Little Cove Point
Little Cove Point is located at the
southern point
of Calvert County, adjacent to the Patuxet River. The sediments
exposed in the cliffs along Little Cove Point belong to the St. Mary's
Formation, the youngest rock unit exposed in Calvert County. This
unit is composed of blue-colored clays and fine-grained sands
and
silts. This 90-100 foot thick exposure of the St. Mary's
Formation is subdivided into a series of members and assemblage zones,
each
consisting of a particular type of bedding and group of fossils.
One particularly interesting feature at the Little Cove Point
location is the partially lithified sediment that comprises the
uppermost horizons of
the cliff. Here, the movement of iron-rich groundwater has
cemented together the uppermost meter of sand, creating a sedimentary
rock in only a few thousand years time (Click to
enlarge).
