15. 



WICHITA AND ANCESTRAL 



ROCKIES SYSTEMS 



AND THE TEXAS FORELAND 



WICHITA SYSTEM 



i 

 Ranges and Basins of the System 



Wichita Mountains. The Wichita Mountains in southwestern Okla- 

 homa rise 1100 feet above the plains and 2480 feet above sea level. The 

 hills are chiefly granite surrounded and embayed with nearly horizontal 

 Permian strata. Outcrops of Arbuckle limestone of the same facies as in 

 the Arbuckle Mountains are numerous, especially along the north side; 

 and others on the soutii side and within the hills indicate that three en 



Fig. 15.1. Configuration of the Precambrian surface in Oklahoma and Texas. After Flawn 1956 

 and others. Numbers on contours are in thousands of feet below sea level. 



echelon anticlines are present, with granite in the cores, Arbuckle lime- 

 stone on the flanks, and both overlapped unconformably by the Permian 

 strata. The relief of the buried Precambrian surface is shown in Fig. 15.1. 

 and a cross section at the eastern end of tire range reveals the structure 

 ( Fig. 15.2 ) . Intricate folding is described by Hayes ( 1952 ) . 



Amarillo Range. The Amarillo Range in the Texas Panhandle is a 

 series of buried hills without surface expression, and is cored by Pre- 

 cambrian crystalline rocks. The buried hills are known to extend 125 





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