Prosser.|  Cretaceous.—Comanche Series of Kansas. 145 
of the quartzitic sandstone lie loose on the ground. Above this 
sandstone, on the northern side of the hill, the rocks are mostly 
covered, but near the summit, six and one half miles south of 
Avilla, large blocks of the Gryphaea limestone lie loose on the sur- 
face. On the western side, near the foot of the steep portion of the 
hill, around the heads of the numerous arroyos are good exposures 
of the fine argillaceous black shales resting on the Cheyenne sand- 
stone similar to those occurring near the base of the Kiowa shales 
in the Kiowa-Barber-Comanche area. These grayish to yellowish 
shales become coarser and contain in layers abundant specimens 
of Cyprimeria and Turritelia. In the upper part of the hill are quite 
thick layers of the pinkish Ostrea limestone, from which large blocks 
have fallen, alternating with yellowish arenaceous shales that con- 
tain a Lamellibranch fauna composed mostly of small species. There 
is also a thin stratum containing an abundance of Gastropods. On 
the surface in the upper part of the western side of the hill are 
great numbers of excellent specimens of Gryphaea Pitcheri Mort. 
as figured by Marcou on pl, IV, figs. 5 a, b, and 6 — G. forniculata 
White, of his Geology of North America. Around the escarpment 
of the hill are numerous large blocks of the shaly pinkish limestone 
of the upper Kiowa shales, which at this locality is thicker and 
more massive than is generally the case. Many of these rocks were 
drawn to Avilla and used for foundations when the town was 
built and large blocks may now be seen about the hamlet. 
It is thought the quartzitic character of the sandstone just de- 
scribed, and especially the presence in it of fossils will serve to 
show that at this locality there is a most interesting exposure of 
the Cheyenne. Above it is the typical series of the Kiowa shales 
the lower part of which consists of black shales containing but few 
fossils, followed by the coarser yellowish to pinkish shales and shaly 
limestones containing abundant fossils. The thickness of the Kiowa 
is 1386 feet, being nearly as great as that in any of the sections 
studied in southern Kansas. As far as the writer is aware, the 
only previous references to the occurrence of the Comanche series. 
on this hill are brief statements by Professors St. John and Cragin. 
In St. John’s notes on the Geoolgy of Southwestern Kansas are 
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