OIL IN THE REELFOOT AREA. 35 



furnish, these must be used with the fact in mind that a period 

 of erosion followed the deposition of both the Lower and the 

 Upper Cretaceous beds. In other words, these have been in 

 part removed, and in this the tops of the folds probably suffered 

 most. This being true, a well on an anticline might not reach 

 one of these formations at a less depth than a neighboring one 

 on a syncline. Especially could this be true if the folds are 

 comparatively small. 



At present, the only suggestions the writer can give pros- 

 pectors in the Tennessee part of the Embayment area are to 

 keep well away from its borders, locate near railroads where 

 supplies are easily obtained, and when the well is once started 

 go to the old rock floor before stopping. 



CONCLUSIONS. 



1. The formations of the Embayment area probably con- 

 tained enough organic matter at the time of their deposition 

 to produce a good supply of oil and gas. 



2. Around the edges of the Embayment area, where the 

 formations are exposed, they consist of alternating beds of 

 sand and clay. The deep wells that have been sunk at Memphis 

 and Reelfoot Lake indicate that beds of sand, though fine- 

 grained, occur at practically all depths penetrated by the wells. 

 These sand beds, lying as they do, between beds of clay, should 

 form gas and oil reservoirs if the beds are folded. 



3. The elevations and depressions that have occurred in the 

 area make it probable that slight folding has taken place. 



4. While none of the four wells sunk at Memphis produced 

 oil or gas in commercial amount and while the one on Reelfoot 

 Lake has not as yet been proved to be a commercial well, the 

 reports show that all these produced gas in small amount and 

 some of them made good showings of oil. This, if the drillers 

 were not mistaken, proves the presence of these products, and 

 if they exist at all it stands to reason that in places they may 

 occur in paying quantities. 



5. The deep well records at Memphis and Reelfoot Lake 

 indicate that the Cretaceous deposits thicken in the middle of 

 the Embayment area. This is not surprising, for it is this part 

 of the area that probably was first occupied by the sea in both 



