is possible and practicable by proper chemi-
cal treatment to remove a large percentage of the calcium and iron
salts, and thus to render the water much more satisfactory than in its
natural state. Under the head of the separate counties the detailed
water conditions of local areas have been discussed elsewhere in this

report.

strata, including both the Trent and the younger Castle Beye for-
mation, is shown on the map (Plate XXXV). -

TS Ae

The area in which potable waters may be obtained from. Eocene ;