HaAwortH. | Geography of Lead and Zine Ores. AT 
height. The hilltops between Webb City and Joplin reach 
1090 feet, with 1050 feet for the main uplands. The uplands 
east and southeast of Joplin have the same elevation, and also 
for about two miles west of Joplin. The highest hilltops in 
the vicinity of Galena and Empire City are 1000 feet, south- 
east of Galena, with 950 and 900 feet being common around 
Galena, decreasing to 850 feet along the bluffs east of Spring 
river. There is a gradual slope westward, therefore, of the 
general level of the country. From a point four miles east 
of Joplin, marked by the 1100 contour, the distance straight 
west to the river bluffs is fourteen miles. with the fall from 
1100 feet to 900 feet, as the 900 feet contour is found princi- 
pally at the top of the escarpment. This gives an average 
dip of the surface throughout this distance of a fraction over 
fourteen feet to the mile, which is considerably less than the 
average angle of dip of the Mississippian limestone as shown 
by well borings farther west. 
The various streams have made incisions in the surface 
varying from 100 feet to 160 feet in depth. Some of them 
have widened their flood plains sufficiently to permit mean- 
derings to begin, but others have very narrow flood plains. 
Spring river at Carthage has one less than a mile wide; op- 
posite Galena the valley would average a mile and one-half 
in width. Center creek throughout the area shown on the 
topographic sheet has a flood plain rarely more than half a 
mile wide. Turkey creek has a much narrower valley, rarely 
equaling half a mile in width, while Short creek throughout 
the greater part of its course has almost no flood plain. In 
most cases the bluffs constitute steep escarpments which are 
lifted almost to the general upland level. Even onacontour 
map with ten-foot contour intervals, the main upland is rep- 
resented by contour lines quite a distance apart. Only ina 
few places on the west side of Spring river do we find bluffs 
corresponding to those on the east. Such a bluff line is 
noticeable in sections 8 and 17, west of Galena, and avain in 
the vicinity of Baxter Springs. This absence of bluff lines is 
due to lithologic conditions, as throughout a greater part of 
the area mentioned the soft Coal Measure shales approach 
the river on the west. But at Baxter Springs and the other 
