380 The Amei'laoi Geologist. D.'c.'nii).-i-, i893 
THE PRESENT BASAL LINE OF DELIMITATION OF 
THE CARBONIFEROUS IN NORTHEASTERN 
MISSOURI.* 
By Charles Kdli.in Kkyej*, Dcs Moines. 
Although for many years past the Kinderhook beds have been 
regarded as the basal part of the Lower Carboniferous, or Missis- 
sippian series, in the upper Mississippi valley a decided Devonian 
facies of the contained fossils has always been observed. This 
particular faunal aspect has occasioned much comment and has 
attracted wide notice. 
So much were some of the earlier geologists impressed with this 
character of the organic remains that they hesitated but little in 
referring the l)eds in question to the upper Devonian (Chemung). 
The best exposures of Kinderhook rocks are found along the 
Mississippi river at Burlington, Iowa, Kinderhook, 111., Hannibal 
and Louisiana, Missouri. At all of the.se places the lithological 
characters are practically the same, except perhaps towards the 
more northern limit of their exposed range, where the upper part 
is changed somewhat and the lower portion does not rise aliove 
the water level. 
At Louisiana the exposures are perhaps more open to observa- 
tion than elsewhere; though for seventy miles along the river the 
outcrop is practically continuous. 
The vertical section at the place just mentioned is as follows: 
Ft. in. 
16. Brown and white, compact, eiK-riiiitid limestoiu' thinly 
bedded, with some chert 75 
15. White, enerinital limestone very lieavily bedded 12 
14. Coarse-grained enerinital limestone, very heavily 
bedded " -'< ' 
13. ^Massive, white enerinital limestone, coarse-grained 
with abundant white eliert nodules and nodular 
bands 11 
12. Brown enci-iiiital limestone, eompjiet and heavily 
bedded, somewhat earthly in places 15 
11. (.'Ompact. Hne-grained buff limestone wit ii few or no 
partings 15 
10. Sandy shales, brownisli, forming soft friable sandstone 
locally V2 
f). (Ireenish, clayey shales TO 
8. Thinly bedded, com|)act limestone, line-grained, with 
conchoidal fracture, in layers 4 to H inches in thick- 
ness, like lithographic stone in tt'xture and appear- 
ance 50 
■"•Published by permission of ^Nlr. Arthur Winslow, director of;the 
Geological Survey of ^Missouri, from work prosecuted duringthe years 
1891-2. 
