140 KANSAS UNIVERSITY QUARTERLY. 



existence by no means is at variance with the views of others who 

 refer the gravel to the Coal Measures. 



In 1884 Judge E. P. West read a paper before the Kansas Academy 

 of Science,* entitled: "The Last Submergence and Emergence of 

 Southeastern Kansas from the Carboniferous Seas, or those Effecting 

 the Carboniferous Eormations in Kansas," in which he attributed the 

 present topography of the eastern part of the State to a relatively 

 modern submergence below the sea level, during which time, he 

 thought, the valleys were eroded, the terraces formed, and the gravel 

 beds produced. In this paper he was unable to fix a date for either 

 the beginning or the ending of the submergence, but subsequently! he 

 decided that the period was the same as that portion of the glacial 

 period during which the Loess was deposited along the Missouri river, 

 and that the submergence involved nearly all of Kansas and parts of 

 Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, Louisiana, Indian 

 Territory and Texas. He admits, however, that no trace of marine 

 deposits has been found over this vast territory, and seems to rely 

 wholly upon the extent of erosion, and the gravel and other surface 

 dei)Osits for the evidence of such a wiile spread submergence. How 

 well this accords with the generally accepted views of erosion the 

 reader can judge. 



It will be seen from the foregoing that the prevailing opinion has 

 been that the gravels themselves originated in the Coal Measure 

 limestone, and that the accumulation of the beds was in some way 

 connected with the glacial period, probably with the heavy floods 

 produced by melting ice. 



Our labors the past summer have demonstrated a few j)oints which 

 may have an important bearing on the subject. First, we have be- 

 come convinced that chert has such a wide spread distribution in the 

 different limestone systems of the state that trans])ortation has 

 been necessary in few instances, possibly in none. Could the lime- 

 stone as now seen be dissolved in a day the amount of chert left 

 behind would be surprisingly great. Scarcely a single system has 

 been studied carefully which did not contain surprisingly large 

 amounts of it. The lead bearing limestone of Galena has sufficient 

 chert to produce beds of gravel a fourth as thick as the limestone 

 system. The Erie limestone is particularly filled with chert, as may 

 readily be seen wherever it is exposed. Along the west bank of the 

 Neosho river for a few miles below Austin is a splendid place to 

 make such observations. Chert nodules of many shapes and sizes are 



♦PublLshed in Kansas City Jievieic, Vol. 8, p. 477. and also in Trans. Kun. Acad. Sci., Vol. 

 IX. p. 106. 

 iKansag City Review. Vol. 8, p. 566. 



