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Measured Sections in Russell County
The thickness of the exposed formations was measured by us at several places along Saline and Smoky Hill valleys in 1941. Descriptions of the beds exposed and their thickness and correlation are given in the following measured sections.
| Bed No. | Section 1--NW sec. 34, T. 12 S., R. 14 W. Measured from level of Saline river along scarp on east bank. | Thickness (feet) |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenhorn limestone | ||||
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12. | Limestone and shale, thinly interbedded. Limestone is hard, gray weathering tan to buff, containing Ostrea. Shale is calcareous, thin-bedded, light buff. | 36.4 |
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11. | Shale, light and dark gray interbedded, containing chalky shale, hard, thin-bedded, light gray to yellowish. A 2-foot bed of limestone, sandy; hard, thin-bedded, gray, containing teeth and scales of fish, occurs about 15 feet above the base. | 46.8 |
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Covered interval | 31.2 | |
| Graneros shale | ||||
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10. | Shale, fissile, papery, gypsiferous, black to dark gray, containing thin ochreous partings, Large crystals of selenite on weathered surface. | 20.8 |
| Dakota formation | ||||
|
Janssen clay member | |||
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9. | Sandstone, fine-grained, iron-cemented, brown, tan, and purple, containing fragments of carbonized wood. | 0.2 |
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8. | Silt, sandy, dark red-brown, containing carbonaceous and peaty material. | 2.8 |
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7. | Ironstone, red-brown. | 0.5 |
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6. | Sandstone, fine-grained, massive, mottled gray, tan, and yellow-orange, weathers to tan and buff. Three-foot zone of silty sandstone at top containing fragments of carbonized wood. | 17.2 |
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5. | Shale, silty, gray, containing at base thin partings of fine-grained, yellow-tan sandstone, grading upward to gray, silty shale; also contains shot-like concretions of iron (mostly hematite). | 3.4 |
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4. | Shale, fissile, gypsiferous, gray to brown in lower half, gray in upper half, containing thin ochreous partings; carbonaceous in lower part. | 2.4 |
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3. | Siltstone, sandy, massive, mottled gray and yellow-tan, containing many fragments of carbonized wood and, at base, ochreous streaks. | 1.6 |
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2. | Clay shale, silty, thin-bedded, becoming more regular at top, gray grading to darker gray at top. | 7.0 |
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1. | Shale, silty, massive to blocky, brick-red in lower part grading to yellowish-tan and reddish-tan at top; contains numerous shot-like concretions of iron. | 6.4 |
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Covered interval | 11.8 | |
| 188.5 | ||||
| Bed No. | Section 2--NE sec. 34, T. 12 S., R. 14 W. Measured from level of Saline river along Highway 281, approximately 4 miles north of Russell. | Thickness (feet) |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenhorn limestone | ||||
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15. | Limestone and shale, thinly interbedded. Limestone is hard, gray, weathering tan to buff, containing Ostrea. Shale is thin-bedded, light buff, calcareous. Streak of dark-gray shale in lower third. | 15.6 |
| Graneros shale | ||||
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14. | Shale, fissile, black; thin streaks of ironstone and siltstone occur in lower 8 feet. A bed of sandstone, fine-grained, finely laminated, gray, dark gray, and yellow, occurs at top. Laminae of sandstone are marked by fine particles of charcoaL. | 31.3 |
| Dakota formation | ||||
|
Janssen clay member | |||
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13. | Ironstone, reddish-brown. 0.7 | |
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12. | Shale, thin-bedded, black, gray and red. Thin beds of fine-grained, yellow sandstone throughout. | 4.2 |
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11. | Sandstone, fine-grained, massive to thin-bedded, gray and yellow-orange mottled, weathering buff. Thin beds of ironstone in-lower half and at top. | 20.8 |
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10. | Shale, massive, carbonaceous, dark gray, gray and yellow brick-red, silty at top. Plant remains in lower one foot. | 3.6 |
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9. | Siltstone, sandy, massive, light gray. | 1.4 |
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8. | Shale, massive to blocky, gray, brown, brick-red, lavender, yellow, predominantly gray at top. Thin bed of clay-ironstone 2 feet above base. Botryoidal concretions of hematite and limonite throughout. | 13.9 |
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7. | Shale, gypsiferous, blocky, irregularly bedded, dark gray, containing fragments of carbonized wood. Top 1.5 feet is very black shale with concentration of fragments of carbonized wood. Crystals of selenite weather out on the surface. | 5.3 |
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6. | Sandstone, silty, fine-grained, mottled gray and yellow, containing many large (6 to 8 inches) botryoidal-shaped red-brown concretions of ironstone formed largely of iron-cemented coarse- to medium-grained sand. | 3.9 |
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5. | Shale, silty, massive, mottled gray and yellow, containing nodules of hematite near top. | 5.5 |
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4. | Sandstone, silty, irregularly bedded, mottled light gray and yellow-orange. | 1 .7 |
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3. | Silt, sandy, light gray. | 1. 7 |
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2. | Siltstone, sandy, massive, brown on weathered surface, yellow-buff when fresh, scattered speckles of brown iron stain. | 1.6 |
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1. | Shale, blocky, light gray weathering to tan-gray. | 2.4 |
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Covered interval | 8.9 | |
| 122.5 | ||||
| Bed No. | Section 3--SE sec. 25, T. 12 S., R. 14 W. Measured from level of Saline river along north scarp. | Thickness (feet) |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenhorn limestone | ||||
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15. | Limestone and shale, thinly interbedded. Limestone is sandy, hard, gray, containing Ostrea; shale is thin-bedded, calcareous, gray and yellow-tan. | 18.0 |
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14. | Limestone, sandy, hard, gray, weathering to pinkish-tan, containing Ostrea. | 0.7 |
| Graneros shale | ||||
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13. | Shale, fissile, rubbery, dark gray, brown to tan. | 5.0 |
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12. | Shale, fissile, dark gray to black, containing thin partings of fine-grained, gray sandstone throughout. Bed of sandstone 10 feet above base and thin beds of red-brown ironstone 4 and 8 feet above base. | 32.0 |
| Dakota formation | ||||
|
Janssen clay member | |||
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11. | Ironstone, silt, and fine sand, red-brown; contains fragments of carbonized wood (and glauconite?). | 0.8 |
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10. | Shale, silty, gypsiferous, light gray, gray, blue-gray and yellow. Thin bed of sandstone, calcareous, fine-grained, light gray, 5 feet above base. Thin beds of ironstone in lower 5 feet. Large crystals of selenite on weathered slope. | 10.5 |
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9. | Sandstone, fine-grained, thin- to medium-bedded, light gray and yellow, containing small concretions of hematite in upper 10 feet and two beds of ironstone at top. | 19.5 |
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8. | Shale, irregularly thin-bedded, dark gray to black. Crystals of selenite and small nodules of pyrite on weathered surface. | 9.1 |
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7. | Silt, sandy, light gray. | 6.5 |
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6. | Shale, irregularly bedded, dark gray, weathering gray on surface. | 3.1 |
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5. | Clay, massive to blocky, mottled gray, brick-red, yellow-tan. | 16.2 |
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Terra Cotta clay member | |||
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4. | Clay, massive, mottled red, brick-red, tan and gray. Small concretions of hematite throughout and a thin zone of shot-like concretions of iron at top. | 6.3 |
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3. | Clay, massive, mottled red, gray and brown. Shot-like concretions throughout. A one-half-inch zone of concretions of iron at base. | 7.8 |
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2. | Sandstone, calcareous, fine-grained, lenticular; light-gray. Sandstone pinches out 10 feet east. | 0.2 |
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1. | Silt, sandy, dove-gray, mottled red-brown and ochreous. | 1.8 |
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Covered interval | 13.1 | |
| 150.6 | ||||
| Bed No. | Section 4--SW sec. 29, T. 12 S., R. 13 W. Measured from Saline river level along high scarp on east side of valley. | Thickness (feet) |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenhorn limestone | ||||
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14. | Limestone and shale, thinly interbedded. Limestone, hard, gray, weathering to light buff, containing small concretions of iron in lower part; shale, calcareous, thin-bedded, dark gray. Fish teeth and scales in calcareous shales and limestone. | 19.6 |
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13. | Shale, fissile, gray. Streaks of gray and light gray, calcareous shale, weathering to thin beds of white, sandy limestone throughout, Thin bed of concretions of ironstone and pyrite 2 to 3 feet from top. | 20.4 |
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12. | Limestone, dirty-gray weathering dirty-white, scattered fragments of pyrite and carbonized wood. | 1.1 |
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11. | Shale, interbedded calcareous and noncalcareous, thin-bedded, gray to dark gray. | 14.8 |
| Graneros shale | ||||
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Covered interval | 22.0 | |
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10. | Shale, fissile, dark gray to gray, thin partings of buff to gray silty sandstone. Thin sandstone beds. just below top; limestone, sandy, thin-bedded, gray, containing fragments of fish scales at top. | 10.5 |
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9. | Sandstone, silty, fine-grained, well-sorted, buff to tan, locally iron cemented. | 1.0 |
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8. | Shale, gypsiferous, thin-bedded, dark gray. Numerous large crystals of selenite on surface. Weathered surface has appearance of being wet, but discoloration does not permeate shale immediately underlying surface. | 4.4 |
| Dakota formation | ||||
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Janssen clay member | |||
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7. | Sand and concretions of ironstone, sandy, irregularly cemented with iron, red-brown. Sand matrix, gray-brown and silty. Ironstone sandy, irregularly bedded, red-brown, containing numerous fragments of carbonized wood (and glauconite?) at top of bed. | 3.6 |
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6. | Sandstone, shaly, thin-bedded, gray in upper half, fine-grained, well-sorted, light buff at top. Crystals of selenite on weathered surface. Clay shales, sandy, thin-bedded, dark gray in lower half. | 35.0 |
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5. | Shale, fissile, black to dark gray; contains thin bed of sandstone at top, reddish-brown, iron-cemented, containing numerous large fragments of carbonized wood. | 8.2 |
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4. | Ironstone, containing inclusions of gray clay balls and fragments of pyritized wood in lower part. | 0.7 |
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3. | Shale, silty, gray, interlaminated with yellow-brown silty, sandy shale. Thin bed of silty micaceous sandstone at base. | 2.2 |
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2. | Sandstone, massive, locally cross-bedded, light gray-white to dirty tan-gray. Several thin beds of sand containing numerous small fragments of carbonized wood throughout. | 11.8 |
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1. | Shale, silty, massive, brick-red, gray, purple mottled. Shot-like concretions of iron throughout. | 5.8 |
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Covered interval | 21.6 | |
| 182.7 | ||||
| Bed No. | Section 5--SE sec. 9, T. 13 S., R. 12 W., Russell County. Measured from creek level along road cut, approximately 5 1/2 miles northeast of Bunker Hill. | Thickness (feet) |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenhorn limestone | ||||
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21. | Shale and limestone, interbedded; shale predominates and limestone occurs as thin beds. Shale, calcareous, thin-bedded, gray-buff; limestone, light pink to grayish-tan, containing fragments of fish scales. | 5.5 |
| Graneros shale | ||||
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20. | Covered. Road ditch material is clay shale, blue-black to black. | 26.0 |
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19. | Sandstone, fine-grained, well-sorted, massive, gray-tan to yellow-orange, locally containing iron cement at base. | 5.0 |
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18. | Shale, thin-bedded to fissile, dark gray, containing bed of dark-red fissile shale at base; contains streaks of limonitic shale throughout. | 10.1 |
| Dakota formation | ||||
|
Janssen clay member | |||
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17. | Sandstone, fine- to medium-grained, well-sorted, angular to subangular, gray-tan to buff weathering to grayish-buff, containing iron cement in irregular patches. Thin bed of purple ironstone at top containing fragments of ironized and carbonized wood. | 5.3 |
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16. | Shale and clay, massive, dark gray, containing thin beds of fine- to medium-grained, gray sandstone throughout. | 1.9 |
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15. | Sand, fine-grained, well-sorted, unconsolidated, gray and gray-tan, containing thin streaks and interlaminae of limonitic claystone. | 3.9 |
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14. | Shale, thin-bedded, dark gray, and sandstone, thin-bedded, fine-grained, well-sorted, gray; containing thin streaks of limonitic claystone throughout. | 2.3 |
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13. | Sandstone, fine-grained, well-sorted, angular to subangular, tan to gray. Lower part is well cemented with iron. Upper part is crossbedded and contains fragments of carbonized wood and elongated nodules of limonitic claystone. | 3.3 |
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12. | Shale, clayey, dark gray, containing a few thin laminae of fine-grained, gray sandstone and small fragments of carbonized wood. | 1.0 |
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11. | Sandstone, fine- to medium-grained. well-sorted, cross-bedded, massive at base, thin-bedded at top, iron-cemented, containing thin bed of gray to light-buff limestone at top. | 3.7 |
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10. | Shale and sandstone, irregularly and thinly interlaminated. Shale is dark gray and contains small fragments of carbonized wood; sandstone is fine-grained, well-sorted, angular to subangular, and gray | 2.1 |
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9. | Sandstone and shale; containing scattered concretions of ironstone. Upper part is sandstone, well-sorted, coarse- to medium-grained, cross-bedded, light brown. Cross-bedding planes are marked with dark red-brown iron cement. Lower 2 feet composed of shale, carbonaceous, thin-bedded, dark gray, containing lenses of medium-grained, well-sorted, buff sandstone | 3.1 |
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8. | Shale, massive to blocky. Upper 15 feet alternating (2 to 3 foot zones) gray and buff shale and brick-red and buff mottled shale, lower part gray-brown shale. Small shot-like concretions of iron occur throughout | 22.4 |
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Covered interval | 2.9 | |
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7. | Sandstone, ironstone, and sandy shale, alternating in thin beds. Sandstone is silty, brown to buff, containing casts of wood and stems; ironstone is red-brown, containing inclusions of clay balls and fragments of pyritized wood; shale is sandy to silty, gray, containing large fragments of carbonized wood. | 2.6 |
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6. | Shale and sandstone, gray and buff mottled. The lower 4 feet is shale, irregularly bedded, gray to grayish-pink, and sand, fine-grained, gray. Small shot-like concretions of iron and crystals of selenite prominent | 12.5 |
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5. | Sandstone, fine- to medium-grained, massive, gray to tan. Local cross-bedding in thin zones. Sandstone concretions near the top are light brown, iron-cemented, and average one-half inch in diameter | 2.3 |
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4. | Shale, massive to blocky, red, gray and buff mottled, containing numerous small concretions of brown ironstone in lower part. | 10.4 |
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3. | Shale, silty, massive, gray, minor mottling of yellow-buff silty shale; containing small fragments of carbonized wood. | 3.0 |
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2. | Sandstone, medium- to fine grained, iron-cemented, buff to tan, containing nodular sand near the top and displaying thin and irregular bedding in lower and middle parts. | 2.2 |
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1. | Shale, clayey, massive, gray and red mottled. | 2.4 |
| 133.9 | ||||
| Bed No. | Section 6--NE sec. 12, T. 13 S., R. 12 W. Measured from creek level along low scarp on southeast bank approximately 5 miles north of Bunker Hill. | Thickness (feet) |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenhorn limestone | ||||
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18. | Shale, calcareous, thin-bedded, light buff-tan to. gray-tan, containing fish scales. Limestone, thin, pinkish-tan. | 18.0 |
| Graneros shale | ||||
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17. | Shale, thin-bedded to fissile, dark gray to black, ochreous, containing a few thin partings of fine-grained gray sand and small crystals of selenite. | 24.8 |
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16. | Shale, dark gray and tan mottled; contains at top and bottom sandstone, fine-grained, iron-cemented, irregularly bedded, containing numerous veins of gypsum. | 3.7 |
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15. | Shale, fissile, dark gray, scattered yellow-orange shale partings, containing crystals of selenite (3 inches by 5 inches largest) | 3.7 |
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14. | Shale, sandy, clayey, dark gray, containing beds of iron-cemented, soft, red-brown sandstone at top and bottom. | 1.5 |
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13. | Shale, fissile, dark gray to black, containing thin ochreous partings and a few crystals of selenite. | 1.8 |
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12. | Shale, sandy, dark gray, containing a thin bed of limonite-colored, iron-cemented sandstone at top. | 0.5 |
| Dakota formation | ||||
|
Janssen clay member | |||
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11. | Sandstone, fine-grained, locally cross-bedded, light tan to brown, containing concretions of ironstone. | 1.7 |
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10. | Sandstone, silty, thin-bedded, fine-grained, brown, containing partings of ironstone, and shale, sandy, thin-bedded, gray. | 6.9 |
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9. | Sandstone, fine-grained, angular, cross-bedded, tan to gray, speckled with iron discoloration. | 3.3 |
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8. | Sandstone and clay, thinly interbedded, gray. Sandstone, silty, fine-grained, containing a thin red-brown ironstone bed at the top and several bright yellow-orange sandstone laminae 2 feet above the base. | 3.9 |
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7. | Ironstone, sandy, hard, dark red weathering purplish-black. | 0.8 |
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6. | Sandstone, fine-grained, well-sorted, thin, irregularly bedded, gray and yellow-orange mottled. | 1.9 |
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5. | Sandstone, silty, friable, dark buff, containing partings of red ironstone. | 1.2 |
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4. | Sandstone, fine-grained, well-sorted, massive to medium-bedded, tan to gray weathering brownish-gray. | 6.7 |
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3. | Sandstone, very fine-grained, soft, gray, containing partings of silt and shale and thin beds of fine-grained, buff sandstone. The buff sandstone is more prominent near the top. | 13.0 |
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2. | Sandstone, fine-grained, well-sorted, angular to subangular, micaceous, thin- to medium-bedded, locally cross-bedded, gray, containing partings of gray shale along bedding planes. | 26.0 |
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1. | Shale, massive to blocky, red, gray, yellow-buff, containing thin streaks of brown and limonite-colored ironstone. Weathered part is limonite-colored and is speckled with red-brown concretions of iron. | 25.3 |
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Covered interval | 26.0 | |
| 169.3 | ||||
| Bed No. | Section 7--SE sec. 23, T. 13 S., R. 11 lV., Russell County. Measured from creek level. | Thickness (feet) |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenhorn limestone and Graneros shale | ||||
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9. | Partially covered slope. Shale, thin-bedded, calcareous, buff to gray, and limestone, thin-bedded, sandy, gray, containing fish teeth and fish scales. | 60.0 |
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8. | Covered slope. Long gentle slope suggests shale. Interval capped by limestone, sandy, gray, containing fish scales. | 25.0 |
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7. | Covered interval. At the base is clay shale, gray and yellow-brown mottled. Top of interval is defined by thin bed of dark red-brown sandy ironstone which forms prominent bench. | 21.0 |
| Dakota formation | ||||
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6. | Sandstone, fine- to medium-grained, well-sorted, massive, gray to brown; contains thin cross-bedded zones containing iron cement along planes of truncation. | 6.2 |
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5. | Silt, light gray, overlying shale, massive to blocky, light gray and light lavender mottled. | 15.0 |
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4. | Sandstone, fine-grained, well-sorted, angular to subangular, massive to thick-bedded, gray-tan to red-brown, containing a zone. of cross-bedding near the top and a thin zone of limonite-colored, iron-cemented, fine-grained sandstone nodules at the base. | 25.0 |
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3. | Shale, massive to blocky, dark blue-gray, containing a zone of thin partings of buff sandstone at the top, a zone of dark gray sandy shale at the bottom, and numerous fragments of carbonized wood. | 12.0 |
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2. | Shale, massive to blocky, dark gray; contains a zone of buff, fine-grained, silty sand containing a few partings of gray clay shale. | 6.0 |
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1. | Sandstone, fine- to medium-grained, well-sorted, massive, gray-tan to yellow-buff, containing fragments of carbonized wood at the top and many zones of cross-bedding. Sand near the top is reddish-purple weathering to bright red, brick-red and red-brown. | 60.0 |
| 230.0 | ||||
| Bed No. | Section 8--NE sec. 31, T. 14 S., R. 11 TV., Russell County. Measured from level of red shale exposure on floor of flood plain along south bluff of Saline river, approximately 4 miles south of Dorrance. | Thickness (feet) |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenhorn limestone | ||||
|
|
8. | Upper part of interval partly covered. Limestone, buff, containing Ostrea and Inoceramus shells and casts. Basal 2 feet is limestone, sandy, locally finely cross-laminated, wavy-bedded, gray and gray-brown. | 40.0 |
| Graneros shale | ||||
|
|
7. | Shale, fissile, dark gray to black, gypsiferous and ochreous, containing thin, irregular laminae of yellow, fine-grained sand. Top 3 feet is interlaminated, fine-grained, gray and yellow sandstone and dark-gray carbonaceous shale. A thin bed of nodular, partially iron-cemented, red and brown sandstone occurs 10 feet above the base. | 28.5 |
| Dakota formation | ||||
|
Janssen clay member | |||
|
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6. | Ironstone, dark red-brown, red, purplish, containing fragments of carbonized wood and nodules of iron-stained claystone. Crystals of selenite on weathered surface. | 0.3 |
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5. | Shale, silty, thin-bedded, gypsiferous, slightly carbonaceous, gray to dark gray in upper half and mottled gray, brown, and yellow-orange in lower half. | 3.3 |
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4. | Sandstone, massive, yellow-buff weathering drab gray-brown to gray. Surface speckled with small concretions of iron. One-half inch bed of red-brown ironstone at the top. | 2.2 |
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3. | Shale, interbedded with fine-grained, micaceous, gray sand and carbonaceous, silty, gray shale. Upper part is shale, carbonaceous, fissile, gray. | 4.1 |
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2. | Sandstone, massive in upper part, thin- to medium-bedded in lower part, light gray to drab-buff weathering light gray to gray, containing charcoal at the top. Bedding planes of upper part are ripple marked. This sandstone thins to a bed a few feet thick one-half mile east and west. | 47.9 |
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1. | Shale, silty, thin-bedded to blocky, gray and yellow-orange mottled at base, gray at top, containing small concretions of iron on weathered surface | 15.0 |
| 141.3 | ||||
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Kansas Geological Survey, Geology
Placed on web Jan. 26, 2017; originally published December 1944.
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