﻿GEOLOGICAL 
  REPORT 
  OF 
  B. 
  F. 
  MDDGE. 
  

  

  NOTES 
  ON 
  THE 
  TERTIARY 
  AND 
  CRETACEOUS 
  PERIODS 
  OF 
  

  

  KANSAS.* 
  

  

  PEELIMINAEY 
  NOTE. 
  

  

  The 
  State 
  of 
  Kansas 
  is 
  about 
  400 
  miles 
  long 
  from 
  east 
  to 
  west 
  and 
  

   about 
  200 
  miles 
  (three 
  degrees) 
  in 
  width 
  from 
  north 
  to 
  south. 
  Its 
  aver- 
  

   age 
  altitude 
  above 
  the 
  level 
  of 
  the 
  sea, 
  by 
  the 
  List 
  of 
  Elevations 
  by 
  H. 
  

   Gannett, 
  United 
  States 
  Geological 
  Survey, 
  Miscellaneous 
  Publications 
  

   No. 
  2, 
  is 
  not 
  far 
  from 
  1,780 
  feet. 
  The 
  lowest 
  point 
  is 
  at 
  the 
  junction 
  of 
  

   the 
  Kansas 
  and 
  Missouri 
  Eivers, 
  and 
  is 
  750 
  feet. 
  The 
  highest 
  is 
  in 
  

   Cheyenne 
  County, 
  about 
  4,000 
  feet. 
  The 
  altitude 
  of 
  Monotony 
  station 
  

   of 
  the 
  Kansas 
  Pacific 
  Railway, 
  on 
  the 
  west 
  line 
  of 
  the 
  State, 
  is 
  3,792 
  feet. 
  

   The 
  Atchison, 
  Topeka 
  and 
  Santa 
  Fe 
  Railway 
  station 
  at 
  Syracuse, 
  

   Arkansas 
  Valley, 
  also 
  near 
  the 
  west 
  line, 
  is 
  3,425 
  feet. 
  

  

  By 
  inspection 
  of 
  the 
  map 
  of 
  the 
  State, 
  it 
  will 
  be 
  seen 
  that 
  the 
  rivers 
  

   drain 
  the 
  country 
  in 
  a 
  southerly 
  and 
  easterly 
  direction. 
  As 
  there 
  is 
  not 
  

   a 
  watertall 
  on 
  any 
  of 
  the 
  streams 
  7 
  feet 
  in 
  height, 
  the 
  descent 
  is 
  gradual, 
  

   averaging 
  7^ 
  feet 
  to 
  the 
  mile. 
  The 
  State 
  is 
  so 
  well 
  drained, 
  that 
  there 
  

   are 
  very 
  few 
  valleys 
  with 
  stagnant 
  ponds, 
  and 
  there 
  is 
  not 
  a 
  peat-swamp 
  

   of 
  iifty 
  acres 
  within 
  its 
  boundaries.! 
  

  

  I.— 
  STRATIGRAPHICAL 
  GEOLOGY. 
  

  

  A 
  general 
  vertical 
  section 
  of 
  all 
  the 
  formations 
  seen 
  in 
  Kansas 
  would 
  

   be 
  in 
  descending 
  series 
  as 
  follows 
  : 
  

  

  I. 
  — 
  Quaternary 
  system 
  : 
  

   Alluvium. 
  

   Bottom 
  prairie. 
  

   Bluff 
  or 
  loess. 
  

   Drift. 
  

  

  II. 
  — 
  Tertiary 
  system 
  : 
  

  

  Pliocene. 
  

   HI. 
  — 
  Cretaceous 
  system 
  : 
  

   Niobrara. 
  

   Dakota. 
  

  

  [* 
  Eeprinted, 
  with 
  much 
  additional 
  matter, 
  from 
  the 
  Bulletin 
  of 
  the 
  Survey, 
  Vol. 
  ii» 
  

   No. 
  3, 
  pp. 
  211-221. 
  June 
  5, 
  1876.— 
  Ed.] 
  

  

  t 
  There 
  has 
  been 
  no 
  State 
  geologist 
  during 
  the 
  past 
  ten 
  years, 
  and 
  the 
  informatioa 
  

   embodied 
  in 
  this 
  sketch 
  was 
  nearly 
  all 
  obtained 
  while 
  engaged 
  in 
  other 
  duties. 
  la 
  

   relation 
  to 
  the 
  classification 
  of 
  fossils, 
  I 
  have 
  consulted 
  the 
  works 
  of 
  Lesquereux, 
  Meek, 
  

   Marsh, 
  and 
  Cope. 
  

  

  277 
  

  

  