i0to 



m 



Official photograph, U. S. Naval Air Service 



U. S. NAVY DIRIGIBLE C-I READY TO START ON A 1,500-MILE FLIGHT FROM 

 ROCKAWAY BEACH, LONG ISLAND, TO KEY WEST, FLORIDA 



a week. When the first gas well was 

 drilled at Petrolia, I estimate that the 

 field contained slightly over a billion 

 cubic feet of helium, which is a pretty 

 respectable accumulation for a "rare ele- 

 ment." 



About 100 miles south of Petrolia lies 

 the great oil and gas region in which the 

 famous Ranger field is located. The gas 

 in this district occurs in formations 

 slightly older than the helium-rich strata 

 farther north, and for this reason we had 

 little hope that it would prove helium- 

 bearing; but, needless to say, this infer- 

 ence was checked — and fully confirmed — 

 by actual tests. I believe, however, if gas 

 is discovered, as it probably will be, in 

 the area southwest of Petrolia that it 

 will prove to be of value for its helium 

 content. 



THE HELIUM-BEARING AREA OF KANSAS 



The helium-bearing area of Kansas is 

 far larger than any yet discovered in 

 Texas and contains a number of fields 

 which in the aggregate yields much more 

 gas than Petrolia. Some of the Kansas 



gas, moreover, contains twice as much 

 helium as the Petrolia gas, though on 

 the average the Kansas variety is only 

 slightly richer. 



The Eldorado field — the richest oil 

 field ever developed in Kansas, and one 

 of the most prolific fields of high-grade 

 oil in the world — yields gas which aver- 

 ages about i}i per cent of helium. This 

 gas is found at a depth of 900 to 1,200 

 feet, or considerably above the rich oil 

 sands. 



A few miles to the south is the Augusta 

 field, which yields two distinct varieties 

 of gas — a "wind gas," practically incom- 

 bustible, which occurs at 500 feet and 

 carries about 2 per cent of helium, and 

 a deeper gas which carries about half a 

 per cent. 



The gas resources of both these fields 

 have fallen off considerably in the last 

 few years, though the total helium con- 

 tent of their combined product is still 

 nearly a million cubic feet per week. 



The old Dexter field, in which the 

 helium-bearing gas was first discovered, 

 is now exhausted, though the early diffi- 



453 



