14 UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI STUDIES 



There are various classes of people, but the majority of 

 those who live in the country are very poor. In those parts of 

 the district, however, where the farm lands are good, the people 

 are a very prosperous class. A large part of the people depend 

 wholly on the barite industry. These are known as "tiff-dig- 

 gers." During the winter and in dry weather the poorer farmers 

 also dig "tiff." 



The principal occupations of the people are farming, digging 

 barite, and making ties and barrel staves. 



GENERAL GEOLOGY OF THE WASHINGTON COUNTY 



DISTRICT 



OUTLINE OF THE GENERAL GEOLOGY 



All the formations of the region are of Cambrian age. They 

 include the Davis, tlie Derby, and the Doerun formations as de- 

 fined by Buckley,^ which, however, are all included in the Elvins 

 formation of Ulrich.'^ Above the Elvins formation are the Po- 

 tosi, the Proctor, the Gasconade, and the Roubidoux formations. 

 The entire group belongs in what is known as the "Ozark Series." 



These formations include all the members of Ulrich's 

 "Ozarkian System,"® and the formations immediately above and 

 below it. His "Ozarkian" includes the upper part of the Cam- 

 brian, as commonly defined, and the lower part of the Ordo- 

 vician. 



The formations are largely dolomites, altho some contain 

 shale, chert, and sandstone, and there are a few conglomerates. 

 There is practically no limestone in the entire group. Fossils are 

 almost unknown, and, since there is considerable lithologic simi- 

 larity among the formations, differentiation is extremely diffi- 

 cult. The boundaries must be drawn rather arbitrarily and their 

 accuracy will depend upon the familiarity of the observer with 

 the formations involved. 



'Buckley, E. R., Mo. Bur. of Geol. and Mines, vol. 9, Pt. 1, pp. 33-49, 

 1908. 



'Ulrich, E. O., "The Copper Deposits of Missouri," Bull. 267, U S 

 G. S., p. 23. 



'Ulrich, E. O., Bull. Geol. Soc. Am., vol. 22, pp. 281-680. 1911. 



