ABSTRACT
The outcropping basal Upper Cretaceous sediments of Alabama, originally designated Tuscaloosa formation, were later divided into four units, from oldest to youngest, the Cottondale, Eoline, Coker, and Gordo formations, and the name Tuscaloosa was raised to the rank of group. A recent regional study, however, indicates that the Tuscaloosa group contains only two units of formational rank—a lower unit, the Coker formation, which is redefined to include all beds of pre-Gordo Tuscaloosa age, and an upper unit, the Gordo formation. It is suggested that the name Cottondale be abandoned and that the Eoline be reduced in rank to a member of the Coker formation. These outcropping sediments of Tuscaloosa age, which were long considered non-marine and later shown to be in part marine, now appear to be chiefly products of shallow marine deposition. Many irregularities of contacts within the Tuscaloosa group are the result of structural disturbance.
