Named as uppermost member of Castle Hayne Formation. Named for Spring Garden Landing (location of type section) on Neuse River, Craven Co., eastern NC. Exposed along river from Rock Landing to New Bern, and in Martin Marietta quarry in New Bern (designated as a supplementary reference locality). Consists of tan to gray molluscan-mold biocalcirudite [limestone]. Rock is normally siliceous, well cemented by sparry calcite. Molluscan bivalve molds are partly to completely filled with silica, which forms siliceous pseudomorphs after dominant mollusk, MACROCALLISTA NEUSENSIS (Harris). Also includes fine detrital phosphate (5 to 10 percent). Molluskan bivalves originally accounted for 75 percent of rock. Thickness at type section is 3 m; thickness at Martin Marietta quarry is 6 m. Conformably overlies Comfort Member (new) of Castle Hayne Formation; because of solution and erosion, unconformably overlain by either Oligocene barnacle hash, or Duplin Formation, or River Bend Formation (new). Fossil assemblage is dominated by MACROCALLISTA NEUSENSIS (Harris) (=MACROCALLISTA PEROVATA (Conrad)), which is a common Claibornian form; also includes CRASSATELLA ALTA Conrad and BATHYTORMUS PROTEXUS (Conrad), both of which are known from Gosport Sand of AL. Age is therefore latest middle Eocene (Claibornian). Report includes sketch map, correlation chart, columnar sections, and detailed descriptions of type and reference sections.

Source: GNU records (USGS DDS-6; Reston GNULEX).