The detailed nature of relict sediments resulting from and related to the Holocene transgression is revealed through this sedimentological study of a densely sampled corridor across the southern New England continental shelf. These shelf sediments can be divided into an inner and middle clean sand facies and an outer shelf muddy sand facies. Sediment data supports the view that the outer muddy sediment is relict; the sharp "mud line" at about 35 fathoms results not from modern deposition, but from the winnowing more extensive muddy sediment.