Geochemical data from Ordovician and Silurian mafic rocks in the Wilmington Complex in Delaware, the James Run Formation in Cecil County, Maryland, and the Wissahickon Formation in Delaware and Pennsylvania were collected in conjunction with preparation of a new geologic map of the Delaware-Pennsylvania Piedmont. Although concentrations of most elements may have been disrupted by metamorphism, the more stable high field strength elements, including the rare earth elements (REE), are consistent within mapped lithodemic units and are compared to modern basaltic magmas from relatively well known tectonomagmatic environments.

Our results are similar to those for other Appalachian mafic rocks and suggest a suprasubduction zone tectonic setting for the Wilmington Complex and the James Run Formation in Cecil County, Maryland. Thus, the rocks of the Wilmington Complex plus the James Run Formation in Cecil County may be stages in a continuum that records the temporal magmatic evolution of an arc complex.

One hundred seventy-nine monuments help to mark Delaware's boundaries with Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Although there are only four major boundaries, there are seven boundary lines that make up the confines of the State. They are the east-west boundary, or Transpeninsular Line; the north-south boundary, or the Tangent Line, Arc, and North lines;; the Delaware-Pennsylvania boundary, including the Top of the Wedge Line and the 12-mile Circle; and the Delaware-New Jersey boundary including the 1934 Mean Low Water Line and the Delaware Bay Line. Only the Transpeninsular, Tangent, Arc, North, 12-mile Circle, and 1934 Mean Low Water lines are monumented. The Delaware Bay Line is defined by the navigational
channel. The boundaries described here evolved through long, complex histories (see references). They are based largely on adjudication in England of conflicting claims by the Penns and the Calverts for the Pennsylvania and Maryland colonies.

Geochemical data from Ordovician and Silurian mafic rocks in the Wilmington Complex in Delaware, the James Run Formation in Cecil County, Maryland, and the Wissahickon Formation in Delaware and Pennsylvania were collected in conjunction with preparation of a new geologic map of the Delaware-Pennsylvania Piedmont. Although concentrations of most elements may have been disrupted by metamorphism, the more stable high field strength elements, including the rare earth elements (REE), are consistent within mapped lithodemic units and are compared to modern basaltic magmas from relatively well known tectonomagmatic environments.

This report accompanies a new map that revises the original bedrock geologic maps of the Delaware Piedmont compiled by Woodruff and Thompson and published by the Delaware Geological Survey (DGS) in 1972 and 1975. Combined detailed mapping, petrography, geochemistry, and U-Pb geochronology have allowed us to redefine two rock units and formally recognize eleven new units. A section of the Pennsylvania Piedmont is included on the new map to show the entire extent of the Mill Creek Nappe and the Arden Plutonic Supersuite.

To conduct an elevation survey, a surveyor needs a starting point for which the exact elevation above mean sea level is known. These starting points are called benchmarks. State and federal agencies install benchmarks throughout every State, creating a network of elevation points which covers the entire continental United States. These benchmarks are considered to be permanent, and usually consist of a brass, bronze, or aluminum disc about 4 inches in diameter mounted in a cement post or in a drill hole in a permanent foundation. Each benchmark also has the installing agency's name and an identification number stamped into it. In December of 1980 the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) allotted the State of Delaware funds to determine the number and condition of federal benchmarks and other elevation reference control points. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), contained within FEMA, requires accurate flood surveys of property in flood-prone areas. An extensive and accurate benchmark network throughout the State is needed to help meet these needs.

The occurrences of earthquakes in northern Delaware and adjacent areas of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New Jersey are well documented by both historical and instrumental records. Over 550 earthquakes have been documented within 150 miles of Delaware since 1677. One of the earliest known events occurred in 1737 and was felt in Philadelphia and surrounding areas. The largest known event in Delaware occurred in the Wilmington area in 1871 with an intensity of VII (Modified Mercalli Scale). The second largest event occurred in the Delaware area in 1973 (magnitude 3.8 and maximum Modified Mercalli Intensity of V-VI). The epicenter for this event was placed in or near the Delaware River. Sixty-nine earthquakes have been documented or suspected in Delaware since 1871.

This report is a compilation of four papers presented by DGS staff members at the Baltimore Meeting of the Northeastern Section of the Geological Society of America, March, 1974.

The vector and raster data sets contains the rock unit polygons for the surficial geology for DGS Geologic Map No. 10. This map is of the crystalline bedrock units in the Piedmont of Delaware and adjacent Pennsylvania.

Considerable quantities of natural gas are used in Delaware; however, there are no facilities for the storage of large quantities of gas within the state. All the gas is "piped in" and distributed by the local public utility companies. These companies are interested in the possibilities for the underground storage of natural gas, but there are no obvious underground reservoirs such as depleted oil or gas fields.