152 



GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE TERRITORIES. 



ORDER OF STRATA EXPOSED IN RAILROAD CUT, SECTION 2, (FROM EAST TO WEST.) 



No. 



Description. 



Drift, steel-colored 



Sandstone, white 



Sandstone, yellow, containing frag- 

 ments, No. 2 



Shale, arenaceous, brown 



Sandstone, coarse, yellow, in layers. 



Sandstone, fine, yellow, in thin layers 



Sandstone, coarse, containing irregu- 

 lar streaks of brown shale, which 

 contains coal in fragments 



Sandstone, fine, white 



Sandstone, brown, contains brown 

 marks resembl'gbark and branches 



Sandstone, steel-gray, contains 

 streaks of No. 9 



Shale, black, and sandstone, steel- 

 gray 



Sandstone, fine, white 



Sandstone, in thin layers of varie- 

 gated colors 



Sandstone, in broad layers of varie- 

 gated colors 



Sandstone, steel-gray 



Sandstone, in thin layers of varie- 

 gated colors 



Sandstone, steel-gray, in layers, (con- 

 tains streaks of coarser yellow in 

 layers) .' 



Thick- 

 ness. 



Ft. In. 

 15 

 12 



2 5 



18 



2 5 

 40 



1 

 4 



6 



21 

 12 



No. 



Description. 



Shale, brown 



Sandstone, yellow 



Shale, brown 



Sandstone, steel-gray 



Sandstone, white 



Sandstone, gray 



Shale, earthy, black 



Gypseous earth, yellow 



Stale, black 



Sandstone, contains shells in frag 



ments 



Shale, brown 



Clay, marly 



Sandstone, yellow 



Shales and clays, earthy 



Shale, brown .' 



Sandstone and gypseous earth 



Shale, bituminous ; 



Gypseous earth 



Sandstone, yellow 



Sandstone, white 



Marl, containing shells 



Gypseous earth 



To end of cut, shale, clay, and arena 



ceous gypseous earth 



Length of cut, 440 feet. 



Thick- 

 ness. 



Ft. In. 



2 

 6 

 1 



40 



6 



4 



• 1 



5 



5 



15 



1 

 1 5 



30 



25 



6 



20 



1 



3 

 10 



8 







2 



60 



There is here another interesting feature, the oil springs of Bear 

 Eiver, which have made this country famous for many years. More 

 than twenty thousand acres of oil lands, in claims of one hundred and 

 sixty acres each, have already been surveyed and located by different 

 parties. Companies have been formed and shafts sunk, preparatory 

 to an extensive business. The external appearances are certainly 

 very favorable. A considerable quantity of the crude oil flows from 

 these springs constantly, and accumulates in small depressions or in the 

 channels of the stream. When the oil first issues from the ground it has 

 a bright-green color, but it soon changes on exposure to a dark brown, 

 and has a slightly aromatic taste and smell. Similar springs occur in 

 the valleys of Wind Eiver, of the Sweetwater, and also of the Arkansas 

 Eiver, near Canon City, Colorado. At the latter locality about four 

 thousand gallons of refined oil have been made per year for the past 

 three years. It is readily purchased by the inhabitants of the country, 

 who regard it in all respects as equal to our eastern oils for domestic 

 uses. I will not here attempt to explain the origin of these western oils, 

 but I suppose that they are derived from a similar source with those of 

 the East. Geologfsts differ as to whether the oil is derived from vege- 

 table or animal remains, but it is certain that it is not confined to any 

 particular formation or geological period. In the valley of the Arkansas 

 the springs are located in rocks of* cretaceous age, while in Bear Eiver 

 Valley the oil flows up through tertiary strata, though in some instances 

 it evidently rises from beds as old at least as the cretaceous. 



About twenty miles west of Fort Bridger, on the Overland Stage road, 

 there is a fine soda spring, yielding the most delicious water; it does not 

 differ materially from that of the soda springs in the valley of the 

 Fontaine qui Bouille, at the eastern base of Pike's Peak. 



Bear Eiver Valley has been noted for many years for its numerous 

 mineral springs. Indeed, all Utah Territory is celebrated for them, but 

 in times past the numerous springs in this valley have attracted most 

 attention. 



