DISCRIMINATION BETWEEN SUBTIDAL AND INTERTIDAL FACIES IN

PLEISTOCENE DEPOSITS, WILLAPA BAY, WASHINGTON 1

H. E D W A R D CLIFTON
U.S. Geological Survey
Menlo Park, California 94025

ABSTRACt: Sea cliffs on the north, west, and south sides of Willapa Bay, Washington, present excellent
exposures of Pleistocene estuary deposits. Analysis of these deposits and comparison of them with modem
facies in Willapa Bay indicate that a primary key to their interpretation is the delineation of stillstand units--
that is, shallowing-upwards bodies of sediment deposited at a particular stand of the sea. Once identified,
these units provide a basis for studying both vertical sequences and lateral trends as well as identifying the
effects of tectonic deformation.
To recognize a stillstand unit, one must infer the relative water depth represented by successive facies
or deposits. This inference in turn requires a distinction between intertidal and subtidal facies. In the anal-
ysis of the Willapa Bay deposits, a set of criteria for this distinction, derived largely from characteristics
of modem facies in the bay, proved useful.
Criteria for identifying deposits as subtidal include the presence of 1) abundant Ostrea lurida in growth
position; 2) units of inclined strata more than 2 m thick; 3) laterally persistent lag deposits; 4) laterally
persistent thin layers of mud; 5) medium- to large-scale crossbedding; 6) directionally uniform crossbedding
and ripple lamination; and 7) assemblages of predominantly concave-up shells and shell fragments. Of
these criteria the first is diagnostic of subtidal facies; the others are characteristic but not necessarily di-
agnostic of this environment. In association, however, the characteristic features provide generally adequate
evidence for the indicated facies.
Criteria for recognizing intertidal deposits include the presence of 1) root or rhyzome structures; 2)
evidence of runoff channels; 3) regular lamination characteristic of snpratidal deposits; 4.) supratidal bluff
breccia; and 5) vertical sequences in which upper accretionary bank deposits underlie those of the tide fiat,
which in turn underlie supratidal deposits. Some of these (root or rhyzome structures) are probably diag-
nostic of an intertidal facies; the others are characteristic of such a facies.

INTRODUCTION
Estuarine deposition responds sensitively to
changes in the level of the sea. Because es-
tuaries are sites of rapid deposition, many
quickly aggrade, at least in part, to an inter-
tidal or slightly supratidal surface. Subsequent
changes of relative sea level in such estuaries,
whether tectonic or eustatic, generate further
episodes of accretion to new aggradational sur-
faces. Each fluctuation in sea level changes the
size of the estuary, the magnitude of its tidal
prism, and the degree of stratification of its
water--factors that can profoundly influence
the pattern of sedimentation. Over time, a se-
ries of deposits accumulates within the em-
bayment, each related to a different stand of
the sea.
To analyze a succession of estuary deposits
in detail requires accurate correlation of the
JManuscript received March 12, 1982; revised Novem-
ber 16, 1982.
sediment deposited at various stands of the sea.
In this way vertical sequences and lateral trends
within an individual estuary fill can be estab-
lished and the depositional history of the
succession of fills deciphered. In addition, the
inclination of individual estuary fills relative to
one another provides a key to their deforma-
tional pattern and history. Typically, however,
laterally migrating tidal channels produce within
the deposits numerous erosional surfaces that
could be confused with surfaces separating dif-
ferent units deposited at different levels of the
sea. In such a case, discrimination between
subtidal and intertidal facies not only allows
the units to be delineated but also may indicate
whether they represent stillstands or conditions
of changing sea level.
For the past several years we have been
studying modern and ancient depositional fa-
cies in estuarine sediment at Willapa Bay,
Washington (Kvenvolden and others, 1977;
Luepke and Clifton, 1979; Clifton and Phil-
lips, 1980). The ancient facies are well ex-

JOURNAL OF SEDIMENq'ARYPETROLOGY, VOL. 53, NO. 2, JUNE, 1983, P. 0353-0369

Copyright g 1983, The Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists 0022-4472/83/0053-0353/$03.00
354 H. EDWARD CLIFTON
posed in sea cliffs that are cut into Pleistocene
terrace deposits. This study has required us to
identify individual estuary fills--that is to de-
lineate deposits formed at different stands of
the sea and, in the course of that work, to de-
velop criteria for distinguishing between sub-
tidal and intertidal deposits.
Many of the criteria employed to identify
depositional environments in other ancient tidal
facies (see, for example, Ginsburg, 1975) were
not useful in the Willapa study. The general
absence of bedding-plane exposures in the sea
cliffs made it nearly impossible to observe fea-
tures such as mud cracks, vertebrate foot-
prints, or ripple patterns. Moreover, studies of
modern day facies (for example, Dories and
others, 1969; Howard and Frey, 1973; Visher
and Howard, 1974; Greer, 1975; Howard and
others, 1975; Barwis, 1978) rarely provide
specific indicators of the intertidal and subtidal
environments. Therefore, a specific set of cri-
teria based largely on observation of features
in the modern Willapa Bay sediment was de-
veloped. This paper presents and evaluates these
criteria and presents briefly the interpretation
of the terrace deposits that issued from this ap-
proach.
SETrING
Willapa Bay lies a short distance north of
the mouth of the Columbia River on the south-
west coast of Washington (Fig. 1). A spit about
20 km long and averaging 2.4 km wide sep-
arates the bay from the ocean. The estuary en-
compasses an area of about 350 km 2 at high
tide and 150 km 2 at low tide (Andrews, 1965).
The maximum tidal range approaches 4 m.
Unlike many estuaries, Willapa Bay is not
dominated by a single stream; instead, several
small rivers empty into the bay.
More than half of the bay consists of broad
intertidal fiats, which locally extend more than
a kilometer from the shore (Fig. 1). These flats
are cut by tidal channels of various depths; the
channel central to the bay is more than 20 m
deep, whereas most of the tributary channels
are less than 10 m deep. The typical smaller
channel here is asymmetric in cross section,
one of its banks depositional and gently in-
clined, the other erosional and steep. The tidal
flats also are crossed by runoff channels that
are graded approximately to the lowest low-
tide level.
Along the margins of the estuary lie salt
marshes and supratidal flats (Fig. 1). Vegeta-
tion in the marshes, which are inundated by
the highest astronomical tides, consists mostly
of stands of Triglochin and Salicornia. The su-
pratidal flats, in contrast, are broad meadows
that are inundated only when meterological tides
accompanying floods or storms are superim-
posed on astronomical high tides.
The composition of sediment in the estuary
(Fig. 2) depends on location and environment
(Clifton and Phillips, 1980). From the mouth
of the estuary well into its central part, the in-
tertidal fiats are composed of well-sorted fine
sand. Here mud collects only in local depres-
sions or on the leeward side of high areas that
partly block the passage of waves. In the upper
part of the estuary, tidal flats are predomi-
nantly muddy and supratidal flats consist al-
most exclusively of muddy sediment. The tex-
ture of the sediment flooring the tidal channels
also becomes finer in a riverward direction, and
in the upper estuary it tends to be somewhat
coarser than that on the adjacent tidal flats.
Bordering much of the bay on the north, east,
and south sides are cliffs cut into Pleistocene
terrace deposits. The best preserved terrace lies
between Goose Point and Pickernell Creek (Fig.
3) at an elevation of about 13 m above mean
sea level; it is underlain by deposits on the or-
der of 100,000 to 200,000 years old (Kven-
volden and others, 1979). The fauna and the
sedimentary features in this set of deposits
closely resemble the fauna and features indig-
enous to the modern bay. The strata under the
13-m terrace abut deposits that underlie older,
higher, and more dissected terraces. The age
of sediment under these older terraces is un-
certain; some beds contain an extinct clam
whose presence suggests an age as old as Pli-
ocene (W. O. Addicott, 1974, written comm.).
Although sea-cliff exposure is nearly contin-
uous over extensive distances along Willapa
Bay, the deciphering of stratigraphic relation-
ships was sometimes extremely difficult. The
terrace deposits consist of a complicated array
of interchanneled sequences of sand, mud, and
gravel in which abrupt lateral changes of li-
thology are common. Accordingly, much of
the study of the ancient estuarine facies has fo-
cused on the relatively continuous, well-pre-
served deposits that underlie the 13-m terrace,
although excellent examples of intertidal and
subfidal facies exist in the older deposits as well.
 SUBTIDAL AND INTERTIDAL FACIES 355

1'
124° 00'

~....:....:.....::.::,.:..~-~,,,?,,~.t ~ ' ;V--~--~I

EXPLANATION

8ubtidal channel

HTmSubtidal flat
Goose
Intertidal flat ,~I Point

Salt marsh and

supratidal flat

Ramsey
Point
P[ckernet/

30,

Lynn Point

0 5
I I
KILOMETERS

FIG. l.--Physiography of Willapa Bay, Washington.

356 H. EDWARD CLIFTON

CRITERIA FOR IDENTIFYING FACIES AS SUBTIDAL

The only evidence (Table 1) considered here

Ft~. 2.--General distribution of sediment in Willapa
Bay relative to physiographic features Icompare Fig. 1).
to be diagnostic of a subtidal environment is
faunal. In its modem occurrence, the native
oyster, Ostrea lurida, thrives only in the sub-
tidal environment, presumably because this thin-
valved oyster cannot tolerate the thermal
changes effected by subaerial exposure (Hop-
kins, 1937). Scattered articulated and disartic-
ulated shells and shell fragments of O. turida
occur in the modem intertidal zone at Willapa
Bay, but living concentrations of this species
occur only in the subtidal zone. Its presence in
growth position (Fig. 4) in the Pleistocene de-
posits is taken to imply subtidal deposition.
Other fossils or trace fossils seem to be of little
use for discriminating between intertidal and
subtidal facies in the terrace deposits at Wil-
lapa.
Other features, if not diagnostic, are consid-
ered to be highly characteristic of a subtidal
setting; that is, their presence suggests, rather
than requires, a subtidal condition. These fea-
tures, which--especially in association--pro-
vide useful clues toward recognizing this en-
vironment, are 1) large-scale cross-stratification
(the "epsilon" type of Allen, 1963); 2) wide-
spread lag deposits; 3) thin, laterally extensive

FIG. 3.--Pleistocene terrace deposits exposed in sea cliffs along east side of Willapa Bay.
 SUBT1DAL AND INTERTIDAL
TABLE l.---Summary of criteria for intertidal and subtidal facies that are applied to Pleistocene deposits, Willapa Bay,
Crltedon
I. Abundant Ostrea lurida in growth
position
2. Lag deposits
3. Units of gently inclined (epsilon)
cross-stratification
4. Medium- to large-scale high-angle
crossbedding
5. Crossbedding and ripple lamina-
tion
6. Thin discrete layers of mud in
well-sorted sand
7. Shells and shell fragments
8. Roots and rhyzomes
9. Small, steep-walled channels
10. Thin, regular alternations of clay
silt and fine sand
11. Breccia composed of laminated
mud blocks
12. Vertical sequences
mud layers; 4) abundant trough and tabular sets
of high-angle crossbedding; 5) consistency in
the orientation of ripple lamination and
crossbedding; and 6) predominantly concave-
up shells and shell fragments.
The presence of cross-stratification on a large
scale (>2 m thick) in deposits composed of
mud or of interbedded sand and mud (Fig. 5)
strongly indicates a subtidal environment. The
intertidal areas of the modem bay generally have
little relief; steeply inclined banks are re-
stricted to the margins of runoff channels (which
Fro. 4 . - - P l e i s t o c e n e shell lag deposit exposed in sea
cliff just south of Goose Point (Fig. 1). Note Ostrea lur-
ida in living position (upright paired valves at level o f
machete handle). Same unit is shown in Figure 13.
FACIES 357
Washington
Subtidall Intertidal
Locally present Absent
Commonly many cm Thin, restricted in extent
thick, extensive, bio-
turbated
Commonly >2 m thick <2 m thick
Abundant Uncommon
Directionally parallel Directionally inconsistent
Laterally persistent (ex- Discontinuous (extend for few meters)
tend for tens of me-
ters)
Dominantly concave-up Dominantly convex-up only
or convex-up
Absent, except for up- Locally present
permost part
Generally absent Locally present
Uncommon Locally abundant
Uncommon Locally present
Bioturbated lag deposits Stratified deposits underlie structureless
underlie stratified sed- deposits, which in turn underlie regn-
iment larly laminated fine sand, silt, and
clay.
generally are less than 2 m deep) or to bluffs
(which are nondepositional features) that are
cut into supratidal deposits. In contrast, the re-
lief of the subtidal channels generally exceeds
2 m and can exceed 20 m. On the bank of such
a channel, accretion produces crossbedding on
a scale much greater than that likely to occur
in intertidal deposits. Within the intertidal zone
the uppermost, fluvially dominated reaches of
the tidal channels may have steep banks, but
the general absence of bioturbation distin-
guishes such deposits from those formed else-
where in the tidal channels. In macrotidal bays
(tidal range greater than 4 m), the intertidal re-
lief may exceed 2 m and the presence of large-
scale cross-strata may not be a valid criterion
for distinguishing between intertidal and sub-
tidal facies (Klein, 1971).
Lag deposits of shells, wood fragments,
pebbles, or mud clasts are common both in tidal
channels (subtidal environment; Larsonneur,
1975) and in runoff channels (either subtidal
or intertidal; Klein, 1963). The lag deposits in
tidal channels are more extensive (from tens to
hundreds of meters) and thicker (up to or ex-
ceeding a meter) than are those in the runoff
channels. Similar concentrations of coarse clasts
elsewhere in the intertidal environments are re-
stricted to narrow beaches along the shore of
358 H. EDWARD CLIFTON
Fic. 5.--Large-scale cross-stratification north of Ramsey Point (Fig. 1). Unit of cross-strata is 6 to 7 m thick.
the bay, where they form a fibbonlike deposit.
In other bays, intertidal banks of living mol-
lusks such as Mytilus edulis (DaBoll, 1969) can
produce areally broad concentrations of shells,
but such concentrations could be distinguished
by the predominance of bank-forming species
and absence of other lag material. It follows
that widespread thick accumulations of coarse
debris (Fig. 4) suggest a subtidal origin, par-
ticularly if they contain pebbles or clasts of mud
or wood.
Thin, laterally extensive layers of mud in-
tercalated in well-sorted sand (Fig. 6) are a
common feature in the Pleistocene terrace de-
posits. Similar intercalations are present in the
intertidal deposits of the modem bay, but gen-
erally they are restricted here to local topo-
graphic depressions less than 10 m across. Mud
that accumulates elsewhere on the intertidal flats
is intermixed with sand by bioturbation. Ex-
tensive laminae of mud occur in supratidal de-
posits, but the laminae are not interbedded with
well-sorted sand. In contrast, thin layers of mud
extend for tens of meters along the floors and
banks of modem tidal channels in the bay. Lat-
erally extensive thin mud layers are therefore
considered to be characteristic of the subtidal
environment.
In the modem bay, megaripples and sand
waves as much as a meter high occur locally
on sandy intertidal flats, mostly in the lower-
most part of the intertidal zone, where they are
exposed by the lowest spring tides (Fig. 7).
Cores taken in the troughs of the structures
commonly show little or no stratification, ow-
ing to bioturbation. These structures are much
more common on subtidal banks and channel
floors, where their height may exceed 3 m.
Subtidal cores in areas of these bedforms show
well-defined medium- and large-scale
crossbedding (Clifton and Phillips, 1980). Ac-
cordingly, abundant trough and tabular sets of
medium- to large-scale crossbeds in the pres-
ent bay deposit are more likely to be of sub-
tidal than of intertidal origin. Other mesotidal
estuaries, such as those on the northeastern coast
 SUBTIDAL AND INTERTIDAL FACIES
FIG. 6.--Laterally persistent mud and sand interbeds in Pleistocene terrace deposits. Machete blade is about 40 cm
long.
of the United States, have well-developed sand-
wave fields in intertidal areas, particularly near
inlets (DaBoll, 1969; Greer, 1969; Boothroyd
and Hubbard, 1975; Hine, 1975). Again, how-
ever, sand waves and megaripples are abun-
dant throughout the adjacent subtidal reaches,
and Reineck's (1972) generalization that
"crossbedding of megaripples is rare in the in-
tertidal zone but is common in the channels"
appears to be valid for mesotidal estuaries. In
a macrotidal setting, however, such crossbed-
ding may be common to both intertidal and
subtidal facies (Dalrymple and others, 1978).
Another criteria for subtidal deposits may be
the presence of double mud layers along
crossbedding foresets (Visser, 1980). These
layers are deposited at slack water at high and
low tide on the slip faces of sand waves that
migrate significantly only under either the ebb-
or flood-tidal current. Intertidal sand waves are
exposed at low tide and accordingly only the
mud drape deposited at slack water during high
tide could be deposited. This distinction was
not noted in our coting of sand waves in the
modem bay sediment, but subsequent exami-
359
nation has shown that double mud drapes oc-
cur within crossbedded Pleistocene sands re-
garded as subtidal on the basis of other
evidence.
The orientation of ripple lamination relative
to that of associated crossbedding provides an-
other possible criterion for distinguishing be-
tween the two environments. Ripples are pro-
duced in estuarine sand by tidal currents in or
adjacent to tidal channels, by wave activity on
the intertidal flats, or by runoff as intertidal
fiats are exposed. Large structures--sand waves
and megaripples--are produced almost exclu-
sively by tidal currents. In the subtidal envi-
ronment, both ripples and larger bedforms mi-
grate under the influence of the tidal currents.
The orientation of crossbedding produced by
larger bedforms is, in most places, unidirec-
tional or nearly so, depending on the degree of
dominance of the ebb or flood tide (Allen,
1980). In most parts of the subtidal channels,
the velocity of one of these currents substan-
tially exceeds that of the other (Ludwick, 1975).
Within the larger bedforms, which because of
their size and form migrate relatively slowly,
360 H. EDWARD CLIFTON
FIG. 7 . - - S a n d waves exposed on lowermost intertidal fiats west of Goose Point, adjacent to main tidal channel
(Fig. 1).
only those foresets that reflect the dominant
current are preserved (Clifton and Phillips,
1980). Ripple lamination, in contrast, is formed
by smaller structures that respond readily to both
ebb and flood, and it is therefore likely to show
an opposing bipolar orientation (see, for ex-
ample, Dorjes and others, 1969, fig. 8). In the
subtidal environment, the linear orientation of
the poles should be parallel to the dip direction
of associated crossbedding. In the intertidal
environment, however, waves and runoff cur-
rents generate tipples that commonly trend dif-
ferently from any associated sand waves. Con-
sistency of orientation between ripple bedding
and larger scale crossbedding is therefore con-
sidered to be characteristic of the subtidal en-
vironment.
The orientation of concavo-convex clasts such
as pelecypod valves or valve fragments may
provide another clue to environment. In an in-
tertidal setting, shells everywhere lie predom-
inantly with convex sides up, presumably ow-
ing to the action of waves and currents (Van
Straaten, 1952). The floor of tidal channels, in
contrast is locally littered with pelecypod valves
that lie predominantly with concave sides up.
Such an orientation is elsewhere produced in
quiet water by faunal activity (Emery, 1968;
Clifton, 1971). The tidal channels in question
are swept by tidal currents that at times exceed
several tens of centimeters per second, pro-
ducing local concentrations that lie convex-up.
In the intervals between such currents, how-
ever, intense faunal activity--feeding, crawl-
ing, and burrowing--produces a general con-
cave-up orientation in many parts of the
channel.
CRITERIA FOR IDENTIFYING ENVIRONMENTS AS
INTERTIDAL
As with subtidal deposits, few criteria arc
diagnostic of an intertidal environment in the
Willapa Bay Pleistocene terrace deposits. The
most convincing evidence for subaerial expo-
sure is the presence of fossil-root or rhyzome
systems. In many exposures, dead roots or
rhyzome systems of Holocene plants extend into
Pleistocene deposits where they can be mis-
taken for Pleistocene plant remains. Fortu-
nately, some plants that have distinctive rhy-
zomes, such as the sea grass Zostera and the
marsh grass Triglochin, rarely, if ever, grow
on terrace surfaces. Moreover, Pleistocene roots
and rhyzome systems are generally confined to
discrete stratigraphic intervals within the de-
 SUBTIDAL AND INTERTIDAL FACIES
posits and are unrelated to the present terrace
surface.
Triglochin maritima is one of the more com-
mon plants of the modem WiUapa salt marshes.
The plant can tolerate daily submergence, but
generally it thrives only in upper intertidal areas
or in adjacent alkaline marshes. The rhyzome
system of Triglochin is a distinctive aggregate
of leaf bases, up to a centimeter across, that
radiate upward concavely from a stout prolif-
erating rhyzome. Leaf bases and roots char-
acterize the rhyzome. Individual clumps of
rhyzome aggregates can exceed a meter in di-
ameter. Fossil specimens are readily recogniz-
able in the Pleistocene deposits (Fig. 8). Be-
cause Triglochin maritima can grow under
alkaline fresh-water conditions, the presence
of the rhyzomes does not necessarily imply a
tidal setting. It does, however, document sub-
aerial exposure that, in concert with other evi-
dence, can document an intertidal deposit.
The sea grass Zostera marina covers the in-
tertidal fiats in many places, but the growth is
most dense just below the position of the low-
est low tides, where it grows on relatively steep
submerged banks a meter or so high that stand
at the margins of tidal channels at low tide.
The rhyzomes consist of single subhorizontal
strands several millimeters thick that swell at
the nodes. Fine hairlike roots protrude alter-
nately up and down from the nodes. The Pleis-
tocene rhyzomes tend to be both flattened and
most visible on bedding-plane surfaces, where
they resemble macerated plant detritus. Fine
roots extending from the rhyzome into the mud
above or below enable us to recognize them.
FIO. 8.--Triglochin rhyzomes of Pleistocene age in
terrace deposits south of Goose Point (Fig. I). Long, nar-
row objects on lower part of exposure are blades of mod-
em Zostera washed in by the tide.
361
The presence of Zostera marina rhyzomes in-
dicates an intertidal or uppermost subtidal or-
igin.
The roots and rhyzomes of other, unidenti-
fied fossil plants occur in the terrace deposits.
Commonly they occur stratigraphically at or
near the top of a muddy sequence, beneath an
erosional surface at the base of a subsequent
bay deposit (Fig. 9). Their presence is taken
to indicate subaerial exposure, as on supratidal
fiats or within a valley fill.
Muddy intertidal flats are crossed by sin-
uous, dendritic runoff channels (Fig. 10). In
cross section the dimensions of these channels
range from as much as l0 m across and 2 m
deep in the major trunks to less than a meter
across and several tens of centimeters deep in
the smaller tributaries. Sections across the larger
channels are asymmetric--one bank is ero-
sional and steep, the other gently inclined and
aggradational. Because runoff channels are
graded approximately to the lowest tide level,
their presence in ancient deposits implies an
intertidal position.
Runoff channels have several identifying
characteristics. The smaller ones tend not to
migrate but rather to fill after they become in-
active; they therefore typically are narrow and
deeply incised (Fig. 11). The larger channels,
in contrast, migrate laterally, and ancient
channel margins may not be present in limited
exposure. Filling of these channels occurs pri-
marily by deposition on the aggradational banks.
The resulting deposit is distinctive. Cores
through these banks show an intricate, some-
what lenticular interlarnination of sand, mud,
and organic detritus (Fig. 12) that is not com-
mon to other depositional environments in the
estuary. The aggradational banks of migrating
runoff channels are among the steepest accre-
tionary surfaces in the estuary. Continued de-
position on these surfaces produces units of
crossbedded mud 0.5 to 2 m thick that, on close
inspection, are revealed to be thinly but rather
irregularly laminated in both modem (Fig. 13)
and ancient examples.
Intertidal flats in general are broad, nearly
horizontal surfaces on which the rate of sedi-
mentation is very low relative to the associated
channel banks (Van Straaten, 1954). Accord-
ingly, unless local conditions inhibit faunal ac-
tivity, this sediment typically is intensely bio-
turbated. Such inhibition occurs locally on
slightly higher parts of the flats, for example
362 H. EDWARD CLIFTON

FIG. 9.--Pleistocene roots and rhyzomesin a fossil supratidal deposit. Straight subvertical marks were made in the
process of clearing the outcrop face. Note lamination in mud above centimeter scale and absence of root structures
tn light-coloredmud at top of the photo.

on faintly developed levees of runoff channels
or on circular or elliptical mounds several me-
ters across and a few centimeters high. The
surface of these higher areas commonly is cov-
ered during summer months by dense mats of
filamentous green algae. Immediately beneath
the mats are rich concentrations of organic ma-
terial that presumably are the result of earlier
algae growth. This material is little burrowed,
presumably because its decomposition de-
pletes available oxygen in the adjacent sedi-
ment. The resulting deposit is characterized by
horizontal layers of very fine sand, a milli-
meter or so thick, interspersed with lamina-
tions of carbonaceous mud of more variable
thickness.
Infaunal activity is also inhibited in supra-
tidal areas, probably because the sediment there
is infrequently saturated with water. Deposi-
tion occurs primarily during periods of flood-
ing within the estuary and is caused either by
high river discharge or by storm surges. The
resulting sediment consists of interlaminated
fine sand, silt, and mud. The laminations are
thin (generally less than a few millimeters thick)
and laterally persistent (Fig. 14). Roots and
rhyzomes are abundant, but bioturbation is
minimal. The suprafidal facies closely resem-
bles overbank deposits in a fluvial system; it
is, however, quite distinctive within an es-
tuarine assemblage.
The supratidal flats locally advance and re-
treat into the modem bay, accreting laterally
over salt marshes in some places and eroding
back elsewhere as a consequence of erosion by
waves or by shifting channels. Where eroded,
 SUBTIDAL AND I N T E R T I D A L F A C I E S
FiG. lO.--Muddy intertidal flats east of Goose Point (Fig. 1) crossed by dendritic runoff channels. Largest runoff
channel is about lO m across.
the supratidal flats are bounded by distinct
scarps or bluffs, the base of which correspond
approximately to the high-tide position. Blocks
that fall or slump from this bluff weld them-
selves to the underlying upper intertidal mud
to form a supratidal-bluff breccia (Fig. 15). If
the supratidal deposits advance over the ero-
sional surface, this breccia is incorporated into
the sedimentary record. Supratidal blocks may
also fall into tidal creeks or runoff channels in
their upper reaches. A breccia composed of su-
F1o. 11 .--Filled small runoff channel in Pleistocene
terrace deposits north of Pickernel[ Creek (Fig. 1).
363
pratidal mud clasts therefore suggests deposi-
tion in an intertidal environment. A sheetlike
distribution over bioturbated mud would fur-
ther indicate a supratidal-bluff breccia, a po-
tentially valuable approximation of the high-
tide position.
The distribution of facies within an intertidal
deposit depends strongly on topographic po-
sition, and the lateral shifting of physiographic
features across the intertidal zone produces
several types of distinctive vertical sequences.
Among these is an upward transition from gently
inclined, interbedded sand and mud (subtidal
or intertidal accretionary bank), to thoroughly
bioturbated mud or sand (intertidal fiat), to
finely laminated mud with root structures (su-
pratidal flat). A supratidal-bluff breccia may
separate the intertidal and supratidal deposits.
Runoff-channel deposits occur locally, typi-
cally between the intertidal flat and intertidal-
subtidal accretionary bank deposits. Runoff-
channel deposits are characterized by an up-
ward transition from a thin, more or less struc-
tureless accumulation of mud, mud clasts,
shells, and wood fragments (channel floor) to
muddy cross-strata composed of highly and
somewhat irregularly interlaminated sand, silt,
364 H. EDWARD CLIFTON
FIG. 12.--X-ray radiograph of stratification within the
accrefionary bank of an intertidal runoff channel. Bar scale
is in centimeters.
clay, and organic detritus (runoff-channel ac-
cretionary bank). Such vertical sequences offer
valuable criteria for identifying ancient inter-
tidal deposits.
Features such as mud cracks and vertebrate
footprints are found locally on the modern in-
tertidal flats, and they should provide excellent
evidence of an intertidal (or subaerially ex-
posed) environment. Because of the general
absence of bedding-plane exposure, these
structures have yet to be recognized in the
Pleistocene terrace deposits.
APPLICATION
The foregoing criteria provide a basis for in-
terpreting complex assemblages of estuary-fill
deposits. For example, the deposits that un-
derlie the 13-m terrace on the east side of Wil-
lapa Bay consist of at least five interchanneled
units. Each unit is lithologically heterogeneous
and is exposed intermittently in the sea cliffs
between Goose Point and Pickemell Creek (Fig.
1). Unless one considers sea-level positions,
the task of correlating the units and interpret-
ing the history of the succession is nearly im-
possible.
The stratigraphic relations of the units are
best seen in sea-cliff exposures between Ram-
sey Point and the small point 1.8 km to the
north (Figs. 1 and 16). The basal unit (I) is
laminated or bioturbated bluish-gray mud. It is
locally overlain by bioturbated muddy sand or
crossbedded sand (unit II) that in turn is cut by
channels filled by mud that contains abundant
plant detritus (unit III). These three units are
overlain by laterally heterogeneous interbed-
ded sand and mud (unit IV). The youngest unit
(V) consists primarily of light-brown lami-
nated mud that fills channels carved into the
older four units.
It is impossible to interpret the history of the
succession on the basis of the description above.
Conceivably, all five units could have been
produced in a single estuary by shifting pat-
terns of deposition and channeling. By means
of the criteria presented here (Table 2), how-
ever, a history of sea-level positions emerges
that in turn provides a basis for correlating the
deposits that underlie the 13-m terrace. These
interpretations, when combined with the dat-
ing of shells in these deposits by amino-acid
racemization techniques (Kvenvolden and oth-
ers, 1979), allow these geologic units to be
placed in the glacial history of the late Pleis-
tocene.
Unit I is interpreted as being primarily an
intertidal deposit (Table 2). Zostera-like rhy-
zomes lie in the mud at the base of the sea cliff
200 m north of the unnamed point. Other root
structures occur in the uppermost exposure of
the mud about 2 m above the base of the cliff
in the same area. A similar blue-gray mud crops
out intermittently in the lower part of the cliff
between Goose Point and Pickernell Creek (Fig.
1). In its exposures near Goose Point, that mud
contains Zostera and Triglochin rhyzomes and
weU-defmed large runoff-channel deposits, and
includes a consistent upward transition from
gently inclined laminated fine sand and mud
(uppermost subtidal channel bank), through
runoff-channel deposits (where present), to
thoroughly bioturbated mud containing fiat,
diffuse fine-sand laminae on the order of a
centimeter thick (intertidal flat). Between
 SUBTIDAL AND INTERTIDAL FACIES 365

FIG. 13.--Mud crossbedding produced by Pleistocene intertidal runoff channel in terrace deposits south of Goose
Point (Fig. 1). Note vertical sequence of gently inclined mud stratification that passes upward through mud cross-
strata to structureless mud (with many borings beneath thick lag deposit of shells). Machete with 40 cm blade in
center of photo.

Ramsey Point and Pickernell Creek outcrops
of similar mud contain Zostera and Triglochin
rhyzomes, other root structures, and small run-
off channels at approximately the same ele-
vation. All of these exposures are considered
to be parts of unit I and to have formed at a
time when sea level stood about 2 m above its
present position. The vertical distribution of
structures resembles that in modem bay sedi-
ment, which thereby suggests a tidal range
similar to that today in the bay. Dating of shells
in this unit south of Goose Point indicates an
age of about 190,000 years 13.P. (Kvenvolden
and others, 1979) and deposition during the
marine oxygen-isotope Stage 7 of Shackleton
and Opdyke (1973). The essentially horizontal
nature of the intertidal-subtidal boundary where
exposed in unit I suggests an absence of tec-
tonic tilting of these terrace deposits in a north-
south section.
Unit II contains abundant casts of Ostrea
lurida in growth position about 400 m north of
the unnamed point, and it is therefore consid-
ered to be of subtidal origin (Table 2). It is
correlated with intensely crossbedded sand that
overlies unit I north and south of Ramsey Point,
and with Ostrea lurida-bearing mud at Lynn
Point (Fig. 1), primarily on the basis of its re-
lations in these places with unit III. No evi-
dence of intertidal facies could be found in unit
II at any of these sites. Accordingly, it is con-
sidered to have been deposited when sea level
stood substantially higher than its present po-
sition. Dates for the shells at Lynn Point in-
dicate that unit II is about the same age as or
slightly younger than unit I, deposited during
the high stands of the sea associated with Stage
7.
Throughout most of the exposure, an ero-
sional contact separates unit I and unit II; this
366 H. EDWARD CLIFTON

Fro. 1 5 . - - X - r a y radiograph o f m o d e r n supratidal bluff

breccia. Laminated block o f supratidal m u d (above) is
welded to structureless intertidal m u d (below). Bar scale
is in centimeters.

relation suggests that unit II may also be a still-

FIG. 1 4 . - - X - r a y radiograph o f m o d e m supratidal mud.
Note regular bedding and abundant dark roots or rhy-
zomes. C o m p a r e with Figure 9, Bar scale is in centi-
meters.
s~nd unit, even though the exposure is limited
vertically and does not display an upward-
shallowing sequence. In exposures just north
of Pickernell Creek, however, Triglochin-

TAnLE 2.--Distribution of subtidal and intertidal criteria among units in Pleistocene terrace deposils. Goose Point to Pickernell
Creek

unil 1 uait It unit lit unit IV unit V

SUBT1DAL CRITERIA
1. Oystrea lurida in growth position absent present absent present absent
2. Extensive lag deposits absent absent absent present present
3. Large-scale (>2-m cross-strata) absent present absent present present
4. High-angle crossbedding absent present absent present present
5. Directionally constant ripple lami-
nation/crossbedding present -- present not noted
6. Laterally persistent sand-mud inter-
layers absent present absent present present
7. Concave-up shells not noted not noted no shells present no shells
8. Vertical progression: bioturbated absent absent absent present minimal bio-
lag to stratified sediment turbation
INTERTIDAL CRITERIA
1. Roots and rhyzomes present absent present absent absent
2. Small. steep-walled channels present absent absent absent absent
3. Mud cross-strata (<2-m thick) present absent absent absent absent
4. ~Supratidal" lamination present absent present absent absent
5. Supratidal bluff-breccia present absent not noted absent absent
6. Vertical progressions: stratified to
structureless (and possibly to ~su-
pratidally laminated" sediment) present absent absent absent absent
INTERPRETATION intertidal subtidal intertidal subtidal subtidal (or
or subaqueous
higher fluvial)
 SUBT1DAL AND INTERTIDAL FACIES
EXPLANATION \ o
[~ Unit V Tlf~t /.~
Unit IV / /
°°,,,,, j/
°°,, ,, \ composed of disarticulated shells, pebbles,
/ / 13 meter
/ Terrace aurface /
Tidee f flat
at
METERS ~an3
FIG. 16.--Sketch of stratigraphic relations to either side
of the small unnamed point north of Ramsey Point (Fig.
1). Unit I is intertidal mud; unit II, subtidal sand; unit III,
mud with roots or rhyzomes; unit IV, subtidal mud and
sand; and unit V, fluvial (or fluvial-tidal sand and mud.
bearing mud of unit I grades up into mud con-
taining abundant casts and molds of marine
molluscs, which suggests that, here, a trans-
gressive sequence between units I and II is pre-
served.
Unit III consists of wood-bearing mud that
fills channels cut in units I and II. In all of its
exposures south of the unnamed point and at
Lynn Point, roots and rhyzomes including those
of Triglochin can be found (Table 2). No evi-
dence of subtidal (or intertidal) facies is pres-
ent in this unit, and it is infer~d to have orig-
inated at a time when the sea stood at an
undetermined position below its present level,
during or following a period when the older
deposits underwent substantial subaerial dis-
section. No dates are available for unit III, but
by inference considering units II and IV, it ap-
pears to have originated during or at the end
of the sea-level lowering that was associated
with marine oxygen-isotope Stage 6. Whether
sea level was static or not during deposition of
unit III is uncertain; the unit could very likely
represent backfilling of valleys during an en-
suing rise of sea level.
Unit IV is the most laterally continuous of
the late Pleistocene terrace deposits; in most
places it extends to the top of the 13-m terrace.
In its exposure north of the unnamed point (Fig.
16), the unit meets several criteria of subtidal
deposition (Table 2), including very large-scale
mud and sand cross-strata (accretionary bank
367
sO0
bedding), laterally persistent mud layers, and
t M. . . . . -- abundant crossbedding where it is sandy. It is
Terrace
inferred that unit IV includes similar deposits
overlying unit I at and south of Goose Point,
deposits that contain an extensive thick lag
wood fragments, and abundant shells includ-
' \ ing Ostrea lurida in growth position. Unit IV
is also correlated with similar deposits south
of Ramsey Point which fill channels that are
floored by unit III and which locally contain
c., beds of Ostrea lurida.
If, as seems likely, the 13-m terrace is a sur-
face of aggradation rather than of erosion, then
one would expect the presence of intertidal fa-
cies just beneath the platform. Unfortunately,
the development of a pronounced soil profile
everywhere obscures the features in the upper
2 to 3 m of unit IV. The unit seems to be con-
sistently muddy at the top, but this may reflect
textural alteration that was imposed by weath-
ering rather than a depositional sequence that
changes upward into a muddy intertidal/su-
pratidal facies. Nonetheless, it seems probable
that unit IV represents a shallowing-upward
stillstand unit formed when the sea stood at the
position of the 13-m terrace. The general litho-
logic similarity to the deposits in the present
bay (for example, cross-bedded sand grades
laterally into laminated muds at the same gen-
eral mid-to-upper-bay locations) suggests a tidal
range similar to that of today. Dates on shells
from this unit near Goose Point and from ex-
posures about 3 km north of Ramsey Point
consistently indicate its age to be about 100,000
years (Kvenvolden and others, 1979). Unit IV
accordingly appears to have formed during the
high stand of the sea associated with isotope
Stage 5.
Unit V, like unit III, consists predominantly
of channel fill. It differs from unit III, how-
ever, in several important respects. The bulk
of unit V consists of laminated mud that shows
little to no bioturbation. The lamination con-
sists mostly of clay layers several millimeters
thick separated by fine partings of fine sand
and silt. The laminae commonly compose gently
inclined cross-strata units as much as several
meters thick. The axes of the channels at the
unnamed point and at Ramsey Point are marked
by abundant logs and large wood fragments that
lie parallel to the axis, as well as by concen-
trations of pebbles and coarse sand. No roots
or rhyzomes have been found anywhere in unit
368 H. E D W A R D C L I F T O N
V (Table 2). The lithology of the deposit, its
confinement to channels, and the absence of
bioturbation all suggest a dominance of fluvial
or upper-estuarine conditions. The channel fill
extends, like unit IV, to the 13-m terrace sur-
face, which suggests that both units are graded
to the same sea-level position. The age of unit
V is uncertain, but it is interpreted to be a late,
dominantly fluvial stage in the filling of the
100,000-year-old estuary.
CONCLUSIONS
The interpretation of many ancient estuary
fills depends upon accurate determination of
the positions of sea level during each deposi-
tional episode. Study of modem and ancient
estuary deposits at Willapa Bay, Washington,
has enabled us to develop a number of criteria
for discriminating between subtidal and inter-
tidal deposits (Table l). Evidence for subtidal
facies includes the presence of abundant paired
valves of Ostrea lurida in growth position, ex-
tensive lag deposits, large-scale cross-strata
(accretionary bank) bedding, laterally exten-
sive thin layers of mud in a clean sand matrix,
abundant crossbedding, parallel ripple lami-
nation and crossbedding, and concave-up shell
assemblages. Evidence for intertidal (or higher)
facies include plant roots or rhyzomes, runoff
channels, supratidal lamination, and supratidal-
bluff breccias, as well as vertical sequences that
show a distinctive upward transition.
The individual criteria are strengthened when
they occur in association (Table 2) or at the
appropriate level in a vertical sequence. A
transition from lag deposit to gently inclined
cross-strata, for example, is highly suggestive
of a subtidal origin. On the other hand, another
sequence--accretionary bank, runoff channel
(where present), intertidal flat, supratidal-bluff
breccia (where present), and then supratidal
flat--strongly indicates an intertidal environ-
ment. Moreover, an upward sequence of sed-
iment that shows subtidal characteristics
changing to sediment with intertidal features
greatly strengthens the interpretation of each.
The criteria described herein were designed
to interpret Pleistocene deposits at Willapa Bay.
Their applicability to other estuary fills depos-
ited at earlier times and under different oceanic
and climatic conditions is still a matter of spec-
ulation (and we should note that the biologic
criteria are restricted to the time span and the
geographic regions in which the species in
question have existed). Nonetheless, their
demonstrated value at Willapa Bay suggests
that they may well facilitate the interpretation
of other ancient mesotidal estuaries that formed
under temperate climatic conditions.
Applied to late Pleistocene terrace deposits
at Willapa Bay, the criteria allowed for the
identification of specific depositional units.
Most appear to be stillstand units, although
transgressive sequences seem to be preserved
during the backfilling of upper estuarine val-
leys or fluvial ravines. The horizontal persis-
tence in the oldest of these units of intertidal
facies about 2 m above present high-tide level
implies negligible tectonic tilting, at least about
an axis normal to the sea-cliff exposures. Dat-
ing of the deposits by amino-acid racemization
suggests that they record the major eustatic sea-
level changes over the past 200,000 years.
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