HAYES Aitd 
KENNEDY. 
GEOLOGY OF EASTERN DIVISION. 
25 
Mr. T. II. Aldrich, a of Birmingham, Ala., on the evidence of some 
shells from a depth of 390 feet, assigns these petroleum beds to the 
Pliocene, saying, "Your fossils are very interesting, and confirm our 
previous theory that the formation that lies above the oil-bearing 
stratum around Beaumont is Pliocene, or even later." The specimens 
described by Mr. Aldrich were Nassa heaumontensis n. sp. Aldrich, 
Tornatina canaliculata Say, TurboniUa sp., and a young Mactra. 
Mr. Aldrich's determination of the oil-bearing deposits is not con- 
clusive, as at least GOO feet of clays, limestones, and sandstones inter- 
vene between his fossil beds and the oil-producing strata. As the 
evidence goes, therefore, it points strongly to the conclusion that the 
age of these petroleum beds is Miocene. 
A rough section showing the position of these beds may be con- 
structed from their contained fauna, but it must be borne in mind 
that the depths and thicknesses shown by particular wells vary from 
those shown in other wells either in the vicinity of Spindletop or at 
several miles distance. With the exception of those found at 40 feet, 
the shells are from wells on Spindletop or in the immediate vicinity. 
Section constructed chiefly by means of fossils obtained from wells in the Beau- 
mont district. 
Location. 
Character of strata. 
Depth. 
Fossils. 
Age. 
1 
Clay, yellow and blue . 
Clays and sands, blue 
and yellow. 
40 
Ostrea sp. 
Rangia euneata (Gray) 
9 
45 
Nassa beaumontensis 
Aldrich. 
3 
Spindletop 
Blue clays with coarse 
bluish-gray sand 
and shells. 
390 
Tornatina canalicu- 
' lata Say. 
TurboniUa sp 
Pliocene. 
Mactra sp 
fNatica tuomevi Whit- 
field. 
| 
4 
Island well, on Neches 
River. 
800 
iCrassinella like gal- 
vestonensis. 
Icorbula 
5 
Ira O. Wyse well, 
Spindletop. 
Bluish-gray coarse 
sand and' shells. 
1.0(H) 
Mulinia, Balanus 
Miocene. 
6 
Plunger well, Texas 
Oil and Pipe Line 
well No. 1, Spindle- 
top. 
Bayou City well, on 
Iowa Colony land. 
Dolomitic marls with 
gypsum; oil rock 
shown in every well 
on Spindletop. 
Coarse bluish-gray 
sand with shells 
same as found in Ira 
O. Wyse well at 1,000 
feet. 
1,036 
1,910 
Ostrea virginica 
[Mulinia, Balanus 
(Earbone of small fish. _ 
Miocene. 
Miocene. 
Crassatellites trapa- 
quara Harris. 
8 
Frio clays, Newton 
County. 
Blue clay with calca- 
reous nodules. 
Ostrea alabamiensis; 
Cerithium veneri- 
cardia, 2 sp. 
Crassatellitesantestri- 
ata(Gabb). 
•Eocene. 
Nos. 4, 5, 6, and 7 belong to the Miocene and are the divisions 
marked b, c, and d in the general section given on page 20. 
« Texas petroleum, by William B. Phillips: Bull. Univ. of Texas No. 5, 1900, p. 62. 
