HAWORTH AND BENNETT.| General Stratigraphy. 99 
the northeast it retains its thickness very well, measuring fully 
30 feet thick in the bluffs at Kansas City. To the southwest 
is thickness decreases rapidly, being only about 8 feet thick in 
the stone-quarries near Chanute, where it has supplied so much. 
broken rock for Chanute street-paving, and is no more than 
14 feet thick at Neodesha, where it can scarcely be recognized. 
South of Neodesha its existence is doubtful, but here and there 
are lentille-like masses of limestone, rarely reaching 2 feet 
in thickness, and apparently having no connection with each 
other, which stratigraphically correspond to the Iola lime- 
stone and quite likely should be looked upon as its southern 
extension. 
Area.—The Iola limestone is one of the best-marked strati- 
graphic horizons in the state. Excepting its disappearance 
to the south, as just explained, it extends from the Chanute 
northeastward as a bold rock wall surmounting a well-defined 
escarpment almost continuous from Iola to Kansas City. In 
the southeast corner of Johnson county this escarpment crosses 
the state line into Missouri, but finally veers back westward up 
the Missouri river, as far north as Wolcott towards Leaven- 
worth, up the Kansas river to beyond De Soto and up the 
Blue river and its tributaries in Jackson county, Missouri, 
and in the eastern parts of Johnson county, Kansas. 
Characteristics.—The Iola limestone has some comparatively 
noted characteristics. It is particularly free from vertical fis- 
sures, which renders it possible to obtain large blocks for di- 
mension stone in quarrying operations. An extensive quarry 
was once opened at lola which produced large building stone 
valuable on this account. It is also noted for its excessively 
thick layers. At the Iola quarry almost the entire 40 feet was 
in one individual layer, thereby rendering quarrying processes 
very expensive. Northward, in both the vertical and horizontal 
beds, seams increase slightly, but to no great extent. At Kan- 
sas City it is the heavy limestone wall forming the picturesque 
landscape along the driveway of North Terrace Park. Here 
weathering processes have developed innumerable seams, so 
that it crumbles into small fragments under the influence of 
rain and frost. Yet it is exceedingly persistent and weathers 
away with difficulty, and is thereby largely accountable for 
the precipitous bluffs and creeks along the Missouri river. 
The Iola limestone also is noted for its high crystalline char- 
acter. It has a great many iron-stained cavities in it, many of 
