CARBONIFEROUS. 371 



It has been thought that the Cretaceous formation at one time covered the 

 entire area from the New Mexico country to Kansas, and the whole of the 

 northwestern part of Texas and the Indian Territory, the same as the Creta- 

 ceous now covers the middle part of Texas, but I do not think the facts jus- 

 tify such a conclusion. There is certainly no evidence of the fact in the re- 

 gion of the Wichita Mountains. ■ If the Cretaceous formation had been 

 formed around the Wichita Mountains and afterwards destroyed by erosion, 

 there would have been some portions of it left to show that fact. There are 

 no remnants of the Cretaceous anywhere in Texas north of the Wichita 

 River to the Canadian River, and beyond in the Indian Territory. 



Professor Jules Marcou found the Cretaceous north of the Wichita Mount- 

 ains, and again at the foot of the Llano Estacado, about two hundred miles 

 west of that place, and there it was very thin. 



I expected to have found the Staked Plains at the head of the Salt Fork 

 of the Brazos Cretaceous, but the Tertiary rests directly upon the Triassic, 

 and no evidence whatever that the Cretaceous ever existed there. 



The condition for forming heavy beds of coal appears to have been want- 

 ing, and only thin seams will be found in the Texan strata. 



All the coal seams of economic value will be found above the blue clay and 

 limestones of the Bend series, and above the blue clay and hard limestones 

 found south of the Brazos River, near Millsap, which are below Coal Seam 

 No. 1, of the general section, and which I call the Millsap division in this 

 Report. 



THE SECTIONS. 



The sections Nos. 1, 2, and 3, on Plate XVI, were made from actual lines 

 run by instrumental measurement across the formation at different places. 



Section No. 1 was made across the Permian, beginning at the Clear Fork 

 of the Brazos River, near the western edge of Shackelford County, and end- 

 ing at the top of the Staked Plains, near Dockum, in Dickens County. This 

 section is intended also to show the relation of the Triassic and Tertiary 

 Beds with the Permian, and also shows a part of the underlying Albany Beds 

 of the Carboniferous. 



The description of the divisions of the Permian have been given at another 

 place in the report on the Permian. 



• SECTION NO. 1. (PLATE XVI.) 



a. Clear Fork of Brazos River, the beginning of the section. 



b. California Creek. 



c. Paint Creek. 



d. Salt Fork of Brazos, east of Kiowa Peak. 



