The area comprising the possible oil provinces of the northeastern part of the United States as described in this paper extends from the northern boundary of North Carolina at 36° 30′ North Latitude to 42° North Latitude (Fig. 117). The western boundary of the province is the Fall Line where the younger sediments lap up against the igneous and metamorphic rocks of the Piedmont and New England physiographic provinces. The strike of the Fall Line in southern Virginia is almost north, but gradually changes to northeast near the Virginia-Maryland boundary. The Fall Line passes in an almost eastward direction through the northern part of Long Island, New York. From east to west, the province extends from about 66° West Longitude to 77° 20′ at the southern boundary of Virginia.

The area includes parts of the states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. It consists of two parts, the one known as the coastal plain extending from the Fall Line to the present coast line of the Atlantic Ocean, and the other, the continental shelf, extending from the coast line to the outer edge of the shelf.

The New England states occupy the extreme northern part of the region. They extend from 42° to 47° 25′ North Latitude and from 67° 45′ to approximately 73° 30′ West Longitude.

The North Atlantic Coastal Plain with the adjoining continental shelf has an area of 86,000 square miles. The area of land is 27,000 square miles; the area of continental shelf