GEOLOGY. 
Lis 
We have no clue to the age of these rocks, save that they are 
older than the Tertiary beds above, and newer than the Trenton 
limestone below. They somewhat resemble some Cretaceous beds 
found in several places on this part of the continent ; and these 
facts have led me to the inquiry, whether they are Cretaceous. Our 
future investigations may show their true position. 
We have observed no fossils in these rocks. 
SYSTEM IV—CARBONIFEROUS. 
This system presents two important divisions: Upper CARBON- 
IFEROUS, or COAL-MEasuREs ; LOWER CARBONIFEROUS, or MOUNTAIN 
LIMESTONE. 
The CoaL-MEasurEs are made up of numerous strata of sand- 
stones, limestones, shales, clays, marls, spathic iron ores, and coals. 
We have observed about 2,000 feet of these coal-measures, contain- 
ing numerous beds of iron ore, and at least eight or ten beds of 
good workable coal. 
These rocks, with the accompanying beds of coal and iron, cover 
an area of more than twenty-seven thousand square miles in Mis- 
souri.* If aline be drawn from the northeastern corner of the 
State, through Clark, Lewis, Shelby, Monroe, Audrain, Callaway, 
Boone, Cooper, Saline, Henry, St, Clair, Cedar, and Dade Coun- 
ties, to the middle of the western boundary of Jasper, this irregular 
boundary will separate the great body of the coal-measures, on the 
northwest, from the older rocks on the southeast. Besides the 
large body of coal-measures on the north-west side of this line, 
there are extensive beds in Cole, Moniteau, St. Charles, St. Louis 
and Callaway Counties. The common bituminous and cannel coals 
are the only varieties of this mineral observed. These exist in vast 
. quantities—one might almost say inexhaustible. 
The fossils are numerous and interesting. So far as our observa- 
tions extend in Missouri, the Fusudina cylindrica, Spirifer cameratus, 
S. plano-convexa, S. hemplicata, S. Kentuckensis, Productus splen- 
dens, P. equicostatus, P. Nebrascencis, P. Wabashensis, P. Calhoum_ 
anus, Chonetes mesoloba, C. Parva, C, Smithi, Myalina subgquadrata,_ 
Allorisma regularis, A. terminalis, Leda arata, Pleurotomaria 
sphaerulata, Campophyllum torquium, and Chetetes millepora- 
ceus are confined to and very characteristic of, the coal-measures. 
The discovery of the fact that these fossils are confined to 
the coal-measures, has enabled us to point out the existence of the 
coal-measures, and the coal beds contained in them, over an area 
of many thousand miles, where some geologists had supposed no 
coal measures and no coal existed. 
Of the lower Carboniferous rock, we have observed the follow- 
ing formations : 
Upper ARCHIMEDES LIMESTONE, 250 feet ; FERRUGINOUS SAND- 
STONE, 195 feet; MippLE ARCHIMEDES LIMESTONE, 50 feet; Sr, 
Louis LIMESTONE, 225 feet; OoLiTic LIMESTONE, 20 feet; LOWER 
ARCHIMEDES SANDSTONE, 350 feet. 
The upper Archimedes Limestone is developed in Ste. Gene- 
vieve County and contains the following fossils: Productus cora, 
* The Missouri coal basin is one of the largest in the known world. Besides 
the 27,000 square miles in Missouri, there are in Nebraska at least 10,000 square 
miles; in Kansas, 12,000; in Iowa, according to Dr. OWEN, 20,000; in Illinois, 
30,000 ; making, in all, at least 100,000 square miles 
P. elegans, Spirifer Leidyi, S. incrassatus (?), S. spinosus, S. linea- 
tus (?), Spirigera hirsuta, Atheris subtilita, Atrypa serpentina, Or- 
this umbraculum (?), Fenestella lyra, F. swallvana, F. Mechana, 
Pentremites pyriformis, P. sulcatus, Agassizocrinus dactyliformis, 
and /oteriocrinus occidentalis. 
The Ferruginous Sandstone is variable in its lithological charac- 
ters. in some portions it is very white and saccharoidal; in others, 
fine, impure particles are disseminated through the mass, and the 
color becomes a dirty brown; and in a few localities, as near Ful- 
ton, Callaway County, it is a coarse conglomerate. But generally, 
when well developed, it is a coarse-grained, heavy bedded, friable 
sandstone, colored with various shades of brown, red and purple, 
as it appears in the bluffs near Salt Creek, Sulphur Springs, some 
two. miles west of Osceola; or clouded with yellow and red, as on 
Turkey Creek in Cedar County. The upper part is more regularly 
stratified and finer grained, contains more argillaceous matter, and 
has a light-brown yellowish gray or cream color. It is very soft 
wheh quarried, and may then be dressed for building purposes ; 
but exposure renders it much harder and more durable. 
This sandstone contains large quantities of oxides of iron, brown 
and red hematites, which, in many places, form extensive beds of 
excellent ore. . 
The large quantities of iron in this sandstone have led me to 
It is found 
skirting the eastern border of the coal-measures, from the mouth of 
the DesM@ines to McDonald County. 
give it the provisional name, Ferruginous Sandstone, 
The St. Louts Limestone is made up of hard crystalline, and 
compact, gray and blue, somewhat cherty limestones, interstratified 
with thin partings of blue shale. Its stratigraphical position is 
between the Ferruginous sandstone and the Archimedes limestone, 
as seen near the DesMoines, and near the first tunnel on the Pacific 
Railroad. It is found in Clark and Lewis Counties, but attains 
its greatest development in St. Louis, from which the name is 
derived. 
The most characteristic fossils yet described, are Pa/echinus. mul- 
tipora, Lithostrotion Canadense, Echinocrinus Nerct, Poteriocrinus 
longidactylus, and Atrypa lingulata. 
The Lower Archimedes Limestone. In this formation are included 
the ‘‘Arenaceous bed,’’ the ‘‘ Warsaw or second Archimedes 
Limestone,’’ the ‘* Magnesian Limestone,’’ the ‘‘ Geode bed,’’ and 
the ‘‘ Keokuk or Lower Archimedes Limestone’’ of Prof. Ha.y’s 
section, and the lead-bearing rocks of Southwestern Missouri, which 
though different from any of the above beds, are more nearly allied 
to them than to the Encrinital limestone below. All of the above 
beds are easily recognized in Missouri, save perhaps, the Warsaw 
limestone, which is but imperfectly represented in our northeastern 
counties, where the ‘‘ Keokuk limestone,’’ the ‘‘ Geode beds’’ 
and the Magnesian limestone, are well developed. 
The most characteristic fossils described, are Feneste/la Worth- 
enit (?), FF. Owenane, Agaricocrinus Tuberosus, Actinocunus 
Humboldtii Spirifer incrassatus (#) Orthis Swallovi. 
This formation extends from the northeastern part of the State, 
to the southwest, in an irregular zone, skirting the eastern border of 
The extensive and rich lead deposits of 
Southwestern Missouri are partly in this formation. 
the Ferruginous sandstone. 
These mines 
