Quaternary Terraces and Shorelines of the Panhandle Florida Region

ABSTRAC The northeastern Gulf of Mexico coast etains a relatively undisturbed record of paleoshoreline deposits dating from the late Tertiary to the present The excellent preservatIOn of these features results from long term conditions of low to moderate wave ctio a ide and low gr dient platform and tectonic stability The general lowering of sea level from Pliocene time to the present IS eVident m the decrease m elevatIon of terrace features with age The episodic sea level swings of the late Quaternary and Holocene are recorded in both submerged and raised shoreline features preserved in coastal and nearshore areas Highstand shoreline features are identified o the basis of morphology elevation texture and radiometric dates Lowstand sequences are identified through seismic data borehole lithology a d nearshore o hology The modern coastal zone includes an extensive barrier lagoon system major shoals and a large lobate delta actIvely progradmg mto an estuary Many of the present coastal features have direct analogs in both the elevated