64 
FLORIDA state; geological survey. 
She appears to have obtained her facts relating to the formation from 
some of the publications already mentioned. 
The Ocala limestone is extensively exposed at the type locality 
where it has been quarried for the construction of roads and the manu¬ 
facture of lime. Exposures are occasionally seen in the walls of sinks 
and its presence may also be inferred by the appearance of numerous 
boulders containing nummulites. These scattered fragments are fre¬ 
quently found resting upon the surface sands and are usually rather 
firmly cemented, probably by an accumulation of silica and iron. A 
thin deposit of sand is commonly found resting upon the uneven sur¬ 
face of the limestone. In such cases the sand appears to be largely the 
result of disintegration of the country rock, and it is therefore residual. 
While this statement concerning the origin of such sands may seem 
improbable, it is explained by the fact that the soil formed from the 
limestone is the insoluble material left after solution has removed the 
calcium carbonate. Consequently the residual sands constitute the 
impurities of the original rock and may in some cases have formed 
only a small percentage of the whole. Since the publication of Dali’s 
report, quarrying at Ocala has been carried to a somewhat greater 
depth. The quarry of the Florida Time Company, situated near the 
southwest corner of the city, now shows: 
Sandy loam with more or less organic matter Pleistocene. 1 ft. 
Sand, pale yellow, residual . 1-4 ft. 
Light gray to white nummulitic limestone (Ocala) .. 25-30 ft. 
In this quarry the fossils occur throughout the greater portion of 
the limestone, but are especially numerous near the top where the 
removal of the calcium carbonate has loosened the casts of the organic 
remains. In addition, the quarry presents certain other points of 
interest in the arrangement of the cherty portions of the rock. Chert 
nodules occur in various parts of the section and in places two sets 
of vertical silicified bands were noted. These cherty bands are at 
approximately right angles to each other and probably represent planes 
of silicification along vertical joints. 
A good section of this limestone is exposed in another quarry 
situated on the north side of the road to Silver Spring about a half 
mile east of the town. At this locality, the rock, which is consider¬ 
ably decomposed, has been quarried to a depth of forty feet and con¬ 
tains an abundance of nummulites. 
About twenty feet of Ocala limestone is exposed in a third quarry 
situated a quarter mile north of Ocala, and about fifteen feet of the 
same rock was seen in a quarry two and a half miles southwest of the 
city. One of the most important sections may be seen in a sink-hole 
about three miles southwest of Ocala. This sink-hole is approximately 
forty feet deep and affords entrance to a small cavern which may be 
