l8 THE PERMO-CARBONIFEROUS RED BEDS OF 



ledges become thinner and thinner, and the flint less pronounced. In general * * *, 

 it may be observed that in going eastward from the Red Beds toward the Carbon- 

 iferous the sandstones and shales, which have been of a deep, brick-red color, 

 become more and more brownish and grayish, and finally lose entirely their char- 

 acteristic hue and take on that of the older formations. The lithology changes 



also. * * *" 



"The Marion and Welhngton formations" narrow rapidly in northern Okla- 

 homa, and their place is taken by the Red Beds. Perhaps it is more correct to 

 state that the color of the shales appears to change to the south, and to become red, 

 while at the same time more of the red sandstone comes in, all tending to change 

 the formation in lithological appearance to that of typical Red Beds. 



"A section of the Twin Hills, 7 miles east of Ingalls, eastern Oklahoma, shows 

 three ledges of limestone, the thickest of which is not more than 4 feet, while all 

 the rest of the rocks are either red shales or sandstones. Above these Hmestones 

 are ledges of grayish or red sandstones, which thicken to the south and west, and, 

 in the region between Stillwater and Orlando, assume the red tint so common in 

 the Red Beds. * * * The line of separation between the rocks of these two ages 

 (Carboniferous and Permian) must finally be drawn far out in the Red Beds." 



"* * * These formations'" [Marion and Wellington] narrow rapidly in northern 

 Oklahoma, and their place is taken by the Red Beds. Perhaps it is more correct 

 to state that the color of the shales changes to the south, becoming red, while at 

 the same time more of the red sandstone comes in, so that finally the formation 

 changes to typical Red Beds. On the State line, the distance from the Winfield 

 formation, the upper conspicuous limestone member, to the eastern outcrop of 

 the Red Beds is perhaps 30 miles; on the southern line of Kay County, Oklahoma, 

 it is not more than 1 5 miles, while farther south the Hne of separation can not be 

 determined, for the reason that the hmestone disappears, and its place is taken by 

 red shales and sandstones. In southern Kansas there are three distinct kinds of 

 Permian rocks: first, the heavy limestones in eastern Cowley County and along 

 Walnut River; second, the bluish and gray clays and shales of the Marion and 

 Wellington formations from Walnut River to western Sumner County ; and, third, 

 the typical Red Beds, consisting of red sandstones and clays extending from this 

 point nearly to the west line of the State. In eastern Oklahoma, on the other 

 hand, only Red Beds appear. Thus it is seen that the Red Beds extend farther 

 east in Oklahoma than in Kansas, and that the eastern limit of the Red Beds 

 does not coincide with the Hne of separation between the Pennsylvanian and the 

 Permian. In other words, the red color of the rocks, which has been thought 

 characteristic of only the Permian of the region, in fact transgresses far into the 

 region of the Pennsylvanian rocks. This means, of course, that the line of separa- 

 tion between the rocks of these two epochs must finally be drawn far out in the 

 Red Beds, and this the writer has attempted to do." 



In 1914 Beede'= gave a detailed account of the lithologic and color 

 changes in Oklahoma largely corroborative and supplementary to his former 

 account. 



"Gould, General Geology of Oklahoma, Second Biannual Report Oklahoma Geological and Natural 

 History Survey, p. 27, 1902. 



>> Gould, Geology and Water Resources of Oklahoma, U. S. Geological Survey, Water Supply and 

 Irrigation Paper No. 148, p. 35, 1905. 



"Beede, Oklahoma Geological Survey, Bulletin 21, 1914. p. 25. 



