55 
The landscape of the Oakville outcrop zone along the Southern 
Pacific Railroad is more subdued than it is from Lagrange north- 
ward or to the south. There are several excellent outcrops of this 
sandstone along the road leading north from Engle to Lagrange. 
Wild flowers, such as the bluebonnets (Texas State flower) and the 
mallows, which are the glory of the spring in Texas, are particularly 
luxuriant upon the sands derived from the Oakville ledges. The 
Catahoula-Oakville contact is about 3 miles east of Flatonia but is 
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 
not visible in the lowland of the badly drained area at the h 
waters of Mulberry Creek. 
head- 
Two miles west of Engle siding a summit is attained, beyond 
which is a long, rolling slope to Flatonia, a thriving tow 
munity part German and part Bohemian, situated 
on the outcrop of the lower beds of the Catahoula 
Flatonia was named from 
who kept a store at the original site of the town, 
2 miles south of the present one. 
Flatonia. 
Elevation 457 feet. 
Population 966 
; sandstone.*® 
New Orleans 484 miles. 
1 in a com- 
J. Flato, 
It has an interesting position 
form and altered to bentonite, is ap- 
parently restricted to the Oakville 
sandstone, and the dendrites (plant 
Oakville clays. Reworked Cretaceous 
fossils occur as pebbles in both forma- 
tions. The Oakville contains few 
marine fossils many 
remains of have been 
found in it, including primitive horses 
of several kinds, rhinoceroses, croco- 
diles, and tortoises, and it is classed 
as rap middle, and early upper Mio- 
in age. It is underlain uncon- 
Piety y the Catahoula sandstone, 
although the rate of dip of both forma- 
tions is about the same. 
% The Catahoula consists of soft 
bluish massive sandstone and inter- 
us 
matrix, but elsewhere a bide opalescent | 
quartzite matrix is not uncommon. 
The clays are greenish gray or yellow, 
are mostly sandy, and carry limy clay 
balls an inch or more in diameter 
similar to those now forming at the 
salt-water mouths of some large 
streams. The sands are relatively 
the Sabine River, where on the out- 
crop area there are long stretches of 
pine woods. Opalized wood and clear 
impressions of tropical palms are 
locally abundant. According to E. W. 
Berry (U.S. Geological Survey Prof. 
Paper 98, p. 229, 1917), this flora 
contains no upland or i types 
and may be regarded as a strictly 
coastal assemblage made up of groups 
deposition was not, however, restricted 
to southwest Texas, for most of the 
Jatahoula. 
ne. ys m 
black soil and are very heavy when wet. — 
