74 THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA 



called. The glacial origin of the' conglomerates is believed to be 

 indicated by the following characteristics : 



1. The heterogeneous character of the conglomerates, as indi- 

 cated by the range in source of rock material and the great varia- 

 tion in size of the constitutents in local deposits. 



2. The non-residuary and unweathered character of the con- 

 stituents of the conglomerates. 



3. The great thickness of the conglomerate beds. 



4. The occurrence of polished and striated surfaces of the rock 

 floor upon which the conglomerate rests. 



5. The occurrence of polished, striated, and grooved pebbles 

 and boulders in the conglomerate. 



6. The occurrence of boulders in the conglomerate transported 

 in a direction conforming to the direction of striae on the rock floor 

 of the conglomerate. 



The phenomena described under the first three of these head- 

 ings refers to characteristics which are general and everywhere 

 exhibited by the conglomerate, while the features described under 

 the latter three headings which are the distinctive evidence of glacia- 

 tion, are not everywhere developed or preserved in the conglomerate. 



In addition to the distinctive evidence, of glacial origin furnished 

 by the constituents of the conglomerate and the striated rock floors, 

 there are U-shaped valleys of the Arbuckle Mountains formed be- 

 fore and during the period of deposition of the conglomerate which 

 possesses the characteristic outlines of glacial eroded valleys. One 

 of these U-shaped valleys, that of Honey Creek, has a polished and 

 striated rock floor upon which the typical glacial conglomerate rests. 



XXXIII PHYSIOGRAPHIC HISTORY OF THE 



ARBUCKLE MOUNTAINS 



Samuel Weidman* 



From the Oklahoma Geological Survey and the Department of 

 Geology of the University of Oklahoma. 



The Arbuckle Mountains consist of a low dissected plateau 

 pitching gently to the southeast, from 1300 feet in the west to 750 

 feet in the southeast. The plateau is somewhat triangular in shape 

 and has an extent of some 600 to 800 square miles. Only the 

 western section of this plateau, namely its highest part west of the 

 Washita River, mainly in southern Murray County, is usually 

 referred to as the Arbuckle Mountains by the residents of the 

 region. Geologists, however, include the much larger plateau area 

 extending some 30 miles east of the Washita River as the Arbuckle 

 Mountains because this larger piateau area is a unit in mountain 



