DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

HUBERT WORK, Secretary 

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

GEORGE OTIS SMITH, Director 

Professional Paper 126 

GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS 

WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER 

BY 

ALEXANDER DEUSSEN 

WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1924 
ADDITIONAL COPIES 

OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE PROCURED FROM 

THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

WASHINGTON, D. C. 

AT 

40 CENTS PER COPY 

PURCHASER AGREES NOT TO RESELL OR DISTRIBUTE THIS 

. COPY FOR PROFIT.-PUB. RES. 57, APPROVED MAY 11, 192:! 
CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Introduction............................................................................................ 1 

Area described. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 

Sources of data........... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 

Acknowledgments..................................................................................... 1 

DiflkuHies of geologic work in the Coastal Plain....................................................... 1 

Rurfaee features......................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

Geneml form of the land ............................... ~............. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

neographic subdivisions of the region................................................................... 3 

Islands and peninsulas· of the coast................................................................. 3 

Coastal sand-dune belt........................................................................... 4 

Panel-hill belt of south 'l'exas......................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

Seaward-facing terraces of the Coastal Plain ................... ~................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

Character and significance of the terraces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

13eaunlont terrace.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 

Alice terrace.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................................ ·. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 

Jte~tlitos terrace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 

'l'orrecillas Plain.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 

Upland belts of the Coastal Plain........................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 

Coast Prairie. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 

'Lissie Prairie ............................................................. ·. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 

Alice Plain............................................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 

l(oerth Plain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 

:Reynosa Plain............................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 

·uvalde Plain................................................................................. 8 

vVashington Prairies... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 

Oakville Plain .................................................. : . ....... ·..................... 9 

:Frio Plain................................................................................... 9 

vVellborn Plain............................................................................... 10 

Y egua Prairie. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 

Cook :Mountain Plain......................................................................... 10 

1\fount Selman Plain.......................................................................... 10 

Carrizo Plain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 

Indio Plain................................................................................... 11 

Elgin Prairies ................................................. ·. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 

~l'aylor Prairies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 

White Rot:k Prairies.......................................................................... 12 

White l~ock scarp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 

Balcones scarp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 

Anacacho Mountains... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 

Igneous knobs... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 

Valleys .................................... ·.· ..................................... ·................ 13 

General features ............... ·'·................................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 

Gravel-covered terraces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 

Second bottotns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 

Flood plains or bottoms....................................................................... l4 

Drainage............................................................................................ 15 

General features of the drainage basins .................................... ·........................... 15 

1\fajor streatns~................................................................................... 18 

ltio GTande.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 

13razos River .... ~ ........................ · ...............•.. :................................ 18 

Colorado River........... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 

Guadalupe River............................................................................ · 19 

Nueces River................................................................................. 19 

M:inor streatns...................................................................................... 19 

III 
IV CONTENTS. 

Pa~c. 

Geology.................................................................................................... 19 

Salient features of the structure........................................................................ 19 

Stratigraphy.................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 

General features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 

Cretaceous system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 

Gulf series (Upper Cretaceous)................................................................. 23 

Eagle Ford shale ......................... ·. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 

Name ............................ , .......... ·......................................... 23 

Stratigraphic positi0n ............................... , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 

Lithology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 

Thickness and dip ................................................... : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 

· Paleontology ...................................................... : .......... ·. . . . . . . . 23 

Areal extent and underground distribution .................................... :........ 23 

Correlation........................................................................... 23 

Detailed sections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 

Austin chalk ............................... · ..................... -~....................... 24 

N arne. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 

Stratigraphic position ................................................. ·............... 24 

Lithology........ . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 

Chemical composition................................................................. 25 

Thickness and dip..................................................................... 25 

Paleontology .................. :. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 

Areal extent and underground distribution ............... : ..................... :....... 26 

Correlation........................................................................... 26 

Section on Brazos River.............................................................. 26 

Section on Big Walnut Creek.......................................................... 26 

Section on Colorado River ........................... :. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 

Section on Cibolo Creek.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 

Section on Salado Creek... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 

Section in northern part of San Antonio............................................... 31 

Section on Leon Creek. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 

Section on Medina River... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 

'faylor marl............................................................................ 31 

Name ......... : ................................ :................................... 31 

Stratigraphic position. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 

Lithology .................................................. · .... : . ............ , . . . . . 31 

Chemical composition................................................................ 32 

Thickness and dip.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 

Paleontology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 

Areal extent and underground distribution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 

Correlation ..... ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 

Section on Brazos River ............................................. ·_ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 

Section at Taylor ........................................................... , . . . . . . 33 

Section on Big Walnut Creek .. ·. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 

Section on Colorado River. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 

Section on Cibolo Creek. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 

Section on Salado Creek. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 

Section near San Antonio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 

Section en Leon Creek. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 

Anacacho limestone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 

Name ........................ -................................................... 35 

Stratigraphic position. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 

Lithology ............................. :. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 

Thickness and dip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 

Paleontology .................................................. -. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 

Areal extent and U:nder15round distribution ..... , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 

Correlation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 

Section on Medina Ri \'tlr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 

Navarro formation...................................................................... 36 

N anie. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 

Strati5raphic position. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 

· Lithology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 

Thickness and dip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 
UONTENTS. V 

G oology-Continued. 

1 Stratigraphy-Continued. 

Cretaceous system-Continued. 

Gulf series CQ'pper Cretaceous)-Continued. 

Navarro formation-Continued. Page. 

Paleontology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 

Areal extent and underground distribution ............................... :. . . . . . . . . . . 36 

Correlation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 

Section on Brazos River. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3G 

Section on Colorado River. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 

Section at Maxwell, Caldwell County.................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 

Section on Cibolo Creek............................................................ 38 

Escondido formation ......................... : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 

Name.............................................................................. 38 

Stratigraphic position. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 

I.Jithology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 

Thickness and dip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 

Paleontology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 

Areal ex. tent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 

Correlation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 

Section on Leoti Creek... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 

Section on Medina River. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 

Section on Frio River. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 

Section on Nueces River........................................................... 40 

1'ertiary system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 

Eocene series .............................................. : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 

Mid way formation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . · 40 

Name.............................................................................. 40 

Stratigraphic position. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 

Lithology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 

Thickness and dip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 

Paleontology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 

Areal extent ... · ................................ :· .............. .-..................... 41 

Correlation and history of investigation ............. · ............. · .. ·. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 

Section on Brazos River ................................ : ....... ; : ~-. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 

Section near Elgin, Bastrop County .................... , ................ : . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 

Section on Colorado River ................... ·' ...... :, ......... . ·..................... 43 

Section on Cibolo Creek...... . . . . . . . . .. . .. . .. .. .. .. . . .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. 43 

Section on Salado Creek. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 

Sections on Leon Creek and Medina River, Bexar County. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 

Section on Hondo Creek. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 

Section on Seco Creek ............................................ ." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 

Section on Sabinal River ........................ · ............ ,....................... 45 

Section on Frio River. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 

\Vilcox group ............................................. :. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 

Essential features ...................................... · ....... ·.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 

Natne ............................ ,................................................. 46. 

Stratigraphic position ........ ·. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 46 

Correlation and history ................................ c • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 46 

Indio formation.................................................................... 47 

Natne .................... ·.......................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 

Lithology ...................... ~... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 

Thickness ...... ·.............. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 

Paleontology ................................ :. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 

Areal extent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 

Economic character .................................................... ~........ 47 

Section on Brazos River.......................................................... 47 

Section at Rockdale, Milam County. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 

Section on Colorado River. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 

Section on Cibolo Creek....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 

Section on Salado Creek. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 

Section on San Antonio River. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 

Section on Medina River.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 

Section on Atascosa Creek......................................................... 54 

Sections on Sabinal and Frio rivers ....... .". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 

Section on Nueces River ...................... , .. ,,.,.,.,.,.·,.·,., ... ,.,., ... ,.,.. 54 
VI CONTENTS. 

Geology-Continued. 

Stratigraphy-Continued. 

Tertiary system-Continued. 

Eocene series-Continued. 

Wilcox group-Continued. Page. 

Carrizo sandstone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 

Name.......................................................................... 56 

Stratigraphic position.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 

Lithology .......................... ·. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 

Thickness and dip.............................................................. 57 

Paleontology .................... :. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 

Areal extent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 

Economic value .......... ,...................................................... 58 

Correlation ......................... ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 

Section on Colorado River ........................................... ·............ 58 

Section on Cibolo Cr~ek .................................... _..................... 58 

Section on San Antonio River ..... _ .. __ ......................................... 58 

Section in Atascosa County...................................................... 59 

Sections on Sabip.al and Frio rivers .......... ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 

Sec.tion on Leona River ..................................... ·..................... 59 

Section on Nueces River ................................. _....................... 59 

Claiborne group ........................... _... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 

Mount Selman formation ...... ·. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 

Name ... : .. _ .............................................................. : . . . . GO 

Stratigraphic position.'. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 

IJithology ......... · ............ :. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 

Thickness....................................................................... GO 

Paleontology .......... · . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 

Areal extent .............................................. --··.................. 60 

Correlation and history of investigation ................... ·.· .. _-. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 

Section on Brazos River.......................................................... 60 

Section on Colorado Riv_er. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 

Section on Cibolo Creek ........................................... .'.. . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 

Section near Stockdale, Wilson County........................................... 62 

Section on Ecleto Creek, Wilson County.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 

Section on San Antonio River ............... ·.................................... 62 

Section on Atascosa Creek........................................................ 63 

Section in Frio County. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 

Section on Leona River .................................. ·........................ 63 

Section on Nueces River......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 

Oook Mountain formation .................................... ·•·....................... 64 

N arne .............................. _ ....... _ ........ _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 

Stratigraphic position .................................................... _....... 64 

Lithology ................. _ ... _ .. _ ............... _............................. 64 

Thickness anc\ dip.............................................................. 64 

Paleontology .............. : .. _ ......................... _ ... _ ... _ ....... _ ... _ . . . 64 

Areal extent.................................................................... 66 

Correlation ...................................... _ ...... _ .. _ .... _ ... __ ...... ·_ . . . 66 

Section on Brazos River. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 

Section at College station, Brazos County .............. _· ........ _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 

Section at Bryan ................................................. _ ....... _ ...... _ 67 

Section between Hix and Caldwell, Burleson County ........... _._ ...... : ...... _... 68 

Section on Y egua Creek ................................. ~ ................ · ... _ . . . . 68 

Section in Washington County ................................ __ ...... _ .... _..... 68 

Section near Lexington, Lee County, and vicinity ............. ·.................... 68 

Section at Fedor, Lee County, and vicinity ........... _ ........ _ ... _.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 

Section in eastern part of Bastrop County .................... _ .... _............... 69 

Section on Colorado River. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 

Section in Gonzales County ................... , ...................... _ ........... _ 70 

Section between Pandora and Nixon in Wilson and Gonzales counties............... 70 

Section on San Antonio River ................ _ .......... _ ... _ .. __ ............... 70 

Section in Atascosa Coun_ty ... _ ... _ ..... __ .............. _ .. __ ........... _........ 71 

Section on Nueces River .......... _ ............... ·_ ..... __ ...... __ ....... _ ... _... 7l 

Section at Fowlerton ............................... : ......... _.................. 73 
1 I 

CONTENTS. 

Geology-Continued. 

Stratigraphy-Continued. 

Tertiary system-Continued. 

Eocene series-Continued. 

Claiborne group-Continued. 

Y egua formation ................................................................... . 

Natne ......................................................................... . 

Stratigraphic position ............................................. : . ............ . 

J.Jithology ..................................................................... . 

'£hickness and dip ................................................ · ............. . 

Paleontology .................................................................. . 

Areal extent .... · ...................... · ......................................... . 

Correlation .................................................................... . 

Section on Brazos River .................. · ....................................... . 

Section in Burleson County ................................................ : ..... . 

Section in Lee County ........... : ............................................. . 

Section in Fayette County ................................. · ................ · ...... . 

Section on Colorado River ....................................................... . 

Section in Gonzales County ............................................ ~ ....... . 

Section on San Antonio River .................................................. . 

Section in Atascosa County ..................................................... . 

Section on San Miguel Creek ................................................. . 

Section near '£ilden ..................................................... .' ..... . 

Section on Frio River ......................................................... . 

Section on Nueces River ...................................................... . 

Fayette sandstone ...................................................................... . 

Nu.n1e ............................................................................. . 

Stratigraphic position ..................................................... · ........ . 

Lithology .............. · ............................................. : ............. . 

'l'hickness and dip .................................................................. . 

Topographic expression .. : .......................................................... . 

Paleontology ..................................................... ,. ................. . 

Areal extent ....................................................................... . 

Correlation ........................................................................ . 

Section on Davidson Creek ......................................................... . 

Section along Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway in Burleson and Washington counties .. 

Section between Colvin and Burton, in Lee and Washington counties ............... . 

Section between Ledbetter and Carmine, in Fayette and Washington counties .......... . 

Section on Colorado River .......................................................... . 

Section at Plum, Fayette County .................................................. . 

Section on Buckner Creek, Fayette County .......................................... . 

Section at Muldoon, Fayette Uounty ............................................... . 

Section between Gonzales and Shiner, in Gonzales County ............................ . 

Section on Guadalupe River ....................................................... . 

Section in southern part of Gonzales County ......................................... . 

Section on San Antonio River .................................................... . 

Section in western Karnes and eastern Atascosa counties .............................. . 

Section south of Karnes City, Karnes County ....................................... . 

Section on Atascosa Creek ......................................................... . 

Section near Crowther, McMullen County ....................................... ~ ... . 

Section on Frio River ............................................................. . 

Section on N ueces River .......................................................... . 

Frio clay .......................................................... · .................... . 

Name .................................. -.... ·-.···································· 

Stratigraphic position ............................................................. . 

J.Jithology ......... · ...................... -· .. -.. --- · ·-- · · · · · ·- · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 

Thickness and dip ............................ ~ . . . . . . · 

Paleontology ................................. : -;I- . 

Areal distribution ............................ /t. 

Topographic expression ...................... _,;!, 

Correlation ................ ~ ................... ~J. 

Section in southern part of Gonzales County ........ : 

Section on San Antonio· River ...................................................... . 

Section in western part of Karnes_ and eastern part of Atascosa counties ................ . 

Vll 

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VIII CONTENTS. 

Geology-Continued. 

Stratigraphy-Continued. 

Tertiary system-Continued. 

Eocene series-Continued. 

Frio clay-Continued. 

Section in Live Oak County ....................................................... . 

Section on Frio River ............................................................. . 

Section on Nueces River .......................................................... . 

Section at Los Picachos Hill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............. . 

Oligocene series ........................................................................... . 

Catahoula sandstone .................................................................... . 

Nanre ............................................................................. . 

Stratigraphic position ............................................................. . 

Lithology ................................................................ · ..... ····· 

Thickness and dip ........................ ~ ......................................... . 

Topographic expression ............................... · .............................. . 

Paleontology ...................................................................... . 

Areal extent ....................................................................... . 

Correlation .................................................................. ~ ...... . 

Section in Washington County ...................................................... . 

Section on Colorado River .......................................................... . 

S~ction on Buckner Creek, Fayette County ......... : ................................ . 

Section near Flatonia ................. , ............................................ . 

}<liocene series ............................................................................ . 

Oakville sandstone ...........................................................•.......... 

Name ............................ -·················································· Stratigraphic position ............................................................. . 

Lithology ...................................... -- .. -·-······-···················· 

Thickness and dip ................................................................. . 

Paleontology .... : .......................... ·.· ..................................... . 

Areal distribution ................................................................... . 

Topographic expression ............................................................. . 

Correlation ... · ..................................................................... . 

Section in Grim~s County. , ....................................................... . 

Section in Washington County .......................... _ ............................ . 

Section on Colorado River .......................................................... . 

Sectionjn Lavaca CouJ\tY . ." ............ ." .............. · ............................. . 

Section on Guadab.lpe River ...... , ........ · ........................................ . 

Section on Nueces River .......................................................... . 

Section in M~\Iullen County ..... · ............... .' ................................... . 

Marine Miocene and Pliocene .............................................................. . 

Pliocene series (nonmarine formations). ............................ __ ......................... . 

La para sand ... : . ................ _ ...................................................... . 

Name ................................................................ · .. _. ....... -...... . 

Stratigraphic position ................................................................ . 

Lithology ................ _ ..................................................... ; .... . 

Thickness and dip ................................................................... _ . 

Paleontology ........................................................................ . 

Areal extent ......................................................................... _ 

Correlation ........... · ..... _ ............. _ ....................... __ ............ _ ...... . 

Section on Nueces River ............................... _ ........ _ ........ _ ... _ .... _ .. 

Lagarto clay ................... _ ... _ ................... · ... _ ................ _ .. _ ..... _ ... . 

Name ........................... -. -.... -........ ·-. · ... · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 

Stratigraphic position ............................................................... . 

Lithology.· ................. : ........................... _ ..................... _ ... _ .. . 

Thickness and clip .................. _ ............. _ ..... _ ......... _ .................. . 

Paleontology ........................................ _· ....................... _ ....... . 

Areal extent. 

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Geology-Continued. 

Stratigraphy-Continued. 

'l'ertiary system-Continued. 

CONTENTS. 

Pliocene (?) series (nonmarine deposits) ....................................................... . 

Reynosa formation ....................................................................... . 

Name ............................................................................... . 

Stratigraphic position ............................................................... . 

J~ithology .......................................... -. -· . -. -· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ' · · 

'l'hickness and dip ................................................................... . 

Paleontology ........................................................................ . 

A.real extent ............................... · .......................................... . 

Topographic position of outcrop .... : ................................................. . 

Correlation .......................................................................... . 

Section in Austin County ................... ~ .......... · .............................. . 

Section on Colorado River ............................................................ . 

Section in eastern part of De Witt County ............................................. . 

Section on Guadalupe River ......................................................... . 

Section in Bee County ....... : ...................................................... . 

Section between Lenz, Karnes County, and Beeville, Bee County ........ · .............. . 

Section between Oakville and Lagarto, Live Oak County .............................. . 

Section between Lomo Alto, McMullen County, and San Diego, Duval County ........... . 

Section between Springfield, Jim Wells County, and San Diego, Duval County ........... . 

Section between Realitos, Duval County, and Falfurrias, Brooks County ................. . 

Section at Hebbronville, Jim Hogg County ........................................... . 

Section at Los Ojuelos, Webb County ................................................. . 

Reynosa formation (upstream facies, heretofore called "Uvalde formation") ............... . 

Name ............................................................................... . 

Stratigraphic position .................................... · ........................... . 

Lithology .................. · ......................................................... . 

Source oi material. .................................................................... . 

Thickness and dip ................................................................... . 

Paleontology ........................................................................ . 

Areal extent ......................................................................... . 

Topographic position ................................................................ . 

Details of occurrence ............. : .................................................. . 

Quaternary syste1n .............................................................................. . 

Pleistocene series ............................................................................ . 

Lissie gravel. ............................................................................ . 

Name ............................................................................... . 

Stratigraphic position ............................................................... . 

1,ith0logy .............................................. · ............................. . 

Source of materials .................................................................... . 

'l'hickness and dip ................................................................... . 

Paleontology ........................................................................ . 

Areal extent and topographic position ................................................ . 

Details of the beds .................................................................. . 

13eaumont clay ......................................................................... . 

Name ............................................................................... . 

Stratigraphic position ...................... _. ......................................... . 

l~ithology .................................................................... -----.... . 

~!i~!{~t:~~;;~. ~~~:::: ·. ·. ·_. _· _· ~ : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 

Areal extent .......................................................... · .... · ........... . 

Correlation ........................................ · .................................. . 

Deta·ils of occurrence ................................................................ . 

l:tecent scr·ies ..................................... , ......................................... . 

:Fluviatile deposits ....................................................................... . 

General features .................................................................... . 

Areal extent and· details of occurrence ................................................ . 

Beach sand .............................................................................. . 

Dune sand ............................................ · .................................. . 

Stream terrace deposits (Pleistocene and Recent) ............................................. . 

Terraces on Brazos River ........................................................ ~ ........ . 

IX 

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CONTENTS. 

GeoJ.ogy-Contin ued. 

Stratigraphy-Continued. 

Quaternary system-Continued. 

Stream terrace deposits (Pleistocene and Recent)-Continued. Page. 

Terraces on Colorado River....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . · 115 

Terraces on Little River .... _ ......... _ ..... _.............................................. 115 

Terraces on Guadalupe River .............. _._ ............ ~................................ 117 

Terraces on N ueces River. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 7 

Igneous rocks..................................................................................... ] 19 

Mineral veins..................................................................................... 121 

Structure............................................................................................ 122 

General features.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ] 22 

General dips and strikes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 

Faults. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 

Balcones fault zone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 

Minor faults.................................................................................. :124 

Torrecillas uplift................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . :I 24 

La Salle uplift .. __ ...................................... _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 

Anticlines .... ·. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J 27 

Salt domes...................................................................................... 129 

General features............................................................................. 129 

Damon ·Mound... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .131 

West Columbia dome......................................................................... I :32 

Bryan Heights ................................................................... :............ 1:32 

Markham donie.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13:3 

Big Hill. ................................................................... -................. 133 

Big Creek dome ................................................. ·. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 134 

· J3oling dome.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 

Brenham dome............................................................................... 134 

Piedras Pintas (N oleda) dome.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 

Palangana dome ........................................ :................................... 135 

Falfurrias dome. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 

Index.................................................................................................... 137 

ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Page. 

PLATE I. Profiles along the Texas-Mexican, San Antonio & Aransas Pass, and Gulf, Colorado & Santa 

Fe railways, showing seaward-facing terraces of the Coastal Plain........................ 4 

II. A, Gas well of the White Point Oil & Gas Co. on Nueces Bay, San Patricio County, Tex.; 

B, Mount Inge-, a phonolite knob about 2 miles south of Uvalde, Uvalde County, Tex..... 12 

III. A, Chaparral of the Rio Grande Plain about 2 miles southeast of Tilden, McMullen County, 

Tex.; B, View of Bordas escarpment looking southwestward from Los Picachos Hill, in the 

northern part of Duval County, Tex.; C, Washington Prairies in the vicinity of Burton, 

Washington County, Tex ... :.......................................................... 12 

IV. A, View of Lomo Alto Hill looking northeastward from Los Picachos Hill, about 5 miles distant to the southwest, in Duval County, Tex.; B, Chusas Hills as seen from Lomo Alto post 

office, Mc.Mullen County, Tex., about 2 miles distant to the west; C, View o_f bluff exposing 

Taylor marl on ~ig Walnut Creek, 11 miles south of Sprinkle, Travis County, Tex......... 12 

V. Midstream profile of Brazos River from Waco, Tex., to the mouth.......................... 12 

VI. A, Eagle Ford shale on Big \Valnut Creek, half a mile east of Watters, Travis County, Tex.: 

B, Austin chalk on Big Walnut Creek in Travis County, Tex., 200 yards below bridge on 

Fiskville road; C, Austin chalk on Big Walnut Creek between Sprinkle and Dessau roads, 

Travis County, Tex ........ : .. ,....................................................... 28 

VII. Characteristic fossils of the Austin chalk ................ _................................. 29 

VIII. Geologic map and sections of the Coastal Plain of ~exas west of Brazos River .......... In pocket .. 

IX. Columnar section of Quaternary, Tertiary, and Upper Cretaceous formations as exposed along 

Colorado River in Texas ......................................................... In pocket. 

X. Fossils of the Taylor marl ............................... -.......... - -.... -..... -. . . . . . . 36 

XI. Characteristic fossils of the Navarro formation ........... , .......................... -.. . . . . 36 

XII. Characteristic fossils of the Escondido formation ...................................... -.... 36 
!LL USTRATIONS. 

PLATJ~ XIII. Escondido formation exposed in bluff on Nueces River at railroad bridge at Pulliam, Zavalla 

County, Tex.: A., Fossiliferous limestones; B, Asphaltic sandstone overlying slate-colored 

X1 

Page. 

shale................................................................................ 36 

XIV. Characteristic fossils of the lVficlway formation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 

XV. Characteristic invertebrate fossils of the Wilcox group..................................... 37 

XVI. Fossil leaves common in the Wilcox group................................................ 52 

XVII. Carrizo sandstone and underlying beds of Indio formation exposed at Red Bluff, on Colorado 

River, 2t miles southeast of Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway bridge near Bastrop, Bastrop 

County, 1'ex. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 

XVIII. Exposures of the Indio formation in Bexar and Atascosa counties, Tex.: A., Hard blue sandstone boulders in the Indio formation three-fourths of a mile north-northeast of Lytle, 

Atascosa County; B, Shales and sandstones of Indio formation in small gorge about 1,000 

feet southwest of post office at Losoya, Bexar County. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 

XIX. Exposures of the Indio formation on Nueces River: A, Bluff 21 miles southeast of Pulliam, 

Zavalla County, Tex.; B, Bluff 3 miles N. 26° E. of Crystal City, Zavalla County, Tex... 52 

XX. Exposures of the Carrizo sandstone in Wilson County, Tex.: A, Bluff 1 mile south of Graytown and half a mile east of the GraytO\Vn-Fairview road; B, Sand pit 1~ miles northwest 

of Calaveras ........................................ : .... ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 

XXI. A., Leaf-bearing micaceous Carrizo sandstone in the sout_hwest part of Asherton, Dimmit 

County, Tex.; B, Fault cutting Mount Selman formation 600 to 1,000 feet north of depot at 

Milano, Milan~ County, Tex.; C, Concretions in the Mount Selman formation on the CatarinaCotulla road, 9! miles S. 75° W. of Cotulla, Dirnmit County, Tex........................ 53 

XXII. Characteristic fossils of the Cook Mountain formation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 

XXIII. Fossil leaves of the Yegua formation .......... :......................................... 76 

XXIV. Characteristic exposures of the Y egua formation: A, Bluff on Colorado River, 2! miles west of 

West Point, Fayette County, Tex.; B, Middle falls in abandoned gorge of San Antonio 

River, about 2 miles above wagon bridge at Falls City, Karnes County, Tex.; C, Holland 

clam on Nueces River, 102 miles southeast of Cotulla, La Salle County, Te,x............. 76 

XXV. A, Quarry in hard blue semiquartzitic sandstone of the Fayette sandstone about 3! miles 

south of Vilest Point, Fayette County, Tex.; B, Brown shale or fuller's earth (?) in the · 

Fayette sandstone exposed at Conquiesta crossing, on San Antonio River, about 4 miles 

west of Falls City, Karnes County, Tex.; C, Frio clay exposed on San Antonio River about 

three-fourths of a mile above bridge on road between Panna Maria and Karnes City, 

Karnes County, Tex.; D, Frio clay exposed on San Cristobal Creek, about 11 miles northnorthwest of Oakville, Live Oak County, Tex.......................................... 77 

·XXVI. Frio clay on road between Tilden and San Diego, McMullen County, Tex., a quarter of a 

mile north of milepost 18 out of Tilden................................................. 100 

XXVII. A, Badlands formed by gray sands of the Catahoula sandstone, 5 miles northwest of Btirton, 

Washington County, Tex.; B, Lenses of kaolin-like clay in Catahoula sandstone, 5 miles 

northwest of Burton, Washington County, Tex ............................. :............ 100 

XXVIII. Vertebrate fossils from Miocene and Pleistocene deposits: 1, 1a, 1b, Fragment of a jawbone of 

a fossil rhinoceros ( Coenopus sp.) from the Oakville sandstone, about 0! miles west of Burton, Washington County,-Tex.; 2, 2a, Molar of Equus cf. E. excelsus Leidy(?) from terrace No. 

6 of Colorado River a~ Austin, Travis County, Tex..................................... 100 

XXIX. A, Lower beds of Oakville sandstone exposed on Sulphur Creek at bridge on Oakville-Beeville 

road, at Oakville, Live Oak County, 'l'ex.; B, Lapara sand lying unconformably on Oakville sandstone on Nueces. River at bridge at Mikeska, Live Oak County, Tex............ 100 

XXX. A., Limestone of Heynosa formation resting unconformably on Lagarto clay on Ramirena 

Creek, about 3 miles north of Lagarto, Live Oak County, 'l'ex.; B, Reynosa formation in 

bed of Colorado River about a quarter of a mile below the upper wagon bridge at Columbus, 

Colorado County, Tex.; C, Pleistocene gravels resting unconformably on Reynosa formation 

on Prices Creek, about 12 miles south of Cuero, De \Vitt County, Tex.................... 100 

XXXI. A, Reynosa formation occupying high divide between Leona and Nueces rivers, 6~ miles 

west of Batesville, Zavalla County, Tex.; B, Reynosa formation capping plateau half a mile 

N. 20° E. of .courthouse at Carrizo Springs, Dimmit County, Tex........................ 101 

XXXII. A, Beaumont clay exposed in bluff at Corpus Christi, Nueces County, Tex.; B, Terraces on 

Colorado River, 1~ miles northwest of La Grange, F~yette County, Tex. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 

XXXIII. Profiles across Brazos, Little, Colorado, Guadalupe, and Nueces rivers showing stream terraces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . In pocket. 

XXXI\·. A, Small anticline in Georgetown (Lower Cretaceous) limestone in cut on railway west of Confederate Home at Austin, Travis County, Tex.; B, Eagle Ford shale tilted by intrusion of 

basalt at Black Water Hole, on Frio River, Uvalde County, 'l'ex.......................... 124 
XII ILL LTSTRATIONS. 

l'agc. 

PLATE XXXV. A, Chalcedony dike at Los Picachos Hill in Duval County, Tex.; B, Laccolith of columnar 

nepheline-melilite basalt intruded into Eagle Ford shale at Black Water Hole, on Frio River, 

3 miles southeast of Ange siding, Uvalde County, Tex...................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 

XXXVI. Map of West Columbia oil field, Brazoria County, Tex. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 

FIGURE 1. Map of Texas showing location of the region considered in this report............................. 2 

2. Map of Texas showing inain geographic subdivisions.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

3. Map of Colorado River in vicinity of Austin, Tex., showing location of sections where measurements 

for silt were taken ............... :. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 

4. Cross sections of Lake Austin illustrating accumulation of sediment between 1893 and 1897. . . . . . . 17 

5. Diagram illustrating relations and sequence of formations in the Coastal Plain.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 

6. Sketch map of the Austin quadrangle showing location of the sections described. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 

7. Map of Cibolo Creek between Bracken and Sutherland Springs, Tex., showing location of sections 

described... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 

8. Plat of small fault cutting beds of the Escondido formation at railroad bridge at Pulliam, Zav;.tlla 

County, Tex ............................. · ................... : ... ~......................... 40 

9. Anticline at the railroad bridge at Pulliam, Zavalla County, Tex.: Plan, showing strike of the anticline, and section across the anticline in the direction N.-50° W., on right bank of Nueces River, 

showing deformation of" bed No.2............................................................ 41 

10. Columnar section of :Midv;·ay formation exposed on Brazos River in Milam, Falls, and Robertson 

counties, Tex. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 

11. Map of the Bastrop quadrangle, Tex., showing location of sections describ~d....................... 44 

12. Columnar section of Indio formation on Brazos River, Tex ................. ·.·................... 49 

13. Sketch of bluff on Colorado J.\iver lt miles northwest of wagon bridge at Bastrop, Tex., showing 

relative positions of the constituent beds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 

1.4. Sketch of bluff on Colorado River three-fourths of a mile below wagon bridge at Bastrop, Tex........ 51 

15. Sketch of bluff on Colorado River about It miles south of wagon bridge at Bastrop, Tex.. . . . . . . . . . 51 

16. Profile across valley of Nueces River 1 mile below railroad bridge at Pulliam, Zavalla County, Tex.. 54 

17. Sketch section of beds exposed on Bastrop-Giddings road, 1 mile east of wagon bridge at Bastrop, Tex. 58 

18. Sketch of fault which cuts the Mount Selman formation 600 to 1,000 feet north of the depot at Milano, 

Tex....................................................................................... 60 

19. Sketch of bluff on Brazos River, 1~ miles above Moseleys Ferry, in Burleson County, Tex........ 66 

20. Plat of dips of the beds of the Cook Mountain formation on Brazos River between Burleson Bluff and 

Moseleys Ferry, Tex .. ·..................................................................... 67 

21. Sketch of Kennedy Bluff on Colorado River, 3t miles northwest of Smithville, Tex............. . . 70 

22. Sketch showing relations of beds making up the bluff 200 feet above bridge at Dewees crossing on San 

Antonio River, 3 miles south-southwest of Poth, Wilson County, Tex. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 

23. Sketch showing relation of the beds in bluff on Colorado River 2 miles below the Fayette-Bastrop 

County line in Fayette County, Tex... . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 

24. Section of lignite bed exposed in shaft on San Miguel Creek 8 miles east-northeast of Tilden, 'l'ex.... 79 

25. Sketch of fault cutting Eocene beds on Colorado River, 2~ miles northwest of La Grange, Tex...... 85 

26. Sketch of lower or second fault cutting Eocene beds on Colorado River, 2! miles northwest of La 

Grange, Tex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 

27. Sketch profile showing geologic relations of formations on Cedar Creek and High Hill Creek near 

La Grange, Tex............................................................................ 96 

· 28. Sketch of section 1 mile south of Moulton, Tex.................................................. 98 

29. Map of Thrall oil field, Williamson County, Tex., showing extent of the buried volcanic sill........ 119 

30. Northwest-southeast section through laccolith 10 miles west-~outhwest of Uvalde, Tex. . . . . . . . . . . . 1.20 

31. Geologic sketch map and section of Los Picachos Hill in northern Duval County, Tex. . . . . . . . . . . . 1.22 

32. Section along south side of Colorado River through Austin, showing the details of the Balcones 

fault zone ..... ·............................................................................ 123 

33. Structural map of the Coastal Plain of Texas............... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 

34. Map of the White Point district, San Patricio and Nueces counties, Tex......................... 128 

35. Sketch contour map of Damon Mound, Brazoria County, Tex... .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 

36. Section across Damon Mound, Brazoria County, Tex.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 

37. Map of Big Hill oil field, Matagorda County, Tex. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.33 

R8. Section from northwest to southeas~ across Big Hill, Matagorda County, Tex. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 
G.:EOLOG·Y OF l'HE COASTAL PLAIN OF 1.,EXAS. WES1"' OF 

BRAZOS RIVER. 

By ALEXANDER DEUSSEN. 

INTRODUCTION. 

AREA DESCRIBED. 

1'he region considered in this report includes that part of the Coastal Plain of Texas 

whjch is shown in figure 1. It contains about 

38,900 square 1niles, an area about as large as 

the State of Kentucky. 

SOURCES OF DATA. 

1'he descriptions and the conclusions here 

presented are largely the results of field exmninations made by the writer from 1909 to 

1913, inclusive. The previous knowledge of 

the region is set forth ahnost entirely in papers 

by Penrose, Dumble, and Kennedy. In 1889 

Penrose and . Dmnble studied the Tertiary 

formations exposed on Colorado River between 

Austin and La Grange, on Brazos River between Waco and Hempstead, and on the Rio 

Grande between Eagle Pass and Reynosa. 

'l'he results of these studies are given by 

Pem·ose. 1 Dumble and Singley made a survey 

of Lee, Burleson, and Washington counties 

in the nineties, and the results of their work 

are given in part by Dmnble.2 In 1901 and 

1902 Kennedy 3 made an incidental study of 

the area. Dumble 4 summarized his studies 

in southwest Texas in an instructive paper. 

The writer has 1nade use of s'uch parts of 

the reports of these pioneer investigators as 

are in harmony with his observations and has 

given due credit. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. 

During a part of the time that the writer 

was in the field he was assisted by Mr. Leon 

.Russ and Mr. David Donoghue. Credit is 

due Mr. Russ for some of the information 

'Penrose, n. A. F., jr., A preliminary report on the geology of the 

Cl ulf 'l'ortiaries of Texas from Red River to the Rio Grande: Texas Geol. 

~urvoy :First Ann. Ropt., pp. 5-101, 1890. 

s Dumble, K T., Tho Cenozoic deposits of Texas: Jour. Geology, vol. 

2, pp. 519-567, 1894. 

a Hayes, C. W., and Kennedy, William, Oil fields of tho Toxasl,ouis!tmtl Gulf Coastal Plain: U.S. Gcol. Survey Bull. 212,1903. 

4 Dumblo, E. '£., Geology of southwestern Texas: Am. lust. Min. 

Eng. Trans., vol. 33, pp. 913-987, 1903. 

concerning Lee, Caldwell, and Gonzales counties. 

This paper was prepared under the general 

supervision of T. Wayland Vaughan, of the 

United States Geological Survey, who was in 

charge of investigations in the Coastal Plain. 

In addition to supervising the work Mr. 

Vaughan has identified many of the invertebrate fossils and has supplied information 

concerning the horizons represented by the 

collections. 

The writer has been the recipient of many 

courtesies from William Kennedy and E. T. 

Dumble, of Houston; M. M. Graves, of Somerville; D. A. Cypher, of Caldwell; Frank Graves·, 

of Burton; J. D. Mitchell, of Victoria; Leon 

Brown, of Lagrange; Hugh Duval, of Bastrop; 

and J. C. Melcher, of O'Quinn. 

DIFFICULTIES OF GEOLOGIC WORK IN THE 

COASTAL PLAIN. 

The difficulties of geologic investigation in 

the Coastal Plain are numerous and formidable. Satisfactory exposures of the subsurface formations are few and occur only in 

widely scattered localities, and the absence 

of fossils makes the identification of many of 

these formations difficult. Few beds that 

have distinctive lithologic character can be 

traced over considerable distances. The discrimination and correlation of formations 

reported in well logs is often uncertain, as the 

repeated alternation of beds of sand and clay 

affords little distinctive material. The dense 

vegetation and the scarcity of roads and trails 

in places hinder the geologist greatly in making 

traverses. Added to all these difficulties is 

the lack of satisfactory contour maps. Nevertheless the major features of the region have 

probably been fairly well recognized despite 

these difficulties, and the results of the investigation are presented in the expectation 

that they will afford a working basis for future 

detailed mapping. 

1 
2 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PJ~IN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

SURF ACE FEATURES. 

GENERAL FORM OF THE LAND. 

The Coastal Plain of Texas west of Brazos 

River, like the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal 

Plain of North America, of which it is a part, 

is a plain whose original surface has been 

dissected by streams and in part destroyed 

many streams, which flow in wide valleys that 

are partly filled with alluvium and that lie from 

10 to 350 feet below the adjacent uplands. The 

materials that form the surface of the plains 

consist largely of sand, clay, and limestone, 

which were deposited during the Cretaceous, 

Tertiary, and Quaternary periods. 

FIGURE 1.-Map of Texas showing location of the region considered in tnis report. 

by erosion, so that in some areas it shows 

diversity in relief. 

The chara.cteristic surface features of the 

region are a number of dip plains that slope 

gently seaward, so that the traveler from the 

coast reaches the higher lands by ascending a 

series of long, gentle slopes that are terminated 

at their inland edges hy escarpments that face 

west or north. These escarpments are cut by 

The climate of the part of the Coastal Plain 

that lies west of Guadalupe River is semiarid, 

and the soil, vegetation, and culture in that 

part of the region are different from those of 

the part that lies east of this stream. 

The part of the plain that lies near the coast 

stands only a few feet above the sea, but its 

western margin ranges in height from 650 feet 

near Waco to 1,517 feet in IGnney County. 
SURFACE FENPUR.ES. 3 

'.L'he slope of the laud for about 50 n1iles 

back from the coast is very gentle-about 

2 feet to the 1nile. Farther inhtnd the slope 

is somewhat steeper, averaging about 4 feet 

to the mile. 

EXPLANATION 

Islands ~ and peninsulas of the coast; bottoms, second bottoms,and a ravel terraces of the 

~tre~mo 

lliii] Sand hills of southern Texao .] 

Coast Prairies 

Lissie 

-

Prairie and Alice Plain 

100 100 MILES 

~E~~~~======== 

so 0 

ISLANDS AND PENINSULAS OF THE COAST. 

The floor of the sea along the coast of Texas 

is a submerged, gently sloping, even, sandcovered shelf that extends 50 miles seaward. 

By the action of the tides, waves, currents, 

l•'IOURE 2.--Map of T·exas, showing main geographic subdivisions. 

GEOGRAPHIC SUBDIVISIONS OF THE REGION. 

The Coastal Plain of Texas 1nay be divided 

into a number of geographic units, which differ 

from one another in altitude, topography, 

character of soil, mineral resources, underground water supply, climate, vegetation, 

and culture. (See fig. 2.) S01ne of these 

differences are determined by the character 

of the unrlerlying rocks. 

and winds, this sand is piled into ridges or 

barrier beaches, which form long; narrow 

peninsulas and islands that fringe the coast. 

These coastal features, which nowhere reach 

a height of 20 feet above the sea,· include 

Bolivar Peninsula, Galveston Island, Matagorda Peninsula, and Matagorda, Mustang, 

and Padre islands. Their surface material 

is unconsolidated drifting sand of Recent 

origin, and their vegetation is scant. 
4 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

Between the islands and the mainland lie are still n1oving as a consequence of the drifting 

a number of shallow bays and lagoons into of the sand. 

which n1ost ·of the strearns of the Coastal The chm!acter of the vegetation is siinilar to 

·Plain discharge. that in the coastal sand-dune belt. The large 

The shore of the rnainland is very irregular developrnent of dunes in this part of the Coastal 

in outline, being indented by reentrants and Plain is probably due to the comparative 

shallow bays. At many places . wave-cut aridity of the climate, to the surface features 

cliffs, 5 to. 40 feet in height, overlook a bay. of the shore, and to the prevailing direction of 

Farther inland there are numerous lagoons. the wind. Little use is made of these areas 

COASTAL SAND-DUNE BELT. 

In Calhoun, Aransas, San Patricio, Nueces, 

and Kleberg counties sand dunes practically 

cover a strip of country 4 to 7 rniles in width 

on the mainland bordering the lagoons. (See 

fig. 2.) The dunes are nowhere more than 25 

feet high. The surface material in this belt 

is a fine white to gray sand of Recent origin, 

which is thrown up by the waves and drifted 

inland by the wind. 

A thick growth of small live oaks, 1 to 4 

feet high, covers rnost of the surface. Groves 

of larger trees occupy small hills or hummocks 

in places, forming what are called "mottes." 

Grass maintains a foothold with difficulty, 

especially where the trees are thick. Some 

marshy places near the coast are covered 

with salt grass. 

SAND-HILL BELT OF SOUTH TEXAS. 

The strip of sand dunes rnerges into an extensive almost triangular area of sand hills in 

parts of Kenedy, Willacy, Brooks, Hidalgo, 

and Jim I-Iogg counties. (Se.e ·fig. 2.) The 

base of the triangle is. formed by the coast between Baffins Bay and the north line of Willacy 

County, and the apex extends beyond Altavista, 

in Jim Hogg County. 

The surface of the greater part of this area 

is gently rolling, though in some places it is 

flat and in others it contains ridges that trend 

northwestward and that are as much as 75 

feet high. Many of the dunes are covered with 

vegetation and no longer migrate, but· others 

except for pasture. 

SEAWARD-FACING TERRACES OF THE COASTAL 

PLAIN. 

CHARACTER AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TERRACES. 

The part of the Coastal Plain that lies east 

of the Oakville and Bordasescarpn1ents includes 

a number of seaward-facing terraces, which 

record successive stages". in the uplift of the 

Coastal Plain and are preserved because they 

are comparatively young. 

The lowest terrace is immediately adjacent 

to the coast; the highest is represented by the 

crests of escarpments. The ·lowest terrace is 

likewise the youngest and the highest is the 

oldest. The position of a terrace is therefore 

an index of its age, and the terraces thus constitute useful tirne markers in the later historv 

of the Coastal Plain. "' 

At least five terraces and possibly others can 

be recognized .. Provisionally the terraces of 

the· Coastal Plain are named the Recent, the 

.Beamnont, the Alice, the Realitos, and the 

Torrecillas. -

The Alice terrace is probably cmnposed .of 

several distinct terraces that can not now be 

discriminated. 

A profile across these terraces along the lines 

of the Texas-Mexican, the San Antonio & 

Aransas Pass, and the Gulf, Colorado & Santa 

·Fe railways is shown on Plate I. The elevations of the outer and inner margins of the 

terraces along these railways is shown in the 

following table: 

Elevations of margins of terraces of the Coastal Plain of Texas along certain railways. 

Terrace or plain. 

'l'orrocillas plain ...................................... . Realitos terrace ...................................... . Alice terrace .......................................... . Beaumont terrace .................................... . Recent plain·-·-.:..····· ................................ . 

Texas-Mexican 

Railway. 

Outer Inner 

margjn. margin. 

------ ----

Feet. Jif>et. 

740 872 

460 520 

150 316 

40 135 

0 20 

San Antonio & Gulf, Colorado & Aransas Pas~ Railway. Santa Fe Railway. 

Outer Inner Outer Inner 

_margin. margin. margin. margin. 

Feet. Feet. Feet. Frrt. 

432 500 398 42G 

300 340 200 250 

125 230 122 150 

35 110 19 102 

0 20 0 10 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY ·PROFESSIONAL PAPER 126 PLATE I 

~--~--Alice terrace------.., r---------------Beaumont terrace--------------~--., I I I I I I 

r-----------------Realitos terrace----------------, I I 

a> I I 

I I i : 

[55JI ~ & ! i I ~ ·~ ~ I l ~ Q) ~ p:: c ·I 1 A ....,t 

500 J1 I I ;a i 

0 I ~lerel ~~------------------------~==~·======~ld~~d~========~L 1 

1

1 . I 

I I 

I § I 

~: ~ : ~I ~ : 

Feet 5] 

Feet 5"] 

f Torrecillas 

terrace ~ . I : ~ I --.1.......__ k 

,--------Realitos terrace------l Q) 

l i ~ I I Q) 

I 1 ~ -......c: 

PROFILE ALONG TEXAS MEXICAN RAILWAY 

. .-----------Alice terrace---- -r----1 1 ------------------Beaumont terrace-----------------1 

I

I ~ II I ~4> i>-o I ..a II . 5 CS I 

I ·~ ~ ~ I: ~ ~ ~ 

PROFILE ALONG SAN ANTONIO & ARANSAS PASS RAILWAY 

1 ~---- Torrecillas ~terraee--------~ :--------Realitos. terr'ace-----l 

c5 ~ : I : 1 : ~ , . ~ 11 I ~ ~ ~ I 

~ •r b l ~ ·;§ ~ :.e. . ~ {.!)1 ~ .....! 

~I :tl ~ ~ :~ 

~ I ~ {/} - ~ II 

1

-------Aiice terrace---- -- 1 

I I 

I 

;----------------------------Beaumont terrace--------------------""7- -------- -.l 

: ~ l 

~ I ! j v I 

PROFILE ALONG GULF, COLORADO & SANTA FE RAILWAY 

5 

HORIZONTAL SCALE 

0 5 10 IS MILES 

PROFILES SHOWING SEAWARD-FACING TERRACES OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 
SURFACE FEATURES. 5 

BEAUMONT TERRACE. 

The Beaun1ont terrace is a very smooth, 

gently seaward-tilted plain, which is represented by the Coast PraiTie and is coextensive 

with it. Its width in Nueces County is about 

39 1niles. The Texas-Mexican Railway crosses 

it between Agua. Dulce and Corpus Christi. 

The elevation of its western 1nargin is about 

1:35 feet and that of its eastern 1nargin is about 

40 feet. Its surface slopes southeastward at 

the rate of about 2t feet to the 1nile. 

In Bee and San Patricio counties its width 

is about 30 miles. The San Antonio & Aransas 

Pass Hnilway crosses it between 11 point 3 1niles 

northwest of Papalote and Gregory. The 

elevation of the western 1nargin is 110 feet and 

of the eastern 1nargin 35 feet. The surface 

sl.opes southeastward at the rate of about 2~ 

feet to the mile. 

In Fort Bend and Brazoria counties the 

Beaumont terrace is about 50 miles wide. The 

Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway crosses it 

between 1nilepost 72, which is 6 miles north-:-

west of H.osenberg, and Hitchcock. The 

elevation of its inner margin is 102 feet and 

that of its outer 1nargin 19 feet. The surface 

slopes southeastward at the rate of 1.65 feet 

to the mile. 

The width of the Alice terrace in Austin 

nnd Fort Bend counties is about 15 miles. 

The Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway 

crosses it b.etween a point 2 miles southeast of 

Sealy and milepost 76, which is 10 miles northwest of Rosenberg. The elevation of the inner 

margin is 150 feet and of the outer margin 

122 feet. The surface slopes southeastward 

itt the ritte of about 2 feet to the 1nile. 

REALITOS TERRACE. 

The Realitos terrace borders the Alice terrace on the west in Duval, Jim Wells, Live On.k, 

Bee, Goliad, De Witt, Lavaca, Colorado, and 

Austin counties. It stands at a higher level 

than the Alice terrace and is marked by seaward-facing escarpments on its eastern and 

western margins. The flat of the terrace is 

represented in part by the J(oerth and Reynosa plains. 

In the southern part of Duval County the 

Realitos terrace is about 20 miles wide. The 

Texas-Mexican Railway crosses it between 

Hebbronville and milepost 65, which is 2 miles 

northeast of Mesquite. The elevation of its 

western margin is 520 feet and that of its 

eastern margin 460 feet. Its surface is more 

or less dissected, but all high points reach a 

common gradient of 3 feet to the mile southALICE TERRACE. eastward. 

The Alice terrace borders the Beaumont In Bee County the flat part of -the terrace 

terrace on the west and lies at a higher level. is about 10 miles wide. The elevation of the 

It is displayed in Duval, Jim Wells, San interior margin is 340 feet and that of the outer 

Patricio, Bee, Goliad, Victoria, Colorado, and margin 300 feet. The surface has a southAustin counties and is coterminous with the eastward slope of about 4 feet to the mile. 

Lissie Prairie and the Alice Plain. Faint sea- In Washington County this terrace is about 

ward-facing escarpments mark its eastern and 17 miles wide. The Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe 

western boundaries. Railway crosses it between milepost 112 and 

Its width in Jim Wells County is about 12 Sealy. The elevation of the inner margin is 

nliles. The Texas-Mexican Railway crosses 250 feet and of the outer margin 200 feet. The· 

it between San Diego and a point 2 miles surface is more or less dissected, but all high 

west of Agua Dulce. The elevation of the points fall into a plane which has a southeastwestern margin is about 316 feet and of the ward slope of 3 feet to the mile. 

eastern margin 150 feet. The surface slopes The Realitos terrace increases in elevation. 

southeastward at the rate of about 14 feet to the toward the south, and it has shared in the Tormile. , recillas uplift. 

Its width in San Patricio County is about TORRECILLAs PLAIN. 

7 miles. The San Antonio & Aransas Pass The Torrecillas Plain is an eroded, seaward-

.Railway crosses it between Beeville and mile- tilted, warped, elevated plain that occupies 

post 43, which is 4 miles southeast of Skidmore. parts of Webb, Duval, Live Oak, Bee, l(arnes, 

The elevation of its western margin is about De Witt, Lavaca, Fayette, Austin, and Wash230 feet; that of its eastern margin about 125 ington counties. It is represented in part by 

feet. Its surface slopes southeastward at the the Washington Prairies 11nd the · Reynosa 

rn.te of ~~bout 15 feet to the mile. Plain. (See pp. 8-9.) . 

lllfiRi -::!4--2 
6 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RlVER. 

The Oakville and Bordas escarpments, which break in its surface for miles. The rainfall 

face westward, mark its western margin, and makes its way to the drainage channels with 

a seaward-facing scarp, the edge of the Torre- difficulty, and much of it stays where it falls 

cillas Plain, marks its eastern margin. until it is evaporated or slowly enters the 

The Torrecillas Plain is about 8 ·miles wide almost impervious soil. 

in the southeast corner of Webb County. The On the Coast Prairie there are a number of 

elevation at Torrecillas, at the western margin, low rounded, circular, or oval elevations, 

is 872 feet, and at milepost 109, on the Texas- locally known as "mounds" or "domes," 

Mexican Railway, at the eastern margin, it is which range in size from a few acres to a square 

740 feet. The eastward· slope is about 8 feet mile. They are structural features and have 

to the mile. been produced by local uplift. Gas, oil, salt, 

In the northern part of Bee County the plain gypsum, and sulphur are usually associated 

is about 10 miles wide and is well displayed with them. The location and the features of 

between Monteola and a point .on the Beeville- some of these mounds are described below. 

Mineral road about 11! miles northwest of Bryan Heights, a mound in southern BraBeeville. The elevation at Monteola is about zoria County near the mouth of Brazos River, 

491 feet and at the other locality 412 feet. 3 miles from Velasco, is 300 acres in extent 

In Washington County the plain is .about 17 · and rises 19 feet above the surrounding plai.n.5 

miles wide and is well displayed along the Gulf, Damon, a roughly circular mound about 2 

Colorado & Santa Fe Railway from a point It miles across, in.northwestern Brazor~a County, 

miles south of Gay Hill to Kenney, in Austin rises 75 feet above the surrounding prairie. 

County. (See Pl. I.) The elevation at the point Its diameter is about 2 miles.6 Kiser's or West 

south of Gay Hill is 426 feet and at Kenney 398 Columbia Mound, an elevation of irregular fonu 

feet. The surface is more or less dissected by in western Brazoria County, 3 miles northwest 

streams, but all high points reach a gradient of Columbia, just west of Brazos River, rises 30 

of about 2 feet to the mile southeastward. feet above the surrounding plain.7 Markham 

There is considerable discordance in the Mound, in Matagorda County, 6 miles northelevations of the northern and southern limits west of Markham station, an oblong elevation 

of this plain, for the western margin is about whose longer axis trends northwestward, has 

446 feet higher in Webb County than in Wash- only a slight elevation above the surrounding 

ington County. This discrepancy is due to a plain.8 Big Hill, in Matagorda County near 

late uplift centered in the southeast part of the mouth of Colorado River, 5 miles northWebb County (described on p. 124), which has east of Matagorda, is a rather flat-topped dome 

elevated the southern part of the plain much which rises 36 feet above sea level, or 20 to 24 

above the level occupied by it farther north. feet above the level of the Coast Prairie.9 

Circular elevations 10 to 50 feet in diameter 

UPLAND BELTS OF THE COASTAL PLAIN. and 2 to 5 feet in height, which OCCUr singly 

coAsT PRAIRIE. or in groups and are known as "pimples," are 

The level treeless area about 45 miles wide also common on the Coast Prairie, notably in 

that borders· the coast between Sabine River Brazoria and Calhoun counties. Their origin 

and th~ north line of Willacy Countyis called is not known. They have been ascribed to 

the Coast Prairie. (See fig. 2.) . Foster on the action of escaping gas, to the work of ants, 

. the Brazos Glenflora on the Colorado Victoria to the action of the wind, and to human agency, 

on the G~adalupe, and San Patrici~ on the and th~y D_lay have be~n. produced by different 

Nueces mark approximately its interior margin. · ?auses ~different localities. Those at Humble 

The elevation of the seaward margin of this m Harris C?unty, seem to have been p~oduced 

prairie ranges from 20 to 40 feet. The eleva- by the actwn of gas. Veatch has discussed 

tion of its interior margin ranges from 110 these mounds somewhat fully, and for further 

feet on the Brazos to about 135 feet on the 

Nueces. The seaward slope is about 2 feet 

to the mile. 

This prairie is so very ·nearly flat that at some 

places the eye can not detect any perceptible 

5 Harris, G. D., Oil and gas in Louisiana, with a brief summary of 

their occurrence in adjacent States: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. .429, p. 

14, 1910. 

s Idem, p. 16. 

1 Idem, p. 20. 

s Idem, pp. 20-31. 

e Idem, p. 21. 
SURFACE FEATURES. 7 

in:for:m11tion the reader should consult his Fort Bend County, Wharton in Wharton 

paper.1° County, Edna in Jackson County, Victoria in 

Depressions known as cc-hog wallows," which Victoria County, Port Lavaca in Calhoun 

range from 6 to 20 inches in depth and from County, Bay City in Matagorda County, and 

3 to 10 feet in diameter, are at some places Corpus Christi in Nueces County. Of these 

scattered somewhat regularly over the surface towns the largest is Corpus Christi, the populaof the Coast Prairie. According to a tradition tion of which in 1920 was 10,522. 

among the inhabitants of this region, these LISSIE PRAIRIE. 

"wallows" were formed by buffaloes, but The Lissie Prairie lies west of the Coast their real mode of origin is unknown. 

The soil of the Coast Prairie is at most Prairie, and north of Guadalupe River.. (See fig. 2.) It includes parts of Fort Bend, Austin, 

places a black or drab clay, derived by weather- Wharton, Colorado, Lavaca, Jackson, and 

ing frmn the underlying yellow or reddish, Victoria counties. 

stiff, waxy, calcareous clay, which contains This prairie differs from the Coast Prarrie 

small nodules of lime, and fron1 the decay of in altitude and soil and is underlain by a difvegetal matter. · ferent geologic formation. The elevation of its 

1'he vegetation consists of a rich growth of seaward margin is about 122 feet; the elevation 

grasses and many flowering plants. Live of its interior margin is about 150 feet. Its 

oaks, loaded with Spanish moss, border the width is about 20 1niles where it is crossed by 

prairies along the stream courses or grow in the Colorado and ·about 12 miles where it is 

scattered "mottes" over them. Around Port crossed by the Guadalupe. Its average width 

Lavaca, Calhoun County, huisache and salt is about 16 miles. Its soil is largely a gray or 

cedar are noticeable. South of the Nueces a dark-gray sandy loam. Gravel consisting of 

heavy growth of mesquite, chaparral, prickly quartz, flint, limestone, jasper, feldspar, and 

pear, and mesquite grass appears. other pebbles is· present at no great depth 

Beneath the surface of the Coast Prairie lie beneath the surface. This prairie is at some . 

valuable accun1ulations of petroleum, natural places treeless and grass-covered, but at others 

gas, salt, and sulphur. Petroleum is produced it is occupied by a forest of post oak, live 

in considerable quantity at West Columbia, oak, and blackjack. No valuable minerals 

Damon Mound, and Markham and in smaller are found in this prairie. The supply of water, 

quantity near Matagorda. Natural gas has both surface and ground, is large. Wells 

been used for fuel near Matagorda. Gas un- obtain large quantities of water at compara- tively slight depths. The ground water is 

der strong pressure was discovered in 1914 at used for domestic purposes and for making 

White Point on Nueces Bay, 12 miles south of steam, and also for t_l;l.e irrigation of rice. The 

Sinton, San Patriqio County. (See Pl. II, A.) chief industries are the culture of cotton, corn, 

Sulphur is mined at Freeport, in Brazoria rice, and sugar cane. 

County, and at Big Hill, in Matagorda County. 

All building material except sand and clay is 

scarce, and the ~lay is too limy for making clay 

products. The supply of surface and ground 

water is abundant, but the ground water is in 

places too salty for use. 

The chief industries in the Coast Prairie are 

the cultivation of rice, cotton, truck, sugar 

cane, and fruit, the raising of stock, the production of crude petroleum, and the mining of 

sulphur. In Fort Bend County a number of 

sugar mills are engaged in making and refining 

sugar. Rice is grown by irrigation with water 

drawn from surface streams and wells. 

'rhe principal towns in the Coast Prairie are 

Columbia in Brazoria County, Richmond in 

:o Veatch, A. C., U. S. Gcol. Survey Prof. Paper 46, pp. 55-59, 1906. 

ALICE PLAIN. 

The Alice Plain represents the continuation 

of the Lissie Prairie south of the Guadalupe. 

It occupies parts of Goliad, Bee, Live Oak, 

San Patricio, Jim Wells, Nueces, Duval, 

Brooks, and Kleberg counties. (See fig. 2.) 

The elevation of this plain ranges from 

125 to 316 feet. This plain differs from the 

Lissie Prairie, of which it is the continuation, 

in the nature of the underlying material, soil, 

and vegetation. The subsurface formation is 

a yellow silt and limy conglomerate or a gravel 

representing in part the debris of crystalline 

rocks cemented by lime. The soil consists 

of dark-drab sandy loam. The plain is in 

large part covered with mesquite, chaparral, 

and cactus. 
8 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS 'YEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

KOERTH PLAIN. 

West of the Lissie Prairie and the Alice 

Plain lies a belt of country which may be called 

the Koerth Plain north of Guadalupe and the 

Reynosa Plain south of the Guadalupe. The 

This escarpment has been formed because 

of the superior resistance to erosion of the· limestone of the Reynosa formation in this arid 

part of the Coastal Plain. 

UVALDE PLAIN. 

Koerth Plain occupies parts of Austin, Colorado, West of the Koerth and Reynosa plains, 

Lavaca, and De Witt counties. (See fig. 2.) and on the high divides between the major 

Its average elevation is about 250 feet. streams there are remnants of a fornler exUnlike the areas lying between it and the coast tensive plain (see fig. 2) known as the Uvalde 

this plain is more or less dissected. Plain, which has been largely destroyed by 

The soil is a light-gray sand; a sandy loam, erosion. 

or a loam that contains a considerable admix- In Travis County this plain stands 600 feet 

ture of waterworn gravel. The material be- above sea level; in Bexar .County 680 feet; in 

neath the surface is gravel, consisting of pebbles Uvalde County 970 feet; and in Webb County 

of quartz, feldspar, jasper, and other nlinerals 728 feet. The remnants of the plain are conderived by stream erosion from crystalline . spicuous in' Travis, Hays, Comal, Bexar, 

rocks. Medina, Uvalde, Zavalla, Frio, and Webb 

The plain is heavily forested with post oak, counties. The surface of the upland is genlive oak, and blackjack. erally flat. Owing to the coarse texture of the 

Cotton and corn are the principal crops soil and subsoil the drainage is good. 

grown, but sorghum and ribbon cane are P!anted The material that underlies this dissected 

to some extent. Much of the plain is used for . plain in most places is a conglomerate in which 

pasture. pebbles and cobbles of flint, jasper, quartz, REYNOSA PLAIN. 

South of the Guadalupe the Reynosa Plain 

corresponds to the Koerth Plain. It borders 

the Alice Plain on the west and occupies parts 

of De Witt, Karnes, Goliad, Bee, Live Oak, 

Jim Wells, Duval, Webb, and Jim Hogg counties. (See fig. 2.) 

It is higher than the Alice Plain or the 

Koerth Plain, the elevations ranging from 

300 to 872 feet above sea level. The surface 

is more dissected by stream erosion than that 

of the plain to the east. 

The Reynosa Plain i~ underlain by limestone 

belonging to the Reynosa formation, which 

on weathering leaves a residuum that forms 

a red soil. Much of it is open prairie, but in 

places there is a scattering growth of mesquite 

and cactus, and in places where the soil is thin 

there is a thick growth. of chaparral. (See 

P.l. III, A.) 

This plain is not largely cultivated. A 

small part of it is devoted to the growing of 

cotton, but the larger part is used for pasture. 

The western boundary of the Reynosa 

Plain consists of a westward-facing slope 

known as the Bordas escarpment,11 a very 

prominent feature of the Coastal Plain south 

of Guadalupe River. (See Pl. III, B.) 

11 Dumble, E. T., Geology of southwestern 'rexas: Am. Inst. M:in. 

Eng. Trans., vol. 33, p. 5, 1903. 

feldspar, and other minerals are cemented by 

lime. At some places this conglomerate is 

covered with a black clay soil, through which 

are scattered numerous flint pebbles and 

cobbles. At other places the conglomerate 

disintegrates into a coarse gravel, which remains in place and forms barren tracts of land. 

The gravelly black clay soil is covered with 

mesquite. The coarse gravel tracts north of 

the Guadalupe are covered with post oak, and 

those south of the Guadalupe are covered with 

chaparral, huisache, and guajillo. At ·some 

places there are a few live oaks. 

The gravelly, black-clay ''hog-wallow" lands 

of this plain are very productive and yield 

good crops of cotton, corn, and sorghum in 

Travis, Comal, Bexar, and Medina counties. 

The gravel tracts are suited only for pasture. 

WASHINGTON PRAIRIES. 

TheW ashington Prairies were first recognized 

and named by Hill, 12 who called them the 

"Fayette Prairies." They form a belt of 

country, 10 to 30 miles wide, lying west of the 

Koerth Plain, in Austin, Washington, Fayette, 

Colorado, Lavaca, De Witt, and Karnes 

counties. (See Pl. III, 0, and fig. 2.) Their 

maximum width is 30 miles. South of the 

1' Hill, R. T., Geography and geology of the Black and Grand prairies, 

Tex.: U.S. Geol. Survey Twenty-first Ann. Rept., pt. 7, p. 408, 1901. 
SURFAUB FEAT1JHBS. 

Brazos the width gradually diminishes until 

in the region of the Guadalupe it is not more 

than 10 miles. 

The altitude of the Washington Prairie 

ranges from 350 to 600 feet. The surface 

features consist of a succession of broad rolling 

ridges whose trend swings from eastward to 

southeastward. The slopes of these ridges 

are, as a rule, long and gentle. In the western 

and northwestern part of the prairies, however,· 

the slopes are somewhat steeper and the tops of 

the ridges are not so broad. · The ridges rise 

about 100 .feet or 1norc above the intervening 

troughs or valleys. The· succession of ridges 

with green pastures and cultivated fields makes 

n. pleasing landscape. 

The cscarp1nent that 1narks the ·western Inargin of these pt·n,iries can be readily traced across 

the country. The course of Cedar Creek, in 

Fn.ycttc County, is determined. by it. At La 

Grange the escarpment forms a pronounced 

bluff, known as Monument Hill, which has deflected the Colorado. Buckners Creek follows 

it for 6 ·or 8 miles. Burkett :Mound, in Lavaca 

County, is a part of it. The escarpment is 

very pronounced in De Witt County. 

This escarpment has never been nam.ed, so 

far as the writer knows. Its existence in the 

Coastal Plain was recognized by Louglu·idge 13 

and Dmnble, 1-t but it has not been discriminated front othe~· escarpments, which in places 

urc parallel to it. 'I'he nan1e Oakville escarpment is therefore proposed for this feature. . 

The soil of the vVashington Prairies is at 

n1ost places a stiff black waxy clay but is at 

some places a black heavy lon.n1 or clay loam 

or a dark-brown sandy loam. The subsoil is a 

stiff, tenaeious yellow, red, or drab clay, which 

in some areas contains concretions of lime. 

The soil and subsoil are derived by weathering 

frorn the underlying calcareous sandstones and 

clays of the Oakville and Lagarto formations 

n.nd from decA.yed vegetal 1natter. Locally 

the lands are called "hog-wallow," "black 

waxy," or "black prairie" lands. 

The prairies are generally treeless, but some 

of the sandy knolls are occupied by live-oak 

"1nottes." 

The 1nineral resources are of little value. 

The supply of both surface and underground 

1a Loughridge, R. H., Physico-geographical and agricultural feature.> 

of the State of 'l'exas: 'l'enth Census U. s., val. 5, p. 679, 1884. 

H Dnmblo, J~. '1'., '!'he physical geograply and geology of 'l'exas: A 

comprohcnsivo history of 'l'oxas, val. 2, pp. 471-519, Dallas, 1898. 

water is abundant. The underground water 

is generally good and can be obtained at slight 

expense. 

Cotton and corn are the staple crops grown 

on the W a.shington Prairies. 

The chief towns are Brenhan1, in Washington County, and Hallettsville and Yoakum, 

in Lavaca County. The largest of these towns 

is Brenha1n, whose population in 1920 wn.s 

5,066. 

OAKVILLE PLAIN. 

The sandstone and clay that underlie the 

Washington Prair.ies north of the Guadalupe 

extend south of that stream through parts of 

Bee, Live Oak, ·McMullen, and Duval counties, 

but as the climate is semiarid the surface 

features that have been developed here are 

sufficiently different to warrant the application 

to the area of the name Oakville Plain. (See 

fig. 2.). 

This plain lies 400 to 600 feet above the sea. 

Its southeastern half is rather level or gently 

rolling, but its northwestern half is much dissec.ted by erosion and is rugged and hilly. 

The western boundary of the plain is a westward-facing escarp1nent, which is continuous 

with the escarpment that bounds the Washington Prairies. (See Pl. IV, A and B.) This 

escarp1nent parallels for a considerable distance 

the Bordas escarpment and finally 1nerges into 

it in the southern part of Duval County. 

The more level parts of the plain are covered 

with residual clark-gray to dark-brown loam, 

which contains a lat·ge quantity of organic 

matter. Where the surface is uneven the soil 

is thin. The plain is covered by a heavy growth 

of black chaparral, catclaw, cactus, guajillo, 

and other native brush. The land is used 

chiefly for grazing. 

FRIO PLAIN. 

The Frio Plain forms a belt of country 1 to 15 

miles wide which adjoins the Oakville Plain 

on the west. It extends through Gonzales, 

Karnes, Atascosa, Liye Oak, McMullen, and 

Duval counties. (See fig. 2.) 

The surface is rather level or gently rolling. 

The soil is residual fertile black day north of 

the Guadalupe and dark-gray to clark-brown 

loam and black clay loa1n south of that stream. 

It is derived from the marl of the underlying 

Frio formation. On the black clay mesquite, 

cedar, and n1ottes of live oak abound in alternation with open prairie. The loam p,reas 
10 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS W~T OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

of Live Oak and McMullen counties are covered 

with a thick growth of chaparral; the clay 

loam areas are treeless. 

WELLBORN PLAIN. 

The Well born Plain is a sharply dissected 

belt of plain which occupies parts of Burleson, 

Fayette, Gonzales; Wilson, Atascosa, McMullen 

and Webb counties. (See fig. 2.) It is 7 to 15 

miles wide. 

The western boundary south of Colorado 

River is formed by a westward-facing escarpment that parallels the cou:rse of the Oakville 

escarpment. It extends as far south as the 

southern part of Duval County, where it 

merges into the Oakville and Bordas escarpments. 

The soil of this plain north of the Guadalupe 

consists largely of gray sand or sandy loam 

and supports a growth of post oak; south of 

the Guadalupe it consists of dark-gray to 

dark-brown lqam and is covered with mesquite, 

which is replaced in Atascosa, McMullen, and 

Duval counties by chaparral and. cactus. On 

the broken lands of the western margin the 

soil is in many places extremely thin. 

These lands are utilized largely for pasture. 

Stone suitable for construction occurs at a 

number of places and is quarried at Quarry, 

Washington County, and at Muldoon, Flatonia, 

and Ledbetter, Fayette County. 

YEGUA PRAIRIE. 

The Y egua Prairie extends from the Brazos 

to the N ueces across Burleson, Lee, Fayette, 

Gonzales, Wilson, Atascosa, McMullen, and 

Lasalle counties. (See fig. 2.) 

The surface is rather level or very 'gently 

rolling; in places it is almost flat. The soil is 

a fertile black clay, or a dark-brown or black 

clay loam, derived· from clay of the underlying 

Y egua formation, enriched by tho decay of 

vegetal matter. The prairie is largely ~.-pen and 

treeless. South of the Guadalupe it presents 

a pleasing contrast to the chaparral-covered 

plain on either side. 

The land near the railroads is largely cultivated and . produces good crops of cotton, 

corn, and sorghum. Where facilities for transportation are not available, it is utilized 

chiefly for pasture. 

COOK MOUNTAIN PLAIN. 

The Cook Mountain Plain lies west of the 

Y egua Prairie and occupies parts of Burleson, 

Lee, Bastrop, Caldwell, Gonzales, Wilson, 

Atascosa, Frio, and Lasalle counties. (See 

fig. 2.) It is 5 to 20 miles wide. 

The name San Antonio Prairie is locally 

applied to this plain in Lee and Burleson 

counties. The prairie was so named from the 

old San Antonio road, which traversed it. 

This highway extended frmn San Antonio to 

Natchitoches in Louisiana and was the main 

route of overland travel in the early days of 

the settlement of Texas. 

The elevation of the Cook Mountain Plain 

ranges from 400 to 600 feet. The surface is 

gently rolling and· well drained. The soil 

north of the Guadalupe consists chiefly of 

black or red clay derived by weathering from 

a green glauconitic marl. In places, however, 

there are gray to red sands and sandy loams 

derived from underlying sand and sandstone. 

South of the Guadalupe the prevailing type 

of soil is a red or a brownish-red sandy loam 

on a bright-red sandy clay subsoil, but in places 

a black loam lies on a red clay subsoil. 

The heavy clay lands north of the Guadalupe 

are covered chiefly with grass, though mesquite 

is gradually encroaching on the open tracts. 

The tracts of sand and sandy loam are covered 

with post oak and blackjack. The vegetation 

south of the _Guadalupe consists of a very thick 

growth of mesquite, prickly pear, chaparral, ' 

tassojilla, guajillo, catclaw, and similar types. 

In the vicinity of the railroads and the towns 

good crops of cotton, truck, and corn are grown 

·on these lands. 

MOUNT SELMAN PLAIN. 

The Mount Selman Plain, which flanks the 

Cook Mountain Plain on the west, slopes 

gently· seaward and is somewhat dissected and 

eroded. It ·is 4· to 20 n1iles wide and occupies 

parts of Burleson, Mil,am, Lee, Bastrop, Cald- , 

well, Guadalupe, Gonzales, Wilson, Atascosa, 

Frio, Zavalla, and Dimmit counties. (See fig. 2.) 

. The elevations range from 450 to 700 feet. 

Porter Knob in Guadalupe County, which is 

700 feet high, is one of the highest points. 

The surface is rolling or hilly. 

The plain terminates on the west in a low 

escarpment formed by erosion, which east of 

the Brazos has been called the Nacogdoches 

Baj ada. 15 The hills which form the escarpl~ Deussen, Alexander, Geology and underground waters of the southeastern part of the Texas Coastal Plain: U. S. Geol. Survey WaterSupply Paper 335, p. 18, 1914. 
SURFACE FEATURES. 11 

ment are capped by low-grade limonite ores 

or hard ferruginous sandstone, and they owe 

their form to this protective cover. 

The soil of the Mount Selman Plain is 

residual and consists of deep-gray or yellow 

sand on a subsoil of orange, red, or mottled 

ferruginous sand. At some places the surface 

soil is ·red and contains some iron, but at 

others the iron has been leached out. 

The part of the plain that lies north of 

Atascosa Creek, in Atascosa County, is covered with a forest of post oak and blackjack. 

There is an isolated forest of pine in Bastrop 

County near Colorado River. The vegetation 

south of Atascosa Creek consists of mesquite, 

cactus, and chaparral. 

The region is not well adapted to agriculture. . CARRIZO PLAIN. 

The Carrizo Plain lies west and north of the 

Mount Selman Plain. It occupies portions of 

Milam, Lee, Bastrop, Caldwell, Guadalupe, 

Wilson, Bexar, Atascosa, Frio, Medina, Uvalde, 

Zavalla, and Dimmit counties. (See fig. 2.) 

The elevation·-ranges from 500 to 800 feet, 

and the surface is fairly level or hilly. 

The soil of the Carrizo Plain is chiefly fine to 

coarse yellow sand or fine sandy loam, representing a weathered phase of the underlying 

Carrizo sandstone. In places there is a darkgray loam. A forest of post oak and blackjack occupies the plain as far west as the 

southeast corner of Medina County. The 

vegetation in Frio, Zavalla, and Dimmit 

counties consists chiefly of mesquite, chaparral, prickly pear, guajillo, and catclaw. 

Much of this land is used for pasture. V egetables are grown under irrigation to some 

extent in Dimmit, Zavalla, and Frio counties. 

INDIO PLAIN. 

The Indio Plain lies west and northwest 

of the Carrizo Plain in Milam, Lee, Williamson, Bastrop, Caldwell, Guadalupe, Wilson, 

Bexar, and Medina colmties. (See. fig. 2.) 

Its width in the vicinity of the Brazos is 12 

miles or more. It becomes narrower southward and probably does not. extend west of 

Medina County. ' 

The elevations range from 450 to 7 50 feet. 

"£he surface is greatly dissected by streams 

and is in places hilly. 

The soil consists chiefly of gray, yellow, or 

orange sands, sandy loam, an~ loam derived 

by weathering from the underlying sand and 

clay of the Indio formation. The plain is 

covered with a forest of post oak and blackjack as far south as Guadalupe River. The 

vegetation of the area south of this stream 

consists chiefly of mesquite and prickly pear. 

Fair crops of cotton and corn and some 

fruit and truck are grown on these lands. 

Much of the plain is used for_ pasture. 

Lignite is mined at Rockdale, Milam County; 

Phelan, Bastrop County; and Lytle, Medina 

County. ELGIN PRAIRIES. 

The Elgin Prairies lie west of the Indio 

Plain and forn1 a belt 5 to 12 miles wide which 

extends southwestward through Falls, Milam, 

Willian1son, Travis, Bastrop, Caldwell, Guadalupe, and Bexar counties. They are coextensive with the outcrop of the Navarro and 

Midway formations. (See Pl. VIII, in pocket.) 

The elevations range from 450 to 650 feet, 

and the surface is gently undulating or rolling. The fertile soil consists of residual black 

calcareous sand and clay. Much of the land 

is open prairie, but at some places there are 

thickets of mesquite. 

The prairies are densely settled. The lead:-

ing industry is the culture of cotton and corn. 

TAYLOR PRAIRIES. 

Hill has applied the name Taylor Prairies to 

the belt of rolling prairie land that lies· west of 

the Elgin Prairies. 16 These prairies occupy the 

greater part of Falls County, the eastern part 

of Bell, the western part of Milam, the eastern 

part of Williamson, and s1nall areas in Travis, 

Hays, Comal, Guadalupe, and Bexar counties. 

In the last five counties mentioned the Taylor 

Prairies in their typical form appear at only a 

few places. 

These prairies mark the outcrop of the "faylor 

marl, a characteristic feature oLwhich is a stiff 

black waxy calcareous clay soil, which grades 

into a jointed and laminated light-blue marl 

locally known as "soapstone" or "joint clay." 

The surface is gently rolling and is in places 

c.overed with a growth of mesquite. "Hogwallow" land is common on poorly drained 

divides, and wide, shallow valleys lie between 

the low, rounded hills. The prairies are drained 

by many small streams, but some of them are 

dry most of the time. 

1a Hill, R. T., Geography and geology of the Black and Grand prairies, 

Tex.: U.s. Gcol. Survey Twenty-first Ann. Rcpt., pt. 7, pp. 67-68, 1001. 
12 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN O:E' TEXAS WEST O:E' BRAZOS IUVER. 

The average elevation of these prairies is 

about 600 feet, and the highest ridges have an 

altitude of 675 to 700 feet. 

These prairies are extremely fertile and forn1 

the most valuable farming lands in Texas. 

Before the advent of the boll weevil they produced without fertilization an average crop of 

a bale of cotton to the acre. 

The leading industry is agriculture, and the 

staple products are cotton and corn. The clay 

that lies beneath the soil is in places used for 

making brick. 

The important econmnic problem in this 

region is that of obtaining an adequate supply 

of water. No water can be obtained near the 

surface, and artesian. water can be procured 

only by going to great depths at much expense. 

The main source of supply is surface water 

impounded in storage reservoirs, but during 

droughts this supply often fails. 

WHITE ROCK PRAIRIES. 

The White Rock Prairies, so named by Hill, 17 

form the westernmost of those diverse belts of 

country that parallel the coast and make up the 

Coastal Plain of Texas. These prairies include 

parts of McLennan, Bell, Williamson, Travis, 

Hays, Comal, Guadalupe, Bexar, Medina, 

Uvalde, and Kinney counties. They areonamed 

from the white rock or chalky limestone-the 

Austin chalk-that here underlies the soil. 

The surface of these prairies is more rugged 

and more sharply incised by deep stream 

channels than that of the Taylor Prairies, but 

the- relief is nevertheless low, and there are no 

steep bluffs and scarps like those in the regions 

on the west. The hills are rounded and have 

gently sloping sides, but at some places along 

the stream courses there are precipitous bluffs 

of. white limestone. The soil is easily eroded, 

and the underlying white limestone appears at 

the surface at many places. 

The western boundary of these prairies north 

of Temple in Bell County is formed by the 

White Rock scarp. South of Temple the continuity of the escarpment is interrupted by 

faults, and at n1any places the prairies terminate 

at the foot of the Balcones scarp. 

The soil of the White Rock Prairies is a darkbrown to black loam or a black clay, which 

becomes stiff and tenacious when wet. The 

11 Hill, R. T., Geography and geology of the Black and Grand prairies, 

'l'ex.: U.S. Gcol. Survey Twenty-first Atm. Rept., pt. 7, p. 68,1901. 

subsoil is a stiff, dark-brown clay, which at 

comparatively slight depth becomes lighter in 

color, the proportion of silt increasing with the 

depth. The subsoil grades into a white silty 

material composed of soft, chalky limestone. 

The character of the vegetation on the Whito 

Rock Prairies is detern1ined largely by the 

depth of the soiL Where the soil is• thin or 

where there is no soil there is a good-growth of 

mountain cedar; w·here the soil is thicker there 

are groves of moss-covered live oak, and where 

the soil is rather deep there are clumps of 

mesquite. 

The chief rnineral resource of the White Rock . 

Prairies is building stone, which is quarried in 

places fron1 beds of the Austin chalk. When 

mixed with a proper proportion of clay, this 

rock can also be used in making Portland 

cement, for which purpose it is utilized in two 

mills at San Antonio. 

Underground water is. hard to get at slight 

depths. Artesian water can be procured at 

most places on the prairies at depths of 1,000 

to 2, 700 feet. 

The chief industry is agriculture. Cotton and 

corn are the leading crops. Hill 18 has pointed 

out the fact that many of the chief cities 

of Texas, including Sherman, Dallas, Waco~ 

Austin, and San Antonio, are built on these 

prairies. 

WHITE ROCK SCARP. 

The northern part of the western margin of 

the Coastal Plain terminates in a range of hills 

that presents a westward:..facing scarp of 

erosion, which has been produced by the superior resistance of the harder Austin chalk as 

compared with the softer underlying Eagle 

Ford shale. This scarp has been called the 

White Rock scarp. 19 

BALCONES SCARP. 

A pronouned seaward-facing fault scarp, 

known as the Balcones scarp, forms the interior 

margin of the Coastal Plain south of Temple. 

It passes through Austin, San Marcos, New 

Braunfels, and San Antonio, and there turns 

westward and extends through 1-:Iondo and 

Uvalde to Del Rio. Seen from the more open 

and level country on the east and south the 

scarp appears as a sharp line of cedar-covered 

1s Idem, p. 68. 

10 Idem, p. 63. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPEit 126 PLATE II 

cl. GAt> WELL OF T ill,; WIIITE PO INT OIL & GAS CO. ON NUECES I:!A Y, SAN 

PATIUCIO COUNTY, TEX. 

B. MOUNT INGE, A PHONOLITE KNOB ABOUT 2 MILES SOUTH OF UV.ALDE, UVALDE 

COUNTY, TEX. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL S URVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 126 l'LA'l'E III 

A. CIIAI'AlUl.AL OF TilE HIO GRANDE PLAIN ABOUT 2 MILES SOUTHEAST OF Tl LDEN, 

McMULLI N COUNTY, TEX. 

B . VIEW OF BORDAS ESCARPMENT LOOK ING SOUTHWESTWARD FROM LOS PICACHOS 

HILL, IN THE NORTHER ' PART OF DUVAL COUNTY, TEX. 

C. WASHINGTON PRAILUES IN TilE VLC IN!TY 01" BU11TON, WASHINGTON COU TY, TEX. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL •SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 126 PLATE IV 

A. VIEW OF LOMO ALTO JIILL LOOKING OB.THEASTWARD 1<'1\0M LOS l'ICACILOS 

lULL, ABOUT 5 MILES DISTANT TO THE SOUTHWEST, 1 DUVAL COUNTY, TEX. 

Not..e chaparra in foreground. 

B. CIIUSAS HILLS AS SEEN FB.OM LOMO ALTO POST OFFICE, McMULLEN COUNTY, 

TEX .• ABOUT 2 MILES D ISTANT TO THE WEST. 

C. VIEW Of BLUF~' EXPOSING TAYLOR MAl\L ON BIG WALNUT CRI>EK, ~ MILES SOUTH OF 

SPRINKLE, TRAVIS COUNTY, TEX. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

4.._-..J .... cu 41(} 4(..."V 

370 

350 

.330 

I '0 .J .SI (COY I :=;, 320 

~ 

! ~~~-I 180 

Horizontal scale 

25 20 15 10 5 0 25 50 MILES 

~--1· I . . I . 

I 

I 

PHOl'ESSIONAL PAPER 126 PLATE V 

250 

230 

180 170 160 

~# 140. 130 

~·~?~I I~ !50 

I · 1· I .... 1"1LVJJn:.JA~.~ _I ~ L_L -~iL I -~ 120 110 /00 

I I f .... ~,I}MJ~.JI.n. -:-t---1 I ~! I I . ~~ 

I I I l ~I I '~f'!f1~1~ 90 

80 70 

Vertical scale 

50 40 30 20 10 0 50 100 fEET L-.....J....__J I I I I I :1 I I I ~J~t~ [1:1 00 '":w ~ ILi -- t.; I I =3 3011:20 10 It ''d. !p:: v\1 ~ 1 Q) 1 I ~ -.,.~Tj -l--f--l-£--~~I I -~IS 

··~~~~- 1- T-zol :g! ~~~ r- 1~, ~~~ 

~J~ I 1ol ~: I~~~ I ---~~: ~~~ ~~ru1- Jci:liVi 1 1~ 1 ~~ 

~~ruo - IJ.. J AJl :±J MJ:.,~ , J~ 

~~ rrr~ 'f '('"~rVIVlg 

-50 

l\HDSTREAM PROFILE OF BRAZOS RIVER FROM WACO, TEX., TO THE MOUTH. 

The upper sloping line represents the nomtal water stage; the lower jagged line represents the bottom of the channel. 
SURFACE FEATURES. 13 

hills, locnlly called" mountains." Near Austin 

the highest summits are about 400 feet above 

the lower plain; in Uvalde County they are 

nearly 1,000 feet above it. 

ANACACHO MOUNTAINS. 

A dissected n1onoclinal limestone-capped 

plnten,u, which slopes southward from an 

abrupt scarp on the north, known as the 

Anacacho Mountains, lies in the southeast 

part of Kinney County. The highest points 

in this area are in these hills, and one reaches 

an elevation of 1,517 feet above sea level. 

IGNJ~OUS KNOBS. 

On the interior margin of the Coastal Plain 

there are many conspicuous hills that rise well 

above the level of the surrounding plains. 

These hills consist of knobs of igneous rock or 

volcanic plugs. Pilot Knob, in Travis County; 

Sulphur, Obi, N ueces, Inge, Taylor, Blue, and 

Big Mountain, in Uvalde County; and Turkey 

Mountain, Las Moras, and Pinto Mountain, .in 

Kinney County, are examples of these knobs. 

(See Pl. II, B.) 

VALLEYS. 

GENERAL FEATURES. 

The surface features thus far described 

constitute the uplands of the central Coastal 

Plain region. Extensive valley bottoms, 

which lie 10 to 300 feet below the uplands, 

flank the streams and cross the upland belts, 

generally at right angles. The slope of the 

longitudinal profiles of these valleys is less than 

that of the uplands, so that although the valley 

botto:ms along the coast lie about 10 feet below 

the uplands, those along the interior margin 

of the Coastal Plain lie about 300 feet below 

them. Different types of surfnce succeed one 

another on the upland from the coast toward 

the interior, but approximately the same type 

prevails in the valleys at any given level above· 

the stream bed. Several terraces usually 

flank the streams on both sides, at different 

levels, the outermost at the highest and the 

innermost n,t the lowest level. 

GRAVEL-COVERED TERRACES. 

In the valleys of the Brazos, Colorado, 

Guadalupe, Nu.eces, and Rio Grande the outernlost u.nd uppermost terraces are 1 to 3 miles 

wide and gru.vel-coverecl. Most of the gravel 

consists of pebbles and cobbles of quu.rtz, 

feldspar, jasper, granite, flint, chert, and dark 

limestone. 

The gravel on the Bru.zos occurs in irregulu.r 

patches on both sides of the valley between 

Waco, in McLennan County, and Peters, in 

Austin County. It occurs in similar form in 

the valley of the Colorado between Austin, in 

Travis County, and Alleyton, in Colora<Jo 

County. The soil of these terraces is invariably thin and of little agricultural value. As 

the land is high and the texture of the soil u.nd 

rock is loose, water seeps away rapidly, and 

in times of drought crops suffer severely. The 

land is valuable mainly for its heavy growth 

of post oak and blackjack. The population 

is not dense, and most of the few farms that 

are worked belong to negroes. The roads in 

the region generally follow these. terru.ces, for 

the gravel makes fairly good road beds, and 

the landowners generally place the roads on 

poor land. 

The outermost terrace in the Guadalupe 

valley is somewhat different from the others. 

In Comal and Guadalupe counties the gravel 

consists of pebbles of limestone and flint, 

which are in plu.ces cemented by lime into a 

conglomerate. These materials, on weather-~~ 

ing form a black clay soil which sustains a 

growth of mesquite where it is deep, or of live 

oak, where it is shallow. Where the gravel 

lies at the surface there is a growth of cedar. 

On the Nueces the upper gravel-covered 

terrace appears in Din1mit, La Salle, and 

:McMullen counties. These terraces occupy 

comparatively small areas at irregular intervals on both sides of the streams. The 

gravel is made up largely of li1nestone and 

flint. The vegetation consists mainly of chaparral, guajillo, cactus, catclaw, and prickly 

pear. 

Gravel-covered terraces covered with chaparral, guajillo, cactus, and other plants are found 

on the Rio Grande in Maverick, Din1mit, Webb, 

and Zapata counties. The gravel is made up of 

granitic debris, limestone, and flint. 

Gravel-covered terraces form the outer 

margins of the valleys of the smaller streams, 

including Blanco River, Cibolo River, and 

Little River, but the gravel consists chiefly of 

limestone or flint, and the surface features are 

similar to those on the Guadalupe. 
14 GEO;LOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

SECOND BOTTOMS. 

The second bottoms, locally called "bottom 

lands," are conspicuous features in the valleys 

of the larger streams of the Coastal Plain. 

They are large areas of fertile alluvial land that 

lie at lower· levels than the gravel-covered 

terraces, but above the bottom or overflow 

lands proper, ·though at rare intervals, some 

parts of them are subject to overflow. 

Bluffs 30 to 50 feet in height separate the 

flats of the gravel-covered terraces from the 

second bottoms. The surface of the second 

bottoms is very flat and has only a slight seaward gradient. The creeks that cross them 

flow in deep trenches or U-sh~ped valleys. 

The soil of the second bottoms is variable. 

The prevailing type in the Colorado and Brazos 

valleys is a brown or red sandy loam, loam, or 

clay, representing weathered· debris derived 

from the Permian rocks of northwestern Texas. 

A similar soil is found in the Rio Grande 

valley. Most of the soil in the Guadalupe 

Valley is a stiff black clay. The prevailing 

type on the Nueces and the Frio is a grayishbrown loam, which c·ontains a large quantity 

of silt and a great :number of recent land shells. 

In consequence the terraces are locally called 

"shell land." All the soils of the second bottoms are extremely fertile. 

The native vegetation of these bottoms on 

the Brazos, Colorado, and Guadalupe consists 

of hardwoods, including elm, pecan, cottonwood, ash, hackberry, and box elder. The 

vegetation on the Frio, Nueces, and Rio 

Grande, where the climate is semiarid, consists 

chiefly of chaparral, mesquite, and pricldy 

pear. 

Water may generally be had on the second 

bottoms of the Brazos and Colorado in wells 

not exceeding 60 or 70 feet in depth, and the 

relatively low elevation of these.lands as compared With the adjacent upland favors flowing 

wells, many of which have been obtained in 

the second bottom of the Brazos. 

The second bottoms are extensively cultivated. The Brazos "bottom" is famous for its 

fertile soils, and is one of the principal farming 

regions of the State. In the Brazos, Colorado, 

and Guadalupe valleys cotton· and corn ·are 

the leading crops raised. On the second bottoms of the N ueces and the Rio Grande 

onions, cabbages, lettuce, and cantaloupes 

are extensively grown by the aid of irrigation.· 

FLOOD PLAINS OR BOTTOMS. 

. The parts of the stream valleys that are 

subject to overflow, the flood plains or the 

bottoms, are narrow middle belts that lie 

between and below the higher valley terraces. 

The material of these bottoms on the Brazos 

and the Colorado is a red or brown loam or 

clay. The soils a~·e red or brown loams, sandy 

loams, or loamy sands. At some places, 

notably in Brazoria County, the soils are 

stiff black or chocolate-colored waxy clays, 

which crack in dry weather. Locally these 

areas are known as "buckshot lands," because 

the soil will crumble under the pressure of the 

hand into small rounded particles resembling 

buckshot. 

The Brazos and Colorado bottoms are still 

largely covered with timber, which includes 

elm, ash, live oak, pecan, and cottonwood. At 

many places there is. a dense undergrowth of 

vines and bushes. 

The soil of the bottom lands on th~ Guadalupe 

consists largely of black or dark silt or loam, 

which where mixed with decayed vegetable 

matter forms a black clay or black loam. The 

vegetation is similar to that on the Colorado 

and the Brazos. 

The soil on the bottom lands on the Nueces 

consists largely of yellow loam or silt. The 

surface is level or gently undulating, but in 

places it is cut up more or less by so-called 

"bayous," which are abandoned channels of 

the stream .or its tributaries. A soil common 

to all parts of the Nueces bottom is a grayishbrown or dark-brown silty clay loam, which 

supports a vigorous growth ·of mesquite, 

prickly pear, guajillo, tassojilla, several species 

of native grasses, and in places live oak, pecan, 

hackberry, and sycamore. Another soil is a 

dark-gray heavy plastic clay loam, the color 

·of which varies somewhat with the variation 

in the quantity of moisture it contains. On 

account of its high content of lime and humus 

this soil, when dry, is loose and granular. 

At most places it is covered with mesquite, 

prickly pear, _and native grasses, but in the 

southeastern part of La Salle County and the 

we~tern part of McMullen County, where there 

is· some salt in the soil, it supports a thick 

growth of a tall rank, coarse grass known as 

sacahuiste. In consequence this bottom IS 

spoken of as the "sacahuiste flats." 
DRAINAGE. 15 

The soil of the bottom of the Rio Grande 

consists of reddish-brown silt or loam. The 

weathered soil is a gray or brown sandy loam 

or a silt loam. The vegetation consists of a 

dense growth of mesquite, cottonwood, chaparral, and cactus. (See Pl. III, A.) 

In the lower part of the Rio Grande Valley 

the bottom n1erges into the delta, which begins 

at Closner and occupies an extensive area in 

Ilidalgo, Willacy, and Cameron counties. The 

delta forms a wide, flat region which is subject 

to overflow and which is cut by numerous narrow, winding sloughs or" resacas," representing 

old channels of the river. These" resacas" are 

15 to 30 feet deep and 75 to 150 yards wide. 

When the river overflows, or in seasons of 

heavy rainfall, they become filled 'with water, 

which they retain for the greater part of the 

year. 

The soils of t4e delta consist of light-brown 

to gray silt loam in the well-drained parts and 

heavy dark-brown to black sticky clay in the 

poorly drained parts. The well-drained parts 

are overgrown with mesquite, chaparral, ebony, 

and cactus. Groves of palm stand in spots 

near the river, and on lower ground there is a 

luxuriant growth of cane, tules, and coarse 

marsh grass. The poorly drained flats near 

the coast are occupied by marsh grass. The 

ancient beaches in this vicinity, which are long, 

narrow ridges of sand and gravel 30 feet or 

more high, are covered with Spanish dagger 

and several varieties of cactus. 

Most of the valleys of the minor strean1s of 

the Coastal Plain have bottom lands similar 

to those of the larger stream valleys. The 

Yegua bottom, in Burleson and Washington 

counties, is a type of such lands. The upper 

part of this valley c~mtains no fluviatile deposits, and the creek is eroding its channel. 

The lower part of the valley is filled with alluvium consisting of black or dark loan1 and is 

thickly set with timber, in which elm predominates. This alluvium fonns· a single 

ben~h between the upland and the water line 

and merges into the bottom lands of the 

Brazos. 

DRAINAGE. 

OEN~JitAL FEATURES Oil' THE DRAINAGE BASINS. 

The principal drainage systems of the Coastal 

Plain west of Brazos River, named from east to 

west, are those of the San Bernard, Colorado, 

N avidad, Guadalupe, Nueces, and Rio Grande. 

In addition to these rivers there are creeks 

and bayous on the Coast Prairies. that drain 

territory not drained by the larger river 

systems. 

The Coastal Plain includes only small parts 

of the drainage basins of these rivers. Much 

of the water that finds its way into them is 

collected outside the area here considered. 

The 1nain trunks of the several systems are 

consequent streams. They have a general 

southeasterly course determined primarily by 

the general southeasterly slope of the Coastal 

Plain. They cut the geologic formations in the 

line of the dip. Some of the streams flow only 

during periods of wet weather; others, such as 

the 1najor streams, are in part spring-fed. 

Some of the supply springs are simple gravity 

springs; others are bold fissure springs. The 

Guadalupe derives a large part of its water 

from fissure springs; the Colorado is fed 

chiefly by gravity springs but also by fissure 

springs; the Brazos, so far as known, is f~d 

entirely by gravity springs. 

The streams of the Rio Grande Plain are 

mostly of the interrupted type. In places 

they contain flowing water, but in other places 

their ·beds are dry, and the water flows underground. Cibolo, Frio, and Nueces rivers are 

conspicuous examples. 

- Across that part of the Coastal Plain that 

lies west of the Coast Prairies the chief streams 

flow in narrow, sinuous channels, from 50 to 400 

feet wide·." One sharp bend follows another 

within a short distance, and at the point of 

each bend there is a sand bar on one side and 

generally a caving bank on the other. In places 

there are long stretches of slow-moving water, 

locally called "eddies." Here the banks slope 

gently and are covered with overhanging trees. 

The channel is wider than it is at the bends. 

The "eddies" terminate in shoals or riffles, 

across which the water flows with torrential 

velocity and enters one of the long bends. 

The shoals are formed at places where hard 

strata cross the bed of the stream. 

Here and there in the course of their meandering the rivers have removed the materials 

of the terraces that at one time filled the 

valley, and in these places one bank rises 

directly to the upland as a high bluff without 
16 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TJ~XAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

the intervention of terraces. Along the inner 

margin of the Coastal Plain these bluffs are in 

places 250 to 300 feet high, and either upstream 

or downstream from the bluffs there may be 

one or more alluvial flats. Smaller bluffs are 

formed by the removal of parts of lower 

At Bay City, in the Coast Prairies, ·colorado 

River has brought down driftwood that forms 

a dam, locally known as a raft. 

The Rio Grande, Brazos, and Colorado carry 

large quantities of red silt. The sediment of 

the Brazos and Colorado is derived mainly from 

FtuURE 3.-M:ap of Colorado River in vicinity or Austin, Tex., showing location of sections where measurements for silt were taken. 

(After Taylor.) 

terraces, the bank leading directly to the higher the Permian "Red Beds'·' of northwest Te:Xas, 

terrace. which gives to the water its characteristic red 

The major streams flow across the Coast color, from which the Colorado derives its 

Prairies in wide, deep channels of slight gra- name. 

dient,inwhichtherearenoshoals. Thechannels ~T. C. Nagle has made some measurements of 

are at some places cut to ·a depth of 40 feet be- the sediments carried by the Brazos, and his 

low sea level. (See Pl. V.) results are given in the following table: 

Summary of silt measurements, Brazos R·iver, 1'ex.a 

[Collections made at Jones Bridge,) 

Silt. 

Time, 'l'otal 

uischargc. One week's settle- One year's settle- ment. ment. 

I I I I Acre-feet. Acre-feet. Per cent. Acre-feet. Per cent. I 

Aug. 1 to Dec. 31, 1899 ....................................... ·1 1,165,300 10,090 0.866 7,567 0.649 

Jan.1 to Dec. 31, 1900 ....................................... 8,806,986 115, 782 1. 315 86,837 . 986 

. Tan, 1 to Dec. 31, 1901. ...................................... , 976,602 12,838 1. 262 9, 246 . 947 

Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 1902 .................................. ___ .. 3,362,991 40, 190 1. 195 30,142 . 896 

'l'otal for 41 months ..................................... -I r 

I I 14, 311, 8791 1.78,900 1. 246 133, 792 . 935 

aU. S. Dept. Abrr. Office Ex per. Sta. Bull.133, p. 205, 190.3. 
DRAINAGE. 17 

During 1902 the collections were made at much shorter 

intervals than for the time preceding, but the results are 

only a little smaller than for the entire period. Probably 

a mean value of 1.2 per cent by" volume for one week's 

settlement and 0.9 per cent for one year's settlement would 

be not far wrong as an estimate of general conditions. The 

Colorado. l-Ie has determined the amount o:f 

silt deposited on the bed of Lake Austin, formed 

by the dam built at Austin in 1893. This dam 

was washed out in 1900, and the opportunity 

was afforded to measure accurately the sediOISTANC£ 

LOCALITY FROM 

OAM 

CLIFTON 500 MILES 

18.90 

fiARRISONS BR. f60' ---;; 17.40 ;•az;P 

HONEY CREEK sao' 15.90 

'42Z'22Uztn?yL'7»/!/MWffmzz?zzzzzazL2ii.:tP 

HUGHES 600' 1~.60 

~/!!!!m??? uP 

SANTA MONICA 850' 13.70 

SCOTTS TOWER ~1?/AW)$&'~ 620 

~))~ :;:::::> 10.~0 

McNEILL's LANE 780 9.25 

OGORITA 7.75 

'80' loEVILS HOLLOW 

~~ 7.00 

ENNIS FARM 950' 5.60 

~~~));~ 

BULL CREEK 880' /;.00 

~/du~-g;>M~ ORYCRE£K 1,180' 3.00 

MORMON f)ILLJ""'= 

~ ~ 

-

1.300' 1.20 = 

BEE CREEK 

~ 

I 

- --

~ 

~ 

1,230' 

~ 0.20 

I OAM 1,200' <::::::::; 

"/for$~ 

J?wuJm ~I.-Cross sections or Lake Austin illustrating accumulation or sediment between 1893 and 1897 (illustrated by upper shaded area). The 

number above each section indicates its length in feet. (After Taylor.) 

percentages of silt were determined volumetrically and 

arc much larger than similar determinations based on 

weights where the weight of a given volume of the sediment 

has been assmncd.2° 

Prof. '1'. U. Taylor, of the University of Texas, 

has 1neasured the silt-bearing capacity of the 

io Nagle, J. C., Irrigation in Texas: U.S. Dept. A gr., Oflico Ex per. Sta. 

Bull. 222, p. IU, lUJO. 

ment deposited during the life of the reservoir. 

He found that 7. 7 feet of silt was deposited 

upon an area a square mile in extent each year. 21 

(See figs. 3 and 4.) 

The silt carried by the rivers that head in the 

"Edwards Plateau, including the Guadalupe, the 

21 'l'aylor, ~L'. U., 'fhe Austin dam: 'L'cxas Univ. Bull. lli4, p. 40, 1910. 
18 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

San Antonio, and the Nueces, differs somewhat 

in quantity and character from that carried by 

the Rio Grande, the Brazos, and the Colorado. 

The water of the Guadalupe, which is typical, 

is remarkably clear, the color is blue, and very 

'little silt is carried in suspension except in 

floods. At times of high water the color is dark. 

'l'he following table gives the chemical character of the water of these streams: 

Analyses of stream waters of Texas. 

[Parts per million.] 

--·-

T 

s 

urbidity ................. uspended matter .......... Silica (Si02) .......... - - - - • 

I ron (Fe) .................. c 

M 

alcium (Ca) .............. aJnesium (.Mg) ........... So ium and potassium 

(Na+K) ................ Carbonate radicle (003) •••• 

Bicarbonate radicle (HC03) 

Sulphate radicle bS04 )-- - • 

Brazos.a 

1,462 

1,188 

22 . 26 

121 

19 

234 

0.0· 

158 

279 

Nitrate radicle (N 2.2 3) ••••••• 

Chlorine ( Cl) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338 

Total dissolved solids ...... 11, 136 

Colorado.b 

351 ............. 18 

3.1 

52 

17 

49 

0.0 

195 

42 ........... 59 

321 

Rio 

Grande.c 

--· --

.......... 

-········ 

............. 

............... 

100 

18 

110 ............ 240 

210 

.49 

100 

699 

a Mean of a number of analyses of samples collected at Waco, Tex., 

Dec. 14;)906, to Nov. 19,1907. Dole, R. B., T,P.equalityofsurface waters in the united States: U. s. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 236, p. 50 1909. 

[,Idem, p. 116. Sample collected at Austin Tex. c Mean or a number or analyses, samples collected near El Paso Tex. 

Stabler, Herman, Some stream waters of the western United States: 

U.S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 274, p.140, 1911. 

The coefficient of fineness of the. suspended 

matter in the water of the Brazos (ratio of 

turbidity to suspended matter) is 1.3. 

The water of the Brazos, whose headwaters 

drain the salt and gypsum beds of the Permian 

and Triassic rocks of northwestern Texas, 

flood of December, 1913, covered the entire 

valley from Bosque County to the coast, and 

caused damage to property estimated at about 

$3,500,000. Another disastrous flood occurred 

in June and July, 1899. The average duration 

of this overflow was about eight days. The 

water submerged an area of 2,000 square miles, 

and the damage amounted to $7,500,000. 

Other floods occurred in 1833, 1843, 1852, 

1885, 1902, and 1908. 

MAJOR STREAMS. 

RIO GRANDE. 

The Rio Grande is the most extensive of the 

river systems that cross the Coastal Plain. 

Its source is in the masses of snow that gather 

on the Continental Divide in southwestern 

Colorado. The main stream flows in a southerly direction to El Paso, from which its general 

course is southeasterly along the boundary of 

Texas. Its length is about 2,000 miles, and 

the area of its drainage basin includes about 

250,000 square miles. A comparatively small 

part of the area drained by the Rio Grande is 

considered in this paper. 

The discharge of the river is less at El Paso 

and Presidio, Tex., than it is at San Marcial, 

N. Mex. The stream at times ceases to flow 

at the surface in the district between El Paso 

and Presidio, notwithstanding the fact that in 

New Mexico and Colorado it may contain a 

normal quantity of water. The discharge is 

·absorbed by the dry sand of this arid portion of 

Texas and Mexico. 

BRAZOS RIVER. 

is a calcium-sulphate water, whereas that of 

the Colorado and the Rio Grande, which do not Brazos River rises in the Staked Plains of 

cross extensive gypsum deposits, is a calcium- Tex;as. Its length is 950 miles, and its _drainage 

carbonate water. basin covers about 44,000 square miles. Its 

All the streams of the area are subject to· general course is southeasterly across the 

floods, but the most destructive are those State. 

that occur along the Brazos. These floods 

are most pronounced on . the Coastal Plain, 

chiefly because the bottom arid second bottom 

lands are more extensive in this part of the 

drainage basin. They usually occur in the 

spring or early summer, when the headwater 

areas of the larger streams receive excessive 

rainfall. They are rare during the winter. 

One of the most disastrous of the floods that 

have devastated the Brazos lowlands in recent 

years was that of September, !'921. The 

COLORADO RIVER. 

The Colorado heads in Gaines County in 

the Staked Plains of Texas. It receives some 

contributory drainage from the southeastern 

part of New Mexico. The drainage basin 

covers approximately 40,000 square miles, 

and its length is about 900 miles. 

The principal tributaries include Concho 

River, Pecan Bayou, San ·Saba River, Llano 

River, Pedernales River, Onion Creek, and W alnut Creek. 
SALlBNT JTEA'TURES OJT THE STRUCTURE. 19 

GUADALUPE RIVER. 

Guadalupe !liver heads in Kerr County in 

the Edwards Plateau, and follows a southeasterly course across the Coastal Plain to San 

'Antonio Bay. The length of the main sti'eam 

is about 300 n1iles; the drainage basin covers 

about 10,731 square miles. 

Though the drainage basin of the Guadalupe 

is s1uall as compared with those of the larger 

strean1s of Texas, it is one of the most favorable 

strean1s for the developn1ent of power in the 

State, owing to the large quantity of water 

supplied by the fissure springs at New Braunfels n,nd San Marcos. 

NUECES RIVER. 

Nueces River rises in Edwards County in 

the Edwards Plateau'. It follows a general 

southeasterly course to the southeast corner 

of La Salle County, where it turns and flows 

northeastward for a distance of approximately 

75 miles. At Oakville, Live Oak. County, it 

changes to a southeasterly course, which it 

follows until it empties into Corpus Christi 

Bay. The area of the drainage basin of N ueces 

Hiver is approximately 16,540 square miles; 

the length of the main stream is approximately 

450 miles. 

MINOR STREAMS. 

'fhe San Bernard drains territory between 

the Brazos. and the Colorado. It heads in 

Austin County and follows a southeasterly 

course to the Gulf .. Its drainage basin includes 

parts of Austin, Colorado, Fort Bend, Wharton, 

and Brazoria counties and is about 1,048 

square miles in area. The length of the stream 

is about 100 miles. 

The Navidad drains territory between the 

Colorado and the Guadalupe drainage basins. 

Parts of Fayette, Lavaca, Wharton, and Jackson counties are included in its drainage basin. 

The river heads in the southern part of Fayette 

County and follows a southeasterly course until 

it discharges into Lavaca Bay. 

The drainage basin includes 2,200 square 

miles. The length of the main stream is about 

80 miles. The principal' tributary is Lavaca 

River, which unites with theN avidad about 14 

1niles above its mouth. . 

Most of the main laterals of the major trunks 

' are subsequent streams. In many places they 

follow valleys at the foot of escarpments. The 

direction in which they fiow is at right angles 

to the regional slope. Y egua Creek, a branch 

of the Brazos, is an example of streams of this 

type. 

The branches that feed the main laterals are 

of two types. The major branches are consequent streams, which drain the divides between 

the n1ajor trunks and flow in general southeastward. The minor branches are obsequent 

streams, which drain the inland-facing escarpments and fiow in general northwestward. 

Y egua Creek, which forms the boundary between Lee and Burleson counties, is an example 

of the consequent streams, and Cedar Creek, 

which forms part of the boundary between 

Washington and Fayette counties, is an example of the obsequent streams. 

That part of the Brazos, Colorado, and Rio 

Grande systems which is developed on the 

Cretaceous formations, including the Black and 

Grand prairies and the Edwards Plateau, is 

consequent drainage. Those parts of the 1nain 

streams which appear on the Coastal Plain represent extended consequent drainage, for the 

streams extended their courses across the plain 

during its gradual reclama,tion from the sea. 

The smaller streams of the Coastal Plain that 

fiow directly into the Gulf are chiefly of the 

consequent type. 

GEOLOGY. 

SALIENT FEATURES OF 'l'HE STRUCTURE. 

When the materials that formed the beds 

of rock now exposed on the Coastal Plain of 

Texas were originally deposited in the sea they 

lay practically horizontal, but since their deposition the inland part of the region has been 

gradually elevated, and they have thus been 

tilted. The beds, therefore, instead of being 

horizontal, are now slightly inclined toward the 

Gulf. Since they were elevated above sea and 

tilted these beds have been considerably eroded, 

so that the surface of the Coastal Plain no 

longer coincides with the surface of the uppermost layer of rock, but bevels all the gently 

inclined layers at a slight angle. From place 

to place different sheets are exposed to view. 

The lowermost formation is exposed at the 

greatest distance from the coast; the uppermost at the coast. (See geologic map, Pl. 

VIII, in pocket.) 
20 GEOLOGY OF. Tltl~ COASTAL Pl..AIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

These inclined, superimposed sheets of rock 

may be likened to a pack of cards adjusted to 

the position indicated in figure 5. 

upturned edges of each of the geologic formations that form this plain. 

In the following account of the geologic formations composing the Coastal Plain, t.hese 

formations will be described in the order of· 

deposition, the lowermost or oldest first. 

The surface of the Coastal Plain corresponds 

to the area A B C D in the diagram. This surface is formed by parts of all the cards in the 

0 

A 

FIGURE 5.-Diagram illustrating relations and sequence of formations in the Coastal Plain. (After Hill.) 

pack. The line B C of the card pack corresponds to the shore line, and A D corresponds to 

the interior margin of the Coastal Plain. If one 

should run his hand from B to A it would cross 

each of the cards successively, the lowermost 

last. Similarly, if one should travel inland 

from the coast he will cross successively the 

STRATIGRAPHY. 

GENERAL FEATURES. 

The deposits that form the Coastal Plain 

belong to the Cretaceous, Tertiary, and Quaternary systems, and include the formations 

shown in the following table: 

System. Series. 

Recent. 

Geologic formations exposed in the Coastal Plain of Texas west of Brazos River. 

Formation. 

Beaumont clay. 

Lissie gravel. 

I 'fhickness. 1 Lithology and characteristic fossils. I 

Fluviatile deposits of black, yellow, and brown silt forming 

Feet.. / low terraces of the streams; modern flood-plain materials 

0-60 1 consisting of sand and gravel; beach and clune sands of the 

coast and sand hills of southern Texas. 

l Blue calcareous clay with 

I small nodules of lime and 

300-900 ' lenses of sand and sanely 

1 

clay. Specimens of Rangia 

cuneata, etc. Embedded 

i logs common. 

Farther inland the Beaumont 

clay is represented along 

the stream valleys by a number of terraces. 

·----'--1------

I 

I 

1 Gravels derived from crystalline rocks; flint and chert 

pebbles and cobbles; coarse sands; pockets of red clay 

in places. South of the 

493-1,020 Guadalupe the gravels are cemented by a limy matrix 

I 

into a limy conglomerate or adobe. The fossils include 

Equus complicatus, Equus 

The Lissie gravel is represented farther inland along 

the stream valleys by a number of terraces occupying higher levels than those 

of Beaumont age. 

.................... -Unconformity--·---~ I 

jrancisci Hay, Smilodonfatalis, and Elephas imperator. 

Limy conglomerates and limestones; the conglomerate 

consists. of flint, limestone, 

quartz, and jasper pebbles 

cemented by a matrix of 

lime; -pockets or lenses of 

pink hmy clay in places. 

East of the Colorado the 

Reynosa formation consists 

of con.rse red or mottled 

sands and beds of gravel. 

The gravel contains pebbles 

of quartz, chert, jasper, etc. 

Farther inland the Reynosa 

formation is rept·esented 

by the upstream deposits 

heretofore called' 'Uvalde'' 

formation, consisting of cobbles of flint, and in places 

of quartz, chert, jasper, and 

of fragments of petrified 

wood, in some localities 

cemented by a 1imy matrix 

into a limy conglomerate. 

These gravels occupy the 

uplands south and east of 

the Bn.lcones fault and n.ppear as a terrace west of the 

fault on some of the streams. 

Thickness: 1 to 100 feet. 

Reynosa formation. 560-1, 5051 

i 

I 

I 

! ............ -Unconformity-------1------,::------------J·-----------· 
STRATIGRAPHY. 21 

Geologic formations exposed in the Coastal Plain of Texas 1.vest of Brazos ~iver-Continued. 

- ---------- - . --- . 

System. Sories. Formation. 

I 

Thickness. Lithology and characteristic fossils. 

--- .. ·-·--· 

Light-colored or mottled pink 

1-

and green clays, with nu- merous lime no d u l e s ; 

stained heavily with manI Feet. ganese in places. Strings 

Lagn.rto cla.y. 846-647 of limestone extend downward into the clay where it 

is capped by limestone. 

Includes also sands and 

a) sandstones. ~ Cl) 

C) 

~~ Interbedded sands and clays. .. 0 

;.:: · 'l'he sands are coarse and ~ sharp and include pebbles Seaward the Lagarto, Lapara, 

and Oakville formations 1 of clay and lime concre- are r~resented, east of 

I Lapara sand. 1 tions; the clays are red, Colora o River, by marine 1 75-455 green, and pink. In places sands and clays, carrying 1 

a conglomerate of clay beb- Area carolinensis and other . bles may be seen. on- u;rper Miocene and lower tains many fragments of P iocene ? forms. bone, determined as of 

Unconformity(?) 

Pliocene age. 

I 

I Gray sandstones, soft and 

highly calcareous in places, 

a) 

in other places hard and 

noncalcareous; some cl:;i.y ~ Cl) Oakvil1e sauclstone. 180-603 lenses are interstratifiec1. C) The fossils include Proto- .£ I 

I ,-:, ~ hippus medius Cope, Proto- I 

hippus perditus Leidy, P1·otohtppus placidus Leidy; 

and Aceratherium. 

-Unmnformity-

;.., ~a) I 

Hard blue quartzitic sandstones; green, blue, and brown 

a talclike clays; gray cross-bedded sandstones; lenses of ..... ~ Catahoula sandstone. 0-1,200 white clay; green sandy clay; bedded gray sandstones; ·~ -(lJ Oe.> i Cl) fossil wood. ~ ----- I Green and pink compact clay wit4 small lime nodules; greenFrio clay. i 235-705 ish-gray marls; concretions of hard siliceous and aluminous 

I -limestones stained with manganese; beds of volcanic ash. 

I 

In lower part are beds of brown marl with Ostrea georgiana 

Conrad. · 

Gray sands and sandstones, brown and chocolate-colored 

I clays, lignitic clays, and lignite; beds of volcanic ash, 

white, kaolin-like clays and fuller's earth. Silicified and 

·Fayette sandstone. l 480-800 opalized wood very common. Clays are leaf-bearing in 

places and carry Pisonia jaclcsoniana Berry, Bombacites jaclc- I sonensis Berry, etc. The sandstones are fossiliferous in ! places and carry Ostrea georgiana Conrad, Tellina ebmniI 

opsis Conrad?, Corb71:la wailesiana Harris ? , etc. 

I Dark-green clacLs; brown leaf-bearing and lignitic clays; 

<P I Yegua formation. i 

yellow .and ark sands, and lenticular beds of lignite. ~ Clays carry masses and plates of selenite. Beds of Cl) 

C) 475-1,049 oyster shells occur in places. The fossil leaves include 0 

~· 

I 

Aneimia eocenica Berry, and Arundo pseudogoepterti 

Berry. The marine fossils include Ostrea alabamiensis ea, 

ci. Plejona sp., and Corbula sp. ::i 

0 

I So I Beds of greensand, greensand marl, iron ore, lignite, lignitic Cl) : day, clay, sandstone, and sand. The glauconitic ·sands I E Cook Mountain ! and clays predominate, and weather.into characteristic 1·ed 0 formation. 520-865 ~ soils. Marine fossils very numerous and include Corbula ·~ deusseni Gardner, Corbula smithvillensis Harris, Phos tex- fJ 

I anus Gabb, and Dentalium rninutistr,iatum Gabb. 

Dark-green, brown, and yellow sands, thin seams of iron ore, ! 

Mount Selman : lenses of lignite and clay,. and beds and concretions· of 

formation. 640-820 limonite. Beds in general ·are highly ferruginous. Fossils are rare. They include Venericardia planicosta Lamarck, 

. i Plejona petrosa C.onrad, and Cornulina armigera (Conrad) . i----Unconformity I '· .. --·--·· 

111587-24-3 
22 

System. 

>. 

~ 

·~ ,_. 

<ll 

~ 

--

I 

I 

GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

Geologicformations exposed in the Coastal Plain of Texas west of Brazos River-Continued. 

Series. Formation. I Thickness. 

-------

I 

I 

I Feet. 

P. Carrizo sandstone. I 300-800 ::l I 

0 

-Unconformity -I b'o ~ ~ ~ 0 

I 

<ll 

C) ~ 0 .... ~ ~ Indio formation. 350-840 

··l I I 

I I 

Midway formation. I 260-566 

Unconformity- I 

I 

i 

I 

I 

Navarro formation. I 

I 400-500 

I 

I 

I 

I 

?-'aylor marl. 475-1,150 

A us tin chalk. . 275-600 

Eagle Ford shale. 25-260 

I 

Lithology and characteristic fossils. 

-------

Coarsely crystalline brown sandstone, cross-bedded and cal- careous in pla.ces; coarse quartzitic sands; bedded, gray, 

fine-grained, micaceous sandstone. Plants collected from 

this sandstone by E. W. Berry in the summer of 1921 definitely establish 1ts age as upper Wilcox. 

Lenses of sand, leaf-bearing calcareous sandstone concretions, 

sandstones, clays, sandy clays, lignites. Petrified wood 

very common. Fossil leaves include Dillenites texensis, 

Eiwnymus splendens, Ficus spectabilis, and Terminalia hilgardiana .. 

Clays and limestones of marine origin. Characteristic fossils are Enclimatoceras 1Jaughani, Ostrea pulaskensi.~, Plejona 

limopsis, and Ostrea crenulimarginata. 

Bluish-black marls and glauconitic clays; blue clays 

with concretions of siderite 

and limonite; yellow-brown 

sands with hard sandflimestone concretions; yelow and brown sandstones. 

Fossils: Exogyra costata 

Say, Ostrea falcata (and vari~ties)1 Sphenodiscus 

lenttculans. 

-------------------------

Blue ·calcareous clay marls. 

Fossils: Exogyra ponderosa, 

Gryphaea vesicularis. 

West of Bexar County, the 

Navarro is replaced by 

the Escondido formation, 

which consists of yellow 

and brown sandstones, 

glauconitic sandstones, 

black and blue clays, impure limestones, ·and lay- ers of oyster shells. Fossils: Exogyra costata Say, 

Ostrea; cortex, S_Phenodiscus 

I 

pleuTUJep. ta. Thtckness. 200 

to 600 feet. 

1 West of Bexar County, the I Taylor marl is replaced by 

the Anacacho limestone. 

This consists of hard yellowish limestones with interstratified beds of marl. 

Fossils: Exogyra ponderosa, 

Gryphaea vesicularis. Maximum thickness, 279 feet. 

Imr.ure chalk with interstratified thin beds of soft marl. Fossils: Gryphaea aucella, Mortoniceras texanum, Ostrea aff. 0. 

diluviana,Inoceramus undulato-plicatus,Exogyra laeviuscula. 

Laminated petroliferous shale and thin bands of arenaceous laminated limestone. Pyrite nodules are common. Fossils: Fish teeth, Ostrea lugubris Conrad, Inoceramu,s 

labiatus, etc. 

--------1--------------------:--~-------l-------------------------------------------------

The following series .of Lower Cretaceous formations underlies the oldest formation exposed 

in the Coastal Plain and outcrops in the hills that form its western boundary: 

Formations penetrated by wells in the Coastal Plain but not exposed at the surface. 

System. I Series. i Group and formation. Thickness. ; 

-----,--------------------,1--------- ------ -- --------------·--------- ---- ----

! 1 d . Feet. I Whitish or ~ellowish cavern~us limeston~; heavy I Hu a hmestone. 0-8Q bedded m upper part; thin bedded m lower 

[ I j G~:~-blue laminated clay, in places gypsifer-

.5 Del Rio clay. 30-200 ous. Contains thin slabs of shell breccia and 

:.a near top thin layers of arenaceous limestone. 

~ 

Cretaceous. 

Lithology. 

Georgetown limestone. 15_150 Grayish marly limestone with intercalated marls 

I and shales; i_ ----~-------------------11---------1------ -- --------------------------
GULl! SERIES CU:PPER CRETACEOUS). 23 

Ji'orrnations penetrated by wells in the Coastal Plain but 11ot exposed at lhe surface-Continued. 

System . Series. Group and formation. Thickness. Lithology. 

. _" ___ -- Feet. Hard white limestone, cavernous at some horizons. 

~ b.O Edwards limestone. 250-835 (?) Contains many dark, irregular flint nodules in 0 ~ certain layers. ,.D Q) 

~Po ~ t.>::S Comanche Peak lime- 60± Heavy-bedded white marly limest<;me .. Q) ·r: 0 

C5 ~~ stone. 

Cretaceous. ~ Q) 

~ Marly laminated yellow clays and thin lime-

~ Walnut clay. 25-200 stones. 

Q) 

-s Glen Rose limestone. 300-600 Limestone with three4>r more notably sandy or cavernous horizons. · § >.. 

a ]~ • 0 Chiefly sand or sandstone, with bands of arena- Travis Peak sand. 250-300 0 

0 Sh ceous limestone and conglomerate. 

CRETACEOUS SYSTEM. 

GULF SERIES (UPPER CRETACEOUS). 

EAGLE FORD SHALE. 

Nnme.-The Eagle Ford shale, nan1ed after 

Eagle Ford, in Dallas County, Tex., was first 

differentiated and described by I-Iill 22 in 1887. 

Stratig1·azJhic position.-In the region north 

of the Brazos the Eagle Ford formation rests 

conformably on beds called theW oodbine sand. 

In the region south of the Brazos the Woodbine is not known, and neither has its paleontologic or time equivalent been recognized. 

In this region the Eagle Ford shale rests 

directly on the Buda limestone. The formation is stratigraphically and conformably 

overlain by the Austin chalk. 

Lithology.-The Eagle Ford formation consists largely of la!Uinate~ petroliferous shale, 

which when first exposed is dark blue but on 

weathering changes to light yellow. ~t includes at some places thin layers of lammated 

sandy limestone. The beds are more calcareous south of the Brazos. Nodules of pyrite 

half an inch to 2 inches in diameter are common. 

The well drillers in Bexar, Comal, and 

Guadalupe counties call this hard dark shale 

u lignite." 

Thickness and dip.-On Red River, at the 

northern boundary of the State, the Eagle 

Ford shale is 600 feet thick; at Dallas, 450 to 

500 feet; at Waco, 200feet; at Taylor, 260 feet; 

o.t Austin, 30 feet; in Bexar Comity, fron1 25 

to 40 feet; and on the Nueces, 30 feet. 

12 Hill, R. '!'., Tho topogmphy and geology of the C~oss Timbers and 

surrounding regions in northern Texas: Am. Jour. Sc1., 3d ser., vol. 33, 

p. 298, 1887. 

The beds dip to the ·south and southeast at 

a rate ranging from 40 to 70 feet to the mile, 

and averaging probably about 40 to 45 feet. 

Paleontology.-This shale carries such characteristic fossils as Metoicoceras whitei Hyatt, 

]fetoicoceras swallovi Shumard, Ostrea luguln·is 

Conrad, Inoceramus fragilis, Inoceramus labiat'l.ts, and Ostrea congesta. 

An especially noteworthy feature is the 

occurrence of the remains of fishes, some of 

the n1ore flaggy layoers. containing numerous 

fish teeth. 

Areal extent and underground distrib'll.tion.-

The outcrops of the· formation appear in 

Kinney, Uvalde, Medina, Bexar, Comal, Hays, 

and Travis counties, in an irregular belt, lying 

south. and east of the Balcones fault and 

paralleling its course. North of the Colorado 

the outcrop forms a belt of country that trends 

northward through Travis, Williamson, Bell, 

McLennan, Hill, Johnson, Tarrant, Dallas, 

Denton, and Grayson counties, ranging in 

width from half a mile to 10 miles. East of 

this belt it is concealed by the Austin chalk and 

overlying Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary formations. 

Oorrelation.-The time equivalent of the 

Eagle Ford shale in the eastern Gulf region 

(Alabama and Mississippi) is believed by 

Stephenson to be an undetermined lower part 

of the Eutaw formation. In the western 

interior area of the United States the Benton 

shale is regarded as approximately representing the Eagle Ford.23 • 

2a Stanton, T. W., The Colorado formation and its invertebrate fauna: 

u. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 106, pp. 19, 48, 1893. 
24 GEOLOGY OJ? THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

Detailed sections.-The following section, 

which indicates the character of the upper beds 

of the Eagle Ford in that vicinity, is exposed at 

Sherman, in Grayson County. 

Section of Eagle Ford shale -~ ?niles ~vest of Binkley house. 

m Sherman, Grayson County, Tex. 2·

1 

Sandy clay· shale with Ostrea lug'ltbris . ........... . 

Thin layers of brown sandstone with conglomerate 

of small rounded jasper pebbles, Ostrea lugubris, 

and fish teeth ................................. . 

Blue laminated clay, w811.thering into limonitic 

Feet. 

10± 

5 

colors......................................... 10 

Massive agglomerate of Ostrea lugubris. . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

Sandy clay shale in thin alternations of clay and 

sand; clay efflorescent and drab on drying; 

Ostr:ea lugnbris.. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40+ 

Blue clay with gigantic septaria.................. 67 ± 

Bluish and bluish-gray clays and arenaceous 

shale containing fish remains are exposed in the 

bluffs of the Bosque northwest of Waco and at 

Prather's tank. 

In a bluff on Big Walnut Creek half a mile 

east· of Watters station; Travis County, 15 

·feet of the Eagle Ford shale is exposed. At 

this place the formation is a dark-blue finegrained, hard, laminated bituminous shale, 

carrying nodules of marcasite half an inch to 

2 inches in diameter and is overlain by 10 feet 

of limestone gravel of Pleistocene age. (See 

Pl. VI, A.) 

On Shoal Creek, about 200 yards ·north of 

the crossing of the Mount Bonnel road at 

Austin, the lowermost beds of the formation, 

consisting of yellow calcareous laminated 

shale, 10 feet thick, interstrati.fied with yellow 

arenaceous limestone flags from 1 inch to 3 

inches thick, is exposed ~n a low bluff 50 to 60 

feet east of a bluff formed by the underlying 

Buda limestone. 

Calcareous, arenaceous flags, 10 feet thick, 

are exposed in the bank of a creek about an 

eighth of a mile north of the Bandera road and 

3t miles southeast of Helotes, Bexar County. 

The flags carry shark and fish teeth. 

Whitish calcareous clay is exposed in a roadside cut at the crossing of the Bandera road 

on Leon Creek, 10 miles northwest of the 

courthouse at San Antonio. An undetermined 

braehiopod was taken from the clay. 

. 24 Hill, R. T ., Geography and geology of the Black and Grand prairies, 

Tex., with detailed descriptions of the Cretaceous formations and special 

reference to artesian waters: U. s·. Gaol. Survey Twenty-first Ann. 

Rapt., pt. 7, p. 326, 1901. 

AUSTIN CHALK. 25 

Name.-The limestone now known as the 

Austin chalk was first described by Roemer 26 

in 1852 and was correctly assigned by him to 

the Upper Cretaceous. 

The name Austin limestone was first applied to this formation in 1860 by Shumard,27 

who included in it the upper part of the 

Eagle Ford shale, which he called the "Fish 

bed." 

Shumard correctly assigned the Austin 

limestone to the Upper Cretaceous, but his 

stratigraphic column was erroneous, as he 

placed the so-called "Comanche Peak group" 

directly on the Austin limestone. 

Hill 28 in 188 7 was the first to determine 

corre~tly the stratigraphic position of the 

unit here described, which he called the" Dallas limestone," discarding Shumard's name 

Austin. 

In 1890, however, Dumble 29 went back to 

Shumard's name, calling the unit recognized 

by Hill the Austin chalk. Since then the 

name Austin chalk or Austin formation has 

been generally applied by authors to this 

formation. 

Stratigraphic position.-The Austin chalk 

lie~ conformably upon the Eagle Ford shale 

and below the Taylor marl. 

Lithology.-The formation consists of beds 

of impure chalk, carrying 85 per cent or more 

of calcium carbonate, interstratified with 

softer beds of marl. The chalk is usually of an 

earthy texture, free from grit, and when 

freshly exposed is easily cut with n, handsaw. 

25 Partial synonymy of the Austin chalk: 

Dallas limestone: Hill, R. T., The topography and geology of the Cross 

Timbers and surrounding regions in northern Texas: Am. Jour. 

Sci., 3d ser., vol. 33, p. 298, 1887. 

Austin-Dallas chalk: Hill, R. T., A preliminary annotated check list of 

the Cretaceous invertebrate fossils of Texas, accompanied by a short 

description of the lithology and stratigraphy of the system: Texas 

Geol. Survey Bull. 4, pp. 13, 28, 29, 1889. 

White Rock: ldem. 

Austin chalk: Dumble, E. T., A review of Texas geology as developed 

by the work of the survey: Texas Geol. Survey First Ann. Rept., 

p. 47, 1890. 

Austin limestone formation: Taff, J. A., Reports on the Cretaceous 

area north of Colorado River- Texas Geol. Survey Third Ann. 

Rapt., pp. 305-308, 1892. 

26 Roemer, Ferdinand, Die Kreidebildungen von Texas und ihre 

organischen Einschliisse, pp. 11-15, 1852. 

21 Shumard, B. F., Observations on the Cretaceous strata of Texas: 

Acad. Sci. St. Louis Trans., vol. 1, pp. 583, 585-586, 1860 . 

2s Hill, R. T., The topography and geology of the Cross Timbers and 

surrotmding regions in northern Texas: Am. Jour. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 33, 

p. 298, 1887. 

29 Dumble, E. T., Texas Geol. Survey First Ann. Rept., p. 47, 1890. 
GULF SJ~RIES (UPPER CRETACJ~OUS) . 25 

Under the n1icroscope the rock shows oolitic 

granules, crystals of calcite, particles of amorphous calcite, and the shells of Foraminifera, 

molluscs, and echinoids-materials common 

to chalk formations. The water-saturated 

beds underground are bluish, but the air-dried 

indurated surfaces n.re glaring white. Small 

nodules of marcnsite are common in the 

fresh chalk. On exposed surfaces streaks 

of rust radiate fron1 these nodules and 

locally discolor the face of the rock. The 

beds differ but little in hardness, although 

some that lie at the surface are in places rather 

hard. 

The formation is compact, and the streams 

that cross it flow in canyons in the walls of 

which the lines of stratification and the effects 

of weathering are well shown (Pl. VI, B). The 

marly and softer bands readily disintegrate, 

leaving the harder layers projecting·in rounded 

or subangular shelves. 

Chemical composition.-'l'he chemical composition of the Austin chalk is indicated by the 

following analyses: 

Analyses of Austin chalk. 

---- --- ----------------------2---------------r-~----,- -------

~i-li-ca-~;i~ -).-.-.. -.-•• -.-.-•• -.-•• -.-.-•• -.-•• ....:..-.-.' --5.-9-4-

1 

10.32 ll. 31 6.17 5. 34 I 5. 24 5.46 21.79 

Alumina (Al:!03). .. .. .. .. .. • • .. .. .. .. l. 41 5. 41 , 5. 78 . 2. 17 2. 15 j 2. 24 2. 04 5. 88 

1/erric oxide (!fe20a) ................ 

1 

1. 31 l. 15 ' l. 72 . 88 .l. 33 1 1. 13 . 94 1. 44 

Manganese ox1do (MnO). .. . .. .. .. . . . .. .. . .. . .. .. .. . . .. .. . .. . . . 09 ......... 1......... .. . .. .. .. . 02 

Lime (qaO) ........................ 1 48.73 45.31 42.61 <18. 66 50.46 50.85 50.32 37.49 

Magnes1~ (M.gO).:................ .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . 90 1 • 73 . 85 . 85 . 64 

Sulphur1c anhydnde (S03).......... • 42 1. 04 1. 13 · . 30 1......... .. .. . .. .. .. . .. .. .. Trace. 

Soda (Na~O)....................... 2. 60 2. 07 2. 36 . 50 1........................... • 30 

Potash CK20)...................... . 20 .17 . 33 . 21 .. . .. . .. . .. .. .. .. . .. .... .. . . 81 

Water at 100° C.................... . 82 . 51 1. 27 . 60 .. . . .. . .. .. .. . .. .. .. .. . .. .. . 72 

Ignition loss. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39. 39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31. 55 

Carbon dioxide (C02). • • • • • • • • • • • • • • H7. 84 34. 44 3:3 .. 8 __ t~l 1.· .· .· .· ·. ·. .. · ·_·

1

_· •• •• •• •• • •• - • _-

1

1-.. ·.· .. · ··. .. · ··. ·. .. · ·.· .· ·. .. · ·· .. ·. •• ·.· .· .· .. · ·.· Phosphoric acid (P ~0 ) .•••••••••••• , • 142 . 218 ._, 

I 99.412 1oo. 638 l1oo. 5o:t-! 99. s7 !· ....... ·i· ........................ .. --------------------------------------------------·--. 

l. Sample from basal part of Austin chalk on Brushy Creek, 6! miles below Round Rock, Williamson County, 'rex. 

Analysis by G. H. Wooten. Taff, J. A., Reports onothe Cretaceous area north of Colorado River: Texas Geol. Survey 

Third Ann. Rept., p. 351, 1892. 

2. Sample from central part of Austin chalk on Brushy Creek, about 3 miles southeast of Hutto. Analysis by G. H. 

Wooten. Taff, J. A., op. cit., p. 352. 

3. Sample from upper part of Austin chalk on San Gabriel River 1 to 2 miles below Jonah post office. Analysis by 

G. H. Wooten. Taff, J. A., op. cit., p. 354. 

4. SamJ?le from Big Walnut Creek, 9 miles northeast of Austin and about 1 mile below the Fiskville crossing. 

Burchard, h. F., Structurnl materials available in the vicinity of Austin, Tex.: U. ~- Geol. Survey Bull. 430, p. 315, 

1910. 

5. White chalky limestone that forms to:r,most layer in quarry adjacent to l:Q.ternational & Great Northern Railway, 

about three-quarters of a mile southwest of ra1lroad bridge at Austin, Tex. Analysis by L. Gabrecht and W. E. Thomas. 

G. Blue limestone in same quarry as that from which sample 5 was taken. Analysis by L. Gabrecht and W. E. 

Thomas. 

7. White limestone in same quarry as that from which samples 5 a1~d 6 were taken and below bed from which sample 

6 was taken.· Analysis by L. Gabrecht and W. K Thomas. 

8. Sample from bluff on Salado Creek, 6! miles northeast of courthouse at San Antonio, Tex. Sample collected by 

K 1!'. Burchard. · 

Thiclcness and dip.~The Austin chalk is ·625 

feet thick southeast ·of M~Kinney, Collin 

County; 600 feet (estimated) near Sherman;· 

about 600 feet at Dallas; 550 feet at Waxahachie; about 600 feet at Waco; about 300 feet at 

Taylor; 410 feet at Manor, Travis County; 285feet 

in Guadalupe County; 275 to 430 feet in Bexar 

County; and 350 to 400 feet in Uvalde County. 

The dip is to the south and southeast and 

ranges from 40 to 90 feet to the 1nile but 

averages probably between 40 and 50 feet. 

Paleontology.-The Austin chalk carries many. 

fossils. In the Austin section there is a lower 

zone, which is characterized by Inoceramus 

undnlato-plicatus/· a middle zone, whieh is 

characterized by Mortonicera8 texanum; and- an 

upper zone, which is characterized by Exogyra 

ponderosa, Exogyra laevi1.tscula, and Gryphaea 

aucella. In addition to these fossils Radiolites 

austinensis, Eu,trephoce?YLS sp., and Ostrea aff. 

0. diluviana also occur in the chalk. (See Pls, 

VII and X.) 
26 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

Areal extent and underground distribution.-

South ·of the Colorado the outcrop of the 

formation lies at the foot of the Balcones fault 

in Kinney, Uvalde, Medina, Bexar, Comal, 

Guadalupe, Hays, and Trnvis counties. North 

of the Colorado the outcrop passes through 

Travis, Willia1nson, Bell, McLennan, I-Iill, 

Ellis, Dallas, Collin, and Grayson counties. 

The formation has been recognized in the 

area east of the outcrop in wells that have been 

drilled deep enough to penetrate it. Where 

the Cook Mountain formation is exposed the 

dip of the Austin chalk has carried it below the 

reach of the drill (see geologic map, Pl. VIII, 

in pocket), and it has not been found farther 

southeast. The inference, however, is that the 

chalk underlies much of the Coastal Plain. 

Oorrelation.-IIill 30 in 1901 perceived that 

the Annona chalk occupied a stratigraphic 

position higher than the type Austin chalk, and 

he included it in the Navarro formation. 

Taff 31 in 1902 showed that the Austin chalk 

is continuous with the much thinner Annona 

chalk of north Texas, and his conclusions were 

confirmed by the subsequent work of Gordon. 32 

Veatch 33 in 1906 represented the formation 

as corresponding in age to the upper part of the 

Taylor and the lower part of the Navarro. 

Neither Hill nor Veatch, however, recognized 

the continuity of the Annona with the Austin, 

nor did any of the authors cited recognize the 

true stratigraphic and age relations of the 

Annona and the formations adjacent to it in 

northeastern Texas and southwestern Arkansas. 

The results of L. W. Stephenson's stratigraphic and paleontologic studies 34 have not 

only confirmed the conclusion that the Austin 

and Annona are continuous but have shown 

that the Annona in its entirety in southwestern 

Arkansas occupies a stratigraphic position well 

above the top of the Austin in its type area, so 

that the Austin chalk trends diagonally across 

the geologic column in its extension from the Rio 

Grande to Arkansas, at the same time becoming 

much thinner in northeast Texas. He finds 

ao Hill, R. T., Geography and geology of the Black and Grand prairies 

Tex.: u. S. Geol. Survey Twenty-first Ann. Rept., pt. 7, pp. 340-341, 

1901. 

81 Taff, J. A., Chalk of southwestern Arkansas: u. S. Geol. Survey 

T1venty-second Ann. Rapt., pt. 3, pp. 698-700, 1902. 

82 Gordon, C. H., Geology and underground waters of northeastern 

Texas: u. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 276, pp. 21-22, 1911. 

aa Veatch, A. C., Underground water resources of northern Louisiana 

and southern Arkansas: U.S. Gaol. Survey Prof. Paper 46, p. 19, 1906. 

at Stephen~on, L. W., A contribution to the geology of northeastern 

Texas and southern Oklahoma: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 120, pp. 

129-163, 1918. 

that the typical Annona corresponds in age to 

the upper part of the typical Taylor, though 

the top of the Annona is not q~ite so high as the 

top of the Taylor. The chalk at Austin therefore corresponds in age to nonchalky marls and 

sands that lie beneath the.·type Annona. 

The Austin chalk epoch is represented in the 

eastern Gulf region in Alabama and Mississippi 

by the Tombigbee sand member of the Eutaw 

formation, perhaps also including some of the 

typical Eutaw ·deposits below this member.35 

In the Western Interior the Niobrara limestone 

occupies approximately the time interval of the 

Austin.36 

Section on Brazos River.-Numerous exposures of the Austin chalk may be seen in the 

vicinity of Waco. The lowermost beds are 

found in the bluff on the east side of North 

Bosque River 4 miles northwest of Waco. 

Here 50 to 75 feet of the chalk is exposed, showing the interstratification of glaring white soft, 

amorphous chalky layers, 2 to 5 feet thick, 

with the softer, more argillaceous, blue marly 

layers, 2 to 6 inches thick. Species of Inoceramus sp. ~ are found in the chalky layers. 

A similar succession of blue and white beds 

may be seen in the bluff known as "Lover's 

Leap," which flanks the Bosque about 3 miles 

northwest of the city hall at Waco. This section ·is 150 feet thick, and the beds lie almost 

horizon tal. 

Beds that lie stratigraphically above the 

preceding can be seen in a small canyon between the Missouri, Kansas & Texas and the 

St. Louis Southwestern railways, about 1 t 

miles southwest of the city hall at. Waco. 

Here 15 to 20 feet of chalk, occJirring in layers 

with a maximum thickness of 4 feet, interstratified with blue marly layers, 2 to 6 inches 

in thickness, are exposed. 

The upper beds of the chalk showing the 

same alternations in color can also be seen in 

the ravines at the head of Cottonwood Creek 

where it is crossed by the Missouri, Kansas & 

Texas Railway, about 4 miles southwest of 

Waco. 

Section on Big lllalnut Oreek.-'l'he lowest 

beds of the chalk may be seen about half a 

mile below the railroad bridge at Watters station, and about 2 miles above the bridge on the 

a; Stephenson, L. W ., Cretaceous deposits of the eastern Gulf region: 

u.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 81, p. 32, 1914. 

aa Stanton, T. W ., The Colorado formation and its invertebrate fauna: 

u. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 106, pp. 19, 48, 1893. 
GULF SERIES (UPPER CRETACEOUS). 27 

Fiskville road. These beds, together with some 

of the underlying beds of the Eagle Ford shale, 

have been brought to the surface by faulting 

and folding. (See Pl. VI, A.) The chalk consists of alternate layers of chalk 1111d mal:'l. 

The layers of chalk do not exceed 3 feet in 

t·hickness; the marly layers 1 foot. The beds· 

contain species of lnoceram1ts. 

Bluffs of chalk that are similar in lithology 

and stratification to the one below Watters 

appear on both sides of the creek between the 

bridge on the Fiskville road and a point 1 mile 

in a straight line below. (See Pl. VI, B.) 

This part of the formation, which is about in 

the middle part of it, contains specimens of 

Rad'iolites austinensis (Roemer), Mortoniceras 

clentato-carinatus (Roemer), and Mortoniceras 

texanum (Roemer). 

At a locality 1 mile in a straight line below 

the bridge at the Fiskville crossing precipitous 

bluffs of chalk, about 50 feet high, form the 

right wall of the canyon. The strata range in 

thickness from 2 to 6 feet, ·but the thicker ones 

predominate. 

Three-fourths of a mile along the meanders 

n.bove the bridge at the Dessalt road crossing 

the bluff on the left side of the canyon shows 

19! feet of white, soft, fossiliferous chalk, overlying 1 foot of softer argillaceous chalk. (See 

Pl. VI, 0.) 

In a collection :made at this place Stephenson 

identified 071:cullaea sp., Gryphaea aucella 

Roemer, Spondylus guadalupae Roemer, Lima 

crenulicostata Roemer, .Anomia anomiaejorm1:s 

(Roemer), Liopistha elegantula (Roemer), Gyrodes sp., and Baculites sp. 

Section three-fourths of a mile above bridge at Sprinkle 

crossing, Big Walnut Oreek, Travis County, Tex. 

Ft. in. 

Flint gravel, embedded in black· clay soil... 1 5 

Austin chalk: 

White chalk, same stratum as base of the 

following section, with Gryphaea aucella . . . 5 

White homogeneous chalk .................. . 9 10 

White arenaceous chalk .................... . 5 6 

Clay parting ............................... . 7 

White homogeneous chalk ......... : ........ . 9 6 

Clay parting ............................... . 2 

White arenaceous chalk .................... . 5 6 

Clay parting ............................... . 5 

White homogeneous chalk .................. . 7 6 

Limy clay parting ........................ . 10 

White chalk .............................. . 8 

Clay parting ............................... . 3 

White chalk .............................. . 4 2 

Clay parting ............................... . 10 

White chalk expose'd ....................... . 10 

71 4 

Section 674- feet below bridge at Sprinkle crossing, Big 

Walnut Oreelc, Travis County, Tex. 

Austin chalk: Feet. 

White soft homogeneous chalk.................. 4 

White soft homogeneous chalk with Exogyra ponderosa and Inoceramus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 

White soft homogeneous chalk... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 

Bluish-white soft chalk with Gryphaea aucella, 

and Exogyra ponderosa........................ 2 

Bluish marly chalk............................ 1 

Blue chalk.................................... 1 

White soft chalk with Exogyra ponderosa, and 

numerous Gryphaea aucella, same as top chalk 

stratum of preceding section._.................. 3 

23 

The highest beds of the chalk, which are very 

~lose to the top of the formation, are exposed 

in the bed of the creek about three-fourths of a 

mile by the meanders oelow the bridge on the 

road from Sprinkle to Austin. 

Section on Colorado River.-Along Colorado 

River the chalk is exposed from a point about 

one-fourth of a mile east of the International 

& Great Northern Railway to Montopolis 

bridge, a distance of 4 miles, measured in a 

straight line. In the bluff flanking the creek 

adjacent to the International & Great Northern 

Railway, three-fourths of a mile southwest of 

the railroad bridge at Austin, 25 feet of the 

base of the Austin chalk rests conformably on 

the Eagle Ford shal~. 

Exposures of chalk occur from a point about 

one-fourth of a mile east of the International 

& Great Northern Railway to the west end of a 

bluff at the water's edge three-fourths of a mile 

below the Congress A venue bridge, flanking 

the valley of the Colorado. 

The chalk in this section exhibits the same 

general lithologic and faunal characteristics that were observed iu it~ lower half, on 

Big Walnut Creek. Species of Inoceramus are 

of common occurrence. 

Fine bluffs of chalk are exposed on the south 

side of Colorado River, from a point about 

three-fourths of a mile below the Congress 

Avenue bridge to a point one-fourth of a mile 

above Stones ford. (See fig. 6, 200, 202.) These 

bluffs are from 50 to 100 feet high and show the 

characteristic alternation of the white chalky 

and blue marly strata. 

The chalk is here gently folded into a monoclinal fold. At the upper end of the bluff the , 

beds lie very nearly horizontal; at a point 

about three-fourths of a rnile above Stones 
28 GEOLOGY OJ?. 'l'HE COASTAL PLAIN OF 'l'I<JXAS WEST OJT BRAZOS JtiVER. 

ford (see fig. 6) they dip abo11t 270 feet to the 

mile in a direction S. 85 ° E.; at a point one-half 

mile above Stones ford (201) they dip about 112 

feet to the mile in the same direction. 

A fault crosses the river one-eighth to onefourth mile above Stones ford, and the chalk, 

ao 50 

( 

----.., \ 

represents the topmost part of the Austin 

chalk, for 75 feet above the level of the river 

the Taylor marl forms the prairie. 

The uppermost beds of the chalk occur also 

at Montopolis bridge (204), where they underlie 

the Taylor marl. The dip of the beds between 

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 MILES 

FIGURE 6.-Sketch map of .the Austin quadrangle, showing location of the sections desetibed. 

seen to the east of the fault, is a part of Stones ford and Montopolis bridge is very 

the downthrown block. By reason of this slight~ being hardly more than 10 feet to the 

faulting the upper half of -this formation, mile. The stratigraphic relations of the expoits topmost part, is not' exposed on Colorado sures on Colorado River. are indicated graphiRiver. ·· · cally on Plate IX (in pocket). 

A small outcrop of chalk o'ccurs just above. Section on Oibolo Oreelc.-The Austin chalk is 

the water line at Stones ford. This outcrop, exposed on Cibolo Creek from a point about 

. ! ' 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 126 PLATE VI 

A. EAGLE FORD SHALE ON BIG WALNUT CREEK, HALF A MILE EAST OF WATTERS, 

TRAVIS COUNTY, TEX. 

B. AUSTIN CHALK ON BIG WALNUT CREEK IN THAVIS COUNTY, TEX., 200 YAHDS 

BELOW BHlDGE ON FJSKVILLE !lOAD. 

C. AUST IN CHALK ON BIG WALNUT CREEK BETWEEN SPR INKLE AND DESSAU 

ROADS, TRAVIS COUNTY, TEX. 
U. 8. GEOLOG ICA!. SURVEY PHOFRSSJONAJ, PAPER 126 PLATE VII 

CHARACTERISTIC FOSSILS OF THE AUSTIN CHALK. 

1, I a. Jlfortoniceras texanum (Roemer). 2, 2a. Gryphaea av,cella Roemer. 3. I noceramus undulatoplicatus Roamer. 
. GUI .. F. SERlES (UPPER CRE'l'ACEOUS) . 29 

2 1niles above Bracken, · Comal County, to a 

point near Schertz; Guadalupe· County, n dis-. 

tance of 5 Iniles in a strnight line iri a southeast 

direction. (See fig .. 7 .) 

A. description of the exposures follows in 

stratigraphic order. At the International & 

Great Northern Railway bridge in Bexar County 15 feet of white :mnssive soft chalky limestone, carrying Exogyra laeviuscula Roemer and 

beds 4 to 5 feet thick. These beds dip N. 30° 

W; at the rate of 360 feet to the mile. 

At Seln1a, iD: Bexar County, 13 feet of the 

chalk is expose.d, which shows the customary 

alternation of white chalk and blue marl. It 

is overlain by limestone gravel of Pleistocene 

nge. The beds dip N. 10° E. n.t the rate of 

22 feet to the mile, or in opposition to the 

normal dip in this .region. 

FJGUltl!: 7.-.\lup of Cibolo Creek between Bracken and Sutherland Springs, Tex., showing location of sections described. 

dipping N. 30° W. 270 feet to the mile, underlies 

Pleistocene clay and gravel. 

At Landa station (Luxello), in Co.mal County, 

there is an exposure of white chalk with stratigraphic and structural relations similar to those 

noted above. 

About midway between Seln1n, and Land.a 

(Luxello), or about three-fourt4s ·of a mile 

north-northwest of Seln1a, there is a bluff of 

Austin chalk, composed of very fossiliferous 

On the opposite side of the creek the same 

beds of chalk are exposed, and here they contain numerous rusted nodules of marcasite 

(iron disulphide, FeS2)·. Limonite stains occur 

along the joint planes, showing that the water 

circulated along these planes. 

Roemer collect.ed· at this locality 37 Exogyra, 

laeviuscula, Spondyl'll,s guadalupae, Inoceramus 

cripsii, Baculites anceps ( ~), and Jlicraster sp. 

37 Roemer, Ferdinand, Die Kreidebildtlngen YOI\ '!'\JXllti \11\d Uue 

organischen Einschl\isse1 p. 14, 1852. · 
30 GEOLOGY 0~., THE COASTAL· PLAIN O:I!' TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

Section on Cibolo Creek three-fourths of a mile south of Selma, 

in Guadalupe County, Tex. 

Pleistocene: Feet. 

Yellow calcareous loam grading into the gravel 

below ..................................... 15 

:Limestone gravel .......... ; .................. . 5 

Unconformity. 

Austin chalk: 

Fossiliferous chalky limestone with Gryphaea 

of the normal dip of the region, being in a northwesterly direction and ranging from 360 feet to 

22 feet to the mile. South of the locality last 

mentioned the dip is normal, or to the southeast. The most pronounced northwesterly dips 

occur between a point halfway between Selma 

aucella .......................... . · ....... · .. . 

Yellow water-bearing sand ... " ................ . 

Yellow sand in beds 6 inches thick, alternating 

with argillaceous limestone flags 2 inches thick, 

with Gryphaea aucella . ...................•.. 

and Landa and the International & Great 

Northern Railway bridge. These disturbances 

~ of the dip are produced by faulting, and it is 

therefore not possible to get a continuous section of the chalk on this creek. Fortunately, 

3 however, the Southern Pacific Co. has drilled a 

27 well at Schertz that has afforded some accurate 

data on the thickness of the formation in this 

vicinity. According to the well record the 

chalk is 304 feet thick. After penetrating the 

Pleistocene deposits the well passes through 

somec 32 feet of the overlying Taylor marl and 

enters the chalk. The record follows: 

The beds of the chalk dip N. 15° W. at the 

rate of about 45 feet to the mile, in opposition 

to the normal dip in the Coastal Plain. This 

reversal of dip is probably due to movements 

associated with the Balcones fault, which 

crosses this creek some 7 or 8 miles upstrea1n .. 

The occurrence of the sand in the lower part 

of the section is also worth noting. 

One and a half miles south of .Selma the 

Austin chalk is finely exposed. On the right 

bank of the stream is a bluff of thiek-bedded 

fossiliferous limestone about 50 feet high. The 

beds near the base are "honeycombed," similar 

to the pitting in the Edwards limestone. This 

"honeycombing" is favorable for the circulation of water, and the honeycombed l~yers may 

constitute an underground water-bearing zone 

in this vicinity. The occurrence of the fossils 

Exogyra laeviuscula and· lnoceram1.ts sp. indicate 

that only the upper part of the formation is 

represented by the outcrop. The dip .at this 

locality is downstream. 

Beds of chalk may be seen on this creek 

about three-fourths of a mile above Schertz 

station. The outcrop, however, is rather small. 

The boundary line between the Austin chalk 

and the overlying Taylor marl crosses somewhere between a point three-fourths of a mile 

above and a point one-fourth of a mile below 

Schertz, for at the former locality the outcrop 

of chalk already described may be observed 

and at the latter the lower part of the Taylor 

marl. 

Only the upper beds of the chalk are exposed 

on this creek between the International & 

G:reat Northern Railway bridge and Schertz 

station. The dip of the beds from this bridge 

to a point 1 t miles south of Sehna is the reverse 

L.og of well at Schertz water station, Galveston, Harrisburg 

& San Antonio Railway, Guadalupe County, Tex. 

[Drilled in 1904.] 

Recent: Feet. 

Black soiL.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

Pleistocene, late: 

Brown clay...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 

Cement graveL.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 

Taylor marl: · 

Yellow clay.................................... 32 

Austin chalk: 

"Blue clay" ................................... 234 

"Magnesium limestone"........................ 20 

Blue limestone................................ 50 

Eagle Ford shale: 

"Lignite"; blue shale .. ~.............. . . . . . . . . . . 21 

Buda limestone: 

Gray limestone........... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 

Del Rio clay: 

"Mud hole and rotten blue clay" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 

Georgetown and Edwards limestones: 

Yellow limestone........... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 

Water cavity or upper reservoir of the Edwards 

lini.estone .. ·........ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 

Yellow limestone............................... 20 

563 

Section on Salado Oreek.-The Austin chalk 

is exposed on Salado Creek in Bexar County, 

one-eighth mile southeast of the crossing of the 

Valverde-San Antonio road, about 7 miles 

northeast of the courthouse at San Antonio. 

Here it consists of stratified white soft chalky 

limestone, with nodules of pyrite and specimens of Gryphaea aucella Roemer, and is exposed in a bluff 75 feet high. The dip here is 

! 0 S. 25° W. 
GULF SERIES (UPPER CRETACEOUS). 31 

·Twelve feet of white chalky limestone is 

exposed in a bluff on Salado Creek at the 

crossing of the Austin-S~tn Antonio road about 

6! miles northeast of the courthouse at San 

Antonio. 

Section in nor·the·rn part of San Antouio.-A 

triangular faulted block of Austin chalk is exposed in the northern part of the city of San 

Antonio. The apex of this block is at San Pedro 

Springs. Frmn this point a fault, which forms 

the southeastern boundary of the block, trends 

northeastward toward Fratt station on the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway. (See Pl. VIII.) 

Between the springs and a point a mile northeast of the Academy of the Incarnate Word the 

course of the fault is marked by a decided 

scarp 10 to 40 feet in height and by bold fissure 

springs. The western boundary of this block 

is a second fault that' trends in a direc.tion 

approximately N. 22° E. to a point beyond 

Olmos Creek. (See Pl. VIII.) 

The block of chalk has been uplifted with 

respect to the surrounding country. The Taylor marl, which lies stratigraphically above the 

chalk, bounds it on the south and west and lies 

at the present time on lower ground than the 

chalk. 

Excellent exposures of soft white chalky 

limestone of the Austin chalk occur in bluffs 

40 to 50 feet in height at Alamo Heights 

northeast of San Antonio on the north side of 

Olmos Creek Canyon. 

Good exposures of the chalk are also to be 

seen in the quarries belonging to the city and 

the Alamo Portland Cement Co. west of 

Brackenridge Park, about 3 miles north by 

east of the courthouse at San Antonio. 'i'he 

elevated position of the chalk .relative to the 

co~tntry 0:1 th3 d:> ·.vathr.:>iVn side of the fault 

in this vicinity is favorable for quarrying, and 

a number of quarries have been opened in 

which 30 to 40 feet of chalk is exposed. The 

strata are from 3 to 10 feet thick, and carry in 

places many· nodules of pyrite from one-half 

inch to 2 inches in diameter. In fresh openiij.gs 

the rock is light blue, but this color gradually 

changes to white when exposed. · 

Immediately north of San Pedro Springs 

Park, at San Antonio, the .city operated a 

quarry in which 10 to 20 feet of Austin chalk 

is exposed. The beds are white in color, and 

from 1 to 5 feet in thickness. The rock is 

fairly soft. Specimens of Gryphaea aucella 

Roemer occur. 

Section on Leon Oreek.-Austin chalk is 

exposed in the bed of Leon Creek at the crossing of the Culebra road Si miles west of the 

courthouse at San Antonio. Soft blue limestone with specimens of lnocerctmus sp. crops 

out beneath the bridge. . 

Section on Medina River.-'l'hirty feet of 

white chalky fossilife1;ous limestone is exposed 

at a creek crossing on a road from Rio Medina 

to the dam of the :Medina Irrigation Co., about 

4.8 miles nmth of Rio Medina, in Medina 

County. In the bed of the creek is a ledge of 

oyster agglomerate 1~ feet in thickness containing a great number of Gryp:'~aea a11,cella Roemer. 

Exogyra ponderosa Roemer (young individlials) 

and Exogyra laeviuscula Roemer (vnriety t'hat 

has fine costae) also occur in the chalk at this 

locality. . These beds correspond with the top 

of the Austin chalk of the Walnut Creek section 

of 'fra vis 0(1Un ty. ,. 

TAYI,QR MARL. 38 

Name.-The unit here recognized was first 

defined by I-Iill,ao who called it the Exogyr(t 

ponderosa marl because it contained the fossil 

so named. Later he abandoned that name and 

called it the Taylor marl,-'0 after Taylor, Williamson County. · 

Stratigraphic position.-The Taylor marl lies 

conformably above the Austin chalk and below 

the Navarro formation. 

Lithology.-The formation consists of . calcareous clay marl, which is locally known as 

''joint clay." It contains a small quantity of 

sand, which is not apparent to the eye. The 

unweathered marl is blue-black, is of fine consistency, compact, and is apparently massive 

until its laminae are developed by exposure. 

as Partial synonymy of the Taylor marl: 

Exogyra ponderosa marl: Bill, R. T ., The topography and geology or 

the Cross Timbers and surrounding regions in northern Texas: Am. 

Jour. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 33, p. 298, 1887. 

Exogyra ponderosa marls or Blue Bluffs division: Hill, n.. 'r., A pre· 

liminary annotated check list of the Cretaceous invertebrate fossils 

of Texa·s, accompanied by a short description of the lithology and 

stratigraphy of the system: Texas Geol. Survey Bull. 4, pp. 13, 29-

31, 1889. 

Taylor marls: Hill, R. T ., On the occurrence of artesian and other tmderground waters in Texas, eastern New Mexico, and Indian Territory, 

west of the ninety-seventh meridian, 52d Cong., 1st sass., s. Ex. 

Doc., vol. 4, p. 97, 1892. 

ag Am. Jour~ Sci., 3d ser., vol. 33, p. 298, 1887. 

•o 52d Cong., 1st sess., S. Ex. Doc., vol. 4, p. 97, 1892. 
32 GBOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

It weathers to a dense black soil, forming the Chemical composition.-The chemical comwell-known "black waxy" soil of the Black position of the Taylor marl is indicated by the 

Prairie. The subsoil is usually whitish yellow .. following analyses: 

Analyses of Taylor marl. 

2 5 6 

-------------------1----1----'---· ·-----·---------1----1----

Silica (Si02) • .' ••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ·• • • • • 22. 18_ 45. 02 48. 72 28. 34 30. 01. 36. 08 13. 21 

Alumina (Al20 3)............................. 10.17 16.17 16.10 7. 50 10.57 18.64 5. •HI 

Ferric oxide (Fe20 3) .................... ·....... 2. 97 4. 78 4. 87 3. 92 1. 19 4. 14 . 88 

Manganese oxide (MnO)............ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01 Trace. 

Lime (CaO)..... ... .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 14.26 11.79 29.76 25.44 17.39 42.11 

Magnesia (MgO).... .... .. .. .. .. . .. .. .. . . .. . . .. . . . .. .. .. . .. . .. .. . 'frace. .. .. .. .. . 2. 52 1. 74 . 46 

Sulphuric anhydride (803)................... • • • • • • • • • • 97 2. 21 1. 04 . . . . . . . . . 1. 59 Trace. 

Soda (Na20) ............................... ·... . .. .. .. .. 3. 22 3. 07 2. 04 . 60 .19 . 05 , Potash(K20)................................ ......... .975 1.14 .29 1.41 1.49 .21 

Water at 100° C ......................... ~..... .. .. .. .. . 4. 36 3. 68 3. 77 . .. .. .. .. 3. 09 1. 88 

Ignition loss ....................................................... ·. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28. 38 · 15. 77 35. 50 

Carbon dioxide (C02).......................... .. .. .. .. • 10.36 8. 30 22.80 .......................... . Phosphoric acid (P20 6) ......... :............. • .. .. .. .. .113 .109 .118 . 36 ................. . 

100.22 99.99 . 99. 57 1 100. 48 '100.13 99.79 

--------- ----------------------'-------------'--------'------'--------=-----

l. Sample from basal part of formation on Little Cottonwood Creek, near Hewitt, south of Waco, Tex. 

2. Sample of basal part from fresh exposure in bank of creek one-half mile southeast of Taylor, Tex. Analysis by 

G. H. Wooten. Taff, J. A., Reports on the Cretaceous area north of Colorado River: Texas Geol. Survey Third Ann. 

Rept., p. 356, 1892. 

3. Sample of "central part from face of high bluff at Rice's Crossing on Brushy Creek, Williamson County, Tex. 

Analysis by G. :H: Wooten, op. cit., p. 356~ 

4. Sample of upper part 1 mile above Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway bridge on Brushy Creek, Williamson 

County, Tex. Analysis by G. H. Wooten, op. cit., p. 357. 

5. Sample from middle part in bluff on Colorado River It miles north of Delvalle, Travis County, Tex. Analysis 

by T. B. Tucker . . 6. Sample from lower part in east bank of Big Walnut Creek 6! miles northeast of Austin, Tex. Burchard, E. F., 

Structural materials available in the vicinity of Austin, Tex.: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 430, p. 315, 1910. 

7. Sample from upper part in test pit 5 miles north of courthouse at San Antonio, Tex. 

Thickness and dip.-Along the Brazos the 

Taylor marl is probaoly 1,150 feet thick. In 

Travis County, as shown by the record of the 

Manor well, it is about 650 feet thick. In 

Bexar County it is about 4 7 5 feet thick. . 

The dip is to the southeast, at a rate ranging 

from 40 to 90 feet to the mile. On the Brazos it 

is .58 feet to the mile. 

Paleontology.-The lower part of the Taylor 

marl contains the fossil oyster Exogyra ponderosa Roemer. In the Austin section, at a 

higher horizon, above the Exogyra ponderosa 

zone, there are numerous specimens of Inoceramus, and near the top is Gryphaea vesicularis 

Lamarck. (See Pl. X.) 

Areal extent and underground distrib?.dion.-

South of Colorado River, the Taylor marl outcrops in a belt of country 2 to 6 miles wide that 

roughly parallels the Balcones fault and lies 2 

to 8 miles distant from it. North of the Colorado the belt is from 3 to 15 miles wide and 

trends northeastward. 'fhe outcrop appears 

in Bexar, Guadalupe, Caldwell, Comnl, ·Hays, 

Travis, Williamson, Milam, Bell, Falls, MeLerman, Limestone, Hill, Navarro, Ellis, Kaufman, Dallas, Rockwall, and Collin counties. 

Wells drilled in a strip of country 5 to 20 

miles wide lying east of and adjacent to the 

outcrop penetrate the formation. How far the 

marl extends underground toward the coast is 

a matter of conjecture, but it evidently contin~es eastward for a considerable distance. 

Oorrelation.-The Taylor marl of central 

Texas is believed to be geographically continuous with the Marlbrook marl of southern 

Arkansas. The paleontologic studies of L. W. 

Stephenson indicate, however, that the Marl-. 

brook occupies a somewhat higher strati.,. 

graphic position than the Taylor in its type 

area north of Austin. 41 His opinion is that the 

basal part of the l\1arlbrook corresponds in age 

to the upper~ost part of the Taylor and thnt 

the upper part of the Marl brook is younger than 

the top of the Taylor; in other words the Taylor 

transgresses to higher levels in its northward 

extension. in a manner similar to the transgression of the underlying Austin chalk. (See 

41 Stephenson, L. W ., U.S. Gcol. Survey Prof. Paper 120, p.I54, 1918. 
GULF SERIES (UPPER CRETACEOUS). 33 

p. 26.) The top of the Taylor in the type 

locnlity, however, has been somewhat arbitrarily regarded as corresponding to the top of 

the Exogyra ponderosa zone, the exact position 

of which has not been defmitely determined. 

The Taylor marl does not extend southward 

very fn,r beyond Medina River, in :Medina 

Count.y, but in western Medina, Uvalde, and 

eastern Kinney counties it is represented by the 

Anacacho limestone, 42 and Vaughan ~ states 

that in Maverick and southern Kinney counties 

this limestone is in turn represented by the 

Upson clay!4 Subsequent work of Stephenson 

has shown that the San Miguel beds of Dumble, 

which overlie the Upson, correspond to the 

upper part of both the Anacacho and the 

Taylor. 

In the eastern Gulf r·egion, according to 

Stephenson, the Taylor is represented by the 

lower part of the Selma chalk-that is, by the 

part of the chalk within the Exogyra ponderosa 

zone. In the western interior area of the 

United States the Pierre shale ·of the Montana 

group is considered the approximate time 

equivalent of the Taylor.45 

Section on Bra,zo8 River.-In the region of 

the Brazos the lowermost beds of the Taylor 

_marl consisting of 5 to 15 feet of weathered 

plastic yellow calcareous clay may be seen 

in the banks of Little Cottonwood Creek near 

Hewitt, south of Waco. An analysis of this 

marl is given on page 32. 

Section at Taylor.-The following beds were 

penetrated in the well of the Taylor Water Co., 

Taylor, Tex.: 

" Log of the 'Paylor Water Co'.~. artesian well at Taylor, Tex. 

Recent: Feet. 

Black soil. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 

'l'aylor marl: . 

Yellow clay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 

Blue clay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460 

Austin chalk: 

White clay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 

Soft white limerock; about 40 barrels of water 

n. day...................................... 100 

Soft blue limerock?.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 

H Rill, H. 'I'., and \yaughan, T, W ., Geology of tho :Edwards Plateau 

and Rlo Grande plain adjacent to Austin and San Antonio, Tex., with 

reference to the occurrence or underground waters: U.S. Goo!. Survey 

Eighteenth Ann. Rept., pt. 2, p. 240, 1898. 

4

8 Vaughan, T. W ., l~agle Pass and Eocene coal fields of the middle 

Ulo Grande region of Texas: U.S. Geol. Survey null. 164, pp. 20, 21, 

1900. 

u Dumble, E. T., Notes on the valley of the middle Rio Grande: 

Gool. Soc. America Bull., vol. 3, pp. 219, 224, 1892. 

· 45 Vaughan, T. W. (quoted from T. W. Stanton), The San Carlos coal 

Ueld of trans-Pecos Texas and adjacent portions of the Vie) a Mountains: u. S. Gaol. Survey Bull. 164, jl. 82, 1900. · 

Eagle Ford shale: 1• oet. 

· Dark-blue cla.y................................ 60 

Buda limestone: 

Hard white limerock ................ ·......... 30 

Del Rio clay: 

Blue clay... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 

Georgetown, Edwards, and Comanche Peak limestones, Walnut clay, and Glen Rose limestone: 

Hard limerock.. .. . . . . . . . . . .• . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 

Stratified hard llm.erock and soft sandrock containing sulphur water. First or upper Edwards water horizon.................. . . . . . . 160 

Hard white limerock......................... 81 

Blue clay................................... 1 

Hard limerock................................ 813 

Blue shale and mud. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 

Gray limerock................................ 30 

Blue shale and mud........................... 45 

Dark-gray limerock........................... 65 

Travis Peak sand: 

Water-bearing sand............ . . .. .. . .. . . . . . :142 

Hard dark sn.ndrock........................... 40 

Soft· sand, water-ben.ring....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 

Green shale ..................... : . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 

Soft white sand, water-hearing........ . . . . . . . . 60 

Water-bearing sand.......................... 77 

Hard sandrock............................... '10 

Water-bearing sand producing a flow of n.hout 

2,500,000 gallons of water a day.. . . . . . . . . . . 286 

:~. 260 

Well started February 4, 1913; completed November 

24, 1913. 10-inch casing set on limestone at 1,180 feet; 

8-inch cMing set on limestone at 2,515 feet; 499 feet of 

6i-inch perforated pipe set in sand at 2,974 feet. 

Section on Big Walnut Oreek.-On Big Walnut 

Creek, in Travis County, It miles south of 

Sprinkle the 'lower part of the Taylor m.arl is 

well exposed. · 

About half a mile above the Pecan Springs 

roa.d a bluff 40 feet high forn1s the left bank of 

the creek. Here massive blue calcareous shale 

carrying sp~cimens of Exogyra pondero8a Roemer is exposed. From the top of the bluff a 

steep slope leads to the divide, t11,e elev.ation 

·increasing about 150 feet in a quarter of a mile. 

The slope is underlain by the Taylor marl, 

which here shows a thickness of about 150 feet. 

(See Pl. IV, 0, p. 12.) 

An analysis of the marl from this locality is 

given on page 3 2 ... 

Section on Colorado Ri~er.-Near Colorado 

River in Travis County there are many excellent exposures of the Taylor marl. At Montopolis a few feet of the weathered ma,rl overlies 

the Austin chalk. The marl is massive and 

compact. and carries the following fossils 

(identified by L. W. Stephenson): Nucula sp. 1 
34 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZO~ RIVER. 

Pteria sp., Inoceramus sp. (numerous ·and large), 

Ostrea plumosa Morton ? , Lucina sp., Aricylocera8 

cf. A. tricostatus (Whitfield), and Scaphites· sp. 

It dips S. 42° E. 45 feet to the mile. 

'1\vo miles by river below Montopolis (station 

205, fig. 6) is an exposure of blue marl 10 feet 

in thicHJ1ess. · 

On the banks of Colorado River ll miles 

southwest of Hornsby, Travis County, 10 feet 

of light-blue calcareous shale or marl is exposed 

below gravel of granitic materials. Also on the 

same river It miles north of Delvalle, Travis 

County, 30 feet of light-gray calcareous shale 

dipping S. 20° E. at a rate of 90 feet to the mile 

is exposed. An analysis of this shale is given on 

page 32. An exposure similar to that described 

above occurs in a bluff of the river 1 mile northeast of Delvalle, where 50 feet of calcareous 

shale may be seen. 

Light-gray calcareous shale, containing Gryphaea vesicularis and lying within 30 to 60 feet 

of the top of the Taylor marl, is found in a bluff 

on Colprado River ll miles east of Delvalle 

(station 210, fig. 6). No Exogyra ponderosa 

were found in the gray shale, and the fossils are 

not plentiful. rrhe bluff extends upstream 

for a distance of 3 miles.· 

The relative stratigraphic position of. the 

exposures on Colorado River is given on .Plate 

IX (in pocket). 

Section on Cibolo Oreek.-The lithologic and 

faunal characters of the Taylor. marl in the 

southern part of the area under consideration 

may be best indicated by describing in stratigraphic order the exposu~es on Cibolo Creek, in 

Bexar and Guadalupe counties. Mter leaving 

the Austin chalk one traversing the creek sees 

the first outcrop of the marl a quarter of ~mile 

south of Schertz (station 936, ·fig. · 7). This 

outcrop coflsists of 10 feet of blue calcareous· 

shale or marl, which lies beneath gravel composed of limestone pebbles. 

Three-fourths of a mile east of Schertz, Bexar 

County, there is exposed 20 feet of massive 

yellow calcareous shale or marl, underlying 

li~estone gravel. 

Two miles east of Schertz 10 feet of the same 

yellow marl, containing Exogyra ponderosa 

Hoerner and Inoceramus sp., is exposed. The 

specimens of Exogyra at this locality have a 

coating of limonite. 

Three and a half miles southeast of Schertz 

and about an eighth of a mile below the crossing of Schaffer road on Cibolo Creek (station 

939 on the map, fig. 7) 10 feet of the yellow·marl 

is also exposed. 

In the vicinity of Zuehl, Guadalupe County, 

there are two exposures of the Taylor ·marl. 

One 5 miles northwest of the town shows 2 feet 

of blue argillaceous sand and the other 4 miles 

north-northwest of the town 15 feet of blue calcareous massive shale or marl. 

The boundary line between the Taylor marl 

and overlying Navarro formation crosses 

Cibolo Creek at a point about midway between 

Zuehl and Schertz, or about 5 miles southeast 

of Schertz. The contact is not exposed, but a 

short distance below the point referred to 'the 

Navarro formation is exposed, and half a mile 

above it the Taylor marl appears. 

Section on Salado Oreek.-About 4 feet of 

yellow fine-grained sand, which overlies about· 

15 feet of brown joint clay containing fragments of gypsum and some iron nodules, is exposed in a bluff on Salado Creek, about half a 

mile west of the· Missouri, Kansas & Texas 

Railway and about 3! miles northeast of Fort 

Sam Houston at San Antonio. About 5 feet 

of weathered yellow clay, evidently belonging 

to the Taylor marl, is exposed in the bluff on 

the same creek, flanking Salado Creek bottom 

at the pump house on the Brackenridge place, 

about 2 miles northeast of Fort Sam Houston. 

· 'Yellowclayof the Taylorformationisexposed 

on the road about half a mile west of the well 

of the Salado Water Supply Co., on ·Salado 

Creek, about ·It miles northeast of Fort Sam 

Houston, at San Antonio. 

Blue shale of the Taylor marl is exposed;in 

a bluff on Salado Creek at the crossing of the 

Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Railway, 

froin .San Antonio to Victoria, 4 miles east of 

the courthouse at San Antonio. 

Section near San Antonio.-The marls of 

the Taylor formation are exposed near the 

International & Great Northern Railway about 

5 miles north of the courthouse at San Antonio. 

An analysis of the marl from a test pit 10 feet 

in depth at this place is given on page 32. 

Yellow clay of the Taylor formation is 

exposed in the banks of Olmos Creek at the 

crossing of the International & Great Northern 

Railway about 4 miles north of the courthouse 

at San Antonio. 

Blue limy shale weathering yellow is exposed 

on the Alamo Heights road, about 200 yards 
GUl .. F SERIES (UPPER CRETACEOUS). 35 

east of the Academy of the Incarnate Word, and below the Escondido formation in Medina, 

about 3! miles north-northeast of the court.- Uvalde, and Kinney counties, Tex. The "Coal 

house at San Antonio. series" of Maverick County, which should fall 

Yellow calcareous clay of the Taylor forma- in the Anacacho, is apparently represented by 

tion was exposed in excavations mnde for a marine beds, which may be included in the 

subway at the Nolan Street crossing of the lower part of the Escondido formation. 

Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Railway Lithology.--:The formation consists of hard 

u.t San Antonio. yellowish limestones, which occur in thick 

Excavations at Fort Sam Houston, in the ledges or slabs, and beds of yellow marl, some of 

northeastern part of San Antonio, reached blue them 15 to 20 feet thick. Most of the marly 

clay which weathers yellow. The clay, which beds are thinly laminated. The limestones 

is a part ot the Taylor forma.tion, is covered are not pure but in places contain large quanby a black clay soil in which are embedded tities of clay or sand. Their yellow color is due 

subangular to rounded flint cobbles bearing to their content of iron. Their texture is gena brown coating of iron. erally coarse. They are evidently of organic 

The following section is exposed 2 miles east- origin and at many places are made up of frag~ 

southeast of San Antonio: ments of ~hells. The coarse shell rock in 

Section at quarry near the cemeteries, about 2 miles east- places contains asphaltic matter. 

southeast of the courthouse at San Antonio, Tex. Thiclcness and dip.-In the western part of 

Feet. Uvalde County .the formation is about 300 feet Black clay soil with embedded flint cobbles .... 2± 

Unconformity. thick.47 It becomes thicker toward the east, 

White marl (clayey lime); a k-ind of adobe similar and in the eastern part of Uvalde County it is 

to that used in buildings in San Antonio in the not less than 400 feet thick. From this point 

early days. A few flint cobbles are scattered it gradually becomes thinner toward the east, 

through the adobe.··-····-·-··············· 3- 4 and it finally disappears in the western part. of 

Unconformity. 

Reynosa formation (upstream facies): Bexar County. It dips to the southeast at the 

Flint and limestone gravel in a matrix of yellow rate of 160 feet to the mile. 

clay ....................... -.. -........... - 3-G Paleontology.-The formation contains ExoUnconformity. gyra ponderosa Roemer, and Gryphaea vesicuTaylor marl: laris Lamarck. 

Blue shale; exposed . . . . .. .. .. .. . . . . . .. .. .. .. 1 

Section on Leon Greek~-Yellow shale 80 feet .Areal extent and underground distribution.-

thick, containing specimens of Exogyra ponde- The Anacacho limestone crops out in a belt of 

rosa Roemer and E-cogyra.ponderosa var. errati- country that roughly parallels the Balcones 

fault at a distance of 5 to 10 miles from it, in costata Stephenson, is exp·osed in bluffs borderh · Kinney, Uvalde, and Medina counties, Tex. 

ing the valley of Leon Creek at t e crossing of Oorrelation.-1'he correlation of theAnacacho 

the Culebra roadS! miles west of the. courthouse limestone is discussed in connection with the at San Antonio. 

Washes 50 feet north of the Su.n Antonio- Taylor marl, on page 33. 

Castroville road, 200 feet west of the crossing on Section on Medina River.-Exposures of the · Anacacho limestone have been noted dn Medina Leon Creek and 6! miles west of the courthouse River as indicated below. at San Antonio, expose 10 to 20 feet of whitish- . A bed of semicrystalline gray limestone 6 yellow calcareous clay. 

.ANACACHO LIMESTONE. 

Name.-The Anacacho limestone was first 

described in 1898 by Hill and Vaughan./6 who 

named it fron1 the Anacacho Mountains, in 

1Gnney County, Tex., where it is well exposed. 

Strat'igraphic position.-The Anacacho limestone lies conformably above the Austin chalk 

•o Hill, R. T., and Vaughan, T. W., Geology of the Edwards Plateau 

and Rio Grande Plain adjacent to Austin and San Antonio, Tex., with 

reference to the occurrence of underground waters: U. S. Geol. Survey 

Eighteenth Ann. Rept., pt. 2, pp. 240-241, 1898. 

inches thick is exposed in the bank of a creek 

about two-fifths of a mile south of Rio Medina 

post office, in Medina County. 

An exposure of brown bedded limes tone was 

seen in the bed of a creek that crosses the Castroville-Rio Medina road nbout a mile south of 

Rio Medina post office, and another exposure of 

similar rock was seen on the same road about a 

mile north of the post office of Castroville. 

47 Vaughan, T. W., U.S. Geol. Survey Geol. Atlas, Uvalde folio (No .. 

64), p. 2, 1900. 
36 GEOIA>GY OF THE 'COASTAL PIJATN Ol<' Tl~XAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

NAVARRO FORMATION. 48 

Name.-The Navarro formation was first 

described in 1862 by Shumard, who named it 

from Navarro County, in northern Texas, whe~e 

the beds are typically exposed. 49 

8tratigraph1:c position.-The Navarro formation lies conformably above the 'raylor marl, 

and in the area between Brazos and San 

... -\.ntonio rivers it lies unconformably below. the 

Midway formation of the Tertiary system. 

Lithology.-The formation consists of bluishblack calcareous marl, bluish-:-black glauconitic clay, blue clay containing concretions 

of siderite and limonite, yellow-brown sand-

.stone containing concretions of hard blue 

siliceous limestone that range from 2 to 10 feet 

in diameter, and yellow and brown sandstone. 

The beds show little lateral continuity but 

appear to be lenticular, a lens of clay being 

succeeded laterally by a lens of sandstone and 

so on. 

The features· that distinguish the Navarro 

formation from the underlying Taylor mar] 

are the presence of glauconite; a higher content 

of iron, probabl:v altered glauconite, which is 

in the form of large ferruginous concretions 

1 to 2· feet in diameter; the red color of the 

burned clay; the presence of large hard calcareous concretions; the presence of sand; and 

the general lack of lithologic homogeneity. 

Thickness and dip. -Along the Brazos the 

Navarro beds are about 500 feet thick; on the 

Colorado they .are probably nearly 500 feet 

thick; in Bexar County they are from 405 to 

4 70 feet thick. 

The beds dip to the southeast at a rate ranging fron1 40 to 90 feet to the mile. 

cs Partial synonymy of the Navarro formation: 

Navarro beds: Shumard, B. F., Descriptions of new Cretaceous fossils 

from Texas: Boston Soc. Nat. Hist. Proc., vol. 8, p.189, 1862. 

Ripley group: Idem, pp. 190-205. 

Ripley group: Loughridge, R. H., Physico-geographical and agriculturalfeatures of the State of Texas: Tenth Census U. S., vol. 5, pt. 

I, p. 676, 1884. 

Navarro beds: Hill, R. T., The topography and geology of the Cross 

Timbers and surrounding regions in northern Texas: Am. Jour. Sci.; 

3d ser., vol. 33, p. 298, 1887. 

Glauconitic division: Hill, R. T., A preliminary annotated check list 

of the Cretaceous invertebrate fossils of Texas, accompanied by a 

short description of the lithology and stratigraphy of the system: 

Texas Geol. Survey Bull. 4, pp. 13, 30, 1889. 

Webberville formation: Hill, R. T., and Vaughan, T. W.; Geology or 

the Edwards Plateau and Rio Grande Plain adjacent to Austin and 

San Antonio, Tex., with-reference to the occurrence of underground 

waters: U. S. Geol. Survey Eighteenth Ann. Rept., pt. 2, pp. 241-

243, 1898. ' 

~~Shumard, B. F., De3criptions or new Cretaceous fossils from Texas: 

Boston Soc. Nat. Hist. Proc., vol. 8, p. 189, 1862. 

Paleontology. -Among the fossils found in 

this formation are Exogyra costata Say, rkyphaea vesicular-is Lamarck, Ostrea larva Lamarck, and Sphenodiscus lenticularis (Owen). 

(See Pl. XI.) 

Areal extent and underground distribution.-

Be.tween Trinity and San Antonio rivers the 

Navarro formation crops out in a belt 3 to 10 

miles wide that extends through Bexar, 

Guadalupe, Caldwell, Hays, Travis, Williamson, Milam, Falls, Limestone, and Navarro 

counties. (See map, Pl. VIII, in pocket.) In 

the region farther east the formation underlies 

Tertiary rocks, as is shown by the records of 

wells. .,. 

Oorrelation.-The results of L. W. Stephenson's paleontologic studies indicate that the 

time equivalents of the Navarro formation in 

Arkansas include the N acatoch sand, the 

Arkadelphia clay, and all but the basal portion 

of the Marlbrook marl. The Escondido formation 50 of southwest Texas represents the 

southwestern extension of the Navarro. 

In the region east of Mississippi River the 

Navarro is represented approximately by the 

rocks embraced within the Exogyra costata 

zone of Stephenson, r;t which includes the type 

Ripley formation of ·northern Mississippi, the . 

upper part of the Selma chalk of Mississippi 

and Alabama, the Peedee formation of the 

Carolinas, and the Monmouth formation of 

Maryland, Del a ware, and New Jersey. · The 

Ripley and its time equivalents have long been 

recognized by Stanton, Hill, and other paleontologists as approximately representing the 

time interval' of the Navarro. In the Western 

Interior region the Navarro is approximately 

represented by the Fox Hills sandstone of the 

Montana grqup. 52 

Section on Brazos River.-The Navarro formation is exposed along the Brazos for a 

distance of 7 miles in a direct line above the 

northern corner of Milam County. About 1l 

miles by river above this corner there is a bluff 

that shows the uppermost beds of the formation in contact with the overlying Eocene. The 

Navarro formation here consists of massive 

blue. clay containing Baculites. 

ao Dumblc, E. T ., Notes on the geology or the valley of the middle Rio 

Grande: Geol. Soc. America. Bull., vol. 3, pp. 227-229, 1892. 

ol Stephenson, L. W., The Cretaceous deposits of the eastern Gulf 

region: U. s. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 81, pp. 37-39, pl. 10, 1914. 

52 vaughan, T. w., E;agle Pass and Eocene coal fields of the middle 

Rio Grsnde re~on of Texas: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 164, p. 12, 1900. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SUHVEY P llOl'ESSIONAL PAPER 12ti !'LATE X 

1 

2 

3a 

3 2a 

t<OSSlLS OF THE TAYLOR MARL. 

1. Ostrea sp. ali. 0. diluviana Linnaeus. 2. Exogyra laeviuscula Roemer. 3. Exogyra ponderosa Roemer. 
lJ. S. !IEOI.OGICAL SURVEY PHOFESSIONAl , PAl'E l{ 126 PLAT.E XI 

2 

2a 

l 

3 

3a 4 

CllAH ACT EHI STI C FOSSILS OF Til E AVAIU{O I•'O I.lM ATIO 

I. P ugnellu.s dtnsatus Conrad. 3, 3a. Ostrea ou:enana Shumard. 

. 2a. Vcniellrt lineala (Shumard). 4. Cardiu,m (Pachyertrdiu,m ) spilluumi Conrad (\·ariciy). 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY l'ltOFESS!ONAL I'Al'ER 12u l'LATE XII 

1 

3a 

CII ARACTER IST!C FOSSILS 01•' T H E ESCONDiDO FORMATION. 

1. Exogyra costata Say. 2. Ostrea cortex Conrad. 3. 3a. Sphenodiscus oleu•isepla (Uomad). 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 126 PLATE XIII 

--·· 

A. FOSSILIFEROUS LIMESTONES, BEDS TO 5 OF THE SECTION ON PAGE 40. 

B. ASPHALTIC SANDSTONE OVERLY! G SLATE-COLOHED SliALE. 

ESCONDIDO FORMATION EXPOSED IN BLUFF ON NUECES RIVEH AT RAILHOAD BHIDGE AT PULLIAM, 

ZAVALLA COUNTY, TEX. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESRIONAL PAPER 126 !'LATE XI\' 

4 

5 

la 

CIIAHACTEH ISTlC FOSSI LS OF T HE MIDWAY FORMATION. 

I, I a- b. l!)nclimaloceras ulrichi \VhiLe. (rrhe 'L'oxas analogue of ihis species from Arkansas is Rnclimatoceras N1.ug/wni Oardrl('r, a species that has been discriminated since this plate was made up. See U.S. Geol. Sun·cy Prof. Paper 1:!1, 1> . 115, pl. :J2, 192:!.) 

2, 2a. Ostrea crenulimarginata Gab b. 

3, 3a- e. Ostrea pulaskensis Harris. 4. Plejona limopsis (Conrad). 

~; ~~!o~~%~Yz~~~ ~:C~~~mta Whitfield. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

1 

6 

7 

CII AHACT E HISTI C 

1, I a . Pseurloliva vetusta Conrad. 

2. Natica aperta Whitfield. 

3, 4·. Pyrulajuvenis Whitfield. 

3 

PROFESSIONAL PAPE il 126 PLA'l'E X\' 

2 

4 

6a 

5 

7a 

VERT E BHATE l?OSSILS OF TH E WILCOX GHOUl' . 

!i . Cor·nulina arrnigera Conrad. 

la 

,, 

(;, 6a. Plejona petrosa Conrad snbsp. luomeyi (Conrad). 

7, 7a . J(ellia prima Aldrich. 

.-
.. GULF SERIES (UPPER CRETACEOUS). 37 

Section on Colorado River.--The lowermost Lunatia sp. 

beds of the Navarro in the Colorado drainage Turritella sp. (same as in well near Groesbeck, Tex., 

depth 675-800 feet). basin can be seen in a bluff about 60 feet high Pyramidella n. sp. 

on Onion Creek, about 500 to 700 feet below the Olivella sp. 

crossing of the Delvalle-Garfield road. The Tornatellaea sp. 

lower 50 feet of the exposure is stratified blue Ringicula pulchella Shumard ('?) (same as in well 

shale containing a few layers of harder calcare- near Groesbeck, Tex., depth 675-800 feet). 

ous shale, each a foot thick. The upper 10 feet This fauna, according to Stephenson, conis brown to yellow clay, which represents the tains new elements, which have been recognized 

weathered phase of the underlying shale. also in a well owned by the Robinson Oil & 

The shale contains great numbers of the Gas Co., 2 miles west of Groesbeck, Limestone 

fossil Exogyra costata Say and some specimens County, Tex., at a depth of 675-800 feet, where 

of Ostrea larva La1narck. the containing beds i1nmediately overl~e the 

In a ravine that cuts back into. the upland N acatoch sand. 

close to Garfield, Travis County, which stands The relative positions of the exposures on 

on a gravel terrace of Colorado River, the Colorado River in Travis County are indicated 

Navarro formation is. well exposed. Here it graphically on Plate IX. 

includes 40 feet of yellow sand, alternating Section at Maxwell, Caldwell Oo'l.l,nty.-The 

with blue clay. Associated with the sand are. character of the beds at Maxwell, Caldwell 

hard brown fossiliferous limestone concretions, County, is shown by the following well log: 

2 to 4 feet in diameter, which are firmly Log cjwell of C. T. Schawe at Maxwell, Tex., drilled by Gulf 

embedded in the rock. The fossils found here Coast Drilling Co. in 1M4. 

are Lu·riatia sp., and poorly preserved pelecy- Reynosa formation: Feet. 

pods and gastropods. White rock._---·-·-·-·-·-·---·-·-·- .. ········ 10 

In a bluff about a n1ile and a half b~low GraveL.---·-·----··-·--···-·---·---·---···· 4 

the 1nouth of Or~ion Creek 30 feet of bluish- Rock ________ --·-- .. --··-·-· .. · .. -··· .. -· .. -- 1 

Navarro and Taylor formations: . black clay is seen above the water line. The Yellow clay _____________ . _ .. _ . _ . _ ......... _ 39 

beds have a slight dip upstream. The clay Black soapstone.............................. 36 

weathers dark brown. A large nun1ber of Blue gumbo- . __ ... _. _ ..................... : 20 

·calcareous concretions, 5 to 10 feet in diameter; Soapstone ... --.- ... -... -.................... 10 

derived from this for1nation lie on the bank Blue gumbo·-·--····--·--·--···-···-·······- 44 

of the ri~ei'. Black shale-- .... -.... -..................... 70 

Black gumbo............................... 140 

From 3 to 4 feet of dark-blue fossiliferous Shale. . . . . . . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 

clay containing r.oncretions is exposed above White gumbo ........................ _...... 260 

the water line on the left bank at the ferry Shale· - - · · .. · · ·:- · · · · ·..................... 40 

across Colorado Hiver u.t Webberville, Travis White gumbo··-·················-·.·····:··· 70 

Austin chalk: County. These are the uppern1ost beds of White · · · rock (show of oil) ..................... ; 276 

the Navarro formation. The following fossils Eagle Ford shale: 

(collections 7601-7602) ·were collected by Gumbo ....................... ,.................. 35 

L. W. Stephenson and· Alexander Deussen Buda ~estone and Del Rio clay: 

and were identified by Mr. Stephenson: White limerock. · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·.... . . . . . . 42 

White rock. . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 

Nucula sp. Georgetown, Edwards, and Comanche Peak limeLeda (2 species). stone~: 

Striarca sp. (same as in well near Groesbeck, Tex., B~own porous. rock........................... 328 

depth 675-800 feet). Brown rock with hard white layers. . . . . . . . . . . 46 

Pteria sp. · White rock, very hard....................... . . 8 

Lucina n. sp. Brown porous ro.ck, sulphur water............. 51 

Venericardia n. sp. (same as in well near Gi·oesbeck, Gray·hard rock .......... · .. :................ 48 

'l.'ex., depth G75-800 :feet). Porous·rock, sulphw." water... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14. 

Corbula sp. Hard gray rock ..... ·. _ .- ........ ·. . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 

Cadulus obnutus·(Conrad). White limerock ......... '····.................. 134 

Dentalium sp. Hard gray rock .......................... , . . 22 

Eulima sp. White limerock ............. ·................. 35 

111587-24-4 
38 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTA~ PLAIN 01~ TEXAS WEST O:F BRAZOS RIVEH.. 

Georgetown, Edwards, and Comanche Peak limestones-Continued. 

Brown rock, white layers .................... . 

Hard white rock ........................... . 

Brown rock, white layers .................... . 

Hard white rock ......... ' .................. . 

Brown rock, white layers .................... . 

Brown rock ................................ . 

Walnut clay: 

Gumbo mud hole ........................... . 

Glen Rose limestone: 

Brown rock, very hard ...................... . 

Brown porous rock; show of water ............ . 

Gray rock ................................. . 

Gumbo mud hole ........................... . 

White limerock ............................. . 

Soft brown rock, show of water .............. . 

Brown rock, white layers .................... . 

Hard brown rock ............................ . 

Gray sandrock .............................. . 

Soft brown rock ........................... ,· . 

Hard white lime ............................ . 

Travis Peak sand: 

Soft yellow sa.ndrock ....................... . 

White limerock .............. · ............... . 

Yellow S.\.ndrock; water ...................... . 

Hard blue rock ............................. . 

Hard gra.y rock ............................ . 

Yellow smdrock ............................ . 

White s.l.ndrock ............................ . 

Gumbo mud hole ........................... . 

Rock with gumbo mixed .................... . 

Yellow rock with gumbo mixed ............. . 

Red and blue gumbo mixed ................. . 

Hard white sandrock ....................... . 

White sandrock; soft and hard streaks ....... . 

Sand ...................... · ................. . 

Blue sha.le ................................. . 

ESCONDIDO FORMATION •

53 

Feet. 11.r • l 

79 .LVame.-White in 1891 app ied to the group 

7 of strata above the "Ponderosa marls" oc 

a2 Upson clay in the Rio Grande region the name 

7 Eagle Pass beds. 54 

32 

77 Dumble in 1892 extended the· name Eagle 

Pass " division" to include all the Cretaceous 

8 beds overlying the" Pinto limestone" or Austin 

chalk. He established four subdivisions. The 

8 lower yellow clays he called the Upson clays; 

~~~ the overlying sandstones with interbedded 

bands of clay he called the San Miguel beds; 

the shales, clays, and coal above the San Miguel 

he called the Coal series; the upper sandstones 

and clays he called the Escondido beds. 55 

6 

87 

85 

36 

27 

15 

137 

40 

The name Escondido formation as used in 

this report is applied to the beds that Dumble 

originally so designated. . 

. · Stratigraphic position.-The Escondido for4o mation lies conformably above the Anacacho 

10 limestone of Medina, Uvalde, and. Kinney 

counties and above the so-called" Coal series" 

of Maverick County. It lies unconformably 19 below the Midway formation ·of the Eocene 

49 

134 

11 

39 series. 

11 Litlwlogy.-The formation consists of yellow 

25 and brown sandstones, glauconitic sandstone, 

34 

13 

195 

93 

40 

3,499 

13 yellow, black, and blue clays, yellow sandy 

clay, impure ferruginous limestone, and layers 

of oyster shells. The beds are lenticular and 

have slight lateral continuity, a bed of clay 

being succeeded lat~rally by a bed of sandstone 

and so on. The terranes in general weather 

yellow, though in places the fossiliferous limeSection on Oibolo Oreek.~On Cibolo Creek, stones are more nearly white. 

about ll miles northwest of Zuehl, in Bexar 

County, the Navarroformation consists of 5 feet 

of alternating layers of yellow sandstone and 

calcareous shale and 10 feet below, in the bed 

of the cr·eek, a blue shale containing hard 

calcareous sandstone concretions 2 to 5 feet 

in diameter. A quarter of a 1nile downstream 

there is a bed of yellow, calcareous clay about 

6 feet thick. A bed of yellow calcareous 

shale of the Navarro formation is exposed 1-! 

1niles northwest of Zuehl, Bexar County. 

Thickness and dip.-The thickness of the 

Escondido formation in Medina County is about 

600 feet; in Uvalde County 200 feet; in Frio 

County 455 to 489 feet. 

53 Partial synonymy of the Escondido formation: 

Eagle Pass beds (part): White, C. A., Correlation papers- Cretaceous: 

U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 82, p. 117, 1891. 

J<-:scondido beds: Dumble, E. T., Notes on the valley of the middle Rio 

Grande: Geol. Soc. America Bull., vol. 3, pp. 227-229, 1892. 

Eagle Pass: Hill, R. T., Notes on Texas-New Mexican region: Geol. 

Soc. America Bull., vol. 3, p. 94, 1892. 

Eagle Pass formation (part): Hill, R. T., and Vaughan, T. W., Geology 

of the Edwards Plateau and Rio Grande Plain adjacent to Austin 

and San Antonio, Tex., with reference to the occurrence of under 

ground waters: U.S. Geol. Survey Eighteenth Ann. Rept., pt. 2, 

p. 241, 1898. A 1nile northwest of Zuehl (station 94 7 on 

·· n1ap, fi.g. 7) 4 feet of yellow fossiliferous sandstone containing Exogyra costa,ta Say and .0.-:trea 

larva Lamarck is exposed. 

About 20 feet of Navarro sand is exposed a 

short ·distance below this point· from which 

specimens of Nucula cf." N. percrassa Conrad 

and Orassatella sp. ~ were collected. 

Eagle Pass formation (part): Vaughan, T. W., Reconnaissance in the 

Bio Grande coal fields of Texas: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 164, p. 21, 

1900. 

E~condido beds (part): Vaughan, T. W., idem, p. 26. 

Pulliam formation: Vaughan, T. W., U. S. Geol. Slll'vey Geol. Atlas 

Uvalde folio (No. 64), p. 2, 1900. 

M White, c. A., Correlation papers-Cretaceous: U. S. Geol. Survey 

Bull. 82, p. 117, 1891. 

b5 Dumble, E._T ., Notes on the valley of the middle Rio Grande: Geol. 

doc. America Bull. vol. 3, pp. 224-229, 1892. 
GULl!, SERIES (UPPER CRETACEOUS). 89 

The dip south of Uvalde County is S. 70° E., 

and east of the west line of Uvalde County it 

is S. 18° E. The formation therefore dips 

beneath the Tertiary formations. 

Paleontology.-The characteristic fossils include Exogyra costata Say, Ostrea cortex 

Conrad, and Sphenodiscus pleurisepta Conrad. 

(See Pl. XII.) 

Areal extent.-The formation outcrops in a 

belt of country 2 to 15 miles wide, lying in the 

eastern part of Maverick County, the extreme 

northwest corner of Zavalla· County, and the 

southern parts of Uvalde and Medina counties. 

(See map, Pl. VIII.) 

Correlation.-The ·Escondido formation represents the extension of the Navarro formation 

into southwest Texas. The "Pulliam formation" of Vaughan represents the Escondido 

formation in Uvalde County. 

The equivalents of the Escondido in the 

eastern Gulf region and in the Western Interior 

region have already been indicated in the 

statements pertaining to the age of the Navarro 

formation (p. 36). 

Section on Leon Greek.-Yellow shale 12 feet 

thick, containing calcareous sandstone concretions, is exposed on the slopes of the valley of 

Leon Creek at the crossing of the Frio City 

road, 7! miles southwest of the courthouse at 

San Antonio. · · 

Fossils occur in the shale on Leon Creek, but 

none of those collected could be determined. 

The following analysis shows the composition of the shale from the Escondido formation 

on Leon Creek: 

Analysis of shale from the Escondido formation from valley 

of Leon Creek, at crossing of the Frio City road. 

[Samplo oollectod hy E. F. Burchard.) 

Silica (Si02)........ • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 51. 34 

Alumina(Al20 3) ........ • ....................... 10.42 

1!,erric oxide (li'e20 3)............................ 4. 09 

!\:[anganese oxide (.MnO). . . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . .. . .. . 07 

Lime (CaO).. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14. 91 

Magnesia (MgO) .................... ~ ... .-....... . 93 

Sulphuric anhydride (S03) •••••••••••••••••••••• Trace. 

Soda (N8.:10) ........................... ·.......... . 89 

Potash (K20). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 

Water at 100° C ................................. · 1.54 

Ignition loss.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14. 93 

99.81 

Brown sand with a large admixture of grains 

of green glauconite is exposed in a bluff on 

Leon Creek about a tenth of a mile above the 

International & Great Northern Railway bridge 

8 miles southwest of the courthouse at San 

Antonio. 

Section on Medina River.-About 2 feet of 

hard yellow calcareous sandstone is exposed at 

a crossing of Medina River, three-quarters of a 

mile southeast of the post office at Castroville. 

The sandstone carries Inoceramus sp., Exogyra 

costata Say,- Gryphaea sp. (large), Lima sp., 

Plicatula sp., Trigonia sp., and Gras satellites 

sp. The largest exposure of the Escondido 

formation in the drainage ·basin of Medina 

River consists of 140 feet of yellowish-brown 

shale con~aining lenses of sand 2 to 3 feet in 

diameter. This exposure is about threequarters of a mile southwest of the post office 

at Castroville. 

In Medina County the Escondido is exposed 

in a cut of the Southern Pacific Railroad, 

about 300 yards east of milepost 237 and 2 

miles west of Lacoste. The exposure here 

consists, in descending order, of yellow flaggy 

fossiliferous limestone, containing fossils in a 

2-inch layer, 2 feet thick; yellow shale, 5 feet 

thick; yellow argillaceous sandstone, 4 inches 

thick; and yellow-brown shale, 3 feet exposed. 

The yellow argillaceous sp,ndstone has a dip 

of 1° S. 45° W. 

The fossiliferous limestone contains'Leda sp., 

Striarca sp., Ostrea cortex Conrad~' Anomia 

sp., and a shark tooth. 

Section on Frio River.:_A thickness of 5 feet 

of hard blue bedded fossiliferous sandstone, in 

beds ranging from. 6 inches to 11- feet thick and 

containing Ostrea cortex Conrad, is exposed on 

Frio River about 1 mile above Myrick's lower 

apiary and 1 i 1niles southeast of the Englemann Ranch, in Uvalde County. The beds 

dip 2°± NE. 

About 200 feet downstream from the point 

where this section was taken 20 feet of yellow 

sandstone forms the upper part of the bluff on 

the left bank and overlies the fossiliferous 

Escondido beds described above. This yellow 

sandstone probably represents the· basal beds 

of the Midway formation, which are more 

clearly exposed in the bluffs a short distance 

downstream. 

Limestone boulders or lenses in a matrix of 

blue clay are exposed ·on Frio River about 

three-quarters of a mile above Myrick's lower 

apiary and about 9 miles east-southeast of 

Uvalde. 
40 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF Tl~XAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

Section on Nueces River.-The Escondido I of 1° from the railroad bridge to a point 100 

formation is exposed on Nueces River in the feet north. From 100 to 300 feet north of 

southern part of Uvalde County, between the bridge the dip increases to· 2°. 

Pulliam and a point 3! miles (by direct line) It is the upstream or northwest dip of the 

above Pulliam. Only the lower 160 feet of beds which forms the falls in the river. One 

the formation is exposed, the upper portion hundred feet below the bridge the beds, as 

being overlapped by the Indio formation of indicated by the clip of the shale (No. 12), 

the Eocene. lie horizontal; from this point they dip downThe topmost beds on this river can be seen stream to the southeast· and upstream to the 

in a bluff at the bridge of the San Antonio, northwest. The structure is therefore an 

Uvalde & Gulf Railroad, at Pulliam station. anticline, and it is in the crest of this anticline 

The following section is exposed: that the oil, now represented by the asphalt 

in the sandstone (bed No. 11), has accuSection of bluff on west side of Nueces River at Pulliam, mulated. The axis of the anticline trends 

Zavalla County, Tex. 

N. 45j ± E. A plat of the structure is shown in 

figure 9. [See Pl. XIII.] 

Pleistocene terrace of Nueces River: 

1. Gravel in gray silt matrix; limestone and 

Ft. in. 

TERTIARY SYSTEM .. 

flint pebbles and cobbles .............. 17 ± EOCENE SERIES. 

Unconformity. 

Escondido formation: JMIDWAY FORMATION. 

Name.-Smith and Johnson 56 originally used 

8 the term Midway in 1887 to designate the - 4. Cavemous fossiliferous yellow limestone.·· 2- 3 beds exposed at Midway landing, on Alaban1a 

5. Shell m~rl. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 

2. Hard fossiliferous yellow limestone. . . . . . . 3 

:3. Laminated blue shale ................. . 

6. Concealed ............................. 6-8 River, in Alabama. These beds represent the 

'7. Hard fossiliferous limestone, with a layer lowermost part of what is here considered the 

of shell breccia at top; specimens of Midway formation. · 

Ostrea cortex Conrad.················· 3 Penrose in 1889 described the for1nation in 

8. Hard red limestone; weathers gray· · · · · · · 1 Texas under the name "Wills Point or ·Basal 

9. Blue laminated sandy shale............. 2 6 

10. Concealed.............................. 4± clay~," from the exposure at Wills Point, in 

11. Laminated black, oil-bearing or asphaltic VanZandt County.57 

sandstone; bed is irregular ............ 4-5 Harris in 1892 pointed out the fa.ct that the 

12. Compactgritlessslate~coloredshale, coarsely calcareous beds lying above the Cretaceous 

laminated, breaking with a conchoidal and below the Wilcox in Alabama extend _east- fracture; slightly calcareous; exposed 

above water line •....•................ 15 ward into Georgia and westward into Texas, 

62± 

FIGURE 8.-Plat of small fault cutting beds of the Escondido formation 

at railroad bridge at Pulliam, Zavalla County, Tex. Strike of fault 

is N. 50° E. 

A small fault cuts the beds at. the south 

end of the falls. The vertical displacement is 

4 feet .. The fault plane strikes S. 50° W. 

nnd dips 45° S. at a point about 11 feet above 

water level and changes to 25° S. below this 

level. 'J'he surface of asphaltic sandstone 

along the fault plane IS slickensided and 

striated. (See fig. 8.) · 

The shale (No. 12) lies horizontal at the 

fault. Beds 2 to 5 dip N. 50° W. at an angle 

retaining throughout these States essentially 

the same lithologic and paleontologic character. 

This stratigraphic unit, which is the one recognized in this report, he called the Midway.68 

. Stratigraphic pm~ition.-The Midway · formation lies unconformably above the Cretaceous and conformably below the Wilcox.69 

Contacts are exposed in Mississippi, Alabama, 

6& Smith, E. A., an4 J ~hnson, L. C., Tertiary and Cretaceous strata 

of the Tuscaloosa, Tomblgbee, and ~labama rivers: U. s. Geol. Survey 

Bull. 43, p. 62, 1887. 

57 Penrose, R. A. F., Jr., A preliminary report on the geology of the 

Gulf Tertiaries of Texas from Red River to the Rio Grande: Texas Geol. 

Survey First Ann. Rept., pp. 19-22, 1890. 

58 Harris, G. D., The Tertiary geology of sou them Arkansas: Arkansas 

Geol. Survey Ann. Rept., 1892, vol.,2, pp. 8, 9, 22, 1894; The ~dway 

stage: Bull. Am. Paleontology, vol. 1, pp. 11-13, 1896. 

69 Harris, G. D., The Midway stage: Bull. Am. Paleontology, vol. 1, 

pp. 38-39, 1896. Vaughan, T. W., Reconnaissance in the Rio Grande 

coal flelds of Texas: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 164, pp. 51-52, 1000. 

Stephenson, L. W., The Cretaceous-Eocene contact in the Atlantic and 

Gulf Coastai Plain: U. S. Geol. SUrvey Prof. Paper 90, pp. 157, i69-181, 

1915: . 
EOCENE SERIES. 41 

Arkansas, and on Frio River and the Rio 

Grande in Texas. 

Lithology.-The formation consists of clay 

and limestone of 1narine origin. At its base 

n.re generally found bluish micaceous clay or 

clayey sand u.nd in some places light-yellowish 

beds of fossiliferous l~nestone of marine origin. 

These beds are succeeded above by sandy beds 

upon which generally rests black selenitic clay. 

Thickness and dip.-The thickness of the 

formation on the Brazos is about 500 feet, 

counties. (See Pl. VIII, in pocket.) Much of 

it is obscured by materials of later age. 

Correlation and history of investigation.-

The Midway ·formation extends from Georgia 

west to Mexico. Its exposures in Arkansas 

and Louisiana have been described by Harris; 60 

those in Mississippi by Crider; 61 those 'in Alabama by Smith; 62 and those in Georgia by 

Harris.63 The lower part of Vaughan's ''Myrick formation" includes the Midway beds of 

Uvalde county.64 Stephenson has described 

N 

0 500 1000 1500 2000 FEET 

PLAN 

Top of bed No. I 1 

---,....___-~ 

400 FEET 

~-~-~-~-~ 

0 40 FEET 

SECTION 

FIGURE 9.-Anticline at tho railroad bridgo at Pulliam, Zavalla County, Tex. Plan, showing strike of the anticline, and section across the 

anticline in the direction N. 50° W. on right bank of Nueces River, showing deformation of bed No.2. 

in Wilson County about 566 feet, and in Bexar the Midway formation of Medina, Uvalde, 

County about 505 feet. The dip along the and Maverick counties.65 

Bru.zos is 66 feet to the mile. The average Section on Brazos River.-Beds belonging to 

dip for the area is about 50 feet to the mile. the Midway formation are exposed along 

Paleontology.-The Midway formation con- Brazos River from a point about 1! miles by 

tu.ins Enclimatoceras ulrichi White, Ostrea eo Harris, G. D., The Tertiary geology or southern Arkansas: Arkansas 

pulaskensis fio.rris, Oucullaea macrodonta Whit- Geol. survey Ann. Rept., 1892, vol. 2, p. 33, 1894. 

field, PleJ'ona limopsis (Conrad), Ostrea ere- 81 Crider, A. F., Geology and mineral resources of Mississippi: u.s. Gaol. Survey Bull. 283, pp. 22-25, 1006. · 

'11/l.llimarginata Gabb. (See Pl. XIV.) 82 Smith, E. A., The underground water resources of Alabama: AlaAreal extent.-The fonnation crops out in a bama Geol. Survey, PP· s, l5, l907. 83 Harris, G. D., The Midway stage: Bull . .Am. Paleontology, v~l. 1, 

narrow belt of .rolling country that extends · PP· 36-37, 1896. 

southwestward through Falls, Milam, Lee, 84 Vaughan, T. w., Reconnaissance in the Rio Grande coal fields or Texa,'): U.s. Geol. Survey Bull. 164, pp. 51-52, 1900. Vaughan, T. w., Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Caldwell, Gu.adu.- u.S; Geol. Survey Geol. Atlas, Uvalde folio (No. 64), pp. 2-3,1900. 

lupe,. and Bexar counties, and from Bexar ~~:~stephenson; L. w.; The Cretaceous-Eo<iene contaot lntheAtlantic 

and Gulf Coostal.Plain: U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 90, pp. 169-181, 

County westwR.rd through Medina and Uvalde 1915. 
42 GEOIA>GY OF THE UOASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

river north of the Milam-Falls county line to 

a point about 2 miles north of the mouth of 

Pond Creek in Milam County. The cmitact 

with the underlying Cretaceous is seen about 

It miles north of the Milam-Falls county li.qe. 

The section follows: 

Section exposed in bluff on west. bank of Brazos River.on the 

southeast line of the Josiah Hogan League, Falls Cotmty, 

Tex.66 

Eocene (Midway formation): Feet·. 

Blue clay and sand breaking into nodules and conchoidal pieces, weathering into a grayish-yellow 

clay and containing Calyptraphorus velatus var. 

compressus Aldrich; Aporrhais gracilis Aldrich; 

Turritella alabamiensis Whitfield; Yoldia eborea 

(Conrad); Cucullaea mai:rodonta Whitfield; Ostrea 

pulaskensis Harris; Crassatellites gabbi (Safford) . . 5 

Transitional blue clay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l 

Cretaceous: Massive blue clay with Baculites ·and 

other Cretaceous fossils ............. _ ... _ ·. . . . . . . . . 14 

field, Orassatellites gabbi ·(Safford), and Venericardia alticostata Conrad var. 

About three-fourths of a mile below Milam 

or Black Bluff, in Cribbs League Bluff, the 

following section is exposed: 69 

Section of Mid·way formation exposed at Cribbs League 

Bluff, Milam Cau.nty, '!'ex. 

Feet 

Yell ow clay .................. _ . _ .. _ ... --.. -... _ . 4 

Ledge of fossiliferous siliceous limestone ____ ... _ . . . ~ 

Yell ow clay; similar to that at the top ... __ . -. _ .. _ 5 

Ledge of fossiliferous siliceous limestone - ... -. _ . _ . 2 

Dark-blue laminated jointed clay ... _._._ ...... __ . 30-35 

43-48 

The fossils collected at this locality include 

Plejona rugata (Conrad), Fusus ostrarupis 

Harris, Oalyptraphorus velatus Aldrich var. 

compressus, Turritella mortoni Conrad, Yoldia 

eborea (Conrad), Oucullaea macrodonta Whit- · 

20 field; Ostrea pulaslcensis Harris, Venericardia 

alticostata Conrad var., and Orassatellites gabbi 

(Safford). 

Half. a mile below the Cretaceous-Tertiary 

contact just described a bluff at Blue Shoals 

shows 5 feet of blue indurated clay ~ith concretions of limestone, containing Enclimatoceras vaughani Gardner, Oalyptraphorus velatus 

Conrad .var. com pres sus Aldrich, Turritella 

alabamiensis Whitfield, Yoldia eborea (Conrad), Oucullaea macrodonta Whitfield var., 

Ostrea pulaslcensis Harris, Orassatellites gabbi 

(Safford), Venericardia alticostata Conrad var., 

and 4 feet of. laminated blue, almost black 

fossiliferous clay.67 

The lower part of Black or Milam .. Bluff, 

which is on the west bank of the river at the 

northern limit of Milam County, a niile helow 

the section just described, is composed of almost black clay containing fragments of shells 

and of yellowish and greenish clay toward the 

top. The upper part contains highly calcareous indurated strata showing a nodular 

structure and containing many fossils. 

The beds dip southeastward· 276 feet to the 

mile. They have yielded 68 Enclimatoceras 

ulrichi White;- Ple{ona rUgata .. (Conrad) ~. Oalyptraphorus velatus Conrad var. compressus AJdrich, Turritella morton{ ·conrad var., T. nerinexa Harris, Nuc1.tla magnifica Conrnd, Y oldia 

eborea (Conrad), Oucullaea mucrodonta Whitr66 Kennedy, William, The Eocene Tertiary east of the Brazos River: 

Acad. ·Nat. Sci. Philadelphia Proc., 1895,·p. 145: The fossils were determined by Harris; the list has been partly revised. 

67 Idem, p. 148. The fossils were determined by Harris; the 1ist has 

been partly revised. 

68 Harris, G. D., The Midway stage: Bull. Am. Paleontology, Yol. 1, 

p. 128, 1896. 

In Oyster Bluff or Smileys Bluff on the west 

side of Brazos River, 3 miles by river below 

Cribbs League Bluff and 2 miles above the 

mouth of Pond Creek, the beds exposed represent .the uppermost portion of the Midway 

formation and are the equivalent of theN aheola 

("Matthews Landing") formation of the Alabama section. 70 

Section of Midway formation exposed at Smileys Bluff, west 

bank of Brazos River and northeast corner of Byrum Wickson 

League, Milam County, Tex. 

Feet. 

Blue laminated clay, fossiliferous ............... _ . . . 4 

Thin bed of concretions and hard fossiliferous lime-

. stone.·:-- .... · ................ '.-.-.-·.- ... -·c-- .. - t ·. - 1 

Thinly laminated gray clay and sand ..... ·._._ .... _._ · 3 

Bluish-gray sand ................ _ ... _._ ... ________ -. 1 

Thinly laminated dark-blue clay and sand_ .. _ . _ _ _ _ _ _ a Dark-bl~1e laminated fossiliferous sand ____ ... _._._._. 2 

14 

The fossiliferous beds of the Midway carry 

Pleurotoma (Pleurotomella) anacona Harris, P. 

(Surcula) ostrarupis Harris, Plejona precursor 

Dall, Fusus ostrarupis Harris, Pseudoliva ostrarupis Harris, Oerithium p~nrosei Harris, 0. 

whitfieldi Heilprin, Leda milamensis Harris and 

L. milamensis I-Iarris, large var. 71 

. 69 Kennedy, William, The E oecne Tertiary of Texas east of the Brazos 

River: Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia Proc., 1895, p. 147. The llst of 

fossils has been partly revised. 

10 Harris, G:. D., New and otherwise interesting Tertiary Mollusca from 

Texas: Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia Proc., 1895, p. 45. 

11 Kennedy, William, op. cit.,p. 147. The list or fossils has been partly 

revised. 
EOCENJ<~ SERIES. 43 

These isolated outcrops represent different 

zones in the Midway formation on the Brazos. 

The . relative positions are indicated in . the 

columnar section shown in figure 10. The 

topmost, beds are those exposed farthest downstream; the lowermost are those exposed 

farthest upstream. . 

Section near Elgin, Bastrop Oounty.~A dug 

well at Elgin shows about 30 feet of blue shale~ 

Clay pits a few yards west of the railroad 

station expose about 30 feet of red-burning 

blue shale containing a few blue sandy layers. 

From another shallow well at Elgin the fossil 

Plejona limopsis was taken. 

fossiliferous and carry great numbers of Venericardia bulla Dall, a species characteristic of 

the Midway. From this point to Miller Riffles, 

where the base of the Indio formation is 

exposed, no other outcrops occur. 

A composite section of the formation as 

exposed on the Colorado, showing the relative 

stratigraphic positions of the exposures described, is given on Plate IX. 

Section on· Oibolo Oreelc.-Beds of the Midway formation may be seen on Cibolo Creek 

from Zuehl to a point about 4! miles southeast of this village. 

About 15 feet of massive blue fossiliferous 

On the farm of Lawrence Solomon, on a shale is exposed in a ravine by the roadside 

branch of Wilbarger Creek about 8 miles south- 100 to 300 feet west of the crossing of Cibolo 

west of Elgin (see station 245 on the z 

tnap, fig. 11), 14 feet of loose yellow 0 ~' 

sand with laminae of lignitic shale 2 to 5 ~: Za:: 

3 inches thick overlying 6 feet of blue - f2 

laminated sandy shale is exposed. The t---t---:O~st-rc-a~cr-cn-u=lima-r(ll,-..,..na-ta-t't -- :-~-- :::t S 'I . I ff . . _. -· .... · .. _J m1 ey s B u 

sand is cross-bedded on a large scale and 

contains large sandstone concretions 5 

. to 10 feet in diameter and 2 to 3 feet 

thick. One of the concretions is highly 

fossiliferous,. but the fossils are poorly 

preserved. Among the recognizable 

forms is Fusus ostrarupis Harris. 

Section on Colorado River.-On the 

Colorado the contact of the Midway with 

the Cretaceous is not exposed. Cretaceous beds are exposed at Webberville (see p. 37), and the next exposure 

z 

0 

i= 

< 

:2 

a:: 

0 

lJJ 

oz a::Q 

a:: l- et< 

>:2 

eta:: 

zo LL, 

Ostrea pttlaskensis 

Yoldia eboi-ea 

Cucultaea macrod<mta 

Baculites. 

~==- ::::::::: J Cribb's Leaeue Bluff ~-=-----==== 

Black Bluff 

~~~~:::> Blue Shoals Bluff 

downstream is at a point 4 miles by river FIGURE 10.-Columnar section of Midway formation exposed on Brazos River in 

Milam, Falls, and Robertson counties, Tex. Vertical scale, 1 inch=350 feet. below Webberville or about 2! miles 

north of Caldwell village, in Bastrop County. 

(See station 213 on the map, fig. 11.) At 

this place there is an exposure of the Midway 

formation consisting of dark-brown fossiliferous 

shale carrying Tornatina leai Aldrich, Sc(tphander ligniticus Aldrich, Plejona limopsis Conrad, Dentalium med·ianense Harris, Oucullaea 

macrodonta Whitfield, Oorbnla aldrichi Meyer. 

The Midway lies horizontal on a line trending 

S. 75° E. This shale is probably the same as 

the Naheola fortnu.tion of the Alabatna section. 

flalf a mile down.stream the dark-brown clay 

is exposed to a thiclmess of 4 feet above the 

water line. (See station 214 on the map, fig. 

11.) Here a ledge of indurated fossiliferous 

sandstone, dipping downstream, has weathered 

into knobs or boulders. The beds are highly 

Creek at Zuehl. A number of clay ironstone 

concretions, 6 inches to 2 feet in diameter, occur 

in the clay. Among the fossils found is 

Olicullaea macrodonta Whitfield, an Eocene 

species. 

About three-fourths of a mile below Zuehl, 

on Cibolo Creek, there is an exposure of 15 

feet of dark-brown shale overlain by Pleis~ocene gravel and loam. 

.About 1! miles below Zuehl there is· an 

exposure of 20 feet of brown shale, Cfl:rrying 

limestone concretions 2 to 3 feet in diameter. 

About 3 feet of blnck fossiliferous shale crops 

out in the bed of the creek 2 miles below Zuehl. 

The fossils found include Pleurotoma, Mesalia 

alabamiensis Whitfield, and Oorbula aldrichi 

Meyer. A quarter of a mile southeast of this 
44 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TJi.JX{\S WEST OF BRAZOS JUVEU. 

locality there is another exposure of. the same 

shale. 

A fault is exposed a short distance above 

the mouth of Martinez Creek. The upthrow 

is on the north side, and in consequence 

the Midway beds occur in juxtaposition with 

I 

I 

I 

Littig I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

•245 

_242 

.. ~41 

Creek, about 3 miles southwest of New 

Berlin. , 

Section on Salado Oreek.-Beds belonging 

to the Midway formation 1nay be seen in 

the clay pit of the Bern Brick Co. on the 

Gonzales road, :-1 n1iles N. 80° 1~. of Con-

~~~ 

~~~ ~ '0. 0* . ,, I 

C' \ 

\ 

I 

\ IOJ-----.....,fL----:;i/--:+:..._a;a3J-:;2-lf+-l------.-.,---\----f-----\~--';-\-----iiO 

. I 

\ 

I 

\ 

I 

\ 

I 

\ 

20' 

0 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 MILE 5 

FIGURE 11.-Map of the. Bastrop quadrangle, Tex., showing location ofsections described. 

" 

the Indio on · the upland east of Cibolo 

Creek. 

A number of hard calcareous, fossiliferous 

sandstone concretions, .. containing numerous 

·specimens of Ostrea crenulimarginata Gabb, 

are exposed just 'north . of the fault, on 

the upland overlooking the valley of Cibolo 

ception Mission, in Bexar County. About 25 

feet of blue shale, ~reaking with a conchoidal 

fracture and carrying concretions of limonite 

and siliceous iron ore 2 feet in diameter, is 

exposed. The shale weathers yellow and 

bur.ns red. It contains a few undeterminable 

fossils. 
EOCENT~ SERIES. 45 

An analysis of the clay shows the fqllowing Section of Midway formation at Jett crossing, on Medina 

composition: River, 5! miles west of Earle, Bexar County, Tex. 

Analysis 'of clay and concretions front clay pit of the Bem 

Brick Co. on Gonzales road east of San Antonio, Tex. 

:~amplos uolloctcll by .1<~. 1•'. Burchard. Analy8is by J>. H. Bates, 

U.S. Goologlcal Survey.l 

Concretions. 

Clay. 

Silica. (SiOfl). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56. 04 14. 31 

Alumma (Alj03) • • • • • • • • • • 18. 77 5. 43 

Ferric oxide (F~0 ). • • • • • 6. 41 5. 67 

Man·ganese oxide (MnO)... Trace. . 03 

Lime (CaO) ..... :. . . . . . . . 1. 88 38. 21 

Magnesia (MgO).. . . . . . . . . . 2. 40 . 80 

Sulphuric anhydride (S03). • 70 . 14 

Phosphoric oxide (P20 5) ••••••••••••••••••••• 

Soda (N~O). .............. .17 . 53 

Potash (K20) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Trace. 

Water at 100° C........... . 3. 21 . 70 

Ignition loss. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10. 25 33. 99 

100. 33 99.81 

1. An irregular mass uniiorm throughout. 

2 

15.06 

5.82 

52.07 

. 59 

8. 17 

. 79 

.08 

. 29 

.02 

. 73 

1. 33 

15.52 

100.47 

2. A rounded mass, which on breaking was shown· to 

be a broken rock surrounded by concentric layers of 

ferric oxide at the interior and layers of clay of decreasing 

iron content towa1·d the exterior. The inner layers are 

cracked, and the cracks are filled with calcite. 

Blue shale of the :Midway formation. .is 

exposed on new Sulphur Springs road about a 

quarter of a mile east of the crossing on 

Salado Creek and about 5! miles southeast of 

the courthouse at San Antonio. 

In a dug well, 12 feet deep, on the north side 

of Salado Creek and 5! 1niles southeast of 

the courthouse at San Antonio, there is a 

bluish-gray compact, .homogeneous fossiliferous 

shale, carrying concretions of iron ore and sandstone about 2 feet in diameter, which contains 

C(td1.tl1.ts sp., Ringicula sp.,. Fus'ltS sp., Cardium 

sp., Dentalium sp., Lunatia sp., Ostracoda, and 

Foraminifera. . . 

About 1 foot of blue clay of the Midway 

formation is exposed in a gravel pit about 

half a mile north of I-Iot Wells and about 4! 

miles soU:th.;.southeast of the courthouse.at·San 

Antonio. 

Sections on Leon Creek and Medina River, 

Bexar County."'-'About 20 feet of weathered 

yellow clay is exposed in washes at· the crossing 

of the Palo Alto road on Leon Creek, about 4! 

miles west-northwest of Earle, Bexar County. 

This clay is a weathered phase of a· blue shale 

that probably belongs to the Midway· formation. 

Reddish-brown fossiliferous concretions consisting of indurated greensand with a coating or 

~;hell of fossiliferous hematite; contains Plejona 

l1:nwpsu (Com-ad), Tw·ritella sp., Venericardiq. 

corriplexico.sta Meym· and Aldrich, and Vener·icarFt. in. 

(N,a plo.nicosto. Lamarck....................... 1. 

Blue sandy shale, the sand occupyingdiscontinu-

. ous lanrinae........................ .... . . . . . . . 15 

Medium hard brown sandstone..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 

Blue sandy shale similar to that above the sandstone....................................... 10 

Lenses and boulders of brown sandstone, medium 

hard, 2 feet thi,ck and 4 to 6 feet in diameter.. 3 6 

Concealed..................................... 15 

Blue plastic shale to water line................... 2 

47 4 

Section on Hondo Creek.-Stephenson records 

the occurrence of a fossiliferous boulder detached from a ledge of rock a quarter of a mile 

ahove the crossing due east of Elstone, Medina 

9ounty. The boulder contains Leda elongatoidea Aldrich var. Harris, Glycymeris sp., 

Ostrea sp., Modiolus saffordi Gabb, Venericardia planicosta Lamarck, Venericardia sp., 

~Heretrix ( ~) sp., Corbula sp., and Turritella sp.12 

Section on Seco Creelc.-Stephenson reports 

the occurrence of a fossiliferous limestone on 

the D'Hanis-Yancey road about 7t miles east 

of south from D'Hanis, Medina County, fro~ 

which he collected Cucullaea macrodonta Whitfield ( ~), Ostrea crenulimarginata Gabb ( ~), 

. Tlener'l~cardia sp., Luc~na sp., and fragments of 

gastropods. 73 

Section on Sabinal River. -On Elm Creek 

near the $chuddemagen ranch house, 11 miles 

south of Sabinal/4 10 feet of the Midway formation is exposed, overlain by 50 feet of 

strata of the Indio formation, poorly exposed. 

The Midway is massive sandy limestone 

containing poorly preserved fossils, prominently 

exposed on the hill slope. Vaughan, Cooke, 

and Gardner have identified the following 

species from this limestone: Glycymeris sp., 

Ostrea, sp., Tlen.ericardia alticostata var. whitei 

Gardner, Callocardia ripleyana Gabb, Natica, 

sp., Turritella mortoni (Conrad), Turritella sp., 

Oalyptraphorus velatus Conrad var., Pseudoliva 

cf. P. unilineata Aldrich, Phos ( n, sp., Pleurotoma, sp. 

' 2 Stephenson, L. W ., The Cretaceous-Eocene contact in the Atlantic 

and Gulf Coastal Plain: U. s. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 901 p, 179, 1915. 

73 Idom,p.178. 

Hldem, p.177, 
46 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN O:E' TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

Section on Frio River.-On Frio River about 

half a 'mile above Myrick's lower apiary and 

about 9! miles east-southeast of Uvalde, 20 

feet of yellow sandstone of the Midway formation overlies the fucoidal sandstone of· the 

Escondido formation .. The upper sandstone 

has a dip of about 2° E. The lower sandstone 

has a more pronounced dip in the. same direction. 

The yellow sandstone composing the upper 

20 feet of the section just described extends 

downstream and is exposed in the right wall 

of the canyon for about 300 yards. It carries 

concretions measuring 1 to 2 feet in diameter 

and 6 inches to 1 foot in thickness, standing on 

edge. 

- About 300 yards downstream from the preceding locality there is exposed, on the left 

side of Frio River, about 30 feet of yellow 

sandstone. The upper 6 feet is made up of 

beds 1 to It feet thick; the lower 24 feet consists of beds 1 to 4 feet thick. 

Vaughan has collected from this exposure 

Ouc'lillaea texana Gardner, Ostrea cren'lilimarginata Gabb, Ostrea pulaskensis Harris, Venericardia alticostata var. whitei Gardner ( ~), Venericardia .alticostata var. hesperia Gardner, 

Phacoides sp., Oallocardia sp., Natica sp., 

Turritella humerosa Conrad, Turritella mortoni 

Conrad, Levifusus trabeatus (Conrad) var. ( n, 

and Enclimatoceras vaughani Gardner. 

About an eighth of a mile east of Myrick's 

lower apiary is · a bluff which consists, ill 

descending order, of yellow sandstone, 10 feet 

thick; yellow thin-bedded and semicross-bedded 

sandstone stained red in places, 10 to 20 feet 

thick; and yellow sandstone 20 feet thick, 

containing in places hard concretions or boulders about 2 feet in diameter and 1 foot thick. 

The lower sandstone with concretions is Midway; the sandstones above are Indio. At 

the upper and of the bluff, which is about 

1,000 feet in length, the beds have a slight dip 

downstream; at the lower end they have a 

slight dip upstream. Apparently there is a 

shallow syncline between these two points. 

WILCOX GROUP. 

ESSENTIAL FEATURES. 

Name.-The Wilcox formation was named 

by Crider 75 fro;m Wilcox County, Ala., where 

it is characteristically exposed. It was first 

1~ Crider, A. F., Geology and mineral resources of Mississippi: u. S 

Geol. Survey Bull. 283, pp. 25-28, 1906. 

differentiated by Harris in 1894, who called i 

the "Lignitic. " 76 The same group of beds was 

called" Chickasaw" by Dall in 1896,77 "Sabine" 

by Veatch in 1906,78 and Wilcox by Crider/9 

in 1906. Of these, Wilcox is the onlv name 

to which there are no objections. The term 

"Lignitic" is a lithologic and not a geographic 

name, and it therefore does not conform to the 

rules of geologic nomenclature. The term 

"Chickasaw" was originally proposed by Hilgard as an equivalent for the beds he called 

the "Northern Lignitic," which included beds 

belonging to the Wilcox, Claiborne, and Jackson formations .. Dall used the same term 

later to apply to beds here recognized as belonging to the Wilcox. Penrose, in 1890, 

applied the term "Sabine River beds" to deposits including the Claiborne and the Wilcox, 

and his use of the term "Sabine" would have 

precedence over Veatch's use. In the region 

described in this report the Wilcox deposits 

have been divided into two unconformable 

formations, the Carrizo sandstone above and 

the Indio formation below. 

Stratigraphic position.-The Wilcox deposits 

lie conformably above the Midway and unconformably beneath the Mount Selman formation 

of the Claiborne group. 

Correlation and history.-The Wilcox formation occurs in Texas, Arkansas, 80 Louisiana, 81 

Mississippi, 82 Alabama, 83 and Georgia. 84 

The first authentic account of the Texas 

representatives of the Wilcox was given -by 

Dr. R. A. F. Penrose in 1890 in the First .A .. nnual 

Report of the Geological Survey of Texas, in 

which he described what are here called t4e 

Indio, Carrizo, Mount Selman, and Cook Mountain formations under the name of the "Timber 

Belt or Sabine River beds." lie fL""<ed their 

stratigra.phic position correctly as lower Tertiary, overlying the Mid~ay, but made no 

76 Harris, G. D., The Tertiary geology of southern Arkansas: Arkansas 

Geol. Survey Ann. Rept. for 1892, vol. 2, p. 55, 1894. 

11 Dall, W. H., A table ofN orth American Tertiary horizons correlated 

with one another and with those of western Europe, with annotations: 

u.S. Geol. Survey Eighteenth Ann. Rept., pt.2, pp. 344-345, 1898. 

78 Veatch, A.·c., Geology and underground water resources of northern 

Louisiana and southern Arkansas: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 46 

pp. M-36, 1906. 

79 Crider, A. F., op. cit., pp. 25-28. 

80 Harris, G. D., op. cit. 

81 Harris, G. D., ThegeologyofthoMississippiembayment with special 

reference to the State of Louisiana, Louisiana Geol. Survey , pp. 11-17 

1922. 

82 Crider, A. F., op. cit. 

sa Smith, E. A., The underground· water resources of Alabama, 

Alabama Geol. Survey, pp. 15-16, 1907. 

s• McCallie, S. W ., A preliminary report on the underground waters 

of Georgia: Georgia Geol. Survey Bull. 15, pp. 34-35, 1908. 
BOCENE SERIES. 47 

ntternpt to correlate then1 with the divisions of 

the Tertiary established by Hilgard in Mississippi in ·1860, 85 and by Smith and ,Johnson in 

Alabama in 1887. 86 In u.n earlier paper, however, he hacl.correlated the 1'~xns beds with Hilgard's "Lignitic" of Mississippi.. He writes: 117 

Lignites occur in yery many places in eastern· 'fexa~. 

* * -K· They belong to the lowest division of the Eocene 

formation, known as the Lignitic (Hilgard). This formation 

is exposed in various places between the Cretaceous 

formntion as its western boundary and the Claiborne and 

Mansfield formations on the south and east. 

Vaughan ip. 1895 referred· the beds exposed 

at Port Caddo landing, in Harrison County, 

Tex., to the "Lignitic stage" f!,S define~ by 

Harris (Wilcox formation). 88 The strata· in 

southwestern Texas that Vaughan has described 

as the ":Myrick formation" include the Wilcox 89 and Midway formations. · 

Thickness.-Along the Brazos the Indio deposits are about 840 feet thick. In Wilson 

County, according to the record of a well at 

Sutherland Springs; they are about 657 feet 

thick. On the N ueces the exposed part of the 

formation is not more than 350 feet thick, hut 

this represents only its lower part. The dip 

along the Brazos is about 66 feet to the Inile. 

The average dip is about 50 feet. 

Pa-leontolOffY.-OstTea tasex Gardner, a marine 

fossil, has been found in nbundance in the Indiu 

formation west of Br~zos River, 4 miles north 

of Rockdale, in Milam County; 11 n1iles south 

of Sabinal in Uvalde County; and in several 

localities in ~faverick and Dimmit counties. 

In corresponding beds of Wilcox age on Sabine 

River Kellia prima Aldrich, Ple'ltrotoma silicata 

Aldrich, Levifusus indent'l.l8 Harris, Lev~fusus 

supraplanus Harris, Fuso.ficula juvenis HarriH, INDIO J;'OltMATION. - and Natica aperta Whitfield u.re chu.rncteristic 

Name.-The lower formation of the Wilcox fossils. (See Pl. XV.) The fossil leaves, which 

group in this pai:·t of ·Texas has been named are common, include Dillenites texensis; EuonyIndio formation by Trowbridge.898 It rests con-· mus splendens, Ficus spectabilis Lesquereux, and 

formably on the Midway formation and is over- Terminalia hilgardiana (Lesquereux). (See Pl. 

lain unconformably by the Carrizo sandstone, XVI.) 

the upper formation of the Wilcox group. . ' Areal extent.-The ·formation outcrops in a 

Lithology.-1'he Indio : formation·· consists belt of country that includes parts of Milam, 

nlmost entirely of deposits ·of shallow-water Burleson, Lee, Bastrop, Caldwell, Guadalupe, 

origin, inCluding lenticular beds· of sand; large Wilson, Bexar.3 ~tascosa, Medina, and Uvalde 

leaf-bearing calcareous sandstone concretions, counties. (See Pl. VIII.) 

sandstones, clays; sandy clays, lignites, and Economic character.-This formation is of 

cross-bedded· sands and sandstones. · Petrified great economic yalue. The soil derived from 

wood is associated with the sand. Along Sabine the sandstone favors the grmvth of trees suitRiver, in Sabine County, there are fossiliferous able for lumber and fuel. The thicker lenses 

beds of marine origin. In the deeper parts, of lignite are mined at many places. Some of 

toward the Gulf coast, the formation probal;>ly the harder sand and sandstone is used locally 

consists wholly of deposits of marine origin, as building stone. At many places the formnin~l,uding beds of glauc~Jt~.itic marl. · . tion includes beds of clay suitable for making 

I he shallow-water or1gm of the exposed parts ' buildino- brick pavino- brick and pottery. f l f . . d· , I b·. l b , b ' 

0 t.lC . ormatiOn JS P1'?Ve not _on r . y t le . Section on Brazos River.-The beds exposed 

charncter of the m~te~·1als of whiCh It Is com- on Brazos River between Smileys Bluff, in 

posed, such as the hgn1te and the cross-bedded th Mil C t d · t ?. m"l s 

d · h f f .1 nor ern am oun ·y, an a poin ..., 1 e 

san , but by the occurrence In t em o . oss1 th ··t f th ·1 d b "d t "lr 11 1 d · 1 t · nor wes o e ra1 roa ri ge a " a ey 

eaves an P an s. Junction, in northern Robertson County, are 

sr·Hilgard, 1<:. w., Report on the geology and agriculture of the State t•eferred to the Indio formation. 

of Mississippi, 18(i0. 

ss Smith, .E. A., and Johnson, JJ .. C., 1'ert;iary and <.:re.t.acqous st.mta or 

the Tusealoosa, Tombigbcc,'nnd Alabama rivers: U. S. Geol.- Survey 

Bull. •1:3, 1.887. · · · 

s7 Penrose, H .. A. F., Uoport of geologist for eastern 1'exas: Texas 

Gcol. Survey First Uept. of Progress, p. 59, 1888. 

es Vaughan, T .. W ., The stratigraphy of northwestern Louisiana: Am. 

G.eologist, vol. 15, p. 209, 1895. · · 

89 Vaughan, T. W., U. S. Geol. Survey Geol. Atlas, Uvalde folio 

(No. 64), pp. 2-3, 1900. · 

BJa Trowbridge, A. C., A geologic reconnaissance in the Gulf Coastal 

Plain of Texas near the RiQ Clmpde: U. S. Geol, Survey Prof. Paper 

131, pp. 89-91, 19~. 

At Smileys Bluff, 2 Iniles above the Inouth of 

Pond Creek (see· p. 42) ,. the lower beds 'cnny 

fossils characteristic of the Midway... The upper 

10 -feet is nonfossilife~·ous. yellowish-gray clu.y, 

sand, and blue clay containing concretions of 

calcareous sandstone. These concretions probably represent the basal part of the Indio on 

Brazos Ri:ver. 
48 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF '.rl<JXAS Wl'JST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

About 1! miles below the mouth of Pond 

Creek, in Milam County, there are deposits of 

sand that contains black specks and that·. is 

rendered plastic by a white clay. Large 

calcareous concretions (locally called "kettle 

bottoms") ,.1 to 8 feet in dian1eter, are embedded 

in the sand. 

About 3 miles below the mouth of Pond 

Creek the sand just described is close to the 

water's edge and is overlain by gray clay 

carrying beds of lignite.00 

About 4 miles below Pond Creek the gray 

clay dips beneath the water and is. overlain 

by gray sand carrying calcareOll;S . concretions. 

At Cannon Ball Shoals, 8 miles by river below 

this point, gray sand 5 to 15 feet thick, interstratified with thin calcareous sands.tones 6 

inches to a foot thick, 91 is exposed. At Black 

Shoals,92 half a mile below Cannon Ball Shoals, 

not far below Black Bridge, on the CalvertC~eron road, the following section is exposed: 

Section of Indio formation at Black Shoals on Brazos River, 

Tex. 

Ft. in. 

Gray sand ................................... . 5 

Black or dark-blue clay, jointed and broken into 

cuboidal blocks ............................. . 1 

Broken seams of lignite, running out 300 feet from 

foot of shoals ............................... . 6 

Black clay similar to black clay above ......... . 

Sandstone ........................... : ....... . 

5 

1-6 

Black clay .................................. . 4 

Gray calcareous sandstone ..................... . 

Gray sand, laminat.ed;and containing thin layers 

6± 

of dark clay .................................. . 10 

Bed of rounded waterworn boulders, containing 

streaks of calcite ........................... . 1 

Gray sand with pyrites ....................... . 5 

The beds dip_ to the southeast 91 to 276 feet 

to the mile.93 

One mile below Black Shoals the Indio is 

exposed on the west side of the river, in Milam 

County. The section in descending order includes 8 fee~ of pale-blue sandy clay with limy 

concretions, 3 feet of lignite, 1 foot of iron ore, 

2 feet of dark-blue clay, and a bed of lignite. 

90 Dumble, E. T., Report on the brown coal and lignite of Texas, 

·rexas Geol. Survey, p. 135, 1892. 

DI Kennedy, William, Report on Grimes, Brazos, and Robertson 

coanties: Texas Geol. Survey· Fourth Ann. Rept., p. 71, 1893. 

os Kennedy ~lied these shoals "Bee Shoals." On the War Department map of Brazos River, survey of 1900, these rapids are marked 

"Black Shoals," which is probably the correct designation. 

93 Kennedy, William, op. cit., p. 71. 

At Herndon Shoals, 1! miles below Black 

Shoals, at Calvert Bluff,94 the following section 

is exposed: 

Section of Indio formation in Calvert Bluff on .Jesse Webb 

J,eo.gul},; .Robertson. Conn.ty, Te.'IJ. 

:n. in. 

Gray sand....................................... 3 

Lignite ........................................... 12 

Dark-blu_e clay ............... .- .'. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

Lignite........................................... 3 

Dark-blue clay.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 

Lignite ........ ~.................................. 3 6 

Dark grayish-blue sand .................. ~ ........ 15 

Calcareous sandstone .......... ·. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 

Dark-gray sand.................................. 2 

Lignite, poor quality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 

Dark-gray sand ......... :~~....................... 8 

Gray calcareous sandstone........................... 1 

Dark bluish-gray sand, with iron pyrites~···....... 8 

Boulders of clay ironstone and gray calcareous sandstone, with nodules of iron ore and thin seams of 

ferruginous sandstones with fossil leaves.. . . . . . . . . 2 

Gray sandstone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6 

Laminated bluish-gray sand to water line............ 2 

71 

The beds have been warped into a gentle 

anticline, the crest of which crosses the river 

at Herndon's landing. 

The stratigraphic relations of the different 

outcrops are shown in figure· 12. 

Section at Rockdale, Milam Oo1.1.nty.-A dug 

well not far from the station at the Rockdale 

power plant shows the following section: . . 

Section of Indio formation in. a well at the Rockdale power 

plant, Roclcdale, 1'ex. · 

Feet. 

Yellow clay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 

Blue clay ........................................ .- 25 

Blue fossiliferous clay, containing fossil leaves and a 

fossil tooth of a crocodile, Crocodilus cf. grypus Cope, 

a Wasatch Eocene species. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 

Soft quicksand, yielding a plentiful supply of potable 

water.............................................. 4 

Blue clay .................................... ."..... 1 

Coarse water-bearing sand, not entirely penetrated.... 40 

95 

Possibly 30 to 50 feet higher in the stratigraphic column occur the lignite-bearing beds 

at the mines a mile or. so northeast of Rockdale. 

o4 Johnson, L: C., The iron regions of northern Louisiana arid eastern 

1 Texas: 50th Cong., 1st sess., H. Ex .. Doc., vol. 26, No. 195, p. 211 1889. 
EOCENl~ SERIES. 49 

A section of the Rockdale Mining Co.'s shaft 14 miles south of Rockdale, and immediately 

follows: . . adjacent to the Rockdale-Tanglewood road, 

Section of the Indio formation at Rockdale Mining Co.'s there is an outcrop of a fossiliferous limestone 

shaft at Vogel, near Rockdale, Tex. 95 concretion containing Ostrea tasex Gardner. 

Brownish-gray saud. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fti ir~ Section on Colorado River.-On Colorado 

Hed clay...................................... 4 River, in Bastrop County, the Indio is exBlack waxy clay ....... .'....................... 4 posed between Miller Riffles, about 5 miles 

'l'l1inly laminated dark-gray sand and clay lam- east of Webberville and Red Bluff about 2 

· inae fro~ one-eighth to l inch; the clay gen- miles south of Bast~op. ' "" 

orally thicker.·· .. · .. ··· .... ·· ...... ····· .. · 15 At Miller Riffles (see station 215 on the map, Gray clay (soapstone). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 

Gray sand..................................... 1 6 fig. 11) sandstones are exposed that probably 

Clay (same as soapstone above). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 represent the basal part of the Indio. 

:Lignite ............. · ............ ·· .. : .. · .... · 5 The next exposure is about lt miles above 

Clay or soapstone.·:........................... 8 Pope Bend (station 216 on the map, fig. 11). 

g~:; ::~:a;:!~~~~~·.·.·.~::::::::::::::::::::::: : At· this place sandsto~e 39 feet thick is exposed. 

Gray saud..................................... 1 6 About 1,000 yards below or south of Pope 

I .. ignite....................................... 9 10 Bend (station 218 on the map, fig. 11) there is 

Sand .......... · ............ ·· ................. 30 exposed 15 feet of laminated blue sandy clay 

J,ignite. · .... · · · ................ · · · .......... · 4 containing streaks of sand and leaf-bearing 

118 · 4 lignitic shale in which occur leaves of DillenIn the northeast corner of the William Isaacs ites texensis and Euonymus splendens ( ~), as 

firact, out of the James Reese survey, about determined by Prof. E. W. Berry. The layers 

of sand are cross-bedded and apparently dip s~ Dumble, E. T., Report on the brown coal and lignite of Texas, 

Toxas Geol. Survey, p. 17,8, 1892. slightly Upstream. 

z 

0 

t= 

<t 

~ 

a:: 

0 

u. 

Q . 

. 0 

z 

z >-0 cti= 

~.<t 

0~ 

:E~ u. 

Fossil leavesOstrea crenulima·rginatlv{. 

Calvert Bluff 

~~H l mile below Black Shoals 

Black Shoals 

Cannon Ball Shoals 

6 miles below Smiley's Bluff 

5 miles below Smiley's Bluff 

~.....:.:..'""-'-'-~!--' 3Yz miles below Smiley's Bluff. 

FIGURt<: 12.-Columnar section· or Indio formation on Brazos River, Tex. Vertical scale, 1 inch=250 feet. 
50 GEOLOGY O:F THE COASTAL PLAIN O:F TEXAS WEST 01!., BRAZOS RIVER. 

_About 1! miles east of Caldwell· Knob, Section of Indio formation on ColoradoRiverl!milessouthBastrop County (station 219 on the map, :fig. east of Washingtonfarrn, Bastrop County, Tex. 

11) three members of the Indio formation are 

Blue laminated and lignitic sarid containing con~ 

exposed. These are, in descending order, gray cretions of calcareous sandstone 6 inches thick ... 

sandy shale 40 feet, with a seam of lignite 6 

inches thick; friable porous, slightly glauconitic 

sands, 6 feet; and· gray sandy shale 20 feet, 

.Sand containing laminae of ferruginous sand ..... . 

Blue laminated and lignitic sand containing concretions 'of calcareous sandstone 6 inches thick .. . 

Gray porous, friable water-bearing sand ... ~~ ..... . 

Blue laminated and lignitic sand containing calcareous concretions ............................ . 

Feet. 

18 

l 

2 

3 

5 

The'beds dipS. 45° E., 250 feet to the mile. 

"' with sandstone concretions . 1 to 3 feet in 

diameter and 6 to 12 inches thick. The 

Indio beds dip S. 656 E., at the rate of 270 

feet to the mile. They occupy about the 

same stratigraphic position as those 1,000 

Y

ards south of Pope Bend. · Section of Indio formation on Colorado River, at center of 

Powell Bend, 2! miles east of Goodman, Bastrop County, At a place 1! miles downstream from this Tex. 

locality (station 220 on the map, fig. 11), there Blue clay .................. _._._ ... _. ______ ; ___ · F~ · tn 

is exposed, in the right bank of the stream, 6 Laminated sandy clay........................... 2 

feet of blue clay overlain by 1 foot of sandstone. Coarse sand................................ . . . . 1. 

These beds overlie those seen 1 t miles east of · Clay··· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · -· -· · · -· -· ----......... . 6 

Caldwell Knob. ·· Sand.····································-- ---. l 

h h · f N h' Hard ferruginous sandstone...................... 3 

About 1! miles nort -nort east o as s Blue clay...................................... 5 

Ferry and about 300 to 400 yards back from Lignite.' ................... : . .'................... 5 5 

the river a low bluff of indurated· gray sand- Blue clay ........ -:: ................. : .......... . 

stone overlooks one of the later Pleistocene Ugnite · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · Bituminous shale ...... · ......................... · 

() 

:10 terraces of the river. 

Blue sandy shale in which occur large concretions of calcareous sandstone 5 to H? feet in 

Lignite........................................ 6 4 

Covered to. water line ........................... 25± 

diameter is exposed on the left bank Qf.,CQ,lo.- 52± 

rado River about 1 i miles in a direction'~~a;·· Below th~ .lowest bed of lignite noted in the 

little south of west from Washington farm. section there is another bed of lignite 4 feet 

On Colorado River three-quarters of a mile or more thick. The beds dip S. 15° E., at 

·northeast of Goodman l~ f~et of soft yellow . the rate of 90 feet to the mile .. 

friable, porous sand with large concre~ions ?is. The beds n1ined by the Independence Mining 

exposed. Co. three-fourths of t1 mile S. 60° ± E. of this 

At a place 1-i miles south by east of bluff, ncar the Missouri~ Kansa~ & Texas RailWashington farm (station 223 on the map, fig. way, ure continuous with those exposed on the 

11) there is a similar exposure of sand 10 .feet river ut the eenter of Powell Bend. 

thick. · . A bed of lignite lies above the water 100 yards 

Ten feet of indurated nonfossiliferous brown downstream frmn the middle of Powell Bend. 

sandstone is exposed at a point where the road The dip is slightly upstream, indicating apparleading from Bastrop to Nash's Ferry, crosses ently a small syncline or possibly a fault in 

a small creek, about 1f miles southeast . of this vicinity. 

Goodman. "<·7· · The road fron1 Bustrop to Colorado Chapel 

The following section is exposed at the north crosses a small rn.vine, known us Hoppe Hoiend of Powell Bend oil. Colorado River, 1! low_, a quarter of a mile smitheast of the center 

miles southeast of Washington farm (station of Powell Bend (station 2a7, fig. 11). The 

224 on the map, fig. 11): hank of the ravine at the crossing shows 20 feet ' ··~ !'-'·.1. • ' 
BOCBNI~ SERHJS. 51 

of loose, porous white and yellow sand, with 

interstrntified beds of clay 2 to 3 inches thick. 

The dip is eastward at the rate of 270 feet to the 

1nile. The sand represents the continuation of 

the sand overlying the lignite 100 yRnls below 

the middle of Powell Bend. 

Vertical scale 

0 10 20 .30 FEET 

~'IGURE 13.-Sketch or bluff on Colomdo River, 11 miles northwest of 

wagon bridge at Bastrop, Tex., showing relative positions of the 

constituent beds. 

About J! iniles northwest of the wagon 

bridge at Bastrop (station 226) there is 4 feet 

of lignite underlain by sand and shale, of which 

10 feet is exposed above water level. 

About 1-i- miles northwest of the wagon 

bridge n.t Bastrop (station 227 on the n1ap, fig. 

11) 18 feet of the Indio formation is exposed, 

which eonsist.s of alternating shale and sand. 

N. S. 

W<1 er 1ne 

Approximate horizontal scale 0 25 50 75 100 FEET 

Vertical scale 0 10 20 30 FEET 

];'IOURE 14.-Skotch or bluff on Colomdo River three-fourths or a mile 

below wagon bridge at Bastrop, Tex., showing the relative positions 

. or the beds. . 

A sketch of the bluff showing· the relative 

positions of the several beds is given in 

figure 13. 

Three-fourths of a mile below the wagon 

bridge at Bastrop (station 247, fig. 11) stands a 

bluff (see :fig. 14) at the north end of which 

there is exposed a lens of loose white sand. 

This sand is replaced on the south by a le:r;ts of 

laminated sandy shale, containing layers of 

lignitic shale 2 inches thick, the whole having. 

a banded appearance. The sandy shale has a 

1naxinnun vertical thickness of 15 feet and dips 

downstream. 

Half a 1nile by the river below this place 

(sta.tion 248 on the map, fig. 11), on the left 

bank of the river, there is a bluff, in ,which is 

exposed about 20 feet of laminated sandy corrugated-looking shale, belonging to the Indio 

formu.tion. It contains concretions of calcareous sandstone. (See :fig. 15.) 

About 2! miles nearly S. 30° "!·of the wagon 

bridge at Bastrop, on the right bank of Colorado River, there is 20 feet of laminated sa.ndy 

shale, which dips downstream. 

A mile east of this locality (station 250, fig. 

11) 6 feet of lignite is exposed just above water 

level on the right bank. Th~ lignite is overlain by sandy shale. 

ENE. WSW. 

Approximate horizontal scale 

0 ZS 50 75 100 FEET 

Vertical scale 

0 10 ZO 30 FEET 

FIGURE 15.-Sketch of bluff on Colomdo River, about 1} miles south o 

wagon bridge at Bastrop, Tox. 

The next exposure of the Indio is at Red 

Bluff, about 21 miles southeast of the MissoUl·i, 

Kansas & Texas Railway bridge near Bastrop 

(station 251, fig. 11). This consists of 65 feet 

of blue sandy shale containing concre.tions of 

sandstone 4 to 5 inches thick and 3 or 4 feet 

in diameter, overlain by the Carrizo sandstone, 

consisting of 40 feet of loose yellow sand. 

(See Pl. XVII.) 

The lignite that occurs 2 miles south of the 

wagon bridge at Bastrop (station 250) and 1! 

miles northwest of it is the downstream continuation of the beds that are exposed in the 

middle of Powell Bend. The same beds are 

worked at Phelan by the Independence Mining Co., in the coal mines 3 miles northwest of 
D 

52 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BR4-ZOS RIVER. 

McDade, at Rockdale, at Calvert Bluff on the is exposed on Cibolo Creek, about three-fourths 

Brazos, and at Bear Grass in Leon County, of a mile north of Lavernia (station 964 on 

and they are exposed on Y egua Creek, 2 miles the map, fig. 7). Concretions of calcareous 

northeast of Blue, Lee County. Three beds sandstone, 15 to 30 feet in diameter, occur in 

are usually present, but they thicken and thin the bed of the creek. The total thickness of 

along the strike.· This is the uppermost zone the section is 15 to 20 feet. 

of the I~dio formation. Similar beds are found at a place on the 

· The relative stratigraphic positions of the creek a1:>out. one-eighth of a mile above the 

exposures on Colorado River are given on bridge at Lavernia (station 965 on the map, 

Plate IX. fig. 7). . 

Section on Cibolo Oreek.--"-The section on A cut on tl?.e Galveston, Harrisburg & San 

Cibolo Creek, in Wilson County, indicates the Antonio Railway about half a mile east of the · 

character of the Indio formation toward the railroad station at Lavernia shows, in descendsouth. ing order, blue calcareous shale 2 feet thick, 

Large concretions of cross-bedded yellow laminated ferruginous sandstone 2 feet thick, 

nonfossiliferous sandstone occur at the mouth and yellow laminated argillaceous sand 4 feet 

of Santa Clara Creek, about 3 miles southwest thick. The beds dip 1° S. 60° E.· 

of New Berlin.· (See fig. 7, p. 29.) One mile At the place where the road crosses Cibolo 

below the mouth, in the left bank, is a loose Creek, about 2 miles east of La~ernia and 

yellow sand 40 feet thick, in which are em- three-fourths of a mile east of the mouth of 

bedded large sandstone concretions 5 to 20 Blue Creek (station 967 on the map, fig. 7), 

feet in diam~ter. there is exposed· 3 feet of hard sandstone flags. 

One-fou;rth of a mile southeas.t of this These beds are underlain by 10 feet of interlocality,' where the road from New Berlin to laminated sand and clay, covered at this point 

St. Hedwig .. crosses Cibolo Creek (see fig. 7), but exposed farther up the creek, and by 2 feet 

there is ·30 .feet of cross-bedded sandstone of black lignitic shale, with efflorescence of 

without fossils. The sandstone overlies a blue sulphur. 

shale, which is exposed about 100 yards farther Section on Salado Oreek.-A bluff 100 feet 

up on the creek. This shale may belong to high on Salado Creek about 1-f miles north of 

the Midway, which has been elevated to this Dullnig's well, in Bexar County, is made up of 

position by the fault described on page 44. blue· shale containing great numbers of hard 

The next conspicuous exposure on the creek brown sandstone concretions, 2 to 7 feet thick. 

is found at Upper Skull Crossing (see fig. 7), About 15 feet of similar shale is seen in a 

about 3 miles north-northwest of Lavernia. bluff on Salado Creek, about f mile northThe Indio is here repre·sented by 25 feet of northeast of Dullnig's well and about 3 miles 

blue calcareous clay, containing large lenses of northeast of Berg station, in Bexar County. 

3and, which carry concretions of calcareous In a well close to the San Antonio & Aransas 

;andstone 3 to 5 feet in diameter. The clay Pass :aailw~y bridge across Salado Creek lignite 

crops out in the bed of the creek and in a was struck at a depth of 30 feet. 

bluff that extends about one-eighth of a mile Where the railroad crosses Salado Creek 

downstream. there is an exposure of 35 feet of material conTwo miles southeast of Upper Skull Crossing taining numerous large blue calcareous sandand about a mile north-northwest of Lavernia stone concretions (weathering brown), 2 to 4 

(station 963 on the map, fig. 7) there is a feet thick and 3 to 10 feet in diameter.· 

bluff that shows 15 feet of yellow calcareous Section on San Antonio River.-Hard brown 

clay, containing lenticular masses of yellow sandstone boulders or concretions of the Indio 

sand. The clay contains small calcareous con- forn1ation, 2 to 4 feet in diameter, outcrop on 

cretions and specks and. stains of limonite. · Goliad road, 2t miles east-southeast of ConIn general the beds look like those at Upper ception Mission, in Bexar County, in the drainSkull Crossing. They contain no fossils. · age basin of San Antonio River. 

A bed of yellow sandy clay, interstratified A ravine along the roadside and a cut on 

with blue. shale, the whole lenticular in shape, the railroad a few yards south of the road, 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PllOFESSIONAI, l'Al'EH 12() !'LATE X\'1 

FOSSIL LEAVES COMMON I THE WILCOX GROUP. 

1. Dillenites texensis Berry. Locality near J:'ope Bend, on Colorado River, Bastrop County, •rex. 

2. Euonymus splendens Berry. Locality near Pope Bend, on Colorado River, Bastrop County, Tex. 

3. Ficus vaughani Berry. Little Cypress Bayou, Harrison County, •rex. 

4. Terminalia hilgardiana (Lesqnereux) Berry. LitUe Cypress Bayou, Harrison, Cou nty •rex. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 126 PLATE XVII 

CARRIZO SANDSTONE AND UNDERLYING BEDS OF INDIO FORMATION. 

Exposure at Red BlurT, on Colorado River, 2t miles southeast of Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway bridge near Bastrop, Baslrop County, Tex. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAl, SURVEY PROl'ERSIONAL PAPER 12G PLATE XVIII 

A. HARD BLUE SANDSTONE BOULDERS IN TilE INDIO FORMATIO THREE-FOURTIIS 

OF A MILE NORTH-NORTHEAST OF LYTLE, ATASCOSA COU TY. 

B. SHALES AND SANDSTONES OF INDIO FORMATION IN SMALL GORGE ABOUT 

1,000 FEET SOUTHWEST OF POST OFFICE AT LOSOYA, BEXAR COUNTY. 

EXPOSURES OF THE INDIO FORMATION IN BEXAR AND ATASCOSA COUNTIES, TEX. 
U. S. C:EOLOG ICAL SURVEY l'ROFESSIONAI, PAPEI~ 126 PLATE XIX 

A. BLUFF 2) MILES SOUTHEAST OF PULLIAM, ZAVALLA COUNTY, TEX. 

View looking norLh. 

B. BLUFF 3 M ILES N . 26• K OF CRYSTAL CITY, ZAVA LLA COUNTY, TEX:. 

EXPOSURES OF THE lNDIO FOHMATlON ON UECES H.fVEH. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PHOFESSIONAL PAPEH 126 PLATE XX 

A. BLUFF 1 MILE SOUTH OF GllAYTOWN AND HALF A MILE EAST OF THE GRAYTOW ' -

FAIRVIEW HOAD. 

B. SAND PIT lj MILES NORTHWEST OF CALAVERAS. 

EXPOSUHES OF TilE CAHIUZO SANDSTONE IN \VILSON COUNTY, TEX. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY P ltoFESSIONAL PAPER 126 PLATE XXI 

A. LEAl'-B"AHINC MLCACI<:OUS CAHH LZO SANDSTON" IN TilE SOU'I'ILW EST PAI\'1' 

0 1•' ASIIEI1TON, D!MMIT COUNTY, ·n ;X. 

G _\10U T SEL.\1AN FOH MATIO - 600 TO 1,000 FEET ' ORTII OF 

DEPOT AT M !LA 0 , \ll LA \l COU TY, TEX. 

C. CONCRETIONS IN THE MOUNT SELMAN FORMATION ON THE CATARINA-COTULLA 

lWAD, 9t MILES S. 75 " W. OF COTULLA, DIMMIT COU TY, TEX. 
EOCENE SERIES. 53 

about three-fourths of a mile south of the State 

Insane Asylum, and 1 t miles north-northwest 

of Berg station, in Bexar County, expose 3 

to 10 feet of blue shale, in which are embedded 

ln.rge hard brown sandstone concretions 1 !. to 

3 feet in diameter. 

On the road about 1-} n1iles west of Dullnig's 

well, and about 5! miles squtheast of the courthouse at San Antonio, blue shale of the Navarro 

formation underlies a calcareous conglomerate 

probably belonging to the Reynosa formation. 

In a bluff on Sixmile Creek, three-quarters ·of 

a mile west of Berg station, Bexar County, 

18 feet of the Indio formation is exposed. 

The upper 10 feet consists of loose, porous 

yellow sandstone containing concretions of 

hard brown sandstone 2 to 10 feet in 

diameter. The lower 8 feet is purple laminated shale. 

On Rosillo Creek, near its junction with Salado Creek, in Bexar County, 3 feet· of blue 

shale with small li1nestone concretions is ex.:. 

posed. 

In drilling a well on the C. A. Goeth farm, 

about a quarter of a 1nile south of Southton, 

Bexar County, a bed of impure lignite 1 foot 

thick was found at a depth of 60 feet, another 

2 feet thick at a depth of 70 feet, and the drill 

was stopped at a depth of 150 feet after having 

passed 20 feet into a sand bearing highly mineralized water. These beds belong to the Indio 

formation. 

In a well adjacent to San Antonio River, 1! 

miles southwest of Sottthton, lignite was found 

at a depth of 30 feet. 

Near the farmhouse of C. A. Goeth, lOt miles 

south-southeast of the courthouse at San Antonio, there is an exposure of yellow sand, 

about 20 to 30 feet thick, in which are embedded 

a considerable number of hard blue calcareous 

sandstone concretions, 2 to 3 feet thick and 

2 to 10 feet in dian1eter. 

On San Antonio River .about 5! miles east of 

Losoya, Bexar County, there is exposed a lens 

of hard blue sandstone a foot thick, overlying 

15 feet of bluish-black lignitic shale. At the 

base of the bluff there are large concretions, 

which have weather"ed out of the shale. 

About 4 feet of blue sandy shale and alternating layers of yellow sandstone 2 inches thick 

are exposed in the north pit of the San Antonio 

111587-24-5 

Sewer Pipe Manufacturing Co., about lt miles 

east of Elmendorf, in Bexar County. The dip 

of the shale is 7° N. 84° E. 

About 1,400 feet S. 15° E. of the north pit 

there is a lens of gray shale, which is used in 

making sewer pipe. This lens is 15 feet thick 

at its north end. This shale is overlain by 15 

feet of reel sandstone supposed to belong to the 

Carrizo sandstone. 

Fifteen feet of reddish to grQ.y sandy shale 

and gray shale is exposed in the old pit of the 

San Antonio Sewer Pipe l\1anufacturing Co., 

about 200 yards north of the plant and about 

a mile north of the railroad station at Sasp~mco. 

Near the bridge across Calaveras Creek on the 

Saspamco-Calaveras road, about three-fourths 

of a mile northwest of Calaveras, 5 feet of yellow 

stratified sand inclosing a lens of. gray leafbearing shale is exposed. Fossil leaves collected at this place have been identified by 

Berry as Bumelia sp., Oassia cf. bentonensis 

Berry, .Diospyros brachysepalU; Alexander 

Braun(~), Fic?.ts vaughan,i Berry(~), Gleditsiophyll?.tm eocenicu'rn Berry, Mespilodaphn~ eolig~ 

nitica (Hollick) Berry, Rhamnites berchemiajormis Berry,· Sapindus bentonensis Berry, 

Sapind?.ts linearifolius Berry, Sabalites sp., and 

Terminalia lesleyana (Lesquereux) Berry. This 

flora, according to Berry, is of Wilcox age. 

Section on Medina River.-Lignite was struck 

at a depth of 30 feet in a well at the south end 

of Mitchell Lake, three-fourths of a mile northnorthwest of Earle, Bexar County. 

Large lenses of hard blue let~f-bearing sandstone occur at Earle, Bexar County. These 

lenses are 50 to 100 feet long and 5 to 20 .. feet 

thick.. Leaves of the Wilcox flora collected 

froJ11. the sandstone have been identified by 

Berry as Pourouma n. sp., Ficus spectabilis Lesquereux, Ficus occidentalis Lesquereux, Ficus 

sp., Platan?.ts aceroides latifolia Knowlton, Oinnamomnm c~tfine Lesquereux, Lau1·us wardiana 

·Knowlton, Asimina eocenica Lesquereux, Dolichites n. sp., and Terminalia hilgardiana (Lesquereux). Two of these species are new; three 

occur in the Wilcox deposits at other· localities; five occur in the Denver for1nation of 

eastern Colorado, of Eocene age; and three 

occur in the Raton formation of the Grand 

Mesa coal field of Colorado and New Mexico, 

also of Eo.cene age. 
54 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

Section of Indio formation exposed in mvine leading to Section of Indio formation in shaft at Carr's mine, abou,t 1~ 

Medina Ri1Jer onejourth mile southeast 9j Earle, Bexar miles west of Lytle, Medina County, Tex. 96 

Feet. Connty, Tex. 

Feet. 

Blue shale; interlaminated with yellow and brown 

sand............................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 

Laminated blue shaly sandstone..................... ~ 

Blue leaf-bearing laminated sandy shale.............. 8 

Medium hard gray leaf-bearing laminated shaly sandBrown sand with concretions of sandstone........... 10 

Yellow laminated clay with sm1ll boulders........... 10 

Laminated yellow gray sand with black clay m·lignitic 

partings; micaceous and very friable.............. ] 2 

Lignite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G 

Gray clay; floor of mine. 

stone ...................................... -. -. -. - l 

Yellow ferruginous sand interlaminated with blue On the International & Great Northern Railshale; laminae are from one-sixteenth to one-eighth way about three-fourths of a Jnile northinch in thickness; bedisleaf-bearing ............... G northeast of Lytle, Atascosa County, there is 20 

Laminated blue shaly sandstone.--·-·-----·········· t feet of false-bedded sand containing calcareous 

Yellow ferruginous sand interlaminated with blue sandstone concretions from 4 to 15 feet in 

shale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

Bluish brown laminated shale ...................... . 8 dia1neter and 1 to 6 feet thick. (See Pl. XVIII, 

Yellow porous sand................................ 1 

Mostly covered ..................................... 10 

Sandstone mass 2 feet thick and 5 feet in diameter.... 2 

Ilarcl brown sandstone lenses embedded in 

a blue shale 1natrix are exposed on the San 

S.45"W. 

A.) Higher beds are exposed in a cut on the 

railroad about 200 feet to the southwest. 

On the Lytle-Devine road, about one-harf 

:miJc west-southwest of Lytle, yellow li1nestone 

in beds 4 inches thick is exposed below red sand· 

N.45°E. 

7 

Horizontal scale 100 0 100 200 FEET 

~~~--~---------L--------~ 

Vertical scale 0 10 20 30 40 50 FEET 

FIGURE 16.-Proflle across valley of Nueces River lmile below railroad bridge at Pulliam, Zavalla County, Tex., showing the stream terraces 

and the strata composing the bluff on the west bank (Indio formation). 1, Bands of dark-yellow sandy limestone, 6 to 10 inches thick, wlth 

interbedded bands of laminated blue sandy shale, irregularly bedded. 2, Covered. 3, Flame as No. 1. 4, Blue laminated shale, slightly 

sandy and calcareous, with yellow bands or laminated leaf-bearing sandstone 6 inches thick. 5, Large concretions of brown sandy limestone. 6, Gravel in gray silt matrix; limestone and Oint pebbles and cobbles. 7, Pleistocene terrace of Nueces River. 8, Recent gravel hn.r. 

Antonio-Pleasmiton road about lf miles south 

of Earle, Bexar County. 

About 1,000 feet below the bridge on Medina 

River, at Losoya, Bexar County, there is an 

exposure of . 60 feet of blue shale, ·near the 

middle of which is a lenticular mass of sandstone 50 feet wide and 10 feet thick. 

In a ravine about 1,000 feet southwest of the 

post office at Losoya there is exposed 15 feet of 

blue laminated shale with some thin. beds of 

sandstone overlying 2 feet of h~rd brown and 

blue sandstone. (See Pl. XVIII, B.) 

Section on Atascosa Oreek.-In the drainage 

basin of Atascosa Creek the Indio formation 

is exposed from a point half a mile north of 

Atascosa, Bexar County, to Somerset, Atascosa 

County. 

of the overlying Carrizo sandstone. Smne 

lenses or concretions of hard blue sandstone 4 

feet in di~1neter and 2 feet thick also crop out 

on the road at this p1ace. 

At Benton, Atascosa County, the beds in 

descending order include: 10 feet of hard blue 

flaggy sandstone; 6 feet of blue la1ninated sand 

with lime nodules 1 inch in thickness; 3 feet of 

interlaminated blue sandy clay and red siliceous 

iron ore, the ore 1 inch thick; and 1 foot of blue 

sand with concretions of hard blue sandstone. 

Sections on Sabinal and Frio rivers.-In the 

drainage areas of Sabinal and Frio rivers occur 

the exposures of the Indio formation that are 

described below. 

go Dumble, E. T., Geology of southwestern Texas: Am. Inst. Min. 

Eng. Trans., vol. 33, p. 925, 1903. 
BOCENB SERIES. 55 

'fhe upper 50 feet of the section exposed on 

Elm creek, near the Schuddemagen ranch 

house, 11 n1iles south of Sabinal, resting on 

the Midway, belongs to the Indio formation. 

The beds consist of fine greenish-gra.y, slightly 

calcareous sand, containing numerous interbedded thin layers of sandstone. At one 

place the basal 2 or 3 feet of the deposits contains abundant Ostrea tasex Gardner. 

On the west side of Frio River, about 15! 

1niles southeast of Uvalde,ll7 the Wilcox deposits, in descending order, consist of 20 feet of 

coarse-grained brown ferruginous sandstone 

(Carrizo sa.ndstone ~), 8 feet of soft white or 

yellowish sand (Carrizo~), 7 feet of clay with a 

thin streak of lignite, 20 feet of soft white sand 

with sandy clay at base, 2 feet of sandy shalf~, 

and 3 feet of white sandy clay. Tho lower 

four beds of this section belong to the Indio 

formation. 

On Sabinal River at the old I-Iuyler r~1nch, 14 

1niles south of Sabinal, Uvalde County, there 

is 30 feet of thinly stratified yellow, red, and 

pink sandstone containing lenses of hard blue 

sandstone 2 feet thick and 12 feet in dia1neter, 

which is supposed to belong to the Indio 

formation. 

About 15 feet of bedded yellow sandstone is 

. exposed on Frio River a quarter of a mile above 

the crossing on the Frio 1'own-Sabinal road, in 

the southwest corner of Medina County. The 

sandstones clip downstream. 

Section on N'lteces R'iver.-On Nueces River, 

the Indio fonnation is exposed fr01n a point a· 

mile below the railroad bridge at Pulliam, 

Zavalla County, to a point half a mile above the 

n1outh of Live Oak Creek. 

A mile below the railroad bridge at Pullian1 

there is an exposure of this formation on the 

west bank of Nueces River, which shows t.he 

following section: 

Section of Indio formation on 1.uest bank of Nueces River, 

1 mile below railroad bridge at Pulliam, Zavalla County, 

Tex. 

[See fig. 16.] 

Feet. 

Lat·ge concretions of brown sandy limestone. . . . . . . 3 

Blue laminated shale, slightly sanely and calcareous, 

· with yellow bands of laminated leaf-bearing 

sandstone 6 inches thick; specimens of Sabalites 

v·icl-sburgens·is Berry (?) ........................ 3! 

GT Vaughan, T. W., Reconnaissance in the Rio Grande coal fields of 

'l'exas: U.S. Geol. Sur\'ey Bull. 164. p. 53, 1900. 

Feet. 

Bands of dark-yellow sandy limestone, 6 to 10 inches 

thick, with interbedded bands of laminated blue 

sandy shale, irregularly bedded................. 9 

Covered. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 ± 

35~± 

Half a n1ile downstream, on the opposite 

or east side of the river, there is another bluff, 

about 40 feet high, which shows brown sandstone. The beds clip clownsti~.ea1n at an angle 

of about 1°. 

· About 2! mile::; southeast of Pullia1n there is 

exposed, in the center of a large bend of 

N ueces River, on the left bank, in a bluff 

about 90 feet high and about three-fourths of 

a n1ile long, the following section: 

Sect·ion on Nu.eces R·1:ver, 2i ?niles southea.r.:t of Pull·ia.m., 

Zavalla County, Tex. 

[Sec Pl. XlX, A.] 

Very hard blue highly calcareous sandstone, form- l~t. in. 

ing cap rock of bluff......... .. .. .. .. . .. .. . .. . . . 2 

White limestone(?) in beds 1 foot in thickness.... 4 

Brown sandstone; beds 1 foot thick; lower bed 

fermginous. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G 

Blue shale, slightly calcareous .................... ]() 

Ferruginous hard lam ina ted red sandstone....... . . ] 0 

Blue shale ...................................... 10 

Massive soft gray calcareous, subflaggy sandstone. . 5 

Hard calcareous brown sandstone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2 

Blue shale with interlaminated layers of gray sand 

about one-sixteenth of an inch thick which carry 

fossil leaves.................................... 6 

Blue shale, with layers of plant-bearing sand; not 

completely exposed............................ 0 

Hard ferruginous brown sandstone ................ . 

Blue shale, slightly calcareous .................... . 

Covered to water line ............................ . 

6 

8 6 

30 

93 

The upper two members of this section belong 

to the Carrizo sandstone; the lower eleven 

n101nbers belong to the Indio. 

The beds dip S. 20° E. at an angle of 

about 2°. 

Vaughan states that the lowest member of 

this section contains three small beds of 

lignite interbedded with chocolate-colored 

day.9s 

The clip 2! miles southeast of Pullian1 is 2° 

S. 20° E. The clip half a.mile above the mouth 

of Live Oak Creek is 4 ° N. 50° W. These dips 

indicate a syncline (see fig. 33, p. 125) the axis 

of which probably parallels that of the antidine noted at Pullia1n. The strike is probably 

N. 45° E. 

9BVaughan, T. W., U.S. Geol. Survey Geol. Atlas, Uvalde folio (No. 

64), p. 5, 1900. 
56 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

Section of Indio (?)formation on the Cross S Ranch, 7 

miles N. 8° E. of Crystal City, Zavalla County, Tex. 

Ft. in. 

Blue sandy joint clay with rounded red-brown 

iron concretions averaging 10 inches in diameter ....................................... 14± 

Purple shale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 

Brown sandy shale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

Blue calcareous shale.......................... 3 

Impure lignite ............................... . 10 

Green shale; slightly calcareous ............... . 6 (?) 

Lignite ..................................... . ! 

Purplish-brown shale ........................ . - 11! 

Green shale .................................. . 6 

Purple, probably manganic, slightly calcareous 

sandstone ................................. . 2 

Green shale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

Purple, slightly calcareous sandstone........... 2 

Green shale................................... 2 11 

35± 

The dip is ! 0 to 1° S. 40° E. 

Section 'sho'Wn by log of Hemphill well No. 2 on farm 6, 

Section 208, Cross S Ranch, about -H miles northeast of 

Crystal City, Zavalla County, Tex. 

Carrizo sandstone(?): Feet. 

Light-yellow sand ........ :..................... 26 

Fine water sand and· gravel (the gravel probably 

caved from Pleistocene beds)................. 27 

Indio formation·(?): 

Soft blue shale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 

Hard light-blue shale........................... 39 

Rock.......................................... 1 

Shale......................................... 3. 

Rock.......................................... 1 

Hard light-blue shale........................... 8 

Soft light-blue shale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 

Gray sand..................................... 1 

Soft blue shale................................ 5 

Soft gray sand.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 

Hard sand ..... ; ....... '........................ 6 

Hard blue sh~le................................ 8 

Soft sand and shale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 

Hard and soft layers of sand streaked with lignite 91 

Blue gumbo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 

Blue shale and concretions..................... 15 

Blue gumbo.................................. 12 

Blue shale and concretions..................... 10 

Blue gumbo and concretions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 

Rock.......................................... 1 

Hard blue gumbo.............................. 7 

Rock.......................................... 2 

Shale........................................ 2 

364 

Section of Indio formation on Cross S Ranch, on west bank 

of Nueces River 8 miles N. 26° E. of railroad station at 

Crystal City, Zavalla County, Tex. 

[See Pl. XIX, B.} 

Feet. 

Green joint clay with rounded red-brown iron concretions 4 to 8 inches in diameter and rounded 

yellow limestone concretions varying from 8 by 14 

inches up to 4 feet in diameter... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.± 

:Feet. 

Medium coarse-grained yellow-gray calcareous sandstone ....................................... ~.. l 

Yell ow sandy calcareous shale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 

Red ferruginous calcareous sandstone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 

Yellow sandy calcareous shale.................... 8 

Covered to water line ............ ·. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

35± 

The uppermost sandstone has an archlike 

appearance, spreading over a horizontal 

distance of about 40 feet and rising 5 feet 

above a horizontal plane. The structure is 

probably related to the Zavalla anticline, 

described on page 128. 

Section of Indio formation 100 feet below Chalk Bluff· 

crossing on Nueces River, St miles S. 86° E. of Crystal 

City, Zavalla County, Tex. 

Carrizo sandstone(?): Ft. in. 

Cross-bedded coarse-grained calcareous brown 

sandstones; only isolated boulders capping 

bluff .... · ......... :........................ 2± 

Indio formation: 

Light-green shale with masses of gypsum 

averaging in size 6 by 1 by 4 inches ....... . 

Indurated calcareous light-green shale ....... . 

12± 

6 

Light-green shale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

Indurated calcareous light-green shale ....... . 

Green joint clay ........................... . 

5 

. 9± 

Blue shale, calcareous; seams of limonite oneeighth to one-fourth inch in thickness form a 

network at the top ....................... . 4 6 

Blue shale with green limestone concretions 

and seams of gypsum one-eighth inch in 

thickness.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 

Impure lignite .............................. . 

Bl~1e shale ............................ :. . . . . 3 

41± 

5 

At the south end of the bluff the dip changes 

to 2° upstream, or N. 20° W. The lignitic 

zone, which lies in the lower part of the formation, is probably the same as that which occurs 

in the Hemphill well and other sections. 

CARRIZO SANDSTONE. 

Name.-The following is Owen's original description of the Carrizo sandstone :

99 

A line ·drawn from a point on the Nueces River south of 

the town of Uvalde to a point 10 miles west of Carrizo 

Springs, thence south to the Rio Grande, will represent 

the outcrop of a sand bed nearly 200 feet thick. This sandstone has a monoclina~ dip to the southeast. It is a very 

loose, coarse friable sand and free from any deleterious 

salts and is an inexhaustible reservoir-capable of furnishing 

water sufficient for irl'igating purposes. This sand stratum 

supplies.the numerous wells at .Carrizo. Springs. . . 

99 Owen, J., Texas Geol. Survey First Rept. of Progress, p. 70, 1889. 
EOCENE SERIES. 57 

In 1900 Vaughan 1 gave the following section 

of the Eocene in southwestern Texas: 

Reswrne of section of Eocene in southwestern Texas. 

Feet. 

The coal beds and the clays and sandstone immediately overlying them were the highest beds seen; 

between the two coal seams is a bed of fossils not 

yet determined. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190 

Below the coal beds is a set;ies of alternations of clay, 

shales, and sandstones, at least ................... 400 

A series of fine-grained micaceous sandstone. . . . . . . . . 300 

The coarsely crystalline Carrizo sandstone, at least. . . . 150 

Bluish clays, ascertained by a well boring, below 

which are more sandstones and clays. 

Vaughan stated further: 

From Indio ranch to San Ambrosia Creek the road to 

Laredo passes over numerous exposures of ripple-marked 

brown sandstone, which disintegrates rapidly and forms 

very poor roads. Between San Ambrosia and San Lorenzo 

creeks, as there is no covering of more recent deposits, 

loose sands, derived from the disintegration of the sand-

. stone constitute the surface. * * * When unweathered 

the sandstone is gray, but upon disintegration it forms 

coarse, loose brown crystalline sand. Its thickness, so far 

as ascertained, is 150 feet. * * * It is underlain by 

clays and is a well-defined lithologic horizon, apparently 

what Owen designated the Carrizo sands. * * * 

'fhe coarse-grained Carrizo sandstone seems a fairly persistent member. It outcrops around the Chupadero ranch, 

between Indio ranch and San Lorenzo Creek, and extends 

northward on the west side of Carrizo Spring~. A very 

similar sandstone outcrops in the hills around the Turk 

ranch in the northwestern corner of Zavalla County and 

near the Rabey ranch on the N ueces. It is seen 12! miles 

south of Uvalde, between the Leona and Nueces rivers, 

along the road to Batesville, and apparently extends 

southward to Lorna Vista. It occurs on the divjde in 

southern Uvalde County, between the Leona and Frio 

rivers.2 

Dumble in a paper published in 1903 wrot(~ 

as follows :

3 

The Carrizo sands were first described by Owen in the 

first report of progress of the Geological Survey of Texas 

and are the stratigraphical equivalent of the Queen City 

beds of Kennedy. They comprise interbedded sands 

and sandy clays, white or yellow in color, containing 

ferruginous matter as nodules, strings of concretions, and 

laminae. Pyrites is also found. The sa~ds are somewhat 

calcareous and are indurated in places to a buff sandstone 

excellently ada.pted for building purposes. The tmu-thouse and jail at Carrizo Springs are built of this sa.nclstone, 

quarried a short distance from the town. 

Dumble included the Carrizo sandstone in 

his "Lignitic stage," which is the equiv~lent of 

the Wilc.ox group. 

1 Vaughan, '1'. W., Reconnaissance in the Rio Grande coal fields of 

Texas: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 164, p. 45, 1900. 

a Idem, pp. 37-51. 

· ·a Dumblo, ·E. T., a·eology of southwestern Texas: _Am. ·Inst. M:in· 

Eng. Trans., vol. 33;pp. 929, 930, 1903. · 

In 1911 Dumble published the following:' 

In a recent study of the Rio Grande region, Mr. W. 

Kennedy finds that in this section, instead of being somewhat similar in composition to the top of the Lignitic beds 

and lying in apparent conformity with them, as in eastern 

Texas, the Carrizo sands are here materially different from 

the underlying lignitic, and that while the Lignitic shows 

a rather strong dip for the Tertiary the Carrizo sandstones 

lie at a very gentle inclination. Indeed, these sandstones 

not only lie unconformably on the Lignitic, but overlap 

both it and the underlying Midway and are found resting 

upon the Escondido or upper Cretaceous sediments in 

many places. * * * 

From these facts it will be seen that the Carrizo sands 

are not a part of the Lignitic, as formerly supposed, but 

that in reality they correspond both in position and 

composition with the Buhrstone of the Alabama section, 

of which we therefore consider them the equivalent, and 

form the base of the Claiborne seri~s or the Middle Eocene. 

These quotations show some discrepancy in 

the use of the term Carrizo sands by the different authors. . As used by Dumble it is more 

inclusive than as used by Vaughan, for Dumhie's unit included not only the beds exposed 

west of Carrizo Springs but those at the town 

and also those 8 miles east. This would embrace Nos. 2 and 3 of Vaughan's section. 

The name is used in this report with the 

significance given it by Dumble. The upper 

Wilcox age of the Carrizo sandstone has been 

definitely established by BeiTy's paleobotanical 

studies in the summer of 1921, and it is therefore here treated as a formation of the Wilcox 

group. 

Stratigraphic position.-The Carrizo sandstone lies stratigraphically and in places unconformably above the underlying beds of the 

Indio formation. In southwest Texas there 

is a considerable overlap, which has almost 

obliterated the exposure of the underlying 

Indio formation in certain localities. The Carrizo is· overlain by the Mount Sehnan formation, and in some districts there. is an erosio~al unconformity between these two. (See 

p. 58.) . 

Lithology.-The lower part of the Carrizo is 

u, coarsely crystalline brown su.ndstone, crossbedded and calcar.eous in places. The upper 

part, which appears only in southwest Texas, 

is a gray bedded, fine-grained micaceous 

sandstone, in places incrusted with a coating 

of lime. 

Thickness and dip.-On the Colorado the 

thickness of the CaiTizo sa~dstone is .approx-

. ~ Dumble, E. T, Tpe Carriz~ s~nds: Te~.Aca4 •. Scl. Tran~.,·.vol.ll, 

pp. 52-53, 1911. . .. 
58 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

imately 200 feet, and the dip is southeastward, 

50 to 70 feet to the mile. In the Nueces 

drainage the thickness is approximately 450 

feet, and the beds have only a very gentle dip 

to the east and southeast. · · 

Paleontology.-Fossil plants collected from 

the Carrizo sandstone by E. W. Berry during 

the summer of 1921 definitely establish its 

upper Wilcox age. 5 

Areal extent.-The Carrizo sandstone outcrops in a belt of country extending through 

Dimmit, Zavalla, Uvalde, Frio, Medina, Bexar, 

Atascosa, Wilson, Guadalupe, Caldwell, Bastrop, Lee, and Milan1 counties. (See Pl. VIII, 

in pocket.) 

Economic value.-The Carrizo sandstone is 

a valuable water-bearing stratum. Where 

streatns cross its outcrop there are bold springs, 

as, for exatnple, at Sutherland Springs, Wilson 

County. 

w. E. 

Approximate horizontal scale 

9 . 2,5 5,0 7,5 l<;JO FEET 

Vertical scale 

0 10 20 3,0 FEET 

Fwua~; 17.-Sketc.h section or beds exposed on Bastrop-Giddings road, 

· 1 mile east of wagon bridge at Bastrop, Tex .. 

Correlation.-The Carrizo sandstone has been 

regarded by Du1nble and other writers as the 

stratigraphic equivalent of the Queen City sand 

of east Texas, which is now cl~ssified as· the 

upper member of the Wilcox formation. 6 

As already indicated, the Carrizo beds were 

originally regarded as of Wilcox age, but 

Dumble in 1911 placed them in the Claiborne 

and correlated them with the "Buhrstone" 

(Tallahatta buhrstone) of Alabam'a. Their age 

has therefore been in doubt, but the plants 

. recently collected by Berry establish their 

upper Wilcox age. · 

Section on Colorado River.-In White Bluff 

near Bastrop (252 on map, fig. 11) on the left 

side of Colorado River; there is an expos }Ire 

5 Berry, E. W.; Additions to the flora of the Wilcox group: ·U. S. 

Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 13~, pp. 1-21, pis. 1-18, 1923. 

. • 6 ~~ne~y L }v@:;p;p, _r_r.~e :&Q.cen.e. 'tertiar.y east· or Brazos. River: Acad. 

Nat. Sci.. Philadelphia Proc., ·1895, .. pp ... .J35-136.·.· Deussen, Alexander, 

Geology and underground waters of the southeastern part of the Texas 

Coastal Pmio: U.S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Papcr335, p. 29,1914. 

of Carrizo sandstone, 30 feet thick, whose base 

is 20 feet above water level. The Carrizo is 

a white cross-bedded coarse-grained sand, at 

the top of which, in small · erosion hollows, 

there are lenses of white clay, reaching at some 

places a thickness of 2-! inches, which separate 

the white sandstone below from the red sandstone of the Mount Selman formation above. 

The erosional unconformity between the 

Carrizo sandstone and the Mount Selman beds 

is worthy of note. That erosion took place 

pribr to the deposition of the Mount Selman is 

further indicated by the hunps of the white 

sandy clay found in the red sandstone. 

The contact of the Mount Selman and 

Carrizo is also shown at a point about a mile 

east of the wagon bridge at Bastrop and about 

3! miles N. 20° ± W. from White Bluff. The 

exposure at this locality, shown in figure 17, 

also indicates an erosional unconformity. 

Section on Cibolo Oreelc.-The following section is exposed in a terrace scarp 3 miles east 

of Lavernia, on the left side of the Sutherland 

Springs road and adjacent to it. 

Section of Carn:zo (?) sandstone on Sutherland Springs road, 

3 miles east of Lavernia, Wilson County, Tex. 

Feet. 

Red ferruginous soft sandstone .. __ ._._ ... __ . __ ._.___ 20 

Red ferruginous shale and argillaceous sand. . . . . . . . . . 2 

Red ·pack sand_ ..... _. __ ._._ ... ___ . __ . ____ . ___ .. ___ 4 

Whitish sandy shale __ . _____ . -. _ . _ . _ .. ___ .. _ ..... _ . 1 

Red pack sand_._ .. __ .. _ . _ . _ ..... _ .... _____ .. _____ . 2 

Concealed _____ . _ . _____ .. ____ - ___ .. _ . _ . _ ... _ .. _ . . . . 8 

Red ferruginous· sand ... _ . ___ . _________________ . _ _ _ 10 

Concealed. ____ . ________ - _ . _ . - _ . __ . __ . _ ...... _ . . . . . 15 

Gray laminated argillaceous sand .. ____ .. __ .. _______ . 3 

Red ferruginous pack sand. _ . _ ...... _ . _ ... ___ .. _ _ _ _ _ 2 

Reddish-gray laminated argillaceous sand .... __ ... __ 20 

87 

On Cibolo Creek, 200 yards above the wagon 

bridge at Sutherland Springs, the Carrizo, 

consisting of 8 feet of gray sandstone interstratified with yellow sand, overlying 1 foot 

of black lignitic shale, is exposed. The sandstone supplies water to chalybeate springs 

and dips 1° S. 10° E . 

On the Lavernia-Sutherland Springs road, 

about three-fourths of a mile west of old 

Sutherland Springs, Wilson County, 15 feet 

of brown, indurated micaceous sandstone, 

with layers and concretions of limonite, is 

exposed, overlying 4 feet of gr~y calcareous. 

and argillaceous sandstone . 

Section on San Antonio River.-Oi:J. San 

Antonio River n01·th of the square at Gray-
EOCENE SERIES. 59 

town, Wilson County, 20 feet of massive 

yellow to gray water-bearing sand belonging 

to the Carrizo formation is exposed. 

One mile south of Graytown a small hill, 

which stands 40 feet above San Antonio River, 

is capped by 10 feet of intricately cross-bedded 

red or orange-colored soft ferruginous sandstone, which weathers into a deep yellow 

sandy soil and which belongs to the Mount 

Seln1an formation. Below this sandstone, 500 

feet to the south, there is red, orange-yellow, 

and bluish-white sandstone and sandy clay, 50 

feet thick, containing thin, irregular seams of 

limonite, which belongs to the Carrizo. (See 

Fl. XX, A.) 

Forty feeli of lenticuln,r an(l la1ninated gra.y 

sandstone, containing concretions of hard blue 

sandstone, :is exposed on the Fairview-Graytown road 2 miles south of Graytown. 

In a sand pit about 1-! miles northwest of 

Cnlavcrns there is exposed 10 feet of coarse 

yellow sand, consisting largely of grains of 

quartz n.dnuxed with li1nonite. The sand is 

shipped to Sru1 Antonio, where it is used as 

building sand. (See Pl. XX, B.) 

On Calaveras Creek, about three-fourths of 

a 1nile northwest of Calaveras, 4 feet of laininated gray sandstone or sandy clay overlying 

10 feet of massive coarse yellow sands.tone 

is exposed. 

Sf'ction in Atascosa, OonTtty.-From Smnerset 

to n place half a mile north of Rossville, in 

Atascosa County, the outcrop of the Carrizo 

sandstone is exposed. At a nu1nber of places 

the characteristic section includes gray sandy 

soil 1 foot thick, grading downward into a red 

or pink or orange-colored sa11cly clay. 

Sections on Sabinal and Frio rivers.-In the 

drainage ba.sin of Sabinal and Frio rivers exposures of grn.y to reddish-brown sandstone 

of the Ca.n·izo fornuttiun 1nay he seen on Frio 

River at the crossing at the Kincaid ranch, 

about 13 miles southeast of Uvalde; about a 

mile farther down the river; 7 in a gorge about 

an eighth of a mile south of the Black V nlley 

ranch, 3! miles north of Frio Town; and at the 

crossing at Frio Town. 

Section on Leona River.-The following section of the Carrizo sandstone is exposed on 

Leona River about 1.4 ·miles north of the 

bridge at Ba~esville: 

1 Vo.ugha.n, T. ·W., RecQD.llaissancQ iD tl;l.e Rio Grande coal fields of 

Toxas: 'G. S. Gcol. Survey Bull. 164, p. 52, 1900. 1 

Section of Carrizo sandstone on Leona River near Batesville, 

Tex. 

Feet. 

Large yellow calcareous sandstone concretions...... 5± 

Covered........................................ 5 

Loose yellow sand; the lower 18 inches are crossbedded; large limestone concretions at south e~1d 

of exposure; at the base is a thin layer of bog ore ... 4-5 

Erosional unconformity. 

Light-blue laminated sandy clay; large round yellow 

limestone concretions; exposed to water line..... 15± 

Section on Nueces River.-In the drainage 

basin of the Nueces the Carrizo sandstone is 

exposed frmn a. point n. short distance north 

of La Pryor, Za.valln, County, to Asherton, 

Dinunit County. Nea.rly all the outcrops are 

on the higher lands, for on low ground underlying beds of Indio CO age al'e exposed. At 

the old Byrd crossing, however, near La Pryor, 

beds that closely resmnble the Carrizo sandstone are exposed a short distance above water 

level. These beds are provisionally referred 

to that forn1ation. If this reference is correct 

it would indicate the existence of a shallow 

syncline in this vicinity. 

In a. bluff bordering the valley of a creek 

3,400 feet S. 50° W., from the railroad station 

in Asherton, Din1mit County, the following 

section is exposed: 

Sec~ion of Carr,izo sandstone in southwest part of Asherton, · 

Dimmit Countv, Tex. 

[Sco Pl. XXI, A.] 

Feet. 

Soft flaggy yellow sandstone. The beds range in 

thickness from half an inch to 3 inches. The sandstones are noncalcareous, but there is a white incrustation of lime at the surface. The sandstone is 

micaceous in places and carries frag·ments of fossil 

palm rays........................................ 10 

Blue shale; slightly calcareous in places............. 4 

14 

The beds dip toN. 50° E. 

Section of Carrizo sandstone on Nueces Ri1;er .150 feet bel011' 

Taylor's darn at Be:nnuda, Dirnrnit County, Tex. 

Soft gray sandstone in layers 2 to 6 inches in thickness, 

interbedded with bluish-gray calcareous shale half 

an inch tv 1 inch thick. Sandstones are porous and 

Feet. 

water-bearing .................................... 8± 

Blue shale with white lime nodules 2 inches thick. 

Becomes thinner at downstream or east end of bluff. 2 

Brown sandy shale, weathering blue. Laminae 

average three-eighths inch in thickness. Some 

layers of red to brown ferruginous sandstone near 

the top are ~ inches tl;lj.ck. Laminae· of UgP.iti~ 

shale. Exposacl to water line ............... : .•.. · .13 

_. 

23± 
60 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

CLAIBORNE GROUP. 

The deposits of Claiborne age in this area 

are divided into 'three formations, named in 

descending order Y egua formation, Cook Mountain formation, and Mount Selman formation. 

MOUNT SELMAN FORMATI<;JN. 

Name.-The Mount Selman formation was 

named by Kennedy in 1892 after Mount Selman, in Cherokee County. 8 

Stratigraphic position.-The Mount Selman 

formation lies unconformably al,>ove the Carrizo sandstone and conformably below the Cook 

Mountain formation. 

Lithology.-The formation consists of darkgreen, brown, and yellow sandstone, lenses of 

lignite and clay, and beds and concretions of 

limonite. The formation as a whole is notably 

. Jerruginous. 

Thickness.-The .thickness of -the beds on 

the Brazos is about 600 feet; on the Colorado 

about 600 feet; and on the Nueces about 700 

feet. The dip is to the southeast, approximately 30 to 60 feet to the mile. 

Paleontology.-The invertebrate fossils in 

the formation include Venericardia planicosta 

Lamarck, Plejona petrosa Conrad, Gornulina 

armigera (Conrad). None of these, however, 

are numerous, nor are they especially characteristic, for they occur in other formations of 

the Eocene. 

Areal extent.-The Mount Selman formation 

outcrops in a belt of country that includes 

parts of Milam, Burleson, Lee, Bastrop, Caldwell, Guadalupe, Gonzales, Wilson, Atascosa, 

Frio, Zavalla, Dimmit, and La Salle counties. 

(See Pl. VIII.) 

Correlation and history of investigation.-The 

Mount Selman formation has been discriminated only. in Texas. . Together with the overlying Cook Mountain,. it represents the time 

equivalent in Texas of the "Lower Claiborne," 9 

or the St. Maurice formation 10 of Louisiana, 

a.s these have been defined and described by 

I-Ia.rris. The Cook :Mounta.in and Mount Selman formations are together the .time equivalent· of the .. T~llapatt'a· buhrstone plus the 

Lisb·o~· rh~rl.of_._Mis~~.ssippi_ ·as ._the~·e hav~. been 

a Kennedy, William,- A section from Terrell, Kaufman .County, to 

Sabine Pass 'on the ·Gulf of Mexico: Texas Gaol. Survey Third Ann. 

Rept:, P.P· 5?-~4, 18~~· ___ :· . . . . ... ... . .. . . . __ o Harris; G. D., and Veatch, A .. C., A preli~ary repo!t.on the geology 

5{Louisiana: Louisiana Gcol. Survey Rapt., pp. 73-89, 1899. · 

10 Harris, G. D., The lower Tertiaries of Louisiana: Science, new scr., 

VOl. 31, p. 50!!, 1910. 

described by Crider 11 and of the Tallahatta 

plus the Lisbon of Alabama as these have 

been described bv SmithY' 

·The be~s inciuded. in this formation were 

first described by Mr. L. C. Johnson in a report 

on the iron regions of northern Louisiana and 

eastern Texas. in 1888/3 but the first adequate 

atCcount of them wa'S given by Kennedy in 1895, 

who described them in conjunction with the 

overlying formation under the name "Marine 

beds." 14 

Section on Brazos River.-The beds exposed 

on Brazos River between Burleson Bluff or 

Colliers Ferry, in the northern corner of Burleson County, and the International & Great 

Northern Railway bridge near Valley Junction, 

in Robertson County, are referred to the Mount 

Selman formation . 

Traak level 

Horizontal scale 0 5 10 15 20 25 FEET 

Vertical scale 

0 10 20 30 FEET 

FIGURE 18.-Sketch of fault whichcuts the Mount Selman formation 

600 to 1,000 feet north of the depot at Milano, Tex. 

At the International & Great Northern Railway bridge in Robertson County the Mount 

Selman formation appears to be represented 

by 6 feet of nonfossiliferous greensand marl 

and 10 feet of underlying black clay to the 

water line. From this point to one 2! miles 

below the Burleson County line, a distance of 

about 12 miles by the river, interbedded clays 

and sands and lqcal beds of lignite and some 

few small gray calcareous concretions are exposed in the bluffs. 

In the vicinity of Milano, Milam County, the 

basal beds of the ~1ount Selman formation are 

exposed, but the stratigraphic succession is 

interrupted by a fault which crosses the Gulf, 

Colorado & Santa Fe Railway 600 to 1,000 feet 

north of the railroad station at ~1ilano. (See 

Pl. XXI, B, and .fig. 18.) On the upthrown 

side of the fault an.d in the east part of the cut 

u Crider, A. F., Geology and mineral resources of Mississippi: U. S. 

Geol. Survey Bull. 283, pp. 28-33, 1906. 

12 Smith, E. A., The underground water resources of Alabama, Ala· 

bama Geol. Survey, pp. 17-18, 1907. . 

13 Johnson, L. C., The iron regions of northern Louisiana and eastern 

·Texas: .50th ·cong., 1st·sess., H. Ex. Doc. 195, pp. 19-21, 1889. 

u Kennedy, William, ·The Eocene Tertiary east of the Br~zos River: · 

Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia Proc., 1895, pp. 108-134. 
EOCENE SERIES. 61 

2 feet of lignite and 6 to 8 feet of overlying 

gray shale are exposed. These beds probably 

represent the topmost members of the Indio. 

Apparently the Carrizo sandstone is obliterated 

by the faulting, and the Mount Selman, represented by 4 to 5 feet of sandstone, is brought 

into jtedaposition to the Indio. In this event 

the displacen1ent is in excess of 100 feet. 

Section on Oolm·ado River.-On Colorado 

River the Mount Selman format{on is exposed 

in places fron1 White Bluff, 3-2- miles southeast 

of Bastrop, to a point 2 miles northeast of 

Upton. 

The basal part as exposed at White Bluff, 

showing the basal beds and the contact with the 

underlying Carrizo sandstone, is given on page 

58. It consists of red ferruginous sandstone 

mn.de up of coarse grains of quartz and grains 

of glauconite. 

At the mouth of Cedar Creek, about 1! miles 

northwest of Upton, there is exposed 30 feet of 

yellow sand with sandstone concretions. 

The next exposure of the Mount Seln1an on 

the river is 2 miles northeast of Upton (station 

255 on the map, fig. 11, p. 44), where 10 feet of 

brown sandy shale is interstratified with beds 

of sandstone. · The dip is downstream at a 

small angle. 

The stratigraphic positions of these several 

exposures on the Colorado are indicated graphically on Plate IX (in pocket). 

Section on Cibolo Oreek.-The l\1ount Selman 

formation is represented by 5 feet of crossbedded ferruginous sandstone in a gully an 

eighth of a nule south of the wagon bridge at 

Sutherland Springs and by 16 feet of sandstone 

and 8 feet of underlying lignitic shale in a bluff 

an eighth of a mile farther downstreani. 

At the water tank of the Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Railway, in the left bank 

of the creek, there is a bed of black laminated 

sand 2 feet thick, overlying a lens of greensand 

or glauconite 3 feet thick. 

A quarter of a mile below the bluff on the 

Wyatt place a boldospring in the bed of the < 

creek emerges from a coarsEr white quartzitic 

sand. A well bored near the spring passed 

through 4 feet 4 inches of coarse angular white 

quartzitic sand and 15 feet 8 inches of blue 

clay. 

Section at crossing of Cibolo Creek, 2 miles east of old Sutherland Springs, Tex. 

Formation doubtful: Ft. in. 

Yellow sandy clay, covered with black clay soil.. 7 

Mount Selman formation: 

Yellow calcareous clay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

Ferruginous sandstone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 

Yell ow calcareous clay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

Brown ferruginous sandstone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 4 

Fossiliferous greensand marl................... 5 

Black laminatedlignitic shale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

Clay ironstone ................................ . 3 

Green fossiliferous marl ...................... . 2 

Black lignitic shale to water line. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

18 2 

The marl beds contain numerous specimens 

of Plejona petrosa Conrad, Glycymeris sp., and 

Venericardia planicosta Lamarck, indicating the 

proba.ble Claiborne age of the inclosing materinl. 

Section of .ilfount Selman formation on Otbolo Creek, at the 

Hankerson crossing, 4 miles west of Stockdale, Wilson 

County, Tex. 

Ft. in. 

Yellow calcareous shale ........... : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

Covered ......................................... 3 

Laminated yellow sand, grading into red laminated 

sand at base. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

Gray sand with interstratified beds of limonite and 

lig\litic shale 1 inch thick ... ·. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

Brown lignitic shale .............................. 1 6 

Yellow water-saturated sand.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1· 6 

Lignitic shale, exposed to water line .. .' ........... . 6 

18 6 

Section of Mount Selman formation on Cibolo Creek, 1f 

rniles below Hankerson crossing,· and about s; rniles S. 

75°± W. of Stockdale, Wilson County, Tex. 

Ft. in. 

Hard indUl'ated sandy shale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

Black lignitic shale, with crystals of gypsum ....... 2 6 

Yellow.sancl ...................................... 3 

Section of Motmt Selman formation, on the Wyatt place, 1t Lignitic shale ................. ·'' ................ . 

miles cast of Sutherland Springs, Tex. Ft. in. Yellow sand ..................................... . 

8 

6 

.Yellow laminated sandstone and purple lignitic 

shale ................ ·........................ 14 

Yellow ferruginous sandstone ................... . 

Blue sandstone ................................ . 

Blue shale, with lens of sand 2 feet thick in the 

middle ...................................... . 

Blue water-bearing sandstone .................. . 

Lignite, exposed above water line; total thickness 

not known .................................... . 

4 

2 

8 8 

4 On the Butler farm, near the ·bridge on the 

2 Stockdale-Floresville l.·oad, about 3! miles 

southwest of Stockdale, Wilson County, a shaft 

has been sunk to a bed of lignite having a .thickness of 2 feet. As the overlying for1nation is 

2 of Quate~nary age some of the lignite J;l.as ~20--8 probably been eroded away. · · · · 
62 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

Section near Stockdale, Wilson Oounty.-

Wh.ere the Floresville-Stockdale road crosses a 

small branch about 1 t miles west of Stockdale 

a 3-inch bed of limonite overlies 2 feet of gray 

calcareous shale. About 200 yards farther up 

the branch 4 feet of red ferruginous sand, probably altered greensand, overlies the bed of 

limonite. Twenty yards farther north the red 

ferruginous sand grades upward into yellowmottled laminated sand, and about half a mile 

north of this place there is exposed 5 feet of 

yellow indurated sa.nd which lies above the 

yellow-mottled sand. 

On the road about three~fourths o[ a mile west 

of Stockdale 3 feet of red ferruginous cl~ty with 

thin laminae of limonite overlying 1 foot of 

gray calcareous shale, with lime nodules, is 

exposed. These beds overlie those in the 

creek. 

In a well88 feet deep, 4 miles north-northeast 

of Stockdale, there is exposed at the surface a 

bed of red sandstone 2 feet thick, below which 

lies 15 to 20 feet of yellow and red laminated 

sands and sandy clays. Water issues· from a 

blue sand at a depth· of about 77 feet. 

Section on. Ecleto Greek, Wilson Oounty.-On 

Ecleto Creek, 4 miles west-northwest of Pandora, the following beds of the Mount Selman 

formation are exposed: 

Section of Mount Selmanfonnation at a point where the Calaveras-Floresville road crosses Kicester (?) Creek about 1t 

miles northwest of Floresville, Tex. 

Feet. 

Greenish-gray calcareous shale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

Covered.......................................... 12 

Gray sand and sandy shale with some layers of ferruginous clay; strata ·range from 2 to 4 inches in thickness .... ·........................................ 17 

Covered.· .............................. · ... ·. . . . . . . . 10 

Brown shale ...................................... . 

Gray sand ...... · .................................. . 

12 

3 

57 

About 1,000 feet northeast of the railroad 

station at Floresville the ~1ount Selrnan formation shows, in descending order, red ferruginous sandstone, 8 inches·; red clay, probably 

originally blue clay, 4 feet; and red ferruginous 

sandstone, 8 inches. 

Section of Mount Selmanfonnation about a quarter of a 1nile 

south of crossing of Mariana Creek and about 2i miles 

south-southwest of railroad station at Floresville, Tex. 

Ft. in. 

Red siliceous limonite capping hill................ 1 

Yellowish-brown sandy clay; bluish white where 

unweathered. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

Red ferruginous sandstone ....................... · 3 

Limonite~ ..................................... . 

Blue and red mottled sandy clay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

Blue sand ............................ ~ ......... . 

Covered ................................... _ .. _. 4 

Reddish-brown sandstone......................... 4. 

Brown laminated siliceous limonite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 

Gray sandy clay ................... ·. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 

2 

6 

Section of Mount Selman formation on Ecleto Creek 4 miles Brown laminated siliceous limonite .............. . 6 

'!.vest-northwest of Pandora, Wilson County, Tex. Bluish-white laminated sand with thin laminae of 

Feet. limonite....................................... 2 

Hard yellow ferruginous sandstone ................. . 4 Yellowish-white cross-bedded sands; water-bearing 3 

Covered; probably sandy clay ..................... . 20 25 2 

Sandy clay, with laminae of limonite .............. . 

Grayish-yellow sandstone .. ~ ....................... . ~ The beds cmnposing this section are very irregular in shape and are generally lenticular. 

Fragments of limonite measuring 2 by 3 by 2 

inches have weathered frmn the strata and 

Red sandy ferruginous clay with laminae and concretions of limonite................................. 10 

45 veneer the slope. 

The beds dip about 1° SE. 

Section on SanAntdnio River.-Hard blue laminated shale bearing i1npressions of fragments 

of leaves is exposed in the bed of San A.ntonio 

River a mile northwest of Labatt, Wilson 

County. Ten feet of similar shale is exposed 

one-eighth of a mile below this place, and just 

below this point a shoal is formed by loose concretions 2 to 5 feet in diameter and 6 inches to 

2 feet thick. These concretions probably occur 

in place not far above. They are made up in 

part of. greensand and contain Pleurotoma sp., 

Area. sp., Oorbula smithvillensis Harris ( ~) , a~d 

Venericardia sp. 

Section of Mo'Unt Selman formation ( ?) on road 2 miles 

south of courthouse at Floresville, Tex. 

Ft. in. 

Red· clay subsoil with yellow limestone concretions 

averaging 1 foot in diameter. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. 2 

Red siliceous limonite........................... 6 

Red weathered sandy clay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l 

Siliceous red limonite. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 

Red sandy clay ................ : ............. ~ . ~ . . l 

Red fenuginous sandstone; altered greensand. . . . . l 

Red ferruginous clay with limestone concretions 

and septaria 1 to 2 feet in diatneter...... . . . . . . . . 3 

Covered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 

B~ow~ shale with limestone concretions 1 to 2 feet 

1n diameter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 

Reddish sandy clay; exposed in creek bed......... 3 

35 
EOCENE SERIES. 63 

Section on Atascosa Oreek.-In a small gorge 

tributary to the valley of Atascosa Creek, 

about three-fourths of a mile northeast of 

Anchorage, the Mount Selman formation consists, in descending order, of 2 to 3 feet of 

bluish-white laminated sand with numerous 

concretions of limonite, 6 inches of ferruginous 

sand (lens), 8 feet of brown laminated sand 

in beds 2 to 6 inches thick, 5 feet of hard blue 

concretionary sandstone, and 6 inches of 

brown ferruginous sand. 

On Atascosa Creek, a quarter of a mile south of 

Amphion, Atascosa County, the Mount Selman 

fornuttion shows, in descending order, L1 inches 

of :Aaggy sandstone, 3 to 5 feet· of greenishbrown shale with lin1y concretions half an inch 

in din1neter; 4 to 5 feet concealed, and 1 foot 

of yellow sandstone. 

Section in Frio Oounty.-Yellow laminated 

sand with brown sandy concretions 6 inches 

in thickness and 2 to 3 feet in dia1neter are 

exposed in a knoll that projects theough n, 

cover of Pleistocene n1aterial on Frio River 

2! 1niles north of Frio Town. 

In a quarry on the Sabinal road about 1-! 

1niles due north of Frio Town, 5 feet of irregularly bedded hard brown sandstone, with 

interstratified thin semns of limonite, is exposed. The dip is about 1° SE. 

About 3 feet of red ferruginous loamy sand 

is exposed at the crossing on Buck Creek of 

the Pearsall-Frio Town road, 4} miles northwest of Pearsall, and similar material is exposed in a cut, 3 feet deep, on the PearsallFrio Town road, about 3 miles northwest of 

Pearsall and about 500 yards southeast of the 

crossing on the creek. 

. One foot of dark-brown ferruginous sand 

with sn1all frag1nents of limonite, overlying 

3 feet of pink and gray lan1inated sand, is 

exposed in a cut on the International & Great 

Northern Railway 200 yards south of the station at Pearsall. 

Section on Leona River.-Very hard f ossilif,.. 

erous greensand concretions from 1 to 2} 

feet in diameter, embedded in blue sandy 

shale, is exposed on the Lorna Vista-Batesville 

road, about three-quarters of a n1ile north of 

Lorna Vista. The fossils, which are poorly 

preserved, include Meretrix sp. and Oornulina 

armigera Conrad. 

Section on Nueces River.-The Mount Selman formA>tion is exposed in the drainage area 

of Nueces River fr01n a point about 6 miles 

southeast of Bermuda to a point about 1! miles 

east of the La Salle-Dimmit county line. 

About 1! n1iles south-southwest of the bridge 

across Nueces River, on the Asherton-Bermuda 

road, the J\1ount Seln1an formation shows, in 

descending order, 2 feet of calcareous, tlaggy 

blue, fa.irly soft sandstone which weathers red; 

6 feet of blue shale; 4 inches of gray sandstone; 

and .5 feet of blue plastic shale. 

At Perkins crossing on Nueces River, 6 

miles south of Big Wells, Dimmit County, the 

Mount Selman formation contains 3 feet of 

yellow n,rgillnceous sand, overlying 5 feet of 

blue plastic sandy slutle which weathers brown. 

The dip of the beds is 1° S. 20° E. 

On the Big Wells-Catarina road, ·in Di1nn1i t 

Cotinty, 1.35 miles south of Big Wells, 15 feet 

of gray medium soft sandstone is exposed in 

a roadside gully, and a similar exposure may 

be seen in a cut on the railroad 500 feet east 

of the stntion at Big Wells. 

Hard brown calcareous concretions, 2 to 3 

feet in diameter, are exposed near the CatarinaCotulla road, 2.9 miles west of the La Salle 

County line and also on the Cotulla-Carrizo 

Springs road, about half a mile west of the 

La Salle County line. One badly weathered 

concretion carries large oyster shells. 

Section of Mount Selman formation on Catarina-Cotulla 

road, 9t miles S. 75° W. of Cot'ulla, in Dimmit County, 

Tex. 

Large, subglobular brown sandy limestone · 

concretions with concentric structure; 6 feet 

in diameter, 2 feet thick at the center (see Pl. 

Ft. in. 

XXI, C)................................... 2± 

Brown sandy limestone with fossil oysters.... . . . 6 

Covered..................................... 5 

Brown sandy limestone ................... : . . . 6 

Brown argillaceous sand, weathered. . . . . . . . . . . 6 ± 

Brown sandy limestone concretions.... . . . . . . . . . 6 

14+ 

About 10 feet of red-brown altered greensand, weathering into red pack sand and· occupying nearly the same stratigraphic position 

as the concretions just described, crops out on 

the Cotulla-Carrizo Springs road, about 1,000 

feet west of the crossing of Spear Creek, about 

St miles west of Cotulla. About 500 feet west 

of this outcrop there are some detached n1asses 

of brown lime-incrusted sandstone. Between 

300 and 500 feet ·farther west is a ferruginous 

red pack sand containing fragments of broWn 

limonite. It forms the cap rock of the upland. 
' 

64 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

Two miles northeast of Pudding schoolh~use, 

in the eastern part of Dimmit County, half a 

mile south of the Cotulla-Carrizo Springs road, 

the upland is occupied by brown ferruginous 

sandstone concretions about 3 feet thick, in 

places carrying poorly preserved fossil oysters. 

The -concretions overlie 5 or 6 feet of blue 

shale. 

COOK MOUNTAIN FORMATION. 

Name.-The Cook Mountain formation was 

named by Kennedy in 1892 after Cook Mountain in Houston County.t 5 

Stratigraphic position.~ The Cook Mountain formation lies conformably above the 

Mount Selman formation and beneath the 

Yegua formation. 

Lithology.-It consists of beds of greensand, 

greensand marl, iron ore, lignite, lignitic clay, 

clay, sandstone, and sand. The glauconitic 

sand and marl, which are the predominant 

members, are marine; the lignite, lignitic clay, 

and sand are palustrine-they originated in 

marshes. 

Thickness and dip.-The thickness. of the 

beds on the Brazos is about 800 feet; on the 

Colorado, about 700 ~eet; and on the Nueces 

about 800 feet. The dip is to the southeast 

and ranges from 40 to 100 feet to the mile. 

Paleontol9gy.-lnvertebrate fossils are common in the formation. The more characteristic forms include Gorbula deusseni Gardner, 

Oorbula smithvillensis Harris, Phos texanus 

Gabb, Dentalium minutistriatum Gabb, Turritella nasuta Gabb, Latirus moorei (Gab b), 

Mesalia claibornensis Harris, and Anomia. 

ephippioides Gabb. (S~e Pl. XXII.) 

List of fossils obtained from the Cook Mountain formation 

in this field. 

· [Letters indicate localities mentioned in descriptions below.] 

Platytrochus stokesi (Lea), N, P. 

Discotrochus orbignianus Milne-Edwards and Haime, B, 

K,N. 

Turbinolia pharetra Lea, A, B, E, F, I, K, N, 0, P. 

Paracyathus alternatus Vaughan, A, N. · 

Oculina eingleyi Vaughan, B, I, N. 

Madracis ganei Vaughan, L, .M. 

Madracis johnsoni Vaughan, N. 

:Salanophyllia desmophyllum Milne-Edwards and Haime, 

L. 

Balanophyllia irrorata var. mortoni (Gabb and Hom), 

B, N. 

1~ Kennedy, William, A section from Terrell, Kaufman County, tc 

Sabi.n6 Pass on'the ·auu of Mexico: Texas Geol. ·survey Tbird Ann. 

Rept., pp. ~57, 1892. 

Balanophyllia il;rorata var. coniforrnis Vaughan, B, E, N. 

Endopachys maclurei (Lea) var. tenue Vaughan,· B, 0. 

Actaeon pomilius Conrad, B, 0. 

Cylichna kelloggi Gabb, B, G, N, 0. 

Volvula smithvillensis Harris, B. 

Ringicula trap~quara Harris, B, L. 

Terebra houstonia Harris, B, C, N. 

Conus sauridens Conrad, B, F, J, K. 

Conus smithvillensis Harris, B, N. 

Surcula gabbi Conrad, A, I, J, L, 1\f. 

. Turris nodocarinata (Gabb), B, D, F, I, J, K, N, 0. 

Turris ·enstricina (Harris), B. 

Turris huppert.zi (Harris), N. 

Turris moorei (Gabb), B, E, N, 0. 

Drillia texacona Harris, B, E, 0. 

Drillia texanopsis Harris, B, N. 

Microdrillia infans Meyer, B. N. 

Cochlespira bol]a Conrad, E, N. 

Borsonia plenta Harris, B, 0. 

Eucheiloclon reticulatoides Harris, N. 

Cancellaria bast.ropensis Harris, B,· E, N. 

Cancellaria pan ones Harris, N. 

Olivula staminea Conrad, B. 

Plejona petrosa (Conrad), A, B, E, F, I, J, K, L, M, N, Q. 

Lapparia dumosa Conrad, B, F, I, N. 

Turricula polita Gabb, B, N, 0. 

Pyramitra costata (Lea), N. 

Pseudoliva carinata Gabb, B. 

Pseucloliva vetusta Conrad, A, B, C, E, F, I, K, N, 0. 

Levifusus trabeatoides Harris, B, C, K, N, 0. 

Fusus bastropensis Harris, N. 

Fusus mortonjopsis Gabb, B, N, 0. 

Latirus moorei Gabb, B, C, D, J, N, 0. 

Phos texanus Gabb, B, C, L, 0. 

Alectrion scalata (HeHprin), N. 

Astyris bastropensis (Heilprin), B, N. 

Neptunea enterogramma Gabb, B. 

Murex vanu:X::emi Conrad, N. 

Distortrix septemdentata Gabb, B, F, K. 

Pyrula penita Conrad, N. 

Rimella texana Harris, A. 

Turritella nasuta Gabb, B, D, G, K, N, 0, P. 

Turritella houstonia Harris. 

Mesalia claibomensis Conrad, B, D, J, 0. 

Tuba antiquata Conrad, B, E, N. 

Architeetonica alveata (Conrad), N. 

Liotia tricostata Comad, B, N. 

Natica semilunata Lea, A, B, I, K, N, 0. 

Neverita arata Gabb, A, B, E, I, N, 0. 

Sigaretus arctatus Conrad, N. 

Sigaretus bilix Conrad, B, N. 

Denta.lium minutistriatum Gabb, B, D, N, 0, P. 

Cadulus abruptus Meyer & Aldrich, B, E, N. 

Nucula mauricensis Harris, B. 

Leda compsa Gabb, B. 

Leda houstonia Harris, B. 

Adrana aldrichiana Harris, B. 

Trinacria pulchra Gabb, B, D, E, N, P. 

Area lucloviciana Harris, B. 

Glycymeris trigonella Conrad B. 

Ostrea sellaeformis Conrad, N. 

Ostrea alabamiensis Conrad, N. 

Pecten sdntillatus Conrad, B. 

Pecten burlesonensis Harne. ·A... 

I 
~OCENE SERmS. 65 

Anomia epbippoides Gabb, B, P, Q. 

Crassatellites antestriatus Gabb, B, N. 

Astarte smithvillensis Harris, E, I, N. 

Venericardia planicosta Conrad, C, D, II, I, J, K. 

Venericardia rotunda Lea, B, D, H, N, 0. 

Lutetia texana Harris, B. 

Sphaerella anteproducta Harris, N. 

Callocardia texacola Harris, N. 

Callocardia bastropensis Harris, C. 

'l'ellina mooreana Gabb, B. 

'l'ellina tallicheti Harris, N. 

Pteropsis lapidosa Conrad. 

Corbula smithvillensis Harris, E, F, I, L, M, N, P. 

Corbula texana Gabb, B. 

Corbula conradi Dall, E. 

Corbula deusseni Gardner n. sp., N. 

'l'ubulostium leptostoma (Gabb), B. 

A. Burleson Bluff, Brazos River, 3 miles below the 

Milam-Burleson county line. 

B. Moseley's Ferry, Brazos Hiver, opposite Stone City 

post oflice, Burleson County. 

C. Five hundred yards south of mouth of Little Brazos 

River, on Brazos River, Brazos County. 

D. 'l'he A. & M. well, 900 to 1,000 feet, College station, 

Brazos County. 

K Cedar Creek, Burleson County. 

F. Three hundred yards east of courthouse at Caldwell, 

Burleson County. 

G. In well No. 1 of the Brenham Oil Co., at a depth of 

1,275 to 1,360 feet, 7i miles southwest of Brenham, Washington County. 

H. In well on Brenham dome, 7i miles southwest of 

Brenham, Washington County. 

I. Shaw's branch, It miles southwest of Lexington, 

Lee County. 

J. In shallow well, at a depth of 30 to 44 feet, 2 miles 

northeast of Fedor, Lee County. 

K. Pin Oak Creek, 1 mile above Bastrop-Fayette county 

line, Bastrop County. 

L. Two miles above Burleson Ferry, Colorado River, 

Bastrop County. 

M. 'l'w6 and a half miles above Burleson Ferry, Colorado 

River, Bastrop County. 

N. Smithville; Bastrop County. 

0. Three and a half miles S. 2·2° E. of Floresville, Wilson 

County. 

P. One and a half miles southwest of Pleasanton, Atascosa County. 

Q. One mile south of Jourdanton, Atascosa County. 

Julia Gardner describes the new species of 

Oorbula listed above as .follows: 

Corbula (Cuneocorbula) deusseni Gardner, n. sp. 

Plate XXII, Figures 8, Sa. 

Shell rather small and rather delicate, i:p.-

equivalve, the right valve strongly overlapping the left; transversely ovate-trigonal in 

outline; both valves moderately inflated, the 

right more strongly than the left. Posterior 

keel subacute, produced at i~s extremity, the 

al'ea behind it moderately wide, feebly concave. Umbones not very prominent, well 

rounded, prosogyrate, subcentral in position. 

Lunule not defined. Escutcheon sharply differentiated, the margin in the right valve less 

sharply raised than that of the left, which it 

overlaps. Dorsal margins gently declining. 

Anterior extremity quite strongly rounded. 

Posterior extremity obliquely truncate, produced along the keel particularly in the right 

valve. Ventral margins strongly incurved; 

base line aspnn1etrically arcuate. External 

surface sculptured with concentric wrinkles, irregular and incremental in character, strengthening toward the ventral margin; microscopically fine radial threadlets usually developed 

on the 1nedial and posterior portions of the 

shell, less faint in the left valve than the right, 

most crowded in the keel; more or less fortuitous in their development and disposition. 

Ligament very short, inset. Right cardinal 

moderately stout, conical, received in a correspondi~gly deep subumbonal pit in the left 

valve. Musc]e scars very distinct, the posterior the stronger of the two, and,- in the adult 

forms, seated upon a slightly overhanging 

ledge; interior excavated. Pallial line simple, 

son1ewhat truncate posteriorly; inner surface 

of the right valve grooved near the . ventral 

margin for the reception of the edge of the left 

valve. 

Dimensions: Altitude, 7.0 millin1eters; latitude. 11.3 millimeters; diameter, 6.6 milli1neters. 

Type locality: Smithville, Bastrop County, 

Tex. 

As in n1any of th~ Corbulas, there is a bewildering amount of variation in details of 

sculpture and, to a less marked degree, in size 

and outline. The figured specimen is decidedly larger than the average. The concentric sculpture is generally undeveloped upon 

the umbonal area, but in ·some specimens it is 

quite fine and close over the entire shell. The 

fine radial threading is to a certain extent fortuitous, though it is generally discernible upon 

the left valve and behind the keel. 

In this species are included many of the 

forms appearing under the name of Oorbula 

gregorioi Cossmann in the Texas ·check lists and 

collections. Individuals in the Aldrich collection, identified by Mr.· Cossmann, indicate 8: 

species about half as large as the form in ques,.. 

tion, relatively higher and more compressed, 
66 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

with a relatively coarse_r concentric sculpture, 

and an apparent absence of radial thi'eading. 

Cossmann's species see1ns to be restricted to 

the upper Claiborne, 0. deusse-ni to ·the lower 

Claiborne. The differences between 0. conrndi 

and 0. deusseni 1nay not prove to be of specific 

rank, but in the material under observation 

C. deusseni is quite constantly lower and more 

finely sculptured concentrically. 

Distribution: Cook Mountain formation, 

Smithville, Bastrop County; one-fourth of a 

mile west of Jourdanton, Atascosa County. 

Areal extent.-The outcrop of the formation 

occupies a belt of country extending through 

Burleson, Lee, ·Bastrop, Fayette, Gon.zales, 

Wilson, Atascosa, Frio, and La Salle counties. 

(See Pl. VIII.) 

Om'relation.-The Cook :Mountttin formation 

extends eastward into Louisiana, Mississippi, 

and Alabama, where it, together with the 

Mount Selman formation, is represented by 

the St. Maurice formation ("Lower Claiborne") of Louisiana and by the Tallahatta 

buhrstone pllls the Lisbon form~ttion of Nfississippi and Alaban1a. 

The si1nilarity of the fossils fron1 Texas to 

those from Claiborne, Ala., was announced in 

1852 by Dr. Ferdinand Roen1er. 10 Penrose,17 

in 1890, described the beds in connection with 

his so-called " Timber belt beds." Kennedy/ 8 

in 189.2, recognized and described for the first 

time the unit here considered. 

Section on Brazos River.-The Cook Mountain 

formation is exposed on the Brazos frmn a 

point 2~ miles by the river below the BurlesonMilam county line to Well born shoals, 500 

yards south of the mouth of the Little Brazos .. 

The details of the sections follow in stratigraphic order. 

Section of Cook Mountain formation at Burleson Blu.ff, 

near old Colliers Ferry, . abottt 3 rniles below the MilarnBttrleson cotmty line, B'u.rleson Cmmty, Te.'"C. 

Ft. in. 

Fossiliferous limonite ................ _ ... _ . _ ... _ H 

Fossiliferous brown marL ........... _ . _ . _ ... _ . _ 3 

Fossiliferous green marL ...... _._ ............... . 1 

Fossiliferous sandstone, ferruginous, indurated .. _ 1 

Fossiliferous blue marL ..... _._ ............... _ 6 

Covered to water line ................... _ . _ ... _ 23 4 

35 

10 Roemer, Ferdinand, Die Kreidebildungen · von Texas und ihre 

organischen Einschliisse, pp. 4-5, 1852. 

17 Penrose, R. A. F., jr., A preliminary report on the geology of the 

Gulf Tertiaries of Texas from Red River to Rio Grande: Texas Geol. 

Survey First Ann. Rept., pp. 22-47, 1890. 

1s Kennedy, William, A section from Terrell, Kaufman County, to 

Sabine Pass on the Gulf of Mexico: Texas Geol. Survey Third Ann. 

Rept., pp. 54-57, 1~92. 

About 10 feet of lignitic shale, which overlies 

4 feet of lignite, provisionally referred to the 

Mount Selman formation, underlies the Cook 

Mountain beds about 100 feet upstrean1. The 

Cook Mountain beds dip 2° S. 72° E.; the 

Mount Selman beds dip S. 72° E. at an angle 

of less than. I 0 • 

The fossils collected here and identified by 

T. W. Vaughan are listed under A on page 64. 

Five miles south of Burleson Bluff, on the 

0. Astin place, in Brazos County, there is an 

exposure of 2 feet of lignite and 2 feet of overlying blue sand. Kennedy 111 reports that the 

lignite here is 12 to 14 feet thick. Not more 

than a quarter of a mile below this point, on 

the right bank of the river, there is an exposure 

. of blue shale overlain by sand. The dip is ! 0 

W. A similar exposure is seen 1! 1niles above 

l\1:oseleys Ferry, in Burleson County. A sketch 

of the bedding as seen frmn the opposite side 

of the river is shown in figure 19. 

FIGURE 19.-Sketch of bluff on Brazos River, 1! miles above l\foseleys 

Ferry, in Burieson County, Tex. 

Section of Coole Mo-untain fonnation at Moseleys Ferry 

on· Brazos Ri~·m·, at Stone City post o..f]ice, in Burleson 

County, Tex. 

Feet. 

Blue fossiliferous shale ...... _ ... _._ ... _ ..... _._._.. 2 

Iron concretions ............. _ ..... _ ... _ . _ ... _ . _ . . . . ~ 

Blue marL ...... _ ... _ ... _._._._._._._._._ ... _...... 4 

Blue fossiliferous marL. ....... _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . ____ .. _ . . 4 

Fossiliferous iron concretions._ ....... _ ....... _ . ~ . . . . ! 

Blue fossiliferous marl. ...... _._ ..... _ ....... _...... 2 

Fossiliferous iron ore .............. _ ......... _...... 1 

Blue fossiliferous greensand marl.._ ...•... _ . _ ... _ . _ . . 3 

· Fossiliferous iron ore (dips under water 100 yards below ferry) ....................................... _ 3 

Blue impervious fossiliferous marL ............ __ ... . . . 1 

Lignitic shale .................. _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 

Blue fossiliferous marL. ..... :· ........... _ . _ ... _ . . . . 4 

Fossiliferous iron ore ......... _ .......... ·. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 

Greensand marl to water line ... _ ....... _ ..... _ . . . . . . 6 

33 

The dip is 2° S. 80° E. The fossils collected 

from the beds here, according to the identification ofT. W. Vaughan, are listed under B on 

pages 64-65. 

The uppermost beds of the Cook Mountain 

formation are exposed 500 yards south of the 

19 Kennedy, William, Report _on Grimes, Brazos, and Robertson 

counties: Texas Geol. Survey Fourth Ann. Rept., p. 56, 1893. 
EOCENE SERIES. 67 

mouth of the Little Brazos. In descending 

order these beds include 5 feet of pale-blue clay; 

3! feet of dark greensand, fossiliferous in lower 

part; dark fossiliferous sandy clay; ferruginous 

sandstone: n.nd dark fossiliferous sandy clay. 

Fossils collected at this point are listed under C, 

pages 64-65. The list is taken from a register 

of Tertiary fossils collected by the Geological 

Survey of Texas, now in possession of the 

University of Texas. The species were deterInined by !farris. 

The dips in the Cook Mountain formation on 

Brazos River indicate that an anticline crosses 

the river between Burleson Bluff and Moseleys 

Ferry. The structural relations are shown in 

figure 20. Gas issues from a number of wells 

I 

I 

I 

)"I 

90 

~-~ 18o "' 1-.:::..... 

C?..', Burleson Bluff ()II 

~.\ 

~-~ N ':)I 

(1)'1 

-....- I 

I· 

~ ... 

~~'8o I~ 

0 

', MOSEUVS FERRY I 

I 

I 

2 MILES 

l!'WUR!~ 20.-Plat or dips or tho beds of tho Cook Mountain formation 

on Brazos lUvcr between Burleson Bluf.l and Moseleys Ferry, Tex. 

Arrows show direction and figures show amount of dip in feet per mile. 

in Brazos Valley between Hearne and Navasota, 

and it 1nay be derived from this anticline. 

Section at College station, Brazos Oounty.-At 

College station, Brazos County, two deep wells 

hn.ve been drilled, one by the Houston & Texas 

Central Railroad, the other by the Agricultural 

& Mechanical College of Tex·as in 1892. In the 

railroad well lignite was struck at a depth of 105 

·feet. Sandstone and shale were the principal 

materials encountered in the college well down 

to 900 feet. Between 900 and 1,000 feet a 

dark-blue clay was penetrated, which yielded 

the fossils listed under D, pages 64-65. The list 

is given in a catalogue of Tertiary fossils collected by the Geological Survey of Texas (1889-

1892), now in the possession of the University 

of Texas. The species were determined by 

G. D. Harris. 

Section at Bryan.-The following well log 

shows the character of the beds at Bryan: 

Log of well at Bryan, Tex. 

[Drilled for city of Bryan, by Fred M. Allison; completed May 12, 1911i.J 

Recent: Feet. 

Soil........................................... 5 

Yegua formation: 

Clay........................................ 5 

Sand and clay...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 

Water sand ...................... ."......... . . 4 

Red clay...................................... 4 

Yellow clay.................................. 54 

Light shale........... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 

Sandrock.................................... 3 

Shale and sand. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 2 

Cook Mountain and Mount Selman formations: 

Gumbo....................................... 30 

Shale........................................ 210 

Rock........................................ 4 

Shale........................................ llG 

Gumbo..................................... 30 

Sand........................................ 15 

Shale........................................ 135 

Sand........................................ 20 

Shale........................................ 200 

Rock........................................ 20 

Shale ......................... '.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lGO 

Sand ..................... · ................ ·... 35 

Shale........................................ 95 

Rock........................................ 2 

Shale........................................ 48 

Gumbo........................................ 25 

Shale........................................ 98 

Shells and lignite............................. 8 

Shale........................................ 24 

Gumbo .. :.................................. 13 

Sand........................................ 20 

Shale........................................ 18 

Rock ........................ :............... 3 

Sand, water-bearing.......................... 10 

Rock........................................ 2 

Shale........................................ 55 

Rock ............................... ~-....... 4 

Shale........................................ 26 

Rock........................................ 3 

Shale........................................ 99 

Carrizo sandstone(?): · 

Water-bearing sand.. .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. .. . .. . .. . 78 

Shale....................................... 130 

Indio formation: 

Water-bearing sand.......................... 20 

Shale........................................ 68 

Gumbo..................................... 35 

2,099· 

Cooke makes the following correlation of 

the section on the basis of the fossils: 

Cook Mountain and Mount Selman formations down to 1,400 feet; below 1,400 feet the 

aspe~t of the fauna changes somewhat, but 

appears to be Claiborne to 1, 735 feet. 
68 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

Section between -H ix and Caldwell, Burleson 

Oounty.-Exposures of the Cook Mountain formation at creek crossings, washes, and other 

places between Hix, near the north corner of 

Burleson County, and Caldwell show a fairly 

complete section of the formation -from bottom 

to top. At Hix the soil and topography indicate that the underlying bed from which 

the soil is derived is glauconitic clay. This 

represents probably the western extension of 

the beds ·seen at Burleson Bluff. 

On Cedar Creek, at the crossing of the 

Caldwell-Hix road, the beds of the Cook 

Mountain formation include, in descending 

order, 4 inches of ferruginous sandstone, 4 feet 

of green clay, 4 inches of fossiliferous calcareous sandstone, 4 feet of fossiliferous green 

clay, and 1 foot of fossiliferous sandstone. 

The beds dip 1° N. 75° E. 

From the fossiliferous bed the species listed 

under E, pages 64-65, as identified by C. W. 

Cooke and T. W. Vaughan, were obtained. 

Three miles north of Caldwell 30 feet of the 

Cook Mountain formation is exposed, consisting, in descending ·order, of red ferruginous 

sandstone, 5 feet of g1~ay fossiliferous shale, 15 

feet of yellow quartzose sand, and 10 feet of 

brown shale. 

Two miles northeast of Caldwell, on the road 

from Caldwell to Moseleys F.erry, there are beds 

of low-gr~de iron ore 1 foot thick, .alternating 

with beds of clay and marl 2 feet thick. The 

strata carry specimens of Ostrea sellaeformis 

Conrad. The dip is approximately 1-! 0 SW. 

On the Caldwell-Moseleys Ferry road, about 

1 mile north of the courthouse at Caldwell, the Cook Mountain formation consists 

of 2 feet of yellow calcareous clay, 6 inches 

of iron concretions, and 2 feet of green calcareous clay. 

On Davidsons Creek, about three-fourths of 

a mile north of th~ courthouse at Caldwell, the 

exposed part of the Cook }vfountain formation 

consists of 3 feet of laminated yellow ferruginous sand, 1! feet of brown argillaceous sand, 

and 4 feet of unconsolidated siliceous sand. 

The apparent dip is 1! 0 N. 80° W. 

A -well at the cotton gin near the Gulf, 

Colorado & Santa Fe Railway station at Caldwell shows 4 feet of sand bearing potable 

water at 27 feet, 6 feet of similar sand at 60 

feet, 9 feet of fossiliferous green marl at 85 

feet, 8 feet of sand l;>earing potable water at 

94 feet, and water-bearing sand with a bed of 

dark-green shale at a depth of 185 feet. 

A fossiliferous green marl is exposed in the 

bed of a creek about 300 yards due east of the 

courthouse at Caldwell, from which the species 

identified by Cooke and Vaughan and listed 

under F on pages 64-65 were obtained. 

Section on Yegua Oreek.-Fossiliferous green 

marls, characteristic of the Cook l\1ountain 

formation, outcrop in the immediate vicinity 

of Brymer, about 10 miles west of Caldwell. 

The marls contain Ostrea, apparently sellaeformis Conrad, and Oor_bula, apparently smithvillensis Harris. 

On Copperas Creek, about a mile north of 

Gus, in the western part of Burleson County, 

the section includes 2 feet of brown sand, 3 

inches of limonite, 2 feet of brown lignitic clay, 

3 inches of lignite, and 18 inches of crossbedded laminated argillaceous sand. These 

beds dip ! 0 S. 5° E. 

At a creek crossing on the Caldwell-Gus road 

.in Burleson County, about 2-!.miles east of Gus, 

the beds of the Cook Mountain formation, in 

descending ord~r, include 4 feet of clay in beds 

_1 foot thick, alt~rnating with seams of limonitic 

sandstone 3 inches thick; 2 feet of brown shale; 

'and 2 feet of white unconsolid;~ted sand, made 

up largely of quartz grains. The dip of these 

beds is ! 0 S. 30° E. 

Fossiliferous ferruginous sandstone crops out 

in the banks of a small creek on the farm.of Joe 

"Blaha, about 1! miles west of East Yegua 

Creek, near the Dime Box-Caldwell road, in 

Lee County. The sandstone dips ! 0 S. 35° E. 

Yellow s~tnd· with concretions of limonite 

underlying the fossiliferous beds exposed on the 

farm of Joe Blaha crop out in the banks of a 

small bran0h about 1 mile northeast of the 

BJaha farm, and about 1! miles west ofYegua 

Creek in the eastern part of Lee County. 

Section in Washington Oounty.-Fossils obtained from a depth of 1,275 to 1,360 feet in 

well No. 1 of the Brenham Oil Co., drilled in 

1915, about 7! miles southwest of Brenham, 

Washington County, as identified by C. W. 

Cooke, are listed unde~ G on page 64. 

Fossils identified by C. L. Baker from the 

same horizon are listed under H on page 65. 

The collections indicate a Cook Mountain 

horizon. 

Section near Lexington, Lee Oounty, and vicinity.-Porous yellow-gray sand, 10 feet thick, is I 
EOCENE SERIES. 69 

exposed about 3 miles north of Lexington, 

where the San Antonio & Aransas Pass Railway 

crosses Brushy Creek. 

About 2 miles northeast of Lexington, at the 

edge of the prairie, beds of the Cook Mountain 

formation, in descending order, include 10 feet 

of bluish-yellow clay, 2 feet of hard red sandstone, 10 feet of blue clay balls in stratified 

yellow sand, and 10 feet· of hard yellow sand 

and sandstone. 

Near the San Antonio & Aransas Pass Railway, about 1 mile northeast of Lexington, 

beds of the Cook Mountain formationJ in 

descending order, show 3 feet of calcareous, 

ferruginous· fossiliferous sandstone; 2 feet of 

yellow calcareous marl with Ostrea divaricata 

Lea ~nd Pecten sp.; 6 inches of concretionary 

iron sandstone; 6 inches of yellow calcareous 

marl; 6 inches of concretionary limestone; and 

6 inches of fossiliferous greensand marl. 

On Shaws Branch, 11 miles southwest of 

Lexington, the Cook Mountain formation 

shows, in descending order, 2 feet of sandy 

gray shale, 2 feet of porous yellow sand, 6 feet 

of fossiliferous yellow clay, 1 foot of ferruginous 

fossiliferous marl, 2 feet of fossiliferous sandy 

greensand marl, and 1 foot of ferruginous sandstone. The fossils in the greensand marl, as 

identified by Cooke and Vaughan, are listed 

un~er I on pages 64-65. · 

Section at Fedor, Lee Oounty, and vicinity.-

Laminated yellow sands, 10 feet thick, outcrop 

2 miles northeast of Fedor. The fossils occurring in a bed of greensand from 30 to 44 feet 

deep in a well belonging to Charles Tatzlau at 

Fedor, as identified by Cooke and Vaughan, are 

listed under J on pages 64-65. 

Section in eastern part of Bastrop Oounty.-

On Pin Oak Creek, about 1 mile above the 

Bastrop-Fayette county line, the Cook Mountain formation contains, in descending order, 

10 feet of blue clay, ferruginous sandstone ( n, 

2 inches of fo.ssiliferous blue clay, ferruginous 

sandstone, 20 inches of fossiliferous blue clay, 

fossiliferous sa~dstone, 20 inches of fossiliferous 

blue clay, and 18 inches of white sand. The 

fossils from the fossiliferous beds, as. identified 

by Cooke and Vaughan, are listed under K on 

pages 64-65. 

Section on Colorado River.-The Cook Mountain formation is exposed on Colorado River 

from a point 5 miles west of Smithville to the 

111587-24-6 

Bastrop-Fayette county line, 4! miles east of 

Smithville. 

In a bend of Colorado River, 3 miles above 

Burleson Ferry and about 5 miles west of 

Smithville, the Cook Mountain formation, in 

descending order, shows 2 feet of porous gray 

sand with white efflorescence on surface; 2! 

feet of hard ferruginous fossiliferous sandstone; 

5 feet of gray shale, fossiliferous at top; 1 foot 

of ferruginous brown concretion-bearing fossiliferous greensand; · 4 feet of greensand; 6 

inches of black sand, which at upstream end of. 

bluff overlies a small lens of sand; and 10 feet 

of greensand to the water line. 

The beds dip 1° E. The fossiliferous beds 

carry such typical Cook Mountain forms as 

Madracis johnsoni Vaughan and Oorbula smithvillensis Harris. 

On Colorado River, 2 miles above Burleson 

Ferry and about 4! miles west-northwest of 

Smithville, the beds of the Cook Mountain 

formation contain,. in descending order, 6 

inches of iron ore, 6 inches of brown clay, 2 

feet of fossiliferous greensand marl, 6 inches 

of fossiliferous ferruginous sandstone, 18 inches 

of fossiliferous greensand marl, 9 inches of 

fossiliferous ferruginous sandstone, 4 feet of 

fossiliferol!.s greensand marl, 9 inches of indurated clay in the form of concretions 2 to 3 

feet in diameter and 6 to 8 inches in thickness, and 3 feet of fossiliferous greensand marl 

to the water line. 

The beds dip ! 0 N. 56° E. The fossils collected at this locality, as identified by Cooke 

and Vaughan, are listed under Lon pages 64-65. 

On Colorado River, about 2! miles above 

Burleson Ferry and about · 4! miles west of 

Smithville, fossiliferous beds occur and have 

furnished the fossils identified by Cooke and 

Vaughan and listed under M on pages 64-65. 

Nonmarine beds of the Coo~ Mountain formati9n are exposed at a point on Colorado 

River three-fourths of a mile above Burleson 

Ferry and about 3! miles northwest of Smithville. The section shows at the base 10 feet of 

unconsolidated yellow sand containing concretions of limestone. Above the sand lies 

lignitic clay containing concretions of sandstone. 

Lenticular and interstratified beds of yellow 

sand and black shale of nonmarine origin, 

about 17 feet thick, are seen at Kennedy 
70 GlTIOLOGY OF T'ltE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS l:t!VER. 

Bluff, on Colorado River 3! miles above and 

northwest of Smithville. (See fig. 21.) 

Lenticular sand and clay of shallow-water 

origin extend downstream from this bluff for 

about 2 miles. 

Section of Cook Mountain formation on south side of Colorado River, about 1,000 feet west of wagon bridge at 

Smithville, Tex. 

Feet. 

Fossiliferous glauconitic marl, containing geodes of 

limonite.......................................... 2 

Indurated fossiliferous greensand.................... 1 

Brownish-black fossiliferous glauconitic marl......... 1~ 

Fossiliferous limonite or indurated greensand........ t 

Brown laminated fossiliferous glauconitic marl. . . . . . . 4 

Fossiliferous limonite, very hard...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

Green calcareous fossiliferous glauconitic marl........ . 5 

Fossiliferous limonite or indurated greensand........ 1 

Laminated green fossiliferous glauconitic marl.... . . . . 1 

Concealed ......................................... 10 

271 

Vertical scale 

nonfossiliferous sulphurous clay, 1 foot of 

green sandy shale, 3 inches of lignitic clay, 1 

foot of porous blue water-bearing sand, and 

2 feet of blue sandy shale to the water line. A 

small synclinal fold occurs here. 

The relative stratigraphic position of the 

several exposures on Colorado River is indicated graphically on Plate IX. 

Section in Gonzales Oounty.-ln Gonzales 

County brown ferruginous fossiliferous sandy 

clay of the Cook Mountain formation is exposed near the railroad station at Harwood. 

The Inaterial is altered greensand marl containing fossils too poorly preserved to admit of 

identification. 

Yellow and brown clays, interstratified with 

red fossiliferous beds of altered greensand 6 

inches to 1 foot thick, are exposed in the scarp 

overlooking the valley of San Marcos River~ 

3 miles southwest of Ottine. 

0 10 20 - 30 40 50 FEET 

FIGURE 21.-Sketch or Kennedy Bluff, on Colorado River 3t miles northwest of Smithville, Tex., showing the relations of the strata. 

The beds dip 6° N. 40° E. 

On the south side of Colorado River, about 

800 feet west of the wagon bridge at Smithville, the beds of the Cook Mountain formation, 

in descending order, include 2 feet of l-aminated nonfossiliferous sandy clay, 1 foot of 

fine yellow sand, 1 foot of brownish-red nonfossiliferous lignitic clay, 6 feet of green fossiliferous glauconitic marl, and 2 feet of fossiliferous glauconitic marl containing geodes of 

limonite (same as the uppermost bed in section 

above). The beds dip downstream 6° N. 40° E. 

The fossils collected at this locality, which were 

identified by Cooke and Vaughan, are listed 

under Non pages 64-65. 

On Colorado River on the Bastrop-Fayette 

county line, about 4! miles east of Smithville, 

the beds of the Cook Mountain formation, in 

descending order, show 1 foot of fossiliferous 

greensand marl with small concretions of iron 

ore, 18 inches of blue fossiliferous shale with 

concretions of ferruginous sandstone, 2 feet of 

fossiliferous greensand marl, 1 foot of blue 

Section between Pandora and Nixon; in Wilson 

and Gonzales counties.-About 4 feet of brown 

calcareous shale overlies 5 feet of green calcareous shale, with irregularly distributed 

lenses. of calcareous sandstone and concretions 

of silicified fossiliferous greensand, 3 miles north 

of Pandora. 

About 100 yards north of this locality 2 

feet of green calcareous shale with lime concretions overlies 1 foot of silicified greensand 

with fossiliferous concretions 1 to 2 feet in 

diameter, and this in turn overlies 3 feet of 

green calcareous shale weathering yellow to 

brown. 

Section on San Antonio River.-The Cook 

Mountain formation is exposed in the drainage 

area of San Antonio River in Wilson County 

from a point about 4" miles south of Floresville 

to a point 1 mile southwest of Poth. 

On San Antonio River opposite the 0. C. 

Burkett farm, about 4 miles south-southeast of 

Floresville, the beds of the Cook Mountain formation, in descending order, show 21 inches of 
EOCENE SERIES. 71 

brown shale, 4 inches of reddish-brown friable 

sand, 5 feet 7 inches of brown shale, and 1 

foot 2 inches of green fossiliferous shale. The 

beds dip 1° S. 15° W. 

Four feet of brownish-black shale with 

flakes of gypsmn or selenite is exposed on a 

neighborhood road about 5 miles south-southeast of Floresville and about three-fourths of 

a mile west of San Antonio River. 

Limestone concretions 2 to 3 feet in diameter, 

embedded in blue clay, crop out on the road 

3~· miles S. 22° E. of Floresville. The concretions carry fossils, which, as identified by 

Cooke and Vaughan, are listed under 0 on 

pages 64-65. 

About 200 feet above the bridge at Dewees 

crossing, on San Antonio River, 3 miles southsouthwest of Poth, the beds of the Cook Mountain formation, in descending order, contain a 

formation consists of 1 foot of brown clay, 

overlying 5 feet of light brown and green 

speckled argillaceous sand. About 200 feet 

below the bridge the sand is underlain by 1 

foot of brown fossiliferous marl, which in· 

turn overlies 1 foot of greenish-blue slightly 

sandy shale. Fossils identified by Cooke and 

Vaughan and listed under P on pages 64-65 

were found in the fossilife;ous marl. 

In a cut on the Artesian Belt· Railroad, 

about 1 mile south of Jourdanton, 3 feet of 

blue shale containing small lime concretions 

averaging an inch in diameter is exposed. At 

irregular intervals there are very hard, large 

fossiliferous limes.tone concretions, from 1 to 

6 feet in diameter and from 6 inches to 2 feet 

thick. Fossils from these concretions ar·e 

listed under Q on pages 64-65. 

Section on Nueces River.-Beds of the Cook 

lens of laminated yellowish-gray sand (see Mountain formation are exposed on Nueces 

fig. 22), 10 feet thick; a lens of bluish-gray, 

brown-weathering shale with small lime concretions (see fig. 22), 8 feet thick; hard greensand concretions 2 by 5 feet in dimension, 

protruding through cover 5 feet thick; yellow 

ferruginous sand, 6 inches thick; and blue 

argillaceous sand to the water line. 

Lenticular beds of red ferruginous clay, 

~ (Covered) ~ <=:::.3<:::::). <:) 

:.· .. ::-; ... , .. ,, ... .:·l··.,.,jrt\·=·1:==·=·:··:0.·'·'·:·.·.·,:·='·'·''~'·'· 

Horizontal scale 0 25 SO 75 100 FEET 

Vertical scale 

0 5 10 IS 20 FEET 

bluish laminated sands, weathering red, and FIGuRE 22.-Sketch showing relations of beds making up the bluft 200 

small fragments of limonite form the COUntry feet above bridge at Dewees crossing on San Antonio River, 3 miles 

south-southwest of Poth, Wilson County, Tex. rock 1i miles southwest of Poth. These 

materials weather into red clay and red loamy Ri-ver from a point 1! miles east of the La Sallesoils upon which grow mesquite and in places Dimmit county line to a point about a quarter 

post oak. of a mile above the Holland dam, 10!_ miles 

Section· in Atascosa County.-On the Jour- southeast of Cotulla. 

danton-Pearsall road, about 1 mile west of the On the Catarina-Cotulla road, 9 rniles S. 79° 

railroad station at Jourdanton, Atascosa Coun- · W. of Cotulla, the beds of the Cook Mountain 

ty, the Cook Mountain formation shows 2 formation, in descending order, include 3! feet 

feet of hard blue sandstone concretions averag- of red ferruginous indurated sand, probably 

ing 2 by 4 feet in size, overlying 3 feet of red altered greensand, which weathers into red 

ferruginous clay with nodules of lime averag- sandy loam soil; and blue sandy limestone 

ing half an inch in diameter. concretions, 2 to 3 inches thick, in.-a matrix of 

· On Stantel Creek, on the Henry Hiner red ferruginous indurated sand. 

league, about 7 miles west-southwest of Jour- At a dam on Nueces River on the White farm, 

dan ton, the Cook Mountain formation shows 5t miles west of. Cotulla, a bed of the Cook 

10 feet of grayish-brown shale with small Mountain formation, exposed in the north 

nodules of gypsum, overlying 6 inches of bank, consists of a bed of limestone concretions 

yellowish sand, and this in turn overlying 5 2 feet thick, brown on exterior, blue on interior, 

feet of brown argillaceous sand with lime and below this about 10 feet of blue indurated 

nodules half an inch in diameter. sand in layers 2 to 3 inches thick, with interOn Bonita Creek 25 feet above the bridge bedded bands of white limy clay half an inch 

on the Jourdanton-Pleasanton road, 1! miles to an inch thick. The dip of the layers of sand 

southwest of Pleasanton, the Cook Mountain is to S. 70° E. · 
72 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

At a creek crossing on the road from Cotulla 

to the E. A. Keck farm, 3 miles northwest of 

Cotulla, the Cook Mountain formation consists, 

in descending order, of 6 feet of brownishyellow calcareous shell marl containing numerous fossil oyster shells and some indurated 

concretions of brown limestone 2 to. 3 feet in 

diameter, 1 foot concealed, 10 feet of brown 

laminated ferruginous sand, and 1 foot of indurated calcareous sandstone concretions measuring about 6 inches by 4 feet. The brown 

sandstone dips ! 0 S. 20° W. 

At· the creek crossing on the road from Malts-

. berger ranch to Cotulla, 5 miles southwest of 

Cotulla, the Cook Mountain formation consists, in descending order, of 12 feet of massive 

indurated greensand which weathers into a 

dense red sand highly charged with iron; 25 

feet of red ferruginous sandstone (altered glauconite; on fresh exposures near the top the 

sand is blue) ; and 6 feet of soft, red, poorly 

bedded ferruginous sandstone; altered greensand. 

On the slope leading down to Harris Creek, 

li miles S. 20° W. from the Maitsberger ranch 

house, 8 miles southwest of Cotulla, the beds 

of the Cook Mountain formation, in descending 

order, include 18 inches of brown indurated sand; 

6 inches of oyster shells in a matrix of brown 

marl; 7 feet of brown ferruginous indurated sand 

(probably altered greensand); and 1 foot of 

indurated brown irregularly bedded ferruginouB san,dstone in beds about 4 inches in thickness. These beds are about the same as those 

at the creek crossing 5 miles southwest of Cotulla. 

The following section is exposed at the wagon 

bridge across Nueces River at Cotulla: 

Section of Coole Mountain formation in north bluff on Nueces 

River at wagon bridge at Cotulla, Tex. 

Brown limestone concretions, averaging 2 by 5 by 

6 feet, in a matrix of red sand ...•.•................ 

Hard blue limestone concretions with a band of foseils 4 inches thick, including specimene of Turritellaf 15p., Ostrea ap., and Meret1-ixf sp. These 

concretions lie in a matrix of red sand, and the 

largest measure 10 feet in diameter ............... . 

Red ferruginous sand (altered greensand) .......... . 

Hard li.Ip.estone cqncretions, brown on outside, blue 

on inside, li feet in thickness and 5 to 7 feet in 

diameter ......................••••. ~ ...•...... 

Brown ferruginous laminated to flaggy sand ...... . 

Feet. 

4± 

4± 

2± 

1! 

13± 

Covered ....................................... . 

Brown sand ..................................... . 

Covered ....................................... . 

Interlaminated shale and brown ferruginous sandstone; sandstone layers are half an inch to an inch 

thick ......................................... . 

Ferruginous brown sandstone .................... . 

Laminated porous yellow, slightly argillaceous sand. 

These beds dip ! 0 S. 40° E. 

Feet. 

3 

1 

4 

5± 

t 

4 

42!± 

On the old Cotulla-Laredo road, near the 

southeast corner of the J. M. Talbot tract 

(section 1676), 2 miles southwest of the wagon 

bridge at Cotulla, a thin lens of shell breccia 

containing Ostrea sp. crops out. This breccia 

overlies a foot of blue laminated sandy shale. 

Hard blue calcareous sandstone concretions, 

encrusted with lime, in a matrix of red sand, 

form the cap rock of the hill on which the 

Cotulla courthouse stands. The stratigraphic 

position is about 16 feet higher than the topmost concretion in the section at the wagon 

bridge. 

Fifteen feet of yellow-brown flaggy, irregularly bedded, soft sandstone is exposed on the 

Cotulla-Tilden road three-fourths of a mile 

east of the courthouse at Cotulla. 

About 3! miles S. 30° E. of Cotulla, on the 

W. J. ·coleman tract, where an arroyo crosses 

the road to the Holland dam, hard blue sandy 

limestone concretions 1 foot thick and 5 to 8 

feet in diameter, encrusted with a thick coating of lime, are exposed. These concretions 

weather brown on the exterior and are embedded in a matrix of weathered yellow sand. 

The entire section is about 15 feet thick. 

Section of Coole Mountain formation exposed in terrace scarp 

on H. A. Beckwith tract 9! miles S. 25° E. from Cotulla, 

Tex. 

Feet. 

Brown calcareous sandstone concretions, averaging 1 

by 3 by 3 feet in size ...... , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 

Brown laminated sand. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 

Gray sandstone.. . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i 

Bluish-white sandy shale........................... 4 

Soft yellow laminated sand.......................... 4 

Ferruginous sand, alternate bands of red and yellow. 8 

Gray sandstone.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i 

Dark-blue shale.·.............................. .. .. .. 4 

27 

Hard brown fossiliferous rounded calcareous 

concretions, 1 to 2 feet in diameter, crop out 

on the Cotulla-Tilden road 1! miles east of the 

courthouse at Cotulla. These concretions overHard. Sa.ndy limestone concretions, blue on interior; 

brown on exterior, 1 foot in thickness and 3 to 4 

feet in diameter ...........•....•............. 1± lie 15 feet of ferrug_inous irregularly bedded 

·..,. 
EOCENE SERIES. 78 

sandstone exposed in a bluff on ·a creek about I at Fowlerton, the Cook Mountain formation 

500 feet to the west. . was completely penetrated. The beds consist 

Section of Cook Mountain formation on slope to a creek 9~ largely of fossiliferous clay and marl containmiles S. 70° E. of Cotulla, Tex., on the Cotulla-Tilden ing such characteristic Lower Claiborne Eocene 

road. Feet. species as Phos texanus Gabb, Dentalium 

Yellow-brown, thinly stratified sandstone (altered minutistriatum Gabb, Turritella nasuta ·Gabb, 

greensand)················· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 6 Oorbula smithvillensis Harris, Oorbula deusseni 

Laminated yellow sandy shale ............. ·········· 2 Gardner, Latirus moorei (Gab b), and Mesalia 

YBlellowl -b~owten dsandsdtoneh. ·

1

• • • • • • • th. · · · · ·.·d.·· · · · · · · · · · 2

6 claibornensis (Conrad) Harris. A detailed log ue aroma san y s a e; wea era re .......... . 

Brown indurated fossiliferous greensand containing of the well follows: 

specimens of Meretrix sp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 

22 

On the road from Cotulla to the Holland 

dam, on the J. H. Lieber tract, in a high bluff 

facing Poteet Lake, 4! miles south-southeast 

of Cotulla, the component strata· of the Cook 

Mountain formation are as follows: 

Section of Coole Mountain formation in bluff facing Poteet 

Lake, ·H miles south-southeast of Cotulla, Tex. 

Feet. 

Brown sandy limestone concretions measuring 1 by 3 

by 3 feet........................................ 1 

Covered............................................ 4 

Brown ferruginous laminated sand. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ! 

Soft brown laminated ferruginous sand; blue on fresh 

surfaces.......................................... 6 

Very hard, highly foBBiliferous limestone containing 

specimens of Meretrix sp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 

Soft yellow laminated calcareous sand containing a 

lens of hard brown fossiliferous limestone (altered 

glauconite) 2 feet thick and 15 feet long............ 9 

21! 

The dip of the beds is about ! 0 S. 60° E. 

On the Cotulla-Tilden road, 3 miles S. 70° 

E. of Cotulla, the Cook Mountain formation 

includes, in descending order, 6 feet of brown 

ferruginous fossiliferous sandstone, 7 feet of 

blue compact shale, 1 foot of brown hard sandstone concretions, and 2 feet of blue shale to 

creek flat. 

At the junction of the Cotulla-Fort Ewell 

and the Cotulla-Tilden roads, about 4! miles 

S. 70° E. of Cotulla, there is an outcrop of 

weathered red-brown sandy clay containing 

yellow manganese-stained limestone and fossiliferous limestone concretions. The fossils in 

the concretions include Neverita arata Gab b ~, 

Oorbula deusseni Gardner, and Gras satellites antestriata (Gabb) ~'indicating a Claiborne horizon. 

Six feet of blue sandy shale, the topmost bed 

of the Cook~ Mountain formation in this section, is seen on the Cotulla-Tilden road .5! 

miles S. 70° E. of Cotulla. 

Section at Fowlerton.-In well No.7 of Fowler 

Bros. Co., li miles northwest of the post office 

Log of Fowler Bros. Co.'s well No. 7 on section 16, tract~~. 

of the Naylor & Jones ranch, 1 ~ miles west-northwest of the 

post office at Fowlerton, La Salle County, Tex. 

[Beds determined by J. M. Byers from the samfles. Fossils identified 

by Cooke and Vaughan. 

---------- Pleistocene terrace of Frio River: 

Black sandy loam .................... . Yellow sandy clay ................... . Yegua formation: 

Variegated arenaceous blue. red, and 

yellow clay ......................... . Very stiff blue, red, and yellow clay ... . Very stiff blue, red, and yellow clay and 

shale containing lime concretions .... Same as above, together with soft black 

shale .............................. . Fine-grained greenish-black water-bearing sand .......................... . Friable red, blue, yellow, black, and 

brown arenaceous shale and clay .... . Soft blue arena<. eo us limestone ........ . Cook Mountain and Mount Selman formations: 

Soft blue arenaceous clay ............. . Stiff blue slightly arenaceous clay ..... . Soft blue arenaceous limestone ........ . Soft friable variegated shale .......... . Soft bluish-black clay, shale, and 

gravel. ...•..... ·.· ................ ·. Dark-blue calcareous sandstone ....... . Fine'-grained greenish-black water-bearing sand;. flows about 5 gallons a minute; water impotable and hard .. . Soft greenish-black arenaceous clay ... . Soft dark-blue fine-grained calcareous 

sandstone ......................... . Soft, friable black calcareous shale .... . Hard blue fine-grained calcareous sandstone ............................. . Friable black arenaceous, calcareous 

pyritiferous shale ......••............ Compact stiff blue fossiliferous arena- ceous clay seamed with marl ....... . Argillaceous, calcareous sand ......... . Stiff blue clay containing many boulders; carries pyrites and flint ....... . Calcareous sand ...................... . Fine-grained bluish-black water-bearing sand; flows about 10 gallons a mmute; water salty and impotable; 

temperature of water 80° F .•........ Stiff dark-blue clay .................. . Greenish-black fossiliferous arenaceous clay ..... ." ......................... . Layers of oyster shells at intervals of 2 · 

Feet. 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

24 

10 

96 

6 

10 

14 

10 

23 

48 

1 

31 

25 

2 

5 

4 

35 

23 

13 

12 

3 

28. 

5 

12 

feet................................ . 10 

Greenish-black arenaceous pyritiferous 

clay ....................... .-~ ...... ~ -: .. 13 

Feet. 

20 

40 

60 

80 

100 

124 

134 

230 

236 

246 

260 

270 

293 

341 

342 

373 

398 . 

400 

405 

409 

444 

467 

480 

492 

495 

523 

. 528 

540 

550 

563 

• 
74 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

Log of Fowler Bros. Co.'s well No.7 on section 16, tract 22·, of the Naylor & Jones ranch, 1! miles west-northwest of the 

post office at Fowlerton, La Salle County, Tex.-Continued. · 

~~~~- Depth. ~~~~- Depth. 

-----------------------------------1------l------ ------------------------------------1----------

Cook Mountain and Mount Selman formations-Continued. 

Pyritic nodules and boulders ......... . Greenish-black arenaceous pyritiferous 

clay ........................... ~ ... . Soft compact black pyritiferous shale .. Hard sandstone ...................... . Soft compact black fossiliferous shale 

and clay .......................... . Hard sandstone ...................... . Soft brittle black fossiliferous shale .... . Hard sandstone ...................... . Tough black fossiliferous clay and 

friable shale; 6 inches of hard rock at 

700 feet ............................ . Tough black fossiliferous, slightly are- naceous clay and friable shale ....... . Tough black fossiliferous, slightly are- naceous clay and friable shale con- taining Terebra houstonia Harris and 

Phos texanus Gabb ................ . Tough black fossiliferous, slightly are- naceous clay and friable shale ..... . Soft black fossiliferous calcareous, are- naceous clay and brittle shale con- taining Terebra houstonia Harris, 

Terebra sp., Pleurotoma (Asthenotoma) terebrijormis Meyer, Pleurotoma enstricrina Harris, Turricula 

( Conomitra) sp., Plejona petrosa 

(Conrad), Phos texan us Gabb, Mesalia 

claibornensis (Conrad) Harris, Neverita arata Gabb, Natica semilunata 

Lea, Dentalium min utistriatum Gab b, 

Corbula sp., Venericardia sp ........ . Soft black fossiliferous calcareous, are- naceous clay and brittle shale containing Terebra texagyra Harris, Ter~bra 

houstonia Harris, Pleurotoma (2 sp.), 

Plejona petrosa (Conrad), Phos texan us Gabb, Natica semilunata Lea, Dentalium minutistriatum Gabb, Nucula 

sp., Corbula sp., Venericardiasp., Endopachys sp., Turritellanasuta Gabb, 

Natica sp. (probably N. semilunata 

Lea), Corbuta smithvillensis Harris, 

Corbula deusseni Gardner .......... . Stiff black fossiliferous calcareous 

plastic clay, containing lumps of 

(lark-green sand, pyrites, and lime 

nodules ............................ . Stiff black fossiliferous calcareous 

plastic clay, containing lumps of 

dark-green sand, pyrites, and lime 

nodules, with specimens of TurG::!~:hs-~i~~k ·~tiff. f~~~iiif~~~~~- -~~1~. careous, arenaceous plastic clay con- taining lumps of marl, pyrites, and 

lime nodules ....................... . Bluish-black brittle fossiliferous calcareous, arenaceous shale, containing Pleurotoma nodocarinata Gabb, 

P. (Drillia) texacona Harris, Plejona 

petrosa (Conrad), Pseudoliva vetusta 

(Conrad), Phos texanus, Turritella 

nasuta Gabb, Neverita arata Gabb, 

Sinum sp., Dentalium minutistriatum Gabb, Trinacria f sp., Corbula 

deusseni Gardner, Venericardia sp .... Greenish-black fossiliferous calcareous, 

arenace1>us cla.y~ ......... · .......... . 

Feet. 

7 

8 

7 

1 

25 

2 

21 

2 

82 

21 

22 

21 

21 

20 

66 

. 21 

21 

25 

4 

Fee•. 

570 

578 

585 

586 

611 

613 

634 

636 

7181 

739 

761 

782 

803 

823 

889 

910 I 

931 

956 

960 

Cook Mountain and Mount Selman formations-Continued. 

Boulders ........................... '.. Greenish-black fossiliferous calcareous, 

slightly arenaceous stiff plastic clay .. Brownish-black fossiliferous calcareous 

stiff plastic clay and several layers of arenaceous shale .................. . . Soft friable brownish-black fos~iliferous calcareous shale containing 

Pleurotoma nodocarinata Gabb, Pleurotoma enstricrina Harris, Cancellaria 

bastropensis Harris var. ? (occurs also 

at Moseleys Ferry), Pyrula (Fusoficula) texana Harris, Turritella nasuta 

Gabb, Neverita arata Gabb, Dentalium 

minutistriatum Gabb, Trinacria? sp., 

Corbula smithvillensis Harris, Corbula deusseni Gardner, Venericardia 

sp ................................ . Soft friable brownish-black calcareous fossilif~rous shale .................. . Hard brown very finf" grained noncalcareous, slightly bitumin:ous (?), 

fossiliferous, slightly glauconitic (?) 

sandstone concretions ............... . Water-bearing friable brownish-black 

calcareous, fossiliferous, glauconitic, 

argillaceous sand containing Balanophyllia sp., Terebra houstonia Harris, 

Pleurotoma afi. P. enstricrina Harris, 

Pleurotoma cf. P. nupera Conrad, 

.Latirus moorei (Gabb), Mesalia claibornensis (Conrad) Harris, Sinum 

bilix Conrad, Nucula ovula Lea? ..... Friable brownish-black calcareous, 

fossiliferous, glauconitic, argillaceous 

water-bearing sand containing Terebra S:{>. (young), Pleurotoma sp. 

(young), Phos? (young); Pyramidella 

sp. (young); Turritella sp. (young); 

Neverita arata Gabb (young); Solariella? sp. (young); Cadulussp.; Trtnacria f sp. (young); Venericardia sp. 

(young); the sand at 1, 05G-1,142 feet 

gives a 20-gallon flow of impotable 

salty water ........................ . Soft friable brown calcareous, are- naceous shale, with alternate layers of 

very tough compact blue shale ..... . Tough blue calcareous, arenaceous clay with lumps of greensand and 

concretions of argillaceous limestone .. Dark-brown calcareous, arenaceous shale; casing set on rock 1 foot thick. 

Tough black calcareous fossiliferous 

shale and green argillaceous sand .... Stiff green calcareous, arenaceous clay 

and concretions of marcasite .... ~ .. . Stiff green arenaceous clay ............ . Green arenaceous shale; concretions of 

marcasite ......................... . Stiff blue arenaceous clay ............ . Stiff green arenaceous glauconitic clay; 

sand occurs in seams and increases 

gradually in quantity toward water 

bed ............................... . Fine-grained glauconitic dark waterbearing sand; water salty and impotable; flow 40 gallons a minute in 1914; 

in January, 1914, static head was 65 

feet and temperature 94° F ......... . 

Feet. 

13 

27 

20 

Feet. 

973 

1,000 

1,020 

15 1, 035 

8 

7 

68 

24 

17 

24 

39 

25 

13 

10 

24 

16 

90 

27 

1,043 

1,050 

1,ll8 

1, 142 

1,159 

1,183 

1, 222. 

1,247 

1,260 

1,270 

1,294 

1,310 

1,400 

1,427 
EOCENE SERIES. 75 

Log of Fowler Bros. Co.'s well No.7 on section 16, tract22, the top. In 1892 Dumble differentiated the 

of the Naylor & Jones ranch, 1! miles west-northwest of the lower group of lignites, sands, and clays post office at Fowlerton, La Salle County, Tex-Contd. 

here considered and applied to it the name 

I 

Thick- th Yegua.22 

ness. Dep · Stratigraphic position.-The Yegua forma- ---------------------!·--- tion lies conformably above the Cook Moun- Cook Mountain and Mount Selman formations-Continued. 

Stiff green arenaceous, glauconitic clay. 

Alternate layers of hard packed sand 

and brittle brown arenaceous shale ... Stiff brown arenaceous clay; 2 inches of 

hard rock at 1,500 feet ... - _ ........ . Stiff brown shale and clay- ........... . Bluish-gray clay with seams of marl; 

concretions ...... _ .. _ .......... _ ... . Very tough shale .................... . Friable black shale ................... . Bluish-gray clay with seams of marL .. . Tough black lignitic shale; concretions. 

Friable black shale; concretions; 6 

inches of rock at 1,643 feet ......... . Friable black arenaceous, lignitic shale. 

Largely sand; water-bearing? ........ . Blue. brown, and black lignitic shale. 

Black pyritiferous, arenaceous shale ... Blue and black shale with pyrite and 

graveL ............................ . Blue and black shale; hard rock 2 

inches thick at 1, 750 feet .......... . Blue and brown lignitiferous arena- ceous shale ....................... . Tough brown clay seamed with marl. .. . Very sandy, loose shale and concretions. 

Soft black arenaceous clay and marl ... . Medium hard rock ................... . Soft black arenaceous clay and marl ... . Very tough brown shale .............. . Friable black arenaceous shale ....... . Soft rock ........................... . Carrizo sandstone: 

Feet. 

5 

32 

68 

14 

14 

6 

20 

23 

17 

19 

25 

20 

6 

11 

26 

16 

20 

37 

9 

20 

3 

14 

6 

11 

3 

Feet. 

1,432 

1,464 

1,532 

1,546 

1,560 

1,566 

1,586 

1,609 

1,626 

1,645 

1,670 

1,690 

1, 696 

1,707 

1, 733 

1, 749 

1, 769 

1,806 

1,815 

1,835 

1,838 

1,852 

1,858 

1,869 

1,872 

tain formation and beneath the Fayette 

sandstone. 

Lithology.-The formation consists largely of 

dark-green clay, brown leaf-bearing and lignitic clay, yellow and dark sand, and lenticular 

beds of lignite. The clay contains masses, 

plates, and veins of selenite. Between the 

Brazos and the Guadalupe there are some beds 

of marine origin. South of the Guadalupe the 

palustrine strata are confined to the upper part 

of the formation, the lower part consisting 

largely of green selenite-bearing clays, dark 

sands, and beds of oyster shells, largely of 

marine origin. 

Tl~,ickness and dip.-The thickness of the 

formation on the Brazos is 475 feet; on the 

N ueces, 1,049 feet. The dip on the Brazos is 

54 feet to the mile; on the Nueces 48 feet to the 

mile. 

Paleontology.-Marine fossils are not common 

in the for1nation. In southwest Texas the 

lower beds carry specimens of Plejona sp., 

Oorbula sp., and Ostrea alabamiensis Lea. Fossil leaves are more or less common in the 

palustrine members of the formation. The 

Fine-grained water-bearing gray sand; 

flow 217 gallons a minute; temperature 106.4° in March, 1914; water 

potable and soft .................... . 87 1, 959 species represented include Anemia eocenica 

YEGU A FORMATION ,20 

Berry, Arundo pseudogoepperti Berry, Ooccolobis claibornensis Berry, Ooccolobis columbianus 

Name.-In 1890 Penrose described a series Berry, Oitrophyllum eocenicum Berry, and 

of strata in the Coastal Plain of Texas that he Thrinax eocenica Berry. (See Pl. XXIII.) 

called the "Fayette beds," 21 a composite group 

that included lignite, clay, and sand at the base, 

sandstone in the center, and calcareous clay at 

so Pnrtlal synonymy of the Yegua formation: · 

Lufkin or Angelina County deposits, considered to be of Miocene age: 

Kennedy, William, A section from Terrell, Kaufman County, to 

Sabine Pass on the Gulf of Mexico: Texas Geol. Survey Third Ann. 

Rept., pp. 58-60, 1892. 

Yogua division: Dumble, E. T., Report on the brown coal and lignite 

of Texas,. Texas Geol. Survey, pp. 148-154, 1892. 

Upper Lignitic (included the Yegua): Lerch, Otto, A preliminary 

report upon the hills of Louisiana: Louisiana Experiment Station 

Bull., 1893, pt. 2. 

Cocksfield Ferry beds: Vaughan, T. W., The stratigraphy of northwestern Louisiann: Am. Geologist, vol. 15, pp. 209-229, 1895. 

Yegua clays: Tho Eocene Tertiary east or the Brazos River: Acad. Nat. 

Sci. Philadelphia Proc., pp. 99-108, 1895. 

Cockfield member: Veatch, A. C., Geology and underground water 

resources of northern Louisiana and southern Arkansas: U. s. 

Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 46, pp. 37-38, 1906. 

u Penrose, R. A. F., Jr., A preliminary report on the geology of the 

Gul! 'fertlaries of Te~ from Red Riv~ to the Rio Grande: Texas Gaol. 

Survey First Ann. Rapt., pp. 47-58, 1890. 

Areal extent.-The formation outcrops in a 

belt of country that includes parts of Burleson, 

Lee, Fayette, Gonzales, Wilson, Atascosa, La 

Salle, and McMullen counties. (See map, Pl. 

VIII.) 

Correlation.-The formation extends through 

eastern Texas in to Louisiana. Its beds in 

Louisiana have been described as the ''Cocksfield Ferry beds" by Vaughan and the "Cockfield member" by Veatch.23 

The formation is approximately the time 

equivalent of the "Upper Claiborne," or the 

Gosport sand of Alabama. 

u Dumble, E. T., Report on the brown coal and lignite of Texas, 

Texas Geol. Survey, pp. 148-154, 1892. 

sa Vaughan, T. W., The stratigraphy of northwestern Louisiana: Am. 

Geologist, vol. 15, pp. 209-229, 1895. Veatch, A. C., Geology and underground water resources of northern Louisiana and southern Arkansas: 

U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 46, pp. 37-38, 1906. 
76 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST 0~ BRAZOS RIVER. 

Section on Brazos River.-Beds belonging 

to the Y egua formation are exposed on the 

Brazos between the mouth of the Little 

Brazos and a point southwest of Wellborn, 

in Brazos County. The formation consists 

entirely, so far as is known, of palustrine and 

lignite-bearing deposits that contain no marine 

fossils. 

Section in. Burleson Oounty.-In a shaft on 

the Johi::t Burch farm, about three-fourths of a 

mile west of Davidson switch and 6! miles 

south-southeast of Caldwell, the "fegua form-ation, in descending order, consists <;>f 10 feet 

of blue sulphurous shale, 8 feet of brown 

lignitic ·shale, 15 feet of blue sulphurous shale, 

and 3 feet of lignite, penetrated at the bottom 

of the shaft. A drill hole 18 feet deep was 

driven below the lignite and. is said to have 

'encountered other beds of lignite. The material passed through in the drill hole, aside 

from the lignite, is largely an even-textured 

clay. 

The same succession of lignitic beds is said 

to have been struck in another shaft on Davidson Creek clo~e to the Burch shaft. The 

lignite was reported to be 5 feet thick. A 

third shaft, on the opposite side of Davidson 

Creek, is said to have passed through 3 feet 

of lignite. · 

Greenish-gray clay, overlain by .a few feet 

of yellow sand, is ·exposed on the CaldwellLyons road about 5 miles north-northwest of 

Lyons. The dip is ! 0 S. 60° E. 

Section in Lee Oounty.-The following 

exposures of the Y egua formation were noted 

in Lee County: At bluff crossing on West 

Y egua Creek about half a mile north of Loeb au 

the Yegua formation, in descending order, is 

composed of 6 feet of blue clay with a few thin 

beds of sand, 8 feet of lignitic blue clay, 3 feet 

of porous gray sand, and 6 feet of lignitic 

shale. 

Beds of sandy lignitic shale, dark-gray 

sandy lignitic clay, and sand containing leaf 

impressions are exposed on Nails Creek about 

3 miles north of Giddings . 

. Red .sand and sandstone, 10 feet thick, is 

. ~xposed on a branch of Nails Creek, ~bout. 3 

miles northeast of G!qq._i:n:gs:_ _ On_ tP,e opposite 

(north) side of the branch sandy lignitic shale, 

which underlies the red sands and sandstones, 

is exposed. 

The section of the Y egua formation in the 

clay pit at the brick plant a quarter of a mile 

northwest of Giddings, in descending order, 

shows 3 feet of sandy clay, slightly lignitic, 

1 foot of soft porous sand, 2 feet of yellow clay,' 

1 foot of white- sandy clay, 2 feet of lignitic 

shale, and 2 feet of sandy clay. 

On the west side of the San Antonio & 

Aransas Pass Railway about 1! miles south 

of Giddings the Y egua formation, in descend-

-ing order, includes 4 feet of sandy gray shale, 

6 inches of hard ferruginous sandstone, 6 feet 

of porous gray sand, 6 inches of hard ferruginous sandstone, 8 feet of gray sandy shale, 

and 15 feet of lignitic shale. The upper hard 

ferruginous sandstone dips 2° S. 30° E. 

Lignitic shale dipping 2° SE. is exposed 

where the Giddings-Serbin road crosses Rabbs 

Creek, 3 miles south-southwest of Giddings. 

A quarter of a mile downstream, at the bridge 

of the San Antonio & Aransas Pass Railway, 

lignitic shale containing flakes of selenite is 

exposed. Lignite interbedded with lignitic 

shale is exposed 100 yards below the San An- · 

tonio & Aransas Pass Railway bridge. 

Forty feet of brown lignitic shale with flakes 

of selenite is exposed on Rabbs Creek 5 miles 

south of Giddings. 

Twelve feet of white sand is exposed on a 

branch of Rabbs Creek, about 4 miles south of 

Giddings and 1 ~ile above the mouth of the 

creek. 

Eight feet of lignitic sand is exposed on 

Rabbs Creek about 1 mile above the LeeFayette county line. Fifteen feet of dark sandy 

lignitic clay is exposed on Rabbs Creek a 

quarter of a mile above the Lee-Fayette county 

line. Fifteen feet of porous yellow· sand is exposed on. Rabbs Creek at the La GrangeGiddings road _crossing, about a mile below the 

Fayette-Lee county line, in Fayette County. 

Porous yellow sand with thin yellow partings of iron is exposed half a mile below this 

crossing. 

Section in Fayette Oounty.-On Rabbs Creek, 

1 t miles below the La Grange-Giddings road 

crossing ~nd about li miles east of Warda, 

Fayette County, the Y egua formation includes 

10 feet of dark sandy clay, 6 inches. of red 

ferruginous sandstone, 8 feet of dark sandy clay 

with gypsum, and 10 feet of bluish-yellow 

porous sa.nd~tone. 
U. R. OEQI,OGICAL SUR\'EY l' ROPESSIONAL PAPER 126 l'T,ATE XXII 

2 

3 4 

4a 

1 

9 

5 

6 

6a 

7 

8 

7a 10 

8a 

C HARACTERI STI C FOSSIUS OF THE COOK MOUNTAIN FOil MATION. 

1. Latirus moorei (Gabb). 

2. Phos texanus Gab b. 

3. .Mesalia claibornensis Co mad. 

4 . Turritella nasuta Gab b. 

4a. Turritella nasuta subsp. houstonia Harris. 

·5. Denlalium minutistriatum Gab b. 

6, Ga. Anomia ephi'J?pioides Gab b. 

7, 7a. Corbula smithvillensis llarris. 

8, Sa. Corbula deusseni Gardner n. Sl> (For description seep. 65.) 

9. Natica dumblei Heilprin. 

10. Lacinia alveata Conrad. 
U. S. C EOLOGJCAJ, SURVEY 

J. A crostichum georgianum Berry. 

2. A run do pseudogoepperti Berry. 

a. Tllrinax eocenica Berry. 

PROFESSIONAL PAPER 126 PLA'I'E XXJII 

I'OSSIL LEAVES Of TilE YEGUA 1'011MATIO ' . 

4. Lygodium kaulfussi lleer. 

5, 5a. Sapindus georgiana Berry. 

G. Pisonia claibornensis Berry. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

A. BLUFF ON COLORADO IUVER, 2! MILES WEST 

OF WEST POINT. FAYETTE COUNTY, TEX. 

PROFESSIONAL PAPER 126 PLATE XXIV 

B. MIDDLE FALLS IN ABANDONED GORGE OF SAN 

ANTONIO RIVER, ABOUT 2 MILES ABOVE WAGON 

l.IRIDGE AT FALLS CITY, KARNES COUNTY, TEX. 

C. HOLLAND DAM ON NUECES F\IVER, 10 ~ MILES SOUTHEAST OF COTULLA A SALLE COUNTY, TEX. 

CHARACTERISTIC EXPOSURES OF THE YEGUA FORMATION. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

A. QUAHRY IN HARD BLUE SEM IQUARTZIT IC SA!\DSTOI\E OF T HE FAYETTE SAI\DSTONE ABOUT 3.\ MILES SOUT H OF WEST POI!\T, FAYETTF: COUNTY, TEX. 

PROFES SIO~ AL PAPER 126 PLATE XXV 

B. BROWN SHALE OR FULLER'S EARTH (?) I N THE FAYETTE 

SANDSTONE EXPOSED AT CONQUIESTA CROSSING, ON SAN 

ANTONIO RTVEH, ABOUT 4 :\fiLES WEST OF FALLS CITY, 

KARNES COUI\TY, TEX. 

C. FR IO CLAY EXPOSED ON SAN ANTON IO RIVER ABOUT THHEEFOURTHS OF A M ILE ABOVE BRIDGE ON HOAD BETWEEN PANNA 

:\! AR IA AND KARNES CITY, KARNES COUNTY, TEX. 

D. FRIO CLAY EXPOSED ON SAl'\ CRISTOBAL C REEK, ABOUT ll \11LES NOHT II-

:\'ORTH\\ EST OF OAK \' ILLE, Ll\'E OAK COUNTY, TEX. 
EOCENE SERIES. 77 

Section of Yeguaformation on Owl (1) Creek, 1! miles east 

of Warda, Tex. 

Lignitic brown clay ........................... . 

Hard dark clay .............. · ................. . 

Porous gray sand ......................... : ... . 

Light-colored clay ............................ . 

Gypsum ..................................... . 

Brown sandy clay ........................... .. 

Soft lignitic sand .............................. . 

Lignite ....................................... . 

Hard dark lignitic sand ........................ . 

The beds dip 2° S. 20° E. 

Ft. in. 

10 

6 

6 

5 

! 

3 6 

6 

6 

6 

37 6! 

The upper beds of the Y egua formation, 

corresponding with those just given, also appear 

on Greens Creek, about half a mile north of the 

Fayette-Lee county line and about 7 miles 

south-southeast of Giddings. 

Section on Colorado River.-On Colorado 

River the Y egua formation is exposed from a 

point 2 n1iles below the Fayette-Bastrop county 

line to a point 3 miles northwest of La Grange. 

~Jii. Horizontal scale 

0 100 200 FEET 

Vertical scale 0 10 20 fEET 

FIGURE 23.-Sketch showing relation of the beds 1n bluff on Colorado 

River 2 miles below the Fayette-Bastrop county line in Fayette 

County, Tex. 

Laminated lignitic shale, 10 feet thick, is 

exposed on Colorado River 2 miles below the 

Fayette-Bastrop county line in Fayette County. 

The beds are gently undulating. The dip is 1° 

S. 22° E. About 100 yards below this point a 

lens of sandy shale containing concretions of 

sandstone lies below the shale. (See fig. 23.) 

On Colorado River at the mouth of Cedar 

Creek, 2! miles west of West Point, the Yegua 

formation in descending order shows 12 feet of 

blue shale, 2 feet of sandy shale, 7 feet of lignitic shale, 2 feet of brown shale, and 40 feet of 

brown sandy sha.le containing a 2-foot bed of 

lignite. (See Pl. XXIV, A.) The beds dip 

1 oN. 50° E. 

At the San Antonio & Aransas Pass Railway 

br~4ge on Colorado River,- 2! miles north of 

West Point, the Yegua formation shows 12 feet 

of ·blue sand with irregular discontinuous 

laminae of clay half an inch thick, 5 feet unexposed, 2 feet of blue clay with concretions of 

ferruginous sandstone 1 foot t~ick and 3 to 4 

'feet lotig .. The beds dip· 2° S. 80° E .. A quarter 

of a mile· downstream 12 feet of gray sand, 

with clay partings 1 to 2 inches thick, are 

exposed. The beds seen at the railroad bridge 

dip beneath this sand. 

On Colorado River, 2 miles east of West 

Point, the Yegua formation shows 1 foot of 

sand, 2 inches of lignitic shale, 8 inches of sand, 

1 foot of blue lignitic shale, 2 feet 6 inches· of 

sand, and 6 feet of blue lignitic shale. The beds 

dip gently downstream. 

On Colorado River, about 1! miles north of 

Plum, there IS exposed 18 feet of laminated 

black lignitic clay dipping about 2° N. 50° E. 

This clay is a member of the Yegua formation. 

Section of Yeguaformation on Colorado River half a mile 

below the mottth of Rabbs Creek, about 3! miles northwest of La Grange. Feet. 

Blue clay; weathers brown ........................ 15 

Friable white sand....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l 

Blue clay; weathers brown.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 

Friable white sand................................ 1 

Blue sulphurous clay............................... . J 0 

Brown clay..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

Friable white sand................................ 1 

Blueclay;weathersbrown ......................... 8± 

Friable white sand ........ ~....................... 1 (?) 

Laminated blue and brown sandy clay... . . . . . . . . . . 10 

Blue clay with black leaf impressions......... . . . . . . 1 

Lignite........................................... 1 

Blue clay with leaf impressions............. . . . . . . . . 12 

Lignite........................................... 1 

Blue clay.......................................... 3 

Covered.......................................... 6 

Lignite........................................... 1 

Blue clay.~....................................... 6 

Black lignitic clay ........... ~. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 

97 

The beds dip 1° S. 25 ° E. 

The leaves listed below were collected from 

beds of this section: 

Fossil leaves from bluff Or}- Colorado River, half a mile 

bel_ow the mouth of Rabbs Creek, Fayette County, Tex. 

[Identifications by Edward W. Berry.] 

A B c D 

------------1------------

Anemia eocenica Berry.. . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . X 

X 

Arundo pseud o g o e p p e r t i 

Berry...................... X 

C o c c o 1 o b i s claibornensis 

Berry .............. ~....... . . . . . . X ........... . Cocco I obis columbianus 

Berry ..................... . X 

CitrophyUum eo c e ni cum Berry............................ X ........... . Ficus sp. (fruit) new sp....... .. ........ .. Oreodaphne obtusifolia Berry. X X 

Thrinax eocenica Berry(?).... X ........... . 

A. Occurs in the Yegua formation at other places. 

B. Occurs in the Yegua formation in Louisiana and ·in 

its stratigraphic equivalents in States to the east. 

C. Occurs also in the Jackson formation. 

D. Oc·curs also in the Wilcox deposits. · · · · · · · · 
78 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

The upper Claiborne or Y egua age of- the 

beds at this locality would thus seem to be 

indicated. The stratigraphic position of the 

several exposures on Colorado River is shown 

graphically in Plate IX (in pocket). 

Section in Gonzales County.-The following 

exposures of the Y egua formation were noted 

in Gonzales County: · 

Near the Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Railway, about 2 miles east of Nixon, the. 

beds of the Yegua ( ~) formation include 2 feet 

of red sandy clay, 18 inches of brown indurated 

sand, and 2 feet of brown sandy shale with 

calcareous nodules. About 300 feet east of 

this place another exposure shows 5 feet of 

green calcareous shale containing fossiliferous 

concretions of limonite 4 to 6 inches in diarneter. This shale overlies the red sandy clay 

noted above. The fossils are too poorly preserved to admit of identification. 

Yellow fossiliferous sandstone concretions 

crop out on the Nixon-Smiley road about 4 

miles east of Nixon and about a quarter of 

a mile east of the crossing of the Galveston, 

Harrisburg & San Antonio Railway. The concretions carry specimens of Plejona sp., Tellina 

mooreana Gabb ~and Corbula sp. 

Three feet of blue clay containing ma.sses 

of selenite 2 to 6 inches in diameter and 2 

inches tnick are exposed on the Nixon-Smiley 

road about 3 miles west of Smiley. 

A well at Smiley belonging to V. B. Colley, 

1,465 feet deep, is said to have _penetrated a 

bed of lignite 4 feet thick at a depth of 250 

feet. This lignite probably lies at the same 

horizon as that exposed 2! miles west of West 

Point; at the San Antonio & Aransas Pass 

Railway bridge on Rabbs Creek; and in the 

shaft on the Burch place 6! miles southsoutheast of Caldwell. It is in the lower part 

of the Y egua formation. 

Six feet of yellow and red mottled sandy 

clay is exposed in the bluff fronting Elk 

Creek 3 miles southwest of Smiley, and this 

cl~y is underlain by green shale with calcareous 

nodules in a roadside gully 1 mile southwest 

of Smiley. 

Two feet of ferruginous yellow sand is exposed on a small branch leading in to Elm 

Fork about an eighth of a mile east of Smiley. 

Four to five feet of green shale with iron 

concretions is exposed on a small branch 

crossing the Smiley-Sample road about half a 

mile east of Smiley. 

Section on San Antonio·· River.-The Y egua 

formation is exposed on San Antonio River 

from a point 4 miles south of Poth, in Wilson 

County, to the Wils.on-Karnes county line. 

On San Antonio River, about 1,000 feet 

below the crossing 4 miles south of Poth, the 

Yegua 0) formation consists of 15 to 20 feet 

of fossiliferous brown clay ·(fossils too poorly 

preserved for identification); 10 feet of bluish 

gray plastic shale; and a lens of yellow indurated sand, 10 feet thick, which appears at the 

south end of the bluff only. 

At the falls of San Antonio River; 2 miles 

above the wagon bridge at Falls City, Karnes· 

County, the Yegua formation in the river bluff 

and in the bed of an abandoned channel of 

the river shows 6 inches of a white bed largely 

n1ade up of silicified plant rmnains ( ~); 1 foot 

of gray shale with organic n1atter (stun1p 8 

inches in dian1eter and 1 foot high standing 

erect); 2 feet of a white bed largely composed of 

silicified plant remains; 2 feet of yellow indurated sand; 6 feet of reddish-brown sandy shale; 

2 feet of hard gray leaf-bearing sandy shale; 

1 foot of blue sandy shale; 3 feet of light-gray 

sandy shale; 5 inches of moderately hard brown 

lignitic shale; and 4 feet of compact green 

lignitic shale. The strike of the beds is S. 40° 

W. and the dip SE. 132 feet to the mile. (See 

Pl. XXIV, B.) 

Section in Atascosa County.-In the banks of 

a small creek at Christine there is exposed 3 feet 

o{mottled blue, yellow, and white sandy clay; 

the mottling is due to weathering. 

A bed of lignite 8 feet thick was struck at a 

depth of 60 feet in a well at the ranch house of 

Emmanuel Tom on Matate Creek, 3 miles west 

of Campbellton. A number of prospect holes 

show 8 to 13 feet of lignite in this vicinity. 

Section on San Miguel- Oreek.-On San 

Miguel Creek, 8! miles north of Tilden, the 

Yegua formation consists of 8 feet of yellow 

calcareous clay with concretions 2 to 3 feet in 

diameter and 10 feet of lignite with interstratified layers of bituminous shale or "bone." 

The dip of the lignite is 1! 0 S. 77° E. A section of the bed of lignite, as exposed in a shaft 

adjacent to the creek, is shown in figure 24. 

On San Miguel Creek, 8 miles east-northeast 

of Tilden and 700 feet above the crossing of the 

Crowther-Tilden road in McMullen County, the 

Y egua forma~ion includes 8 feet 8 inche$ of 

brown ligni.ti? shale, 2 feet· of . brown shale, 1 
EOCENE SERIES. 79 

foot of brown lignitic shale, 5 feet of graybrown sandy shale with plant remains, and 3 

feet 6 inches of brown slightly sandy shale with 

plant remains. 

Section near Tilden.-The character of the 

beds near Tilden is indicated in the following 

well log: 

Log of well No. 1 of Bowling Green- Texas Oil & Gas Co., 

8 mile.~ east-northeast of Tilden, Tex. 

---------------------

Quaternary: Feet. Feet. 

Black earth......................... 25 25 

Fayette sandstone: 

Soapstone and clay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 225 

Green sandrock, dry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 228 

Soapstone and clay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 310 

Lignite.............................. 2 312 

Soapstone and clay .. ·. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 335 

Green Sandrock, dry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 338 

Soapstone and clay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 400 

Lignite and shells. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 440 

Soapstone and clay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 480 

Y egua formation: 

Dark shale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 515 

Solid lignite .. · . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . . . . . . . . 8 523 

Shale and lignite.................... 17 540 

Seashell rock. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 1 541 

Shale and lignite.................... 13 554 

Green sandrock, dry.................. 9 563 

Green sandrock; salt water; some gas .. , 57 620 

Soapstone and clay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 635 

Green Sandrock; salt water; much gas.. 90 725 

Brown clay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 778 

Quicksand, dry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 790 

Brown clay, quite sandy.............. 115 905 

Soapstone, white..................... 21 926 

Sandstone; flow of water almost fresh.. 9 935 

Brown clay, sandy ..... ·. . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 945 

The lignite between 515 and 554 feet lies at 

the .same horizon as that exposed on San Miguel 

Creek, 8! miles north of Tilden; on the Tom 

Ranch, 3 miles west of Campbellton; on San 

Antonio River, 2 miles above the wagon bridge 

at Falls City; on Colorado River, half a mile 

below the mouth of Rabbs Creek; at a point 

7 miles south-southeast of Giddings; and on 

Owl Creek 1! miles east of old Warda, in 

Fayette County. These beds occur in the 

upper part of the Y egua formation. 

Section on F'rio River.-The Yegua formation is exposed along Frio River from a point 

8 miles northwest of Fowlerton to a point 2! 

miles west-southwest of Tilden. The exposures are largely obscured by Quaternary silt 

and gravel, which occupy most of the valley. 

On the San Antonio, Uvalde & Gulf Railroad, 1! miles east of Dull, there is exposed 4 

feet of green plastic shale with rounded yellow 

limestone concretions, 2· t~ lQ inches in 

d.i~meter, and em~ll mas·ses of gypsum. 

Five miles east-southeast of Fowlerton the 

Yegua formation shows 15 feet of greenishgray calcareous sandy shale. · 

Twenty-five feet of green calcareous, slightly 

sandy shale is exposed on the Tilden-Fowlerton 

road about 5 miles southwest of Tilden. 

Six 'miles southwest of Tilden, on the TildenFowlerton road, the upland is capped by 1 

foot of gray sandstone overlying a green shale. 

Section on Nuece8 River.-Along Nueces 

River beds belonging to the Y egua fo:rmation 

are successively crossed in ascending order 

from a point about a quarter of a mile above 

Laminated shale 

Lignite 

Bone 

Lignite 

·sone 

Lignite 

Bone 

lignite 

Bone 

Lignite 

FIGURE 24.-Section or lignite bed exposed in shaft on San inguel 

Creek, 8 miles east-northeast of Tilden, Tex. 

the Holland da1n, lOt miles southeast of 

Cotulla, to a point about lt miles west of the 

McMullen county line. 

· The basal beds of the Y egua formation, 

which consist of 2 feet of green shale with lime 

nodules overlying 2 feet of brown shale that 

carries . brown sandstone concretions, are exposed on th~ Cotulla-Tilden road 7 i miles eastsoutheast of Cotulla. 

Next in ascending order are the beds exposed 

at the Holland dam on Nueces River, lOt miles 

southeast of Cotulla. (See Pl. XXIV, 0.) 

These beds consist of 8 feet of laminated blue 

argillaceous sands with bands of brown sand 

ranging from 1 inch to 1· fobt in thickness, 
80 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

1 foot of brown sand, 1 foot of yellow calcareous 

sand, and 3 feet of blue massive argillaceous 

sand. 

At the crossing on Altito Creek, on the Cotulla-Tilden road 81 miles east of Cotulla, 

4 feet of greenish-gray weathered calcareous 

shale is exposed. About 1,000 feet west· of the 

crossing washes along the road expose 6 feet 

of weathered dark-green sandy shale. 

A whitish-gray compact noncalcareous, argillaceous sandstone crops out on the prairie 

beneath a thin coat of soil on the Matthew 

Cartwright ranch, section 226 0), about 14 

miles southeast of Cotulla. 

At the site of old Fort Ewell, 23 miles southeast 

of Cotulla, 2 feet of green shale with small lime 

nodules is exposed. The shale weathersto red. 

A bed of fossil oyster shells occurs 2 miles 

north-northeast of the old Mexican village of 

Guahuco, 21! miles southeast of Cotulla. 

An excavation. for a small storage reservoir 

has been made near the road from the Dobie to 

the Camerone ranch, 6 miles east of old Fort 

.Ewell. The material excavated is a yellow 

sandy clay, the original color of which is blue. 

FAYETTE SANDSTONE.2f 

Name.-Penrose in 1890 published th.e following description of· what he called the 

"Fay~tte beds"_: 25 

2• Partial synonymy of the Fayette sandstone: 

Fayette·beds [included the Yegua, Fayette, Frio, Oakville, Lapara, and 

Lagarto formations]: Penrose, R. A. F., jr., A preliminary report 

on the geology of the Gulf Tertiaries of Texas from Red River to the 

Rio Grande: Texas Gaol. Survey First Ann. Rapt., pp. 47-58, 1890. 

· Fayette division: Dumble, E. T., Report on the brown coal and lignite 

of Texas, Texas Geol. Survey, pp. 154-157, 1892. 

Fayette sands [included the Catahoula of east Texas]: Kennedy, William, A section from Terrell, Kaufman County, to Sabine Pass on the 

Gulf of Mexico: Texas Geol. Survey Third Ann. Rept., pp. 60-62, 

113-116, 1892. 

Wellborn beds: Kennedy, William, Report on Grimes, Brazos, and 

Robertson counties: Texas Geol. Survey Fourth Ann. Rapt., 

pp. 45-46, 1893. 

Fayette sands [included the Catahoula of east Texas]: Kennedy, William, The Eocene Tertiary of Texas east of the Brazos River: Acad. 

Nat. Sci. Philadelphia Proc., 1895, pp. 95-99. 

Grand Gulf [included the Fayette]: Veatch, A. C., The geography and 

geology of the Sabine River, Louisiana Geol. Survey, pp. 132-134, 

141, 1902. 

Fayette sands [included the Catahoula of east Texas]: Hayes, C. W., 

and Kennedy, William, Oil fields of the Texas-Louisiana Gulf 

Coastal Plain: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 212, pp. 21-23, 42-61, 1903. 

Fayette sands: Dumble, E. T., Geology of southwestern Texas: Am. 

Inst. Min. Eng. Trans., vol. 33, pp. 32-40, 1903. · 

Catahoula formation [included the Fayette]: Veatch, A. C., Geology and 

underground water resources of northern Louisiana and southern 

Arkansas: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 46, pp. 42-43, 1906. 

Catahoula sandstoae [included the Fayette]: Deussen, Alexander, Geology and underground waters of the southeastern part of the Texas 

Coastal Plain: u.S. Gaol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 335, pp. 68-

72, 1914. 

16 Penrose, R. A. F., jr., A preliminary report on the geology of the 

Gull Tertiaries of Texas from Red RWer to th-e Rio Gran·de-: Texas Geol. 

Surt&'y.First Ann. R'&'p't.;, p. 47, 1800. 

They consist of a series of clays and sands, very characteristic in their color, mode of occurrence, and associations, and are easily distinguished from any other beds 

in the Tertiary series of Texas. They include all those 

beds found on the Brazos, Colorado, and Rio Grande 

which lie between the. uppermost fossiliferous strata of 

the marine Tertiary (Cook's Mountain) below and the 

post-Tertiary clays, limestones, and pebbles above. 

Above the uppermost of the marine Tertiary already 

described, on the Brazos and Colorado rivers, occuxs a 

series of clay and sandy strata, the clay rapidly becoming 

more and more predominant as we go up the series until 

the beds are composed almost exclusively of it. Then 

again the sandy beds suddenly assume predominance 

and extend upward to the post-Tertiary b~ds. The 

lower· or clayey part of the series composes a little ove1 

half of the formation, and the sandy beds compose the 

rest. 

These beds represent the "Grand Gulf" series of Hilgard 's Mississippi section. 

Dumble in 1892 separated Penrose's "Fayette beds" into two parts. The lower part, 

consisting of clay, he called the Y egua division, 

and the upper part, consisting of sandstone, 

he called the Fayette division.26 

The formation was minutely defined by 

Dumble in 1903 as follows: 27 

This name (Fayette sands) was originally used by 

Penrose for the entire series of deposits between the top 

of the Marine (Cook's Mountain) beds and the base of 

the Coast clays. Investigation shows that this would 

embrace deposits of different ages, and the name is here 

used with restricted significance for that subdivision of 

the Tertiary to which i~ is most app~cable. Some confusion has arisen from the fact that two somewhat similar 

beds of sands occur in the Texas area, separated by a 

band of clays of variable thickness, so that, at times, we 

may pass from one to the other without noticing the 

change. The lower. of these sandstones is the Fayette 

sands, as here described, and is of lower Claiborne age, 

while the upper, which will also be described in the 

following pages, under the name of Oakville beds, is shown 

by its fossils to belong to the Miocene. 

The name Fayette is used in this report 

with ·the significance given it by Dumble in 

the quotation cited. However, as will be 

shown later, the deposits are not of lower 

Claiborne age but of Jackson age. 

The name is derived from that of Fayette 

County, Tex., where the beds a.re typically 

exposed~ 

Stratigraphic position.-ln the region west 

of Brazos River the Fayette sandstone iies 

conformably above. the Y egua formation, but 

in eastern Texas and western Louisiana it 

211 Dumble, E. T., Report on the brown coal and lignite ol Texas 

Texas Gaol. Survey, pp. 148-1.54, 1892. 

tf Dumblo, E. T., Geol9gy o! S'outh'Western Te·xas: Am. Inst. Min 

Eng. Trans.· V:il. 33, 11· 32 ,1ro·a. · · · · 
EOCENE SERIES. . 81 

lies above the Jackson formation. West of 

Colorado River it is overlain conformably 

by the Frio clay, but east of Colorado River 

it is conformably overlain by the Catahoula 

sandstone. 

Lithology.-The formation is made up of 

gray sandstone and sand, brown and chocolatecolored clay, and lignitic clay and lignite. 

The sandstone· is at some places flaggy, at 

others massive. It contains large quantities 

of silicified and opalized wood, and in some 

localities it is fossiliferous. The texture of 

the sand and sandstone is generally coarse, 

and the grains are either angular or rounded. 

In certain areas the beds of sandstone are 

cemented with an opaline matrix into zones 

of very hard blue quartzite, which is quarried. 

The lignite is usually impure and of low grade. 

Beds of volcanic ash, which are in places 

leaf-bearing, are interstratified with the clay 

and lignite. The clay is in some beds white, 

resembling kaolin, but burning tests show 

that it can not be used for making white 

ware unless it is mixed with large quantities 

of foreign clay. Some of the clay may be 

classed as fuller's earth, having been successfully utilized for this purpose. 

The lithologic aspect of the ·Fayette sandstone is in some respects similar to that of 

the overlying Oakville and Catahoula sandstones, and because of this resemblance they 

are difficult to discriminate and have often 

been confused, the Oakville having been 

mapped with the Fayette, and the Fayette 

with the Catahoula. 

The quartzite of the Oakville and the Catahoula formations resembles the quartzite of 

the Fayette, and the beds of gray sandstone 

of the Catahoula that contain silicified and 

opalized wood bear a striking resemblance 

to certain beds in the Fayette that have a 

similar content. The Fayette, however, is 

much less calcareous than the Oakville and 

is at most places ·separated from it by a bed 

of clay-the Frio clay. The Oakville does 

not contain the chocolate-colored clay, the 

lignite, and the fuller's earth found in the 

Fayette. 

In eastern Texas the Fayette becomes thinner, and it finally disappearS completely before 

it reaches central Louisiana. It contains no 

lime, and it is separated from the overlying 

Catahoula by no bed of clay. The only lithologic differences appear to be the presence of 

chocolate-colored clay and lignite and of invertebrate-bearing sandstone. The boundary line 

between the two formations must therefore be 

so drawn as to exclude these index beds from 

the Catahoula. As the Fayette of western 

Louisiana and eastern Texas is very thin and 

lies immediately beneath the Catahoula, it has 

at times been mapped with that formation and 

the Catahoula has been mapped with the Fayette. 

· Thickness and dip.-The thickness of the 

formation on the Brazos is 560 feet, on the 

Colorado about 700 feet, and on the Nueces 

480 feet. The dip on the Brazos is 53 feet to 

the mile and on the Nueces 48 feet to the mile. 

Topographic. expression.-The Fayette sandstone makes itself known by low hills and 

westward-facing scarps capped by the hard 

sandstone and quartzitic members. In this 

respect the topographic expression of the formation is entirely different from that o.f the 

Y egua formation on the northwest or the Frio 

clay on the southeast. 

Paleontology.-The invertebrate fossils are 

scarce and generally very poorly preserved. 

The formation is much more fossiliferous in 

the southwestern part of its area than it is in 

the vicinity of the Brazos. 

Paleontology of the Fayette sandstone. 

Invertebrates. 

Tellina eburniopsis Conrad and Cytherea discoidalis characterize the lower portion of the Fayette in central 

Texas, and Ostrea georgiana Conrad is exceedingly 

abundant in the middle and upper Fayette of southwest Texas. 

Vertebrates. 

Carcharodon auriculatus (Blainville) near the bottom of 

the formation. Ranges from Middle Eocene through 

Pliocene. 

Plants. 

Sabalitesviclcsburgensis Berry, from middle of the formation 

on Hamilton lea.gue, Fayette County, Tex. Also 

found at Chalk Hills, La., and near Pulliam, Tex., in 

strata of upper Vicksburg and lower Claiborne or 

Wilcox ages, respectively. 

Calocarpum viridijormis Berry, from middle of formation 

on Hamilton league, Fayette County, Tex. Also 

found 4 miles northwest of Hornbeck, La., in strata of 

lower Catahoula or Jackson age. 

Pisonia jaclcsoniana Berry, from lower part of formation 

near Plum, Fayette County, Tex. Also found at 

White Bluff, Ark., in strata of early Jackson age. 

Burserites catahoulensis Berry, from strata north of Hombeck, La. Also found at Harmons Creek, Walker 

County, Tex., in strata of late Jackson or early Vicksburg age, and at Stryker, Polk County, Tex., in strata 

of Vicksburg? age. 
82 G:BOLOGY OF THE COAS~AL ,PLAIN OF TEXAS WES'r OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

Cedrela jacksoniana Berry, from strata north of Hornbeck, 

La. Also found at White Bluff, Ark., in strata of 

early Jackson age, and at Stryker, Polk County, Tex., 

in strata of Vicksburg? age. 

Bombacites jacksonensis Berry, from middle of the formation near Somerville, Tex. Also found near Christie, 

La., and near Mirafiores, Webb County, Tex., in strata 

of Jackson age. . 

Conocarpus eocenica Berry, from strata near Mirafiores, 

Webb County, Tex. Also found n.ear Christie, La., 

in strata of Jackson age. 

Terminalia phaeocarpoides Berry, from strata· near Mirafiores, Webb County, Tex. Also found near Christie:, 

La., in strata of Jackson age. 

Dryophyllum brevipetiolatum Berry, from Trinity County, 

Tex. Also found 4 miles northwest of Hornbeck, 

La., .in strata of Jackson age. 

Sapindus georgiana elongata var. nov., from strata near 

Mirafiores, Webb County, Tex. Also found 4 miles 

northwest of Hornbeck, La.; in strata of Jackson age~ 

Areal extent.-The outcrop of the formation 

is coextensive with the belt of country already 

described as the Wellborn plain. It occupies 

parts of Burleson, Washington, Lee, Fayette, 

Gonzales, Wilson, Karnes, Atascosa, Live Oak, 

McMullen, and La Salle counties. (See Pl. 

VIII.) 

Correlation.-The correlation and discrimination of the Fayette sandstone has been 

difficult because of the paucity of identifiable 

fossils, the close lithologic resemblance between 

it and the overlying formations, and the gradation of sandstone beds into clay beds. 

The nonmarine blue quartzite exposed at 

Grand Gulf, Miss., was described in 1857 by 

Wailes, who called it the "Grand Gulf sandstone." 28 This quartzite in Mississippi overlies the fossiliferous Vicksburg limestone and 

is of Oligocene age. Later Hilgard applied the 

name "Grand Gulf" to· the group of strata 

exposed in southern Mississippi between the 

Vicksburg and . the coast Pliocene ("Orange 

sand" or "Lafayette") .

29 

In 1871 Hilgard published a "Geological 

map of the Mississippi Embayment," which 

showed the geology of the Coastal Plain of 

Texas.30 On this map the "Grand Gulf Tertiary" is shown as extending from the Rio 

Grande to Florida. The area shown in Texas 

included strata now referred to the Y egua, 

Jackson, Fayette, Catahoula, Frio, Oakville, 

Lapara, and Lagarto formations. 

---------------- ts Wailes, B. C. L., Agriculture and geology of Mississippi, pp. 216-

219, 1857. 

SD Hllgard, E. W., Report on the geology and agriculture of the State 

of Mississippi, pp. 147-154, 1860. 

ao Hilgard, E. W., On the geological his.tory of the Gulf of Mexico: 

Am. J01~r. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 2, pp. 391-404, 1871. 

Loughridge in 1884 described the "Grand 

Gulf" of Texas as follows: 

Immediately south of the Eocene there is a belt of 

sandstone extending across the State that has been referred to the Grand Gulf, of probably Miocene age. Its 

northern limit enters the State at the lower part of Sabine 

County and outcrops on the Trinity River near Trinity 

Station, in Trinity County, forming a bluff about 100 

feet in thickness; In Washington County, near Chapel 

Hill and Burton, the sandstone appears near the surface 

exposed in railroad cuts; in Fayette County, at Lagrange, 

it forms a bluff over 100 feet high on the south side of 

the river; in De Witt County .it outcrops in the high hills 

on the north and .in the bed of the river at Hellgate ferry, 

near Cuero. Still southwest, from all that can be ascertained from reports and other sources, ·the upper limit of 

this group forms a ~line of hills via Oakville, Live Oak 

County, southwestward through Duval County to the 

Rio Grande, at Rio Grande City. * * * 

These sandstones contain no fossils so far as known, 

and identification of the group is dependent wholly upon 

the position and character of its rocks. 31 

The beds described included the Fayette and 

Catahoula sandstones of eastern Texas and 

the Oakville sandstone of southwestern Texas. 

Penrose· in 1890 described the "Fayette 

beds" and correlated them with Hilgard's 

" Grand Gulf" of Mississippi. (See p. 7 5.) 

It has been previously pointed out that the 

"Fayette" of Penrose included the Y egua, 

Fayette, Catahoula, Frio, Oakville, Lapara, 

and Lagarto formations. 

In 1892 Dumble divided Penrose's "Fayette'' 

,into two groups, the lower of which he called the 

Y egua and the upper the Fayette. He stated: 32 

Three miles north of Corrigan * * * a deposit of 

white sandstone occurs, containing casts of shells. The 

fossils found here have been referred to the Eocene by 

Dr. Dall, on the strength of the existence of the casts of 

Cardita planicosta. * * * 

These beds (Fayette) were referred to the Grand Gulf 

(Miocene?) of Hilgard by Dr. Loughridge and in previous 

reports of this survey. 

A footnote is added as follows: 

The other fossils of this horizon from this and other 

localities have been studied by Mr. Gilbert D. Harris 

and found to be characteristic Eocene species. 

The next contribution was made by Kennedy. In a report on Grimes County, Tex., 

published in 1893, he wrote: 33 

The northern portion of Grimes County is occupied by 

a series of thinly stratified beds of sands, clays, and lignites, and occasional thin beds of sandstones, being a part 

a1 Loughridge, R. H., Report on the cotton .production of the State 

of Texas with a discussion of the general agricultural features of the 

State: Tenth Census U. S., vol. 5, p. 21, 1884. 

. 112 Dumble, E. T., Report on the brown coal and lignite of Texas, 

Texas Geol. Survey, p. 154, 1892. · 

sa Kennedy, William, Report on Grimes, Brazos, and Robertson 

counties: 'rexas Geol. Survey Fourth Ann. Rept., p. 15, 1893. 
EOCEN:m SERmS. 83 

of deposits which cover a wide area, extending from the 

Sabine River westward to and beyond Brazos River, and 

which have hitherto been placed at the base of the Fayette 

beds. They belong to the beds described by Dr. Penrose 

as a "series of clay and sandy strata, the clay rapidly becoming more and more predominant as we go up the series," 

and the base of the formation becoming "composed of clays 

and lignite beds." 

These deposits have been hitherto considered as the 

equivalent of the Grand Gulf series of Hilgard's Mississippi 

section, and considered as of Miocene age. 

They are now assigned to the Eocene for the following 

reasons: In 1890 the first invertebrate forms observed by 

the present Survey in the Fayette beds were found by 

Mr. E. T. Dumble in the sands immediately overlying 

these clays in Lee County. During the course of the work 

of the Survey of 1891 a number of fossils were found in 

Polk County near the top of the gray sands and sandstones 

in undisturbed deposits, also directly overlying these 

beds, and again, during the present year's field work, Mr. 

J. A. Singley found fossils in the laminated lignitic sands 

and clays on the Yegua River, at Bluff crossing, in Lee 

County. 

During the course of the present season's work in Brazos 

County, fossils have again been discovered in the gray 

sandstones directly overlying and in contact with these 

beds. All these fossils have been studied recently by 

Mr. Gilbert D. Harris * * * and assigned by him to 

the Eocene, he having found among them such typical 

fossils as Cardit(JI planicosta Sowerby, Calyptraphorus 

velatus Conrad, and others.· These belong to the Claiborne 

division of the Eocene, and their occurrence in the laminated lignitic sands and clays and in the gray sandstones 

necessarily places these deposi~ in that division. * ·* * 

In 1894 Dumble separated the Oakville 

from the Fayette. IIe wrote: 84 

On ~e coastal slope the Frio beds of the Eocene are 

succeeded by a series of 'deposits which in a general way 

resemble the underlying Fayette sands and have hitherto 

been regarded as a part of those beds. While it is possible 

to distinguish between them, the differentiation is complicated in many instances by the overlap of still later 

beds largely derived from both these and the Fayette 

and therefore bearing a very close resemblance to them 

an Eocene fauna from the base of the series and on these 

fossils correlates the beds for several hundred feet above 

the outcrop with the lower Claiborne. These fossils, 

which prove to be Jackson, can hardly be said to prove 

the age of the beds above them, and considering the overlap of the Grand Gulf beds on the Jackson, as shown in 

Louisiana, it is not surprising to find Jackson fossils in 

the sandstones a few feet above the Jackson clays. Considering the evidence at hand, there seems to be no 

reason for regarding the Grand Gulf sandstones of 

Texas as different from the Grand Gulf sandstones of 

Louisiana and Mississippi. The finding of a Chattahoochee 

fauna in the green clays adds to the characters in common 

between these beds and the same beds across the 

Mississippi. ... 

In 1906 Veatch gave the name Catahoula 

formation to the sandstone member of Hilgard's 

"Grand Gulf group" to take the place ~f the 

term ''Grand Gulf," which had been previously 

used with this significance.36 

In 1914 Deussen wrote: 37 

The fossiliferous Vicksburg limestone, as developed 

east of ·Louisiana, does not outcrop in Texas, nor has it 

been found in wells so far as known. The investigations 

of G. C. Matson have shown that the Vicksburg limestone 

of Alabama grade3 into sandstone toward the west. Sandstone replaces the upper part of the Vicksburg in western 

Alabama, more of it in Mississippi, and still more in eastern 

Louisiana, and in western Louisiana it replaces the whole 

Vicksburg, and even some beds of Jackson age are lithologically similar and apparently can not be separated. 

As here interpreted, the Catahoula sandstone is a lithologic and stratigraphic unit which transgresses several 

biologic zones. Stated differently, it is conceived to be 

of different ages and to have been laid down at d1fferent 

epochs in the respective regions of its occurrence. In 

central Texas, in the region of the Brazos, it is largely of 

Jackson age. In eastern Texas it is largely of Vicksburg 

age. According to Matson, the vertical transgression 

continues across Louisiana into Mississippi, where the 

formation lies above the Vicksburg. 

In a footnote he adds: 

litho logically. 

In 1902 Veatch published a report 

geology of Sabine River, and from 

following extract is taken: 35 

Studies made by the author since this report was written 

on the seem to indicate that the Catahoula sandstone as here 

it the described is not a stratigraphic unit but comprises two 

formations of similar lithologic character, the one at the 

For stratigraphical purposes, and until fossils are found 

which will render the beds susceptible of division, it 

would see~ well to include under this term Grand Gulf 

the lower portion of Hilgard's Grand Gulf or that portion 

which contains sandstone beds. These form a stratigraphic unit readily distinguished from the thick beds of. 

green calcareous clays which overlie them an_d which are 

now known to be Chattahoochee Oligocene. 

No animal remains, save a few unios, have yet been 

found in the Grand Gulf sandstones. Kennedy reports 

84 Dumble, E. T., The Cenozoic deposits of Texas: Jour. Geology, 

vol. 2, p. 550, 1894. 

~ Veatch, A. C., The geography and geology of the Sabine River, 

Louisiana Geol. Survey, pp. 132-133, 1902. 

base being of Jackson age, whereas the upper sandstone is 

of Oligocene age. The name Wellborn was applied by 

Kennedy to the lower of these two sandstones. 

The evidence at hand does not indicate 

that the Fayette sandstone is of lower Claiborne 

age. It has not been possible to find the 

lower Claiborne faunas reported from these 

sandstones north of the Nueces. Though 

86 Veatch, A. C., Geology and underground water resources of northern 

Louisiana and southern Arkansas: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 46, 

pp. 42-43, 1906. 

a7 Deussen, Alexander, Geology and underground waters of the southeastern part of the Texas Coastal Plain: U. S. Geol. Survey WaterSupply Paper 335, pp. 69-70, 1914. 
84 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

most of the fossils found are poorly preserved 

·and difficult to identify, there is nothing about 

them that suggests their affinity with the lower 

Claiborne. On the contrary, such specimens 

as have been collected, including Ostrea georgiana and Tellina eburniopsis, suggest Jackson affinities rather than Claiborne. Furthermore, the fossil leaves collected from the formation point decidedly to an age later than the 

lower Claiborne. It seems fairly certain, therefore, that the Fayette sandstone is not of 

lower Claiborne but of Jackson age. 

On the other hand, Veatch's statement.., that 

"there seems to be no reason for regarding the 

Grand Gulf [Fayette] sandstones of Texas as 

different from the Grand Gulf sandstones of 

Louisiana and Mississippi" does not seem to 

be in accord with the facts. If the occurrence 

of the fossil Ostrea georgiana is significant, 

the Fayette sandstone of southwest Texas 

belongs entirely t<;> the Jackson epoch, for this 

fossil occurs above them, in the base of the 

Frio clay. Paleontologically, therefore, the 

Fayette sandstone of southwest Texas is 

considerably different from the Catahoula 

sandstone of Mississippi. 

Recent work by Deussen and Matson in 

western Louisiana and eastern Texas has 

shown that fossiliferous gray sandstone, chocolate-colored and lignitic clay and lignite, and 

quartzite are found at the base of the formation 

that has been mapped there as the Catahoula, 

lying above fossiliferous Jackson. clays. The 

flora and fauna of these beds indicate their 

close association with the Fayette beds of 

Texas. Their thickness in this section can 

not exceed 200 feet, and they appear to represent the eastern extension of the Fayette 

sandstone of Texas. They have heretofore 

been included with the Catahoula .. Matson 

states that this sandstone disappears completely farther east. The problem is made more 

complex by the disappearance of the typical 

Catahoula sandstone toward the west and the 

Oakville sandstone toward the east. 

It would therefore seem that the Fayette 

sandstone is a stratigraphic unit of Jackson 

age, which has its greatest development in 

southwestern Texas and becomes thinner 

eastward,--toward Louisana. 

Section on Davidson Oreelc.-Gray sandstone 

containing large quantities of silicified wood is 

exposed on the road about 5 miles north of 

Lyons, Burleson County. 

At a small falls on Davidson Creek, 2! miles 

east of Lyons, on the Merle-Lyons road, the 

beds of the Fayette sandstone include 10 feet 

of lignitic shale, 2 feet of indurated sandstone, 

and 1 foot of green shale. The beds dip 1° 

S. 12° E. 

On Davidson Creek, about 2! miles above 

the crossing of the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe 

Railway, about 4! miles northeast of Somerville, the beds of the Fayette sandstone consist of 1 foot of impure lignite, 3 feet of hard 

sandstone, 3 feet of soft sandstone, 2 feet of 

chocolate-colored clay with traces of lignitic 

matter, and 2 feet of laminated sand. The 

beds dip t 0 S. 40° E. 

Section along Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe 

Railway in Burleson and Washington counties.-

The following sections show the character of 

the beds included in the Fayette sandstone 

along the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway 

in Burleson and Washington counties: 

In a shaft on the J. C. Murray farm, about 

2! miles northwest of Lyons, the Fayette sandstone exposes 3 feet of blue massive shale, 2 

feet of gray sandstone, 8 inches 40f blue massive 

shale, 1 foot of gray sandstone (which is not 

present in another shaft about 135 yards to 

the. south), 5 feet of blue massive shale or 

fuller's earth ( ~), a~d sandstone of undetermined thickness. 

On a small stream a quarter of a mile· east 

of Lyons the Fayette sandstone includes 4 

feet of green calcareous shale with interbedded 

layers of sand 3 inches thick, 4· feet of soft 

gray sandstone with layers of calcareous shale, 

and 2 feet of sandstone. The beds dip southeastward. 

In the pit of the Somerville Fuller's Earth 

Co. about 2! miles west of Somerville there is 

an exposure of gray sandstone and about 12 

feet of underlying brown shale or fuller's 

earth. 

On a branch of Y egua Creek about· 1! miles 

northwest of Somerville there is a lens of laminated shale 5 feet 2 inches thick with interstratified layers of sand 1 inch thick overlying 

massive brown shale or fuller's earth with 

flakes of gypsum. The shale contains specimens of Bombacites jaclcsonensis Berry. The 

beds dip ! 0 ESE. . . . 

A ravine about 200 yards south of the railroad station at SomerVille exposes 6 feet of 

dark-red and greenish sandy mottled clay, 

overlying 2 feet of bluish pack sand. 
EOCENE SERIES • 85 .. Section between Colvin and Burton, in Lee 

and Washington counties.-On Y egua Creek, 

1! miles above the mouth of Cedar Creek, 

about 5 miles west of Somerville, the beds exposed, in descending order, include 10 feet of 

sand, 6 feet of laminated lignitic sand, and 

10 feet of cross-bedded sand. The beds dipS. 

30° w. 

On Nails Creek, near the Ledbetter-Colvin 

road, about 8 miles· northeast of Ledbetter, 

the beds consist of hard gray sandstone with 

Tell ina eburniopsis Conrad~; some distance 

below there is 15 feet of gray sand and 15 

feet of sandy shale. 

On the R. M. Johnson place, on the Thomas 

W. Ward league, at Colvin, Lee County, there 

is 18 feet of soft white kaolin-like laminated 

clay; burning tests show that the clay is not 

suited for the manufacture of white ware. 

The bed becomes thinner to the northwest. 

On ~he S. 0. Tatum farm, on the David 

Ayers league, about 5 miles northwest of Burton, the beds include 6 feet of gray calcareous 

clay, 1 foot of white sand, 2 feet of brown 

clay, 8 inches of white sand, and 9 feet of 

brown 1nassive shale or fuller's earth. 

On the B. F. Elliott farm, on the Daniel B. 

Fryar league, about 4! miles northwest of 

Burton, Washington County, the beds exposed 

include 10 to 20 feet of hard blue quartzitic 

sandstone, overlying 20 to 30 feet of brown 

sandy clay with irregular seams of lignite ( ~) 

1 to 2 inches thick. 

On Kerr Creek, on the H. Eberhardt farm, 

about 4 miles northwest of Burton, the beds 

exposed consist of 7 feet of sandy shale, 6 

inches of lignitic shale, and 3 feet of lignite. 

The beds dip 1!0 N. 30° E. 

Section between Ledbetter and Carmine, in 

Fayette and Washington counties.-In a prospect shaft on the Richard Hardy survey, in 

Washington County, northeast of Ledbetter, a 

bed of lignite, said to be 9! feet thick, was 

encountered at a depth of 54 feet. A second 

bed, 8 feet thick, was struck at 87 feet, and 1 

·foot of water-bearing sand was struck at 101 

feet. This lignite has been mined at Ledbetter. Other exposures occur on a branch of 

Owl Creek, 2 miles southwest of N echanitz, 

Fayette County; on Colorado River, 2! miles 

northwest of La: Grange; and on the W. F. 

Hamilton league, 3 miles south of West Point. 

The beds in general strikeS. 40° W. 

111587-24-7 

On a branch of Turkey Creek, on the Burkhart tract, about 2 miles northeast of Ledbetter, 

in Washington County, the beds exposed consist of 4 feet 6 inches of gray sandstone, used 

locally for building purposes, 35 feet covered, 

2 feet of yellow shale, 2 feet of hard brown shale, 

and 5 feet of soft brown shale or fuller's 

earth 0). 

In a small gorge on the headwaters of 

Turkey Creek, on the Burkhart tract, 2! miles 

northeast of Ledbetter, in Washington County, 

the beds consist of 5 feet of gray laminated 

sand, in part volcanic ash, and infusorial earth; 

6 feet of white clay, soft and laminated; and 2 

feet of brown lignitic shale. 

NW. SE. 

...,. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -50 FEET t- - - - - - - - - - - - - - _,.. 

FIGURE 25.-Sketch of fault cutting Eocene beds on Colorado Rivvt· 

2~ miles northwest of La Grange, Tex. 

NW. SE. 

~------

I~~' Water ltne 

.. -- - - -- - - - -- - -·SO FEET +- - - - -- -- - --- -- -..-

FIGURE 26.-Sketch of lower or second fault cutting Eocene beds on 

Colorado River 2t miles northwest of La Grange, 'l'ex. 

Section on Colorado River.-On Colorado 

River the Fayette sandstone is exposed from 

a point 2! miles northwest of La Grange to a 

point a quarter of a mile north of the railroad 

bridge at La Grange. 

On Colorado River, 2! miles below the 

mouth of Rabbs Creek and 2! miles northwest 

of La Grange, there is exposed a bed of lignite 

2 feet thick, which rests upon gray sandy clay 

and is overlain by 15 feet of gray clay. The 

dip of the beds is about 3° S. 55° E. 

A small fault (see fig. 25) cuts the Eocene 

beds 100 or 200 feet below this exposure. A 

second fault (see fig. 26) shows 100 to 200 feet 

below the first fault. At the second fault a 

quarter of a mile below the fault first mentioned 

15 feet of lignite overlies the gray clay and 

underlies gray sand. 

On the left side of the river, about 1! miles 

northwest of La Grange, the Fayette sand-
86 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

stone shows 15 to 20 feet of gray laminated 

sandy shale, 10 feet of sand with laminae of 

lignite, 4 feet of porous gray sand. Blue sandy 

shale 10 feet thick is exposed 20 feet below the 

gray sand. 

Fifteen feet of gray sand is exposed in the 

right bank of Colorado River about a mile 

· above the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway 

bridge at Lagrange. · 

Section at Plum, Fayette Oounty.-One mile 

west of Plum there is exposed 5 feet of hard 

blue semiquartzitic sandstone, 2 feet of lenses 

of white kaolin-like leaf-bearing clay with 

Pisonia jacksoniana Berry, and 15 feet of 

brown clay. 

Section on Buckner Oreek, Fayette Oounty.-

On a branch of Prairie Creek, a tributary of 

Buckner Creek, near the northwest corner of 

lot 81, W. F. I-Iamilton league, 5 miles north of 

Lena spur, there is exposed 5 feet of greenishgray shale with numerous concretions of gypsum 2 to 3 inches in diameter and fossiliferous 

concretions of red hematite (altered greensand) 6 to 10 inches in diameter. 

A small prospect shaJt a few yards from this 

locality struck below the greenish-gray shale 

a bed of green fossiliferous clay 8 feet below 

the ground. The fossils include Oorbula wailesiana Harris ( ~) and Venericardia planicosta 

Lamarck. 

In a drill hole 300 yards east of the northwest corner of lot 81, W. F. Hamilton league, 

about 3 miles south of West Point, blue 

fossiliferous clay with marine fossils,· shark 

tooth, etc., was struck at a depth of 21 feet. 

This bed is 24 feet thick, and it rests upon 

water-bearing sand. 

The shark tooth is Oarcharodon auricuiatus 

(Blain ville), a species that ranges from the 

middle Eocene through the Pliocene and has a 

very wide geographic distribution. It has 

been reported in the United States from the 

Eocene of South Carolina and Alabama and 

from the Miocene of Maryland. 

A hard blue semiquartzitic sandstone has 

been quarried on the J. Barton league, where 

the San Antonio & Aransas Pass Railway 

crosses Jack Young Creek, about 3! miles 

south of West Point. Here 15 feet of beds of 

hard blue rock, from 1 to 2 feet thick, alternate 

with beds of unconsolidated laminated gray 

sand. (See Pl. XXV, A.) 

Ten feet of brown shale is exposed on _a branch 

of Jack Young Creek, near the northwest 

corner of the J. Barton league and about 3! 

miles south of West Point. This shale underlies the hard blue sandstone in the quarry 

just mentioned. 

Lignite is exposed in the banks of a ravin·e 

which drains into Prairie Creek about 500 feet 

south of the north line and about 200 feet west 

of the east line of lot 8"4 of the W. F. Hamilton league, 3 miles south of West Point. This 

is the same lignitic series described on page 85. 

On the north line of the W. F. Hamilton 

league, about 3 miles southeast of West Point, 

3 feet of volcanic ash with fossil leaves overlies· 

10 feet of brown shale or fuller's earth(~). The 

volcanic ash is in the form of small lenses, a 

number of which occur in the same zone in the 

vicinity. The fossils from this exposure have 

been identified by Berry as Sabalites vicksburgensis Berry and Oalocarpum viridiformis 

Berry. · · 

On Buckners Creek, at road crossing, about 2! 

miles northeast of Muldoon, an exposure shows 

20 feet of white laminated sandy clay, 3 feet 

of bluish sand, 10 feet of brown sulphurous 

shale, 6 feet of brown to yellow water-bearing 

sand, 6 inches of white sandstone, 2 feet of 

brown shale, and 2 feet of yellow sand which 

contains small masses of asphalt ( ~) 3 inches in 

diameter. The beds dip 3° S. 25° E. 

Section at Jfuldoon, Fayette Oounty.-The 

following section is shown in a well at the corner 

of First and Kerr streets, Muldoon, Fayette 

County. 

Log of well of John Kerr, at Muldoon, Tex. 

[Description of samples by Alexander Duessen.] 

~~~- Depth. 

----------------·-~·-

Feet. Feet. 

Quaternary: Soil and subsoil._._ ............ 15 15 

Fayette sandstone: · Yellow-brown fine-grained slightly _ar~llaceous sandstone ... _ ............ 15 30 

L1gmte.-- .. -----.--.- .. --------------. 4 34 

Bluish-gray sandy clay ......... _ ....... 36 70 

Light bluish-gray friable argillaceous, 

very fine-grained sand ................ 10 80 

Green calcareous fossiliferous shale .... 120 200 

Blue limestone with some fine grains of 

pyrite ............ _ .. _ ..... __ ...... _ 1l- 2011 

Y egua formation: 

Green calcareous fbssiliferous shale ..... 138i 340 

Greenish-gray glauconitic marl; fossiliferous .................. _ ..... __ ... _ 1 341 

Green-black sandy clay; slightly fossiliferous ... _____ ..... _ .. ____ . __ . _ ... _ . 59 400 
EOCENE SERIES. 87 

.Log of well of John Kerr, at Muldoon, 1'ex.-Continued. 

Yegua formation-Continued. 

'l'ough, plastic green-brown slightly 

fossiliferous shale ................... . 'l'ough, plastic green-brown slightly 

fossiliferous shale; slightly calcareous. 

Green-black fossiliferous shale ........ . Green-black slightly fossiliferous shale. 

Green-gray argillaceous sand; only 

slightly calcareous .................. . Green-black calcareous sand; contains 

very fine-grained quartz with some mica and possibly some glauconite(?). 

Green-gray slightly calcareous, argil- laceous sand ........................ . Bluish-gray fine-grained slightly argillaceous sand ........................ . Cook Mountain formation(?): 

Samples represent a number of distinct 

beds ................................ . Green-gray slightly sandy fossiliferous 

shale ................ -----.--.--··-· Samples indicate two separate beds; one is a nonfossiliferous compact lignitic, noncalcareous shale; the other 

is a plastic, sticky dark-green fossiliferous calcareous shale ............... . Green calcareous fossiliferous plastic ~ shale ............................ -.. Green fossiliferous calcareous shale 

with poorly preserved fossils ........ . Dark-green calcareous plastic shale ... . Green calcareous fossiliferous plastic 

shale ................. -.. ··.·-··--···· Dark-green calcareous plastic fossiliferous, shale ....................... . Dark-green calcareous plastic fossilifer- ous shale; green-brown fine-grained 

loose, slightly calcareous sand at 

1,340 feet ........................... . Green calcareous fossiliferous plastic 

shale .............................. . Fossiliferous shale .................... . Green-black fossiliferous shale ........ . Mount Selman formation(?): 

Record missing ........................ . Brown porous fine-grained sand; 

slightly calcareous, probably waterbearing ......................... : .. . Samr.~e lacking ....................... . Fossiliferous shale ....... : ............. . Norecord ............................ . Green-black calcareous fossiliferous 

shale ................................ . Brown lignitic shale .................. .. 

Thick- Depth. ness. 

----

Feet. Feet. 

100 500 

30 !'i30 

25 555 

39 594 

45 639 

1 640 

111 751 

44 795 

55 850 

50 900 

99 999 

91 1,090 

40 1,130 

45 1,175 

235 1,225 

75 1,300 

65 1,365 

45 1,410 

15 1,425 

75 1,500 

40 1,540 

20 1,560 

15 1,575 

100 1,675 

27 1,702 

28 1, 730 

14 1, 744 

Section between Gonzales and Shiner, in Gonzales Oounty.-Sandstone is exposed at Maurin, 

west of Dilworth, and on the road between 

Maurin and Dilworth. 

Section on Guadalupe River. -,--On the south 

side of Guadalupe River, 6 miles S. 30° E. 

from Gonzales, the Fayette sandstone includes 

the following beds: 

Section of Fayette sandstone on Guadalupe River,· 6 miles 

below Gonzales, Tex. 

Feet. 

Gray cross-bedded sand............................ 2 

Impure kaolin-like clay... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 

Hard gray sandstone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

Gray sand with mud cracks......................... 6 

Gray sand with several thin beds of fossiliferous sand- · 

stone; specimens of ·Tell ina eburniopsis Conrad?. . . 10 

Very hard sandstone .. ·. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ 

Soft slightly glauconitic fossiliferous sand with specimens of Tell ina eburniopsis Conrad?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

Hard sandstone. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ! 

Soft slightly glauconitic sand. . . . .. .. .. . .. .. .. . .. . . ! 

Hard dark sandy clay ....................... ·~. . . . . l 

Gray yellow sand.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 

Gray sand ......................................... 50 

831 

Section in southern par·t of Gonzales Oounty.-

At a creek crossing on the Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Railway about 3 miles 

east of Smiley the beds of the Fayette sandstone expose 2 feet of reddish-gray argillaceous sand, 1 foot of gray sandstone, and 3 feet of 

gray sand with silicified twigs and roots. 

Two feet of hard gray sandstone is exposed in 

the bank of a creek at the crossing of the SmileySample road, 4! miles east of Smiley. The 

sandstone, when broken, has a brownish tint, 

indicating the presence of iron. 

At the creek crossing of the Smiley-Sample 

road about 4-! miles east of Smiley 30 to 40 

feet of irregularly bedded, hard gray sandstone 

makes up the bluffs along the creek. 

'l'en feet of hard gray sandstone, containing 

silicified wood, is seen in a small bluff fronting 

Castlen1an's Fork, at the crossing of the road 

from Smiley to Pilgrim, about 4! miles southwest of Pilgrim. 

A hill that rises 55 feet above the surrounding 

plain on the north side of the road from 

Smiley to Pilgrim, 4 miles southwest of Pilgrim, 

is capped with 30 or 40 feet of hard gray t~ 

blue sandstone carrying silicified or fossil wood. 

This bed overlies 2 feet of gray flaggy sandstone, which in turn overlies 5 feet of green 

sandy shale. 

On Rock Creek, about 6 miles south of 

Smiley, 6 inches of hard gray fossiliferous 

sandstone with Cytherea discoidalis Conrad and 

Oorbula alabamiensis Lea overlies 5 feet of gray 

arenaceous shale. 
88 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

A hill that rises 50 to 60 feet above the surrounding plain a mile east of the exposure last 

mentioned is capped by the hard gray sandstone of the Fayette ·formation. 

Section on San Antonio River.-San Antonio 

River crosses the Fayette sandstone from a 

point 4 miles west of Falls City to a point a 

third of a mile southeast of Hobson. 

At Conquiesta crossing, on San Antonio 

River, about 4 miles west of Falls City, Karnes 

County (see Pl. XXV, B), the Fayette sandstone shows 2Q feet of hard bluish-gray sandstone with silicified wood, 60 feet of brown 

shale or fuller's earth, 3 feet of lignite, and 1 

foot of hard sandstone with silicified wood. 

The shale dips .2t 0 N. 80° E. 

In a bluff on San Antonio River, on the San 

Antonio & Aransas Pass Railway, 1 mile southeast of Falls City, the Fayette sandstone is 

composed of 7 feet of green gritless compact 

shale, 7 feet concealed, 13 feet of bluish-gray 

medium hard sandstone with silicified wood, 

4 feet of soft bluish-yellow sandstone, and 1 foot 

of very hard blue sen1iquartzitic sandstone. 

The dip of the beds is about to E. 

On San Antonio River about half a mile N. 

21° W. of Hobson, Karnes County, the Fayette 

sandstone contains 10 feet of gray medium 

soft sandstone with silicified twigs, 5 feet of 

gray sandstone, and 5 feet of gray sand. The 

beds dip 4 ° S. 70° E. 

Section in western Karnes and eastern Atascosa counties.-A bed of yellow clay, 2 feet 

thick, containing numerous specimens of fossil 

oysters, is exposed on the road about. It miles 

northeast of Tordia post office, in the southern 

corner of Wilson County. 

Six feet of yellowish flaggy sandstone carrying silicified wood is exposed in a small ravine 

~orth of the place where the Oakville-Floresville road crosses Tordilla Creek, in Atascosa 

County. 

Near the south corner of the John R. Baker 

league, about It miles southwest of Tordilla 

Mountain, in Atascosa County, the Fayette 

sandstone shows 2 feet of grayish-white fl.aggy 

sandstone, 25 feet concealed, 3 inches of hard 

blue fossiliferous sandstone with Ducina sp. 

and Oorbula sp., 15 inches of gray fl.aggy sandstone (lens), 5 feet of yellow argillaceous sand 

with nodules of lime 2 by 3 inches in size, 

30 inches of yellow laminated sand, 30 inches 

of yellow sandy clay, 2 inches of yellowishgray argillaceous flaggy sandstone, and 30 

inches of gray flaggy sandstone. 

Fossiliferous gray sandstone containing specimens of Oorbula alabamiensis Lea ~ is exposed 

on the Falls City-Campbellton road near the 

south corner of the J. M. Hefferman survey, 

in the southeastern part of Atascosa County. 

At Tordilla Mountain, ·in the western corner 

of Karnes County, the Fayette sandstone 

shows 20 feet of hard blue semiquartzitic 

sandstone forming cap rock of hill, 3 feet 

concealed, 3 inches of green talclike shale (lens), 

57 inches of reddish-gray sandstone, 30 feet 

concealed, 2 feet of brown impure lignite(~), 

2 feet of brown sulphurous shale, 56 feet 

concealed, and 1 foot of yellowish-gray argillaceous sandstone. 

Section south of Karnes City, Karnes Oounty.-

The following well log indicates the character 

of the Fayette sandstone 313 feet beneath the 

surface in the southern part of Karnes County: 

Log of well No. 1 of the Manhattan Oil Co., 11 miles south 

of Karnes City, Tex. 

[S~mples collected by Winslow Robinson; samples 1 to 129 examined by Alexander Deussen; samples 147 to 162 examined by J. A. Uddeu. 

Fossils identified by C. W~ Cooke.] 

Recent: Feet. Feet. 

Brownish-black loam-..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 

Frio clay: 

Pinkish-yellow, fine-grained, siliceous 

silt with volcanic ash................ 123 124 

Gray, medium coarse sand; fragments of 

clear quartz predominant; some jasper(?), some orthoclase, and some pinkish calcite. Sand is water-bearing, the 

water rising within 79 feet of the sur- face ............................... . Pinkish-yellow siliceous silt with volcanic ash ......................... . 

Fr!s\~~~~ ~~. ~~~~. ~~~. ~~~- ~~~~~~~. Fragments of plastic greenish-blue com- pact talclike shale ................. . Hard pinkish-white limestone ......... . Very fine-grained grayish-yellow calca- reous sand and volcanic ash ......... . No sample; reported white limestone .. . Fayette sandstone: 

Plastic, light green, calcareous shale .. . No sample; probably boulder ......... . Plastic, light green, calcareous shale .. . Fossiliferous shale, with Spisula paril- ~~s (?)Conrad, Corbulasp.,decorticated. 

Plastic light-green shale with lime fragments ............................ . No sample;. proba.bly sandstone ........ - Green fossiliferous plastic calcareous 

shale .............................. . Green plastic sli~htly calcareous fossilif- erous shale, With Corbula sp., decorticated ............................. . Green plastic fossiliferous slightly cal- careous shale ....................... . 

62 186 

35 221 

9 230 

1 231 . 

10 241 

7 248 

2 250 

63 313 

2 315 

10 325 

10 335 

12 347 

2 349 

10 359 

10 369 

20 389 
EOCENE SERIES. 

Log of well No.1 of the ~Manhattan Oil Co., 11 miles south of Karnes City, Tex-Continued. 

Thick- Depth. ness. 

- ·- .. - --- ~--- ------

Fayette sandstone-Continued. Feet. Feet. Yegua formation-Continued. 

Fragments indicate a bed of rt:een cal- Blue shale ............................. careous shale carrying Cor ula sp., Blue sandy shale ...................... decorticated ........................ 10 399 Fragments of blue plastic sandy shale ... P1·obably a concretion ................ 18 417 Blue very fine-gramed sand, composed Green calcareous plastic gritless shal~ of grains of d uartz ......... -........... and greenish-gray hard hmestone ..... 2 419 Blue sand an blue sandy shale ........ Brown and green shale with hard white Bituminous shale or lignite ............. limestone .......................... - 10 429 Blue sandy shale ...................... Drab sandy shale .................... -. 10 439 Blue sandy fossiliferous shale ........... Drab plastic slightly calcareous, sandy 

10 449 Fragments of blue sandy shale and light shale with some hmestone .......... greenish-gray calcareous shale ........ Brown lignitic shale ..............••.. 30 479 Bluish-gray sand ...................... Dark slate-colored plastic shale and Blue medium hard sandy shale ......... talclike clay with white limestone .... 5 484 Blue slightly sandy shale ............... Hard very fine-grained bluish-gray Blue plastic shale._. __ ................. sandstone .......................... 12 496 Cook Mountain and Mount Selman forma- Hard slightly calcareous gritless green 

3 499 tiona: shale ................... -- .. -------· Blue fossiliferous sandy shale ........... Dark olive-green compact limestone ... 3 502 I Blue arrallaceous sandstone ............. 'Pinkish-white compact limestone ....... 2 504 Blue p astic ·shale, with specimens of Groen shale and yellow limestone ..... 10 514 Cylichna sp., and 'l'urritella nasuta Greenish-blue shale .................. 13 527 Gabb, lower Claiborne (Eocene) Greenish-gray hard fine-grained sili- species .............. _ .............. ceous limestone .. _ ................... 3 530 Blue fossiliferous shale, with specimens Blue calcareous shale .................. 1 53'1. of Corbula sp. and Tellina? sp ........ Bluish-gray argillaceous limestone; 

532 Blue fossiliferous shale, with specimens other fragments of white limestone .... 1 of Turritella sp. and Corbula SP. ..•...•• Blue calcareous, sandy shale ............ 10 542 Blue calcareous plastic fossiliferous Blue sandy, calcareous shale and blue 

10 552 shale, with specimens of Corbula sp., calcareous shale ...................... Turritella sp., and V enericardia sp ..... Plastic blue calcareous shale containing Blue sand;, shale ...................... Foraminifera ......................... 10 562 Blue san y shale, with Corbula sp., Blue shale ................... _ ........ _ 10 572 · V enericardia sp., and Turritella sp .... Blue plastic shale with spherical dia- Blue argillaceous sandstone ............. toms .................................. 10 582 Blue sandy fossiliferous shale ........... Dark-blue sandy, calcareous shale with Blue argillaceous sandstone ............. spherical diatoms ................... 10 592 Blue sandy fossiliferous shale ........... Blue plasticfossiliferous shale .......... 9 601 Blue~lauconiticsandyshale ........... Yellow shale and limestone ............. 3 604 Blue ossiliferous shale and blue sandy Light-blue sandy shale ................. 10 614 shale ....................... ----.- .. Plastic blue slightly arenaceous shale 

10 624 

Blue shale, white limestone, and blue 

with white limestone ................ pyritic sandstone ............... -- -... Blue shale ......... _ ................... 8 632 Blue shale, blue sandy shale, and white Blue Rlasti? ~hale .. ___ ...... _._ ..... _ .. 9 641 limestone ....... -... -.. -.- .. -.-.---· Blue me-gmmed sand .................. 10 651 Blue plastic shale and blue sandy shale. 

Blue sandy shale ............... -- ..... 9 660 Blue shale and blue sandy shale ........ Hard blue fine-grained sandstone ...... 4 664 Blue sandy, tauconitic shale: ......... Blue sandy shale .... _ ................. 10 674 Blue sandy, ossiliferous shale ......... Blue plastic shale ...................... 11 685 Blue noncalcareous, sandy shale and 

Blue sandy shale ................ -..... 19 - 704 blue fine-grained sand ............... Yegua formation: Blue glauconitic (?) shale and blue 

Brownish-black plastic shale and lig- glauconitic sand ........ -.......... - nite ... _ ................ - ....... -- .~ 20 724 Blue glauconitic sandy shale and blue 

Blue shale and lignite; specimens of glauconitic sand ..................... Corbula sp., decorticated ............. I 41 765 Blue glauconitic (?) sandy shale ....... Blue plastic shale ...................... 43 808 Gray silty sand and sandy silt ........... Lignite (foreign?), bluish-gray sand813 Sandy gray silt and silty claiJ containstone, and limestone ................. 5 ing concretions of soft w te alumBlue shale ............................. 3 816 inous materiaL ............... -.. -.. Lignite (foreign?), bluish-gray sand- Greenish-gray sandy silt ................ stone, and limestone ........... -..... 3 819 Greenish-gray silty sand ................ Blue shale ............................. 10 829 Greenish-gray sanely silt ................ Lignite (foreign?) and blue shale ........ 10 839 Dark-gray sanely silt .................... Blue plastic shale, with specimens of Dark gt:eenish-gray sandy, clayey silt, 

Foraminifera .... _ .................... 20 859 containing some lumps of a white 

Blue shale ..... ___ ..................... 21 880 kaolinlike soft material .............. Lignite (foreign?), bluish-gray sand- Greenish-gray sandy silt ................ stone, and limestone ...... -.... -..... 11 891 

·--- ----- ----- --

Thickness. 

Feet. 

60 

20 

20 

10 

10 

2 

50 

20 

10 

20 

10 

50 

10 

10 

1.0 

10 

10 

10 

30 

10 

50 

10 

10 

20 

40 

10 

10 

127 

73 

10 

10 

10 

30 

10 

10 

10 

10 

50 

120 

30 

10 

10 

30 

10 

18 

89 

Depth. 

--

Feet. 

951 

971 

991 

1,001 

1,011 

1,013 

1,063 

1,083 

1,093 

1,113 

1,123 

1,173 

1,18 3 

1,19 3 

1,20 3 

1, 21' 3 

3 

3 

1,22 

1,23 

1,26 3 

1,27 3 

1,32 

1,33 

1,34 

1,36 

1,40 

1,41 

1,42 

1,55 

1,62 

1,63 

1, 64 

1,65 

1,68 

1,69 

1, 70 

1, 71 

1, 72 

1, 77 

1,89 

1, 92 

1,93 

1,94 

1,96 

1,98 

2,00 

-

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

0 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

1 
90 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

Section on Atascosa Oreek.-The following 

sections of the Fayette sandstone are exposed 

on Atascosa Creek in Atascosa and Live Oak 

counties. 

In a small gorge 3 miles north of Campbellton 

the Fayette s~ndstone shows 3 feet of greenishgray massive shale, 3 inches of soft gray sandstone, 2 feet of greenish-gray massive shale, 6 

inches of hard whitish-gray sandstone, and 4 

feet of greenish-gray massive shale·. 

In a creek bank on the Karnes City-Campbellton road, about 6! miles east of Campbellton, the Fayette sandstone shows 18 inches 

of calcareous white shale, 8 inches of yellow 

sulphurous shale, 6 inches of white shale, and 

1 foot of greenish-gray shale. 

Yellow clay containing many specimens of 

Ostrea georgiana Conrad is exposed on the 

l{arnes City-Campbellton road, about 4! miles 

east of Cmnpbellton. Twenty feet of gray 

sandstone, overlying this fossiliferous clay, 

crops out about 100 feet to· the south. 

On the Karnes City-Campbellton road, 1! 

miles southeast of Campbellton, the Fayetto 

sandstone contains 1 foot of hard blue semiquartzitic sandstone with silicified wood, 5 feet 

concealed, 5 inches of hard blue sandstone, 1 

foot concealed, 5 inches of gray sandstone, 4 

inches of fossiliferous gray sandstone, 3 inches 

of greenish glauconitic fossiliferous sandstone, 

3 feet_ concealed, 6 inches of fossiliferous gray 

sandstone, 2 feet concealed, 1 foot of white clay, 

10 feet of soft yellowish-gray sandstone, 3 feet 

of argillaceous gray sandstone, 4 feet of yellowish-gray sandy shale, 3 feet of laminated gray 

argillaceous sand, . 1 foot of yellowish-gray 

sandy shale, \) inches of laminated gray argillaceous sand and 4 feet of yellowish-gray laminated sandy shale. The fossiliferous beds 

contain Cerithium? sp., Nucula sp., Cytherea 

sp., and Corbula alabamiensis Lea. 

About 4! miles southeast of. Campbellton 

the Fayette . sandstone has 7 inches of hard 

fossiliferous sandstone, 15 inches of yellow 

shell breccia or fossiliferous marl, made up of 

Ostrea georgiana Conrad~; 10 inches of yellow 

clay, 7 feet concealed, 18 inches of calcareous 

white clay, 25 feet~ concealed, and 6 feet of 

yellowish-gray shale. 

On Atascosa Creek, about 7 miles south of 

Campbellton, the Fayette sandstone. has 11 

feet of yellow and gray irregularly bedded sandstone, 1 foot of laminated yellowish-gray sand, 

6 inches of greenish-gray shale, 18 inches of 

yellow sand and shale interstratified in beds 3 

to 6 inches thick, 3 feet of greenish-gray shale, 

8 inches of bluish-white laminated sand, 3 inches 

of greenish-gray shale, 3 inches of bluish-white 

laminated sand, 15 inches of greenish-gray 

shale, 1 foot of bluish-white laminated sand, 

15 feet of grayish-brown shale, 2 feet of yellow 

sand, 15 feet concealed, 2 feet of fossiliferous 

green clay, 3 feet of fossiliferous indurated 

brown sand, 11 feet of brown cross-bedded sand, 

5! feet concealed, and 7 feet of brown lignitic 

shale with sulphur efflorescence. The fossiliferous beds contain specimens of Cytherea sp. 

and Corbula alabamiensis Lea ~ 

Section near Crowther, McMu.llen County.-

Two feet of gray flaggy fossiliferous sandstone 

is exposed 1,000 feet south of the post office at 

Crowther. The beds, which average 2 feet in 

thickness, carry Plejona petrosa (Conrad) ~' 

Murex ~ sp., Turritella sp., Leda sp:, Corb,ula 

(2 sp.), Tellina (probably several species, very 

abundant), Tellina eburniopsis Conrad~' and 

Crassatellites sp. 

The Fayette sandstone in Opossum I-Iill, 

1 t miles S. 30° W. of Crowther, contains 8 feet 

of hard blue irregularly bedded sandstone, 3 

feet of laminated and flaggy gray to yellow 

sandstone, 38 feet concealed, 20 feet of greenishgray sandy shale, 5 feet concealed, and 10 feet 

of weathered brown plastic shale. 

Section on Frio River.-Frio River crosses 

the Fayette s_andstone between a point 4 miles 

southwest of Tilden and a point 3 miles west of 

the McMullen-Live Oak county line. 

The basal beds of the formation are found on 

the Tilden-San Antonio road 3l miles north of 

Tilden. One foot of gray sandstone is exposed. 

Four feet of yellowish-gray flaggy to laminated sandstone is exposed in the bottom of n. 

gorge on the Tilden-Fowlerton road, about 3! 

miles southwest of Tildei_l. · · 

On the Tilden-San Diego road, about 5 n1iles 

S. 10° E. of Tilden, the Fayette sandstone consists of 9 feet of detached m.asses of yellow-brown 

noncalcareous sandstone and white silicified 

and opalized wood, 14 feet of soft yellow friable 

sandstone, 15 feet of yellow shale, 15 feet 4 

inches of grayish-yellow soft sandstone, 20 feet 

4 inches of gray shale, 23 feet of soft yellowish 

friable scoriaceous sandstone (the scoria due to 

the removal of fossils), 24 feet 6 inches of yellowish-gray flaggy sandstone, and 26 feet of 

yellowish-gray calcareous flaggy sandstone. 
EOCENE SERIES. 91 

On the Tilden-Fowlerton road, half a mileS. Section on Nueces River. -Nueces River flows 

10° W. of Tilden, the Fayette sandstone shows diagonally across the Fayette sandstone from 

15 feet of gray flaggy sandstone, overlying 15 a point 6 miles west to a point 3 miles east of the 

feet of green shale. La Salle-McMullen county line. Here it turns 

The Fayette sandstone at a point 1.9 1niles northeast and follows the strike of the beds to 

S. 10° E. of Tilden shows 5 feet of gray fossil- a point 1 mile west of Shiner's ranch house, a 

iforous flaggy sandstone, 7 feet of green shale, total distance of about 30 miles. The outcrops 

10 feet of greenish-gray sandy shale, and 10 feet are largely obscured by silt and gravel. 

of alternating beds of gray sandstone about_ At a creek crossing on the road from Dobie 

6 inches thick and shale 2 feet thick. The clays ranch, about 21! miles S. 15° ± W. of Fowlercontain masses of selenite averaging t by 3 by 4 ton, the Fayette sandstone shows 3 feet of 

inches in size. greenish-gray sandy clay, 2! feet of soft lightOn the Tilden-San Diego road, 2 miles S. gray argillaceous sandstone, and 2 feet of com100 ± E. of Tilden, the Fayette sandstone pact light-green shale. 

contains 1 foot of hard light-brown sands'tone, 3 On the opposite or south side of the creek, 

feet 8 inches of calcareous highly cross-bedded about a quarter of a mile S. 70° W., the beds 

gray sand, 2 feet of greenish-gray calcareous ·consist of 6 inches of gray argillaceous sandsandyshalein one part of the exposure and in an- stone, 2 feet of gray clay, probably weathered 

other part gray shale with interbedded flags of green shale, 4 feet of green shale, 3 inches of 

fossiliferous gray sandstone, 4 feet concealed, gray sandstone, and 2 feet of green shale. · 

and 2 feet of gray thin-bedded sandstone. Two feet of light-gray sandy shale is exposed 

On the Tilden-Oakville road, 3 miles east of about a mile southeast of the Camerone ranch 

Tilden, the Fayette sandstone contains 3 feet of house, on the road to the Miles ranch. Masses 

hard gray cross-bedded sandstone in lenses, of crystallized aragonite weathered fron1 the 

3 feet of laminated argillaceous sandstone underlying shale and sandstone lie on the surinterbedded with fossiliferous sandstone flags,. face; these average 4 to 5 inches in diameter 

and 18 feet of brown shale. and are stained pink in places. 

Five feet of bedded hard gray sandstone is On the road from Miles ranch to Shiner's 

exposed in the bed of a creek which crosses the ranch, 12 miles S. 10° W. of Tilden, the Fayroad from the Byrne ranch to Crowther, 3! ette sandstone shows 3 feet of yellowish-gray 

miles south of Crowther. sandy clay, 8 inches of yellowish-gray soft calThree feet of cross-bedded hard blue siliceous careous sandstone, and 1 foot of yellow lamisemiquartzitic sandstone caps the upland 3 nated sandy clay. 

1niles east of Tilden on the Tilden-Oakville 

road. Much silicified wood, weathered out of 

the underlying sandstones, is strewn over the 

surface. 

A bluff 20 feet high overlooking Frio River, 

3! miles south of Crowther, consists of gray 

sandstone capped by a bed of sandstone 2 feet 

thick. 

These sandstones extend northward, forming 

the Well born escarpment. About 3! miles 

\south of Crowther the top of the scarp is 60 feet 

above the lowland on which the road lies and is 

capped by 10 feet of gray sandstone. 

The topmost beds of the Fayette formation 

are shown in a low bluff 9 miles east-northeast 

of Tilden. Here 10 feet of gray bedded sandstone is exposed. ':rhe dip is approximately 

2° N. 40° W. The sandstone is overlain by 

green clay 10 feet thick, probably the basal 

beds of the Frio clay. 

FRIO CLAY. 38 

.Na,me.-The Frio clay was named by Dumble in 1894 for Frio River, in southwestern 

Texas, on which stream it is typically exposed.39 

Stratigraphic position.-In the eastern part 

of the area under consideration the Frio clay 

lies conformably beneath the Catahoula sandstone, but in the western part of the area it 

lies unconformably beneath the Oakville sandstone. 

as Partial synonymy of the Frio clay: 

Fayette beds [included the Frio]: Penrose, R. A. F., jr., A preliminary 

report on the geology of the Gulf Tertiaries of Texas from Red River 

to the Rio Grande: Texas Geol. Survey First Ann. Rept., pp. 47-58, 

1890. 

Frio clays: Dumble, E. T., The Cenozoic deposits of Texas: Jour. Geology, vol. 2, pp. 554-555, 1984. 

Frio clays: Hayes, C. W ., and Kennedy, William, Oil fields of the TexasLouisiana Gulf Coastal Plain: U. 8. Gaol. Survey Bull. 212, pp. 

22-23, 30-66, 1903. . 

Frio clays: Dumble, E. T., Geology of southwestern. Texas: Am. Inst. 

Min. Eng. Trans., vol. 33, pp. 40-43, 1903. 

89 Dumble& E. T., The Cenozoic deposits of Texas: Jour. Geology, vol. 

2, pp. 554-555, 1894. 
92 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

Lithology.-The Frio includes green and subsequently erroneously correlated with the 

pink clay that contains small nodules of lime, Frio clay. Later Matson found a Miocene 

green sandy calcareous clay, and beds of fauna in the upper part of the· Fleming clay 

light-green marl consisting of lime and kao- of eastern Texas and western Louisiana. 

linic material with pisolitic structure. South indicating that this part of the formation at 

of Atascosa Creek the lower beds include least is of Miocene age and corresponds in 

layers of brown fossiliferous marl of marine time with the Oakville sandstone of southorigin, beds of gray sandstone, and in places western Texas.41 

concretions; from 4 inches to 3 feet in diameter, Work done by Matson in 1912 along Sabine 

of hard, compact green siliceous limestone, River showed that the beds heretofore called 

stained with manganese. Fragments of aga- Fleming represent probably two stratigraphic 

tized wood, beds of volcanic ash, and nodules units instead of one. The upper unit belongs. 

and masses of white chalcedony may also be to the Miocene; the lower unit is probably a 

seen in places. part of the Oligocene. 

Thickness and dip.-The thickness of the The Catahoula sandstone of eastern Texas 

Frio clay ranges from 235 to 705 feet. On disappears west of Colorado River. Its time 

the Brazos the Frio is largely overlapped by equivalent in southwestern Texas may be 

the Oakville sandstone. On the Nueces its the upper part of the Frio clay. 

thickness is 500 feet, and its dip is about 30 Section in southern part of Gonzales Oounty.-

feet to the mile. In a railroad cut about 1,000 feet south of 

Paleontology.-North of Atascosa Creek the the station at· Sample there is about 5 feet of 

clay contains no marine fossils so far as known. yellowish-white calcareous, argillaceous fineIn McMullen and Duval counties the lower grained sand with lime nodules about 1! inches 

beds carry Ostrea georgiana Conrad. Frag- in diameter, which is a member of the Frio clay. 

ments of fossil wood have been found at some On a small branch about 1 mile northeast of 

places, but the species they represent have Sample the Frio clay is represented by 2 feet 

not been determined. of yellowish-white sandstone, overlying 2 feet 

Areal distribution.-The formation outcrops of green calcareous shale with lime nodules. 

in a belt of country that ranges in width from Three feet of green calcareous clay containing 

1 to 10 miles and that trends northeastward lime nodules is exposed on the road from 

acroE?s Webb, Duval, McMullen, Live Oak, Sample to Westhoff, near the Gonzales-De Witt 

Karnes, Gonzales, and Fayette counties. (See county line, about half a mile northwest of 

Pl. VIII.) Westhoff. Five feet of green, calcareous clay 

Topographic expression.-The Frio clay, containing lime nodules is exposed in the bank 

which is soft and easily eroded, underlies the of a creek about a quarter of a mile northwest 

Frio plain. (See p. 9.) · of the post office at Westhoff. 

Oorrelation.-The sparse fauna of the Frio Section on San Antonio River.--San Antonio 

clay makes its correlation difficult. The lower River crosses the Frio clay from a point about 

beds in southwest Texas carry Ostrea georgiana 5 miles west of Panna Maria to Helena. Three 

Conrad, which may indicate a deposit of. feet of green calcareous clay containing lime 

either late Eocene or early Oligocene age. nodules is exposed about 11 miles west of 

The upper beds may be in part of early Oli- Panna Maria. 

gocene age, but until further evidence is On San Antonio River about three-fourths 

available the formation is classified as of late of a mile above the bridge on the Panna MariaEocene (Jackson) age. Karnes City road (see Pl. XXV, 0) the Frio 

In- eastern Texas beds of clay that are in clay contains 10 feet of calcareous clay; 1 foot 

general of similar lithologic composition over- of greenis]J.-white sandy, calc~reous clay; 4 

lie the Catahoula sandstone. These clays. feet of greenish shale; 1 foot of greenish-white 

were originally described by Kennedy40 under sandy, calcareous clay; 10 feet of green shale; 

the name Fleming beds and were by him 1 foot of greenish-white sandy, calcar.eous clay; 

co Kennedy, William, A section from Terrell, Kaufman County, to 

Sabine Pass on the Gulf of Mexico: Texas Geol. Survey Third Ann. 

Rept., pp. 62-64, 113-123, 1892; The Eocene Tertiary of Texas east of 

Brazos River: Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia Proc., 1895, pp. 93-95. 

4 feet of green shale; and 1 foot of green shale 

n Deussen, Alexander, Geology and underground waters of the southeastern part of the Texas Coastal Plain: U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply 

Paper 335, pp. 72-73, 1914. · 
• 

EOCENE SERIES. 93 

that has a nodular structure. The dip is 2° 

N. 42° E. 

In the face of a bluff overlooking San Antonio 

River at Panna Maria there is exposed 15 feet 

of greenish-white sandy clay with numerous 

lime nodules. 

1'wo feet of greenish-gray calcareous clay, 

setuned with lime, is exposed on the HelenaPanna Maria road about half a mile east of 

Panna Maria. 

On Cibolo River, about 1 mile below the crossing of the IIelena-Panna :Maria road and about 

!~miles east of Panna M:aria there is exposed 

8 feet of greenish-gray calcareous clay, overlying 4 feet of yellow sandy clay. 

On San Antonio River at the bridge on the 

Karnes City-I-Ielena road, about 1 ~miles southwest of Helena, there is exposed 12 feet of 

greenish-gray shale; 5 feet l,Jelow the shale is 

fairly soft calcareous gray sandstone. 

Section in western part of Karnes and eastern 

part of Atascosa counties.-Four feet of soft 

greenish argillaceous sandstone is exposed near 

the Hicock rancl~ house of the Alfred Donovan 

League No. 145, in the southeastern part of 

Atascosa County, and 4 feet of greenish-gray 

argillaceous sand in a gully about a mile northwest of it. 

One foot of green compact shale, containing 

limestone concretions 5 to 6 inches in diameter, 

is exposed by the side of the Karnes City-Oakville road about a mile east of the crossing in 

Shocldey flollow, in the southeastern part of 

Atascosa County .. 

Extensive beds of volcanic ash are found in 

the Frio clay in the western part of Karnes 

County, about 10 miles west-southwest of 

Karnes City. 

Four feet of greenish-yellow sandy shale, 

overlying 1 foot of compact green shale, is exposed on the Karnes City-Oakville road about 

one-fourth of a mile southeast of the southeast 

corner of Atascosa County. Lenses of gray 

sru1dstone, 2 inches thick and 6 inches long, 

occur near the base of the greenish-yellow 

sandy shale. Nodules of chalcedony 2 to 3 

incheso in diameter are scattered through the 

sandy shale. 

1\vo feet of greenish-gray laminated sandy 

clay with nodules of calcareous, sandy shale, 

overlying 6 inches of greenish-gray argillaceous 

sand, is exposed in a pit at the cotton gin at 

Lenz, Karnes County. 

Section in Live Oalc Oounty.-Greenish-gray 

shale, 3 feet thick, containing sandstone concretions, is exposed on the Campbellton-Oakville road at the crossing of a small creek about 

half a mile north of milepost 18 out of Oakville, 

in the northern part of Live Oak County. The 

sandstone concretions, which average 1 foot in 

diameter, are septaria! in structure, aragonite 

forming the septa. 

On San Cristobal Creek at the crossing of the 

Campbellton-Oakville road, about 11 miles. 

north-northwest of Oakville, Live Oak County 

(see Pl. XXV, D), the Frio clay shows 14 feet 

4 inches of soft pinkish-gray argillaceous sand; 

6 inches of pink sandy clay; 1 foot of hard 

pinkish-gray laminated sandstone; 8 inches of 

pink sandy clay; 2 feet of pink argillaceous, 

calcareous sandstone in beds 4 inches thick; 

and a lens of pinkish-gray calcareous, argillaceous sandstone. The dip is 2° S. 50° E. 

In the bed of Atascosa Creek at the crossing 

of the Oakville-Crowther road about 8 miles 

northwest of Oakville, there is exposed 6 inches 

of green argillaceous, sandy limestone, overlying 

7 inches of green calcar~ous, sandy clay. 

Log of well Q{ U. S. I. Realty Co. at Fant City, St miles 

nortli of Oakville, Live Oak County, Tex. 

!Geologic interpretation by Alexander Deussen.] . 

Thickness. Depth. 

Frio clay: Feet. Feet. 

GrakJritty plastic clay ............... 65 65 

Pin · h-gray lime and volcanic ash (?). 35 100 

Green clay ............................ 40 140 

Green gritty clay ..................... 15 155 

Green calcareous, sandy clay .......... 10 165 

Green gritty, calcareous clay ........... 195 360 

Green sandy clay ..................... 21 381 

Green marl with lime nodules .......... 39 420 

Hard green argillaceous limestone and 

green brittle clay .................... 44 464 

Green sandy, argillaceous limestone .... 26 490 

Fayette sandstone: 

Green sandy limestone and green sandy 

clay ................................ 55 545 

Light greenish-gray argillaceous limestone and green gritty clay .......... 75 620 

Greenish-gray limestone and dark green 

calcareous sandstone (?) ........... 40 660 

Green sandy, calcareous clay ......... 115 775 

Blue calcareous plastic clay ............ 145 920 

Green gritty, calcareous clay ........... 50 970 

Calcareous sand, chiefly quartz; fragments angular to subangular ........ 30 1,000 Gra~ calca:reous, quartzose sand ....... 140 1,140 

Dar grayish-green shale .............. 133 1,273 

Green sandy clay (sand?) ..... • ........ 17 1,290 

Dark-green shale ...................... 21 1,311 

Light-green sandy clay ................ 2 1,313 

Dark-green shale ...................... 14 1,327 

Fossiliferous marl .................... 5 1,332 

Green brittle clay ..................... 21 1,353 

Calcareous greenish-gray sand, with 

fragments of fossils ................. 2 1,355 
94 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PI.AIN OF TEXAS WEST Ol!~ BRAZOS RIVER. 

Log of well of U.S. I. Realty Co. at Fant City, 8! miles 

north of Oakville, Live Oak County, Tex.-Continued. 

~~c~- Depth .. 

Y egua formation: 

Green clay with fragments of blue argillaceous limestone .................. . Feet. Feet. 

14 1,369 

Greenish-gray fossiliferous clay ....... . Green clay ........................... . Fossiliferous marl ................... . 

2 1, 371 

13 1,384 

5 1,389 

Green clay ........................... . Greenish-grar ~lay ................... . Brown lignit1c, sandy clay ............ . Fossiliferous marl ................... . 

14 ], 403 

3 1,406 

34 1,440 

31 1,471 

Green clay? ......................... . Fossiliferous sand and fragments of . magnetite and limonite ............ . Green sandy clay .................... . Gray sand ........................... . Green clay and sand .................. . Green sandy clay .................... . Green calcareous clay ................ . Green shale and green clay ........... . Dark-green clay ...................... . Greemsh-white clay and dark-green 

57 1,528 

26 1,554 

5 1,559 

24 1, 583 

77 1,660 

78 1, 738 

29 1, 767 

13 1,780 

17 1,797 

clay ................................ . Green plastic clay .................... . Green clay ........................... . Bluish-gray calcareous, sandy clay .... . Green calcareous, sandy clay .......... . 

31 1,828 

13 1,841 

52 1,893 

19 1,912 

15 1,927 

Green sandy clay .................... . Dark-green compact clay .............. . Greenish-gray sandy clay .............. . Dark-green hard clay .................. . Cook Mountain and Mount Selman forma13 1, 940 

44 1, 984 

29 2,013 

15 2,028 

tions: 

Green calcareous clay ... _. ............ . 42 2,070 

Hard green clay ....................... . Dark-green clay with some glauconite (?) ........................... . 56 2,126 

87 2,213 

Green calcareous fossiliferous clay .... . 48 2,261 

Gray calcareous fossiliferous sand ...... . Green plastic fossiliferous clay ........ . 26 2,287 

34 2,321 

Light-green sandy, calcareous clay .... . Dark-green compact clay .............. . Green fossiliferous calcareous sand and 

36 2,357 

54 2,411 

sandy clay ........... ~ .............. . Green sandy clay with glauconite .... . Dark-green sandy clay ................. . Green sandy clay with little glauconite .. Green glauconitic sandy clay ......... . Green compact clay ................... . Green glauconitic sandy clay ......... . Compact green clay ................... . Green glauconitic sandy clay with fragments of lignite(?) .................. . Green plastic clay .................... . Green sandy clay, flecked with lime ... . 

38 2,449 

28 2,477 

29 2,506 

35 2,541 

29 2,570 

33 2,603 

25 2, 628 

25 2,653 

31 2,684 

10 2,694 

15 2, 709 

Green, compact clay ................. . Green glauconitic fossiliferous clay .... . Green sandy clay .................... . Dark-green clay ...................... . Dark-green fossiliferous clay .......... . Gray quartzose sand .................. . 

8 2, 717 

176 2,893 

239 3,132 

83 3,215 

47 3,262 

17 3,279 

Dark-green fossiliferous clay a ......... . 

Dark slate-colored clay ............... . Gray quartzose sand .................. . 

181 3,460 

32 3,492 

25 3,517 

Dark-green clay ...................... . 40 3,557 

a The following fossils were identified: Foraminifera: Tur1Jinolia 

JJharetra Lea, Marginella semenoides Gabb, Neverita arata Gabb, Corbula deusseni Gardner (?), Venericardia sp. A typical lower 

Claiborne fauna. 

Section on Frio River.-Frio River crosses 

the Frio clay from a point about 3 miles west 

of the McMullen-Live Oak county line to its 

junction with N ueces River, about 3 ·miles 

west of Oakville. · 

The basal beds of the formation are exposed 

at the Byrne ranch house, 9 miles east-~ortheast" 

of Tilden. This section is ·described on page 91. 

The green clay overlying the sandstone probably represents the basal beds of the Frio. 

Four feet of gray thin-bedded sandstone 

and 4 feet of overlying green shale containing 

small lime nodules is exposed on the Tilden 

road a quarter of a mile southwest of the 

Byrne ranch. 

Oyster shells (Ostrea georgiana Conrad) are 

embedded in a green clay a mile south of the 

Byrne ranch house. 

Six feet of green shale containing small lime 

nodules averaging a quarter of an inch in diameter and overlying a bed of brown shell marl 

4 feet thick, carrying fossil oysters, is exposed 

on the Tilden road, 11 miles southwest of the 

Byrne ranch. 

On the Tilden-Oakville road, one-fourth of 

a mile east of milepost 7 out of Tilden, there is 

exposed 1 foot of yellow marl with numerous 

specimens of Ostrea georgiana Conrad, overlying 2 feet of green shale. . 

In the bed of Frio River, about 7 miles 

northwest of Oakville, 6 inches of hard crystalline limestone concretions, forming a pavement and having the appearance of a stratum 

of limestone in the bed of the river, overlies 2 

feet of white argillaceous sand with limestone 

concretions, and this in turnc overlies 6 inches 

of limestone. · 

On Frio River, about 300 feet below the 

bridge on the Tilden-Oakville road and 4 miles 

northwest of Oakville, the Frio clay shows 11 t 

feet of greenish-white sandy clay (lens), 2 feet 

of pinkish-gray sandy shale (lens), and 1 foot 

of light-brown sandy shale.· 

About 600 feet below the bridge the pinkish 

shale, containing limestone concretions 3 to 10 

inches in diameter, is 6 feet thick above the 

water line. This is the type locality of the 

Frio clay. 

Section on Nueces River.-Nueces River 

crosses the Frio clay between a point 1 mile 

west of Shiner's ranch and the junction with 

Frio River about 3 rrtiles west of Oakville. 

On the Tilden-San Diego road about 13-i 

miles south of Tilden, 6 feet of gray sandstone 

in beds 6 to 8 inches thick is exposed. 
OLIGOCENE SERIES. 95 

On the Tilden-San Diego road in McMullen 

County, about one-fourth of a mile north of 

milepost 18 out of Tilden (see Pl. XXVI), 

the Frio clay shows 1 foot of greenish-gray 

sandy shale, with nodules of light-brown 

chalcedony averaging 2 by 6 by 10 inches in 

dimensions, overlying 10 feet of greenish-gray 

clay. The dip is to S. 20° W. 

On the Tilden-San Diego road, about onefourth of a mile south of milepost 18 out of 

Tilden, the Frio clay exposes 4 feet of green 

talclike shale; 3 inches of white sandy limestone; 2 feet of greenish-white indurated 

sandy shale; 4 feet of green compact shale; and 

20 feet of greenish-gray sandy, calcareous 

shale. The beds dip 1° S. 50° E. 

About 6 feet of massive greenish-gray sandy 

clay is exposed on the San Diego-Tilden road, 

about half a mile north of milepost 20 out 

of Tilden. 

Sect'ion at Los Picachos Hill.-At Los Picachos I-Iill, in Duval County, a mile south of 

the McMullen county line, almost due south 

of Tilden, the Frio clay, consisting of 10 feet 

of greenish-gray marl in beds 10 to 12 inches 

thick and dipping 20° S. 30° E., is exposed. 

These beds lie not more than 40 ·to 50 feet 

below the top of the Frio formation. 

A microscopic examination of the marl by 

Mr. E. S. Larsen indicates that it is chiefly 

a fibrous carbonate (probably calcite), containing a few quartz grains of fragmental 

origin and some pisolitic areas of brownish, 

nearly isotropic material, probably kaolinic 

or bauxitic. 

A chemical analysis of the marl follows: 

Analysis of marl in the Frio clay from Los Picachos Hill, 

Duval County, Tex. 

[Analysis by W. •r. Read, MW:ch, 1914.] 

Silica (Si02) •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 24. 87 

Alumina (Al20 3)....................... • • • • • • • • • • 4. 24 

Ferric oxide (Fe20 3). • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 3. 51 

Calcium oxide (CaO) .............................. 46. 01 

Magnesium oxide (MgO)........................... 1. 55 

Sodium and pota.ssium oxides (Na:lO+K20)........ 1. 33 

81. 51 

Qualitative tests show that the marl contains considerable carbon dioxide (CO~). 

OLIGOCENE SERIES. 

CATAHOULA SANDSTONE. 

Name.-The Catahoula sandstone was named 

by Veatch in 1906 from Catahoula Parish, 

La.42 

Stratigraphic position.-The formation lies 

conformably above the Fayette sandstone in 

Washington and Fayette counties and unconformably beneath the Oakville sandstone 

south of Lavaca County. 

Lithology.-The formation consists of hard 

blue quartzose sandstone; green, blue, and 

brown massive talclike clay; calcareous gray 

cross-bedded sanqstone containing lenses of 

white kaolin-like clay; green sandy clay; and 

gray bedded sandstone. It contains abundant 

petrified wood but no lignite or lignitic clay. 

Thickness and dip.-Along the Brazos the 

formation is about 200 feet thick. It becomes 

thinner toward the south and disappears 

completely south of Colorado River. It dips 

southeastward at th~ rate of about 40 ·feet 

to the mile. Toward the sea the formation 

thickens to 1,200 feet. 

Topographic expression.-Where the formation crops out it forms westward-facing scarps 

and low hills capped with blue quartzite. The 

soft sandstone is in places eroded into badlands. (See Pl. XXVII, A.) 

Paleontology.-No marine fossils have been 

found in this formation, but some fossil plants 

have been collected. Petrified wood is associated with the beds, but it has not yet been 

studied in detail. 

Areal extent.-The formation crops out on 

a narrow strip of land lying between the outcrops of the Fayette and Oakville sandstone 

north of Colorado River in Fayette and vy ashington counties. (See Pl. VIII.) 

Oorrelation.-The formation is continuous 

with the Catahoula sandstone of east Texas 

and Louisiana. Its correlation with that formation is discussed in detail in the description 

of the Fayette sandstone. (See pp. 82-84.) 

Section in Washington Oounty.-In a cut on 

the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway about 

a quarter of a mile south of the crossing of 

u Veatch, A. C., Geology and underground water resources of northern 

Louisiana and southern Arkansas: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 46, 

l?P· 42-43, 1906. 
96 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

Y egua Creek, in Washington County, the Catahoula ·sandstone is exposed as 4 feet of hard 

gray sandstone overlying 6 feet 2 inches of 

gray sandstone. 

In an old quarry on the Williams farm, 2 

miles southeast of Somerville, there is exposed 

15 feet of hard gray sandstone containing 

silicified wood and a lens 5 to 20 feet thick of 

white talclike clay resembling kaolin. Burning tests indicate that this clay is not a true 

kaolin and that it is not suited for manufacturing white ware. 

About 15 feet of hard gray sandstone is 

exposed at Quarry, Washington County, on 

the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway. The 

sn.ndstone is utilized for making crushed rock. 

About 10 feet of laminated gray sandstone, 

overlying 3 feet of green hard fine-grained 

shale is exposed on Kerr Creek about 4 miles 

northwest of Burton. 

On the McHenry Winbourn (~)survey, about 

4 miles north of Burton, the beds of the Catahoula sandstone show 5 feet of hard brown 

shale, 6 inches of white marl, and 3 feet of hard 

brown shale. 

Section on Colorado River.-About 10 feet 

of light-gray sandstone and 10 feet of underlying green clay is exposed on Colorado River 

about a quarter of a mile north of the railroad 

bridge at La Grange. 

On the La Grange-Columbus road, on the 

north side of the Colorado, near La Grange, 

the exposure at the crossing of Cedar Creek 

Horizontal scale QL_-~7;._4 __ ___,JJ-(l_z __ ___,J3{'_4 __ ___,! MILE 

Vertical scale 

0 20 40 60 80 100 FEET 

FIGURE 27.-Sketch profile showing geologic relations of formations on Cedar Creek and High Hill Creek near La Grange, Tex. 

At the point where the Gulf, Colorado and and that at the crossing of High Hill Creek 

Santa Fe Railway crosses a. creek about a are quite different, owing to the southeastward 

mile northwest of Gay Hill 15 feet of alter- dip of the rocks. This difference is shown in 

nately hard and soft gray or white sand is figure 27. On Cedar Creek there is exposed 30 

exposed. feet of green calcareous sandy clay with no 

About 100 yards south of Gay Hill station formation above it except surficial material. 

a cut shows 20 feet of dark-gray calcareous On High Hill Creek the green calcareous sandy 

clay. clay, having a thickness of 10 ·feet, is overlain 

In a small gorge on the S. 0. Tatum farm, by more than 20 'feet of sandstone belonging 

5 miles northwest of Burton, the Catahoula to the Oakville sandstone. · 

sandstone (see Pl. XXVII, B) contains 3 feet Section on Buckner Greek, Fayette Oounty.-

of cross-bedded gray sand; a lens of kaolin- Green clay of the Catahoula formation and 

like, fine-grained tough white clay, exposed overlying hard gray sandstone of the Oakville 

for a length of 75 feet and for 10 feet verti- formation is exposed on Aliens Creek, a branch 

cally; and a bed of bluish sand. Burning of Buckner Creek, on the Cedar-LaGrange road, 

tests show that the clay is not suited for making about 5 miles southwest of La Grange. 

white ware. These beds overlie those of the Section near Flatonia.-White calcareous 

Fayette sandstone, which are exposed about clay containing calcareous nodules is exposed 

300 yards to the north. near Flatonia. 
MIOCENE SERIES. 97 

M JOCENE SERIES. 

OAKVILLE SANDSTONE.n 

Name.-The Oakville sandstone was named 

by Dmnble in 1894 from Oakville, Live Oak 

County, where it is typically exposed. 44 

Stratigraphic position.-The formation lies 

with pronounced unconformity on both the 

underlying Catahoub sandstone and the Frio 

cltty, in places overlapping them considerably. 

On Nueces River it lies probably unconformably beneath the Lapara sand. North of 

Guadalupe River it lies unconfonnably below 

the Lagarto clay. 

.Lithology.-I'he for1nation consists largely of 

gray sandstone. At some places it is soft and 

highly calca.reous.; at others it is hard. The 

sandstone is generally cross-bedded or its bedding is very irregular. It includes some 

lenses of clay and conglomerate. Its m~1teria.ls 

were apparently laid down by rapid currents 

in shallow water. 

Thickness and dip.-The thickness of the 

Oakville formation ranges fr01n 180 to 603 

feet. Its thickness on the Brazos is 200 feet 

and its dip is 40 feet to the mile to the southeast; its thickness on the Nueces is a.bout 300 

feet and its dip is 40 feet to the mile. 

Paleontology.-The formation contains no 

n1arine fossils but many remains of vertebrates. The species identified include Coenopus 

sp., Protohippus medius Cope, Protohippus perditus Leidy, Protohippus placidus Leidy, and 

Aphelops meridianus Leidy. (See Pl. XXVIII.) 

.Areal clistribu.tion.-The formation crops out 

in a belt of country, from 1 to 10 miles wide, 

that trends northeastward across Duval, McMullen, Live Oak, Bee, Karnes, De Witt, 

. 1a Partial synonymy of the Oakville sandstone: 

Miocene Tertiary strota: Shumard, B. F., Acad. Sci. St. Louis Trans., 

vol. 2, pp.140-141,1868. 

Orand Gulf: Loughridge, R. H., Report on the cotton production of the 

State or Texas with a discussion of the general agricultural features 

olthe State: Tenth Census U. 8., vol. 5, pt. 1, p. 679, 1884. 

l<~t\yette beds [included the Yegua, Fayette, Oakville, Frio, Lapara, and 

Lagruto formations]: Penrose, R. A. F., jr., A preliminary report 

on the geology of the Gull Tertiaries of Texas from Red River to the 

Rio Grande: Texas Oeol. Survey First Ann. Rept., pp. 47-58, 1890. 

Navasota beds [included Oakville sandstone and Lagarto clay]: Kennedy, William, Report on Grimes, Brazos, and Robertson ~ounties: 

Texas Gaol. Survey Fourth Ann. Rept., pp. 9-15, 43-44, 1893. 

Oakville bods: Dumble, E. T., 'l'he Cenozoic deposits of Texas: Jour. 

Geology, vol. 2, pp. 556-559, 1894; Geology of southwestern Texas: 

Am. lust. M1n. Eng. Trans., vol. 33, pp. 43-60, 1903. 

Dewitt formation [included the Oakville, Lapara, and Lagarto formations]: Doussen, Alexander, Geology and underground waters of the 

southeastern part of the 1'exas Coastal Plain: U. S. Oeol. Survey 

Water-Supply Paper 335, pp. 74-76, 1914. 

u Dumble, E. '1'., The Cenozoic deposits or Texas: Jour. Geology, vol. 

2, pp. 556-559, 1894. 

Lavaca, Fayette, and Washington counties. 

(See Pl. VIII.) 

Topographic expression.-The Oakville sandstone in part forms the Washington prairies 

and the Oakville plain, the topographic features of which are described on page 9 of this 

report. 

Correlation.-The fauna of the Oakville sandstone indicates its :Miocene age. 

The formation does not extend east of Gri1nes 

County. In eastern Texas its equivalent in 

age is a calcareous clay (a part of the Fle1ning 

clay), which carries an identical fauna. 

. Section in Grimes County.-C. L. Baker 

collected from clay beds half a mile south of 

the Madisonville branch of the International 

& Great Northern Railway, 5 miles northeast 

of Navasota, the following Miocene vertebrates, identified by Dr. W. D. Matthew. 45 

Merychippus, small species, resembling M. seversus but 

probably not identical; upper molar and fragments of 

foot bones. Age indicated, middle Miocene; but upper 

Miocene or lower PJiocene is not excluded. 

Rhinoceros, cf. Aphelops, fragments of teeth, head of 

r~dius. Age indicated, Miocene. 

Camelid, cf. Protolabis or Procamelus, fragment of lower 

molar, astragalus, navicular, unciform; fragments of foot 

bones, (?) symphysis of jaw. Age indicated, Miocene or 

P1iocene. 

Testudo, large species, fragments of carapace. 

Crocodilian remains; fragments of skull. 

Dr. Matthew states: 

Fauna * * * is certainly not earlim~ than middle 

Miocene of Osborn's correlation, nor younger than lower 

Pliocene. Absence of all characteristically upper Miocene 

or lower Pliocene mammals points to middle Miocene as 

the proper correlation. But there are two points which 

should be considered as making for a possible later date 

than the comparison indicates: (1) Our land faunas are 

most derived from the north and northwest, and older 

types may have lingered longer along the Atlantic and 

Gulf coasts than in the northwest, thus making the fauna. 

seem older than it is. (2) Knowlton regards the Mascall 

on plant evidence as upper Miocene. This, if accepted, 

would set ow· whole scale of continental N eocene horizons 

a little higher than does Osborn's correlation .. -If you give 

much weight to these considerations they might serve to 

set the correlation up to upper Miocene. The fauna is 

quite decidedly older than the Blanco. 

Section in. Washington Oounty.-According 

to Kennedy, sandstone extends diagonally 

southwestward across Brazos River at Hidalgo 

Falls, 5 miles west of Navasota. It is overlain 

a short distance west .of the stream by a gray 

1r. Letter of Dr. Matthew published by Dumble. Dumble, E. T., 

Problem or Texas Tertiary sands: Gaol. Soc. America Bull., vol. 26, 

p. 472, 1915. 
98 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

ca]care_ous, thinly bedded sandstone, which 

rises 100 feet above the stream and forms a 

scarp that extends westward for several miles. 46 

About 100 feet of brown shale is exposed in 

the banks of a small creek on the Derrick farm, 

about 3! miles west of Burton. A jaw bone 

of an extinct rhinoceros was taken from the 

shale. The following report was made by Mr. 

J. W. Gidley, of the United States National 

Museum, on this ~pecimen: 

The bone from Washington County, Tex. (see Pl. 

XXVIII), is a part of an upper jaw containing four anterior teeth on the left side. It represents an extinct species 

of rhinoceros. The teeth are so much worn, however, that 

the specimen can not be assigned to any J?articular species, 

but it is apparently new. It resembles in some respects 

some of the European late Miocene Aceratheres, and it may 

be provisionally assigned to the genus Coenopus. The 

·development of the premolars, as indicated by the great 

prominence of their posterior internal cusps, is further 

advanced than in any known Oligocene form, so that the 

species may probably be referable to a middle or upper 

Miocene horizon, perhaps even to one in the Pliocene. 

Cross-bedded calcareous gray sand crops out 

on the Burton-Long Point road about 3! -miles 

north of Burton. 

Gray calcareous sandstone crops out on the 

Burton-Long Point road 2 miles southwest of 

Long Point. 

About 20 feet of gray calcareous clay containing sm~lllime nodules is exposed 125 yards 

north of the railway station at Burton, Washington County. 

As early as 1860 Shumard 47 called attention 

to the occurrence of Miocene beds in Washington County. In a letter published in 1863 he 

wrote: 

Not among the least important results of the survey is 

the discovery, in Washington and adjoining counties, of 

an extensive development of Miocene Tertiary strata, 

referable to the age of the Miocene deposits of the Mauvaises Terres of Nebraska, which have yielded such a 

wonderful profusion of extinct mammalian and chelonian 

remains. The Texan strata consist of calcareous and siliceous sandstones and white, pinkish, and grayish siliceous 

and calcareous marls. The calcareous beds are .often almost wholly composed of finely comminuted and waterworn shells, chiefly derived from the destruction of 

Cretaceous strata, and in places abound in fossil bones 

and plants, usually in a fine state of preservation. The 

bones have been usually found in excavations for wells, 

at depths .varying. from 20 to 60 feet below the surface, 

and consist of genera closely allied to or identical with 

Titanotherium, Rhinoceros, Equus, and Crocodilus. 

46 Kennedy, William, Report on Grimes, Brazos, and Hobcrt.son 

counties: Texas Geol. Survey Fomth Ann. Rept., p. 44, 1893. 

47 St. Louis Acad. Sci. Trans., vol. 2, pp. 140-141, 1863. 

Section on Colorado River.-The following 

sections of the Oakville sandstone occur in the 

drainage basin of Colorado River: 

The basal beds of the Oakville are exposed 

on the La Grange-Columbus road at the crossing on High Hill Creek, about 2! miles. east of 

La Grange. A description of this exposure is 

given on page 96 and is shown in figure 27. 

The lower 40 or 50 feet of the section exposed 

on the west side of Monument Hill, 1 mile 

southeast of the post office at La Grange, consists of calcareous flaggy sandstone, with interstratified beds of brown calcareous clay. The 

upper 20 or 30 feet is firm g~ay sandstone. 

The La Grange-Columbus road crosses the 

gorge of Rocky Creek about 4 miles east of 

La Grange. The bluffs at this crossing are 

capped by 10 to 12 feet of irregularly bedded 

hard gray sandstone. 

A columnar section of the Oakville sandstone 

exposed on Colorado River is shown in Plate IX 

(in pocket). 

5 10 15 20 25 FEET" 

FIGURE 28.-Sketch of secti~n 1 mil~ south of Moulton, Tex. 

Section in Lavaca Oounty.-The following 

sections of the Oakville sandstone were observed in Lavaca County: 

About 3 feet of coarse angular sand containing clay balls and 10 feet of underlying 

calcareous white sandy clay is exposed a mile 

south of Moulton. (See fig. 28.) At Shiner· 

gray sand with alternating beds of white clay 

is exposed. 

Section on Guadalup-e River.-Ten feet of 

yellowish-white argillaceous sand with lime 

concretions is exposed in the bank of a creek 

on the Westhoff-Cuero road about half a mile 

southeast of Westhoff. 

About 2 miles farther southeast gray calcareous shale containing small lime nodules is 

exposed. 

On Clear Fork Creek where it is crossed by 

the Westhoff-Cuero road, about 3 miles northwest of Lindenau, the Oakville sandstone shows 

2 feet of yellow sand with lime nodules an inch 

in diameter, 1 foot of soft yellow sandstone 

. (lens), and 3 feet of gray sand. 
MARINE MIOCENE AND PLIOCENE. 99 

Section on Nueces River.-Nueces River 

crosses the Oakville sandstone between Oakville and the site of old Fort Merrill. The following section is exposed at Oakville: 

Section of bluff on Sulphur Creek at bridge on the OakvilleBeeville road at Oakville, Tex. 

[Soo Pl. XXIX, A .J 

Lapara sandstone: 

Blue clay with streaks, patches, and nod- Ft. in. 

ules of white lime. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6 

Blue sand .............................. . 

Small lenses of black flint pebbles ....... . 

Blue sand .............................. . 

Blue limy clay ......................... . 

Blue coarse cross-bedded sand ........... . 

Pine black flint pebble conglomerate .... . 

Blue coarse cross-bedded sand ........... . 

Conglomerate of black flint pebbles, about 

half an inch ·in diameter, cemented by 

yellow ferruginous sand ............... . 

Erosional unconformity. 

Coarse-grained sand ..................... . 

Conglomerate made up of pebbles and cobbles of black flint, etc., cemented by a 

ferruginous sand ...................... . 

Unconformity. 

Oakville sandstone: 

Bluish-white calcareous sandy shale, containing lime nodules 2 to 3 inches in 

3 

1 

1 

diameter.............................. 1 

Blue shale in bands 3 inches thick alternating with bands of yellow ferruginous 

clay 1 inch thick .............. .-. . . . .. . 6-8 

Gray poorly consolidated calcareous sand2 

2 

3 

2 

2 

1-6 

6 (?) 

stone................................. 2 6 

Blue shale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

Soft laminated calcareous sandstone. . . . . . . 3 

Yell ow clay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

Slightly consolidated sandstone.... . . . . . . . 4 

Irregularly bedded and cross-bedded sandstone................................. 2 6 

Coarsely laminated, poorly consolidated 

sandstone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

Wavy, loosely consolidated yellow calcareous sandstone ..... ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6 

The beds dip N. 70° E. at an angle of 1°. 

About 3 feet of greenish sandy clay containing sn1all white lime nodules half an- inch 

in diameter is exposed in Friday Hollow, 1 

mile east of the courthouse at Oakville. At a 

point about 100 yards to the east 4 feet of 

yellow weathered clay and 4 feet of underlying 

hard-bedded gray sandstone interbedded with 

layers of softer sandstone is exposed. 

At Bartlett's Ford on Nueces River, about 2 

miles south of Oakville, the Oakville sandstone 

contains interbedded sands and clays with 

gypsum, 5 feet of mottled brown and gray 

rusty clay and sandy clay, and 15 feet of 

br9wn sandstone. 48 

On Nueces River, at the mouth of a creek 

3 miles south of Oakville/0 there is exposed 

14 feet of sandstone containing narrow fissile 

bands of lime concretions, 20 feet of green clay, 

3 feet of interbedded green and brown sandy 

clay, and 4 feet of light sea-green sand. 

At a bridge over N ueces River at Mikeska, 

Live Oak County (see Pl. XXIX, B), there is 

exposed a lens of pink sandy and calcareous 

clay 3 feet thick, overlying coarse brownishyellow sand 3 feet thick. 

At the site of old Fort Merrill, 3 miles southeast of Mikeska, beds of the Oakville sandstone consist of 5 feet of cross-bedded coarse 

porous yellow sand; 20 feet of reddish-brown 

shale, greenish-blue in spots; 3 feet of coarse 

gray nonstratified sand; 24 feet concealed; 

and 5 feet of stratified yellow sand. 

The beds of the Oakville sandstone between 

Oakville and Mikeska. contain, according to 

Dumble, Protohippus medi·us Cope, Protohippus perditus Leidy; Proto hippus placidus 

Leidy; Aphelops meridianus Leidy. 50 According to Cope, who identified the fossils, they represent a" Loup Fork" or an upper Miocene zone. · 

Section in Mc11fullen Oounty.-On the McMullan-Duval county line, near the TildenSan Diego road, south of Tilden, there is a 

low hill which is capped by 5 feet of hard 

greenish-gray irregularly bedded sandstone, in 

beds averaging a foot in thickness. 

Lomo Alto, a conspicuous hill in the southern 

part of McMullen County, about 1! miles north 

of the McMullan-Duval county line and threefourths of a mile west of the Tilden-San Diego 

road, is capped and preserved by 25 feet of 

hard gray sandstone, in beds ranging in thickness from 10 inches to 3 feet. The beds dip 

N. 50° E. at an angle of ! 0 • (See Pl. IV, A, 

p. 12.) 

MARINE MIOCENE AND PLIOCENE. 

Marine deposits of Miocene and probably 

of early Pliocene age are exposed in Brazoria 

County and the counties to the east and may 

extend some distance southwestward toward 

the Rio Grande. These deposits are correlated with the Oakville, Lapara, and Lagarto formations. They do not outcrop in the 

area here considered. 

ts Dumble, E. T., Geology oisouthwostem 'fexas: Am.'Inst. Min. Eng. 

Trans., vol. 33, pp. 46-47, 1903. 

49 Idom, p. 48. 

so Idem, p. 44. 
100 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

At Galveston these beds are found from 

2,158 to 2,920 feet beneath the surface. 

They consist of green clay, indurated fine gray 

sand, dark clay with lignitized wood and 

fruits, corals, fish vertebrae, and marine 

fossils, sandy clay, shell conglomerate, and 

blue clay with lime nodules. The fossils 

include Area carolinensis, Turritella subgrundifera var., and Natica eminuloides. A 

similar fauna was found at a depth of 649 to 

688 feet at Bryan Heights, near Velasco, in 

Brazoria County. 

PLIOCENE SERIES (NONMARINE FORMATIONS). 

LAPARA SAND,M 

Name.-The I.1apara sand was so named by 

Dumble in 1894 after La para Creek, in Live Oak 

County, Tex., where it is typically displayed. 52 

Stratigraphic position.-The formation is 

exposed only on .Nueces River, where it lies. 

unconformably ( ~) above the Oakville sandstone and conformably ( ~) below the Lagarto 

clay. 

Lithology.-The formation consists of sand 

and interbedded and cross-bedded limy clay. 

The sand is sharp, coarse, and friable and contains clay pebbles and lime concretions. The 

clay is of several colors-pink, light red, green, 

and others. At some places it contains lime 

nodules and at others clay pebbles. 

Thiclcness and dip.-The thickness indicated 

by well records is 7 5 to 455 feet, and the dip is 

about 34 feet to the mile southeast. 

Paleontology.-Worn fragments of bone haye 

been found in the formation, but they are difficult to identify. The fossils found indicate 

that the beds are of Pliocene (Blanco) age .. 

Dumble reports the occurrence of bones and 

teeth of small animals in the interbedded sands 

exposed in a gulch 1! miles north of Barlow's 

ferry, on Nueces River, It to 2 miles east of old 

Fort Merrill. According to Cope, these remains 

are of middle Pliocene (Blanco) age. 53 

~~ Partial synonymy of the La para formation: 

Fayette beds [included the Yegua, Fayette, Frio, Oakville, Lapara, and 

Lagarto formations]: Penrose, R.· A. F., jr., A preliminary report on 

the geology of the Gulf Tertiaries of Texas from Red River to the Rio 

Grande: Texas Geol. Survey First Ann. Rept., pp. 47-.58, 1890. 

Lapara division: Dumble, E. T., The Cenozoic deposits of Texas: Jour 

Geology, vol. 2, pp. 559-560, 1894. 

Lapara beds: Dumble, E. T., Geology of southwestern Texas: Am. 

Inst. Min. Eng. Trans., vol. 33, pp. 44--60, 1903. 4 

Dewitt formation [included the Oakville, Lapara, and Lagarto formations]: Deussen, Alexander, Geology and underground waters 

of the southeastern part of the Texas Coastal Plain: U. S. Geol. · 

Survey Water-Supply Paper 335, pp. 74-76, 1914. · 

52 Dumble, E. T ., The Cenozoic deposits of Texas: Jour. Geology, vol. 

2, pp. 559-560, 1894. 

68 Dumble, E. T., op. cit., pp. 52-53. 

Areal extent.-The formation is exposed in 

Nueces Valley, in Live Oak County, between 

Oakville and Dinero. 

Oorrelation.-The Lapara sand has been 

found only in the valley of N ueces River. If 

it extends farther east it is overlapped complet~ly by the Lagarto clay. The time equivalents east of the Brazos are some members of 

·the Fleming clay. On the other hand, a fauna 

identical with that occurring northeast of N avasota-a fauna that is dis.tinctly older tha:n the 

Blanco or that represented by the Lapara 

sand 54-has been found at Cold Springs, in San 

Jacinto County, in the upper part of the Fleming clay. This fact would seem to indicate that 

the stratigraphic equivalents of the Lapara are 

not exposed east of the Brazos. 

· Section on Nueces River.-A section of t.he 

La para sand in the N ueces Valley has been 

given in connection with the description of the 

Oakville sandstone. (See p. 99.) Additional 

outcrops are described below. 

Interbedded sand (or grit) and clay are exposed in a gulch 1! miles north of Barlow's 

ferry, on the Nueces, 1! to 2 miles east of old 

Fort Merrill. 

Pink clay or shale with green mottling, like 

that seen in the shale found at old Fort Merrill, 

is exposed for. a distance of 2 feet above the 

water line at a point 100 feet above the bridge 

at Dinero, Live Oak County. About 500 feet 

below the bridge coarse yellow poorly bedded 

calcareous sandstone may be seen to a level of 

5 feet above the water line. 

LAGARTO CLAY,55 

Name.-The Lagarto clay was named by 

Dumble in 1894 from Lagarto Creek, in Live 

Oak County, where it is typically exposed.56 

M Dumble, E. T., Problem of the Texas Tertiary sands: Geol. Soc. 

America Bull., vol. 26, pp. 470-473, 1915. 

55 Partial synonymy of the Lagarto formation: 

Fayette beds [included Yegua, Fayette, Frio, Oakville, Lapara, and 

Lagarto formations]: Penrose, R. A. F.,jr., A preliminary report on 

the geology of the Gulf Tertiaries of Texas from Red River to the Rio 

Grande: Texas Geol. Survey First Ann. Rept., pp. 47-58, 1890. 

Navasota beds [included Lagarto clay and Oakville sandstone]: Kennedy, William, Report on Grimes, Brazos, and Robertson counties: 

Texas Geol. Survey Fourth Ann. Rept., pp. 9-15, 43-44, 1893. 

Lagarto division: Dumble, E. T ., The Cenozoic deposits of Texas: Jour. 

Geology, vol. 2, p. 560, 1894. 

Lagarto beds: Drimble, E. T., Geology or southwestern Texas: Am. 

Inst. Min. Eng. Trans., vol. 33, pp. 60--63, 1903. 

Dewitt formation [included Oakville, Lapara, and Lagarto formations]: Deussen, Alexander, Geology and underground waters 

of the southeastern part of the Texas Coastal Plain: U. S. Geol. 

Survey Water-Supply Paper 335, pp. 74-76, 1914. 

60 Dumble, E. T., The Cenozoic deposits of Texas: Jour. Geology, vol. 

2, p. 560, 1894. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIOK.~L PAI'ER 12() PLATE XXVI 

FRlO CLAY ON ROAD BET\VEEI\ TILDEN AND SAN DIEGO, i\•[cl\1ULLEN COUNTY, TEX., A QUARTER OF A MILE NORTH OF "\1ILEPOST 18 OUT OF TILDEN. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 126 PLA'l'E XXVII 

A . BADLANDS FORMED BY GRAY SANDS OF THE CATAHOULA SANDSTONE 5 MILES 

NORTHWEST OF BURTON, WASHINGTO COUNTY, TEX. 

B. LENSES OF KAOLIN-LIKE CLAY IN CATAHOULA SANDSTONE 5 MILES NORTHWEST 

OF BURTON, WASHINGTON COUNTY, TEX. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 126 PLATE XXVI!J 

1 

2 

la 

VERTEBRATE FOSSILS FROM MIOCENE AND PLEISTOCENE DEPOSITS. 

1, la, lb. Fragment of a jaw bone of a fossil rhinoceros ( Coenopus sp.) from the Oakville sandstone about 3!; miles west of Bastrop, 

Washington Coonty, Tex. 

2. 2a. Molar of Equus cf. E. excel sus Leidy (?)from terrace No.6 of Colorado River at Austin, Travis County, Tex. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSJO AL PAPER 126 PLATE XXIX 

A. LOWER BIWS OF OAKVILLE SANDSTONE EXPOSED ON SULPHUR CRimK AT BHTDC.E 

ON OAKVILLE-BimVILLE BOAD AT OAKVILLE, LIVE OAK COUNTY, TEX. 

B. LAPARA SAND LYI G UNCONFORMABLY ON OAKVILLE SANDSTONE ON NUECES 

RIVER AT BRIDGE AT MIKESKA, LIVE OAK COUNTY. TEX. 
U. s. GEOLOGICAL SURVI'Y l'ROFESSIONAL PAPER 126 PLA'l'E XXX 

A. LIMESTO E OF REY OSA FORMATION RESTING U CONFORMABLY ON LAGARTO 

CLAY 0 RAMIRENA CREEK, ABOUT 3 MYLES NORTH OF LAGARTO, LIVE OAK 

COUNTY, TEX. 

B . REYNOSA FORMATlO IN BED OF COLORADO RIVER ABOUT A QUARTER OF A MILE 

BELOW TilE UPPER WAGO BRIDGE AT COLUMBUS, COLORADO COU TY, TEX. 

C. PLEISTOCENE GRAVELS RESTING UNCONFORMABLY ON REYNOSA FORMATION 

ON PRICES CREEK, ABOUT 12 MILES SOUTH OF CUERO, DE WITT COUNTY, TEX. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 126 PLATE XXXI 

A. REYNOSA FORMATION OCCUPYING HIGH DIVIDE BETWEEN LEONA AND NUECES 

RIVERS, 6t MILES WEST OF BATESVILLE, ZAVALLA COUNTY,' _TEX. 

B. REYNOSA FORMATION CAPPING PLATEAU HALF A MILE N- 20' K OF COURTHOUSE 

AT CARRIZO SPRINGS, DIMMIT COUNTY, TEX. 
' 

PLIOCENE SERIES .(NONMARINE FORMATIONS) . 101 

Stratigraphic position.-In Nueces Valley the ville sandstone.· At the base of the clay is a 

Lagarto clay lies conformably ( ~) above the bed of gravel containing worn Cretaceous shells. 

Lapara sand. North of San Antonio River it At a creek crossing on the La Grange-Columlies unQonformably above the Oakville sand- bus road about 8 miles southeast of Ellinger, 

stone. It lies unconformably beneath the in Colorado County, the Lagarto clay shows 

Reynosa formation. 5 feet of bluish-gray sand in beds 5 inches 

Lithology.-The formation consists of pink thick, 2 feet of blue clay, 4 feet of bluish-gray 

and green mottled clay, sand, and sandstone. sand, 7 feet of blue clay containing nodules of 

At some places the clay is capped by a bed of lime one-fourth to one-half inch in diameter, 

sand and gravel, cemented by lime, representing 3 feet of blue sand, 6 inches of yellow sandprobably the basal beds of the Reynosa for- stone, 6 inches of blue sand, 5 feet of yellow 

mation. At places where limestone or cal- sandstone, and 4 feet of blue clay. The strike 

careous· sandstone caps the clay stringers of isS. 20° W. 

lime extend downward into it for a distance of Three feet of blue sand and 3 feet of under8 or 10 feet. At other places the clay contains lying blue and red mottled clay are exposed at· 

numerous nodules of lime and i~ highly charged the Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio 

with manganese. At still other places semi- Railway bridge across Colorado River a.t 

crystalline limestone pebbles with manganese Columbus,. Colorado County. 

dendrites, probably derived from the underlying Section on Guadalupe River.-The sections of 

Frio clay, are also present. the Lagarto clay described below were observed . 

Thickness and dip.-The formation ranges in in the drainage area of Guadalupe River. 

thickness from 346 to 64 7 feet. The thickness Fifteen feet of brownish-yellow argillaceous 

of the beds in Nueces Valley is 200 ± feet; the sand, which is here and there replaced by clay, 

dip is southeast and ranges from 20 to 40 feet is exposed in a ravine near the railroad station 

to the mile. On Brazos River the thickness is at Lindenau, De Witt County. 

about 400 feet and the dip is southeast at the Eight feet of yellow sandy clay with lime 

rate of about 34 feet to the mile. nodules half an inch in diameter is exposed in 

Paleontology.-No organic remains of any the valley of Deer Creek about half a mile 

kind, so far as known, have been found in these southeast of Lindenau. 

clays. . At the creek crossing of the Lindenau-Cuero 

Areal extent.-A ~arrow outcrop appears in road, 3! miles west of Cuero, the Lagarto clay 

N ueces Valley between Dinero and Lagarto. shows 2 feet of gray sandstone overlying 8 feet 

North of San Antonio River the formation of green calcareous shale. The beds dip about 

outcrops in a belt of country extending north- .1 ° to the southeast. 

eastward through Karnes, De Witt, Lavaca, Twenty-five feet of y~llow sandy clay conColorado, Fayette, Austin, and Washington taining lime nodules is exposed on Guadalupe 

counties. (See Pl. VIII.) River at the bridge ·on the Cuero-Clinton road 

Oorrelation.-The stratigraphic position of about 2 miles southwest of Cuero. 

the Lagarto clay above the Lapara and beneath Section on San Antonio River.-The followthe Reynosa indicates that it is of later Pliocene ing section is exposed at Goliad: 

age. 

Dumble suggests that the equivalents of the 

formation in the region east o{ the Brazos are 

the upper Inembers of the Fleming clay and 

regards the beds at Woodville, in Tyler County, 

as the eastern extension of this clay. 57 

Section on Colorado River.-Exposures of the 

Lagarto clay in the drainage area of Colorado 

River are described below. 

At I-Ialsted, 6 miles east of La Grange, the 

Lagarto clay lies unconformably on the Oak7 Dumble, E. T., Problems of the Texas Tertiary sands: Oeol. Soc. 

America Bull., vol. 26, p. 473, 19l5. 

111587-24_...:...---8 

Section on San Antonio River at crossing of Galveston, 

Harrisburg & San Antonio Railway at Goliad, Tex. 

Lissie gravel (?): l!'eet. 

White adobe or limy sandy clay ............ ~ . . . . 5 

White calcareous clay......................... 3 

Coarse conglomeratic limestone with small balls 

of yellow and green clay one-half inch in 

diameter.................................... 2 

Reynosa formation(?): 

Soft limy clay with balls of yellow or limonitic 

clay 2 to 6 inches in diameter................. 1! 

Cross-bedded limestone. .. .. .. . .. .. .. . .. .. . . . .. 3 

White cross-bedded sandy limestone ............. · 1 

Concealed .............................. ~ : . . . . . ·3 

Unconformity. 
102 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

Lagarto clay(?): Feet. 

Mottled pink and yellow shale .................. 10 

Concealed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 

Mottled pink and green sandy clay.... . . . . . . . . . . 2 

Section on Nueces River.-On Ramirena 

Creek, about 3 miles north of Lagarto, Live Oak 

County (see Pl. XXX, A), the white limy sandstone of the Reynosa formation rests unconformably on the mottled pinkish-red and green 

shale of the Lagarto formation. 

At the type locality on Lagarto Creek half 

a mile northwest of La.garto the white limestone 

of the Reynosa formation, 30 feet thick, rests 

on 30 feet of the mottl~d green, pink, and white 

· clays with numerous lime concretions of the 

Lagarto formation. 

Fifteen feet of mottled red, white, ~d 

green clay similar to that seen at Lagarto, but 

here much more highly charged with lime, is 

exposed at the place where the LagartoCasablanca road crosses Penitager Creek, 3! 

miles northwest of Casablanca. 

On the Lagarto-Casablanca road 3 miles 

northwest of Casablanca 1 foot of conglomerate composed of lime pebbles rests unconformably on green Lagarto clay containing 

lime spots and markings. 

PLIOCENE 0) SERIES (NONMARINE DEPOSITS). 

REYNOSA FORMATION,IIB 

Name.-Penrose 59 first used the name Reynosa for a bed of limestone found by him at 

Reynosa, Mexico, in the Rio Grande Valley, 

about 50 feet above the level of the river. 

Later Dumble applied this name to the litho ... 

logically similar limestone and limy deposits 

of late Pliocene age described belo'Y in detail. 

The position of the liinestone at Reynosa, 

only 50 feet above the streamway and 732 feet 

below the limestone at Torrecillas, 100 miles to 

the northwest, would seem to suggest that it 

occupies a lower terrace than the Torrecillas 

and Realitos terraces, and that its age is 

Pleistocene rather than Pliocene. However, 

until more definite information can be obtained 

~s Partial synonymy of the Reynosa formation: 

Reynosa division: Dumble, E. T ., The Cenozoic deposits of Texas: Jour. 

Geology, vol. 2, pp. 560-563, 1894. 

Reynosa limestone: Hayes, C. W., and Kennedy, William, Oil fields Of 

the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coastal Plain: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 

212, p. 17, 1903. 

Reynosa beds: Dumble, E. T ., Geology of southwestern Texas: Am. Inst. 

Min. Eng. Trans., vol. 33, pp. 63-70, 1003. 

6g Penrose, R. A. F., jr., A preliminary report on the geology of the Gulf 

Tertiaries of Texas from Red River to the Rio Grande: Texas Gaol. 

Survey First Ann. Rept., p. 63, 1890. 

as to the age of the limestone at the type locality, it is considered advisable to continue the 

use of the term Reynosa as it was used by Dumble and Kennedy, it being well established in 

the literature with this significance. · 

Stratigraphic position.-The Reynosa formation lies unconformably above the Lagarto 

clay and is overlain unconformably by the 

Lissie gravel. 

Lithology.-The lithologic constituents of the 

formation are a conglomerate of flint or siliceous manganese-stained limestone pebbles, 

cemented with lime, very hard in some places 

but in others soft and tufaceous; lenses of 

pink, manganese-stained limy clay; coarse 

limy sand and sandstone; and soft tufaceous 

limestone. The bedding. is extremely irregular. Small ridges and knolls are capped with 

the limestone, and the intervening depressions 

are occupied by red or brown loam. 

The color of the red loam residue produced 

by the weathering of the limestone is due to 

ferruginous sandy clay similar to that in the 

Citronelle formation, farther east, and probably 

derived originally from the same source. The 

Reynosa is therefore composed of Citronellalike materials mingled with limy materials derived originally from the limestone formations 

of western Texas. The lime now in the beds, 

however, is probably largely of secondary 

origin, having been pre~ipitated from solution. 

East of Colorado River the Reynosa is composed of coarse red sand; mottled blue, brown, 

orange, red, and yellow sand and sandy clay; 

and beds of more or less fine gravel made up 

of pebbles of quartz, chert, flint, orthoclase, 

jasper, and granite. It contains many small 

ferruginous concretions, the largest half an inch 

in diameter. All the materials are generally 

highly oxidized. In places small pockets and 

lenses of blue or red clay may be found. Crossbedding is common, the beds in general having 

no semblance of stratification. 

Many small cuts that show the eastward 

development of the Reynosa formation may 

be seen in Waller, Austin, and Colorado 

counties.· Most of these cuts show 3 or 4 feet 

of mottled red, yellow, and brown sand or 

sandy clay containing small ferruginous concretions. One mile . southeast of Waller, in 

Waller County, there is a deposit of yellow 
PLIOCENE ( ?) SERIES (NONMARINE DEPOSITS). 103 

sandy clay, 4 feet thick, containing small About 8 feet of hard gray nonfossiliferous 

ferruginous concretions or pebbles about a sandstone is exposed on Colorado River about 

quar_ter of an inch in diameter. Five feet of a quarter of a mile below the wagon bridge a 

yellow mottled sandy clay is exposed in a cut mile north of the post office at Columbus. (See 

on the I-Iouston & Texas Central Railway a Pl. XXX, B.) 

quarter of a mile west of the railroad station Eight 'to 10 feet of porous blue semi-indurated 

at Hempstead. About 'three-quarters of a sand is exposed on Colorado River about a 

mile west of the station the banks of a small quarter of. a mile below the wagon bridge at 

branch sho"' 7 feet of red sandy clay. Columbus. 

Thickness and dip.-The Reynosa formation Gray limy sandstone is exposed 2 miles 

ranges in thickness from 560 to 1J505 feet. Its southeast of Alleyton on the road from that 

thickness on the Colorado is 600 feet, and its place to Eagle Lake, in Colorado County. 

dip is 30 feet to the mile; its thickness on the Four feet of gray limy sandstone is exposed 

Nueces is 200 to 300 feet, and its dip is about in the bed of McKenzie Creek on the road· from 

20 feet to the mile to the southeast. Columbus to Altair, in Colorado County, about 

Paleontology.-No fossils have been found· 5 miles southeast of Columbus. 

in the formation. Forty feet of hard gray limestone is exposed 

Areal extent.-The formation crops out in a on Colorado River at the mouth of McKenzie 

belt of country that extends northeastward Creek, about 6 miles southeast of Columbus. 

through Duval, McMullen, Live Oak, Bee, The bluff is capped by a 10-foot bed of fairly 

Goliad, De Witt, Lavaca, Waller, Colorado, hard gray sandy manganese-stained limestone 

and Austin counties. (See Pl. VIII.) containing ~solated small pebbles of quartz a 

Topographic position of outcrop.-The ma- quarter of an inch in diameter. 

terials of the Reynosa form the Realitos Section in eastern part of De Witt Oounty.-

terrace between Colorado and Guadalupe Light-colored gravel and .heavy white calcarerivers and the Torrecillas and Realitos terraces ous conglomerate mantle the surface in the 

south of the Guadalupe. vicinity of Terryville, in the east corner of De 

Oorrelation.-In the area east of Colorado Witt County. 

River the formation is lithologically more Section on Guadalupe River.-Shoals are 

nearly like the Citronelle formation of eastern formed on Guadalupe River on the Charles 

Texas and other Gulf States, which is believed Lockhart league, about 9 1niles southeast of 

to be of about the same age. Its equivalent Cuero, by a coarse yellow sandstone that conin the interior south of Brazos River is prob- tains very fine waterworn pebbles less than an 

ably the Uvalde formation. eighth of an inch in diameter. 

Section in Austin Oounty.-Coarse calcare- Six feet of yellow argillaceous sand is exposed 

ous sandstones appear in places in the southern on Prices Creek at the bridge of the Galveston, 

part of Austin County beneath sand and gravel Harrisburg & San Antonio Railway, about 12 

of later age. Gray calcareous sandstone is miles southeast of Cuero. (See Pl. XXX, 0.) 

exposed in the banks of Brazos River at About 200 feet below the bridge the Reynosa 

Cochrans Ferry, near the old Buckhorn post formation is exposed in the form of sandstone 

office, and a similar sandstone is exposed at boulders, 4 to 5 feet in diameter, in the bed 

Sealy. of the creek. 

Section on Colorado River.-About 20 feet Section in Bee Oounty.-On Medio _Creek, 

of cross-bedded gray sandstone is exposed on where it is crossed by the Galveston, Harristhe Weimar-Columbus road ·a mile east of burg & San Antonio Railway, about 7 miles 

Borden station, in Colorado County. This northeast of Beeville, ·the Reynosa formation 

outcrop is provisionally referred to the Rey- is represented ( ~) by 5 feet of mottled greennasa. ish-white and pinkish-white calcareous shale 

Between 15 and 20 feet of hard gray sand- highly charged with manganese, separated 

stone is exposed on the La Grange-Columbus below from 1 foot of greenish-white argillaceroad at a point about 5 miles northwest of ous sandstone by concealed rocks 2 feet thick, 

Columbus. The sandstone is overlain by the whole· being overlain by 10 to 12 feet of 

gravel that forms a terrace. material belonging to the Lissie gravel. 
104 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

About 10 feet of limy mottled red and white White limy clay or adobe and in places 

clay is exposed in the south bank of a creek white limy sand cap the high hills on the road 

that is crossed by the San Antonio & Aransas from Fort Merrill to Dinero. 

Pass Railway 7 miles south of Beeville. On Ramirena Creek about 5 miles north of 

Section between Lenz, Karnes County, and Lagarto, Live Oak County, 8 feet of white 

Beeville, Bee County.-White porous limestone limestone and limy clay, which overlies 10 feet 

caps the hills on the road from Lenz to Camp- of gray limy, sandy clay that in turn overlies 

bellton between a point 4! miles north of 6 feet of white limy sandstone, rests unconLenz and the eastern corner of Atascosa formably on red and green shale of. the Lagarto 

County. A similar limestone crops out on the· clay. On Lagarto Creek, half a mile northroad 1 mile south o'f Lenz, and a bed 5 feet west of Lagarto, the Reynosa formation is 

thick caps the hill 1 mile south of Monteola. represented by 30 feet of white limestone, 

This bed may also be seen at Monteola. which rests unconformably on the Lagarto clay. 

White earthy limestone is conspicuously The same thickness of white limestone is also 

exposed at Mineral, Bee County. Its thick- exposed where the Lagarto-Casablanca road 

ness ranges from a few inches to 40 feet. crosses the creek about 5 miles northwest of 

Five feet of limy conglomerate, consisting of Casablanca. 

siliceous limestone cobbles, 2 to 5 inches in Section between Lomo Alto, McM,_tllen County, 

diameter, cemented by lime, caps the hill on and San Diego, Duval. County.-White limy 

the Orangedale-Mineral road about 7 miles conglomerate is exposed at the Rodriguez ranch 

northwest of Orangedale, in Bee County. on the San Diego-Tilden road, 5 miles east of 

From Orangedale northwestward for a dis- Los Picachos Hill, in Duval County. 

tance of 5 miles white earthy limestone is One mile east of this ranch, on the crest of the 

exposed at intervals on the Orangedale-Mineral Bordt:ts escarpment, there is an outcrop of 

road. white limestone, and similar limestone caps a 

At Orangedale a well 68 feet deep is said small knoll on the San Diego-Tilden road, 

to have passed through 48 feet of white earthy one-fourth of a mile east of the Labbe ranch 

limestone. Below the limestone was a red house. 

sandy clay. White earthy limestone is exposed at Gray's 

Between Beeville and Orangedale small cuts ranch, 18 miles northwest of San Diego, and 

by the roadside show 4 to 5 feet of white marl similar limestone, 5 feet thick, is exposed at 

or porous soft earthy limestone. Most of the the Medio Ranch, 1 mile southeast of Gray's 

outcrops are on lower ground and at creek ranch, on San Diego Creek. 

crossings. The higher lands are covered with White limestone caps the hill on the San 

a reddish-brown sandy loam. Diego-Tilden road 13! miles northwest of San 

Sewer trenches dug at Beeville cut at a Diego, and a similar bed is exposed on this. 

depth of 13 to 14 feet a hard lime conglomer- road 12! miles northwest of San Diego. 

ate referred to the Reynosa formation. The White earthy limestone is exposed at the 

conglomerate consists of hard gray siliceous Neil Robinson ranch, 6 miles northwest of 

limestone pebbles, one-fourth to one-half inch San Diego, and similar limestone caps a hill 

in diameter, cemented with lime. three-fourths of a mile northwest of the courtSection between Oakville a~d Lagarto, Live house at San Diego. 

Oak County.-White marl or earthy limestone Section between Springfield, Jim Wells 

is exposed at intervals on the Oakville-Bee- Oounty, and San Diego, Duval Oounty.-White 

ville road 3 or 4 miles east of Oakville. limestorre crops out 500 feet southwest of 

One foot of white limestone is exposed at Springfield, in Jim Wells County. Half a 

Lapara post office, Live Oak County. . mile to the west the upland is capped with the 

At old Fort Merrill, 5 miles southeast of same kind of rock: and similar outcrops extend 

Mikeska, the upland is capped with 20 feet along the road from this point to San Diego. 

of gray loam or silt. At its base is 2 or 3 . Numerous exposures of the Reynosa formafeet of white limy sandstone, cross..:bedded in tion occur in the vicinity of San Diego. At 

places. · the crossing on San Diego Creek, 1 mile south 
PLIOCENE ( ?) SERIES (NONMARINE DEPOSITS). 105 

of the courthouse, the Reynosa formation contains 10 feet of limy conglomerate, consisting of 

rounded pebbles of yellow and pink limestone 

half an inch in diameter in a lin1y matrix; 20 

feet of mottled green, pink, and white sandy 

clay; and 15 feet of hard conglomeratic limestone similar to the conglomerate noted above. 

The beds dip S. 80° E. at an angle of 1°. 

Section between Realitos, Duval County, and 

Falfurrias, Brooks Oo·unty.-White limestone, 

cnrrying_ flint pebbles three-quarters of an 

inch in diameter, protrudes through the soil· 

in places at Realitos. White earthy limestone 

is exposed on the road 11 miles east of Realitos, and half a mile to the east is a deposit of 

pebbles of flint, limestone, and basalt, threefourths of an inch in diameter, mixed with 

red sandy loam. About 3t miles east of 

Realitos gravel of similar composition forms 

a thin veneer on top of white earthy limestone. 

Four feet of white conglomerate limestone, 

overlain by a pinkish-brown silt, is exposed at 

the crossing on Concepcion Creek, 5! miles 

east of Realitos. 

White limestone caps the upland in places 

a quarter of a mile south of Concepcion post 

office, in Duval County, and 8 feet of white 

limestone is exposed in the bank of a small 

creek 8 miles southeast of Conception. 

Section at Hebbronville, Jim Hogg Oounty.-

White limestone protrudes through the soil in 

places at Hebbronville. 

Section at Los Ojuelos, Webb Oounty.-

According to Dumble, 60 at a hill 1 mile south 

of Los Ojuelos there is exposed 6 to 8 feet of 

arenaceous limestone, highly concretionary in 

places. The concretions are more or less conglomeratic, with the usual dendritic crystalline 

limestone pebbles, together with some siliceous 

cmes in a hard limy matrix. Below this limestone there is 6 to 8 feet of limy sand, with 

red sand containing concretionary inclusions 

similar in composition and appearance to the 

materials of the underlying beds, and 15 feet of 

thick-bedded pinkish-brown clayey sand. 

Below the clayey sand seen at Los Ojuelos 

there is another bed of limestone, which is 

underlain by a conglomerate that rests on sand 

and conglomerate of the Lapara formation. 

eo Dumble, E. T., Geology or southwestern Texas: Am. lost. Min. 

Eng. Trans., vol. 33, pp. 68-69, 1903. · 

REYNOSA FORMATION (UPSTREAM FACIES, HERETOFORE CALLED "UVALDE FORMATION"),Gl 

Name.-The following quotation from Trowbridge's report cited in the footnote will 

explain why Hill's name/2 "Uvalde formation," is here replaced by. Dumble's name, 

Reynosa formation: 

In 1890 Penrose described a deposit of limestone containing many pebbles and cobbles under the name "Reynosa 

limestone," from the. town of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, 

Mexico.· This limestone overlies·what was then called the 

Fayette sand at Reynosa, directly across the Rio Grande 

from Hidalgo, Tex. Penrose found Recent shells embedded in the surface of exposures of this formation, and 

thinking it was Recent, included it in his "post-Tertiary 

formations." In 1891 Hill described remnants of a 

formation that consisted of coarse and fine gravel cemented 

by a calcareous matrix and that occupied terraces 400 to 

1,000 feet above the Rio Grande to the north of this region. 

This he called the Uvalde formation. Dumble applied 

the name Reynosa division to the series of deposits forming 

the plateau between Nueces and Rio Grande, which he 

called the Reynosa Plateau. He stated that the "Reynosa limestone1' of Penrose formed the top member of 

his Reynosa division, which rested on the Lagarto formation. These downstream deposits to which Dumble 

applied the name Reynosa are now known to be the same 

as the upstream remnants to which Hill applied the name 

Uvalde, and the necessity for discarding one of the names 

has become apparent. In view of the fact that Reynosa 

as applied to a part of this formation has priority over 

Uvalde, and that the downstream deposits perhaps afford 

a better type locality, the name Reynosa ha's been adopted 

by the United States Geological Survey and "Uvaldell' 

formation has been abandoned. 

&I Partial synonymy of the Uvalde formation: 

Upland gravel: Penrose, R. A. F., jr., A preliminary report on the 

geology of the Gulf Tertiaries of Texas-from Red River to the Rio 

Grande: Texas Geol. Survey First Ann. Rept., pp. 59-60, 1890. 

Uvalde formation: Hill, R. T., Notes on the geology of the Southwest: 

Am. Geologist, vol. 7, pp. 367-368, 1891. 

Uvalde formation: Hill, R. T., and Vaughan, T. W., Geology of the 

Edwards Plateau and Rio Grande Plain adjacent to Austin and 

San Antonio, Tex., with special reference to the occurrence of under-

. ground waters: U. S. Geol. Survey Eighteenth Ann. Rept., pt. 2, 

pp. 244-247, 1898. 

Uvalde formation: Hill, R. T., and Vaughan, T. W., U.S. Geol. Survey 

Geol. Atlas, Nueces folio (No. 42), p. 3, 1898. 

Uvalde formation: Vaughan, T. W., U. S. Geol. Survey Geol. Atlas, 

Uvalde folio (No. 64), p. 3, 1900. 

Uvalde formation: Hill, R. T., Geography and geology of the Black and 

Grand prairies, Tex., with detailed descriptions of the Cretaceous 

formations and special reference to artesian waters: U.S. Geol. Survey Twenty-first Ann. Rept., pt. 7, pp. 347-349, 1901. 

Reynosa beds: Dumble, E. T., Geology of southwestern Texas: Am. 

lost. Min. Eng. Trans., vol. 33, pp. 63-70, 1903. 

Uvalde formation: Deussen, Alexander, Geology and underground 

waters of the southeastern part of the Texas Coastal Plain: U. S. 

Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 335, pp. 77-78, 1914. 

Reynosa formation: Trowbridge, A. C., A geologic reconnaissance in 

the Gulf Coastal Plain of Texas near the Rio Grande: U. S. Geol. 

Survey Prof. Paper 131, pp .. 98-1001 1923. 

e2 Hill, R: T., Notes on the geology of the Southwest: Am. Geologist, 

vol. 7, pp. 367-3613, 1891. 
106 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

Stratigraphic position.-These upstream Rey- the ancient plain upon which it was deposited 

nosa deposits lie unconformably on beds rang- and ranges from 2 to 10 feet to the mile toward 

ing in age from Upper Cretaceous to middle the southeast. 

Pliocene. They are in general not covered by Paleontology.-These upstream deposits have 

later deposits. Their stratigraphic position is yielded no animal remains. They contain conprobably at the top of the Pliocene. siderable silicified wood, which, however, is not 

Lithology.-Gravel is the characteristic rna- indigenous .to them, having been derived from 

terial of these upstream Reynosa deposits. The older formations by erosion. 

pebbles of the gravel range in diameter from 1 Areal extent.-The formation crops out in 

inch to 5 and 6 inch~s; the smaller cobbles are isolated bodies, ranging in width from a few 

usually well rounded, but most of the largerfrag- yards to 10 miles or more, on the high divides 

mentsare angular, though theiredgesareslightly of Kinney, Maverick, Dimmit, "\Vebb, Uvalde, 

rounded. The composition of the gravel is Zavalla, La Salle, Medina, Frio, McMullen, 

.variable. In the Guadalupe and Nueces drain- Bexar, Atascosa, Live Oak, Wilson, Karnes, 

age basins it consists largely of brown, gray, Guadalupe, Gonzales, De Witt, Comal, Hays, 

and black flint, and at many places it is Caldwell, Lavaca, Travis, Bastrop, Fayette, 

cemented with lime to form a conglomerate. Colorado, Williamson, Lee, Washington, Bell, 

At other places, however, the lime may be Milam, Burleson, McLennan, and Falls counlacking. In the Brazos, Colorado, and Rio ties. (See Pl. VIII.) 

Grande drainage basins and in a part of the Topographic position.-The altitude of the 

Guadalupe Basin the pebbles consist. largely formation in Uvalde County is 970 feet; in 

of quartz, flint, jasper, chert, orthoclase, Bexar County, 960 feet; in Travis and McLengranite, and silicified wood. nan counties, 600 feet; in Webb County, 728 

The preponderance of gravel is the chief feet; and in Lee County, 512 feet. In Washlithologic distinction between the upstream and ington, Austin, Fayette, Lavaca, and De Witt 

downstream facies of the Reynosa formation. counties it forms the original surface of the 

The limy conglomerate of the upstream facies, Torrecillas terrace. 

however, has a striking resemblance to similar Details of occurrence.-A heavy veneer of 

conglomerate in the downstream facies. subrounded flint cobbles that average 2 or 3 

Source of material.-The greater part of the inches in diameter form a thick veneer on the 

material that composes the upstream deposits prairie at Daffan, 5 miles southwest of Manor, 

was derived from the Lower Cretaceous lime- in Travis County, at an elevation of 600 feet. 

stones of the Plateau region of Texas, the flints Flint gravel also appears in the vieinity of 

coming from the Edwards limestone. The Littig, Travis County, at an elevation of about 

plateau country has been subjected to great 464 feet. 

erosibn since the time of its uplift, and these A thin coat of flint and chert pebbles forms 

upstream deposits represent a part of the the surface 4 miles southeast of McDade, 

eroded material transported to lower ground. Bastrop County, and similar material can be 

The original debris included limestone and flint seen 3 miles to the east at an elevation of 545 

gravel. Much of the limestone gravel has been. feet. 

removed by solution, and the lime cement of Cobbles of flint, limestone, and jasper, the 

the conglomerate is derived from the solution. largest 2 inches in diameter, form the surface 

between Paige and Giddings (elevation, 514 

of the limestone gravel. Probably some of the feet). Similar materials form the surface of 

gravel referred to these deposits has been t f th · h' h d · L C t Th 

shifted, reworked, and sorted a number of times. mobsbl 0 e. Ig f gfl:oun. In ee oun Y· e 

S

. f th 'al . ll h . h ; co es consist o Int, Jasper, son1e orthoclase, 

orne o e materi , espeCia y t at In t e and silicified wood. 

Br~zos, Colorado, and Rio. ~rande drainage Gravel consisting of rounded cobbles of flint, 

bas~s, may h.ave come ong~n~lly from the quartz, jasper, orthoclase, and silicified wood 

Cordilleran. re~10n of N e~ MexiCo and Colorado and ranging in diameter from 3 inches to 3 

and the Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma. feet occurs 2 to 3 miles east of Ledbetter. The 

Thickness and dip.-The thickness 9f these elevation at this place is 443 feet. 

deposits ranges from a few inches to 100 feet or A thin veneer of gravel also appears a mile 

more. The dip is that of the general slope of or two west of Carmine, Fayette County. 
PLIOCENE ( ?) SERIES (NONMARINE DEPOSITS). 107 

All the gravel beds here described occupy 

the' divide between Brazos and Colorado rivers. 

Large subangular masses of flint, the largest 

5 inches in diameter, are strewn on the ground 

at Manchaca, Travis County, at an elevation 

of 697 feet. 

An extensive body of flint gravel appears 

about Creedmore, in the southern part of 

Travis County, at an elevation of 725 feet. 

Flint gravel appeal'S also at the surface 4 miles 

west of Dale, Caldwell County, at an elevation 

of about 520 feet. 

A veneer of flint gravel forms the surface of 

the prairie 2 miles northeast of Hunter, in 

Hays County, at an elevation of 708 feet. 

Flint gravel is also exposed in the vicinity of 

Kingsbury, Guadalupe County, at an elevation 

of 620 feet. 

Brown flint cobbles, 2 to 3 inches in diameter, 

form a veneer on the prairie along the International &: Great Northern Railway from a 

point 2 miles to a point 6 miles northeast of 

Bracken, Comal County. A.similar bed occurs 

9 miles northeast of Bracken. 

Flint cobbles are strewn over the surface at 

Marion and vicinity, in Guadalupe County, at 

an elevation of 644 feet. 

A bed of flint gravel 2 or 3 feet thick covers 

the hill on the International&. Great Northern 

Railway 3! miles southwest of Bracken at an 

elevation of 956 feet. 

Flint gravel forms the surface 2 miles southwest of Converse, in Bexar County, at an elevation of 770 feet. 

The divide between San Antonio River and 

Salado Creek is covered with a limy conglomerate and marl from 2 to 15 feet thick, which 

may be seen at the corner of South Palmetto 

Avenue and Dakota Street, about 2 miles east 

of the courthouse at San Antonio. 

A quarter of a mile east-southeast of this 

place the deposits .show black clay soil in 

which flint cobbles are embedded, 4 to 5 feet 

of indurated white marl containing a few flint 

cobbles and pebbles, 4 to 6 feet of :fiint and 

limestone gravel embedded in a yellow limy 

clay matrix. The gravel rests unconformably' 

on the Midway formation. 

On the divide between San Antonio River 

and Salado .Creek, 1! miles northeast of Bergs 

station, in Bexar County, the .Reynosa formation contains 10 feet of conglomerate, consisting of flint pebbles and cobbles cemented with 

lilne, overlying unconformably the Indio fol'-

mation. 

Brown flint gravel occurs on the divide 

between Leon Creek and Medina River on the 

San Antonio-Frio City road 2 miles west of 

Leon Station, in Bexar County, at an elevation 

of 725 feet. 

The hill at the cemetery a quarter of a mile 

west of Castroville is capped with 20 feet of 

gravel, which in its lower part is cemented with 

lime into a limy conglomerate. The cobbles 

and pebbles, which consi$t of flint and limestone, range from half an inch to 4 inches in 

diameter. The elevation of this hill is 921 feet. 

Flint gravel covers the prairie 2 miles south 

of Lacoste, Medina County. 

A thick bed of flint gravel, brown on the exterior, covers the divide between La Parita and 

Atascosa creeks, 4 n1iles east of Christine, in the 

southern part of Atascosa County, and also the 

top of Opossum Hill, 1! miles southwest of 

Crowther, McMullen County. The elevation of 

this outcrop is about 440 feet. 

Flint gravel, which is in places cemented into 

a lime conglomerate, forn1s much of the· divide 

between Se·co Creek and Sabinal River, on the 

Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Railway 

at an elevation of about 1,000 feet·. 

An extensive bed of loose flint cobbles at the 

surface, grading downward into a limy conglomerate made up of flint cobbles cemented 

with lime, covers the divide between ·Black 

Creek and Hondo Creek, north of Pearsall, in 

Frio County, at an elevation of 780 feet. A 

similar bed of flint gravel occupies the northwestern part of McMullen County. 

East of Tilden, on the Tilden-Oakville road, 

large subangular and rounded cobbles of flint 

in considerable number cover the prairie. The 

elevation of the high point is 480 feet. 

The gravel of these Reynosa beds occurs 

south of Uvalde, in the southern part of Uvalde 

County, on the divide between Leona and Nueces rivers, at an elevation of 900 to 977 feet. 

Similar ·material occupies the high divide between· Leona and N ueces rivers, 6! miles west 

of Batesville, Zavalla Cmmty. (See Pl. XXXI, 

A..) The elevation. is approximately 786 feet. 

Limy conglomerate of the Reynosa caps the 

plateau half a mile N. 20° E. of the courthouse 

at Carrizo Springs, Dimmit County. (See 

Pl. XXXI, B.) Reynosa gravel occupies the. 

divide between Leona and Nueces rivers 3! 
108 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXl\.S WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

miles west of Lorna Vista, Zavalla County, at 

an elevation of about 620 feet. Similar 

material covers the divide between 'N ueces 

River and Rio Grande on the International 

& Great Northern Railway, 13 to 18 miles 

north of Laredo. From 2 to 8 feet of gravel 

consisting of flint, chert, jasper, orthoclase, 

quartz, etc., and a considerable admixture 

of lime and sand is exposed at an elevation 

of approximately 720 feet. 

QUATERNARY SYSTEM. 

PLEIST.OCENE SERIES. 

LISSIE GRAVEL.63 

but there is probably less clay and more gravel 

in the Lissie than in the Citronelle. · 

West of Guadalupe River the formation 

includes beds of white limestone, lime conglomerate in which limestone and flint pebbles 

are cemented with lime, and gray and ashcolored sand, silt, and clay, which are in 

places calcareous, in general having a strong 

resemblance to those of the Reynosa formation. 

Source of materials.-Lissie gravel consists 

largely of reworked materials of the Reynosa 

formation. 

Thickness and dip.-The thickness ranges 

from 493 to 1,020 feet. The dip is southeastName.-The Lissie gravel was named by ward at the rate of about 19 feet to the mile. 

Deussen in 1914, from Lissie, Wharton County, Paleontology.-The formation contains verteTex., near which it is exposed.6

" Kennedy had brate fossils of early Pleistocene age, such as 

previously described this formation as t~e Eq_uus complicatus, Eq_uus francisci Hay, Truci-

~'Columbia sands," which form merely the felis fatalis,. Elephas imperator, Bison latifrons, 

lower part of McGee's Columbia formation. and Glyptodon. 

The formation is the same as Dumble's "Eq_uus Areal extent and topographic position.-Outbeds," but as the term "Eq_uus" is a paleon- crops of the formation appear in Victoria, 

tologic and not a geographic name, and there- Jackson, Lavaca, Colorado, Wharton, Austin, 

fore not accordant with the rules of geologic Fort Bend, Goliad, Bee, San Patricio, Duval, 

nomenclature, the name Lissie was employed Jim Wells, Nueces, and Brooks counties. (See 

to designate it. Pl. VIII.) It forms the Alice terrace. The 

Stratigraphic position.-The Lissie gravel lies formation extends eastward into eastern Texas 

unconformably above the Reynosa formation and Louisiana. 

and is overlain by the Beaumont clay. Details of the beds. -In a well belonging to 

Lithology.-The formation includes beds and c. Wilson, 4 miles north of Brookshire, Waller 

lenses of gravel, beds of coarse red sand, and County, the Lissie gravel contains 52 feet of 

pock~ts and lenses of red gravel!y clay. T~e· red clay ( ~); 25 feet of sand and gravel, watergravel and sand are its predominant cons tit-_ bearing; ·23 feet of clay; and 37 feet of sand and 

UEmts. The gravel consists .of pebbles and ~ob- gravel, water-bearing, with teeth of fossil Eq_uus 

·bles of quartz, orthoclase, Jasper, agate, hme- of early Pleistocene age. 

stone, flint, chert, granite, and silicified wood, Early Pleistocene vertebrates were collected 

the fragments ranging in diameter from a quar- more than 7 5 years ago by William Hough, of 

'ter of an inch to 3 inches, though the. smaller San Felipe, Austin County, from certain beds 

are more numerous; They are generally well in the banks of Brazos River and were derounded and waterworn, giving evidence of scribed by Dr. William Carpenter. 65 The spatransportation for a considerable distance. cies included Mastodon, Elephas columbi, a tapir, 

· The materials are in general similar to those Bison latifrons, Mylodon, and Elephas imJ?erator. 

of the Citronelle formation of eastern Texas, A number of small pits in the vicinity of 

6a Synony:niyo!theLissiegravel: Eagle Lake, Colorado County, show 4 to 5 feet 

Columbia formation [included the Lissie]: :McGee, W J, The Lafayette of fine gravel made up of pebbles of quartz,. formation: U.S. Geol. Survey Twelfth Ann. Rept., pt.1, pp. 384-408, h 1891. orthoclase, jasper, chert, flint, and ot er maEquus beds: Dumble, E. T., The Cenozoic deposits of Texas: 'Jour. Geol- terials mixed with red clay and coarse red sand. 

ogy, vol. 2, pp. 563-564, 1894. . A d h f 25 f t · 11 t L · · Columbia sands: Hayes, C. W., and Kennedy, William, Oil fields of the t a ept 0 ee Ill a We ., a ISSie,. 

Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coastal Plain: u.s. Geol. Survey Bull. 212, Wharton County, a well-preserved skull of a 

pp. 26-66, 1903. k f b d f d d 

Lissie gravef: Deussen, Alexander, Geology and underground waters of fossil horse WaS ta en rom a e 0 san an 

the southeastern part of.the Texas Coastal Plain: U.S. Geol. Survey small pebbles .cemented together in places with 

Water-Supply Paper 335, pp. 78-80, 1914. · · E +, • • H d 64 Deussen, Alexander, Geology and underground waters of the south- lime. The spe'cies IS q_uus J rancusc~ ay an eastern part of the Texas Coastal Plain: U.S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply 

faper 335,_ pp. 78-80, 1914. 6S Am. Jou.r_. Sci., 2d ser.; vol. 1, p. 244, 1846 .. 
PLEISTOCENE SERIES. 109 

IS referred by Dr. Hay to the early Pleisto- LogofwellontheGibsonfarm,4milesnorthofVictoria, 1'ex. 

cene.66 

George B. Smith's well at Lissie passed 

through 18 to 20 feet of light.,.colored clay, and 

then entered 16 feet of water-bearing sand and 

gravel. 

Water is obtained at a slight depth in gravel 

at Nottawa, Wharton County. 

The wells in the vicinity of East Bernard, 

Wharton County, average 60 feet in depth and 

draw a supply of water from beds of sand and 

gravel. 

In a well belonging to H. Moricke, 6 miles 

northwest of Pierce, Wharton County, the 

Lissie gravel contains 50 feet of white sand, 

34 feet of water-bearing sand . and gravel, 

58 feet of red clay, 42 feet of water-bearing 

su.nd and gravel, and red clay. 

Gravel occurs at or close to the surface and 

is encountered in shallow wells in Lavaca 

Count_y south of the San Antonio & Aransas 

Pass Railway, in the northern parts of Jackson 

and Victoria counties. The pebbles range in 

diameter from a quarter of an inch to 1 t inches. 

Most of them are well rounded, but some are 

angular or subangular. 

Log of well of J. 0. B. Young, 1 mile southwest of Edna, 

Jackson County, 1'ex. 

---------------------

Beaumont clay: 

Clay and soiL ........................ . Sand ................................ . 

Feet. Feet. 

39! 39! 

5 44! 

Clay ........... -.- ..... -...... ---------· Sand, water-bearmg .................. . Clay ................................ . Lissie gravel: 

Sand, water-bearing .................. . Clay .................... , ........... . Sand, water-bearing .................. . 

6 50! 

6 56! 

58i llb-fi10 125-lt 

4t 129-h 

12 141-h 

Clay ....... · ......................... . Sand, water-bearing .................. . Rock, probably sand or gravel ce- mented with lime .................. . 

42-fz- 183! 

20-fi 203ti 

1 204ti 

Sand, water-bearing .................. . Clay ................................ . Sand, water-bearing ................... . 

7i. 212-h 

2 214-h 

11 225-x\ 

Clay ................................ . Sand, water-bearing .................. . 4 229-x\ 

13i 243t 

Clay ................................ . Rock ................ : ............... . Sand and gravel, water-bearing ........ . 

38! 281t 

2 283! 

27 310t 

Clay ............................... ,. Sand and gravel, water-bearing ........ . 17 327t 

37-fi 1364i 

ee Hay, 0. P ., Contributions to the knowledge or the mammals or the 

Pleistocene of North America: U. S. Nat. Mus. Proc., vol. 48, pp. 535-

549, 191!\. 

-------------1·---------

Beaumont clay (?): · Yellow clay with lime nodules_ ...... . White calcareous sand ................ . Lissie gravel: 

Reddish clay ....................... . Sand ................................ . Coarse graveL ....................... . Sand mixed with coarse graveL ....... . · Quicksand ........................... . Clay mixea with gravel .............. . Sott argillaceous sand ................ . Sandstone ........................... . Water-bearing graveL ................ . Coarse gravel. 

Feet. 

15 

1! 

4 

15 

1 

5 

6 

lt 

2 

! 

8 

Feet. 

15 

16! 

' 20! 

35! 

36! 

41! 

47! 

49 

51 

51! 

59! 

The remains of a mastodon have been taken 

from the banks of Coleta Creek, 8 miles westsouthwest of Victoria. The bluff at Goliad is 

capped with 5 feet of white liiny, sandy clay or 

adobe, which probably represents the Lissie 

formation. 

On the Goliad-Refugio road, 11 t miles south 

of Goliad, the Lissie gravel is represented by 

4 feet of coarse yellowish-gray sand with flint 

and jasper pebbles at base and 4 feet of underlying bluish-white calcareous water-bearing 

sand with lime nodules.~ 

About 6 feet of yellow silt or loam with a 

thin bed of. gravel at th·e base forms the prairie 

on the divide between San Antonio River and 

Blanco Creek 6 miles northeast of Berclair. 

These beds rest on a limy conglomerate, seen 

in the drainage channels, which may be the 

Reynosa formation, though it may represent 

the lower part of the Lissie gravel. 

Five feet of the lower limestone is exposed in 

the bed of a small drain 7 miles northeast of 

Berclair, near the Galveston, Harrisburg '-~ 

San Antonio Railway. 

On Mucorrera Creek, where it is crossed by 

the Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio 

RaYway, 3! miles northeast of BerClair, Goliad 

County, the Lissie gravel consists of 7 feet of 

ash-colored silt or loam, with small lime nodules 

haM an inch in diameter, and 6 inches of underlying gravel, the pebbles of which are composed 

of flint, agate, and silicified wood. 

On Blanco Creek, where it is crossed by the 

Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Railway, three-fourths of a mile southwest of Berclair, Tex., the Lissie gravel consists of 10 feet 
110 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

of ash-colored clayey sand or silt grading Log of well drilled fCYr the .Magnolia Colony, southeast of 

downward into 2 feet of conglomerate of lime Alice, Tex.-Oontinued. 

and flint pebbles, half an inch in diameter, in -

a lime matrix.· The remains of a mammoth 

were taken from the Lissie gravel near this. 

locality. Lagarto and La para formations (?)-Contd. 

Sticky white clay ................... . 

Thickness. 

Feet. 

23 

Depth. 

Feet. 

493 A number of hills between Beeville and a 

point on the Beeville-Skidmore road 7 miles 

south of Beeville are capped with white earthy 

limestone, which may possibly belong to the 

Reynosa formation, though its "topographic 

position suggests that it represents the basal 

part of the Lissie gravel. 

A white limestone outcrops on the road 600 

feet east of the railroad station at Mathis. 

It is stated that 40 feet of this limestone is 

encountered in the wells drilled in this vicinity. 

Sand is reported to lie beneath the limestone, 

and water is encountered at a depth of 150 feet. 

From beds on Taranchua Creek, a branch ·of 

San Diego Creek, vertebrate fossils of Pleistocene age were collected by William Taylor 

and G. W. Marnock and identified by Cope. 67 

The species include Elephas primigenius 

Blum, Canis sp., Glyptodon petaliferus Cope, 

Eq_uus tau Cope, Eq_uus semiplicatus Cope, 

Eq_uus excelsus Leidy, <_Eq_uus occidental is Leidy, 

and Eq_uus crenidens Cope. 

According to Dumblg. the beds in which the 

fossils occur consist of limy sand and gravel, 

which rest unconformably on the underlying 

Reynosa formation. 

Log of well drilled for the Magnolia Colony, southeast of . Alice, Tex. 

[Furnished by Tom Leary, contractor.] 

Thick- Depth. ness. 

Feet. Feet. 

Recent: Black soil....................... 2 2 

Lissie gravel: 

Brown sandy clay..................... 4 6 

White sand . . .. . . .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 22 28 

White clay and chalk rock. . . . . . . . . . . . 32 50 

Do.............................. 30 80 

White clay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 120 

Heynosa formation(?): . Pink clay and chalk.................. 58 178 

Hard white rock and brown shale...... 16 194 

White clay ...................... .'. . . . 34 228 

Sticky pink clay.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 320 

Soft hmerock. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 328 

Lagarto and Lapara formations(?): 

Light-brown clay.......... . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 394 

Sandy clay.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 398 

Soapstone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 412 

Gumbo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 435 

Water sand and boulders............... 35 470 

67 Dumble, E. T., Geology of southwestern Texas: Am. Inst. Min. 

Eng. Trans., vol. 33, p. 71, 1903. 

Reddish sandy clay .................. . Red sandy clay and boulders .... _ .... . Clay and sandrock .................... . Sandy clay .......................... . Sticky gumbo ....................... . Sandy clay and boulders .............. . Boulders and clay .................... . Tough gumbo ....................... . Tough sandy brown clay ............. . Oakvill~ sandstone (?): 

White rock and clay ................. . Lead-colored shale .................. . 

11 504 

76 580 

8 588 

18 606 

12 618 

47 675 

7 682 

7 689 

111 800 

27 827 

23 850 

White rock and clay ................. . Gray and yellow sand ............... . Greenish white shale ................. . 

30 880 

38 918 

32 950 

Shale and boulders .................. . 43 993 

Soft rock ........................... . Hard brown clay .................... . Boulders and shale ................... . Soft rock ........................... . 

19 1,012 

18 1,030 

17 1,047 

18 1,065 

Clay and boulders .................... . Brown clay -and boulders ............ . Frio clay(?): 

Hard green clay ..................... . Hard tough shale ..................... , Soft crumbly shale .................. . Hard green clay ..................... . Shale and clay ...................... . Gumbo ............................. . Green shale and rock .............. ; .. . Green and brown shale ............... . 

7 1,072 

22 1,094 

26 1,120 

.14 1,134 

19 1,153 

14 1,167 

12 1,179 

7 1,186 

18 1,204 

28 1,232 

Hard brown shale ................... . White rock and boulders ............. . 51 1,279 

3 1,282 

Light-brown clay ..................... . Tough green clay ..................... . Soapstone and soft slate ............... . 

24 1,306 

167 1,473 

37 1,510 

BEAUMONT CLAY.GS 

Name.-The Beaumont clay was named by 

Hayes and Kennedy in 1903 from Beaumont, 

Tex., near which it is typically exposed. 69 

Stratigraphic position.-The Beaumont clay 

lies above the Lissie gravel and below the 

Recent sands. 

Lithology.-The formation includes blue yellow-weathering calcareous clay containing small 

lime nodules; yellow and blue sand, which is 

in places calcareous; blue .and red mottled 

sandy clay; and oyster beds. 

68 Partial synonymy of the Beaumont clay: 

Port Hudson: Loughridge, R. H., Physico-geographical ai:J.d agricultural 

features of the State of Texas: Tenth Census U.S., vol. 5, pt.1, p. 22, 

1884. 

Coast clays: Dumble, E. T., The Cenozoic deposits of Te.xas: Jour. 

Geology, vol. 2, pp. 564-566, 1894; Geology of southwestern Texas: 

Am. Inst. Afin. Eng. Trans., vol. 33, pp. 7G-74, 1903. 

Beaumont clays: Hayes, C. W., and Kennedy, William, Oil fields or 

the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coastal Plain: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 

212, pp. 27-28, 1903. 

es Hayes, C. W., and Kennedy, William, Oilfieldsofthe Texas-Louis!· 

ana Gulf Coastal Plain: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 212, pp. 27-28, 1903. 
PLEISTOCENE. SERIES. Ill 

Thickness and dip.-The thickness of. the 

formation ranges frmn 300 to 900 feet, and the 

dip is 20 to 30 feet to the mile to the southeast. 

Paleontology.-Marine fossils occur in places 

in the formation. The species include Rangia 

cuneata Gray, and Ostrea virginica Gmelin. 

Vertebrate fossils, among them E'lephas and 

Equus, also are found, but these may not be 

conteinporaneous with the deposits, having 

been possibly eroded from · the underlying 

Lissie gravel. Buried logs and bark and 

leaves of trees are encountered in many well 

borings. 

.Areal extent.-The formation outcrops in 

Fort Bend, Brazoria,, Wharton, Matagorda, 

Jackson, Calhoun, Victoria, Goliad, Refugio, 

Bee, San Patricio, Nueces, and Kleberg counties. (See Pl. VIII.) The formation forms the 

surface of the flat level prairie described as the 

Coast :Prairies in this report. It is coextensive 

with the Beaumont terrace. 

Oorrelation.-In the writer's opinion the 

Beaumont of Texas represents the western 

extension of the Port Hudson formation of 

Louisiana nnd Mississippi. The Port Hudson 

strata were originally discriminated by Hilgard 

in Louisiana in 1869. 70 Loughridge described 

beds in Texas under this same name in 1884.71 

Durnble described the beds in Texas as the 

'cCoast clays" in 1894.72 

Ilayes and Kennedy's section of the Coastal 

Pln.in of Texas, published in 1903, included 

Recent or Port Hudson clay, Beaumont clay, 

Colun1bia sand, and· Lafayette sand. 73 

These authors evidently regarded the Recent 

sand and clay of the coast marshes and the 

Recent river alluvium as the equivalent of 

I-Iilgard's Port Hudson, but· this correlation is 

questionable, for the Beaumont clay is merely 

the western representative of the beds which 

flilgard inclu.ded in the Port Hudson. 

Details of occurrence.--At Garwood, Colorado 

County, the Beaumont clay consists of 6 feet 

. of blue sandy clay with small lime concretions. 

It rests on the Lissie gravel. f,.t Wharton, it 

consists of similar material 20 feet thick. 

70 Hilgard, E. W., Summary of results of a late geological reconnaissance 

of Louisiana: Am. Jour. Sci., 2d ser., vol. 48, pp. 332-33'3, 1869. 

" Loughridge, R. H., Physico-geographical and agricultural features of 

the State of Texas: Tenth Census U.S., vol. 5, pt. 1, p. 22, 1884. 

TB Dumble, E. T., The Cenozoic deposits of Texas: Jour. Geology, vol. 

2, pp. 564-566, 1894. 

7s Hayes, C. W., and Kennedy, William, Oil fields of the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coastal Plain: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 212, pp. 26-30, 1903. 

Four feet of plastic yellow clay is exposed 1 

mile east of the courthouse at Bay City, Matagorda County. 

At Palacios, on Matagorda Bay, the Beaumont formation consists of calcareous clay, 8 

feet of which is exposed. 

Log of well of H. Anderson, 8 miles west of Palacios, Matagorda County, Tex. 

[Furnished by E. L. Larson, driller. Geologic interpretation by the 

writer. See Pl. IX.] 

Recent: Feet. Feet. 

Black clay soil......................... 3± 3± 

Beaumont clay: 

Mottled blue and red clay with lime 

nodules ............................ . Sandy clay .......................... . Sand ...................... · .......... . Sand and sandy clay ................. . Sandy clay .......................... . Red clay with lime concretions~ ...... . 

56 

20 

18 

17 

40 

19 

59± 

79 

97± 

114± 

154 

173 

Mottled red and green clay with lime 

nodules............................. 21 194 

Compact, red, sticky clay ....... · ....... ·. 20 214 

Mottled red and green clay with lime 

nodules............................. 20 234 

Calcareous, mottled, red and green clay 

with lime nodules.................... 37 271 

Mottled red and green clay with fragments of shells..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 290 

Mottled red and blue clay with lime 

nodules ................... ·.......... 98 388 

Light blue clay.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 486 

Sandy clay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 507 

Slightly sandy clay with sticky clay below.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 527 

White rock, probably calcareous con- glomerate............................ ! 527! 

Argillaceous sand. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 541! 

Rock ........................... _ ...... ············ Very hara blue clay .............................. .. Gravel mixed with red clay, contain-

''~h~lT?,~~-~s_-_-_-:: ~ ·_·_-_-_- .'::::::::::::: :::::: :::::: 

Hard sandstone containing some gas ............... . Rock................................. t 546t 

Fine-grained, yellowish-brown, calcareous, water-bearing sand............ 13i 560 

At a depth of 58 feet in a well4 miles southwest of La Ward, Jackson County, well-preserved specimens of Ostrea virginica Gmelin 

and Rangia cuneata Gray were found. 

A section of J. 0. B. Young's well 1 n1ile 

southwest of Edna is given on page 109 of this 

report. The upper 115-} feet of this section, 

consisting mostly of clay, represents the Beaumont formation. 

On N avidad River, about 3 miles below Redbluff, Jackson County, the Beaumont clay consists of 11 feet of blue clay and 2 feet of under..: 

lying blue sand weathering yellow. On Lavaca 

River, about 5 miles south of Vanderbilt, Jackson County, the Beaumont clay consists of 12 

feet of gray and blue clay. 
112 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

Four feet of blue clay, with lime nodules 

about a quarter of an inch in diameter, is exposed just above the water in Lavaca River 

near the Calhoun-Jackson county line. 

On Lavaca Bay, 1-! mil~s northwest of Nobles Point, Calhoun County, the Beaumont 

clay consists of 6 feet of mottled yellow, red, 

and blue clay and 8 feet of underlying blue 

clay with lime nodules an inch in diameter. 

Specimens of Ostrea virginica Gmelin and 

Rangia cuneata (Gray) and the crown of a 

mammalian tooth were taken from a depth of 

125 feet in a well at Mitchell Point, on Lavaca 

Bay, Calhoun County. 

At Alamo Beach, Calhoun County, the Beaumont clay consists of 3 feet of yellow laminated 

slightly argillaceous ·sand and 3 feet of underlying mottled blue and red lan1inated clay, 

with poorly preserved marine fossils. 

Log of well of V. E. Damstrom, three-fourths of a mile 

north of Olivia, Calhoun County; Tex. 

[Samples identified by the writer.] 

-------------------

Recent: Feet. Feet. 

Brownish-black loam or soil. ........... 6 6 

Beaumont clay: · Mottled pmk and green calcareous clay. 24 30 

Light-green calcareous clay ............ 30 60 

Fragments of fossil oyster and other 

shells ............................... 10 70 

Species include barnacles and 

Rangiaf sp. (Young). 

Green and pink calcareous clay ...... 50 120 

Green and reddish-pink fairly hard cal- careous cla~ ......................... 20 140 

Pink hard ca careous clay .............. 20 160 

Green calcareous medium hard clay .... 40 200 

Blue noncalcareous medium hard clay. 30 230 

Reddish-pink medium hard clay ...... 20 250 

Blue plastic medium hard clay ........ 35. 285 

Fragments of fossil oysters and other 

shells; also some light-brown sand; 

~:~;:IF:~ri~~:. ~-s-~~1~ -~~~~~o-~~~~~~. 20 305 

Fragments of fossil oysters in pink cal- careous clay ......................... 15 320 

Green and pink calcareous medium 

Co=-~~d: ~~~~:~~~: ~i~~~~~~: I 32 352 

18 370 

Five feet of green calcareous clay with lime 

nodules is exposed in a cut on the Galv~ston, 

Harrisburg & San Antonio Railway, 3 miles 

north of Victoria. 

Rangia cuneata (Gray) was found at a depth 

of 95 feet in a well at Hackberry Motte 3 

miles north of Olivia, Calhoun County. 

Pleistocene fossils taken from a depth of 970 feet in a well 

near Alligator Head, Calhoun County, Tex. 

Astrangia sp. 

Mellita sp. 

[Identifications by '1'. W. Vaughan.) 

Terebra protexta Conrad. 

Terebra dislocata Say var. 

Mangilia cerinella Dall. 

Cancellaria sp. 

Oliva literata Lamarck. 

Olivella mutica Say. 

Nassa acuta Say. 

Anachis avara Say. 

Anachis obesa Adams. 

Purpura floridana Conrad. 

Pytamidelht' sp. 

Cerithium floridanum Morch. 

Cerithium muscarum Say? var. 

Scala humphreysi Kiener. 

Turri tella sp. 

Littor.lna littorea Say. 

Cryptonatica pusilla Say. 

N everita duplicata Say. 

Natica sp. 

Leda acuta Say. 

Area pexata Say. 

Area incongrua Say. 

Area transversa Say. 

Ostrea virginica Gmelin. 

Diplodonta semiasper Philippi. 

Cardium magnum Linnaeus. 

Tellina (Angulus) texana Dall. 

Strigilla flexuosa Say. 

Chione cancellata Linnaeus. 

Anomalocardia rostrata Savage. 

Abra aequalis Say. 

Petricola pholadiformis Linnaeus. 

Pholas costata Linnaeus. 

Donax texasiana Philippi. 

Mulinia lateralis Say. 

Corbula barrattiana C. B. Adams. 

Corbula swiftiana C. B. Adams. 

On the bay front at Rockport, there is 

exposed 1 foot of hard pinkish-gray sandy 

limestone with a nodular structure. The 

occurrence of this limestone is unusual, and it 

may have some relation to a dome or anticline in this vicinity. 

Fifteen feet of yellowish-gray argillaceous 

sand, containing lime nodules 1 inch to 1! 

inches in diameter, is exposed in the bank of 

a ravine on the Refugio-Sinton road 16 miles 

southwest of Refugio. 

A good exposure of the Beaumont clay may 

be seen in the bluff at Corpus Christi. (See Pl. 

XXXII, A.) It shows 15 feet of greenishgray and brown mottled clay with numerous 

lime nodules averaging half an inch in diameter; 5 feet of brown clay and yellow sand3 
RECENT SERIES. 113 

interstratifled; and 15 feet of unconsolidated 

yellow sand containing small balls and streaks 

of clay. The beds are very nearly horizontaL 

About 200 feet to the south the basal yellow 

sand contains a. small lens of gravel made up 

of clay and limestvne pebbles. 

Y eli ow sand is exposed in the banks of San 

Petronito Croek, where it is crosse.d by the 

Texas Mexican R9.ilway 4 miles west of Banquete, Nueces County. 

At Robstown, Nueces County, a tooth of 

E'lephas imperator has been found. 

Yell ow compact clay is exposed in sewer 

tr6nches dug at Kingsville, Kleberg County. 

Gray clay is expost:d in the banks of a creek 

where it is crossed by the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexicq Railway, 6 miles south of 

Kingsville. 

RECENT SERIES. 

FLUVIATILE DEPOSITS. 

General features.-The fluviatile deposits in 

the region lie above the Beaumont clay and in 

places are overlain by beach sand. They consist 

of silt, sand, mud, and clay, all of Recent age. 

The thickness of the deposits ranges from 6 

inches to 20 or 30 feet. Recent shells, similar 

to shells of animals now living in the rivers, the 

Gulf, and the bays of this region, bon~s of modern animals, and logs and leaves of modern trees 

are found in the deposits. The material of the 

Recent deposits has been brought down by 

modern streams, chiefly during floods, and 

deposited in bays, marshes, and estuaries along 

the coast. These deposits form a low terrace, 

which lies below the level of the Beaumont 

terrace and rises only a few feet above mean 

tide. Much of the area is marsh and is covered 

with salt or sacahuista grass. 

.Areal extent and details of occurrence.-The 

deposits are well developed in the southern part 

of Brazoria County, where they form a strip 5 

to 10 miles wide on both sides of Brazos River, 

immediately adjacent to the coast, built up 

largely by the action of this stream. 

The deposits are also displayed at points on 

the northern shore of Matagorda Bay, , in 

Matagorda County. They occur also ato the 

mouths of Lavaca River, Guadalupe River, 

Nueces River, and elsewhere. 

BEACH SAND. 

· Beach sand in places lies above the fluviatile 

deposits, but it is in part contemporaneous with 

them. In thickness it ranges from 3 inches to 

20 feet. 

The material is chiefly more or less rounded, 

fine gray to yellow quartzose sand containing 

fragments of Recent sea shells. It forms 

beaches and islands along the coast, including 

Galves'ton Island, Matagorda Peninsula, Matagorda Island, St. Joseph Island, Mustang 

Island, and Padre Island. 

The sand has been washed into position prinlarily by wave action, chiefly during storn1s, 

but after elevation by the waves it is shifted by 

the wind and in places is piled into dunes. 

'DUNE SAND. 

·The dmie sand represents the most Recent 

formation on the Coastal Plain, being now in the 

process of formation. The dunes cover much 

of the Beaumont clay in southern Texas, and 

some of them reach a height of 75 feet. 

The material is chiefly light-colored quartzose 

sand. 

The dunes are of eolian origin, being formed 

of sand that is blown inland from the coast. 

Some of the sand, however, may be derived 

from the exposed sandy members of the 

Beaumont formation. 

The dunes are conspicuous in southern Calhoun County, where they cover a strip of country 6 miles wide along Espiritu Santo Bay. 

This belt extends southward into Aransas, San 

Patricio, and Nueces counties, lying close to 

the bays and ranging in width from 4 to 10 

miles. In the region south of Baffins Bay it 

forms a large area, extending 50 miles or more 

inland and covering large parts of Willacy and 

Brooks counties. (See Pl. VIII.) The dunes 

in southern Calhoun County are composed ·of 

yellow sand . 

The dunes near Rockport form a strip 4 to 5 

miles wide along Aransas Bay. The prairie is 

composed of loose grayish-yellow sand. The 

outer margin of the belt is fairly well covered 

with young live oak and thickets of sweet bay. 

The timber on the inner margin is confined 

largely to the tops of the mounds, the intervening areas being treeless. 

In Willacy and Brooks counties 'the sand is 

piled into lar~ shifting dunes. In places 

between the dunes there are small hummocks, 

which are. covered with a thin growth of mesquite and cactus. In other places between the 

dunes the loose sand has been completely 
114 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

removed by the wind, leaving exposed and 

barren of vegetation a hard brown silt subsoil. 

A dune about 1 mile wide and. 6 or 7 miles 

long from east to west lies 2 or 3 miles south of 

Sarita.. The sand is here piled 20 to 30 feet 

above the level of the ·surrounding prairie. 

Other dunes occur 1 mile south of Mifflin, 1 

mile north of Katherine, and at Los Indos 

ranch, San Pedro ranch, San Jose ranch, and 

Topo ranch. 

STREAM TERRACE DEPOSITS (PLEISTOCENE AND 

RECENT). 

The streams of the Coastal Plain are bordered 

by terraces which range in age ·from early 

Pleistocene to Recent. Some of these terraces 

are to be correlated with the seaward-facing 

terraces and, like. them, record successive uplifts in the later history of the Coastal Plain. 

Others appear to be local and are not related 

to crustal movements, having been formed by 

temporary barriers on the streams and changes 

in the nature of the material encountered by 

the streams in their erosion of their valleys. 

The materials composing these terraces are 

different in different valleys and in different 

parts of the same valley, and they require 

separate description. The terrac.es on each 

stream will therefore be considered separately. 

TERRACES- ON BRAZOS RIVER. 

and 301 on the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe 

Railway on the north side of the river and at 

milepost 296 on the south side. . 

A well-developed flat (No. 7) appears between Rio Vista and Cleburne, on the north 

side of the river, and near Morgan, on the 

south side 270 feet above the stream bed and 

180 feet below the summit of the plateau. 

These flats may represent the flat of the Uvalde 

terrace, which occupies the high divides in the 

interior portion of the Coastal Plain. 

Terrace No. 1 is represented in most of the 

cross sections on Brazos River shown in Plate 

XXXIII. Its height above the river bed 

where it is clearly identified ranges from 30 to 

35 feet; at Clay it is given as 50 feet, but it 

seems more probable that this is terrace No.2 

instead of No. 1. Terrace No. 1 is composed 

of red sandy clay, and it is subject to overflow 

in times of great flood. 

The terrace is represented by flats more or 

less broad at Waco, on the east side of the 

river; at Valley Junction, on the west side; at 

San .Felipe; at Wallis; at Velas_co, where it is 

only 8 feet above sea level; and at Quintana, 

where it is 4 feet above sea level. 

Terrace No. 2 ranges from 40 to to 55 feet 

above the bed of the river and is composed 

largely of red sandy clay but has more or less 

gravel in its basal part. A considerable vertebrate fauna has been collected from terrace 

Plate XXXIII shows the terraces on Brazos No. 2 by Dr. Mark Francis, of the Texas 

River in different parts of the valley between Agricultural and Mechanical College, at Munthe outer and inner margins of the Coastal son Shoals, 5 miles southeast of Stone City. 

Plain. The specimens were found from 20 to 40 feet 

No. 1 on the plate is a cross section between above the stream. The forms, identified by 

Cleburne and Morgan, in the Plateau region 0. P. Hay, include Eq_uus, · Megatherium, 

west of the Coastal Plain. The bed of the Mastodon,· Gomphotherium, Elephas columbi, 

stream is cut 4 70 feet below the level of the and Testudo crassiscutata. Hay considers 

plateau represented by the divide capped with that they ·represent an early Aftonian PleisEdwards limestone 4t miles south of Morgan. tocene fauna. Terrace No. 2 is well shown 

Probably there are a number of terraces in ·at Waco, Valley Junction, Stone· City, near 

this cross section, but only the lower two are Clay, Hidalgo Bluff, San Felipe, Simonton, 

sufficiently well preserved to warrant positive Arcola, and Brazoria. Most of the town~ on 

recognition. the river are situated upon this terrace. 

Terrace No. 1 forms a flat about a mile Terrace No. 3 is also generally present along 

wide on either side of the stream, lying 50 feet Brf\ZOS River at a height of 70 feet above the 

above the bed. It is covered by red to brown bed of the river, except near its mouth, where 

silt or loam, which is reworked material derived the surface is too low to show it. It consists 

from the Permian formati6ns of northwestern of sand and gravel, the pebbles being composed 

Texas. of very resistant rocks, such as flint, quartz, 

Terrace No. 2 lies 20 feet above No. 1. It and jasper. Terrace No. 3 is well developed 

is represented by a flat between mileposts 299 on both sides of the Brazos at Waco, in the 
STREAM TgRRACE DEPOSITS (PLEISTOCENE AND RECENT) • 115 

eastern limits of Hearne, on the west side of 

the river opposite Stone City, east of Somerville, 

on the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway 

south of San Felipe, and at Fulshear, and 

Wallis. 

Terrace No. 4 ranges in height above the 

bed of the Brazos from 90 to 122 feet. It is 

generally recognizable wherever the land is 

high enough for it to have been formed. It 

is composed of the same materials as Terrace 

No. 3. It is well shown 5 miles northeast of 

the railroad station at Waco, southeast of 

Elliott, at Clay, south of Sealy, southeast of 

Brookshire, and at Eagle Lake. 

Terrace No. 5 ranges from 150 to 170 feet 

above the bed of the river and is generally 

recognizable except near the seaward edge of 

the Coastal Plain. The flat· of this terrace is 

generally covered with gravel. Since it has 

been elevated to its present position it has 

been eroded, so it is generally not so perfect as 

the terrace lying at a lower level. It is noticeable but poorly preserved at Elm Mott, 

9 miles northeast of Waco, at Elliott, at 

Gause, near Bryan, 6 miles southeast of Caldwell, and west of Eagle Lake. 

Terrace No. 6 is 212 to 220 feet above the 

bed of the river and is covered by gravel similar 

to that which covers terrace No. 5. It can be 

seen near Ross, north of Waco, near Franklin, 

and 4 miles northeast of Milano Junction. 

The Uvalde terrace or dissected plain is 

about 310 feet above the bed of Brazos River. 

As it is very much older than the other terraces 

it· has been elevated to a higher position and 

consequently has been so completely dissected 

that it is preserved oonly on the principal 

divides. It was originally largely covered 

with gravel and cobbles, but these are now 

mostly removed by erosion. It was recognized at Hewitt near Waco, at Milano, at 

Giddings, and 1 mile south of Gay Hill. 

TERRACES ON COLORADO RIVER. 

The terraces along Colorado River are 

nearly identical with those just described on 

the Brazos. They range in height from 16 to 

280 feet, and the higher ones are present ·only 

on the inner part of the Coastal Plain. They 

are covered with similar materials derived 

from the erosion of the rocks higher up the 

stream or higher on the sides of the valley. 

'fhese terraces are represented in the cross 

sections on Plate XXXIII. 

The lowest and youngest te~race ranges in 

height above the bed of the river from 16 to 

28 feet. It represents the work of the immediate predecessor of the present Colorado 

'River, and the materials deposited on the 

fiats are generally red silts and sand. This 

terrace may be seen at a number of places 

about Austin; at Webberville, on the northeast side of the river; at Goodman, where it 

has a width of 1 mile; at Hemphill Bend; at 

Smithville; at West Point; at La Grange (see 

Pl. XXXII, B); near Ellinger, on the John 

Petty league, 1 mile above the mouth of Petty's 

Creek; at Columbus; at Altair; on the northeast side of the river at Garwood; at Wharton; 

and on the south~est side of the river at 

Buckeye. 

Terrace No. 2 ranges from 24 to 45 feet above 

the bed of the river, the common position 

being from 40 to 45 feet. It is composed of 

red sandy clay or alluvium on a foundation of 

gravel, made up of pebbles of limestone, 

quartz, chert, jasper, granite, etc. This terrace has been described by Hill as the "Depot" 

terrace of Colorado River. 74 

Terrace No. 2 is well marked at Austin, 

particularly in the southeastern part of the 

city; between Montopolis and Stones Ford on 

the south side of the river; 1! miles east of 

Delvalle; at Webberville; in the v~cinity of 

Goodman, where it is It miles wide and known 

as the Hemphill Prairie; at Bastrop, where it 

constitutes the principal part of the valley 

bottom; at Smithville; at West Point; at 

LaGrange; atEllinger; atColumbus; atAltair; 

at Garwood; at Wharton, Pierce, and El Campo, 

which are built upon it; and at Buckeye, 

where it forms the divide west of the town and 

is composed of blue, red-weathering clay with 

lime nodules. 

Terrace No. 3 ranges in height above the 

bed of the river from 52 feet in othe lower part 

of the Coastal Plain to 75 feet near its inner 

margm. The ter~ace is composed principally 

of gravel, the pebbles of which are made up of 

quartz, feldspar, jasper, granite, chert, etc. 

These have been derived probably from the 

pre-Cambrian schists, gneisses, and granites of 

Llano and Burnet counties. 

It is well exposed at the Confederate Home, 

in the southwest part of Austin; on the 

14 Hill, R. T ., Geography and geology of the Black and Grand prairies, 

Tex.: U. S. Geol. Survey Twenty-first Ann. Rept., pt. 7, p. 352, 1901. 
116 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

Bastrop-Paige road, about 1 mile east of the Bluff; at Smithville, where it is represented by 

wagon bridge at Bastrop; 1 mile west of Smith- an extensive flat north of the town; at West 

ville; at West Point in a narrow flat south of Point, by a flat 3 miles southwest of the town; 

the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway station; and at La Grange, by a flat 6 miles north of 

at La Grange, at the cemetery east of the the town. 

Southern Pacific Railway station; at Ellinger; The Uvalde terrace is generally present 

at Columbus, which is largely built upon its where the country is high enough for it to 

'flat; at Alleyton; and at Altair. have been formed. It ranges in height above 

Terrace No. 4 ranges in height above the bed the bed of the river from 220 to 280 feet and is 

of the river from 77 feet near the Gulf to 100 capped by mate:rial already described as the 

feet near the inner margin of the Coastal Plain. upstream facies of the Reynosa formation. It 

It is composed of materials similar to those is present at Austin at a height of 250 feet 

covering the flat of terrace No.3, and they have above the river; at Webberville, 3 miles north 

probably a common source of origin and a of the town, at 280.feet; 2 miles west of Paige; 

similar history. The terrace is well developed at Giddings; 1 mile south of Flatonia; 1 mile 

in Austin, the State capitol being situated northeast of Ledbetter; at Fayetteville; and at 

upon it. On account of this association it has Weimar. 

been described by Hill and Vaughan 75 as the A number of fossils have been found in the 

''Capitol" terrace. It is notable at Powell materials covering the terraces along Colorado 

Bend, 4 miles northwest of Bastrop; 2 miles River. Thus in terrace No. 2 at Austin the 

northwest of Smithville; at La Grange, where tooth of a mammoth and a fossil turtle (Terit is marked by the standpipe of the city water- rapene whitneyi Hay) have been found and in 

works; at Ellinger, where it constitutes an ex- the same terrace at Stones Ford the tooth of 

tensive gravel-covered flat; at Glidden, 3 niiles a mastodon. About 2 miles east of the State 

west of Columbus; and at Altair, which is built Insane Asylum at Austin a molar of Equus 

upon its flat. excelsus Leidy ( ~), an early Pleistocene species, 

Terrace No. 5 is not generally well repre- was found in terrace No. 6 at Ridge Top. (See 

sented on Colorado River, having been identi- Pl. XXVIII.) 

:lied at only three places. It ranges in height At Hemphill B'end, near Goodman, the 

above the bed of the river from 97 feet at Altair skeleton of a modern buffalo was found about 

to 150 fe.et at Austin. It is generally composed 10 feet.below the top of terrace No. 1. Five 

of gravel similar to that which may be found on miles upstream from Bay City a tooth of 

terraces NOS. 3 or 4. It is identified at Austin Elephas columbi ( n was once found, which 

as the flat 2 blocks north of the university probably came from terrace No. 2. 

campus; near Columbus as the flat 1 mile west TERRACEs oN LI'ITLE RIVER. 

of Ramsay; and at Altair, where it forms the Little River, a tributary of the Brazos, heads 

higher divides. in Eastland and Callahan counties and disTerrace No. 6 has been more widely identi- charges into the main stream in Milam County. 

fied in the northwestern part of the Coastal _As its headwaters cut back as far as the GuadaPlain at heights above the river bed ranging lupe and Nueces, it belongs to the same class. 

from 160 to 190 feet. It is composed of coarse of st~eam and is here considered separately. 

materials simjlar to those described for some The terraces on Little River are shown in 

of the adjacent terraces. At Austin it is Plate XXXIII. 

d b Terrace No. 1 is composed of brown silt and 

represente y the extensive flat at th~ State loam and is 32 feet above the bed of the stream 

Insane Asylum and for that reason was called at Cameron. 

by Hill and Vaughan 76 the Asylum terrace. Terrace No. 2 is 42 to 48 feet above the bed 

It has been identified at Bastrop, where it is of the river. It is poorly displayed at 

represented by the extensive flat east of the Cameron and is also shown in the vicinity of 

town, extending from Schaefer Hill to Red Temple. It is composed chiefly of dark silt 

1; Hill, R. T., and Vaughan, T. W., Geology of the Edwards Plateau 

and the Rio Grande Plain adjacent to Austin and San Antonio, Tex., 

with reference to the occurrence of underground waters: U. S. Geol. 

Survey Eighteenth Ann. Rept., pt. 2, p. 249, 1898. 

7e!dem, p. 249. 

and loam. 

Terrace N e. 3 is 78 feet above the bed of the 

river, and it is represented by a flat 2! miles 

wide near Holland. 

' 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROPESS!ONAL PAPER 126 PLATE XXX!! 

B. TERRACES ON COLORADO IUVER ~ MILES NORTHWEST 0~' LA GHA Gl~. FAYETTE 

COU TY, TEX. 

Low fl at in foreground is ternt<'(' i\o. _I ; gravel capping the bluff and rc.<.;ling on the Catahoula sandstone 

is terr·ace No. lJ .. 
S'l~REAM TERRACE DEPOSITS I PLEISTOCJ<JNE AND RECENT) • 117 

Terrace No. 4 is 104 to 108 feet above the Terrace No. 1 is composed of grayish-brown 

bed of the river and is composed mostly of sandy loam or yellow calcareous loam and lies 

li1nestone gravel. It can be identified in the from 30 to 40 feet above the bed o{ the river. 

vicinity of Ten1ple and at Cameron, the latter This terrae~ has been identified at Seguin and 

town being built upon it. also at a place 10 miles east of Seguin;. at the 

The Uvalde terrace lies 250 to 258 feet bridge; 3 miles west of Cuero; at Victoria, the 

nbove the bed of the river and is veneered with courthouse b_eing built upon its fiat; and on the 

a thick coat of flint gravel. It is well shown northeast .side of the river at Bloomington. 

southeast of Temple and at Bartlett and at Terrace No. 2 is composed of gray calcareous 

Buckholts. clay resting on a pavement of limestone and 

·rERRACEs oN GUADALUPE RIVER. flint pebbles. It lies from 43 to 55 feet above 

The headwaters. of the Brazos and the the bed of the river. It was noted at the folColorado have been cut much farther inland lowing localities: At New Braunfels it is reprethan those of the Guadalupe, and if headwater sented by·a· flat on either side of the river upon 

erosion can be used as an index of age the Gua- which the major portion of the town is built; at 

rlalupe is younger than either of the other two the bridge south of Seguin; at Gonzales, the 

rivers. south part of the town being built upon its flat; 

A comparison of cross sections 011 the Gua- at Cuero it is represen~ed b:ywide fiats, th~ west 

dalupe with those on the Colorado will show ·p~rt of the town bmng ~utu~ted upon It; .10 

some interesting contrasts. The most notable nnl.es southeast of C':ero; 3 miles north of VICone is the difference in the depth to which they ~,ona; and at Bl~omi~~ton and Placedo, where 

hnve intrenched themselves below the level It forms the mam divide between Guadalupe 

of the Uvalde terrace If the section of the River and Arenoso Creek. 

CQlorado at Austin is ·compared with the sec- Terrace No .. 4 is com:pos.ed of coarse material 

ti.on of the Guadalupe at New Braunfels, cemented by hme, and_.It hes from 60 to 9~ feet 

where the geologic fornlations cut are essen- ~hove the bed of the river. It has been I.dentinlly similar, it will be noted that the Colorado trfied at New Braunfels at 79 feet; at Segwn at 

is sunk 280 feet below the Uvalde terrace and about 60 feet; at Gonzales at 65 feet; and at 

that the Guadalupe is sunk only 132 feet below Cuero, 1 n1ile ea~t of the town, at 95 feet above 

it. This general difference holds good as far the bed of t~e riv~r. . 

seaward as the Oakville escarpment. From Uv.alde terrace Is composed of flint cobbles 

the Oakville escnrpment to the coast there are and l~es from 149 to 245 f~et a?ove the bed of 

considernble differences in the character of the nver. It has been Identified near New 

the two valleys. If the Beaun1ont terrace be B~aunfels on the divide bet':een Gu~dalupe 

used ns a datmn it will be seen that the Gua- River ·a~d York Creek; at Marwn; 1 mile west 

dalupe has cut its channel 70 feet below this . ~-~' ~n~sbury; 6 miles south ?~ Smiley; in the 

level (cross section nt Bloomington)' whereas· VICirnty of Edgar; and 3 miles northeast of 

the Colorado has cut its channel only 40 feet Yorktown. 

belOW it (CrOSS sectioil at 'Wharton). . TERRACES ON NUECES RIVER. 

In this stretch of the Guadalupe there are 

terraces. that u.re apparently not represented 

on the Colorado, so it would seem that in this 

part of its course the Guadalupe has been 

subject to inf1uences that were not effective 

on the Brazos and Colorado. 

"!''he lowest terrace on the river is supposed td 

he below terrnce No. 1, as it has been described 

in other sections. This terrace was noted at 

two places only,_ Victoria and Bloomington. 

At Victoria it is 20 feet above the :bed of the 

river and consequently it can but be ·considered 

as the. present flood plain. : At· Bloomington it 

lies 28 feet above the bed of the river. 

111587-24-9 

The geology of the valleys of Guadalupe and 

Nueces rivers is in a general way similar, each 

stream crossing the saine ··series of formations 

in the sa1ne order, so. that bnrring crustal moveIilents that may have affectffd the basins differently, one 1night expect essential similaritJ 

in 'the for1n of the .. topography and the structure of the terraces in the two valleys. When 

the two are carefully scrutinized, however, 

some interesting contrasts·come to view .. 

In the Edwards· Plateau· both streams flow 

in deep, steep-walled canyons· on beds that lie 

some 800 feet below the level of the plateau. 

On leaving the plateau the streams emerge 
liS GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

upon the Coastal Plain, and of course their 

intrenchment below the high points of the 

plain is small compared with their intrenchment in the plateau. On the Guadalupe the 

point of least intrenchment is at the junction of 

the plain and the plateau at New Braunfels, 

where it is 130 -feet. (See Pl. XXXIIi.) The 

intrenchment gradually increases in amount 

downstream, reaching its maximum, 210 feet, 

where the Oakville escarpment is breached at 

Cuero. From this point it decreases to the 

coast, but in this section it is very singularly 

intrenched 50 feet at Victoria, 4fi miles distant 

from the coast, as compared with 70 feet 

at Bloomington, 32 miles distant. (See Pl. 

XXXIII.) 

On the Nueces the point of least intrenchment in the middle stretch of the stream (130 

feet) is near La Pryor, about 30 miles south of 

the Balcones scarp, which rnarks the junction 

of the plateau and the plain. From this point 

to Bern1uda and beyond, a distance of more 

than 40 miles, the depth of intrenchment rema.iQs about the same, but the valley is more 

cornpletely filled with .alluvirun at the lower 

end than at the upper. A notable increase in 

the intrenchment is seen at Cotulla, where 

it is · 220 feet. From Cotulla it decreases 

gradually and more or less" regularly toward 

the coast.· · 

.Victoria, on the Guadalupe, and Sandia, on 

the N ueces, are about the same distance from 

the coast-45 miles. The upland formation at' 

both places is of the same age. At Vic.toria the 

intrenchment is 50 feet; at Sandia it is 160 feet, 

and sirnila.r relntions hold downstream, toward 

the coast. At Blomnington, on the-Guadalupe; 

32 miles inland, the intrenchment is 70 feet; at 

Calallen, on the Nu~Q~s, 31. miles inland, it is 

85 feet. 

In general it may be said that. in the middle 

stretches of these two streams the relative intrenc4rnent below the high points of th.e plain 

is abou~ th~ san:e in corresponding parts of the 

valleys. In the lower stretches the N ueces ~s 

in trenched much deeper than the Guadalupe. · 

It should b~ recalled that this same relation 

holds for the lower stretches of .the Guadalupe 

and the Cotbrado, th& Guad:aiupe sh_o.\v.ipg the 

gr~ater v~'ttical intrenchment. 

· These conditions seem to imply a very considerable differential uplift of the araa south·-of 

the Nueces in corn.paratively recent time, which 

has enabled the Nueces to cut its channel 

deep~r than that of the Guadalupe and the 

Guadalupe to cut its channel deeper than that 

of the Colorado. 

The lowest terrace on Nueces River is practically the flood plain. It makes its appearance 

in descending the stream at La Pryor and becomes a stronger feature as the stream is followed southward. It seems to be the northern 

terminus of the extensive alluvial delta-like 

plain between Crystal City and Berrn.uda. 

Southeast of La Pryor it lies approxirnately 10 

fee~ above the channel bed and is con1posed of 

gray to dark silt or loam. This terrace or 

alluvial plain has been identified at Cotulla, 

and 10 miles south of Tilden. Below the lastnamed place the lowest terrace increases in 

height above the bed of the river and is represented by more than one terrace. At Mikeska, 

Live Oak County, the terrace is 20 feet above 

the bed of the river; at Sandia there are two 

terraces, one at 30 feet and th~ other at 40 feet. 

The latter appears to be the downstrean1 equivalent of the terraces at Mikeska and Tilden. 

At Calallen the lowest terrace is 16 feet 

above the stream bed and the second at 64 feet. 

The Beaumont terrace lies -at 84 feet and is the 

highest one in this vicinity. 

Terrace No. 1 lies from 20 to 45 feet above 

the bed of the river and consists of gray to drab 

silt resting on a bed of gravel. This terrace 

was noted 7 1niles west of Uvalde; at Pullian1 

and La Pryor at a height of 30 feet; at Cotulla 

at 2.0 feet; at Shiner's Ranch at 35 feet; at 

Mikeska at 45 feet; and at Sandia at 110 

feet. 

Terrace No. 2lies from 30 to 65 feet above the 

bed of the river and is composed of much the 

sarne sort of material ~ terrace No. 1. It was 

noted 7 miles west of Uvalde at a height above 

the bed of the stream of 65 feet; 1 mile below 

the bridge of the San Antonio, Uvalde & Gulf 

Railway at 50 feet; at· La Pryor at 45 feet; at · 

.Cotulla at 30 to 35 feet; at Shiner's Ranch at 65 

feet; and at Mikeska at 65 feet. 

The Uvalde terrace lies fron1 120 to 240 feet 

above the river bed and is generally con1posed 

of flint gr.a~el cemented into a li1ne conglomerate in places. 

. It is well represented at the old Tom N unn 

ranch, 7 miles west of Uvalde, at a height .of 
IGNEOUS ROCKS. 119 

200 feet; at Pulliam, at 190 feet; on the divide 

between Leona and N ueces rivers,. where it is 

crossed by the Batesville-Eagle Pass road, 6! 

miles west of Batesville, at 120 feet; on a small 

hill 3:} 1niles west of Lorna Vista, Zavalla 

County,. at n height of 130 feet; at Carrizo 

Springs, on the International & Great Northern Railway, 13 to 18 1niles north of Laredo, 

at a height of n1ore than 220 ieet; and on the 

Tilden-Oakville road, about 7t n1iles east of 

Tilden, at a height of 240 feet. 

Vernon Stiles 1988. 

IN'rp, ~ ,T'::I ,, 

been described 1n detail by Hill and 

Vaughan. 77 

· The rocks that form these bodies are basaltic. 

They include nepheline basalt, nephelinemelilite basalt, orthoclase basalt, plagioclase 

basalt, and limburgite. Phonolite occurs at a 

number of places in Uvalde County. 

These igneous bodies were forced through 

the subhorizontal · sedimentary formations. 

There are no surface flows. The intrusions 

are of four types: (1) bosses, stocks, or necks; 

C.F.St-iles 

~~ 173a. ~-'lr ----. ,.,,~-. 

U.rnon Stiles ,_..H....__..A...:::.S~tJ~1.~e~s~-' ·- 357 8. i_,__, __ t---.1-~J 

JOSs. J.D.Stiles 

7.9._9e. 

Mrs. E. Stiles 1-------,r-----.IL-----i'"--J 

·-43.9 e. 

"' I 

Mrs.E.Stiles l-'fo2a. 

R.P.Shelby 

'7588. 

Fritz· Fuch~ 400 a. 

0 I MILE ~~~~~---~ 

FIGURE 29.-Map or Thrall oil field, Williamson County, Tex., showing extent or the buried volcanic sill (shaded area). 

The discrepancy in ·the heights above the bed 

of the river as well as the discordances in absolute altitude cast some doubt about the validity 

of these identificntions, but at the present time 

they seem 1nost r~asonable, although, it n1ust 

be confessed, very irregular. 

IGNEOUS ROCKS. 

Bodies of igneous intrusive rock occur along 

the Bnlcones fn.ult zone, at the interior margin 

of the Coastal Plain. Such bodies are particularly conspicuous in Travis and Uvalde 

counties, but some are seen al~o in Hays, 

Bexar, B'andera, and Kinney counties. The 

bodies 1n Travis and Uvalde. counties have 

(2) laccoliths; (3) laterally intruded sheets, 

which in places now cap hills; ( 4) dikes. 

A buried sill of decomposed ·or altered basalt, 

possibly a. bed of volcanic tuff, occurs at a 

depth of 820 feet (about 230 feet above the 

base of the Taylor marl) 2 miles southeast of 

Thrall, in Williamson County. It extends 

about a mile from north to south aiid about 

half a mile from east to west. (See fig. ·29.) 

11 Hill, R. T., and Kemp, J. F., Pilot Knob a tn.arllllf Cretaceous 

volcano: Am. Geologist, vol. 6, pp. 292--294, 1890. liih, R. T., and 

Vaughan, T. w., Geology or the Edwards Plateau and Rio Grande 

Plain adjacent to Austin and San Antonio, Te..x., with special reference 

to the occurrence of underground waters: U. S. Geol. Survey .Jl:ighteenth 

Ann. Rept., pt. 2, pp. 256-257., 1898. Vaughan, T. W., U. s .. Geol. 

Survey Geol. Atlas, Uvalde folio (No. 64), pp'. 3-6, 11}00. lJill, . .R. T., 

and Vaughan, T. W., U. S. Geol. Survey Geol. Atlas, At~stin folio 

(No. 76), p. 6, 1?02. 
120 GEOLOGY OJi' THJ<: COAST~L PLAIN OF TRXAS WEST OF BR.AZOS HTVER • 

. The bed dips very gently to the northwest and 

is overlain by a somewhat hnrdened bed of 

Taylor marl, locally called "cap rock.'" This 

volcanic rock is the oil-bearing "sand" of the 

Thrall field. It was discovered in a hole 

drilled for oil in February, 1915, and ns 

profita.ble oil wells were obtained in it i~s limits 

were soon determined. 

Specimens were submitted to E. S. Larsen, 

jr., w~o reported as follows: 

The material is no doubt of igneous origin, but the 

original minerals are now completely gone, and the 

specimen is an aggregate of calcite, chlorite, and other 

secondary minerals. The form of the original lathshaped or tabular feldspar crystals is still well preserved, 

with a texture similar to that common to basalts. The 

rock is chistic and is probably a tuff, although it may 

have been a flow breccia. More accurate determination 

is not possible, although it was without question derived 

from a rock closely related to basalt. 

A chemical ai1alysis shows the following 

composition: 

Analysis of volcanic rock from wells at Thrall, Tex. 78 

(J. E. Stullken analyst.] 

Silica (Si02) •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 31. 55 

Alumina (Al20 3). • • • • • • • .. .. • • .. • .. .. .. • .. .. .. • 19. 69 

Iron oxide (Fe20 3). • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 12. 44 

Lime (CaO)......................... . . . . . . . . . . . . 5. 96 

Magnesia (MgO) ................................. 11. 08 

Sulphuric acid (S03). • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 2. 77 

Potassium oxide (K20). . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. .. . . . . . . . 08 

Sodium oxide (Na20) ....... .' ... ·.................. . 04 

Loss on ignition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15. 64 

99.25 

This body is evidently either a sill connected 

with· some near-by volcanic neck or a. tuff 

similar to those exposed near Austin, deposited 

by a submarine volcano that was active in 

this vicinity in early Taylor time. In any 

event the rock is closely related structurally. 

and historically to the Pilot Knob disturbance 

near Austin. 

Pilot Knob, 8 miles southeast of Austin (see 

Pl. VIII) marks the site of an ancient volcanic 

eruption, which probably took place at the 

time the upper part of the Austin chalk and 

the lower part of the Taylor marl were being 

deposited. 'l'he. neck or core of the ancient 

volcano. is -represented by .three low hills of 

black .. co}UJ.nJ1.ar.: nepheline basalt (limburgite), 

which covers ·about 9 square miles in the 

c¢.nter o:f an n,rea that is composed largely of 

tuff aJ1d debris. Several sn1all dikes and beds 

of tuff thaf are related to the central mass 

extend outward from it for a distance of 6 

miles. 

78 Udden, J. A., Oil in an igneous rock: }~eon. Geology, vol. 10, p. 58S, 

1915. 

The basalt is pushed 

up through the Austin 

chalk, 1vhich is m~rmorized at many 

places along the contact and lies against 

the igneous mass, dipping away from it on 

all sides. In places 

around the edge of the 

disturbed . area volcanic material is interbedded with the chalk. 

A small neck of 

nepheline basalt lies 

a few yards east of 

Tillotson Institute, 

west of the I-Iouston 

& Texas Central Railway, in the southeastern part of Austin. 

A dikelike . mass of 

disintegrated volcanic 

rock is exposed on the 

road a short distance 

south of the Institute. 

Another outcrop of 

basalt lies about threefourths of a mile west 

of Stones Ford, a quarter of a mile from the 

nver. 

A cut a short distance ·north of Kouns 

station shows a mass of 

tufflike material filling 

a fissure in the Austin 

chalk. It is c~pped 

with Reynosa gravel. 

Similar material is 

exposed on the road 

about a 1nile eastnortheast of St. Edwards College and at 

other places. 

There are a number 

()f basaltic knobs in 

Hays County, and n, 

basaltic knob stands 

,in Bexar County about . 

10 miles northeast. of 

San Antonio. 

Tait records the existence of a ·basaltic 

.J.()A'f¥ S'iJ'J<JyW ~ 

J: 

. c 

c: 

'' ~ 

E. 

~ ;:::; 

;:::;. 

~ 1- .:; 1&.1 Q) 

1&.1 ..c::: 

II. ... 

C1) 

0 z 

~ rl' 

.0 

E 

c 

w 

...1 

< .loi 0 ~ 

ell ..c::: 

~ 

..,~8 = <It') ~ l) = < i= II 0:: as w ~ 

> ai 

0 = .s 

gJ 

~ 

..c::: 

~- ~ 1- C) 

z 11 0. 

N 
.MINERAL VEINS. · 121 

dike In Bandera County 2 1niles north of 

Bandera. 70 

A large laccolith about 5 miles long and from 

1! to 3 miles wide occurs on the west side of 

Nueces River, about 10 miles west-southwest of 

Uvalde. On the margin of this laccolith there 

are n1asses of nephelin·e, limburgite, or nepheline-inelilite basalt which, owing to their superior hardness, have resisted erosion and thus 

formed hills cmnposed of basalt or of the Austin chalk or the Anacacho limestone into which 

the basalt was intruded. The northwest side of 

the mass is exposed in Allen Hill, the southwest 

side in Sulphur Peak, the southeast side in Tom 

Nunn Bill, and the northeast side in Nueces 

Hill. The low 1nass between the hills is composed of plagioclase basalt, which has floated 

the Austin chalk and Ahacacho limestone upward on its surface and is now exposed ·where 

thelimestonehas been eroded away. (See fig. 30.) 

Weymiller Butte, 11 miles west-southwest of 

Uvalde; Lewis Hill, 10 miles west-northwest of 

Uvalde; and Obi Hill, 2 miles· southwest of 

Lewis Hill, are apparently remnants of sills of 

basalt that were laterally intruded beneath 

strata which have been removed by erosion. 

Six miles northwest of Pulliam and 1! miles 

east of Wagon Wheel I-Iill basalt is intruded 

into the basal layers of the Escondido for1nation. 

There are many small areas of basalt between 

Nueces and Leona rivers, west of Uvalde. 

(See Pl. VIII.) An isolated mass of basalt occurs on the top of the hill a mile east of the Tom 

Nunn ranch, 6 miles west-southwest of Uvalde. 

A knob of phonolite, apparently intruded 

through the Buda limestone, stands 3 miles 

· north of Sansom. 

nepheline-melilite basalt, but whether this body 

is a sill or a laccolite could not be determined, 

because the structure is concealed by surficial 

material. The basalt at Black Water Hole on 

the Frio, 3 miles southeast of Ange siding, is a 

laccolith intruded into ·the Eagle Ford shale, 

which has been tilted by it to a high angle. (Sec 

Pis. XXXIV, B, and XXXV, B.) At Connor 

ranch, on Frio River 4! miles southeast of Black 

Water Hole, phonolite cuts the Austin chalk. 

Chatfield Hill, on the west side of Frio River at 

the Southern Pacific Railroad crossing, is a laccolith intruded into the Austin chalk. 

Between Frio River and the east line of 

Uvalde .County there are many hills of basalt 

surrounded by surficial materinls, which obscure the contact of the basalt with the older 

rocks. Large exposures of amygclaloidal nepheline basalt, overlain by the Anacacho limestone, occur along Blanco River south of the 

Southern Pacific Railroad. 

The yo~mgest formation cut by these igneous 

bodies in ·Uvalde County is the Escondido., a 

fact which indicates that the volcanic activity 

took place in Eocene (possibly Miocene) time, 

when the Balcones fu.ult was for1ned. 

A detailed description of· the petrographic 

features of the basalts and phonolites of Uvalde 

County, by Whitman Cross, is given in the 

Uvalde folio. 80 

OA sill of basalt caps Las Moras Mountain 3! 

miles northeast of Brackettville. Si1nilar sills 

cap Turkey Mountain and Pinto Mountain, 

which stand, r~spectively, 13 n1iles e-ast-northeast nnd 9 miles north of Brackettville. 

MINERAL VEINS. 

Blue Mountain, which is near Frio River, 2 

Iniles northwest of Chatfield, is a mass of A vein of chalcedony which trends N. 40° E. 

nepheline basalt intruded into the Eagle Ford forms a hill (Los Picachos) rising about 65 feet 

shale and the Austin chalk. Black Mountain, above the level of the· plain 1! miles south of 

3 Iniles to -the west, is the remnant of a sill of the north line of Duval County, about 4 miles 

nepheline basalt overlying the Austin chalk. southwest of Lomo Alto, in McMullen County. 

Phonolite, which has been intruded into the (See Pl. XXXV, A.) The local geology can be 

Edwards lin1estone, forms a knob 2 miles south- best tmderstoo'd by reference- to the accotnpanyw~st of Black Mountain.. A· mass, of plagio- ing sketch map and section (fig. 31). llcre, as 

clt:LSe bttsalt rests upon or is intruded into the shown iH. the section lmcl n.s indicated. in the 

:Eagle Ford shale 1 t 1niles north of Ange siding. exposure at the south end of the hill, theJ.·c are 

At this siding a tnnss of phonolite is intruded two· parallel veins, which stand vertical.'.· The 

into the Eagle Ford. shale. Inge Mountain, 2 _vein filling was found upon microscopic exammile~ south-southeast of .Uvalde (see ~I. II, 4Iation by E. s~ Larsen, jr., of the United 

B)' Is. C01,llp?sed of phonoht~. Taylor Hill and States· Geological S'urvey, to consist of chalthe hill 1 mile northwest of It are ·composed of _ - --------------------1 so Vaughan, T. W. [and others], U.S. Geol. Survey Gcol. Atlas, Uvalde 1o Tait, J. L., Texas Geol. Survey First Rept. Progress, p. 66, 1889. folio (No. 64), pp. 3-41 1900. · 
122 GEOLOGY O:F 1'HE COASTAL PLAIN 0}~ TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVEJ;t. 

cedony, a crystallized form of silica (Si02), in a 

1natrix of opal (a noncrystallized hydrated form 

of silica). Chemical analyses of the rocks are 

given in the following table: 

Analyses of rocks frmn Los Picachos Hill in Duval 

County, Tex. 

(W. '1'. Read, analyst, Marrh, 19l4.] 

---------1----------

Silica (Si02 ) •••••••••••• - • -

Alumina (Al:Pa)-.---- - - - -

Iron (Fe 203)- - - - - - . - .. - - • - · 

24. 87 84. 41 95. ll 98. 34 

4. 24 4. 7 4 1. 03 1. 36 

3.51 .17 .07 .1.0 

Lime (CaO) ............ :· .. . 46.01 1.37 .22 .29 

Magnesia (MgO) ..... : . .... . 1.55 .70 .26 .26 

Soda. (Na20) and potash 

(K20) ... -.---.-- .. --. · ·- 1. 3:3 . 94 . 54 .15 

1. Unaltered marl from the Frio clay. 

2. Wall rock adjacent to dike rock at south end of Los 

Picachos Hill; opal rock. 

3. Chalcedony or dike rock at south end of Los Picachos 

Hill. 

4. Chalcedony or dike rock at north end of Los Picachos 

Hill. 

q__:;o 100 zoo 3oo FEET L~ 

Approx1mate scale fZ). 

Sketch contours, o interval 20 feet "~ -z; 

N 

~0 

Chalcedony dike( 

. 4' ....... ....... 

' 

A 

Aragonite 

""':>---

-=~- . -~~ 

·'- ' SKETCH MAP A' 

FIGURE 31.-Geologic sketch map and section of Los Picachos Hill, in 

northern Duval County, Tex. 

The vein is bounded on. both sides by an 

altered marl in the Frio clay which has been 

permeated with silica and is now in the form of 

opal rock. The wall rock is. bedded, the beds· 

standing vertically a~ shown in the section (fig. 

31). About 50 feet east of the vein of chalcedony and parallel to it is a vein of aragonite, a 

. crystallized form of calcium carbonate. 

The marl is of distinctly different or1gm 

from the chalcedony, being a sedimentary rock 

deposited probably in a lake or a delta, whereas 

the chalcedony is formed chemically, representing silica precipitated from a solution 

which invaded the sediments at this point. 

The dip of the Frio beds is 20° S. 30° E. 

Three masses of quartzose rock, 15 to 20 

feet in diameter, somewhat similar to the chalcedony at Los Picachos, occur at Las Tiendas, 

near the McMullen-Duval county line, about 

7 miles south of Gueydan's ranch, in McMullen 

County. 

Knobs similar to Los Picachos occur at a 

number of other places in Duval County. 

They are probably related structurally to the 

Torrecillas uplift and may have some relat_ion 

to deep-seated igneous activity in this ·vicinity. 

So far no exposures of igneous rock have been 

found in them. · 

STRUCTURE. 

GENERAL FEATURES. 

It has already been stated that the forma:-

tions of the Coastal Plain of Texas consist of 

a number of sheets of rock that dip gently 

toward the coast. This general or . regional 

dip ranges from 10 to 70 feet to the mile and 

·averages about 50 feet. The dip of the older 

formations is slightly greater .than that of the 

younger . 

GENERAL DIPS AND STRIKES. . 

Between Brazos River and a line extending 

from New Braunfels to Port O'Connor the 

strike ·of the ·Upper Cretaceous and Eocene 

formations is about N. 38° E., and the dip is 

southeastward at the rate of 40 to 70 feet to 

the mile. The strike of the Pleistocene formations is nbout N. 49° E., and the dip is southeastward nt the rate of 20 feet to the mile. 

West of the line indicated the strike of the 

older formations 'becomes more westerly. Between Macdona ri.nd Uvalde, for example, the 

strike of the Upper Cretaceous and lower 

Eocene beds is about N. 78° E., and the dip 

of the Escondido !ormation is southeastward 

at the rate of about 70 feet.to the mile. The 

Pleistocene formations strike N. 23° E. and 

dip southeastward at the i'ate of 30 . feet to 

the mile. 

· South of a line ·extending from Spofford to 

Robstown the strike of the older formations 

makes a pronounced turn to the north. The 
STRUCTURE. 123 

strike of the Escondido formation in Maverick 

County is N. 13° E., and the dip is southeastward nt the rate of about 40 feet to the 

mile. The strike of the upper Eocene and 

Pleistocene· formations in this nrea is about 

the snme as it is .north of the line indicated. 

South of a line extending from Laredo to 

Sarita the strike of the middle and upper 

Eocene beds changes to a direction a little 

west of north and that of the Pleistocene 

formations is nearly north. 

The general dip is greatly modified by locltl 

structural features, such as faults, anticlines, 

salt domes, and igneous intrusions. The local 

fentures may greatly accentuate or decrease 

~he southeastwnrd dip or may even produce 

steep reversals to the northwest. 

FAULTS. 

BALCONES FAULT ZONE. 

The Balcones fault zone is a major structural 

feature of the Constal Plain. It is expressed 

in the topography by the Balcones scarp, 

which marks the northwestern limit of the 

plain in the region southwest of Temple. The 

fault zone passes th1~ough Waco, lies west of 

Temple, passes through Georgetown, Round 

Rock, Austin, San Marcos, and New Braunfels, lies north of Castroville, passes through 

Uvalde, lies north of Brackettville, and reaches 

the Rio Grande at Del Rio. It consists of 

many normal, nearly parallel faults, which are 

concentrnted within a narrow strip pf country. 

On the northwest side of the zone there are 

large faults of great displacement; on the 

southeast side there are many smaller faults. 

The effect of the faulting on the dip of the beds 

is very pronounced. It chops them into n 

great mnny blocks which are tilted at different angles. · 

The totn1 displacement increases from north 

to south, being about 500 feet at Austin and 

about 1,000 feet in Uvalde and Kinney co.un-. 

.ties. The downthrow is generally on the 

southenst side of the faults, although along the 

east margin of the zone there are. normal faults 

with downthrow on the west sides. 

A fault of large displacement passes between 

Wu.co nnd the western mnrgin of the outcrop 

of the chalk on the North Bosque, 4 miles to 

the northwest. This fnult is indicated by the 

great difference in the depth at which artesian 

water is found on its two sides. 

Traces of faults are seen in the valleys of 

Noland and Lampasas rivers, near Belton, and 

faults are conspicuous a short distance west of 

Georgetown. 

At Austin the major fault 

is easily traceable from W atters southward by way of 

Spicewood Springs, Amboy, 

the east foot of Mount Bon·-

nel, Bee Creek, ttnd Oak Hill. 

The downthrow, which is on 

the southeast, is .500 feet. 

Minor faults east of .the main 

fracture are seen in the canyons of Big Walnut, Shoal, 

Barton, Willinmson, and Onion creeks. A section showing 

fractures is given in figure 32. 

A fault is exposed in the 

western part of San Marcos, 

the hill on which the Southwest Texas Normal School 

stands marking the up thrown 

block. 

A fault is exposed at New 

Braunfels, at Landa's Park. 

It is accompanied by a decided monoclinal fold of the 

Edwards limestone. A minor 

fault may be seen at the old 

ford on the Guadalupe below 

New Braunfels. 

A fault is exposed on the 

Cibolo north of Bracken. 

In Bexar County the 

maJor fault crosses the San 

Antonio & Aransas Pass 

Railway, .at Viva station, 

about 2 miles south of Leon 

Springs. Minor faults occur 

at intervals between this 

point and the southern part of 

Bexar County. The details 

are shown on Plate VIII. 

The major fault crosses 

Medina River about 5 miles 

north of Rio . Medina post 

office. Minor faults are exposed be tween this place 

and Castroville. 

.In Uvalde County the major fault is exposed nhout 

5! miles north of U vnlde. 

"ll: 

cu 

Cb 

L.J G 

z ~ 

0 ~ N 

t-

..J 

::J 

<( 

LL.. 

en 

LLJ 

Za,..:; 

0 ~!0 

00 

.J 

<( J: 

m ~ ., 

Q) 

() 

0 • 

~ 0 

0 

0 
124 GEOLOOY O:t<' THJ<..: COASTAL PLAJN OJ!' TEXAS WEST OF .BRAZOS RlVEH. 

Many smaller faults lie between this place 

and a point 3 miles southeast of Uvt:tlde. 

The faulting in this county may be resolved into two systems-one a series parallel to the escarpment front, which trends 

northeastward, the other a series that cuts 

the first at an angle; generally trendi:r,.g northwestward. The faults of both systems show 

pronounced parallelism in small areas. 

A system of normal faults extend~ from 

Somerset, Bexar County, northeastward 

through Luling, Rockdale, Bremond, Groesbeck, and Mexia to Powell, in· Navarro 

County. The system is marked by upthrow 

on the east side, thus differing fro]U the system 

of major faults on the west, which has downthrow on the east. The system here described 

may be ·called the Luling-Mexia faul.t system. 

It marks the eastern limit of the Balcones 

fault zone, cutting at the surface the Midway 

and in places the .Indio and Carrizo formations. 

In a broad way the area in which the Upper 

Cretaceous formations are exposed south of 

Dallas may be considered as a large fault 

block or graben bounded by major normal 

faults on the west· and east sides. The planes 

of the faults on the west dip southeastward, 

and those of the faults on the east dip northwestward. 

The displacements along the L.uling-Mexia 

fault system range from 50 to 400 feet, and 

structurally, high areas along the east or upthrown side of the fault are characterized by 

large accumulations of oil in the Edwards 

limestone or Woodb.ine sand, the Luling, 

Mexia, Currie, and Powell oil fields being the 

conspicuous examples. 

The exact age of the fauJting is difficult to 

· cletermtile.. As it invo] ve·:; .the ~fidway, Indio, 

and Cn,rrizo :formations, it must have occurred 

_·after these formations were deposited. The 

Reynosa formation, which is· doubtfully referred 

to the Pliocene and in places overlies t1he 

faulted biocks, is not affected. The move-

. 1nents must therefore have occur:red in Eocene, 

Oligocene, Miocene, or early· Pliocene time. 

The earliest movements may have occurred in 

Eocene ti_me, and later movements that produced additional faulting may have occurred.in 

Miocene a~d early Pliocene time. . · 

MINOR FAULTS. 

Faulting is not conspicuous in the Tertiary 

and Quaternary formations of t.he Coastal 

Plain east of the Balcones zone, but a few 

faults have been noted in these· formations. 

These faults rarely manifest themselves by displacelll:ent at the surface; they can be seen only 

~n stratigraphic sections, and, owing to the poor 

exposures, they are not easily found. 

A fault striking about N. 30° E. and having 

a displacement of 100 to 500 feet is exposed in 

a cut on the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway about 1,000 feet north of the depot at 

Milano. (See fig. 18 and description on p. 60.) 

Two normal faults of small downthrow cut 

the Fayette sandstone 2! miles northwest of 

La Grange, on Colorado River. (Seep. 85 . .) 

A small fault cuts the Escondido beds at 

Pulliam, in Zavalla County. (See p. 40.) 

Several probable faults are exposed in Wilson County in the vicinity of Lavernia, Flores-

. ville, and Sutherland Springs. Several faults 

have been likewise noted in Gonzales, Bastrop, 

and Lee counties. 

At some places the existence of faults is 

inferred, though' no direct exposures have yet 

been found. These piaces are marked on 

figure 33. 

As all of the faults noted outside the Balcones fault zone trend northeastward they are 

probably minor features of the Balcones 

system. 

TORREOILLAS UPLIFT. 

A secon<;l. pronounced structural feature of 

the Coastal Plain west of ~razos River is the 

Torreci1las uplift. This affects an area including the southeast corner of Webb County, 

the northeast corner of Zapata County, most 

of Duval County, the . southeast corner of 

McMullen County, and the southwest corner 

of Live Oak County. The center of this uplift 

is nenr Torrecillas and Ojuelos. The vertical 

movement at these places was probably ns 

much as 200 feet. In the northeast part of the 

uplifted area the vertical movement was not 

so great. 

· Monoclinnl folds and s.mall faults probably 

mark the boundaries of the uplift, though the 

details of the structure have not yet . been 

worked out. The chalcedony veins of :Ouval 

County, the Piedras Pintas, Falfurrias, and 
IJ. S. GEOLOGICAl, SURVEY PHO~ESSIONAT, PAPER 126 PLATE XXXIV 

A. SMALL ANT ICLJ E IN GEORGETOW (LOWER CRETACEOUS) LIMESTONE IN CUT ON RAILWAY 

WEST OF CONFEDERATE IIOME~AT AUSTI , TRAVIS COUNTY, TEX. 

B. EAGLE FORD SHALE TILTED BY I TRUSIO OF BASALT AT BLACK WATER HOLE 0 1 

FRIO RIVER, UVALDE COUNTY, TEX. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PllOI'ESS!ONAL PAPER 126 PLATE XXXV 

A. CHALCEDONY DIKE AT LOS PICACHOS HILL I DUVAL COUNTY, TEX. 

B. LACCOLITH OF COLUMNAR NEPHELINE-MELILITE BASALT INTRUDED INTO 

EAGLE FORD SHALE AT BLACK WATER HOLE ON FRIO RTVEH . :1 MILES SOUTHEAST OF ANGE SIDING, UVALDE COUNTY, TEX. 
STRUCTURE. 

L A H 0 A 

ARK 

Ga.lvesLon 

Go 

.....,'l<· ... ~.,"orL ~ \ 

+"" 

' 0 

EXPLANATION 

Salt 

~ dome 

1111 

Torrecillas uplift· 

~ ;.//~ 

La Salle uplift 

--- ExposeCI fault 

------~- Concealed and hypothetidault -· · ·- Line marking change of strike 

-----Crowther monocline 

---+-- Anticline 

--f-;... Syncline 

/( Avera~e s·tnke and dap of 

older rocks 

25 0 25 50 75 rooMiles 

FwvnE. ~{~J.-Structural map of tho Coastal Plain d Tcxa~. 

125 
126 GEOLOGY 01!' THE COASTAL PLAIN OJ!"' TEXAS WEST OJ!~ BRAZOS RIVER. 

other salt domes, and the anticlines on the limbs dip 6° away from the axial line. This 

N ueces below Sandia are probably connected, is a part of the broader folding along the 

directly or indirectly, with this uplift. northern boundary of the uplift. 

This uplift is indicated also by the fact that The Nueces Valley at Sandin, (see Pl. 

the divide between the Nueces and the Rio XXXIII, in pocket) shows marked entrenchGrande has an altitude of 720 feet 18 miles ment below the level of the Alice or l\1athis 

north of Laredo and 872 feet at Torrecillas, terrace (No. 2), an entrenchment not dupliabout 40 miles to the southeast. At the place cated on other streams or on this stream higher 

indicn,ted north of Laredo and at Torrecillas the up. The Beaumont terrace (No. l), whieh 

divide is capped by the Reynosa formation. lies 20 feet below terrace No. 2 at Mikeskn: 

The map shows that no streams cross the. stands 50 feet below it at Sandia. The younger 

'l'orrecillas uplift in its highest part. The terraces show similar conditions. These facts 

upper course of Nueces River heads directly show uplift in this region, which here marks 

for it, but instead of crossing the uplift the the northeast corner of the Torrecillas uplift. 

stream has appi.rently been deflected by it Finally, the fact that folds and faults mark 

more than 50 miles to the northeast. Frio the boundaries of this uplift seems to be 

River shows n similar though not so pronounced indicated nlso by- the presence of oil and gas 

deflection before it joins the N ueces near Oak- in this region. The Reiser gas field, 2 miles 

ville. The minor drainage lines on the higher west of Aguilares, is on the western limb of 

part of the uplift also seem to have been affect- the uplift. A number of large gas wells have 

ed by the uplift, for they radiate from it in all been drilled on the Jennings ranch, about 22 

directions. This arrangement suggests that miles northeast of Zapata. A small gas well 

the uplift not only diverted N ueces and Frio has been drilled on its northwestern limb at 

rivers· but th~t it established a new system of the Medio ranch, about 14 Iniles northwest of 

consequent streams upon its slopes. San Diego. 

The change from a northeast to a northwest The Charco Redondo and Mirando oil fields 

strike in the formations south of Webb County, are situated along the west boundary of this 

already indicated, sho'ws that they have been uplift, which is marked by the Bordas escarpaffected by uplift in this region. ment. 

The delta of the Rio Grande is a pronounced The movement that produced the Torrecillas 

feature in southern Texas. Pleistocene forma- uplift was comparatively recent. It involved 

tions also attain greater widths in Starr, the Reynosa formation and must therefore _ 

Hidalgo, Brooks, Kenedy, Willacy, and Cam- have taken place in Pleistocene time. It 

eron counties. These widenings hnve been probably begnn in early Pleistocene time, but 

caused by the shoaling of the sea floor thnt additional movements probably occurred In 

accompanied the broad uplift here described. Beaumont and possibly in later time. 

The chalcedony kn~bs already described LA SALLE UPLIFT. 

(pp·. 121-122) probably represent infiltrations An uplift somewhat like the Torrecillas, 

of silica solutions along the line of folding and h\lt not nearly so pronounced, is the La Salle, 

fracturing that 1n&r,ks the western and north- n structurally elevated mass centering in 

ern limbs of the uplift·.. La Salle County and including the northThe exposures of the Lapara and Lagarto western part of McMullen, the southwestern 

formations are unu·sual features of the Nueces part of Atascosa, the southern part of Frio, 

Valley. They occur ,very far -downstream and the southeastern part of Zavalla, the eastern 

are not duplicated on any other stream. part of Dimmit, and a part of Webb County. 

As- ~ consequence of this ttplift a large Its limits ai·e indicated on figure 33. Its 

tongue of the Reynosa has been removed by eastern border is the Crowther monocline.· 

erosion, exposing earlier formations. (Seep. 12_9.) Its w~stern border lies neai· the 

An anticline is exposed in lJ ravine about 1! Zavalla anticline. (Seep. 128.) Its northern 

miles north of the old Barlow Ferry, on boundary is probably a slight Inonocline, but 

N ueces River about 3 miles northwest of has not yet been definitely placed. Its southDinero. The axis trends N. 63° E., and the ern boundary is undetermined. 
STRUCTURE. 127 

The uplift is indicat~d by the following this ridge is indicated on figure~~. Big Mounfacts: tain and Frio Hill are domes of Edwards limeThe dip on the plateau, 'which averages 35 stone associated with this anticline. A line of 

feet to the 1nile, is steeper than the dip east basalt and phonolite intrusions follows the semiof the plateau, which averages 68 feet to the circular ridge, but not all the intrusions are on 

mile. the crest. 

The geologic map (Pl. VIII, in pocket) The Uvalde-Kinney county boundnry line is 

indicates a broadening in the outcrops of the close to the axis of a gently southward-pitching 

Mount Sehnan, Cook :Mounttiin, and Yegua syncline, indicated by the distribution of the 

formations in the counties named, indicating formntions. The great basaltic laccolith west 

a flattening .of the clip caused by elevation ·of. Tom Nunn ranch, on the west side of Nueces ' 

along the eastern border of the Crowther River, is on its eastern limb. 

monocline. Nueces River between Pulliam and the crossAttention. has been called to the change in ing of the Eagle Pass-Uvalde road, 3 miles to 

the character of the Nueces Valley as it crosses the north, flows along a syncline, the axis of 

the eastern part of Di1nmit and the western which pitches gently to the southeast. The 

part of Ln Snlle County. (See p. 118.) The pitch of the axis is nbout equal to the fall· of 

strea1n has intrenched its channel much deeper the river. This syncline is intersected by n 

below the level of the Uvalde terrace in this small fnulted anticline, the nxis of which strikes 

nren than in the area farther west. The wide N. 45° E. at Pulliam. (See-p. 40.) 

Recent alluvial plain is lacking, and the stream The crest of a broad arch, the· H'erndon 

is actively eroding its channel. The La Salle Shonls anticline (see p. 48), is visible at Hornuplift has no doubt caused the conditions don Shoals, on· Brazos River, about 5 miles 

indicated. west of Calvert. Gas occurs in the artesian 

ANTICLINES. wells at Hearne at a depth of about 700 feet. 

The faults of the Balcones fault zone are accompanied by many anticlines, which were 

formed by the stresses that produced the 

faults. At some places volcanic activity aided 

in their formation. 

A small faulted anticline is exposed on Big 

Walnut Creek nbout half a mile southeast of 

Watters station, in Travis County. Heavy asphaltic oil occurs in shallow wells at this place. 

A small anticline involving a Lower Cretaceous limestone (Georgetown limestone) is 

exposed· in a cut on the International & Great 

Northern Railway west .of the Confederate 

Hon1e at Austin. (See Pl. XXXIV, "f1.) 

S.mn.ll loen.l u.nticlines accompany the fn.ult-; 

in the southern pu.rt of Bexar County. It is 

with these tt.nticlines n.nd faults that the oil 

found at ·sonwrset, on Leon Creek, ·and Alta· 

Vistn is n.ssociated. 

vaughan Sl records the existence of a pronounced semicirculnr anticlinnl ridge east of 

Uvalde, extending from Blue Mountain, 2 miles 

northwest of Chatfield, through Big Mountain, 

a miles· northenst of •uvalde, to :Frio Hill, 

ti JniJes enst-southenst of Uvalde. The crest of 

81 Vaughan, T. W., V •. ~. Oeol, $tn·yey O~QJ, AUas, Uvalde folio (No. 

64), p. 4, 1900. 

The Stone City anticline, the axis of which 

trends about N. 12° W., probnbly crosses the 

Brazos not far above Moseleys Ferry, at Stone 

City. The beds at the ferry dip 180 feet to the 

mileS. 80° E., whereas 1 mile above the ferry. 

they dip 180 feet to the mile N. 55° W. (See 

p. 66.) 

A syncline crosses Colorndo Hiver about 

100 . ynrds downstrenm from the center of 

Powell Bend, about three-fourths of n mile 

northwest of Phelnn. It is indicated by n 

northwestward dip of the lignite bed. The 

lignite beds exposed in the middle of the bluff 

dip 1 o S. 15° 1~. The crest. of n gentle anticline, here cnJled the Phelnn anticline, therefore 

crosses between the two exposures. A shallow 

well sunk to prospect for lignite nt the lignite 

mine a short distnnce south of Phelan enconn tercel a sand that yielded a small flow of 

gas. 

A gentle local nrch, here called the Smith ville 

anticline, may be noted near Smithville. The 

Cook Mountain beds dip N. 40° E. nt nn nngle 

of 6 o, which is n considernblc depnrture from 

their nol'mnl. dip. About 4J miles to the east 

a small syncline is exposed. The trend of 

the anticline is therefore apparently east-northeast. 
, 

128 GEOLOGY O:E' THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST O:F BRAZOS RIVER • 

. An anticline or a large monocline is indicated 

in Zavalla County. The axis, which is near 

Crystal City, apparently trends about N. 25° 

1~. A syncline about 3! miles southeast of 

Pulliam has already been noted. It would 

seem that anticlinal or monoclinal uplift has 

elevated the Indio beds near Crystal ·City 

and has enabled Nueces River to cut into them. 

This uplift may also have some causal relation 

to the ponding of this stream above Bermuda, 

which has produced the delta-like alluvial 

plain already noted. (See p. 118.) 

0 5 

·of that town. The difference in elevation is 

very small-only 10 feet-but when taken into 

consideration with the normal surface gradient, 

which is southeastward at the rate of abou,t 

2 feet to the mile, this rise east of Sinton is 

significant. -

Between Corpus Christi and 1nilepost 7 west 

the surface is practically level. Between mileposts 7 and 11 ·it rises 20 feet. There is an 

erosion channel at milepost 11. West of this 

locality there is a gentle descent toward the 

west. The rise between mileposts 7 and 11 

' Corpus Christi· 

IOMiles ~~~~~---~ 

FIGURE 34.-Map of the White Point district, San Patricio and Nueces counties. 

An antjcline that may be accompanied by 

structural or salt domes at White Point and 

possibly elsewhere probably extends from 

Blomnington through White Point, in San 

Patricio County, to a point about 6 miles west 

of Sarita. ·.Faults ·may accompany the anticline, which is buried beneath Pleistocene 

formations· and has only the faintest surface 

expression, produced by recent movements 

along it. An inspection ~f the profile of the 

surface between Sinton and Taft shows a gentle 

rise toward Taft to a crest about 3 miles west 

may be merely .a: terrace scarp, though it may_ 

have some connection with the anticline. ~ 

'I'he Guadalupe is intrenched below the level 

of terrace No. 2 (Beaun1ont terrace) at Victoria 

about 50 feet; rat Bloomington, 15 miles downstream ·in a straight line, it is intrenched about 

70 feet. This difference suggests uplift near 

Bloomington, which iff in line ~ith t4e trend 

of the White Point anticline. 

There is a constriction in N ueces Bay between White Point and the mouth of the 

Nueces opposite. (See fig. 34.) The tongue-
STRUCTURE. 129 

like projection at White Point is no doubt 

structural and is connected with· the White 

Point anticline. 

The occurrence of great numbers of Ostrea 

virginica and other Recent shells on the surface 

of the terrace at White Point, 35 to 40 feet 

above the bay, indicates a very recent uplift. 

This flat is now well above flood level. 

Sulphur permeates the beds at White Point, 

forming small nodules, veinlets, and streaks, 

and similar deposits have been encountered in 

drilling. 

Gas was discovered at White Point in 

November, 1914, in a well drilled by the ~Thite 

Point Oil & Gas Cq., to a depth of 2,255 feet~ 

The well blew out when the productive sandprobably the Oakville sandstone-was drill~d 

into, releasing about 50,000,000 cubic feet of 

gas a day. (See ~I. II, A., p.l2). The escaping 

gas excavated a huge orater . about 100 feet 

across and 60 to 75 feet deep, which swallowed 

the derrick. A second .well,. drilled by the 

Gulf Production Co., re.aelied the gas sand 

in February, 1916, at a depth of 2,170 feet 

ttnd produced an even larger. volume of gas. 

The well became unmanageable and · was 

lost. A crater larger than the first one was 

excavated. 

Gas has also been encountered at a depth of 

about 720 feet in the district 5 to 7 miles east 

of Kingsville, close to the axis of the ·White 

Point anticline, and more recently several gas 

wells and one small oil well, have·been drilled 

tthout 3,000 feet in depth. 

Another line of folds and faults known as 

the Sinton anticline ( ~) possibly parallels the 

White Point anticline on the west, but the 

evidence establishing it is not conclusive. 

This line apparently passes a little west of 

Sinton, through Calallen, to a point a little 

west of Robstown .. 

Another hypothetic zone of folds and faults, 

here called the Rockport anticline, extends 

from Nobles Point, on· Lavaca Bay, through 

Long M·ott, Rockport, Ingleside, and Flour 

Bluff, . paralleling the course of the White 

Point anticline. It is 'less clearly outlined, 

however, than theSinton anticline. 

A line extending from La Parita Creek, about 

7. miles north of Crowther, through McMullen 

.County to a point about 10 miles west of the 

· southeast corner of La Salle County marks the 

ax•s or crest of a monoclinal fold, the Crowther monocline, which is probably accompanied 

by some faults. In the northeastern part of 

McMullen CouJ}ty·the dip changes from 35 feet 

to 68 feet to .the mile. This fold ·marks the 

western limb of the large synclinal valley in 

which the Nueces flows across McMullen 

County, and it also marks the eastern limb of 

the La Salle uplift. The other limb of the synclinal valley is the western boundary of the 

Torrecillas uplift. 

The oil well at Crpwther, the gas well on 

the Byrne ranch (which has the peculiarity of 

erupting at regular intervals of about 10 hours), 

the .gas well at Tilden, and other wells are 

probably on or near this monocline. 

SALT DOMES. 

GENERAL FEATURES. 

Salt domes represent intrusions of massive· 

saline cores into sedimentary formations. The 

intrusions have fractured the strata or have 

tilted them at high angles ar(nmd the edges of 

the core, forming .. domes. 

The domes in the Coast Prairies contain 

~aterials that are not found elsewhere on the 

Coastal Plain. These materials are all of secondary origin and have probably been deposited from solution. They include crystalline 

limestone (the so-called "cap· rock" of the 

driller), sulphur, gypsum, and rock salt. They 

are generally covered by unconsolidated sediments belonging to one or more of the formations already described. In some places this 

cover is very thin; in others it is very thickmore than 1,000 feet thick. 

The limestone is at many places dolomitic 

and at some it is entirely crystalline. The 

crystalline variety when stained by oil looks 

like maple sugar. At some localities it is 

dense. Both the dense and the crystalline 

limestone may be cavernous. The rock is 

more than 100 feet thick in places. The lime 

was probably derived from the highly calcareous rocks near or below the secondary limestone. S01ne of these calcareous beds are in 

their original condition-they are marl; others 

are consolidated, though they contain no crystalline calcite; still others are partly _composed 

of redeposited material, so that between the 

original marl and the secondary limestone 

there are .all possible .gradations. These secondary materials 'Usually oc'Cur in the domes in 

vertical order, from top to bottom, ·as uncon-
130 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN O:F ~rEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RlV.ER. 

solidated sediment, porous limestone, gypsum, 

anhydrite, salt. 

The position of the sulphur is variable, but 

it is most generally found in or near the ·limestone. Petroleum also is usually assoc1ated 

with ·the limestone, ·the overlying sediments, 

or the sand that lies below. the level of the 

limestone, against· a petroliferous shale that 

covers the salt core. · 

The salt cores In some of the ·domes of 

Anderson, Smith, and Freestone counties lie 

them. Those in . which no movements have 

occurred since the deposition of t_.he overlying 

beds may have no surface expression whatever, 

although their presence may be indicated by 

seepages· of oil or gas or the escape or" sulphureted or other mineralized water in their 

immediate vicinity. Domes ·on ~hich late 

movements have occurred may manifest themselves at the surface. · 

The origin of these domes is ~ot yet determined.· T.\ley are usually arranged · along 

:· 

lflOO zpoo 3.000 4{JOO £eet 

l~wur.g 35.-Sketch con~our map of Damon M~uncl, .Brazor.ia County, Tex. (After Hayes and Kennecly .) 

comparatively close to the surface, n.nd these 

domes appear to contain no secondary lime-

. stone, gypsum, or sulphur. . 

Some of the salt domes, such as those· in 

Anderson County, which are overlain unconformably by the Indio formation, began to 

form in very early Eocene time. Movements 

in some of them have continued until late 

Pleistocene time. 

· Many of the domes are buried beneath later 

formations, which lie unconfor:rpably upon 

lines that lie parallel to the- trend of the prominent structural features of the region. Their 

close relation to lines of faults and folds may 

be- .safely i~ferred, although such lines nre 

not exposed -at the surface. One theory 

assigns to them a volcanic origin, but no volcanic rocks have yet been discovered in association with them. Another nnd more likely 

theory ascribes them to ascent of hot, deepseated saline waters along fault planes and 

lines of structural weakness, resulting in the 
STRUCTURE. 131 

cooling of the waters and the precipitation of about 3,000 acres and 'has a somewhat regular 

t~e salt, which forces the surrounding strata oval outline. Its longer axis trends northupward. According to another theory, the eastward. (See fig.· 35.) 

domes represent det1whed m3:sses of ~alt The greater part of th~ hill is covered with 

flonted or extruded vertically upward along blue and red clay. Brown sandy clay and shal:r 

linP.R n.nd points of wenk.ness from n widespread clay appear at the surface. on the western slope. 

sheet of rock sftlt helow. 82 These beds probably belong to the Beaumont 

· The domes of the Coast Prairie nre usunlly clay, though they 1nay be older. Several 

regarded as favornble localities for obtaining small veins of sulphur, probably deposited by 

oil or gn.s, n.nd so~e of them serve as reservoir3 escaping gas, fill cavities in the sandy clay, and 

for tl~e accumulntio.n of pools of oil. sulphur in the form. of crystals is scattered 

The snit domes known in the area west of through the clay. The sandy cl.ay and the 

Brazos Hi ver include Dnmon Mound, Kiser inclosed sulphur is locally called "sour dirt." 

¥ound, and Bryan Heights, in Brazoria A \veil at Damon post office yields salty 

County; Big Creek Dome, in Fort Bend County; water. Wells on the southwestern edge of the 

Mnrkhan1 and Big Hill, in Matitgorda County; mound, near the old town of Damon, yield 

.Bo1ing Dome, in Wharton_ C~unty; Brenham fresh WJtter. 

Dome, in Washington County; Piedras Pintas A bed of soft grayish-white limestone is extwd Palangana. in Duval Cou~ty; Falfurrias posed on San Bernard River about 8 miles 

o Sea l.evet 

100 

200 

300 

400 

500 

600 

700 

800 

900 

H£RNOON W£LL 

__ .,_ 

S.77'E. 

um 

1,000 ..._ ____ ---!:, __________________ _J 

0 5,000 FEET 

FIGURE 36.-Section across Damon 1\found, Brazoria County, Tex. 

Dome; in Brooks County: and Sal Viejo, in 

Wi)ln.ey·County. 

DAMON :MOtTND.S3 

Damon Mound is on the A. Darst league, in 

the western part of Brazoria County, about 

11 miles northwest of Columbia. It rises 83 

fe.et' above the surrounding prairie) about 140 

feet above sea level) and is thus a conspicuous 

feu.tui·e in the local topography, being visible 

fol' a distn.nce of 15 miles -or more. It covers 

• Ps Van.der Orncht, W. A. I. ~f., Tho s:11ine domes of northwestern 

Enrop!J: Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists Bull., vol. 1, pp. 85-92,1917. 

Hogc~, G. S., Intrusive origin of the Gulf Coast salt domes: Econ. 

Gcolo~y, vol. 13, pp. 447-485, 1918. ' 

s• H~yes, C. W., and Kennedy, William, Oil fields of the TexasLouisiana Gulf Coastal Plain: U. S. Goo!. Survey Bull. 212, pp. 3.'>-42, 

19o.1. Hager, Loe, Tho mounds of the southern oil fields: Eng. and 

~fin. ~our., vol. 78, p. 138, 1904. Fcnneman, N. M., Oil fields of the 

Texa~~Loulsiana Gulf Coastal Plain: tJ. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 282, pp. 

89-91, 1906. Harris, G. D., Oil and gas in Louisiana with a brief summary 

of their occurrence in 'adjacent States: U. S. Gcol. Survey Bull. 429, 

p .. HI, 1910. DeuRsen, Alexander, Review of developments in the Gulf 

Coast country In 1917: Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists Bull., vol. 2, 

pp. :.!3-27, 1918. 

northwest of Damon Mound. This bed dips 

toward the mound at the rate of about 3~ feet 

to the mile. Limestone, probably of secondary 

.origin, was passed through in the Herndon weB 

at depths of 142 to 146 feet, in the Guffey 

well No. 1 at 644 to 663 feet, and in the well 

of the Damon Mound Oil & Pipe Line Co .. at 

260 to 330 feet. 

On the northwest side of the mound the dip 

of the secondary limestone is northwestward 

at the rate of about 950 feet to the n1ile. On 

the ·southeast side the dip is southeaS!tward. 

(See fig. 36.) 

At a variable distance below the li~estone 

the salt core is encountered. This core is over-

· lain in places by beds of sulphur ~nd gypsum. 

Ac·cording to Hayes and Kennedy, 84 the Herndon well struck salt at a depth of 573 feet and 

Bf Hayes, C. W., and Kennedy, William, Oil fields of the Texas-Louis· 

lana Gulf.Coastal Plain: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 212, p. 37, 1903. 
132 GEOLOG:Y OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

continued in that material to the bottom of the 

well, at a depth of 1,160 feet; well No. 1 of the 

J. M. Guffey Petroleum Co. failed to find salt, 

although the drill reached a depth of 1,097 

feet; and the well of the Damon Mound Oil & 

Pipe Line Co .. also failed to find salt down to a 

depth of 1,230 feet. 

Active exploration of the Damon Mound in· 

search of oil was resumed in 1915, after a lapse 

of 12 years. The Texas Exploration Co. (H. T. 

Staiti and others) completed Wisdom well No. 

1 in 1915. It is in the northeast corner of block 

5 of the B. H. Wisdom subdivision, near the 

foot of the mound, on its west side. At depths 

between 600 and 800 feet the drill struck a 

porous rock, which yielded at first about 1,200 

barrels of oil of a specific gravity of 40° Baume. 

The drill entered salt at 1,000 -feet and extended into it for 1,000 feet without reaching 

its lower limit. 

. The Texas Exploration Co.'s well No.2, Wis-

. dmn, a short distance southwest of No. 1, was 

abandoned as a dry hole at 986 feet. The company's well No. 1, Bryan, was apandoned at 

2,a60 feet. It is on the plain at the foot of the 

tnound, on the south side. In well No. 2, Mays, 

about 2,100 feet northeast of Guffey well No. 1, 

return water was lost at 600 feet. In well No. 1, 

Mays, a mile east of Guffey No.1, on top of the 

hill1 salt was entered at 594 feet. 

WEST COLUMBIA DOME.& 

West Col urn bin Dome is 3 miles northwest 

of 'Columbia, Brazoria County, just west of 

Brazos River and about 12 n1iles southeast of 

Damon. It is more or less irregular in outline 

and rises ao feet above the level of the surrounding country or 60 to 65 feet above the sea. 

The mn,terial covering the adjacent plain is a 

brown sand or snndy loam, probably mostly 

Recent alluvium. The surface of the hill contains much more clay. A minor fold is visible 

1tt the surface. 

Oil-bearing rock, probably limestone, was 

encountered in well No. 1 of the Equitable 

Mining Co. (~ee Pl. XXXVI) at a depth of 500 

feet. Some oil and gas were encountered below this depth, but ·nothing of con1n1ercial 

vnJue. ~L"'hc well wns drilled to tt depth of 680 

s~ Hayes, C. W., and Kennedy, William, op. cit., p. 125. Hager, Lee, 

op. cit., p. 138. Fonneman, N. M., op. cit., p. 88. Oil Investors Jour., 

February 18, 190i, p. &;.:March 5, 1907, p. 17; May 19, 1907, p. 3. Harris, 

G. D., op .. cit., p. 20: Barton, D. C., The West Columbia oil field, 

B.razorla County, 'l'ex.: Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists Bull., vol. .5, 

pp. 212-251, 1921. 

feet, the upper 498 feet of which represents the 

Beaumont clay and Lissie(~) gravel. 

In well No. 2 of the same company ·a highly 

porous limestone was taken from a depth of 

364 feet. Limestone alternating with sandstone and blue clay was found for s01ne distance below. Sulphur occurs at variou~ depths, 

generally in the form of small crystals. The 

well was sunk to a depth of 490 feet without 

striking salt. · 

In Arnold well No.3 of Sinclair and Crosby 

a little gas and oil were found but nothing of 

importance. The well reached a depth of 

1,214 feet. 

Oil in commercial quantity was found in this 

region late in 1917, when the Tyndall-Wyoming 

Oil & Development Co. completed a 200-barrel 

well. Since this time much oil has been produced from this locality, and in August, 1923, 

West Columbia was one of the most productive 

fields in the Gulf Coast district . 

BRYAN HEIGHTS.88 

The Bryan 'Heights dome is in Brazoria 

County, 3 1niles south of Velasco, n little more 

than a mile from the Gulf coast. It includes 

an area of 300 acres an~ rises 30 feet above tide 

or 19 feet above the surrounding plain. 

Seeps. of asphalt in small quantities have 

been known here for many years. Jetlike or 

asphaltic "sea wax" was frequently picked up 

on the shore many years before too Spindletop 

pool was discovered. 

. Seven wells were drilled before the autumn 

of 1904. One of these wells struck gas in la.rge 

volume, its initial production having been 

about 6,000,000 cubic feet. The chief constituent of the gas wns hydrogen sulphide. Several 

wells on the hill obtained flows of water 

between 450 and 500 feet. 

The formations passed through in drilling 

were largely clay, but sand, gravel, and limestone were found in places. A gypsiferous 

white marl . and a crystalline lin1estone of a 

yellow sugary appearnnce, similar to the 

Spindle top "cap rock" and soaked with oil, 

was also encountered. Sulphur is mentioned 

as· occurring at or below the oil horizon, nnd 

gypsum is said to have been found below that 

depth. 

The Home. well yields small quantities of a 

strong sulphur salt_ water from an unknown 

88 Hayes, C. W., and Kennedy, William, op. cit., p. 127. Fenneman, 

N. M., op. cit., p. 87. Harris, G. D., op. cit., p. 14. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

I 

24.3a. 

4 

9 

ZOa~ 

/2 

20a. 

IOacres 

2 

21.Z6a 

J 

32.34-a 

6 

31.65a. 

10 

ZOa. 

II 

ZOa. 

A- 18- B 

zae a. .34..Z6a. 

Leased byJ.S.flogg esrate 

154. 8acres 

Leased byJ.S.Hogg estate 

8J.7acres 

Leased byJ.S.Hogg estate 

147acres 

EXPLANATION 

• ?roducing well 

0 Location of well 

0 Well being drilled 

..(;-Dry hole 

.::{}-Na!u("al gas seep 

lOa. 

I 

5.8a. 

40.a. 

PROFESSIONAL PAPER 126 PLATE XXXVI 

Leased by 

J. S. Hogg estate 

193.97 acres 

VAR ER 

3 4-

5.8a. S.Ba. (I 

PAT 

6 5 

5a. 

IZ 

5a. 

13 

5a. 

500 0 500 1000 tSOO 

PLAC£" 

zooo 

25a 

H 

M.Williams 

IB·%a. 

MAP OF WEST COLUMBIA OIL FIELD, BRAZORIA COUNTY, TEXAS 
STRUCTURE. 133 

depth. Most of the water from wells on the 

hill is as fresh as frmn those of the surrounding 

plain. The artesian well at Velasco is 1,060 

feet deep, and the water is a.ccompanied by 

gas sufficient to burn at the mouth of the well. 

No oil in commercial quantities has thus far 

been found. The sulphur deposits are extensively worked by the Freeport Sulphur Co. 

MARKHAM DOME.s1 

The Markham dome is 6 miles northwest of 

Markham station, in Matagorda County. It 

is a. low, rounded hill that rises only a short 

distanc'e above the level of the surrounding 

plain. Its axis trends northeast. 

Oil was discovered by wells drilled in· this 

dome in June, 1908. Since then 66 or 1nore 

producing wells have been drilled. Oil was 

first found in !-3nndy strata in shale between 

1,306 and. 1,370 feet. Some of the wells reached 

a depth o.f 1,900 feet. The drilling reveals 

the presence o.f a ver.v thick clay cover above 

the secondary dome materials. · 

In the Hardy Oil Co.'s well No. 32 oil was 

found in "rock" from 1,262 to 1,293 feet. In 

well No. 28 of this company oil occurs in the 

same "rock" from 1,310 to 1,327 feet. This 

rock is probably the secondary limestone or 

"cap rock." 'fhe "gumbo" and shale immediately above the "cap rock" belong prob-· 

ably to the Lagarto formation. The "gumbo" 

and sand in the upper 300 or 400 feet belong 

probably to the B~aumont clay. 

In the Hardy Oil Co.'s well No. 32 th~ "cap 

rock" was struck at 1,293 feet; the shale and 

gumbo above bel~:mg to the ~~arto formation, 

except the uppermost 300 to 400 feet, which 

belongs to the Beaumont clay. Initial production of .oil, 1,000 barrels. 

In the Producers Oil Co. well No. 1 salt 

was struck at 2,923 feet and was drilled into 

to 3,003 fee.t. Crystallized gypsum was found 

just above the salt. 

BIG HILL.as 

Big Hill is in Matagorda County, a few miles 

fron1 the .mouth of Colorado River, about 5 

miles northeast of Matagorda village. It 

a1 Oil luvostors Jour., June 19, 1908, p. 1; July 6, 1908, p. 20; February 

61 1009, p. 22. Harris, G. D., Oil and gas in Louisiana, with a brief summary or their occurrence in adjacent States: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 

429, pp. 20-21, 1910. 

aa Hayes, C. W., and Kennedy, William, op. cit., p. 127. Oil Investors 

Jour., April15, l004, p. J; January 19, 1008, p. 12. Eng. arid Min. Jour .• 

July 28, 1904, p. 138. Fenneman, N. M., op. cit., pp. 63-67. Harris, 

0. D., op. cit., p. 21. 

111587-24--10 

lies 1 Inile inland from the shore of Matagorda 

Bay and rises ·36 feet above sea level and 12 to 

15 feet above the level of the surrounding 

plain. It is a well-defined symmetrical flattopped dome that embraces perhaps 100 acres 

at its highest level. The entire area of uplift, 

however, is several times that size. 

The first well drilled here, about 1902, 

encountered a 5,000,000-foot flow of gas, 

largely hydrogen sulphide, at a depth of 900 

feet. Considerable development work was 

done in 1903 ·and .1904, the production of oil 

in 1904 amounting to 80,591 barrels. In 

December of that year salt water invaded the 

:field, and in 1908 the production had declined 

to 2,000 barrels. 

The drillings show that the sedimentary beds 

above the oil consist chiefly· of clay but that 

4 ~ 

lis ~~ f-~ 

f- ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ \0~ \6~ 

• 12 • It •• 12 •• 70 r-- • 71 • 69 68 67 66 6S • 7t? 13 I~ r-- e • • • I • ~ es 

7.3 ISe 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 20 • r.-e 

.. rf.§_ • • 21. 17 

88 r-- 87 86 85 84- 83 82 81 

22 /8 

1- f--- • 19 11 23 r-- lo"- 1:::>'- 89 co Cl)<!> 

I::>'- ~n~~ ~~ 0)0) ~~ 1\:)'V ~~ 24 - ' .... .... .... 21 

o 5110 1000 ·- .~5,00 feet 

FIGURE 37.-Map of Big~ oil field, Matagorda County, Tex. 

they include sand and thin beds of "rock," 

limestone in some places and calcareous sandstone in others. Most of the beds carry pyrite, 

which is more abundant near the oil sand, 

generally just above it. 

At depths ranging from 844 to 1,035 feet 

the characteristic secondary limestone or "cap 

~ock" is encountered. Some specimens obtained are entirely crystalline limestone; others 

are highly porous or cavernous. In some 

wells the limestone is more than 100 feet thick. 

The. cavernous parts were saturated with oil; 

the denser parts were free from oil but cont.ained 

gas. 

Sulphur is reported from a number of wells 

at or near the horizon of the oil. It replaces 

portions of the limestone. 

In Lane well No. 1, block 71 (seQ fig. 37), 

the porous limestone or ((gas rock" was found 
134 GEOLOGY OF 1'HB COASTAL PLAIN OF TEXAS WEST OF BRAZOS RIVER. 

at 1,035 feet. It contained a large quantity Five or six wells have. been drilled since the 

of sulphur. ·Beneath the limestone the drill date of this discovery, which have succeeded 

struck a marl, which it penetrated to a depth in outlining fairly well the limits of the dome. 

Of 1,360 feet. BOLING DOME. 

The ''cap rock" or limestone was struck at The Boling dome is on the Stephen F. Austin 

the following depths in the different wells: league, on San Bernard River, near the station 

Dean, block 12, west side, 844 feet; Griffith 2, of Boling, about 14 miles east of Wharton, in 

block 16, 850 feet; Griffith 1, block 14, 852 feet; Wharton County. 

Lane 2, block 71, 856 feet; Higgins, block 52, This dome was discovered in August, 1923, 

865 feet; Johnson, block 71, south.part, 870 when the Gulf Production Co. drilled its No.1 

feet; Santa Fe 2, block 76, 855 feet; and Lane M. L. Co. well into cap rock, cmitaining oil, 

1, block 78, 1,035 feet. at about 500 feet. 

The depths indicate that the part of the Miss Laura Lee Lane gives a report on a samlimestone explored has the form of a half · pie from a depth of 300 to 360 feet in this well 

dome, the highest part of which is at the middle as follows: / 

of the west side of the field. (See fig. 38.) FEET 

100 DEAN WELL 

o Sea leYet 

100 

200 

300 

400 

500 

600 

700 

800 

9.00 

1.000 

1,100 

I,ZOO 

1,300 

0 

JOHNSON WELL LAN£ No.I 

SANTA F£ N0.2 5.68'E. 

500 1.000 1,500 . 2,000 FEET 

Green calcareous clay streaked with white lime. 

Vilashed material contains gray sand ranging from fine to 

fairly c~arse; clear quartz predominating, but 2 per cent 

varicolored (smoky, yellow, and green); 3 per cent 

pyrite and chalcopyrite (nodular and crystalline form); 

fragments of white lime nodules, sandstone.. clay, shells, 

and crystals of calcite and aragonite. A fauna of reworked 

· foraminifera abundant, including Trochammina, Globigerina, Textularia, AnomaUna, and Rhabdamminaf sp. 

Considering the lithologic and faunal evidence, the age 

of the material is obviously Fleming. 

It is worthy of note that Lagarto (Fleming) 

beds at a depth of 300 feet at this locality indicate domal or structural conditions. 

BRENHAM DOllE. 

FIGURE 38.-Sectiou from northwest to southeast across Big Hill/ 

Matagorda County, Tex. 

The Brenham dome is near the south line 

of the Samuel L. Williams ·league, about midway between Mill Creek and Williams Creek, 

close to the boundary line of Austin .and 

Washington counties, about 7! miles southwest of Brenham. 

Its dip toward the northeast is at least 26 feet· 

in the 500 feet between the Lane well and the: 

· Johnson well. The corresponding dip to the 

southeast is 28 feet to the southern border of 

the field, 2,000 feet distant. The dip along 

the eastern edge of the mound is very steep. 

The limestone probably occupies an area but 

little greater than that of the surficial hill. 

BIG CREEK DOME,BP 

The Big Creek dome is in Fort Bend County, 

on the Wheat ranch, 8 miles south of Richmond. It was discovered in April, 1922, when 

the Gulf Production Co. drilled its No. 1 Wheat 

into cap rock at 600 feet and into rock salt at 

715 feet. 

a9 Pratt, W. E., A new Gulf Coast salt dome: Am. Assoc. Petroleum 

Geologists Bull., vol. 6, pp. · 252-254, 1922; Deussen, Alexander, Oil 

. development in Gull Coast fields. during 19~2: Am. Inst. Min. Eng. 

Trans.,No. 1241-P, pp. 26-28; 1923. 

Small quantities of oil had been observed in 

water wells for many years, and these observations led to the drilling of the original well in 

1915. So far no oil in commercial quantity 

has been found. The Brenham Oil Co's. well 

No. 2, .Schuerenberg, 600 feet southwest of the 

first well, pumps 8 to 10 barrels a day of 

dark-green oil testing 40° Baume. This well 

is 1,352 feet deep. The drill stopped in 15 

feet of ''pay" sand of fine texture and white 

color. 

This dome is on the Washington prairies 

and is apparently marked at the surface by the 

arrangement of the local drainageways. 

The surface in its vicinity is rolling. The 

surface formation here is the Lagarto clay. 

Below this clay lie the Oakville, .Fayette, and 

Y egua formations. 
STRUCTURE. 135 

In the Brenham Oil Co.'s well No. 1, 

Schuerenberg, Cook Mountain fossils (see p. 

64) were found between 1,27 5 and 1,360 feet 

(probably at 1,320 feet), indicating that the 

upper part of the Cook Mountain formation 

was entered. In the Gulf Production Co.'s 

well No. 1, Thielman, greensand marl of the 

Cook Mountain formation was struck at 1,600 

feet, and in this niarl Pleurotoma reticulata and 

Pleurotoma biconica (identified by C. L. Baker) 

were found. In the Brenham Oil & Gas Co.'s 

well No. 4, Schuerenberg, anhydrite was struck 

at 1,124 feet and drilled into to 1,383 feet. 

'!'his same material was encountered also in the 

Gulf Production Co.'s well No.1, Schuerenberg. 

Here a salt core has evidently uplifted the 

Cook Mountain beds. The anhydrite lies on 

top of the salt core and may send out tongues 

that penetrate the adjacent formations. The 

oil appears to lie in sandstone that abuts 

against or stands close to the core and that 

has been tilted and probably fractured by the 

intrusion. 

Gas was found in the Gulf Production Co.'s 

well on the Thielman tru,ct, and some distance 

below it strong sulphur water was struck. 

The limits of the salt core have not yet 

been defined to the west or southwest. 

This dome is on a line with the Steen dome, 

east of Lindale, and the Brooks dome, west 

of Bullard, in Smith County; with the Keechi 

dome, northwest of Palestine, and the AnderRon dome, west of Palestine, in Anderson 

County; and with the Butler dome, southeast 

of Butler, in Freestone County. This line 

parallels the Balcones fault. 

PIEDRAS PINT AS (NOLEDA) DOME. 

There is a dome at Piedras Pintas, about 2 

miles northeast of Benavides, in Duval County, 

represented at the surface by a sublevel plain 

drained by Piedras Pintas Creek. The surface 

formation there is the Reynosa. The center 

of the dome is marked by an outcrop of blue 

quartzitic sandstone, which is exposed in a 

quarry about a mile north of the railway 

station. The sandstone contains 92.14 per 

cent of silica, 1.52 per cent of lime, 1.07 per 

cent of alumina, ·and 2.89 per cent of iron 

oxide. It resembles the Fayette sandstone 

but may belong to the Oakville. · 

The first well drilled here, in 1907, found a 

small quantity of oil. Several wells have been 

drilled since then, but none of them has found 

oil in large quantity. The wells are about 

550 feet deep. Their logs show mostly clay 

and shale above the oil rock, which is apparently a secondary litP-estone or typical "cap 

rock." Pyrite occurs not far above the oil rock; 

below it gypsum and hard rock are reported. 

Peters well No. 1" was drilled to a depth of 

2, 791 feet about a mile southeast of the shallow well district. It encountered no gypsum, 

salt, or "cap rock," though it found some oil. 

This locality is apparently off the dome, which 

lies to the northwest, ·but the showings of oil 

would seem to indicate that the beds abut 

against the salt nucleus at a fairly high angle. 

PALANGANA DOME.oo 

The Palangana dome is in Duval County, () 

miles north of Benavides and 4 miles northnorthwest of Piedras Pintas dome. 

This dome was discovered in 1919, wP,en the 

Sinclair Oil & Gas Co. drilled into rock salt at a 

depth of 845 feet in its well No. 1, Schallert. 

Since this discovery several additional wells, 

which have been drilled, have defined to a certain extent the limits of the salt. Thus far no 

oil in commercial quantity has been found in 

·association with this dome. 

FALFURRIAS DOME. 

The Falfurrias dome is on the Lasseter 

ranch, south of Falfurrias, at Laguna Salada, 

in Brooks County. Gypsum crops out at the 

surface. Wells drilled here entered gypsum 

a short distance below the surface and con..: 

tinued in it for 600 or 700 feet. No oil was. 

found. 

90 Barton, D. C., Tho Palangana salt dome, Duval County, Tex.: 

Econ. Geology, vol. Hi, pp. 497-510, 1920. 
I 
INDEX. 

A. Page. 

Acknowledgments for aid .•................ :..................... 1 

Allee, log of well southeast or.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . no Allee Plain, description of........................................ 7 

Alice terrace, features or............... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 

Alllgator Head, fossils from well near ............ .,................. 112 

Anacncho limestone, description of............................... 35 

exposures of ................. :. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 

Auacaeho Mountains, features of................................. 13 

Analyses of Austin chalk......................................... 25 

chalcedony................................................... 122 

clt'Y and concretions from tho Midway formation............. 45 

marl in tho Frio clay.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 

river waters.................................................. 18 

shale from tho l<~scondido formation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 

'rllylor marl... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . • . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 

volcanic rock................................................. 120 

Anticlines, occurrence nnd orij!in of ............................. 127-129 

plates showing ................................ :.............. 124 

Austin chalk, description of ...................................... 24-26 

exposures of, plates showing.................................. 28 

fossils of, plato showing....................................... 29 

sections of....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-31 

II. 

Balcouos fault ~ono, description of. ............................. 123-124 

Balconos scarp, features of ........................................ 12-13 

Beach sand, features of........................................... 113 

Beaumont clay, description of.. ................................ 110-111 

details or occurrence of ..................................... 111-113 

oxpostiro of, plato showing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 

Beaumont terraco, features of........................................................ 5 

JJorry, Edward W., fossils determined by........................ 77 

nlg Crook dome, description of................................... 134 

Dig mu, description of ........................................ 133-134 

Boling dome, description of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 

Bordas escarpment, plate showing............................... 12 

Bottoms, description of ... : ...................................... 14-15 

second, description of........................................ 14 

.Brazos River, analysis of water of................................ 18 

features or. .......................... ;... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 

floods on..................................................... 18 

profile of, plato showing...................................... . 12 

slit measurements on ........................................• 16-17 

terraces on ................................................. 114-115 

profile showing.......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . In pocket. 

Brenham dome, description of.. ................................ 1~135 

Bryan,log or well at............................................. 67 

Bryan Heights, description of .................................. 132-133 

"Buckshot lands." See Bottoms. 

c. 

Carpenter, William, fossils determined by........................ 108 

Carrizo Plain, description of...................................... 11 

Carrizo sandstone, description of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56-58 

exposures of, plates showing ................................. 52,53 

sections of... • . . . • . . . • . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58-59 

Catahoula sandstone, description of .. :. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . 95 

exposures or, plates showing ......... ·......................... 100 

sections of....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9r.-96 

Chalcedony, analyses of.......................................... 122 

occurrence or veins or. ...................................... 121-122 

Chapparal of tho Rio Grande plain, plate showing .............. :. 12 

Chusas Hills, plate showing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 

Ciniborno group, formations of............................. . . . . . . . 60-80 

Coast margin of the area, features of.. ........................ ,.... ~-

Page. 

Coast Prairie, description of..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-7 

Colorado River, analysis of water of.,............................ 18 

features or.................................................... 18 

tcrraceson ................................................. 11S-116 

plates showing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116, in pocket. 

Cook Mountain formation, description of ......................... 64-66 

fossils of, plato showing....................................... 7f\ 

sections or .................................................... 116-'7:; 

Cook Mountain Plain, description of .......................... ."... 10 

Cooke, C. W., fossils determined by .................. 68,69, 70, 71, 73, RS 

Cope, E. D., fossils determined by................................ 11) 

C'orln.da deusseni Gardner, n. sp., description of. .................• 65-M 

Cretaceous system, formations of. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:J-4.0 

formations or, exposed on Colorado River, columnar !;ection 

. of...................... . . • . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . In pocket. 

Crystal City, 1og of well near.................................................... rm 

D. 

Damon Mound, description of .................................. 131-132 

Difficulties of geologic work in the region ........................ . 

Dike, chalcedony, plate showing................................. 12.'> 

Dips orthe formations .......................................... 122-123 

Domes. See Mounds. 

Drainage, gencralfeatures of.. ........... : ........................ l.'i-1~ 

Dumble, E. T., cited ....................................... li7,80,82,8:i 

Dunes. See Snnd dnnes. 

E. 

Eagle Ford shale, description or.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:1-24 

exposure of, plate showing ............. ·. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 

Edna, log of well near............................................ 109 

Elgin Prairies, description of.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. .. . 11 

Eocene series, formations of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40-95 

Equus, molar of, plate showing................................... 100 

Escondido formation, description of ........................... : .. 38-39 

exposures of, on Nueces River, plates showiJJg... .. . . . . . . . . . . . 36 

fossils or, plate showing....................................... ·as 

sections of.......... . . .. . .. . . . . . . .. .. . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. .. .. . . . 39-40 

1<'. 

Falfurrias dome, description of................................... 135 

Fant City, log of well at ...................•...................... 93-94 

Faults, occurrence and featmes of .............................. 123-124 

Fayette sandstone, description of..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 

exposures of, plates showing....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 77 

sections of .................................................... 84-91 

Flood plains. See Bottoms. 

Fluviatile deposits, nature and occurrence of..................... 113 

Form of ihe land.............. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3 

Fossils. See the severalformatirms. 

Fowlerton, log of well at .......................................... J3-75 

Frio clay, description of .......................................... 91-92 

exposures of, plates showing ................................. 77, 100_., 

sections of... • . • . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92-95 

Frio Plain, description of......................................... 9-10 

G. 

Gardner, Julia, cited .•..•.........•.............................. 65-66 

Gas pools, relation of, to structuralfeatures. 126,127,129,131,132, I3a, 135 

Gas well on Nueces Bay, plate showing.......................... 12 

Gidley, J. W., cited.............................................. 98 

Guadalupe River, features of..................................... 19 

terraces on. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 

proftle showing ............ ,......................... In pocket. 

Gulf series, formations of ......................................... 23-40 

187 
-188 INDEX. 

H. Page. 

Harris, G. D., fossils determined by.............................. 67 

Hay, 0. P.; fossils determined by................................ 114 

"Hog wallows," origin and occurrence of......................... 7 

I. 

Igneous rocks, nature anq distribution of ....................... 11~-121 

Indio formation, description of .................................. : 47 

exposures of, plates showing.................................. 52 

sections of .................................................... 47-56 

Indio Plain, description of......................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 

Industries of the area ........................................ 7-11, 12, 14 

· Islands of the coast, features of. ............................. ·..... 3-4 

K. 

Karnes City, log of well south of ......................... · ........ 88-89 

Kennedy, William, cited ............................... ' .......... 82-83 

Knobs, igneous, features of ....................... ''........... . . . 13 

Koerth Plain, description of ........................... ' ....... '.. 8 

L. 

l~a Salle uplift, description of.. .............................. · ... 126-127 

Laccolith, basalt, plate showing.................................. 125 

J.Jagarto clay, description of ......................... · ........... 100-101 

sections of ........................................... "'.~ ... 101-102 

r~ake Austin, sediment deposited in ........................ ·...... 17 

Lane, Laura Lee, cited........ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 134 

La para sand, description of. ..................... ~. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 

exposure of, plate showing.................................... 100 

Larsen,E.S.,jr.,cited ........................................... 120 

Lissie gravel, description of.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 

details of the beds of ....................................... 108-110 

Lissie Prairie description of.. ............... ,.................... 7 

Little River, terraces on ............ .' ........................... 116-117 

terraces on, profile showing .............................. In pocket. 

Location of the area.............................................. 1 

Lomo Alto hill, plate showing.................................... 12 

Loughridge, R. H., cited......................................... 82 · 

[,oling-Mexia fanlt system, description of .. , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 

M. 

Magnolia Colony, log of well drilled for ....... ~ ...... :............ 110 

Map, geologic, of the area ................................... In pocket. 

of West Columbia oU field.................................... 132 

Markham dome, description of ................... ; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 

Matthew, W. D., fossils determined by........................... 97 

Maxwell, log of well at ................. · .......................... 37-38 

Midway formation, description of .•.• : .• : .... : ............ : .....• 40-41 

fossils of, pJate showing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 

sections of ....•...............•.............................. 41-46 

Minerals ofthe Coast Prairie. . . .. . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 7 

Miocene series, formation of .................................... 97-100 

. Mottes, occurrence of ................................... ,......... 4 

Mounds, occurrence of........... . . . . . . .. .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 6 

Mount Inge, plate showing....................................... 12 

Motmt Selman formation, description of .... _. ............. ~....... 60 

exposures of, plates showing. . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . 53 

sections of ............................................. ~ .· .... 60-64 

Mount Selman Plain, description of ......................... .-.... 10-11 

Muldoon, log otwell at.. ......................................... 86-87 

N. 

Nagle, J. C., cited ................................................ 16-17 

Navarro formation, description of .................... ·............ 36 

' fossils of, plate showing...................................... 36 

sections of. . . . . . . . .. .. .. .. .. . .. . .. . . . . . . .. . . .. .. . . . . . . . . . .. .. 36-38 

Navidad River, features of....................................... 19 

Nueces River, features of.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 

Holland dam on, plate showing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • 76 

terraces on ................................................. 117-119 

profile showing .......................................... Tn pocket. 

0. 

Oakville, log of well north of ..................................... 93-94 

Oakville escarpment, proposal of name........................... 9 

Oakville Plain, description of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 

Page. 

Oakville sandstone, description of....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Q7 

exposures of, plates showing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 

fragment of jawbone of rhinoceros from, plate showing....... 100 

sections of .........••...•••••...•..••••.•••••.••....•........ 97-99 

011 pools, relation of, to structural features...................... 126 

127 I 1291 1311 1321 1331 1341 135 

Oligocene series, formation of. .....•.............................. 95-96 

Olivia, log of well near. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 

Owen, J., cited................................................... 56 

P. 

Palacios, log of well west of ........................ , ........... ·... 111 

Palangana dome, description of ............................ · .... : . 135 

Paleontology. See the several formations. 

Peninsulas of the coast, features of ................. : . . :. . . . . . . .. . 3-4 

Penrose, R. A. F., cited ..•.....•...•......................... · ..... 47,~0 

Piedras Pintas domQo,.descriptlon of ...... :. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 

'Pilot Knob, ancient eruption at.................................. 120 

"Pimples," origin and occurrence or ........................ _, •. :.. 6-7 

Pleistocene series, formations of ..............•................ : 108-113 

_Pliocene series, formations of ............................... : ... : 100-108 

Q. 

Quaternary system, formations of ............ : . .... · ............ 108-119 

formations of, exposed on Colorado River, columnar section 

of. .............................................. In pocket. 

R, 

Realitos terrace, features of .......................... · .... · ... , .... . 

Recent series, deposits of ....................................... 113-114 

Reynosa formation, description of.. ............ · ................ 102-103 

exposures of, plates showing ............ " .............. , .... 100,101 

sections of ................................ ·.;· ................ 103-105 

(upstream facies), description of ............................ 105-106 

details of occurrence of ................................. 106-108 

Reynosa Plain, description of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 

Rio Grande, analysis of water of..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ·IS 

features of ........................................ :............ 18 

B. 

Salt domes, descriptions of ................................... ~. 131-135 

general features or. ......................................... 129-131 

·san Antonio Prairie. See Cook Mountain Plain. · • 

San Bernard River, features of .............................. .'.... 19 

Sand dunes, features of ....................................... 4, 113-114 

Sand hills, features of. ................. ~ ...... : .............. 4,Ua:-U4 

Schertz, log of railroad well at .................... : . ............. : 30 

Section, tabular, of the formations exposed ...•............ ~ ...... 2o-22 

tabular, of the formations penetrated by wells ....... ~. . . . . . . . 22-23 

·"Shell land." See Bottoms, second. 

·shumard, B. F., cited............................................ 98 

·sut, quantities of, carried by rivers ..... : ....................... :. 16.:.18 

·stream terrace deposits, nature and occurrence of ............... · _1 14-119 

·streams, minor, features of .............................. :· .. :.... 19 

Strikes ofthe formations .................. : .................... 122-123 

Structure ofthe area ................................. : ... 19-20, ~22-135 

T. 

:Taylor, T. U., cited ...................................... .' .... :.· · ·t7· 

Taylor marl, description of ................................•. ·..... 31.:.:.33 

exposure of, plate showing. . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . '12 

fossils of, plate showing...................................... 36 

sections of.. • • • .. .. . . .. .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . 33-35 

Taylor Prairies, description of .................................... 11-12 

Terraces, gravel-covered, description of, .•..................... ,.. 13 

seaward-facing, nature of ...• -· ....................... ·. . . . .. . . 4 

profiles along railroads showing.. . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . • . . • • . •.• 4 

stream, nature and occurrence of .. • ......... , ............... 114-119 

on Colorado River, plate showing........................ 116 

profiles across rivers showing ......................... In pQCket. 

. Tertiary system, formations of ....•...•........ , ......••••.•• -~. 40-108 

formations of, exposed on Colorado River, columnar section of ............................................. In pocket. 

.Tilden, log of well northeast of......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . 79 

Torrecillas Plain, features of .............. : ......... · ..... : . .. :. • .. .. 5-6 

Torreclllas uplift, description of .............................. · .. 124-i26 

Trowbridge, A. C., cited .............. .-............................ 105 

. .. 
INDEX. 139 

U. Page. 

Upland belts, descriptions of..................................... 6-12 

Uplifts, descriptions ot ......................................... 124-127 

Uvalde, laccolith southwest of.................................... 121· 

Uvnlde formation. See Reynosa formation (upstream facies). 

Uvalde Plain, description of ........•...................... ~..... 8 

Uvalde terrace, occurrence of ....................... 1~5, 116,117,118-119 

v. 

Valleys, goneralfeaturcs of....................................... 13 

Vaughan, T. W., cited........................................... 57 

rosslls determlned by ......................... 66,68,69, 70, 71, 73,112 

Veatch, A. C., cited.............................................. 83 

Victoria, log of well north or...................................... 109 

w. w nshlngton Prairies, description or. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9 

plate showing ............................... ;................ 12 

·a 

Page. 

Wellborn Plain, description of................................... 10 

West Columbia dome, description of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lii2 

West Columbia oil field, map of.................................. 132 

White Rock Prairies, description of.............................. 12 

White Rock scarp, features of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 

Wilcox group, formations of................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46-59 

fossil leaves common in, plate showing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 

invertebmte fosslls of, plate showing......................... 37 

Y. 

Yegua formation, description or.................................. 7/'i 

exposures of, plates showing.................................. 76 

fossil leaves or, plato showing................................. 76 

sections of.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76-80 

Yegua Prairie, description or..................................... 10 

0 

0