PLEISTOCENE OF CAPITOL HILL 167 



THE PLEISTOCENE OF CAPITOL HILL. 



JAMES H. LEES. 



The Pleistocene exposures on Capitol Hill at Des Moines have 

 become classic through the studies made by MeGee and Call 

 which, demonstrated the presence of glacial drift overlying loess. 

 The results of these studies were published in the American 

 Journal of Science. Volume 21, 1882, pp. 202-223. 



Recent extension of the Capitol grounds has necessitated ex- 

 tensive grading on the south part of Capitol Hill. This has 

 revealed the strata to considerable depths and made possible 

 more complete examination of the Pleistocene deposits than 

 McGee and Call could make. The grading thus far has been 

 dnn.' on East Court avenue between 10th and 12th streets 

 and so includes the localities of McGee 's sections 3 and 1. For 

 tlie sake of comparison these sections are here reproduced 

 verbatim. 



SECTION 3. 



N. side Court Av. bet. E. 10th and E. 11th Sts.— Alt. S80± 3 ft. 



1. Light reddish-buff unstratified drift clay containing nu- 



merous rounded, subangular and angular pebbles, mainly 

 erratic, up to six inches in diameter, bits of coal and a 

 lenticular mass of Carboniferous clay three feet long, and 

 six inches thick. Seven feet. 



2. The same, obscurely and irregularly stratified, inter- 



stratified with bands of loess, and sometimes contorted, 

 containing loess-kindchen, tubelets and fossils (often 

 fragmentary), in the drift strata in direct association 

 with pebbles, as well as in the bands of loess. Five feet. 



3. Loess, similar to and continuous with that observed in sec- 



tions 1 and 2, abounding in loess-kindchen, tubelets and 

 fossils. 



SECTION 4. 



S. side Court Av. bet. E. 10th and E. 11th Sts.— Alt. S82± 3 ft. 



1. Reddish-yellow sandy clay containing numerous rounded, 

 subangular and angular pebbles up to twelve inches in 

 diameter, associated toward the base with loess-kindchen 

 and fossils. About eight feet. 



