36 GULF TERTIAKY OF TEXAS. 



Saline Creek runs just southeast of the southeast corner, and thence into the 

 Sabine River, about three miles to the northeast. Along this is a series of 

 flat swamps, heavily wooded with thickets, and subject to the overflows of 

 the river. To the north, south, and west the land rises slowly into the sandy 

 hills of the Timber Belt Beds. 



HENDERSON COUNTY. 



At Athens, the county seat of Henderson County, are seen similar sandy 

 and clayey strata to those described in Van Zandt County. The following 

 section, made up from data collected to the east and southwest of the town, 

 shows the character of the bed : 



1. Ferruginous clayey sand, with thin seams of iron ore two to twelve 



inches thick 5 feet. 



2. Gray clays and ferruginous sands 23 feet 



3. Potters clay •. . . 12 to 18 feet. 



4. Siliceous sands and gray clay, in some places pure, in others ferruginous. . 78 feet. 



5. Lignite 3 to 4 feet. 



6. Chocolate colored clay 3 to 4 feet. 



7. Gray clays and sands at base of section. 



TIMBER BELT SOILS. 



The soils of the Timber Belt Beds differ very much, and vary from the rich 

 dark river bottom clays and loams to the sandy lands of the upland plateaus. 

 Between these are the red and mulatto soils of the intermediate region. 

 These soils may be described under five headings: 



1. Chocolate soils River Bottom soils. 



2. Red Clayey soils \ 



3. Red Sandy soils V Lowland soils. 



4. Mulatto soils j 



5. Gray sandy soils Upland soils. 



The river bottom soils, or chocolate lpnds, are found along all the rivers, 

 and are alluvial. They vary from the clayey to the sandy class, but gener- 

 ally belong to the former, differing a little in color, according to the local 

 presence or absence of iron. They are frequently highly calcareous, especi- 

 ally along the larger rivers, which, having previously flowed over vast areas 

 of calcareous rocks in the prairie region, have become highly charged with 

 carbonate of lime. When the rivers rise in the wet season they overflow this 

 bottom land, leaving a sediment of rich calcareous clay, which adds greatly 

 to the fertility of the soil. The red clayey, the red sandy, and the "mulatto" 

 soils are extensively represented in East Texas, and form some of the richest 



