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Abstract
Kansas volcanic ash has been used as an abrasive, ceramic glaze material, an additive to cement, a sweeping compound, and black top highway dressing; potential future uses include the manufacture of lightweight aggregate and cellular blocks, glass, and ceramic bodies, and as an inert filler. This material has been mined commercially in Kansas for nearly 50 years and more than 20 million tons of ash is estimated to occur as minable reserves in 39 counties. Ash deposits consist of relatively pure accumulations of minute platy or curved fragments of volcanic glass and attain thicknesses as great as 30 feet. Most usable deposits are located in the western half of the State but are widely distributed in that region. They are all Pliocene and Pleistocene in age. The stratigraphy, petrography, and uses of Kansas volcanic ash are reviewed briefly and all deposits that have been examined, sampled, or tested are listed and described.
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Kansas Geological Survey, Kansas Volcanic Ash Resources
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Web version Jan. 2005. Original publication date Feb. 15, 1952.
URL=http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Publications/Bulletins/96/02_abs.html