Organic-matter-rich Upper Cretaceous claystones from DSDP Hole 603B, lower continental rise, had organic carbon values ranging from 1.7 to 13.7%, C/N ratios from 32 to 72, and δ 13 C values from-23.5 to-27.1‰. Lipid class maxima for the unbound alkanes (C 29 and C 31), unbound fatty acids (C 28 and C 30), and bound fatty acids (C 24 , C 26 , and C 28) and the strong odd-carbon and even-carbon preferences, respectively, suggested that the organic matter in these sediments was partially the result of input from continental plant waxes. Transport of the organic-matter-rich sediments to the deep sea from the near-shore environment probably resulted from turbiditic flow under oxygen-stressed conditions.

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