36 



THE WHITE RIVER BADLANDS 



division and with marked success so far as information 

 then at hand would allow. Later workers with better means 

 at their command have made corrections and added new 

 features until now the main history is fairly well outlined. 



The present classification shown of some local and con- 

 flicting peculiarities is given herewith and this is followed 

 by an idealized birdseye view of the Big Badlands by Os- 

 born in which the thickness of the beds and the chief char- 

 acteristics are given. 



GENERALIZED GEOLOGIC SECTION OF WHITE RIVER BADLANDS 



Pliocene 



Upper Miocene — 

 50-200 ft. 



Middle Miocene — 

 ft. 



Little White River Beds Hipparion Zone 



Nebraska Beds 

 Sheep Creek Beds 



Harrison Beds 



Lower Miocene — j Arikaree 

 600-900 ft. (Formation 



Procamelus Zone 



( Merycochoerus Zone 

 < with Daemonelix 

 ( Sandstone. 



Upper Oligocene — ^i 

 150-250 ft. 



Middle Oligocene— 

 200-400 ft. J 



Lower Oligocene 

 0-180 ft. 



I Brule 



Formation " 



Chadron 

 Formation 



{Chiefly Promerycoch- 

 oerus Zone with 

 Gering Sandstone. 



(Leptauchenia Zone 

 (Plains fauna) with 

 Protoceras sandstone 

 I (Forest and Fluviatile 

 [fauna) 



fOreodon Zone (Plains 

 J fauna) with Metamyno- 

 1 don sandstone (Forest 

 [and Fluviatile fauna.) 



Oreodon Beds 



Titanotherium Beds Titanotherium Zone 



NATURE OF THE DEPOSITS 



The rock materials of the White River badlands vary in 

 different localities and in the different beds. The older de- 

 posits are chiefly fine partially consolidated clays interlaid 

 with occasional irregular beds of coarse argillaceous sands 

 and gravels. Concretions are abundant and they often 

 grade into fairly continuous sandstone. Clay dikes occur 

 frequently and are widely distributed. In certain localities 

 thin veins of hard bluish-gray chalacedony check the softer 

 sediments in great profusion. Limestones are not common 

 but among some of the marginal outcrops particularly those 

 toward the Black Hills they reach importance. Likewise 

 near the Black Hills conglomerates are occasionally of con- 



