36 University of Kansas Geological Survey. 
the anomalous condition, therefore, particularly along the Smoky 
Hill river and its tributaries, of a stream which is well supplied 
with living water in the upper part of its course having little water 
im it farther below, they being entirely dry throughout a consider- 
able part of the year, but still farther down being rarely without 
water. East of Russell county a new condition is met with, the 
presence of the Dakota sandstone. The tributaries in this area 
likewise are moderately well supplied with springs and conse- 
quently pour considerable water into the Smoky Hill river, so that 
throughout its lower course it is rarely if ever dry. , 
The channel of the Smoky is perhaps the deepest of that of any 
stream in the state. Through a large part of its course in Gove, 
Trego and Ellis counties the main uplands on either side are from 
300 to 400 feet above the valley of the stream itself. The bluff 
lines are generally not as abrupt as those already described for 
the Cimarron river in the vicinity of Arkalon, or those for some other 
streams, but have been somewhat more eroded and have the rounded 
form so common in old age. The great depth of the channel, how- 
ever, has caused all the lateral tributaries likewise to cut deep 
channels, so that the country on either side of the river for from two 
to four miles back is so hilly that it is difficult to travel in directions 
parallel with the stream. 
Farther west, in places where the main part of the bluffs is com- 
posed of Tertiary materials they are correspondingly less rugged 
and the channel to the west gradually becomes shaliower. In Gove 
and Trego counties and the western part of Ellis county the rocks 
through which the channel is cut are the Niobrara chalk beds. These 
have yielded to erosion apparently with great ease, but being rel- 
atively uniform throughout the general character of the hills and 
hillocks produced is different from that commonly observed where 
hard and soft materials are in alternating strata. 
The valley, or flood plain of the Smoky Hill river is not very 
wide throughout the greater part of its course. But few places west 
of Ellsworth can be found where the flood plain is more than ‘a 
mile in width, while in many localities it is narrower. Neither is 
the river valley extensively filled with fluviatile debris, as has been 
seen to be the case in the Arkansas river valley. In most places 
