July 24, 1 



NATURE 



297 



bisulphuret of iron ormundic, calcite or " glass-tiff," dolo- 

 mite, quartz, and bitumen. The base rocks of the district 

 consist of a deposit of limestone 100 feet in thickness, 

 charged with characteristic Keokuk fossils, which, how- 

 ever, are much comminuted and splintered, and bear evi- 

 dence of the pressure and tension to which the strata have 

 been subjected. The Kansas ores are similar in almost 

 all parts to those of the Missouri district, and it is con- 

 sidered quite possible that time will reveal the existence 

 of other ore-bearing strata. 



The large area of Upper Carboniferous series may 

 be roughly divided into Upper and Lower Coal-measures, 

 the latter occupying between 4000 or 5000 square miles, 

 and passing, in the west, conformably beneath the Upper 

 Measures. The series is largely made up of shales and 

 sandstones, with occasional thin beds of limestone and 

 iron ores, but its chief economic value consists in pos- 

 sessing workable beds of coal. These are mostly distri- 

 buted in the lower 400 feet. of strata, and are somewhat 

 irregular and variable in thickness. Some of the coals 

 indeed are found in little isolated basins or pockets, fill- 

 ing trough-like depressions surrounded by ledges of the 

 older formation ; but as a rule, the thinner coal-beds are 

 remarkable for their persistence over a large extent of 

 ground. The Cherokee coals are of a very superior 

 quality, and they (together with most of the Kansas 

 lower beds) contain less sulphur than the coals of either 

 Illinois or Iowa. Naturally there is a great demand for 

 coking purposes and local consumption, while pretty 

 heavy shipments are made to the towns and cities on the 

 Missouri River. These Lower Coal-measures also contain 

 excellent building-stone and hydraulic limestone, which 

 is extensively utilised for making cement. The general 

 inclination of the strata is north of west, with a dip that 

 seldom exceeds io'. The estimate of the Lower Coals, 

 from an aggregate thickness of four feet, is 20,000,030,000 

 tons, and if the area be extended to that occupied by 

 the overlying Upper Measures, so as to reach the Lower 

 Coals accessible from 500 to iooo feet, the product may 

 be fairly estimated at double. 



The Upper Coal-measures have an aggregate vertical 

 thickness of at least 2200 feet, the exposed area extend- 

 ing for 24,000 square miles ; but in the character of the 

 component strata they present a marked contrast to the 

 Lower series, on account of the limestone ledges which 

 form such striking features in the landscape. The lower 

 beds are characterised by frequent and thick deposits of 

 gray limestone, succeeded in the middle portion by 

 darker, rusty, weathered ledges, and in the upper by light, 

 buff-gray rock. The sandstones occur in some half-dozen 

 well-developed horizons along the line of the Kansas val- 

 ley, usually in the condition of arenaceous shales, and 

 affording local supplies of building and flagging stones. 

 In Osage County these have an additional interest, as being 

 marked with casts and tracks of gigantic Batrachians. 

 The limestone beds are somewhat deteriorated for build- 

 ing purposes by cherty deposits, but, on the other hand, 

 they contain ironstone nodules of haematite and carbonate 

 ores, with crystals of sulphate of lime and beds of mas- 

 sive gypsum, varying in thickness from five to fifteen feet. 

 These gypsum deposits are capable of affording inex- 

 haustible supplies, which are used most beneficially as 

 manure for the soil. Where the cherty concretions are not 

 met with, the limestone beds yield magnificent building- 

 stone, the texture and colouring of which can be seen to 

 great advantage in the State House of Topeka and many 

 other public buildings. The Upper Coals are distinguished 

 from the Lower by their more brittle texture and a larger 

 percentage of ash and impurities. Though there are 

 several valuable and persistent seams, such as the Blue 

 Mound and Osage coals, thinness is a decided character- 

 istic of the Upper Measures, few, if any, being above 

 thirty inches, and the greater number not exceeding ten 

 inches. But, although the Upper Measures are clearly 



of not so much economic importance as the Lower, it is 

 quite possible to reach the Lower by tolerably deep borings 

 through the Upper, and indeed this has been already 

 successfully demonstrated. 



The Mesozoic age in Kansas is represented solely by 

 Cretaceous formations, which, however, occupy the largest 

 area of any in the State, being no less than 40,000 square 

 miles. The series is composed of three divisions, viz. the 

 Dakota, Benton, and Niobrara, all belonging to well- 

 recognised lower members of the Cretaceous rocks of the 

 LTpper Missouri region. The Dakota beds consist of 

 sandstone interbedded with variegated shales, with occa- 

 sional layers and pockets of impure coal. The sand- 

 stones are permeated and deeply stained with ferruginous 

 matter, the iron being often concentrated around nuclei, 

 forming singularly-shaped concretions. The proximity to 

 the ancient land area is denoted by the rather extensive 

 fossil flora usually found in these concretions, but the 

 fauna is more limited in variety, comprising, so far, a few 

 fishes, a large Saurian, and several species of Mollusks. The 

 sandstones vary lithologically, but are usually compact 

 and often intensely hard, forming highland ridges marked 

 by rugged and picturesque features. Less is known of the 

 Benton beds than of the other members of the series. 

 They consist of argillaceous and calcareous shales, with 

 thin layers of limestone, overlaid by dark-coloured shales, 

 but good exposures of these rocks are rarely found. They 

 have, however, yielded to the palaeontologist several 

 Saurians, while the limestones are frequently charged 

 with fine ammonites, the shells of Inoceramus, the gigantic 

 Haploscapha, and myriads of the little Ostrea congesta. 

 The Niobrara beds are the most important of the 

 Kansas Cretaceous formations, and offer much better- 

 marked horizons. The lower portion shows alternations 

 of fragmentary limestone and shales, which above pass 

 into shelly limestone, and, in some localities, into chalky 

 limestone. All these layers are charged with a wonderfully 

 numerous and varied Vertebrate fauna, allied to forms which 

 are common in the Colorado shales of the Rocky Mountain 

 region, and consist of remains of Teliosts or common bony 

 fishes, sharks, Saurians, and an extraordinary species of 

 bird, whose jaws are armed with teeth. The mineralogist 

 will also be interested in these beds, as furnishing beauti- 

 ful examples of selenite crystal. From a landscape point 

 of view, also, the Niobrara beds are instructive, as they 

 are frequently intersected by miniature canon labyrinths, 

 and exhibit varieties of monumental forms detached by 

 the erosion of the valleys, some of these, composed of a 

 coping of limestone and a shaft of chalk and compact 

 shale, rising from 20 to 70 feet in height. In an economic 

 sense the Cretaceous series is of considerable value. The 

 Dakota deposits contain three beds of lignite, the Benton 

 shales yield quantities of septaria, used for making the 

 finer qualities of cement, together with excellent chalk 

 applicable for whiting, while the Niobrara beds furnish 

 vast supplies of pure lime. All the divisions yield excel- 

 lent building-stone, and throughout the formation a pro- 

 ductive supply of salt occurs, from the brines of which 

 there is already a brisk annual trade of 35,000 bushels. 



The most recent formation of Kansas is principally in 

 the north-west of the State, where there is a Kaino- 

 zoic area of Pliocene beds of about 11,500 square 

 miles, extending thence from Colorado and Nebraska, 

 where a vast stretch of country is occupied by the 

 White River formation. Its typical features are loosely- 

 aggregated sands, more or less calcareous, forming 

 irregular strata of brown and gray sandstone, while in 

 some places siliceous beds occur, associated with several 

 varieties of chalcedony, and containing fragments of the 

 tusks of a very large mammal. The fauna is most in- 

 teresting in this respect, — beaver, rhinoceros, camel, deer, 

 wolf, and turtle being all represented. The district is 

 noted for its eroded mounds and columns, the most 

 striking being the Sheridan Buttes, which rise in perfect 



