petroleum possibilities oe elorida 
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SUMTER COUNTY 
Limestone, probably chiefly or entirely of Eocene age, lies at or near 
the surface in all of Sumter County. Overlying the limestone in places 
are remnants of the Alum Bluff formation (Miocene), although the 
areas in which the Alum, Bluff persist are limited in this county. 
Sumter County lies within the structurally high area of peninsular 
Florida and at least three deep wells have been drilled in this county as 
test wells for oil. Two of these were drilled by the Pearson Oil Company, 
in 1903. The deepest of these reached 2,002 feet and is said to have given 
shows of oil. A log of the third deep well, drilled in 1917-1918, has 
already been given. (See Ocala Area.) This well reached a depth of 
3,090 feet and is the deepest well so far drilled in peninsular Florida. 
SUWANNEE COUNTY 
The oldest formation known to come to the surface in Suwannee 
County is the Ocala limestone, which may be seen at numerous ex¬ 
posures in the extreme southern part of the county and on the Su¬ 
wannee River probably as far upstream as the Seaboard Air Line Rail¬ 
way crossing. The Chattahoochee limestone is found exposed in the 
vicinity of Live Oak and west to the Suwannee River. In the north¬ 
eastern part of the county these limestones are concealed by later de¬ 
posits, probably chiefly of the Alum Bluff formation. From structural 
studies made by the United States Geological Survey in co-operation 
with the Florida Survey, it is concluded that a doming of the deeper 
formations is recognizable in the vicinity of Live Oak. (Thirteenth 
Annual Report, Florida Geological Survey, page 16.) 
Wells have been drilled at Live Oak, in this county, to a depth of 1,078 
feet, but no record is available. These wells start in the Chattahoochee 
limestone, but the thickness of this formation here is not known. The 
Ocala limestone may be expected at Live Oak, since it is exposed at 
localities on the Suwannee River. The thickness of the Ocala forma¬ 
tion, if we may judge from well records in Marion County to the south¬ 
east, and in Wakulla County to the west, is likely to be less than 100 
feet. The presence or absence of the Upper Cretaceous at Live Oak is 
undetermined. However, the water wells are said to indicate a succes¬ 
sion of limestones quite similar to those found elsewhere in peninsular 
