GEOLOGICAL REPORT. 



NORTHEASTERN KANSAS AND SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 



GENERAL CONFIGURATION AND LIMITS-GEOLOGICAL FORMATIONS -( !ABBONIFKK< >rs AND PKKMIAX 

 FORMATIONS— CRETACEOUS AND OLDER F< UiMATN >\S-K< 'OXOMICAl, OK( >L< ><; Y-SCKFACK 1»K- 

 POSITS- WATER— SOIL— TIMBER— BUILDING MATERIAL— COAL— MINERALS. 



This district comprises the country along the most eastern portion of our route, 



formations, including the Cretaceous, continue near the surface, and exercise a marked 

 influence upon the configuration and general character ot the country. As the upper 

 and most western division of these rocks is horizontally stratified, and composed of 

 mostly soft and readily decomposing strata, the evidences of its presence a.v easily 

 obliterated by the increasing thickness of the more recent Tertiary and Post-Tertiary 

 deposits, and," therefore, the limits of this section are not very distinctly marked. ( >n 

 our route, which is the main route from Leavenworth to Fort Kearney, on the Platte 

 River, and mostly keeps the divide between the Missouri and Kansas Rivers, we cross 

 these limits on the Little Blue, while, farther south, along the principal streams, they 

 stretch much farther westward, in consequence of the deeper erosion of the valleys, 

 and the trend and dip of the strata. 



The general character of the country is that of beautifully rolling prairies, such 

 as we find them in Northern Missou 

 water-courses. It is more broken < 

 cially the Missouri and Kansas River 

 contain numerous hard strata, tormii 

 a greater distance from the main a] 



softer, the valleys become open and flat, and the country more and more assumes the 

 character of the next section, the plains. 



The rocks of this district belong to the Upper Carboniferous and the Cretaceous 

 formations, at some points with a considerable intermediate series of; possibly, Permian, 

 and, perhaps, also of Jurassic and Triassic rocks. The latter seem to be wanting in the 

 northern part of the section, and only to come in gradually toward the south, thus in- 

 dicating a repetition of the rule of the gradual increase of thickness of the strata, and 

 of the intercalation of new formations toward the south, which has been observed by 

 Prof. I. Hall, in regard to the Lower Carboniferous formations on the Mississippi River. 

 (See Report on the Geology of Iowa, vol. i.) It does not appear to be the conse- 

 quence of powerful denudations, but rather of a gradual change of level of the sur 

 face of the land during the extended period to which these various strata owe their 

 origin. They are, therefore, not exaetly conformable, although they have nowhere 

 been observed to be considerably tilted and disturbed. 



The o-eology of this district has lately been investigated by Mr. F. Ifawn. in 

 connection with Prof. G. C. Swallow and Dr. B. F. Shumard, and by Mr. F. B. Meek 

 and Dr. F. V. Harden. To the labors of these gentlemen we are indebted for many 

 hiohlv interesting- additions to our knowledge of its geology. I will onlyi 



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