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Cretaceous Stratigraphy, Belvidere Area

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Measured Stratigraphic Sections and Log of Test Hole

The log of test hole 1 shown in Figure 4 and referred to in the text is given below. The stratigraphic sections that follow the log were measured by me unless otherwise noted. Stratigraphic names that are no longer in use have been placed in parentheses.

Locations of the test hole and measured sections are shown in Figure 4.

1. Sample log of test hole in SW NE SE sec. 4, T. 30 S., R. 18 W., drilled by the State Geological Survey, 1941. Surface altitude., 2,201.0 feet. (Samples studied by Perry McNally and Bruce F. Latta.) Thickness,
feet
Depth,
feet
Soil, sandy, dark gray11
Tertiary--Pliocene
Ogallala formation
Sand and gravel, limy; contains pebbies of caliche12
Silt, sandy, tan; contains pebbles of granite, caliche, and ironstone13
Cretaceous
Dakota (?) formation (Gulfian)
Sandstone, fine- to medium-grained, iron cemented, hard, dark brown; contains small nodules of weathered yellow to light-gray clay. Thin beds of light-gray clay in lower part1518
Shale, silty, light gray220
Clay, mottled red and gray626
Clay, gray; contains small concretions of red iron632
Clay, mottled red and gray436
Clay, silty, bright red; contains some mottled red and gray clay440
Clay, mottled red, gray, purple, and yellow444
Ironstone, clayey, hard, red brown to dark brown.344.3
Siltstone, sandy, light gray and yellow gray5.750
Clay, silty, light gray and some yellow959
Kiowa shale (Comanchean)
Sandstone, fine-grained, yellow brown24.583.5
Clay, sandy, silty, light gray; contains some mottled gray, red, and yellow silty clay in lower part5.589
Ironstone, clayey, hard, dark red brown and yellow291
Clay, silty, light gray and yellow gray; contains a little fine sand697
Clay shale, silty, light gray3100
Shale, silty, blue gray10110
Shale, silty, blue gray; contains thin beds of brown hard very fine-grained sandstone at 111, 114, 122, and 136 feet30140
Shale, sticky, blue gray; contains beds of hard sandstone or shell-limestone at 162, 173, 182, and 188 feet60200
Shale, sticky, blue gray, and shale, blue gray, sandy; contains gypsum20220
Shale, blue gray; contains gypsum, pyrite, and zones of hard sandy shale20240
Shale, blue gray; contains thin beds of shell-limestone and hard sandy shale, and a little gypsum and pyrite14254
Shale, dark blue gray16270
Shale, dark blue gray; contains thin beds of brown fine-grained sandstone10280
Shale, dark blue gray; contains thin beds of shell-limestone at 282, 296, 308, and 317 feet, and a thin bed of gray fine-grained sandstone at 324.5 feet60340
Shale, dark blue gray and black12352
Cheyenne sandstone (Comanchean)
Shale, sandy, blue gray to black12364
Sandstone, fine- to medium-grained, light gray36400
Permian redbeds
Shale, silty and fine sandy, red8408
2. Section of the Dakota formation and Kiowa shale in Spring Draw in the SE sec. 4 and E2 sec. 3, T. 30 S., R. 18 W. (Measured by Bruce F. Latta, John C. Frye, and Claude W. Hibbard.) Thickness,
feet
Cretaceous
Dakota (?) formation (Gulfian)
("Reeder sandstone")
7.Sandstone, iron-cemented, hard, massive, dark brown10.0
6.Sand, loose, fine to medium, tan and brown12.0
("Kirby clay")
5.Clay, mottled red and gray, and shale, silty, red and light gray; contains thin seams of yellow fine-grained sandstone in lower part. Mottled clay contains small red concretions of iron that have weathered out and cover the slope20.0
Thickness of Dakota formation exposed42.0
Kiowa shale (Comanchean)
("Greenleaf sandstone")
4.Sandstone, fine-grained, cross-bedded and lensing, yellow tan and buff29.0
("Spring Creek clay")
3.Clay shale, silty, mottled gray tan, red, and red brown; contains small concretions and thin beds of ironstone. Weathered slope is strewn with red-brown ironstone rubble11.0
2.Sandstone, iron-cemented, silty, irregularly bedded, red brown to gray tan; contains concretions, nodules, and wavy bands of ironstone; weathers to brownish black1.7
1.Clay shale, silty, massive to thin-bedded, mottled gray, red, and red brown; contains concretions of iron. Grades laterally into blue-gray siltstone and shale that contain beds and lenses of light-gray fine-grained sandstone17.8
Thickness of Kiowa shale exposed59.5
3. Section of Kiowa shale along the south bluff of Medicine Lodge River in the E2 sec. 16, T. 30 S., R. 17 W. (Measured by Bruce F. Latta, Claude W. Hibbard, and John C. Frye.) Thickness,
feet
Cretaceous
Dakota (?) formation (Gulfian)
16.Sandstone, hard, dark brown2.0
15.Clay shale, tan to gray5.0
Kiowa shale (Comanchean)
14.Sandstone, fine-grained, cross-bedded, tan to buff5.2
13.Shale (covered)20.8
12.Shale, fissile, black; contains crystals of selenite31.2
11.Shale, gray to black; contains thin bed of tan and buff sandstone near top. Mostly covered15.6
10.Shell-limestone, gray.2
9.Shale, blue black and tan; contains beds of thinly laminated sandstone and crystals of selenite21.2
8.Aragonite (?), fibrous; cone-in-cone structure.2
7.Shale, thinly bedded, gray to tan2.5
6.Shell-limestone, gray.8
5.Shale, fissile, black to dark gray5.2
4.Shell-limestone, gray.4
3.Shale, fissile, black; contains thin beds of gray to tan shale15.6
2.Shell-limestone, gray.9
1.Shale, fissile, black2.5
Thickness of Kiowa shale exposed122.3
4. Section of Kiowa shale and Cheyenne sandstone in east branch of Champion Draw about one-half mile south of Belvidere, Kansas (Measured by Bruce F. Latta, John C. Frye, and Claude W. Hibbard). Thickness,
feet
Cretaceous--Comanchean
Kiowa shale
12.Shale, black; contains few thin beds of sandstone (mostly covered)43.0
11.Shale, thinly laminated, black10.0
10.Shell bed, capped by 1-inch layer of aragonite.3
9.Shale, thinly laminated, black; contains small red to brown concretions of iron (limonite)9.9
8.Shell bed, capped by thin bed of tan fine-grained sandstone.3
7.Shale, thinly laminated, black8.4
6.Sandstone, fine-grained, light gray.5
5.Shale, thinly laminated, black1.8
4.Shale, fissile, thinly laminated, black; contains few thin lenses of fine-grained sandstone16.7
3.Shell bed (Champion), capped by thin layer of white fine-grained sandstone.8
Thickness of Kiowa shale exposed91.7
Cheyenne sandstone
2.Sandstone, fine to medium-grained, tan, buff, and brown. Grades laterally into blue-gray lensing shale that contains crystals of selenite and fossil plant material6.0
1.Sandstone, fine- to medium-grained, cross-bedded, white, gray, tan, buff, and brown; streaked locally with brighter colors such as red, yellow, and purple. Contains small lenses of weathered chert conglomerate and lenses and partings of blue-gray shale. A 3- to 4-inch zone of pebbles and cobbles of quartzite, quartz, and chert is at the base26.5
Thickness of Cheyenne sandstone exposed32.5
Unconformity
Permian--Guadalupian
Whitehorse sandstone
5. Section of Kiowa shale and Cheyenne sandstone in draw in the SE sec. 9, T. 30 S., R. 16 W. Thickness,
feet
Cretaceous--Comanchean
Kiowa shale
12.Shale (covered)15.0
11.Shell-limestone, hard, gray and brown.3
10.Clay shale, blocky, black; contains thin beds of buff to tan fine-grained sandstone10.8
9.Shell-limestone, hard, gray to brown.2
8.Shale, thinly laminated, black; contains irregular yellow and brown streaks11.0
7.Sandstone, fine-grained, buff to tan.1
6.Shale, thinly laminated, black23.0
5.Sandstone, fine-grained, white.2
4.Shell-limestone, weathered, red brown; contains crystals of selenite. Fossils are poorly preserved. ("Champion shell bed").8
Thickness of Kiowa shale exposed61.4
Cheyenne sandstone
3.Clay shale, lensing, dark gray; contains crystals of selenite6.0
2.Sandstone, fine- to medium-grained, cross-bedded, massive, gray, white, tan, buff, red, and purple; contains White conglomeratic zones of pebbles of quartz and chert in lower part39.0
1.Shale, fissile, light gray3.3
Unconformity
Thickness of Cheyenne sandstone exposed48.3
Permian--Guadalupian
Whitehorse sandstone
6. Section of Cheyenne sandstone in the SW sec. 26, T. 30 S., R. 16 W., about 50 yards north of measured section 7. (Measured by Bruce F. Latta and Claude W. Hibbard.) Thickness,
feet
Cretaceous--Comanchean
Cheyenne sandstone
4.Sandstone, fine- to medium-grained, cross-bedded, white, gray, buff, tan, and brown36.5
3.Sandstone, fine- to medium-grained, yellow, buff, tan, and gray, and shale, fissile, black; interlensing. The maximum thickness of the shale lenses is about 2 feet and of the sandstone lenses about 4 feet30.0
2.Sandstone (same as bed 2 in section 7)8.5
1.Conglomerate (same as bed. 1 in section 7)6.0
Thickness of Cheyenne sandstone exposed81.0
7. Section of Cheyenne sandstone in the SW sec. 26, T. 30 S., R. 16 W. (Measured by Bruce F. Latta and Claude W. Hibbard.) Thickness,
feet
Cretaceous--Comanchean
Cheyenne sandstone
2.Sandstone, fine- to medium-grained, cross-bedded, white, tan, buff, and brown; contains few lenses of weathered chert gravel in lower part48.5
1.Conglomerate, cross-bedded, white to gray. Consists of loosely cemented fine to coarse sand that contains pebbles of white to gray weathered chert and quartz. Coarser in upper part45.5
Thickness of Cheyenne sandstone exposed94.0
Unconformity
Permian--Guadalupian
Whitehorse sandstone
8. Section exposed on side of hill and in draw in the NE sec. 12, T. 30 S., R. 16 W. (Measured by Bruce F. Latta and Perry M. McNally.) Thickness,
feet
Cretaceous--Comanchean
Kiowa shale
7.Shale, thinly laminated, black; grade upward into soft blue-gray shale containing yellow streaks and splotches26.3
6.Sandstone, fine-grained, shaly in places, light- to dark-gray.5
5.Shell-limestone, brown. Composed almost entirely of fossil shells ("Champion shell bed")1.6
Thickness of Kiowa shale exposed28.4
Cheyenne sandstone
4.Shale, silty, blue gray to black; grades upward into light- to medium-gray silty shale; contains large crystals of selenite11.2
3.Sandstone, very fine-grained, shaly, light- to medium-gray; contains veins and lenses of dark-red sandy and silty clay5.2
2.Sandstone, massive, cross-bedded, fine- to coarse-grained, gray, yellow, tan, white, and purple; contains lenses of coarse weathered chert and quartz. Small nodules of iron weather out on surface. White to gray fine-grained sandstone is most prominent21.6
1.Sandstone, soft, shaly, very fine-grained, light gray to yellow brown; contains yellow streaks and splotches2.8
Thickness of Cheyenne sandstone exposed40.8
Unconformity
Permian--Guadalupian
Whitehorse sandstone
9. Section of Kiowa shale and Cheyenne sandstone in draw in the N2 sec. 36, T. 30 S., R. 16 W. (Measured by Bruce F. Latta and Claude W. Hibbard.) Thickness,
feet
Cretaceous--Comanchean
Kiowa shale
14.Shale (covered) 
13.Shell-limestone, gray. Fossils are larger than those found in lower shell-beds. Thin layer of fibrous aragonite occurs above shell bed1.1
12.Shale, thinly laminated, black; contains concretions of iron near top of interval7.8
11.Shell-limestone, brown.3
10.Shale, thinly laminated, black6.2
9.Shell-limestone, hard.2
8.Shale, thinly laminated, black11.2
7.Shell-limestone, weathered. Breaks apart easily.2
6.Shale, thinly laminated, black4.3
5.Sandstone, fine-grained, white, and shale, thinly laminated, black. Forms ledge1.5
4.Shale, thinly laminated, black14.6
3.Shell-limestone, gray (Champion shell bed).5
Thickness of Kiowa shale exposed47.9
Cheyenne sandstone
2.Clay shale, sandy, gray (Stokes sandstone)1.5
1.Clay shale, blue gray; contains crystals of selenite. A thin bed of white to gray fine-grained sandstone occurs about 2 feet below top of interval (Lanphier beds)15.0
Thickness of Cheyenne sandstone exposed16.5
10. Section of Cheyenne sandstone in box canyon in the cen. sec. 36, T. 30 S., R. 16 W. (Measured by Bruce F. Latta and Claude W. Hibbard.) Thickness,
feet
Cretaceous--Comanchean
Cheyenne sandstone
4.Sandstone, fine- to medium-grained, gray to white; contains fossil plants and pyrite. Weathered surface is brown owing to iron staining (Stokes sandstone)1.5
3.Clay shale, blue gray, sandy at top; contains yellow streaks and splotches (Lanphier beds)9.5
2.Sandstone, fine-grained, gray to white; contains zones of pebbles of weathered chert in lower part and lenses of gray to black shale. (Corral sandstone)34.0
1.Clay shale, blue gray to yellow1.5
Thickness of Cheyenne sandstone exposed46.5
Permian--Guadalupian
Whitehorse sandstone

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Kansas Geological Survey, Geology
Placed on web Aug. 28, 2007; originally published December 1946.
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