452  CONTRIBUTIONS    TO    ECONOMIC    GEOLOGY,  1904.         [bull.  260 
Drum  Creek  pool. — About  3  miles  southeast  of  Independence  i 
small  but  promising  area,  commonly  known  as  the  Drum  Creek  oi 
pool,  has  also  been  developed  within  the  last  twelve  months.  It  is 
situated  principally  on  the  east  side  of  Verdigris  River,  and  is  uniqus 
in  being  almost  solely  an  oil  pool,  having  thus  far  yielded  but  littli 
gas. 
Cherryvale  area. — Cherry  vale  has  long  been  known  as  a  gas  area 
There  are  many  gas  wells  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  town  and  in  tin 
adjacent  country  for  a  few  miles  eastward.  During  the  last  foun 
years  another  portion  of  the  area  very  rich  in  gas  has  been  opened  ug] 
from  3  to  G  miles  north  of  town.  Oil  also  has  been  obtained  in  fair 
amount,  mostly  on  the  hill  lands,  from  1  to  2  miles  northwest  o:t 
town.  During  the  summer  of  1904  oil  was  found  from  2  to  3  mile: 
south  and  southeast  of  Cherryvale. 
Salt  Creek  pool. — Another  oil  pool  has  been  developed  on  Sail 
Creek,  about  4  miles  southeast  of  Neodesha. 
Neodesha  area. — Neodesha  has  long  been  looked  upon  as  a  center  o:> 
production  of  both  oil  and  gas  in  the  Kansas  fields.  The  Standard 
Oil  Company's  refinery  and  tank  field  are  located  here.  The  oil  i:i 
found  principally  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  town,  but  there 
are  excellent  gas  wells  also  in  the  outlying  areas  to  the  northwest  an(! 
east.  The  gas  wells  to  the  northwest,  between  Verdigris  River  am 
the  St.  Louis  and  San  Francisco  Railway,  were  the  first  ones  devel 
oped  in  this  vicinity.  Later  those  farther  east,  in  range  IT,  wer< 
brought  in  and  found  to  be  a  superior  group. 
Northwest  part  of  the  quadrangle. — A  few  gas  Avells  and  oil  well 
of  small  capacity  have  been  obtained  near  Elk  City  and  also  nea: 
Lafontaine,  where  considerable  drilling  has  been  done,  but  in  genera 
the  results  thus  far  obtained  by  prospecting  in  the  northwest  quarte 
of  the  quadrangle  have  not  been  very  satisfactory.     The  entire  quad  j 
rangle,  however,  is  underlain  by  the  oil-  and  gas-bearing  formations  J 
and  any  part  of  the  area  not  yet  thoroughly  prospected  may  becom  n| 
productive. 
OCCURRENCE  OF  OIL. 
Though  small  bodies  of  oil  and  gas  are  frequently  found  at  depth 
of  a  few  hundred  feet  below  the  surface,  the  larger  bodies  occur  a 
greater  depths  in  and  near  the  Cherokee  formation.  At  Coffey vilkh 
where  the  strata  overlying  the  Cherokee  are  thinner  than  at  any  othe: 
point,  three  oil  sands  are  encountered  at  the  depths  of  350,  000,  an< 
900  feet.  The  best  wells,  yielding  oil  of  32°  B.  gravity,  strike  oil  ii 
the  middle  or  GOO- foot  sand. 
In  the  Independence  region  the  productive  zone  ranges  from  450  t<i 
600  feet;  at  Cherryvale,  from  TOO  to  800;  at  Neodesha,  from  800  til 
900;  at  Bolton  and  Caney,  from  1,100  to  1,200.     At  Wayside,  mid 
