PORTLAND-CEMENT  RESOURCES  OF  THE  INDEPENDENCE 
QUADRANGLE,  KANSAS. 
By  Erasmus  Haworth  and  F.  O.  Schrader. 
Sketch  of  the  region. — The  Independence  quadrangle  lies  in  the 
southeastern  part  of  Kansas,  adjacent  to  Indian  Territory  and  within 
the  Kansas  oil  and  gas  fields.  It  embraces  all  of  Montgomery  and 
portions  of  adjoining  counties. 
Geology. — The  rocks  of  the  district  are  of  Coal  Measures  age  and 
consist  of  limestones,  alternating  with  heavier  shales  and  sandstones. 
These  dip  gently  northwestward  about  15  feet  per  mile  and  are 
grouped  in  7  formations,  aggregating  about  1,000  feet  in  thickness. 
A  fuller  statement  of  the  geology  occurs  on  pages  440—449  of  this 
volume. 
Cement  resources. — The  area  of  the  quadrangle  bids  fair  to  become 
in  the  near  future  the  home  of  important  Portland-cement  industries. 
Already  two  large  plants  are  in  process  of  construction,  one  at  Inde- 
pendence, by  the  Western  States  Portland  Cement  Company,  and  one 
at  Neodesha,  by  the  American  Portland  Cement  Company.  The 
Large  amount  of  natural  gas  within  the  area  available  for  fuel  and 
the  quantities  of  first-class  limestone  and  shale,  together  with  the 
regularity  in  composition  of  the  limestones,  render  the  field  a  very 
attractive  one  to  cement  manufacturers. 
The  Kansas  State  Geological  Survey  has  made  investigations  in 
this  area,  and  has  published  a  brief  report "  on  the  same. 
The  materials  suitable  for  making  Portland  cement  in  the  area  are 
practically  identical  with  those  existing  so  abundantly  within  the 
area  of  the  Iola  quadrangle,  described  in  a  former  bulletin  of  the 
United  States  Geological  Survey.6 
The  plant  at  Independence  is  located  H  miles  southeast  of  town, 
near  the  mouth  of  Rock  Creek  and  the  Verdigris  River.  It  has  been 
built  on  the  Drum  limestone,  which  here  attains  a  thickness  of  nearly 
100   feet.     This  limestone,   which   is  to  be  used   as  one  of  the   raw 
".Univ.  Geol.  Survey  Kansas,  Annual   Bulletin  on  Mineral  Resources.  1902,  pp.  44-56. 
"Bull.  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey  No.  238,  pp.  63-69. 
506 
