432 proceedings: geological society 



representing a long time. However, as just stated, the Jurassic beds 

 below the lowest dinosaur horizon were incorrectly included, and there 

 is a possibility of further restriction of the formation. But, until it is 

 shown that the plant horizon is not properly included, the plants must 

 stand in favor of the Cretaceous age of the Morrison. 



Discussion: C. H. Wegemann mentioned conglomeratic sandstone 

 above the Morrison. T. W. Stanton said that typical Dakota forms 

 occur in eastern Nebraska, and that four of these species are found in 

 See's Morrison. 



Alfeed H. Brooks: Memorial to C. Willard Hayes. (Published in 

 the Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, 28: 81-123.) 



The 319th meeting was held at the Cosmos Club, April 11, 1917. 



INFORMAL COMMUNICATIONS 



G. W. Stose: Corals growing along the coast of Delaware. The 

 finding of corals as far north as Delaware raises interesting questions 

 as to conditions of environment, means of distribution, effects of en- 

 vironment on size, etc. 



REGULAR PROGRAM 



Dean E. Winchester: Oil-shale in the United States. Oil-shale is 

 an argillaceous or shaly deposit from which petroleum may be obtained 

 by distillation but not by treatment with solvents. It must be mined 

 like coal and then heated before its oil is made available. In the 

 United States there are black shales, ranging in age from Devonian to 

 Eocene, which will yield oil when heated, but so far as yet examined 

 the oil-shale of the Green River formation (Eocene) of Colorado, 

 Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming is by far the richest, although shale of 

 Carboniferous age in southwestern Montana has been found to yield 

 as much as 24 gallons of oil per short ton, and some shales associated 

 with coal beds in the coal fields of the eastern part of the United States 

 yield even more. Cannel coal and cannel shale are also rich. Good 

 oil-shale is black or brownish black in color, except on weathered 

 surface, where it is bluish gray to nearly white. The shale is fine- 

 grained, usually slightly calcareous. It is tough and in thin-bedded 

 specimens remarkably flexible. When freshly broken oil-shale gives off 

 a peculiar odor like petroleum, although the rock contains but little oil 

 that can be extracted with solvents. 



Approximately 5500 square miles in northwestern Colorado and 

 northeastern Utah are underlain by beds of oil-shale (Green River 

 formation) thick enough to mine and apparently rich enough to warrant 

 the development of an industry for the manufacture of shale-oil and 

 other products. Mining conditions in the oil-shale of Colorado and 

 Utah are much more favorable than in Scotland, where the oil-shale 

 industry has been best developed. Crude distillation tests indicate 



