All four reconnaissance samples, from west to east, of almost vertically dipping turbidites exposed in road cuts along the Rogue River of southern Oregon between Gold Beach and the crest of the Coast Range, contain Tertiary calcareous nannofossils. The first assemblage, taken nearest the Pacific Ocean and located near Tom East Creek, includes Coccolithus pelagicus, Coronocyclus nitiscens, Cyclocargolithus floridanus, Dictyoccoccites abisectus, Discoaster deflandrei, D. cf. druggi, Sphenolithus belemnos, S. capricornutus, S. heteromorphus, S. conicus, S. n. sp., and Triquetrorhabdulus carinatus, indicating NN 2-3 zone. The second sample, from west of the first between Tom East Creek and the town of Agnes is sparser, but contains Coccolithus pelagicus, Cyclocargolithus flor danus, Discoaster deflandrei, D. cf. druggi, Sphenolithus belemnos, s. capricornutus, S. heteromorphus, and Triquetrorhabdulus carinatus, also indicative of NN 2-3. Eastward, the third sample, taken at the bridge across the river near Agnes, is sparse but contains Coccolithus pelagicus, Cyclocargolithus floridanus, and Sphenolithus heteromorphus, indicating an early to mid-Miocene age. The fourth sample, from near the crest of the Coast Range, probably represents the Tyee Formation and contains Discoasteroides keupperi, Helicosphaera seminulum, Lanternithus minutus, S. radians, Zygolithus dubius, and Zygrhablithus bijugatus, suggesting mid-Eocene NP 12-15.

These samples represent the first reported occurrence of calcareous nannofossils from the Klamath melange, and more important, the youngest strata yet dated from within the Klamath. Detailed collecting, which will commence shortly, should greatly enhance understanding of the Cenozoic and perhaps Mesozoic history of this tectonically complex area.

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