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Geological Survey of Kansas, v. 2 (1897)

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Cretaceous

Comanche Series of Kansas

Review of Previous Work

The geology of southern Kansas south of the Arkansas river was comparatively unknown until within a few years. However, during the last decade, thanks to the earnest investigations of St. John, Cragin, Hay, and Hill, we are now as familiar with the stratigraphy and classification of its rocks as with those in any part of the western half of the state. Before beginning the description of the Cretaceous formation it is believed that a brief historical review of the development of our knowledge of the Cretaceous rocks of southern Kansas will prove of interest to the reader. No attempt will be made to mention every reference to the geology of this part of the state, but it is thought that at least all the important papers will be considered.

Mudge, 1878—The "Geology of Kansas" was the first work that really attempted to give a description of the geology of the entire state. [Swallow's Preliminary Report of the Geological Survey of Kansas, 1866, apparently makes no reference to the geology of southwest Kansas. The description of the geology of central Kansas is very meagre, while it is stated that the Tertiary occupies "a considerable portion of western Kansas; but we have had no opportunity of examining these formations, and therefore cannot give any detailed description of them." (p. 40).] On the "map showing the superficial strata of Kansas," that portion of the state south of the Arkansas river is colored as belonging to the Upper Carboniferous and Cretaceous systems; the line of division commencing in the northwestern part of Reno county and running southwesterly across Pratt, the southeastern part of Edwards [now Kiowa], Comanche and Clark counties. [First Biennial Report State Board Agriculture of Kansas, p. 47.]

Under the account of the Cretaceous system we have the following statement: "That portion [of the state] south of the Arkansas river, and west of Harper County has been little examined, either by myself or others, but appears to be represented by the Fort Benton and Dakota groups" [upper Cretaceous]. [Ibid., p. 55.]

St. John, 1888—The next important paper is St. John's. "Sketch of the Geology of Kansas" [Third Biennial Report State Board of Agriculture of Kansas, p. 571], and on his "Geological Map of Kansas" all the county south of the Arkansas river is mapped as upper Coal Measures and Cretaceous, though the line of division is represented considerably farther east, crossing the counties of Reno, Kingman and Harper in a nearly north and south line. [See map between pp. 574 and 575.]

In the description of the Dakota formation it is stated that in tho Arkansas valley, horizons similar to those near Brookville [Saline County] have been discovered "which are characterized by a molluscan fauna, some of whose forms, at least, indicate more intimate affinities with the Texan Cretaceous fauna than has heretofore been observed so far north in deposits of this age." [Ibid., p. 588.]

Cragin, 1885-1886—In this year Professor Cragin published his "Notes on the Geology of Southern Kansas." [Bulletin Washburn College Laboratory Natural History, Vol. 1. April 1885, pp. 85-91, Topeka.] The greater part of the paper is given to a description of the Red-Reds and Gypsum Hills, but the latter part of the paper gives an account of the overlying formations. Professor Cragin says: "The deposits above the gypsum I examined but little, and only in western Barber and eastern Comanche counties, They belong to the Benton [Upper Cretaceous] and later deposits. … A locality a few miles southwest of Sun City, locally known as the 'Black Hills,' affords an easily recognized horizon for reference in any studies that may be made of the neighboring formations, being well up above the gypsum, conspicuous, and quite unique. It may be designated as the 'Black Hill horizon.' The deposit from which the hill takes its name is a bed of carbonaceous and rapidly decomposing shale. In connection with the shale are found fragmentary seams of poor lignite. Immediately above and below this is a layer of shell conglomerate made up largely of Ostrea and Gryphaea.

"Below these is a formation quite unlike any other I have seen or heard of in Kansas, and well worth a visit to the place to see. It is a variegated sandstone, unfortunately too friable for utility, but displaying a most beautiful variety of colors. Brown, purple, blue, crimson, scarlet, pink, orange, lemon-yellow, and white: these and many intermediate shades may be seen, in brightest contrast and most delicate blendings. Streaked and interstreaked in a tortuous manner, clouded and blended, blotched and blurred, the dispositions of the colors are as endless as their shades. … In the upper portions of these hills remains of large fossil turtles are reported. I succeeded in securing only some fragments; insufficient to determine whether they are to be referred to the Niobrara or the Tertiary, but sufficient to verify the truth of the reports. I have no positive evidence of the Niobrara here as yet, but I am inclined to think it here, and that it would be found to begin shortly above the horizon of the Black Hill shale." [Ibid., p. 90.] In this paper we have the first mention of a section which has been so well described in the later papers of Professor Cragin. The various colored sandstone above the Red-Beds is that formation which is now known as the Cheyenne; the black shales of the Black Hill southwest of Sun City belong in the Kiowa shales of Cragin; while the tops of the hills are capped by Tertiary.

The following year Professor Cragin modified the above correlation, concluding that "The variegated sandstone … probably marks the upper limit of the Dakota, and the overlying dark shales, from which the 'Black Hill' takes its name, the base of the Benton.

"The large turtles mentioned in the same article are probably Tertiary, occurring only upon the very highest hills fifteen to forty miles north and west of Medicine Lodge." [Ibid., vol. I, 1886, p. 166.]

St. John and Hay, 1887—Professor St. John published his "Notes on the Geology of Southwestern Kansas" in 1887, in which he stated that "Only the Dakota and Niobrara members [Cretaceous] have been with certainty identified in this southwest region." He described the Dakota formation as consisting in the lower portions "of soft white-and-yellow stained sandstone, in places obliquely laminated, with hard, indurated layers, the weathering of which produces monumental forms, recalling those which the elements have fashioned in the Tertiary sandstones on Monument creek in Colorado. This sandstone horizon is evidently very variable in thickness and may indeed be absent locally. It is succeeded by dark blue, drab and buff shales 50 to 70 feet above a soft yellow, sometimes reddish, obliquely laminated sandrock, five feet, more or less, and below a stratum of drab sometimes sandy, shale, two to five feet, containing streaks of lignite and fragments of bituminized wood ….

Succeeding the shale horizon occur successive beds of shaly limestone, alternating with drab and buff, more or less arenaceous shales, which are charged with fossils, mostly belonging to a species of Gryphaea resembling G. Pitcheri, an Exogyra, Trigonia, Turritella, etc. The latter also occurs in the upper portions of the underlying shales. The association of species and abundance of individuals strongly recall occurrences in Texas. … Judging from data at present accessible, it would appear that the present region marks the limits of the northern extension of this peculiar southern fauna of the Cretaceous." [Fifth Biennial Report Kansas State Board of Agriculture, pp. 143, 144.]

In a "Report on Geology" to the Kansas Academy of Science in 1885 Professor Hay stated that "The beautifully variegated sandstones referred to by Professor Cragin in a printed notice of a run through Barber County I am inclined to consider as undoubtedly Dacota, but in the only place where I got at their base they seemed to rest on the eroded surface of the Red Rock." [Transac;tions Kansas Academy Science, Vol. X, 1887, p. 22.]

Cragin, 1889-1890—In his "Geological notes on the region south of the Great Bend of the Arkansas" Professor Cragin states that he "wrongly assigned all the formations between the great gypsum horizon and the base of the Tertiary southwest of Sun City to the Benton epoch. [Bulletin Washburn College Laboratory Natural History, Vol. 2, February 1889, p. 33. Topeka.]

In this paper Professor Cragin describes a section of these rocks as shown in a ravine, and higher on a hill side to the southwest of Belvidere, on the Medicine Lodge river. So far as known this is the first accurate section of the Cretaceous rocks of southwest Kansas. Following the section were lists of fossils from the different divisions. [Ibid., pp. 35-37.] As a result of this study Professor Cragin stated that "The above partial study of the Medicine river Cretaceous suffices to show something very like the fauna of the recently discovered Comanche series of Texas, which is said to be lower than the Dakota, or the lowest hitherto known American Cretaceous." [Ibid., p. 37.] Professor Hill referred to the above paper in his book on the "Neozoic Geology of Southwest Arkansas" stating that the rocks of the above section "Undoubtedly represent the Comanche series," correlating No. 5 of Professor Cragin's section, with the Fredricksburg division of the Comanche, and No. 6 of Cragin probably as identical with the Trinity. [Annual Report Geological Survey Arkansas for 1888, Vol. II., p, 115, f. n.]

In December of the same year Professor Cragin named the variegated sandstones at the base of the Cretaceous in the Medicine Lodge valley, the Cheyenne sandstone from the Cheyenne rock at Belvidere, Kansas. [F. W. Cragin. Bulletin Washburn College Laboratory Natural History, Vol. II, Dec., 1889, p. 65, Topeka.] In this article Professor Cragin described the first fossil from the Cheyenne sandstone, part of a Cycad, for which he proposed the name Cycadaidia munita and doubtfully correlated the formation with the Trinity of Texas. The following year Professor Cragin published an article "On the Cheyenne sandstone and Neocomian shales of Kansas," in which he gives an excellent description of the Cheyenne sandstone, stating its lithological characters, thickness and distribution. [Ibid., Vol. II, Mar., 1890, pp. 69-81.] The typical region of the development is given as Belvidere, where it attains a thickness of 40 feet and is reported "In parts of Barber, Pratt, Kiowa and Comanche counties." [Ibid., p. 69.]

In reference to its age Professor Cragin says: "While this sandstone seems to be closely related to the Potomac and Tuscaloosa divisions of the Atlantic states, to the Trinity division of Texas and Arkansas, and to the Atlantosaurus beds of Wyoming and Colorado, it would be premature to assert positively, at this time, the precise identity of any two of these. Incomplete geographic and stratigraphic data suggest a probability that the above-described sandstone represents a portion of the Trinity division; but reference of it to the Trinity division in any way, until the Indian Territory interval has been explored, is of course merely a supposition however probable." [Ibid., pp. 69, 70.]

The latter part of the paper describes quite fully the distribution and stratigraphic characters of the shales between the Cheyenne and Tertiary. This outcrop is described as very irregular, beginning in the northwestern part of Barber County, near the headwaters of the Medicine Lodge river and extending in an irregular line from that locality across Comanche and Clark counties to the eastern part of Meade county. The thickness of these shales is given as variable, nowhere exceeding 150 feet, their maximum being in Kiowa County south of the Medicine Lodge river. Sections of the Cretaceous are described at Belvidere and Blue Cut Mound in Kiowa County, and upper West Bear creek and Bluff creek in Clark County. The sections are divided into zones, the lithological characters of which are described together, with lists of the more characteristic fossils occurring in them. [For the description of these sections see Ibid., pp, 75, 76, 77 and 79. The above article was republished in the American Geologist for October 1890 and June, 1891; In Vol. VI, pp. 233-238, and Vol. VII, pp. 23-33.]

Hay, 1890—During the summer of 1885 Professor Hay, under the direction of the U. S. Geological Survey, studied that portion of Kansas south of the Arkansas river. The description of this work was not published until 1890, when it appeared as a bulletin of the U. S. Geological Survey entitled "A Geological Reconnaissance in Southwestern Kansas." [Robt. Hay, Bulletin U. S. Geological Survey, No. 57, pp. 49 and Map, Washington.]

The "Geological Map of Southwestern Kansas" accompanying this bulletin represents the formations of the country south of the Arkansas river as belonging to the Jura-Trias, Cretaceous, Tertiary and Pleistocene systems. The line of division between the Jura-Trias and Cretaceous or between the Jura-Trias and Tertiary where the Cretaceous is not represented, extends in an irregular line from Stafford county through Reno, Kingman, Pratt, Barber, Kiowa, Comanche, Clark and Meade counties to the state line. Professor Hay described the Dakota formation near the Barber and Comanche County line as "being mostly composed of yellow, greenish, white and red sandstones" which are separated unconformably from the subjacent Red-Beds. He stated that "the brilliant coloring of these sandstones and their weathering into vertical cliffs and isolated 'pulpit rocks' render the district one of remarkable variety both in color and form." [Ibid., p. 27; see Fig. 5, p. 28, which represents a section about six miles southwest of Sun City where the Dakota is represented as resting on an eroded surface of the Jura-Trias.] The above sandstone is evidently the one described by Professor Cragin as Cheyenne. The overlying fossiliferous shales are mentioned by Professor Hay as occurring in the hills north of Sharon, Barber County, and beyond the Barber and Comanche line, while "Specimens of the shells were given to us from localities near the northwest corner of Barber County and the neighboring part of Edwards [now Kiowa County]. The bed at the three localities where we observed it was composed almost entirely of small shells in a matrix of limy conglomerate, the pebbles being very few, the shells making up three-fourths of the mass." [Ibid., p. 28.] In correlating this bed Professor Hay stated that "with reserve we are inclined to place the stratum called the 'Shell bed' … in the Fort Benton group." [Ibid., p. 27.] Professor Hay referred to St. John's hesitation in correlating this bed with the Benton of northern Kansas, and he also referred to Professor Hill's description of the Lower Cretaceous in Texas "to which has been given the name of the Comanche series, and the identity of the Barber County beds with the Comanche series has been suggested. If it existed it would apply not only to the shell beds, but to the sandstones below them [Cheyenne], as they could not be Dakota if higher beds were a still lower Cretaceous. Before giving up the Dakota age of the sandstones (one bed in particular) I will have to reexamine the region, for it is certain the isolated patches at Sharon and Kingman are Dakota." [Ibid., pp. 29, 30.]

Cragin, 1891—In this year Professor Cragin published an article entitled "Further notes on the Cheyenne sandstones and Neocomian shales." [American Geologist, Vol. VII, March, 1891, pp. 179-181.] Professor Cragin states that he had examined the Comanche of northern Texas in company with Professor Hill and agreed with him in correlating No. 5 of his Belvidere section with the Fredericksburg shale and No. 6 of the Belvidere with the Trinity sandstone of Texas. He further said: "The paleontologic and lithologic identity of No. 5 of my Belvidere section with a certain, shell-conglomerate occurring at Weatherford—the lowest Gryphaea-bearing horizon of Texas—is such as to warrant me in asserting the essential chronologic equivalency of the two horizons." [Ibid., p. 180.]

Williston, 1892—The small geologic map prepared by Professor Williston is the first one to represent approximately the geological formations south of the Arkansas river as they are now defined. Beginning with the lower Professor Williston indicates the following terranes for this portion of the state: On the eastern side to the west of the Arkansas river, upper Carboniferous and Permian; thin Triassic followed by a band of Comanche Cretaceous, the greater part of the region north and west of this being covered by Loup Fork Tertiary, with a small deposit of Niobrara Cretaceous in the northern part of Meade, southeastern corner of Gray, and southwestern corner of Ford counties; south of the Great Bend of the Arkansas river, parts of Edwards, Stafford and Reno counties are represented as covered by the Dakota Cretaceous. The area of the outcrops of the Comanche Cretaceous is represented as beginning in the southwestern part of Kingman county, extending westerly across the northern part of Barber into the southeastern corner of Kiowa, whence it makes a turn running southeasterly into the western part of Barber thence in an irregular line westerly, southwesterly and northerly across Comanche County into the southwestern corner of Kiowa and thence to the southwest diagonally across Clark County into the southeastern corner of Meade county. In general the line between the Cretaceous and Triassic is represented as extending southwest from Reno county across Kingman, Pratt, Barber, Comanche and Clark counties to the state line.

Hay, 1893—On the "Geological and Topographical Map of Kansas" accompanying Professor Hay's "Geology and Mineral Resources of Kansas" the approximate eastern boundary of the Cretaceous formations is represented as extending in general southwesterly from the valley of the Arkansas river across Stafford, Pratt, Barber, Comanche and Clark counties. [Robt. Hay, Eighth Biennial Report Kansas State Board of Agriculture, pp. 99-163.] This paper discusses the different geological formations of Kansas, which are arranged in tabular form on page 101. In his description of the Cretaceous, the Trinity sands and Comanche Peak beds are described as the two lowest formations of this system as follows: "In the northwest corner of Barber County, in a ravine on the south side of Medicine river, is an outcrop of beds, the bottoms of which rest on an eroded surface of Red-Beds something over 100 feet above the great gypsum horizon. The whole is not more than 25 or 30 feet of vertical exposure, … when I first saw these, I was inclined to synchronize them with the Cretaceous beds (Dakota and Benton) which were known to exist on the south of the Arkansas river further west. [The thickness of Trinity sands and Comanche Peak beds is given as 175 feet each in the table of the rocks of Kansas. See p. 101.] Professor St. John, however, who saw the beds in the region further south, pointed out the resemblance of the fauna of the shell bed to Texas Cretaceous forms, and afterwards others have worked out the stratigraphy of the beds up the valley of the Medicine and some of its tributaries and made collections of paleontological remains. Professor R. T. Hill, of Texas, has also seen fossils belonging to these beds, and there seems now no doubt that they belong to lower horizons than the Kansas Dakota. There is no reason why the Texan names given to the beds-Trinity for the lower, fine-grained sandstones, and Comanche Peak for the upper strata-should not be permanent, but some of the paleontologists still differ as to whether certain of the shells are lower Cretaceous or of the Jurassic type. In the table I have placed them as lower Cretaceous. They do not seem to have large areal development, but they thicken to the west. The rocks are well shown in the upper Medicine valley, on Thompson creek and in the Land creek ravines to the southwest, but the 'plains marl' and quaternary formations hide their extensions under the body of the high prairie." [Ibid., pp. 108, 109.] A good picture of the Osage rock, Cheyenne sandstone on Medicine Lodge river above Belvidere appears in this report. [Ibid, p. 109.]

Cragin and McGee, 1894—In this year appeared Professor Cragin's description of certain "New and Little Known Invertebrata from the Neocomian of Kansas." [F. W. Cragin, American Geologist, Vol. XIV., July, 1894, pp. 1-12, and plate I.] The invertebrates described in this paper were collected in Kiowa and Clark counties. In connection with the description of these species are notes explanatory of the typical sections of this formation. The geological systems covering Kansas south of the Arkansas river as represented on McGee's reconnaissance map of the United States,2 are the Cretaceous Jura-Trias and Neocene. [Fourteenth Annual Report U. S. Geological Survey, Pt. II., 1894. Reconnaissance map of the U. S., showing distribution of the geologic systems so far as known; compiled from data in possession of the U. S. Geological Survey, by W. J. McGee, 1893. Washington.]

Cragin and Hill, 1895—Professor Cragin published further "Descriptions of Invertebrate Fossils from the Comanche Series in Texas, Kansas and Indian Territory" [F. W. Cragin, Colorado College Studies, Vol. 5, April, 1895, pp. 49-69] which was followed by another article entitled "Vertebrata from the Neocomian of Kansas." [4 Ibid., pp. 69-73, Plates I, II.] In this paper Professor Cragin names the fossiliferous shales overlying the Cheyenne in Kiowa County, his definition being as follows: "The designation, Kiowa shales, is proposed for the inferiorly dark-colored and superiorly light-colored shales that outcrop in several of the counties of south western Kansas, resting upon the Cheyenne sandstone in their eastern and upon the 'Red-Beds' in their middle and western exposures, and being overlaid by brown sandstones of middle Cretaceous age, or Tertiary or Pleistocene deposits according to their locality.

"The Kiowa shales are a locally modified southern extension of part of Hill's Comanche series, cut off from the main part 'by erosion. They are named from the place of their typical occurrence, Kiowa County, Kansas; and in that county they outcrop only in those southern townships which once formed the northern part of Comanche County. The fossils of these shales are chiefly those which, in Texas, are most common in the Fredericksburg division [Comanche series]." [Ibid., p. 49.] In June of this year Prof. Hill first announced the "Discovery of a typical dicotyledonous flora in the Cheyenne sandstone" … "This sandstone has heretofore been referred to the Trinity Division of Texas by Prof. F. W. Cragin, but the flora as determined by Prof. F. H. Knowlton of the U. S. Geological Survey consists entirely of species hitherto supposed to be peculiar to the Dakota Group, while the flora of the Trinity Division of Texas as has been reported by Professor Fontaine is all of the non-dicotyledonous Potomac type. The Cheyenne sandstones are separated from the true Dakota sands of Kansas by nearly 200 feet of shale, containing a molluscan fauna composed of fifteen species characteristic of the Washita Division of the Comanche Series of Texas, and about twenty littoral species peculiar to the locality." [American Journal Sci., 3d series. Vol. 49, June 1895, p. 473.]

In September of the same year Professor Hill published an extended article "On Outlying Areas of the Comanche Series in Kansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico" [Ibid., Vol. 50, pp. 205-235] in which the flora of the Cheyenne sandstone and the fossils of the overlying shales are fully discussed. The introductory part of the paper is an excellent description of the topographic features of southern Kansas, followed by a brief discussion of the correlation of the Cretaceous rocks of that region. Professor Hill's route was from the town of Medicine Lodge up the river valley along which the Red-Beds are excellently exposed, to Sun City where he crossed the river and made a section from the river valley to the top of Stokes Hill (called Black Hills in the paper) in the southeastern part of Kiowa County. In discussing the former denudation of this region, Professor Hill said "Near the head-waters of this river [Medicine Lodge] a thin group of Cretaceous formations lies between the Tertiary and the Red-Beds. To the east the Plains formations rest directly upon the Red-Beds, the intervening Cretaceous deposits having there been denuded in early Tertiary time." [Ibid., pp. 205, 206.] Prof. Hill published a complete and accurate section of Stokes hill, making a number of divisions in the Kiowa shales, which in his article are called Belvidere shales. In a foot note Professor Hill stated that since writing his paper "Professor Cragin had proposed the name Kiowa for the shale beds. The name would no doubt have priority over the one herein used by me, but owing to doubt as to which subdivision Professor Cragin would have included the beds 2, 3 and 4, I prefer to retain for the present the term Belvidere shales." [Ibid., p. 211.] It is stated that "As we approach Belvidere the Cheyenne sandstone begins to form the principal slope of the river basin, and west of that village the bed of the river rises until it is upon the Cheyenne sandstones, while some bluffs and castellated remnants of the sandstones are beautifully exposed in the north side of the valley.

"Five miles west of Belvidere the railroad has made magnificent cuts into the beds so that they are there seen better than at any other locality. Here the comparatively steep wall of the valley affords a fine section from the old deposition plain of the Great Plains Tertiaries down into the Cheyenne sandstone, the buttes on the south margin of the river valley being remnants of the main body of the plains to the northward." [Ibid., p. 209.] Following this is a detailed section of the Blue Cut which gives Cheyenne sandstone, Belvidere shale and Dakota sandstone capped by the Plains Tertiary. It is stated that "The shales overlying No. 4 we call the Belvidere shales from the town near which they can best be seen." Following this is a generalized section showing the classification of these rocks. At the bottom are the Red-Beds followed by the Belvidere beds which are subdivided into —b. Blue and black shale with fossils and —a. the Cheyenne sandstone. Above is the Dakota sandstone finally capped by the Plains Tertiary. [Ibid., p. 211.] A list of fossil plants from the Cheyenne sandstone as identified by Professor Knowlton is given, followed by a critical discussion of the species. In conclusion, Professor Knowlton says "All the above mentioned species belong to the Dakota group as it is usually accepted, but as a matter of fact no detailed stratigraphic work has yet been done with a view to ascertaining the range and association of the fossil plants referred to this formation. … But all that can now be stated is that these species belong to the Dakota group as it has usually been accepted, and have never before been identified outside of it." [Ibid., 213, 214.]

The fossils collected from the Kiowa shales were identified by Mr. Stanton, whose lists are given accompanied by critical discussion of certain species. Following this is an analysis by Professor Hill stating from what other formations they have been identified. As a result of this study Mr. Hill concludes "Mr. Stanton's studies of the fossils of the Belvidere shales also demonstrate the opinions I have long entertained, that these fossils are largely of the age of the Washita division of my Texas section, and not solely the Fredericksburg and Trinity divisions as maintained by Cragin. I am glad to have my own conclusions sustained by such an authority, and I fully agree with him that the Belvidere beds represent in general the Washita division and probably the attenuated Fredericksburg as seen in the north Texas sections." [Ibid., p. 223.]

In reference to the correlation of the Cheyenne, Professor Hill says: "Prof. Knowlton's determination of the dicotyledonous Dakota flora in the top of the Cheyenne sandstone shows that from a paleontologic standpoint these sandstones have no resemblance to the flora of the Trinity divisions at Glen Rose, Texas, beds which contains a flora of typical Potomac non-dicotyledonous species. The Cheyenne sandstones are of far later age than the Trinity, and occupy a stratigraphic position at the base of the "Washita midway between the Trinity and Dakota. … Concerning the correlations of the Belvidere beds with the Neocomian, as done by Professor Cragin, we can only repeat our opinion, founded upon facts previously given, that the Washita division is homotaxially nearer the equivalent of the Gault, and that the lower lying beds of the Trinity divisions are more nearly the nearer equivalents of the Neocomian in the United States." [Ibid., pp. 226, 227.] Professor Hill's final statement is "These beds represent the modified attenuated 'northern extension of the Washita division and probably a portion of the Fredericksburg division of the Comanche series of Texas, which as we have previously shown, far overlapped to the northward those of the Trinity division." [Ibid., p. 234.]

The previous paper was followed in three months by Professor Cragin's, entitled "i.-\.. Study of the Belvidere Beds." [F. W. Cragin, American Geology, vol. XVI, Dec. 1895, pp. 357-386.] Professor Cragin states that he had formerly used the name Belvidere in manuscript as a designation for the Comanche shales of southern Kansas, but rejected the name on account of its similarity to the Belvedere beds, a name applied to certain Tertiary sands of Austria. He proposes, however, that if the term Belvidere be retained, it be used as a name for the division to which he refers the Cheyenne sandstone, Champion shell-bed and Kiowa shales, which is identical with the usage already proposed by Professor Hill for this term in his "Plains Section" in the article just reviewed. [American Journal vol. L, p. 211.] A part of this paper is devoted to a discussion of the former one of Professor Hill's and is of a controversial nature. Professor Cragin here suggests for the first time, a number of names for divisions of the Cheyenne sandstone and Kiowa shales. The lower part of the Cheyenne sandstone is termed the Corral sandstone which "is so named from having a considerable portion of its thickness exposed in the walls of the 'Natural Corral.' The latter is a short box canyon on the Lanphier claim in the southeastern corner of Kiowa County." [Loc. cit., p. 366.] The upper part of the Cheyenne sandstone is termed the Elk creek beds, and they are separated into two subdivisions termed respectively the Lanphier beds and the Stokes sandstone. The Lanphier beds "frequently observed but not treated of hitherto by the writer, have recently been described by Professor Hill, being No. 2 of his Black Hills and Blue Cut sections. … The Lanphier beds pass gradually upward into the similarly leaf-bearing Stokes sandstone, a few feet in thickness (No. 3 of Professor Hill's Black Hill's section)." [Ibid., pp. 367, 368.] For the thin stratum of gray shale-conglomerate which caps the Cheyenne sandstone at Belvidere, its upper surface forming the floor beneath the paper shales, Professor Cragin proposes the name Champion shell-bed. This division is evidently regarded as a formation by Professor Cragin who gives it a rank equal to that of the Cheyenne sandstone and Kiowa. shales. Following the description of the Champion shell-bed is a list of its fauna which numbers thirty six species, twenty two of which are known to extend into the Kiowa shales, though it is stated that the number of species common to the Champion and Kiowa will probably be increased by further explorations. The Kiowa shales are stated to have a maximum thickness of at least 125 feet on the Medicine Lodge river and 150 feet on Bluff creek in Clark County. The fauna consists of fifty one invertebrate species and thirteen vertebrate. Following the lists of species are critical notes in which Professor Cragin discusses some of the conclusions of Stanton and Hill. The Kiowa shales are subdivided into two divisions, the lower known as the Fullington shales and the upper the Tucumcari. The Fullington shales are named after the great Fullington ranch at Belvidere on which they have most extensive outcrops. Professor Cragin says "They are not sharply separated from the overlying Tucumcari shales either lithologically or paleontologically. … At Belvidere they are separable into two principal subdivisions, the lower of which is the Black Hill shale. … The name was derived from the Black Hill adjoining Hells Half Acre on Elk creek in Comanche County. The terrane consists of a bed of black carbonaceous clay-shale fifteen or twenty feet thick, resting upon the Champion shell-bed and characterized by a peculiar method of disintegration, breaking down under the weather into small, flat and thin, sharp-edged spalls resembling wafers, a peculiarity that has suggested for this shale the name of Wafer-shale. [Ibid., pp. 379, 380.] The upper division of the Fullington shales is termed the Blue Cut shales from the deep railway cut a few miles south-southwest of Belvidere, which is known as the Blue Cut. The Tucumcari shales or upper division of the Kiowa is "Characterized in part by this variable G. [Gryphaea] tucumcarii, the name Tucumcari shales is here given, after Mount Tucumcari, New Mexico, where the zone of Gryphaea tucumcarii was originally discovered by Mr. Jules Marcon.

These shales are well developed in the vicinity of Otter creek, on Thompson creek, and on heads of several branches of the Medicine Lodge river.

They are chiefly clay-shales and lighter hued as a whole, than the Blue Cut shales which graduate insensibly into them. At their summit they frequently contain bands and concretions of clay ironstone." [Ibid., p. 382.]

Finally under the heading "Correlation" Professor Cragin reviews the facts at hand and concludes that "The evidence taken altogether seems to point to the conclusion that the Kiowa shales of Kansas, … represent a group of sediments intermediate between the Fredericksburg and Washita divisions [of the Comanche], and one which, as a meeting ground of the faunas of these two divisions, can not satisfactorily (though it may arbitrarily) be referred to either." [Ibid., p, 383.]

Haworth, 1896—On Professor Haworth's "Reconnaissance Geological Map of Kansas" [University Geological Survey of Kansas, vol. I, pl. XXXI] the geological formations south of the Arkansas river are represented more accurately than on any previous map. In the eastern part of this region in Sedgwick and Sumner counties are Permian rocks west of which in Kingman, Harper, south Comanche and Clark are the Red-Beds, succeeding which is a band of Comanche extending from the northwest corner of Barber in an irregular southwesterly line across Comanche and Clark counties into the southeastern part of Meade county. The remainder of this area to the north of the Comanche and Red-Beds is mapped as of Tertiary age.

Classification

In this Report all the Cretaceous deposits studied south of the Arkansas river, occurring in Barber, Kiowa, Comanche and Clark counties, except a few exposures of Dakota-like sandstone, will be referred to the Comanche series. As is well known, the extent and details of the most interesting formations composing this series in northern Texas were first accurately described by Professor Hill through whose enthusiasm and indefatigable efforts the series has since been traced far southward into Mexico.

The writer considers that in Kansas the Comanche series is composed of two formations which may be readily distinguished by both their lithologic and paleontologic characters and may also be easily followed in the field for the purpose of areal representation.

Cheyenne Sandstone

For the lower formation it is proposed to use the name Cheyenne sandstone which was first proposed by Professor Cragin in 1889 [F. W. Cragin, Bulletin Washburn College Laboratory Natural History, Vol. II, December 1889. p. 65, Topeka.] and well characterized by him a few months later. [Ibid., March 1890, pp. 69-73.] This formation is composed mainly of a rather coarse-grained, friable sandstone, in general of yellowish-gray to whitish color, but frequently spotted and striped with bright colors as purple, crimson, brown, etc. In plates it is conspicuously cross-bedded, as for example, in the arroyo a short distance south of Belvidere, termed by Professor Cragin, the Champion draw, as may be seen in the plate illustrating the Cheyenne sandstone at this locality, Plate XVII.

The maximum thickness of the formation is in the Medicine Lodge region in the adjoining corners of Kiowa and Barber counties. Professor Cragin gives it as varying from about 40 to 65 feet; [F. W. Cragin, American Geologist, Vol. XVI, pp. 366, "the corral sandstone is ordinarily 30 to 50 feet"; 367. the Lanphier beds are "10 or 15 feet" and the "leaf-bearing Stokes sandstone, a few feet."] Professor Hill's section of the Black Hills gives a total of 71 feet for the Cheyenne, [American Journal Science, 3d Series, Vol. L, pp. 207, 208.] while the writer's measurements in this region give a thickness varying from 10 to about 55 feet. The outcrop of this formation is usually rugged. There are layers of variable thickness that have been more firmly cemented but, on account of the friable nature of the sandstone, the ledges have been carved by erosion into pillars, chimney rocks and other fantastic and striking forms. An interesting locality to visit for the purpose of observing these effects of erosion where may be seen a "chimney rock" and a number of small pillars is that which is known locally as Hell's Half Acre, in Comanche County near the Comanche-Barber county line, eight miles southeast of Belvidere, Plate XV. There are numerous excellent exposures from the above locality toward Belvidere, as in the "Natural corral" on the Lanphier claim five and one half miles southeast of Belvidere; along the bluffs of Walker creek; in the Champion draw near the foot of the hill south of Belvidere; and especially on the north side of the river above Belvidere where the Osage rock forms a conspicuous landmark. An excellent photograph is given of this rock from the western side—Plate XVI—but its massive form and varied colors can only be appreciated when seen in the bright sunshine of the early morning.

Plate XV—Eroded ledge of Cheyenne Sandstone in Hell's-Half-Acre, western side, Barber County. (Photographed by Prosser, 1896.)

Black and white photo: Eroded ledge of Cheyenne Sandstone in Hell's-Half-Acre, western side, Barber County.

Plate XVI—Contact of Cheyenne Sandstone and "Red-Beds" Showing unconformability, western side Barber County. (Photographed by Prosser, 1896.)

Black and white photo: Contact of Cheyenne Sandstone and Red-Beds Showing unconformability, western side Barber County.

The fossils of the Cheyenne consist entirely of plants, with the exception of some shells found by Mr. Beede and the writer in a sandstone referred to the Cheyenne occurring north and south of Avilla.

Fossil wood is common in various localities. In the upper part of the sandstone Hill found the dicotyledonous flora which according to Professor Knowlton consists of the following species:

Rhus Uddeni Lx.
Sterculia Snowii Lx.
Sassafras Mudgei Lx.
Sassafras cretaceum Newby., var. obtusum Lx.
Sassafras n. sp.
Glyptostrobus gracillimus Lx.
Sequoia sp.;
American Journal Science, 3d Series, Vol. L, p. 212, which is copied by Professor Cragin In American Geologist, Vol. XVI, p. 367.

to which perhaps should be added the cycad described by Professor Cragin in 1889 under the name of Cycadoidea munita. [F. W.Cragin, Bulletin Washburn College Laboratory Natural History, Vol II, p. 66.] As has already been mentioned, Professor Knowlton states that up to the present time the dicotyledons identified from the Cheyenne sandstone are not known outside of the Dakota formation.

In October 1896, Professor Lester F. Ward of the U. S. Geological Survey studied some of the exposures of the Cheyenne sandstone ill Comanche and Barber counties. Judging from the published report of his paper before the Philosophical Society of Washington, Professor Ward considers the Cheyenne flora to belong in rocks of Lower Cretaceous-Comanche age instead of Dakota. The secretary of the society reported Professor Ward as follows: Fossil plants were obtained at three different horizons, showing corresponding changes in the flora. So far as they go they confirm Mr. Hill's conclusion that at least the upper part of the Cheyenne sandstone belongs to the Washita Division of the Comanche Series. It may be approximately correlated with the Raritan Clays or the Albirupean series of the Potomac formation." [Science, N. S., Vol. IV, Dec. 11, 1896, p. 883. Reported by the secretary. Mr. Bernard R. Green.]

Kiowa Shales

For the upper formation it is proposed to use the name Kiowa shales which was first published by Professor Cragin in 1895. [F. W. Cragin, Colorado College Studies, vol. V, April 5, 1895, p. 49.] This formation name is accepted in the sense in which it was first defined by Professor Cragin as resting on the Cheyenne sandstone or Red-Beds and capped by deposits in the different localities, varying in age from brownish sandstones, generally called the Dakota, to Tertiary or Pleistocene. Later, Professor Cragin separated from it the lower stratum—No. 5 of his Belvidere section—which he names the "Champion shell bed" and gives it a rank equal to that of the Cheyenne and Kiowa in his classification. [American Geology, vol. XVI, pp. 361, 368.] The Champion shell-bed as exposed in Kansas does not appear to the writer to differ sufficiently from the superjacent Kiowa to be regarded as a distinct formation, and in this discussion is considered as the basal part of that formation. However, in correlating this bed with the Texan formations Professor Cragin advances a careful argument in favor of its rank as a formation. The following clear statement of his position was courteously furnished me by him—"It is impossible to judge correctly of its [Champion shell-bed] value by the study of Kansas alone. It can only be understood by first acquainting one's self with the formations of the Comanche series in Texas. Such comparative study shows clearly that the Champion bed is merely the extreme northern attenuated representative of the Comcnche Peak limestone. The latter is the central member of Hill's Fredericksburg division, or the upper member of that division where, as in northern Texas and southern Indian Territory, the Barton creek (Capuria) limestone is missing. Studies made since the publication of my article 'A Study of the Belvidere beds,' make this clearer than ever. Indeed, with the exception of a few forms which are possibly peculiar to the northern shore-region of the Comanche Peak sea, the Comanche Peak and Champion faunas are identical. The Kiowa shales represent the Kiamitia and the Tucumcari of Texas, Indian Territory and New Mexico. In the typical Texas area the Comanche Peak is a great formation, while the Kiamitia and Tucurnoarri are limited. In Kansas, the Kiamitia and Tucumcani are amply developed and closely related, the lower formation shading into the upper, while the Comanche Peak (here called the Champion) is of little thickness and limited to the eastern part of the Comanche area, though rich, as everywhere, paleontologically. It is of course true that the Champion bed has many things in common with the Kiowa, and, where (as pardonably ill this case) geology is to be bounded by state lines, may be viewed as a part of it. But viewed in the light of the fuller knowledge available, the Champion belongs to the Fredericksburg division, while the Kiowa shales belong to a higher division which I call the Kiowa but which Hill includes in his Washita. The flora of the Cheyenne sandstone, as reported by Hill and Knowlton, shows conclusively that this sandstone belongs to a later time than the Glen Rose, and its affinity with the Dakota flora probably brings it up out of the Bosque division altogether. So the Cheyenne also probably belongs to the Fredericksburg. There are therefore good paleontological grounds for separating the Champion bed from the Kiowa shales and considering it as nearly related to the Cheyenne. Genetically, the Champion bed seems to be closely related to both the Cheyenne and the Kiowa and to be transitional between them; but the bed, whether thus transitional or not, was certainly deposited in Fredericksburg time, as no one intimately acquainted with its paleontology and that of the Comanche series of Texas could possibly question." [Letter of Professor Cragin, dated Dec. 14, 1896.]

Again, Professors Hill and Cragin have proposed the term "Belvidere beds" as a general name for the Cheyenne sandstone, Champion shell-bed and Kiowa shales of southern Kansas; but if such a name be needed another term would better be substituted on account of the similarity to the Austrian name as already shown by Professor Cragin.

The maximum thickness of the Kiowa is given by Professor Cragin as "at least 125 feet on the Medicine Lodge river in Kiowa County, and 150 feet on Bluff creek in Clark County." [Ibid., p. 372.] Professor Hill obtained a thickness of 122 feet in his Black Hills section, and 102 feet in the one at the Blue Cut. [American Journal Science, 3d series, vol. L, pp. 209, 210. The thickness of the Black Hills section is given as 106 feet on p. 209, which is apparently a mistake as the sum of the thickness of the various layers enumerated is 122 feet.] The thickness of the sections measured by the writer is as follows:—Stokes' Hill (Black Hills of Hill) 112 feet; hill south of Belvidere 121 feet; Blue Cut Mound 131 feet; Avilla Hill in southern part of Comanche County, 110 feet; hill south of Hackberry creek, Clark County 135 feet; to the north in the Amphitheatre section of Bluff creek 140 feet; and on Mt. Nebo in the western part of Clark County 74 feet. In all of these sections the entire thickness is given, with the exception of the first two mentioned in which the Kiowa is not capped by another formation.

The rocks composing the Kiowa formation consist largely of shales as indicated by the name, Kiowa shales. A thin, hard stratum composed largely of calcareous and arenaceous material mixed with gypsum, containing usually great numbers of a small Gryphaea, is generally found at the bottom. Above this are very black, thin argillaceous shales with occasional thicker layers suggesting the name paper and wafer shales; while above, these change gradually to those that are coarser and bluish-black to gray in color. These fine black and coarser bluish-black to grayish shales form that portion of the formation which Professor Cragin calls the Fullington shales. [F. W. Cragin, American Geology, vol. XVI, pp, 361, 379.] In turn these gradually change to yellowish-gray argillaceous shales with thin layers of limestone either yellowish or pinkish in color that contain an abundance of fossils, especially Ostrea and Gryphaea. For this upper part of the formation Professor Cragin has proposed the name Tucumcari shales. [Ibid., pp. 361, 381.] This formation is well developed in that area formed by the adjacent northwest part of Barber, southeast corner of Kiowa and northeast corner of Comanche; in the southern part of Comanche County and across the central part of Clark County.

The fossils of the Kiowa consist of both vertebrates and invertebrates, a total of 78 species having been reported by Professor Cragin. The Champion shell-bed at the base of the formation contains 36 species according to Professor Cragin, twenty two of which occur above in the higher Kiowa, while fourteen are only known from the shell-bed. In the remaining and by far the greater thickness of the formation are 51 species of invertebrates and 13 of vertebrates. [Ibid., pp. 369, 372, 373.] From the collections made by Professor Hill and Mr. C. N. Gould at the Black Hills and Blue Cut Mound, Mr. Stanton identified either specifically or generically 31 forms. [American Journal Science, 3d series, vol. L, p. 219.] All the geologists who have studied this formation in recent years are agreed in referring it to the Comanche series of Texas, though there is a slight difference of opinion as to which division of the series it is most nearly related. Mr. Stanton thinks that "taken altogether, the evidence seems to indicate about the horizon of the Kiamitia" [Ibid., pp. 217, 218] which are the lowest beds of the Washita division of the Comanche. Professor Hill agrees with this conclusion saying, "I fully agree with him [Mr. Stanton] that the Belvidere beds represent in general the Washita division and probably the attenuated Fredericksburg as seen in the North Texas section." [Ibid., p. 223.]

While Professor Cragin believes that the Kiowa of Kansas and Kiamitia of the southern part of the Indian Territory with some other beds should be united to form another division of the Comanche series, for which he proposed the name Kiowa and which "represent a group of sediments intermediate between the Fredericksburg and the Washita divisions." [F. W. Cragin, American Geology, vol, XVI, pp. 383, 385.] Finally, in answer to a letter regarding the classification of these formations, Professor Hill under date of December 7, 1896, kindly wrote me as follows: "I think if you will use the term Cheyenne sandstone and Kiowa shales of the Washita Division of the Comanche series you will not be far from right." This was illustrated by the following diagram:

  Divisions   For Kansas
Comanche
Series
Washita Belvidere
Beds
Kiowa
Cheyenne
Fredericksburg  
Trinity  

"Dakota" Sandstone of Southern Kansas

Capping the hills at several localities is a coarse-grained, brownish to blackish ferruginous sandstone, containing fragments of plants which in southern Kansas has generally been referred to the Dakota formation on account of its lithologic resemblance to the sandstones of this formation in central Kansas. The writer is not aware that any fossil plants characteristic of the Dakota north of the Arkansas river have been found in this region, and in correlating this sandstone doubtfully with the Dakota simply follows the general custom. [F. W. Cragin: Bulletin Washburn College Laboratory Natural History, Vol. II, pp. 76, 77, where the Dakota is mentioned as capping the Blue Cut Mound and Upper West Bear creek sections. Hill: American Journal Science, 3d Series, Vol. L, p. 210, gives the "Dakota" near the top of Blue Cut Mound.] The writer, however, understands that Professor Cragin in his last paper has proposed for this ledge the name Reeder (Dakota?) sandstone from its occurrence over the Kiowa shales in the upper part of the Medicine Lodge river valley near the Reeder post-office, Kiowa County. Some of the best outcrops of this sandstone noted by the writer are on top of Blue Cut Mound southwest of Belvidere; on the southern side of the Medicine Lodge river in the eastern part of Reeder township and on the head waters of Hackberry, West Branch, Bear and Little Sandy creeks, Clark County.

Distribution

On the accompanying map, Plate XLIV, the distribution of the Comanche series in southern Kansas as determined by the work of the summer of 1896 is given. In tracing the outcrops of this series the author was assisted by Messrs. J. W. Beede and C. N. Gould in the eastern part, and by the latter in Clark County. In part of the region the series forms a mass of rocks of considerable thickness, varying from about 25 to 160 feet, which is readily enough shown on the map. For the remainder of the distance the thickness varies from less than 25 feet to nothing and for a part of this area is indicated on the map by simply a line. The great denudation inclosing Mesozoic or early Tertiary time swept away all or nearly all of the Cretaceous in a portion of this region so that the Tertiary rocks rest upon simply a thin bank of Cretaceous, or where the Cretaceous was completely eroded, upon the underlying Red-Beds.

By referring to the map it will be seen that in the east, the series begins in the northeastern part of Barber County north of Medicine Lodge, runs northwesterly across the northern part of the county 10 the southeastern corner of Kiowa County. In Kiowa County it follows up the Medicine Lodge river and its branches to the vicinity of their head waters, when it turns southeasterly crossing the northeastern corner of Comanche County and extends into the western part of Barber County. In part of this region it has a thickness of from 100 to 160 feet. Then making a loop in the western part of Barber County it turns northwest up the ridge north of Mule creek into Comanche County, whence as a thin line it extends first southwest and then northwest across the central part of the county, and then in a very irregular line nearly across the central part of Clark County, disappearing not far southwest of the Great Basin. In the southern part of Comanche County south of Avilla is an isolated area which has been separated by the erosion of Salt Fork valley from that of the more northern area.

In only a portion of this region does the series attain a thickness of more than 20 feet; and its whole extent may be conveniently divided into three such areas, as follows: the Kiowa-Barber-Comanche; the southern Comanche, and the Clark. The local details of thickness, lithologic characters, and sections will consequently be given under the above headings.

Kiowa-Barber-Comanche Area

This includes that part of the Comanche series found in the western and northwestern part of Barber County; in the northeastern part of Comanche and the southeastern portion of Kiowa County, which in many respects is the classic part of the field since it was first discussed here by Cragin and later he and Hill described it fully. Again the series reaches its maximum thickness in southern Kansas in the Belvidere region, and both the Cheyenne and Kiowa formations are well developed.

Mr. Gould found Kiowa shells six miles northeast of Medicine Lodge which is the farthest east that he found them south of the Arkansas river; and again he found them four miles northeast of Sun City. Professor Cragin has reported several of the Kiowa species as imbedded in "the basal calcareous conglomerate of the Tertiary in the border of the upland north of Sharon," which is about seven miles east of the occurrence reported by Mr. Gould. [F. W. Cragin, Bulletin Washburn College Laboratory Natural History, Vol. II, p. 37.] Professor Cragin has also reported loose specimens of Gryphaea and Exogyra in the western part of Harper County. [Ibid., p. 80.] In the northwestern part of Turkey creek township, Barber County, both the Kiowa shales and Cheyenne sandstone are represented though the thickness is slight, as reported by both Beede and Gould. From there to the point northeast of Medicine Lodge a line of Comanche based mainly upon data furnished by Mr. Gould, is represented as separating the ned-Beds and the Tertiary.

In the northwestern part of Barber County the best outcrops of the Comanche series are along the Barber and Kiowa-Comanche county line which may be readily reached from Belvidere or Sun City. It is in this region that the Comanche series was first studied by Professors Cragin and Hill and the writer.

Along the Medicine Lodge river in the vicinity of Sun City the first steep bluffs both north and south of the river are capped by the Medicine Lodge gypsum, above which is some 80 feet of the upper Red-Beds when the base of the Cheyenne is reached which has a thickness of 52 feet, above which the Kiowa shales extend to tho top of the high hill in the southeastern corner of Kiowa County which Professor Cragin has named Stokes Hill. The top of this hill which, according to the Medicine Lodge sheet of the U. S. topographic map is 390 feet higher than the river at Sun City, is about five and one half miles west of Sun City with frequent exposures of the rocks on the sides of the steep bluffs or in the draws so that it forms a good locality to study the Comanche formation and the upper part of the subjacent Red-Beds. This is the locality so well described by Professor Hill under the name of the Black Hills section," and the one first studied by the writer. [Note: On account of the term Black Hill being applied to several hills of this character in Comanche and Kiowa counties, Professor Cragin has proposed the name Stokes Hill for the one under consideration (American Geologist, Vol. XVI, p. 63, f. n.) restricting the name Black Hill to the one first visited and described by him in the northeastern part of Comanche County in the vicinity of Hell's Half Acre on Elk creek (Bulletin Washburn Col lege Laboratory Natural History, Vol. 1, 1885, p. 90; and American Geologist, Vol. XVI, pp. 379, 380).]

Section north of west front Sun City to the top of Stokes Hill

In general, the section published by Professor Hill agrees closely with the author's; some slight changes only occurring in reference to the thickness of its different divisions. All of the divisions were readily recognized except those forming the upper part of the section which on account of being partly covered were not so easily defined. The numbers of Professor Hill with the thickness of the corresponding beds are given in the first two columns as a means of assistance ill comparing the two sections.

Hill's
Nos.
Thickness Prosser's
Nos.
  Thickness
of each
division,
Feet
Total
thickness,
Feet
II
17
32 21 Near the top of the Stokes' Hill though across a draw to the west it is somewhat higher. Covered slope. 15 385
16 16 20 Partly covered slope. Yellowish argillaceous shales containing fossils, alternating with thin yellowish to pinkish limestones. 25 370
15 17 19 Fine argillaceous shales with thicker layers containing Exogyra, Cyprimeria, Turritella and other species. 15 345
13 20 3/4 18 At top mainly bluish and blackish, fine argillaceous shales. Near the center coarser yellowish fossiliferous shales containing abundant fossils. At the base about 9 feet fine black shales. 20 330
12 5 17 Black very thin, argillaceous shales like paper shales. 4+ 310
11 1 16 Brownish yellow harder shales with abundant Gryphaea. 1 306
10 5 15 Fine black and yellowish argillaceous shales, partly drab color. The yellowish are sandy and contain pebbles. 8 305
9 2 14 Yellowish coarse shales alternating with black argillaceous shales. Harder than the shales below, being sandy and gypsiferous. 2 297
8 4 13 Black paper shales like those below. 4 295
7 2 12 Gypsiferous layer containing black pebbles and small concretions. These contain Lingulas, fossil teeth with some other species. 2+ 291
6 15 1/2 11 Very black thin sleek argillaceous shales, "paper shales" of Hill. Sparingly fossiliferous in the lower part. 15 1/2 289
5 1/4 10 Light gray to whitish sandstone of variable thickness, from 1 inch to 6 inches. Contains molluscs. 1/2 274
4 1 1/2 9 Grayish sandy shales, partly cemented by gypsum, containing selenite. Immense numbers of Gryphaea Pitcheri (according to Hill) occur in this stratum. This is the one called the Champion shell-bed by Cragin who says the abundant fossil is Gryphaea Hilli Crag. Base of the Kiowa shales. 1 1/2 273 1/2.
3 4 8 White to yellowish sandstone 2 272
2 10 7 Dark gray sandy and argillaceous shales, in places iron-stained, containing selenite. Occasionally a friable sandstone. This layer contains the dicotyledonous leaf impressions. 10 270
1 57 6 In the main light to yellowish gray friable sandstone. In places irregularly bedded, showing fine examples of cross-bedding. On weathering often dark brown and in places light yellowish or vermilion. The writer is confident that the thickness of this portion of the Cheyenne is not much greater than 40 feet. It was measured in the "Natural Corral," described by Professor Cragin, the sides of which gave 26 feet, and then but a short distance away, to its top. This forms what Professor Cragin calls the "Corral Sandstone" named from this small canyon known as the "Natural Corral." Base of the Cheyenne sandstone, first seen on the red butte, 3 1/2 miles west of Sun City. 40 260
I
1
  5 Partly covered slope. Red Bluff sandstone of Cragin in upper part. Dog creek red shales of Cragin in lower part.1 65 220
1 300 4 Massive gypsum, the Medicine Lodge gypsum 15 155
3 Below massive gypsum, about 8 feet covered, below which is a prominent iron-stained sandstone stratum. 10 140
2 Mostly covered for 20 feet, but in the base a greenish-gray conspicuous stratum, with gypsum nodules, similar to the one seen in the Gypsum Hills, southwest of Medicine Lodge. 20 130
1 Largely covered slope to the level of river "Flower-pot shales" of Cragin. Level of Medicine Lodge river. 110 110
1 Up to the base of the Cheyenne sandstone the thickness was determined by the Aneroid barometer, and for the remainder of the section by the Locke level. The barometer gave only 65 feet from the top of the Medicine Lodge gypsum to the base of the Cheyenne on the red butte, three and one half miles west of Sun City, while on Walker creek, four miles northwest, carefully measured by tape and level, the thickness of the beds from the top of the massive gypsum to the base of the Cheyenne is 116 feet. However, the topographic map indicates only a thickness of 230 feet for the barometric section of 220 feet, consequently, I consider this difference due to unequal erosion previous to the deposition of the Cheyenne. The thickness of 65 feet between the top of the gypsum and the base of the Cheyenne agrees closely with that given by Professor St. John who reported the thickness of the intervening strata as 60 feet. The varying thickness of the beds between the gypsum and the base of the Cretaceous for this region was clearly stated by Professor St. John to be due to pre-Tertiary erosion and his comment on this particular region was as follows: "On the borders of Barber and Comanche counties, in the highlands south of the Medicine Lodge, the base of the Cretaceous occupies a still lower stratigraphical position on the Red-Beds (than In Clark Co.), occurring within 60 feet of the gypsum ledge, Indicating the removal of quite 100 feet thickness more of Red-Beds strata in this quarter prior to the deposition of Cretaceous sediments" (Fifth Biennial Report Kansas State Board Agriculture, p. 142, Topeka, 1887).

It will be seen from the above table that the total thickness of this section, which extends from the level of Medicine Lodge river at Sun City to near the top of Stokes hill five and one half miles west, is 385 feet. On the topographic sheet of the U. S. Geological Survey the difference in elevation for this section is 390 feet, which agrees very closely with the above. The section gives 220 feet for the upper Red-Beds, 52 feet for the Cheyenne sandstone and 113 for the Kiowa shales, the top of the latter formation not being reached. The first outcrop of the Comanche seen on the bluffs west of the Medicine Lodge river caps a red butte, three and one half miles west of Sun City. This outcrop is somewhat farther east than the one reported by Professor Hill as four miles west of Sun City, A little farther west in an arroyo below the Comanche are red argillaceous shales in place, and on top, yellowish very sandy shales which belong in the Cheyenne formation. This exposure gives the contact between the red shales and Cheyenne sandstone. A little farther west at the side of another arroyo is an irregular line of contact between red shales and grayish sandstone, apparently a line of unconformability between the Cheyenne sandstone and subjacent Red-Beds, At their contact there are bright red (shales belonging to the Red Bluff sandstone of Cragin, then one foot of white sandstone, and red shales again, upon which rests the Cheyenne sandstone the base of which consists of very white sand that becomes more yellowish on top, and the exposure terminates in a covering of soil in which are large numbers of pebbles especially those similar in color to the Dakota sandstone. At the head of the Lanphier draw, on the eastern side of Stokes hill, where the black Kiowa shales are well exposed there is a dip of between 1 deg. and 1 1/2 deg. S., 10 deg. W. In this draw the dip is quite marked, though its general amount is probably increased by a small fold. In the Kiowa shales exposed around the eastern side of Stokes hill are somewhat coarse layers, as indicated in the section, which contain abundant fossils. From these shales many species were collected, as was also the case in Professor Hill's work, and from his collection the following species were identified by Mr. T. W. Stanton [T. W. Stanton, American Journal Science, Vol. L, Sep. 1895, p. 218]:

  1. Gryphaea forniculata White.
  2. Corbula crassicostata Cragin.
  3. Exogyra texana Roemer.
  4. Cardium mudgei Cragin?
  5. Cardium bisolaris Cragin.
  6. Roudaria? quadrans Cragin.
  7. Mactra antiqua Cragin.
  8. Anchura Kiowana Cragin.
  9. Trochus texanus Roemer.
  10. Schlaenbachia peruviana von Buch.
  11. Avicula belvidereneis Cragin.
  12. Avicula leveretti Cragin (?)
  13. Trigonia emoryi Oonrad.
  14. Cardita belvidereneis Cragin.
  15. Cardium (Protocardia) texanum Con.
  16. Turritella, sp. cf. seriatimgranulata Roem.

About three miles south of Stokes' hill is the locality known as Hell's Half Acre, on Elk creek, in the northeastern part of Comanche County. Adjoining is a steep hill known as Black Hill, which is the locality fist visited and described by Professor Cragin in 1885. [2 F. W. Cragin, Bulletin Washburn College Laboratory Natural History, vol. I. p. 90.] The black shales so well exposed around the base of this hill, belong to the same part of the Kiowa formation as the black paper shales described by Professor Hill and the writer in the Stokes' hill section. For this part of the Kiowa Professor Cragin has proposed the name Black Hill shale, describing it as a terrane consisting "of a bed of black carbonaceous clay-shale 15 or 20 feet thick, resting upon the Comanche shell-bed." [F. W. Cragin, American Geology, vol. XVI, p. 380.] Below this hill in the region designated Hell's Half Acre are excellent exposures of the Cheyenne sandstones showing irregularities of outcrop due to differences in the erosion of the sandstones. Professor Cragin has admirably described this locality and named some of the more conspicuous sandstone columns the "Chimney rock," and the row of six small pillars the "Cheyenne Brothers." [Ibid., p. 366.]

The view of an Eroded ledge of Cheyenne sandstone—Plate XV—gives an excellent idea of the appearance of a part of the ledge of Cheyenne sandstone at this locality, near the Barber-Comanche County line, eight miles southeast of Belvidere. One of the pillars shows conspicuously near the right hand side of the picture, while the rough and jagged nature of a portion of the ledge is fairly well indicated. Down the ravine below the prominent exposure of Cheyenne sandstone, just described, is shown the contact of the Cheyenne and Red beds. In this ravine the rocks composing the upper part of the Red beds are a very bright red color and beautifully exposed. The upper part of the red shales near the contact consist of 2 1/2 feet of variegated red and yellow colors, then 3 feet of yellowish-gray argillaceous shales in texture similar to the shales below, and above these the coarse-grained sandstone of the Cheyenne. The latter is variously colored although the prevailing one is white to yellowish-white; and is very irregularly bedded, exhibiting excellent examples of cross-bedding. The Cheyenne sandstone at first consists of fine clear quartz sand in which are frequently small pebbles. It is probable that during the sedimentation of the Red-Beds in an inland sea there was a period of great quiet with steady deposition of sandstones, shales and gypsum in brackish water; then came a series of oscillations as shown by the coarse and irregular deposits of the Cheyenne, changing the inland sea of the Reds to the marine sea of the Kiowa which contains thin, even, shales and calcareous rocks with an abundant marine molluscan fauna. The section of this small ravine is as follows:

No.   Feet
4. On top coarse-grained very irregularly bedded Cheyenne sandstone.  
8. Gray to greenish-yellow argillaceous shale which in the upper part contains very fine grains of quartz sand. 3-45 1/2
2. Red and yellowish shales, transitional from the gray Cheyenne sandstone to the bright red shales of the Red-Beds. 2 1/2-42 1/2
1. Red shales and sandstones. 40-40

In a ravine to the southeast of Hell's Half Acre there is an excellent exposure of the contact between the Cheyenne sandstone and the Red-beds showing clearly a line of unconformity between these two formations, indicating a pre-Cheyenne erosion of the Red-beds. It also shows conclusively that at the top of the Red-beds there are variegated shales from 2 to 3 feet in thickness, then 3 feet of sandy light gray to yellowish shales, above which is the coarse irregularly bedded brownish-yellow sandstone of the Cheyenne. In the base of this sandstone are quartz pebbles. The Cheyenne rests on an irregularly eroded surface of the gray shale. The picture called the Contact of Cheyenne sandstone and Red-beds showing unconformability—Plate XVI—shows nicely the upper part of the Red-beds with the contact between the latter and the Cheyenne sandstone. In the picture the top of the Reds is shown by Mr. Beede's left foot, the bottom of the gray shales 3 feet in thickness by his right foot and the line of unconformability by his hand. A conspicuous place of erosion in the pre-Cheyenne rocks shows just back of Mr. Beede. This locality is an important one in any discussion concerning the age of the Cheyenne and Red-beds since it shows conclusively that at least in this ravine they are clearly separated by a line of prominent unconformability which of course indicates a physical break and therefore a time interval of considerable duration between the close of the Red-beds epoch and the deposition of the Cheyenne sandstone.

To the north of Stokes hill is Walker creek, a southern branch of Medicine Lodge river, along which are fine exposures of the upper Reds and the Cheyenne sandstone. On the southern bank, opposite Mr. Frank Abel's house, at a point two miles northwest of Stokes hill and three and one half miles southeast of Belvidere, a section of the bluff was accurately measured by means of the tape and Locke level. This place is located on the southwest corner of the northwest quarter section 26, Lake township, Kiowa County.

Section of Walker Creek Bluff.
  Feet
Cheyenne sandstone, light gray and yellowish colored partly cross-bedded. Base of Cheyenne sandstone. 37-158
Yellowish gray shale. 5-121
Red shales. 14-116
Red, soft, friable sandstone. Forms the Red Bluff sandstone of Cragin. 66-102
Red shale containing thin layers of gypsum. Dog Creek shales of Cragin. 31-36
Massive white to light colored gypsum. Medicine Lodge gypsum of Cragin. 5-5

The bed of the creek at this locality gives a good exposure of the top of the Medicine Lodge gypsum followed by 3 feet of red shales with thin layers of gypsiferous rock of greenish tint and somewhat arenaceous. The remainder of the Dog Creek shales show conspicuously in the side of the bluff with occasional thin layers of gypsum. On top of these shales is a massive bright red sandstone which forms the upper 66 feet of the perpendicular bluff on the south side of Walker creek. In the Dog Creek shales are light gray sneaks, and in the Red Bluff sandstone large. patches of light gray color, in both cases caused by deoxidation. At the top of the Red Bluff sandstone are 5 feet of yellowish-gray shale underlying the coarse yellow sands of the Cheyenne. On account of the gradual transition from the red shale into these yellowish shales, the break between the formations appearing to be at the top, they are referred to the Red Bluff sandstone. The Cheyenne is very irregularly bedded as at the localities of Stokes and Black Hill. Following down the south bank of the creek the gypsum forms a prominent ledge at an increasing elevation above creek level. Above the gypsum the greater part of the bluffs show exposures of red shales and sandstones reaching an elevation apparently higher than the base of the Cheyenne sandstones opposite Mr. Abel's. Still higher is a prominent ledge evidently the base of the Cheyenne sandstone, Indicating a dip to the southwest. The general dip is therefore apparently a number of feet per mile in a southwesterly direction. There are also small rolls shown in the bluff along the south bank of the creek. This locality is perhaps the best to be found in the Belvidere region for studying the character of the. upper Red-Beds, that portion between the Medicine Lodge gypsum and the base of the Cheyenne sandstone, inasmuch as there is a complete exposure of the rocks intervening between these two horizons.

The thickness of this portion of the Red-Beds in this locality is 116 feet. Only 37 feet of the Cheyenne sandstone was measured, but this number does not represent the entire thickness since the section does not extend to the top of the formation.

Section of the Champion Draw and Hill one half mile south of Belvidere.

Section of the Champion Draw and Hill one half mile south of Belvidere.

The above section is the one first accurately measured and described by Professor Cragin in 1889, and which reappeared the following year on page 75 of the same publication [F. W. Cragin, Bulletin, Washburn College Laboratory Natural History, Vol. II, p. 35, Topeka]. This section was carefully studied and measured with the Locke level by the writer and the result compared with Professor Cragin's in the following section. The first column gives Professor Cragin's numbers, the second the thickness as he determined it, and the third the writer's numbers.

Along the Champion draw, a short distance south of Belvidere, are fair exposures of the Red Bluff sandstone with numerous large 8pOtS of greenish-white sandstone in the midst of the red. It is very friable, crumbling readily in one's fingers. At the top of the red sandstone are yellowish shales similar to those seen in the section of "Walker creek, Stokes, and Black Hill. Near 'the base of the Cheyenne sandstone, especially in the bed of the draw are efflorescences of sulphur, salt, and other minerals. The Cheyenne sandstone is very irregularly bedded at this locality, an excellent idea of which is given by the picture of Cross-Bedding in Cheyenne sandstone, near Belvidere—Plate XVII—which is a photograph of the eastern bank of the Champion draw. The bottom of the picture represents the lower part of the Cheyenne sandstone with its layers nearly horizontal, while in the upper part of the bluff the beds are very much inclined. This portion represents the middle and upper parts of the formation.

Plate XVII—Cross-bedding in Cheyenne Sandstone, near Belvidere. (Photographed by Prosser, 1896.)

Black and white photo: Cross-bedding in Cheyenne Sandstone, near Belvidere.

No. 5 of Cragin's Belvidere section, which he has lately named the Champion shell-bed is the same stratum as No. 4 of Hill's section at Stokes' hill. This stratum weathers to a dirty iron-yellow color and contains immense numbers of Gyphaea shells with other fossils, and plenty of gypsum. In some places it is mainly a shell rock, containing little gypsum, but composed almost entirely of fossil shells. Then comes the black paper shales, above which are quite prominent layers containing immense numbers of Cyprimeria and Turritella shells, while the upper part of the hill is composed of yellowish argillaceous shales alternating with thin layers of pinkish, shaly Ostrea limestone.

The total thickness of the Cheyenne sandstone in this section is 40 feet above which are 123 feet of Kiowa shales the top of which is not shown. This indicates a thickness of over 163 feet for the Comanche series in the Belvidere section which is believed to represent nearly its maximum thickness in southern Kansas. Across a small ravine near the foot of the hill, for a distance of 30 yards) these shales show a noticeable southern dip.

One mile above Belvidere on the northern side of the river, at the point of the ridge east of Thompson's creek, is a commanding ledge of Cheyenne sandstone, known as Osage rock. The picture of the Osage Rock above Belvidere—Plate XVIII—gives very clearly the characteristic appearance of this rock which forms the end of the divide to the east of Thompson's creek. This locality has historic interest on account of being the scene of a battle between the Cheyenne and Osage Indians. The main part of the rock is 20 feet high, capped by a pillar 5 feet in hight.

Plate XVIII—Osage Rock above Belvidere, Cheyenne Sandstone. (Photographed by Prosser, 1896.)

Black and white photo: Osage Rock above Belvidere, Cheyenne Sandstone.

From Belvidere the Comanche series was followed up Spring creek to the vicinity of Mr. Roberts' house about three miles north of the station where along the sides of the creek are the upper black shales of the Kiowa, above which are the yellow and coarser Kiowa shales. Still higher, the Tertiary sandstone is shown on the west side of the creek capped by a calcareous deposit. A section on the west side of Spring creek just above Mr. Roberts' house was leveled.

Spring Creek Section.
No.   Feet
4. Near the top of the hill marl and calcareous deposit several feet in thickness.  
3. Covered slope 15-78
2. Coarse-grained pebbly sandstone ledge from 2 to 3 feet in thickness. Base of Tertiary. 2-3-63
1. Yellowish shales; near the bottom blackish shales to the level of Spring creek. Kiowa shales. 60-60

From this locality the divide between Spring and Thompson's creeks was crossed, all of which belongs to the Tertiary rocks. From the base of the Tertiary to the top of the Cheyenne sandstone on the eastern branch of Thompson's creek, the difference in altitude is 120 feet and all the rocks belong to the Kiowa shales, making their thickness approximately the same as in the hill south of Belvidere. The Gryphaea bed at the base of the Kiowa shales, on the hill north of the Medicine Lodge river at the mouth of Thompson's creek, is 60 feet above river level which indicates that some 20 feet of the Red-Beds are above river level at this locality. As near as could be determined, the top of the Red-Reds in the Medicine Lodge valley is reached near the mouth of Otter creek. On the plateau west of Thompson's creek the Tertiary marl is well shown near the top of the prairie. Twenty eight feet below the base of the marl, the interval being covered, in the head of a draw, is an excellent exposure of the pinkish shaly limestone of the upper Kiowa containing large numbers of Ostrea, and furnishing an excellent locality for collecting specimens of this shell. This locality is one and one half miles west of Thompson's creek and one and one half miles north of Medicine Lodge river. Loose on the surface, above the Kiowa shales, are brownish sandstones greatly resembling sandstones referred to the Dakota; but no stratum was found in place. Along the river valley, above this point, the upper Kiowa shales are exposed at intervals in the river bluffs to the forks of the Medicine Lodge seven miles west of Belvidere. By the side of the river a short distance below the forks is an exposure of the pinkish shaly limestone; and west of the forks in the eastern part of Reeder township is a steep point, a section of which was measured.

Section West of the Forks of the Medicine Lodge River.
No.   Feet
3. Top of hill and all the high country to the north and west covered by Tertiary. Base of ledge in place 115 feet above river level.  
2. Below Tertiary partly covered, abundance of iron-brown sandstone similar to the rock termed Dakota sandstone and probably belonging to that formation. In the lower part this sand changes into yellowish shale. Base of Dakota? 25-115
1. Ninety feet above river level are shown argillaceous and calcareous shales of the upper Kiowa containing plenty of fossils. In a small draw at this locality immense numbers of Gryphaea dilatata var. tucumcarii occur on the surface; the largest number of specimens seen anywhere in the Belvidere region. River level. 90-90

About two miles below the forks of Medicine Lodge river and on its south side is a prominent butte the sides of which near the summit are covered with large blocks of dark brown to iron-colored very quartzitic sandstone. This stratum is regarded as, being an excellent exposure of the so-called Dakota sandstone of southern Kansas, and is probably several miles east of the exposure for which Professor Cragin has proposed the name Reeder sandstone referring it with question to the Dakota formation. [American Geology, vol. XVI, p. 381.]

Section of Butte South of Medicine Lodge River.
No.   Feet
5. At the top a Tertiary cap of white rocks which cover all the high prairie to the south and west.  
4. On the east side of the butte the rock is mainly a yellowish friable sandstone containing plenty of iron concretions. In some respects this rock is similar to the Tertiary sands rather than the Dakota though the greater part of it is very similar to the ordinary exposures of Dakota sandstone. On the north side of the mound, the upper part of this division is partly covered but the lower part is a massive stratum of iron colored concretionary sandstone. 30-170
3. Light gray to yellowish sand partly consolidated. Base of Dakota-like rock 130 feet above river level. 10-140
2. Partly covered but showing argillaceous and calcareous shales. Kiowa. 25-130
1. At 105 feet above river level fossiliferous sandstone, while pinkish shaly limestones are well exposed in the side of the hill 80 feet above river level. 105-105

The Dakota-like sandstone of this butte is the thickest exposure of that rock ill the Belvidere region and also the one most closely resembling the Dakota formation of central Kansas.

On the south side of the Medicine Lodge valley the Kiowa shales are shown along the sides of the bluffs, with the Cheyenne at their base as we aproach Otter creek, near the mouth of which is the top of the Red-Beds. On the south side of the Medicine Lodge river the Comanche series extends farthest south up the Otter creek, and not far from the mouth of the creek, in a draw crossed by the railroad and a short distance north of the Blue Cut, the top of the Cheyenne sandstone is exposed together with the Champion shell-bed. This cut and the Blue Cut mound, three or more miles southwest of Belvidere, have already been mentioned as described by Professors Cragin and Hill.

Section of the Blue Cut and Mound.
No.   Feet
6. On the summit of the mound, or "nipple," loose pieces of Tertiary marl.  
5. Partly covered slope. Large blocks of brown and iron colored sandstone occur, some apparently coming from a stratum in place. 20-151
4. Thin limestone containing Gryphaea and other fossils. The slope of the mound from the base of the brownish sandstone to the top of the railroad cut is mostly covered. The section of Gould and Hill gives 48 feet. 45-131
3. At top of railroad cut is a shaly Ostrea limestone of pinkish color, No. 18 of Hill and Gould's section. Lower are yellowish shales and shaly limestones. 11-8-86
2. Dark gray to blackish shaly limestone perhaps weathering to a pinkish color. Bluish-black shale in the lower part of the railroad cut in which are three prominent bluish limestone layers containing abundant specimens of Ostrea. Base of railroad cut. 22 1/2-74 1/2
1. From the railroad cut to the top of the Cheyenne sandstone, which is exposed in a draw north of the cut, the intervening space being mostly covered, there is a barometrical difference in altitude of 52 feet. 52-52
In describing this section Professor Hill gives 20 feet of black ferruginous sandstone which is referred doubtfully to the Dakota. Thirty rods north of the line of his section he states that the "Tertiary rests directly on the Belvidere shales, the Dakota having been eroded" (American Journal Science, 3rd series, Vol. L, p. 210).

The above section, provided the thickness of the lower part is correct, gives 131 feet for the Kiowa shales, the greatest thickness noted in the Belvidere region. On the hill south of Belvidere and about three miles northeast of this locality the Kiowa shales are shown to ha ve a thickness of at least 123 feet, the top not being defined by a succeeding formation. In the Blue Cut section of Professor Hill, the thickness of the Kiowa shales is given as 102 feet; but it is thought that the lower part of the shales is thicker than is indicated on his section. [American Journal Science, 3rd series, Vol. L, p. 210.] In Professor Cragin's section the thickness of the Kiowa shales is given as ranging from 110 to 130 feet. [F. W. Cragin, Bulletin Washburn College Laboratory Natural History, Vol. II, pp. 76, 77.] The Dakota sandstone (?) on top of Blue Cut mound is very similar to the outlier seen on top of the butte south of the Medicine Lodge river. Above the highest thin limestone stratum containing large shells are apparently thin shales, then a layer of somewhat iron-colored rock varying from dark red to brownish red. Loose on this part of the hill, but disposed as though coming from a ledge in the vicinity, are large boulders of coarse-grained brownish sandstone. On the summit of the mound are similar boulders mixed with some of the Tertiary marl. Part of the sandstone boulders are covered by a white incrustation possibly from having been imbedded in the Tertiary and possibly merely a deposit from the Tertiary.

From Blue Cut Mound the Kiowa shales were traced up Otter creek to the base of the Tertiary, To the east is a high ridge covered entirely by Tertiary rocks, forming the divide between Otter and Walker creeks. Near the head of Walker creek are sandy Tertiary marls below which are yellowish shales of the upper Kiowa that contain fragments of Gryphaea shells, apparently near the dividing line between Kiowa and Tertiary, In another of the head branches of Walker creek the yellowish and pinkish shales are well shown near its head, while farther down, black shales of the lower part of the Kiowa are exposed. On the southwest branch of Walker creek Tertiary sandstone and marl are exposed near the head of the branch; just below are pink shaly limestones containing Ostrea and belonging in the upper part of the Kiowa. Down the creek the black Kiowa shales are again well exhibited, the top of the Kiowa being from 50 to 60 feet below the general level of the prairie. To the southeast of the head branches of Walker creek, is- Elk creek around the head of which the line of division between the Tertiary and Kiowa is quite well marked. The top of the shaly Ostrea limestone of the Kiowa occurs in this creek about 50 feet below the top of the prairie. The large Gryphaea, as well as numerous specimens of iron colored stone which are noticed in all these draws, occur at about the same stratigraphic position in every case. On the creek below are conspicuous outcrops of the black paper-shales which are so well exposed in the vicinity of Hell's Half Acre. Extending from the southeastern part of Kiowa County southeasterly for a number of miles into western Barber County, is a prominent ridge which forms the divide between the Medicine Lodge river and its tributaries, as the Otter, Walker, Elk, Bear, Dog, Little Bear and Cedar creeks, on the north; and Mule creek with the branches of Salt Fork on the south. Forming the northern spurs of this divide are the Stokes, Belvidere and Blue Cut hills which have been frequently mentioned. On these hills are numerous exposures of Cheyenne sandstone and Kiowa shales, which here reach their greatest thickness for the area under consideration.

From the northeastern part of Comanche County to the south, the Comanche series thins rapidly. The rocks composing the upper part of the divide and forming all of the high prairie to the west belong to the Tertiary. This Tertiary capped ridge extends well into the western part of Barber County, underlying Deer Head, and continuing some miles farther to the southeast. The Comanche series follows the eastern side of this divide from the locality at which it is so well developed near the corner of Comanche and Kiowa counties, into the western part of Eagle township, Barber County. In this township the line of outcrop forms a large loop turning again northwesterly and following the southwest slope of the divide along the northern side of Mule creek until within about three miles of Wilmore, where the Comanche passes beneath the surface, but may be followed again in an irregular line on the western bluffs of the creek. The outcrop continues ill this general southerly direction until the head waters of Indian creek are reached when it turns to a more westerly course appearing in the various branches forming the head-waters of the Nescatunga creek in the central part of Comanche County. Thence the outcrop is represented as a somewhat indefinite line a little further south, to the northeast of Avilla, running thence nearly northerly around the eastern branches of Cavalry creek, to the southwest of Coldwater, where it extends northwesterly to near the western part of Comanche County on the head-waters of Sand creek.

To the southeast of Deer Head in the western part of Barber County these formations have greatly decreased in thickness although they may be readily followed around the loop and up the northern side of Mule creek valley as well as for some distance on its western side. Beyond this locality there is in general only an occasional outcrop of the rock but loose specimens of the shells are of quite frequent occurrence in the draws, and have been taken as indicating the line of demarcation between the Tertiary and Red-Beds. It is probable that over some of this area the pre-Tertiary erosion has removed all of the Comanche and a portion of the upper part of the Red-Beds, so that the line indicated as the outcrop of the Comanche does not represent the actual position of that series. The area denominated Kiowa-Barber-Comanche may be regarded as terminating to the southwest on the upper branches of Mule creek.

The rapid thinning of the Comanche series in the northeastern part of Comanche and the western part of Barber counties to the southeast of the Stokes hill region is well shown by sections on the head-waters of several of the creeks of that region. One of these sections is the following near the Comanche-Barber county line, about a mile north of parallel 200 and about four miles east of south of Stokes hill, on the southwestern branch of Elk creek.

Section at Head of Elk Creek.
No.   Feet
4. Top of level divide mainly covered, showing Tertiary marl in places. 50-127
3. Top of Kiowa shales. A little below the Tertiary rocks plenty of Gryphaeas occur in the yellowish soil; and a little farther down the draw are large slabs of pinkish limestone and the coarse shales of yellowish color forming the upper part of the Kiowa. Near the bottom blackish shales. 34-77
2. Top of Cheyenne sandstone. Coarse sandstone in general with the characters of the Cheyenne. 43-43
1. Top of Red Bluff sandstone.  

In the above section the Cheyenne sandstone has as great a thickness as in the Belvidere region to the northwest; but the Kiowa shales have decreased from 120-130 feet to 34 feet. Perhaps this section shows a decrease in the actual thickness of the Kiowa deposits, for the coarser shales of the upper Kiowa form a considerable portion of the upper 34 feet, so that the black shales of the lower part of the Kiowa do not have a thickness corresponding to that found in the more northwesterly sections. If this be true it shows that the decrease in thickness of the Kiowa is due only in part, at least, to pre-Tertiary erosion and in part to thinning of the sediments. This decrease is shown still more strikingly in the southwest branch of Bear creek, northern part of Deer Head township, Barber County. This locality is six miles southeast of the one just described at the head of Elk creek, and three miles west of north of Deer Head post-office.

Section at Head of Bear Creek.
No.   Feet
4. Top of level prairie occasional exposures of Tertiary marl. 65
3. Loose Gryphaea shells in soil from thin shale exposed in places. Thickness indeterminate.  
2. Coarse gray sandstone of the Cheyenne 21
1. Top of Red-Beds.  

The above section shows a decided thinning of the Comanche series in a straight line six miles to the southeast. It is probable that former erosion has swept away nearly, if not quite all, of the Kiowa shales and perhaps a part of the Cheyenne, so that the Comanche series is represented by only about 21 feet. Across the divide to the southwest of this locality the Comanche series is found reduced to a thickness of perhaps 15 feet. On a hill about five miles northwest of Deer Head the Comanche shells occur in the shale between the Tertiary marl and the top of the Red-Beds. In places the Cheyenne sandstone is visible and below are the reddish sandstones of the Red Bluff division, showing now and then layers of sandstone varying from a light gray to a greenish-gray color, and shales 2 feet in thickness. There is quite a strong southerly dip. On Mule creek about one mile below the former Gallagher postoffice, near the Powell-Logan township line, is the top of the Medicine Lodge gypsum. It forms a prominent ledge along the side of the creek a short distance below the present Gallagher house. To the southeast the gypsum stratum may be readily followed as it rises higher and higher in the bluffs along the creek. In this vicinity the top of the Medicine Lodge gypsum is about 100 feet below the base of the Cheyenne sandstone. Above Gallagher's, on the north side of Mule creek one mile west of Jacob Keel's, the Cheyenne sandstone is clearly exposed. The Kiowa shales are not found in place ill this locality; but loose specimens of Gryphaea occur in the soil.

Jacob Keel Section.
No.   Feet
5. Soil one foot. 1-112 1/2
4. Yellowish to whitish sandstone. 2 1/2-111 1/2
3. Blackish to bluish fine shales. 9-109
2. Yellowish to white sandstone with a layer of yellow shale at the base. Base of Cheyenne. 20-100
1. Red-Beds, partly covered to level of Mule creek. 80-80

It will be noticed in the above section that a layer of black shale is given in the Cheyenne. Perhaps the 2 1/2 feet of yellowish sandstone might be regarded as a thickened layer of the sandstone noticed in the lower part of the Kiowa in the Stokes hill and Belvidere sections. No fossils, however, were found in the black subjacent shales either at this section or in those studied in other places, which fact has led the writer to refer this shale with the overlying sandstone to the Cheyenne formation. The Cheyenne sandstone is well exposed on the south side of Mule creek above William Powell's ranch and below the John Pyle farm at an elevation of 40 feet above the creek level. The formation is. partly covered but shows at the base white sandstone, then blackish to bluish shales with red streaks and a yellowish sandstone on top. Plenty of loose Gryphaea shells occur on the surface above the Cheyenne sandstone. This locality is 3 miles southeast of Wilmore and is the last conspicuous outcrop. of the Cheyenne seen on upper Mule creek, the higher country to the north, west and south being composed entirely of Tertiary grit and marl.

South of Mule creek and the John Pyle farm is a fairly steep bluff composed for the greater part of white sand and marls belonging to the Tertiary. At an elevation of 70 feet above creek level covered by soil is a prominent stratum of white sand above the coarser grit. Some five miles to the southeast of the above mentioned locality is the head of a small southern branch of Mule creek known as Horse gulch.

Section south of Horse Gulch.
No.   Feet
6. At top of prairie fine sand and grit changing at bottom to sandy marl. Tertiary.  
5. Covered slope. 20-250
4. Yellowish soft friable sandstone. 2-230
3. At top yellowish shales; greater part of thickness blackish shales with red streaks giving them a somewhat mottled appearance. Perhaps this thickness is too great as their measurement is somewhat difficult. 37-228
2. Light gray to whitish sandstone some of it thoroughly indurated. 29-191
1. Red sandstone and shales partly exposed along the lower part of bluff and Horse gulch to level of Mule creek. 162-162

The interesting part of the above section is a zone of blackish shale containing red streaks having a thickness of 37 feet in which somewhat careful search was made and particularly in the yellowish shales at its top for fossils. None, however, were found, and there seems no evidence, except color, for referring this zone to the Kiowa. shales. Apparently the blackish shales, 9 feet in thickness one mile west of Jacob Keel's on the northern side of Mule creek, represent the same zone. Much thinner similar blackish shales with red streaks, overlying massive Cheyenne sandstone were first noticed in the southeast draw of Elk creek,in the western part of Barber County. It is probable that following around the high divide to the north of Mule creek this band of shale continues with increasing thickness until it attains its maximum of 37 feet on the hill south of Horse Gulch. It is referred doubtfully to the Cheyenne formation though perhaps there is about as much evidence in favor of correlating it with the black paper-shales of the lower Kiowa. Two and one half miles southwest of the Horse Gulch section is the head-waters of Indian creek. A section constructed on the upper part of this creek gives a difference in elevation of 135 feet from the top of the high prairie down to the top of the sandstone belonging to the Cheyenne. Over this slope are outcrops here and there of Tertiary grit and marl. All of this thickness of 135 feet is referred doubtfully to the Tertiary.

Section at head of Indian Creek.
No.   Feet
4. Tertiary 135-160
3. Yellowish to whitish friable sandstone and shales with numerous iron concretions of different forms. Cheyenne sandstone. 15-25
2. Yellowish to whitish argillaceous shale. 2-10
1. Red sandstones belonging to Red Bluff sandstone. 8-8
  Level of Indian creek.  

In this creek no indication of the Kiowa shale was found though perhaps they may be concealed by the covered slope above the 15 feet of Cheyenne sandstone. For a considerable distance above this sandstone there are no outcrops. So that it is impossible to decide this point. The dip in this section is, as at Horse Gulch and on the north side of Mule creek, to the southeast. About nine miles to the south wonld be the locality mentioned by Professor St. John where shells and gravel occur in connection with a gypsum ledge at "a locality on Little Cave creek a few miles west of Evans-Ville". [Fifth Biennial Report Kansas State Board of Agriculture, Pt. II, p. 142.] It is evident that these shells did not come from a ledge in place but were washed from the remains of the Kiowa shales occurring some miles to the north.

Eleven miles to the southwest and about three miles northeast of Avilla, in the head of a draw east of the Goldwater-Avilla highway, are loose yellowish sandy shales similar to those of the upper Kiowa, containing small Lamellibranch shells apparently identical with those found near the top of the hill south of Belvidere. The draw contains abundant specimens of loose Gryphaea shells and quite a large number of pieces of the arenaceous shale containing the upper Kiowa fauna. Small pieces of the pinkish shaly limestone also occur. In a sandstone stratum outcropping somewhat lower in the draw, a few imperfectly preserved fossils were found by Mr. Beede. Mr. T. V. Stanton, mesozoic paleontologist of the U. S. Geological Survey, a well known authority on the Cretaceous invertebrate faunas writes as follows in reference to one of these specimens: "It contains fragmentary impressions of two or three bivalves and of a dicotyledon, none of which have been specifically identified. The shells apparently belong to the fauna that occurs in the overlying shales" [Kiowa]. The Cheyenne sandstone at this locality which is at least 20 feet in thickness, shows a layer of white sandstone, then a layer of blackish shale, above which is a yellowish-brown sandstone. The sandstone containing the fossils found by Mr. Beede is referred with hesitation to the Cheyenne. Heretofore, so far as known to the writer, fossil shells have not been found in the Cheyenne sandstone; but, as will be noticed later, a number of Lamellibranchs were obtained on the slope of Avilla hill south of Avilla. In a draw to the southeast of Avilla the top of the Red-Beds is about 100 feet below the level of the high prairie to the north. There is a marked dip to the southeast. All the high prairie between Avilla and Coldwater as well as to the north and west of the latter city is composed of Tertiary rocks.

This locality completes the discussion of the Comanche which we have referred to the Kiowa-Barber-Comanche area. From the hills to the north of Avilla the outcrop of the Comanche series or the division between the Tertiary and Red-Beds is represented as an irregular line extending in a general northwesterly direction across of the western central part of Comanche County.

Southern Comanche Area

To the south of Avilla, conspicuous in the early summer twilight of a bright Kansas day, is a prominent hill the summit of which is seven miles directly south of this town. If the atmospheric conditions are favorable it will be seen that the western slope, apparently steep and broken by ravines, is of a blackish color suggesting the not uncommon name in Comanche County, of Black Hill, by which it is generally known in the southern part of the county. As the same name has been given to two hills in the Kiowa-Barber-Comanche area, it is proposed, in order to avoid confusion to designate this one Avilla hill from the name of the township in which it occurs and of which it forms the most prominent elevation. The extreme top of the hill is 2140 feet so that it has the same altitude as the high prairie to the north of Avilla and about Coldwater. From the top of Avilla hill one sees that it is a large butte carved out of the former great plain by prominent streams on all sides. To the north is the upper part of Salt Fork (termed on the Comanche County map, Red Elk creek, and on some other maps Red Fork); to the east Mustang and other southern branches of the Salt Fork; to the northwest Cavalry creek and to the west and south the great Cimarron river. The view from the butte is a commanding one, for to the north are the bluffs of Salt Fork with the high prairie stretching far away in the distance, while in the opposite direction is the white Salt Plain of the Cimarron river bounded on the farther side by the southern bluffs of that river. If the observer happens to stand on the summit of this hill on one of those scorching midsummer days peculiar to southwestern Kansas he will see the saline incrustation of the Salt Plain and the sand dunes along the river gleaming white in the brilliant sunshine and the air below him vibrating intensely. It furnishes an experience long to be remembered and one that, possibly, the traveler would not care to have repeated very frequently.

The rise from South Fork toward the hili for about five miles is quite gradual, averaging from 130 to 160 feet, when the steep part of the hill is reached, with a rise of perhaps 150 feet in the next mile. On the western and southern sides the flanks are very precipitous for 160 feet and are greatly seamed and broken by the heads of numerous ravines. The measured section is from Salt Fork level along the road, that stands one half mile west of Avilla, to the foot of the hill and then up its steep western flank.

Section of Avilla Hill.
No.   Feet
6. Tertiary 14-266
5. Arenaceous shales alternating with pinkish Ostrea limestone. 26-252
4. Yellow fossiliferous shales. Large numbers of Gryphaea Pitcheri, Mort.—G. forniculata White. In the lower part rather coarse Cyprimeria shales alternating with blackish and yellowish shales. 90-226
3. Mainly black shales, possibly thin streaks of yellowish shales in the upper part. Base of Kiowa shales. 20-136
2. In part very hard, quartzitic sandstone and some yellowish, reddish and brownish soft sandstone containing poorly preserved Lamellibranch shells. Cheyenne sandstone. 6-116
1. Top of the Red-Beds; red shales and sandstones. Slope covered to a considerable extent. 110-110
  Level of Salt Fork.  

The above section gives a thickness of 142 feet for the Comanche series, the upper 136 feet of which belong in the Kiowa shales, while the variously colored sandstone at least 6 feet thick at the base is called Cheyenne. To be sure the Cheyenne sandstone has not heretofore been identified to the southwest of the northeastern part of Comanche County; but this sandstone has the same variety of colors, is composed of rather coarse grains of quartz sand about like those of the Cheyenne and is found in the same stratigraphic position; bright red rocks below, while immediately above are black thin shales succeeded by coarser yellow to gray shales containing abundant Kiowa fossils. The great hardness of this stratum, in places becoming almost a quartzite, might be mentioned as an evidence of dissimilarity between these two sandstones; still this change from extreme friableness to great hardness is found in other sandstones of similar texture in Kansas as, for instance, in the Dakota which, in general, in Saline and McPherson is of a friable nature, but on South Twin Hill and the ridge in Bonaville township in the northeastern part of McPherson County, the sandstone is as hard as a quartzite. The other and greater argument against non-correlation of these sandstones is the presence in the Avilla Hill sandstone of a considerable number of Lamellibranch shells. On account of the texture of the rock in which they are found, however, they are, in general, imperfectly preserved. A few of these specimens were referred to Mr. T. V. Stanton who reported as follows:

"The specimens from the quartzitic sandstone of southern Comanche County, Kansas, apparently do not include any forms that can be considered characteristic of a known horizon. The most of them I cannot venture to identify even generically, as neither the hinge nor the surface characters are preserved, One specimen has on it an Avicula that may be the same as belviderensis Cragin. Another appears to be a Cucullaea and it also is possibly identical with the Kiowa species C. terminalis var. recedens Cragin. There can be no doubt that the quartzite is Cretaceous, but that is about all that could be said if its stratigraphical position were unknown." [Letter of Mr. T. W. Stanton, Dec. 3, 1896.]

This sandstone, called the Cheyenne, is well exposed in several small ravines at the foot of the steep western side of the hill, where it varies from very hard to quite friable. The prevailing color is yellowish-brown, iron-stained to a very dark brown; but other colors are also conspicuous. Below, the Red-Beds are clearly shown upon which the Cheyenne rests. This stratum forms a conspicuous ledge on the northern slope of the hill five miles south of Avilla. At this place the sandstone is very hard, being decidedly quartzitic, of brownish color and contains numerous iron concretions. The rock contains a good many poorly preserved specimens of Lamellibranch shells, more numerous here than on the western side of the hill and it afforded the species studied by Mr. Stanton.

This outcrop is a little east of the highway one half mile east of Avilla and five miles south. The readings of the barometer made the sandstone ledge at this place about 30 feet higher than on the western side of the hill. However, there was an interval of three hours between some of the readings so that the apparent difference in altitude is perhaps due to a variation in the instrument. Time did not permit to prove or disprove the above supposition by tracing the horizon around the side of the hill.

Near the road the stratum is greatly broken, and large blocks of the quartzitic sandstone lie loose on the ground. Above this sandstone, on the northern side of the hill, the rocks are mostly covered, but near the summit, six and one half miles south of Avilla, large blocks of the Gryphaea limestone lie loose on the surface. On the western side, near the foot of the steep portion of the hill, around the heads of the numerous arroyos are good exposures of the fine argillaceous black shales resting on the Cheyenne sandstone similar to those occurring near the base of the Kiowa shales in the Kiowa-Barber-Comanche area. These grayish to yellowish shales become coarser and contain in layers abundant specimens of Cyprimeria and Turritella. In the upper part of the hill are quite thick layers of the pinkish Ostrea limestone, from which large blocks have fallen, alternating with yellowish arenaceous shales that contain a Lamellibranch fauna composed mostly of small species. There is also a thin stratum containing an abundance of Gastropods. On the surface in the upper part of the western side of the hill are great numbers of excellent specimens of Gryphaea Pitcheri Mort. as figured by Marcou on pl. IV, figs. 5a, b, and 6—G. forniculata White, of his Geology of North America. Around the escarpment of the hill are numerous large blocks of the shaly pinkish limestone of the upper Kiowa shales, which at this locality is thicker and more massive than is generally the case. Many of these rocks were drawn to Avilla and used for foundations when the town was built and large blocks may now be seen about the hamlet.

It is thought the quartzitic character of the sandstone just described, and especially the presence in it of fossils will serve to show that at this locality there is a most interesting exposure of the Cheyenne. Above it is the typical series of the Kiowa shales the lower part of which consists of black shales containing but few fossils, followed by the coarser yellowish to pinkish shales and shaly limestones containing abundant fossils. The thickness of the Kiowa is 136 feet, being nearly as great as that in any of the sections studied in southern Kansas. As far as the writer is aware, the only previous references to the occurrence of the Comanche series; on this hill are brief statements by Professors St. John and Cragin.

In St. John's notes on the Geolgy of Southwestern Kansas are apparently three references to the Cretaceous of this locality, though they are very meagre. In one place it is simply stated that "In the high lands east of the Cimarron, in the southwest portion of Comanche County, the lower strata of the formation [Cretaceous] appear at about 90 feet above the gypsum ledge [Medicine Lodge gypsum (?)]." [Fifth Biennial Report Kansas State Board of Agriculture, 1887, p. 142, On the following page is a mention of the Dakota, as St. John called the Comanche, "in the Black Hills, in southwest Comanche."] Later, in describing the pre-Tertiary erosion, St. John wrote that "Judging from data at present accessible, it would appear that the present region marks the limits of the northern extension of this peculiar southern fauna of the Cretaceous; and these occurrences are of much interest in connection with the physio-biological history of the period. These upper deposits have been excessively eroded in this eastern belt, occurring in the highland ridges and in isolated remnants like that in the Black Hills between Salt Fork and the Cimarron, on the southern border of Comanche County. Upon the uneven surface thus formed, Tertiary deposits were laid down, which extend east into Barber and Pratt counties." [Ibid., p. 144.]

Professor Cragin referred to the presence of Kiowa shells on this hill as follows: "The black hill south of Avilla which I have crossed, I have never found time to examine; but I have casually observed Gryphaea Pitcheri; Ostrea Franklini, Cyprimeria crassa, etc., as among its fossils. The wide separation of this hill from other outcrops, and the numerous loose specimens of Gryphaea scattered about to the west and to the northwest of Avilla, taken in connection with the outcrops on Elk and Mule creeks, testify to the former existence of the Neocomian series over the entire county, and to its subsequent extensive erosion." [F. W. Cragin, Bulletin Washburn College Laboratory Natural History, vol. II, 190, p. 80.]

The above Comanche area is about 32 miles northeast of the one mentioned by Professor Cope on the divide between the Cimarron river and Beaver creek, five miles northwest of Camp Supply, which is described as "of limited extent, being cut off to the north by the drainage of the Cimarron river, and to the south by the drainage of the North Fork of the Canadian. Its horizontal extent cannot exceed. fifty square miles." [E. D. Cope, Proceedings Academy Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, 1894, Pt. I. p. 65.]

The section as described may be tabulated as follows:

No.   Feet
4. Yellowish impure limestones containing fossils. 24
3. Coarse yellowish sand in places, with horizontal red streaks. 6
2. Marls, black above, whitish in the middle, and buff below, with no fossils. 24 (?)
1. Red-Beds.  

The age of the marine Cretaceous beds of the above section, is said by Prof. Brown to correspond "with the Comanche Peak terrane of the Texas geologists." [Loc. cit.]

From collections made at this locality, Prof. Brown identified the following invertebrate species:

Exogyra texana.
Gryphaea pitcherii.
Ostrea subovata.
Ostrea (?) crenulimargo.
Ostrea sp.
Cucullaea terminalis.
Neithea occidentalis.
Plicatula incongrua.
Trigonia sp.
Trigonia emoryi.
Turritella seriatim qranulata.
Schlaenbachia peruviana.

And Professor Cope identified the following vertebrates:

Lamna 2 sps.
Lepidotid scale.
Uranoplosus arctatus.
Uranoplosus flectidens.
Caelodus brownii.
Plesiosaurus vertebrae, crocodile fragments, and fragments of a tortoise.
[Loc., cit.; and see Journal Academy Natural Science, Philadelphia, 2d series, vol. IX, Pt. 4, 1895, pp. 445-447 for descriptions of the fishes in the above list.]

Professor Hill has discussed the fossil remains from the Camp Supply beds and considers that "The vertebrata from these beds strikingly resemble those described by Williston and Cragin from the Belvidere beds of Kansas with the exeception of two species of Pycnodont fishes belonging to the genera Uranoplosus and Coelodus, for which this is a new horizon"; while the invertebrate fossils served as a basis for correlating them with the typical Texan formations and Professor Hill further says: "From the Molluscan species it will be seen that these beds paleontologically more resemble the Washita division than the Fredericksburg. Furthermore they show the same general association of Molluscan species as do the Belvidere shales, and like them differ from the beds of the Central Texas region by containing vertebrates. That they arc a southern extension of the Belvidere beds there can be no reasonable doubt." [American Journal Science, 3d series, vol. L, p. 228.]

Another area containing the same invertebrate fossils was described by Professor Cope, at a point about twelve miles south of Fort Supply and south of the North Fork of the Canadian. [E. D. Cope, Proceedings Academy Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, Pt. I, 1894, pp. 65, 66.]

Much farther to the southeast on the southern side of the Canadian river, in county G of Oklahoma territory according to Professor Hill, is the Comet creek area of Cretaceous discovered by Prof. Jules Marcou who briefly described it as "the remains of beds of a limestone filled with shells, which I connect with the Neocomian of Europe; or in other words, with the Lower Division of the Cretaceous rocks." [Geology of North America, Zurich, 1858, p. 17.] In reference to this remnant of the Cretaceous, Professor Hill concluded that "Inasmuch as these beds lie in the Kansas province, i. e., the region north of the Ouachita system of mountains, and is completely cut off from the Texas region by them, it is reasonable to infer, until the localities can be visited, that the Comet creek bed is a part of the same general formation as those near by at Camp Supply and Belvidere." [American Journal Science, 3d series, vol. L, p. 229.]

Finally, the thorough survey that Professor Hill is now making of the Territory under the auspices of the U. S. Geological Survey will undoubtedly furnish complete information in reference to the geology of this interesting region. As a part of that work, the boundaries of the Kansas formations are being traced from the Kansas border to Texas.

Clark County Area

In following northwesterly from Avilla to the western part of Comanche County there are but few outcrops of the Comanche series. In general the Tertiary appears to rest directly upon the Red-Beds. On the upland about three miles northwest of Avilla old cellars and wells show yellowish to grayish shale on top of the bright red rocks. For some distance in this region the country is comparatively level only an occasional outcrop showing around the heads of the small branches of Cavalry creek. Near the head of one of these branches, about five miles south of Coldwater and two miles west, and 70 feet by the barometer above the hamlet of Avilla is a thin ledge, at least 3 or 4 feet thick of the Kiowa shales. The rock consists of shaly limestone of the upper Kiowa containing plenty of specimens of Cyprimeria and Ostrea.

In a draw two miles southwest of Coldwater the Kiowa shales were not observed, though it seems to be very near the line of division between the Red-Beds and Tertiary. The Tertiary grit is well exposed in the cliff above the draw and there is plenty of loose sandy marl in the side of the bluff. This outcrop is undoubtedly above the Red-Beds, though a streak of reddish soil shows very clearly near the foot of the bluff. Apparently at the base is a deposit of Tertiary sand in which pebbles occur; so that it seems to be clearly enough above the horizon of the Red-Beds. In the sand are layers of white chalky marl similar to the characteristic marls of the Tertiary. On the road directly west from Coldwater toward Sand creek no exposures of the Comanche were found though places near the line of contact between the Tertiary and Red-Beds were examined. In the northeastern part of Protection township seven or eight miles west of Coldwater the bluffs to the east of Rand creek are composed of red rocks belonging to the Red Bluff formation of Cragin. [Note: This creek is termed Sand creek on the Coldwater sheet of the U. S. Geological Survey. On the county map of Comanche County Sand creek is given as one of the head branches of this creek in the northwestern part of Coldwater township. I am in doubt whether this name is intended to apply to the main portion of the creek since that is generally known by the residents of that part of Comanche County as Kiowa creek; and the branches in Irwin township as East, Middle and West Kiowa creeks respectively. A Bluff creek tributary just west of here is popularly known as Sand creek. A name applied to dozens of little streams in western Kansas.] The thickness of this sub-formation increases quite rapidly in passing from the southern part of Comanche County to its western border. In this bluff are loose pieces of pinkish, shaly, limestone containing Ostrea; and also sandy, yellowish, shales of the upper Kiowa. The top of this bluff is 95 feet above the level of Sand creek (or Kiowa creek) to the west. Judging from the hills one half mile east of this place, the Red-Beds extend somewhat higher and the loose Kiowa shales are below the horizon of the Comanche. On the western side of Sand creek are exposures, of some thickness, of the black shale belonging to the Kiowa. This locality may be regarded as forming the eastern end of the Clark County area of the Comanche series. On the flanks of the hills to the northwest of Sand creek, on section 21, Irwin township, 110 feet above creek level are thin black shales exactly similar to those of the lower Kiowa in the southeastern part of Kiowa County. Some of this shale weathers to a bluish and gray tint and a little of it to a brownish yellow. Near the base of the shale as exposed in a small draw is a 2 or 3 foot layer of soft yellowish sandstone containing fossils, as Cyprimeda and other species. At this place the top of the Red-Beds is not shown, the lower slope of the hill being covered by soil; neither is the line of contact between the Kiowa and Tertiary shown, this portion also being similary covered. Between 25 and 30 feet, however, of the yellowish and black shales were measured at this point. On the county map of Comanche County an elliptical area in the western part of Irwin township is marked "Coal Cropping." After an examination of this township it is evident enough that the Kiowa black shales suggested the idea of coal beds to the early settlers. In a similar manner coal was also inferred to occur in Powell township on the headwaters of Big Mule creek in the northeastern part of the county. In the eastern part of the latter area, black shales of the Kiowa outcrop in the creeks and draws. From the western part of Irwin township the Kiowa shales were followed westerly along the hills some distance to the north of Bluff creek, and were found to have a constantly increasing thickness. The top of the Red-Beds on section 21 of Irwin township is at least 40 feet higher than at their occurrence on the branch of Cavalry creek five miles southwest of Coldwater.

The high prairie around the head-waters of Kiowa and Sand creeks, using the local names, is composed of Tertiary rocks, outcrops of which are shown frequently in the small branches and draws forming the heads of these creeks. About three miles west of the outcrop on section 21 of Irwin township is a section along a small branch of Cavalry creek and one half mile east of it showing the entire Comanche series.

Section one half mile east of Cavalry.
No.   Feet
4. Upper portion partly covered, but showing occasional outcrops of calcareous marls of the Tertiary. Base of Tertiary about 50 feet below the level of the prairie. 50-92
3. Yellowish argillaceous to calcareous shales and pinkish shaly limestone containing Ostrea. In the yellowish soil evidently formed in part by the decomposition of these yellow shales are abundant specimens of loose Gryphaea shells. Lower part black, yellow, and drab shales in which no fossils were noticed. 30-42
2. The lower part of the section shows soft, friable sandstone which in lithological characters closely resembles the Cheyenne sandstone as exposed in Kiowa and Comanche counties. At the base of this sandstone a thin layer of black shale. Thickness 10 to 12 feet. Base of Cheyenne (?) 10-12–12
1. Top of Red-Beds.  

Perhaps this sandstone is the representative of the thin sandstone noticed along Mule creek above a bed of blackish shale containing red streaks. If this be true, then in this locality the sandstone has increased considerably in thickness, while the shales below are much thinner, being represented by a very small thickness in this outcrop. To the west of Cavalry creek the Kiowa shales are exposed on the bluffs along Lone Tree, Granger and Fish creeks or their branches from three to four miles north of Bluff creek. On Lone Tree and East Granger creeks the slopes are more or less covered so that the exact thickness of Kiowa shales was not determined. On Fish creek, however, their approximate thickness was determined.

Section on Fish Creek.
No.   Feet
3. Top of high prairie. Covered slope showing ledges of Tertiary rocks. 50-105
2. Yellowish shales changing to blacker shales at the base. Kiowa. 40-55
1. Red rocks extending to level of creek at this locality. 15-15

Along the creek east of Messing's ranch the Red-Beds show conspicuously along the bank and up its slope for quite a distance. [Note: The Messing ranch is a well known locality in the Bluff creek valley near the southern end of the Bluff creek canyon. It is about eleven miles north and one and one half miles east of the city of Ashland and in the northern central part of Clark County, or more precisely section 17, township 31 S., range 22 W.] Higher are conspicuous ledges of Tertiary rock, the Kiowa being more or less concealed by soil. Between Fish creek and the one east of Messing's ranch, about three fourths of a mile northeast of Bluff creek, is a prominent butte the top of which is composed of Kiowa shales. This butte has been separated by erosion from the Kiowa outcrops a mile or more to the north, which follow the main line of bluffs bounding the northern part of the Bluff creek valley. On the south side of Bluff creek, nearly opposite Messing's house, are steep bluffs with numerous projecting points and buttes along the prominent ledge of the escarpment. At this locality a section was measured from the level of Bluff creek to the general level of the divide to the south. Messing's Bluff is suggested as an appropriate name for the conspicuous bluff on the southern side of Bluff creek at this locality.

Section of Messing's Bluff.
No.   Feet
6. Base of Tertiary near top of bluff.  
5. Mainly yellowish sandy argillaceous shales. 53-226
4. Mainly black shales of the lower part of the Kiowa. 53-173.
3. Red rocks consisting of arenaceous shales and friable sandstones. This is the division called the Hackberry shales by Professor Cragin, the name being derived from the exposures along Hackberry creek about 2 miles west of this locality. 20-122
2. Massive magnesian limestone or dolomite varying somewhat in thickness, of drab to whitish color, in places containing flint. This stratum is the one termed the "Day Creek Dolomite" by Professor Cragin, being named from outcrop near the head of Day creek in the south central part of Clark County six or seven miles southeast of this locality. 2-102
1. Partly covered slope showing frequently layers of bright red sandstone belonging to the Bluff creek division of Cragin. Level of Bluff creek. 100-100
F. W. Cragin, Colorado College Studies, Vol. VI, p. 44, 46.

Along the bluff on the north side of the creek just above Messing's house, the Day creek dolomite forms a conspicuous stratum at the top of the bluff with its base 85 feet above creek level. Between one and two miles north of west of Messing's the canyon of Bluff creek begins. From this locality for a distance of 7 or 8 miles to the west of north the creek flows generally between high walls. In many places, for a considerable distance, these walls are nearly perpendicular for from 100 to 200 feet. In the lower part of the canyon the walls of the bluff are composed of bright red shales and sandstones broken by a white stratum of Day creek dolomite. Frequently these bluffs of red sandstones and shales show from a number of rods to a mile or more in length with a hight of from 5(1 to 100 feet giving a most excellent idea of the general character of the rocks forming the upper portion of the Red-Beds, or Kiger formation. About 3 miles above Messing's on the west side of the creek is a conspicuous ledge of the Kiger formation, above which is a stratum 10 feet or more in thickness composed of gray soft sandstone; and above this is a layer containing immense numbers of small Gryphaeas. Following this are blackish shales 5 feet in thickness above which is another calcareous layer containing numerous specimens of fossils belonging to a number of species. The Gryphaea bed of limestone is very similar in appearance to the Champion shell-bed near Belvidere. If this limestone represents the Champion shell-bed it would seem to follow that the subjacent sandstone is a representative of the Cheyenne sandstone. In this region Professor Cragin also remarked the similarity of this limestone to that of No. 5 of his Belvidere section [F. W. Cragin, Bulletin Washburn College Laboratory Natural History, Vol. II, p. 79, Topeka] (which he termed later the Champion shell-bed) and he also noted another similar stratum from 50 to 75 feet higher. The gray sandstone and first fossiliferous stratum show occasional blotches of red. Along this bluff there is not as sharp a line of separation between the top of the Red-Beds and the Comanche as is generally seen in the Kiowa-Barber-Comanche area. The Red-Beds extend along the valley of Bluff creek to near the base of that part of the canyon known as the "amphitheatre" which is five or six miles above Messing's house and on section 17 township 31 S. range 22 W. The top of the Red Beds shows in the creek bed just below the prominent point forming the lower end of the Amphitheatre. This locality is the one called the Bluff creek section by Professor Cragin. The lower end of the Amphitheatre bluff on the eastern side of the creek, was carefully measured by Locke level and forms the most accurate section of the Comanche series for Bluff creek.

Amphitheatre Section of Bluff Creek.
No.   Feet
6. Near the general level of the high prairie, pinkish colored deposit of marl, slope of which is partly covered. This represents the Lake marl slope or No. 1 of Professor Cragin's section. 35-228
5. Calcareous sand or grit containing remains of vertebrate animals. The division termed the Loup Fork grit, or No. 2 of Professor Cragin. 53-193
4. Yellowish sandy shale with thin layers of pinkish shaly limestone forming upper part of this division. Blackish shales with thickness of several feet. From 1 to 1-~ feet of arenaceous rock containing large numbers of Gryphaeas. Thickness 55 feet. No. 3 of Cragin's section. 55-140
3. Yellowish soft and friable sandstone which forms a conspicuous stratum near the middle of the steeper part of the bluff. No. 4 of Cragin's section lithologic characters of which are compared to those of the Cheyenne sandstones. 10-85
2. Mainly blackish shales with thin layers of yellowish to whitish rock. Fossils infrequent. 75-75
1. Bottom of section-level of Bluff creek, Red-Beds occurring a short distance down stream.  
[For Professor Cragin's section see Bulletin Washburn College Laboratory Natural History, vol. 2, p. 79. Topeka.]

This section gives a thickness of 140 feet for the Comanche series all of which it is perhaps safe to refer to the Kiowa shales. The lower 75 feet of shales are nearly unfossiliferous and represent a greater thickness than is the case with the black "paper shales" of Kiowa County. Perhaps these might be referred to the black shales seen in the bluffs of Big Mule creek which were also capped by thin sandstone. In this event the sandstone forming No. 2 in the above section would probably represent that sandstone. The similarity of this sandstone to the Cheyenne has already been mentioned by Professor Cragin, and if this supposition be correct perhaps the lower 85 feet of the amphitheatre section could be referred as well to the time interval denominated the Cheyenne; while the fossiliferous superjacent rocks would represent the Kiowa. The writer, however, considers the entire section of 140 feet as belonging to the Kiowa formation, regarding the Cheyenne as wanting. From the top of the Kiowa shales to the general level of the prairie is from 80 to 100 feet with occasional exposures of Tertiary rocks. A general idea of this bluff may be gained from Plate XIX which gives a view At the Entrance to the "Amphitheatre" on Bluff creek in which the black shales of No.1 are partly concealed by foliage, above which is a conspicuous stratum representing the sandstone of No. 2; then to the vicinity of the summit of the bluff, we have the upper Kiowa shales capped near its shoulder by the Tertiary rocks. Plate XX, the Eastern side of the "Amphitheatre," gives a view of the middle part of the eastern wall of the Amphitheatre some distance above the former picture. The black shales form the lower part of the wall, then comes the sandstone stratum with the coarser Kiowa above, upon which rests the Tertiary. The light colored cliffs above the upper line of trees in the highest part of the picture belong in the upper division of the Tertiary.

Plate XIX—Cliff at the entrance of the "amphitheater" on Bluff Creek, fifteen miles north of Ashland, Clark County. (Photographed by Prosser, 1896.)

Black and white photo: Cliff at the entrance of the amphitheater on Bluff Creek, fifteen miles north of Ashland, Clark County.

Plate XX—Eastern side of the "amphitheater." (Photographed by Prosser, 1896.)

Black and white photo: Eastern side of the amphitheater.

Three miles above the Amphitheatre and near the old Vauheim post office the course of Bluff creek turns westerly. This point is near the termination of the narrow valley which has been termed the canyon of Bluff creek. Along the bluffs above the Amphitheatre the Kiowa shales are well shown until near Vauheim. Their upper limit passes below creek level somewhat west of this locality on Section 14, Township 30 S., Range 23 W. On the map the Kiowa shales are shown as a blue rock extending northerly along the narrow valley of Bluff creek, to the northern part of the (county to within about two miles of the Clark-Ford county line.

Near the lower end of Bluff creek canyon, Hackberry creek enters from the west, The sides of this creek are very steep and its narrow valley thus forms a lateral canyon to the west of the main one. On the south side of this creek, between two and three miles south-west of Messing's house the thickness of the Kiowa shales was measured. At the bottom of the section and considerably higher than creek level is a yellowish to whitish sandstone which is supposed to represent the same sandstone that occurs in the Big basin near the western edge of Clark County and to which Professor Cragin gave the name of Big basin sandstone. [Colorado College Studies, vol. VI, p. 46.]

Section of Hill South of Hackberry Creek.
No.   Feet
4. Upper part Tertiary grit.  
3. Yellowish shales with some arenaceous layers. At the base is a sandstone the thickness of which was not determined. This sandstone seems to occur near the same horizon as the one in the Amphitheatre section (No. 2 of that section). Thickness 55 feet. 55-135
2. Yellowish shales in the upper part changing to mainly blackish in the lower part. Thickness 80 feet. 80-80
1. Top of sandstone which is thought to represent the Big basin sandstone of Cragin. Thickness of section below this point not measured.  

A comparison of the three sections in the canyon region of Bluff creek indicates some variation in the thickness of the Kiowa shales. In the Amphitheatre section they have a thickness of fully 140 feet. In the one south of Hackberry creek, about five miles south of the Amphitheatre, the thickness of the same formation is approximately the same or 135 feet; while in the section of Messing's Bluff, about three miles east of the Hackberry section its thickness is only 106 feet. In the latter section the top of the Red-Beds was clearly shown as also the base of the Tertiary, consequently there cannot be any considerable error in measurement. At the head of one of the southern branches of Hackberry creek toward its upper end is an interesting exposure of iron brown coarse sandstone similar to that which has generally been referred to the Dakota. This is one of the three prominent exposures of this sandstone seen in the rugged region of the northwestern central part of Clark County.

In this vicinity decided breaks have been formed by the erosion from the general level of the high divide to the north, which separates the Arkansas river valley on the north from the tributaries of the Cimarron on the south. The bluffs thus formed are conspicuously shown near the headwaters of Hackberry, East and West Bear and Little Sandy creeks. Near the top of these bluffs at the heads of Hackberry, West Branch Bear creek, and Little Sandy, are the three outcrops of the so-called Dakota sandstone. The one on Hackberry creek is about three miles southeast of the hamlet of Letitia on Section 21, Township 31 S., Range 23 W. At the head of the creek, from 20 to 25 feet of the brownish to iron colored sandstone is shown resting on the Kiowa shales. These shales in the upper part are very arenaceous and iron stained; but they contain Gryphaeas and other fossils of the upper Kiowa. The top of the Kiowa shale is about 60 feet below the general level of the prairie in this vicinity. The prairie near the head] of this creek is somewhat lower than the prairie near Letitia, the latter being 2540 feet above sea level. The high divide capped by Tertiary rocks, separating Hackberry and Bluff creeks on the north from Day, Bear and Sandy creeks on the south, extends from near the head of Hackberry creek in a southeasterly direction for a distance of fifteen miles. The elevation of this divide varies from perhaps more than 2500 feet A. T. near the head of Hackberry creek to 2300 in a Tertiary capped butte near the southeastern extremity of the divide. About six miles southeast of Messing's house is a prominent point on the ridge just described known as Mount Jesus, which is on Section 11, Township 32 8., Range 22 W, In the depression between the above mentioned butte and Mt. Jesus the Tertiary rock has been removed by erosion, the highest part of the ridge at present showing only rocks belonging to the Kiowa. In a creek heading in the northeastern slope of this mountain, the Day Creek dolomite forms a conspicuous stratum at au elevation of 131 feet above the level of Bluff creek. In the immediate vicinity there is evidence that the Kiowa was deposited upon an irregular sea bottom. At only a short distance from the locality where the Day Creek dolomite is so well exposed, there is an exposure of the Kiowa resting upon the Red Beds; but at places both the Hackberry shales and Day Creek dolomite are eroded so that the Kiowa shales rest upon the upper part of the Red Bluff sandstone at a position which is of course below the horizon of the Day Creek dolomite. Professor St. John in his early exploration of southwest Kansas also mentioned the uneven bed upon which the Cretaceous formation was deposited, his description of this region being as follows:

"The formation [Red-Beds] was also subjected to extensive denudation, as evidenced in the apparent uneven surface upon which the more recent Cretaceous formation was deposited, and in places it has received even late Tertiary deposits. In the region of Bluff creek, the base of the Cretaceous deposits varies in level more than 100 fed. On Sand creek, three miles northeast of Lexington, the latter formation appears at a level nearly 120 feet lower than its base on Cat creek, seven miles to the west. In the south slope of Mt. Lookout, south of Bluff creek, the Cretaceous deposits are very nearly level with the exposures on Cat creek, and they occur within 50 feet of the upper limestone of the Red-Bed series." [Fifth Biennial Report Kansas State Board of Agriculture, Pt. II, p. 142.]

At the base of the Kiowa shales in this vicinity is a yellowish sandy layer from 3 to 4 feet in thickness. Above are black shales which are well exposed for some distance. Higher the upper part of the Kiowa is largely covered so that its top was not determined with accuracy. Apparently the Kiowa shales have a thickness of at least 60 feet in the northern slope of Mt. Jesus. The Tertiary above dips toward the northeast and rests upon the top of the Kiowa at a lower elevation than at the almost vertical exposure in the south side of the mountain. I am inclined to think that the superjacent Tertiary on the northern slope of the mountain has fallen to some extent on account of the later erosion of the Kiowa shales and so conceals the upper portion of the latter formation. On the south side of the mountain is an excellent exposure of the Tertiary and the Kiowa shales reaching to the upper part of the Red-Beds.

Section on South Side of Mt. Jesus.
(U. S. Signal Station 2300 A. T.)
No.   Feet
4. Upper part of cap composed of Tertiary marls; lower portion Tertiary sands and grit—total 80 feet; Tertiary. 80-173
3. Yellowish and pinkish shales changing to blackish shales in the lower part. Kiowa. 85-93
2. Red shales belonging to the Hackberry shales of Cragin—8 feet. 8-8
1. Day Creek dolomite.  

The top of Mt. Jesus is eight miles northeast of Ashland. The Kiowa shales follow the ridge forming the divide between Bluff creek on the north and the tributaries of the Cimarron on the south to a point four miles southeast of Mt. Jesus when the outcrop turns and extends in an irregular line westerly, forming the southern slope of the mountain with its top 80 feet below the summit. Mt. Jesus is a conspicuous land mark in the eastern central part of Clark County. From its summit may be seen to the south the great valley of the Cimarron, the river itself being fourteen miles south. The ridges and lower bluffs along the sides of the creeks of this valley are composed of the rocks of the Cimarron series or Red-Beds as may be seen for a long distance from Mt. Jesus. Along the immediate valley of the river, as seen from the mountain, are low rounded hills, appearing white in the bright sunlight of a midsummer Kansas day, which are composed of sand washed by the river from the Tertiary rocks to the west and northwest forming the sand planes and dunes along the river valley. To the southwest of the mountain are the smaller valleys of East and West Bear creeks and near their junction the city of Ashland which is distinctly visible from the mountain's summit. Along the south side of the divide from Mt. Jesus westward are very conspicuous cliffs of Tertiary rocks. Some miles to the south of these, the cliffs appear as a high range of bluffs, like a mountain escarpment, of almost snowy whiteness. This is especially noticeable in the steep cliffs forming the edge of the divide between five and six miles directly north of Ashland. An idea of this appearance from a close view may be obtained from Plate XXI, which represents a part of the Tertiary cliffs north of Ashland, in which a heavy stratum of Tertiary marl is conspicuous. To the south and southwest of Mt. Jesus are the head-waters of Day creek about which are exposed the dolomite to which Professor Cragin has given the name of Day Creek dolomite. This rock forms a rather conspicuous stratum extending around the lower bluffs south of the Tertiary escarpment already described. This limestone was also noticed by Professor St. John who described it as a "gray, cherty, sometimes gypsiferous limestone, 2 to 5 feet thick," which he mentioned as occurring toward the top of the Red-Beds, forming a marked stratigraphic feature in the slopes descending from the highlands which rise to the north nearly 200 feet above this limestone. [1 Fifth Biennial Report Kansas State Board of Agriculture, Pt. II, pp. 141, 142.]

Plate XXI—Tertiary cliffs north of Ashland. (photographed by Prosser, 1896.)

Black and white photo: Tertiary cliffs north of Ashland.

On the ridge four miles northeast of Ashland the Day Creek dolomite is conspicuously shown while to the west of Ashland, five miles southwest of the above locality, it was also found at an elevation 30 feet higher according to the barometer. This gives a dip of approximately 6 feet per mile to the north of east. On the slope of Mt. Jesus and at various other localities along this divide a marked dip toward the south and southeast was noticed. This accords fairly well with the direction of the prevailing dip as determined by Professor Cragin in northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas, which he stated to be a little east of south. [F. W. Cragin, Colorado College Studies, Vol. 6, p, 31.] In Professor St. John's exploration, the southerly dip was noted, for he says: "In the vicinity of Mt. Lookout, north of Ashland, the limestone horizon (Day Creek dolomite] appears at a level 25 feet lower on the south side than it holds in the bluffs on Bluff creek." However the Professor gives the general direction of the dip for the Red-Beds of this region as southwesterly. [Fifth Biennial Report Kansas State Board of Agriculture, Pt. II, p. 142.] Between five and six miles north of Ashland are steep Tertiary cliffs which mark the line of division between the high and comparatively smooth prairie to the north and the broken country to the south forming the upper part of the valley of the Cimarron river. A stratum of the Loup Fork Tertiary in this region is massive, from 6 to 10 feet in thickness forming a sharp line around the upper part of the bluffs. A good idea of this stratum with the weathered, softer Tertiary grit below and above may be gained from Plate XXI, the photograph for which was taken directly north of the city of Ashland. The cliffs for a number of miles are very conspicuous from the city of Ashland and from points even farther south. Five miles north of the eastern line of Ashland, on sections 18 and 19, township 32 S., range 22 W., is a good exposure of the Loup Fork Tertiary and Kiowa shales with a sandstone at the base.

Section five miles north of Ashland.
No.   Feet
4. Calcareous grit belonging to the Loup Fork Tertiary, 40 feet. 40-310
3. Shales partly covered, blackish at the bottom belonging to the Kiowa. 60-270
2. Yellowish to grayish sandstone with reddish streaks-probably represents the Big Basin sandstone of Cragin, which is considered by the writer as belonging to the Cheyenne. Thickness not measured. 210-210
1. Red-Beds, composed of red shales and sandstones to level of Bear creek at Ashland. From the top of the Big Basin sandstone to the level of Bear creek, just east of Ashland, is 210 feet.  

The sandstone noted above, with yellowish and grayish color also shows streaks of other colors as reddish, brown, etc., and thus in its lithological character closely resembles the Cheyenne sandstone while it also occurs at a similar stratigraphic position, between the Red-Beds and the base of the Kiowa. About three miles northwest of the locality just described, on the divide between the east and west forks of the East Branch of Bear creek the Comanche series was again measured. This locality is on section 3, township 32 S., range 23 W., and eight miles northwest of the city of Ashland.

Section between the Forks of the East Branch of Bear creek.
No.   Feet
6. Calcareous grit belonging to the Tertiary. From the top of the high prairie on the divide, to the base of the Tertiary 105 feet. 105-424
5. Yellowish sandy shales which are fossiliferous and change into blackish shales in the lower part. 32 feet. 32-319
4. Sandstone and yellow arenaceous shales forming a conspicuous division of this formation and here similar in lithological appearance to the one described in the Amphitheatre section on Bluff creek; but occurring in the present section 25 feet higher in the formation. 5 feet. 5-287
3. Mainly yellowish shales-in places somewhat arenaceous. 60 feet. 60-282
2. Thin sandstone stratum. Yellowish sandy shales which in the lower part are black fine argillaceous shales containing abundant crystals of selenite some of which are the twinned form. 42 feet—base of Kiowa. 42-222
1. Top of Red-Beds. Red shales and sandstones for 180 feet to the creek level at forks of East Branch Bear creek. 180-180

One of the most interesting places to study, in the central part of Clark County is a canyon near the upper part of the West Branch Bear creek. Near the northwest fork of the creek is a narrow canyon with steep rocky sides, composed entirely of coarse brownish sandstones and arenaceous shales belong to the Dakota (?). The canyon is about fourteen miles northwest of Ashland, probably on section 36, township 31 S., range 23 W. In this region the high prairie at the heads of the creeks is composed of the calcareous grit of the Loup Fork Tertiary, apparently very much thinner than at the head of the streams somewhat farther east. Near the head of the northwest fork of the West Branch Bear creek, the locality just named, there is an excellent exposure of the contact line between the Tertiary and the Dakota brown sandstone. From this point the sides of the small canyon down to the main creek are mostly rocky showing plenty of exposures of brownish and: brownish-yellow sandstones with yellowish-brown to iron colored coarse sandy shales aggregating a thickness of about 75 feet. The lithologic appearance of the rock in this canyon as well as the general appearance of the rocks forming its sides and also the upper walls of the main creek suggest very forcibly the similar appearance in the ravines in the area of the Dakota sandstones of central Kansas. This is the thickest exposure of Dakota seen by the writer south of the Arkansas river. From general appearance probably no one would hesitate seriously to correlate these sandstones. with the Dakota of central Kansas. No fossils were found, but Professor Cragin has reported "meagre fragments of dicotyledonous leaves" from No. 2 of this section along upper West Bear creek which he called Dakota sandstone. [F. W. Cragin, Bulletin Washburn College Laboratory Natural History, vol. II, p. 77. Topeka.]

Where the northwest fork joins the West Branch Bear creek, the upper part of the eastern bluff is composed of the coarse sandstones and shales, just described as Dakota, which apparently rest unconformably on bluish shales of the Kiowa below. In the upper part of the Kiowa of this cliff are thin layers of yellowish shales somewhat similar to those in the superjacent Dakota sandstone, but running at a. different angle from the layers of the latter so as to suggest the idea of unconformability. At the base of the cliff, however, the layers of the Kiowa shales are nearly horizontal, so that perhaps the oblique structure of the yellowish arenaceous shales, alternating with clay shales, may be explained as due to crossbedding. The upper part of these shales contains' numerous clay-ironstone concretions which in places are so numerous that they form almost a distinct stratum. In the lower part, of the cliff fragments of Gryphaea pitcheri and a few other Kiowa species were found. In this bluff about 30 feet of the Kiowa shales are exposed. A little farther down the creek are coarser layers, in the upper Kiowa, of greenish-gray sandstone which contain Cyprimeria, Gryphaea and quite a large number of small Lamellibranch shells. The Dakota sandstone from the junction of the two forks forms a conspicuous stratum along the bluffs on the western side of the creek for a distance of two miles or more down stream. At the latter point the top of the red shales appears along the banks of the creek with nearly the full thickness of the Kiowa exposed in the slope of the hill to the west. The average of several. barometric readings gives for these shales a thickness of 130 feet. Above is the brownish coarse-grained Dakota sandstone the thickness of which at this place was not determined. Professor Cragin described a section which he termed the "upper West Bear creek section," in which he gave a thickness of 40 feet for the Dakota sandstone, evidently measuring it in the bluff along the west side of the creek and not in the side canyon where it has its greatest thickness. Below the Dakota, Professor Cragin gave 20 to 30 feet of grayish clay shales interstratified with yellowish brown sandstone containing numerous clay-ironstone concretions. From the lower part of these shales he reported fragments of Gryphaea pitcheri. Below and forming No. 4 of his section is from 75 to 90 feet of blue and yellowish gray or brownish shale in which a number of species of fossils were reported, as: Gryphaea Pitcheri, G. versicularis, Trigonia Emoryi, Ostrea Franklini, Pholadomya Sanctasabae, Cardium Hillanum, C. Kansasense, Idonearca vulgaris, and several forms not specifically identified. He also states that the base of this section, No. 4, is composed of dark shales in which no fossils were found. [Ibid., pp. 77, 78.] The Big Basin sandstone, or Cheyenne sandstone is well exposed along the western branch of Bear creek. The color is frequently mottled bright red and gray, the latter color not being as predominant as in the exposures of this sandstone in the Big basin. A little farther down the creek, the Day creek dolomite appears and may be followed as a conspicuous stratum that rises higher and higher along the bluffs for several miles.

The high, narrow, and steep divide separating West Branch Bear and Little Sandy creeks, extends in a nearly north-and-south direction for six miles when its southern end is divided by the headwaters of Red Hole creek. The Kiowa shales follow the eastern slope of this divide and around its southeastern prolongation, which is about three and one half miles northwest of Ashland; then around the headwaters of Red Hole creek, turning north again on the eastern side of Little Sandy creek until near its upper part. On the Fares ranch, perhaps four miles northwest of Ashland, near the southeastern limit of the Kiowa shales of this region, the following section was measured.

Section of Hill on Fare's Ranch four miles northwest of Ashland.
No.   Feet
5. Upper part of hill Tertiary marl which has an apparent dip of about 3 deg. to the southeast. Plenty of loose flint in the soil at base of the Tertiary sandy deposit of grit. Base of Tertiary 64 feet. (Perhaps this is an overestimate on account of dip of upper part.) 64-349
4. Yellowish shales containing some shaly layers of limestone in which are specimens of Ostrea. Thickness 53 feet. 53-285
3. Mainly black fine argillaceous shales. This division of the section is well shown in several small buttes near the end of the high part of the divide. In these black shales exposed around the sides of the small buttes, vertebrate remains were found. 46-232
2. Light gray massive sandstone varying to coarse shaly sandstone. Represents Big Basin sandstone of Cragin. 1 1/2-186
1. Red sandy shales and red sandstones 22 feet to the level of small run south of the bluff. From the top of the red shales to the level of Red Hole creek on the highway 3 miles west of Ashland, 185 feet. 185-185
Professor Cragin referred the sandstone on the Fares ranch on West Bear creek to his Big Basin sandstone. See Colorado College Studies, Vol. VI, p. 46.

The heavy dip noted in the Tertiary marl on top of the bluff was also noticed in the light gray sandstone near the foot of the hill; but it is thought that the dip does not continue for any considerable distance.

At the southeastern end of the ridge and steep divide between Little Sandy and Chapman creeks, the line of contact between the Red-Beds and the Kiowa, as well as the line between the top of the Kiowa and the Tertiary are both clearly shown. This locality is on section 11, township 32 S., range 24 W., and in a direct line about 10 miles northwest of Ashland.

Section of Southern End of Hill between Chapman and Little Sandy Creeks.
No.   Feet
4. Top of point, light gray calcareous grit of the Tertiary in which are blocks of dark-brown sandstone apparently Dakota. Some of these blocks are of large size weighing 100 pounds or more. At first they were thought to show an outcrop of Dakota on this hill; but later it was seen that in all cases they had been imbedded in the Tertiary grit, being more or less thoroughly coated by calcareous material of the grit, while at the northern end of the butte they are finely shown imbedded in the grit capping the hill. Total 13 feet. 13-258
3. Mainly arenaceous yellowish shales of the upper part of the Kiowa containing fossils. Slope partly covered. 107 feet. 107-245
2. Near the base of the steep butte, mainly black thin shales with occasional layers of yellowish arenaceous shales. These shales contain vertebrate fossils and beautiful crystals of selenite. 38-138
1. Light gray sandstone, part of the exposure mottled with red at top, then Red-Beds. From top of the Reds to the junction of Chapman and Little Sandy creeks 100 feet. 100-100

About a mile and a half northwest of the section just described, on the west bank of Chapman creek is a perpendicular ledge of Red Bluff sands tone, which rises from the creek level some 50 feet and carries above it a sloping bank of Kiowa shales which in turn are capped by Tertiary. This locality is probably on section 3, township 32 S., range 24 w.

Section of Cliff on Chapman Creek.
No.   Feet
5. Tertiary on ridge above; junction with Kiowa not sharply marked.  
4. Yellowish shales alternating with pinkish shaly limestone containing Ostreas. 43 feet. 43-141
3. Black argillaceous shales containing vertebrate remains. 43 feet. 43-98
2. Brownish sandstone to coarse arenaceous shales. 55-55
1. Red arenaceous shale varying in thickness as exposed in the side of the cliff from 2 to 5 feet. Prominent stratum of Day creek dolomite, Below this red sandstones to creek level. From top of brown sandstone to creek level 55 feet.

The above section gives 86 feet of Kiowa. In the section of the hill between Chapman and Little Sandy creeks, a mile and a half southeast, the thickness of that formation was determined as 145 feet. In the section just described, perhaps the Kiowa shale has a greater thickness than indicated, since the top is not sharply marked. However, it is considerably thinner than in the section to the southeast. In the bluffs, the dolomite forms a conspicuous stratum which may be followed along the creek for some distance. Higher is the stratum of red, sandy shale which near each end of tile cliff is thicker than in the central part, being 5 at the ends and perhaps 2 feet near the center. This varying thickness is apparent evidence of unconformability by erosion. Perhaps it may be explained as due to varying thickness in the original deposition of the shales. though this position is hardly tenable on account of the increased thickness at each end. By other observers it has been considered as evidence of unconformability due to erosion preceding the deposition of the Comanche series. Between the red shales and the base of the black Kiowa shales is a brownish stratum consisting of either shales or sandstone. This occupies the position of the Cheyenne sandstone and also agrees in character with the Big Basin sandstone of Cragin. The un conform ability below seems to unite this sandstone with the Kiowa rather than with the Red-Beds. Along the slopes of the bluffs on the opposite side of the creek are also excellent exposures of black argillaceous shales forming the lower part of the Kiowa. From these black shales as well as from those on the opposite side, remains of vertebrates were collected and described by Doctor Williston. Prefacing his description of the forms is a brief description of the geology of this region, in part as follows:

"Suffice it to say here that in the region which we examined—upper Bluff Creek and Sand Creek with its tributaries—I found the beds in which the vertebrates occur, Cragin's No. 4, lying unconformably on the rocks of the Trias and surmounted by a thin stratum. of the characteristic Dakota sandstone, and the thicker Tertiary sandstones of the uplands. The material is a dark blue shale, so strongly impregnated with iron that the fossils are always more or less injured after exposure. On moderately inclined slopes the bones, where found at all, were always disintegrated and incrusted with sulphate of lime. For this reason, they can be successfully sought only on steep slopes, and such are infrequent. Furthermore, the bones have always been found isolated, never together, so that it is hardly to be expected that even a tolerably complete knowledge of the fauna will be obtained in many years. The bones are found throughout the whole thickness of the shale, for fifly or seventy five feet. The remains, meagre as they are, are of great interest, because they represent the oldest marine Cretaceous fauna of America thus far discovered." [S. W. Wllliston, Kansas University Quarterly, Vol. III, July 1894, pp, 1, 2, Lawrence.]

From the above locality the Kiowa shales follow the line of the bluffs west of Little Sandy creek, five miles to the south, where the high part of the divide terminates in the buttes known as Mounts Pisgah and Nebo. In the upper part of the Red-Beds along the bluffs west of the Little Sandy are numerous conspicuous outcrops of the Day creek dolomite, that frequently contains nodules of quartz. Professor Cragin mentioned irregular nodules of limonite as occurring in this dolomite but did not mention chert. He, however, stated that the "cherty hardness and fracture are not due to the presence of silica, as one is tempted to infer, but are characters belonging to it as dolomite." [F. W. Cragin, Colorado College Studies, Vol. VI, p. 44.]

Mounts Pisgah and Nebo are located on the southwest quarter section 35, township 32 S., range 24 W., seven and one half miles west of Ashland and one and one half miles north. They form conspicuous buttes visible from the southeast for a long distance.

Section of Mount Nebo.
No.   Feet
5. Top of butte, upper part marly rock, which is sandy at base. Base of Tertiary. 21-274
4. Yellowish, sandy shales containing Kiowa fossils. 27-253
3. Black, argillaceous shales in the lower portion of the steep western part of the butte. A small ravine at this part of the butte shows a small synclinal fold, the axis of which is about on a north and south line. 47-226
2. Stratum of yellowish, sandy shale. 1-179
1. Red shales and sandstone to level Little Sandy creek. 178-178

Loose on the upper part of Mt. Nebo specimens of volcanic rock were found. Similar specimens have also been noticed in some other localities in the central and western part of Clark County. These two buttes are west of the house of Mr. Lackey, whose ranch extends along the upper valley of Little Sandy creek for a number of miles. A view of Mt, Pisgah a Tertiary butte as seen from the front of Mr. Lackey's house is given as Plate No. XXII. It is quite typical of the high, isolated buttes of central and western Clark County, especially when capped by Tertiary rock which gives to their summits a more or less rounded shape. Not far to the south of these Tertiary-capped buttes, and near the left hand side of the picture, is a flat-topped mound not covered by Tertiary, but showing only the Red-Beds.

Plate XXII—Mt. Pisgah, a Tertiary butte, eight miles northwest of Ashland. (photographed by Prosser, 1896.)

Black and white photo: Mt. Pisgah, a Tertiary butte, eight miles northwest of Ashland.

To the northwest of Mount Nebo where the top of the Reds is exposed on Spring creek, is a massive, light gray sandstone 4 feet in thickness resting on the Reds. This sandstone is supposed to represent the heavy-bedded stratum called the Big Basin sandstone. At this locality there is a decided dip to the southeast, as shown by the outcrop of the sandstone in question along the west side of Spring creek. The Comanche runs around the edge of the high prairie to the northwest of Mt. Nebo and Spring creek crossing Kiger creek considerably farther north than the Big basin. On this part of Kiger creek some years since, the black shale of the Kiowa was mistaken for coal, and a well was drilled which according to Mr. Funk began near the top of the black shales, passed through from 35 to 40 feet of the same and stopped in the Red-Beds at a depth of 80 feet fom the surface. On the west side of Kiger creek at Mr. Funk's about one half mile northeast of St Jacob's well, the base of the Kiowa shales is shown about 30 feet above creek level and have a thickness here of between 35 and 40 feet. Higher are prominent ledges of Tertiary rocks, the lower part consisting of coarse sandstone.

On reaching the upland to the northwest, the prairie appears to be comparatively level for a long distance. A short distance, however. to the westward a marked depression is reached, resembling an immense sink-hole. On the northern side of this depression is a large and deep spring known as St. Jacob's well. This locality is noted on the Ashland topographic sheet near the center of its western edge. The depression is known as Little Basin on account of its basin-like form and seems to be in the axis of a synclinal fold. On the eastern side of Little Basin the rocks belong to the Tertiary. On the western side the Tertiary with steep easterly dip forms the upper part of the cliffs. having below it 28 feet of Kiowa shales that in turn are underlain by 10 feet of sandstone resting upon the subjacent Red-Beds.

Section of Little Basin at its Southwest Corner.
No.   Feet
4. Tertiary sandstone forming upper part of wall of cliff which rises considerably higher to the south. 25 feet exposed in the Basin. 25-63
3. Yellowish shales containing some fossils. 15-38
2. Thin black argillaceous shales representing the lower part of the Kiowa. Base of Kiowa. 13-23
1. Yellowish coarse-grained, friable, sandstone, Big Basin sandstone of Cragin. 10-10

The Big Basin sandstone as exposed in Little Basin, and especially in the draws between Little and Big Basins, closely resembles in its lithologic characters the Cheyenne sandstone, the characters being similar to those noticed on Bluff creek above Messing's, and at other localities in the northern and eastern parts of Clark County.

A short distance west of Little Basin is the very much larger depression known as Big or Great basin. This is an oblong, sunken valley surrounded by steep walls, which on the eastern and northern sides are nearly perpendicular and from 130 to 150 feet in height. The floor of the basin is almost perfectly level, grassed over and without exposures of rock. The walls of the basin are composed in part of rocky cliffs, those of the western and northern sides belonging mostly to the Tertiary, which also forms the upper part of the eastern wall below which is the heavy-bedded sandstone, named Big Basin sandstone that rests upon the top of the Red-Beds. The Big Basin sandstone as exposed in the eastern side of the Big basin is a massive yellowish, brownish and whitish, friable, sandstone which in all its general characters agrees closely with the Cheyenne. In places above the sandstone is a thin remnant of the Kiowa shales, the remainder of the upper part of the wall being Tertiary. Below the Big Basin sandstone are the Red-Beds the line of separation being at times quite sharp, but here and there the colors of the two blend. This is especially noticeable in the southern part of the eastern side of the Basin where the top of the Red Beds changes gradually into the Cheyenne. At one place there is a wall of Red Beds several feet in thickness covered by yellowish sandstone, followed by a band of red, in turn succeeded by the main mass of the Big Basin sandstone here 10 to 12 feet in thickness. This sandstone is also frequently streaked with red and shows a somewhat gradual passage from the physical conditions of the Red Beds to those prevailing in its own case. In places it is fase bedded. Plate XXIII of the Big Basin sandstone in the Big Basin represents clearly the massive stratum and conspicuous outcrop of this sandstone in the eastern wall of the Big Basin. The ledge shown in the upper part of the picture is the one from which large blocks of sandstone have fallen.

Plate XXIII—Big Basin Sandstone, in the Big Basin, western side Clark County. (Photographed by Prosser, 1896.)

Black and white photo: Big Basin Sandstone, in the Big Basin, western side Clark County.

This is the typical locality for the Big Basin sandstone of Cragin who described it as a "Massive, blocky, red and grayish-white sandstone." [1 F. W. Cragin, Colorado College Studies, Vol. VI, p. 46.] He regards it as forming the upper number of the Red-Beds or Cimarron series. As has been already stated it seems to the writer that this sandstone might more properly be correlated with the Comanche series and regarded as representing in Clark County the Cheyenne sandstone of Kiowa and Comanche counties. Professor Cragin has considered the transitional nature of the passage from the Big Basin sandstone to the Comanche which he stated might be regarded as reinforcing "the earlier generally accepted view that the 'Red-Beds' were Jura-Trias, or at least partly so; but the bond of continuity which has already been referred to as apparently existing between the Cimarron series of Kansas and the paleontologically proven Permian of northern Texas outweighs any argument of that sort, and indicates rather that the upper and here lighter-colored zone of the Big Basin sandstone was softened by the invading waters of the Belviderean sea, and its sediments partially and then wholly rearranged as the (for this point) initial deposits of the latter, only gradually becoming supplanted by sediments conveyed from other sources." [F. W. Cragin, Colorado College Studies, Vol. VI, p. 648, Colorado Springs, Col.]

Of course if the Big Basin sandstone be regarded as the stratigraphic equivalent of the Cheyenne, then its continuity with the Kiowa shales of the Comanche is exactly what would be expected. This explanation seems more satisfactory, especially when the great similarity of the lithologic characters of the Great Basin sandstone to those of the Cheyenne is considered, together with the fact of their correspondent stratigraphic position.

The explanation of the formation of Big and Little Basins is a matter of great difficulty. Recently Professor Haworth has accurately described the general features of these basins and suggested an explanation of their formation. His description of Big Basin is as follows:

"A broad and level valley more than a mile across and nearly circular in outline seems to have been dropped vertically for about one hundred and fifty feet. This is locally called the great basin. On the east of it a hundred yards is a similar valley a fourth as large, which likewise seems to have been dropped a like distance. In the northern part of this latter valley a sink hole, about seventy five feet across now holds fresh water with a maximum depth of twenty seven feet. This is locally called st. Jacob's well, and is so marked on the U. S. topographic sheets.
"These two areas are so large that it is difficult to understand how they can be classed as ordinary sink-holes as the Meade salt well may be. Their origin should be looked upon as due to some greater movements, possibly similar in character to that which produced the artesian valley near Meade, although no connecting fault has yet been located." [E. Haworth, American Journal Science, 4th series, vol. II, p. 371.]

In comparing the thickness of the Kiowa shales on Mt. Nebo, on the bluffs west of Kiger creek and in Little and Big Basins, it will be seen that their thickness decreases rapidly in going west. This is especially marked from the region of the Basins, no considerable thickness of the Kiowa having been found west of this locality. On the bluffs about three miles east of Cash City and Indian creek, loose shells belonging to the Kiowa are found near the line of junction between the Tertiary and Red-Beds. On the map, Plate XLIV., the Kiowa has been represented by a mere band as extending to this point. Beyond this to the southwest no evidence of the Kiowa was seen, and so far as known to the writer the Comanche series is not represented between the Tertiary and the Red-Beds in the southwestern part of Clark County and southeastern part of Meade. The Basins are located in Vesta township Clark County and the formations of this portion of Meade were briefly described by Case in 1894 in his paper entitled "A Geological Reconnaissance in Southwest Kansas and No Man's Land." [E. C. Case, Kansas University Quarterly, Vol. II, pp. 143-148. Lawrence.] Mr. Case stated that "Following the line of the Tertiary northward we find in the neighborhood of Ashland and Vesta, in Clark County, that the Cheyenne or Comanche Cretaceous separates very indistinctly the Tertiary from the Triassic. It is represented by a yellow sandstone growing thicker towards the east and filled in places with shells. Above this is a layer of clayey soapstone, so called, also thickening towards the east. This increases in thickness from a few feet at Vesta to nearly 30, a mile east. The outcrop of the Cretaceous is nowhere more than a quarter of a mile wide and is continually obliterated both by the Triassic and the Tertiary." [Ibid., p. 146.]

Discussion of the Sections

An examination of the general sections accompanying this report conveys a graphic idea of the broken nature of the country in Barber, Comanche and Clark counties. They also clearly illustrate the thickening and thinning of the Comanche series in this region, and show in a striking manner the erosion following the close of the Red-Beds before the deposition of the Comanche, and the second great erosion after the deposition of the Comanche and before the Tertiary was deposited. This erosion has been described by earlier writers in a general way, particularly by Professors Hay and Hill but probably it has never been as markedly shown for any part of Kansas as in the region just described.

On referring to the section across southern Kansas, Plate XXXVIII, it will be seen that the top of the Medicine Lodge gypsum is almost horizontal from the top of the Gypsum hills, six miles southwest of Medicine Lodge, to the bluff west of Sun City. On the Gypsum Hills it is 1800 feet A. T. according to the Medicine Lodge topographic sheet of the U. S. Survey, and on the hill west of Sun City, nearly twenty two miles northwest of the former place, it has about the same elevation, 1805 of our section which agrees closely with the topographic sheet. In the Walker creek four miles to the northwest of the Sun City bluffs, the top of the gypsum is some 15 to 20 feet below the 1800 foot line, while some five miles northwest of the Sun City bluff the gypsum disappears in the Medicine Lodge valley at an elevation of 1744, according to Professor Cragin. [F. W. Cragin, Colorado College Studies, vol. VI, p. 31.]

The above shows that there is scarcely any dip to the southeast from Sun City for twenty miles, while from this place to the northwest, providing the altitudes be correct, there is a decided dip reaching the amount of twelve feet per mile. In reference to the last statement, I cannot yet say positively that there is such a heavy dip to the northwest. The profile section shows that Stokes Hill, west of Sun City, is composed entirely of Comanche, where it has a thickness of 165 feet; while in crossing the Tertiary prairie to the east branch of Sand creek, twenty four miles southwest of Stokes Hill, the Comanche has thinned to a mere line. On the northern side of Bluff creek valley the base of the Comanche is somewhat irregular; but it rises as it is followed somewhat to the south of west. This is very marked when the position of the Comanche in the bluff south of Bluff creek at Messing's is compared with its position to the east in the creeks north of Bluff creek. This decided irregularity in the base of the Cretaceous in the Bluff creek region was first noticed by Professor St. John who said that: "On Sand creek, three miles northeast of Lexington, the latter formation appears at a level near 120 feet lower than its base on Cat creek, seven miles to the west." [Fifth Biennial Report Kansas State Board of Agriculture, Pt. II, p. 142.] I am not quite sure which creeks were meant by Prof. St. John, but it was found that the base of the Comanche is approximately 140 feet higher on the creek east of Messing's than it is eight miles to the southeast on the creek northeast of Lexington. Crossing the high prairie to the north of Ashland, from Bluff creek to the Big basin, the I profile shows a small anticline with broad base. This corresponds with a number of local observations made in the high lands of central Clark County.

The section across Mule and Walker creeks (Fig. 6) in eastern Comanche County, and the Medicine Lodge river in southeastern Kiowa County brings out clearly the decided thickness; of the Comanche in the high bluffs south of Walker creek, and shows the rapid thinning toward the north on the bluffs north of the Medicine Lodge river, as well as toward the south on the southern side of the high prairie in the bunks of Mule creek. It will be noticed that the lower line of the Comanche is quite regular, but that the upper runs down rapidly both to the north and south. This indicates the extensive erosion previous to the deposition of the Tertiary, which had left a country of diversified topographic features, composed of hills and valleys. In even a more striking manner the section farther west from Avilla Hill northeast to Belvidere across the central part of Comanche County and southeastern part of Kiowa, shows the local thick beds of the Comanche, thinning out in a short distance to almost nothing. This is very conspicuous on the big hills southwest of Belvidere, where the Comanche is 163 feet thick; while on the southern side, the upper surface descends very rapidly toward Mule creek, so that from there to the edge of the bluffs north of Salt Fork the Tertiary has nearly replaced the Comanche. On the south side of the Salt Fork the Comanche again appears with nearly its greatest Kansas thickness. This section affords an excellent example of the great plains pre-Tertiary erosion, and the unconformity by erosion of the Cretaceous and Tertiary.

Figure 6—A Geologic Section North and South, west of Ashland.

A Geologic Section North and South, west of Ashland.

Figure 7—A Geologic Section from Avilla Hill to Belvidere.

A Geologic Section from Avilla Hill to Belvidere.

Figure 8—A geologic section from Sitka north to Ford County line.

A geologic section from Sitka north to Ford County line.

Figure 9—A Geologic section north and south near Belvidere.

A Geologic section north and south near Belvidere.

The next section to the west, Fig. 7, in the eastern part of Clark County, from Sitka northwest over Mt. Jesus, Messing's Bluff and up the eastern bank of Bluff creek, shows the Comanche as thickest in the Bluff creek region and thinning to the north and south. The general direction of this section is from the northwest to the southeast and the dip was determined with reference to three stratigraphic lines, showing it to be southeasterly. The elevations of these horizons are as follows on Mt. Jesus, Messing's bluff and the Amphitheatre:

  Base of
Tertiary
Base of
Comanche
Thickness
of Comanche
Top of
Day creek
dolomite
Mt. Jesus 2220 2135 85 2127
Messing's Bluff 2300 2194 106 2174
Amphitheatre 2370 2230 140  

The distance from Mt. Jesus to Messing's Bluff is five miles, from Messing's Bluff to the Amphitheatre five and one half miles or from Mt. Jesus to the Amphitheatre ten and one half miles. The dip per mile of the top of the Day Creek dolomite, base of the Comanche and base of the Tertiary was found to be as in the following table:

  Mt. Jesus
to Messing's Bluff,
Feet
Messing's Bluff
to
Amphitheatre,
Feet
Mt. Jesus
to
Amphitheatre,
Feet
Top of Day Creek dolomite 9 2/5    
Base of Comanche 11 4/5 6 1/2 9
Base of Tertiary 16 12 1/2 14

The Day Creek dolomite is the most constant line of those used in the above table and the 9 feet per mile may be regarded as a close approximation to the amount of southeast dip along the line of this section. The base of the Comanche is somewhat irregular due to the pre-Cretaceous erosion, for on Messing's bluff there are 20 feet of the Red-Beds between the base of the Comanche and the top of the Day Creek dolomite; while on the bluff farther southeast the dolomite in places was cut away, and on the south side of Mt. Jesus there are 8 feet of intervening Reds. This increased the amount of dip for the base of the Comanche between Messing's bluff and Mt. Jesus. Again, the erosion of the upper part of the Comanche from the Amphitheatre to Mt. Jesus explains the much greater dip for the base of the Tertiary.

Finally, in the section for Kiger creek over Mt. Nebo to the prairie west of Letitia, in the western part of Clark County the thinning of the Comanche to the south is well shown. This section is along a north and south line and the dip is not nearly as great to the south as it is to the southeast in the previous section. The elevations of the base of the Comanche and Tertiary were determined in this section on Mt, Nebo and on the hill between Chapman and Little Sandy creeks. The data are given in the following table:

  Mt. Nebo,
Feet
Hill between
Chapman and
Little Sandy creeks,
Feet
Base of Tertiary 2323 2248
Base of Comanche 2405 2260
Thickness of Comanche 75 145

The distance between the two sections is five miles and the dip to the south for the base of the Comanche is two and two fifths feet per mile and for the base of the Tertiary sixteen feet per mile. The much greater dip for the Tertiary is due to the erosion of the upper part of the Comanche to the south making the latter 70 feet thinner on Mt. Nebo than on the more northern hill.

Kiowa of Central Kansas

To the north of the Arkansas river the Kiowa shales have been found in a number of isolated localities. They were first reported in 1889 by Professor Cragin from "the western part of McPherson, county," [F. W. Cragin, Bulletin Washburn College Laboratory Natural History, vol. 2, p. 37. Topeka] and in the following year he published an account of this outcrop "On the west line of McPherson County" as follows: "This locality has been insufficiently examined, but is characterized by yellow to blue-gray shales with layers of Ostrea Franklini breccia and other stony layers in which Cardium Kansasense occurs, together with Turritella Marnochii, var. Belviderei, and a species of Neritina. (apparently identical with that from Belvidere), and one Dentalium. With others of the normal form, occur frequent specimens of the Turritella, in which the apical region is remarkably produced and attenuated. Bands of red and yellow ochre occur here. One or two similar outcrops occur in the east part of Rice county." [Ibid., p. 80.]

Later in discussing the stratigraphic relation of the Mentor beds to the Kiowa shales Professor Cragin said: "While the Mentor beds generally rest upon the Permian in Saline County, they rest in part upon the Kiowa shales further southward, as shown by the occurrence beneath them of black shales amongst some of whose fossils, submitted to the writer from a few miles west of Lindsborg by Prof. J. A. Udden, are Modiola stonewallensis, nob., and Sphenodiscus pedernalis, Roem." [J. A. Udden, American Geologist, vol. XVI, 1895, p. 165.] These are the only published references to the occurrence of the Comanche series in central Kansas, as far as the writer is aware.

In South Sharps Creek township in the western part of McPherson County, Mr. J. W. Beede found typical specimens of the coarser, very fossiliferous Kiowa shales. The locality where best exposed is in the "Natural corral" on the northwest quarter, section 5, township 18 S., range 5 W. Mr. Beede measured a section at this locality which is important in that it gives the stratigraphic position of both the Mentor and Kiowa.

Section of the Natural Corral, by J. W. Beede.
No.   Feet
8. Sandstone to top of hill 40(?)-106
7. Hard brownish sandstone containing Lamellibranchs and Gastropods. Mentor. 7-66
6. Yellowish and blue arenaceous shales and sandstones. 20-59
5. Yellowish, very friable, sometimes variegated sandstone, 6 to 8 feet thick. 8-39
4. Argillaceous and arenaceous shales and sandstones that contain an abundance of iron pyrites. 30-31
3. Layer with structure similar to cone-in-cone, 2 to 4 inches thick.  
2. Shaly limestone and shales containing abundant specimens of Kiowa fossils. 1-1
1. Red and blue shales of the Wellington.  

Mr. Beede states that the Kiowa occurs at about the 1600 foot contour line and may be found frequently at this elevation throughout the township. Blocks of a shaly limestone from between the northeast and northwest quarter of sections 8 and 9 South Sharps Creek township show excellent specimens of Turritella. The Kiowa extends from the "Natural corral" south to the vicinity of Windom, and three miles east of Windom, Mr. Beede found an outcrop showing both the Mentor and Kiowa, below which are gypsiferous shales.

Mr. W. N. Logan has also sent me specimens of Kiowa fossils from section 27, South Sharps Creek and section 29 Sharps Creek township, McPherson County. Mr. Logan writes that: "This shell bed rests between layers of shale about 25 feet above red shales. At a distance of about 25 feet above the shell bed is unmistakable Dakota sandstone. These shells occur in a line almost directly west in Ellsworth County, near the eastern border." The specimens from the latter locality are pinkish shaly limestones, filled with Ostrea, similar to the shaly limestones found in the upper part of the Kiowa shales in southern Kansas.

From the hills south of the Smoky Hill river, three and one half miles east and one half mile south of Lindsborg, Mr. Beede collected specimens of brownish, arenaceous shales containing Turritella, that resemble the Mentor more closely than the Kiowa.

In the eastern part of McPherson County, on section 23, Delmore township, Mr. C. N. Gould found numerous specimens of the shaly, Ostrea limestone of the Kiowa. Later, this locality, which is on Mr. Stark's farm, four miles south of the Twin hills, was visited by the writer. The pieces of shaly limestone are loose near the top of a small ridge between Gypsum creek and a western branch. None of the shales were found in place, though there is no doubt but that they once formed a part of the hill. On the ridge east of Gypsum creek, at this locality, is a ledge of light gray quartzitic sandstone, similar to that on the highway between sections 24 and 25 Bonaville township. Some of the sandstone shows irregular bedding and it is apparently near the base of the Dakota formation.

The farthest north the Kiowa shales are known is in Saline County on the hill east of the Smoky Hill river. This locality is on the southwest corner section 27 and southeast corner section 28 Walnut township where, at least, a foot of the shaly Ostrea limestone is clearly exposed along the highway. Above is brownish sandstone containing Mentor fossils. In the field to the west are numerous blocks of the Kiowa Ostrea limestone. The fossiliferous shales of this locality were first noticed by Prof. A. W. Jones of Salina who wrote me in regard to it. The Kiowa shales where exposed in McPherson and Saline counties consist of the calcareous shales to shaly limestones, which in southern Kansas are found in the upper part of the formation. Apparently, the black, argillaceous shales that form the lower part of the formation in southern Kansas do not occur in central Kansas.

The Dakota Sandstone

The Mentor Beds

Description

In eastern-central Kansas, in the lower part of what has generally been called the Dakota sandstone, are occasional outcrops of very dark brown fossiliferous sandstone so friable, as a rule, that it does not form a ledge, but its presence is shown by loose blocks on the slopes of the hills. For this terrane, Professor Cragin has proposed the name, Mentor beds, the typical exposure being on the eastern side of the Smoky Hill river about three miles east of the Union Pacific R. R. station of Mentor.

Mentor is in the Smoky Hill valley on the western side of the river seven miles south of Salina and is apparently underlain by the Wellington shales. Professor Cragin has described the lithologic characters and stratigraphic position of these beds and says they are composed "of variegated, earthy-textured marine shales, with intercalated beds of brown sandstone, resting in part conformably upon the Kiowa shales and in part unconformably upon the drab and purple-red laminated shales and impure limestones of the Permian, and succeeded above by the more heavily arenaceous freshwater sediments of the Dakota. … The shales of the Mentor beds are chiefly argillaceous, but they contain a greater or less admixture of sand, to which, as soft sandstones, they locally give place in certain horizons. … Being little consolidated, they weather into gentle slopes and broad, low, rounded eminences scarcely worthy the name of hills, and present few conspicuous outcrops. Such outcrops of the shales as do occur present themselves either as limited, more or less steep-faced banks of marly-appearing clay, of white, ferruginous-yellow, red or blue color, or parti-colored with two or more of these. …

"The sandstone of the Mentor beds occurs in thin, local strata. While these are of slight consequence judged by the space they occupy, they are nevertheless of great stratigraphic importance, since it is from these alone that our knowledge of the geological age of the Mentor terrane has been derived." [American Geologist, Vol. XVI, Sept. 1895, pp. 162, 163.]

Distribution

The typical locality, as already stated, is the one in the hills east of Mentor and the Smoky Hill river in Saline County. Beginning three fourths of a mile east of the Berwick schoolhouse, or three and a fourth miles east of Mentor, loose, irregularly-shaped blocks of the dark brown very fossiliferous sandstone occur along the east and west highway, and in the adjoining fields where sections 16, 21, 22 and 15 of Walnut township corner. As shown on the Berwick diagrammatic section, the first of the Mentor occurs about 60 feet 3 hove the river level and continues along the road until an altitude 70 feet higher is reached. As the blocks are not in place, the writer does not intend to say that the sandstone containing the Mentor fossils has a thickness of 70 feet at this locality, though he is of the opinion that a stratum of the fossil-bearing sandstone occurs not far from where it was first noted in the highway.

Two miles directly south of the Berwick Hill locality just described, the Mentor fossiliferous sandstone occurs, above a thin ledge of the Kiowa shales, along the north and south highway at the S. W. Cor. Sec. 27, Walnut township. At this locality the Mentor is from 150 to 160 feet above the level of the Smoky Hill river.

On the hills 2 miles north of the Saline river or 5 miles north of the eastern side of Salina, on the western side of a draw in the S. W. Quar. Sec. 18, Cambria township, is an interesting occurrence of the Mentor sandstone which, as usual, is in loose blocks, some of them quite large. The rock is of brownish-red color containing numerous specimens of fossils although fewer species than were found in some of the other Mentor exposures. Below are yellowish-gray to buff shales and buff, friable sandstone, while higher is brownish, unfossiliferous sandstone. The Mentor stratum is between 90 and 100 feet above the level of the Saline river and not much above the base of the so-called Dakota and its position may be considered an important one on account of its proximity to one of the areas where Professor Lesquereux obtained "a large number of fine specimens of fossil leaves," a locality mentioned as covering about three acres of ground which in part of the work is given as about 8 miles from the Salina station, and again apparently the same locality is given as 8 miles above the mouth of the Salina river. [Report U. S. Geological Survey Territories, Vol. VI, Cretaceous Flora; see pp. 28, 58, 71, 105.] Professor Lesquereux's failure to indicate accurately the localities from which the fossil plants described by him came, even when as in this case he visited the place himself, is well known. If this locality be 8 miles above the mouth of the Saline river, it is probably not more than 2 miles above the Mentor outcrop just described and nearly in the same part of the terrane. This conclusion is apparently supported by the later statement of Professor Lesquereux that at this locality he "found the same species of vegetable remains distributed from the base to the top of the hills, the altitude being about 75 feet above high-water mark of the river." [Mon. U. S. Geological Survey, Vol. XVII, The Flora of the Dakota Group, 1892, p. 22.] If again, it be 8 miles from the Salina station it is also probably in the lower part of the Dakota sandstone. If these Mentor shells and part of the Dakota fossil plants occur at the same horizon then the position of that part of the Dakota sandstone in the Cretaceous system will need reconsideration.

The greatest number of the Mentor fossil shells were found on the divide between Spring and Dry creeks to the southwest of Salina. In this region the outcrop nearest Salina is 11 miles to the southwest on the S. W. Cor. Sec. 10, Washington township, on the northern side of the ridge 3 miles south and i mile west of Bavaria. Mentor fossils were found in very dark brown sandstone fragments by the road-side and the yellowish shales of the Wellington were exposed only a short distance below them. On the ridge some 5 or 8 feet above the loose Mentor fossils a single loose specimen of a fossil leaf was found which by its angularity indicates that it had not been carried far and it probably came from the rock composing the ridge which in lithologic appearance it closely resembles.

One mile south of the above locality and 4 miles west of Smolan on the N. W. Cor., Sec. 22, "Washington township is the best exposure of Mentor seen. The rock which varies from brownish-red to almost a black color and contains large numbers of fossils is shown along the highway just south of the four corners though it can scarcely be said to form a ledge. Below are yellowish shales apparently in the Wellington. From specimens collected at this locality, Mr. T. W. Stanton has identified the following species:

  1. Ostrea quadriplicata Shum.
  2. Gervillea Mudgeana White.
  3. Trigonia Emoryi Con.
  4. Cardium Kansasense Meek.
  5. Protocardia salinaensis Meek.
  6. Arcopagella mactroides Meek.
  7. Tapes belviderensis Cragin ( ?)
  8. Turritella (Mesalia?) Kansaseneis Meek.

The brownish-red sandstone with the lithologic characters of the Dakota was first seen on the road, over 3 miles west of Smolan and not much farther west loose pieces of the fossiliferous Mentor sandstone were found.

Five miles west and 1/4 mile north of Smolan is another interesting exposure of the Mentor. The fossiliferous nature of the sandstone is quite well shown in a small draw on the western side of the road in the S. E. Quar., Sec. 17, Washington township. Fossils are abundant here and below exposed in the side of the draw is a light gray to buff soft sandstone, 3 feet thick. To the northwest is a low hill, the sides mostly covered, capped by a stratum of fairly thick brownish-red sandstone. The rocks forming the greater part of the hill above the Mentor sandstone are quite well shown, however, in an arroyo on its northwestern side where they are found to be mainly yellowish shales. In this draw, at about the same altitude as on the eastern side of the hill, loose blocks of the fossiliferous Mentor sandstone were found in abundance. An approximate section of the hill appears on the following page.

Section of hill five miles west of Smolan.
No.   Feet
4. Ledge of brownish-red sandstone forming top of hill. Similar in lithologic appearance to the Dakota. 2-55
3. Mainly yellowish, bluish and slightly reddish argillaceous and arenaceous shales. 50-53
2. Dark brownish-red sandstone with Mentor fossils. Thickness undetermined.  
1. Light gray to buff soft sandstone 3-3

The above section shows positively that above the Mentor sandstone at this locality there is a considerable thickness of soft shales that in lithologic appearance differ but slightly from those found below the Mentor. Mr. Hall, a resident of the northern part of Washington township, informed the writer that this lot was known as the John M. Danielson pasture and from this locality Professor Mudge collected the Mentor fossils locating it as "in the vicinity of Bavaria." [First Biennial Report State Board Agriculture of Kansas, 1878, p. 67.] Meek also spoke of the locality as "twelve miles southwest of Salina." [Rept. U. S. Geol. Surv. Territories, vot, IX, 1876, pp. 171, 174, etc.]

We are indebted to Prof. A. W. Jones of the Kansas Wesleyan University at Salina, who accompanied us on our trip to the Mentor beds, for directing us to the Berwick Hill, the locality four miles west of Smolan and the one north of the Saline river five miles north of Salina. The writer understands that since that time Professor Jones has discovered new localities of Mentor fossils and that he is preparing a paper describing their occurrence.

Near the four corners one mile south of the locality, four miles west of Smolan, on the northeast corner section 28, Washington township, the Mentor fossiliferous sandstone was found. This is not as favorable a locality for collecting as the one a mile to the north. One mile southwest of the above locality on the southwest quarter section 2D, Washington township is a solitary butte, known as Soldier Cap mound, rising 150 feet above the general elevation of the eastern part of the divide. This sentinel gives a clear idea of the erosion that has occurred over the central part of Saline County. The mound is capped by coarse-grained brownish sandstone that forms a ledge 15 feet thick on its western side. Some of the rock is really a grit containing numerous small quartz pebbles. The top of the mound is between 170 and 180 feet higher than the Mentor locality one mile to the northeast. There can be no question but that the sandstone on top of this mound is stratigraphically as high as the leaf-bearing Dakota sandstone, for three impressions of the Dakota fossil leaves were found in it. There is a beautiful view from its top—the Smoky Hill Buttes forming a conspicuous ridge to the southeast. A view of the western side of the ledge is given in the picture of the Dakota sandstone at top of Soldier Cap mound on Plate XXIV.

Plate XXIV—Dakota Sandstone at top of Soldier Cap Mound, Saline County. (photographed by Prosser, 1896.)

Black and white photo: Dakota Sandstone at top of Soldier Cap Mound, Saline County.

In the northern part of Falun township between West Dry and Middle Dry creeks are two buttes, between which is the hamlet of Falun. The upper part of the buttes is composed of coarse brownish sandstone, while a well at the foot of the northeast mound shows rather coarse bluish and yellowish shales, apparently Wellington, containing gypsum. No Mentor fossils were found; but on the mound southwest of Falun at about 1400 feet A. T., the approximate altitude of the Mentor fossils, four miles north on the northeast corner section 28, Washington township, parallel and netted-veined fossil leaves like the Dakota fossil plants were found. This locality is on the line between sections 9 and 16 of Falun township. On the mound, to the northeast of Falun. composed of dark-brownish coarse sandstone like the Mentor, fragments of fossil plants were also found. There seems to be no doubt but that these fossil leaves are very near the bottom of the deposits usually termed the Dakota sandstone and also in about the same stratigraphic position as the Mentor fossils four and five miles to the north.

Three miles directly east of Falun, on the southwest corner section 7, Smoky Hill township, Mentor fossils were found loose on the surface of the ground at an elevation of 1380 to 1390 feet A. T., and not far from that of the fossil plants on the butte southwest of Falun. [Called Smoky Hill township on the U. S. topographical sheet, but Smoky View township on the Saline County map.] A well near the base of the western slope of the Smoky Hill Buttes, at their northern end, shows bluish and yellowish argillaceous shales with some of a reddish tint, and in some of the shale a little gypsum. A small draw above the well shows yellowish; blue and slate-colored shales for 70 feet, above which the slope is covered for 40 feet when a stratum of coarse brownish sandstone is reached that probably continues to the top of the buttes which are capped by prominent ledges of Dakota sandstone; see figure 10.

Section of Smoky Hill Buttes, at their northern end.
No.   Feet
3. Brownish sandstone at the top, probably 200 feet thick though the greater part is covered. At the base a stratum of coarse brownish sandstone. Dakota sandstone. 200-310
2. Covered, but perhaps shales similar to those exposed in the draw below. 40-110
1. Yellowish, blue and slate-colored shales, exposed along a small draw to the mouth of the well. 70-70

Meek and Hayden in their early exploration of the Kansas valley made a section of the Smoky Hills which is as follows:

No.   Feet
"1. Bed, brown and yellowish, rather coarse grained sandstone, often obliquely laminated, and containing many ferruginous concretions; also, fossil wood and many leaves of dicotyledonous trees, some of which belong to existing genera, and others to genera peculiar to the Cretaceous epoch. Locality, summit of Smoky Hills 60
"2. Whitish, very fine grained argillaceous sandstone, underlaid by bluish purple and ash colored clays. Locality same as preceding 15
"3. Long, gentle slope, with occasional outcrops of ash colored red, blue and whitish, more or less laminated clays, with thin beds of sandstone. Locality same as preceding, and extending down to places nearly or quite to the bluffs of Smoky Hill river; thickness about 200
"4. Red sandstone, with some layers of hard, light gray calcareous, do., and both containing ferruginous concretions. Locality, bluffs Smoky Hill river, five or six miles above Grand Saline river. Probably local, thickness seen about 115"
[Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phil., Vol. XI, 1859, p. 16.]

The locality given for No. 4 of the above section is probably the bluffs to the southeast of the present city of Salina. The rocks below No. 4—No. 5 of this section—were regarded by Meek and Hayden as probably belonging in the Permian, but "between No. 5, and the Cretaceous above, there is still a rather extensive series of beds in which we found no organic remains; these may lie Jurassic or Triassic, or both, though as we have elsewhere suggested, we rather incline to the opinion that they may prove to belong to the former." [Ibid., P. 21.]

Mr. Beede has sent me typical Mentor fossils collected on the south side of the Smoky Hill river in the "Natural corral" on section 5, South Sharps Creek township, McPherson County, which he says were in the upper part of a stratum of hard, brownish sandstone, 7 feet thick. Mr. Beede also reported Mentor shells from farther south in McPherson County, three miles southeast of Windom. Mr. W. N. Logan has also sent me Mentor fossils from the "Natural corral" in McPherson County, supposed to be the same locality studied by Mr. Beede, among which are specimens of Trigonia Emoryi Con. Mr. Logan wrote me that he "had found fossils in the upper and middle horizons of the Dakota which seem to be identical with the Mentor fossils." From a sandstone at the extreme upper limit of the Dakota near Beloit, Mr. Logan has also collected Lamellibranch shells that have not been identified specifically, and may possibly belong in a different fauna from that of the Mentor. Professor Jones reported shells from wells near Brookville, that were from 50 to 60 feet below the leaf-bearing Dakota. Again, on the Townsend place, thirteen miles southeast of Salina are Mentor fossils which the Professor thinks occur above a leaf-bearing stratum. It is also reported that Prof. S. C. Mason of the Kansas State Agricultural College found fossil shells in the Dakota sandstone near Tescot in the southwestern part of Ottawa County; while Professor Mudge in his "Geology of Kansas" gave a second locality of molluscan fossils "in the western portion of Clay county," in addition to the one near Bavaria. [First Biennial Report State Board Agriculture of Kansas, 2d ed., 1878, p. 67.]

Correlation

Professor Cragin has identified 25 species of marine mollusca from the Mentor beds and shown that part of them are identical with species that occur in the Denison beds and Kiowa shale of the Comanche series, The Professor's conclusion as to their age is shown in the title of his article, viz., "The Mentor beds; a central Kansas terrane of the Comanche series." This is also clearly expressed at the conclusion of his discussion of their fauna where it is stated that the Mentor beds are "characterized by a fauna related to that of the Denison beds and still more closely to that of the Kiowa shales. Their fauna is, in fact, especially related to that of the upper part of the latter." [American Geologist, Vol. XVI, Sept. 1895, p. 165.]

After examining a portion of the fossils collected at the locality four miles west of Smolan, Mr. T. W. Stanton of the U. S. Geological Survey wrote me as follows: "I have no doubt that Professor Cragin was right in referring this fauna to the Comanche series rather than to the Dakota. All of the Saline County marine beds that have furnished the supposed Dakota invertebrates apparently go together in the Comanche series and it may even be questioned whether the leaf-bearing beds of that region should not go with them since Mr. Hill and others have found 'Dakota' species of plants in the Cheyenne sandstone beneath invertebrates that belong to the Comanche fauna." [Letter of Nov. 24, 1896.] The facts appear to strongly support the above conclusions and the writer fully agrees in referring the Mentor beds to the Comanche Cretaceous of the Lower Cretaceous. It is of interest in reference to the correlation of the Dakota to can attention to the fact that Professor Cope has provisionally referred teeth found in the Kansas Dakota to Lepidotid fishes and stated that he has "never found Lepidotid fish remains in the Upper Cretaceous of North America, while they are characteristically Lower Cretaceous and Jurassic in Europe." [Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phil., 1894, Pt. I, p, 65. See also the further statement in Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phil., 2d ser., vol. IX, pt. 4, 1895, p. 443.]

Professor Cope also described the remains of a crocodile, Hyposaurus vebbii, which was found in a bluish stratum in digging a well at Brookville, Saline County. [Fifth Annual Report U. S. Geological Survey of Montana and Territories, 1872, p. 327. Also in Report U. S. Geological Survey Territories, Hayden, Vol. II, Vertebrata of the Cretaceous Formations, 1875, pp. 17, 67, 68.] The age of the formation was incorrectly given as the Benton; it is either the Wellington or Mentor and probably the latter as it was referred by Professor Mudge to the Dakota. [Ninth Annual Report U. S. Geological and Geographical Survey Territories, Hayden, 1877, p. 291.]

It is a well known fact that the dicotyledonous leaf-bearing part of the Dakota is referred to the Upper Cretaceous and usually regarded as forming its lowest subdivision. [Bulletin U. S. Geological Survey, No. 82; Correlation Papers, Cretaceous, 1891, p. 158; where Dr. White gives the classification of the Upper Cretaceous.] In 1874 Professor Lesquereux stated that the Dakota group corresponded "to the Upper Cretaceous of Europe" [Report U. S. Geological Survey Territories, Vol. VI, The Cretaceous Flora, p. 15] which he correlated more precisely in 1883 when he said that "The flora of the Dakota group … is considered as relating the formation which it represents to the Cenomanian or Middle Cretaceous." [Ibid., Vol. VIII, The Cretaceous and Tertiary Floras, p. 92.] This conclusion was apparently unchanged in his final monograph on "The Flora of the Dakota Group" published after his death. [Mon. U. S. Geological Survey, 1892, Vol. XVII; see p. 20 where the age of the Dakota group is considered.]

As has already been mentioned some of the Dakota fossil leaves occur either at the same, or nearly the same, horizon as the Mentor fossil shells. This agrees with the observations of Professor Mudge who was the first extensive collector of both fossil shells and leaves in the Kansas Dakota. Professor Lesquereux was aware of this association of the plants and marine mollusks for in support of his belief that the Dakota was a marine formation he quoted the following statement of Professor Mudge: "They [the marine shells] are in the same strata and in the vicinity of several deposits with the dicotyledonous leaves.and together with the plants,identify this portion of the sandstone as belonging to the Dakota group of the Cretaceous." [Report U. S. Geological Survey Territories, Vol. VI, p. 26. The above quotation was published by Professor Mudge in a description of the "Red sandstone of Central Kansas" in Trans. Kans. Acad. Sci., Vol. I, 1873 (?) reprint 1896, p. 39.] The supposition that a part of the Dakota flora of Kansas belongs in the Lower instead of the Upper Cretaceous is also supported by the fact that Professor Knowlton of the U. S. Geological Survey has identified from the Cheyenne sandstone of Stokes Hill, near Belvidere, three species as identical with lower Dakota plants of Saline County. The locality for one of these, Rhus Uddeni Lx., is given as "from the west slope of the Smoky Hill Buttes, near Salemsburg post-office" which indicates that its horizon is below or near that of the Mentor shells to the west of the Smoky Hill Buttes as well as in the same general part of the terrane as the buttes near Falun where fossil leaves were found, and the Mentor fossil shells four miles west of Smolan. The other two species, Sassafras mudgei Lx, and S. cretaceum var, obtusum. Lx. came from the bluffs along the Saline river, the locality that has already been considered as near the horizon of the Mentor shells in the western part of Cambria township. [American Journal Science, 3d Series, Vol. L, pp. 212, 213.] Professor Knowlton evidently recognized that perhaps these species belonged in strata older than those containing the greater part of the Dakota flora, for he said: "If more were known of the chronologic sequence of the Dakota flora, it would possibly be found that the plants identified above belonged to lower or older beds." [Ibid., p. 214.]

Prof. Lester F. Ward has recently shown from a study of fossil plants that the lower part of the so-called "Dakota Group" of the Black Hills in South Dakota belongs in the Lower Cretaceous, and he expressed this opinion: "It would seem probable that a considerable portion of the deposits underlying the marine Cretaceous of the Rocky mountain region which have heretofore been referred to the Dakota Group on purely stratigraphical evidence may really be much older." [Journal Geology, Vol. II, May, 1894, p. 260.]

When examining the upper Permian and Lower Cretaceous of Saline County it was not practicable to study the exposures of the middle and upper Dakota. The writer is not able to say whether the coarse brownish sandstone forming the upper part of Soldier Cap Mound and the Smoky Hill Buttes belongs in the Upper Cretaceous or not. In the diagrammatic sections this sandstone has been considered typical Dakota and as of probably Upper Cretaceous age. If this supposition be true then the Mentor beds or Lower Cretaceous will correspond approximately with those beds which Meek and Hayden thought at first belonged in the Triassic or Jurassic. On the accompanying geological map the Mentor beds and the higher Dakota are mapped as belonging to the "Dakota," using that name in the sense in which it had formerly been used for the lower subdivision of the Upper Cretaceous of central Kansas. This is done because at present it is not possible to indicate the line of division between the Mentor and the Dakota formations of central Kansas, and not with the idea that all of the so-called Dakota group belongs in the same formation. The above remarks are intended to call attention to a region which promises important results as the reward of careful stratigraphical and paleontological study.

References to Descriptions of the Mentor Fauna

The earliest published reference to the Mentor fossils is apparently that of Dr. John L. Le Conte in 1868. Doctor Le Conte accompanied the surveying party for the extension of the Union Pacific railway from Salina westward in 1867 and he reported fossils from the Dakota group stating that "near the crossing of Spring creek, about a quarter of a mile south of the road, this rock abounds in fossils." The specimens were sent to Mr. Conrad who reported fourteen species, "all of which seem to be new," and the generic names were given in Doctor Le Conte's Notes, In a foot note Doctor Le Conte states on the authority of Mr. Meek that Professor Mudge had procured specimens at the same locality. [Notes on the Geology of the Survey for the extension of the Union Pacific railway, Philadelphia, Feb. 1868, p. 7.]

From a paper read by Professor Mudge before the fourth meeting of the Kansas Academy of Science, in 1871, it would appear that he first found these fossils in 1868, for he said "Three years ago, passing from Salina to Harper, when near what is now the town of Bavaria, we picked up in the road some marine fossils. Tracing the specimens to the top of an adjoining hill, we found a few acres covered with a stratum not over two feet in thickness, rich in small shells." [Trans. Kans. Acad. Sci., Vol. I, reprint 1896, p. 38.] From the material collected at this locality Mr. Meek described ten species of Lamellibranchs and two species of Gastropods. The descriptions were first published without figures in 1872, [Hayden's 2d Rept. Geol. Surv. Wyoming and Territories, pp. 297-313] and the revised descriptions of fourteen species with illustrations in 1876 in Meek's Invertebrate Cretaceous and Tertiary Fossils of the upper Missouri country. [Rept. U. S. Geol. Surv. Territories, Hayden, vol. IX. See Pl. 2.] The localities from which the fossils were collected were briefly described by Professor Mudge in his "Geology of Kansas." [First. Bien. Rept. State Board Agri. Kans., 2d ed., 1878. p. 67. See 9th An. Rept. U. S. Geol. and Geograph. Surv. Territories, Hayden, 1877, p. 291, for the same account.] Later, two additional species of Lamellibranchs were discovered by Professor Mudge in Saline County that were described in 1880 by Dr. Charles A. White. [Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., Vol. II, pp. 295, 296. These last two species were also described in Hayden's 12th An. Rept.] To the above sixteen species Professor Cragin has added nine, [American Geologist, vol. XVI, p. 164] and Mr. T. W. Stanton one, [Tapes belviderensis Crag. (?) given in this report] making a total of twenty six (26) known species of marine mollusca in the Mentor formation.

Acknowledgments

The writer cheerfully acknowledges the assistance of Mr. J. W. Beede of Washburn College in studying the geology of central and southern Kansas; also that of Mr. C. N. Gould of the Southwest Kansas College who conducted the writer to many of the typical exposures of the Comanche series in southern Kansas; and to Mr. E. R. Cumings of Union College who has materially aided in the preparation of the maps, sections and text of this report.


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Kansas Geological Survey, Geology
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