A Geological Keconnoisance in Grant, Gar- 
field and Woods Counties, Oklahoma. 
BY GEO. I. ADAMS. 
With Plates XI and XII. 
In March, 1898, the writer spent some time ina general recon- 
noisance of Grant, Garfield and Woods counties in northwestern 
Oklahoma. The accompanying map (Plate XI) shows the geology 
south of central Kansas, and records such information as I was 
able to obtain concerning the adjacent portion of the territory. 
The main geological formation in the above mentioned counties 
is the Red Beds. This is overlaid by an irregular Pleistocene de- 
posit, which is apparently not over fifty feet thick. The latter is 
not shown on the map. The Red Beds, the age of which is still 
undetermined because of their barrenness of fossils, are either 
Permian or Triassic. They have been studied in Kansas and a 
summary of the hterature can be found in the Kansas University 
Geological Survey, Vol. II, in the chapter by C. S. Prosser, on 
The Upper Permian. Following his description I give here the 
general characters of the formation. The Red Beds, or Cimarron 
series, consist principally of red sandstones and shales, some of 
which, when wet, are of a bright red or vermilion color. The 
sandstones are soft and friable while the shales are arenaceous or 
argillaceous. Thin layers of grayish to greenish gray sandstones, 
and grayish spots are not of unfrequent occurrence. Near the 
middle portion of the terrain the shales contain considerable de- 
posits of salt. Above the salt shales are variegated shales and 
sandstones, in which are thin layers of satinspar, selenite and other 
forms of gypsum. Capping these shales is the main mass of gyp- 
sum which is a conspicuous ledge several feet in thickness. Suc- 
ceeding the massive gypsum are bright red shales and sandstones 
that are more brilliantly colored. Gypsum is not so abundant in 
this upper portion of the Red Beds, but near the top is found a 
conspicuous stratum of magnesian limestone or dolomite. 
The Red Beds, according to Prosser, may be considered as con- 
sisting of the lower beds or Salt Fork formation, the Cave creek 
(121) KAN, UNIV. QUAR., VOL. VII. NO. 3, JULY, 1898, SERIES A. 
