UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OP THE INTERIOR 

Harold L. Ickes, Secretary

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

W. C. Mendenhall, Director

Water-Supply Paper 656

GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF 

WESTERN TENNESSEE

BY

FRANCIS ^.

WITH A

CHEMICAL 

FRANCIS G. WELLS and

Prepared in cooperation with 

TENNESSEE DIVISION OF

UNITED STATES

GOVERNMENT PRINTmG OFFICE 

WASHINGTON : 1933

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D.C. - Price 60 cents (Paper cover)

CONTENTS

Page

Abstract._ ______________________________-__--___-___------------- 1

Introduction ______________-_____-_-_____-_------_--_--_---------- 2

Purpose and scope of mvestigation______________________-______- 2'

Location of area____________-----____-_-----__--_-_-----_-_--- 3

Previous investigations________________________________________ 3-

Acknowledgments. _--_________--_-___-_-__-__-___-_-_-_-_-_--- 3-

Geologic and hydrologic maps__________________________________ 4

Geography ____________-_______-__-_-_-__-___---__-----_--_-___-__ 6

Surface features.______________________________________________ 6

Physiographic position__-_____________-_-__________________ 6

Surface forms_.-__-_-_____----____-___-_-__-__-_-_-__-__-_- 7

Residual ridge_-_--__-__--___-_-_-________-____-_____- 7

Tennessee-Mississippi divide____________________________ 7

Hills of erosion________________________________-_____. 7

Alluvial region_-_____-________________________________ 7

Drainage.___________________________________________________ 8

Development.________________________________________________ 8

Agriculture and lumbering.________________________________ 9

Industries._______________________________________________ 9

Routes of communication._________________________________ 9

Resources _-_________________-________________________________' 10

Minerals-________________________________________________ 10

Timber._.____________.__________________ 11

Climate.' -_________-__-._-_______-_-____ ________________^_____ 11

: Ramfall______._...._________________________ 11

Temperature.____--___-_---_____-_____^_____________.____ 16

Geology__________________________________________________________ 16

Summary of stratigraphy._____________________________________ 16

Historical geology_________---____-___________________-____ 22

Paleozoic time____________________________________________ 22

Cretaceous time______________________________,:____________ 23

Eocene time_____---______________________________________ 23

Eocene to Recent time_.___________________________________ 24

Geologic structure.____________________________________________ 25

Folding of Paleozoic rocks________________________________ 25

Regional dip of Cretaceous and Tertiary formations___________ 26

Surface warping_________________________________________ 29

Slumping. ________________________________________________ 29

Ground water.___________________________________________________ 30

Source and occurrence._______________________________________ 30

Water in the consolidated Paleozoic rocks._______________________ 30

Openings in solid rocks____________________________________ 30

Water in limestones______________i_________________________ 32

Water in shales_--_______________L_-----__--_---______--_- 32

Water in cherts____-_____________L----------_-----------_- 33

HI
IV CONTENTS

Ground water Continued. Page 

Water in the relatively unconsolidated Cretaceous, Tertiary, and

Quaternary deposits________________________.________________ 33

Porosity. ____________________________-________ 33

Specific yield and specific retention_______-_-________________ 36

Permeability _____________________________________________ 37

Mechanical analysis.______________________________________ 38

Problems of sampling______________________________________ 39

Relation of ground water to land forms__________________________ 40

Relation of ground water to geologic structure.___________________ 41

Artesian conditions__________________________________________ 42

Quality of ground water, by F. G. Wells and M. D. Foster__________ 43

Chemical character of natural waters________________________ 43

Expression of results______________________.____________,___ 49

Removal of iron and carbon dioxide.________________________ 49

Utilization. __________________________________________________ 50

Dug wells_____________________-___---__-_-_________ 50

Wells bored with augers____________________________________ 51

Punched wells________________________-.-_-_______________ 52

Wells sunk by means of bailers________ ________ _________ 52

Wells sunk by jetting process___________----_-______________ 53

Driven wells_______________________________ __________ 53

Wells sunk by hydraulic rotary process.___________________ 53

Screens._____________________________________________ 54

Ground-water developments___________-__--_-______________ 57

Water-bearing formations._________________________________________ 58

Paleozoic rocks.______________________________________________ 59

Ordovician system___________________.____________________ 59

Hermitage formation_____________-_----_--____________ 59

Arnheim limestone______________________________ 59

Fernvale formation___________________________ _ 60

Silurian system.___________________----_ _______ 60

Brassfield limestone______--____--___------_-__________ 60

Wayne formation__________________---______________ 60

Osgood earthy limestone member___________________ 61

Laurel limestone member____ --_-___________ _ 61

Waldron clay member____ ___- __ ____ 61

Lego limestone member____-_----___--_---______-_- 61

Dixon earthy limestone member____________________ 61

Brownsport fonnation__________----__-_---_--__-_---_- 61

Beach River shaly limestone member _______ __ _____ 62

Bob crystalline limestone member-__________________ 62

Lobelville shaly limestone member __________________ 62

Decatur limestone.__________________________________ 62

Quality of water in limestones____________-___________-_ 62

Devonian system________________________________________ 63

Rockhouse shale__________--____-------------__--_--_- 63

Olive Hill formation_________-------_--_-_----_---__ 64

Ross limestone member--_-_-----------_--_____---_ 64

Bear Branch limestone member_--___-_-__-_________ 64

Flat Gap limestone member_-_____-________._______ 64

Birdsong shale_-_____________--_____---------_ ______ 64

Decaturville chert____________________________ 64
CONTENTS

Water-bearing formations Continued. 

Paleozoic rocks Continued.

Devonian system Continued.

Quail limestone___________________________-__-_--_-_-- 65

Harriman chert_______________________________-------- 65

Camden chert__________-_______-_____-_-_____-----__- 65

Pegram limestone____________________________________- 67

Devonian or Carboniferous system._________________________ 67

Chattanooga shale_____________________-_______-_-___- 67

Carboniferous system__-___________________--____-__----__- 67

Ridgetop shale______________________________________ 67

Fort Payne chert___________________________ 68

St. Louis limestone_-__________________________--_____- 69

Mesozoic rocks________-_----___-___---_____--_-___-_-__--_--- 69

Cretaceous system__________________________-______----__- 69

Tuscaloosa formation__________________________________ 69

Eutaw formation__-____________________________--___-_ 70

Selma clay___------_-_---_--_--_------_---_-------__- 75

Ripley formation___-_________________________________- 76

Cenozoic rocks______________________________________________ 86

Tertiary system__-_-----_______-_______-____-________--___ 86

Eocene series____--_-_-_____--_i__________-__-_--____- 86

Midway group____________________________________ 86

Cl&yton formation____________________________ 87

Porters Creek clay_____________________---____ 88

Wilcox group__--____________-__________-____--___ 89

Ackerman formation_________________________ 89

Holly Springs sand____________________________ 91

Grenada formation.__________________:________ 94

Physical properties of sands.___________________ 95

Water-yielding properties______________________ 105

Quality of water_____-___-___________________- 106

Jackson formation_________________________________ 106

Pliocene series_____-_____________________________-____ 108

Gravel-_-____-__________-________.___________. 108

Quaternary system_______________________________________. Ill

Pleistocene series._____________________________________ 111

Loess____________________________________________ 111

Loam__j_______________________________________ 111

Recent series_________________________________________ 112

Alluvium. _______________________________________ 112

Ground-water resources by counties_________________________________ 113

Benton County _______________________________________________ 113

Carroll County_________________________________________ 120

Chester County________________________________________ 130

Crockett County_____________________________________________ 134

Decatur County________________________________________________ 139

Dyer County._________________________________________________ 147

Fayette County_______________________________________ 154

Gibson County.__"______________________.___________________ 159

Hardeman County____________________________________________ 167

Hardin County.________________________________________ 175

Hay wood County ______________________________________________ 184

Henderson County ____________________________________________ 192
VI CONTENTS

Ground-water resources by counties Continued. Page

Henry County..._--_______________.__.___.__._ _____ 199

Lake County _________________________________________________ 206

Lauderdale County__________________________________________ 210

Madison County._____________________________________________ 220

McNairy County_______________________________________ 228

Obion County._________________________________________ 233

Shelby County__________________________________________ 244

Tipton County._-_-_-__________________-__-_-_-____----__ 254

Weakley County._____________________________________ 260

Memphis ____________________________________________________ 267

History of artesian water development_______________________ 268

Private well supplies. ________________^___-_-_-_____---____ 272

Geologic formations__________________________________---__ 279

Quality of water__________________________________________ 284

Head of ground water_____________________________________ 288

Seasonal fluctuation of head in wells.____________________ 288

Original static level__________________________________ 295

Quantity of water_________________-____________________-_- 295

Pumpage____________________--___-_-_-_--__ _ 295

Relation of pumpage to regional drawdown_____________ 299

Factors that determine the quantity of ground water

available ---_______--____-_______-_---__._--------- 305

Thickness and character of the upper and middle Wilcox. 305

Permeability. ______________________-______------- 305

Hydraulic gradient______________-_-_____---_--___ 308

Ackerman formation___---_____-___ _____-________-__-- 309

Relation of Mississippi River to water in Wilcox group-------- 310

Index________________________________ _______________________ 313

ILLUSTRATIONS

Page 

PLATE 1. Geologic map of western Tennessee_-_-_--__-______----_ In pocket«

2. Map of western Tennessee showing location of wells in

regard to which information is given in the tables ________ In pocket.

3. Index map of Tennessee___-_-__-___--_,--------_---------_- 8

4. A, Early stages of erosion, Carroll County; B, Advanced stages 

of erosion, Hardeman County; C, Erosion of a clay lens, 

Weakley County____-_-_-_-_-_--____-_------__-_------- 8

5. East-west sections across western Tennessee, southeastern

Missouri, and northeastern Arkansas_____----__----------- 16

6. A, Clay conglomerate in Holly Springs sand between Bolivar and 

Hornsby, Hardeman County; B, Porters Creek clay west of 

Hornsby, Hardeman County.-.-------------------------. 24

7. A, Boring rig showing tripod and type of auger in use throughout 

western Tennessee; B, Punching rig used in western Tennessee; 

C, Close view of punch_________-__-______---___-___ __ 24

8. A, Gravel pit in Camden chert, Camden; B, Close view of chert,

showing its angular fragmental nature_____________________ 64

9. A, Burden sand pit at Saulsbury, Hardeman County; B, Wade

pit No. 4, 3% miles northwest of Wittock, Henry County____ 104
CONTENTS VII

Page

PLATE 10. Loess and Pliocene gravel and sand in railroad cut 1 mile east of

Brunswick, Shelby County.____________________________ 104

11. Map of Memphis, showing location of wells__--_-------- In pocket.

12. Sections through Memphis.___________-___--_---_----_-- 280

13. Map showing areas of equal alkalinity in Memphis-__________ 296

14. Altitude of water level in Auction Avenue "wet well," Central 

Avenue well, and well C-50; pumpage of Memphis Artesian 

Water Department from Wilcox group; altitude of Mississippi 

River at Memphis; and rainfall at Bolivar._______________ 296

15. Monthly average altitude of water level in Auction Avenue 

"wet well" and Central Avenue well, monthly average of the 

daily pumpage of Memphis Artesian Water Department from 

Wilcox group, average altitude of Mississippi River, and total 

monthly rainfall at Bolivar, May, 1927, to March, 1931 _ _ . 296

16. Rate of rise of water level in wells,C-4, C-ll, C-17, C-23, and 

C-37, on cessation of pumping from Wilcox group by Memphis 

Artesian Water Department, March 7-8, 1931... _ _ . _ 296 

FIGURE 1. Index map of western Tennessee showing sources from which

the geologic map was compiled.---.--------------------- 4

2. Map of western Tennessee showing stations at which observations are made for the United States Weather Bureau and 

mean annual precipitation--------.------------.-----.-- 11

3. Maximum, average, and minimum monthly precipitation

at Memphis, 1870-1927.._-.-._-_-__---------__ 12

4. Annual precipitation at Memphis, 1872-1930--------------- 12

5. Diagrammatic section showing perched water tables in western

Tennessee. ______-_-__-__l_-_-_-_-_-_----_--__---.._--- 41

6. Artesian flow caused by local clay lens.______-__-___--_-__- 42

7. Sand bucket-----_--__-_-___-_-__-__-___________________ 53

8. Analyses of water from the Ripley formation........________ 86

9. Diagrammatic section of the north end of the east side of big 

cut on the Gulf, Mobile & Northern Railroad near Pine Top, 

Hardeman County.____________________________________ 92

10. Analyses of water from the Wilcox group, Jackson formation,

and Pliocene gravel__---__--__-_--__--_-------_--__---- 110

11. Log of well C-25 of Memphis Artesian Water Department-___ 280

12. Rise of water level in Auction Avenue "wet well" with rise in 

the Mississippi River and increase in pumping from the 

Wilcox group____-___________--____-_____________ 292

13. Rate of rise of water level after shutting down pumps at

. Auction Avenue station October 25,1891, and March 6,1898. 293

14. Average daily pumpage in Memphis, 1897-1930.-_-___-- - 298

15. Profiles of pressure-indicating surface along line A-A in Plate 11,

1898, 1902, and 1928 .---.________-.__________ 302

16. Profiles of pressure-indicating surface along line B-B in Rate 11,

1914and 1928_.__.___.________.__________ 303

17. Profiles of pressure-indicating surface along an east-west line 

through Auction Avenue "wet well" and well 170 of Memphis Artesian Water Department, April, 1921, and March, 

1930 - __.___..__--__ __________ -___---____ 304

18. Pressure-measuring surface in wells C-22, C-23, and C-24____ 307

GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN

TENNESSEE

By FRANCIS G. WELLS

ABSTRACT

The area treated in this report is that part of Tennessee that lies west of the 

northward 'reflex of the Tennessee River. Most of the area falls within the 

eastern flank of the Gulf embayment, a basin of Paleozoic rocks filled with 

unconsolidated sand and clay of Cretaceous and Eocene age. The floor of the 

basin and the overlying sediments dip to the west at 15 to 30 feet to the mile. 

Paleozoic rocks ranging in age from Ordovician to Mississippian crop out as a 

narrow band along the eastern boundary. The unconsolidated sand and clay 

form the surface over the remainder of western Tennessee. These deposits range 

in thickness from about 3,000 feet at Memphis to the vanishing point in the 

eastern part of the area.

The Wilcox group, the McNairy sand member of the Ripley formation, and 

the Eutaw formation are the principal water-bearing beds. They consist of 

sand of varying sizes of grain with intercalated lenses of clay and yield large 

quantities of water. Laboratory tests of 113 samples of sand taken throughout 

the area show a wide range in physical properties, but most of the sands are 

composed predominantly of grains coarser than 0.25 millimeter in diameter; the 

average porosity is 40.3, and the average coefficient of permeability 737. The 

thickness of these sand formations, which reaches 1,900 feet for the Wilcox group, 

400 feet for the McNairy sand member, and 250 feet for the Eutaw formation, 

and the physical properties of the sand indicate that large quantities of ground 

water can be developed throughout the area.

Analyses of samples of water taken throughout western Tennessee indicate 

that except for the presence of considerable iron the water is of good quality for 

all purposes. The waters are soft, and the total dissolved solids are usually less 

than 100 parts per million. Except in a few places the water contains sufficient 

iron to precipitate out on standing or when the water is boiled. The iron is 

readily removed, however, by aeration followed by sedimentation or filtration 

for removal of the precipitate

Large ground-water developments are few in western Tennessee. There are 

40 public water supplies, but not more than 10 pump 500,000 gallons or more 

a day. Bored wells are the most numerous throughout the area, but drilled 

wells for domestic use are becoming more common. There are, however, very 

few domestic water systems. The county reports show the types, depth, method 

of pumping, and other data for typical wells throughout each county.

The largest ground-water development in western Tennessee is at Memphis. 

All water used in the city is derived from the Wilcox group. The maximum 

pumpage from the upper and middle Wilcox was reached about 1920; in this 

year an estimated average of 37,575,000 gallons a day was pumped. In 1928 the 

average daily pumpage from the upper and middle Wilcox was about 33,984,000

1
2> GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

gallons, a decrease from 1920 of 3,591,000 gallons. This decrease of pumpage 

from the Wilcox formations instead of the increase that would normally be 

expected resulted from cuts in pumpage by industrial plants due to many causes 

but chiefly to the smaller quantity of water used in condensing after the introduction of spray systems of cooling water and to the development of the lower 

Wilcox by the Memphis Artesian Water Department, which pumped an average 

of 4,616,000 gallons a day from this formation in 1928.

The static level at Memphis varies with the pumpage and the stage of 

the Mississippi River. Originally it was about 230 feet above mean sea level. 

The average static level for 1928 at the Auction Avenue plant was 202 feet 

above mean sea level, which was about 28 feet lower than the original level. 

This gives a yield of about a million gallons a day for each foot of 

drawdown. The drawdown is not excessive, and additional pumpage can be 

developed without undue lowering of head.

INTRODUCTION

Purpose and scope oj investigation. Of fundamental importance to 

any community is an adequate supply of good water. There are 

three possible sources of water direct collection of rain, surface 

water, and ground water. The first of these sources is suitable only 

for small supplies. The second is capable of very large development, 

but the cost of development is high, and sanitary control is necessary. 

This leaves ground-water supplies as the cheapest and most sanitary 

source of water for towns and scattered rural populations and, under 

certain favorable conditions, for large cities. Consequently data on 

the ground-water conditions the depth at which water can be obtained, the quantity of water that can be developed, and the quality 

of the water should be available to the inhabitants of any region. 

As these features are all related to the physiography and geology of 

a region, the study of them is a specialized problem requiring a familiarity with the geology of the region as well as a knowledge of existing 

ground-water supplies. It was the purpose of the investigation 

whose results are here set forth to collect all the data available on 

ground-water conditions, to synthesize these data in a logical manner, 

to correlate them with the geology of the region, and finally to present 

them in such a manner that an individual, industry, or municipality 

could find the information necessary for the solution of its water 

problems in a satisfactory and economical way. Obviously this is 

for any region a difficult task. In many places the necessary data 

are unavailable, and the data are not always amenable to simple 

exposition.

The field work for this report was carried on for five months during 

the summer and fall of 1928 and 4K months during the summer of 

1929. With the aid of an automobile it was possible to cover the area 

rather thoroughly. The laboratory work and writing of the report 

were done during the winters and springs of 1928-29 and 1929-30.
INTRODUCTION O

Location of area. The area studied is commonly designated western 

Tennessee. With the exception of the eastern part of Hardin County, 

it lies west of the Tennessee River and is bounded on the north by the 

Kentucky State line, on the south by the Mississippi State line, and 

on the west by the Mississippi River. It comprises about 11,000 

square miles. The location of the area as well as of other parts of 

Tennessee that have been covered by similar reports is shown in 

Plate 3.

Previous investigations. The principal earlier reports treating of the 

geology and ground water of western Tennessee are listed below.

Safford, J. M., Geology of Tennessee, 1869.

Glenn, L. C., Underground waters of Tennessee and Kentucky west 

of the Tennessee River: U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 164, 

1906.

Wade, Bruce, The geology of Perry County and vicinity: Resources 

of Tennessee, vol. 4, pp. 150-181, Tennessee Geol. Survey, 1914.

Wade, Bruce, The fauna of the Ripley formation on Coon Creek, 

Tenn.: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 137, 1926.

Dunbar, C. 0., Stratigraphy and correlation of the Devonian of 

western Tennessee: Tennessee Geol. Survey Bull. 21, 1919.

Wade, Bruce, Recent studies of the Upper Cretaceous of Tennessee: 

Tennessee Geol. Survey Bull. 23, pp. 51-64, 1920.

Roberts, J. K., and Collins, R. L., The Tertiary of west Tennessee: 

Am. Jour. Sci., 5th ser., vol. 12, pp. 235-243, 1926.

Roberts, J. K., Tertiary stratigraphy of west Tennessee: Geol. Soc. 

America Bull., vol. 39, pp. 435-446, 1928.

Berry, E. W., Revision of the lower Eocene Wilcox flora of the 

Southeastern States: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 156, 1930.

Roberts, J. K., Tertiary and Quaternary sediments of west Tennessee and their economic geology (in preparation).

Acknowledgments. This investigation was carried on under the 

supervision of O. E. Meinzer, geologist in charge of the division of 

ground water, United States Geological Survey, and W. F. Pond, 

State geologist of Tennessee. Analyses were made by Margaret D. 

Foster, of the Federal Geological Survey, who collaborated in the preparation of the discussion of the chemical character of the waters. 

D. C. Farrar, of the State geological survey, made some of the 

analyses. To these and other colleagues of the two organizations the 

writer wishes to express thanks for their assistance and advice. He 

also desires to acknowledge his indebtedness for cooperation and assistance in assembling the data to J. K. Roberts, who kindly put at his 

disposal his unpublished report on the Tertiary and Quaternary sediments of western Tennessee, the material of which has been freely 

used; to J. J. Sheehan, superintendent, W. D. Lanham, J. J. Ryan, 

and other members of the Memphis Artesian Water Department, who
4 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

helped the writer in many ways and placed the records of this department at his disposal; to the well drillers of the area, who generously 

furnished detailed information about the wells they had drilled; and 

to municipal authorities and owners of wells, who courteously gave the 

information which is the basis of much of this report.

EXPLANATION

Geology by J.K.Roberts Geology by BruceWade, 

and R.L.Collins modified by F.G.Wells

Geology by O.R Jenkins

Geology by BruceWa.de Geology by H.D.Miser

FIGURE 1. Index map of western Tennessee showing sources from which the geologic map was

compiled

Geologic and hydrologic maps. The geology of the area covered by 

this report is shown in Plate 1. This map, except for changes in the 

mapping of the Cretaceous and Tertiary, is taken from the geologic 

map of Tennessee, edition of 1923. Figure 1 shows the sources from 

which the data were compiled. As explained on page 75, the distribution of the Selma clay and the Coon Creek tongue of the Kipley formation was mapped incorrectly on the geologic map of the State. 

The Selma formation does not extend north of central Henderson
INTRODUCTION O

County as such but either pinches out by overlap of the Coon Creek 

tongue or is represented from Henderson County northward by beds 

lithologically like the Coffee sand member of the Eutaw formation. 

The two narrow bands previously mapped by Wade as Selma formation and Coon Creek tongue of the Kipley formation from Henderson 

County northward together constitute the northward extension o| 

the Coon Creek tongue. Coon Creek fossils have been found in beda 

mapped as far north as a point 4 miles north of Camden, Bentort 

County. The Tertiary has been remapped by Roberts and Collins; 

and correlated with the Clayton, Porters Creek, Holly Springs, and 

Jackson formations of Mississippi.

The location of wells described in the text is shown on Plate 2. The 

wells are numbered consecutively in each county, beginning with No. 

1 and following the United States land survey system of numbering 

sections.

The method of locating the wells depended on the county maps 

available. Good county maps made by the State geological survey 

on the scale of 1 inch to the mile and showing much detail were available for Benton, Carroll, Chester, Decatur, Fayette, Gibson, Hardeman, Henry, McNairy, and Shelby Counties. Wells could be located 

with considerable accuracy on such maps. Blueprints of maps on the 

same scale, started many years ago but never completed, were available for Hardin and Henderson Counties. The distances given in the 

tables of wells for all these counties were scaled from the county maps. 

A soil map on a scale of 1 inch to the mile was available for Madison 

County,1 and distances used in descriptions of well locations were 

scaled from it. Post-route maps were the only ones available for 

Crockett and Haywood Counties. These maps are not accurate, but 

the location of villages and of such roads as are shown is fair. Some 

of the distances given in the tables for these counties were scaled from 

the county maps; others are the readings of the speedometer on an 

automobile. The only maps available for Dyer, Lauderdale, Obion, 

Tipton, and Weakley Counties were blueprints of sketch maps made 

by the Tennessee Department of Health. Unfortunately these maps 

were not drawn to scale, and though they showed all roads, villages, 

schools, and churches, the locations were not accurate. All distances 

given in the well tables for these counties were obtained from readings 

of a speedometer (front-wheel type). As the distances traversed by 

an automobile are never in a straight line, this introduces some error. 

It is also probable that there are errors in the location of the towns as 

shown on the base map of the State. The wells were transferred from 

the county maps to the State maps by the method of squares. The

i Lyman, W. S., and Lendon, W. E., Soil survey of Madison County, Tenn.: U. S. Dept. Agr. Bur. 

Soils Field Operations, 1906.
6 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

result has been that for some wells the locations on the State map do 

not show the proper relation to some of the towns, but the general 

location in the county is correct.

GEOGRAPHY

SURFACE FEATURES 

PHYSIOGRAPHIC POSITION

The Tennessee River almost coincides with the boundary between 

two of the great physiographic provinces of the United States, the 

interior low plateaus, in central Tennessee called the Highland Rim, 

and the coastal plain. Thus the area under discussion, with the exception of the eastern part of Hardin County, falls within the coastal 

plain. The Highland Rim is a typical plateau country which has an 

altitude in its eastern portion of about 1,200 feet, but which slopes 

down to about 500 feet at its western boundary, where it grades without a break into the slope of western Tennessee. This region has 

reached a submature state of erosion. In Hardin County the streams 

flow west or northwest to the Tennessee in narrow V-shaped valleys 

that are as much as 150 feet lower than the intervening flat-topped 

ridges, the remnants of the plateau surface. These ridges are utilized 

for road sites, for they furnish the only flat places in this rough terrain.

The western valley of the Tennessee the low-lying land along the 

river below its northward reflex has an average width of 10 to 11 

miles and includes the lowlands along the tributaries in this area. At 

its low-water stage the Tennessee is 350 feet above mean sea level 

where it crosses the Alabama line in its northward course and 302 feet, 

at the Kentucky line. The distance along the river between these 

two points is 153 miles and the river gradient is thus less than onethird of a foot to the mile.

The part of the interior low plateaus which falls within the area 

here described has been called by Safford 2 the plateau or slope of 

western Tennessee. This surface can be visualized as a plain sloping 

northwestward until it ends abruptly at the bluffs overlooking the 

Mississippi flood plain. In its northern portion it rises slightly toward 

the Mississippi bluffs. This plateau is about 700 feet above sea level 

in the eastern part and descends to an altitude of 300 to 390 feet at 

its western margin. The plateau has been dissected and in its eastern 

portion is hilly; toward the west the streams have cut broad valleys, 

and the intervening uplands are gently rolling. The resulting features are residual ridges, hills of erosion, and the Tennessee-Mississippi 

divide.

8 Safford, J. M., Geology of Tennessee, p. 110,1869.
GEOGRAPHY 7 

SURFACE FORMS

Residual ridge. Extending northward from Mississippi into southwestern McNairy County, Tenn., is a ridge about half a mile wide. It 

is in the region where Ripley sands and clays come to the surface and 

owes its preservation to the "ironstone" that is abundant in this region. 

The ridge dies out toward the north.

Tennessee-Mississippi divide. The Tennessee-Mississippi divide is 

the high land just west of the Tennessee River. It forms the highest 

part of western Tennessee and represents the remnant of the original 

plateau surface. This divide separates the eastward-flowing rivers 

that empty into the Tennessee from the westward-flowing rivers that 

empty into the Mississippi. The eastward-flowing streams are short 

and steep, but those flowing to the west have low gradients and broad 

valleys.

Hitts of erosion. Extending from the western part of Hardeman 

County northward to Henry County is an unusually hilly belt composed of Holly Springs sand. The flat tops of many of these hills are 

parts of the old plateau surface. Owing to the sandy, porous nature 

of the ground, rain water readily sinks into the permeable sands 

and has not yet eroded them. Any slopes formed by stream cutting 

are subject, however, to rapid erosion. The loose sand washes easily, 

and the slopes are quickly eaten away. Thus the flat tops of the hills 

remain unaltered, while the slopes are steep and deeply incised.

The general surface forms of western Tennessee are the result of 

stream erosion on loose sand and clay. The behavior of sand has just 

been described; the clay, however, erodes more uniformly, for it sheds 

the water and develops the usual type of erosion surfaces. The history of the formation of the present surface is part of the geologic 

history of the area and is set forth on pages 24-25. A surf ace feature 

of the area which is of recent development is the badland topography. 

Throughout western Tennessee there are areas which have been so 

completely dissected by gullies that they resemble the badlands of the 

Dakotas. (See pi. 4.) Another expression of this action is found in the 

great gullies, 50 feet or more deep, that in many places hem the country 

roads on both sides. These surface features are due to the washing 

of the sandy soil as soon as the vegetation is removed. With proper 

attention cultivated fields can be kept from washing, but too often no 

attempt has been made to prevent this form of erosion. Thus since 

the advent of the white man large tracts have become barren.

Alluvial region. Lying at the foot of the Chickasaw Bluffs, the 

western boundary of the slope of western Tennessee, is the Mississippi 

flood plain, a low tract much of which is covered by the extreme high 

waters of the Mississippi River. Nowhere in western Tennessee is 

this plain very wide. Its greatest width in Tennessee, some 10 miles,
8 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

is in the north, but in the south it dwindles to nothing where the 

Mississippi River washes the foot of the bluffs.

DRAINAGE

The eastern part of Hardin County drains westward into the 

Tennessee by means of Horse, Indian, and Hardin Creeks. These 

creeks are short, rapid streams. The longest, Indian Creek, is about 

30 miles long, and much of its course lies outside of this area. There 

are not enough known altitudes in the region to give even approximate 

gradients for these streams; all that can be said is that they are swift 

streams with falls and cascades.

The Tennessee-Mississippi divide separates the region west of the 

Tennessee River into two very^ unequal drainage areas. The east 

versant has a width of 9 to 25 miles. Besides the major streams, the 

Beach and Big Sandy Rivers and Hurricane Creek, there are a few 

short creeks that drain this slope. All these streams have fairly steep 

grades, and numerous springs insure their permanency throughout the 

year. The west verdant of the divide is from 98 to 105 miles in width 

and is drained by long streams of low gradient. From north to south 

these streams are the Obion, Forked Deer and its Middle and South 

Forks, Hatchie, Loosahatchie, and Wolf Rivers and Nonconnah 

Creek. The longest of these is the Hatchie River, which has a length 

of 120 miles. With the exception of the Obion River, which flows 

southwest though its major tributary flows northwest, all these rivers 

flow in a direction north of west to points within a few miles of the 

Mississippi River, where they swing to the southwest. Along their 

lower reaches their valleys are broad and flat and in large part swampy 

and subject to flooding during high water. The streams meander 

through these swampy areas in tortuous channels. In some places 

drainage of the bottoms has been effected by trenching the streams 

and thereby shortening their courses. These streams are all perennial.

DEVELOPMENT

The difference between the broad valleys and gently rolling uplands 

of the western part of western Tennessee and the rough lands of the 

eastern part has had a strong influence on settlement and industrial 

development. The counties bordering the Mississippi River (Obion, 

Lake, Dyer, Lauderdale, Tipton, and Shelby) and those adjacent to 

them (Weakley, Gibson, Crockett, Haywood, Fayette, and Madison) 

are the most populous. These counties have a population of 46 to 92 

persons to the square mile except Shelby County, which contains the 

city of Memphis and has 383 persons to the square mile. In contrast 

to this are the eastern counties, with a density of 24 to 42 persons to the 

square mile. The only large city in the area, Memphis, with a population of 253,143, is on the Mississippi River. The next largest city,
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 656 PLATE 3

R G I N I A

'//'/////'//A'/t

Area covered by this 

report

Area covered by Water 

Supply Paper640

Chattarpoga

MISS S S P P

10 20 30 40 50 Miles

INDEX MAP OF TENNESSEE SHOWING AREAS COVERED BY GROUND-WATER REPORTS 119722 33. (Face p. 8.)

TJ. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 656 PLATE 4

VIEWS SHOWING EROSION

A, Early stages, southern Carroll County, upland surface in background; B, advanced stages, 

southwestern Hardernan County; C, erosion of a clay lens, southern Weakley County.

« GEOGRAPHY 9

Jackson, with, a population of 22,172, is the county seat of Madison 

County. The other six cities with a population in 1930 that exceeded 

3,200 are Dyersburg, Paris, Union City, Covington, and Brownsville, 

the county seats of Dyer, Henry, Obion, Tipton, and Haywood 

Counties respectively, and Humboldt, the largest city in Gibson 

County. In the eastern part of the area there are only a few small 

towns.

Agriculture and lumbering. Agriculture is the principal activity of 

the region, and the major crop both in acreage and in value is cotton. 

According to the census of 1925, 250,281 bales of cotton were grown in 

western Tennessee in 1924. Corn ranked second in importance, the 

yield being 722,595 bushels, and 203,755 tons of hay of all kinds was 

grown. Except in the western counties dairying is not important, 

but the agricultural department of the State is encouraging this 

branch of farming, and as time goes on dairying will become more 

prevalent. Spring vegetables and small fruits are grown for northern 

markets. Tomatoes and strawberries are the principal ones, but there 

is a considerable acreage in cabbage and spinach. Gibson County is" 

the center of the truck gardening.

In the hilly parts of the eastern counties there is still considerable 

timber standing, and lumbering is actively carried on. In the west 

the land has been mostly cleared, but some lumbering is done in the 

swampy river bottoms.

Industries. The industries of the region are those consequent on 

agriculture and lumbering. Cotton gins are scattered over the area, 

and cottonseed-oil plants and canneries are found in the largest toWhs. 

There are a few cotton-spinning mills. Sawmills are common, and at 

Memphis there are many factories for the fabrication of wood. At 

present all the clay produced in the area comes from northwestern 

Tennessee, though in the past southwestern Tennessee produced considerable clay of all grades ball, sagger, wad, potters, and common 

brick clay.3 The finer grades were shipped to other States, but brick 

and some of the cheaper wares were fabricated in the region. Practically all of the 45,593 tons of ball clay produced in Tennessee during 

1928 came from Henry County.4 All of this clay, with the exception of 

a little used for the local manufacture of jugs and churns, is shipped to 

potteries outside of the State. Fire clay is mined at several localities 

in the area and used in the local brick kilns.

Routes of communication. The lower gently rolling land of western 

Tennessee furnishes the natural passageway for railroads seeking an 

outlet to the south. Consequently this part of the area is well served 

with railroads. Hardin County is the only county in the area that

' Nelson, W. A., Clay deposits of west Tennessee: Tennessee Geol. Survey Bull. 5,1911. 

1 U. 8. Bur. Mines Mineral Resources, 1928, pt. 2, p. 192,1930.

119722 33 2
10 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

has no railroad within its boundaries. At the present time the State 

and counties are actively engaged on a comprehensive program of 

highway construction which will cover the area with a network of 

hard-surfaced highways built in conformity to the specifications of 

the United States Bureau of Public Eoads. In addition, the principal 

towns of each county will be connected by graveled roads. At present 

this condition prevails in Shelby County, but in the other counties 

the roads are still very poor, and during certain seasons of the year 

they are almost impassable for automobiles. Formerly the Mississippi and Tennessee Eivers formed the main routes of transportation 

in western Tennessee. At present the traffic on the Mississippi Eiver 

is small, and that on the Tennessee has dwindled to occasional shipments of bulky materials.

RESOURCES

Minerals. The mineral resources of the area are scanty. Deposits 

of clay are worked as stated above. Though the present clay pro- 

"duction is limited to Henry County, there are clay deposits in other 

parts of western Tennessee which, with changes in economic conditions, will probably be worked again, and there are undoubtedly 

deposits that have never been developed. 5

The sand deposits of western Tennessee are very large and of all 

kinds, and the quantity of building sands is almost unlimited.6 Eoad 

material is plentiful in much of the area. The cherts of Devonian 

and Mississippian age that occur in Benton, Decatur, and Hardin 

Counties form good road metal.7 The terrace gravel in the valley 

of the Tennessee and the Pliocene gravel also form good road material.8

Low-grade phosphate rock occurs in Decatur County,9 and tripoli, 

a weathering product of the Fort Payne chert and St. Louis limestone, 

is found in Hardin County. Although iron ore has been worked in 

Decatur County,10 it is doubtful whether the quantity and quality 

warrant exploitation by modern methods. Some of the limestones 

of the area might be used as polished stone, and others could be used 

in the manufacture of cement. Deposits of these raw materials are so 

abundant throughout the United States, however, that exploitation depends largely on the proximity of markets or of cheap transportation.

'Nelson, W. A., op»cits Schroeder, R, AI, Ball clays of west Tennessee: Resources of Tennessee, 1919, 

pp. 88-191. Roberts, J. K., Tertiary and Quaternary sediments of west Tennessee and their economic 

geology (in preparation).

6 Roberts, J. K., op. cit. Nelson, W. A., Some building sands of Tennessee: Resources of Tennessee, 

vol. 2, pp. 389-397, 1912.

' Ashley, G. H., The Camden chert; an ideal road material: Resources of Tennessee, vol. 1, pp. 34-43, 

1911.

8 Wade, Brace, Gravels of west Tennessee: Resources of Tennessee, vol. 7, pp. 55-^89,1917.

 Maynard, T. P., White phosphate rocks of Decatur County: Resources of Tennessee, vol. 3, pp. 161- 

169,1913.

1° Miser, H. D., Mineral resources of the Waynesboro quadrangle, Tennessee: Tennessee Geol. Survey 

Bull. 26, p. 118,1921.
GEOGRAPHY 11

Timber. Although most of the hardwood in the area under discussion has been cut, there is still considerable lumbering. Oak, ash, 

hickory, poplar, gum, and cypress are being cut. In Hardin County 

the cutting of pine logs for telegraph poles is actively carried on. No 

figures either of the present production of timber or of the timber 

resources of the area are available. Memphis is a large lumber center 

and is the site of many factories that fabricate hardwood articles such 

as wheel spokes, kegs, poles, shafts, and furniture.

CLIMATE

Rainfall. Western Tennessee is a region of abundant rainfall. A 

map showing the location of rainfall stations and the areas of equal

FIGURE 2. Map of western Tennessee showing stations at which observations are made for the 

United States Weather Bureau and mean annual precipitation

rainfall is given in Figure 2, and the annual precipitation at each of 

the rainfall stations since its establishment is given in the following 

table. The station with the largest annual precipitation is Savannah 

with an average of 51.9 inches; the station with the lowest is Center 

Point, with an average of 44.01 inches. The record at Center Point 

is short, however, and the average is probably too low to represent the 

long-time average. The average of the mean annual rainfall of 14
12 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

o "-

FIGURE 3. Maximum, average, and minimum monthly precipitation 

at Memphis, 1870-1927

1890 1910

FIGTJBE 4. Annual precipitation at Memphis, 1872-1930
GEOGRAPHY 13

stations scattered throughout the area is 48.74 inches. This insures 

the permanent flow of the many rivers and springs in the region. The 

most rain falls in the winter and spring; the driest time is in the late 

summer and autumn, when droughts lasting 15 to 30 days are not 

uncommon. Heavy downpours of 2.5 inches or more in 24 consecutive hours occur occasionally. The seasonal distribution of precipitation is clearly demonstrated by the graph of the average monthly 

precipitation in Figure 3. Though the deviation from the mean as 

shown by the curves for minimum and maximum monthly precipitation is large, the maximum and minimum curves show the same 

seasonal trend.
, Annual precipitation in western Tennessee, 1883

[From publications of U. S. Weather Bureau. The precipitation at Memphis in 14 years prior to 1883 range

Year

1883.. 

1884--.. 

1885-. 

1886.. 

1887. 

1889.. 

1890.... 

1891..... 

1893-- 

1894... -.__

1895- 

1896... ..--.

1897-... 

1898-- 

1899... .

1900 

1901 . 

1902..-. 

1903--..----.

1904..... 

1905.... 

1906-- 

1907 - . 

1908 . 

1909..... .. 

1910--... -

1911-.- - 

1912 .. 

1913....--- .

IQId

1915..... 

1916..-.-- --.

1917..-... 

1918... 

1919 

1920-..- 

Arlington

38.97 

37.07

......

43.90

40.00 

42.52 

63.04

Bolivar

54.10

39.38

36.18 

38.45 

42.55

48.42

40.32

53.30 

35.52 

52.90

39.32

40.07

55.67

56.14 

49.17

42.56

43.76 

46.21 

49.89

52.79

39.71

59.42

46.65

41.85 

33.34 

60.33

53.06

Brownsville

51.51

43.92

47.35 

48.74 

49.28

51.12

51.71

37.49

58.52

39.60

46.07 

40.76 

61.65

51.40

"3

'o

"3

41.02

51.17 

38.85 

47.56

40.49 

41.33

52.78 

51.78 

44.22

43.45

'll'io

Covington

29.19

49.61

39.19

44.61

45.58

73.62

54.08

64.74

48.70

54.15

40.99

38.12

40.93

47.10

30.88

45.62 

36.45

51.88

46.54

51.67 

62.60 

47.55

40.66

51.38 

42.28 

47.98

46.49

41.77

60.08

43.31

44.00

45.04

65.70

63.15

Dresden

 

50.01

Dyersburg

50.46

63.80

55.40

46.05

48.22 

46.22

46.69

46.82

50.18

61.92

49.22

42.20

43.43 

67.08

50.01

Henderson

......

36.87 

71.61

54.00

Huntingdon

 

40.00 

74.68

52.88

Jackson

57.31

37.92

37.79

40.26

46.43

42.23

50.54

 ---

38.73 

38.17

57.53 

43.97

42.29

60.53

51.34

34.33

42.42 

39.77

39.26 

59.07

42.91

Kenton

40.30 

38.64 

47.80

58.92

47.02 

52.71 

49.03

52.20

47.88

36.54 

47.93

48.96 

45.67

44.97 

65.04

53.57

Lexington

......

Memphis

57.14 

64.69 

37,41 

57.72

42.52 

46.82

44.67

68.28

51.31

61.46

44.45

54.52

38.59

35.00

46.03

48.58

38.99

47.22 

34.58

36.17

42.56

55.85

54.31

47.46

45.29 

40.41 

41.12

46.80

48.93 

38.34

49.23

33.44

38.98

37.16

57.75

58.30

a

a

1

57.99 

40.46 

52.20

40.90 

43.53

42.87

36.32

16.~28 

55.30

52.99

45.09

51.95

47.77

44.33

40.91

58.98

50.31

Moscow

-..--.

N

--

 
GEOGRAPHY 15

?o o

00 <N

l ^tl iO iO»O >O

«500t-O> COI

^irfoi'* cs

l « IQ <*! ^Jl "O

: is i §8 M i

§

*£ O t~ * 

>oco too

S83S

>-) 06 oa !O

^f to

5 rHO

r-ooooto5 c5 cocc

CO IQ SO ^Jl

f:S3 

S3

to to

^JIIO

g^;0«

>s <K
16 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Temperature. The climate is mild and not subject to such sudden 

and decided changes in temperature as are suffered in the Northern 

and Northeastern States. The highest temperature recorded at Memphis in 48 years is 104° F., and the lowest is 9° below zero. The 

annual mean maximum and minimum temperatures, however, are 70° 

and 53.3°. The crop-growing season is long. The average date of 

the last killing frost in spring is April 6, and of the first in autumn 

October 24. The winters are not cold, and the ground is practically 

never frozen.

GEOLOGY

SUMMARY OP STRATIGRAPHY

Western Tennessee is situated in that part of the Gulf Coastal Plain 

which is commonly called the Mississippi embayment. This embayment is a down-warped trough of Paleozoic rocks pitching gently to 

the south, whose upper end is in southern Illinois and whose axis 

roughly parallels the Mississippi River but lies a few miles west of it. 

This trough has been filled with sediments of Cretaceous and Eocene 

age, which rest unconformably on the older rock floor. The Paleozoic 

rocks crop out around the periphery of the trough. An east-west section across the embayment is shown in Plate 5, A.

The oldest formation that crops out in western Tennessee is the 

Hermitage formation, which is of Middle Ordovician age. The Upper 

Ordovician is represented by the Arnheim and Fernvale formations. 

The Ordovician rocks are cherty and argillaceous limestones containing 

some shale members. The Brassfield limestone (of early Silurian 

(Albion) age) rests unconformably on the Ordovician and is separated 

from the overlying Middle Silurian (Niagaran) rocks by an unconformity. The subdivisions of Niagaran age, from older to younger, 

are the Osgood limestone, Laurel limestone, Waldron clay, Lego limestone, Dixon limestone, Beech River limestone, Bob limestone, and 

Lobelville limestone. The topmost Silurian formation, the Decatur 

limestone, is of late Silurian (Cayugan) age. The Lower and Middle 

and probably the Upper Devonian are represented in the stratigraphic 

column of western Tennessee. The Lower Devonian rests unconformably on the late Silurian Decatur limestone. It has been divided 

into the following units, named in ascending order: Rockhouse shale, 

Ross limestone, Bear Branch limestone, Flat Gap limestone, Birdsong 

shale, Decaturville chert, Quail limestone, and Harriman chert. The 

Middle Devonian is represented by the Camden chert and the overlying Pegrani limestone. The Upper Devonian, if present in western 

Tennessee, is represented by the 20 feet, more or less, of black carbonaceous shale known as the Chattanooga shale. This shale, however, 

is considered by some geologists to be of Mississippian age. It rests 

unconformably on the Middle Devonian rocks. The Mississippian is
1 Sealevel

,, Critt 

ll; Oil&C 

f- Stanl

I Marked Tree 

flowing well 

J.Painter,Jr M£t&2Wr?M

-,|l|l--inl .' .' -, r'-n ' -''' '

y#m±mi i

4.y_V.' ' /''.' .' ' Brownsvaie

7 Spring Creek 

' Development Co. 

Middleton

Mississippi-Tennessee divide

GEOLOGY 17

represented by the Ridgetop shale and Fort Payne chert, of lower 

Mississippian age, and the St. Louis limestone, of upper Mississippian 

age. This completes the Paleozoic column in western Tennessee.

On the eroded surface of the above-mentioned Paleozoic rocks rests 

the Tuscaloosa formation, of Upper Cretaceous age, which occurs only 

in a few scattered outcrops. The Eutaw formation, mainly the Coffee 

sand member, also of Upper Cretaceous age, is found as a belt of sand 

and clay covering the Paleozoic rocks in the eastern part of the area. 

Overlying the Eutaw formation are the Selma and Ripley formations, 

also Upper Cretaceous.

The Eocene is separated from the Cretaceous by a marked unconformity. The Midway group is represented in western Tennessee by 

the Clayton formation and the Porters Creek clay. In the southern 

part of the State the lower part of the Clayton formation is an impure 

limestone, and the upper part a glauconitic sand. Toward the north 

the limestone soon thins out, but the glauconitic sand can be traced 

into central Madison County. It is rarely found in outcrop. The 

Porters Creek clay, a uniform clay formation, overlies the Clayton. 

The basal formation of the Wilcox group, the Ackerman, does not 

crop out in western Tennessee, though it probably underlies all the 

counties in the western part of the area. The overlying sand, the 

middle formation of the Wilcox group, consists of about 450 feet of 

unconsolidated sand with intercalated lenses of clay. The Grenada, 

or upper formation of the Wilcox group, resembles the Holly Springs 

sand in lithologic characteristics, and the contact between the two 

formations can not be determined in the field. There is a break 

between the Wilcox group and the overlying Jackson formation, of 

upper Eocene age. The Jackson outcrop occurs in the Chickasaw 

Bluffs only.

On the eroded surface of the Eocene formations are deposits of terrace gravel of Pliocene age. These are most common on the high land 

bordering the flood plains of the Mississippi and Tennessee Rivers. 

Overlying the gravel and forming the tops of the bluffs along the 

Mississippi is loess of Pleistocene age.
Generalized section of the geologic formations of western 

Era

Cenozoic.

System

Quaternary.

Tertiary.

Series

Recent.

Pleistocene.

Pliocene.

 

Eocene.

Subdivisions

Alluvium.

Loess.

Gravel (some of the terrace may be 

Pleistocene).

Jackson formation.

Wilcox group.

Midway 

group.

Grenada formation.

Holly Springs sand.

Ackerman formation.

Porters Creek clay.

Clayton formation.

Thickness 

(feet)

0-150±

0-100

0-60

100-200±

600-1,900±

140-373

0-121±

Phy

Gravel, sand

origin.

Gray and yel

some concr

of land shel

Chert, gravel

Thin-bedded 

nite.

Varicolored 

bedded san

of clay.

Many-colored 

sand with i

Does not cro

Mississippi

nitic clay, l

ably prese

area.

Dove-gray c

hackly stru

A thin 7-foot l

overlain b

sand and g

disappearin

tains a mar
Mesozoic.

Paleozoic.

Cretaceous.

Carboniferous.

Carboniferous or 

Devonian.

Upper cretaceous.

Mississippian.

Mississippian or Upper Devonian.

Middle Devonian.

Ripley 

formation.

Owl Creek tongue.

McNairy sand member.

Coon Creek tongue.

Selma clay.

Eutaw formation. Coflee sand member.

Tombigbees and member.

Tuscaloosa formation.

St. Louis limestone.

Fort Payne chert.

Riclgetop shale.

Chattanooga shale.

Pegram limestone.

Camden chert.

350-«00±

0-210

0-536(?)

0-100±

(?)

0-200.

0-llOd:

0-22

0-6±

0-240

Micaceous s

marine fau

Cross-bedde

ing interca

some place

very hard 

Ferruginous, 

nitic marl, 

Gray to whi

marine fau

Cross-bedded 

laminated 

in places c

Cross-bedded 

glauconitic 

Well-rounde

chert and s

in diamete

Gray cherty 

residual ch

Dark calcare

low cherty 

Gray to blac

Black fissile 

(Hardin sa

0 to 15 feet

Pure white li

this area.

White to bu

sembling 

buff rubble
20 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

a 

o 

0

ely cr pink

ive cowhite

pur olit

in-be stone

ed lig 

.

Thin low

.SI

w

'S t

I

sa

 dnooS neptrfi
Paleozoic.

Silurian.

 Ordovician.

Upper Ordovician 

(Cincinnatian).

Middle Ordovician 

(Mohawkian).

Wayne formation.

Dison earthy limestone 

member.

Lego limestone member.

Waldron cla.y member.

Laurel limestone member.

Osgood earthy limestone member.

Brassfleld limestone.

Fernvale formation.

Arnheim limestone. '

Hermitage formation.

0-44

0-46

0-4

0-28

0-15

0-26

0-40

0-3

0-70±

Argillaceous 

purplish sh

Compact pin

crystalline 

Light-gray sh

Massive purp

Thin-bedded 

stone.

Finely crysta

Green shale 

grained gra

Coarse-graine

limestone.

Dark bluish-g

limestone 

blue shale.
22 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE 

HISTORICAL GEOLOGY

Paleozoic time. The geologic history of western Tennessee as 

recorded in the exposed rocks of the area begins with Mohawkian 

time, or the middle of the Ordovician period. Then the land lay to 

the east, its western edge just crossing the eastern boundary of 

the State. Western Tennessee formed part of an inland sea that 

covered much of the interior United States. The rivers from the 

low-lying land to the east brought to this sea limy mud, which the 

currents and waves spread out in broad flat layers over the sea floor, 

forming the limestones and shales of to-day. In late Ordovician 

time the Cincinnati arch began to form. This was a low dome that 

extended from Cincinnati to Nashville. As a result of this arching the 

region southwest of Nashville was also gently raised above sea level, 

and it remained as a low-lying land mass until Silurian time, when the 

sea once more covered its comparatively level surface.

A long period of deposition followed, in Niagaran time. Owing to 

slight movements of the earth's surface minor oscillations in the shore 

line took place, and from time to time different parts of the area were 

lifted slightly above sea level and then were submerged again. Hence 

the beds of limestone and shale that were laid down in Niagaran time are 

not continuous over the area, and their thickness varies from place 

to place. The material brought to the sea in Niagaran time did not 

differ very much from that of the Ordovician period.

At the end of the Silurian period the region was raised slightly 

above sea level and subjected to moderate erosion, so that the sea 

returning in early Devonian time spread over an extremely flat 

limestone country, depositing newer limestone on the old. Throughout the Devonian period gentle warping caused the sea to change its 

position at intervals. Early in Devonian time the submerged portion 

of western Tennessee rose above water, but toward the end of the 

Lower Devonian the water from the Appalachian trough inundated 

the area. Then followed another brief emergence, and again the 

waters swept in from the south. Another period of emergence and 

erosion followed and was terminated when the Chattanooga sea spread 

over Tennessee. During much of the Mississippian epoch the area 

was submerged. Throughout Devonian and Mississippian time the 

rivers that brought sediment to the sea covering this area had low 

gradients and drained a base-leveled land. This old land furnished 

very little clastic material to the streams, the erosion being due 

mostly to solution. 11 Hence the deposits were chiefly limestones and 

cherts, and only rarely shales.

Some time after the end of the Mississippian epoch the region was 

lifted above sea level and remained land until Cretaceous time.

» Twenhofel, W. H., Treatise on sedimentation, p. 384,1926.
HISTORICAL GEOLOGY 23

During this long geologic interval the land was reduced to a peneplain, 

which has been called by Hayes 12 the Cumberland peneplain. Shaw 13 

gives evidence to show that the Cumberland peneplain of Hayes is 

not concordant with the rock surface under the Cretaceous and 

younger rocks.

Cretaceous time. It was not until Upper Cretaceous time that 

downwarping of the land along an axis approximately coincident 

with the present Mississippi River allowed the sea, which had already 

covered the southern part of the Gulf States, to submerge this region. 

The downwarping caused a tilting of the land mass to the southwest, 

thus increasing the gradient of the streams, which began to erode 

rapidly the deeply weathered land and carry much coarse material 

toward their mouths. The drainage was to the southwest, following 

the structural folds. Along the shore where these streams debouched 

they built deltas, which constitute what is known as the Tuscaloosa 

formation. The coarse material was dropped near the land, and the 

finer material was carried seaward. The Cretaceous Tennessee River u 

was the largest of these streams and contributed much material to 

the Tuscaloosa delta. Continued warping caused the sea to gradually transgress the land. The coarser materials were deposited 

farther and farther up the valleys, and finer sediments were deposited 

over the gravel downstream. So Tuscaloosa time changed into 

Eutaw time. More of the land was covered by the sea. During the 

Tuscaloosa and Eutaw epochs western Tennessee was never deeply 

submerged, and much of the deposition was subaerial, but later, in 

Salema time, the sea covered the area to a shallow depth. The rivers 

were no longer active and flowed to the northwest. In the shallow 

waters marine life swarmed, and the deposits then formed consist 

of argillaceous limestone containing abundant fossil remains. Minor 

warping caused oscillations in the shore line, so that conditions of 

sedimentation were locally different. A slight elevation of the area 

followed, and the waters became so shallow that waves could reach 

and erode the bottom. The sands that washed to the sea were 

swept from place to place, so that they show much cross-bedding. 

This condition prevailed during all except the early part of Ripley 

time.

Eocene time. The great diastrophic movements that convulsed 

much of North America at the end of the Cretaceous period did not 

greatly disturb the embayment region. It was gently elevated above 

sea level and exposed to erosion. Some of the material that had been

18 Hayes, C. W., The physiography of the Chattanooga district: U. S. Geol. Survey Nineteenth Ann. 

Kept., pt. 2, pp. 23-28,1899.

is Shaw, E. W., The Pliocene history of northern and central Mississippi: II. S. Qeol. Survey Prof. Paper 

108, pp. 149-151,1918.

" Berry, E. W., Upper Cretaceous floras of the eastern Gulf region in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Georgia: 

U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 112, pp. 2&-30,1919.
24 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

deposited during Cretaceous time was removed. When in Eocene 

time the sea crept up the embayment it inundated a relatively level 

surface and penetrated as far north as southern Illinois. The region 

was submerged to only moderate depth; in southern Tennessee limestones were deposited but toward the north glauconitic sands were 

formed. This phase gave place to the deposition of fine clay. Shark 

teeth have been found in this clay from well drillings at Jackson. The 

sea receded at the end of Midway time, and a period of ertision followed, of which good evidence is found in the basal clay conglomerates of the Holly Springs formation. (See pi. 6.)

The sea returned in lower Wilcox time but did not reach as far up 

the embayment nor attain as great a depth as it had in the Midway. 

Littoral and estuarine conditions prevailed, and the sand and clay 

brought in by the streams were swept along by strong currents and 

laid down in irregular cross-bedded deposits. These conditions prevailed until the end of Wilcox time, when the region once more became 

land. 16 During Jackson time swamp conditions existed over the area 

south and west of Tennessee and covered the westernmost part of 

this State. Sand, clay, and lignite were deposited.

Eocene to Recent time. By the end of Eocene time all of Tennessee was dry land, and the rivers began to erode the recently deposited 

sand and clay. As these deposits were unconsolidated they yielded 

readily to the erosive action of the streams, and thus much of the 

material was carried away. Marbut 16 has shown that at this time 

the Mississippi River flowed west of Crowleys Eidge, the Ohio flowed 

in what is now the valley of the Mississippi River,17 and the Tennessee 

followed its present channel as far north as Kentucky. Though 

erosion was active from the end of the Eocene epoch until Pliocene 

time, the area was not reduced to a peneplain, and therefore the subsequent formation was laid down on an irregular surface.

Some time during the Pliocene epoch the land was sufficiently lowered 

to allow the heavily loaded streams that came from surrounding highlands to cover the area with sand and gravel. The exact conditions 

of deposition are not known, but it is probable that the material was 

derived from high land where erosion was active and was carried by 

streams of high gradient and large transporting power. It was dropped 

as a sub aerial deposit on the low-lying lands where the flow of the 

streams was checked and their transporting power greatly reduced.18

In Pleistocene time the northern part of the United States was 

covered by continental ice sheets, which advanced and retreated in

» Berry, E. W., Erosion intervals in the Eocene of the Mississippi embayment: U. 8. Oeol. Survey Prof. 

Paper 95, pp. 81-82,1916.

" Marbut, C. P., The evolution of the northern part of the lowlands of southeastern Missouri: Missouri 

Univ. Studies, vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 47-63,1912.

w Stephenson, L. W., and Crider, A. P,. Geology and ground waters of northeastern Arkansas: TJ. 8. Oeol. 

Survey Water-Supply Paper 399, p. 129,1916.

«Idem, pp. 126-127.
TJ. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 656 PLATE 6

A. CLAY CONGLOMERATE IN LOWER PART OF HOLLY 

SPRINGS SAND, HARDEMAN COUNTY

On old road between Bolivar and Hornsby, just east of Hatchie River.

B. PORTERS CREEK CLAY ON DOG TAIL BRANCH, 

1 MILE \V EST OF HORNSBY, HARDEMAN COUNTY

Photograph by J. K. Roberts.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 656 PLATE 7

APPARATUS USED BY WELL DRILLERS IN WESTERN TENNESSEE 

A, Boring rig, showing tripod and auger; B, punching rig, driller loaning against winding drum; C, close view of punch.
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURE 25

accordance with the changes in climate. The great quantities of 

water liberated by the melting ice carried large amounts of glacial 

debris, which was spread out as outwash plains or carried down the 

rivers and deposited on their flood plains. When these deposits were 

dry the wind lifted the fine silty material and dropped it on adjacent 

regions. Such wind-transported material, called loess, was laid down 

in the land bordering the Ohio (now the Mississippi) in western Tennessee. Erosion had been resumed in this area after the deposition 

of the Pliocene gravel, and it was on an irregular erosion surface that 

the loess was deposited.

The heavily loaded Mississippi River of late Pleistocene time built 

up its valley to a higher altitude than the valley of the Pleistocene 

Ohio River, as is clearly shown by the old terraces at Cape Girardeau 

and on Crowleys Ridge. At the end of the Pleistocene epoch active 

erosion cut through the loess deposits in many places. 19

The streams soon adjusted their channels, but in comparatively 

recent time a slight uplift has caused them to intrench themselves a 

few feet and by lateral cutting to remove and redeposit the old alluvium, leaving along the edges of the river valleys only narrow remnants 

of the older valley bottoms, which are called second bottoms.

GEOLOGIC STRUCTURE

FOLDING OF PALEOZOIC BOCKS

The Paleozoic rocks exposed in the eastern part of the area in general lie flat, although they have been elevated and depressed many 

times. However, the beds show slight flexures, the axes of which are 

irregular but seem to have a northeast trend. 20

Dunbar.21 in describing these folds, says:

They [the sedimentary strata] are in many places thrown into low open folds, 

on the limbs of which the dip may reach a maximum of 8° to 10°. In the southern half of the valley (valley of the west Tennessee) faulting is not uncommon, and 

the throws range from a few feet to 150 feet. The strongest disturbance observed 

is in the vicinity of Clifton, where the structure is transected and beautifully 

shown along the Tennessee'River. The town is located on the crest of the anticline, from which the rocks dip very gently away to the east and west for a mile 

in either direction. The height of the arch if restored would be fully 250 feet, 

and the south limb is broken down by a fault which has a throw of about 125 feet, 

bringing the mid-Ordovician Hermitage limestone up in contact with the midSilurian Dixon. Just below Grandview the river cuts across another low arch 

some 2 miles wide and fully 100 feet high at its crest, while the preserval of the 

big Devonian section at Olive Hill is due to a syncline of similar magnitude. 

Considerable faulting has ocurred just below the Cerro Gordo, where a section of 

the bluff 200 or 300 yards long composed of Devonian limestone dipping 8° to

11 Matthes, F. E., oral communication.

« Wade, Bruee, Geology of Perry County and vicinity: Resources of Tennessee, vol. 4, p. 175,1914. 

*i Dunbar, C. O., Stratigraphy and correlation of the Devonian of west Tennessee: Tennessee Geol. 

Survey Bull. 21, pp. 13-15,1919.

119722 33 3
26 GROUND-WATEK RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

10° to the north intervenes between these bluffs formed of horizontal mid-Silurian 

strata. Faulting is also seen in the bluff above Pyburns. Just below the mouth 

of Bluff Creek the strata dip westward at an angle of about 8° and the top of the 

Devonian is over 50 feet above water level. The dip decreases and the strata are 

nearly horizontal half a mile to the west, where the bluff drops away to the valleys of Anderson's and Johnson's branches; and the top of the Devonian is but 

little above water level. West of these valleys the previous section is repeated, 

the dip being to the west again, and the top of the Devonian about 50 feet above 

the river. A fault with a throw of between 25 and 30 feet, therefore, occurs 

somewhere in the intervening valley.

While the dips are invariably slight and the folds broad and low in the limestone 

and shale formations of the valley, the hard, brittle Camden and Harriman cherts 

are extremely fractured and frequently crumpled by small sharp folds with dips 

at all angles up to vertical. It is characteristic of these chert formations that the 

bedding plains are seldom horizontal for more than a short distance, even though 

the underlying shales and limestones bear no appearance of disturbance. This 

character is well shown at the boat landing at Saltillo, which is situated on a 

rather sharp anticline. Above the landing the massive Decatur limestone may 

be seen dipping downstream at an angle of about 25°. Some 200 yards below it 

appears again, dipping upstream at an equal angle. Aside from the dip, the 

limestone shows no obvious results of deformation. The Harriman chert formation, which succeeds the Decatur, is well exposed by a ravine which enters the 

river at the landing. The chert is thoroughly fractured and crumpled into a 

series of small sharp folds, frequently reaching 80° or more. Some of these folds 

are broken and others slightly overturned. Since the older limestones and shales 

could not have escaped the same compressive stresses to which the chert has been 

subjected, the contrast in their structure must be attributed to their different 

physical character. The heavy limestones were stout and tough enough to carry 

the stresses into broad open folds, while the shale was soft and weak enough to 

yield by mashing and to accommodate itself between the harder formation. The 

thin-bedded chert, on the contrary, being too hard to yield by mashing and too 

brittle to carry the strain into broad folds, has been thoroughly fractured and 

crumpled.

Detailed mapping would undoubtedly show other folds and faults. 

To those mentioned above might be added an anticlinal fold at Old 

Dunbar and another at Dry Creek.

The age of this deformation is uncertain. The overlying Cretaceous 

beds are not involved, and inasmuch as all the older rocks are deformed, the age of the major disturbance may be placed between the 

Mississippian and the Cretaceous. As the Pennsylvanian also is 

faulted in Illinois it seems probable that the deformation occurred in 

Permian time, when the entire Appalachian mountain system was 

elevated.22

REGIONAL DIP OP CRETACEOUS AND TERTIARY FORMATIONS

Glenn 23 has likened the shape of the rock floor of the upper Mississippi embayment to that of a spoon, with the tip extending northward 

into Illinois and the east half underlying Tennessee and Kentucky.

a» Dunbar, C. O., op. cit.

M Glenn, L. C., Underground waters of Tennessee and Kentucky west of the Tennessee River: U. S. 

Oeol. Survey Water Supply Paper 164, p. 10,1906.
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURE 27

The younger sediments, of Cretaceous and Eocene age, were deposited 

in successive layers on this surface, and the slope of these beds is that 

of the underlying floor. In the area under discussion this slope is 

toward the west and southwest. Near their outcrops the formations 

dip about 30 feet to the mile. This dip lessens considerably toward 

the west and may reach a minimum of 15 feet to the mile. (See pi. 

5.) Few drill holes penetrate the Paleozoic rocks west of their outcrop area and the logs that are available are too general for precise 

correlation, but it is probable that the axis of the basin lies about 15 

miles west of the Mississippi River. Logs of two oil tests from the 

files of well logs in the Arkansas Geological Survey are given below. 

No change has been made in the lithologic descriptions as given by 

the driller, and the data are not such as to permit accurate correlation.

Log of well No. 1 of J. Painter, jr., on farm of Page M. Patter son, northwest corner 

sec. 35, T. 9 N., R. 7 E., Crittenden County, Ark.

oil?. . - 

Hard sand __ .--.-_-------. ..

Thickness 

(feet)

5

35

32

40

18

14

12

14

2

23

5

25

78

34

32

26

15

5

30

28

5

17

20

10

40

160

10

8

16

12

12

20

17

11

39

19

18

8

22

17

10

20

12

9

80

10

20

10

22

Depth 

(feet)

5

40

72

112

130

144

156

170

172

195

200

205

230

308

342

374

400

415

420

450

478

483

5QQr

520

530

570

730

740

748

764

776

788

808

825

836

875

894

912

920

942

959

969

989

1,001

1,010

1,090

1,100

1,120

1,130

1.152

Sand..-------------------.---......

oil? .. 

Oil and gas showing at 894, 989,

and 1,570 feet.

water well at 2.563 feet... .........

Shale

WMtelime 

Hard sand rock. ...._-.__.._.__ ....

Thickness 

(feet)

11

27

18

99

10

3

43

212

6

13

19

3

10

12

41

00

24

28

2

11

189

2

00

3

10

39

12

61

21

20

25

20

24

138

6

8

10

9

2

5

3

Depth 

(feet)

1,163

1,208

1,230

1,243

1,286

1 4.0°.

1 Kf\A

1

K1Q

1,531

1 534

1 548

1,567

1,570

i f*aQ

1 TO*

1,636

1 71ft

1,742

1,772

1 7°.°.

1 079

1,974

2,012

2,015

2

-tKA

2,193

2 1Q7

2,209

2,270

2,291

2,311

2,336

2,356

2,380

2,518

2

COJ

2,532

2,542

2,551

0 519

2,554

2,555

2.563
28 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Log of well No. 1 of J. Painter, jr., on farm of Page M. Patterson, northwest corner 

sec. S5, T. 9 N., R. 7 E., Crittenden County, Ark. Continued

Thickness 

(feet)

7

24

8

21

26

30

30

2

19

7

14

10

8

35

7

3

6

1

6

15

4

7

1

7

1

2

2

Depth 

(feet)

2,570

2,602

2,623

2,624

2,650

2,680

2,710

2,712

2,731

2,738

2,752

2,762

2,770

2,807

2,814

2,815

2,818

2,824

2,825

2,831

O QAft

2,850

2,857

2,858

2,865

2,866

2,868

2,879

Sand. _____ . ____ .. _____

Chalk............. _...

Shale and chalk

Shale ___ . ________ . ___

Rock ___ ..... _ ..... __ . ___

Sand........ . . . 

feet.

Thickness 

(feet)

4fi

27

<i9

9

13

12

21

24

10

78

45

17

26

14

14

26

4

2

1

18f<\

39

4

34

37

26

Depth 

(feet)

2,916

9 QA3

2,985

3,004

3,016

3,029

3,031

3,052

3,076

3,086

3,164

3,219

3,236

3,262

3,276

3,290

3,316

3,320

3,322

3,333

3,351

3,376

3,415

3,419

3,453

3,490

3,516

Log of well No. 1 ofJ. Painter, jr., on Hunter farm, sec.,

County, Ark.

'h T. 7 N., R. 8 E., Crittenden

Sand- - ...

Rock. ................... . .. ....

Fresh-water sand __________

Thickness 

(feet)

10 

28 

3 

129 

1 

69 

130 

37 

35 

53 

60 

22 

75 

118 

144 

2 

4 

20 

15 

15 

30 

10 

35 

5 

15 

4 

11 

9 

6 

55 

5 

37 

5 

95 

8 

2 

1

Depth

(feet)

10 

38 

41 

170 

171 

240 

370 

407 

442 

495 

635 

557 

632 

750 

894 

896 

900 

920 

935 

950 

980 

990 

1,025 

1,030 

1,045 

1,049 

1,060 

1,069 

1,075 

1,130 

1,135 

1,172 

1,177 

1,272 

1,280 

1,282 

1.283

Shale, lignite; cored at 1,792 feet ....

Shell rock; cored at 1,867 feet; no

Sandy lime and shale; gas showingGray water sand: fresh water. hot--

Thickness 

(feet)

57 

1 

47 

4 

42 

61 

5 

25 

23 

27 

20 

25 

6 

51 

12 

32 

44

1 

4 

1 

15 

1 

85 

28 

10 

20 

245 

25 

50 

100 

50 

40 

20 

18 

5 

27

Depth

(feet)

1,340 

1,441 

1,488 

1,492 

1,534 

1,595 

1,600 

1,625 

1,648 

1,675 

1,695 

1,720 

1,726 

1,777 

1,789 

1,821 

1,865

1,866 

1,870 

1.871 

1,886 

1,887 

1,972 

2,000 

2,010 

2,030 

2,275 

2,300 

2,350 

2,450 

2,500 

2,540 

2,560 

2,578 

2,583 

2.610
GEOLOGIC STEUCTUEE 29

Log of well No. 1 of J. Painter, jr., on Hunter farm, sec. 24, T. 7 N., R.8E., Crittenden

County, Ark. Continued

Shale-- _ - ____ .- .. -- _ _

Chalky shale ____________ .

Chalk rock...... __ __ . .......

Thickness 

(feet)

35

15

70

30

40

120

40

60

45

Depth 

(feet)

2,645

2,660

2,730

2,760

2,800

2,920

2,960

3,020

3,065

Chalk.. ..................... ....

Thickness 

(feet)

20

45

90

25

20

20

50

250

29

Depth

(feet)

3,085

3,130

3,220

3,245

3,265

3,285

3,335

3,585

3,614

Mr. Spooner 34 places the base of the Wilcox at 2,000 to 2,030 feet 

and the base of the Midway (base of Eocene) at 2,578 feet. The 

writer places the base of the Midway at 2,371 feet.

An analysis of these well logs shows unconsolidated deposits of sand 

and clay to a depth of about 3,300 feet and hard consolidated rock 

below this. The log of the well on the Hunter farm states that the 

well was in the Paleozoic at a depth of 3,614 feet, where the work was 

abandoned. On the assumption that the transition from unconsolidated or soft materials to hard limestone represents the contact between the Cretaceous and Paleozoic this contact can be placed at 

about 3,300 feet. This is the greatest depth to the Paleozoic floor in 

this latitude, and the site of the axis of the basin can be assumed to be 

at this point.

SURFACE WARPING

The plateau of western Tennessee has a general slope to the northwest, but in the northwestern part of the area the land rises again, 

forming the high tract in the western part of Obion County. Surface 

warping has elevated this tract until its general level is about 100 feet 

higher than the general surface level to the south. This is near the 

area of maximum disturbance of the New Madrid earthquake of 1811 

and 1812. That this earthquake formed Reelfoot Lake and caused 

changes in level of parts of the land surface has been shown by McGee 25 

and Shepard.26 Uplift sufficient to give a difference of 100 feet could 

not have occurred at the time of the New Madrid earthquake, for 

ponding of the drainage would have resulted. It seems possible, however, that this warping could have been effected in recent times by 

successive small disturbances similar to the New Madrid earthquake.

SLUMPING

Small faults, the displacement on which does not exceed a few feet, 

occur in the Porters Creek clay. A good example of these faults is

M Spooner, W. C., personal communication.

» McGee, W J, A fossil earthquake: Qeol. Soc. America Bull., vol. 4, pp. 411-414,1893.

« Shepard, C. M., The New Madrid earthquake: Jour. Geology, vol. 13, pp. 45-62,1865.
30 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

seen three-quarters of a mile west of Middleton, in Hardeman County, 

on the south side of the Southern Railway. Here three small faults 

are exposed, of which the largest has a displacement of 8 feet. Another 

fault, forming a small graben, is well exposed in a road cut on highway 

15 just east of the Hatchie River, in Hardeman County. These small 

faults were probably caused by slumping, and as the overlying Holly 

Springs formation seems not to be affected the slumping probably took 

place at the end of Midway time.

GROUND WATER 

SOURCE AND OCCURRENCE

Of the rain that falls in any region a part returns to the atmosphere 

by direct evaporation either from the land surface or from objects on 

the surface, a part flows directly to the streams and is carried away, 

and another part seeps into the soil or rocks. Some of this last part 

is withdrawn by evaporation from the soil and transpiration of plants 

and some penetrates downward through the cracks, crevices, and 

interstices until it reaches the water table, or upper surface of the zone 

of saturation, below which all openings are saturated with water. 

Above the water table is the zone of aeration, where the water is 

suspended against gravity by molecular forces. The zone of aeration 

is not saturated but is moist.

Nearly all rock formations contain some openings through which 

water will pass. Some formations, such as clean gravel and clean 

coarse sand, are very porous and permeable; others, such as dense 

granite and metamorphic rocks, may be impermeable except as they 

are traversed by joints and fissures through which water may percolate. 

Limestone may consist of very dense material but may contain a 

system of solution channels that will carry water freely. In general 

the most impermeable formations are those composed of clay, which 

is itself impermeable and is too soft to have open joints or fissures, 

The rocks of western Tennessee can be divided on the basis of the 

nature of the openings in them into two distinct classes the consolidated rocks of Paleozoic age and the relatively unconsolidated Cretaceous, Eocene, and Quaternary deposits.

WATER IN THE CONSOLIDATED PALEOZOIC BOCKS 

OPENINGS IN SOIJD ROCKS

The openings in the indurated Paleozoic rocks can be divided into four 

classes major fractures, minor or joint fractures, anastomosis, and 

solution channels. The formation of a particular class depends on 

the stresses at work and on the physical and chemical nature of the 

rocks. Thus under compressive stresses shales will tend to flow and 

cherts to shatter; solutions carrying carbon dioxide will vigorously 

attack limestones but have no influence on shales.
WATER IN PALEOZOIC ROCKS 31

Major fractures caused by profound structural stresses, such as 

faults and large fissures, may extend horizontally and vertically for 

hundreds or thousands of feet and may traverse many formations. 

The width of the fissures may attain several feet. They may contain 

large volumes of water and furnish channels along which water 

can move easily for considerable distances. Such fissures are not 

common in this area but are found in conjunction with the folds. 

(See pp. 25-26.)

The jointing in limestones and shales is largely due to cubical expansion and contraction, especially during drying and settling.27 The 

jointing may be greater in one bed than in another and does not pass 

from formation to formation but is most common at the contacts of 

the different beds. Contraction and expansion take place hi consolidated beds as a result of temperature changes, absorption of moisture, 

and other factors of weathering. These weathering processes bear a 

relation to the surface, and joints caused by them are more numerous 

at the surface and diminish with depth. Frost action and the pressure 

of growing roots open the joints, so that their width also shows a 

relation to the surface. Bedding planes are surfaces of weakness, and 

joints are likely to form along them. Folding of the beds may produce 

tension and compression joints.28

Owing to their brittle nature the cherts in this area were completely 

shattered by the slight folding they have undergone, and circulating 

ground waters have removed by solution their lime content, until the 

remaining mass is cut by a labyrinth of irregular solution cavities. 

The innumerable interlocking openings permit water to move freely in 

all directions, instead of being restricted to definite channels as is 

usual in impermeable rocks. Such a condition has been called anastomosis by Martel,29 who defines it as follows:

When the fissures are smaller and more numerous * * * in place of true 

currents one is in the presence of a network of conduits arranged in a more or less 

regular checkerboard and joined in every way, anastomosed that is, communicating with each other by chance according to the laws of hydrostatic equilibrium.

Meteoric waters carry carbon dioxide, which in solution is a solvent 

for calcium carbonate. Hence meteoric waters percolating downward 

through jointed or fissured limestones dissolve some of the wall rock 

and thereby enlarge the openings. This process takes place largely 

above the zone of saturation, where the movement of water is rapid; it 

is generally negligible at any considerable depth below the water table. 

With some possible exceptions the value of this process as a reservoir 

former is confined to regions where the limestone formations have 

stood above the ground-water level until caverns were formed and then 

have subsided so that these caverns were lowered below the level of

» Leith, C. K., Structural geology, p. 33,1923.

ffl Idem, pp. 47-48.

» Martel, E. A., Nouveau traite des eaux souterrains, p. Ill, 1921.
32 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

saturation. In this area there are no large solution channels in the 

Paleozoic limestones below the water table, but caves exist above the 

ground-water level, and many surface streams disappear into such 

caves, to come to the surface farther down their courses. These 

underground streams do not everywhere represent the true groundwater level.

From what has been said about the relation of joints, fissures, and 

solution channels to the surface it follows that these openings are much 

more numerous within the zone of weathering than at greater depth. 

The geologic column (pp. 18-21) shows that none of the limestone or 

shale formations in western Tennessee exceed 100 feet in thickness and 

that most of them are less than 50 feet. Hence a well in these rocks 

from 150 to 300 feet in depth will traverse several formations of varying 

character in the zone where they are most highly fractured. If water 

is not encountered above a depth of 300 feet the chances of obtaining 

a successful well by drilling to greater depths are not good, and it is 

generally advisable to start a new hole.

WATER IN I^IMESTONES

The Paleozoic rocks of western Tennessee are limestones, shales, and 

cherts. The limestones of this area vary considerably in composition 

and texture and in the amount of jointing. Some beds, such as the 

Decatur limestone, are massive crystalline limestone, which has relatively few joints, no bedding planes, and few fissures. Other limestones are argillaceous and grade into shale. These formations are in 

many places thin bedded. The bedding planes are lines of weakness 

and are the «ites for the formation of numerous horizontal fissures. 

Also these formations were more subject to jointing during deposition 

than the pure limestones, and they are traversed by numerous cracks. 

The influence of folding and of solution on limestones has been 

described (p. 31) and applies to all the limestones in the area. The 

argillaceous limestones are less soluble than the others and may serve 

to deflect percolating waters, so that immediately above them horizontal solution channels are found.

WATER IN SHALES

Many shales are essentially impervious and do not yield water but 

serve as barriers to its movement. As they are relatively plastic they 

are likely to yield to stresses by flowing instead of breaking, so that 

even when folded they remain unbroken and impervious. The pure 

shales of the region, such as the Chattanooga shale, are of this nature 

and generally do not yield water to wells. Most of the shales of the 

area, however, are impure, containing sand or calcium carbonate. 

They have many bedding planes and are cut by numerous fissures. 

They form better sources of water than the massive limestones.
WATER IN CRETACEOUS, TERTIARY, QUATERNARY DEPOSITS 33 

WATER IN CHERTS

The cherts of this area are calcareous and brittle. The slight folding 

they have undergone has shattered them, and near their outcrops 

circulating waters have removed the calcium carbonate by solution. 

The solution cavities and the numerous fractures make these rocks 

highly porous and permeable. They are excellent water-bearing beds 

in localities where they crop out.

WATER IN THE RELATIVELY UN CONSOLIDATED CRETACEOUS, 

TERTIARY, AND QUATERNARY DEPOSITS

The relatively unconsolidated sediments of Cretaceous age consist 

of sand, silt, and clay. The classification of gravel, sand, and clay, 

expressed in millimeters, used in the hydrologic laboratory of the 

United States Geological Survey,30 is as follows:

Gravel, greater than 5. 

Gravel, 5 to 2. 

Fine gravel, 2 to 1. 

Coarse sand, 1 to 0.5.

Fine sand, 0.25 to 0.1. 

Very fine sand, 0.1 to 0.05. 

Sflt, 0.05 to 0.005. 

Clay, less than 0.005.

Medium sand, 0.5 to 0.25.

The clays are arenaceous near their contact, and these parts will 

yield a little water, but the massive clays are not water bearing. The 

silts yield only a little water, but the sands are excellent water bearers. 

The properties that determine the water-yielding capacities of sand are 

those which hold for any granular deposit namely, porosity, specific 

retention, specific yield, and permeability.

POROSITY

A granular deposit consists of solid grains and the intervening open 

spaces. The percentage of the open spaces to the total volume determines the porosity of the deposit. To investigate the porosity of 

granular deposits Slichter 31 considered an "ideal soil" consisting of 

spherical grains of equal size. He demonstrated mathematically that 

the ratio of the volume of the intergranular space to the volume of 

the spheres, or the porosity of such a soil, ranged from a maximum 

when the arrangement of the spheres was such that lines joining the 

centers of the spheres made angles of 90° to each other to a minimum 

when the center lines formed rhombohedra with interfaced angles of 

60° and 120° respectively. As the packing of grains changed from the 

maximum cubical or open packing to the minimum or closed packing 

the porosity ranged between the limits of 47.64 and 29.95 per cent. 

The pores through such an ideal soil are capillary tubes of approximately triangular cross section, which enlarge slightly in area and then 

diminish again as they follow the surfaces of the spherical soil grains.

30 Stearns, N. D., Laboratory tests of physical properties of water-bearing material: U.S. Geol. Survey 

Water-Supply Paper 596, p. 127,1928.

a Slichter, C. S., Theoretical investigation of the motion of ground water: U. S. Geol. Survey Nineteenth 

Ann. Kept., pt. 2, pp. 305-328,1899.
34 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

It can be mathematically demonstrated that the pore space of such an 

ideal soil is independent of the size (diameter) of the constituent 

grains, the porosity being a function of the arrangement of these 

grains only.

In a soil consisting of spheres of many sizes the relationship above 

set forth no longer holds true. It is obvious that a large sphere fills 

the space that would otherwise be occupied by many small ones, thus 

diminishing the number of voids, or the smaller spheres may be considered as lying in the spaces between the larger ones, thereby reducing 

the void space. In such a soil the factor that controls the porosity is 

largely the degree of assortment that is, the difference in sizes of 

grain and the proportion of the material that is of each size. Such a 

soil can have a porosity less than the limiting porosity of an ideal 

soil. Most clastic deposits are made up of grains of many sizes, and 

the porosity of clastic deposits is determined largely by the degree of 

assortment.

Another factor that determines the porosity of granular material 

is the shape of the constituent grains, for the grains are not true 

spheres but may have any shape. Angular and lath-shaped grains 

generally give greater porosity, for they generally have a chaotic 

arrangement, whereas tabular grains deposited by running water 

tend to be laid down with the short dimensions of the different grains 

parallel, causing such materials to be much less porous. The shape 

of the grains depends on the minerals from which they are derived, 

the size of the grains, and the amount of abrasion to which they have 

been subjected. Grains derived from minerals with strong cleavage 

will have shapes determined by the cleavage for instance, mica 

grains are platy and as the grains are reduced in size they will tend 

to maintain the same shape. Minerals without cleavage give fragments of irregular shape, which may be rounded by abrasion, and as 

the grains diminish in size they become more nearly round. Fine 

sands, however, are often found to be very angular. This can be 

explained by the fact that grains of less than a certain size are unable 

to abrade or be abraded, as they are unable to inflict a blow of sufficient force. Hence very small angular fragments smaller than this 

limiting size are not rounded. The limiting size of abrasion is dependent upon the specific gravity of the material and the conditions of 

transportation. In a general way it may be said that fine grains are 

likely to be angular. The sands of western Tennessee are composed 

largely of quartz, a mineral'with no cleavage, which has been worn 

until it is subangular in shape.

Many methods of determining porosity have been used, as described 

by Meinzer. 32 The present method used in the hydrologic laboraM Meinzer, O. E., The occurrence of ground water In the United States: U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply 

Paper 489, pp. 11-17,1923. See also Stearns, N. D., Laboratory tests on physical properties of water-bearing materials: U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 596, pp. 131-134,1928.
WATER IN CRETACEOUS, TERTIARY, QUATERNARY DEPOSITS 35

tory of the United States Geological Survey was developed by P. G. 

Nutting and is described in a memorandum prepared by A. M. Piper 

as follows:

The method of determining porosity which is at present in use in the hydrologic laboratory differs from the method described by Mrs. Stearns in Water-Supply 

Paper 596 in three respects (1) the fluid used is tetrahydronaphthalene instead 

of water; (2) a Babcock milk or cream testing bottle is used in place of the Johnston and Adams pycnometer; (3) the determination is made at room temperature. 

The revised method has long been used in the Bureau of Standards laboratory in 

determining the porosity of paint pigments.

Tetrahydronaphthalene is sold under the commercial name tetraline. It is a 

colorless fluid of low volatility, boiling point 204° C., density 0.975 at 21° C, and 

is very soluble in alchohol or ether and practically insoluble in water. Furthermore, its coefficient of thermal expansion is very low, and it is fairly stable. It is 

sufficiently miscible with water to displace the small amount of moisture absorbed 

by the mineral grains during determination. Parahyde is more effective than tetraline in displacing absorbed moisture but is distinctly inferior in that it is more 

volatile. Toluene is much too volatile to be satisfactory.

The stem of a Babcock cream test bottle is larger in diameter than that of the 

milk test bottle. Hence, with the cream test bottle the sand sample can be 

inserted more easily, but the determination is uncertain in the hundredths of 1 

per cent. With the milk test bottle and refined technique, the determination is 

certain at least to hundredths of 1 per cent. As much as 15 grains of sand can 

be placed in either the milk or the cream bottle.

Each Babcock bottle must first be standardized by weighing the quantity of 

water required to fill it to the lower part of the scale (which is graduated on the 

stem of the bottle) and reading the volume on the scale at two or three temperatures between 0° and 35° C. The volume must be read after the bottle has been 

brought to equilibrium in a constant-temperature bath. A similar series of readings is taken with enough water to fill each bottle nearly to the top of the scale. 

From these data can be computed (1) the volume of the bottle below the mere 

mark of the scale at 0° C., (2) the volume represented by each scale graduation, 

(3) the coefficients of volume expansion of the bottle and of the stem.

The tetraline used is then standardized by repeating the set of observations 

outlined in the preceding" paragraph with tetraline rather than water. From 

these data can be computed the density of tetraline at standard temperature and 

the coefficient of change in density with temperature.

The determination of porosity is made thus:

1. The bottle is cleaned, dried in the oven, and weighed.

« 2. The sample of sand is placed in the bottle and its weight determined by 

difference between the weight of the empty bottle and the total weight of bottle 

and sample.

3. Enough tetraline is placed in the bottle to cover the sample, and the bottle 

is held in an inclined position and rotated slowly in the hands until the air trapped 

in the sample has been displaced. Usually the air is displaced rapidly, and there 

is a well-defined cessation of the escape of air bubbles.

4. More tetraline is added to bring the fluid level up into the graduated stem, 

and the weight of the tetraline is determined by difference.

5. The bottle is corked to prevent evaporation or entrance of foreign particles 

and allowed to stand until it and its contents have come to temperature equilibrium. The scale rating of the fluid level is then noted and the fluid temperature read from a thermometer inserted in the stem of the bottle. For convenience, steps 1 to 4 are usually performed in the late afternoon, and the bottles are
36 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

allowed to stand over night on a pad or other poor conductor of heat in a place that 

is protected from the direct radiation of light, and the volume and temperature 

readings are made early the following morning. Even in heated buildings the 

changes in temperature during the night are not so rapid that the bottle will not 

come to equilibrium.

From the known weights of the sample and the tetraline, the total volume of 

sample and tetraline, the temperature, and the thermal coefficients of bottle and 

tetraline, the porosity can be computed.

The results of 117 porosity determinations (see pp. 82,96-97,101-102) 

made on samples collected from all the sand formations in western 

Tennessee, both from outcrops and from well drillings, show a high 

porosity. The average is 39.9 per cent; the maximum 49 per cent 

(sample 911, p. 102); the minimum 22.4 per cent (sample 855, p. 82). 

The range of porosity is relatively small, almost falling within the range 

possible in an ideal soil due to differences of packing.

SPECIFIC YEEtiD AND SPECIFIC RETENTION

Although in an ideal soil the grain size does not affect the porosity it 

does affect the amount of water that such a soil when saturated will 

yield under force of gravity. This is due to forces acting between 

liquids and solids in contact with each other which cause a film of 

liquid to adhere to the surface of a solid. These forces are proportional to the surface area, and with an increase of area the quantity of 

liquid held is increased. As the surface of spheres varies directly as 

the square of their diameters and the number of spheres of equal size in 

a given volume varies inversely as the cube of the diameters, the aggregate surface of the spheres in a given volume increases with diminishing grain size, which hence results in an increase in the quantity of 

liquid held. Surface tension manifests itself in small tubes by 

capillarity. The height of a column of liquid that a capillary tube will 

hold varies inversely as the diameter. The interstices between grains 

in a granular mass can be considered irregular tubes. The size of the 

tubes between the grains decreases as th& diameter of the grains 

decreases, but the number of tubes increases. Hence the smaller the 

grains the more liquid will be held by capillarity. If a sand saturated 

with water is allowed to drain, a certain amount of the water will be 

retained in the sand by the force of surface tension. The percentage 

by volume of the water retained by a sand is called the specific retention of the sand; the percentage which is occupied by gravity water 

(water that will drain out under gravitational pull) is called the 

specific yield. From the discussion of surface tension it is obvious that 

the specific retention varies inversely with size of grain, being greater 

the smaller the grain. The sum of these two percentages equals the 

porosity.

Various methods for determining the specific retention and specific 

yield have been employed.33 One method of determining the specific

33 Meinzer, O.K., The occurrence of ground water in the United States: U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply 

Paper 489, pp. 67-77, 1923.
WATER IN CRETACEOUS, TERTIARY, QUATERNARY DEPOSITS 37

yield is the moisture-equivalent method, which consists in determining 

the amount of water retained by a saturated sample of sand after it has 

been subjected in a centrifuge to a pull 1,000 times the pull of gravity. 

The technique employed in making this determination in the hydrologic laboratory of the United States Geological Survey is described by 

Mrs. Stearns.34

The moisture-equivalent determinations made on 144 samples (see 

pp. 82, 96-97, 101-102) from the Eutaw, Ackerman, Ripley, Holly 

Springs, Grenada, and Jackson formations at outcrops and from wells 

in western Tennessee are low. The highest is 12.70 per cent (sample 

859, p. 96); the lowest is 0.50 per cent (sample 1071, p. 101); and the 

average is 3.32 per cent. The mechanical analysis of sample 859 

shows that the sand contains 2.3 per cent of clay and 4.1 per cent of 

silt and is all less than 0.5 millimeter in size. From the discussion 

of specific retention it is obvious that the moisture equivalent will 

increase with increasing content of silt and clay, but these samples 

include materials which are as much as 83 per cent very fine sand (on 

0.125-millimeter sieve), and by definition finer material does not fall 

within the sand size. Therefore these determinations probably represent the range in moisture equivalent of the sand formations of 

western Tennessee.

PERMEABZLTTY

Specific yield and specific retention are of interest when a rock is 

considered as a reservoir, for they indicate how much water a given 

volume of a rock will yield. If a formation is to be considered as a 

conduit for carrying water from one point to another, the capacity of 

the formation for transmitting water under pressure, rather than the 

water content of the formation, is of primary importance. This 

capacity is called permeability and is defined as the rate at which a 

formation will transmit water through a given cross section under a 

given difference of pressure per unit of distance. The permeability of 

a granular deposit is determined by the resistance that the deposit 

offers to the passage of water through it. In a deposit composed of 

very fine grains (less than 0.005 millimeter), the surface tension is so 

great that water can not be forced through the deposit, and it is said to 

be impermeable. In deposits composed of larger grains the resistance 

offered to the flow of water depends on the diameter of the openings. 

Slichter 35 has demonstrated that in an ideal soil the permeability 

varies as the square of the diameters of the grains. In a natural 

deposit no definite relation exists between size of grain and permeability, but grain size is a very influential factor, and poorly sorted 

coarse-grained material may have greater permeability than uniform

84 Stearns, N. D., Laboratory tests on physical properties of water-bearing materials: U. S. Geol. Survey 

Water-Supply Paper 596, pp. 134-139,1928. 

M Slichter, C. S., op. cit., pp. 301-323.
38 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

material of a grain size equal to the average grain size of the coarse 

material.

Meinzer 36 has devised a laboratory method for measuring the permeability, the result being expressed as a coefficient of permeability. 

The coefficient of permeability is the number of gallons of water a day, 

at 60° F., that is conducted laterally through each mile of the waterbearing bed under investigation (measured at right angles to the 

direction of flow), for each foot of thickness of the bed and for each foot 

per mile of hydraulic gradient. A description of this method and a 

discussion of its limitations are given by Mrs. Stearns.37 A method of 

measuring permeability of a formation in place is discussed in the 

present paper on page 306.

Permeability determinations were made on 113 samples (see 

pp. 82, 96-97, 101-102) collected both from outcrops and from well 

drillings from the Eutaw, Kipley, Ackerman, Holly Springs, and 

Grenada formations throughout western Tennessee. The results 

show a wide range, from a maximum of 3,936 (sample 1039) to a 

minimum of 9 (sample 862). The average, 750, is high and indicates 

that the sands of western Tennessee are relatively permeable.

MECHANICAL ANALYSIS

The preceding discussion has shown that the properties of porosity, 

specific retention, specific yield, and permeability are dependent upon 

either the gram size or the degree of uniformity of gram size, or both. 

Mechanical analysis is a simple laboratory analysis which will give 

comparative data on the grain size and on the variations of grain size 

of a sand. The mechanical analysis of a sand is determined by sieving 

a sample through a series of screens having mesh of different sizes and 

weighing the material retained on each screen. The weight of the 

material retained on each screen divided by the weight of the whole 

sample and multiplied by 100 gives the percentage of the material by 

weight held on each screen. If the percentage of the material that 

passes through each screen is plotted against the logarithm of the size 

of opening of the screen and the points connected by a curve, the shape 

of this curve gives an indication of the degree of assortment. The 

more nearly uniform the material the steeper will be the slope of the 

curve; with completely uniform material the curve is a vertical straight 

line.

Hazen 38 expressed the degree of assortment of a deposit by what he 

called the uniformity coefficient, which is the ratio of the diameter of a 

grain that is coarser than 60 per cent of the sample to the diameter of a

M Meinzer, O.E., The occurrence of ground water in the United States: IT. S. Qeol. Survey Water-Supply 

Paper 596, pp. 144-149,1928.

w Stearns, N. D., Laboratory tests on physical properties of water-bearing materials: U. S. Qeol. Survey 

Water-supply Paper 596, pp. 144-149, 1928.

as Hazen, Alien, Experiments upon the purification of sewage and water at the Lawrence Experiment 

Station: Massachusetts Board of Health Twenty-third Ann. Kept., for 1891, pp. 429-431,1892.
WATER IN CRETACEOUS, TERTIARY, QUATERNARY DEPOSITS 39

grain that is coarser than 10 per cent of the sample. If the grains are 

all of one size the coefficient will be 1; as the difference in grain sizes 

increases the coefficient increases. Hazen 39 also states that the size 

larger than 10 per cent of the material and smaller than 90 per cent 

gives as good an idea of the nature of the sand as can be condensed into 

a single figure, and he calls this size the effective size.

A description of the technique employed in making these measurements is given by Mrs. Stearns.40 In many experiments where the 

sand contained no silt or clay and was composed predominantly of 

coarse grains it was deemed advisable to follow another technique. 

One hundred grams of sand was weighed out and sieved in a nest of 

five screens, the openings ranging from a width of 1 millimeter down 

to 0.0625 millimeter, and those in each screen being half the size of the 

preceding. The nest of screens was agitated in a machine which 

gyrated them and tapped them periodically for 10 minutes, after 

which the material on each screen was weighed and the percentages 

determined. A torsion balance weighing to 0.1 gram was used 

throughout this test. This procedure is called the second method.

Mechanical analyses of 134 samples collected from the Eutaw, 

Ripley, Holly Springs, and Grenada formations throughout western 

Tennessee are listed on pages 82-83, 96-98, 101-102, 104. These 

analyses show considerable variation in the character of the sand, 

both in size of grain and in uniformity of grain size. The uniformity coefficient ranges from 1.31 (sample L. & N. I) to 9.50 (sample 906), but 

the average is 2.61, which is rather low. These determinations indicate 

that in general terms the sands of western Tennessee are very uniform 

in grain size.

PROBLEMS OF SAMPiLTNG

A discussion of the limitations of these experiments is beyond the 

scope of this paper. There is one point, however, that should be 

mentioned. The porosity, moisture equivalent, and permeability are 

dependent on the arrangement of the grains. It is impossible to 

duplicate in the laboratory the arrangement of a heterogeneous sand in 

place. Therefore it is never possible to obtain an absolutely correct 

laboratory determination of these factors, but the laboratory result is 

of the same order of magnitude as the true field condition.

Of greater importance than the above is the question whether the 

sample is truly representative of the formation. This has two parts 

whether the sample accurately represents the formation at the place 

where it was taken and whether the formation at that particular place 

accurately represents the whole formation. The method of sampling 

an outcrop and the accuracy of this method is discussed by 

Mrs. Stearns.41 If the sample is taken from drillings the accuracy

» Hazen, Alien, op. cit., p. 431.

« Stearns, N. D., op. cit. (Water-Supply Paper 596), pp. 121-176.

«Idem, pp. 22-23.
40 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OP WESTERN TENNESSEE

depends on the method of drilling. When the rotary process is used a 

fair sample can be obtained from the drillings, provided sufficient care 

is observed in taking the sample and no sludge is used in the drilling 

process. When a sludge is used in drilling it is necessary to remove 

the sludge from the sample. A clay sludge can be removed by careful 

washing, but any silt and clay that belongs to the sample will be 

removed with the sludge. In the samples taken from outcrops 

throughout western Tennessee the silt and clay content ranges from 

11.9 to 2.2 per cent. The error resultant upon removing this silt and 

clay from the sample can not be avoided. If the sludge is carelessly 

washed out some of the fine sand will be removed at the same time, 

thereby introducing a greater error.

The degree in which the sample represents the whole formation 

depends on the uniformity of the formation, which in turn is determined by the source of the material and the environment under which 

the formation was deposited. Materials that have undergone several 

cycles of erosion and deposition may have been subject to various 

types of sorting. If the same environment of sedimentation is repeated 

the material will attain a very definite character; if the environment 

is varied succeeding reworking may serve to mix the sorting previously 

imposed on the material. Marine conditions of sedimentation where 

reworked and sorted materials are being brought to the sea by streams 

are likely to produce deposits that are uniform in character over large 

areas. Deposits laid down by torrential streams bringing in heterogeneous material, however, will be extremely variable, and no sample 

or group of samples will give adequate data on which to base conclusions as to their water-yielding qualities. These are extreme conditions, neither of which is found in western Tennessee. In the sections 

on porosity, specific retention, permeability, and mechanical analysis 

it has been shown that the physical properties of the sands found in 

any one formation in western Tennessee range between fairly wide 

limits. Also lenses of clay occur irregularly distributed throughout 

the formations. Though with adequate data it might be possible to 

determine the physical properties for the formations as a whole, it is 

obviously impossible to predict how much clay and sand of different 

grades will be encountered in any one well. It is probable, however, 

that almost invariably in any well as much as 50 feet of sand can 

be found which will have a porosity, moisture equivalent, and permeability equal to the averages of these physical properties as determined 

from the samples collected from each formation.

RELATION OF GROUND WATER TO LAND FORMS

In this area the water table, or level below which the ground is 

saturated, follows in a general way the configuration of the surface; it 

rises under the hills and sinks under the valleys. The slope of the
KELATION OF GROUND WATER TO LAND FORMS 41

water table is nearly everywhere less than that of the land; therefore, 

the depth to water ranges from nothing where the water table comes to 

the surface at the streams in the valleys to a maximum on the highest 

hills. Not only does the topography influence the depth to the water 

table, but variations in the permeability of the underlying rocks modify 

its position. An impervious layer may bring the water table to the 

surface on a hillside, whereas high porosity will cause it to stand at 

considerable depths. In the valleys of western Tennessee the water 

table commonly stands from 10 to 20 feet below the surface, but in the 

hills of the Wilcox group it is from 60 to 125 feet below the surface. 

Local impervious layers of ^hardpan" that stand above the main 

water table may form small basins of perched water. (See fig. 5.) 

Such basins are most common in the Holly Springs and Grenada sand 

or at the base of the Pliocene gravel.

The fissuring of the Paleozoic rocks is greatest at the surface and 

diminishes with depth. The same thing is true of the leaching of the

Impervious ironstone, 

producing perched 

water basins ~

FIGURE 5. Diagrammatic section showing perched water tables in western Tennessee

cherts. It should be borne in mind that the old surface of the preTuscaloosa peneplain underlies the Cretaceous and younger formations. 

This old surface probably influenced the surface fissuring and leaching 

of the Paleozoic rocks much more than the present surface, although 

this pre-Tuscaloosa surface fissuring and leaching has been modified 

by later fissuring and leaching due to weathering from the present 

surface. Therefore, even where the Paleozoic rocks are covered by a 

mantle of younger deposits the top 100 feet or so of the Paleozoic rocks 

may be traversed by fissures and solution channels produced when 

these rocks stood at the surface. Hence wells seeking water in Paleozoic rocks that are so covered are most likely to strike water within 

the first 100 feet below the Paleozoic rock surface.

RELATION OF GROUND WATER TO GEOLOGIC STRUCTURE

The Paleozoic rocks of the area under discussion were gently folded 

sometime after the Mississippian epoch. The folding was not intense 

enough to fracture the flexible limestones and slates greatly, but it 

severely fractured the brittle cherts. Hence in the areas of folding 

the cherts "are more permeable than elsewhere. On the crests of the 

anticlines the limestone has been somewhat fractured, and along the 

119722 33 4
42 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

fractures there has been considerable solution, resulting locally in 

the formation of caves, as at Dry Creek, Hardin County.

The only structure in the younger formations other than surface 

slumping is a monoclinal dip to the west of 20 to 30 feet to the mile. 

In areas where water is obtained from the outcropping formation this 

dip does not influence the water table. However, when deeper artesian formations are to be penetrated this dip must be considered, for 

the depth to a given formation increases toward the west. The dip 

also has a very important bearing on artesian conditions, discussed 

below.

ARTESIAN CONDITIONS.

According to Meinzer ** artesian water is ground water that is under 

sufficient hydrostatic pressure to rise in a well above the zone of satuFIGUKE 6. Artesian flow caused by local clay lens.

ration. If it rises above the surface the well is called a flowing well. 

In general the following conditions are fulfilled in artesian waterbearing beds an inclined pervious bed lying between two impervious 

beds and having its outcrop at a height greater than the water table 

at the well, an outcrop favorable to absorption, a rainfall sufficient 

to furnish the necessary supply, and the absence of extensive leakage. 

It has been found that these conditions are nonessential. Fuller 43 

has shown that in porous formations, even where the grains of the 

formation are of uniform size, there may be artesian flow if the permeability of the formation in a direction parallel to the bedding is 

greater than the permeability in a direction across the bedding.

In western Tennessee artesian conditions are found in the Eutaw 

and Kipley sands west of their outcrop area and are shown diagrammatically in Plate 5, C. The confining beds are the Selma and 

Porters Creek clay, respectively, and the Eutaw and Kipley formations crop out in the hilly region in the eastern part of the area.

Meinzer, O. E ., Outline of ground water hydrology: U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 494, p. 39,

1923.

« Fuller, M. L., Artesian flows from unconflned strata: Engineering News, vol. 53, pp. 329-330, 1905.
QUALITY OF GROUND WATER 43

Water in the sandy layers of the Ackerman formation is under 

artesian pressure, being confined by the clayey upper beds of the 

formation. In the extreme western part of the State artesian 

-conditions exist in the Holly Springs and Grenada formations, 

as at Memphis, being due to a bed of blue clay that forms a continuous layer in the Jackson formation or the upper part of the 

Grenada formation in the extreme west. Local artesian conditions 

are also found where a sloping clay lens that crops out on a hilltop 

may trap the water below it, so that a well located at the lower 

level and passing through the lens may obtain an artesian flow. 

(See fig. 6.)

QUALITY OF GROUND WATER

By FRANCIS G. WELLS and MARGARET D. FOSTER

Samples of ground water from 176 sources were collected by Mr. 

Wells in the course of the field seasons of 1928 and 1929. About half 

of these samples were analyzed in the laboratory of the United States 

Geological Survey, Washington, D. C., and the remainder were 

analyzed in the laboratory of the Tennessee Geological Survey. Five 

analyses of water representing the treated water of such city supplies 

as treat the well water before distributing it and one analysis of the 

water representing the water supply of Tiptonville, which is derived 

from Reelfoot Lake, were made. These analyses are listed in tables 

according to counties, each table being included with the county 

description.

CHEMICAL CHARACTER OF NATURAL WATERS

The amount and character of the mineral matter dissolved in a 

water depend on the chemical composition and physical structure of 

the rocks with which it has been in contact, the temperature, the pressure, the duration of the contact, and the materials already in solution. 

The character of a water may, however, be altered by various polluting agencies. Usually the materials thus added are organic matter 

or its decomposition products. The treatment of a water for municipal or industrial use may also affect its chemical character.

The most noticeable characteristic of most natural waters is thenappearance as to color or turbidity, and the removal of color and turbidity is one of the first considerations of any plant for the purification 

of water for a public supply. Much of the apparent color may be due 

to clay or other colored matter carried in suspension in water that is, 

of itself, colorless. In technical discussions of water problems the 

term "color" is usually confined to the true color caused by dissolved 

or colloidal material largely derived from decaying leaves or other 

organic matter, so finely divided that it is not removed by sedimentation or ordinary filtration. It is most pronounced in water from
44 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

swamps and is usually not noticeable in waters that have been in contact only with rock, sand, or gravel. In some regions colored water? 

are obtained from deep wells that penetrate beds of lignite or other 

deeply buried organic material. Ground waters are, as a rule, practi* 

cally colorless; surface waters are in general noticeably colored even 

when quite free of suspended matter.

The turbidity and suspended matter in a water may be caused by 

suspended silt or other inorganic matter or, in industrial and wellpopulated areas, by the suspended solids of sewage and industrial 

wastes. Ground waters are normally free from suspended matter 

except as iron may be precipitated on exposure to air. Suspended 

matter is an important factor in determining the value of a water for 

most uses. Its removal is necessary to make water satisfactory as a 

public supply or suitable for many industrial uses.

The mineral constituents of natural waters considered here are 

those usually found in quantities sufficient to have a practical effect 

upon the value of the water for ordinary uses.

The waters of western Tennessee vary considerably in the amount of 

mineral matter which they carry in solution. In some the mineral 

content is very low 25 or 30 parts per million; a few others contain 

almost 1,000 parts per million, but 300 or 400 parts per million of dissolved mineral matter is high for most of the ground waters of this 

area.

Calcium (Ca) is dissolved to some extent from practically all rocks 

and may be dissolved in large quantities from limestone, dolomite, and 

gypsum. Calcium carbonate, the essential mineral of limestone, is 

but slightly soluble in pure water but dissolves readily in water containing carbon dioxide in solution. Of the unconsolidated deposits of 

western Tennessee the only formations containing appreciable quantities of calcium carbonate are the Selma clay, the Coon Creek tongue 

of the Ripley formation, the Clayton formation, and the loess. 

Ground water from these formations or from the top part of the formations immediately underlying tnem may have a high content of 

calcium carbonate.

Water from dolomite or dolomitic limestone usually contains considerable magnesium; other rocks furnish smaller quantities. Magnesium is one of the abundant constituents of sea water and is found 

in appreciable quantities in water contaminated with sea water or 

with salts or brines embedded in deposits laid down in the sea in past 

ages.

Calcium and magnesium are the chief cause of hardness in water. 

They are also the principal basic constituents of the scale formed in 

boilers or other vessels in which water is heated or evaporated.

Sodium is a normal constituent of all natural waters. Traces of 

sodium are found in practically all rocks. It may also be present in
QUALITY OF GROUND WATER 45

a water as a result of pollution by sewage or of contamination with sea 

water or salts or brines inclosed in marine sediments. The quantity 

in solution ranges from a few parts per million in most waters in humid 

regions to several thousand parts in waters from the alkali rocks and 

soils of the semiarid regions of the Southwest. In some waters the 

sodium content has apparently been increased by the exchange of the 

calcium and magnesium in solution for sodium by certain clays capable 

of such exchange. Moderate quantities of sodium have little effect 

upon the suitability of a water for ordinary uses. Water containing 

sodium in excess of 100 parts per million, however, may cause foaming 

in steam boilers unless precautions are taken to prevent it. Waters 

that contain large quantities of sodium salts injure crops, and some 

waters contain so much sodium that they are unfit for nearly all uses.

Potassium is usually present in waters in smaller quantities than 

sodium, although many rocks contain more potassium than sodium. 

Approximately equal quantities of sodium and potassium are found in 

many waters in which the quantities of these two constituents combined amount to less than 10 parts per million. With larger amounts 

of sodium, however, the proportion of potassium is less. Few waters 

contain more than 100 parts per million of potassium. In many 

analyses the sodium and potassium are reported together as sodium. 

The two elements have practically the same effect in the use of the 

water.

Carbonate is not present in appreciable amounts in most natural 

waters. The carbonate of the rocks is held in solution as bicarbonate 

through the action of carbon dioxide. Waters that come from 

relatively insoluble rocks may contain less than 10 parts per million 

of bicarbonate. Waters from limestone or dolomite generally contain 

from 100 to 500 parts per million of bicarbonate, although some 

limestone waters contain less than 100 parts. Calcium and magnesium bicarbonate make up the greater part of the dissolved mineral 

matter of many natural waters. The bicarbonate as such has comparatively little effect upon the use of a water.

Sulphate is derived from various sources in the soil and rocks and 

from materials added by human agencies from gypsum, from sulphates resulting from the oxidation of metallic sulphides or organic 

compounds, or from fertilizers containing sulphates. The waters of 

some public supplies contain additional sulphate from the aluminum 

sulphate used in treating the water. In mines, where pyrite (iron 

sulphide) is exposed to the action of air and water, the oxidation of 

sulphide and the formation of sulphuric acid is so extensive that 

serious damage results. Hardness due to calcium or magnesium 

sulphate may increase the cost of softening, and it makes the scale 

formed in boilers much more troublesome. If present in sufficient 

quantity, sulphate may impart a bitter taste to the water.
46 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Chloride is dissolved in small quantities from rock materials. 

Waters that are contaminated with sea water or that come from deep 

wells which penetrate brines or salt deposits inclosed in the old marine 

sediments contain large quantities of chloride. Sodium chloride is a 

characteristic constituent of sewage, and any appreciable pollution of 

a water is accompanied by a measurable increase in chloride. The 

presence of chloride in more than "normal" quantities can not, 

however, be taken alone as a definite indication of pollution, because 

of the many other sources from which chloride may be derived. Chloride gives a salty taste to water if present in quantities greater than 

300 parts per million.

Nitrate may be leached from rocks, although few rocks contain 

appreciable amounts of nitrate except in regions where there are 

nitrate deposits. It may be washed from the soil, especially in areas 

where nitrate fertilizer is used. Nitrate in water is usually, however, 

considered a final oxidation product of nitrogenous organic material. 

Many waters contain less than 1 part per million of nitrate, although 

as much as 100 parts per million is sometimes found. The interpretation of the presence of abnormal amounts of nitrate with reference 

to the sanitary condition of a water should be made with extreme 

caution and only after due consideration of the chloride content, 

the sanitary surroundings of the source of the water, and the nature 

of the rock formation from which it is derived. The quantities of 

nitrate usually found in water have no effect upon the value of the 

water for ordinary uses.

The mineral constituents considered above are those which are in 

chemical equilibrium in water. The mineral matter dissolved in a 

natural water is not a collection of random quantities of several 

constituents. In practically all waters the quantities of the basic 

radicles calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium are together 

chemically equivalent to the sum of the acid radicles bicarbonate, 

sulphate, chloride, and nitrate. If the quantities in solution of all 

but one are known the quantity of the missing radicle may be calculated to complete the analysis. In addition to these constituents 

that are in chemical equilibrium with each other all waters contain 

iron, aluminum, and silica, which are generally supposed to be 

present in the colloidal state as oxides.

Iron is dissolved from many rocks and may be dissolved from water 

pipes in sufficient quantities to be objectionable. Some of the waters 

of western Tennessee contain much iron in solution. In the limestones, shales, and cherts of Paleozoic age the source of the iron is 

either the oxides or sulphides of iron, which are present in small 

amounts in these formations. In the Cretaceous and Tertiary 

formations the iron is dissolved from the oxides and sulphides of iron 

or from the mineral glauconite. The sulphides of iron are associated
QUALITY OF GROUND WATER 47

with the clays of these formations and are most abundant in the 

carbonaceous clays. Oxides of iron coat the sand grains of all the 

unconsolidated sediments in outcrop. It is difficult to determine 

whether part of the iron oxide was formed on the sand grains at the 

time of deposition and part formed at the outcrop by the oxidation 

and precipitation of the iron dissolved in the ground water, but it is 

certain that much of the iron oxide that now coats and cements the 

sand grains has been formed at the outcrop. On the other hand, as 

any iron oxide laid down with the sediments would be dissolved 

when the formation was buried and reducing conditions existed, it is 

probable that iron oxides have contributed iron to the ground water. 

Glauconite is an iron-potassium silicate formed on the sea bottom at 

shallow depths. It is a common mineral in sediments formed in this 

habitat. Glauconite is dissolved by ground waters and contributes 

iron to the solution. From what has been said it follows that the 

Eutaw formation and the Owl Creek tongue of the Ripley formation 

give waters with high iron content, but water from the vicinity of 

lenses of carbonaceous clay in any formation is likely to be high in 

iron. Small quantities of iron in water are more objectionable than 

much larger quantities of other constituents. If iron is in solution in 

excess of about 1 part per million some of it may separate out as the 

reddish hydrated oxide when the water is exposed to air. It is this 

precipitated oxide which forms the reddish sediment in many spring 

and well waters and which causes the reddish stain on white enameled 

or porcelain plumbing fixtures. A water that contains more than 0.5 

part per million of iron is objectionable for laundry work. Many 

of the waters of western Tennessee have sufficient iron in solution to 

make them poor for industrial or domestic use. The excess of iron 

may be removed from most waters by simple aeration and sedimentation or filtration, but a few require the addition of lime or some 

other substance.

Aluminum is usually present in waters in quantities decidedly less 

than 1 part per million. It appears to have no particular effect on the 

use of the water where only normal quantities are present. Its determination was omitted in the analyses made for this report.

Silica is dissolved from practically all rocks. In most waters it is 

found in quantities of 10 to 30 parts per million. The silica separates 

with other scale-forming constituents in steam, boilers and not only 

adds to the amount of the scale but makes it harder than it would be 

without it. Otherwise silica is of no significance in regard to the use 

of a water.

The hardness or soap-consuming power of a water is due chiefly to 

the salts of calcium and magnesium. A few waters contain enough 

iron, aluminum, zinc, or other metal to produce measurable hardness, 

but such waters are rare. Hardness was formerly differentiated as
48 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

"temporary" and "permanent". Temporary hardness was that part 

of the hardness removed by boiling and was approximately the hardness caused by the carbonate and bicarbonate of calcium and magnesium. Permanent hardness was not removed by boiling and was caused 

by sulphate or other strong acid salt of calcium or magnesium. These 

terms were not definite and have been replaced by the definite terms 

"carbonate" and "noncarbonate" hardness. Hardness in general is 

expressed as the quantity of calcium carbonate equivalent to the calcium and magnesium present. Water having a hardness of less than 

50 parts per million is considered soft, and its treatment for the removal 

of hardness is rarely justified. Hardness between 50 and 150 parts 

per million does not seriously interfere with the use of the water for 

most purposes but it does increase the consumption of soap. Its 

removal by softening processes is profitable for laundries and other 

industries using soap in large quantities. Treatment of such water for 

the prevention of scale is also necessary for the successful operation of 

steam boilers. More than 150 parts per million of hardness is noticed 

by everyone. If the water contains more than 200 parts per million 

it is common practice to soften the water for household use or to 

install a cistern to collect rain water.

Water from some of the wells in the Paleozoic rocks and water from 

many springs throughout the area contains hydrogen sulphide (H2 S). 

This is derived from the pyrite which is found in the shale and clay. 

Hydrogen sulphide imparts an unpleasant odor to water, and its presence in water renders the water unsatisfactory for domestic use.

Carbon dioxide is derived from the atmosphere by the rain and from 

the oxidation of carbonaceous material in the soil. Carbon dioxide in 

solution increases the solvent power of water. Many of the ground 

waters of western Tennessee contain considerable free carbon dioxide. 

As long as the water remains under the conditions of temperature and 

pressure that existed underground the carbon dioxide is retained in 

solution. But on exposure to the air, where different conditions of 

temperature and pressure prevail, much of it escapes, precipitating 

iron and sometimes calcium which were held in solution through its 

action. Water containing free carbon dioxide in solution actively 

attacks iron pipes.

The chemical character of the ground waters of western Tennessee 

is shown by the analyses given in tables with the county descriptions. 

The analyses were studied in regard to the source of the waters in 

order to compare the chemical character of waters from the same formation. The results are discussed in the descriptions of the geologic 

formations. The conclusions are general and indicate only the probable quality of the water to be found in the formations considered. 

The discussions are concerned with the characteristics imparted to the 

waters by the mineral matter dissolved from the rocks, and it should
QUALITY OF GROUND WATER 49

be understood that the analysis of water for its mineral constituents 

gives little indication of the sanitary condition of the water.

EXPRESSION OF RESULTS

The analyses made for this report are expressed in parts per million 

of the radicles determined, in accordance with the long established 

custom of the United States Geological Survey and the usage of most 

water analysts. Results given in parts per million may be converted 

to grains per United States gallon by multiplying by 0.058 or dividing 

by 17.12.

If one basic and one acid radicle make up the greater part of the 

dissolved mineral matter it is customary and helpful to refer to the 

water as characterized by the name of the compound made up of 

these radicles. A large proportion of the waters from limestone can 

properly be called calcium carbonate or calcium bicarbonate waters; 

calcium and bicarbonate together may make up 70 to 90 per cent of 

the dissolved mineral matter. A brine is a sodium chloride water. If, 

however, the quantities of several of the acid or basic radicles are of 

about the same magnitude, it is unjustifiable and misleading to characterize the water by the name of a single compound.

It is not possible to put down the names of the compounds that 

are dissolved in a water. The hypothetical combinations in which 

analyses are sometimes reported represent the salts and their quantities that would make up a solution chemically identical with the water.

The composition of some of the waters is shown graphically by 

diagrams made according to the method used for some years in the 

United States Geological Survey.44 The heights of the several sections 

correspond to the quantities of the radicles, expressed in terms of combining weights rather than in parts per million. One unit of height 

corresponds to 20 parts per million of calcium, 12 of magnesium, 23 of 

sodium, 39 of potassium, 61 of bicarbonate, 48 of sulphate, 35.5 of 

chloride, 62 of nitrate, and 50 of hardness as calcium carbonate. The 

total hardness is measured to the top of the magnesium. If the bicarbonate block extends above the magnesium block all the hardness is 

carbonate hardness, but if the top of the bicarbonate is lower than 

the top of the magnesium, part of the hardness is due to sulphate or 

even to chloride, if the chloride extends down below the top of the 

magnesium.

REMOVAL OF IRON ANI> CARBON DIOXIDE

Many of the waters of western Tennessee contain sufficient iron and 

carbon dioxide in solution to make them poor for industrial or domestic 

use. Iron will precipitate from solution, thereby clogging water

44 Collins, W. D., Graphic representation of water analyses: Ind. and Eng. Chemistry, vol. 15, No. 4, 

p. 394,1923.
50 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

systems. It stains plumbing fixtures, vessels, and clothes. Carbon 

dioxide in solution vigorously corrodes iron pipe.

Excessive carbon dioxide is removed from solution by aeration. 

Aeration will also precipitate iron. The air-lift method of pumping 

serves this purpose. Spraying, allowing water to fall over a set of 

tiers, or any system whereby the water is brought into contact with the 

air is effective in precipitating the iron. Another method of precipitating iron is by the addition of small amounts of lime. After the iron 

is precipitated it must be removed from the water. At Paris, Tenn., 

this is effected by allowing the water to flow slowly through a series of 

tanks in which baffles are inserted in such a manner that the water 

must flow under and over successive baffles. This method of sedimentation is very efficient. Many other cities in western Tennessee 

have rapid sand filters, which remove the iron effectively. Sometimes 

a small dose of alum is added to the water to coagulate the iron 

hydroxide and make filtration more effective.

A simple system of treating water can be installed for a few thousand 

dollars. Such a system is easy to operate and gives good results. 

The simplicity of installation, low cost, and ease of maintenance bring 

such systems within the reach of the smallest municipalities, and they 

are feasible for any consumer who uses more than 10,000 gallons of 

water a day.

UTILIZATION

Dug wells. Several types of wells are found in western Tennessee. 

The type used depends on the depth to ground water, the physical 

character of the underlying formations, the quantity of water desired, 

and the amount the owner can afford to pay. Formerly dug wells 

were very common, but they have nearly all been replaced by wells of 

better types except in chert areas or in districts where a thin waterbearing bed at shallow depth is the only source of water within a depth 

of 200 feet. The reason for using dug wells in chert areas is that the 

small fragments of chert cause the bit of the drill to jam and give a 

great deal of difficulty in drilling but can be readily dug with pick and 

shovel. A well of small diameter has but small reservoir capacity. A 

dug well, however, of 3 feet or larger diameter has a storage capacity 

sufficient to meet the requirements of the average household at any 

one time. In parts of Shelby and Tipton Counties a bed of Pliocene 

gravel 2 or 3 feet thick that yields water slowly is found below 30 or 

40 feet of loess and is underlain by 100 feet or more of clay or very fine 

sand. As drilled wells in these areas would have to be sunk to a depth 

of several hundred feet to reach a coarse sand and would be expensive, 

dug wells are very largely used. In western Tennessee dug wells are 

generally 3 feet in diameter and from 20 to 60 feet deep and are curbed 

with wood, brick, or glazed tile. Shallow wells are very liable to
UTILIZATION 51

contamination by surface drainage, owing to disintegration of curbing 

or lack of water-tight curbing below the water table, also by the introduction of foreign material either on the bucket or because the well is 

not tightly covered and thus may become unsanitary. For this 

reason, wherever possible, shallow wells should be replaced by drilled 

wells, and where this is not feasible great care should be exercised in 

the location of the well with reference to possible pollution from waste 

water; curbing that is not subject to decay should be used and so 

installed that it is water tight; a pump should replace the bucket; and 

the top of the well should be carefully sealed, so that no refuse can 

gain access to the well.

Wetts bored with augers. Throughout the areas where the Eutaw, 

Bipley, and Wilcox crop out and where the water table stands from 

40 to 110 feet below the surface bored wells are the most commonly 

used. The unconsolidated sand and clay of these formations are 

easily bored with an auger, and bored wells are relatively cheap and 

yield sufficient water for domestic needs. Bored wells are also preferred because they can be equipped with buckets. Though this 

method of lifting water from the well is a means by which contamination is frequently introduced into the well, in many places the well 

bucket is used in preference to the lift pump, because the water standing in the pump barrel acquires an iron taste and grows warm, so that 

it must be pumped off before fresh cold water can be obtained. Long 

cylindrical buckets with a check valve in the bottom are generally 

used. Bored wells are 6, 8, or 10 inches in diameter and are usually 

curbed with cypress or gum. Oak is rarely used for curbing, as it 

imparts an unpleasant taste to the water. Sometimes tile is employed 

for lining the well but it is not very popular because it is easily broken. 

As wood curbing is subject to decay, can not be maintained watertight, and hence permits the entrance of shallow ground water which 

may be contaminated, it should be replaced by tile or concrete.

The wells are bored with a steel auger 6, 8, or 10 inches in diameter 

and 45 inches long. The pitch of the spiral is 5 inches. The surface 

of the blade is flat, and the cutting lip is sharpened and sometimes has 

a "toe" of sharp thin steel affixed at its outer edge. This toe is bent 

down slightly so as to dig into the dirt. A steel rod 1 inch square and 

10 feet long is put through the hollow center of the shank of the spiral, 

and the auger is keyed on. This leaves about 6 feet of rod projecting 

above the spiral. In use the auger is attached to a rope and lifted and 

dropped into the hole by means of the rope, which is fastened to a 

windlass.

A lever 5 feet long with a square boss in the center which fits on the 

auger shaft is used to rotate the auger. In starting a hole the auger 

is lifted until it swings freely and then lowered until it touches the 

ground. If the ground is uneven at this point it is levelled off with a
52 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

shovel. These precautions are necessary in order to start and keep the 

hole straight. While operating, one man stands at the windlass and 

slowly lowers the auger, always having just enough tension to hold the 

auger vertical, while two men rotate the bit by standing on opposite 

sides of the lever bar and walking around the hole. When the auger 

is full of dirt it is hoisted out of the hole and cleaned off. The auger 

fills for every 30 inches of lowering of the bit. As the hole is deepened 

additional lengths of rod are screwed on to the original auger shaft. 

The soil is usually sufficiently moist to adhere to the auger and be 

hoisted out. As soon as the auger reaches the zone of saturation a 

pump bucket or sand pump is used for deepening the hole. Such a 

hole can generally be drilled in one or two days. The auger can be 

used effectively for holes as much as 125 feet deep, but some wells as 

much as 175 feet deep are made by this process. Plate 7, A, shows 

such a boring rig.

Punched wells. Another method used in western Tennessee to make 

wells in soft unconsolidated materials is punching. A punch has two 

parts the cutting barrel and the stem. The cutting barrel consists of 

a steel cylinder 1 to 2 feet long, split along one side and slightly spread. 

The lower portion of the cylinder is very slightly expanded, sharpened, 

and tempered into a cutting edge. This cylinder is fastened to the 

stem, a heavy pipe 10 feet long, by means of a fork, the shoulder of 

which is welded to the top of the cylinder and screwed to the end of 

the pipe. A rope is fastened to the end of the stem, run through a 

shive at the top of a tripod, and fastened to a drum. The piinch is 

raised from the hole by windbag up the rope on the drum, which is rotated by a mule, until the punch reaches the top, when the drum is 

released by a trip and the punch drops to the bottom of the hole. As 

the punch enters the clastic material it is spread slightly so that it 

holds the material by squeezing. The punch is then hoisted out of the 

hole, the sand or clay removed, and the operation repeated. The 

hardness of the sand or clay that is being penetrated determines the 

distance the punch must be dropped. A punch works in moist sand 

as well as in clay; dry sand must be slightly moistened but not saturated. A punch is shown in Plate 7, B and G. Wells as much as 

150 feet deep are made by this method. Such wells are usually curbed 

with wood, and the water is drawn by a cylindrical bucket.

Wells sunk by means of bailers. Another method used for sinking 

wells in unconsolidated material is by means of a bailer or sand pump. 

Water is poured into a hole and a bailer is worked up and down in the 

bottom of the hole. The sand is loosened and forms a thick sludge 

with the water, and the sludge is then removed by bailing. The bailer 

consists of a section of tubing 6 to 8 feet long and somewhat smaller in 

diameter than the well. It has an iron valve at the bottom, either 

of the flat pattern or the ball and tongue pattern. (See fig. 7.)
UTILIZATION 53

Sometirnes a sand pump is used which in addition to the bottom valve 

has a plunger that is worked like the plunger of a water pump and thus 

sucks the mud into the tubing. This method is very simple and efficient where the materials are loose, but it will not work in hard sand 

or tough clay. -Wells as much as 250 feet deep are made in this way. 

These wells are 2 or 3 inches in diameter and are 

usually cased with standard galvanized-iron pipe. 

Wells sunk by jetting process. Jetting, or what 

is locally called "washing down," is an effective 

and common method of making wells of small 

diameter 100 to 300 feet deep in unconsolidated 

or only slightly consolidated sand and clay. 

Veatch 46 describes the method as follows:

In the jetting process the material is loosened and the 

drillings are elevated to the surface by means of water 

under pressure. * * * The water is conducted into 

the well by means of pipes of relatively small diameter, 

called wash*pipes, jet pipes, or drill pipes, and is directed 

downward near the bottom of the well by means of a 

suitable bit. The drill is turned from time to time by 

means of a clamp or wrench and so keeps the hole true 

and aids the water in wearing away more resistant masses 

«f clay or like substances.

This method is best suited to unconsolidated 

material but is also used successfully in penetrating consolidated material if not too hard. In this 

area such wells are usually less than 6 niches in 

diameter and 300 feet in depth.

Driven wells. Along the flood plains or "bottoms" of the streams the depth to water is in 

many places less than 25 feet and driven wells are 

largely used. A drive point is fastened to the 

end of a strainer, which is put on a pipe, and this 

is driven into the ground. When the strainer is 

below the water table a suction "pitcher" pump 

is put on the end of the pipe and the well is 

pumped until all the fine sand and clay has been 

washed out of the sand surrounding the strainer. 

Such driven wells are very simple to make.

Wells sunk by hydraulic rotary process. The hydraulic rotary process is coming into more general use for drilling small wells throughout 

western Tennessee and in the past has been used almost exclusively in 

Memphis and elsewhere in the State for drilling wells 6 inches or more 

in diameter and several hundred feet deep. In this process drilling is 

accomplished by rotating a string of drill pipe at the lower end of which

FIGURE 7. Sand bucket

M Veatch, A. C., Geology and underground water resources of northern Louisiana and southern Arkansas: 

U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 46, p. 103,1906.
54 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

is a toothed cutting shoe or a fishtail-shaped bit; when h.ard rock 

formations are to be penetrated the fishtail bit is replaced by a rockroller bit. During the drilling operation mud fluid, which is pumped 

down the drill pipe under pressure, issues from holes in the bit and 

returns to the surface between the outside of the drill pipe and the 

wall of the hole. The mud fluid serves to carry the drillings to the 

surface, to mud up the walls of the hole, and to form a column of high 

density both buoying the string of casing and exerting a pressure 

against the walls of the well to prevent their caving. Unless difficulty 

from caving is experienced, the hole is not cased until the waterbearing formation is reached. Because of the sealing effect of a high 

column of mud fluid, the water-bearing sand is sometimes penetrated by 

the use of a sand pump instead of continuing the drilling with the 

fishtail bit. For a detailed description of the hydraulic rotary process 

reference should be made to publications on well-drilling methods.46

Often in drilling wells "hardpan" is encountered, and sometimes a 

well is abandoned because it seems impossible to penetrate the hard 

layer. The hardpan is never more than a foot or two thick and with 

proper tools can be penetrated. In most places in western Tennessee 

coarse sand can be found within a depth of 200 feet, and such sand is 

readily checked by a strainer. In some places, however, the depth to 

coarse sand is as much as 350 feet. The cost of a well of this depth is 

considerable and may represent a capital outlay greater than the small 

farmer can afford.

Screens, Some form of screen should be used in wells that end in 

loose sand, in order to exclude the sand and offer as large an open area 

as possible to the inflow of water. Screens are made of many materials and are of several types, each type offering some advantage of 

cost, strength, resistance to corrosion, area of opening, etc. The 

commonest type consists of metal cylinders containing perforations, 

which may be of any shape but are most generally circular holes or 

rectangular slot openings. The slot type is gradually replacing the 

circular-hole type, as it has many advantages, the chief of which are 

that the greatest strength with the largest percentage of opening can 

be obtained with longitudinally cut slots; 47 the slots are less liable to 

complete clogging, for, as can be readily seen, one large grain of sand 

can completely close a smaller circular hole, whereas it is very difficult 

to close a slot completely; and the milling of slots of narrow width is 

more easily effected than the drilling of holes of the same diameter.

It is desirable to have the width of the slot increase from the outer 

edge toward the interior of the screen in order that a grain of such a 

size that it just passes the outer edge may not catch but freely move

« Bowman, Isaiah, Well-drilling methods: U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 257, pp. 70-75, 1911. 

Petroleum engineering methods, pp. 53-144, Los Angeles, Petroleum World, 1930. Jeffery, W. H., Well 

drilling, pp. 232-318, Houston, Gulf Publishing Co., 1925.

« Petroleum engineering handbook, p. 151, 1930.
UTILIZATION 55

on. This is effected in screens with thin walls by cutting the slot from 

the inside out; in screens of thicker walls the slot is undercut. The 

undercutting must not be great, otherwise the wall at the outer edge 

of the slot is so thin that it is readily worn off. The trade furnishes 

screens of the slot type made of seamless brass tubing with slots cut 

either longitudinally or at right angles to the length. One type of 

brass screen is made of a brass wire of special cross section that is 

wound in a spiral; the turns of wire interlock with one another to form 

a screen with a continuous slot. Such screens are available in various 

diameters and with slots that range in width from 0.06 inch to 0.125 

inch.

Another type of screen is made by drilling large holes in a pipe which 

is either covered with fine woven screen or else wrapped with wire, the 

size of opening being determined by the spacing of the wire. In wirewrapped screens wire of various cross sectional shapes, such as triangular or trapezoidal, is used to prevent clogging.

Iron is readily attacked by most waters, and screens made of it will 

not give long service. As most waters will not corrode brass this 

metal is widely used in screens. Some waters, however, are chemically very active and rapidly corrode most metals and alloys. To 

cope with such waters concrete screens with slot openings have been 

made.

Concrete is also used in strainers in which the water flows through 

the concrete. A concrete in which the sand and gravel grains are 

grouted together is very permeable, and yet the pores in the outer surface are small. One screen of this type consists of sectors filled with 

grouted sand and gravel. The finest sand is at the periphery, and 

each succeeding layer is coarser than the preceding. This is grouted 

with cement. Another screen is made of chert gravel about one-eighth 

of an inch in diameter. This gravel is grouted together, and the permeability of the screen, which is designed to be the same as the permeability of the sand in which it is used, is determined by the amount of 

cement used in grouting.

The openings in a screen should be as large as possible, for the smaller 

the openings the greater the resistance offered to the flow of water. 

The experimental work of Tickell and Coberly on the relation between 

sand grain size and size of screen opening is summarized by Lake 48 as 

follows:

Some excellent experiments on the screening effect of various dimensioned slots 

on various sized grains and assortments of sands have been made by Prof. F. G. 

Tickell at Stanford University, from which the following conclusions have been 

drawn:

7. If an oil sand is poorly sorted, large grains will form a bridge against the slot 

and will prevent the passage of finer grains through the slot.

8. The size of grains capable of bridging the slot depends on the differential 

pressure at the slot.

*8 Lake, F. W., Petroleum engineering handbook, p. 152,1930.
56 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

9. If the sand grains are slightly larger than one-half the slot width, they will 

not pass through at low pressure but will pass through at pressures in the neighborhood of 1,000 pounds.

10. If the sand grains are one-half the slot width or smaller, they will pass 

through at low pressure.

Additional and more detailed experiments have been conducted by Clarence J. 

Coberly, of Los Angeles, which have substantiated the conclusions of Professor 

Tickell. It was found that if the slot opening was more than about three times the 

diameter of the sand grains they passed through readily, that if the slot opening 

was less than approximately twice the diameter of the grains they were bridged by 

the slot, and that in between these ratios there was an unstable condition in which 

the sand tended to pass through but not readily. In numerous tests on sands 

composed of various sized grains fairly well assorted, it was found that successively 

larger slot openings were bridged as the percentage of the larger grains increased. 

From the tests so far conducted it was reasonable to conclude that in a wellassorted sand such as is the usual occurrence, a slot which would be bridged by 

those larger grains existing in the amount of between 25 and 30 per cent of the 

total sand volume would be sufficiently small to retain all of the sand after an 

initial sorting and arranging of the grains about the slot.

Wells that end in sand are usually developed by back washing, by 

surging, by pumping, by the use of compressed air, or by a combination of these methods. Bridging of the sand particles across the 

screen openings is thus overcome, and the fine sand is removed from 

that portion of the water-bearing formation adjacent to the screen 

or to the gravel pack around the screen in wells that are finished with 

a gravel wall. Formerly it was considered that the purpose of a screen 

was to prevent all sand from entering the well, and hence very small 

screen openings were used. Within recent years screens having relatively large openings have come into general use, for it is recognized 

that wells of larger capacity are obtained by removing, during the 

development process, the fine sand in the water-bearing formation 

around the well. However, the screen openings should not be too 

large, for the small grains may abrade the openings as they pass 

through, allowing slightly larger grains to pass through, and thus a 

screen may be abraded until it will not check even the largest grains 

in a sand.

In order to increase the production of wells in fine sands a system 

of surrounding the screen with a layer of gravel called a gravel wall, 

is sometimes used. This is most generally used in wells less than 300 

feet deep; for greater depths the method is likely to be costly. Various methods of putting in a gravel wall are used. One company 

employs the following technique. First a test hole is drilled to determine the depth and thickness of the water-bearing bed; then 

a well 24 to 36 inches in diameter is drilled by means of the hydraulic 

rotary method to the top of this bed. This hole is cased. Then a 

screen, the lower 3 feet of which is flared so as to fit the 24 to 36 inch 

casing, is lowered into the hole on a string of casing, and a few feet 

of gravel is put in the hole between the inner and outer casing. Bail-
UTILIZATION 57

ing is started inside the screen, and the screen is slowly lowered as 

bailing continues. Gravel is added as the screen is lowered. In 

this way a wall of gravel is formed around the screen. When the 

well is finished the outer casing is pulled.

Another company employs a different method. First a well is 

sunk to the depth planned for the finished well. This well is large, 

the initial diameter being as much as 6 feet, but diminishes in diameter 

as the progress of sinking the well necessitates. The excavation is 

done by an orange-peel bucket, and men may work in the well if 

necessary. The casing follows upon the excavating, in the same way 

as a caisson. When the desired depth is reached the well strainer 

and casing are lowered into the well. Then gravel is added, and the 

outer casing is pulled slowly so that a foot or two of gravel remains 

between the inner and outer casing.

Ground-water developments. All towns in western Tennessee with 

a population in excess of 800 and some of the smaller towns have 

public water supplies. All these towns obtain water from one or more 

deep wells. The wells are usually 6 or 8 inches in diameter, though 

larger wells are in use. They are equipped with pumps of many types. 

A few public supplies are pumped directly into the mains, but in 

general an elevated tank holding 25,000 or 50,000 gallons is used, and 

this may .-.be supplemented with a reservoir. Except for the iron 

content, which is objectionable, the waters are good. The larger 

municipalities precipitate the iron either by a system of aeration or 

else by treating the water with lime and alum, after which the iron 

is removed by nitration or sedimentation. The smaller communities 

do not treat the water, though aeration and filtration cost but little 

and would eliminate the troubles caused by the iron. More detailed 

information about each municipal water supply is given in the county 

descriptions, and the water supply of Memphis is described in a separate section.

The industries both in Memphis and in other parts of the area 

obtain water from wells, for it is very easy to obtain water in sufficient quantity for industrial use in all parts of the area. In general 

the water is good for boiler use, neither scaling nor foaming.

The railroads usually obtain boiler water from the numerous perennial streams, for water from the streams whose drainage basins 

lie within the coastal plain area is very low in dissolved solids and is 

slightly better for boiler use than well water. The water of the Mississippi and Tennessee Rivers, however, is inferior to well water in 

quality, the yearly average of the Mississippi River at Memphis being 

about 200 parts per million total dissolved solids and of the Tennessee 

119722 33 5
58 GKOUND-WATEK EESOUKCES OF WESTEKN TENNESSEE

Kiver at Gilbertsville, Ky., about 100 parts per million,49 whereas 

the average of the total dissolved solids in samples from 130 representative wells in western Tennessee was 80 parts per million. The 

railroads use well water at Memphis and at other places throughout 

the area where the distance between streams necessitates intermediate 

watering points.

Practically all farm houses are supplied from wells. Bored wells 

are the most common though 2, 3, or 4 inch wells sunk by jetting or 

a rotary drill are employed, and some dug wells are still in use. Very 

few farmers have power-driven pumps, and relatively few are equipped 

with water systems. The automatically controlled pump and pressure tank systems operated by electricity or gasoline engines are gradually coming into more general use.

WATER-BEARING FORMATIONS

The geologic formations of western Tennessee fall into two groups, 

different in age and markedly different in lithologic character. The 

older, or Paleozoic rocks, crop out over the small part of the area 

that is contiguous to the Tennessee River. These formations consist 

of limestone, shale, and chert. The limestones are but poor waterbearing formations, yielding small supplies of hard water; the shales 

range from the calcareous shales that yield only a little water to the 

pure shales that yield no water; the cherts, however, yield abundant 

supplies of water.

Though the Paleozoic rocks are found in outcrop only in the eastern 

part of the area, they underlie all the region to the west. Any one 

formation may locally be absent, but there can be no doubt that the 

general geologic section is continuous. Whatever is said of the different formations in the succeeding description applies to these formations in their general outcrop area and can not safely be applied to the 

formations where they are deeply buried. It is known that the water 

derived from these formations where they are buried is very poor in 

quality, containing considerable sulphide, sulphates, and various salts. 

These formations also have fewer openings with depth and therefore 

will yield less water. This is especially true of the chert, which may 

not be fractured in the western part of the area and is certainly 

unweathered there, whereas in its outcrop area it owes its condition 

of anastomosis to fracturing and weathering.

The formations of Cretaceous and Tertiary age are quite different 

form the Paleozoic rocks. They consist of unconsolidated sand and 

clay. Loose sands form the commonest type of deposit, and limestone is almost entirely lacking. The formations have a wide distribution and as a rule yield very large supplies of good water. In con19 Clarke, F. W., The composition of the river and lake waters of the United States: U. S. Geol. Survey 

Prof. Paper 135, pp. 52, 90, 1924.
WATER-BEARING FORMATIONS 59

sideling the unconsolidated deposits the danger of extrapolating the 

descriptions beyond the outcrop area should be borne in mind. These 

deposits may thicken toward the west, or other formations may come 

in. They are known to vary from place to palce and may show a 

progressive change toward the west; sand formations may give place 

to clay, coarse sand to fine sand, and vice versa. This is especially 

true along the southern boundary of the State.

PALEOZOIC ROCKS

ORDOVTCIAJST SYSTEM

HERMITAGE FORMATION

The oldest geologic formation that crops out in western Tennessee 

is the Hermitage formation, which is exposed at several places in 

Hardin County and is visible during periods of very low water in the 

bed of the Tennessee River at Savannah. Its best as well as its. most 

northerly exposure is at Clifton, where 70 feet of it crops out. It 

probably underlies the whole area, although only one well in the 

western part of the area is known to have penetrated it the well of 

the Spring Creek Development Co., in Hardeman County. The 

thickness of the Hermitage in this area is unknown, but in two wells 

at Iron City, 50 Wayne County, that pass through it the thickness is 

126 feet. This formation consists of equal quantities of limestone and 

shale, which, alternate with marked regularity. The limestone is dark 

bluish gray and fine grained and occurs in layers 2 to 6 inches thick. 

The shale is blue and fissile.

The Hermitage probably will yield some water. Near its outcrop 

the quantity of water would be larger. The one analysis of water 

from the Hermitage formation (Hardin County, No. 35a) is probably 

not representative, as the sample probably contained a mixture of 

Tennessee River water, and the high nitrate content indicates pollution. 

As reported by users, the water from the formation is of poor quality, 

containing large amounts of hydrogen sulphide and having in solution 

a large amount of dissolved solids. Near its outcrop the water is of 

fair quality but is very hard.

ARNHEIM LIMESTONE

The Arnheim formation ranges in thickness from a feather edge to 

3 feet. It is a coarse-grained phosphatic cherty limestone and has no 

importance as a source of water. Except for an outcrop in the vicinity 

of Decaturville reported by Pate and Bassler, the Arnheim is not 

known to occur in the area.

M Miser, H. D., Mineral resources of the Waynesboro quadrangle, Tenn.: Tennessee Geol. Survey 

Bull. 26, pp. 27-37,1921.
60 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OP WESTERN TENNESSEE

FERNVALE FORMATION

The Fernvale formation crops out in the northern part of Hardin 

County along the Tennessee River. Both the Arnheim and Fernvale 

formations were partly removed by erosion before the deposition of the 

Silurian, so they may be missing at any place. The Fernvale ranges 

from 20 to 40 feet in thickness and consists of two equal parts, the 

lower limestone and the upper shale. The limestone is light gray and 

coarsely crystalline. The shale is soft, green, and fissile or platy. 

Small quantities of water can be obtained from the Fernvale formation. 

Near the outcrop area the water is of fair quality, but where the formation is buried it is high in dissolved solids and is a poor water. A 

more detailed discussion of the quality of water from limestone is 

given on page 62.

SILURIAN SYSTEM

Silurian rocks are found in the valley of Horse Creek in southeastern 

Hardin County and are widely exposed in the northeastern part of the 

same county. Most of the exposed rocks of eastern Decatur County 

are of this age. The most northerly exposure of Silurian rocks is at 

Alien Mills, 5 miles northeast of Holladay, Benton County, and Silurian rocks probably underlie the whole area. The total thickness of 

the Silurian rocks is about 200 feet, but in no one place in the area is 

such a thickness exposed. The Silurian rocks are mostly limestone and 

argillaceous limestone, though there is some shale. In .general they 

yield but small supplies of hard water. In their outcrop area these 

rocks yield sufficient water for domestic use, although the water is 

somewhat hard. Where they are buried the water derived from them 

is of very poor quality. The discussion of water in limestone on 

page 62 shows that it is never advisable to drill deeper than 150 to 

200 feet in limestone formations. If water has not been encountered 

at this depth it is better to start a new hole.

BBASSFIEID LIMESTONE

The Brassfield limestone, of early Silurian (Albion) age, occurs at 

the surface, so far as known, only in the northern part of Hardin 

County. At one place on Indian Creek a thickness of 25 feet is 

exposed, but as a rule the formation is much thinner. It is finely 

crystalline and light gray, is in thin layers of uniform thickness, and 

contains many small grains of glauconite. It has no importance as a 

source of water.

WAYNE FORMATION

The middle Silurian or Niagaran rocks in the western valley of the 

Tennessee River are divided into the Wayne formation below and 

the Brownsport formation above, each of which has been subdivided 

into several named members. The members of the Wayne formation 

are described below.
WATEE-BEAEING FOEMATIONS 61

Osgood earthy limestone member. The Osgood limestone is not 

known to crop out in the area described, though it is found on the 

east bank of the Tennessee River at Clifton. It is a thin-bedded reddish argillaceous limestone which contains some layers of pure limestone and is 15 feet in maximum thickness. This member yields 

some water.

Laurel limestone member. The Laurel limestone is found at the 

surface in the northern part of Hardin County along the Tennessee 

River and the lower part of Indian Creek. It is in general massive, 

though it contains some thin layers. Its thickness ranges from 28 feet 

to the vanishing point. The limestone is purple and reddish. It is 

differentiated from the Lego limestone with difficulty. The Laurel 

limestone is not'a good source of water, though here and there it 

contains water-yielding fissures.

Waldron clay member. The Waldron is a thin member, having a 

maximum thickness of 4 feet. It is a fossiliferous indurated shaly 

"limestone, usually gray, but in places pink. It yields no water.

Lego limestone member. The Lego limestone is widely distributed 

throughout Hardin County, being found along much of the length of 

Horse and Indian Creeks as well as along the Tennessee River in the 

northern part of the county. It is also exposed in Decatur County 

but, as far as known, does not occur at the surface north of Decaturville. The Lego has a maximum thickness of 46 feet and is usually 

more than 25 feet thick wherever it is exposed. Lithologically it is 

a compact but subcrystalline pinkish or bluish-gray limestone much 

of which contains small crystals of pyrite. It occurs in layers from 

a few inches to 2 feet thick. The Lego limestone is a fair waterbearer.

Dixon earthy limestone member. What has been said of the distribution of the Lego limestone is true for the Dixon, which conformably 

overlies the Lego. The Dixon forms ledges along many of the streams 

where it is well exposed. It consists of argillaceous red limestone and 

red or purplish shale. It has a maximum thickness of 44 feet and 

yields some water.

BROWNSPORT FORMATION

The type locality for the Brownsport formation is Brownsport 

Furnace, in southeastern Decatur County. Pate and Bassler 61 

describe the section, which has a thickness of 109 feet. The Brownsport formation is widely distributed in eastern Decatur County and 

is found in northern and northeastern Hardin County. It has been 

divided into three members, which are described in ascending order 

below.

" Pate, W. F., and Bassler, B. S., The late Niagaran strata of west Tennessee: U. S. Nat. Mus. Proc* 

TOl. 34, pp. 407-432,1908.
62 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Beech River shaly limestone member. The Beech River member 

occurs at the surface in many places in central, eastern, and northeastern Hardin County and is extensively exposed in southeastern 

Decatur County. It is composed mostly of shaly fossiliferous cherty 

greenish-gray and pink limestone and fossiliferous purplish shale and 

ranges in thickness from a feather edge to 106 feet. Practically 

everywhere that the Beech River limestone crops out it forms glades 

barren patches of white or light-gray clay and limestone rubble on 

which is a scanty vegetation of dwarf cedars, bushes, and weeds. 

The surfaces of many of these glades are covered with well-preserved 

fossils, which have been weathered out of the limestone.

Bob crystalline limestone member. The Bob limestone is patchy 

and irregular in distribution in central, northeastern, and eastern 

Hardin County but is extensively exposed in southeastern Decatur 

County. The thickest section exposed in the area is at Bob, where 

a maximum of 42 feet is found. The Bob limestone is a massive 

coarsely crystalline light-gray fossiliferous limestone but in places 

it contains beds of cherty limestone. It is a poor source of water.

Lobelville shaly limestone member. The general distribution of the 

Lobelville is the same as that of the Bob member. The Lobelville 

is a gray, shaly limestone and yellowish shale. It is very fossiliferous, 

containing many different corals, and is invariably thin-bedded. It 

has a maximum thickness of 40 feet and furnishes some water.

DECATUR LIMESTONE

The Decatur limestone is widely distributed over the northern and 

eastern parts of Hardin County, but in the southeast it crops out 

only in small patches along Horse Creek. It crops out throughout 

eastern Decatur County, where it finds its typical development. It 

forms prominent bluffs, such as those on the Beech River north of 

Decaturville, its type locality. Its most northern exposure is at 

Alien Mills, 5 miles northeast of Holladay, Benton County, where 

20 feet of Decatur limestone occurs at the foot of the bluff. In thickness it ranges from 50 to 70 feet. This formation is massive, occurring 

in thick layers of coarsely crystalline fine-grained light-gray limestone. The Decatur limestone is a poor water-bearing formation, 

though water can be found in the few large fissures.

QUALITY OF WATER IN LIMESTONES

Water from the Decatur limestone is similar in quality to that 

from other limestones in western Tennessee. In this area a few wells 

derive water from limestone at depths of less than 300 feet, but none 

derive water from limestone at depths exceeding 300 feet. Hence 

very few analyses of water from limestones are available, and these 

give data about water from shallow wells only. Of the analyses 

made of waters from shallow wells in limestone (Benton County,
WATER-BEARING FORMATIONS 63

No. 34; Decatur County, Nos. 27c, 31a, 49; Hardin County, Nos. 35a, 

59; Henry County, No. 28) only two can be taken as representative. 

These are predominantly calcium bicarbonate waters with low content 

of all other constituents. The other samples show such a high 

content of nitrate and chloride that they indicate contamination 

with surface drainage. Water from the well at Savannah (Hardin 

County, No. 35a), which has a mineral content of less than 100 parts 

per million, is probably a mixture of Tennessee River water and 

ground water. Some of the waters from the limestones contain 

enough iron to make separation by aeration followed by sedimentation 

or filtration desirable. If the water comes from depths exceeding 200 

feet it may contain hydrogen sulphide, which gives the water an 

unpleasant taste and smell. (See analysis No. 33, Benton County.)

DEVONIAN SYSTEM

Rocks of Devonian age are found in small outcrops in southeastern 

Hardin County in the valleys of Horse and Indian Creeks but are 

extensively exposed in eastern, central, and northern Decatur County. 

In Benton County Devonian rocks occur at the surface over large 

areas, especially along the valleys of Birdsong Creek and its tributaries, in the environs of Camden, and in the east. They also crop 

out in Henry County along the west side of the Big Sandy River. 

The conditions of sedimentation during Devonian time were such 

that the boundaries of the formations deposited were irregular, and 

intraformational erosion added to the irregularity of their distribution. 

This is especially true of the Linden group, of Helderberg (Lower 

Devonian) age. The formations of this group are spotty in distribution and very irregular in thickness. With the exception of the 

Decaturville chert they consist of limestone and shale. The maximum thickness of the Linden group is found at Olive Hill, where a 

section of 174 feet is exposed.52 Most other outcrops show sections 

of only 20 to 55 feet. It is not advisable to drill wells deeper than 

150 to 200 feet in formations of this group, for the reasons given on page 

32. Brief descriptions of the formations of the Linden group follow 

in ascending order.

ROCKHOUSE SHALE

The Rockhouse shale, which occurs in the southern part of Hardin 

County, is a calcareous greenish-gray shale interbedded here and 

there with layers of light-gray crystalline limestone, which are thicker 

and more numerous toward the base. Its thickness is from 10 to 15 

feet. It crops out in only three places in southern Hardin County. 

Some water of very poor quality is derived from it.

11 Dunbar, C. O., Stratigraphy and correlation of the Devonian of western Tennessee: Tennessee Geol. 

Survey Bull. 21, pp. 119-121,1919.
64 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

OLIVE HILL FORMATION

The beds above the Rockhouse shale and below the Birdsong shale 

have been named Olive Hill formation and separated into several 

members, described below, in ascending order.

Boss limestone member. The Ross limestone is an impure dark-gray 

siliceous and cherty limestone occurring in layers 2 to 5 inches thick. 

The limestone is hard and commonly forms cliffs. It has a maximum 

thickness of 80 feet. It is widely distributed in Hardin County, being conspicuously exposed along the Tennessee River at Grand View, 

and is found along upper Horse Creek at Rockhouse. Some water 

is procurable from the Ross limestone, but it is not a good source.

Bear Branch limestone member. The Bear Branch limestone is 

found in a small area in the northeastern part of Hardin County. It 

consists of impure coarse-grained limestone and oolitic hematite. 

It occurs in layers 2 to 12 inches thick and ranges in color from gray 

to dark red. It is unimportant as a source of water.

Flat Gap limestone member. The Flat Gap limestone ranges in 

thickness from a feather edge to 55 feet. It has about the same 

distribution as the Bear Branch member. It is a thick-bedded, coarsely 

crystalline or granular white or pink limestone that contains but few 

fossils. Like the Bear Branch, it is unimportant as a source of 

water.

BIRDSONG SHALE

The Birdsong shale, which overlies the Olive Hill formation, is 

most extensively exposed in Benton County. Its northernmost outcrop is at the steel bridge about 4 miles above the mouth of the Big 

Sandy River, where 22% feet of it is exposed. About a mile upstream 

from the steel bridge is another exposure of the formation, showing 

a thickness of 35 feet. There are many other exposures in Benton 

County. The Birdsong shale is also well developed in Decatur 

County but thins to the south and is not found south of Saltillo. It 

consists of interbedded bluish calcareous shale and thin bands of crystalline limestone. The lower few feet of the formation consists of 

limestone, which becomes less abundant higher up. The shale 

is very fossiliferous and gives rise to the glades of this area. It 

ranges in thickness from 70 feet to the vanishing point. At Alien 

Mills, Benton County, the Birdsong shale rests unconformably on 

the Decatur limestone, the other formations of the Linden group 

being absent. It is probable that the older Devonian rocks were 

eroded away in the northern part of the area. The Birdsong has no 

importance as a source of water but in its outcrop area would probably 

yield very small supplies.

DECATURVILLE CHERT

The Decaturville chert is found as far north as southern Benton 

County, where it crops out in the valley of Birdsong Creek. It occurs
IT. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 656 PLATE 8

A. GRAVEL PIT IN CAMDEN CHERT, CAMDEN

. CLOSE VIEW OF CHERT, SHOWING ITS ANGULAR 

FRAGMENTAL NATURE

WATER-BEARING FORMATIONS 65

on Saltillo, Grandview, and Dry Creeks, in Hardin County, and is 

widely distributed over Decatur County. However, it may be locally 

absent due to intraformational erosion. The Decaturville is a yellow 

to gray chert, in places stained by iron oxide. It is thin-bedded and 

porous, and the upper 6 inches of the formation is very fossiliferous. 

It is generally from 5 to 6 feet in thickness, though locally it probably 

attains a maximum of 10 feet. This formation yields medium-sized 

supplies of water. The water derived from it varies considerably in 

chemical character and in this respect is similar to the water from the 

Camden chert. (See p. 66.)

QUAIL LIMESTONE

In Hardin County the Quail limestone unconformably overlies the 

Decaturville chert, the top formation of the Linden group, and unconformably underlies the Harriman chert. It consists of thick-bedded 

dense cherty gray limestone, nowhere more than about 10 feet thick. 

The Quail limestone and Harriman chert are of Oriskany (Lower 

Devonian age). The Quail formation occurs in patches so small that 

it has no importance as a source of water.

HARRIMAN CHERT

Above the Quail limestone is the Harriman chert, which is nearly 

white on fresh exposure but weathers to shades of yellow and buff. It 

is exposed in layers from a few inches to a foot in u ickness and is very 

hard and brittle. In its outcrop it is thoroughly fractured and forms 

a rubble of small angular fragments. It ranges in thickness from 30 to 

55 feet. It is extensively exposed in Benton County and forms chert 

hills in northern Decatur County but is not found to the south except 

at Grandview and Cerro Gordo. In Decatur County the Harriman 

chert furnishes good supplies of water, which shows the same variation 

in chemical character as the water from the Camden chert. (See p. 66.)

CAMDEN CHERT

The Camden chert, of Middle Devonian (Onondaga) age, is a white 

to buff-yellow flinty, hard, brittle chert, resembling novaculite. It 

occurs in thin layers usually from 1 to 3 inches thick, rarely as much 

as 8 to 10 inches. These layers are commonly separated by soft gritty 

clay along the bedding planes. In some places the chert is calcareous, 

and in many places it contains considerable clay. Locally there are 

irregular more or less vertical pockets of white powdered silica, the 

result of leaching along ground-water channels. Where the formation 

contained considerable clay leaching has removed the lime, leaving the 

clay as a filling around nodules of chert. In some localities the chert 

content is low and large lenses of almost pure clay are found. The 

chert is everywhere extremely fractured, so that any face is seen to 

consist of a mosaic of irregular blocks, which quickly break down 

to form a rubble slope. (See pi. 8, A, B.)
66 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES Or WESTERN TENNESSEE

The Camden chert has a maximum thickness of 240 feet. It forms 

most of the chert hills that occur in Benton County and is exposed in a 

few places in Henry County along the west side of the Big Sandy 

River. It is found in northern Decatur County but does not extend 

as far south as Persons or Perryville. It may occur under the younger 

deposits to the west. It is difficult to differentiate between the Camden and Harriman cherts in the field, for they are very similar in their 

weathered forms, and the only safe criterion is the evidence afforded by 

fossils. The Camden is an excellent water-bearing formation in this 

region. It is the source of many springs.

Eight samples of water from the Camden chert, at varying depths, 

were analyzed (Benton County, Nos. lOa, lOb, 32, 35; Carroll County, 

No. 17; Decatur County, No. 2; Henry County, No. 28, 46). These 

waters vary widely in mineral content and chemical character. In 

the following table No. 1 is a water of high mineral content in which 

sodium predominates, with practically equivalent amounts of bicarbonate and sulphate; No. 2 is a calcium bicarbonate water of moderate 

mineral content; No. 3 is a water of low mineral content that can not 

be said to be characterized by any particular constituent. The waters 

from the Camden range from very soft water, such as No. 3 of the following table, to water containing about 200 parts per million of total 

hardness. The analyses indicate that the deeper well waters are more 

highly mineralized than the shallow well waters. This may be due to 

the greater leaching of the lime from the chert near the surface. The 

content of iron in waters from shallow wells is usually sufficiently low 

to be unobjectionable, but water from deeper wells generally should be 

treated by aeration followed by sedimentation or filtration for the 

removal of the excess iron. Water from the Camden chert at depths 

of a few hundred feet may contain considerable hydrogen sulphide. 

The waters from the Decaturville and Harriman cherts are similar in 

chemical character to the water from the Camden chert.

Analyses of waters from the Camden chert 

[Parts per million]

Silica (SiOj) - .

Bicarbonate radicle (HCOs)..--. 

Sulphate radicle (804) ___ .... _______ ________

Chloride radicle (Cl)..._ 

\

12

.15

19

3.7

167

5.0

194

151

84

1.9

542

63

M. D. F.

2

6.2

1.5

75

5

\ 2

; 2

202

40

3

.4

240

208

D. F. F.

3

13

. 11

3.1

1.3

( 2.9

I -8

5.0

4.9

2.5

7.5

42

13

Sept. 29, 1928

M. D. F.

» M. D. F. Margaret D. Foster, II. S. Geological Survey, Washington, D. C.; D. F. F. D. F. Farrar, 

Tennessee Geological Survey, Nashville, Tenn.

1. Water with high mineral content from well 1,000 feet deep (No. 9c, Benton County, p. 120).

2. Water with medium mineral content from depth of 270 feet in well 31a, Benton County (p. 120).

3. Water with low mineral content from well 20 feet deep (No. 2, Decatur County, p. 147).
WATER-BEARING FORMATIONS 67 

PEGEAM LIMESTONE

The Pegram limestone, also of Middle Devonian (Onondaga) age, 

is found in four exposures in the western part of Tennessee, none of 

which lie within the area of this report, but it is believed to be present 

in places. It is a pure-white thick-bedded limestone and because of 

its spotty distribution is of no value as a source of water.

DEVONIAN OR CARBONIFEROUS SYSTEM

CHATTANOOGA SHAIE

The Upper Devonian, if present in western Tennessee, is represented 

by the Chattanooga shale. Some geologists, however, consider this 

formation to be of Mississippian age. It crops out in the valleys of 

southeastern Hardin County, on the hillsides of southeastern Decatur 

County, and at scattered localities in northeastern Benton County. 

It probably underlies much of the area, but it is not continuous in its 

distribution and may be lacking in places. It consists of a basal member, the Hardin sandstone, and the shale proper. The Hardin member 

is nowhere very thick, in this area ranging from 2 to 15 feet, but a 

maximum of 22 feet is reported from Wayne County. The shale is 

a black fine-grained fissile shale, which splits like slate into very thin 

flat sheets. It gives a petroliferous odor when hit with a hammer and 

contains much pyrite. The Chattanooga shale yields very little 

water, which is of poor quality. The overlying Fort Payne chert 

contains abundant water. The impervious Chattanooga shale deflects the downward circulation of water in the Fort Payne, with the 

result that along the valleys where the Chattanooga crops out springs 

are very abundant. The valley of upper Horse Creek is a good example of this. The Hardin sandstone is usually from a few inches to 

3 or 4 feet thick but has a maximum development at Olive Hill, where 

it attains a thickness of 15 feet. It is very irregular in distribution. 

It consists of a single massive bed of fine-grained muddy-gray sandstone. Its thinness and small, irregular extent preclude its being of 

value as a source of water.

CARBONIFEROUS SYSTEM 

MISSISSIPPIAN SERIES

The formations of unquestioned Mississippian age that occur in the 

area under discussion are, in ascending order, the Kidgetop shale, ths 

Fort Payne chert, and the St. Louis limestone. As the St. Louie 

has only a very sparse distribution and in its weathered outcrop is 

similar to the Fort Payne, no attempt will be made to differentiate 

it in this report.

RIDGETOP SHAIE

The Bidgetop shale is a gray to black siliceous shale that directly 

underlies the Fort Payne chert in Hardin County. It is not a good
68 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

water bearer, and as the Fort Payne is present wherever the Ridgetop is found it has no importance as a source of water.

FORT PAYNE CHERT

The Fort Payne chert occurs along the sides of the valleys in southeastern Hardin County, and most of the large springs in this area 

issue from it. It covers the uplands of northeastern Decatur County, 

occurs at the surface over most of eastern Benton County, forms a 

narrow band along the eastern boundary of Henry County, and probably underlies the younger formations to the west. The Fort Payne 

is a dark calcareous.chert in beds 1 to 4 inches thick which have been 

broken by folding into angular blocks a few inches square. It weathers 

to a yellow color and when exposed is full of solution pores. Its outcrops consist of rubble composed of loose angular fragments. In 

some places it has been weathered to form tripoli. No exact figures 

on the thickness of the Fort Payne in this area are available. It may 

attain a thickness of 200 feet in some places, but its usual thickness 

is from 50 to 100 feet.

The Fort Payne is the source of many large springs, which furnish 

excellent water. Wells sunk into the fractured weathered portion of 

the Fort Payne formation obtain water in abundance.

The waters from the Fort Payne formation (Benton County, Nos. 

8,15, 53; Hardin County, Nos. 28, 71), which vary extremely in quantity and character of dissolved mineral matter, can be divided into 

three groups on the basis of their mineral content water containing 

less than 100 parts per million of total dissolved solids, water containing less than 1,000 parts per million, and water containing more than 

1,000 parts per million. These groups are determined by the amount 

of ground-water circulation that takes place in the formation. Where 

the Fort Payne chert is the surface formation and is thoroughly leached 

by rapidly circulating ground water, it yields soft water of low mineral 

content, which falls in the first group and except for the iron content, 

which may need to be removed by aeration followed by sedimentation 

or filtration, is of excellent quality for all uses. The analysis of a 

representative sample is given in the following table. Most of the 

waters derived from the Fort Payne formation in the area covered 

by this report fall in the first group.

Waters of the second group are obtained from the Fort Payne chert 

where it occurs at shallow depths and is sufficiently fractured to allow 

some circulation of ground water. The mineral content of waters of 

this group ranges from 100 to 1,000 parts per million. An average 

of 14 analyses is given in the following table and represents a calcium 

bicarbonate water containing about 200 parts per million of dissolved 

mineral matter. The third group comprises waters obtained from the 

Fort Payne formation at depths where there is very little movement
WATER-BEARING FORMATIONS 69

of ground water. These waters are high in total dissolved solids and 

unlike those of the other groups contain predominant calcium sulphate 

and sodium chloride. It is probable that these waters are modified 

connate waters. The high content of calcium sulphate is probably 

brought about by solution of the gypsum present in the argillaceous 

portions of the formation. These waters have too high a mineral 

content to be suitable for any use. An average of 5 analyses from_this 

group is given in the following table:

Analyses of waters from the Fort Payne chert 

[Parts per million]

Silica(S10»)--~ ~- ~- ~- -

Iron (Fe)_... _____ .....

Sodium (Na) and potassium 

(K). ......................

Bicarbonate (HCOs) ........

1

4.3

1.3

9

2

4

24

2

14

.47

52

11

8.7

195

3

17

7.5

591

135

646

173

Chloride (Cl)_....... ........

Nitrate (NO»). .. ..._.... .

Total hardness as CaCOs

1

11

6

.3

52

31

2

20

6.7

1.0

207

3

1,883

700

1.6

3,970

"*

1. Representative analysis of waters containing less than 100 parts per million of total dissolved solids 

(Benton County, No. 52, p. 120).

2. Average of 14 analyses containing between 100 and 1,000 parts per million of total dissolved solids. 

Piper, A, M., Ground water in north-central Tennessee: U. S. Geol. Surver Water-Supply Paper 640L 

p. 122, 1932.

3. Average of 5 analyses containing more than 1,000 parts per million o fdissolved solids. Piper, A. M, 

op. cit., p. 122.

ST. LOUIS LIMESTONE

The St. Louis limestone is found at the surface over a small area in 

northeastern Henry County between the Big Sandy and Tennessee 

Rivers. It is a gray porous limestone containing considerable chert. 

It does not crop out but weathers to form a clayey rubble containing 

angular fragments of yellow fossiliferous chert. In Henry County 

large springs issue from it at the foot of the hills. The chemical character of the water from the St. Louis limestone in this area is similar 

to that of the water from the Fort Payne chert.

MESOZOIC BOOKS 

CRETACEOUS SYSTEM

TUSCALOOSA FORMATION

The Tuscaloosa formation as described at its type locality consists 

of sand, clay, and gravel. Berry 53 has shown that this is a delta formation which thins toward the north and becomes prevailingly 

gravelly. The Tuscaloosa probably covered all of this area at one 

time, but most of it has been removed by erosion, and now only iso-

» Berry, E. W., Upper Cretaceous floras of the eastern Gulf region in Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, 

and Georgia: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 112, p. 13,1919.
70 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

lated remnants are to be found. It occurs only in southeastern 

Hardin County in the area under consideration, though it crops out 

east of the Tennessee River in Decatur County. 54 No good sections 

were encountered, and its thickness in Hardin County can not be 

accurately given but probably ranges from 10 to 100 feet.

The Tuscaloosa formation consists of well-rounded waterworn pebbles most of which are 1 inch in diameter, although many are larger, 

as much as 6 inches. The pebbles consist mostly of chert derived 

from the Mississippian and Devonian chert formations. The formation shows some stratification of the coarse and fine pebbles. In most 

outcrops there is very little sand present, but in some it is more 

abundant. In places the pebbles have been cemented by iron oxide, 

forming a very hard conglomerate.

The Tuscaloosa forms an excellent source of water wherever it 

occurs at or near the surface. Usually water is found running out of 

it along the sides of the valleys and ravines where it is exposed, and as 

in its area of outcrop the population is sparse these springs furnish all 

needs. Its small areal extent precludes large water developments 

from it, but supplies of as much as a few thousand gallons a day could 

be obtained in favorable localities. No analyses of water from the 

Tuscaloosa were obtained, but the users report that it is of excellent 

quality, being low in dissolved mineral matter.

EUTAW FORMATION

The Eutaw formation in western Tennessee is divided into the 

Tombigbee sand member below and the Coffee sand member above. 

These two members are nowhere sharply demarked, and it is probable 

that the Tombigbee sand grades into the Coffee sand. 55 These 

deposits were laid down by a transgressing sea, the Coffee sand 

representing the shallow-water stage of deposition and hence being 

slightly younger than the Tombigbee sand.

The Tombigbee sand caps the hills of eastern Hardin County. 

Near Burnsville, Miss., it contains a small marine fauna, and fossils 

perhaps from the same horizon have been collected in Hardin County, 

about 5 miles east of Nixon on the Florence road. The remainder of 

the Eutaw formation in western Tennessee belongs to the Coffee sand 

member. Owing to the difficulty of differentiating the Tombigbee 

sand from the Coffee sand the two members will not be treated separately but the formation will be discussed as a unit.

M Wade, Brace, The gravels of west Tennessee Valley: Resources of Tennessee, vol. 7, pp. 55-89, Tennessee Geol. Survey, 1917.

«» Wade, Brace, The fauna of the Ripley formation on Coon Creek, Tennessee: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. 

Paper 137, p. 6,1926.
WATER-BEABING FORMATIONS 71

DISTRIBUTION AND THICKNESS

The Eutaw formation is found at the surface over the eastern part 

of the area under discussion as a belt several miles wide in the south 

but diminishing to almost nothing at the Kentucky line. It forms 

the tops of all ridges and hills in Hardin County, occurs in the western 

half of Decatur County, occupies a narrow strip 1 to 3 miles wide along 

the eastern boundary of McNairy and Henderson Counties, and continually decreases in width as it passes north through central Benton 

County to eastern Henry County. As it dips toward the west at the 

rate of 20 to 30 feet to the mile, it is found at progressively greater 

depths below all the region to the west. The Eutaw lies on the 

slightly uneven surface of the Paleozoic rocks; in some places it has 

been removed by erosion, but it covers most of the above-mentioned 

area with a mantle of sand and clay that ranges in thickness from 20 

feet in the vicinity of Dulac, northeastern Henry County, to a maximum of 250 feet at the western edge of its outcrop area in southern 

Hardin County. West of its outcrop area the only well that is surely 

known to pass through the Eutaw formation is the one on the Sain 

farm, 5 miles south of Bolivar. (See p. 76.) The record of this well 

shows the Eutaw to have a thickness of 218 feet here, and it is probable 

that the formation thickens to the west. Whether well 25 at Memphis (p. 284) penetrates the Eutaw is questionable, as the log that 

was obtained is not sufficiently accurate to serve as a basis for definite correlation. From a study of the log of the test well of the 

Ira T. Johnson Co. near Ridgely, Obion County (p. 235), it seems 

probable, however, that the Eutaw was penetrated at a depth of 

about 2,500 feet.

LITHOLOGIC CHARACTER

Although the Eutaw formation is dominantly sandy, clay is always 

found with the sand. The most usual condition is a series of rapidly 

alternating layers of sand and clay, the sand occurring in laminae 

from a quarter of an inch to 6 inches thick with sheets of white, darkgray, or black clay one-sixteenth to one-half inch thick. The clay 

layers thicken laterally into lenses several feet in thickness, which in 

turn give place to the thin sheets. Almost every outcrop of the 

Eutaw shows the condition just described, but in some localities solid 

beds of clay are found. These clay beds are dark brown to black and 

are composed of fissile paper-thin laminae. Their carbonaceous content is high, in places being enough to form argillaceous lignite. 

Fragments of leaves and wood are abundant, and marcasite is common. 

The best exposure of the Eutaw formation in western Tennessee is 

found at Coffee Bluffs, on the west side of the Tennessee River about 

4 miles north of Savannah, Hardin County. Here a section of more
72 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OP WESTERN TENNESSEE

than 215 feet is exposed. The section as given by Glenn 66 is as 

follows:

Section of Coffee sand member at Coffee Bluff, Tenn.

Feet

1. Back half a mile west of the bluff red and yellow chert

gravels of Pliocene age with overlying reddish sandy clay. 15

2. Along descending slope of road from above point to edge 

of the bluff are poorly exposed light-colored sands and 

leaden-colored clays interbedded in thin layers which 

are usually minutely laminated- ____________________ 120

3. At top of bluff light-colored sands similar in color, texture,

and structure to those below____--___-___--________ 13

4. Dark slate-colored clay in thin laminae, usually a very 

pure and fine-grained clay but in places with thin sandy 

layers. It contains small fragments of indistinct plants 

and showed at its base local unconformity with the 

underlying beds______-_______-_--___-_---_______- 25

5. Fine gray sand interbedded with slaty or leaden-colored 

clay in fissile papery laminae. The sand and clay are 

often interlaminated and more or less cross-bedded; 

in places a relatively pure bed of sand or clay several 

feet thick grades over along the bedding plane into the 

other within a few yards. On the surface of the thin 

fissile shales are indistinct leaf impressions. The sand 

and clay alike carry more or less lignitized wood, which 

is in small pieces except in the lower part of this division 

where logs of it are found. Decomposing pyrite is associated with the lignite. Two logs of petrified wood 

projected from this sand and clay when Safford made 

the measurements recorded on page 412 of his Geology 

of Tennessee. These have since disappeared by the 

recession of the bluffs from undercutting by the river. 

Some of the sand is flecked with fine mica particles. 

In places a tendency to induration is noticeable in the 

sands, though generally they are rather soft. The 

cross-bedding is always on a small scale, and frequent 

reversals of direction are to be seen.________________ 40

6. Sand varying in color from light gray to canary-yellow,

micaceous _______________________________________ 3

7. Sand, gray and lignitic, with much decomposing pyrite,

to water's edge________________.__________________ 15

The sand of the Eutaw formation is composed dominantly of subangular quartz and chert grains. Muscovite is a universal accessory 

mineral and in some places is so abundant that the sand sparkles in 

the sun as if made up entirely of this mineral. Much of the muscovite occurs in definite layers a fraction of an inch thick. The sands 

are of variegated color but usually are red, yellow, or buff, though 

some white sand is found. The red coloration is due to a surface 

coating of iron oxide which covers all the grains. This staining may 

have resulted from the oxidation of the iron in the percolating water,

'« Glenn, L. C., Underground waters of Tennessee and Kentucky west of the Tennessee River: U S. 

Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 164, pp. 24-25,1906.
WATER-BEARING FORMATIONS 73

which takes place near the surface of the ground and may be absent 

in depth. The sands show small-scale cross-bedding. In the central 

part of Decatur County, in the vicinity of Parsons and Decaturville, 

the basal part of the Eutaw contains irregular lenses of fine chert and 

quartz gravel, some of them several feet thick. This material has not 

been found elsewhere. In northern Decatur County and in Benton 

County a bed of black lignitic clay about 20 feet thick occurs near the 

base of the Eutaw formation in many outcrops.

WATER-BEABING PROPERTIES

The laboratory analysis of four samples from the Eutaw formation 

shows that they are fine grained, being composed largely of material less 

than 0.25 millimeter in diameter. The uniformity coefficient has 

a wide range, from greater than 6.1 to 1.5, which is very low. The 

porosity is high, ranging from 516 to 398. The coefficient of permeability ranges from 379 to 104. These factors indicate that the sandy 

parts of the Eutaw are fair water bearers and compare favorably with 

the other sands. It must be borne in mind, however, that the presence of interlaminated clays in the deposits makes the Eutaw sand a 

poorer source of water than any other in the region. Also the Eutaw 

changes abruptly from place to place, and intercalated with it are 

large masses of clay. It is difficult to find a section of clay-free sand: 

more than 10 feet thick, and even such a section may have some clay 

seams that give trouble. At any one place it may be difficult to find 

a layer of sand in which to end a well, but a change of site should 

solve this difficulty. The Eutaw will furnish ample water for farm 

wells, but it will be difficult to develop wells in this formation with a 

capacity of more than 300 gallons a minute.

The logs of the Spring Creek Development Co.'s well, in Hardeman 

County; the Ira T. Johnson Oil Co.'s oil test well, in Obion County; 

and the deep well at Memphis afford scanty and imperfect data 

but seem to show that the sandy parts of the formation continue 

to the west and are present in about the same relative amounts as in 

their outcrop area.

The pressure-indicating surface in the Eutaw formation in its out~ 

crop area depends on topographic position. To the west of the 

outcrop area there are no data available with the exception of the 

log of the deep well at Memphis, which has not been definitely correlated. The static level in this well is 360 feet above mean sea level.

QUALITY OF WATER

Twelve samples of water from the Eutaw formation were analyzed. 

These analyses, as well as 48 analyses from the Eutaw formation in 

Mississippi,57 indicate that the waters from this formation vary

H Stephenson, L. W., Logan, W. N., and Waring Q. A., The ground-water resources of Mississippi 

U. B. GeoL Survey Water-Supply Paper 576, pp. 35-36,1928.

119722 33 6
74 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

considerably in the amount and character of the dissolved material. 

The waters from the Eutaw in Tennessee can be divided into three 

groups, examples of each of which are given in the following table. 

One group includes waters from the outcrop area of the Eutaw formation and is represented by seven analyses (Benton County, No. 60; 

Hardin County, Nos. 3, 35b, 36; Henderson County, No. lla; McNairy County, Nos. 5, 17). Three of these analyses show high nitrate 

and chloride, which may be obtained from surface sources. The 

other four samples, which may be taken as representative of the formation, are soft waters of low mineral content varying considerably 

in character. Some of the waters contain enough iron to make its 

removal by aeration followed by sedimentation or filtration necessary. 

Analysis 1 in the following table represents a water from this group. 

A second group includes waters derived from the Eutaw formation to 

the west of its outcrop area but at depths less than 1,000 feet. The 

content of total dissolved solids in waters from this group for which 

analyses are available (Henderson County, No. 14; McNairy County, 

Nos. 3, lib, 12, 14) range from 193 to 290 parts per million except in 

one sample, which contains 875 parts per million and which is probably derived from a sandy layer of the base of the Selma formation and 

should not be included in this group. The other samples of this group 

are all calcium bicarbonate waters of low sodium and chloride content, 

but with varying amounts of sulphate. Some of these waters should be 

treated to make them satisfactory for laundry use and for use in steam 

boilers, and in some the iron content is sufficiently high to necessitate 

its removal. Analysis 2 in the table represents water of this group. 

Though the water from the Eutaw formation in its outcrop area 

is fairly soft and has a moderately low content of dissolved solids, 

the water obtained from deep wells that penetrate the Eutaw in 

Mississippi 57a contains over 1,000 parts per million total dissolved 

solids and is characterized by sodium chloride.

Analyses of waters from the Eutaw formation 

[Parts per million]

Silica(SiOs) -- - - -- - - - - 

Iron (Fe) -.-_---.._ _ ...............................................

Potassium (K) ________________ .... ________ .....

Bicarbonate (HCOs) ... . _ . _ .------.-- - .

Sulphate (SO4 ) ................ . ...............................

Chloride (Cl). ___..._ __ ___.__________...____._.______._.._.______

Nitrate (NOj)....... .................................................

Total hardness as CaCOs (calculated) ___________ ______

1

6.2

.8

14

2

10

1

20

23

18

1.3

86

43

2

19

.27

52

20

7.7

5.1

208

55

2.8

1.0

260

212

3

16

.40

3.2

1.0

} 432

"1,068

1.8

16

.02

1,026

12

4

16

1.7

5.5

1.8

269

»494

2.4

142

0

692

21

 Includes 71 parts per million of carbonate (COa).

* Includes 14 parts per million of carbonate (COs).

1. Analysis of water from the Eutaw formation in its outcrop area (Benton County, No. 59, p. 120).

2. Analysis of water from the Eutaw formation to the west of its outcrop area, but at depths less than 

1,000 feet (McNairy County, No. lib, p. 233).

3. Analysis of water from the 2,656-foot well at Memphis (analysis 10, p. 287).

4. Analysis of water from Eutaw formation in Clay County, Miss. U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply 

Paper 576, p. 132, 1928.

«» Stephenson, L. W., Logan, W. N., and Waring, G. A., op. cit., pp. 35-36.
WATER-BEARING FORMATIONS 75 

SELMA CLAY

The Selma clay crosses the area in a direction a little east of north, 

forming a belt that diminishes in width from 8 miles at the southern 

boundary to the vanishing point in central Henderson County. 

Formerly M the Selma formation was believed to continue north into 

Kentucky, but recent work indicates that the supposedly northward 

continuation of the Selma formation is the Coon Creek tongue of the 

Ripley formation. 69 The most northerly outcrop in Tennessee known 

to contain fossil shells is in central Henderson County, on the old 

Lexington-Parsons road 2.2 miles west and a little north of Chesterford. Here the road crosses a creek and goes up an abrupt hill. 

Where the road has worn away the surface soil, typical black marl of 

the Coon Creek, is exposed and fossil shells are abundant. Stephenson 59 identifies this fauna as Coon Creek. The most northerly 

exposures of the supposed Selma contain only fossil molds, the shells 

having been weathered out. Though no systematic collections of 

these molds were made, the fossils recognized were more characteristic 

of the Coon Creek than of the Selma, and the lithologic characteristics 

of the material also indicate that the bed belongs with the Coon Creek 

rather than with the Selma formation. Unmistakable Selma fossils 

have been found at several outcrops in southern Henderson County. 

As it is impossible to differentiate the Selma from the Coon Creek 

in the usual well log in this report, any Coon Creek that may be present 

in a well is included in the material classified as Selma. A study of the 

microfauna of the Selma formation and the Coon Creek tongue of the 

Ripley formation made by Cushman 60 has revealed a rich fauna, which 

furnishes a basis for the accurate correlation of these formations from 

well drillings. Like the Eutaw formation, the Selma dips from 20 to 30 

feet to the mile toward the west and underlies all of the region west of 

its outcrop. In southern McNairy County it has a thickness of about 

210 feet, but by the time it reaches central Henderson County it has 

thinned out. The well of the Spring Creek Development Co., in 

Hardeman County, 25 miles west of the western edge of the Selma 

outcrop, shows a thickness of about 172 feet for this formation. The 

deep well at Memphis (p. 284) gives no positive data. The top of the 

Cretaceous is believed to be at 2,371 feet, but how much of the material below this belongs to the Selma and how much to the Ripley 

formation can not be determined, though most of it is certainly 

Ripley.

The Selma clay was deposited under marine conditions in water of 

sufficient depth to keep the bottom free from wave action. Though 

much of the lime has the characteristics of chemically precipitated

58 Wade, Bruce, Recent studies of the Upper Cretaceous: Tennessee Geol. Survey Bull. 23, p. 58,1920.

59 Stephenscn, L. W., oral communication.

60 Cushman, Jr. A., A preliminary report on the Foraminifera of Tennessee: Tennessee Geol. Survey 

Bull 41,193L
76 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

calcium carbonate, fragments of shells from the numerous marine 

organisms that swarmed in these waters formed a part of the sediment, 

and the large shells of Inoceramus and Exogyra are very conspicuous 

throughout the formation. Clay and sand were brought to this sea 

and were deposited along with the lime, so that the formation consists 

of chalky clay and argillaceous sand. Specks of glauconite are found 

throughout the formation but are very abundant near its base, where 

the Selma consists of a glauconitic sand indurated by lime. The 

unweathered clay when wet is slate-blue and is locally known aa 

"blue dirt." Its weathered surfaces are from grayish white to gray 

and are strewn with fossils.

Though the Selma is slightly porous it is not a water-bearing 

formation. Very small quantities of water will seep out of it, but thewater is highly charged with mineral matter, has an unpleasant taste,, 

and is poor water for any purpose.

RIPIEY FORMATION

DISTRIBUTION AND THICKNESS

West of the Selma clay and paralleling it in trend is a broad band of 

sand and clay of the Ripley formation, which ranges in width from 

18 miles in the south to 8 miles at the northern boundary of Tennessee.. 

This formation is found at the surface over most of McNairy, Chester, 

and Henderson Counties, the western part of Benton County, and the 

eastern half of Carroll and Henry Counties. It has a maximum 

thickness of 600 feet in southern McNairy County but thins to about 

350 feet at the Kentucky line. It dips 30 feet to the mile toward the 

west and underlies all the younger formations.

The well of the Spring Creek Development Co., 5 miles south of 

Bolivar, in Hardeman County, furnishes the only precise measurements of thickness and the only detailed description of lithology of 'the 

Ripley formation west of its outcrop area. The log of this well is asfollows:

Log of well of Spring Creek Development Co., Hardeman County

Geologic age Formation

Clayton formation.

Thickness 

(feet)

2

14

6

82

16

9

17

104

Depth 

(feet)

2

16

22

104

120

129

146

250
WATER-BEARING FORMATIONS 77 

Log of well of Spring Creek Development Co., Hardeman County Continued

Geologic age

Cretaceous.

Carboniferous 

and 

Devonian.

Silurian.

Formation

Ripley formation

Owl Creek 

tongue.

McNairy sand 

member.

Coon Creek 

tongue.

delma clay.

Eutaw formation.

Tuscaloosa formation.

Clay, medium, hard, gray ______ .. __ .

Lime, bluish, hard ________________

Thickness 

(feet)

10 

51 

69 

42 

6

16 

16 

30 

71 

4 

57 

3 

45 

58 

2 

28 

2 

33 

18 

3 

16

30 

22 

8 

60

52 

9 

14 

36 

15 

23 

17 

1 

2 

3

10 

80 

76 

10 

40

10

5 

49 

11 

23 

10 

12 

13 

85 

87 

35 

7 

3 

30 

10 

10

90 

65 

80 

20 

75 

95 

12 

90 

13 

60 

55 

20 

12

Depth 

(feet)

260 

311 

370 

412 

418

434 

450 

480 

551 

555 

612 

615 

660 

718 

720 

748 

750 

783 

801 

804 

820

850

872 

880 

940

992 

1,001 

1,015 

1,051 

1,066 

1,089 

1,106 

1,107 

1,109 

1,112

1,124 

1,204 

1,280 

1,290 

1,330

1,340

1,345 

1,394 

1,405 

1,428 

1,438 

1,450 

1,463 

1,548 

1,635 

1,670 

1,677 

1,680 

1,720 

1,730 

1,740

1,830 

1,895 

1,975 

1,995 

2,070 

2,165 

2,177 

2,267 

2,280 

2,340 

2,395 

2,415 

2,427
78 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Log of well of Spring Creek Development Co., Hardeman County Continued

Geologic age

Ordovieian.

Formation

Thickness 

(feet)

92

20

21

45

2

38

70

80

40

62

9

89

73

22

70

18

22

5

5

Depth 

(feet)

2,51»

2,53»

2,560

2,605

2,607

2,645

2,715

2,795

2,835

2,897

2,906

2,995

3,068

3,090

3,160

3,178

3,200

3,205

3,210

Though the deep well at Memphis (see p. 284) penetrates the Kipley formation, the log is so vague that it is impossible to determine 

whether it passes through the formation.

Since the time of Safford 61 this formation has been correlated with 

the Bipley formation in Mississippi. Because of the lithologic dissimilarity of the sand and clay in Tennessee to the typical materials 

of the Bipley formation, Stephenson 62 used the name McNairy sand 

member to designate the upper part of the Bipley formation in Tennessee. Wade 63 retained the name Bipley formation for the whole 

series but subdivided it into three lithologic and faunal units in 

descending order the Owl Creek tongue, McNairy sand member, and 

Coon Creek tongue.

LITHOLOGIC CHARACTER

The Coon Creek tongue consists in the southern part of this area of 

black to bluish-green marl. The marl is composed of quartz, sand 

grains, glauconite, small flakes of mica, and fragments of shells 

cemented together by fine calcareous material. Pieces of lignitic wood 

and small nodular masses of pyrite are common but not abundant. 

The lime and clay content are variable. Scattered through this 

matrix are numerous fossil shells. Toward the north the lime content 

decreases, mica becomes more abundant, and the material becomes 

greenish gray, in places stained brown with iron oxide. Fossils are no 

longer present, though molds may be found in the material; but irregular nodular masses composed largely of limonitic material and

61 Safford, J. M., On the Cretaceous and superior formations of west Tennessee: Am. Jour. Sci., vol. 37, 

pp. 360-372, 1864; Geology of Tennessee, p. 550, plates and map, 1869.

« 2 Stephenson, L. W., Cretaceous deposits of the eastern Gulf region: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 81, 

pp. 17-18, pi. 10, 1914.

63 Wade, Brace, The fauna of the Ripley formation on Coon Creek, Tennessee: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. 

Paper 137, pp. 7-8, 1926.
WATER-BEARING FORMATIONS 79

vaguely resembling organic forms are conspicuous features of any 

outcrop. The large and beautiful fauna of well-preserved marine 

fossils in the type locality has been described by Wade. 64 The 

northern extension of the Coon Creek tongue was formerly considered 

to belong to the Selma clay, but although there is no fossil evidence 

in northern Tennessee on which to base a correlation, the lithologic 

nature of the material would place it in the Coon Creek.

Wade 65 describes the ferruginous clay portion of the Coon Creek 

tongue as follows:

The ferruginous clay portion of the Coon Creek tongue of the Ripley is well 

exposed in a cut on the Mobile & Ohio Railroad just south of Falcon, in McNairy 

County. It consists of a series of stratified micaceous clays about 100 feet thick 

containing numerous concretions of limonite, which are very conspicuous on the 

eroded slopes in the central part of McNairy County. A scant and dwarfed 

marine fauna has been obtained from this clay in the southern part of the State. 

Toward the north this clay becomes sandy, loses its identity, and merges into the 

McNairy sand.

The McNairy sand member is predominantly sand, though clay 

lenses from 10 to 20 feet thick are found throughout the member. 

The sand consists chiefly of fine to coarse subrounded quartz grains. 

Mica is present but is less abundant than in the Eutaw formation. 

Glauconite occurs in small amounts. The sands are variegated in 

color red, white, brown, yellow, pink, and purple but in the outcrop are predominantly a deep red to brown owing to the oxidation 

of the iron in the waters of this member, which probably contain more 

iron than those of any other formation in western Tennessee. When 

exposed to the oxidizing influence of the air the iron is precipitated 

and forms a coating of red ferric oxide on the surface of the sand 

grains. In places the ferric oxide cements the grains together, forming hard sandstone. Locally this is found as large tabular masses, as 

near Dollar and Hollow Rock, Carroll County, or in fluted columns, 

as at Big Cut, McNairy County. The sands are in many places 

strongly cross-bedded but elsewhere show parallel bedding. Here and 

there the sands contain interlaminated layers of clay, from a fraction 

of an inch to several inches in thickness. In other places large lenses 

of thinly laminated clays are found. The clays are gray, dove-gray, 

or black. Leaves and fragments of leaves are found in the clays, and 

fragments of lignitic wood are common. The following section of the 

Ripley at a deep cut on the Southern Railway \% miles west of 

Cypress station, Tennessee, is given by Glenn: 66

64 Wade, Bruce, The fauna or the Ripley formation on Coon Creek, Tenn.: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. 

Paper 137, 1926.

6« Idem, p. 8.

98 Qlenn, L. C., Underground waters of Tennessee and Kentucky west of Tennessee River: II. S. Qeol. 

Survey Water-Supply Paper 164, p. 29,1906.
80 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Section of Ripley formation near Cypress

iResiduum:] Feet

1. Red casehardened Lafayette sand and clay with a 

few broken pieces of ferruginous sandstone and 

scattering quartz pebbles marking the contact with 

the underlying Ripley_-_---_------------------ 8

1 Ripley:]

2. Fine red sand and clay with rolled clay pellets and

thin streaks of white clay_----___-------------- 20-25

3. Concretionary tabular and ironstone in single pipes or

in masses of parallel ones with soft sand cores____ 2-8

4. Fine variegated sand, having as a whole a lightgrayish color, but showing in detail red, white, 

brown, yellow, and purple streaks or mottling. 

Casehardened so that it breaks off in large masses 20

5. Ferruginous sandstone pipes and flutes massed as

above__________ _____________________________ 0-5

6. Fine sand and clay interbedded in thin laminae; yellow, 

brown, cream, or gray; sands micaceous; leaf and 

other plant markings common but indistinct and 

unidentifiable, exposed down to 15 feet below track 

level_____________________________ 35

Another place where the Ripley is well exposed is just south of the 

Carroll County line in northeastern Henderson County, 1 mile east 

of Holly Springs Church. Here a series of gullies about 60 feet deep 

show in one place the following section:

Section 1 mile east of Holly Springs Church, Henderson County

Feet 

Soil_______________________________________________ 0-1

Very coarse sand and gravel as much as 3 millimeters in

diameter.________________________________________ 1-6

White sand and clay________________________________ 6-7

Medium-grained white sand, irregularly stained with iron 

oxide____________________________________________ 7-21

White thinly laminated sandy clay with stocks of clay and

clay balls scattered through sand____________________ 21-23

Medium-grained white cross-bedded sand________________ 23-28

Medium-grained white and pink sand showing distinct bedding with a few thin layers of clay. To the west the sand 

gradually changes to white plastic clay by the interfingering of layers of clay 1 to 6 inches thick______ _ 28-55

The^bottom of the McNairy sand is, in general, white and very fine 

grained. High banks of this fine white sand are found at Zacks, 

Benton County, in southwestern Benton County, just east of Lexington, and southwest of Selmer. Though this belt of fine sand has not 

been traced uninterruptedly across the State, it probably forms a 

fairly continuous layer representing a certain phase of sedimentation. 

Sand samples 925 and 809 are typical of this sand. Above it occur
WATER-BEARING FORMATIONS 81

many lenses of very coarse sand. Though any particular outcrop in 

this belt may not show coarse sand, yet in general coarse sands are 

present. Sand samples 865 and 914 represent this coarse sand.

Stratigraphically above the McNairy sand member in southwestern 

McNairy County and eastern Hardeman County is the Owl Creek 

tongue. This is a series of micaceous sands and marls about 168 feet 

in thickness in Tennessee that contain a portion of the Owl Creek 

marine fauna. This northern extension of the Owl Creek does not 

extend far into Tennessee.

The Bipley formation was deposited by a sea that receded and then 

advanced again. The shallow marine conditions that are represented 

by the Coon Creek tongue gave way to shallow-water and littoral 

conditions of the McNairy sand, which in turn were followed by the 

shallow marine conditions of the Owl Creek.

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

In order to determine the physical properties of the sands of the 

Bipley formation 24 samples were collected in the outcrop area. 

These samples were taken, as far as possible, along east-west lines at 

right angles to the strike of the formation. Two such series were 

collected, one across southern Carroll County and one along highway 

15, which crosses central McNairy County. Besides these two series 

other samples were taken at good outcrops. Owing to the facts that 

the outcrops are not large or continuous and that the formation is 

extremely variable, it is impossible to determine what proportion of 

the total formation each grade of sand makes. It may be said, however, that the measurements of the thickness of the sands of different 

size in different outcrops are approximately the same, and if it is 

assumed that the chance distribution of outcrops is such that the 

various grades of sand are represented by samples in proportion to 

their relative abundance in the formation, the properties of the average 

sample give a fair average for the formation as a whole.
Physical properties of sands from outcrop area of the Ripley form

[Laboratory determinations by V. C. Fishel]

Laboratory No."

851 b _ .......

852 

854 

855 

8fU

925 

916 

917 

918 

914 

913

919 

809

QAQ

Q19

o-iq

Q1 A

sni

815...... ........................

866 

867 

Apparent 

specific 

gravity 

of ovendried 

sample

1.69

1.78 

1.78 

1.44 

1.55 

1.83 

1.60 

1.59 

1.66 

1.56 

1.63 

1.76 

1.75 

1.78 

1.48 

1.87 

2.00 

1.99 

1.56 

1.56 

1.50 

1.59 

1.63 

1.49

Mechanical composition (per cent)

2-1 mm

4.57 

8.52 

.9 

2.4 

9.6 

None. 

None. 

64.7 

3.7 

.2 

6.9 

79.5 

20.4 

.4 

.1 

.0 

3.2 

None. 

.3 

None. 

6.6 

2.3 

.1

1-0.5 mm

52.4 

40.9 

3.2 

4.9 

64.1 

.3 

.5 

11.9 

45. 1 

15.8 

26.5 

11.6 

33.1 

1.8 

.5 

2.0 

47.2 

.8 

28.4 

.2 

15.0 

41.0 

9.3

0.5-0.25 

mm

28.91 

40.0 

28.4 

21.5 

17.7 

1.0 

2.4 

11.4 

36.7 

54.6 

49.3 

2.9 

32.9 

15.8 

1.6- 

43.0 

30.8 

46.6 

50.2 

1.7 

40.3 

43.0 

35.0

0.25-0.10 

mm

11.98 

8.9 

64.1 

61.0 

4.6 

80.1 

96.0 

1.3 

3.9 

25.2 

12.5 

1.1 

6.5 

66.3 

73.4 

49.6 

9.2 

48.4 

16.0 

59.3 

34.8 

8.2 

42.0

Eesidue 

on pan

1.48 

.9 

1.4 

1.4 

.9 

9.2 

.7 

5.1 

4.3 

3.0 

.6 

2.1 

1.6 

7.3 

18.5 

.7 

2.7 

1.1 

2. 6 

30.2 

1.1 

4.6 

7.8

Silt

.7 

0. 

1.2 

3.5 

1.4 

6.1 

.4 

4.3 

5.9 

1.6 

1.7 

1.8 

4.0 

7.7 

' 6.5 

4.8 

7.0 

3.1 

2.7 

8.5 

2.2 

1.0 

3.4

Clay

0 

0 

0 

4.6 

1.0 

2.2 

0 

1.0 

.6 

.6 

.6 

1.0 

.8 

1.8

.8

ce

(

m

1 Samples listed in order across formation from bottom up. 1 For m
WATER-BEARING FORMATIONS 83

Mechanical analyses of sands from the Ripley formation of Tennessee, made

according to second method

[See p. 39]

Laboratory No.°

851 _...._. _ ........

852

853---.--.. .

854

855 . . .

865

864.. ................. ..

925---------. .

915 

916- -

917

918 

914 

913 . 

919 

866---------. ..

867

Mechanical COID position (per cent)

2-1 mm

9.0 

1.1 

6.0 

.9 

1.2 

4.0 

.3 

None. 

66.5 

3.5

5.0 

59 

23.3 

2.6 

1.1 

None.

1-0.5 mm

18.0 

49.1 

43.8 

3.1 

8.7 

68.0 

1.0 

.3 

16.5 

54.5 

14.0 

32.0 

34.5 

47.0 

2.0 

34.7 

4.5

0.5-0.25 mm

58.5 

41.5 

45.9 

41.6 

52.5 

26.0 

9.0 

6.7 

11.0 

40.0 

78.0 

59.0 

4.0 

26.5 

31.0 

55.8 

48.8

0.25-0.125 

mm

15.6 

6.1 

3.5 

52.3 

33.7 

1.5 

73.0 

81.9 

2.0 

1.0 

7.0 

5.0 

1.6 

1.0 

54.0 

4.2 

29.0

0.125-0.062 

mm

O.fl 

.8 

.4 

1.5 

1.6 

.4 

9.0 

9.3 

1.0 

.5 

.5 

.5 

1.0 

.5 

8.0 

1.7 

13.2

Residue 

on pan

0.3 

.4 

.2 

.8 

1.6 

.5 

6.4 

.9 

2.5 

.5 

1.0 

.5 

2.5 

.9 

2.0 

.6 

3.5

 Samples listed in order across formation from bottom up.

851. Gully 0.25 mile south ofBuchanan, Henry County. Altitude of top of gully 500 feet. Section from 

top down: 0-9 feet, red sandy clay, some gravel; 9-9.5 feet, impure white clay; 9.5-15 feet, alternating bands of 

Ted and white sand about 3 inches thick, white sand coarser grained, red sand contains some clay; 15-23 feet, 

cross-bedded white sand of varying coarseness, lenses of purple spots accentuating bedding. Sample taken 

23 feet below top of section.

852. Same as 851; 21 feet below top of section.

853. Same as 851; 19 feet below top of section.

854. Same as 851; 17 feet below top of section.

855. Same as 851; 15 feet below top of section.

865. Gully 1.5 miles east of Mansfield and 1 mile south of New Hope Church, Henry County, on south 

side of road. Altitude of top of gully 470 feet. Section from top down: 0-15 feet, red sandy clay; 15-25 feet, 

alternating 3 to 12 inch bands of red and white fine-grained sand; 25-27 feet, coarse cross-bedded white and 

brown sand. Sample taken 26 feet below top of section.

864. Same as 865; 20 feet below top of section.

925. Sand pit on west side of State highway 1, Zacks, Benton County. A 30-foot bank of fine white sand. 

Sample taken 15 feet above level of railroad track.

915. Gully 6.2 miles southeast of Yuma and 1 mile east of Holly Springs Church, Henderson County, just 

south of Carroll County line. Altitude of top of gully 580 feet. Section from top down: 0-1 foot, soil; 

1-6 feet, very coarse sand and gravel as much as 3 millimeters in diameter, in channels; 6-7 feet, white sandy 

clay; 7-21 feet, medium-grained sand stained irregularly with iron oxide; 21-23 feet, white, thinly laminated

 clay with some stocks of clay and clay balls scattered through sand; 23-28 feet, medium-grained white crossbedded sand; 28-55 feet, medium to fine grained white and pink sand with some layers of clay. Sample 

taken 5 feet below top of section.

916. Same as 915; 20 feet below top of section.

917. Same as 915; 28 feet below top of section.

918. Same as 915; 54 feet below top of section.

914. Gully on south side of Yuma-Cavia road 3.4 miles east of Yuma, Carroll County. Approximate 

altitude at top of gully 490 feet. Section from top down: 0-7 feet, bedded medium-grained sand with lumps 

of clay; 7-22 feet, coarse sand. Sample taken 16 feet below top of section.

913. Gully on south side of Yuma-Cavia road 1.9 miles east of Yuma, Carroll County. Approximate 

altitude of top of gully 440 feet. Section from top down: 0-6 feet, soil grading within a few inches into very 

coarse sand; 6-12 feet, very coarse sand showing bedding at angle to the preceding; 12-17 feet, very coarse 

sand, as much as 3 millimeters in diameter; 17-20 feet, white and pink thinly laminated clay.

919. Hillside 2.8 miles south of Clarksburg on east side of highway 44, Carroll County. Approximate 

altitude of top of hill 390 feet. Section from top of hill down: 0-5 feet, argillaceous sand; 5-35 feet, dark-red, 

partly cemented fine sand; 35-50 feet, micaceous thin-bedded red sand; 50-53 feet, thin-bedded carbonaceous

 clay. Sample taken 45 feet below top of section.

809. Gully 1 mile east of Lexington on highway 20 (old road), Henderson County, north side of road. 

Pine-grained white micaceous sand.

808. Gully 0.5 mile east of Lexington on highway 20 (old road), north side of road. Variegated darkbrown, yellow, and white sand.

812. Road cut on highway 15,0.25 mile west of Selmer Courthouse, McNairy County. Cut 20 feet deep. 

Medium-grained quartz sand streaked with red.

813. Road cut 0.5 mile west of Selmer Courthouse on highway 15, McNairy County. Cross-bedded 

black, brown, red, vellow, and white sand.

814. Road cut 5.0 miles west of Selmer on highway 15, McNairy County. Cut 20 feet deep. Coarsegrained sand in shades of yellow and red.

805. Road cut 6.2 miles east of Selmer on highway 15, McNairy County. Cut 20 feet deep. Fine white 

micaceous sand.

815. Road cut 5 miles east of Hornsby on highway 15, McNairy County. Cut 20 feet deep. Coarsegrained variegated red and yellow sand.

866. Big cut on Southern Railway 1.5 miles west of Cypress. Section from top down: 0-15 feet, dove^gray 

and white finely interbedded clav", at the top of which are some fluted iron oxide sandstone formations; 

15-17.5 feet, finely laminated dove'-gray and white clay, also some layers of sand; 17.5-28.3 feet, coarse white 

and brown cross-bedded sand; 28.3-32.4 feet, interbedded gray and white plastic clay in 1-inch groups composed of layers He to ^ inch thick; 32.4-40.3 feet, coarse brown and white cross-bedded sand. Clay covered 

with talus. Sample taken 24.8 feet below top of section.

867. Same as 866 ;36.5 feet below top o fsection.
84 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

An examination of these analyses shows a wide range in the physical 

properties. Sample 914 shows 79.5 per cent of the sand coarser than 

1 millimeter; sample 925 shows 96 per cent on the 0.1-millimeter 

screen. The samples range from very uniform material, such a& 

sample 923, with a uniformity coefficient of 1.31, to variable material, 

such as sample 916, with a coefficient of 6.78. The average uniformity 

coefficient is 2.96. The coarse sands are as a rule less uniform than 

the fine sands, but there are exceptions. The porosity is high and 

ranges from 22.4 to 49.4 per cent, with 39.1 per cent as the average. 

There seems to be no relation between grain size and porosity. The 

moisture equivalent is low, ranging from 0.61 to 11, with 4.61 as the 

average. The coefficient of permeability has a wide range, from 29.5 

to 2,347, and averages 670.

WATER-BEARING PROPERTIES

The Coon Creek tongue and the Owl Creek tongue of the Ripley 

formation yield little water, but the McNairy sand member is a good 

water bearer. In its outcrop area this member is predominantly sand, 

and though clay lenses may be encountered in it these can be readily 

drilled through. The sand is usually sufficiently coarse to finish a well 

in, though the very fine sand would not be checked by strainers of the 

usual type. Very few data are available concerning the Ripley formation to the west of its outcrop area. Three wells that are within 

10 miles of the western boundary of the outcrop area and pass completely through the Ripley formation show that the formation is about 

half sand at these points. It is reasonable to assume that farther to 

the west the proportion of sand decreases. Evidence furnished by 

the deep wells at Memphis (p. 284) and in Crittenden County, Ark. 

(p. 27), bears this out. If it is assumed that at Memphis the Ripley 

is encountered at 2,371 feet, the amount of sand below this is less than 

33 per cent and the proportion of sand found in the oil tests in Crittenden County is even less. Furthermore, the sand is here partly 

cemented and indurated and probably has a lower porosity and permeability. It seems probable, however, that some sand will be found 

in the Ripley wherever it occurs. Large supplies of water can be 

developed from the Ripley formation, but the quantity is not inexhaustible. As larger quantities of water are developed from it there 

will be a lowering of the head, and wells that now flow will cease to 

flow. For this reason waste of water should be stopped, flowing wells 

that are not used should be shut off, and the flow of wells that yield 

much more water than is needed should be cut down. In this way the 

greatest use can be made of the water with the least loss of head.

The static level of the water in the Ripley formation in the area 

where it crops out depends on topographic position. To the west of 

the outcrop area the static levels in different wells are as follows:
WATER-BEARING FORMATIONS 85

Paris, 392 feet above mean sea level (based on railroad altitude); 

Huntington, 405 feet; McKenzie, 403 feet; Pinson, 390 feet; Middleton, 381 feet; Memphis, 360 feet. This gives an average altitude 

of the static level at the western edge of the outcrop area of 400 feet. 

The loss in head is about 0.5 foot to the mile toward the west, the 

minimum head being about 360 feet.

QUALITY OF WATER

The McNairy sand member and the Owl Creek tongue of the 

Kipley formation yield waters of different chemical composition.

Most of the waters from 

the McNairy sand (see 

analyses Benton County, 

No. 31; Carroll County, 

Nos. 33, 40, 58, 69, 71, 74; 

Chester County, Nos. 1, 3, 

4; Henderson County, Nos. 

1, 5b, 8a; Henry County, 

Nos. 7,15,64, 68, 79; Madison County, Nos. 15c, 31) 

are low in mineral content, 

usually containing less than 

100 parts per million of 

total dissolved solids, and 

they are generally soft, containing less than 50 parts 

per million of hardness. 

They are usually characterized by calcium bicarbonate. 

Water from the Kipley 

formation at Memphis 

(sample 10, p. 287), however, has a high mineral conFiGUKE 8.-ABalyses of water from the Ripley formation tent, Containing 1,026 parts

per million of total dissolved

solids, and is characterized by sodium bicarbonate. This water is 

not fit for domestic or industrial use. It is probable that the change 

from water such as is found in the outcrop area of the Ripley formation 

to the water obtained at Memphis is gradual, but data, are not available to show the western boundary of good water. The change from 

a calcium to a sodium bicarbonate water is effected by certain clay 

minerals in the formations. This change with increasing depth is also 

observed in waters from Ripley sand in Mississippi.67 Analyses of 

waters having high, low, and medium mineral content are given in

w Stephenson, L. W., Logan, W. N., and Waring, G. A., op. cit., p. 43.
86 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Figure 8, as well as an analysis of water from the Ripley formation at 

Memphis.

Water from the upper portion of the Ripley formation, the Owl Creek 

tongue, yields water of higher mineral content. The six waters analyzed (Hardeman County, Nos. lla, 15a, 15b,17,22; Madison County, 

No. 17) range in total dissolved solids from 148 to 217 parts per 

million and are of moderate hardness, ranging from 90 to 150 parts 

per million. They are all calcium bicarbonate in character, but some 

contain considerable sulphate. The difference in sulphate content may 

be due to local variations in the mineral composition of the formation.

The waters from both divisions of the Ripley formation are likely 

to be high in iron. The iron can be easily removed by some method 

of aeration followed by nitration or sedimentation.

CENOZOIC ROCKS

TERTIARY SYSTEM

EOCENE SERIES 

MIDWAY GROUP

Safford 68 proposed the name Porters Creek for the clays that 

are well exposed along Porters Creek, a small tributary of the Hatchie 

River in southeastern Hardeman County. Later 69 he differentiated 

a lower Eocene formation consisting of fossiliferous argillaceous, 

glauconitic sandstone and other undescribed beds lying between the 

Porters Creek clay and the Ripley formation, and called it the "Middleton formation." This formation is included in the Clayton formation of the present report. Harris 70 correlated the Porters Creek 

clay and the "Middleton formation" of Safford with other formations 

throughout the Gulf embayment area, demonstrated that they were 

of early Eocene age, and applied the name Midway to all these formations. Glenn 71 regarded the "Middleton" and Porters Creek as 

one formation and grouped them as Porters Creek.

Roberts 72 has correlated the basal part of the Midway in southern 

Tennessee with the Clayton limestone of Mississippi and retained 

the name Porters Creek for the characteristic clays of the upper 

formation of the Midway group.

The Midway group is distinctly marine, as indicated by its fauna. 

It lies unconformably on the Ripley formation, of Upper Cretaceous 

age. This group crops out in a band that strikes a little east of north 

and is about 7 miles wide in Hardeman County but narrows to 1 mile

88 SafEord, J. M., On the Cretaceous and superior formations of west Tennessee: Am. Jour. Sci., vol. 37, 

p. 368,1864.

" Safford, J. M., Notes on the Middleton formation of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama: Geol. Soc. 

America Bull., vol. 3, pp. 511-512, 1892; Am. Geologist, vol. 9, pp. 63-64, 1792.

" Harris, G. D., The Midway stage: Bull. Am. Paleontology, vol. 1, pp. 18-22, 1896.

" Glenn, L. C., Underground waters of Tennessee and Kentucky, west of Tennessee River: U. S. Geol. 

Survey Water-Supply Paper 164, p. 32,1906.

'« Roberts, J. K., Tertiary stratigraphy of westTennessee: Geol. Soc. America Bull., vol. 39, p. 436,1928.
WATER-BEARING FORMATIONS 87

at the Kentucky line. It is encountered in all wells west of its outcrop area that penetrate the Cretaceous.

CLAYTON FORMATION

The Clay ton formation unconformably overlies the Kipley formation 

from the Mississippi-Tennessee State line to a point 2 miles north of 

Beech Bluff, though not continuously exposed. Its maximum exposed thickness probably does not exceed 60 feet. According to 

Cooke73 the Clayton is thickest in eastern Alabama and thins to the 

west. Whether the Clayton thins out to the west in Tennessee is 

not known, but the presence in Jackson County, Ark., and as far 

north as Dunklin County, Mo.,74 of calcareous fossiliferous Midway 

that is considered to be equivalent to the Clayton formation indicates 

that the Clayton probably underlies much of Tennessee west of the 

outcrop of the Cretaceous-Eocene contact. The logs of the deep 

wells at Memphis and in Crittenden County, Ark., are not sufficiently 

detailed to determine whether the Clayton is present or not, but if 

present it certainly is not a limestone. At its best exposure, near 

Trim's mill, in southeastern Hardeman County, about 4 miles southeast of Middleton, the limestone phase of the Clayton shows a section 

of 7 feet of limestone containing characteristic Midway fossils. This, 

is overlain by 30 feet of glauconitic sand and clay, showing imperfect 

impressions of leaves. The limestone is coarse grained, consisting of 

a heterogeneous mass of shells cemented by glauconite and calcite. 

It is gray with a yellow tone. The weathered portions are porous 

and stained with iron. Toward the north the limestone disappears 

and the Clayton is composed entirely of a loose medium-grained sand 

consisting of two-thirds quartz and one-third green sand, with a little 

mica and amphibole. It varies in color from that of the scattered 

sand medium green when dry or dark green when wet to the light 

green or brown of the weathered material, but in some places so little 

glauconite is present that the sand is gray. The sand grains are subrounded or angular, and there is very little clay present.

The limestone phase of the Clayton is not a good water bearer. 

Mechanical analyses of two samples of green sand show it to range 

from coarse to medium grain and to have a low uniformity coefficient. The artesian wells in the vicinity of Hornsby, which obtain 

water from the Clayton formation, have large yields considering the 

slight head the water must be under.

73 Cooke, Wythe, Correlation of the Eocene formations in Mississippi and Alabama: U. S. Geol. Survey 

Prof. Paper 140, p. 134, 1925.

74 Stephenson, L. W., and Crider, A. F., Geology and ground water of northeastern Arkansas: U. S. 

Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 399, p. 51,1916. Berry, E. W., Northernmost extension of marine Eocene 

beds in Mississippi embayment: Pan Am. Geologist, vol. 37, pp. 75-76, 1922.
88 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

POUTERS CREEK CLAY

Nowhere in southwestern Tennessee does the width of the outcrop 

of Porters Creek Clay exceed 5 miles, and locally it is found only in 

a small band less than a mile in width. Its greatest thickness in 

outcrop is 250 feet, but it thins toward the north, being 140 feet 

thick at Paris. The deep wells at Memphis (p. 284) and in Crittenden

-County, Ark. (p. 27), pass through the Porters Creek clay but are 

not sufficiently detailed to permit definite correlation. Dr. J. A. 

Oushman 74a has identified diagnostic Midway fossils in core from the 

,S. J. Bradshaw oil test well No. 1, in southwestern Obion County, 

at a depth of 2,080 to 2,094 feet. Material from depths of 1,785 to 

2,100 feet lithologically resembles the Midway. In Mississippi the 

transition from Wilcox to Porters Creek, as found in wells, is gradational, and no sharp division can be made, though in its lower part 

the Porters Creek is fossiliferous and can be differentiated from the 

underlying Cretaceous. Hence it is at present impossible to determine the top and bottom of the Porters Creek clay, but most of this 

material undoubtedly belongs to that formation. At the Mississippi 

River the Porters Creek clay is probably as much as 350 feet thick, 

thus showing a slight thickening to the west. The formation has an 

average dip from Middleton to Memphis of 19 feet to the mile, but 

farther east it dips 30 feet to the mile. The Porters Creek Clay is 

lead-gray to dove-gray when dry but becomes dove-gray to black on 

wetting. It is homogeneous, smooth, and plastic, with a greasy feel. 

These properties explain its local appellation "soapstone." It is dissected into small cubical or rectangular blocks by innumerable joints 

intersecting at right angles, and upon weathering it parts along these 

.lines, the mass thus acqwiring a hackly structure. The fresh dry clay 

has a conchoidal fracture. (See pi. 5, J5.) In certain areas where the 

Porters Creek is exposed it is cut by sandstone dikes from a fraction 

.of an inch to 22 feet thick; they show no systematic orientation and 

many of them intersect one another. The material forming the dikes 

.consists of sand of uniform size, fragments of Porters Creek clay, and 

a few foraminifers and gastropods. The sand contains muscovite, 

Jimonite, and some green sand. Glenn 75 ascribes the formation of 

.these dikes to earthquake disturbances in Eocene time that opened 

fissures into which the underlying sand was injected.

Owing to its fine texture and clay composition the Porters Creek

 clay is impervious to water. It furnishes a confining bed for the 

waters in the underlying Ripley sands, creating artesian conditions 

to the west.

»» Personal communication. 

" Qlenn, L. C., op. cit., p. 31.
WATER-BEARING FORMATIONS 89 

WUCOX GROUP

Berry76 has shown that the "La Grange formation" of Glenn77 included the Wilcox group, of lower. Eocene age, and the Jackson 

formation, of upper Eocene age, the intervening Claiborne group, 

of middle Eocene age, apparently being absent. As the Wilcox 

formations and the Jackson are now differentiated in western Tennessee, there is no longer need for the inclusive name "La Grange." 

Roberts and Collins78 have identified, in the Wilcox group as exposed 

in Tennessee, the two upper formations of the group,the Holly Springs 

sand and the overlying Grenada formation. The two formations 

are lithologically very much alike, so that it is impossible to differentiate them except on the basis of the fossil floras. For this reason 

no precise correlation of well drillings can be made. In this report 

whenever it is definitely known which formation is being considered 

the formation name will be used; in case of doubt the group name 

will be employed.

ACKEBMAN POBMATION

In Mississippi the Wilcox group includes at its base the Ackennan 

formation, but the Ackerman does not crop out in Tennessee, its 

most northerly exposure being found in the northwestern part of 

Tippah County, Miss., where it disappears beneath the Holly Springs 

sand by overlap. On account of the northward strike of the Ackerman formation in Mississippi it seems probable, however, that the 

Ackerman continues to the north beneath the Holly Springs formation 

and. would be encountered in depth beneath the counties bordering 

the Tennessee River. This assumption furnishes the best explanation of the thickening of the Wilcox group observed in the S. J. Bradshaw oil test well No. 1. (Seep. 235.) The thicknessof the Ackerman 

formation in Mississippi is 300 to 500 feet.78* It probably is much 

thinner than this along its eastern margin in Tennessee but along 

the Tennessee River may exceed the maximum thickness given.

The Ackerman formation rests unconformably on the surface of 

the Porters Creek clay. According to Berry 78" this is an erosional 

surface.

In outcrop the formation consists of stratified gray, more or less 

lignitic clay with many interbedded layers of lignite. Many of the

" Berry. E. W., The lower Eocene floras of southeastern North America: U. S. Qeol. Survey Prof. 

Paper 91, pp. 29-30, 45,1916; The middle and upper Eocene floras of southeastern North America: U. S. 

Qeol. Survey Prof. Paper 92, pp. 96, 98,1924.

" Glenn, L. C., op. cit., pp. 33-40.

» Roberts, J. K., and Collins, R. L., The Tertiary of west Tennessee: Am. Jour. Sci., 5th ser., vol. 12, 

pp. 238-241,1926.

*8« Stephenson, L. W., Logan. W. N., and Waring, Q. A., The ground-water resources of Mississippi. 

U. S. Qeol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 576, p. 45,1928.

'8* Berry, E. W., Erosion intervals in the Eocene of the Mississippi embayment: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof: 

Paper 95, pp. 73-78,1916.

119722 33 7
90 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

clay layers are more or less sandy, and some beds of sand are interstratified with the clay. The character of the Ackerman formation 

in Tennessee is not known except at Memphis, where material encountered by deep wells between 1,300 and 1,900 feet and in this 

report correlated with the Ackerman (see p. 284) is predominantly 

clay, though it contains some beds of good sand as much as 100 feet 

thick. The physical properties of this sand are shown by 7 complete 

and 14 partial analyses. The samples were taken from drillings obtained by the hydraulic rotary process. They were carefully washed 

and the silt and clay decanted. This introduced an error, for the 

silt and clay of the sample were lost, but it is believed that the silt 

and clay content was so small that its loss would not materially alter 

the physical properties of the sand.

The sand is medium grained and very uniform, having an average 

uniformity coefficient of 2.02. The average porosity is 40.2 per cent. 

The average moisture equivalent, 2.2, is very low and may be explained in part by the absence of the silt and clay removed from the 

sample by washing. The average permeability coefficient is 802, 

which shows that the formation will yield considerable water to wells.

Physical properties of sands from wells in the Ackerman formation of Tennessee 

[Laboratory determinations by V. O. Fishel]

Laboratory No.1

Apparent 

specific 

gravity 

of ovendried 

sample

Mechanical composition (per cent)

2-1 mm 1-0.5 mm 0.6-0.25 

mm

0.25-0.1 

mm

"Residue on 

pan

Silt Clay

97S. 

979. 

9SO_

981.

982.

1.47

1.47

1.51

.3

1.52

1.51

1.59

1.56

0.9 

.3

1.7 

2.1 

1.3 

5.0

7.7

1.4

23.3

51.0

32.

28.7

89.2

75.4

46.3

65.3

69.4

37.5

34.5

7.5 

.5 

.2 

.3 

.3 

.2

1.3

0.6 

.2 

.6 

.2 

.2 

.6 

.6

Laboratory No.1

10 per 

cent size (millimeters)

Uniform- ity coefficients

Porosity 

(per cent)

Moisture equivalent by 

volume

(per cent)

Porosity 

minus

moisture equivalent

Coefficient of 

permeability

97-.. 

979

828- 

929-

0.104

.113

.120

.114

.113

.125

1.62

1.82

2.50

2.02

1.95

2.20

1.81

42.0

44.0

40.0

42.0

43.0

38,7

40.8

2.6 

1.6 

1.6

1.4 

1.4

1.7 

1.1

39.4

42.4

38.4

40.6

41.6

37.0

39.7

335

904

894

919

842

918

132

Listed in order of depth.
WATER-BEARING FORMATIONS 91

Physical properties of sands from wells in the Ackerman formation of Tennessee, o« 

determined by the second method

[See p. 39. Laboratory determinations by V. C. Fisbel]

Laboratory No."

978 . . .............

1072... ......... .....................

1073.... ....... ......................

979.................... . . . .....

1074 

1075 .

1076 . _

1077 

1078 -.. ------- ...

980.... ................ ......

1079. .

1080. 

1081..... ......... ... ... .

982..................................

1082. ..........................

1083 

1084. .........

981 ..............................

1085 _ ........ ... .

Mechanical composition (per cent)

2-1 mm

0.3 

.2 

.2 

.1 

.1 

.2 

.2 

.1 

.3 

.1 

.1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0

.1

1-0.5 mm

1.0 

1.0 

.5 

.3 

.5 

.5 

.5 

.7 

.5 

1.0 

1.0 

1.0 

.8 

.8 

2.0 

.7 

1.0 

1.0 

2.0

0.5-0.25 mm

44.0 

40.6 

88.5 

91.7 

91.0 

88.0 

87.5 

87.0 

89.0 

93.0 

91.0 

88.0 

88.0 

83.0 

82.0 

83.0 

89.0 

87.0 

88.0

0.25-0.125 

mm

46.0 

51.5 

10.0 

7.0 

7.0 

10.2 

11.0 

12.0 

10.0 

5.3 

7.0 

10.0 

11.0 

14.8 

16.0 

15.0 

9.5 

10.0 

9.0

0.125-0.062 

mm

7.0 

5.0 

.3 

.7 

1.0 

1.0 

1.0 

.5 

.4 

.3 

1.0 

.5 

.6 

1.2 

1.0 

1.0 

.7 

.7 

.8

Residue 

on pan

0.4 

.6 

.1 

.3 

.3 

.3 

.2 

.2 

.1 

.1 

.1 

.1 

.2 

.3 

.1 

.1 

.1 

.1 

.2

0 Listed in order of depth.

978. Well 51 of Memphis Artesian Water Department, on Southern Avenue West of West Tennessee 

State Normal School; depth 1,215 feet.

1072. Same as 978; depth 1,220 feet.

1073. Same as 978; dzth 1,225 feet. 

979. Same as 978; depth 1,230 feet.

1074. Same as 978; depth 1,235 feet.

1075. Same as 978; depth 1,240 feet.

1076. Same as 978; depth 1,245 feet.

1077. Same as 978; depth 1,250 feet.

1078. Same as 978; depth 1,255 feet. 

980. Same as 978; depth 1,260 feet. 

1079. Same as 978; depth 1,265 feet.

1080. Same as 978; depth 1,270 feet.

1081. Same as 978; depth 1,275 feet. 

982. Same as 978; depth 1,280 feet.

1082. Same as 978; depth 2,285 feet.

1083. Same as 978; depth 1,290 feet.

1084. Same as 978; depth 1,295 feet. 

981. Same as 978; depth 1,305 feet. 

1085. Same as 978; depth 1310-1315 feet,

828. Well 33, Memphis Artesian Water Department, about 4 miles west of well 51; depth 1,290- 

1,383 feet.

829. Well of western State hospital, Bolivar, 

Tenn.; depth 615-654 feet.

The sample of water from the 1,400-foot well at Memphis is the 

only sample available from the Ackerman formation in Tennessee. 

This water (see analysis 9, p. 287) is a sodium bicarbonate water; it is 

soft but contains sufficient iron to make necessary some form of treatment for its removal. In Mississippi water from the Ackerman formation 78c near its outcrop- is a calcium bicarbonate water, but with 

increasing depth the water changes to a water characterized by sodium 

bicarbonate. The water from the 1,200-foot well at Tutwiler, Miss.,7f* 

very closely resembles the water from the 1,400-foot well at Memphis,

HOLLY SPEINGS SAND

Distribution and thickness. The Holly Springs sand rests unconformably on the surface of the Porters Creek clay, which is probably 

an erosional surface. 79 The formation crops out as a broad band 

which is 20 miles wide at the southern boundary of the State and

'80 Stephenson, L. W., Logan W. N., and Waring, G. A., The ground-water resources of Mississippi: 

TJ. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 576, pp. 45-46, 1928.

rea Idem, p. 443.

'» Berry, E. W., Erosion intervals in the Eocene of the Mississippi embayment: TJ. S. Geol. Survey ProL 

Paper 95, pp. 73-78,1916.
92 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OP WESTERN TENNESSEE

8 miles wide at the Kentucky line and which trends slightly east of 

north. It is the surface formation over most of Hardeman and 

Madison Counties, the western half of Carroll and Henry Counties, 

and the southeast corners of Fayette, Haywood, Gibson, and Weakley 

Counties. In southern Fayette County it probably has a thickness 

of 450 feet but thins to 250 feet at the north. This formation dips 20

TRACK LeV£L

FIGTJEE 9. Diagrammatic section of the north end of the east side of the big cut on the Gulf, Mobile 

& Northern Railroad near Pine Top, Hardeman County. 1, Angular sand with scattered small 

lenses of clean white sand, 0-25 feet; 2, yellow sandy clay with fossil plants, grading downward 

into dark-gray, very irregularly bedded sand and clay, more or less concealed by slumping, about 

95 feet; 3, laminated sandy clay; 4, sand; 5, gray sandy clay; 6, massive sand; 7, argillaceous 

lignitic sand with plants, small quartz pebbles, and bauxite, 0-5 feet; 8, clay; 9, massive greenishgray fine micaceous sand

to 30 feet to the mile toward the west and underlies all the younger 

formations west of its outcrop area.

Lithologic character. The formation consists predominantly of 

sand, strongly cross-bedded and of all sizes from small gravel to the 

finest of sand, which is in many places mixed with clay. It is questionable whether these sands of various sizes occur in continuous beds 

rather as irregular masses that may have considerable lateral extent 

but eventually pinch out. This is especially true of the very coarse 

sands. Locally the sands of various sizes are disposed in irregular 

masses which show the greatest confusion of arrangement, as is well 

illustrated in the big cut on the Gulf, Mobile & Northern Railroad 

near Pine Top, Hardeman County. (See fig. 9.)
WATER-BEARING FORMATIONS 93

What appear to be thick beds of homogeneous sand are found on 

close examination to consist of a successive series of thin lenses from a 

fraction of an inch to 10 inches in thickness. (See pi. 9, A.} Although 

these lenses show enough difference in grain size and arrangement to 

form distinguishable layers, yet a series of them may be coarse, giving 

rise to a coarse bed of considerable thickness, whereas the overlying 

bed may consist of a series of lenses of fine sand. The individual 

lenses may show slight differences in color, but usually the whole bed 

is of one color and the succeeding bed is of another. Lenses of clay 

are intercalated with the sand. The clay is of three types white 

plastic clay free from grit, dark to black lignitic clay, parts of which 

contain an abundant flora, and a sandy white clay locally called pipe 

clay. The clay lenses show the greatest variety in size and shape, 

ranging from those a few square feet in area and a foot or two thick 

to some covering several acres and 100 or more feet in thickness, and 

from long, thin lenses to short, thick ones. The picture of the Wade 

clay pit (pi. 9, B} gives an idea of the extent of some of these clay 

lenses.

In some exposures the base of the Holly Springs is a clay conglomerate composed of pebbles of varying size, from 8 or 9 inches down. 

The pebbles are all rounded, although some of them have a longer 

dimension. There is no sorting or orientation. The matrix is a .clay 

which is sandy in some places. These conglomerates were probably 

formed by gully filling and give evidence of erosional activity in early 

Wilcox time. (See pi. 6, A.}

In order to understand such variation and abrupt change both 

horizontally and vertically in the physical character of the sediments 

of Holly Springs age, it is necessary to visualize the conditions under 

which the deposits were formed. In middle Wilcox time the Gulf of 

Mexico extended up to the present mouth of the Ohio River, forming 

a shallow marine embayment sloping gently to the southwest. The 

surrounding land rose slightly above the gulf, forming low-lying shores 

of unconsolidated sediments, a continuation of the gently sloping gulf 

bottom. Conditions were favorable for the maximum development of 

the littoral zone. The tides swept over this gently dipping bottom, 

churning up the loose materials and carrying them from place to place. 

Strong undertows and currents also served to carry and sort the materials. Along some parts of the shore barrier beaches were built, and 

into the quiet waters protected by these beaches streams of low 

gradient brought only the finest sediment. Leaves from the forests 

along the shore fell into the water and were buried with the fine silt. 

Thus were formed the lenses of clay that occur in these sediments. 

Slight sinking allowed the sea water to sweep over these clay lenses 

and cover them with sand. Currents formed channels and scour 

holes, while farther on bars and islands were built up. The rapid
94 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

succession of conditions of strong and weak currents and of quiet 

waters gave rise to the lateral and vertical variations in size of grains 

which are exhibited in these deposits.

The best section of the Holly Springs formation to be found in the 

area here described is at La Grange, where, just south of the town, 

there are gullies and ravines from 100 to 150 feet deep. Glenn 80 gives 

the following section measured at this locality:

Section at La Grange, Tenn.

Feet

1. Soft loose light-yellow to light-gray sands, cross-bedded. 16-18

2. Soil layer, dark with organic matter.__________________ 1

3. Massive bed of brick-red sand, casehardened, showing 

even top but very irregular lower surface and resting 

unconformably on the underlying sand._____________ 4-15

4. [Holly Springs sand:] Soft cross-bedded sands, mostly fine 

but in places coarse, of various light colors such as 

nearly white, light yellow, faint pink, and faint purplish, 

with a few thin crusts and small rounded or short tabular concretions of sand ironstone in place. Near the 

top there is a clay lens of irregular shape ranging up to 

8 or 10 feet thick______________________'-. 100

Although there is a wide range in the size of the Holly Springs sands, 

the sand in any one layer is fairly uniform. The large grains are subrounded and show some frosting and pitting. The small grains are 

angular and have fresh surfaces. The sands are variegated, shades of 

gray, black, brown, red, pink, purple, and yellow being found, as well 

as white. The prevailing color, however, is gray, and next in order is 

yellowish brown. The coloring is a surface stain and can be removed 

by abrasion. Quartz is the most abundant mineral, and weathered 

chert is present in varying amounts. Mica is sometimes noticeable. 

Other accessory minerals are hornblende, rutile, tourmaline, and 

zircon.

GRENADA FORMATION

Overlying the Holly Springs sand and cropping out west of it is the 

Grenada formation, which occupies a belt 20 miles wide at the south 

and about 22 miles at the north. Its maximum thickness is 600 feet. 

The Grenada, like the Holly Springs, consists largely of cross-bedded 

sand of various colors, intercalated with which are lenses of clay, 

comparable in size and shape to those in the Holly Springs and having 

the sand mode of occurrence. Toward the west the lenses of clay 

probably increase in number and in horizontal extent. The sands are 

more uniform in grain size and on the whole finer than those in the 

Holly Springs formation and are of fewer colors. Limonite concretions of two types occur in the Grenada cylindrical concretions from

* Glean, L. O., op. cit., p. 36.
WATER-BEARING FORMATIONS 95

2 to 4 inches in length and as much as a quarter of an inch in diameter, 

some of which are hollow, and round flat concretions consisting of a 

limonite shell with a clay center.

The clays of the Grenada are either smooth white or dove-colored to 

brown clays of fine texture or gritty light-colored clays. In many 

places they are fossiliferous, and it was on the basis of their contained 

flora that the division of the Wilcox was made. A characteristic 

feature of the clay is the presence in it of numerous small crystals of 

selenite, which average 2 to 3 millimeters in length. The conditions 

of sedimentation that prevailed during Grenada time were much the 

same as those of Holly Springs time but on the whole were more uniform. At the base of the Grenada the sands are prevailingly coarse, 

but the basal sand bed is absent in places. The other sands are finer 

than the sands of the Holly Springs. Also they are of uniform size 

and, as would be expected, are rather angular. The most prevalent 

color is gray, but white and pink are common. Quartz is the most 

abundant mineral, forming 90 per cent of the sand. The accessory 

minerals are hornblende, rutile, zircon, and mica; the mica in places 

forms as much as 4 per cent of the sand and is very noticeable. 

Though the porosity and specific yield of these sands is high, the difficulty of finishing wells in them and the presence of better sands at 

greater depth has hindered their use.

The Grenada formation is well exposed in Haj vrood County on the 

north bank of the Hatchie River a quarter of a mile west of the Brownsville-Somerville road. Here a gullied bluff about 100 feet high shows 

the following beds:

Feet 

Red fine-grained sand___- _________________________ 0-30

Layers of finer gray sand, average thickness 1 inch, interbedded with layers of white plastic clay about 1 inch thick. 30-82 

Bedded white clay________________________ 82-100

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SANDS

The results of laboratory tests of 48 samples collected throughout 

the outcrop area of the Wilcox group of formations are listed in the 

following table. Besides a few samples collected at random, these 

samples comprise three groups taken as far as outcrops would allow 

across the strike of the formation. Those of one group (samples 858 

to 862) were collected across northern Henry County from a point 

southeast of Puryear to College Grove. Those of another group 

(samples 920 to 922 and 885 to 874) were taken across southwestern 

Carroll County and southeastern Gibson County; those of the third 

group (samples 886-908) were collected along the line of the Southern 

Railway across southwestern Hardeman County and southeastern 

Payette County.
Physical properties of sands from the outcrop area of the W

[Laboratory determinations by V. C. Fishel]

Laboratory No.«

858 . .. . ..

857 . . _ 

856 . ...

861..... . .. ..

860 .. 

859.. ... .......

863 . ..

862. .........................

920 __ ......... _______ . __ .

921..............................

922 ___ . __ ... _____ . _ 

885.. .....................

884.... .......................

883... ....... ..............

882... . ......_. .

881..... _____________ ...

880 

879 .. .........................

878 __ ...... _ . ___ . .........

877. .........................

876 ..........................

875. _ . _______ . _ ... _ ..

874... ...........................

899. ..........................

900 . . __ ....

897 . 

898... ...........................

901. . _ ............... .......

902 . .. .

896.. -. ...

895 ............. __ . _ ......

894 ...... ...............

893 .

892 _ .... _ .............

891... ...........................

890 .....................

889 .. __ .. _ . ________ .

888 _ ... _______ . .......

Apparent 

specific 

gravity of 

ovendried 

sample

1.67 

1.69 

1.96 

1.65 

1.82 

1.78 

1.74 

1.66 

1.79 

1.65 

1.68 

1.45 

1.45 

1.47 

1.47 

1.47 

1.52 

1.51 

1.51 

1.40 

1.50 

1.37 

1.35 

1.79 

1.64 

1.78 

1.5 

1.73 

1.69 

1.82 

1.74 

1.74 

1.80 

1.79 

1.74 

1.53 

1.40 

1.69

Mechanical composition (per cent)

2-1 mm

0 

9.2 

.4 

.1 

13.7 

0 

0 

0 

4.1 

1.4 

7.1 

0 

0 

.2 

6.7 

1.9 

4.5 

2.6 

.2 

1,0 

5.0 

0 

.25 

6.0 

.6 

2.4 

.3 

14.8 

19.9 

1.1 

2.4 

.1 

.2 

13.4 

1.5 

.4 

.6 

.3

1-0.5 mm

1.4 

10.0 

14.9 

14.3 

26.4 

.3 

0 

0 

15.2 

47.7 

42.3 

.2 

.2 

.6 

21.9 

12.8 

20.0 

13.4 

4.3 

11,9 

10.1 

1.0 

2.3 

11.6 

31.4 

17.6 

3.5 

43.4 

22.6 

14.3 

10.4 

6.3 

4.2 

24.7 

10.1 

7.5 

27.9 

1.4

0 5-0.25 

mm

50.9 

48.6 

63.3 

60.0 

20.7 

64.3 

.8 

.6 

40.0 

37.9 

38.7 

2.6 

2.3 

3.3 

53.2 

65.0 

54.6 

53.6 

44.0 

52.5 

51.0 

37.9 

29.5 

28.4 

40.8 

42.4 

26.4 

18.2 

36.3 

32.1 

25.1 

35.8 

20.3 

25.4 

29.0 

29.1 

49.5 

27.9

0.25-0.1 

mm

42.1 

28.7 

17.1 

19.0 

30.9 

28.7 

96.3 

62.4 

37.3 

6.7 

9.2 

94.1 

95.0 

91.6 

12.9 

16.3 

18.6 

15.5 

48.3 

21.3 

20.5 

44.8 

51.8 

47.4 

17.8 

34.4 

58.7 

13.9 

13.1 

44.4 

50.8 

5& 0 

66.7 

30.0 

45.1 

52.0 

13.2 

59.5

Residue 

on pan

1.7

.6 

.6 

.5 

3.3 

.3 

1.7 

27.3 

1.6 

2.1 

.8 

2.7 

1.3 

2.5 

.9 

.5 

.6 

.4 

2.3 

1.0 

2.6 

2.0 

1.4 

2.7 

.9 

1.2 

8.1 

7.6 

3.8 

7.1 

8.9 

.8 

7.3 

4.3 

7.4 

6.9 

3.4 

6.4

Silt

2.2 

.9 

3.2 

3.6 

4.3 

4.1 

.9 

9.7 

1.3 

2.0 

1.6 

1.3 

1.6 

2.9 

4.5 

3.7 

1.7 

1.9 

1.7 

6.8 

7.0 

12.2 

14.6 

.9 

7.5 

1.3 

2.2 

2.1 

.4 

1.1 

1.6 

1.9 

1.8 

1.9 

6.6 

4.2 

2.9 

3.2

Clay

1.6 

1.1 

1.8 

1.7 

1.7 

2.3 

0 

0 

.5 

.5 

.4 

.4 

.5 

.6 

.8 

.7 

.8 

.8 

1.2 

5.0 

.7 

1.0 

.9 

2.6 

0 

.5 

.4 

0 

0 

.5 

.4 

.4 

.5 

.3 

.5 

.4 

2.5 

1.9

ce

m
886.. -... __ ....... .......

903 . __ ................

906.. .........................

004

906 ..........................

907 .. .

801 , _ .. .- __ -

802 

803 

804 

816 .... _ . __ . __ ........

1.56

1.66

1.65

1.62

1.94

1.58

1.60

1.68

1.55

1.81

1.73

0

1.0

0

0

49.2

0

.4

8.7

.6

.4

1.0

0.3

27.5

1.1

.2

18.7

7.7

.7

35.7

5.2

1.7

4.4

7.2

64.2

89.7

85.1

8.6

88.9

26.*

35.4

21.2

14.7

27.1

83.4

6.6

7.6

9.8

17.3

2.4

66.7

17.7

57.4

65.3

62.7

6.8

.8

.5

.2

3.7

.2

1.5

.8

8.8

11.0

1.6

1.7

1.0

3.3

2.0

.7

M.4

M.5

1-6.9

» 7.0

» 3.2

1.0

0

0

0

.8

0

> Samples listed in order across the formation from bottom to top. >> Silt an
98 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Mechanical analyses of sands from the outcrop area of the Wilcox group, made 

according to the second method

Laboratory No.«

858.. __ ..... __ . __ .............. __ .

857. ..... ...............................

856........................................

861 . ............ ........ ................

860 .. . _ _-_ 

859 . .- . ._ . ... 

863... ...... _ _. _._ 

862... _ . . .........

920 . ... ... _ ....

921... ... .............. ................... .

922... .....................................

885 _ ...__ ..___._._.

884... _ ..... _ ...... . .. .

883.. __ . ..... 

882 ....... ...... .. .. . .. 

881................ ........................

880. .. ... . .

879... ................. _ ............. ...

878 ....... . _. . _ . . ......

877 . ._.. ......... ...........

876..... .. .. . ...........

875 .............. .............. .........

874.....-...... ..... .................

899...._ ._ _ _ .. floo

897.. ..................... ... ......

898 . _ ... .. ..........

901..... ...... ...... _._.. 

902 . . _. .

896.... __ _ ..-. 

895.... .... ....... 

894 __ . .... . . .........

893 _._ . ._ _.

892.... _ ......... __ ....................

891........................ ................

890 ....... _ ...........................

889...........-......... ................

888..- .... ...................... ......

886 . 

903... . ......

905.. ..................................

904........... .............. ....... ........

906 ......................... .

907 .. .

830 .. . .

(Ml

832 _ 

833 -- . _ .

834

835- .... . _ ...

836 

837 ................ -

838 . .......

839 

840 __ ......... _ ...................

841 ...................................

842 

Mechanical composition (per cent)

2-1 mm

0.2 

6.0 

0 

0 

13.0 

0 

0 

.1 

1.0 

0 

2.0 

0 

.3 

.3 

2.5 

1.4 

4,0 

2.0 

0 

.9 

4,5 

.3 

.3 

.7 

1.2 

1.0 

.5 

10.7 

19.2 

.5 

1.0 

0 

0 

10.0 

.8 

.3 

.3 

.3 

0 

.2 

0 

1.3 

0 

71.7 

0 

0 

1.4 

3.1 

5.8 

32.7 

2.8 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0

1-0.5 mm

0.9 

18.0 

7.8 

16.5 

41.0 

.3 

.05 

1.4 

15.5 

38.5 

38.0 

.5 

.6 

1.0 

18.8 

15.5 

29.0 

21.0 

4.5 

10.2 

16.0 

6.0 

5.5 

28.4 

36.8 

17.5 

4.5 

53.4 

30.4 

12.5 

11 

7.0 

5.0 

30.3 

11.0 

7.5 

41.0 

2.5 

.7 

17.0 

.08 

23.5 

.3 

24.5 

10.4 

2.4 

30.8 

43.5 

50.6 

38.9 

62.3 

32.1 

9.5 

0 

1.2 

2.6 

4.4

0.5-0.25 

mm

60.0 

57.0 

83.0 

79.5 

29.0 

83.2 

8.6 

4.3 

54.5 

57.5 

53.5 

74.0 

62.5 

61.5 

72.0 

81.0 

65.0 

74.2 

84.0 

74.3 

70.0 

88.0 

83.0 

42.5 

52.7 

74.0 

75.0 

26.5 

41.7 

66. 8 

62 

74.5 

56.0 

42.0 

68.8 

62.0 

55.9 

52.5 

11.5 

79.3 

92.5 

71.3 

96.6 

3.6 

67.1 

72.1 

56.6 

46.1 

40.6 

24.4 

34.0 

43.8 

6.0 

37.5 

75.2 

72.5 

62.2

0.25-0.125 

mm

36.0 

17.0 

9.0 

2.5 

14,0 

14.0 

83.8 

35.2 

17.0 

2.5 

5.0 

23.0 

35.0 

35.2 

4.5 

2.0 

1.0 

1.0 

11.5 

12.0 

6.0 

3.0 

8.0 

20 

6.1 

 7.0 

16.0 

6.0 

5.5 

15.5 

19iao

35.5 

13.8 

14.0 

24.5 

2.5 

38.6 

68.8 

3.0 

4.9 

1.6 

2.0 

1.2 

20.4 

22.6 

10.4 

6.8 

3.0 

3.1 

.9 

21.6 

27.6 

55.0 

19.7 

23.4 

29.7

0.125- 

0.062mm

1.0 

.8 

.3 

.6 

2.0 

.8 

6.1 

35.0 

2.0 

1.5 

1.5 

2.0 

1.5 

1.0 

1.0 

.2 

.3 

.2 

.5 

2.0 

1.0 

1.0 

1.0 

1.5 

.4 

1.0 

4.0 

4.9 

1.2 

5.5 

6.0 

1.0 

4.0 

4.0 

2.7 

5.0 

1.0 

4.5 

16.0 

.4 

.7 

.1 

.2 

.9 

1.8 

2.9 

.9 

.5 

.0 

1.0 

0 

1.9 

37.9 

7.4 

3.9 

2.5 

3.7

Residue 

on pan

1.0 

.7 

.3 

.4 

.5 

1.0 

.8 

22.0 

1.5 

1.8 

1.5 

.5 

.8 

1.0 

1.0

.a

.3

.a

.5 

1.8 

.5 

1.5 

2.0 

.6 

.4 

.8 

1.0 

4.9 

1.2 

.5 

1.5 

1.0 

.5 

1.0 

2.5 

1.0 

1.0 

3.0 

40 

.4 

.5 

.1 

.2 

1.0

19.0 

0 

0 

0 

0

« Samples listed in order across formations from bottom up.

858. Gully 5 miles south and a little east of Puryear, Henry County, on east side of old road from Paris 

to Hazel. Section from top down: 0-27 feet, red soil and sand with irregular streaks of gravel; 27-30 feet, 

mottled red and white sand with irregular cross-bedding; 30 feet to talus, medium to fine white sand showing shades of pink. Sample taken 40 feet below top of gully.

857. Same as 858; 5 feet below top of gully.

856. Same as 858; 30 feet below top of gully. 861. Clay pit 2.3 miles south and a little west of Puryear, Henry County. Section from top down: 0-7 

feet, red sandy soil; 7-17 feet, sand and gravel, 3 feet of clean gravel; 17-42 feet, red and buff banded sand, 

some interstratifled layers of coarse at bottom; 42-45 feet, black, thinly laminated clay. Sample taken 32: 

feet below top.

860. Same as 861; 27 feet below surface.

859. Same as 861; 22 feet below surface.
WATER-BEARING FORMATIONS 99

863. Cottage Grove, Henry County; gully on west side of village. Section from top down: 0-7 feet, red 

sandy soil; 7-50 feet, white, very fine grained sand showing markings in delicate pink. On weathering a 

distinct bedding is revealed, snowing beds from 2 to 13 inches thick. Sample taken 40 feet below top.

862. Same as 863; 15 feet below the top.

920. Gully 4 miles east of Lavinia, Carroll County, on Milan-Lexington road. Shows 12 feet of mediumgrained white sand. Sample taken at bottom.

921. Creek bank 1.8 miles east of Lavinia, in Carroll County. Shows 15 feet of medium-grained sand. 

Sample taken at bottom.

922. Bank 1.5 miles east of Lavinia, on right side of road. Section from top down: 0-10 feet, mediumgrained sand stained and cemented by iron oxide; 10-13 feet, white sandy clay; 13-18 feet, medium-grained 

yellow sand. Sample taken 16 feet below top.

885. Bored well of T. M. Meads, 0.3 mile south of highway 5, Gibson County, on Madison County line. 

Section from top down: 0-30 feet, red sand, clay streak at 30 feet; 30-60 feet, coarse brown sand; 60-86 feet, 

fine white sand. Sample taken 85 feet below top.

884. Same as 885; 80 feet below top.

883. Same as 885; 75 feet below top.

882. Same as 885; 70 feet below top.

881. Same as 885; 65 feet below top.

880. Same as 885; 60 feet below top.

879. Same as 885; 55 feet below top.

878. Same as 885; 50 feet below top.

877. Same as 885; 45 feet below top.

876. Same as 885; 40 feet below top.

875. Same as 885; 35 feet below top.

874. Same as 885; 30 feet below top.

899. Gully 8 miles east of Rogers Springs and 0.5 mile north of Southern Railway, Hardeman County. 

Section from top down: 0-14 feet, coarse and medium-grained sJtnd, stained red by iron oxide, weathered 

product of underlying sand; 14-27 feet, white sand, cross-bedded, mostly coarse with some streaks containing pebbles 5 millimeters in diameter; 29-30 feet, fine white and red sand. Sample taken 29 feet below top.

900. Same as 899; 15 feet below top.

897. Bank 3 miles east of Saulsbury on S9uth side of Southern Railway, Hardeman County, shows! 0 

feet of white medium-grained sand grading into soil at the top. Sample taken 25 feet below top.

898. Bank 1,000 yards west of 897. Shows 15 feet of brown medium-grained sand. Sample taken 13 feet 

below top.

901. Gully 1.5 miles east and a little south of Saulsbury on Old State Line Road, Hardeman County, 

showing great variation in its different branches. At one place 15 feet of coarse white sand overlain by fine 

sand. Sample from fine sand.

902. Bank on roadside 200 yards west of 901. Red, brown, and white cross-bedded coarse sand.

896. Durden sand pit, on east edge of Saulsbury, on south side of Southern Railway, Hardeman County. 

Shows 55 feet of white cross-bedded medium to coarse grained sand. Wide bands of white sand showing 

cross-bedding at high angles separated bj red layers a few feet thick showing horizontal bedding. Sample 

taken 45 feet below top.

895. Same as 896; 40 feet below top.

894. Same as 896; 35 feet below top.

893. Same as 896; 30 feet below top.

892. Same as 896; 25 feet below top.

891. Same as 896; 20 feet below top.

890. Same as 896; 15 feet below top.

889. In creek bank 3.4 miles east of Grand Junction on road to Saulsbury, Hardeman County. Shows 

12 feet of interlaminated medium to coarse grained red and white sand. Sample taken 8 feet below top.

888. Bank 200 yards west of 889. Shows 20 feet of white and red medium-grained sand. Sample taken 

16 feet below top.

886. On Southern Railway 2.4 miles east of Grand Junction, Hardeman County. Section from top down: 

0-6 feet, sandy soil stained dark red by iron oxide, at bottom rubble of angular fragments of iron oxide and 

pebbles; 6-26 feet, interlaminated coarse red sand; 26-55 feet, interlaminated fine-grained, slightly micaceous 

white sand with plastic clay, from half an inch to 6 inches in thickness. Sample taken 55 feet below top.

903. Bank on Grand Junction-La Grange road at Fayette-Hardeman County line. Shows 15 feet of 

medium-grained sand with usual weather staining. Sample taken 11 feet below surface.

905. Sand pit 0.5 mile east of La Grange and 0.5 mile south of Southern Railway, Fayette County. Shows 

50 feet of irregularly bedded medium-grained white sand. Sample taken at bottom.

904. Same as 905; 30 feet below top.

906. Gully on north side of Southern Railway 1.5 miles west of La Grange, Fayette County. Section 

from top down: 0-20 feet, medium-grained white sand; 20-25 feet, coarse sand; 25 feet, clay. Sample taken 

23 feet below top.

907. Same as 906; 13 feet below top.

801. Gully 0.5 mile south of railroad bridge on Mam Street, La Grange, Hardeman County. Medium 

to fine-grained sand.

802. Same as 801; 40 feet higher up gully.

803. Bank on Old State Line Road 1.1 miles southeast of Saulsbury, Hardeman County.

804. Bank at crossing of Brownsville-Somerville road and Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway 

track, Fayette County.

816. Road cut on State highway 15.3 miles west of Hornsby, Hardeman County. Shows 22 feet of white 

and pink fine-grained saud. Sample taken 19 feet below top.

830. Well 654 feet deep at Western State Hospital, Bolivar, Hardeman County. Sample from depth of 

10-20 feet.

831. Same as 830; depth 20-30 feet.

832. Same as 830; depth 30-40 feet.

833. Same as 830; depth 40-50 feet.

834. Same as 830; depth 50-65 feet.

835. Same as 830; depth 65-80 feet.

836. Same as 830; depth 80-90 feet.

837. Same as 830; depth 90-100 feet.

839. Same as 830; depth 207-232 feet.

840. Same as 830; depth 232-256 feet.

841. Same as 830; depth 256-276 feet.

842. Same as 830; depth 276-316 feet.
100 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

It is impossible to say whether the samples represent the relative 

abundance of the different grades of sand in the formation as a whole, 

but there is little doubt that they indicate the range of sands present 

in the formation. The maximum, minimum, and average figures 

are as follows:

Coefficient of permeability. _______________________

Maximum

1,488

9.50

48.0

47.5

Minimum

9

1.50

30.0

21.9

Average

514

3.05

39.3

35.5

The coefficient of permeability shows a wide range, but there is 

only one sample that is close to the minimum, and it is probable that 

sand of that grade is ratlier sparsely distributed. There is also a 

wide range in the uniformity coefficient, but samples showing high 

ralues are rare. The porosity is limited in range.

A comparison of these figures with the following results of similar 

tests made on 26 samples obtained from wells drilled throughout the 

area is of interest. Of these samples 7 came from wells in different 

parts of the area and 19 from wells in Memphis. Nos. 1039, 1040, 

1042, 1048, 1052, 1056, 1059, 1061, 1064, 1068, and 1071 are complete 

analyses made on representative samples selected from 33 samples 

obtained from well 50 of the Memphis Artesian Water Department. 

These 33 samples were taken one every 5 feet. The samples were 

sieved, and a sample for complete analysis was taken from each layer 

of sand that had a distinctive mechanical composition. The 11 

complete analyses represent the character of 190 feet of sand. A 

log of well 50 is given below.

Log of well SO, Memphis Artesian Water Department 

(Authority, W. Q. Lanham]

Loess: Yellow clay _________

Bock ______________

Olav

Thickness 

(feet)

27

58

50

27

13

15

1

3

Depth 

(feet)

27

85

135

162

175

190

194

Clay....... . ...-_ ...........

Clay....... _-_. 

Clay . ... 

Clay...,.... ... . ...

Thickness 

(feet)

17

1

72

58

19

1

31

19

Depth 

(feet)

195

212

213

285

343

362

363

394

513
WATER-BEARING FORMATIONS 101

Physical properties of sands from the upper part of the Wilcoxgroupof Memphis, Tenn»

[Samples from well 50 of the Memphis Artesian Water Department. Laboratory determinations by

V. C. Fishel]

Laboratory No."

1039 .......... ___ ..

1040......................

1042................... _

1048 . __ ...........

1052..... _ ......... .....

1056 ...................

1059 ___ ......... __ .

1061 ... . _ ...... ...

1064..........-.... ....

1068 ...................

1071" ... ... ... ... ...

Apparent 

specific 

gravity 

of ovendried 

sample

1.64 

1.65 

1.58 

1.60 

1.56 

1.56 

1.52 

1.65 

1.59 

1.56

Mechanical composition (per cent)

2-1 mm

8.6 

.2 

.2 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0

1-0.5 mm

73.6 

3.8 

10.6 

7.1 

12.1 

18.5 

18.9 

23.0 

20.1 

4.4

0.5-0.25 

mm

15.9 

42.1 

60.1 

59.0 

51.4 

59.7 

74.5 

8.4 

59.8 

9.1

0.25-0.1 

mm

0.5 

44.6 

27.5 

29.7 

31.9 

20.0 

5.2 

64.0 

18.6 

81.2

Residue 

on pan

0.1

8.4 

.8 

2.2 

3.5 

1.0 

.5 

3.5 

1.2 

4.8

Silt

0.1 

.4 

.1 

.8 

.5 

.1 

.3 

.2 

.2 

.2

Clay

Laboratory No."

1039 .. . _ . _ .... __ .

1040 ..... __ . .............

1042........... _ ..... _ . .....

1048 ............ _ ..........

1052-.. ......... ___ ... ___ -

1056-.. _____ -

1059 ...- _____ ......

1061 ................ ___ ..

1064 _ ..... _ ... __ . __ ..

1068 . . _ -

1071 "... _ ....... ... ..... __ ..

10 per 

cent size (millimeter)

0.375

.106

.138

.125

.115

.150

.260

.110

.150

.106

.203

Uniform- ity coefficient

1.84

2.23

2.36

2.48

2.61

2.33

1.46

1.78

1.37

1.59

2.21

Porosity 

(per cent)

38.1

38.3

40.5

38.9

42.0

41.2

43.7

32.3

40.4

41.0

25.4

Moisture equivalent by 

volume 

(per cent)

0.75

1.65

1.44

1.97

1.74

1.54

1.24

1.65

2.42

3.2

.5

Porosity 

minus 

moisture equivalent

38.0

36.6

39.1

36.9

40.3

39.7

42.5

30.6

38.0

37.8

24.9

Coefficient of 

permeability

3,936

529

1,664

851

1,263

1,640

2,279

563

1,647

538

1,836

Depth 

(feet)

162-17*

295

sot

33*

405

425

44*

459

465

485

560

Arranged in order of increasing depth. For mechanical analysis see next table.

Mechanical analyses of sands from well 50 of the Memphis Artesian Water Department, as determined by the second method 

[See p. 39. Laboratory determinations by V. C. Pishel]

Laboratory No."

1039-. 

1040-.. - __ .....

1041--- 

1042.-. _ ........

1043 

1044

1045- 

1046 .- 

1047

1048 

1049- 

1050 

1051-- 

1052 

1054 

1055 

1056-- 

1057 

1058 

1059-- 

1060

1061 

1062 

1063-. 

infi4.

1065 

1066--- 

1067 

1069 

1070.--- 

Mechanical composition (per cent)

2-1 mm

2.4 

.8 

.9 

.5 

.5 

.1 

.1 

.1 

.2 

.2 

.2 

.4 

0 

.1 

.1 

.1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0

.1

0 

0 

0 

.2 

.2

1-0.5 mm

84.0 

4.0 

4.0 

7.0 

8.7 

13.0 

11.0 

12.1 

3.9 

5.2 

3.8 

3.7 

3.2 

9.1 

8.0 

8.0 

7.0 

9.5 

9.5 

6.0 

6.0 

10.0 

17.0 

18.0 

18.0 

8.0 

7.0 

7.5 

2.8 

3.9 

4.0 

5.0 

4.4

0.5-0.25 

mm

13.8 

69.7 

75.0 

81.6 

82.0 

77.5 

78.0 

78.8 

75.0 

82.3 

80.0 

80.9 

77.0 

78.5 

80.2 

77.5 

86.5 

87.0 

88.0 

89.5 

92.5 

82.8 

30.0 

35.0 

40.0 

83.5 

81.5 

81.8 

59.5 

60.0 

58.0 

60.0 

69.0

0.25-0.125

0.1 

21.0 

18.0 

10.1 

8.0 

9.0 

10.0 

8.0 

8.9 

12.0 

15.0 

13.4 

18.8 

10.8 

10.0 

12.0 

6.0 

3.9 

2.1 

4.0 

1.5 

7.0 

48.9 

44.0 

39.5 

8.0 

10.6 

9.1 

30.5 

30.0

32.0 

29.0 

22.8

0.125- 

0.62mm

0

3.8 

2.0 

.7 

.6 

1.0 

1.0 

.2 

1.5 

.2 

.8 

1.2 

.9 

1.4 

1.2 

2.0 

.5 

.1 

.2 

.2 

.1 

.2 

3.1 

2.9 

2.5 

.8 

1.0 

1.5 

6.0 

5.5 

5.0 

5.0 

2.8

Residue 

on pan

0 

1.0 

.5 

.1 

.1 

.2 

.1 

.1 

.9 

.1 

.3 

.8 

.1 

.6 

.5 

1.0 

.2 

0 

.1 

.1 

0

.1

.2 

.2 

.2 

.2 

.2 

.2 

1.0 

1.1 

1.0 

1.0 

.8

Depth 

(feet)

162-175 

299 

295 

309 

305 

3H9 

315 

329 

32« 

339 

336 

349 

409 

405 

410 

415 

429 

425 

439 

435 

449 

445 

459 

455 

469 

465 

479 

475 

489 

485 

490 

495 

500

> Arranged in order of increasing depth.
102 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Physical properties of sands obtained from wells in the Wilcox group 

[See p. 103. Laboratory determinations by V. C. Fishel]

Laboratory No.

Apparent 

specific 

gravity 

of ovendried 

sample

Mechanical composition (per cent)

2-1 mm 1-0.5 mm 0.5-0.25 

mm

0.25-0.1 

mm

Residue 

on pan Silt Clay

817.. 

819..

821..

822..

823..

824..

827. 

870 

871 

872 

873 

910..........

911__._.. 

924..........

L. & N. I... 

L. &N. II.. 

L. & N. III. 

L. & N. IV.

1.69

1.65

1.67

1.68

1.63

1.65

1.68

1.57

1.66

1.63

1.69

1.69

1.59

1.48

1.41

1.71

1.9

5.0

1.4

.7

37.4 

1.1 

.8 

.3 

2.8 

1.7

17.4

43.4 

6.0 

6.9 

7.5

27.1

.0

1.4

2.0

1.8

19.9

56.6

16.9

53.4

37.1

31.7

33.3

.9

6.3

8.9

30.6

40.7

21.3

88.3

84.6

43.0

4.5

6.5

23.1

30.1

51.2

33.2

54.7

39.9

23.2

48.0

50.2

12.6

16.9

40.8

29.0

7.0

44.2

2.1

2.6

18.7

67.5

64.1

63.0

60.1

24.1

4.6

25.6

5.3

2.4

17.6

14.7

69.5

66.4

41.0

20.8

7.7

25.7

.1

.2

10.2

26.0

26.0

11.0

7.4

2.2 

0

2.1

0

0

1.4

.8

15.9

6.6

3.1 

.6

1.3 

.4 

.2 

.1 

.7

2.0

2.0

1.0

0.7 

.5 

.4 

.7

0 

.3

1.0 

2.7 

1.1 

.1 

.6 

1.1 

2.8 

.4 

0 

0 

0 

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1.1

1.1

1.1

1.2

.1

.4

0

0

0

0

0

Laboratory No.

10 per 

cent size (millimeters)

Uniform- ity coefficients

Porosity 

(per cent)

Moisture equivalent by 

volume

(per cent)

Porosity 

minus 

moisture equivalent

Coefficient of 

permeability

817 

819..__.... 

821 

822_____- 

823 

825 

826 

827..._

870 

871 

872 

873___.... 

910 

fill _ 

924 

L. &N. I... 

L. & N. II.. 

L. & N. III. 

L. & N. IV.

0.17 

.34 

.17 

.30 

.38 

.21 

.08 

.14 

.11 

.14 

.24 

.13 

.54 

.52 

.25 

.23 

.24 

.23

2.19

1.71

2.19

1.84

2.48

2.23

2.02

1.56

1.93

L73 

1.44 

1.50 

3.28

1.31

1.32

1.91

1.88

44.5

47.2

48.1

45.4

39.0

44.7

46.4

43.6

43.2

41.9

41.7

44.9

43.0

49.0

35.0

0.7 

.5

1.6

1.7 

6.6 

2.3 

2.3 

2.9 

1.4 

2.9 

1.2

66.4

44.2

44.8

41.9

36.6

39.6

39.4

42.0

41.6

46.1

33.8

513

1,539

2,435

1.036

529

1,518

348

675

1,100

682

2,000

Mechanical analyses of sands obtained from wells in the Wilcox group, as determined

by second method

[See p. 39. Laboratory determinations by V. C. Fishel]

Mechanical composition (per cent)

Laboratory No.

870 ._ _ 

871 ....... ... 

872...... . . 

873.. ___ _ _ ... 

910 _____ ..... ....... .......... oil

024

2-1 mm

1.0

20.0

25.0

3.0

4.0

7.0

37.5

1-0.5 mm

11.0

48.0

58.0

20.5

90.0

QQ t

42.5

0.5-0.25 

mm

62.0

26.0

12.5

58.5

6.0

16.0

0.25-0.125

mm

24.0

4.8

3.0

16.5

0.4

1.0

3.0

0.125- 

0.062 mm

1.0

.3

.5

.5

.1

.3

.5

Residue 

on pan

0.6

.2

.8

.5

0

.1

.2
WATER-BEAKING FORMATIONS 103

817. From well of Baptist Hospital, Madison and Dudley Streets, Memphis, drilled October, 1928; depth 

446 feet. 

819. From well 20 of Memphis Artesian Water Department, Memphis; depth 301-320 feet.

821. Same as 819; depth 350-390 feet.

822. Same as 819; depth 390 feet.

823. From well 32 of Memphis Artesian Water Department, Memphis; depth 421-495 feet.

824. From well 33 of Memphis Artesian Water Department, Memphis; depth 300-402 feet.

825. Same as 824; depth 419-500 feet.

826. Same as 824; depth 760-825 feet.

827. Same as 824; depth 1035-1090 feet.

870. From well of T. E. Sanford, 3 miles west of Medina, Oibson County; depth 113 feet.

871. 2.4 miles north of Sharon, Weakley County, on east side of highway 5; depth 250 feet.

872. From well 37c, city of Martin, Weakley County; depth 320 feet.

873. 2.8 miles north of Sharon, Weakley County, on east side of highway 5; depth 230 feet.

910. From well 35, city of Dyersburg, Dyer County; depth 784 feet.

911. Same as 910; depth 650 feet.

924. Western State Hospital, 2.3 miles from Bolivar, Hardeman County; depth 110 feet. 

L. & N. I. From well of Louisville & Nashville Railroad at Leewood yard, Memphis, drilled in 1917; 

sample from 113 to 132 feet below mean sea level. 

L. & N. II. Same as I; 132 to 148 feet below mean sea level. 

L. & N. III. Same as I; 148 to 168 feet below mean sea level. 

L. &.N. IV. Same as I; 168 to 184 feet below mean sea level.

The maximum, average, and minimum results are as follows:

Porosity _____________________

Porosity minus moisture equivalent _ ...... ____ do __

Maximum

3,936

4.38

73.9

72.3

Average

1,295

2.11

43.7

41.3

Minimum

348

1.31

25.4

24.9

The figures for the coefficient of permeability are much larger than 

the corresponding figures for samples from the outcrop area. This 

difference can be explained in either of two ways. The samples from 

the wells are carefully washed to remove sludge, and in this washing 

the silt and clay that belong to the sample are removed. The average 

silt and clay content of samples from the outcrop area, however, is 

only 3.8 per cent, and the removal of that much material would not 

make so great a difference as the figures show. A more probable 

explanation is that a large number of the samples from wells represent 

only the coarsest and most permeable material encountered in drilling. 

Also some of the finer sands containing clay included in the samples 

frpm the outcrop area would be classed as clay in drilling, and so they 

are not present in the well samples to drag down the general average. 

This explanation can be tested by studying the physical properties of 

sands from well 51 of the Memphis Artesian Water Department. 

This well passes completely through the upper and middle Wilcox, 

as shown by the following log:

Log of well 51 of Memphis Artesian Water Department 

[Authority, W. O. Lanham]

Sand. ____ _______

Clay..... ..... ......... 

Sand. ______________

Clay.... ....... ...... .....

Thickness 

(feet)

28

60

182

51

69

80

65

35

74

Depth 

(feet)

28

88

270

321

390

470

535

570

R44

Clay................- ..... ..

Clay

Clay... _-... 

Thickness 

(feet)

1

37

43

251

1

1

219

160

Depth 

(feet)

645

682

735

986

987

990

991

1,210

1,370
104 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Physical properties of sands from the Wilcox group at Memphis, Tenn. 

[Samples from well 51, Artesian Water Department. Laboratory determinations by V. G. Fishel]

Laboratory No."

Apparent 

specific

gravity of 

ovendried

Mechanical composition (per cent)

2-4 mm 1-0.5 mm 0.5-0.25 

mm

0.25-0.1 

mm

Residue 

on pan Silt Clay

983.

984.

985.

987.

990-

991- 

992.. 

993- 

994_.

1.49

1.51

1.62

1.52

1.62

1.68

1.62

1.54

1.52

1.65

1.47

1.47

0

0

6.6

0

3.2

15.6

3.5

1.3

1.1

0

.2

.3

1.0

1.1

28.1

1.3

19.1

45.9

20.5

2.9

1.9

.5

.2

.7

57.4

62.9

37.7

61.3

43.9

24.1

38.0

10.7

13.5

26.0

4.1

4.8

40.1

35.7

27.4

37.4

32.2 ias

35.1

83.6

82.0

71.6

93.1

90.3

0.2 

.1 

.9 

.2 

1.3 

.7 

2.7 

1.2 

.8 

1.8 

2.0 

3.2

1.1 

.1 

.2 

.8 

.3

 1.6 

.1 

.5 

.1 

.1 

.4 

.7

Laboratory No.

10 per 

cent size (millimeter)

Uniformity coeffi,- 

cient

Porosity 

(per cent)

Moisture equivalent by 

volume

(per cent)

Porosity 

minus 

moisture equivalent

Coefficient of 

permeability

Depth 

(feet)

983.

984.

985.

987.

990-

991.

992.

993.

994.

a 12

.12

.135

.125

.125

.150

.12

.11

.11

.11

.11

.11

2.58

2.38

3.30

2.56

2.04

3.53

3.17

1.73

1.77

1.91

1.65

1.64

41.5

41.4

35.6

40.1

36.2

35.3

39.0

42.0

42.9

37.8

43.9

43.7

1.23

.86

1.21

1.79

1.20

2.02

2.14

1.54

1.65

1.65

1.76

1.63

40.3

40.5

34.4

38.3

35.0

33.2

36.9

40.5

41.2

36.1

42.1

42.1

1,181

1,019

951

996

672

1,154

855

640

585

835

445

455

500

475

520

530

540

550

560

690

710

720

" Arranged in order of increasing depth.

Mechanical analyses of sands from well 51 of the Memphis Artesian Water Department, as determined by the second method

[See p. 39. Laboratory determinations by V. C. Fishel]

Laboratory No.

983.. 

995...-.--.-.-......-.-.........

984.. . 

9t>6-.- .. .. ..... .

997 

998-- 

985--- 

999.-- 

1000.----- . 

1025-- 

986 

1026.- .-_ .

1027---- 

988 , 

1030 

989.. 

990 . 

1031-- --- .......

991- . -- ... 

1032..-- ... ... .... _ 

1033..-...-- -.. --- .- 

1034... . . _ _

992-.. ..... ......... ...

1035.--- -- -..

1036 -- 

993--. -- .... ..... .

1037---. -.. -..-...

994-. 

1038 - . -------- .

Mechanical Composition (per cent)

2-1 mm

0

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1.2 

1.0 

1.0 

6.0 

.7 

.8 

1.0 

1.0 

.4 

.8 

2.0 

0 

0 

0 

.3 

.2 

.1 .'5 

. t

1-0.5 mm

0.5

.5 

.5 

.3 

.5 

.5 

.3 

.5 

.4 

.5 

34.0 

27.0 

26.3 

53.2 

4.7 

22.5 

4.5 

8.0 

2.0 

3.0 

6.5 

.3 

.4 

.5 

.8 

.5 

.5 

1.0 

1.0

0.5-0.25 

mm

93.0 

91.0 

93 

89.3 

90 

90.5 

88.0 

90.7 

87.0 

89.0 

61.0 

56.5 

59.0 

38.2 

46.0 

62.0 

75.0 

65.0 

76.0 

80.0 

64.0 

78.0 

81.5 

74.0 

69.0 

74.0 

69.0 

49.5 

B1 0

0.25-0.125 

mm

6.2

8.5 

6.2 

10.0 

9 

8 

11.7 

8.3 

12.5 

10.3 

8.0 

13.3 

12.5 

2.2 

48.0 

13.3 

18.0 

25.0 

19.0 

15.0 

26.0 

21.0 

17.0 

24.0 

28.0 

24.3 

28.0 

45.0 

32.0

0.125- 

0.062mm

0.2 

.1 

.1 

.2 

.2 

.1 

.2 

.3 

.3 

.1 

.2 

1.0 

.8 

.1 

2.0 

.7 

1.0 

1.0 

1.0 

.5 

1.0 

.5 

1.0 

1.0 

1.5 

1.2 

2.6 

4.0 

6 0

Residue 

on pan

0.1 

0

.1 

.1 

.1 

0 

.1 

.1 

.1 

0

.1

.3 

.2 

0

.1 

.7 

.1 

.1 

.5 

.1 

.1 

.1 

.2 

.1 

.1 

.1 

.4 

.5 

.9

Depths 

(feet)

445 

450 

455 

460 

465 

470 

475 

480 

485 

495 

500 

505 

510 

530 

535 

540 

550 

555 

560 

565 

570 

685 

690 

695 

705 

i710 

*715 

720 

725
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 656 PLATE 9

A. DURDEN SAND PIT AT SAULSBURY, HARDEMAN COUNTY

The bedding is shown in the lower part and the alternating gray and brown sand laminae near the top. Photograph

by J. K. Roberts.

B. WADE PIT NO. 4, 3^ MILES NORTHWEST OF WITTOCK, HENRY COUNTY 

The pit indicates the areal extent of clay lenses in the Holly Springs sand of the Wilcox group. Photograph by J. K. Roberts.

U. S. GEOLOGICAL StJRVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 656 PLATE 10

LOESS AND PLIOCENE GRAVEL AND SAND IN RAILROAD CUT,

1 MILE EAST OF BRUNSWICK, SHELBY COUNTY

Photograph by J. K. Roberts.

WATER-BEARING FORMATIONS 105

Samples of sand were taken one every 5 feet, and these were sieved. 

A sample for complete analysis was selected from each successive 

group of samples that were similar in mechanical composition. This 

series of selected samples gives an idea of the physical properties of 

what the driller terms sand throughout the section of the upper and 

middle Wilcox at Memphis. The maximum, average, and minimum 

physical properties of sands from well 51 are as follows:

Coefficient of permeability ___ ____ . ______ .. _

Maximum

1,181

3.53

43.9

42.1

Average

840

2.37

40.0

38.4

Minimum

603

1.64

35.3

33.3

This indicates that the average physical properties of samples from 

well 51 and of samples from the outcrop area represent approximately 

the upper and middle Wilcox sands as a whole.

The maxima and minima given above for the well samples are very 

different from the maxima and minima of the sands from the outcrop area, but the averages are fairly comparable. The average 

physical properties of sands from well 51, however, are much less than 

the average for samples taken from wells throughout the area. In 

conclusion it can safely be said that the physical properties of the 

sands from the Wilcox group taken as a whole correspond to those of 

the samples of sand taken from outcrops. In any section sands 

coarser, more uniform, more permeable, and more porous than the 

average will probably be found, as well as sands that are less so, but 

sand having physical properties corresponding to the average can be 

confidently expected in any section.

WATER-YIELDING PROPERTIES

Taken as a whole the upper and middle Wilcox is an excellent source 

of water. Although it contains clay lenses they are not of great extent 

and form but a small part of the group, and it is always possible to 

pass through them by deeper drilling or to avoid them by changing 

the location of a well. The very fine clay sands, "pipe clay," are 

also not water bearing, and these form a larger part of the group than 

the clays. Although no figures can be given for the percentage of the 

Wilcox that will not yield water, it may safely be placed under 50 

per cent. The fine sands are good water bearers. Although it may 

be difficult to finish a well in them, this is a well driller's problem and 

does not lessen their water-bearing properties. The coarse sands of 

this formation are found in layers as much as 50 feet thick and form 

the finest kind of water-bearing beds, in which wells can be finished 

without any difficulty. The laboratory tests of the coarse sand show 

119722 33 8
106 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

it to have high porosity, specific yield, and permeability. These 

Jesuits are borne out by well tests.

QUALITY OF WATEB

The upper and middle Wilcox yield waters that are uniformly low in 

mineral content. Most of the 90 samples analyzed from this group 81 

contained less than 100 parts per million of dissolved mineral matter, 

and many contained less than 50 parts. In many of these waters two 

or more of the principal acidic and basic constituents are present in 

amounts so nearly equivalent that the waters can not be characterized 

by naming a single compound, as calcium bicarbonate or sodium sulphate. The greater mineral content of several of the few samples that 

contained more than 100 parts per million of dissolved solids may be 

attributed to contamination, indicated by unusually high chloride and 

nitrate content. In others the increase is in calcium bicarbonate, an 

increase which seems to bear no relation to locality or depth. The 

iron content of the waters is variable. Some of the samples analyzed 

contain as much as 6 or 7 parts per million of iron, others as little as 

0.05 part. This variation is dependent on the contact of the waters 

with lenses of clay that contain iron sulphide. Aside from the high 

iron content of some of the waters, which can be removed by aeration, 

most of them are excellent for all industrial and domestic uses, if 

proper precautions are taken to guard against pollution.

JACKSON FORMATION

Distribution and thickness. The upper Eocene is represented in 

western Tennessee by the Jackson formation, which is separated from 

the underlying Grenada and the overlying Pliocene gravel by unconformities. The Jackson crops out in the Chickasaw Bluffs along the 

Mississippi Kiver and probably extends eastward under'the loess 

covering, but except for an outcrop at Raleigh it is not found at the 

surface in any place east of the bluffs. The formation is well exposed 

.at Maybury Leap, Richardson's Landing, and Fort Pillow and in 

Obion County. Owing to the paucity of outcrops and the fact that 

the eastern contact or base of the Jackson is not exposed, there is a 

great uncertainty as to the thickness of the formation. At Yazoo 

City, about 75 miles south of the Tennessee-Mississippi line, the formation is 600 feet thick.82 Stephenson 83 gives the thickness in north-

" Carroll County, Nos. 10,28, 30,45, 62; Chester County, No. 2; Crocker County, Nos. 5a, 8,12,25, 28, 

30,39; Dyer County, Nos. 14,26, 35a, 35b, 35c, 53; Fayette County, Nos. 4c, lOa, 11,12,13,14,15; Gibson 

County, Nos. 9,15,20,30,42,58,62,64, 78,81; Hardeman County, Nos. 2,4a, 5c, 9b, lOb, 23,24a; Haywood 

County, Nos. 8,11,18, 25, 27,36a, 36b, 40; Henry County, Nos. 22,33, 38, 75; Lake County, Nos. lla, lib; 

Lauderdale County, Nos. 12, 21, 38b; Madison County, Nos. le, 15a, 19b, 21g, 34b, 36a; Obion County, 

.Nos. 1,17, 17b, 24, 38, 57; Shelby County, Nos, 5, 6a, 8a, 21, S8b; Tipton County, Nos. 6, 9a, 9b, 23b, 44; 

"Weakley County, Nos. 4, 7, 23, 36, 37, 41, 41a, 58, 70.

8* Cooke, C. W., Correlation of the deposits of Jackson and Vicksburg age in Mississippi and Alabama: 

Washington Acad. Sci. Jour., vol. 7, p. 188,1918.

" Stephenson, L. W., and Crider, A. F., Geology and ground waters in northeastern Arkansas: TJ. S. 

-«Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 399, p. 75,1916.
WATER-BEARING FORMATIONS 107

eastern Arkansas as 200 feet. If the blue clay which is found underlying all of Memphis and which is reported by all drillers throughout 

Shelby, Tipton, Lauderdale, and Dyer Counties and parts of Obion 

County is correlated with the Jackson, the formation at Memphis 

would be 150 to 200 feet thick.

Lithologic character. The Jackson formation as found in outcrop 

consists of sand, clay, and lignite. The sand is very fine grained and 

uniform in grain size and is either of a gray color or speckled from 

grains of lignite. The sand shows marked lamination. The clay 

occurs in beds that are continuous throughout the length of outcrop, 

and if they are lenticular they thin out very gradually. The Jackson 

is peculiar among the formations of western Tennessee in that it contains layers of lignite which attain a maximum thickness of several 

feet. These lignite beds contain marcasite and pyrite concretions.

The lower part of the Jackson formation as revealed by well drillings is largely blue clay. Drillers' reports vary, but they are consistent in describing its blue color. In some logs the clay is said to be 

sandy, and in others it is described as hard. The logs of about 200 

wells of the Memphis Artesian Water Department drilled throughout 

Memphis furnish the best information. These logs show that the formation is predominantly hard blue clay containing some layers or 

lenses of fine sand. There can be little doubt that the clay forms an 

essentially continuous bed over most of the counties bordering the 

Mississippi River, and it is to this confining bed that the artesian head 

of the water at Memphis and Dyersburg is due. No attempt has been 

made in this report to differentiate the Jackson from the underlying 

Grenada.

Although the sands of Jackson age are slightly water bearing, they 

are not used as sources of water. The lignite beds render the water 

adjacent to them unpalatable. Also the water is liable to have a high 

iron and sulphur content, which is derived from the marcasite and 

pyrite in the lignite. As the sands are very fine it is difficult to finish 

wells in them. These factors have prevented this formation being 

drawn upon by wells.

Quality of water. It is impossible to recognize definitely the Jackson 

formation from well logs or drillings, and its outcrop along the bluffs 

does not afford enough information to determine its extent and thickness definitely. In areas where it probably occurs, however, wells 

that end a short distance below the Pliocene gravel obtain water that 

varies considerably in the amount of dissolved mineral matter, ranging 

from 170 to more than 400 parts per million. (See analyses Dyer 

County, Nos. 1, 37; Lauderdale County, Nos. 6, 9, 38a; Obion 

County, Nos. 19a, 33, 53; Weakley County, No. 24.)

The waters from the Jackson formation are usually calcium bicarbonate in character, although some of them are typically dolomitic,
108 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

and they range in hardness from 120 to 360 parts per million, which is 

sufficient to necessitate treatment for most industrial uses and to be 

objectionable for many household purposes. The iron content is 

usually high enough to justify its removal by aeration. Diagrams of 

analyses of two representative samples are shown in Figure 10.

PUOCENE SERIES 

GRAVE!

Outcropping in the Chickasaw Bluffs and on the uplands adjacent 

to the Tennessee River occur deposits of gravel and sand. These deposits, with the mantle of coarse ferruginous sand that covers thfe 

uplands of western Tennessee, were formerly considered to be one 

formation and were called "Lafayette." M Berry 8S has shown 

that the "Lafayette" of Hilgard and McGee is of various ages, ranging 

from Cretaceous to Recent, and that at the type locality it is Eocene. 

After a careful study of the Pliocene of northern Mississippi Shaw w 

came to the conclusion that this so-called formation was in reality 

nothing but the weathered portion of the underlying formations plus 

such larger material as was left behind in the process of erosion; for 

this material he suggested the name "residuum." The writer believes 

that the mantle of coarse ferruginous sand that covers the uplands of 

western Tennessee is also residuum formed from the underlying formations by the usual process of erosion and soil formation. The true 

gravels are terrace deposits which rest unconformably on the Jackson 

and Wilcox in the western part of the area and on the Cretaceous 

deposits in the eastern part. Along the Mississippi they are of 

Pliocene age. Wade 87 believes that only the highest of the terraces 

along the Tennessee River is of Pliocene age, the others being Pleistocene. In this report they will 'be discussed together.

Distribution and thickness. The Pliocene gravel and sand are well 

exposed in the bluffs along the Mississippi River and are found below 

the loess on the uplands wherever gullies or roads have cut through 

the loess throughout Shelby County (pi. 10), the western edge of 

Fayette County, Tipton, and Lauderdale Counties, and Dyer and 

Obion Counties west of a line connecting Dyersburg and Union City. 

The gravel and sand have a maximum thickness of 50 feet, but 20 feet 

is the usual thickness in the west, and they thin ont toward the east. 

Along the Tennessee the gravel is most extensively developed on the

M McGee, W J, The Lafayette formation: IT. S. Geol. Survey Twelfth Ann. Kept., pt. 1, pp. 461-466, 

1891. Glenn, L. C., Underground waters of Tennessee and Kentucky west of Tennessee Eiver: U. S. 

Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 164, pp. 40-43,1906.

88 Berry, E. W., The age of the type exposure of the Lafayette formation: Jour. Geology, vol. 19, pp.249- 

256,1911.

»« Shaw, E. W., The Pliocene history of northern and central Mississippi: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. 

Paper 108, pp. 125-164, 1918.

«' Wade, Bruce, The gravels of west Tennessee Valle.: Eesources of Tennessee, vol. 7, No. 2, p. 70, 

Tennessee Geol. Survey, 1917.
WATER-BEARING FORMATIONS 109

uplands of Hardin, McNairy, Decatur, Benton, and Henry Counties, 

though some occurs in Hardeman, Chester, Henderson, and Carroll 

Counties. The maximum thickness of any of the terraces along the 

Tennessee River is 50 feet.

Lithologic character. The deposits range from gravel with very 

little interstitial sand through gravel filled with sand to sand containing a small number of pebbles. In some localities the gravel 

occurs as irregular-shaped bodies in sand. The pebbles may show 

some regular distribution, but usually the distribution is chaotic; 

likewise the pebbles may be fairly regular in size or may vary considerably. The pebbles average less than 2 inches in diameter but 

reach more than 5% inches, and a few cobbles that measured as much 

as 8 inches have been found. The pebbles are rounded or subrounded 

and may be flattened or tabular. They consist of quartz, chert, sandstone, quartzite, and a few recorded fossils from the Paleozoic. The 

pebbles are coated with iron oxide. The deposits are loose and unconsolidated except where they form thin layers of pebbles cemented 

by iron oxide, which makes very hard material.

The gravel is as a whole a good source of water. Where it underlies 

the loess it is the formation from which most small domestic supplies 

are obtained. The gravel that is found locally in the area around 

Memphis will yield from 200 to 400 gallons a minute. In the hilly 

regions gravel overlying sand lies above the water table, but gravel 

overlying impervious formation is a valuable source of water for small 

supplies.

Quality of water. The waters from the gravel can be divided into 

two distinct groups on the basis of the amount and character of the 

dissolved solids. (See analyses McNairy County, Nos. 1, 10, 16; 

Obion County, No. 35; Shelby County, Nos. 21a, 28; Tipton County, 

Nos. 25, 33, 39, 45.) The chemical character of these two groups is 

determined by the geologic location of the gravel. Where the gravel 

forms the surface formations the water derived from it is low in dissolved solids, unless contaminated by surface drainage, is fairly soft, 

and is usually low in iron content. These waters are excellent. An 

example is given in diagram E, Figure 10.

In the counties bordering the Mississippi River the Pliocene gravel 

is covered with a mantle of loess. Meteoric water percolating down 

through the loess dissolves considerable quantities of various mineral 

constituents, particularly calcium carbonate. Most of the waters 

from the gravel where these conditions exist are calcium carbonate 

waters of moderate mineral content. The waters are hard, the total 

hardness ranging from 115 to more than 400 parts per million. The 

iron content is also high enough to cause trouble if the water is used 

for some purposes. A representative analysis is shown in diagram F, 

Figure 10.
110 GEOTJND-WATEE RESOURCES OF WESTEEN TENNESSEE

35O

325-

I I Sodium U

and 

potassium

Magnesium 5o]Sulphate 

Calcium KJ5I Bicarbonate

FIGUEE 10, Analyses of water from the Wilcox group (A, B), Jackson forma* 

tion (C, D), and Pliocene gravel (E, F)
WATER-BEARING FORMATIONS 111

QUATERNARY SYSTEM

PLEISTOCENE SERIES

LOESS

The loess of western Tennessee is of Pleistocene age. It forms sbelt about 20 miles wide that borders the Mississippi River. The 

loess has its greatest thickness at the river, where it is excellently 

exposed in the bluffs at Memphis, Richardson's Landing, and Randolph. The thickness exposed in the bluffs is from 50 to 100 feet, butit thins to a feather edge toward the east. The vertical jointing and 

lack of bedding are very distinctive features of the loess in its outcrop 

and impart to it the characteristic of standing with vertical face. 

This feature is diagnostic. The loess can be divided into two parts on 

the basis of color. The lower part is gray and the upper part is buff, 

but both parts vary in hue from place to place. Fossils are more 

abundant in the lower part.

The loess is very uniform in composition, consisting of fine material. 

Ten mechanical analyses by Roberts 88 show that over 90 per cent of 

the material is under 200 mesh, and microscopic examination shows 

much of the material to be very fine. The particles are angular and 

are predominantly quartz, though feldspar and clay are abundant. 

Some calcium carbonate is present.

The basal loess contains some gravel and in places is found to 

grade down into Pliocene gravel. The loess also contains irregular 

concretions.

There has been considerable controversy concerning the method of 

deposition of the loess, but it is now generally conceded that the 

material was brought down by the rivers from the melting glaciers 

and deposited on their flood plains. During periods of low water 

wind picked up the dry fine silt and dropped it on the adjacent uplands 

to form deposits that were thickest near the streams and thinnest 

away from them.

Water probably seeps through the loess very slowly, but the material has a very high specific retention and will not yield water.

LOAM

A thin deposit of loam forms the surface over much of western 

Tennessee. The deposit is a yellowish or brownish loam in most of 

the area of its occurrence, though in some places it becomes a soft sand 

with very little argillaceous material. This phase is found mainly to 

the east of the loess as a thin veneer derived from the underlying 

formations and resting upon and partly concealing them. It is rarely 

over 10 to 12 feet thick and is in many places not more than half that 

thickness. It thins out to the east and disappears before the eastern

* Roberts, J. K.t Tertiary and Quaternary sediments of west Tennessee and their economic geology (in 

preparation).
112 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

edge of the embayment deposits has been reached. The loam is 

probably in large part the equivalent of the loess, though in some 

places a few feet of loam overlies the loess. Its age is Pleistocene and 

recent. The loam has no importance as a source of water.

RECENT SERIES 

ALLUVIUM

The flood plains or bottoms of the present streams are composed of 

alluvium, the most recent deposit in the area. The region has been 

recently elevated, and the alluvium of the present bottoms represents 

in part the reworked alluvium of the older flood plains, which now 

exist as narrow terraces or second bottoms along the margins of the 

stream valleys. The alluvium consists of material derived from the 

adjacent land by erosion and is the same in composition, being made 

up of the reworked sand, gravel, and clay derived from the Cretaceous 

and Tertiary deposits. It has the characteristics of river deposits, 

showing rapid vertical and horizontal variation. The deposits may 

be lenticular. The alluvium in the valley of the Mississippi attains a 

depth of 100 to 150 feet. Its character is clearly shown in the well log 

given on page 211. The alluvium in the other stream valleys is less 

than 100 feet thick, the thickness being dependent on the size of the 

stream and the depth to which it can cut. The variable character of 

the alluvium makes it a poor source of water for large supplies, but 

small supplies of water can be developed in it almost everywhere.

The waters from the alluvium are variable in chemical character. 

(See analyses Fayette County, No. 12; Haywood County, No. 35a; 

Lake County, No. 5; Lauderdale County, No. 26; McNairy County, 

No. 10.) During flood stages the streams are probably influent into 

the alluvium, and during periods of low stage ground water flows from 

the alluvium into the streams; the chemical character of the water 

in the alluvium is therefore dependent upon both the character of the 

stream water and that of the ground water. In addition, the character of the water is locally changed by the presence of lenses of clay rich 

in organic matter containing much sulphur and iron. From this 

material the water dissolves hydrogen sulphide, carbon dioxide, and 

considerable iron. These constituents make the water unpalatable 

and give it an unpleasant smell. Water from the alluvium of the 

Mississippi River flood plain predominates in calcium bicarbonate, is 

moderately high in total dissolved solids and iron content, and is hard. 

An analysis of such a water is given in the following table and for 

comparison with it an average analysis of water from the Mississippi 

River at Memphis. One sample of water from the alluvium in the 

flood plains of the streams whose drainage basins lie within the areas 

of outcrop of the Cretaceous and Eocene formations is low in total 

dissolved solids and very soft. The iron content is high enough to
BENTON COUNTY 113

make removal by aeration and sedimentation or filtration desirable. 

The analysis of this water is also given in the table.

Analyses of waters from alluvium and from Mississippi River at Memphis

[Parts per million]

Silica (SiOi) . .

Calcium (Ca). ____ ......

Sodium (Na).___ __ . __ ..

Bicarbonate radicle (HCOs)-

1

8

1.4

88

10 } 

296

2

24

.61

36

12

19

129

3

24

.65

3.8

1.5 fio

I -7

19

1

15

8

.7

291

261

2

43

8.6

1.7

202

3

5.8

11

.77

72

16

1. Representative analysis of water from the alluvium of the Mississippi River flood plain. Lake County 

No. 5.

2. Mean of analyses of Mississippi River water taken at intervals throughout the year at Memphis, Tenn. 

Clarke, F. W., Composition of river and lake waters of the United States: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 

135, £ 52, 1924.

3. Representative analysis of water from alluvium of Hatchie River. Haywood County, No. 35.

GROUND-WATER RESOURCES BY COUNTIES 

BENTON COUNTY

[Area 456 square miles. Population 11,237] 

GEOGRAPHY

Benton County is a long, narrow county, of which the eastern 

boundary is the Tennessee River and about two-thirds of the western 

boundary is the Big Sandy River. A ridge runs northward through 

the middle of the county, dividing the drainage to the east into the 

Tennessee River from that to the west into the Big Sandy River. 

Of the eastward-flowing streams Cypress and Birdsong Creeks are 

the largest; of the streams flowing west, Ramble and Rushing Creeks. 

The central ridge has been cut into many hills by the creeks and their 

tributaries. The tributaries form V-shaped valleys, and the flood 

plains or bottoms of the larger creeks are narrow, attaining a maximum 

width of 2 miles.

The Mississippi River at low water at Johnsonville is 322 feet above 

mean sea level. A bench mark opposite the railroad station at Camden has an altitude of 392.60 feet, and the high point on the Louisville 

& Nashville Railroad 2.2 miles south of Camden is 471.7 feet. Probably altitudes of 600 feet are attained in the southwestern part of the 

county, and the average is between 400 and 500 feet.

GEOLOGY

The boundary between the Paleozoic rocks and the unconsolidated 

Cretaceous formations runs north through the middle of Benton 

County. The Paleozoic rocks form the surface in the eastern part of 

the county, and though the upper part of the central ridge is covered 

by the Cretaceous deposits the large creeks have cut through them
114 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

into the underlying Paleozoic rocks. The Paleozoic formations that 

crop out in Benton County are, from younger to older, the Fort 

Payne chert, of Mississippian age; the Chattanooga shale, of Mississippian or Devonian age; and the Camden and Harriman cherts and 

Birdsong shale, of Devonian age. The Fort Payne formation is a 

limestone that contains considerable chert and weathers to a chert 

rubble, which is the surface expression of the formation. Its thickness 

in Benton County is not known, but at Paint Rock, a few miles to 

the east, it has a maximum thickness of 200 feet. Below the Fort 

Payne chert occurs the Chattanooga shale. It crops out in only a 

few areas and yields small amounts of sulphur water.

The Camden chert is widely distributed throughout the northern 

and southeastern parts of the county. Its maximum thickness is 

exposed at Camden, the type locality. In outcrop it consists of a 

rubble of iron-stained angular fragments of chert. The Harriman 

chert resembles the Camden chert and can be differentiated from it 

only by means of the inclosed fossils. The combined thickness of the 

Camden and Harriman cherts does not exceed 275 feet.

The Eutaw formation covers the top of the ridge that runs through 

the middle of the county. It occurs as a band about a mile wide and 

is not more than 90 feet thick in the southern part of the county and 

20 feet thick at the northern boundary. In many outcrops it shows 

at its base a layer of black carbonaceous thin-bedded clay from 10 

to 15 feet thick. The remainder of the formation consists of fine 

sand and interlaminated clay.

Overlying the Eutaw and cropping out just west of it is a band of 

the Coon Creek tongue of the Ripley formation. The Coon Creek 

is an argillaceous glauconitic sand containing some mica. It contains 

indurated casts of fossils cemented by hydrous iron oxide, which give 

a characteristic appearance to any outcrop. The thickness of the 

Coon Creek ranges from about 120 feet in the south to 80 feet in the 

north.

The outcrop area of the overlying McNairy sand member of the 

Ripley is confined to the southwestern part of the county. Here high 

hills have been cut out of the formation and deep gullies have been 

formed. Though the McNairy contains some coarse sand in Benton 

County it is predominantly fine grained.

GROUND WATER

There are no towns with public water supplies in Benton County, 

and as there are no industries ground-water developments are confined 

to farm needs. As stock is watered from the numerous perennial 

streams, the farm wells supply only the small amount of water needed 

for domestic use. The type of well employed depends on the nature 

of the formation from which the water is to be obtained. In the
BENTON COUNTY 115

chert areas dug wells are used, for the fractured chert can be dug 

easily but can be drilled only with great difficulty. Of the 62 wells 

listed in the following table, 51 are dug, and they have an average 

depth of 29 feet. Where the Cretaceous formations are the source of 

water both dug and bored wells are used, but the latter are the more 

common. The 11 bored wells listed in the table have an average 

depth of 61 feet.

Three deep wells have been drilled in Benton County, but the 

information concerning them is so meager that very little can be said 

about the formations they penetrate. It is reported that the water 

from well 9c at Big Sandy comes from a depth between 250 and 300 

feet; the water from the Eva well, No. 33, from depths of 130 to 140 

feet and 263 feet; and the water from the well at Camden from a 

depth of 275 to 300 feet. Very small amounts of water were encountered below these depths. This would indicate that practically no 

water can be developed below 300 feet and this probably means below 

the Devonian. The cherts of Mississippian and Devonian age yield 

abundant water, and where they are 100 feet or more thick supplies of 

several thousand gallons a day could Be developed.

Both dug and bored wells are used in the Eutaw area, but as a rule 

the water is poor. The Coon Creek yields but little water. In areas 

where the Eutaw or Coon Creek crops out many cisterns are used.

In the region of the Ripley outcrop bored wells are most common. 

As the region is high and the formation porous, the water table is as 

much as 100 to 120 feet deep in the high hills, and wells must go below 

this depth to obtain water. In general the Bipley sands in Benton 

County are fine grained and cause much trouble in screened wells. 

In the northern part of the county, where Pliocene gravel occurs, dug 

wells finished in the gravel afford sufficient water.

In the northern part of Benton County dug wells are used extensively. These wells obtain water from the Fort Payne or the Camden 

chert and the Pliocene gravel. Eutaw sand covers some of the hills, 

but it is not very thick, and good water can be found below it. The 

Chattanooga shale is found in certain areas. This formation does not 

exceed 15 feet in thickness and water is found below it. At the foot 

of the ridge that forms the eastern boundary of the valley of the Big 

Sandy River many large springs issue from the Camden chert.

LOCAi SUPPIiEES

The city of Big Sandy has a public well. This is a 6-inch well which was drilled 

to a depth of 965 feet and is cased to 165 feet. No log was available, but it was 

reported that very little water comes from beds below 300 feet. The water level 

is 4 feet below the surface. The well is equipped with an electric pump that 

delivers water into a small tank, from which it can be drawn. All the houses in 

Big Sandy are supplied from shallow dug wells obtaining water from the Camden 

chert.
116 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Camden has a public well which is 8 inches in diameter and 1,565 feet deep. No 

log of this well is available. The well is cased to a depth of 250 feet, where the 

well is reported to have passed through a cave. Water is derived from a depth 

of less than 300 feet and comes from the Camden chert. (See analysis 3la.) 

The public well supplies only a small group of buildings around the courthouse. 

Most of the houses have cisterns; the remainder have wells ending in the Camden 

chert, which furnishes sufficient water.

At Eva dug wells obtain water from Devonian chert. To the west the Chattanooga shale is encountered, and wells must pass through this to the underlying 

chert.

Holladay is situated in the outcrop area of Eutaw sand. As the water from 

the sand is highly charged with hydrogen sulphide and is unpalatable, cisterns 

are used. Deeper wells penetrating the Devonian chert and casing off the higher 

water would obtain potable water. , At Zach bored wells obtain water from Ripley sand. As Zach is situated in a 

valley, at an altitude of 421.6 feet, the wells are shallow, not exceeding 25 feet, 

but just to the north in the hilly section they are more than 100 feet deep.
Records of wells in feenton County

No

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6

7 

8

9a 

9b 

9« 

10

11 

12 

L3

14 

L5

16 

17 

IS 

L9

Location

8.5 miles northeast of 

Big Sandy. 

7.1 miles northeast of 

Big Sandy. 

6.8 miles north of Big 

Sandy. 

4 miles north of Big 

Sandy. 

5.7 miles northeast of 

Big Sandy. 

3.8 miles northeast of 

Big Sandy.

3.3 miles east of Big 

Sandy. 

Big Sandy. ..... ..

 .do........ ...........

1.9 miles south of Big 

Sandy. 

3 miles southeast of Big 

Sandy. 

5 miles southeast of Big 

Sandy. 

6.5 miles southeast of 

Big Sandy. . 

Claud...... _ ... _ .... 

6.5 miles southeast of 

Big Sandy. 

4 miles south of Big 

Sandy. 

5.8 miles southwest of 

Big Sandy. 

6 miles southwest of Big 

Sandy. 

5.8 miles south of Big 

Sandy.

Owner or name

V. K. Stockdale 

School...... .

J. F. Dowdy __ .

O. A. Bobbins __ 

H. C. Giles.......

George Dowdy _ . 

H. F. Cantrell....

City of Big Sandy. 

I. T. Cantrell _ ..

T. W. Brewer _ .. 

W. H. Berry 

O. E. Pattrich.... 

A. H. Ball 

School ............

J. D. Markham _

Topographic 

position

Hilltop 

Hillside 

 do. 

Valley-. .. 

...do.......

Hilltop 

Valley....

... do 

... do 

... do 

Upland...

Hillside 

... do... ....

Valley... . 

...do 

Hilltop .

Hillside 

... do .... 

Hilltop .

Type of 

well

Dug....... 

... do... .... 

... do ... 

...do . 

...do. ...

...do 

...do. ...

Dug.... ...

Drilled 

Dug. ...

 do.. 

...do-... .

 do 

 do....... 

 do 

... do... ....

...do.......

 do ... 

... do ...

Depth 

of well 

(feet)

23 

18 

45 

24 

17 

44 

18

11 

20 

1,000 

40

30 

18 

16

24

22

21 

22 

19 

28

Diameter 

of well 

(feet)

Top

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3

3 

3

3 

*1H 

»6 

3

3 

3 

3

3 

3

3 

3 

3 

3

Bottom

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3

3 

UH 

»6 

3

3 

3 

3

3 

3

3 

3 

3 

3

Water-bearing b

Character 

of material

... do.. - 

Chert 

... do .

... do 

Gravel 

Chert. 

 do ...

... do... ....

... do ...

Chert. ... . 

...do 

... do ... . 

... do 

...do. 

... do .. 

...do....... 

... do.... ...

... do ...

Geolo

horiz

Chatta

ga, 

 ..do. 

Camde

 do 

 .do 

Pliocen

Fort P

Camde

... ..do 

Camde

Fort P

... ..do 

 ..do 

... ..d

Eutaw 

.... _d

 do 

Flowing 1 gallon a minute. 
Records of wells in Benton County Continue

No.

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

25 

26 

27

28 

29

30 

3 la

31b 

32 

33

34a 

34b 

35

36 

37 

38 

39

Location

7 miles northwest o'f 

Camden. 

4.8 miles north of Camden. 

8.3 miles southeast of 

Big Sandy. 

9.1 miles northeast of 

Camden. 

7.3 miles northeast of 

Camden. 

5.8 miles northeast of 

Camden. 

3.5 miles northeast of 

Camden. 

2.4 miles north of Camden. 

3.4 miles north of Zach.. 

0.8 mile northwest of 

Zach. 

Zach (Sawyer's Mill). 

Camden, north side of 

court house. 

Oamden, Paris St _ . 

1.6 miles east of Camden. 

5.8 miles east of Camden.

5.1 miles east of Camden. 

5 miles east of Camden 

2.2 miles southeast of 

Camden. 

2.2 miles south of Camden on highway 69. 

4.6 miles southwest of 

Camden. 

4 miles south of Camden 

on highway 69. 

3.7 miles southeast of 

Camden,

Owner1 or name

J. H. Hall 

J. P. Rushing .... .

D. Farmer.. ......

W. E. Milton _ 

W. D. Pafford .... 

A. P. Lashlee ..... 

M. E. Hudson 

Lester Presson. ... 

W. A. Presson... .

E. Bonds _ .. .

City of Camden ...

Wm. Morris . 

J. L. Davis ........

Benton County 

Oil & Gas Co. 

Troy Milton 

L. Milton 

Zack Clayton .....

E. H. Harris ___

D. B. White. 

W. H. Garrett. 

A. L, Walker. ....

Topographic 

position

Hilltop 

... do ...

 doHillside 

Valley .

Hilltop 

Hillside 

... do 

Valley.... 

Hilltop 

Hillside 

 do 

Hilltop. 

Valley .

... do 

Hillside 

Hilltop 

 doValley. 

Hilltop 

... do. .

Type of 

 well

Dug.. - 

 do 

 do 

 do 

... do 

 do... 

_ do 

 do -

 do - 

Bored 

 do 

Drilled 

Dug.. ..... 

 do - 

Drilled ....

Dug .......

 do... 

 do 

... do 

 do 

Bored - 

Dug 

Depth 

of well 

(feet)

23 

50 

30 

24 

12 

21 

42 

31

18 

116

17 

1,565

62 

17 

1,463

21.5 

35 

30

25 

40 

42 

45

Diameter 

of well 

(feet)

Top

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3

3

6

6 

8

3 

3 

"10

3 

3 

3

3 

3 

6 

3

Bottom

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3

3

6

6

8

3 

3

"10

3 

3 

3

3 

3 

«6 

3

Water-bearing be

Character 

of material

... do 

Chert 

... do 

 do 

Clay-- 

Chert 

... do -

 do . 

...do- _ -

Chert 

 do .

Chert 

... do 

... do.., .

 do 

 do - 

Chert .....

Geolo

horiz

Ripley 

Fort P

 do 

 do 

 .do 

Camde

Eutaw

Riple

 do 

Camde

 do 

Devoni

 do 

Camde

Devoni

 .do 

Camd
40

41

4?.

43

44

45

46 

47

48

49 

50

51

52

53

54

55

5fi

57

58 

59

fiO

fi1

Camden on highway 

1.

Camden on highway 1

den on highway 69.

Camden.

Camden.

den on highway 69. 

7.2 miles southeast of 

Camden.

Camden."

den. 

10.4 miles southwest of 

Camden.

den. 

1.8 miles west of Coxburg.

Sugar Tree.

Tree.

Holladay.

day. 

1.6 miles east of Holladay.

Holladay.

. _' do . . __

W. M. Smith.....

B. W. Warren... . 

Nancy Terry ......

M. F. Miller 

B. H. Norwood...

E. H. Thornton ...

A. Fry .........

J. B. Odle ......

School..... .

J. F. Prince... ....

"H. S. Wilson.. .

Hillside

Vallfiv

Hilltop 

 do 

Hilltop. 

Valley....

Hilltop 

Hillside 

Valley....

Hillside 

Valley....

Hilltop 

Valley... .

Hilltop 

...do ...

...doHillside 

Hilltop 

...do.......

...do..... -

 do 

...do 

...do ...

... do ...

... do ...

... do ...

 do ..

 do 

 do ....

... do 

 do ...

...do 

Dug ...

60

45

is

30

on

45

37 

HHt

75

60

8

45

27

14

17

18

27

30

55 

35

60

an

3

3

3

.A

6

3

3 

3

6

6 

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

6

6 

3

3

6

3

3

3

6

6

3

3 

3

6

6 

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

6

6 

3

3

6

... do.... 

Chert 

... do -

...do ..

Chert. .... 

...do 

 doChert 

... do ...

 do ...

... do 

 do ..

 do ....

 do -

 do 

 do 

.....d

 .d

Fort P

..... d

Riple

 .do

Fort P

... ..d

 do 

 .d

 d

..... d

..... d

Flowing 1 gallon a minute. Flowin
120 GKOUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Analyses of waters from Benton County

[Parts per million. Numbers at heads of columns refer to corresponding well numbers in preceding table. 

Analyses 7, 9c, 9a, and 30 by Margaret D. Foster; the rest by D. F. Farrar]

Silica (SiOt). .............. ................. ..........

Sodium (Na) ... . ............... ..................

Sulphate(S04). -- 

Chloride (Cl)... ...... ..................... .......

Nitrate (NO»).. ............... .......................

Total dissolved solids ___ _____ ... __ --------

Date of collection, 1929 ................. ......... ......

Silica(SiOj). ... .... .... ... 

Sulphate(S04).- - 

Chloride (Cl).... ... ...............................

Nitrate (NOj)_._ ..................................

7

8

0

12

4.8

2.4

6.0

9 Q

13

14

4.5

7 2

57

22

31a

6.2

1.5

7K

5

1 

202

40

3

.4

240

208

9c

12

.15

19

3.7

167

5.0

194

151

84

1 9

542

63

33

4.3

.4

60

8

7

18

8.5

204

182

9a

16

.13

12

4.6

14

3.0

14

23

30

4.0

123

49

June 19

34a

7.3

1.3

17

2

/ H

1 1

17

35

.8

106

51

14

4.5

8

1

\ 3

/ 3

17

9

5

.4

39

24

June 18

52

4.3

1.3

9

2

1 «

24

11

6

.3

52

31

30

11

.14

2.8

1.5

f 2.5

1 1-1

12

4.0

3.0

1.1

33

13

June 20

59

6.2

.8

14

2

( 10

1 1

20

23

18

1.3

86

43

CABBOLL COUNTY

[Area 619 square miles. Population 26,132] 

GEOGRAPHY

Carroll County is situated in the northeastern part of the area. 

The Mississippi-Tennessee divide cuts across the county in a direction 

east of north, dividing the drainage areas into two unequal parts. 

About one-third of the county drains east to the Tennessee through the 

Big Sandy River and its tributaries; the remaining two-thirds drains 

to the west through the tributaries of the South Obion and Forked 

Deer Rivers. In the southern part of the county the MississippiTennessee divide is formed by an area of very hilly, high country, the 

northward extension of the hills of erosion. Another area of high 

hills is in the southeast corner of the county. The highest precisely 

determined altitude in the county is 514.39 feet, at a point 4.4 miles 

west of Huntingdon on the road to McLemoresville, but the hilly 

areas above mentioned probably rise above 600 feet. The lowest 

known altitude is 393.5 feet, at a point 1.8 miles west of Huntingdon 

on the road to McLemoresville, but the valley of the South Obion 

River is lower than this at the western boundary of the county.

GEOLOGY

Underlying the whole of Carroll County but not cropping out are 

the Eutaw formation and the Coon Creek tongue of the Ripley
CABBOLL COUNTY 121

formation. The Eutaw formation rests on the Paleozoic rocks, which 

consist of chert, limestone, and shale. The surface of the Paleozoic 

rocks dips gently to the west at about 20 feet to the mile. It is at a 

depth of 300 feet at the east edge of the county and 1,000 feet at the 

west edge. The Eutaw formation is about 80 feet thick and is 

composed predominantly of clay but contains some layers of sand. 

The Eutaw is not a very good water bearer, although some water can 

be obtained from it.

Overlying the Eutaw formation occurs the Coon Creek tongue of the 

Kipley formation. It is a glauconitic, argillaceous sand or fossiliferous marl, with a maximum thickness of 120 feet. The Coon Creek 

does not yield water.

The oldest rocks outcropping in Carroll County are those of the 

McNairy sand member of the Kipley formation, which forms a band 

11 miles wide and crosses the eastern part of the county in a direction 

a little north of east. It has a maximum thickness of 425 feet and 

dips toward the west at the rate of 20 to 30 feet to the mile. The 

Ripley is predominantly a sandy formation with intercalated lenses of 

clay. There is a persistent layer of coarse sand which crops out in the 

Mils along the eastern edge of the county. The formation as a whole is 

a good source of water.

The Porters Creek clay, which overlies the Ripley formation, is a 

plastic dove-gray clay with a characteristic hackly structure. It does 

not yield water, and where it crops out wells must pass through it to 

the underlying Ripley formation. It has a thickness of about 170 feet.

Throughout the western half of Carroll County the Holly Springs 

sand forms the surface. The Holly Springs formation consists of sand 

of varying size and color with intercalated layers and lenses of clay. 

The formation dips to the west at a rate of 20 to 30 feet to the mile. 

At the western edge of the county the Holly Springs has a thickness of 

400 feet. Water is readily obtained from this formation.

WATER RESOURCES

The numerous streams in Carroll County serve for watering stock. 

Along the foot of the hills are many springs, and those that are conveniently located are used for domestic purposes. Except for the 

narrow band of Porters Creek clay, which has a maximum width of 4 

miles but is usually not more than a mile wide, the formations at the 

surface throughout Carroll County consist of unconsolidated sand. 

This material can be bored easily, and the depth to water ranges from 

15 feet in the valleys to 150 feet on the highest hills. Consequently 

bored wells are most widely used for domestic purposes, though a few 

dug wells are still in use. The average depth of the 64 wells listed in 

Carroll County is 72.5 feet. Where large supplies of water are needed

119722 33 9
122 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OP WESTERN TENNESSEE

or where clay lenses are found at shallow depths or in the outcrop 

area of the Porters Creek clay deeper wells are used, and these are 

drilled. In the table, 17 drilled wells are listed, averaging 211 feet in 

depth. Such wells develop water supplies sufficient for any present 

needs. The Porters Creek clay serves as a confining bed for the 

waters in the Ripley sands. To the west of its outcrop area water 

will rise to an altitude of 400 feet above sea level in wells that pass 

through the Porters Creek to the Ripley formation.

LOCAL SUPPLIES

At Atwood (altitude 447.6 feet) the water table stands at a depth of about 90 

feet. Bored wells 90 to 120 feet deep are used almost exclusively. (See analysis 

45b.)

Bruceton (altitude 417.8 feet) has a public water supply owned by the Tennessee Property Co. (See analysis 17a.) A drilled well 298 feet deep obtains water 

from Eutaw sand. A log of the well is as follows:

Log of Tennessee Property Co.'s well, Bruceton, Tenn.

Ripley formation (McNairy sand member) :

Eutaw formation: 

Rock ______________________________________________ .

Paleozoic: Rock.

Thickness 

(feet)

60

108

110

4

4

12

Depth

(feet)

60

168

278

282

286

298

The water company does not supply water to the houses south of the State 

highway. These houses are equipped with bored wells from 90 to 120 feet deep. 

The Junction City Ice & Coal Co. obtains 40,000 gallons a day from Ripley sands, 

and further developments should be able to obtain ample water from these sands.

Buena Vista is underlain by considerable clay, and wells must pass through this 

to obtain water. The depth of the wells ranges from 90 to 150 feet, depending on 

topographic position.

In Clarksburg bored wells can obtain water from the Ripley sands at depths of 

35 to 60 feet. It is necessary to go to 100 feet to reach a sand suitable for finishing 

a drilled well.

Hollow Rock (altitude 423 feet) is in a valley, and shallow bored wells about 30 

feet deep obtain sufficient water for domestic purposes.

Huntingdon (altitude 414.7 feet) is in the outcrop area of the Porters Creek 

clay, which has a thickness of 75 to 90 feet. The Porters Creek is covered by a 

layer of residuum about 40 feet thick so that wells must penetrate at least 130 feet 

to reach the underlying Ripley. The city is supplied with water by the KentuckyTennessee Light & Power Co. (See analyses 33a, 33b.) Water is obtained from 

two 6-inch wells and one 10-inch well, ranging from 213 to 270 feet in depth. The 

wells are all connected by a suction centrifugal pump situated in a pit and having 

a capacity of 100 gallons a minute. The static level is at the bottom of the pit. 

A small amount of lime is added to the water on its way to the rapid sand filters 

to accelerate the precipitation of the iron. From the filters, where the iron is
CARROLL COUNTY 123

removed, the water passes to a reservoir with a capacity of 65,000 gallons. The 

total daily consumption of water at Huntingdon is about 75,000 gallons. Analyses 

of the raw and treated water are given in the table on page 130. The ice plant is 

equipped with a 6-inch well 235 feet deep.

The log of a test hole drilled 1.8 miles west of Huntingdon on the old McLemoresville road is as follows:

Log of Johnson Refining Co.'s well, Huntingdon, Tenn.

Holly Springs sand: 

Soil. 

Bed quicksand.. ________

formation:

Fine sand with thinly lamiThickness 

(feet)

13

10

7

10

105

41

3

14

3

54

38

2

66

10

1 f\

16

4

Depth 

(feet)

13

23

30

40

145

189

203

206

260

264

302

304

 370

380

395

511

515

McNairy sand member of Ripley

Thinly laminated flaky clay. 

tion:

Thickness 

(feet)

41

2

12

6

8

14

6

8

13

31

44

6

4

6

3

8

' 33

15

Depth

(feet)

856

558

570

576

584

598

604 

612

625

656

700

706

710

716

719

737

760

775

At Lavina there is a perched water table, and wells from 60 to 80 feet deep 

obtain water from it. These wells go dry during dry weather. To obtain a permanent water supply wells must penetrate to the true water table, which is from 

90 to 160 feet in depth.

McKenzie has a public water supply owned by the Kentucky Tennessee Power 

& Light Co. Water is obtained from three wells, one 8-inch well 335 feet deep, 

one 8-inch well 340 feet deep, and one 10-inch well 330 feet deep. These wells 

end in the Holly Springs sand and obtain water of excellent quality. (See analysis lOb.) All three wells are pumped by compressed air. The water flows into a 

200,000-gallon reservoir and is pumped from the reservoir into an overhead 

tank of 50,000 gallons capacity. The average consumption is 700,000 gallons 

a day. The Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway, Louisville & Nashville 

Railroad, and McKenzie Ice Co. have similar wells.

Log of well of Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway, McKenzie, Tenn.

Holly Springs sand: 

Soil.. 

White sand and pipe clay

Thickness 

(feet)

10

26

11

20

34

50

Depth 

(feet)

10

36

47

67

101

151

Holly Springs sand Continued.

Thickness 

(feet)

74

38

10

38

12

Depth 

(feet)

225

263

273

311

323
124 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

The log of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad well, which penetrates the 

Hipley formation, is given below.

Log of well of Louisville & Nashville Railroad, McKenzie, Tenn.

[Authority, chief engineer]

ellow sand- __ . ___ . ___

Thickness 

(feet)

10

26

11

20

34

50

74

38

10

38

g

i

Depth 

(feet)

10

Ofl

47

67

101

151

225

263

273

01 1

320

194

Thickness 

(feet)

16

8

4

16

122

47

6

20

QA

Depth

(feet)

340

348

352

368

490

637

543

563

647

At McLemoresville (altitude 422 feet) bored wells are used; they range from 

40 to 50 feet in depth.

At Trezevant (altitude 464 feet) the city-owned public water supply (analysis 

28) obtains water from two 6-inch wells 120 feet deep, which end in Holly Springs 

sand. Both wells are pumped by lift pumps that deliver the water to an elevated 

tank of 50.000 gallons capacity.

At Yuma the water table is only 8 to 15 feet below the surface, and dug and 

bored wells 13 to 25 feet deep obtain sufficient water for domestic needs from 

the Ripley sands.
Records of wells in Carroll County

No.

1 

2 

3

4 

5 

6

7 

8a

8b 

9

lOa

lOb 

lOc 

lOd

lla

lib 

12 

13

14

Location

Vale, 4.5 miles north of 

Hollow Hock. 

6 miles north of HolKock on road to Paris. 

5 miles north of Hollow Rock on road to 

Paris. 

Mixie, 7 miles northwest of Hollow Rock. 

6 miles northwest of 

Hollow Rock. 

7.5 miles northwest of 

Hollow Rock. 

8.5 miles north of 

Huntingdon. 

Macedonia, 8.5 miles 

north of Huntingdon. 

Macedonia _ ... 

2 miles east of McKenzie. 

Main Street and Nashville, Chattanooga 

& St. Louis Ry. 

_ do _ . . ...... 

 .do. 

Cedar Street, McKenzie. 

Christmasville, 55 

miles north of Trezevant. 

Christmasville __ ..--

Hinkleville .

3 miles southwest of 

McKenzie. 

3.8 miles southeast of 

McKenzie on highway 22.

Owner

A. C. Crews __ ..

J. W. Barton ......

A. T. Rigsby... ...

L. Q. Symons ..... 

V. W. Rice. 

A. Harder _ ......

A. O. Milam ...... 

 .do. .

B. Kemp. ........

Kentucky-Tennessee Power & 

Light Co. 

__ do _ _ ....

. do 

McKenzie Ice Co.

Christmasville 

School

Mrs. C. E. Lawler. 

W. S. Houston __.. 

D. Bowden.. ....

Leon Currin.. ....

Topographic 

position

Valley bottom _ 

Hillside 

Hilltop.. 

Hillside 

Valley __ 

Foot of hill ......

Hilltop _ - 

.... . do..... ... 

.... . do..... ...

..... do. 

Hillside 

..... do....... .... 

 .do..... 

.....do 

Upland __ ....

Hilltop 

Hillside 

Hilltop. _ . 

 ..do 

Type of 

well

BoredDug 

Bored ...

... do 

 do 

Spring. .

Bored... 

Dug.....

Drilled.. 

Bored ...

Drilled..

 do..... 

... do 

...do.....

 do 

Bored ... 

 do 

...do.....

 do.....

Depth 

of 

well 

(feet)

30

87 

72

58 

45

100 

22

100 

90

340

335 

330 

347

90

114 

70 

65

54

Diameter 

of 

well 

(inches)

6 

36 

6

6 

6

6 

36

2 

6

8

8 

10 

6

2

6 

6 

6

6

Water-bearing bed

Character 

of 

material

Sand 

... do 

 do 

...do.....

...do 

... do 

 do 

...do _ . 

... do.....

...do..... 

...do.....

 do.....

... do 

... do..... 

... do.....

... do.....

...do....:

 do.....

Geologic 

horizon

... ..do ...

 do. 

..... do...... ..

.....do 

Porters Creek

Holly Springs

Residuum ....

Holly Springs

... ..do 

 .do.. 

 do 

Holly Springs

.... .do....... 

*... do 

 do 

.....do........ 

Flowing 1 gallon a minute. Reported pumpa
Records of wells in Carroll County Continue

No.

15 

16

17a 

17b 

17c 

18a 

18b 

19 

20

21

22 

23 

24 

25 

26 

27 

28a

9fih

1 

Location

7.5 miles northeast of 

Huntingdon. 

3.5 miles northwest of 

Hollow Rock junction (Bruceton).

 do...............

Bruceton, north of 

highway 1. 

Hollow Rock, south 

side of Main Street. 

Hollow Rock, north 

side of highway 1. 

4.5 miles north of 

Huntingdon. 

3.4 miles north of 

Huntingdon on old 

Paris road. 

2.8 miles northwest of 

Huntingdon on 

highway 22. 

5.4 miles southwest of 

McKenzie. 

4.1 miles north of Trezevant. 

2.7 miles north of Trezevant. 

2.2 miles northwest of 

Trezevant. 

3.2 miles west of Tr. 

zevant. 

27 miles north of Atwood. 

Trezevant, east of railroad track, 1,000 feet 

northwest of station.

Owner

Lester Presson .... 

J. E. Vick 

Tennessee Property Co. 

Junction City Ice 

& Coal Co. 

H. H. Warmack...

R. A. Webb

G. W. Britts... ...

I. C. Enocks ...... 

John Ransome ....

L. M. Flippin _ . 

F. G. Blaylock __ 

J. D. Smothers 

G. L. Pratt -

Chester Hampton^

City of Trezevant

Topographic 

position

Foot of hill.. 

Hillside 

 .do .... 

 do - 

 do....... .... 

Valley bottom.. 

Hillside 

River bottom ... 

 .do ... 

Hilltop... 

Hillside. .. 

Valley 

 .do ... 

Hillside 

Hilltop... .. 

Hillside .........

-- rln

Type of 

well

Bored 

Drilled..

... do 

Bored ... 

...do..... 

 do..... 

Drilled

 doBored ...

... do..... 

... do 

... do 

... do 

...do 

 do...l. 

Drilled..

fin

Depth 

of 

well 

(feet)

45

298 

125 

90 

26 

28

104 

43

60 

60 

43 

57 

90 

60 

120

120

Diameter 

of 

well 

(inches)

6

6 

6 

6 

6

m

2^ 

6

- 6 

6 

6 

6 

6 

6 

6

R

Water-bearing bed

Character 

of 

material

(

Sand ..

ChertSand .... 

...do.....

... do 

... do....

... do 

...do 

 do.....

 do..... 

...do.....

 do 

... do..... 

 do.....

...do 

 do..... 

 do -

Geologic 

horizon

.... .do 

Devonian ...

..... do....... 

.... .do 

- do 

... -do 

Holly Spring

..... do 

.... .do 

.... .do 

.... .do 

 .do 

.... .do. 

.... .do 

..... do 
CAHBOLL COUNTY 127

6 6

ft 0 ftftg 06 

Q Q

06 

fifi

d «5 S 

ft ft §

§ S! S

» e-6'6

3

o o

!->>->

COO t^ I-l

rt * t» *

0 05

o c c

CO 00 CO CO CD tOO to C4

W rH

CO US

O O rH * 

**

J O 

M 0

Si

> a

c8 -w "^ -as 

t> w

. . g°pq Q 0 

nj 0

° ^-§ 

>

2 S a S

S M

° °

y j i

II Ui

O O W

Stt

dHPnS

<W *

«i a o

11

SH oj 

^Ili ||||

^W o3 <ff adg «* 

piPi's.B .^.^ be Q. 

5oo^

-&^w3

ffi1 *^ 

OOfeW

 sl2

5§S S S
Records of wells in Car roll County Continue

No.

45b

46

47 

48

49

50 

51 

52 

53 

54

55 

56

57

58a

58b 

59

60 

61 

62

Location

Atwood, north section 

of intersection of railroad and Main 

Street. 

4.2 miles south of McLemorsville.

4 miles southwest of 

Huntingdon on highway 1. 

4.5 miles south of 

Huntingdon on highway 22. 

5.3 miles southeast of 

Huntingdon. 

7.2 miles southeast of 

Huntingdon. 

3.6 miles north of Westport. 

2.5 miles southeast of 

Buena Vista. 

3 miles east of Buena 

Vista.

4.8 miles east of Westport. 

1.8 miles southeast of 

Westport. 

Westport _ . ...

 do ...

6 miles south of McLemoresville. 

7.8 miles south of Trezevant. 

4.2 miles north of Lavina. 

1.7 miles west of LaTina.

Owner

Town of Atwood 

J. E. Lawrence _

E. M. Goodrum-- 

R. E. Foust ....

R. L. Anderson ...

H. F. Horn __ .. 

Hugh Smith _ ...

W. T. Smith 

J. Butler. .........

J. E. Butler. .

A. 0. Thomas _ . 

J. C. Brinkley.. 

B. A. Medaris .....

Mrs. E. M. Joyner. 

J. T. Merrick .....

J. Parker ... ..

W. A. Little 

W. T. Little _ ...

W. H. Manning 

Topographic 

position

Hillside. 

 do 

Hilltop 

Upland. _ ..

Hillside. 

 do . 

Upland. ...... 

Hilltop 

... - do ......

 ..do... 

.... .do 

..... do ..

 do.... ....... 

 do ...... 

 .. doHillside .....

Hilltop 

Hillside. 

Hilltop.,,., 

Type of 

well

Bored ...

...do 

...do . 

...do 

... do 

...do 

 do 

... do 

 do 

 do 

... do 

...do . 

...do _ . 

 do .

...do _ .

... do 

Drilled.. 

Bored ...

Depth 

of 

well 

(feet)

100

55

65 

90

41

31 

75 

123 

70 

49

65 

90

135 

61

27 

20

125 

50 

140

Diameter 

of 

well 

(inches)

6

6

6 

6

6

6 

6 

6 

6 

6

6 

6

6 

6

6 

6

6 

2 

6

Water-bearing bed

Character 

of 

material

Sand... 

... do 

 do 

 do 

... do 

 do 

... do 

...do - 

... do 

... do 

 do 

...do 

 do . 

 do .. 

... do 

 do 

...do 

... do 

...doGeologic 

horizon

Holly Spring

.... -do ..

 .do... 

 .do 

 do 

 do... 

 do 

 do 

..... do......

..... do 

..... do..... 

 do....

..... do. 

Holly Sprin

 do... ...

 do.. .

.....do.. 
63a

fiSb

Kd.

65

66

67

oO

ftQa

69b

70

71a

71b

73

 79

7.1A

74h

75 

76

77

 do. 

Cedar Grove.

Cedar Grove on 

highway 1.

Cedar Grove, 0.2 

mile west of road.

Leach on highway 1.

Leach.

..-..do...... .-

burg.

of station on east 

side of track.

 ..do.... -

3.8 miles south of Lavina.

Cedar Grove on 

highway 1.

W. H. Hiekman 

W. Holmes ____

W. H. Bray ....

W. T. Howler .....

J. H. Pritchard _

J. H. Darnell

C. E. Bolen ...

I. T. Blunt.. ....

O.T.Horn.- 

W. B. Reynolds 

H. M. Clark.. 

Hillsidd.... ...

.... -do.. ......

Hilltop 

Foot of hill... ...

Hilltop. 

Foot of hill ...

Hilltop..... .....

Hillside 

Hilltop.... ...

.....do... -

 -do 

Upland

Hilltop- 

__ .do ___ . ...

..... do... .... ....

..... do. ..... 

 do 

Hillside ......

... do 

 do....

...do .

 doBored ...

Washed.

Bored 

... do 

Dug 

...doDrilled..

Bored ...

... do -

... do 

... do -

...do 

110

100

71

80

57

18

120

40

112

13

18

83

150

60

50

168 

100

46

6

6

6

6

6

36

2

6

6

24

6

6

2

6

6

6 

6

6

 dO 

 do 

 do 

 do 

Sand....

...do 

 do. -

...do -

... do -

... do... -

...do 

... do 

... do 

... do 

... do 

... do 

... do 

... do 

.....do..... 

..... do .

.....do......

..... do .

Holly Spring

.....do .

... ..do ... 

.....do......

. do ...

..... do .

..... do .

..... do ... 

..... do. ..

 . -do 

Holly Spring

..... do ... 

. .do ...

> Flowing 80 gallons a minute.
130 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Analyses of waters from Carroll County

[Parts per million. Numbers at heads of columns refer to corresponding well numbers in preceding table. 

Analyses 17a, 33a (raw), 45,69, and 71, by D. F. Farrar; the rest by Margaret D. Foster]

Iron (Fe). .......................

Potassium (K) __ . _______

Sulphate (SO4) _ 

Chloride (Cl)._.... ..............

Nitrate (NO3). . .._..

Total dissolved solids _ ____

Total hardness as CaCOa (calculated) _ - .-.. _.

Date of collection, 1929 _ . ......

lOb

11 

.07 

2.0 

1.4 

1.8 

.9 

13 

2.5 

.9 

.39 

27

11 

June 29

Silica (SiOj).... ........ ............

Iron (Fe) __ . . ________ .... ...

Potassium (K) _______________

Bicarbonate (HCOa) ____________ .

Sulphate (SOO.. . . ..... ......

Chloride (Cl) __ ............. _ .........

Nitrate (NOj) ................ __ .........

Total dissolved solids... __________

Total hardness as CaCO» (calculated) ___

17a

9 

1.4

72

} 

194 

47 

9 

.2

276

209 

July 3

45b

5 

.7 

7 

2 

17 

1 

20 

5 

28 

1.2 

73 

26 

July 2

28

16 

.21 

15 

5.9 

( 14 

i 1.8 

28 

40 

15 

10 

142

62 

July 1

58a

11 

.42 

3.1 

1.8 

1.0 

.8 

11 

4.7 

1.3 

2.5 

36 

15 

June 27

30

12 

.14 

14 

14 

33 

6.4 

22 

27 

62 

44 

237

92 

July 1

63a

14 

.34 

2.6 

1.1 

2.9 

1.1 

12 

2.5 

2.7 

3.9 

41 

11 

July 3

33a

Treated

11 

.13 

24 

3.2 

4.9 

1.4 

60 

32 

1.6 

.05 

107

73 

Oct. 12

69a

7 

1.4 

12 

3

} *

48 

.6 

4 

.3 

56 

42 

July 4

Eaw

5 

1.1 

13

> I

41 

3

.2

72

49 

July 3

Tib

4.4 

.8 

12 2' 

f 17 { '

22 

28 

1.3 

93 

38 

July 4

40a

13 

.IS 

4.9 

2.8 

f 4.6 

i 1.2 

16 

12 

4.4 

3.3 

57

24 

June 2S

74b

14 

.07 

2.7 

3.1 

8.6 

1.6 

8.0 

3.3 

13 

14 

72 

19 

June 24

CHESTER COUNTY

[Area 313 square miles. Population 10,603] 

GEOGRAPHY

Chester County, which lies in the eastern part of the area, is of 

unusually irregular outline. Its area is only 313 square miles. The 

larger part of the county is drained by the South Fork of the Forked 

Deer Kiver and its tributaries, Sugar, Turkey, Clark, and Jacks 

Creeks, which flow to the north and west. The remainder is drained 

by Middletown, Threemile, and White Oak Creeks, which flow 

slightly east of south. These two systems are separated by the 

Tennessee-Mississippi divide, an area 'of high land nmm'ng in a northeasterly direction across the east-central part of the county. The valley of the South Fork is broad and fertile. The western portion of the 

county is hilly, wooded, and sparsely settled!

GEOLOGY

The Eutaw formation, of Cretaceous age, does not crop out in 

Chester County but underlies the whole county. The oldest exposed 

formation is the Selma clay, which occurs at the surface along the
CHESTER COUNTY 131

eastern boundary of the county in a strip 4 miles wide at the south and 

3 miles wide at the north. It ranges in thickness fr&m 230 to 250 feet. 

West of the Selma the Ripley formation crops out. The basal part of 

the Ripley formation is a black clay marl which is mostly fossiliferous. 

^This is known as the Coon Creek tongue of the Ripley formation.. 

The Coon Creek can not be differentiated from the Selma in well logs 

and is often included in the Selma. The Ripley formation is about 

500 feet thick and crosses the county in a broad north-south band 

15 miles wide. It consists of sands of different size and intercalated 

lenses of clay. The Ripley in- turn is overlain by the Clayton formation, which is here a glauconitic sand of uncertain thickness but does 

not exceed 25 feet. The Porters Creek.clay, which crops out just 

west of the Clayton, is nowhere wider than 3 miles and is about 

275 feet thick. The Holly Springs sand crops out in the extreme 

western part of the county. All these formations dip 20 to 30 feet to 

the mile toward the west. Pliocene sand and gravel are found in 

some places, and the usual mantle of residuum covers all the upland 

surface.

WATER RESOURCES

The county is well watered by streams and springs, which furnish in 

most localities a sufficient supply of water for stock. Wells supply 

domestic needs. The Selma clay does not yield water. Where it 

comes to the surface water is obtained from the overlying residuum or 

else from wells that pass through the Selma into the Eutaw. Wells 

in the residuum will not furnish large quantities of water and are 

subject to drying up during dry weather. The Ripley formation is an 

excellent source of water, and many springs are found in the area of its 

outcrop, but on hilltops the water table is likely to stand as much as 

100 feet below the surface. In the areas of Porters Creek outcrop 

conditions are similar to those where the Selma is the surface formation, but good supplies of water can be obtained by drilling through the 

Porters Creek clay into the underlying Ripley. The Holly Springs 

sand is an excellent water bearer.

LOCAL SUPPLIES

*

At Deanburg bored wells obtain water from the Holly Springs sand at depths 

of SO to 80 feet.

At Enville, on the western contact of the Selma clay, dug wells 25 feet deep are 

used for domestic supplies. Some wells about 250 feet deep go through the 

Selma into the Ripley formation.

Henderson (altitude 421 feet) is located in the Ripley formation, which has a 

thickness of 250 feet at this place. Here the Ripley consists of interbedded sand 

and clay with some thin seams of lignite that contain marcasite. The lignite 

gives an unpleasant taste to water, and the oxidizing marcasite gives the water a
132 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

high iron content. The logs of wells at Henderson show marked variations, as 

indicated by the two, given below.

Logs of wells of West Tennessee Power & Light Co., Henderson, Tenn. 

[Authority, driller]

Soil -.- ..- ..._._.._..

Dark mod. ___________

Black mud ____________

Streaked sand __________

Mud and sand __________

Light mud.. __ ........ ____

Sand. ._. ......-...__

Hard sand- ___. ______

Sfnd . ........ ..

Sand mixed with mud _____

Thickness 

(feet)

23

16

3

8

2

6

33

15

5

22

15

Depth 

(feet)

23

39

42

50

52

58

91

106

111

133

148

Yellow cl&y

Thickness 

(feet)

20

81

Depth 

(feet)

20

103

These wells are within 160 feet of each other. Wells of different depths from 

60 to 250 feet have been used, but none gave entire satisfaction. The present 

water supply of Henderson is furnished by the West Tennessee Power & Light 

Co. (See analysis 4b.) This system consists of seven wells. Five 3-inch well"- 

60 feet deep and one 8-inch well 90 feet deep are pumped by an electrically driven 

Worthington triplex pump located in a pit 12 feet deep which delivers the wate~ 

to a 70,000-gallon elevated tank. The capacity of this battery of wells is 84 

gallons a minute. The water level in these wells is 20 feet below the surface. 

The latest addition to the plant is a recently completed well 8 inches in diamete~ 

and 103 feet deep, which has a gravel wall screen 17 inches in diameter. The 

well is equipped with a turbine centrifugal pump capable of delivering 225 gallons 

a minute.

About 20 years ago a deep well was drilled at Henderson to a depth of about 

600 feet but was abandoned because no good sand was encountered. It is probable that fair sands were encountered, but the driller was inexperienced and failed 

to realize this fact. No log of this well could be obtained, but the driller stated 

that the well did not reach the Paleozoic rocks.

At Jacks Creek (altitude 430 feet) the depth of the wells ranges from 25 to 12? 

feet, depending on their topographic position. Deep wells are bored.

Mifflin is in the area where the Ripley formation comes to the surface. Water 

Is obtained from dug wells 30 to 40 feet deep.

At Montezuma, which is just east of the eastern edge of the Porterf 

Creek outcrop area, water is obtained from dug or bored wells 25 to 85 feet deepIn the Porters Creek belt water is obtained by drilling through the "soapstone" 

to the underlying sand. The wells are as much as 280 feet deep. Some intermittent shallow wells are used but are unsatisfactory. 
- WM £ £ g- ft££ 

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134 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Analyses of waters from Chester County

Parts per million. Numbers at heads of columns refer to corresponding well numbers in preceding table. 

Analyses 1 and 4b by D. F. Farrar; 2 and 3 by Margaret D. Foster]

Silica (SiOj).. . ..-._..__.___....____ ....... ............

Iron (Fe)-. ._..__ ._.._._.._.________._.______________.______

Calcium (Ca)-..-. _______ . ________________

Magnesium (Mg)._ ______ __ . _ . __ . ...

Sodium (Na) ____ _________ ___ __ ... ...

Potassium <K) ....... ... ....... . ............ '. ..................

Carbonate (COj) ... __ ___ __ .. . .

Bicarbonate (HCOs)..-.-- _ _____ . . __ ____ ....

Sulphate (SO«) __ .. ........

Chloride (Cl). .......... __ . ....... .. .... ..... . ...

Nitrate (NOi) ........ ..... ... ....... .... .... ............. ...

Totai dissolved solids... ___ .-- . _. ...

Total hardness as CaCOs (calculated) ____________

Date of collection, I'o28 . . .

1

2.0

.1

15

2

I o

/ 9

0

47

4

15

.3

76

46

July 31

2

17

.21

2.6

1.1

( 1 Q

1 1 o' 8a

6.0

2.5

2.6

5.3

47

11

3

OO

47

4

0

1 <H

2.8

.3

0

22

4.9

1.2

.0

52

20

4b

6

1.2

8

2

/ 5

0

17

12

8

1

54

28

Aug. 1?

CROCKETT COUNTY

[Area 267 square miles. Population 17,359] 

GEOGRAPHY

Crocket! County lies just west of the center of western Tennessee. 

The county is small and has a very irregular boundary. The Gulf, 

Mobile & Northern Railroad (Dyersburg branch) crosses the middle 

of the county in a northwesterly direction, and the Louisville & 

Nashville Railroad parallels the southeastern boundary. Though 

Crockett County is served by two railroads it is but slightly developed. 

The two largest towns Alamo, the county seat, and Bells have f 

population of less than 1,000 each. Bells is at the junction of the two 

railroads and is the largest town. Agriculture is the only activity, 

and cotton exceeds all other crops in both acreage planted and value 

of product; corn is second, and some early vegetables and small fruits 

especially strawberries, are grown. Dairying is carried on to a certain extent.

The whole of Crockett County lies within the Mississippi drainage 

area. The two major streams, which are also in part the boundaries 

of the county, are the Middle Fork and South Fork of the Forked Deer 

River; these streams flow to the northwest. The flood plain or bottom of the Middle Fork is fairly wide, and its southwest side is ir 

Crockett County. Where the South Fork forms the southwest boundary of Crockett County it flows against the northeast side of its valley 

so that the land rises abruptly from the river.

A ridge of high, hilly country running west through the middle of 

the eastern part of the county divides the drainage to the north and 

southwest. In the western part of the county Pond Creek flows to 

the northwest, and on each side of it there are low divides which have 

been cut into low hills. The ground surface of the county is gently 

rolling. The highest known altitude is 442 feet, at a point 1.4 miler" 

west of Gadsden. The lowest point is probably in the northwest 

corner of the county.
CROCKETT COUNTY 135 

GEOLOGY

Except in a small strip of land along the western boundary the 

Grenada formation of the Wilcox group crops out throughout Crockett 

County. This is underlain by the Holly Springs sand and probably 

the Ackerman formation of the same group, below which is the Porters 

Creek clay. The Grenada and Holly Springs are both sand formations but contain thin layers or lenses of clay. The sand varies from 

very fine to coarse. The clay lenses may be as much as 100 feet 

thick; such lenses, however, are not more than 100 or 200 feet wide. 

In the northwestern part of the county beds of lignite or lignitic clay 

are found in the upper part of the Grenada formation. The thickness 

of the Wilcox at the eastern boundary of the county is about 700 feet, 

but it increases to 1,100 feet at the western edge. Throughout this 

thickness there are many sand layers in which wells can obtain 

sufficient water for any purpose.

The Porters Creek clay is about 275 feet thick in Crockett County. 

This formation is underlain by the McNairy sand member, which 

yields water. The water in the McNairy sand member will rise to 

about 360 feet above mean sea level.

The western part of Crockett County is covered with a mantle of 

loess, a buff fine-grained structureless deposit which stands in almost 

vertical banks. The loess has a maximum thickness of 10 feet in 

Crockett County. It does not yield water.

WATER RESOURCES

As there are but few permanent streams in Crockett County stock 

is usually watered from shallow ponds dug in low ground. Springs are 

not common and have but weak flow. The water table stands at a 

maximum depth of 125 feet below the surface in the high area in the 

vicinity of Gadsden. Throughout most of the county, however, the 

depth to water is much less, the average depth recorded in wells being 

38 feet. The Grenada formation can be readily bored, and therefore 

bored wells are used as a general rule. They have an average depth 

of 44 feet. Even the drilled wells are not very deep, averaging 105 

feet.

I-OCAL 8PPPT.TE8

Alamo (altitude 367 feet) has a public water supply owned by W. C. Mount. 

Water is obtained from a 4-inch well 98 feet deep (analysis 28b) by a force pump 

that delivers the water to an elevated tank. A good water-bearing sand is 

found everywhere in Alamo aft a depth of about 97 feet.

Bells is furnished with water by the Bells Light & Water Co., which has three 

4-inch wells 165 feet deep. Two of these wells are pumped with turbine centrifugal pumps sunk in a sump 25 feet deep; the other well is pumped by a triplex 

pump. The water is delivered to an elevated tank of 10,000 gallons capacity. 

The average daily consumption is 15,000 gallons. The depth to water is 15 feet.
136 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

The sand encountered at a depth of 100 feet is coarse, but it is reported to yield 

a water of high iron content. The sand at 165 feet is coarse, and the water from 

it is good. (See analysis 39.)

At Chestnut Bluff both bored and drilled wells are used. The bored wells are 

from 50 to 70 feet deep; the drilled wells from 90 to 110 feet. There are many 

springs at the foot of the hills but they are seldom used.

At Gadsden (altitude 428 feet) the depth to water is 100 feet, A very coarse 

sand is found at this depth. Bored and drilled wells range from 110 to 160 feet 

in depth. East of Gadsden the country is higher, the depth to water is greater,, 

and the wells range from 160 to 210 feet in depth.

At Friendship city water is furnished by the Friendship Light & Power Co., a 

log of whose well is as follows:

Log of well of Friendship Light & Power Co.

Thick- 

.ness 

(feet)

25

15

31

10

Depth

(feet)

25

40.

71

81

At 81 feet a thick layer of tough clay is encountered. Several years ago a well 

was drilled to a depth of 950 feet, and it is reported that this well passed through, 

nothing but clay. The driller was probably mistaken, because there are good 

water-bearing sands in the Wilcox group. Undoubtedly good sand could be 

found within 600 feet. The Friendship Light & Power Co. has five 3-inch well* 

81 feet deep. They are all pumped by force pumps which deliver the water into 

an elevated tank of 3,800 gallons. The average daily consumption of the town is 

10,000 gallons. The water contains sufficient iron to cause trouble if used for 

some purposes. (See analysis 5a.)

At Maury City both bored and drilled wells are used;, the bored wells are from 

30 to 60 feet in depth and the drilled wells from 50 to 90 feet.
Records of wells in Crockett County

No.

1

la 

2

3

4

5a 

5b

6

7 

8

9 

10 

11

12 

13

14 

15 

16 

17

18 

19

Location 

5.8 miles northeast of 

Friendship on Eaton 

road. 

 .do . 

4.2 miles north and a little 

east of Friendship. 

2.5 miles northeast of 

Friendship. 

1 mile northwest of Friendship on highway 20.

Old Saunders, 4.5 miles 

east of Friendship. 

5.5 miles north and a little 

west of Alamo. 

Crockett Mills. 5 miles 

east and a little south of 

Friendship. 

2.2 miles east and a little 

south of Friendship . 

1.7 miles southwest of 

Friendship. 

4 miles southwest of 

Friendship.

2 miles south and a little 

east of Chestnut Bluff. 

2.4 miles southeast of 

Chestnut Bluff. 

3 miles east and a little 

south of Chestnut Bluff. 

5 miles east of Chestnut 

Bluff. 

4.7 miles northwest of 

Alamo.

4.2 miles northeast of 

Alamo.

Owner or name

W. B. Hay .....

 do ...

Mrs. Jesse Clark..

T W KoTOoll

Friendship Mill ... 

Friendship Light 

& Water Co.

J. W. Saunders _ 

W. O. Redman...

S. L. Privett- .

F. D. Schmidt..- 

Wilson Spence __

R. H. Mitchell . 

W. M. Climer....

Mrs. J. Gales ......

Old Nance School.

Topographic 

position

Lowland 

Lowland 

 do. .

Lowland. . 

Upland ...

 do 

Hillside 

Lowland 

Hillside. .. 

Hill. 

Upland... 

 do 

Lowland.. 

...do. ...

Type of 

well

Drilled 

Bored..... 

... do -

 . do 

Drilled.... 

... do.......

Bored..... 

 do. 

-.do ....

 do 

 do - 

Dug . 

Drilled -

Bored __ 

Drilled 

 do 

Bored _ .

... do ....

Drilled...

Depth 

of 

well 

(feet)

33

100 

30

50 

25

87 

81

20 

36 

35

30 

42 

31

96 

25

70 

88 

88 

90

68 

20

Diameter 

of 

well 

(inches)

6

2 

6

6 

6

3

3

12 

6 

6

6 

6 

36

2 

6

2 

2 

6 

14

2 

6

Water-bearing bed

Character 

of 

material

Band-... 

...do 

... do ._

 do 

...do 

 do. .

 do 

... do. .

 do. .

 do 

... do -

 do 

...do.....

...do.....

 do 

 do 

... do 

... do 

 do 

... do 

 do.....

Geologic 

horizon

.....do 

 do 

... ..do .

 do 

 do 

 do 

 do 

 do .

... ..do 

 do .

..... do.....

 do.-.. 

 .do 

. __ do - __

 .do ..

..... do .

 do... ... 

.. do 

 do. 

 do 

Distances given sealed from county post-route map,"
Records of wells in Crockett County Continue

No.

20~~ 

21

21 a 

22

23

24 

25 

26

27 

28a 

28b 

29

30 

30a 

31

32 

33 

34 

35 

36 

37

38 

39a

39b 

39c

Location

5.6 miles northeast of 

Alamo. 

3.4 miles north and a little 

west of Gadsden. 

----do.. ..-- 

2.6 miles northeast of 

Gadsden, 1,000 feet east 

of Louisville & Nashville R. R. 

1.9 miles east and a little 

north of Gadsden. 

1.8 miles east of Gadsden. .

2 miles west and a little 

south of Gadsden. 

2.6 miles east of Alamo _ .

 do ...............

2.5 miles east of Alamo on 

highway 20:

4.1 miles south and a little 

east of Chestnut Bluff. 

6 miles southeast of Chestnut Bluff. 

7.6 miles southeast of 

Chestnut Bluff. 

3.4 miles southeast of 

Maury City. 

3 miles south and a little 

west of Alamo. 

3.2 miles north of Bells on 

highway 20. 

Pruitvale, 4 miles northeast of Bells on Louisville & Nashville R. R. 

2.8 miles east of Bells on 

highway 20. 

Bells.. .......... .......

-.-..do............. 

 do - -

Owner or name

J. B. Kincard-- 

J. C. MitchelL 

L. T. Poole. --....

T. H. Humphey-.

Clyde Richardson 

J. B. Follis 

William Brassfleld. 

N. W. Darden.. 

R. J. Robbins _ ..

Town ...... .......

J. A. Agee. ...... 

Johnson School _

Cross Roads 

School. 

J. R. MidgettH. G. Nelson. __

Bells Light & Water Co. 

 ..do..... ........

 doTopographic 

position

HillsideLowland .- 

Hillside ...

Upland... 

Hilltop 

...do ..... 

... do 

 do ... 

.-do 

 do 

... do ... -

 do 

... do 

 do 

 do 

 do - 

... do 

Hillside-.. 

Lowland 

HillsideType of 

well

Bored ..... 

...do .

Drilled 

...do 

Bored -

Drilled 

...do ...

Dug.... 

Drilled 

-.do ..

Bored 

... do.......

Drilled....

...do 

...doDrilled . 

 do -

Bored _ . 

Drilled 

Bored 

Drilled 

... do 

...doDepth 

of 

well 

(feet)

60

42

165 

90

80

187 

120 

38

45 

97 

98 

32

35 

90 

60

60 

32

87 

85 

34 

65

60 

165

165

165

Diameter 

of 

well 

(inches)

6 

6

2 

2

6

2^ 

2 

36

6

2 

4 

6

6 

2 

6

6

6 

2 

2 

6 

2

6 

4

4 

4

Water-bearing bed

Character 

of 

material

Sand 

... do 

 do 

 do 

-.do 

 do 

 do 

... do 

... do 

... do 

...do 

 do -

 do 

 do 

... do 

 do .

 do 

...do 

... do -

 do 

... do.. 

... do 

 do . 

...do 

...doGeologic 

horizon

..... do..... 

 do. 

..... do... 

 ..do 

..... do 

... ..do. 

 do .

..... do 

.....do 

. _ .do..... .

... ..do 

 do .

 ..do 

 .do 

-...do 

 do 

 ..do 

 do. 

. _ .do ..

 ..do ---

 do ..

Holly Sprin

 do 

... -do .
DECATUR COUNTY 139

Analyses of waters from Crockett County

Parts per million. Numbers at heads of columns refer to corresponding well numbers in preceding table. 

Analysis 39 by Margaret D. Foster; the rest by D. F. Farrar]

Silica (Si08). ....................

Iron (Fe). ........ _______ .

Sodium (Na) .....................

Potassium (K). _ . _ . __ . ...

Bicarbonate (HCOa) ______

Sulphate (S04 ). ...... ........

Chloride (Cl)......_.._.._____.._

Nitrate (NO»1. ..................

Total hardness as CaCOa (calculated) _ ..- ........

Date of collection, 1929 ____ ..

5b

7

2.4

26

2

X AH

> oo

56

47

84

1.2

252

73

Sept. 3

8

4

1

17

5

f 63

\ 1

58

7

100

2,3

218

63

Sept. 3

12

8

1.3

12

2

} '

44

1

6

.3

60

38

Sept. 3

25

6

1.3

24

2

2

48

27

3

.3

104

68

Aug. 30

28b

6

.4

15

2

15

54

3

22

.2

87

46

Aug. 30

30a

6

.2

8

2

28

3

4

.2

44

28

Sept. 3

39

38

.05

6.8

2.5

f 13

\ 1.6

42

6.0

8.0

4.4

104

27

Aug. 13

DECATUR COUNTY

[Area 288 square miles. Population 10,106] 

GEOGRAPHY

Decatur County is on the eastern edge of the area under consideration. It is a long, narrow county running north and south and 

bounded on the east by the Tennessee River. The high land in the 

western part of the county has an altitude of 550 to 600 feet. It is 

almost flat in places remote from the small streams that drain it, but 

along the streams the surface has been cut by erosion into hills. 

Though the eastern part of the county is lower it is thoroughly dissected into narrow V-shaped valleys that are as much as 150 to 

200 feet deep. This region is very rugged and sparsely populated.

The county is drained by many short, rapid streams, the largest of 

which Big and Little Lick, Club, Turkey, Rushing, Lost, Whites, 

and Tunnbo Creeks, Sulphur Fork, and the Beech River flow in a 

generally easterly direction to the Tennessee River. These streams 

are perennial. The valley of the Beech River ranges from 1 to 2 miles 

in width and forms the only valley of any size in the area.

Such a region contains very little land suitable for farming. Grazing is the most common means of livelihood. Most of the timber has 

been cut, but some lumbering is still carried on.

Parsons, the largest town in the county, has a population of 915. 

Decaturville, the county seat, has a population of 419, and Perryville 

a population of 128.

GEOLOGY

Paleozoic rocks are exposed throughout the eastern half of the 

county and are found in the valley of the Beech River within a mile of 

the western boundary. The oldest rocks exposed are of Silurian age. 

These are limestones and limy shales; the limestones are the more 

abundant. These rocks are described in detail on pages 60-63. In
140 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OP WESTERN TENNESSEE

the areas in which the Paleozoic rocks are covered by the Eutaw 

formation the depth io them is not great, ranging from a few feet to a 

maximum of 200 feet at the southwestern boundary. The Silurian 

rocks have a maximum thickness of 245 feet but in most places are 

thinner than this.

Overlying the Silurian rocks are rocks of Devonian age. Like the 

Silurian, the formations of the Linden group, of Lower Devonian age, 

consist of limestones and limy shales, with the exception of the top 

formation, the Decaturville chert. The Decaturville is a thin-bedded 

gray chert from 5 to 6 feet thick. It has been fractured and rendered 

porous by solution and though thin is a good water bearer. It crops 

out on the hillsides of the valley of Big Lick Creek in north-central 

Decatur County. It is absent at Perryville but is found around 

Decaturville and farther south near Thurmans.

The Harriman chert is the only formation of Oriskanian age that is 

present in Decatur County. This formation is a hard, brittle chert 

resembling novaculite, which has been thoroughly fractured and forms 

talus slopes of angular rubble. It has a thickness of 30 to 75 feet. 

It is extensively exposed from Parsons to the northern boundary of 

the county, forming the cherty hilltops of this area. The Harriman 

is an excellent source of water.

The Pegram limestone, of the Middle Devonian, does not occur in 

Decatur County, and the Camden chert is only scatteringly exposed in 

the northern part of the county. The Camden chert resembles the 

Harriman chert. It is a brittle chert resembling novaculite, thoroughly fractured and forming a rubble of angular fragments. This 

formation ranges in thickness from 150 to 240 feet. It is a good water 

bearer.

The Chattanooga shale is a dark carbonaceous shale with a thickness 

of 13 feet. In Decatur County it is found on the hillsides in the 

southeast. It will not yield water.

The Fort Payne chert and St. Louis limestone are found in the 

northern part of the county and on the hilltops in the southeast. 

The weathered chert and the St. Louis limestone form good water 

bearers. They range in thickness from a feather edge to a maximum, 

of 200 feet.

The Eutaw formation is predominantly composed of medium to 

fine grained sand with which are intercalated some lenses of clay. In 

places the clay is disposed as thin interlaminated beds, and much of it 

contains considerable carbonaceous material. It has a maximum 

thickness in the south of 200 feet but thins to about 90 feet in the 

north. The Eutaw is a good source of water.

The Coon Creek tongue of the Blpley formation, which crops out in 

the northwest corner of the county, is an argillaceous glauconitic sand
DECATTJE COUNTY 141

containing some mica and casts of fossils. It has a thickness of 

140 feet. The Coon Creek does not yield water.

In the southwest quarter of the county Pliocene gravel forms terraces on many of the uplands and hilltops. These gravel deposits are 

good sources of water.

WATER RESOURCES

Decatur County is well watered. The county is full of perennial 

streams which furnish water for stock. Springs are also common, 

occurring at the foot or sides of the hills at the contact of the Eutaw 

formation and the underlying Paleozoic rocks. In the northern part 

of the county, where the hills are composed of chert, springs issue from 

the chert formations. Although some springs are found in the Paleozoic rocks they are not very large. In an oil test of the Chester 

County Oil Co. (well No. 44) water was encountered in Paleozoic 

rocks to a depth of 200 feet but below this the well yielded no water 

until a flow of water containing considerable hydrogen sulphide was 

penetrated at 943 feet. Sulphur springs occur in the valley of Sulphur Fork, in southeastern Decatur County. The sulphur water is 

derived from the Paleozoic rooks. An oil well (No. 42) drilled in the 

Silurian and Ordovician rocks of this area had an artesian flow of 

sulphur water.

In the areas where limestone and shale crop out springs are used if 

available. Otherwise drilled wells furnish small supplies of water. 

Wells in limestone and shale obtain water from fissures in these rocks. 

As these fissures are more numerous near the surface, wells should not 

be drilled deeper than 200 feet. If water is not obtained within this 

depth a new hole should be started. Bored wells 5 inches in diameter 

are the usual type of well in the limestone and shale. The average 

depth of the wells in these formations listed in the table is 74 feet. In 

the northeastern part of the county dug wells obtain good supplies of 

water from chert, from wells that average 40 feet in depth. In the 

western part of the county bored or dug wells obtain water from Eutaw 

sand at an average depth of 45 feet. If water is not found in the 

Eutaw it is not advisable to drill more than 10 or 20 feet into the 

underlying rocks unless they are cherts. It is better to start a new 

hole, but as a rule water is easily found in the Eutaw.

Water can not be obtained from the Selma clay. In the northeast 

corner of Decatur County, where the Selma crops out, it is necessary 

to drill through the Selma to the underlying Eutaw formation. 

The greatest depth necessary would be 200 feet.

IXJCAL SUPPLIES

Bath Springs is in a region where Silurian limestones are exposed. Water is 

obtained from wells drilled in the limestone or from springs. In some places it 

has been necessary to drill two or three holes to get water, and the supply was 

meager.
142 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Silurian limestones and shales crop out in the region around Brownsport Landing. 

Drilled wells from 50 to 125 feet in depth yield scant supplies of water.

At Colwick bored wells find ample water in the Eutaw formation. The depth 

to water is 30 to 50 feet.

At Decaturville the Eutaw formation crops out but does not exceed 15 feet in 

thickness. It is underlain by 15 feet of Harriman chert, 4 feet of Decaturville 

chert, and 10 feet of Birdsong shale, which is underlain by the Decatur limestone, the 

intervening Olive Hill formation and Rockhouse shale being absent. Most of the 

wells are of the dug type and derive their water from either the Harriman or the 

Decaturville chert. There are a few drilled wells, which penetrate the Decatur 

limestone and obtain water from this formation. The chert formations yield sufficient water for domestic use. It is difficult to obtain wells in the Decatur limestone. Southwest of Decaturville bored wells in the Eutaw formation furnish 

domestic water supplies.

The hilltops in the region around Jeanette consist of Harriman and Decaturville 

cherts. Dug wells obtain ample water from these formations. In the valleys 

the Silurian rocks crop out, and water is obtained either from springs or from 

drilled wells.

The surface formation at Parsons is the Eutaw, which has a thickness of 40 feet. 

It contains many layers of clay, which may impart an unpleasant taste to the 

water, but the base of the Eutaw contains gravel and is a good water bearer. The 

Eutaw is underlain by the Harriman and Decaturville cherts. No well at Parsons 

has penetrated these formations, so their thickness is not known, but from their 

thickness 1 mile to the east it should be at least 30 feet. These cherts should be 

good sources of water. There is no town supply at Parsons. Domestic needs 

are furnished from dug wells from 25 to 40 feet deep. The Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway has a well at Parsons 12 feet in diameter and 30 feet 

deep, with the static level 6 feet below the collar. On pumping at the rate of 70 

gallons a minute for 5 hours the drawdown is 9 feet. This demonstrates the low 

permeability of the Eutaw formation at this point and indicates that no large 

supply of water could be developed from it.

At Perryville wells drilled in the Decatur limestone (Silurian) furnish the small 

quantities of water required for domestic use.

Scotts Hill is on the western boundary of the county. Bored wells m this 

region obtain water from the Eutaw formation. In the immediate vicinity of 

Scotts Hill the Eutaw contains a great deal of carbonaceous clay, and it is difficult 

to obtain good water.

At Sugartree and in the area to the south and east dug wells obtain water from 

the Camden or Harriman chert. The water is of excellent quality. Springs are 

also used for domestic supply when conveniently located.

At Swallow Bluffs drilled wells obtain small supplies of water from Silurian 

limestones. To the northeast of Swallow Bluffs bored wells obtain water from 

the Eutaw formation or Pliocene gravel.
Records of wells in Decatur County

No.

1

2 

3

4 

6

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11

12 

13

14

15 

16

17

18

19 

20

21

Location

Oak View on Hogs Greek __ 

Sugartree ___________

1.8 miles south of Sugartree 

on Parsons road. 

Holladay _ . ____ ... __

3.5 miles south of Sugartree 

on Parsons road. 

8.5 miles south of Hogs Greek 

School. 

1.8 miles south of Hogs Greek 

School. 

3.1 mile south of Jeanette on 

Ferry road. 

0.5 mile east of Cedar Hill 

Church. 

0.2 mile east of county on old 

Lexington road. 

1.7 miles northeast of Bible 

Hill on old Lexington road.

1 mile north of Jeanette on 

Sugartree road. 

Cliffs Landing. ____ . _ .

Bells Store _________ . 

6 miles east of Parsons on 

Bussel Town road. 

2.7 miles north of Parsons on 

Sugartree road 

Bible Hill . 

3 miles northwest of Parsons 

on road to Bible Hill. 

1.1 miles northwest of Parsons on road to Bible Hill.

Owner

A. H. Mills.. 

H.B. Moillwain... 

K. Riley __ 

Clift Brothers 

W. C. Moore 

Mrs. R. E. Gotham

T T1 Wallz-or

L. C. Bowman 

N.H.Arnold.- 

J. W. CottrelL __ .

N. E. Prince 

J. H. Bell 

S.T.Churchill .

A T T"»ail<Y«-

O. H. Hurst 

W T Hayes.

Topographic 

position

Footofhill..

.....do 

.....do . 

Hilltop 

. do 

Foot of hillHillside. 

Hilltop. 

FootofhilL.

 doHilltop.. 

Valley

Hillside _ .. 

Hilltop- 

 do 

Gully 

Upland.. ... 

Hilltop ......

 do ...

I

1

£ 

3

400

360 

460

500 

530

360 

330 

460 

450 

470 

500

530 

380

400

550 

540 

480

510

470 

480

560

Type of 

well

Dug.....

 . do- 

... doBored - 

Dug -

... do 

...do 

...doSpring .. 

Bored ... 

... do 

...do - 

Dug. -

Drilled..

Bored ... 

Drilled.. 

Dug 

 do - 

Bored ... 

...do -

...doDepth of well(feet)

11

20 

30

55 

36

20 

32

55

44 

43

20

24

185

137 

50

25

35

26i 

37

47

Diameter ofwell

(inches) |

36

36 

36

6 

36

36 

36 

36

6 

6

6 

36

6

6 

6 

36

36

6 

6

6

Water-bearin

Character 

of material

Fractured 

chert. 

... do.. 

... do 

Sand .

Fractured 

chert. 

...do ......

... do 

... do . 

Sand 

... do 

...do 

 do. 

Limestone

...do 

...doFractured 

chert.

...do 

...do -

...do 

Geolo

Fort 

 d

Eutaw 

 .d

 d

 -d

 -d

 d

.... . d

Siluri

tur

 d

.... .d

..... d

.... .d

 d

Flowing 23,680 gallons a day.
144 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

ofc i « « ft |

o 06 66 66 o 

Q QQ QQ QQ Q

3 « S 

0 5 0

3 3-3

1.

S § § S H J Pfl

oo O'O d'O

I

a.s

g-8 « § « 

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^ 8~

 W Q.4J

w a> o

O coO

90BJ

-ins Avoygg

(?99J) P9SBO St H9AV

qoiqM 0? q?d9Q

<O OCM COO io

iH N>H Nt- ICO

1o 

O

a

Q

8

S n !'§

SI xj a o-s

-§<= H C"O ?3-§l ll

! fl - 3

(saqom) 

I{9AV jo TOjgniBtq

Sff SB

;n

oo

ill

^3

' w t

s'i 

S3 « g

0 1

> Si

a a fe

a 1 S* I£

I Jsll |f

11° i

TT t*^a-*J

I*,

! co SJ *» _ . « " .S 

l®t 1 ® H CO (D H CO 9

, t2 o S a di ^ a ° i'S d SS-Sp §s

«P-I r^^1 ~ s ~-wS !

Js^Jg^lslJl^ sSfecgsaS-SasQ !
500 feet south of high school, 

Decaturville. 

0.5 mile southeast of courthouse, Decaturville. 

On highway 69 at intersection of Scotts Hill road. 

6.4 miles northeast of Scotts 

Hill on Decaturville road. 

3.4 miles northeast of Scotts 

Hill on Decaturville road. 

4.1 miles south of Decaturville on highway 69. 

6.0 miles south oj Decaturville on highway 69.

On Vice Landing road, 3 

miles south of branch to 

Fishers Landing. 

1.1 miles northwest of Vice 

Landing on road. 

4.5 miles north of Bath 

Springs on highway 69. 

2.3 miles north of both springs 

on highway 69. 

2.2 miles north of Bath 

springs on highway 69.

3.3 miles northwest of Bath 

Springs. 

4.7 miles north of Thurman 

on Scotts Hill road. 

1.7 miles north of Thurman 

on Scotts Hill road. 

Thurman.. _____ 

3 miles north of highway 69 

on road to Old Dunbar. 

200 feet north of post office at 

Bath Springs. 

1.3 miles east of branch of 

highway 69 on road to Clifton. 

3.1 miles east of Tennessee 

River at Clifton, on highway 69.

..... do ..... .

Walter Johnson .... 

Myrn C. Smith .... 

W. T. Wright.. 

R. W. Haney.. -

W. I. Thomson _ -

Mrs. Kate Smith ... 

N. T. Shelton - 

J. W. Pikins .-

. _ do ___ ....... _

Chester County 

Oil Co.

E. J. Scotts.. ...

W. M. White. . 

E. R. Maners ....

W. E. Lancaster... 

Illinois Tie Co. ... .

Elmer Brawley....

..... do 

Hillside. .

Foot of hillHillside 

Hilltop 

..... do 

HillsideHilltop 

.... .do. 

HillsideHilltop 

Ridgetop - 

Hilltop- 

.... .do....-

..... do 

Hillside 

Valley 

Hillside. 

520 

500 

490 

500 

530 

540 

550 

440 

440

490

500

eoo

520 

420

460 

500

.....

Drilled- 

 do-- 

Bored _.. 

... do - 

 do 

Drilled.. 

Bored 

Drilled- 

...do ~

...do ..

Drilled..

Bored ... 

DrilledBored . 

...doDug 

...do 

DrilledDug 

38 

107 

38 

16 

85 

54 

58 

125 

67

86

1,100

67 

2,141

44 

39

62 

60

60 

20

6 

6 

6 

6 

6 

6 

6 

5 

6

8

6

6 

10

6

6

36 

36

3

36

Shaly limestone. 

Limestone

__.do .

 do 

Limestone 

Gravel. ... 

Limestone 

...do 

...do 

Gravel .... 

Limestone 

_ do .....

Sand... ...

Sand 

...do 

...do .

...do 

Limestone 

...do 

__. do 

Silur

tur

... . .d

 .d

Silur

tur

..... d

.... -d

Euta

... ..d

 do

 d

Silur

tur

* Flowing 8,640 gallons a day.

 Small flow of strong, sulphur water.

* Flowing 14,400 gallons a day.

 Base of Cretaceous at 90 feet. Water found to a depth of 200 feet. Sulphur water at 943 feet.
Records of weUs in Decatur County Continu

No.

52 

63 

54 

66 

66

Location

1.3 miles north of Tennessee 

River on highway, 69. 

2.2 miles south of Bath 

Springs on highway 69. 

0.1 mile south of highway 69 

on Swallow Bluffs road. . 

1.0 mile north of highway 69 

on Old Dunbar road. 

2 miles northwest of Swallow 

Bluffs Landing on highway 69.

Owner

W. S. Howard .....

G. T. Tucker......

Mrs. F. E. Boggan. 

L. White _____ .

o, fi. SimmoTif!

Topographic 

position

Hillside..... 

Hill.........

Hillside 

Hilltop 

Hill.........

Altitude (feet)

410 

370 

610 

480

Type of 

well

Dug. . 

Bored ... 

Dug .. 

Spring 

...do.....

1

!"8 

A

1 

ft

42 

66 

26 

37

87

Diameter ofwell

(inches)

36 

6 

36 

36 

36

Water-bearin

Character 

of material

Sand ...... 

Limestone 

...do 

...do ...

Geolo

Euta

. .d

 ..d
DYER COUNTY 147

Analyses of waters from Decatur County

[Parts per million. Numbers at heads of colums refer to corresponding well numbers in preceding table

Analyzed by Margaret D. Foster]

Silica (SlOtf..........-.--..-...-..-..-.... ........

Calcium (Ca) _______ . _______ ___ ...

Sodium (N a).... ....... _ ........ _ ... _ . _ ..,

Potassium (K)- _______ ,. ___ .... .............

Sulphate (SO 4) .... - ... .. .-.. _ ......

Chloride (CD..... ....................................

Nitrate (NOi)..... ........ ............... .........

Total dissolved solids. _________________

Total hardness as CaCOs (calculated) ___ . ____ .

2

13

.11

3.1

1.3

2.9

.8

0

5.0

4.9

2.5

7.5

42

13

27c

12

45

158

16

21

3.4

0

344

57

63

94

609

461

Sept. 22

31a

15

.18

69

5.6

3.3

.7

0

222

4.7

2.8

14

224

195

Oct. 1

31d

18

.32

24

22

111

3.1

0

48

2.3

200

86

516

160

Oct. 1

49

13

.11

96

4.4

2.5

1.4

0

296

3.2

4.0

7.9

276

258

Sept. 22

DYER COUNTY

[Area 500 square miles. Population 31,406] 

GEOGRAPHY

Dyer County lies in the northwestern part of the area under consideration. It is bounded on the west by the Mississippi River and 

on the south by the Forked Deer River and its South Fork. Two 

lines of the Illinois Central Railroad enter the county at the north 

boundary, meet at Dyersburg, and one continues southward. The 

Dyersburg branch of the Gulf, Mobile & Northern Railroad enters 

the county from the southeast. Agriculture is the principal occupation, cotton and corn being the major crops, and dairying is important. 

On the bottom land of the Mississippi lumbering is still carried on. 

Some cotton mills are located at Dyersburg, the third largest city in 

western Tennessee, with a population of 8,733.

Dyer County is drained by three large streams-^-the Obion River, 

the Forked Deer River, and the South Fork of the Forked Deer. 

These streams have low gradients and are building up their flood 

plains, which are rather wide. The area between the rivers is gently 

rolling with the exception of the region just south of the Obion in the 

western part of its course, before it crosses the flood plain of the 

Mississippi. Here the land surface rises abruptly from the river, 

forming bluffs. The upland surface has been somewhat dissected 

and is hilly. The western part of the county belongs to the flood 

plain of the Mississippi River, which is from 4 to 10 miles in width, is 

low and in places swampy, and is subject to the overflow of the 

Mississippi at very high water. Most of this area is wooded, and 

here lumbering is still actively carried on.

GEOLOGY

The river bottoms are composed of alluvium. The alluvium along 

the Mississippi River is about 100 feet deep and is typical alluvium, 

being very changeable and lenticular, lenses of fine and coarse sand, 

clay, and gravel succeeding one another both horizontally and vertically.
148 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE 

/

The upland of Dyer County is everywhere covered with a mantle 

of loess. The loess is about 60 feet thick at the bluffs but thins to 

25 feet in the eastern part of the county. Pliocene gravel underlies 

the loess in the upland section in the northwestern part of the county 

but is not found elsewhere. Under this gravel and in other places 

under the loess occurs the Jackson formation, which is underlain by 

the Grenada, Holly Springs, and Ackerman formations of the Wilcox 

group. The Jackson and the upper part of the Grenada are very 

similar and can not be differentiated in well logs. The Jackson consists of fine sand, in places silty, and clay; lignite is characteristic of 

the formation, and organic matter is common. The clay occurs in 

beds that are continuous over large areas. The Jackson formation 

is not a good source of water, for the beds of sand are too thin and 

the sand is too fine grained. (See p. 106.) What has been said of 

the Jackson is true of the upper part of the Grenada formation, but 

in depth the Grenada sands may be coarser and the clay occurs in 

lenses that are nowhere more than a few hundred feet long. The 

Holly Springs formation consists of coarse and fine sand in which 

occur lenses of clay. Both the lower part of the Grenada and the 

Holly Springs contain layers of coarse sand which are excellent sources 

of water. The combined thickness of the Jackson formation and 

Wilcox group is about 1,800 feet.

The Wilcox group is underlain by the Porters Creek clay, which 

is about 200 feet thick. It is a hard clay, impervious to water, 

and forms an effective confining bed to the water in the Ripley 

formation below. The Ripley formation contains layers of sand 

that yield water. The static head of water from the Ripley is 300 

feet above mean sea level. This is below the level of the lowlands, 

and wells in the lowlands that end in the Ripley will flow.

WATER RESOURCES

Springs are not common in Dyer County, although they are 

found at the foot of the bluffs in the northwestern part of the county 

south of the Obion River. In this hilly region cisterns are used 

extensively. The loess that forms the surface is easily dug, but, as 

the water immediately below the loess is hard the inhabitants prefer 

cistern water. Deep wells, however, would obtain good water. In 

the remainder of the uplands both drilled and bored wells are in use; 

the drilled wells listed have an average depth of 157 feet, and the bored 

wells average 39 feet. The top of the Jackson and the top of the 

Grenada contain but few layers of sand sufficiently coarse to be 

checked by a strainer. In the river bottoms driven wells are used 

almost exclusively. They average 38 feet in depth and derive their 

water from the alluvium. Better water could be obtained at greater 

depths.
DYEE COUNTY 149

LOCAL, SUPPLIES

Bogota is on the alluvial plain of the Obion River. Driven wells 15 to 30 feet 

deep obtain fair water.

Dyersburg is on the North Fork of the Forked Deer River. The city-owned 

public water supply (see analyses 35a, 35b) is on the lowland and derives water 

from three wells. Well 1 is 820 feet deep and is pumped by air lift, yielding 250 

gallons a minute. Well 2, drilled in 1922, is 10 inches in diameter at the bottom 

and 650 feet deep. This well showed a flow of 128 gallons a minute at a depth 

of 206 feet, and it flows at a depth of 650 feet. The well is pumped by air lift. 

Well 3 is 10 inches in diameter and 633 feet deep. It is pumped by a turbine 

centrifugal pump. The water from these wells enters two settling tanks of 

26,000 gallons capacity each and flows from these tanks to a rapid sand filter, 

making several drops in transit, thus being aerated. Analyses of the treated 

and raw water are given in the table, Nos. 35b and 35d. After passing through 

the filter the water is pumped by two centrifugal pumps which deliver 700 and 

1,000 gallons a minute into a 214,000-gallon standpipe. Distribution is effected 

by gravity. The average daily consumption is 1,000,000 gallons.

The original static head at Dyersburg was 282.9 feet above mean sea level. 

This is higher than the ground level, and the well flowed. The first layer of sand 

coarse enough to be checked by a strainer and thick enough to finish a well in is 

found between depths of 585 and 666 feet, but the depth and thickness of the 

sand differ from place to place. It is from this horizon that the city and the 

Dyersburg Coal & Ice Co. obtain water. The Phoenix Compress Co. used to 

obtain water from this sand but now taps a deeper sand at 950 feet. The log of 

well 3 of the Dyersburg Water Department is as follows:

Log of well 8 of Dyersburg Water Department, Dyersburg

[Well In alley between Chicago, Memphis & Gulf Railroad and Forked Deer River. Authority, S. R.

Blakeman]

Soil.................................

Fine clay ______________

Fine dark sand mixed with clay. ... 

Fine white sand mixed with clay. ..

Gray clay.. _____________

Clay and sand mixture. ______

Hard white clay _ . ___ ... .......

Hard rock ..........................

Hard white clay..... _ ... ......

Thickness 

(feet)

25 

30 

11 

3 

12 

1 

93 

26 

39 

10 

20 

40 

45 

3 

2 

83 

73 

6 

1 

. 3

Depth

(feet)

25 

55 

66 

67 

81 

82 

175 

201 

240 

250 

270 

310 

355 

358 

360 

423 

496 

502 

503 

565

Clay..... . __ ....

Clay.... .. 

Medium sand and clay mixed with

Water sand (doubtful as to quality

Shale _________ ... .. ..........

Thickness 

(feet)

1 

3 

1 

13 

1 

5 

.6 

9.4 

1 

4 

29

17 

10 

40 

38

30 

76

Depth 

(feet)

566 

569 

570 

583 

584 

589 

589.6 

599 

600 

604 

633

650 

660 

700 

738

768 

784

The log of the Phoenix Cdmpress Co.'s well is recorded as clay and sand for 

715 feet; from 715 to 850 feet, good-looking sand, but only 125 gallons a minute 

could be developed; 850 to 851 feet, sandrock; 851 to 950 feet, good water sand.
150 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

The log of a drilled well on the Forest Ferguson farm, 2 miles southwest of 

Dyersburg, is as follows:

Log of well on Forest Ferguson farm, Dyer County 

[Authority, Carloss Well Supply Co. Water level 39 feet below collar of well]

Clay ......-........_.._.......

Clay . .... ...... .... . 

Sand.. _______________

Big gravel and sand.. ____ ......

White clay _____________

Thickness 

(feet)

36

14

24

73

14

19

39

21

10

Depth 

(feet)

36

en

74

87

101

120

159

180

190

Clay....... ... ... ... ....

Clay...... ................ .......

Thickness 

(feet)

32

11

59

2

10

3

13

200

29

Depth

(feet)

222

233

292

294

304

307

320

520

549

Water from a depth of 600 feet is less highly mineralized than that from a depth 

of 950 feet, as can be seen by comparing analyses 35a and 35d. Both are calcium 

bicarbonate waters, but the water from the deep well is hard, whereas the water 

from the 600-foot well is soft.

At Finley the depth to water is 20 -feet. Driven or drilled wells are used and 

average 33 feet in depth but range from 18 to 60 feet.

At Lenox, just west of the bluffs on the Obion River bottom, driven wells are 

mostly used, and they are from 30 to 60 feet deep. The log of a drilled, well is as 

follows: ^

Log of well of J. W. Anderson at Lenox, Dyer County

[Authority, J. W. Anderson]

Limestone (?) ...........................................................................

Yellow sand mixed with clay __ . ________________ ... . . __

Thickness 

(feet)

20

21

18

40

69

40

Depth 

(feet)

20

41

58

98

167

£07

Newbern has a municipally owned public water supply. Water is obtained 

from two wells one 10-inch well 160 feet deep and one 8-inch well 260 feet deep. 

Water from the deep well is somewhat softer than that from the shallow well, as 

can be seen by comparing analyses 14a and 14b (p. 154). The 10-inch well is 

pumped by a turbine centrifugal pump and the 8-inch well by a lift pump. The 

water flows into a 138,000-gallon reservoir, from which it is pumped into a 

75,000-gallon standpipe by a centrifugal pump. The average daily consumption 

is 100,000 gallons. A log of the 8-inch well is as follows:

Log of well at Newbern

Clay ............ ..... . ..... ... . .............-... ... .........

Hard, tough bluish-gray clay _______________ ... _________________

Fine silty sand ______________________________ .. ___ ..........

Thickness 

(feet)

45

10

45

60

70

30

Depth

(feet)

45

55

100

160

230

260
DYER COUNTY 151

In the uplands west of Newbern drilled wells are used. The following log of 

a well owned by N. W. Colcaltt 8 miles west of Newbern shows the general conditions.

Log of Colcaltt well, 8 miles west of Newbern

Thickness 

(feet)

50

40

12

54

Depth 

(feet)

50-

CO102

15ft

Tigrett is in a valley. Bored wells are largely used and are from 25 to 40 feet 

deep. A layer of lignite is encountered at about 20 feet. The drilled well of 

W. L. Moore, which is 125 feet deep, has a slight flow.

At Trimble bored wells 30 to 50 feet deep are mostly used, although there are 

a few drilled wells 80 to 90 feet deep. A test well drilled 3 miles east of Trimble, 

on the farm of M. A. Gauldin, had the following log:

Log of well 3 miles east of Trimble, on farm of M. A. Gauldin

Wilcox group:

Gravel (?)_ 

Gravel (?) 

Clay --- .- 

Gravel (?) .. .. ......

Thickness 

(feet)

4

20

40

20

40

40

80

70

8

4fl

20

120

20

20

80

20

10

20

40

40

Depth 

(feet)

4

24

64

84

96

136

176

256

326

334

374

394

514

534

554

634

654

664

684

724

764

Wilcox group Continued.

Shale 

Sandrock _ 

Sandy shale.... 

Gumbo _____ .- - 

Rock.. . __ .--.----..- .. 

Thickness 

(feet)

20

10

5

15

40

60

10

18

5

10

20

40

4

40

40

80

15

40

22

32

4

Depth 

(feet)

784

794

79»

814

854

914

924

942

947

957

977

1,017

1,021

1,061

1,101

1,181

1,196

1,236

1,258

1, 286

1,290

It is questionable if the material called gravel is truly gravel. Sand cemented 

by iron oxide drills like gravel, and the driller might readily so classify drillings 

from such material.
>oo &3Ni->ooeooo~aa> en*. o> -4 oo ee 52? S 

jys»

i! 

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ii

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cnag^ta ioco*.i 2 

t3ooen eno CDB-wosgl 

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awtj-we^^g^aa r*?j 

I Hi,»' 

bur 

..... . of Dyer

i'aa^^^ ox .

d®s d 

rn N N b

....... wbern( wbern.

^cn 5s^g! 

w ® * r*- ffl 3. 

Sg. SHo! 

a** 2,5* s 6

sjS !z;fI 

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"& 

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sS

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till 

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; 1 I^P i S'o'i 

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^ f>4jJZ!g 

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''HMc^H 

ttfQPwgp^

38

£m 1 

§lSlg* I 

^IFli

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10EL^'O 

w3e§,;

er co

Sgi &!

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50 & g. 

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£

: 

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: 

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gftftfta asi 8M

a

t cno& ri 

SOCnC

(feet) well of Depth oo g > 

at

too>coo» o> ooo 

(inches) well of Diameter toMM« 

Jackson .. ..do...... Wilcox Alluvium 

n

cae-e-eeJ COQ] § § § § § § is 

: ai 

S-S-lll

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88 8S : gg So

is well which to Depth 

(feet) cased 

- goo 

W ! w:

°

or surface Below 

(feet) mark bench 

w : : B!

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ft,. Wna 

O (B O 2 CD 

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minute) a lons 

d Odddddd 

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ddddddldS OOOOOO£BORdddd ddddddddd OOOOtD OOOOOOOOO 

'

saoanosan
?«

29

30

31

32

m

33b

34

35a

35b

35o

35(1

36

37

38

39

40

41

4?,

43

44

45

4fi

47

48

49

50

51

52

S3

54

65

on highway 3.

Dyersburg.

Well 2, Dyersburg..- ..........

Dyersburg

highway 20.

16 miles west of Dyersburg ........

14 miles west and a little south of

Dyersburg.

Dyersburg.

ley. 

7.5 miles southwest of Finley ......

Chic, 11.5 miles southwest of Finley. 

Tigertail.. ........................

Dyersburg. 

3.7 miles south of Dyersburg on

highway 3. 

, 5 miles south of Dyersburg on highway 3. 

2.7 miles east of highway 3 on highway 20. 

5 miles east of highway 3 on highway 20.

Dyersburg.

2.5 miles north of Chestnut Bluffs.

J. A. Greer ..........

C. W. Copeland....

H. Williams...- .

W. J. Hendrix... ...

E. M. Hobday.....

P. J. Striekland ..

W. Condray.. ......

 do 

Co.

J. MecheU.. ........

J. K. White... ......

J. J. Parker... ......

L. R. Sentell 

W..T. Connell... ...

J. Moore ............

A. C. Smith. . ....

H. W.Welch- _ ...

M. C.Vear... - .

J. H. Putaam ___ .

A. T. Hfcttsford 

.....do.. .

Hilltop L._

Valley.. ....

Hilltop 

.....do... .

 do.......

 .do.......

 do 

 do. 

.....do.......

 do 

... -do ....

-...do.......

... -do...... .

 .do.... ...

 .do ....

 .do 

.....do.......

.....do.......

 -do 

..... do. ...

 do 

 do 

-..doDrilled-.

 do.....

 do 

 do.....

Drilled..

... do 

...do.....

...do 

 do 

... do 

 do 

..-do.....

...do. .

 do.....

...do .

 do 

...do.....

 . do 

Drilled..

... do 

...do.....

... doDrilled..

 do 

35

115

193

35

50

40

fiO

90

810

fiM)

633

950

fi5

53

38

40

30

30

100

30

18

28

M,

40

85

85

70

35

36

125

27

37

36

?,

?,

?,

6

8

6

2

10

10

10

8

7!

1

2

2

1

1

1

1M

1M

1M

1M

m2

2

2

6

6

2

6

6

 do ..

 do... ..

... do 

 do -

 do 

 do 

 do 

 do.....

 do.....

 do 

 do.....

 do 

 do 

... do.....

... do 

... do 

-.-do 

... do ..

... do 

... do 

... do 

 do 

... do 

... do 

... do... -

... do 

 do... -

... do... 

... do 

 do.....

-.do 

 do 

Wilcox 

 do....

...do 

 do 

 do ..

 do 

Wilcox

 do 

... do 

 do... 

 do 

... do 

... do 

 do.... 

 do 

 do 

...do 

 do 

 do 

-.do....

... do 

 do .

 do 

... do 

Wilcox 

-.do. 

Flow.
154 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Analyses of waters from Dyer County

[Parts per million. Numbers at heads of columns refer to corresponding well numbers in preceding table. 

Analyses 35a, 35, and 35d by Margaret D. Foster; the rest by D. P. Farrarj

14a I4b 26 35a

Silica (SiO2) .. - ..-. 

Iron (Fe) _ 

Calcium (Ca) ...__.__...- ._ 

Magnesium (Mg)___________ 

Sodium (Na)._-___..._____... 

Potassium (Z)_. ___________ 

Bicarbonate (HCOj)..______ 

Sulphate (SO4)._____.____. 

Chloride (Cl)..._.....................

Nitrate (NO3) . ._._.........

Total dissolved solids_________ 

Total hardness as CaCOa (calculated). 

Date of collection 1929________.

.8

53

180 

7 

4 

.2 

173 

157 

Aug. 28

27

5

3

98 

7 

5 

.1 

105 

89 

Aug. 28

.7

91 

22 

13

.3 

140 

102 

Aug. 28

148

9

3

484 

7 

5 

.4 

426 

406 

Aug. 29

14 

5.9

12 

6.9 

f 6.2

I I-* 

78 

8.6 

1.6 

.05 

84 

58 

Sept. 9

35' 35d 37 53

Silica (SiOj)...........................

Iron (Fe)------____._.____.

Calcium (Ca).--...-..__..____. 

Magnesium (Mg) __________. 

Sodium (Na).._.__.__.__......

Potassium (K). .._........__.

Bicarbonate (HCOs)__.__.......

Sulphate (SO!)........................

Chloride (Cl).........................

Nitrate (NO3).. .

Total dissolved solids.._______. 

Total hardness as CaCOa (calculated). 

Date of collection-.. _..__ _ _...

11

.49 

13 

7.3 

4.7 

1.4 

76 

7.0 

1.6 

.05 

80 

62 

Sept. 9,1929

26 

9.5 

43 

19 

6.5 

4.1 

238 

7.1 

1.6 

.0 

210 

185 

Mar. 24,1930

6.7

.6

115

18

\

400

30

3

.2 

387 

361 

Aug. 29,1929

1.3

26

5

2

102

1

3

.2

101 

85 

Sept. 3,1929

 Treated water from wells at Dyersburg.

FAYBTTB COUNTY

[Area 618 square miles. Population 28,891]

OEOORAPHY

Fayette County is in the southwestern part of the area. It approximates a square in outline, being 28 miles long and 25 miles wide, and 

has an area of 618 square miles. Two large streams flow across the 

county from east to west. The Wolf River enters the southeast 

corner from the State of Mississippi, and after flowing north for 2 miles 

it turns sharply and flows slightly north of west across the county. 

It has a wide valley, of which the first bottom, some 2 miles in width, 

is swampy and uncultivated. The Loosahatchie River flows completely across the northern part of the area from east to west. It has a 

fairly broad valley and, like the Wolf River, a swampy first bottom. 

Muddy Creek, in the northeastern part of the county, flows in a 

northwesterly direction into Haywood County. These streams have 

been ditched in order to drain the bottoms and carry off flood waters.

In the eastern part of the county between these rivers is an area of 

high country cut into numerous hills and gullies. This area is covered 

with timber and with the exception of a few farms is uninhabited. 

The surface between the rivers in the western part of the county is 

also broken and hilly. The sandy formations of this area are readily 

washed by the rains, forming deep gullies. For example, just south 

of La Grange steep gullies have been cut to a depth of 150 feet. These 

gullies afford the best exposure of Holly Springs sand in the region.
FAYETTE COUNTY 155 

GEOLOGY

The Holly Springs and Grenada formations of the Wilcox group 

«over the entire county. These two formations are similar in their 

main physical features, and as their water-bearing properties are 

similar they will be discussed together. Along the eastern border of 

Fayette County the depth to the underlying Porters Creek clay is 

200 to 250 feet in the valleys 300 feet above sea level and as much as 

650 feet on the high ridges that reach an altitude of 600 feet. The 

Holly Springs and Grenada formations dip from 25 to 30 feet to the 

mile toward the west, and at the western boundary of the county they 

have attained a thickness of 750 feet. These formations are composed 

of sand of varying coarseness with interbedded lenses of clay. The 

clay lenses make up a small part of the total. Both the Holly Springs 

and the Grenada are excellent water-bearing formations, and there is^ 

no difficulty in obtaining water throughout the county. In the hilly 

areas the water table stands as much as 150 feet below the surface^ 

during dry weather, and in these areas wells must exceed this depth, to* 

be permanent. In some places, however, there are perched water 

tables that will yield water above the true water level. Such perched 

water tables are formed by basin-shaped impervious layers of clay at 

the base of the Pliocene gravel or by hardpan consisting of sand and 

gravel cemented by iron oxide. (See p. 41.) They are irregularly 

distributed, and their presence can not be predicted. As they are of 

small area they will furnish only small supplies, which will run dry in 

summer.

WATER RESOURCES

Bored wells are most commonly used in this county, especially on 

high ground. In the valleys where the water table stands within: 

20 feet of the surface dug wells are common. Where large quantities^ 

of water are needed drilled wells are used. Stock is watered from, 

stock ponds or streams or from the few springs.

LOCAL SUPPLIES

At Braden (318 feet above sea level) water can be obtained at depths of 3SCT fty> 

60 feet by bored or dug wells. Drilled wells are not feasible at shallow depths 

because the sand encountered is so fine. At a depth of 225 feet coarser sand is> 

found, which becomes increasingly coarser to a depth of 350 feet. There is. no* 

difficulty in finishing wells in this sand.

Galloway (277 feet above sea level), being in the valley of the Loosahatchie,, 

obtains water from shallow wells 20 to 30 feet deep. The water comes from.the 

valley alluvium. It has an unpleasant taste and attacks boilers, and for this 

reason cisterns are mostly used. Good water, however, can be obtained from, 

wells at a depth of 190 feet.

Hickory Withe and environs are in a region of dissected uplands at an altitude 

of 410 feet. Water is obtained either jfrom the Pliocene gravel at a depth of 60 to90 feet or from the Grenada formation at a depth of 130 to 230 feet. The shallow 

wells obtain water from a perched wate r table and are not permanent. The water 

table in this area falls as low as 125 leet in the late summer and.fall.. Eor this;;
156 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

reason drilled wells are largely used, although some bored wells are found. A 

typical well log from the locality is as follows:

Log of well of W. A. Weber, Hickory Withe 

[Authority, E. D. Leah, driller, from memory]

Thickness 

(feet)

6

39

24

32

45

Depth

(feet)

6

45

69

112

157

At Laconia wells range from 50 to 125 feet in depth, but most of them exceed 

75 feet. Bored wells are almost exclusively used. Water is good and abundant. 

(See analysis 10.)

La Grange is situated in the high region in southeastern Fayette County and 

southwestern Hardeman County where the ridges are remnants of the old plateau 

surface. The altitude of La Grange is 534 feet, and the ridge to the north 

probably reaches 600 feet. In some places shallow wells obtain small supplies of 

water, but usually it is necessary to drill from 200 to 300 feet for a permanent 

supply.

The region around Macon is rolling upland. Water is obtained at depths of 

80 to 125 feet according to topographic position. The water is of fair quality but 

somewhat harder than most of the other waters of this region. (See analysis 11.)

Moscow (352 feet above sea level) is in the valley of the Wolf River. Simple 

driven wells with suction pumps are used, and the water is of excellent quality. 

(See analysis 13.) In case it were found desirable for reasons of sanitation to go 

to greater depths, water would be found almost anywhere between 50 and 280 feet. 

At shallow depths quicksand is reported. It is difficult to keep this fine sand out 

of a well, -and its passage through the strainers erodes them rapidly. With 

proper handling, however, this sand can usually be shut out. Coarser sand can 

be found at greater depths.

Rossville is in the valley of the Wolf River at an altitude of 310 feet. Water is 

found at a depth of 15 feet in the valley alluvium. Simple driven wells with 

suction pumps are exclusively used. The water is of excellent quality for any 

use. (See analysis 12.)

Somerville (altitude 345 feet) has a water supply owned by the city. The 

water is obtained from four 4-inch wells in the valley of the Loosahatchie River, 

spaced 9 feet apart in a north-south line and 74 feet deep. A log of one of them is 

given below.

Log of well of City Waterworks, Somerville

{Authority, J. L. Saunders, superintendent]

Silt .......

Thickness 

(feet)

2

8

7

57

Depth 

(feet)

2

10

17

74

The four wells are connected in battery and pumped by two electric centrifugal 

pumps, each with a capacity of 250 gallons a minute, that deliver the water to an 

elevated 50,000-gallon tank from which it is distributed by gravity. The water 

is of good quality but contains enough iron to make its removal by aeration followed by sedimenatation or filtration desirable. (See analysis lOa.)
Records of wells in Fayette County

No.

I 

20 

2b 

3a 

3b 

4a 

4b

4c 

5

6a 

6b

7

8

9a

Location

6 miles north of Somerville 

on Brownsville road. 

Braden, 200 feet east of railroad station. 

Braden, 2,000 feet from station on road going west. 

Galloway, east of railroad 

station at sawmill. 

Galloway, west of railroad,

Hickory Withe, 2,000 feet 

north of crossroads. 

Hickory Withe, 200 feet 

north of crossroads 200 

feet west. 

Hickory Withe, 1,000 feet 

west of crossroads. 

9.6 miles west of Somerville 

on highway 15.

Oakland, on highway 15 . 

Oakland, 600 feet east of 

railroad station, 25 feet 

north of track. 

Warren, 200 feet west of 

railroad station, 100 feet 

south of track. 

3.4 miles west of Somerville 

on highway 15. 

Somerville, opposite railroad station.

Owner

Elizabeth Homer 

Estate. 

H. L. McGraw _

 .do 

P. D. Clack......

T. A. Watson 

A. V. Luck. 

W. A. Weber 

A. Weber & Co_.

Tennessee Highway Department. 

V. M. Umble 

Mathews & Murrull Gin Co.

E. W. McKinstry.

..... do... .........

City of Somerville.

Topographic 

position

Hilltop 

Hillside . 

.....do......

Valley bottom. 

..... do.. .

Ridgetop ...

... ..do... ...

 do... ... 

Valley. 

Upland- . ..

... ..do... ...

..... do... ...

Valley bottom.

Altitude (feet)

420 

325 

325 

277 

277

410 

410

410 

340

387 

387

400

420 

345

Type of 

well

Drilled.. 

Bored.. . 

Drilled- 

 do 

DugDrilled.. 

... do 

...do.... 

-.doBored. 

 . do 

 do .

 doWashed.

Depth of well(fet)

140 

40 

283 

190 

20

230 

153

135

157

100 

119

125

100 

75

!

°I 

-1

1 

s

2 

6 

3 

2 

36

2H

m

4 

6

6 

3

6

6 

4

Water-bearing bed

Character 

of material

Sand... . 

 do 

 do 

... do 

 do 

 do 

 do 

 do .. 

 do 

... do 

...do 

... do 

 doGeologic 

horizon

 do 

... ..do - 

..... do . -

Alluvium- _

 -do 

 ..do. 

 . do 

 do 

. .do 

 do... 

.. do... 

> Reported yield 110,000 gallons a day.
«Oo^ O >-" IO J^CO 

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i 0.1 way high crossroads.

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(feet) Altitude 

ll

o

(feet) well of Depth 

of Diameter 

(inches)

ill

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if

well

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well which to Depth 

(feet) cased is 

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GIBSON COUNTY 159

Analyses of waters from Fayette County

[Parts per million. Numbers at heads of columns refer to corresponding well numbers in preceding table. 

Analyses 4c and 9a by D. F. Farrar; the rest by Margaret D. Foster]

Silica (SiOj) -.. _....._-.._

Iron: (Fe)~.. . .

Calcium (Ca)._ ____ ........

Magnesium (Mg) _ ............ Sorting (Na),

Potassium (T?)

Carbonate (COs).. ___ -...-..

Bicarbonate (HCO3) __ .. __ ..

Sulphate (SO4) ___ . _ . ___ .

Chloride (Cl)..... ...............

Nitrate (NO»)_..___.._____._..__

Total dissolved solids ............

Total hardness as CaCOs (calDate of collection, 1928.... ......

4c

6

.2

13

3

\ 0

I tf

0

45

4

17

.1

77

46

July 27

9a

11

1.2

10

3

9

0

28

10

16

.5

78

37

Aug. 23

10

16

.23

1.9

1.2

f 2.6

1 9

1 o

11

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Aug. 20

GIBSON COUNTY

< [Area 633 square miles. Population 46,528] 

GEOGRAPHY

Gibson County lies just north of the center of the area under discussion. It is bounded on the north by the South Fork of the Obion 

River and on the south by the Middle Fork of the Forked Deer River. 

The county is served by three railroads the Illinois Central, the 

Louisville & Nashville, and the Mobile & Ohio. Agriculture is the 

predominating activity, and the major crop is cotton, though much 

corn is raised, and dairying is actively carried on. Gibson County 

is the center of the spring vegetable section of western Tennessee; 

large quantities of strawberries, cabbages, and tomatoes are shipped 

from this county to northern markets every year. Humboldt and 

Milan are the principal shipping points. Though agriculture is the 

main activity there is some manufacturing in Gibson County. Cotton 

and shoe mills are located at Humboldt and Milan.

The entire surface of Gibson County lies within the drainage area 

of the Mississippi River. The South Fork and Rutherford Fork of the 

Obion River and the North Fork and Middle Fork of the Forked 

Deer are the major streams. They all flow toward the northwest and 

as they have low gradients are building up their flood plains. The 

surface of Gibson County is level or gently rolling and slopes to the 

northwest. The highest precisely determined altitude in the county 

is 505 feet above mean sea level at a point in Medina, and the lowest 

is 271.7 feet at a point on the road between Forks of River and Tatumville.89 The county probably averages about 350 feet above mean 

sea level.

GECMLOGY

| The Wilcox group occurs at the surface throughout the county. 

The Holly Springs sand crops out along the eastern ed^e of the county,

"Spirit leveling in Tennessee: U. S. Geol. Survey BuD. 519, op. 33,16,1912.
160 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

but except for a narrow band of loess in the western part the Grenada 

is the surface formation in the remainder of the county. The Grenada 

consists of sand with thin interstratified layers or intercalated lenses 

of clay. As a rule the sand of the Grenada is fine grained, although 

some coarse sands are found, especially at the base of the formation. 

Small beds of lignite occur in the formation at some places. A more 

detailed description of the Wilcox group can be found on pages 

89-106. The total thickness of the group ranges from 450 feet at the 

eastern boundary to 1,100 feet at the western edge of the county. 

The Wilcox is underlain by the Porters Creek clay, which has a thickness of 220 feet. Below the Porters Creek lies the Bipley formation, 

which may contain considerable beds of sand, but according to the 

log of the Baskins Drilling Association well, given below, the Kipley 

seems to be predominantly clay.

Log of well of Baskins Drilling Association, 8 miles southeast of Dyer, just west of

Mobile & Ohio Railroad

Wilcox group: 

SoU. . .... .-..........

Sand... ............... .._. . 

Clay .. .... 

Clay ...... ....... 

Clay, pink and white ..........

Clay... ......... ................

Black sand. ....................

Sandrock ____________

Shale. .. ..... _.. ......

Sandrock .......................

Shale .:. . ........ ........

Red sandrock. _________

Red sandrock ...................

Sandrock .......................

Gumbo _____________

Sand........ ____ . ____ ..

Porters Creek clay:

Shale . _ ...... __ ..........

Thickness 

(feet)

20

4

3

20

qn

20

on

20

40

75

40

37

1067 '

20

g

14

116

61

5

28

20

2

19

12

1

28

3

15

5

3

2

2K

1

10

8

50

1

12

1

20

5

5

Depth 

(feet)

20

24

27

47

77

97

187

207

247

252

327

367

404

414

481

501

509

523

639

700

705

707

735

755

757

776

788

789

817

820

835

840

843

845

873

874

883

893

901

951

952

964

965

985

990

995

Porters Creek clay Continued.

HarfJ sand

Sand... ........ .............

Gumbo _____________

Shale .......................

Rock ________ . ____ .

Sand.. _ . ___ . __ .. _ ...

Sand.. __ ......... ______ .

Gumbo and black shale; gas

Thickness 

(feet)

3

19

1

40

10

2

19

i

g

68

46

10

2

3

16

26

20

18

4

10

2

8

6

3

18

4,

126

116

22

4

103

24

8

9

 28

3

6

3

40

70

80in

Depth 

(feet)

99g

1,017

1,018

1,058

1,068

1,070

1,082

1,083

1,091

1,159

1,205

1,215

1,217

1,220

1,236

1,262

1,287

1,300

1,304

1,314

1,316

1,324

1,330

1,333

1,351

1,355

1,481

1,697

1,619

1,623

1,726

1,750

1,758

1,767

1,795

1,798

1,804

1,807

1,847

1,917

1,997

2,027

Corrected depth by tape-line measurement, 2,009 feet.
GIBSON COUNTY 161

An examination of the above log shows that there are many sand 

layers in the Wilcox group at depths between 20 and 439 feet. These 

will yield abundant water.

A thin mantle of loess covers the western part of the county. The 

loess is a structureless fine-grained buff deposit which does not yield 

water.

WATER RESOURCES

The numerous streams throughout the county provide most of the 

water for stock. Where these are not handy watering ponds are dug 

in any swale. The small springs that are found at the edges of .the 

bottoms are not used to any extent. Though a few dug wells are 

still used in Gibson County, bored wells are the most (Jornmon. They 

average 67 feet in depth. Wherever the depth to water is much more 

than 100 feet or where a large supply is wanted drilled, wells are used. 

In the river bottoms the water comes almost to the surface, but in 

the hills the water table stands as much as 140 feet below the surface. 

The average depth to water in the wells listed is 52 feet. The great 

thickness of the Wilcox group is predominantly sand.

LOCAL SUPPLIES

Bradford (368 feet above sea level) has a municipal wateB supply, obtained 

from one 8-inch well 272 feet deep. The well is pumped by a lift pump that delivers the water to a reservoir; thence it is pumped into a 50,000-gallon overhead 

tank by a turbine centrifugal pump yielding 500 gallons a minute. The daily 

consumption averages 120,000 gallons. The water is of excellent quality. (See 

analysis 15.) Bradford is underlain by about 100 feet of black clay. Below this 

is 125 feet of fine sand, which in turn gives place to coarse sand.

At Cades (367 feet above sea level) wells from 70 to 90 feet deep end in a fine 

white sand. Coarse sand can be found at and below 130 feet.

At Dyer (372 feet above sea level) a 6-inch well owned by the city is 296 feet 

deep and is pumped by air lift. The water flows into an 80,000-gallon reservoir from which it is pumped into a 40,000-gallon overhead tank by a threecylinder duplex pump yielding 750 gallons a minute. The daily consumption 

averages 50,000 gallons. (See analysis 20.)

To the southeast of Dyer wells encounter a layer of lignitic clay 15 feet thick 

at a depth of 40 to 55 feet. Water obtained near this layer is unpalatable. 

Coarse sand is found below the lignite.

Eaton (310 feet above sea level) is located on the second bottoita. Shallow bored 

wells 25 to 40 feet obtain enough water for domestic use.

In and around Gibson (396 feet above sea level) both bored and drilled wells 

are used. The bored wells are from 55 to 75 feet deep; the drilled wells go as 

deep as 150 feet.

Humboldt (345 feet above sea level) is the largest city in Gibson County, 

having a population of 4,613. The public water supply, which is owned by the 

city, is equipped with three 8-inch wells 440 feet deep and two 8-inch wells 285 

feet deep. The wells are connected in a battery and are pumped by a centrifugal 

pump having a capacity of 750 gallons a minute, located in the bpttom of a 16-foot 

pit, which delivers the water to a 212,000-gallon overhead tank. The average 

daily consumption is 450,000 gallons. The water is soft and of excellent quality. 

(See analysis 81.) It is not necessary to go deeper than 170 fe^t to find a waterbearing sand. The water level is 342 feet above mean sea level. A well drilled
162 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

at Humboldt in 1912 to a depth of 880 feet passed through the Porters Creek clay 

into the Ripley formation and is reported to have flowed for a few hours. Water 

in the Kipley formation Should have sufficient head to flow at the pumping plant 

in Humboldt.

Medina (505 feet above sea level) is on the high land in the southeast corner of 

the county. The water table stands at a depth of 118 feet, or 387 feet above 

sea level. Drilled wells in this vicinity range from 116 to 179 feet in depth, 

according to their topographic position. The sand in this vicinity is very coarse, 

and good wells are easily made.

Concerning Milan (423 feet above sea level) Glenn 90 makes the following 

statement:

Milan is underlain by 20 to 22 feet of red Lafayette sand, below which in a part 

of the town is found a pipe clay 43 feet thick, while elsewhere, especially in the 

eastern part of the town, instead of pipe clay a very dark lignitic clay is struck. 

This black clay occurs 3 or 4 miles north of the town and for the same distance 

south. It reaches a thickness in places of 70 to 80 feet. Under it are 2 to 7 feet 

of yellow clay, then a 3 or 4 inch ironstone crust easily broken by an iron bar. 

Below either the pipe clay .or ironstone is found a soft sand which varies in texture 

but often contains in its upper part some fine gravel. This sand is water-bearing 

and has been explored to a depth of 200 feet from the surface.

The town corporation has three wells one 8-inch well 110 feet deep, one 10- 

inch well 120 feet deep, and one 10-inch well 135 feet deep. The 110-foot well is 

pumped by an air lift pump; the other two are pumped by deep-well turbine 

pumps. The water flows into an 85,000-gallon reservoir, from which it is pumped 

directly into the mains by a centrifugal pump. The average daily consumption 

is about 225,000 gallons. (See analysis 58.)

At Rutherford (318 feet above sea level) the town corporation has two wells 

one 8-inch well 271 feet deep and one 10-inch well 286 feet deep. They are both 

pumped by air lift. The water flows from the wells into a 100,000-gallon reservoir 

from which it is picked up by a turbine yielding 300 gallons a minute and delivered 

to a 50,000-gallon elevated tank. The average daily consumption is 40,000 

gallons. (See analysis 9.)

At Trenton (321 feet above sea level) the wells owned by the city are in the 

bottoms of the North Fork of the Forked Deer River. At. this point the static 

level is 316 feet, and the wells flow, the altitude of the collar being 315 feet. The 

city has four wells two 8-inch wells 165 feet deep, one 10-inch well 165 feet deep, 

and one 12-inch well 450 feet deep. All four are pumped by compressed air, 

and the water flows into a 150,000-gallon reservoir, from which it is pumped 

directly into the mains. The average daily consumption is 150,000 gallons. The 

log of the 450-foot well is as follows:

Log of well of the city of Trenton 

[Authority, Mr. Cunningham]

Clay--. 

Clay- .. 

Thickness 

(feet)

14

160

53

Depth 

(feet)

14

174

227

Lime rock (?)_. _ __ .. 

Clay-- 

Thickness 

(feet)

6

103

114

Depth

(feet)

233

336

450

The water obtained from these wells is of excellent quality. (See analysis 42.) 

At Yorkville pipe wells about 80 feet deep are used. The town is underlain 

by a layer of lignitic clay from 100 to 158 feet in depth and wells drilled into it 

obtain very poor water. Deeper wells, however, would obtain good water.

90 Glenn, L. C., Underground waters of Tennessee and Kentucky west of Tennessee River and of an 

adjacent area in Illinois: U. S. Qeol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 164, p. 75,1906.
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166 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

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HARDEMAN COUNTY 167

Analyses of waters'from Gibson County

[Parts per million. Numbers at heads of columns refer to corresponding well nunjbers in preceding table. 

Analyses 9b, 20, 42, and 81 by Margaret D. Foster; the rest by D. F. Farrar]

Silica (SiOj) ...... 

Iron (Fe)~. 

Calcium (Ca). ____ _. ______ .. __ ..... .....

Sodium (Na) __ . __ ... .. ____ ...... _ .... _ .

Potassium (K) __ . ..................................

Bicarbonate (HCO»)... -....-........... .-...

Sulphate (SOOChloride (Cl)...................... . ...

Nitrate (NOa) .. 

Total hardness as CaCOj (calculated) ________

Date of collection, 1929 _________________

Silica (SiO2). ........ ...... ...........................

Calcium (Oa)

Potassium (K)... ....____

Bicarbonate (HCOj).... __ ............. _ ....

Sulphate (SO^............... ........................

Chloride (Cl)___ _ _ Nitrate (NO.)....... .......... ....................

Date of collection, 1929 ................................

9b

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Aug. 12

HARDEMAN COUNTY

[Area 697 square miles. Population 22,193] 

GEOGRAPHY

With the exception of the drainage basin of Indian Creek, a small 

stream in the southwest corner of Hardeman County, the whole 

county is drained by the Hatchie River and its tributaries. This 

river enters the county at the southeast corner, flowjs in a northerly 

direction for 15 miles, turns northwestward, and leaves the county 

a few miles east of the northwest corner. The valley of the Hatchie 

is broad, having wide first and second bottoms. Thie first bottom is 

in part swamp, and most of it is covered in periods ol high water, but 

it is very fertile. Three large tributaries flow into the Hatchie from 

the northeast Clover, Piney, and Little Hatchie Creaks besides the 

shorter streams, Mill, Grays, and Hayes Creeks ancjl Wade Branch. 

The large tributaries from the southwest are Spring, Porters, and 

Muddy Creeks. Much smaller are Hickory, Clear, Short, and Club 

Creeks, the Pleasant River, and Cypress Branch.

This drainage clearly shows the distribution of the high ground, to 

the northeast in the region around Pinetop and to the southwest 

around Middleburg and in the area between Spring and Muddy
168 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OP WESTERN TENNESSEE

Creeks. The country around Pinetop, which probably reaches an 

altitude of 600 feet, is very hilly and well timbered. A few hill farms 

are scattered over the area. In the southwestern part of the country 

the tops of the ridges, which are remnants of the old plateau surface, 

must exceed 600 feet in altitude. Locally this region is called the 

dividing ridge, and from the highest points the country can be seen 

sloping away toward the east and west. The surface is very irregular 

and hilly. Much of the timber has been cut, but the area is only 

thinly populated.

GEOLOGY

Five formations crop out in Hardeman County the Bipley formation, the Clayton formation, the Porters Creek clay, the Holly Springs 

sand, and Pliocene gravel. These formations, with the exception of 

the Pliocene gravel, strike slightly east of north and dip toward the 

west at the rate of 20 to 30 feet to the mile.

Along the south half of the east boundary of Hardeman County is 

an area of Bipley outcrop in which the formation attains a maximum 

width of 4 miles. The top part of the Bipley, called the Owl Creek 

tongue, is composed of calcareous and micaceous sand, clay, and 

marl of marine origin, with a thickness of 50 to 200 feet. Most of 

the Bipley exposed in Hardeman County belongs to the Owl Creek 

tongue. The sandy parts of the Owl Creek will yield water of poor 

quality, but most of the Owl Creek is clay and is not water bearing. 

The remainder of the Bipley formation consists of sand with some clay 

lenses, attains a thickness of 500 feet, and is an excellent source of 

water. (See well log, p. 77.)

The Clayton formation rests unconformably on the Bipley formation and is found along its western margin in scattered outcrops. The 

Clayton has a maximum thickness of 37 feet at the southern boundary 

of the county. Of this thickness the lower 7 feet is fossiliferous 

limestone, which is overlain by 30 feet of glauconite sand and clay. 

The limestone thins out rapidly toward the north, giving place to 

glauconite sand. Water from the Clayton formation is of poor 

quality, owing to its high content of iron derived from grains of 

glauconite, an iron-potassium silicate which makes up a considerable 

percentage of the sand.

The Porters Creek clay, locally called soapstone, crops out in a band 

4 miles in maximum width which traverses the eastern part of the 

county in a direction east of north. Its maximum thickness is 250 

feet. This formation yields no water. In places it may be overlain 

by a thin cover of Pliocene sand and gravel, and shallow wells bottoming in the Pliocene yield intermittent supplies of poor "soap water." 

Water can be obtained in the area where the Porters Creek is the surface formation by drilling through this formation, which is nowhere
HAEDEMAN COUNTY 169

more than 250 feet thick, to the underlying Kipley sands. The water 

from the Kipley has a static head of 410 feet above sea level, hence in 

the area of Porters Creek outcrop or farther west, where the altitude 

is less than 410 feet, wells tapping the underlying Bipley will flow. 

Examples of this are the flowing wells around Hornsby.

Though the Ackerman formation of the Wilcox group does not crop 

out in this county, owing to overlap of the Holly Springs formation, 

it probably underlies the western part of the county. It is largely a 

lignitic clay but contains some sand beds that yield water of fair 

quality.

The region west of the outcrop of the Porters Creek formation 

comprises the outcrop area of the Holly Springs sand of the Wilcox 

group, which ranges in thickness from a feather edge at its eastern 

contact to 300 feet at the southwest margin of the county and 500 feet 

at the northwest margin. The Holly Springs is composed largely of 

sand but contains a few clay lenses. A more detailed description of 

this formation is given on pages 91-94. On the ridges it may be 

necessary to go as deep as 150 feet to penetrate below the water table, 

or locally fine sand or clay lenses may necessitate even deeper wells, 

but good water and an abundant supply can be obtained anywhere 

in this formation. Within a distance of 4 or 5 miles of the eastern 

contact of the Holly Springs sand it may not be possible to develop 

large water supplies because the water-bearing bed has not sufficient 

depth and area. In such places by drilling through the Porters Creek 

to the Bipley ample water can be obtained.

The Pliocene gravel has its usual character and is found on the uplands ranging in thickness from 10 to perhaps 40 feet. This formation 

is used as a source of water where it is sufficiently thick in the area of 

outcrop of the Porters Creek. It is not satisfactory, however, as it 

yields "soap water" of poor quality.

WATER RESOURCES

The county is well watered, and no part of it is far from streams. 

The flow of the streams is fairly constant, as most of the water comes 

from sandy formations that furnish an almost unfailing supply. 

There are many springs throughout the area, at the foot of the hills, 

and they are used almost exclusively to water stock.

LOCAL, SUPPLIES

The city of Bolivar (altitude 449 feet) has a municipal water supply. At present water is obtained from three wells one 6-inch well 71 feet deep, one 8-inch 

well 73 feet deep, and one 6-inch well 195 feet deep. The water is of good quality, 

being soft and low in iron, but the high nitrate content indicates that it is being

119722 33 12
170 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

contaminated by surface drainage. (See analysis lOb.) The log of the 195-foot 

well, which was drilled to 495 feet but was ended at 195 feet, is as follows:

Log of well of city of Bolivar 

[Authority, Oliver Sain]

Soil (red clay). ___ . ___ . ______ _ . _ .... . _____ ....... ___ . _____ .

Holly Springs sand:

Sand--..--. .. __- - __ -. _______ - _ . _ .. _ . __ -

Shale . 

Porters Creek clay:

Rock.

Thickness 

(feet)

20

40

15

5

95

20

300

Depth

(feet)

20

60

75

80

175

195

495

It is probable that the rock at the bottom represented the hard layer which 

usually occurs at a contact and that the Clayton was immediately below.

The 71-foot well is pumped by an electrically driven plunger pump, the 73-foot 

well by an electric turbine centrifugal, and the 195-foot well by a vertical centrifugal. The water is pumped directly into the mains, but a 60,000-gallon elevated 

tank is used for a reserve to handle peak loads. The daily consumption is 120,000 

gallons. The 195-foot well obtains water from the base of the Holly Springs formation, the eastern contact of which lies 3 miles to the east, so it is improbable 

that the present supply from this formation can be greatly augmented without 

excessive lowering of head. New wells should be drilled through the Porters 

Creek, 300 feet thick, to the Ripley. Allowing 195 feet of Holly Springs, 300 feet 

of Porters Creek, and 100 feet of Ripley would make the total depth of these wells 

550 to 650 feet. Water would stand at 40 feet below the surface of the ground.

About 2y% miles northwest of Bolivar is the Western State Hospital, which has 

an average daily water consumption of 250,000 gallons, supplied by two wells 

called No. 3 and No. 5. Well 3 is 116 feet deep and 10 inches in diameter. Well 

5 (see analysis 9b) is 100 feet deep and 24 inches in diameter, has 13 feet of 12- 

inch strainer, and is finished with a gravel wall. Each well is pumped by an 

electrically driven turbine centrifugal pump yielding 200 gallons a minute. The 

drawdown in well 3 when pumped at 200 gallons a minute is 23 feet. In addition 

to these two wells are wells 1 and 2, of approximately the same depth, which are 

not operated. Well 4, which is 654 feet deep, penetrates the Ripley formation. 

Owing to the fairly high iron content the water is not used. A log of the well is 

as follows:
HARDEMAN COUNTY 171

Log of well 4, Western State Hospital, near Bolivar 

[Authority, F. G. Wells, from saved samples]

Thickness 

(feet)

Depth

(feet)

Clay loam. _.... ______.____________________.......

JResiduum:

Medium-grained quartz sand, water bearing..._________________... .

Slightly finer red quartz sand, water bearing._________.... ___ 

Holly Springs sand:

Medium-grained white quartz sand, water bearing_________. ___ 

Coarse white sand, water bearing--..._____________________....

Very coarse sand, as much as 3 millimeters in diameter, water bearing.___ .

Medium grained white sand, water bearing...____._____._______.

Coarse white sand with pebbles as much as 3 centimeters long by !}.£ centimeters in 

diameter (possibly coarser in well), waterbearing-.____.__________.

Very fine white sand grading into clay, containing some muscovite, water bearing.-.

Slightly finer sand, waterbearing.... _____________ __... ...

Brown micaceous sandy clay___________________________ 

Dove-gray clay_. _____ ___ _______ ______.___ 

Fine-grained yellowish sand, water bearing____________________

Fine-grained white sand, water bearing.......___________________..

Dirty-gray medium-grained sand, water bearing___________________ 

Porters Creek clay:

Dark-gray clay________.____________________________ 

Clayton formation:

Medium-grained salt and pepper sand, water bearing...____ ............

Gray speckled argillaceous sand, water bearing_________________.. 

Eipley formation (Owl Creek tongue):

Salt and pepper medium-grained argillaceous sand streaked with brown, water bearing . .... ..... .. _---. . ............

12

30

22

35

25

24

60

229

5

65

39

10

20

30

40

65

90

100

108

120

150

172

207

232

256

316

545

550

615

654

Cedar Chapel is situated in a hilly area in the northwest corner of the county. 

The depth to water is more than 100 feet, and cisterns are used exclusively.

Grand Junction (altitude 580 feet) is supplied by a privately owned water 

system. Water is obtained from three wells 163 feet deep, two of which are 4}£ 

inches in diameter and one 6 inches. All three wells are pumped by electrically 

driven reciprocating pumps, which deliver the water into a 10,000-gallon elevated 

tank, from which it is distributed by gravity. The daily consumption of water is 

20,000 gallons. The water is derived from the Holly Springs formation and is of 

excellent quality. (See analysis 23.) The water table is 130 feet below the 

surface.

Hickory Valley (altitude 566 feet) is in the high hilly country of Holly Springs 

outcrop, where the water table stands at considerable depth. Drilled wells 90 to 

150 feet in depth are used. (See analysis 18.)

Hornsby, being in the area of Porters Creek clay near its eastern edge, obtains 

water from the underlying Ripley formation. As the land is lower than the pressure head, the wells flow. The thickness of the Porters Creek formation at 

Hornsby is from 125 to 145 feet. The clay stands up in the wells, which are 

therefore not cased. All wells are 2 inches in diameter. Their flow ranges from 

1 to 18 gallons a minute. The water has a very high iron content, one analysis 

(No. 15a) giving 55.66 parts per million, which quickly precipitates out on exposure 

to the air. The water can not be used in cooking, and it stains all containers. 

Precipitation of iron also takes place in the well, with the result that the flow is 

gradually diminished and ultimately stopped. The water is moderately hard, 

containing on analysis 140 parts per million of CaCOs. Similar flowing wells are 

found in the lowland west and southwest of Hornsby. They are progressively 

deeper toward the west, and in the drilled wells larger flows have been obtained. 

The largest flow recorded to date is 24 gallons a minute.

Middleburg (altitude 529 feet) obtains water from the Pliocene gravel and 

Holly Springs formation. Wells drawing water from the Pliocene gravel attain a 

depth of 40 feet. The supply is not permanent, being derived from a perched
172 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

water table. Wells in the Holly Springs are about 100 feet deep and end in sand 

after passing through a clay lens. These wells are not satisfactory, owing to the 

method of finishing them. A pipe is driven down to the sand, but no strainer is 

used. Proper finishing of wells would solve the difficulty, as the wdter is of good 

quality.

At Middleton (altitude 411 feet) some water is obtained from the thin covering 

of residuum, which nowhere exceeds 25 feet in depth. This is surface "soap 

water," is not permanent, tastes strong, and is entirely unsatisfactory. In order to 

penetrate the underlying Ripley sands it is necessary to drill through the Porters 

Creek clay, which has a thickness of 250 feet. The water from the Ripley is of 

fair quality, but the iron content gives some trouble, staining all containers yellow. 

(See analysis 22.)

Pinetop is in the hilly forested area in the northeastern part of Hardeman 

County. Sufficient water for domestic use can be obtained from shallow wells in 

the thin cover of Holly Springs sand that overlies the Porters Creek clay. For 

larger supplies it is necessary to drill through the Porters Creek; water can be 

reached at a depth of 275 feet.

Pocahontas (altitude 400 feet) is in the valley of the Hatchie River. Abundant water is obtained from dug wells 20 to 35 feet deep. They pass through a 

thin layer of red sand and some clay into coarse white sand.

Rogers Springs is at the foot of some hills, and springs are plentiful. Wells 

obtain water at depths of 15 to 30 feet*

At Saulsbury (altitude 543 feet), in a hilly region of Holly Springs sand, the 

water table is 60 feet of more below the surface. Bored and drilled wells obtain 

water of good quality. (See analysis 24a.)

The Illinois Central Railroad well at Shandy, on the Hatchie River bottom, is 

134 feet deep and 10 inches in diameter. It is pumped by a steam head and 

yields 200 gallons a minute.

At Silerton most of the wells are in the residuum and are shallow and not very 

satisfactory. A few wells have been drilled through the Porters Creek clay into 

the Ripley formation, and these furnish permanent supplies of water.

Teague, in the valley of Clover Creek, obtains water from shallow wells 30 feet 

deep. Springs occurring along the foot of the hills are used for stock and in a few 

places for domestic supply.

At Toone (altitude 392 feet) the wells in the lowland are about 40 feet deep, 

but those in the hilly areas attain depths of 65 feet. Bored wells are largely used. 

The water, which comes from the Holly Springs formation, is of good quality.

At Vildo, in the valley of the Hatchie River, bored wells 40 feet deep are in 

use. (See analysis 2.)

Whiteville (altitude 500 feet) has a municipal supply owned by the city. Water 

is obtained from two wells, each 180 feet deep. Well 1, 6 inches in diameter, is 

equipped with a reciprocating pump having a capacity of 80 gallons a minute. 

Well 2 is 4^2 inches in diameter and is equipped with a reciprocating pump capable 

of delivering 30 gallons a minute. Water from the wells is pumped into an elevated 

tank, from which it is distributed by gravity. The average daily consumption is 

25,000 gallons. The water is derived from the Holly Springs formation and is of 

excellent quality. (See analysis 4a.)
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174 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

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HARDIN COUNTY 175

Analyses of waters from Hardeman County

[Parts per million. Numbers at heads of columns refer to corresponding well numbers in preceding table. 

Analysis 24a by D. F. Farrar; the rest by Margaret D. Foster]

Silica (SiO2) ------- . .... .

Calcium (Ca) ..............................

Sodium (Na)-. . _ -... --

Potassium (K) .............................

Carbonate (CO3)._. ....... _ ........ .....

Bicarbonate (HCOs). __ - __ ...... .....

Sulphate (SO4) ........ ____ .... . ....

Chloride (Cl). .............................

Nitrate (NO3)- - 

Total dissolved solids.. __________

Date of collection, 1928 .....................

Silica (SiOj) .--.. ........................

Iron (Fe)... ................ ___ .. _ ...

Sodium (Na) . 

Potassium (K) .............................

Carbonate (CO3) ___ .. __ ...........

Sulphate (SOO _____ -... _____ ... _ .

Chloride fCl).. ............................

Nitrate (NO») . 

Total dissolved solids.... ..................

Date of collection, 1928 ___________

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Aug. 20

HARDIN COUNTY

[Area 582 square miles. Population 16,213] 

GEOGRAPHY

Hardin County is in the southeast corner of the area described. 

The Tennessee River in its northward reflex cuts the county into two 

unequal and dissimilar parts. The area east of the river, being part 

of the Highland Rim, partakes of its nature and consists of narrow 

flat-topped ridges, remnants of the old peneplain. These ridges are 

separated by narrow V-shaped valleys about 200 feet deep, which are 

occupied by swift perennial streams with high gradients. Horse and 

Indian Creeks with their tributaries drain the area. They flow northeastward into the Tennessee River. The valleys of these streams 

widen near their mouths, and their small flood plains form part of the 

valley of the Tennessee.

The Tennessee River forms a flood plain which reaches a maximum 

of 4 miles in width in the central part of the county but wedges out in 

the northern part. This flood plain is a flat surface about 20 feet 

above the average river level, but in time of flood it is completely 

inundated. The streams draining the area west of the river broaden 

their valleys near their mouths. The land on this side rises rapidly 

to a level 200 to 300 feet above the river.
176 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Southeastern Hardin County is very sparsely settled, but the western part supports a^larger population. Here are Savannah and Saltillo, population 1,129 and 365, respectively, the only towns in the 

county containing more than 150 persons. The county as a whole 

has a density of population of 28 persons to the square mile.

There is no railroad in Hardin County. Formerly the Tennessee 

Kiver was the means of transportation, but river traffic has practically ceased, being superseded by automobile trucking. Fanning 

is the main activity. The hardwood has almost all been cut, but 

considerable lumbering of pine for poles is carried on.

GEOLOGY

Paleozoic rocks form the surface of northeastern Hardin County 

and occur along the valleys in the southeastern part of the county. 

Except for a small area of Ordovician limestone along the Tennessee 

River in the northern part of the county, the oldest rocks that crop 

out are Silurian limestone and shale which are widely exposed in the 

northeast and along the valleys of Indian and Horse Creeks. The 

average thickness of the Silurian rocks is 150 feet. They are unimportant as sources of water. Rocks of Lower and Middle Devonian 

age crop out only in the vicinity of Olive Hill, Walnut Grove, and 

Saltillo. They consist of limestone, shale, and chert, but only the 

chert is a good water-bearing formation. The maximum thickness 

of Devonian rocks is a section of 200 feet, exposed at Olive Hill. At 

Grand View the section is only 100 feet thick, and this is probably an 

average section. The Chattanooga shale crops out in the valleys of 

Hardin, Indian, and Horse Creeks. It is a fissile carbonaceous shale 

and does not yield water. Silurian and Devonian rocks underlie the 

whole of Hardin County. Where buried these rocks yield waters 

high in dissolved solids and in places quite unpotable.

The Fort Payne chert of Mississippian age is a dark-gray calcareous 

chert which on weathering changes to a soft yellow porous chert. 

It is found on the hillsides in the northeastern part of the county and 

forms the valley slopes of Horse Creek and its tributaries to the southeast. The thickness of the entire formation ranges from 100 to 200 

feet. It is an excellent source of water in its outcrop area.

The St. Louis limestone, a cherty limestone which on weathering 

forms rubble slopes of chert, overlies the Fort Payne chert and crops 

out in the same localities. Its thickness ranges from 50 to 200 feet. 

It is difficult to differentiate the St. Louis limestone from the Fort 

Payne chert in weathered outcrops, and no attempt has been made to 

do so in this report.

The Tuscaloosa formation crops out as isolated remnants in southeastern Hardin County, much of it having been removed by erosion. 

It consists of 10 to 100 feet of gravel and sand.
HARDIN COUNTY 177

The tops of all the ridges and hills of Hardin County consist of the 

Eutaw formation, which ranges in thickness from a thin veneer covering the Paleozoic rocks in the northeast to a maximum of 250 feet at 

the western boundary. This formation consists of sand and clay and 

is a good source of water.

The Selma clay crops out along the northwestern boundary of the 

county. It is a calcareous clay containing many large fossils, which 

are conspicuous in the weathered outcrop. The Selma ranges in 

thickness from a feather edge to 150 feet. It does not yield water, 

and'in its outcrop area water can be obtained only by drilling through 

the Selma to the underlying Eutaw formation.

Pliocene or Pleistocene terrace gravel overlies much of the Eutaw 

and Selma formations, especially on the high land bordering the 

Tennessee River. Wade 91 has described four terraces one around 

the 600-foot contour, one at 500 feet, one at 420 feet, and the fourth 

about 10 to 25 feet above present high water on the second bottom. 

The terraces range in thickness from 20 to 30 feet and consist of gravel 

intermixed with sand.

WATER RESOURCES

All of Hardin County is well watered by perennial streams. 

Springs are very abundant, issuing from the Pliocene gravel, the 

Eutaw formation, or the Fort Payne chert. The Fort Payne gives 

rise to many large springs, as, for example, in the valley of Hollands 

Branch. In the areas where the Fort Payne crops out springs are 

exclusively used for domestic supplies. A few springs issue from the 

limestone, but they are small. On the uplands throughout the area 

water is obtained from wells, which derive water from the Eutaw formation or the Pliocene gravel. Ample supplies of water are obtained 

from dug wells, which are used almost exclusively. The average 

depth of wells is 40 feet. In one or two places drilled wells have been 

put down, but there is no well more than 128 feet in depth in the 

county. In the area southeast and east of Hardin County the Fort 

Payne formation probably underlies the Eutaw formation at altitudes 

above 500 feet. Wells drilled in this formation would obtain large 

supplies of water. There are very few wells in the Paleozoic limestone and shale. In these formations it is unadvisable to drill to 

depths exceeding 300 feet, because the chances of encountering a 

fissure grow less with depth and because the deeper formations yield 

water that is so high in hydrogen sulphide and dissolved salts that it 

is unfit for domestic or industrial use. This is borne out by the water 

from the "sulphur spring" southwest of Saltillo. No log of this flowing well is available, but it is known to have a depth of 100 feet and 

starts in the Eutaw, probably passes through the Devonian (Devonian

w Wade, Bruce, The gravels of West Tennessee Valley: Tenn. Geol. Survey, Ees. Tenn. vol. 7, pp. 56- 

89,1917.
178 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

rocks crop out at Saltillo), and may end in Silurian or Ordovician 

rocks. The water is very high, in dissolved sulphur and forms a precipitate along the banks of the stream flowing from the well. The 

water from a deep well at Collinwood,92 Wayne County, at ft depth of 

270 feet, is low in dissolved solids, whereas the water from 1,512 feet 

is high in sulphur. Water from a well at Iron City,93 Wayne County, 

at 300 feet had 3,857 parts per million of total dissolved solids. 

Further evidence is given by the numerous sulphur and chalybeate 

springs found in the area. The water feeding these springs probably 

rises along fissures or faults that penetrate to deeper formations, as is 

indicated by the proximity of springs yielding sulphur water, iron 

water, and water containing neither iron nor sulphur.

IX>CAL SUPPLIES

At Lowryville a spring in Silurian limestone furnishes the few houses, with 

water. To the south of Lowryville springs issuing from the Fort Payne chert 

furnish large quantities of good water.

In the vicinity of Morris Chapel wells range in depth from 25 to 75 feet, the 

depth depending on whether they.are located on hilltops or in valleys. Water is 

derived from either Eutaw sand or Pliocene gravel.

The Fort Payne chert crops out on the hillsides around Olive Hill, and most of 

the wells obtain water from it. East of Olive Hill, in the valley of Indian Creek, 

shallow wells 10 to 25 feet deep obtain water from the alluvium.

At Pittsburg Landing, in Shiloh National Park, wells pass through about 30 

feet of Pliocene into Eutaw sand. Sufficient water for domestic use is found at 

depths of 40 to 70 feet. South and west of Pittsburg Landing dug wells obtain 

water from the Eutaw formation or Pliocene gravel at depths of 40 to 50 feet.

Springs are common in the vicinity of Pyburns, issuing from the Fort Payne 

chert or Tuscaloosa gravel. Shallow wells dug in the weathered chert or gravel 

are also used.

At Saltillo dug wells are used. These obtain water in Eutaw sand, at depths 

of 25 to 35 feet. In case larger supplies of water were needed deeper drilling 

would encounter the Harriman and Decaturville cherts, which have a combined 

thickness in this vicinity of 40 feet.

At Savannah there is 20 to 40 feet of Pliocene gravel underlain by 25 to 45 feet 

of Eutaw sand. This rests on limestones of middle and lower Silurian age which 

have a thickness of 63 feet. Most of the wells at Savannah obtain water from 

the Pliocene gravel or Eutaw formation at depths of 35 to 65 feet. Dug wells 

yield as much as 2,000 or 3,000 gallons a day. E. P. Churchill has a drilled well 

128 feet deep which obtains water from Ordovician limestone. (See analysis 

35a.)

M Miser, H. D., Mineral resources of the Waynesboro quadrangle: Tennessee Geol. Survey Bull. 26, p. 

154,1921. 

 s Idem, p. 156.
Records of wells in Hardin County

No.

1 

2

3 

4

5 

6

7 

8 

9

10 

11

12 

13

14 

15 

16

Location

On Swallow Bluffs road. 

6 miles north of Cerro 

Gordo. 

Saltillo 

5.2 miles west of Saltillo. 

7.2 miles west of Saltillo. 

2 miles west of highway 

69, southeast of Saltillo. 

2.7 miles southwest of 

Saltillo. 

4.5 miles north of Cerro 

Oordo on Saltillo road. 

2 miles northeast of 

Swift. 

Swift...... ..............

2.2 miles north of Cerro 

Gordo. 

3.7 miles south of Saltillo 

on highway 69. 

On highway 69, 6.1 miles 

north of its junction 

with highway 17. 

On highway 69, 4.4 miles 

south of junction with 

highway 17. 

On highway 69, 2.6 miles 

north of junction with 

highway 17. 

1.5 miles east and 1.7 

miles north from Morris Chapel.

Owner

S. E. Smith.......

White & Son ..

County School.. 

J. C. Bridges... ...

Jame- Craven..... 

J. M. Browns .....

A. B. Copeland ... 

Mrs. H. Alien 

Topographic 

position

Hilltop. .

Vnllav

Hilltop 

Hillside--

Hilltop. 

Second bottom.

Foot of hill-- 

Hilltop 

Valley--. 

Hilltop. 

-. doAltitude (feet)

510 

450

370

510 

410

410

470

500 

530

400

370

450 

480 

450

Type of 

well

Dug ..

...do 

Bored ... 

...do.....

 doDrilled.-

Dug ..

... do.....

...do.. 

Bored 

Dug. . 

...do .

=3 

*

°1 

ja

1 

fl

30 

25

30 

56 

24 

52

59

40 

35

52 

23

40 

40 

23

Diameter ofwell

(inches)

36 

36

36 

7 

6 

6

6

36 

36

36 

36

8 

36 

36

Water-bearing be

Character of 

material

... ..do. .

Sand 

 ..do -

Sand.... ....

Limestone - -

... ..do.... ...

...do -

Sand.. 

..... do. 

Geologic 

 ..do... 

Eutaw . 

 do 

 ..do 

 do 

 ..do .

 Flowing 8,640 gallons a day. » Flow
180 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OP WESTERN TENNESSEE

o o o o o o

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SS3 S! 8
 do ...........

..do ............

4.1 miles northeast of 

Savannah on Cerro 

Gordo road.

4 miles east of Savannah 

on highway 15.

2 miles north of Savannah on Cerro Gordo 

road.

Savannah..... .

Crump________.

1.2 miles north of Crump.

3.2 miles northwest of 

Crump.

3 miles south of Crump..

1 mile south of Crump 

on highway 17.

1.4 miles south of Savannah on Pittsburg 

Landing road.

4 miles south of Savannah on Lowryville 

road.

3.5 miles southeast of 

Savannah on Hamburg road.

. do .. _.

2.S miles southeast of

Savannah on Pinhook

road.

4.2 miles southeast of

Savannah on Pinhook

road.

7.2 miles southeast of

Savannah on Pinhook

road. 

9 miles east of Savannah.

S.5 miles southeast of 

Savannah.

G. S. McKnight..

E. P. Churchill &

Sons.

T. C. Philips 

N. B. Littfield 

Prince.

H. Smith... ......

Hilltop. ..

.....do 

Hilltop 

.....do ... .

Hillside 

HOltop ...

 do 

... ..do ... .

Hilltop 

Foot of hill..

Hillside 

..... do 

Vollo-cFoot of hill..

 do. .

470

44n

440

440

440

440

470

460

510

510

500

4fin

fiOO

440

465

4fiO

son

500

...do ..

... do.....

 do 

DrilledDug- 

... do~ 

...do 

... do 

... do -

... do 

... do ..

...do -

TlrillAd

Dug

...do 

... do -

...do 

...do 

2ft

OA

30

128

42

60

65

??

no

50

30

tfn

ion

40

99

49

21

36

no

QA

3

QA

36

QA

Oft

no

6

36

4A

36

36

... ..do .

.... .do 

Limestone...

.... .do.- 

.-...do......

 do.... ...

... ..do ...

.....do 

.....do .

Chert.......

.....do 

.....do 

Oodovicia

age).

..... do 

.... .do....

..... do .

 do 

Silurian..

Eutaw ...

-....do 

.... .do 

Payne).

< Flowing 25,920 gallons a day.

* Flowing 21,600 gallons a day.

 Reported pumpage. 1,000 gallons a day.

/ Reported 

* Flowing 

* Flowing 
182 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

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66

67

68

68

70

71

Bed Sulphur Spring .....

1 mile west of White Sulphur Spring.

cans Landing.

Grove.

Indiana Tie Co 

J. D. Byrd. 

Bank, Jackson. - 

O. A. Paulk 

E. H. Milligan -

Gully... .

Hilltop 

Foot of hillValley bottom. 

Hilltop. 

Foot of hilL.

510

430

495

600

DugDug

 do 

m

30

m

48

48

48

Shale .

 do 

Chert 

(Ridget

Payne).

a Flowing 8,640 gallons a day.

 ' Flowing 5,760 gallons a day. 

i Flowing 28,800 gallons a day.

* Flowing 57,600 gallons a day.

' Flowing 1,440 gallons a day.

» Flowing 360 gallons a day.

" Flowing 8,640 gallons a day. Water co

 Flowing 64,800 gallons a day.
184 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Analyses of waters from Hardin County

[Parts per million. Numbers at heads of columns refer to corresponding well numbers in preceding table 

Analyzed by Margaret D. Foster]

Silica (SiOj). ....................

Iron(Fe).--. __________

Calcium (Ca)... ___ . .........

Sodium (Na; __________

Potassium (K) __ . ___ . _ ..

Carbonate (COs)... .............

Bicarbonate (HCOs).. __ ... ...

Sulphate (SO*) _____ ... .....

Chloride (Cl)...... ..............

Nitrate (N03). ..................

Total dissolved solids ______

Total hardness as CaCOs (calculated) __ -.--...___..___.

Date of collection, 1928.. ........

3

13

;13

6.6

4.4

66

2.3

0

4.0

2.2

88

60

263

35

Sept. 20

28

12

.36

5.8

4.0

6.7

1.5

0

8.0

20

6.0

8.0

74

27

Sept. 18

35a

11

.07

10

4 7

10

1.7

0

10

1.7

22

27

98

40

Sept. 24

35b

8.3

.29

24

10

56

4.4

0

28

21

104

33

290

101

Sept. 28

36

9.1

.11

.4

.3

13

1.5

0

10

7.4

6.0

6.3

53

o o

Sept. 24

59

13

.06

29

3.4

1.5

.6

0

98

3.3

1.8

.89

100

86

Sept. 25

71

8.1

.01

1.0

.6

1.0

.7

0

6.0

1.6

1.5

.OS

17

5.0

Sept. 14

HAYWOOD COUNTY 

GEOGRAPHY

[Area 508 square miles. Population 26,063]

Haywood County, which is in the west-central part of the area on 

its northern boundary, is roughly quadrilateral though irregular in 

outline, and comprises an area of 508 square miles. Along the southeastern boundary there is a region of hills, but the rest of the county 

is gently rolling and slopes either northward toward the Hatchie 

River or southward toward the South Fork of the Forked Deer River. 

The Hatchie flows in a westerly direction to the Mississippi. Its 

valley is broad, in places more than 3 miles in width, and the lower 

bottom is swampy and wooded. The South Fork of the Forked Deer 

River, which forms most of the northern boundary of Haywood 

County, flows to the northwest. Its valley is not as broad as that 

of the Hatchie but is otherwise similar.

GEOLOGY

Except for a triangular patch comprising some 44 square miles of 

Holly Springs sand in the southeast corner, the county is underlain 

by the Grenada formation. The Holly Springs and Grenada, which 

with the Ackennan formation constitute the Wilcox group, are 

lithologically alike and as they have similar water-yielding properties 

they can be treated as one. They are sandy formations with intercalated lenses of clay, some of which attain a thickness of 100 or 200 

feet. At the eastern boundary of the county these formations have a 

combined thickness of about 400 feet, and at the western boundary 

they attain their maximum thickness of 700 to 750 feet. In the northwest corner of the county these formations are overlain by a thin 

cover of loess, which thickens toward the west. The Jackson formation is found in the northwestern part of the county. It contains 

beds of lignite and lignitic clay. The thickness of the Jackson is
HAYWOOD COUNTY 185

unknown but probably does not exceed 30 feet, 

residuum is found the high areas.

The usual mantle of

WATER RESOURCES

Surface water is not abundant in Haywood County, and springs 

are very rare. Stock is usually watered from stock ponds. Dug 

wells were formerly most commonly used, and some of them attained 

a depth of 100 feet, but these are being superseded by bored wells, 

and there are a few drilled wells. The Holly Springs and Grenada are 

excellent sources of water. Locally clay lenses may give trouble, 

but water of good quality can be found everywhere. Differences in 

the depth of drilled and bored wells are largely due to the fact that 

bored wells, having no strainer, do not have to end in coarse sand, 

whereas drilled wells, using strainers, must bottom in sand sufficiently 

coarse to be checked by the strainer. Of the 62 wells listed in the table 

28 are bored and have an average depth of 67 feet and 27 are drilled 

and average 208 feet in depth.

LOCAL SUPPLIES

At and near Alien (altitude 364 feet) both bored wells and drilled wells are used. 

The bored wells range in depth from 50 to 60 feet. They end in fine sand, which 

in the course of a few years fills the wells. Drilled wells range from 100 to 150 

feet in depth.

Brownsville (altitude 344 feet) has a municipal water supply. (See analysis 

25a.) The plant consists of a 6-inch well 142 feet deep and an 8-inch well 250 

feet deep. The two wells are pumped by an electrically driven 3-cylinder reciprocating pump having a capacity of 200 gallons a minute. The water is pumped 

into a 100,000-gallon elevated tank, from which it is distributed by gravity. 

Further storage is furnished by a 110,000-gallon reservoir. The daily consumption is 210,000 gallons. At the ice plant of the Western Tennessee Power & 

Light Co. there is a 6-inch well 228 feet deep, in which the water level stands 51 

feet below the surface. Another deep well at Brownsville is the well of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, an 8-inch well 310 feet deep, with the water level 50 

feet below the surface and a drawdown of 11 feet when pumped at 150 gallons a 

minute. The well is pumped by air lift, and the total daily pumpage is 200,000 

gallons. A log of this well is as follows:

Log of Louisville & Nashville Railroad well, Brownsville 

[Authority, chief engineer]

Thickness 

(feet)

5

10

8

8

9

25

Depth

(feet)

5

15

23

31

.40

65

Thickness 

(feet)

121

51

9

39

Depth

(feet)

211

262

271

310

119722 £
186 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

The region west of Brownsville is underlain by a bed of fine sand and blue clay,, 

which extends to a depth of about 275 feet. As it is difficult to finish a well so 

that it will hold out this fine sand, drilled wells penetrate to the coarser sand* 

below. These wells attain depths of 290 to 323 feet. The bored wells,, however,, 

obtain sufficient water from depths of 40 to 100 feet.

Log of well of Columbus Hinkle, 6 miles west of Brownsville

Clay and sand, variegated, mixed _____________________________ __

Sand, fine, with water. __________ _ .. __ ____________________

Lignite _____ __ .. __ .

Clay, blue... ________________ ________________________

Sand, coarse, gray, water bearing (penetrated) ____________________ .

Thickness 

(feet)

80

18

( 4

' 158

7

Depth

(feet)

60,

78

»2

24ft

24T

To the north of Brownsville deep wells end in a good sand at depths of 175 to 

250 feet. The log of such a well is as follows:

Log of well of G. Pond, 6.5 miles north of Brownsville.

fAuthority, William Kimmerling] '

Thick-

: ness 

, (feet)

: 25

10

115

25

5

15

Depth.

(feet),.

25=

35 ism

175

18Qt

19$

Log of well of P. H. Bell, 2.4 miles northeast of Brownsville 

[Authority, P. H. Bell]

! Thick- 

 ness 

(feet)

20-

i 120

13,

Depth-

(feet)

2ft

14ft

153.

Southeast of Brownsville bored wells are most common and range from 50 to* 

100 feet in depth; a few drilled wells go to 170 feet.

Log of well at schoolhouse, Sunny Hill, 4-1 miles south of Brownsville 

[Authority, D. B. Mann (from memory))

Thickness 

(feet)

20

80

5

45

Depth 

(feet)

20)

100

105

150i
HAYWOOD COUNTY 187

The country around Dancyville is hilly. On the hilltops the depth to water is 

considerable, being as much as 95 feet in some places. Bored wells from 60 to 

130 feet deep are in use. The water is of good quality. (See analysis 39.)

At Forked Deer there are only a few springs, and wells 40 to 60 feet detep yiekj 

hard water. Good soft water is obtained at depths of 100 to 150 feet in sand 

beneath blue clay.

Log of G. W. Pearson well, Forked Deer

Grenada :

Thickness 

(feet)

40

5

95

10

Depth 

(feet)

49

45

140

150

As its name would indicate, Hillville is in the high, hilly country in the southeastern part of the county. Drilled and bored wells from 80 to 150 feet in depth 

furnish sufficient water for domestic use.

Jones (altitude 325 feet) is on the edge of the valley of the South Fork of the 

Forked Deer River. On the bottom shallow wells 30 feet deep yield abundant 

water. In higher country to the east and southeast bored or drilled wells mys$ go 

down from 60 to 140 feet to obtain a permanent supply of water.

The wells in the neighborhood of Keeling are usually bored and run from 30 to 

50 feet in depth. At 60 feet there is a bed of lignite, and deep wells have to go 

below this. The gin at Keeling obtains sufficient water from a 3-inch well 106 

feet deep.

Near Randolph, on the edge of the Forked Deer bottom, a 2-inch well of the 

Hatchie Lumber Co. passed through tough alluvial clay 32 feet, fine sand 5 feet, 

lignite 4 feet, blue clay 24 feet, and coarse sand with soft water 5 feet.

Shepards (altitude 290 feet) is in the valley of the Hatchie River. Domestic 

needs are supplied by driven wells 1% inches in diameter and 30 feet deep. This 

type of well is found throughout the bottoms. The Louisville & Nashville RaiLroad has a watering station at Shepards where water is obtained from a 12-inch 

well 172 feet deep. (See analysis 35b.) The water level is 9 feet below the smv 

face and draws down 10 feet when the well is pumped at 400 gallons a minute, 

The well is equipped with a duplex steam pump with a capacity of 300 gallons & 

minute. The log of this well is as follows:

Log of Louisville & Nashville Railroad wett at Shepards 

[Authority, chief engineer]

Yellow clay _______________________________ . ______

Red clay ____________________________ _________________

Coarsesand ____ _ _ ___ ________________ ... _______

Thfck.-!

ness ! 

(feet) '

7

72:

17 |

95,

Depth 

(f«t)

7

79

96

m

At Stanton (altitude 314 feet) clay lenses have been encountered ip 

One hole was abandoned at a depth of 300 feet after traversing 200 feet <«f <<Slay 

without passing through it. As these clay lenses are local, moving a few hjgitfli^l 

yards away will usually insure passing beyond their limits. If, however, it is
188 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

necessary to put down a well in a particular spot abundant water may be obtained 

by drilling through the clay lens. Bored wells in this region range from 70 to 113 

feet in depth, according to topographic position; drilled wells range from 150 to 

325 feet.

Log of well of R. L. Baxter, Stanton

[Authority, R. L. Baxter, driller (from memory)]

Clay loam _ - __________________________________

Thickness 

(feet)

25

126

10

Depth 

(feet)

25

150

160

A quarter of a mile east of Stanton a well drilled for Mrs. M. W. Welch has the 

following log:

Log of Welch well near Stanton

[Authority, R. L. Baxter]

Sand --. --.,.--- -----

Medium grained white sand... _______________________________

Thickness 

(feet)

25

6

105

4

160

25

Depth

(feet)

25

31

136

140

300

325

Water from the shallow wells (analysis 36a) contains 35 parts per million of 

hardness, whereas water from the deep wells (analysis 36b) contains only 13 parts 

per million. The iron content of water from both the shallow and the deep wells 

is high, being 8.86 and 8.34 parts per million respectively.

At and near Wellwood bored wells range from 25 to 80 feet in depth. Drilled 

wells are as deep as 126 feet.

Woodville is underlain by a bed of lignite 2 to 3 feet thick, at a depth of 30 to 50 

feet. Below the lignite is a coarse sand containing some pebbles. Wells end in 

this sand and are from 35 to 65 feet deep.
Records of wells in Haywood County

No.

1 

2 

8

4 

5a

5b 

6

7

te

8b 

9

10 

lla 

lib 

lie

12 

13a

13b 

14 

15 

18

Location

3 miles south of Bells on 

Bells-Union road. 

10 miles north of Brownsville. 

9.5 miles north-northeast of 

Brownsville. 

4.5 miles east-southeast of 

Woodville. 

Forked Deer, 3 miles eastnortheast of Woodville.

2.3 miles south-southeast of 

Woodville. 

Nut Bush, 5 miles southsoutheast of Woodville.

6.5 miles southeast of Woodville. 

6.5 miles north of Brownsville. 

Jones, 200 feet north of railroad and road crossing. 

Jones, 200 feet northeast 

along railroad track. 

Jones, 1,000 feet east of railroad.

5.5 miles north of Union 

Church on Bell road. 

6 miles north of Union 

Church on Bell road. 

Jones, 2.5 miles southeast on 

Wellwood road. 

5.3 miles north-northeast of 

Brownsville. 

5.6 miles west of Brownsville 

oa Ripley road.

Owner

C. A. Jernigan. ...

C. T. Humphreys. 

J. W. Warren.----

Hathcock Bros _ 

Nut Bush Gin Co. 

Nut Bush School .

J. H. Pikin. 

T. J. Castallow . 

J. D. Marbury ....

 . do .:..

F. P. Hess.. -.-.-.

Lynn Binford. 

Topographic 

position

HillsideUpland.-...

Valley bottom. 

Upland.. ...

Hilltop 

Hillside 

Upland.. ... 

Hillside 

Upland. .... 

... ..do 

 doLowland....

Valley bottom. 

Hillside.. ...

Hilltop __ .

 do . 

Valley bottom. 

Hilltop .

 do .

Upland. .... 

......do.... ...

Altitude (feet)

380

 

.....

310 

325

360

.....

Type of 

well

Bored ... 

 doDug. _ . 

Bored... 

... do.....

DrilledBored _ 

Drilled-

... doBored 

 do 

Drilled.. 

Bored _ 

Drilled.. 

 doBored ... 

 do 

 doDrilled.. 

...do 

...do.....

1

o^S 

 2

"ft 

Q

103 

50 

10 

35 

60

483 

42 

250

108

65 

42

195 

25 

80 

138

80

25

62 

126 

250 

150

Diameter ofwell

(inches)

6 

6 

36 

6 

6

2 

6 

2

2

6 

6

2 

6

m

2

6

6

6 

2 

2 

2

Water-bearing b

Character 

of material

Sand . 

... do.....

... do 

...do 

... do.... .

 . do 

 do 

 do 

 do 

...do 

 do 

 do 

 do 

 do 

 do 

 do 

 do 

 do 

...do 

... do 

...do.....

Geolo

horiz

Alluviu

Alluviu

 . do..

Holly Sp

 do..

 -do 

 do..

 do..

 do 

 dO. 

 do 

 do 

.....do 
190 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

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ville.

ville on Dancyville road.

ville on Dancyville road.

ards along track.

tion of Stanton road and 

highway 1.

and highway 1.

Dancyville road.

ton, 200 feet east of railroad 

track.

Dancyville road.

ville. 

ffillville ~

 do 

Sidney Ricuriie 

D. B. Mann &

Sons. 

H. E. Powell ...

ville Railrbad.

P.W.Welch......

Mrs. M. W. Welch

 .do 

Hilltop 

 ..do 

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Hilltop 

torn. 

 .do 

 do 

Hillside 

Hilltop 

torn. 

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torn.

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Hilltop370

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« Pumpage, 105,000 gallons a day.

» Pumpage, 75,000 gallons a day. Capacity of pump, 175 gallons a minute.

« Capacity of pump, 300 gallons a minute.

d 

< 
192 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Analyses of waters from Hay wood County

[Parts per million. Numbers at heads of columns refer to corresponding well numbers in preceding table. 

Analysis 25a by D. F. Farrar; the rest by Margaret D. Foster]

lla 18b 25a 27b

Silica (SiOs).___. ___. 

Iron (Fe)-..___._____. 

Calcium (Ca)_._._____. 

Magnesium (Mg).....___.

Sodium (Na)-_______.. 

Potassium (K)_______. 

Bicarbonate (HCOa)...------

Sulphate (SOOChloride (CD .... .. .

Nitrate (N03). - -. 

Total dissolved solids..__. 

Total hardness as CaCOs 

(calculated)__..___. 

Date of collection_____.

28

3.2

6.0

2.4

9.5

1.2

45

6.0

40

.05

74

25 

Sept. 24,1929

37

5.1

17

10

66

2.7

150

45

42

.71

294

84 

Aug. 17, 1928

22

.78

4.4

1.7

13

.8

30

2.3

12

3.4

80

18 

Aug. 17, 1928

.2 

36

28 

Aug. 14, 1928

12 

6.9 

7.4 

2.9

r 9.5 

1.5

56 

4.8 

2.9 

.0 71'

30 

Aug. 18,1928

36b 36c 39

Silica (SiCh) __ -.__---__-- 

Iron (Fe).-.-____ .._-_.......

Calcium (Ca) ._............

Magnesium (Mg)._.__.______.. 

Sodium (Na).-._..__.__-.....-.

Potassium (K)........................

Bicarbonate (HCOa) .... __-----

Sulphate (SOO 

Chloride (01).. .

Nitrate (NOj) 

Total dissolved solids...__--___. 

Total hardness as CaCOa (calculated). 

Date of collection, 1928.. _______.

24 

.65 

3.8 

1.5 

10

.7 

19 

5.8 

11

.77 

72 

16 

Aug. 16

13 

8.3 

3.4 

1.2 

4.5 

.3

24

2.5 

1.9 

.05 

39 

13 

Aug. 17

17 

8.9 

8.2 

3.5

18 

1.5

39

23

13

1.5 

106

35 

Aug. 16

18 

.18 

3.6 

1.4 

5.4 

.5 

21 

3.8 

3.4 

.74 

45 

15 

Aug. 16

HBNDBBSON COUNTY

[Area 536 square miles. Population 17,655] 

GEOGRAPHY

Henderson County, in the northeastern part of the area described, 

is roughly quadrangular and comprises 536 square miles. All of the 

county lies in the area designated the western plateau by Safford. 

However, the high land dividing the eastward-flowing and westwardflowing streams crosses the western part of the county. The Beech 

River, which drains the largest part of the county, flows into the 

Tennessee River; the headwaters of the North Fork and Middle 

Fork of the Forked Deer River, which drain the western part of the 

county, belong to Mississippi River system. All of the county is 

very hilly. The highest points probably attain an altitude of 600 

feet, and the average altitude is 500 feet. Much of the area is 

forested, and the county is but thinly populated.

GEOLOGY

Six geologic formations crop out in this county the Eutaw, Selma, 

Ripley, Porters Creek, Holly Springs, and Pliocene gravel. The 

Eutaw crops out along the eastern border of the county, forming a 

strip 4 miles wide. It is a sand formation with much interbedded 

clay. In places the formation is composed of interlaminated sand in
HENDERSON COUNTY 193

layers half an inch to an inch thick and clay in layers a sixteenth to 

an eighth of an inch thick. In other places the formation may be 

mostly carbonaceous clay in beds several feet thick. In still other 

places the formation is a clean sand. The maximum thickness of the 

formation is about 175 feet. In the valley bottoms, however, the 

depth to the underlying Paleozoic rocks can not be very great, for 

they crop out just east of the county line.

In the description of the Selma clay on page 75 it is shown that this 

formation thins out in southern Henderson County and that what to 

the north has formerly been mapped as Selma should be included in 

the Coon Creek tongue of the Ripley formation. Where both the 

Selma and Coon Creek are present it is impossible to differentiate the 

two in the well logs available. As the beds are lithologically similar, 

are not water bearing, and serve as a coniining stratum to the water 

in the Eutaw formation, they are treated as a unit in this county. 

They have a maximum combined thickness of about 230 feet in the 

southern part of the county but thin to about 120 feet in the north.

The Ripley formation, which crops out as a band from 13 to 15 

miles in width through the central part of the county, consists largely 

of sand which ranges in texture from very fine to coarse. This formation erodes easily, and its area of outcrop is unusually hilly. The 

formation attains a thickness of 500 feet.

The Porters Creek clay crops out in a belt 3 miles wide, which 

strikes east of north along the western edge of the county. This 

formation dips 20 to 30 feet to the mile toward the west. Its thickness 

in Henderson County has not been determined but probably does not 

exceed 250 feet.

The Holly Springs formation is found in the northwest corner of the 

county. It is composed of sand and ranges in thickness from 150 

feet to a feather edge.

Pliocene gravel occurs on the highland in the eastern part of the 

county. In places it is 60 feet deep. Toward the west the gravel is 

missing, but the uplands are covered by a thin mantle of residuum.

WATER RESOURCES

Henderson County is well watered, perennial streams and springs 

being abundant. Though the Eutaw formation will yield water in the 

sandy parts the interlaminated carbonaceous clay may impart an unpleasant taste to the water. The Selma clay is not a source of water. 

Where the Selma is overlain by a fair thickness of gravel or residuum 

water can be obtained from those beds; otherwise it is necessary to 

drill through the Selma into the underlying Eutaw formation. The 

Ripley formation is an excellent source of water. On high ground the 

water table may be as much as 125 feet deep, but water is plentiful
194 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

and of excellent quality. As the Porters Creek clay does not yield 

water, it is necessary in the outcrop area of the Porters Creek to drill 

into the underlying Ripley, but the Porters Creek is only 116 to 250 

feet thick. The Holly Springs sand yields plentiful supplies jof good 

water. The Pliocene gravel, where of sufficient thickness, is an important source of water in the area where the Selma crops out.

LOCAL SUPPLIES

In the hilly region around Bargeton the water table stands from 70 to 90 feet 

from the surface. Bored wells are used and are in sand throughout.

Darden (altitude 400 feet) is in the valley of the Beech River. Shallow wells 

20 feet deep obtain a plentiful supply of water from the alluvium. On the surrounding hills drilled wells obtaining water from Eutaw sands range in depth from 100 

to 160 feet.

Hinson Springs (altitude 400 feet), in the area of Ripley sands, is in the valley 

of the Beech River. Several springs are found in the lowlands. Some of these. 

are chalybeate, and formerly this was a watering resort. The two main springs 

flow 7 gallons a minute each.

At Huron (altitude 414 feet) bored wells 15 to 60 feet deep are used, the depth 

depending on topographic position. The wells are lined with tile or wood. The 

gin, which is in a lowland, obtains abundant water from a well 40 feet deep.

Juno is on the eastern edge of the Porters Creek clay outcrop. Wells from 4$ 

to 50 feet deep pass through the Porters Creek into the underlying Ripley sands.

Law is in the Holly Springs sand area. Wells furnish soft water from sand 

under pipe clay at an average depth of 50 to 60 feet, the range being from 20 to 

85 feet.

Lexington (altitude 484 feet) has a municipal water supply owned by the city. 

This system consists of three wells. Well 1, a 6-inch well 610 feet deep (analysis 

8b) is pumped by an electrically driven reciprocal pump yielding 80 gallons a 

minute. Well 2 is a 6-inch well 110 feet deep, and well 3 is an 8-inch well 100 

feet deep. Both are equipped with electrically driven reciprocating pumps 

yielding 20 gallons a minute. The water is pumped into a 75,000-gallon elevated 

tank, from which it is distributed by gravity. This tank is supplemented by a 

150,000-gallon reservoir. No figure on daily consumption could be obtained. 

Wells 2 and 3 derive their water from the Ripley sands, which crop out in this 

vicinity. The water level stands 40 feet below the surface. Well 1 passes 

through the Selma clay and obtains its water from the underlying Eutaw sands, in 

which the water is under artesian pressure, rising within 60 feet of the surface. 

The log of this well is given below.

Log of well 1 of Lexington waterworks 

[Authority, Eli Jones (from memory)]

-

Ripley formation:

Indurated marl. ____________________ . ________ . _______

Selma clay: Fossiliferous clay. . ____ .. .. ____________ .................

Thickness 

(feet)

HO

30

160

200

10

Depth 

(feet)

110-

140

300

500

510
HENDERSON COUNTY 195

The Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway finished in 1903 a well 700 

feet deep that was not a success. The driller gave the following log from memory:

Log of well of Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway, Lexington

1*

'

Sand with shells of soft sand ironstone 6 to 8 Inches thick scattered through it, and a little

Clay, blue, with a little water-bearing sand and gravel at the bottom (Selma and Eutaw) .

Thickness

(feet)

200

300

200

Depth

(feet)

200

500

700

Both of these logs are given from memory, and though they give the succession and relative thickness of the formations, the figures should not be taken for 

exact measurements.

Another well at Lexington is the well of the City Ice & Fuel Co., a 6-inch well 

114 feet deep, equipped with a reciprocating pump yielding 35 gallons a minute; 

This well draws water from the Ripley formation.

Life (altitude 495 feet) is in a high sandy region in the area of Ripley outcrop, 

The water table stands 40 to 110 feet below the surface. Bored wells are used 

exclusively and range in depth from 60 to 120 feet.

At Luray (altitude 393 feet) there is a local artesian basin formed by an extensive clay lens in the Ripley formation, which crops out in the high ground to the 

east of Luray and dips down under the town. This clay bed entraps the water 

under sufficient pressure to cause wells in Luray to flow. The basin is of small 

extent and should not be drawn upon by needless wells, for it has only a small 

capacity, and many wells would reduce the head. The well of Harris Bros, is 

1% inches in diameter and 145 feet deep and flows 14 gallons a minute. (See 

analysis 56.) This well has a larger flow than any other well at Luray. No log 

of these wells could be obtained.

At Regan, in high hilly country, it is difficult to obtain adequate supplies of 

water above the Selma, so wells are drilled through the Selma into the underlying 

Eutaw formation.

Log of well of A. M. Powers, Regan

[Authority, Eli Jones, driller (from memory)]

Thickness 

(feet)

130

177

8

Depth

(feet)

130

307

315

Sardis is in the outcrop area of the Selma clay, but there is a covering of Pliocene 

sand and gravel 40 feet thick. Most of the wells obtain water from the Pliocene. 

Some wells pass through the Selma clay, which at this point is only from 30 to 40 

feet thick, and obtain water from the underlying Eutaw.

Scotts Hill is underlain by the Eutaw formation, which is composed largely of 

carbonaceous clay. This clay will yield only a little water, which has a strong 

odor and is not potable. Shallow wells from 25 to 30 feet deep obtain water of
196 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

fair quality sufficient for domestic use. One well 300 feet deep was drilled for 

W. E. Kelly, and the log is given below.

Log of well of W. E. Kelly, Scotts Hill

[Authority, Eli Jones, driller (from memory)]

Clay _.... -..-.., - -. . .. . .-. ..-- .. . .. 

White fossiliferous day _______ . ______________ ____________

Thickness 

(feet)

20

6

212

19

2

41

Depth 

(feet)

20

26

238

257

259

300

It is difficult to analyze this log. If the bed called limestone is conceded to 

be the top of the Paleozoic basement, the overlying Eutaw has a thickness comparable to the measurements made of the Eutaw in other places. However, the 

Sand and clay beds underlying this limestone can not be correlated with any forinations in the Paleozoic. The driller may have mistaken the drillings derived 

from a shale formation for clay. On this assumption the limestone is probably 

Itevonian calcareous chert, and the fossiliferous clay could be assumed to be the 

Birdsong shale, a highly fossiliferous shale of Devonian age.

Shady Hill is underlain by the Selma clay, which is covered by a mantle of residtium 15 feet thick. Some shallow wells obtain a poor and intermittent supply of 

water from wells in the residuum, but cisterns are largely used. North of Shady 

Hflll some wells have been drilled that pass through the Selma clay into Eutaw 

sand, which yields a plentiful supply of water. In this vicinity the Selma ranges 

from 116 to 155 feet in thickness.

Log of well of M. Youngerman, north of Shady Hill 

[Authority, Eli Jones, driller (from memory)]

Eutaw formation: Fine sand.. ___________________________ ... 

Thickness 

(feet)

18

132

49

Depth 

(feet)

18

150

199

Wildersville (altitude 468 feet) is in the valley of the Big Sandy River. A 

plentiful supply of good water is obtained from bored wells 25 to 30 feet deep.
S'S'BB 

TO era so aa 

*«6S

d y.

P C C

50 ge, of ty

of ity. 

a day. gallons Capacity 80 a minute. gallons p 

p .8QgaUQB8«jnJ»uteZ S M M S^ t? § 9 3 9 - -1? g *g£ s 

 Grove Church Oak- Bluff.. Warrens 

of Lexing- County 

ton 

T. Buck,.,.... W 

3

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if

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of railroad noth 20 feet track,of road75 easttosta- feet

Lexineton tion at

.... welll Lexington, 

& IceFul City Co. 

of . Lexington City 

 _do_.________

a, ^ 

S 5 

° i » SwS^swS 

§ "£ g.?3.3 g. g. &? § frf^ ~ & 

.. _ J. C.owtton R. LMcCallev __

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 .- .do - .... of milesnorth 8Lexington on Wildersville road. 

.. . Bargeton 

W_i 

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p

Location

O

if

0 1

(feet) Altitude 

""a

(feet) well of Depth 

well of Diameter 

(inches')

IT i 

 -*

trO

as.

bed Water-bearing 

well which to Depth 

(feet) cased is 

surface Below 

(feet)

meas- of Dateurement Water levl

o 

ca

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S 

Q
Records of wells in Henderson County Contin

No.

lla

lib 

12 

13

14

15 

16 

17 

18 

18a 

19a 

19b 

19c 

20 

21a 

21b 

21c

Location

250 feet west of railroad station 250 feet south of 

Darden.

5.3 miles west of Middleburg. 

Half a mile east of New Hope 

Church, 

 do - -

ShadyHfll ...... . . -

 do. , 

Scotts Hill, north side of roadScottsHill 

 do. 

Cedar Grove.-- ..-. - 

Sardis, west side of road 

Sardis 

 do 

Owner

W. O. Hill 

E. E. Wilson 

Ernest L. Dyer...

F. Smith 

M. M. Brash.....

W. E. Kelly-- 

E. L. Kennedy ... . 

H. W. Creasy ... ..

J. W. Wilie 

Topographic 

position

Valley bottom.

Valley.- 

Hilltop. ..

Hill... .

 do 

Hill... 

Hilltop 

Hill- .

Hilltop......

 -do.... ...

 ..do . 

Upland--. 

Hillside .. 

 -do 

Hilltop ...

Altitude (feet)

385

400 

480

480

480 

500 

"535"

575 

490 

490 

490 

465 

500 

500 

450

Type of 

well

Driven -

Bored . 

 _ do 

 do 

Drilled - 

Bored ... 

Dug. 

Drilled 

Drilled . 

Dug. 

Drilled .

--do 

Bored.. ... 

Punched 

Bored .

1

'3 

&"o 

S3"a 

«

Q

103

20

175 

154

199

50 

15 

324 

48 

315 

25 

300 

30 

30 

45 

40 

72

.Diameter ofwoii 

(inches)

3

8 

8 

8

2

6 

36 

3 

36 

3 

36 

2 

36 

36 

8 

8 

8

Water-bearing be

Character 

of 

material

Sand 

 do.....

 do 

...do 

 do ..

 do 

 do... - 

 do..... 

 do 

 do 

... do 

-.do... ..

... do .. 

... do.....

Gravel . . 

 do - 

Sand 

Geolog

horizo

Eutaw

... do 

...do 

...do 

... do 

 do...

Eutaw 

Ripley

Eutaw

 do 

 do 

-..do 

 do 

Pliocen

...do...

Eutaw
HENRY COUNTY 199

Analyses of waters from Henderson County

JParts per mMon. Numbers at heads of columns refer to corresponding well numbers in preceding table.

Analyzed by D. F. Farrar]

Silica (SiOa) . ________________

"Carbonate radicle (COs). _ - ..............

Sulphate radicle (SOi)-- -

 Chloride radicle (Cl)... ............. .. 

Nitrate radicle (NO8) ... ... .

Ib

8

1.9

24

3

15

4

0

12

58

26

3

156

72

5b

4

.7

7

1

\ 2

/ 2

0

17

9

.8

1.2

39

22

8a

6

1.6

16

3

f 20

X 4

0

27

26

36

.3

130

52

lla

9

.7

31

3

} '

0 .

100

5

11

.2

120

90

July 30

14

6.3

.4

88

9

3

0

225

61

7

.8

290

257

July 30

21a

14

.8

8

1

f 26

i Q

1 o

18

3

45

.4

112

24

July 31

HENRY COUNTY

[Area 626 square miles. Population 26,432] 

GEOGRAPHY

Hemy County, which lies in the northeast corner of western Tennessee, is primarily an agricultural area. The main crops are corn, 

tobacco, sweetpotatoes, clover, and cotton. In addition dairying is 

carried on to a considerable extent. Henry County is the center of 

clay mining in western Tennessee and furnishes almost all of the ball 

clay produced in this region. The production for 1928 was 45,594 

tons.94 Henry County is served by two railroads, the Louisville & 

Nashville and the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis. The Louisville & Nashville Railroad has shops at Paris, the county seat and 

largest city. The eastern boundary of Henry County is formed 

chiefly by the Tennessee and Big Sandy Rivers.

GEOLOGY

The oldest rocks in Henry County are Devonian rocks found in 

small outcrops along the west side of the Big Sandy Valley. These 

rocks dip to the west at about 30 feet to the mile and are encountered 

a short distance west of their outcrops in shallow wells. Most of the 

Devonian outcrops are chert, though the Birdsong shale is present. 

The Fort Payne chert is the formation at the surface along the Tennessee River. It forms rubble slopes of angular fragments of chert. 

The St. Louis limestone crops out in a small area between the Big 

Sandy and Tennessee Rivers. The weathered phase of the St. Louis 

limestone consists of a cherty rubble resembling tfie Fort Payne. The 

Eutaw formation, which is not more than 20 to 30 feet thick in Henry 

County, is very argillaceous and a poor source of water. The Coon 

Creek tongue of the Ripley formation is a glauconitic, micaceous 

gray sand containing considerable clay. It does not exceed 50 feet

 w U. S. Bur. Mines Mineral Resources, 1928, pt. 2, p. 192,1930.
200 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

in thickness. The Eutaw and Coon Creek together form a narrow 

band, not more than half a mile wide which directly overlies the 

Paleozoic rocks in the eastern part of the county.

A belt of Ripley formation 7 to 8 miles wide crosses the eastern half 

of the county from south to north. Though the formation is predominantly sand, it contains clay layers and lenses. Its maximum 

thickness is 350 feet.

The Porters Creek clay crops out in a narrow belt that runs a 

little north of east through the center of the county. Its outcrop 

area does not exceed a mile in width, and its thickness at Paris is 140 

feet. At the bottom of the Porters Creek is a black carbonaceous 

clay which may belong to the Ripley formation. The Porters Creek 

clay dips from 20 to 30 feet to the mile toward the west. It does 

not yield water.

Throughout the western part of Henry County the Wilcox group 

occurs at the surface. The Holly Springs sand covers most of the 

area. It ranges from coarse to fine sand and contains lenses of clay, 

which may attain a thickness of 50 feet and an extent of 6 acres. 

The Grenada formation crops out in the northwest corner of Henry 

County. This formation is predominantly sandy, and at Cottage 

Grove, where it is excellently exposed, the sand is very fine grained.

In the northeastern part of Henry County there are extensive 

deposits of Pliocene and Pleistocene gravel as much as 30 feet thick 

in places. The gravel contains some sand but is made up mostly of 

chert pebbles.

WATER RESOURCES

Henry County is well watered by perennial streams, and these 

serve for watering stock. Springs occur at the foot of the hills and 

are used for domestic purposes. In the outcrop area of the Ripley 

and Wilcox formations water is easily obtained, although on the hills 

and ridges the water table may be as much as 100 feet below the 

surface. In the outcrop area of the Porters Creek clay or just to 

the west, wells must pass through this formation to the underlying 

Ripley formation, but the clay is not more than 140 feet thick. The 

Coon Creek and Eutaw are very poor water bearers, and they rest 

on the Paleozoic rocks, which are not a favorable source of water. 

Cisterns are used where these formations occur at or near the surface. 

Cisterns are also largely used in the areas of Pliocene gravel and where 

the Fort Payne crops out, because of the difficulties of sinking deep 

wells in these materials. The Paleozoic rocks may furnish water 

at depths less than 300 feet, but the water is high in hydrogen sulphide 

and contains considerable dissolved mineral matter. An example 

of this type of water is the water from well 46, an analysis of which 

is given in the table.
HENRY COUNTY 201

LOCAL SUPPLIES

Cottage Grove is on the eastern edge of the Grenada formation. The town issupplied by a public water system owned by C. H. Roberts. (See analysis 38.) 

It consists of a 3-inch and a 6-inch well, each 150 feet deep. The water is pumped 

by electrically driven lift pumps into a pressure tank. A log of one of the wellsis as follows:

Log of wett of C. H. Roberts, Cottage Grove

[Authority, C. H. Roberts]

Red clay and sand (residuum); water at 25 feet.. ______________________

Medium-grained red sand (Holly Springs) ___________________________

Fine white sand (Holly Springs) ______________________________

Thickness 

(feet)

25

35

66

25

Depth 

(feet)

25

60"

125

150-

At Buchanan dug and drilled wells from 30 to 100 feet deep are used. East 

of Buchanan cisterns are largely employed.

Hazel is on the boundary between Kentucky and Tennessee. The public 

water supply, which is owned by the Farmers Bank, obtains water from a 4-inch 

well 318 feet deep. Water is pumped by a lift pump and delivered to a pressure 

tank. The water has a high iron content (see analysis 7) and should be treated.

The public water supply owned by the city of Henry has two 3-inch wells 154 

and 165 feet deep. (See analysis 75.) The wells are pumped by lift pumps, and 

the water is delivered to a pressure tank. The daily consumption averages 

10,000 gallons.

Bored and drilled wells are used in and around Manleyville. The bored wellsare, from 50 to 75 feet deep; the drilled wells from 20 to 120 feet deep. At the 

foot of the hills springs are common and wherever convenient are used for domestic supply.

Wells in Mansfield range from 30 to 100 feet in depth and average about 60- 

feet. The deeper wells are drilled and go deeper for a good sand for finishing. 

The Porters Creek clay crops out to the west of Mansfield, and to obtain good 

water there wells must be drilled to the underlying Ripley formation. Such wells 

may be as much as 250 feet deep.

Paris was the fourth largest city in western Tennessee according to the census 

of 1930, which gives the population as 8,164. The Porters Creek clay crops out 

in the lowland just east of the city. In order to obtain water wells must pass 

through the Porters Creek to the underlying Ripley sands. The thickness of the 

Porters Creek at Paris is 140 feet. Logs of two wells of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad are as follows:

Log of well 2, Louisville & Nashville Railroad, Paris 

[Authority, chief engineer] 

Surface clay _________

Rock...........................

Porters Creek clay:

Rock. .....__.-.-. ._..._- 

Thickness 

(feet)

6

8

6

39

2

140

3

Depth

(feet)

6

14

20

59

61

201

204

Ripley formation:

Sand..... __ ..........- ..

Thickness 

(feet)

27

20

16

1$

52

Depth 

(feet)

231

251

267

280

332

119722 33 14
202 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Log of well 4, Louisville & Nashville Railroad, Paris

[Authority, Layne Central Co. Altitude of collar, 489 feet]

Holly Springs sand: 

Sandy soil ......................

Porters Creek clay: 

Clay............................

Sand..... ............ .......

Thickness 

(feet)

59.5

126.5

20.5

20

10

18

Depth 

(feet)

59.5

ion

210.5

230.5

240.5

258.5

Ripley formation Continued.

Clay 

White sand interspersed with

Thickness 

(feet)

22

17

22

30

10

48

4

Depth 

(feet)

280.5

303.5

325.5

355.5

365.5

413.5

417.5

A deep well drilled for the city is reported to have hit rock at 750 feet. It is 

probable that this was the top of the Paleozoic, but the statement was very indefinite, and too much reliance can not be placed on this figure.

Paris has a public water supply, obtained from four 8-inch wells 375 feet deep, 

which end in the Ripley formation. The depth to water is 90 feet. The wells 

are pumped by compressed air, and the water is discharged into a settling basin, 

where it flows over and under a series of baffles, and a little lime is added to accelerate the precipitation of the iron. The water flows by gravity into a 75,000-gallon reservoir, from which an electric centrifugal pumps it into a 75,000-gallon 

elevated tank. The average daily consumption of water is about 700,000 gallons.

The Louisville & Nashville Railroad has three wells ranging in depth from 326 

to 419 feet from which it pumps an average of 400,000 gallons a day. Additional data for these wells can be found in the table. The Peoples Coal & Ice Co. 

has an 8-inch well from which it pumps an average of 360,000 gallons a day.

Puryear is in the Holly Springs sand area. The depth of the water table is 

from 65 to 90 feet, depending on topographic position. Puryear has a public 

supply owned by W. C. Littleton. Two 3-inch wells 80 feet deep obtain sufficient 

water. These wells are equipped with lift pumps, which deliver the water to a 

pressure tank.

Springville is in the lowland in the valley of West Sandy Creek. Here the 

Paleozoic floor lies as little as 30 feet below the surface. Water from the Paleozoic 

rocks would probably resemble the water at Sulphur Well, which is not suited 

for domestic use. Shallow wells, either dug or bored, obtain small supplies of 

water from Eutaw sand. The users report that the water has an unpleasant 

taste. The one analysis available (No. 64) shows considerable contamination 

with decomposed nitrogenous matter, and the sample can not be considered 

representative.
Records of wells in Henry County

Location

4.6miles north of Dulac ___

6 miles southeast of Hazel ,

7.4 miles north of Cottage 

Grove. 

5 miles north of Cottage Grove 

on highway 69.

3.8 miles west of Puryear. .... 

2.5 miles northwest of Puryear.

 do. ...........

3 miles southeast of Dulac . 

1.9 mile south of Buchanan... 

1 mile south of Coynesville ...

 . do ... 

 do 

3 miles north of Cottage Grove 

on highway 69. 

3.8 miles northeast of Cottage 

Grove. 

2.4 miles southwest of Puryear. 

2.9 miles southwest of 

Buchanan.

Owner or name

J. B. Snow 

J. J. Freeland .....

A. B. Milam . 

T. E. Adair .......

J. M. Hooper.....

W. J. Brice...... .

John Coats .... 

F. K. Page. 

Bucbanan School . 

A. G. McGehee ...

A. H. Presswell ... 

C. J. Williams....

L. C. King 

J. F. Smith.. ..... 

W. C. Littleton 

White & West -

Dixie Brick & 

Tile Co.

B. F. Wade 

H. C. Spink Clay 

Co.

Topographic 

position

Foot of hillHillside. 

 .do .1

..... do - 

 ..do ....

 .do 

Upland.. ... 

 do 

Upland.. ...

Foot of hillUpland... 

Foot of hillHilltop. _ .. 

Bottom. .... 

Hilltop - 

Foot of hill 

.... .do ....

Hilltop 

 .do ...

 .do~ .

 .do 

... -do 

 do 

----doType of 

well

Dug..... 

_ do .....

Dug 

Bored ... 

Drilled.. 

 do 

...doBored ...

Dug ..

 do..... 

...do.....

 do 

 dd 

Bored ... 

Spring.. 

Dug. _ .

... do 

 do 

Drilled.. 

Bored ... 

Drilled.. 

...do 

-.do .

 do 

Drilled- 

 do 

Depth of well(feet)

20 

51 

54 

20 

30 

65 

318 

236 

72

56

35

47 

29

60 

36 

90

38 

18 

19 

60 

80 

80 

90 

112

120 

30 

198 

60

"3

0?

ll

® *""'

aCS

5

36 

36 

6 

36 

36 

6 

4

m

2 

2

36 

36 

36

36 

36 

2

36 

36 

36 

2 

6 

3 

3 

3

2 

6 

2

2

Water-bearing bed

Character 

of 

material

Gravel 

Sand.... 

 do !

Gravel 

 doSand .... 

 do 

 do 

...do 

... do 

 do 

... do -

 do 

 do 

... do 

... do 

-.do.....

..-doChert 

Sand .... 

 do 

 do 

...do 

-..do 

... do 

... do -

 do 

 do.....

Geologica

horizon

Pliocene _ 

Ripley __ 

.... _do ..... 

Pliocene __ 

--.do.... .

Ripley.. --

Holly Sprin

. _ .do . ..

 . do... ..

 ..do 

 do... 

...-do 

 do 

Ripley.. ..

 .do. 

..... do 

Alluvium 

Mississipp

Ripley 

Holly Sprin

 . .. do 

 -do... ..

.....do 

 -do 

 ..do 

 --do 

Flowing 1 gallon a minute.
204 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

K O O O O O

SOftfiQQ

.

eg o 0 O « O O O OOOOOO£ § ft aftaft ft ft ftftftftfifta

ft

sis

a,

-§!§ 

IS

a i '!

Sosi actt oe

*

sssgs § s

(}99J) P8SBO SI

HQJ& qoiqM oj qjd9Q

 100 o co Q t>i-tt>. O OS <O coco

3 

g

+3

fl

o 

O

O C3

oo

;«

c! 1?

OB PH«

(saqom)

H9Ai JO

<o e co co s co oo

(J89J) H8A JO qjd9Q :ss s

 g 0 U> 0 

-

CO ,'fl Pp ft !0

<D,^ ^iii *"* °2 o o o

**_5Q'^'^'^ Sjg cs 2 

s

M

- J'SS'

:a|| |II

°

PH O

..

W Q

miles southwest Dula3.8 ofsouth milesof Dulac 4.5... .do....... ............. . miles southwest Dula 4.4 of

Vista Mount_____ ... 

miles 5.6northeast Wh of

j«i S S « S % a a os6s

I « « s^^:^

J-aJ!rf3rfJl!l2? :! 

ifPPrilUf^l 8lgo,«..o^^o* ^

eo^'*' co co 1-4 w ;(

fS&fl3

 §T3T3

>i-t CtM'f 

SCO CO CO CO co co co cococo>a< * us <o t> oooocno
49f

49g

50 

51 

52a 

52b 

53 

54 

55 

56 

57 

58 

59

60 

61

62 

63 

64 

65 

66 

67 

68a

68b

69 

70

71 

72 

73 

74 

75a 

75b 

76 

77a 

77b 

78 

79 

SO 

81 

82

_ .

Paris, welU ---. __ ... ...

3 miles west of Paris _____

6.5 miles west of Paris. .......

2.5 miles east of Como. __ 

-...do- ... ........ .

Como.. _____ . .. ...

2.5 miles south of Como. _ _ ...

3.8 miles southeast of Como. . 

2.8 miles south of Paris. . ...

3.3 miles southeast of Paris... 

2.7 miles southeast of Paris.. . 

1.6 miles southeast of Paris on 

highway 69. 

3 miles southeast of Paris on 

highway 69. 

5.4 miles southeast of Paris on 

highway 69.

2.4 miles east of Springville ... 

1.8 miles south of Springville.

0.5 mile northeast of Manleyville. 

6.5 miles southeast of Paris. . . 

3 miles northeast of Henry on 

Louisville & NashvilleR. R.

3 miles northwest of Henry. 

-.-.do..... ... ... . 

8.2 miles southeast of Paris. ._ 

10.4 miles southeast of Paris. - 

 do... .... ...

4.5 miles east of Mansfield ....

3.7 miles west of Mansfield.. . 

6.2 miles west of Mansfield- _ . 

3 miles southwest of Henry.. .

/Louisville & Nash- 

\ Ville R. R.

 do .... 

W. H. Tompkins..

J. E. Mathmay- ..

J. F. Lawrence. .

E. H. VanDyke. . 

Mrs. J. H. Harris. 

W. D. Russell .

P. R. Boothe.. ...

Holland and Medlock.

E. W. Dunlap. 

Etta Moody 

J. W. Hicks. 

C. A. Love.. 

Manley ville 

School.

I. D. Quillen. 

Q. E. Routon. . 

H. B. Alien 

C.E. Verdell-- 

City of Henry... .

R. B. Travik..--. 

L. C. Stagnar _ .. 

J. R.Walters 

Wilfred Smith, -_ 

W. R. Gate 

C. Mathis 

J. E. Brown. ... 

} do .. 

 do... 

Hilltop. 

.... .do. .

 -do 

 do ...

Hilltop. 

"Hillside - 

Lowland ....

Hilltop. 

 do .

Hillside 

..... do 

 .do _

Hilltop. 

Ridgetop - . _ 

Hilltop. 

 -do 

Upland.. ... 

Hilltop.. 

..... do ...

Hillside 

... ..do ...

Upland.. ...

Hilltop. 

Valley- _. ... 

Foot of hill.. 

Hillside 

 .do... ...

 do ... 

Hilltop.....

...do..- 

... do... .

Bored.-- 

Drilled.. 

Bored... 

 do... .

Drilled.. 

Bored... 

 do... .

... doDug. ...

Bored... 

Drilled..

Dug .

 do .

Dug . 

Bored 

 do....

Dug - 

Bored. 

DrilledBored 

... do....

. -doDrilled..

 do -

Dug -

Drilled.. 

... do-.-

BoredDugBored... 

. do 

Drilled.. 

Bored...

...do -

326

419

94 

100 

85 

52 

80 

30 

32 

90 

20 

32 

187

45 

105

75 

45 

35 

35 

34 

64 

80

62

50 

65

100 

118 

65 

31 

154 

165 

90 

15 

20 

30 

84 

38 

60 

100

|/ 14

f/18 

\«12 

6 

2 

6 

6 

2 

6 

6 

6 

36 

6 

2

36 

6

6 

36 

6 

6 

36 

6 

2

6

6 

6

6 

6 

36 

3 

3 

6 

36 

6 

6 

2 

6 

6 

6

1-do 

/" °" '

 do... .

...do .

... do -

 do... .

... do... .

 do .

 do I

...do 

... do .

...do .

 do... .

 do--

 do 

Chert.. . 

Sand. 

... do .

--do.-.-

... do -

...do... . 

... do... .

 do .

... do... .

do

... do -

... do .

--do..-.

... do .

... do....

... do...-

... do..-.

. do 

.... .do-----

Holly Sprin

 .do 

 ..do..-. 

 do.....

 do.... 

 -do... 

 .do 

Residuum

 do .

 do... 

 do...

 -do-.- 

 .do... 

 do ..

Devonian- .

Ripley... .. 

 -do... 

..... do...

 .do 

Holly Sprin

 .do 

----do..

 . -do... __

... ..do-.

 do.. 

 .do-. 

 do... 

 do..... 

 do... 

Holly Sprin

 .do 

<> Flowing 20 gallons a minute.

 Flowing 120 gallons a minute.

d Capacity of pump, 275 gallons a minute.

 Pumpage, 700,000 gallons a day.

/Top.

« Bottom.

* Capacity o

« Capacity of 
206 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Analyses of waters from Henry County

[Parts per million. Numbers at heads of columns refer to corresponding well numbers in preceding tableAnalyses 28, 46, and 75 by D. F. Farrar; the rest by Margaret D. Foster]

Silica(SiOa)-. 

Iron (Fe) ~ - . -. __ ......

Sulphate (SO4) -. -- --. 

Chloride (Cl)_. ............... .............

Nitrate (NO3)- -- -- .--- 

Total hardness as CaCO 3 (calculated) ......

Date of collection, 1929 _ __ - ___ ......

Silica(SiOj) . -- .-

Bicarbonate (HCOs) __ _________ -

Chloride (Cl). ........ - _-__

Nitrate(NOs) 

7

26

6.7

5.6

4 2

2.5

qo

9

1

2.4

.05

70

31

July 13

46°

16

.4

52

14

105

9

196

47

154

1.2

500

187

1928.

15a

17

.78

19

3.1

4.0

Rd

14

3.8

.33

97

60

July 9

49a

8.4

2.1

6.2

3.1

3.0

1.4

27

9.3

2.8

.08

49

28

July 15,

1929.

22a

17

.08

4.4

2.0

8.0

1.0

15

3.7

12

6.0

68

19

July 12

64

32

.11

19

14

55

5.9

16

44

66

98

355

105

Sept. 12,

1929.

28a

3.5

.4

4

\ 3

/ 3

20

35

5

.3

76

54

July 9

68a

11

.46

2.7

1.1

2.3

1.1

25

4.6

2.2

5.3

52

31

Oct. 12,

1929.

33 '

13

1.2

4.5

1.7

( 2.7

1 1 Q

20

2.6

2 2

4.2

56

18

July 13

75a

3.3

.6

6

2

1 

15

9

2

.2

34

23

July 28,

1929.

38b

13

1.3

3.4

1.6

s.r

1.3

12

4.»

4.8.

3.8-

44

15

July 15

79

13

3.6

2.4

1.2

( 1.5.

I -6

12

2.8

1.8

.3$

30

11

July 11,

1929.

0 Hydrogen sulphide (HzS), 22.0 parts per million.

LAKE COUNTY

[Area 122 square miles. Population 10,486] 

GEOGRAPHY

Lake County lies in the northwest corner of Tennessee and is 

bounded on the west by the Mississippi River. Agriculture is the only 

activity, and cotton is the principal crop, though some corn and hay 

are grown.

The whole of Lake County is situated on the alluvial plain of the 

Mississippi River, and its general altitude is about 290 feet above mean 

sea level. The surface shows slight irregularities, and in the eastern 

part there is a well-defined ridge of higher ground. Reelfoot Lake, in 

the northeastern part of the county, is supposed to have been formed 

during the New Madrid earthquake of 1811, and it is probable that 

most-of the surface features of the alluvial plain in this section were 

produced by that earthquake. The lower ground in Lake County is 

flooded during very high water of the Mississippi River.

GEOLOGY

The surface formation everywhere in Lake County is alluvium, 

which has a thickness of 100 to 150 feet. This material was laid down 

by the Mississippi River in its wanderings across the flood plain. It
LAKE COUNTY 207

changes rapidly in composition both vertically and horizontally. 

Lenses and bars of gravel, sand, silt, and clay alternate in an unpredictable manner. As the alluvium contains considerable organic matter and marcasite, the water from it is likely to contain considerable 

iron, be hard, and have an unpleasant taste. The Jackson formation 

underlies the alluvium, which in turn is underlain by the Grenada, 

Holly Springs, and Ackerman formations of the WUcox group. These 

formations can not be differentiated in well logs, all consisting of sand 

intercalated with beds and lenses of clay. Layers of coarse sand in 

which good wells can be developed are found in the Wilcox group, the 

total thickness of which is about 1,700 feet. The Porters Creek clayr 

a hard, tight clay 250 feet thick, underlies the Wilcox and is in turn 

underlain by the Kipley formation. The Kipley consists of sand and 

clay and includes at some horizons coarse water-yielding sand. The 

following log gives a complete section to the underlying Paleozoic 

rocks:

Log of well of Reelfoot Dome Oil Co., northwest side of Reelfoot Lake at Proctor City

[Authority, De Armand, driller]

Alluvium: 

Soil... ........ ..___......._ 

Sand, gray ___________

Sand.. _____________

Thickness 

(feet)

10

135

20

55

15

75

80

103

45

37

20

200

115

50

70

Depth 

(feet)

10

145

210

190

225

300

380

483

528

565

585

785

900

950

1,020

Wilcox group Continued.

Shale, black......... _ ._.----.

Gumbo, sandy... _______

Thickness 

(feet)

60

60

125

210

25

80

20

20

30

70

230

24

101

Depth

(feet)

1,080

1,140-

1,265

1,475

1,500

1,580

1,600

1,620

1,650

1,720

1,950

1,974

2,075

The correlations in the above log are supplied by the writer and 

differ from those given by Jillson.95

WATER RESOURCES

There are no rivers in Lake County. Ponds for watering stock 

are readily dug. Driven wells are used throughout the county; these 

average 40 feet in depth. The water is of the usual poor alluvial type.

LOCAL SUPPLIES

At Cornersville wells are from 15 to 30 feet and from 80 to 100 feet deep. The 

shallow wells go dry during the late summer.

Phillippy has driven wells 15 to 30 feet and drilled wells 70 to 100 feet deep.

" Jillson, W. R., Oil-field stratigraphy of Kentucky: Kentucky Geol. Survey, ser. 6, p. 175,1922.
208 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Ridgely has a public water supply owned by the Southern Utilities Co. 

Water is derived from the Wilcox group by means of a 6-inch well 668 feet deep, 

pumped by a vertical centrifugal pump. The water passes through two rapid 

sand filters and then into a 75,000-gallon elevated tank. The average daily consumption is 100,000 gallons. Analyses of the water before and after treatment 

«re given in the table on page 210 (Nos. lla, 11).

Log of well of Southern Utilities Co., Ridgely 

[Authority, Carloss Well Supply Co.]

Alluvium:

Thickness 

(feet)

15

11

83

30

26

64

62

73

Depth 

(feet)

15

26

109

139

165

229

291

364

Wilcox group Continued.

Thickness 

(feet)

58

31

9

13

83

10

43

47

Depth 

(feet)

422

453

462

475

568

578

621

668

Tiptonville obtains its water from Reelfoot Lake.
Records of wells in Lake County

No.

1

2 

3

4

5 

6

7

8 

9 

10 

11 

12

13

14

Location

Phillippy, 8.5 miles northeast of Tiptonvflfe on Illinois Central R. R.

Markham, 6 miles northeast of Tipton ville.

2J4 miles east of Wynnburg ........ 

1 mile south and 1.8 miles east from 

Wynnburg. 

2.5 miles west-southwest of Wynnburg. 

Madie, 1.8 miles north-northeast of 

Ridgely. 

3 miles east and 1.2 miles north from 

Ridgely. 

Ridgely . . .

3J^ miles west-southwest of Ridgely.

Owner

J. L. Phillippy-.--

J. T. Yarboro .....

T. J. Rogers.... ...

Mooring School... 

D. Burton.... .... 

W. L.Willingham.

Southern Utilities 

Co. 

A. C. Taylor......

W. B. MarshallTopographic 

position

Bottom. 

...do 

...do 

... do 

 do .

...do.. 

... do 

...do 

...do..... 

...do 

...do... .. 

...do 

...do.....

...doType of 

well

Driven .... 

...do ..

Drilled. 

Driven ....

... do 

.-.do ... 

...do ....

...do - 

...do - 

...do .

 Drilled.... 

Driven. ...

Drilled 

Driven _ .

1

of 

<S a^

H

Q

31

34 

80 

23

35 

30 

32

40 

36 

33 

670 

65

110 

42

Diameter ofwell

(inches)

1^

IS

1« 

1« 

1M 

6

1«

2

1H

Water-bearing 

Character 

of material

Sand 

...do.....

...do 

...do.....

...do.....

...do..... 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do.....

...do ..

...do.... . 

...do.... .

Geol

horiz

.....do.

.....do 

.....do.

.....do 

.....do

.....do 

.....do

.....do

.....do 

Holly S

Capacity of pump, 250 gallons a minute; pumpage 100,000 gallons a day.
210 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Analyses of waters from Lake County

I Parts per million. Numbers at heads of columns refer to corresponding well numbers in preceding table.

Analyzed by D. F. Farrar]

Silica (SiOj) -~ .

Iron (Fe) __ --- ___ . __ . __ . _ -

Calcium (Ca)... ___ . ____ ...... __ ... _ ------ _ -------

Bicarbonate (HCOs) ___ ... _ ----- _ ........................

Sulphate (SOO 

Chloride (Cl). ..................................................

Nitrate(NOs) - -

( )

4.5

.3

48

5

\ 1

} 2

154

12

3

1.3

164

140

Sept. 17

5

8

1.4

88

10

5

296

15

8

.7

291

261

Sept. 16

lla

9

1.6

44

3

1

145

3

1.5

.1

140

122

Sept. 16

11»

4

1

42

3

136

9

2

.1

135

117

Sept. 16

« Public water supply of the city of Tiptonville obtained from Reelfoot Lake. 

* Treated water.

LAUDEBDALE COUNTY

[Area 456 square miles. Population 23,406] 

GEOGRAPHY

Lauderdale County is bounded on the west by the Mississippi 

River and lies midway between the northern and southern boundaries 

of Tennessee. Lumbering and farming are the only activities. Cotton is the principal crop, with corn second. Strawberries and 

tomatoes are raised for northern markets, and dairying is becoming of 

increased importance. Lumbering is carried on in the Mississippi 

bottoms, cypress and gum being cut. The bottoms are swampy, subject to flooding at periods of high water, and therefore but sparsely 

settled and in large part still uncleared.

The Mississippi River wash'es the foot of the bluffs at Fulton, in the 

southern part of the county, but the alluvial plain attains a width of 

about 5 miles in the north. The surface of the plain is slightly irregular, both lakes and sloughs being found on it. At the bluffs the land 

rises abruptly to the upland surface, in many places 150 feet or more 

higher. Adjacent to the bluffs the upland or plateau surface is deeply 

incised, and owing to the ability of the surface formation to stand in 

vertical faces the valleys are very narrow and steep-sided. The 

remainder of the plateau has a rolling surface, and the land along the 

South Fork of the Forked Deer River and the Hatchie River is level.

GEOLOGY

The surface formation of the flood plain of the Mississippi River is 

alluvium, which consists of clay, sand, and gravel laid down in irregular bodies. The alluvium is characterized by abrupt changes both 

horizontally and vertically from one material to another. This is 

illustrated by the following log of a test boring made by the Mississippi 

River Commission at Ashport.96

United States Mississippi River Comm. Progress Kept., p. 196,1881.
LAUDERDALEJ COUNTY 

Log of boring No. 1, Ashport

211

1. Sandy loam... ___________________________ _*._

4. Bluish clay. From 8.4 to 9.8 feet, coarse bluish sand; 9.8 to 11.8 feet, 

blue clay; 11.8 to 14.5 feet, gradually coarser in texture; 14.5 to 15 

feet tenacious clay; pasty to 16 feet; 16 to 16.4 feet, stiff; 16.4 to 19.8 

feet, pasty. All these were pronounced clay. 19.8 to 20 feet, stiff 

clay. All specimens mentioned as stiff or tenacious less than 

O.OOSmillimeter _ -. __ --_. __ -_-_-- 

The usual fine sand succeeding clay corresponding in color, growing 

coarser. No marked division between Nos. 5, 6, 7, and 8, though 

one that could not be located was suspected in the specimen 

marked 5 between sand and mud. 

6. Sand.- _ ------- ____ .. _ .. __ . . __ ._- _ -_-

IGravel, 50 per cent--. ____________ ____ __ _ _______

s /Sand, 50 per cent... _ --_ ..._ ... ----- _ _.-_

IGravel, 50 per cent-- _ _____ ... _____________ ____

9. Blueclay _ ----------- _--___ __ __ . ------ .. ...

11. Blueclay .. ___________ - ______ . ___ - __ ........

12. Sand---:.-..-_ ........... .... . .... ..... ..............

15 /Sand, 25 percent. ____ . _____ . ___ _ ____________

Ball of sand, gravel, and lignite from depth of 62 feet.

IS.-jSand, 45 per cent- _____ _ ________ . _____ . .............

\Gravel, 20 per cent--- __ ..... _ _ ___ . _ . __ - __ ___. _ ....

IGravel, 67 per cent-....---. ___________ . _ _ _ . __ _. .....

22. Sand.---.---..---....- . _ .... ... .. _. _ .... _

{

Mud, 10 per cent. ____ ________ . ____________ ......

Sand, 23per cent - - .- . 

24. Sand, fine--- -.-- .... __ .....................................

Thickness 

(feet)

0.3

8.1 

1.4

10.2 

} ,3

4.7 } "

} 2.3

.9 

13.4 

.2

9.8

[ 3.5 

1.8

} "

[ 13.7

\ 10.4

[«

[ 4.0

\ 2.7

\ 9.3 

4.3

},,

5.0

Depth 

(feet)

0.3

8.4 

9.g

20.0 

21.3

26.0

27.4

29.7

30.6 

44.0 

44.2 

54.0

57.5 

59.3 

81.1

74.8

85.2 

90.0

94.0 

96.7

106.0 

110.3

115.0 

120.0

Diameter of 

grains (inches)

Average

0.127 

.036 

.025

.013 

f .025 

\ .51

.62 

/ .62 

I 2.54 

/ .726 

\ 4.23 

.0127 

.51 

.0127 

.85 

( .85 

112.7

/ .85 

I 5.1 

f 1.0 

I 2.1

/ .85 

I 3.2 

[

{ 3.2 

[ 8.5 

f .51 

I 6. 2 

/ .51 

I 2.1 

/ .85 

L12.7 

.51 

I .025 

.51 

J4.2 

.17

Greatest

0.254 

.10 

.051

.051 

.051

1.27

1.27 

1.27 

4.23 

1.27 

"3.81 

.062 

1.27 

.051 

1.27 

1.27 

"5.08

1.27 

1.27 

1.27 

"5.71

1.27 

"4. 45

1.27 

"5.08 

1.27 

"4.45 

1.27 

6.4 

1.27 

"75.08 

1.27

1.27 

"1.88 

.51

« Centimeters.

As the alluvium contains considerable organic matter and marcasite 

(a sulphide of iron), the waters derived from it are variable in composition. The alluvium is about 100 feet thick. From the bluffs eastward the surface of Lauderdale County is covered with a mantle of 

loess. The loess has a maximum thickness of 90 feet at the bluffs, 

where it is excellently exposed and can be readily studied, but thins to 

not more than 10 feet at the eastern boundary of the county. Pliocene sand and gravel underlie the loess in the high areas west of 

State highway 3, but east of this highway the gravel is missing. The 

thickness of the gravel is variable. The maximum exposed thickness 

in the bluffs is 20 feet, but William Kimmerling reports that two layers 

of gravel encountered in a well at Dry Hill had a combined thickness
212 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

of 60 feet. This thickness is exceptional. The gravel is not uniform 

either in thickness or hi distribution. It probably underwent some 

erosion before the loess was deposited. The Pliocene gravel is an 

excellent source of water.

Below the alluvium and the Pliocene sand and gravel, deposits of 

Eocene age are found throughout the county. From younger to older 

these are the Jackson formation, the Grenada, Holly Springs, and 

Ackerman formations of the Wilcox group, and the Porters Creek clay 

of the Midway group. It is impossible to differentiate the Jackson 

and Grenada formations from each other. The Jackson consists of 

beds of fine sand and interstratified clay, with rather characteristic 

layers of lignite. Some small layers or lenses of coarse sand occur, but 

they are irregular in distribution and not common. What has been 

said of the Jackson is true of the upper part of the Grenada, which is 

characteristically fine grained; layers of fine sand alternate with layers 

of clay, and lignite is also present. In general the Jackson and top 

part of the Grenada are poor sources of water, for it is difficult to find a 

sufficient thickness of sand coarse enough to be checked by a strainer 

to finish a well in. The lower part of the Grenada is coarser grained 

and contains thicker layers of sand. The Holly Springs formation 

consists of medium to coarse grained sand with intercalated lenses of 

clay. This is a good water bearer, and it is from this formation that 

large supplies of water are developed. In Lauderdale County no well 

has been drilled to the Ackerman formation, but a deep well at 

Blytheville, Ark., probably penetrates this formation and shows that 

the Ackerman contains beds of water-bearing sand as much as 60 feet 

in thickness. The water is under artesian pressure and rises above the 

level of the river bottoms. The Porters Creek is a clay formation 

and does not yield water. The total thickness of the Eocene beds is 

from 1,100 to 1,600 feet, divided between the Jackson, 70-120 feet; 

Grenada, 350-425 feet; Holly Springs, 350-425 feet; Ackerman, 100- 

330 feet; and Porters Creek, 250-300 feet. The Eocene deposits are 

underlain by the Bipley formation, which contains layers of coarse, 

water-yielding sand.
LAUDERDALE COUNTY 213

Log of well at Blytheville, Ark. 

[Authority, W. P. Maingault]

Alluvium:

pipe at 1*1.50 feet.... .....

Clay.. ;....................

Sand __ . _ ..... _______

Clay..........................

Clay..........................

Clay.....,........ .........

Sand. . 

Clay......... ...........

Lanham,

Sand... ___ . __ ..........

Clay.....,. ..... .......

Bock.. _____________ .

Thickness 

(feet)

20

15

OE

10

CE

5

41

32

182

5

32

51

19

35

25 ia«

15H

3Q

21

19

19

9

57

5

Depth 

(feet)

20

35

70

QA

1Q*

140

181

213

395

400

432

JCO

502

510

RAR

570

691^

707

74ft

767

786

805

814

871

876

Wilcox group Continued. Clay.... 

Sand. 

Sand 

Clay....... .... 

Bock. . ________

Clay 

Clay 

Clay... -

Clay... 

Sand 

Clay 

ClaySand 

Bock .. .....

Thickness 

(feet)

3

166

5

6

9

8

1

73

1

27

3

1

2

25

26

8

20

3

5

4

2

6

68

23

Depth 

(feet)

879

1,045

1,050

1,056

1,065

1,073

1,074

1,147

1,148

1,175

1,178

1,179

1,181

1,206

1,232

1,240

1,260

1,263

1,268

1,272

1,274

1,276

1,282

1,350

1,373

WATER RESOURCES

Though streams are abundant in Lauderdale County the practice 

of watering stock, especially cows, from wells is becoming more prevalent. Springs are abundant along the foot of the bluffs and are used. 

In the bottoms driven wells are employed. Some of them supply a 

fair water, but generally it is desirable to go deeper to the Grenada. 

The fact that water from the Pliocene gravel is hard and the ease of 

making cisterns makes cistern water supplies popular, especially where 

it is necessary to go very deep for wells. Of the 53 wells listed in the 

table, 9 are bored and average 52 feet in depth, whereas 42 are drilled 

and average 202 feet in depth.

LOCAL SUPPLIES

At Arp and in the surrounding country drilled wells are from 175 to 300 feet 

deep. The differences in depth are determined by the need of finding a sand 

sufficiently coarse to be checked by a strainer. There is a spring at the bottom 

of the hill at Arp.

Ashport is on the Mississippi River. Driven wells 20 to 25 feet deep obtain 

sufficient water for domestic needs. If the water is palatable such wells are used; 

otherwise wells about 100 feet deep are drilled.

At Curve cisterns are largely used, though there are some pipe wells 120 to 150 

feet deep. The log of the abandoned well of the Illinois Central Railroad is as 

follows:
214 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE 

Log of abandoned well of Illinois Central Railroad, Curve

Brown soil and alluvial deposit __

Yellow sand; streaks of clay ____

Fine gray sand.. _____ ........

Fine cherty gray sand. .............

Dark-gray clay, also lignite and

Thickness 

(feet)

14

13

43

30

25

5

30

20

20

Depth 

(feet)

14

27

70

100

125

130

160

180

200

Thickness 

(feet)

10

20

10

87

38

25

60

36

Deptk

(feet)

210-

230

240

32T

365

390

45*

496.

In the vicinity of Double Bridges the loess is about 35 feet deep. This is 

underlain by fine white sand. Both bored and drilled wells are used; the bored 

wells are from 30 to 80 feet deep and the drilled wells 60 to 125 feet.

At Dry Hill the loess is 80 feet deep and this is underlain by 60 feet of sand 

and gravel, which is in turn underlain by sand. This lower sand is coarse enough 

to be checked by a strainer, and wells from 180 to 200 feet deep derive water from 

it. Cisterns are still largely used in this neighborhood.

At and near Durhamville bored wells are largely used. Deep wells must go as 

much as 400 feet.

Log of well of E. R. Anthony & Co., Durhamville 

[Authority, William Kimmerling, driller]

Thickness 

(feet)

20

50

90

180

50

10

Depth 

(feet)

20

70

160

340

400

Very hard clay; cuts like sand but

Thickness 

(feet)

25

75

25

81

Depth

(feet)

425

500

525

60&

At Edith cisterns are still generally used. Wells range from 158 to 196 feet in 

depth.

Log of deep well at Edith

[Authority, William Kimmerling, driller]

Alternating layers of sand and gravel. ___________________________ -

Sand. _ ----..----. --.----..--_------.----........---.-.----- _ ..... ___ ___-.---- .

Thickness 

(feet)

80

60

50

6

Depth

(feet)

80

140

190

196

On top of the bluffs at Fulton cisterns are used almost exclusively. Wells 

obtain water at .100 to 110 feet. On the second bottom wells 30 to 40 feet are 

in use, and on the first bottom driven wells 17 to 30 feet deep obtain enough 

water for household needs.
LAUDERDALE COUNTY 215

At Gates bored wells obtain small supplies of water from 30 to 80 feet. Larger 

supplies are derived from drilled wells 100 to 350 feet deep.

In some places in Glimp a thin layer of sand is found at 60 to 80 feet. If this 

is not encountered it is necessary to go from 200 to 331 feet to obtain a sand 

sufficiently coarse to finish a well in".

Log of gin well at Glimp 

[Authority, William Kimmerling, driller]

Stiflblueelay . .._ 

Thickness 

(feet)

40

20

15

75

5

12

33

100

31

Depth- 

(feet)

40

6Qj

75

150

155,

16,7

200,

300,

331

Halls has a public water supply owned by the West Tennessee Power & Light 

Co. Water is obtained from three 8-inch wells 180 feet deep. The wells are 

pumped by plunger pumps each having a capacity of 100 gallons1 a minute. The. 

water flows to a sedimentation tank, from which it is pumped to a 50,000-galloni 

head tank. In addition there is a 100,000-gallon reservoir. The average daily 

consumption is 96,000 gallons. The water is moderately hard, containing 16ft 

parts per million of total hardness. (See analysis 6.)

The public water supply at Henning, which is owned by the Henning Ice &, 

Coal Co., derives water from one 3-inch well 50 feet deep, one 4-inch well 420> 

feet deep, and one 4-inch well 440 feet deep. The first two wells are pumped by 

electrically driven force pumps, the third by a Cook steam head. Water is, 

pumped directly into the system, but there is a 40,000-galion overhead tank. 

The average daily consumption is 40,000 gallons. Water from the shallow wett 

is moderately hard; water from the deep wells is much softer but has a very high 

iron content. (See analyses 38a, 38b.)

Log of well of A. V. Johnson, 2.5 miles west of Henning 

[Authority, William Kimmerling, driller]

Interstratifled very hard clay and medium-grained sand in layers from 6 inches to 2 feet 

thick. . . 

Sand which grows progressively coarser; sand at bottom was coarser than 0.25 millimeterThickness 

(feet)

20

15

5

87

18

10

20

50

13

37

21

22

Depth 

(feet)

20,

3540,

127

145

155,

17ft

225.

238

278

296 sia
216 GBOTTND-WATER RESOTJKCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

At Mack drilled wells 90 to 100 feet deep obtain water but in the Hatchie 

River bottom driven wells 20 to 40 feet deep are used. A deep well drilled on 

the north side of the road a mile west of Mack has the following log:

Log of well 1 mile west of Mack 

[Authority, William Zimmerling, driller]

Gravel ___ ... . .... ________

Gray sand and clay (looks like ashes)

Thickness 

(feet)

60

2

138 

60

Depth 

(feet)

60

62

400 

460

Very coarse sand.

Thickness 

(feet)

80

135

Depth 

(feet)

490

625

At Orysa bored wells from 30 to 60 feet in depth are used, but there is one 

well 398 feet deep.

Log of well of E. E. Foust, Orysa

[Authority, William Kimmerling, driller]

Soil... .... . ....................................

Clay. __ . __ . _ .... .... .... .......

Thickness 

(feet)

4

31

10

15

40

75

8

48

1

108

45

13

Depth 

(feet)

4

35

45

60

100

175

183

231

232

340

385

398

The public water supply at Ripley, owned by the West Tennessee Power & 

Light Co., has an 8-inch well 694 feet deep and a 10-inch well 695 feet deep. The 

wells are 100 feet apart. Both are pumped by air lift, and the water flows into 

a sedimentation tank, where half a grain of alum per gallon is added. From the 

sedimentation tank the water flows by gravity to three gravity filters, thence into 

a 150,000-gallon reservoir. From the reservoir the water is pumped by three 

centrifugal pumps, each yielding 350 gallons a minute, into a 100,000-gallon 

elevated tank. The average daily consumption is 140,000 gallons. Alum is 

added to the water to flocculate the iron hydroxide and accelerates its precipitation in the sedimentation tank. The iron hydroxide could be removed by the 

filter without using the alum, but the filters would become dirty more quickly 

and need washing more often, and the cost of the additional washing of the filters 

would be greater than the cost of the alum. The chemical composition of the 

water before and after treatment is shown by analyses 21 and 2 la.
Records of wells in Lauderdale County

No.

2 

3

4 

5 

6a

6b 

6c

7a

7b 

7c 

8 

9 

10 

11

12a 

12b 

13

14 

15 

16

17 

18a

18b

Location °

3.4 miles north of Halls on 

highway 3. 

5.7 miles northwest of Halls, 

6.5 miles northwest of Halls. .

Double Bridges, 3.8 miles 

west -northwest of Halls. 

1.9 miles west-northwest of 

Halls. 

Halls 

 ..do ... - 

 ..do.. 

Nankipoo, 4.8 miles westsouthwest of Halls. 

 yio ... 

7.4 miles west of Halls.. _ ... 

Edith, 6.8 miles west of Gates.

3.8 miles west of Gates.. __ ..

1.7 miles west-southwest of 

Gates.

 do 

1.2 miles east-northeast of 

Curve. 

2 miles northwest of Curve. .. 

3.3 miles west of Curve __ 

4.8 miles west-southwest of 

Curve. 

4 miles northwest of Ripley ... 

2.5 miles north-northwest of 

Ripley. 

 .do. . __ . __ -

Owner

G. C. Meadows ... 

W. D. Dodson.. ..

W. M. Kenley.. 

C. B. Sloan.. 

West Tennessee 

Power & Light 

Co. 

 ..do 

 .do... 

J. E. Wright--- 

L. E. Olds 

-- do . 

W. E. Crews 

Mrs. James Hunt . 

Dry Hill School 

Halley Pinington.

Gates Gin Co... 

M. A. Whitaker_-

Mrs. J. F. Rasberry. 

M. J. Boyd 

Bexar School- __

F. A. Halfacre. ... 

G. Caldwell 

I. C. Greer .......

Topographic 

position

Lowland ....

Second bottom. 

Upland 

 do ... . 

Lowland - -

 do 

 ..do .

Upland-. 

..... do 

.. do -

RidgeHilltop ---

Upland..- 

Lowland .. 

 doUpland. ._ 

 -do . 

 .do .... 

 do 

 do -

Foot of hillType of 

well

Bored. 

Drilled -

Bored. _ . 

Drilled 

 do... ....

 do 

 doDrilled 

 do... ....

... do 

 do . 

 do. 

Bored __

Drilled .

 do ....

 do 

... do 

 do ... 

 do 

 do 

 do 

 do -

! 

Q

20 

80

32 

107 

181

178 

178

47

310 

190 

128 

196 

200 

63

328 

100 

125

124 

125 

140

150 

237

90

Diameter ofwell

(inches)

6 

2

6 

2 

8

8 

8

2

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

6

2 

2 

2

2 

2 

2

2 

2

2

Water-bearing bed

Character 

of material

Sand 

-.doSand. 

... do 

 do 

... do 

...doSand-. ..

 do .

... do -

 do . 

 do 

 do 

... do 

 do 

 do..... 

 do 

 do 

 do .

 do . 

 do 

... do 

...doGeologi

horizon

 do 

 -do 

 do 

 -do 

Grenada.. 

 do -

 do ..

. do 

- do 

 do 

 do 

Jackson _ 

Distances scaled from county health map. * Flowing 1 gallon a minute. 
218 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

pa p p p

OO OO OO

pp pp PP

O O OOO O O O O O o

P p PPP R PPPPS

a

l~

aa

Hl<!

s a 

« H!

aS a

&99J) 90BJ

-O 

o

a

o 

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6

(199J) P9SBO S| n9

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10 

to 9 S5 SSS

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(satpm)

IN N IN

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to cqco to t^Qoc

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38o

39

40a

40h

41 A

41h

42

43

44 

45

46

 do 

3.5 miles east of Kenning.....

 ..do .

Orysa, 3.2 miles south of Durham ville. 

.... . do ...

2 miles south-southwest of

Henning. 

6 miles west-southwest of

Henning. 

Cherry. _ __ . ............

Mack, 3.8 miles west of

Cherry. 

Fulton . 

 do. 

W.J.Rose........

E . R. Anthony &

Co. 

.....do..... ........

E. E. Foust .......

M. E. Rice .....

J. R. Crutcher....

W. P. Winn....... 

McKenney Hutchison.

drews.

.....do ....

Upland.. _

__ do .......

Upland. ....

 do 

..... do.......

 do.......

 do....... 

Ridgetop ....

 do 

Bored. ....

Drilled. 

... do ...

...do ...

Bored. ....

Drilled .

 do 

... do.... ... 

 do 

...do 

440

35

425

75

398

50

480

180

85 

97

107

4

fi

2H

3

3

fi

2

2

2 

3

1H

... do- 

...do.....

...do. .

...do.....

...do. 

...do 

...do .

...do .

...do. 

...do 

...do 

 do... ..

..... do... ..

.... .do 

 do... ..

d Capacity of pump, 250 gallons a minute; pumpage, 140,000 gallons a day.
220 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Analyses of waters from Lauderdale County

[Parts per million. Numbers at heads of columns refer to corresponding well numbers in preceding table. 

Analyzed by Margaret D. Foster]

Silica (SiOi)...._......

Iron (Fe)- ----------

Magnesium (Mg) .....

Bicarbonate (HCOs)-- 

Sulphate (SO4)) - -

Chloride (Cl). _._._._.

Nitrate (N03 ) 

Total dissolved solids.. 

Total hardness as 

CaCOs (calculated) - 

Date of collection, 1929

6

22

1.7

33

19

5.7

1.1

196 

7.1

1.8

.10

176

160 

Sept. 7

9

17

1.8

68

41 

7.6

.9

410

4 <%

2.4

13

349

338 

Sept. 9

12b

14

9.4 

5.1

1.8

102 

4.1

1.7

.05

94

76 

Sept. 7

21

14

6.1

18

10 

6.1

1.6

113 

6.6

2.0

 15

107

86 

Sept. 7

(")

11

.04

18

10

5 7

1.6

111

7.2

2.0

.10

103

86 

Sept. 7

25

26

1.7

97

34 

2.0

1.5

434 

16

6.8

2.6

373

382 

Sept. 9

38b

41

.02

38

24 

5.9

1.2

185 

8.0

14

29

236

193

Sept. 6

38c

12

5.6

17

* 8.7 

6.9

1.6

105 

6.3

2.1

.05

101

78 

Sept. 6

< Treated water from well 21.

MADISON COUNTY

[Area 552 square miles. Population 51,059] 

GEOGRAPHY

Madison County is almost in the center of western Tennessee. 

Jackson, the county seat, is the second largest city in the area, having 

a population of 22,172. The city is a railroad center, being-served 

by the Illinois Central, the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis, and 

the Gulf, Mobile & Northern Railroads, and is a distributing point 

for the surrounding country. There is a cotton mill at Bemis, near 

by. Agriculture is the principal activity, and though some spring 

vegetables are raised, cotton is the main crop.

The South Fork of the Forked Deer River flows across the middle 

of the county in a northwesterly direction. Its flood plain is from 

1 to 3 miles wide. With the exception of the valley of the Middle 

Fork of the Forked Deer, in the northern part of the county, the 

remainder of the county is very hilly. Though no determinations of 

altitude in the hilly section are available, it can be safely said that 

the high land in the southeastern part of the county attains an altitude of 550 feet above sea level.

GEOLOGY

A narrow band of the Ripley formation, not exceeding a mile in 

width, crops out along the southeastern boundary of Madison County. 

The thickness of this formation is not definitely known, for the partial 

log of the Baum oil test well, the only well in the county to pass through 

the Ripley, is too fragmentary to give any precise information. It 

is probably about 500 feet thick, and as it dips to the west at 20 to 

30 feet to the mile it is found at progressively greater depths toward 

the west. The Ripley formation is a good source of water. The 

static level of the water ranges from about 400 feet above sea level 

.at Pinson to about 350 feet at the western boundary of the county.
MADISON COUNTY 221 

Log of Baum well, about 5 miles southeast of Jackson

<

Eipley formation:

Coon Creek tongue of Ripley formation or Selma clay: 

Gumbo and 3 feet of hard shale ______________________ ___ -- 

Shale .- ..__._.--_.-._..__- .--__ -

Eutaw formation:

Gumbo. _______________________________________ .- 

Thickness 

(feet)

174

51

19

22

61

20

136

8

49

51

Depth 

(feet)

734

785

804

826

887

907

1,043

1,051

1,110

1,115

Overlying the Kipley is the Clayton formation. Its outcrop area 

is small, and its thickness does not exceed 30 feet. The Clayton is 

a glauconitic sand and, though it yields water, the water is of poor 

quality.

The outcrop of the overlying Porters Creek clay crosses Madison 

County in a direction a little east of north as a band about 5 miles 

wide. The Porters Creek, which is about 250 to 275 feet thick, consists of plastic gray clay with a characteristic hackly structure. 

It does not yield water but serves as a confining bed for the water in 

the underlying Kipley formation.

The Holly Springs sand of the Wilcox group crops out over most 

of the county. It consists predominantly of sand, though it contains 

large lenses of clay. It is an excellent source of water wherever it 

occurs. It ranges in thickness from a featheredge at its contact 

with the Porters Creek formation to about 400 feet at £he western 

boundary of the county. In the western part of the county the 

Ackerman formation may occur in depth between the overlying 

Holly Springs sand and the underlying Porters Creek clay.

WATER RESOURCES

The many streams in Madison County are used for watering stock, 

and where streams are not available ponds are dug. Though springs 

are found at the foot of the hills they are no longer much used. There 

are very few dug wells in the county. In the outcrop area of the 

Holly Springs and Kipley formations bored wells from 35 to 160 feet 

in depth are most commonly used for domestic water supplies, although 

there are .some drilled wells. In the upland areas the water table 

may be as much as 150 feet below the surface. In the outcrop area of 

the Porters Creek and for a distance of 1 or 2 miles west of the outcrop 

it is necessary to drill to the Ripley formation to obtain water. These 

wells are from 225 to 600 feet deep. The static level of the water in 

the Ripley formation ranges from 400 feet at Pinson to 350 feet at the 

western edge of the county, and in land of lower elevation wells drilled
222 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

through the Porters Creek clay will flow. Such flowing wells are 

found in the valley of the South Fork at Pinson and Jackson and could 

be obtained elsewhere in the valley. The depth of such wells would 

be progressively greater toward the west. Needless waste of the 

artesian water from the Ripley formation should be stopped, for increased yield is obtained only by decreasing the head. As more and 

more wells are drilled the water level will drop, and, though this is 

unavoidable, needless wells lower the head to no purpose.

LOCAT, SUPPIJES

At Beech Bluffs, in the valley of the South Fork, springs are numerous and are 

used for domestic supplies. Wells about 30 feet deep obtain water from Ripley 

sand, and wells about 150 feet deep pass through a clay lens that forms a local 

artesian basin, so that these wells flow.

Bemis, in the valley of the South Fork, is supplied with water by the Bemis 

Brothers Bag Co., which has three wells one well 174 feet deep, one 24-inch 

well 166 feet deep, and one 2-inch well 430 feet deep. The 174 foot and 166-foot 

wells, both of which obtain water from the Holly Springs sand, are pumped by 

centrifugal pumps and yield 370 and 400 gallons a minute, respectively. The 

166-foot well has a drawdown of 62 feet. The water is pumped to a 110,000-gallon 

aeration pool, and thence into a 50,000-gallon elevated tank. The 430-foot well 

penetrates the Ripley formation and flows at the rate of 38 gallons a minute.

Log of 430-foot well of Bemis Bros. Bag Co., Bemis

Holly Springs sands:

Sand _________ . _ .....

Porters Creek clay: White clay......* _ ...........

Thickness 

(feet)

21

20

29

75

10

2

38

95

1

Depth 

(feet)

21

41

70

145

155

157

195

280

281

Porters Creek clay Continued.

Ripley formation. Alternate thin

Thickness 

(feet)

13

1

75

15

55

Depth 

(feet)

294

295

370

385

430

Log of 166-foot well of Bemis Bros. Bag Co., Bemis

[Authority, Kelly Well Co.]

Filled in....... ___________

lue sandy clay. __________

Thickness 

(feet)

8

16

31

20

20

Depth 

(feet)

8

24

55

75

95

Thickness 

(feet)

35

4

21

9

Depth 

(feet)

130

134

155

164

Carroll is in the valley of Deer Creek, a tributary of the Middle Fork of the 

Forked Deer River. The water table stands 5 feet below the surface, and shallow 

wells 20 feet deep obtain an abundance of water.
MADISON COUNTY 223

At Claybrook bored wells from 40 to 90 feet deep obtain water from the Holly 

Springs sand.

At Denmark dug wells obtain water in the alluvium, and drilled wells obtain 

water from the Holly Springs sand at about 100 feet.

Five Point is on the eastern edge of the Porters Creek outcrop. Here the 

formation is about 18 feet thick. Shallow wells 25 to 50 feet deep obtain water in 

the underlying Ripley formation. West of Five Point wells must pass through 

greater and greater thicknesses of Porters Creek to penetrate the Ripley formation.

Huntersville is underlain by 20 feet of sandy clay, followed by 50 feet of yellow 

sand. Below this sand is about 20 feet of clay which is underlain by coarse 

yellow sand. Either dug wells about 50 feet deep or drilled wells 100 to 120 feet 

deep are used.

The city of Jackson has a public water supply. (See analyses 15a and 15c.) 

Water is obtained from four wells 32 inches in diameter and from 140 to 152 feet 

in depth. These wells are gravel-wall wells and have a specific yield of 11 to 18 

gallons per foot of drawdown. A log of one of the wells is as follows:

Log of well S, Jackson well department 

[Authority, Kelly Well Co.]

Blue and yellow clay ________

Thickness 

(feet)

7

7

4

47

3

4

Depth 

(feet)

7

14

18

65

68

72

Thickness 

(feet)

13

7

12

41

7

Depth 

(feet)

85

92

104

145

152

The wells are pumped by turbine centrifugal pumps, which deliver the water to 

a steam triple-expansion direct-action pump of the fly-wheel type, having a 

capacity of 6,000,000 gallons a day. The water goes to the mains under direct 

pressure. The average daily consumption is 3,400,000 gallons. The city also 

has a 12-inch well 130 feet deep and a 12-inch well 480 feet deep. The deep well 

obtains water from the Ripley formation and flows 300 gallons a minute. This 

water is not used in the city system, owing to its high iron content. The well was 

formerly 525 feet deep. The following log is given by Glenn: 97

Log of city well, Jackson

Holly Springs sand:

Sand, coarse, white ____________________________________

Clay, snow-white, very tough _ . _________________ . ___ ... ...

Sand, nearly pure white; some small gravel and thin ironstone crusts; water bearing

Sandstone, dark, brick-red, soft _______________ . ___ . __ .... ___ .

Clayton formation: Rock, hard, dark ___ I _______________________

Ripley formation:

Shales, dark leaden-colored, with hard streaks of micaceous sandy material, lignite 

fragments, and iron pyrite (at about 418 feet shark teeth) _________ . .......

Sand, white, water bearing ___ . _____________ . ___ . __ _ ....

Thickness 

(feet)

12

16

12

6

60

43

11

170

5

13

28

72

77

Depth 

(feet)

28

40

46

106

149

160

330

335

348

448

525

K Glenn, L. C., op. cit., p.!
224 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

The water from the Ripley formation (see analysis 15c) is quite similar to the 

water from the Holly Springs sand (see analysis 15a). It contains a little more 

iron, but the iron content of the Holly Springs water is also sufficiently high to 

make treatment desirable. Aeration followed by filtration or sedimentation 

would effectively remove the iron from either of these waters. The industries 

that consume much water have their own wells which are listed in the well tables. 

They obtain water from either the Holly Springs or the Ripley formation. At 

present almost 4,000,000 gallons a day is pumped from the Holly Springs sand and 

about 1,300,000 gallons a day from the Ripley formation. The original static 

level of water in the Holly Springs formation is not known; the present level is 

about 326 feet mean sea level.

At Malesus bored wells about 65 feet deep are universally used.

The depth to water at Medon is about 60 feet. Either drilled or bored wells 

from 75 to 80 feet deep are in use.

Mercer is in the valley of Black Creek. Many springs are found at the foot of 

the hills, but these are no longer used, being supplanted by dug wells about 30 feet 

deep. On the upland drilled wells about 150 feet deep are widely used.

Log of well of Ernest Elston, Mercer

Sand. __ .. ____ -.-__---_-.--..---__.----__---..---- - _ -------- _ - _____

Thickness 

(feet)

85

5

2

64

Depth 

(feet)

85

90

92

156

At Neelys a good water sand is found at depths of 100 to 175 feet. The lower 

part of the sand is coarse. Bored wells about 120 feet deep or drilled wells about 

160 feet deep are used.

Pinson is in the valley of the South Fork, in the outcrop area of the Porters 

Creek clay. To obtain water it is necessary to drill through the Porters Creek to 

the underlying Ripley formation. The Porters Creek is about 220 feet thick in 

Pinson but is slightly thinner to the east and thicker to the west. As the altitude 

of Pinson is 388 feet above mean sea level the wells flow.

At Spring Creek there are bored and drilled wells from 50 to 100 feet deep.

The water table at Uptonville is 140 feet or more deep. Bored and drilled wells 

150 to 200 feet deep obtain abundant water.
Records of wells in Madison County

No.

la 

Ib

1C

2 

3

4 

5

6a 

6b 

7 

8 

9

10 

11

12 

13 

14

15a

Location

0.5 mile west of Spring Creek. 

Spring Creek, east of highway. 

Spring Creek, west of highway.

Oakfleld, 150 feet east of railroad station. 

Carroll, 50 feet east of railroad station.

..... do -

5 miles northwest of Jackson 

on Humbolt road: 

6.5 miles northwest of Jackson on Bells highway. 

4 miles northwest of Jackson 

on Bells highway. 

1 mile west of White Fem 

500 feet east of railroad station, 100 feet south of 

Beech Bluff. 

7.8 miles east of Jackson on 

Beech Bluff road. 

3.7 miles east of Jackson on 

Beech Bluff road. 

2.5 miles east of Jackson on 

Beech Bluff road. 

Jackson, 25 feet west of 

South Royal Street, 75 feet 

south of pumping station.

Owner

Y Y Utley

D. W. Ward--

Madison Fox 

Club Association.

Section house, 

Louisville & 

Nashville R. R. 

J. F. and H. I. 

Doleach. 

Pope CotfnTy Hill 

School. 

W. M. Moore .....

J. S. Matthass.. 

Belle Meade 

Dairy. 

R. W. Mattock.. . W. T. Diamond ..

E. J. Rushing .....

Jackson city waterworks.

Topographic 

position

Hillside. ....

 do 

 do 

Valley bottom. 

..... do... ....

 do. .

..... do ...

Upland . 

 ..doValley bottom.

Valley bottom,

..... do .

Hillside. 

.....do 

Valley.. ....

Altitude (feet)

450 

500

500

.....

400 

400

430 

425 

372

395

400 

415 

420 

360

Type of 

well

Bored __ . 

 do 

... do ...

... do ...

Drilled 

Bored 

... do ...

Drilled 

 do 

 do 

 do 

... do 

 doDrilled 

Bored __ 

Drilled . 

... do... ....

;=!

f 

o> O

50 

60

68

90 

300

69 

18

85 

85 

86 

160 

700

22 

30

228 

90 

126 

152

Diameter ofwell 

(inches)

6 

6

6

6 

6

12 

6

3 

2 

2 

2 

2

6 

6

3 

6 

3 

32

Water-bearing 

Character 

of material

Sand 

... do -

... do 

 do 

 do ..

... do 

... do 

... do 

... do.....

... do 

 do 

... do 

 do 

... do 

...do 

 do 

...do 

...doGeo

hor

Holly 

 do 

 . d

 do 

 .do

 do 

 -do

 do 

 d

 d

Holly 

 .d

Holly 

... ..d

 do 

1 Flowing 25,920 gallons a day. »Flowing 10,800 gallons a day. 
226 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

o o o o o

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2b

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o

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tfib

t7

coal-storage shed at mill.

feet west of railroad track.

east from railroad station, 

Malesus,

mile south of road, 0.2 

mile west of road.

mile north of road, 0.3 mile 

east of road.

Points.

.....do ......

.....do... ... .... ... -

..... do... ..... ....... ..... ...

500 feet south of railroad.

.... . do .... ...

 do 

tion at Mercer.

tion at Mercer.

Mercer.

 do 

. .do 

C T\ Oolrliirflll

W. E. Smith 

Co. 

T. A. Hayes.. ....

Church.

R.H.Ray........

B. V. Arnold......

Ernest Elston .....

 -do... ....

 doHillside __ .

Hillside.....

... ..do... ....

torn.

torn. 

.... .do ..

..... do ...

 do 

.... -do ...

.. doHilltop......

Valley bottom.

torn.

400

4nn

450

QQft

375

385

375

OCR

460

460

420

340

370

... do ....

... do 

... do 

BoredDrilled 

...do 

 do.......

... do ...

...doBored. ....

Drilled 

... do 

... do ...

 do. ...

... do 

... do 

 do 

 do 

 do 

Drilled 

... do 

16fi

443

100

65

225

180

240

300

33

325

220

165

225

75

175

156

30

54

34

«U!

8

3

3

3

3

6

2

3

2%

6

2

2

8

6

... do -

 do.....

___ do 

...do 

 do 

... do 

... do 

... do 

... do 

 do 

... do.....

... do 

... do 

... do.....

 _ do 

... do 

... do 

... do .

... do 

... do 

... do 

...do .

... do -

 do 

 do 

 .do 

..... do 

 do

 do

Pliocen

.... .d

 d

 d

..... d

..... do 

.... -d

 do 

..... d

 -d

 d

 d

* Capacity of pump, 800 gallons a minute.

* Flowing 432,000 gallons a day.

/ Capacity of pump, 200 gallons a minute; reported pumpage, 250,000 gallons a day.

i Flowing 144,000 gallons a day.

* Capacity of pump, 20 gallons a minute.

* Flowing 504,000 gallons a day. 

' Flowing 504,000feallons!a day.

* Flowing 2,160 gallons afday.
228 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Analyses of waters from Madison County

[Parts per million. Numbers at heads of columns refer to corresponding well numbers preceding table.

Analyzed by D. F. Farrarj

Silica (SiO3) __ ..__ _ . ___ .... _ ..............

Iron (Fe)-. __ ------- _ . __ . .

Calcium (Ca)-_ .-.- __ _____.._.._. ________ .....

Potassium (K) _______ . __________ . ......

Carbonate (COs)... _ - .. ___ ........... _ . __ .

Bicarbonate (HCO3). __ ... ... ...... __ ..

Sulphate (SO4) ____ . .. _ .-... _ ----- ...... __

Chloride (Cl)--.... -...-....... ....................

Nitrate (NO>)........ ................................

Total dissolved solids.... ____________ . .....

Total hardness as CaCOs (calculated). ..............

Date of collection, 1928.. ___________ .........

Smca(SiOj) - -. . -- . .

Iron (Fe) ------ ___ - _ - __ .. ----------- __ ..

Sodium (Na) ________________________

Carbonate (COs).. .... . ....... ................... ...

Sulphate (SOO- ~

Chloride (Cl)... .......... ..-. .-..... ...........

Nitrate (NOs) 

1C

3.8

.8

4

1

} * I 3

0

17

.5

4

.2

26

14

19b

4

1.1

9

1

} 

0

^n

.2

8

.2

44

27

2

4

.8

4

1

3

0

11

2

5.5

1.3

26

14

21b

12

2.2

24

6

f 12

i 1

0

19

.3

11

98

183

85

Aug. 10

15a

3.4

.7

20

5

1

0

35

38

2

.3

90

70

Aug. 11

31

6

1

17

4

\ 2

/ 2

0

49

16

3.5

.3

80

59

15c

6

1.3

28

3

2

0

83

14

2.5

.1

104

82

Aug. 11

34b

1

5

1

0

18

.3

3.5

.2

26

17

Aug. 10

17

7

1.4

38

6

16

100

13

3

.2

148

119

Aug. 14

36a

4

.3

8

1

1

0

25

.4

2

.3

30

24

Aug. 10

McNAIBY COUNTY 

GEOGRAPHY

[Area 588 square miles. Population 19,901]

McNairy County is in the southeastern part of the area. The 

ridge that forms the divide between the Mississippi and Tennessee 

drainage basins crosses the eastern part of the county and is the 

highest region in southwestern Tennessee. The exact altitude of 

this region is not known, but the highest points probably exceed 600 

feet. The lowest point in the county is at about 345 or 350 feet, 

where Rose Creek crosses its western boundary. The western part 

of the county is hilly and broken. The eastern parts are more nearly 

level, although there are no large areas of flat country. This region 

is but sparsely populated, and much of it is still forested. The 

Mobile & Ohio Railroad crosses the county from north to south and 

the Southern Railway crosses its southwestern edge. Agriculture 

is the main occupation, and cotton and corn are the principal crops. 

There are no large towns in the county.

GEOLOGY

The Eutaw formation crops out as a narrow band along the eastern 

edge of the county, but as it dips to the west it underlies the whole 

county. Though composed largely of sand it contains much clay, 

which occurs either as large lenses or as thin interlaminated layers.
MCNAIRY COUNTY 229

The Selma clay has a greater development in thickness and areal 

extent in this county than elsewhere in Tennessee. Its thickness 

ranges from 210 feet in the southern part of the county to about 100 

feet at the northern boundary. Its width decreases from 8 miles in 

the south to 4 miles in the north. This formation gives rise to what 

are locally called "bald hills" or "bald places," areas on which the 

only vegetation consists of scattered clumps of grass and a few bushes. 

The gray-white soil, over which are strewn large oysterlike fossils, is 

very conspicuous and characteristic. This formation dips 20 to 30 

feet to the mile toward the west.

The Bipley formation is found at the surface over the western half 

of the county. This formation has been divided into the Coon Creek 

tongue at the base, the McNairy sand member in the middle, and the 

Owl Creek tongue at the top. In this report, however, these subdivisions are not differentiated. The Coon Creek is a black fossiliferous marl which can not be distinguished from the Selma in most 

well logs and thus is often included with the Selma. The Ripley 

formation is about 600 feet thick in the southern part of the county 

but is slightly thinner toward the north. The formation is predominantly sand but includes intercalated lenses of clay.

Pliocene gravel covers the upland surface in the eastern part of 

the county and along Cypress Creek and its tributaries. It locally 

attains a thickness as great as 40 feet but is usually less. The upland 

surface over the remainder of the county is covered with the usual 

mantle of residuum.

WATER RESOURCES

McNairy County is well watered. Permanent springs are plentiful 

and furnish water to the numerous streams throughout the year. 

These springs are used for domestic supply, for sawmills, and for 

watering stock. In the valleys dug or driven wells furnish abundant 

water. The Eutaw formation is a fair water bearer, and water can 

be easily obtained from this formation where it occurs at the surface. 

The Selma clay will not yield water, and where this formation is 

found at the surface it is necessary to drill through the Selma to the 

underlying Eutaw formation. The depth to the Eutaw varies, but 

nowhere in the area of Selma outcrop will it exceed 300 feet.

Under the Selma clay the water in the Eutaw formation has a 

static head of 400 feet above sea level. Hence in wells that penetrate 

the Eutaw the water stands at this level, and such wells in places 

where the altitude is less than 400 feet will flow. Flowing wells are 

found at Chewalla and Guys. Much of the higher ground in the 

Selma outcrop area is covered by Pliocene gravel, and where this 

gravel is of sufficient thickness, small supplies of water can be obtained 

from it.
230 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

In the area where the Bipley formation comes to the surface an 

ample supply of water can be obtained from it. On the higher hills 

the water table stands 30 to 100 feet below the surface, and wells 

must exceed these depths to obtain a permanent supply.

LOCAL. SUPPLIES

Adamsville is in the area of Eutaw outcrop. Dug wells averaging 30 feet in 

depth furnish sufficient water for domestic use. Just west of the town the Selma 

clay crops out and wells range in depth from 100 to 200 feet.

Bethel Springs (altitude 468 feet) is in a valley. Springs are numerous and 

are used for domestic supply. Shallow dug wells supply water to the families 

that do not have springs. Bethel Springs belongs to the Mobile & Ohio Railroad 

and is used for watering locomotives. The water is of excellent quality. (See 

analysis 10.)

Chambers is just west of the eastern contact of the Selma clay, which is therefore thin here. Wells from 30 to 60 feet deep obtain ample water from the underlying Eutaw formation.

Chewalla is in the valley of Indian Creek at an altitude of 410 feet. As the 

Selma clay occurs at the surface it is necessary to obtain water from the underlying Eutaw. The thickness of the Selma at Chewalla is 300 feet. Drilled 

wells from 300 to 340 feet in depth are used. The static head of water in the 

Eutaw is 400 feet, therefore the wells in the valley bottom at a lower level flow. 

Luther Cope has a flowing well in the valley of Cypress Creek, 2J^ miles west of 

Chewalla. The collar of this well is at an altitude of 390 feet, and the well, which 

is 3 inches in diameter, yields 8 gallons a minute. Anywhere in the lowland along 

Indian Creek or the Tuscumbia River west of Chewalla flowing wells could be 

obtained by drilling through the Selma clay.

At Finger (altitude 430 feet) springs are plentiful. These springs furnish sufficient water for domestic use and for watering stock throughout the year.

The high ground around Gravel Hill is covered with Pliocene terrace gravel 

from 20 to 40 feet thick. Sufficient water for domestic use is obtained from 

shallow wells in this gravel. For larger supplies of water it would be necessary 

to drill through the Selma clay to the underlying Eutaw formation, which would 

be reached at depths of 250 to 300 feet.

Guys (altitude 442 feet) is in the outcrop area of Selma clay, and wells must 

penetrate to the Eutaw, which is reached at depths of 200 to 280 feet. Water 

rises within 50 feet of the surface. Some shallow wells that obtain water from 

the valley alluvium are also in use.

Leapwood is in hilly ground in the Selma clay outcrop area. Drilled wells 

from 300 to 340 feet deep obtain water from the Eutaw formation. This water 

has a high content of iron and carbon dioxide and is hard and of very poor quality. 

(See analysis 23.) West of Leapwood there are two sulphur springs.

McNairy (altitude 455 feet) is in a valley bottom. Driven wells from 10 to 

20 feet deep are used. The water in these wells stands within a few inches of the 

surface, and some of the wells flow. In the higher ground east of the town wells 

attain depths of 100 feet.

At Mitchie, which is on a hill, shallow wells 30 feet deep obtain ample water for 

domestic use from the Pliocene gravel. In the neighboring lowland the gravel 

is absent, so it is necessary to drill though the Selma clay to the Eutaw formation. 

Such wells obtain water within 100 feet.

Milledgeville is in the valley of White Oak Creek. Dug and bored wells from 

20 to 30 feet deep obtain water from the Eutaw sands.
MCNAIRY COUNTY 231

At Purdy, on the Mississippi-Tennessee divide, which is here a narrow plateau, 

many springs flow from the base of hills on each side. In the town the wells in 

the base of the Pliocene gravel average about 30 feet deep, and those that enter 

the Selma clay go 200 feet or more before reaching the Eutaw formation.

At Earner (altitude 412 feet) drilled wells 300 feet deep obtain water from the 

underlying Eutaw formation. This water has a static head at 400 feet, hence 

flowing wells are obtained in low ground.

Selmer (altitude 441 feet) is in the area where the Ripley formation comes to 

the surface, and here the Ripley has a thickness of 80 feet. The water-bearing 

capacity of the bottom 30 feet, however, is very low. Below the Ripley is the 

Selma clay, 300 feet thick, which in turn is underlain by the Eutaw formation, 

a fair source of water. Most of the wells in Selmer are from 20 to 30 feet deep, 

and these wells furnish plenty of water. The Selmer Ice Co. obtains water from 

a 400-foot well, and four other deep wells in town obtain water from the Eutaw 

formation at about the same depth. Further developments would procure water 

from wells in the Ripley or from deep wells that tap the Eutaw. The analysis 

of a sample of water from the Eutaw formation (lib) is given in the table on 

page 233.

Log of well of Selmer Ice Co., Selmer

[Authority, owner (from memory)]

Soil. _ .................................................................................

Ripley formation:

Thickness 

(feet)

10

50

30

300

10

Depth 

(feet)

10

60

90

390

400

In 1905 a wildcat oil test hole was drilled 1 mile north of Selmer, in the valley 

of Cypress Creek. The test was abandoned at 510 feet when still in sand. The 

log, as given by the driller, with formation names added by the writer, is as 

follows:

Log of well of Acacia Development Co., Selmer

[Authority, W. H. Anderson, driller]

Selma clay (including Coon Creek tongue of Ripley formation): Blue tough gumbo ...... 

Eutaw formation: Sand, mud, gravel, plenty of wood; nothing uniform. Water rose in 

well to 40 feet of the top (altitude 400 feet) ___ .......... _ ..... 

Thickness 

(feet)

40

275 

195

Depth 

(feet)

40

315 

510

This well did not reach the Paleozoic basement, though Paleozoic rocks probably do not lie much deeper. The statement as to the presence of gravel is 

very general. If it was at the bottom of the well, it is probably the Tuscaloosa 

formation.

At Stantonville the Pliocene gravel is 35 to 40 feet thick and has at the base 

several feet of rounded chert gravel in which water is abundant. Beneath it 

is the Eutaw formation, but this is quicksand here and tends to fill up a well. A 

mile or less to the west the Selma clay is struck, and wells are bored 80 to 250 feet 

through it into the Eutaw sands below.
232 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

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OBION COUNTY 233

Analyses of waters from McNairy County

[Parts per million. Numbers at heads of columns refer to corresponding well numbers in preceding table. 

Analyzed by Margaret D. Foster]

Silica(SiOi)- -- -- - 

Sodium (Na) _ . __ 

Carbonate (COa). 

Bicarbonate (HCOj)----- ___ ... _. _ ....

Chloride (Cl) ...... .......................

Nitrate(NOi) ... ...

Date of collection, 1928-... ______________ .

Silica (SiOj) 

Iron (Fe)._.__ _ .. .... _ ...

Calcium (Ca) _________________ ___ -

Bicarbonate (HCOi) ___ ..... _ .. _ ...........

Chloride(Cl).. 

Nitrate (NOj) 

Date of collection, 1928 ________ - ________

1

12

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1.1

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2.1

1.8

6.6

38

12

June 29

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125

61

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5.9

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875

563

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12

25

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5

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14

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June 28

OBION COUNTY

[Area 552 square miles. Population 29,086] 

GEOGRAPHY

Obion County is in> the northwestern part of western Tennessee. 

The county falls into two parts having distinct physiographic features; 

the northwestern part is hilly and but slightly settled; the southern 

and western part of the county is well developed. Three railroads 

cross the western section. Agriculture is the major occupation; the 

principal crop, measured by acres planted, is corn; cotton follows, 

and hay is a close third. Some tobacco is grown, and there is considerable dairying. Union City, the county seat, is at the junction of 

the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis and the Mobile & Ohio 

Railroads, and the Illinois Central Railroad passes 2 miles to the east. 

Union City is the fifth largest city in western Tennessee, having a 

population of 5,865.

The Obion River flows through the southeastern part of the county 

in a direction a little north of southwest. The land surface slopes 

gently down to the river in the southwestern part of the county but 

rises again to the high land in the northwest. This northwest section 

is very hilly and has a maximum altitude of 483 feet above mean sea 

level. From the bluffs that mark the edge of the hilly country the 

119722 33 16
234 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

surface drops abruptly to the flood plain of the Mississippi River. 

Obion County included within its boundary a narrow strip of the 

Mississippi lowlands 1 to 2 miles wide. This area has a general 

altitude of 300 feet. The broad first and second bottoms of the Obion 

River are but little higher, and the altitude of the eastern section of 

the county must average above 325 feet.

GEOLOGY

With the exception of the eastern edge and the river bottoms Obion 

County is covered with a surface mantle of loess, a fine-grained structureless deposit that has a characteristic property of standing with 

vertical faces. It is well exposed in the bluffs. The loess has a 

thickness of 75 feet in the western part of the county but thins out in 

the eastern part. It does not yield water.

Underlying the loess in the western part of the county is a deposit 

of Pliocene sand and gravel. This consists of chert pebbles of varying 

size, the maximum being about 5 inches. The sand ranges from coarse 

to fine but is predominantly coarse. The Pliocene sand and gravel 

have a maximum thickness of 30 feet but thin out toward the east. 

This formation is well exposed in the bluffs. The gravel is an excellent 

source of water, though the water from it is hard. Most of the wells 

in the western part of the county derive water from this formation.

Underlying the gravel is the Jackson formation, which consists of 

fine, uniform sand, clay, and lignite. Unlike the clay in the Wilcox 

group, the Jackson clays occur in beds of considerable horizontal 

extent. In places they contain a fair amount of sand and are gritty to 

the feel. The lignite occurs in layers several feet thick but is not 

persistent, though characteristic of the Jackson sediments. The 

Jackson formation is a poor source of water. The sands are so fine 

that it is difficult to check them with the finest strainers, and the lignite 

imparts an unpleasant taste to the water near by.

The Wilcox group underlies the Jackson formation, and it is in the 

sands of this group that all wells more than 300 feet deep obtain water. 

The thickness of the Wilcox ranges from about 800 feet in the northeast corner to 1,500 feet in the west. In Obion County the Wilcox 

group contains considerable clay and streaks of lignite. The clay is 

in many places mixed with fine sand, the material grading from fine 

sand to clay and back again. If a coarse sand is not found between 

100 and 200 feet, it may be necessary to drill to 600 or 700 feet to reach 

a good coarse sand. The character of the Wilcox group is clearly 

shown in the following log:
OBION COUNTY 235

Log of S. J. Bradshaw oil test well No. 1, Cashtown

[Descriptions by B. W. Blanpied, 85-2,070 feet; by G. I. Whiteloteh, 2,070-2,610 feet]

Depth from

- which sample 

Pale-green, tan, light-gray, and dark-brown lignitic mudstone. came (feet)

No foraminifers. Bit sample (?)___________________ 85

Lignite. Tan, pale-green, and medium-brown sandy mudstone. Bit sample (?)________________________ 220-280 

Lignitic. Light-brown and cream-colored argillaceous sand.

Cuttings.______________________________ 440-468

Light-brown and light grayish-brown sand and sandy mudstone. Bit sample-_______________ _______ 480-500

Light-brown fine to coarse grained sand. Cuttings, ________ 500-520

Same as above. Cuttings____________________________ 520-560

Cream-colored and tan mudstone, with a streak of sandy

material. Bit sample..______________________________ 560-575

Cream-colored kaolin (?). Bit sample (?)_________----- 565-650

Same as above. Bit sample____________________________ 660-680

Same with medium-red and tan mudstone. Fine to coarse

grained sand and siderite concretions. No fossils. Bit sample. 680-700 

Light-gray fine to medium grained sand and argillaceous sand.

No fossils. Core _______._______.______ 730-740 

Coarse-grained friable sandstone. No fossils. (Labeled

"core," probably cuttings.)._________________________ 815

Coarse-grained sand (rice sand). Sandy mudstone and lignite.

No fossils. Cuttings._____________________ _______ 850

Light-gray medium-grained sand. Lignite. No foraminifers.

Core_____________________________._____ 880

Same as material from 850 feet.__. _______________________ 900

Light-brown, fairly coarse grained friable sandstone. No

fossils. Core_____________________________ 930 

Fragments of kaolin, sandy mudstone, lignite, and fine to

coarse grained sand. No foraminifers. Cuttings.________ 950

Fine to very coarse grained sand. Traces of lignite. Cuttings. 975 

Fine and coarse grained sand with thin streaks of dark-brown 

lignitic material. No fossils. Core.____________________ 1, 000

Medium-brown noncalcareous sandy lignitic finely micaceous 

mudstone. No foraminifers. Core_____________________ 1, 035

Light-brown noncalcareous, very fine grained, slightly micaceous sand and sandy mudstone. Core_________________ 1,040

Light-brown sand and sandy mudstone. No fossils. Core___ 1,047-1,053 

Very coarse grained sand. Core___________________ 1,068-1,075

Light to dark brown noncalcareous silty lignitic mudstone.

No foraminifers. Core_______________________ 1,080-1,087

Dark-brown noncalcareous lignitic, slightly micaceous mudstone. No fossils. Core....._________________ 1,095-1,103

Fine to medium grained lignitic sand. Core____________ 1, 140-1, 148

Fine to coarse grained micaceous sand. Core_________ _ 1, 155-1, 163

Light and medium brown fine to medium grained argillaceous 

friable sandstone streaked with lignite. No foraminifers. 

Core.....________-_-_-___-.___________--_-__-__-_. 1, 167-1, 175

Light-gray micaceous noncalcareous banded silty mudstone. 

Few reworked Cretaceous foraminifers and Inoceramus 

prisms. Core.____________________________ 1,168-1,170
236 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Wileox-Continued.

Light grayish-brown noncalcareous waxy mudstone and pearl- came (feet)

gray kaolin. Fine-grained sand. No fossils. Core_-_---_ 1, 180-1, 185 

Cream-colored fine-grained noncalcareous silty lignitic micaceous friable sandstone. No foraminifers. Core_ _______ 1, 185-1, 193

Light-gray fine-grained argillaceous lignitic micaceous friable

sandstone. Same as above. Core. _-___---___-------_-- 1, 193-1, 200

Light-gray fine-grained silty micaceous friable sandstone and

lignite. Core..- _ _______________--_____-__-_--_ _ _ 1,200-1,208

Light-brown silty lignitic micaceous noncalcareous mudstone.

Core---__-____ __________ _________^____-_--__-____- 1,220-1,228

Light greenish-yellow sandy micaceous mudstone and light

and medium brown mottled waxy mudstone. Core. _______ 1, 228-1, 235

Medium-brown silty lignitic micaceous mudstone with thin

light-brown fine-grained sand lenses. Core. ______________ 1, 236-1, 243

Medium and light gray silty lignitic finely micaceous noncalcareous mudstone. Core--___-------------_----------- 1,243-1,248

Pale yellowish-green noncalcareous lignitic mudstone. Core__ 1, 248-1, 260 

Light-gray, medium-brown, and light-green noncalcareous,

slightly micaceous lignitic waxy mudstone. Core- _________ 1, 260-1, 268

Light-gray and tan lignitic micaceous waxy mudstone and hard,

very fine grained sandstone. Core__-______ ______________ 1,268-1,278

Light brownish-gray sandy micaceous lignitic mudstone.

Core________-_______________-____--__--_-_--_-_ _ -. 1, 278-1, 283

Light and medium brown noncalcareous lignitic waxy mudstone. Core-_____________-___ _ ___________ _ ______ 1,285-1,293

Pale greenish-yellow micaceous, slightly lignitic silty mudstone

and light-brown siltstone. Core ___ _______ _ __________ 1, 293-1, 300

Lignite. Core________ ______ _ ____ _ ____________ 1, 300-1, 307

Light and dark brown lignitic mudstone. Core _ ___________ 1, 303-1, 3 12

Light-gray banded, slightly lignitic micaceous sandy mudstone

and very fine grained sand. Nofossils. Core___----_---__ 1,312-1,319 

Light grayish-brown, slightly lignitic micaceous mudstone.

Core_-_-_____-_-____-_________-__---___----___--__--_ 1,319-1,326

Same. Core____________________________________-_-____ 1, 326-1, 335

Light-brown fine to medium grained sand. Core_ . ___________ 1, 355-1, 363

Same. Core_________ ________ _______ __ _ __ ___ _ 1, 380-1, 388

Same. Core_-_____________-________--____- _ _________ 1, 400-1, 410

Same. Core-_---______-____-__-___-_--_-_- __ ______.- 1, 470-1, 482

Same. Core--- .____ __ __ ___ - 1, 580-1, 590

Fine to coarse grained sand with a few fragments of lightbrown mudstone and lignite. No foraminifers. Cuttings. _ 1,640-1,660 

Same. Cuttings. __ ___________ __ ___ _ _______ _ ____ 1, 660-1, 675

Light-gray fine-grained micaceous sand with thin streaks of

dark-gray and brown lignitic mudstone. No foraminifers.

Core 1, 675-1, 685

Light-brown fine to medium grained argillaceous friable sandstone. Core-____--_________-_-___-__-__-_ _ -------- 1,695-1,700

White, light-gray, and brown banded sandy mudstone and sandstone. Bit sample 1, 700-1, 710

Dark-brown fine-grained glauconitic (rotten) argillaceous sandstone. No fossils. Core--------- __ ______ __ _ ____ 1,725-1,727

Same. Core-- _ 1, 727-1, 734

Same. Core---_-____________________________--__-_---_ 1, 734-1, 738
OBION COUNTY 237

Depth from 

which sample 

Wilcox Continued. came (feet)

Dark-gray noncalcareous waxy mudstone. No fossils. Core. 1, 738-1, 758

Light-gray, very fine grained micaceous, argillaceous friable

sandstone. Core_________________---_____----__------ 1,740-1,748

Light-gray, highly micaceous silty mudstone. Core._________ 1, 748-1, 753

Light-gray, highly micaceous silty mudstone with streaks of

very fine grained sand. Core_____________________-_____ 1,753-1,770

Same as material at 1,748-1,753 feet. Core________ 1, 770-1, 775

Same. Core______________________________ 1, 775-1, 780 

Midway:

Medium-gray, highly micaceous noncalcareous silty mudstone. Core_____________________________.- 1,780-1,784

Dark-gray, finely micaceous noncalcareous waxy mudstone. 

Fine-grained glauconite and a few pyritized foraminifers. 

'Core...______________________________________________ 1, 785-1, 792

Medium-gray noncalcareous waxy mudstone with thin lightgray silty partings. Few pyritized diatoms. Core. _______ 1,792-1,798

Dark-gray noncalcareous waxy mudstone. Globigerina sp., 

Cristellaria cf. C. midwayensis (small), gastropods, pelecypods, andostracodes. Core____________________________ 1,798-1,818

Light-gray medium-grained glauconitic micaceous sand.

Shell fragments. No foraminifers. Core____ _____________ 1, 840-1, 855

Same. No fossils. Core______________________ 1,855-1,864

Light and medium-gray sandy mudstone. Few shell fragments. No foraminifers. Bit sample__________________ 1,864

Dark-gray slightly calcareous sandy mudstone. Shell fragments. Bitsample________________________ 1,875-1,890

Medium-gray very slightly calcareous waxy mudstone. Cristellaria sp. (small), Anomalina sp., and few shell fragments. 

Core__ _________--_____________________________ 1,900-1,910

Medium-gray calcareous micaceous mudstone. Globigerina 

sp., Anomalina sp., Gyroidina soldanii. Few arenaceous 

foraminifers. Core._______________________. 1, 925-1, 935

Same, with Textularia sp., Discorbis sp., and Bolivina sp.

Core____________________________________________ 1, 960-1, 975

Medium-gray calcareous mudstone and light-gray fine-grained, 

highly micaceous friable sandstone. Cristellaria sp. (small), 

Anomalina 2 sp., Gyroidina soldanii, Globigerina sp. Core__ 2, 000-2, 015

Medium-gray calcareous micaceous silty mudstone. Lagena 

svlcata, Teztvlaria sp., Anomalina sp., Gyroidina soldanii, 

Cristellaria sp., Cristellaria midwayensis, arenaceous foraminifers. Cote___________________________ 2, 015-2, 030

Dark-gray calcareous waxy mudstone. Globigerina. Core.__ 2,040-2,050

Medium and dark gray calcareous mudstone and light-gray 

fine-grained, closely cemented pyritic sandstone. Cristalleria midwayensis, Anomalina sp., Gyroidina soldanii, Polymorphina cushmani, Cristellaria cf. C. pseudo-mamilligera. 

Core (?)_______________________________________ 2, 050-2, 055

Medium-gray, slightly calcareous, finely micaceous waxy mudstone. Cristellaria sp. (small), Anomalina sp., Globigerina 

sp., Ammobaculites sp., Cristellaria midwayensis (fragment). 

Core______________________________--_.___ 2, 060-2, 065

Highly micaceous gray coarse siltstone. Core.______________ 2, 070-2, 080

Gray shaly siltstone. Core..____________-._____ 2, 080-2, 094
238 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Cretaceous:

Coarsely crystalline light-tan, highly f ossiliferous limestone, came (feet)

Core____. .____._._..__.___.._.____._._..________-.__ 2, 100-2, 101

Calcareous f ossiliferous dark greenish-gray siltstone. Core___ 2, 101-2, 105 

Highly calcareous reddish-tan coarse-grained sandstone (?)

Core.... -___..____.___-..__.._______. _ ....__..-__._ 2, 105, 2, 108

Tan to brown sandy clay containing fragments of chalk. Core_ 2, 108-2, 112 

Medium tan-brown f ossiliferous coarse sandstone. (1 large

fossil in sack, " gastropod. ") Piece is calcareous to acid. Core 2, 112-2, 115 

Soft dark-gray micaceous silty clay. Core. ________________ 2, 125-2, 135

Light-gray, highly micaceous fine-grained argillaceous limestone. Core____ ___________ _______________ 2,140-2,141

Dark-gray shaly siltstone. Core _ _______________________ 2, 141-2, 145

Dark-gray shaly micaceous soft siltstone. Core- ___________ 2, 150-2, 160

Same ___ _ __ _ ___________ _ _____ ________ 2, 165-2, 170

Light-gray micaceous fine loose sandy silt. Core ___ _______ 2, 17&-2, 180

Dark-gray micaceous shaly siltstone. Core __ __ _ _______ 2, 185-2, 190

Dark-gray shaly siltstone. Core __________________ 2, 190-2, 196 

Dark-gray micaceous fine loose sand . Core ________________ 2, 21 5-2, 216

Very coarse green to brown sandstone- ________ _ ________ 2, 220-2, 224

Dark-gray micaceous siltstone. Core ____ __ _ __ _ __ _ 2, 224-2, 228

Friable clay-bound gray fine-grained sandstone. Core- ______ 2, 235-2, 238

Dark-gray sandy shale. Core ____________ _______ 2, 242-2, 247 

Same __________________________________ 2, 255-2, 259 

Same __________________________________ 2, 280-2, 285 

Loose gray clay and medium-grained sand __ 2, 312-2, 314 

Light-gray argillaceous sandstone. Core __ _________ ____ 2, 355-2, 360

Contact of a soft, friable, very light gray fine-grained sandstone and a hard dark-gray fine-grained sandstone. Core___ 2, 408-2, 410 

Piece of marcasite and dark-gray fine-grained sandstone.

Core.... _______ '_ ______________________ 2, 610

The Wilcox group is underlain by the Porters Creek clay, which has 

a thickness of 250 feet. This is underlain in turn by the Cretaceous 

formations, which are about 500 feet thick and contain some thick 

layers of coarse sand.

In the Mississippi lowland the top formation is alluvium, deposited by 

the Mississippi River as it moves back and forth across its flood plain. 

The alluvium is 100 feet thick and varies rapidly both vertically and 

horizontally, lenses and bars of coarse sand giving place abruptly to 

clay. The alluvium contains much organic matter and considerable 

iron. Hence the water from it is often charged with iron and is unpalatable. Owing to the great variability of the alluvium it is impossible 

to predict at what depth wells in it can obtain water.

WATER RESOURCES

With the exception of the Obion River most of the streams in 

Obion County go dry in the summer, and stock is generally watered 

from stock ponds made in low places, though it is becoming more 

common to water stock from wells. Springs are numerous and 

large along the foot of the bluffs, where the water comes out from the
OBION COUNTY 239

base of the Pliocene sand and gravel. In the rest of the county 

springs are rare. In the northwestern part of the county wells are 

from 90 to 120 feet in depth and obtain water from the Pliocene 

sands and gravel. The water is hard, and therefore cisterns are 

largely used for wash water and in places for drinking water. On the 

second bottom water can not be struck in the first 50 feet, and below 

that the alluvium is too fine, so that wells are from 200 to 300 feet 

deep. In the first bottom wells 25 feet deep obtain ample water. 

In the eastern part of the county bored wells are most common, 

though dug wells are still used.

LOCAL SUPPLIES

At Elbridge (400 feet above sea level) bored wells 60 to 80 feet obtain water 

from the Pliocene sand and gravel. A coarse sand is found in the Wilcox at a 

depth of 300 feet.

Fulton, Ky., just across the Obion County line, has a public water supply 

owned by the city. Water is pumped by air lift from a 10-inch well 628 feet deep. 

The water level in the well stands 22 feet below the surface, and the drawdown is 

46 feet when the well is pumped at 1,188 gallons a minute. The water flows into 

a 300,000-gallon reservoir, from which it is pumped into the mains by two steam 

pumps. The average daily consumption is 800,000 gallons. The water is of 

excellent quality. (See analysis 1.)

At Glass dug wells are still used; these end in blue clay and go dry in the late 

summer. Drilled wells range from 165 to 210 feet in depth and obtain good 

water. At a depth of 250 feet lignite is encountered.

Kenton is in the valley of the Rutherford Fork of the Obion River. The 

municipal water supply comes from a 10-inch well 580 feet deep. The water 

(analysis 57) is pumped by air lift into a 250,000-gallon reservoir and thence into 

a 45,000-gallon elevated tank. The average daily consumption is 360,000 

gallons. The depth to water is 20 feet.

At Hornbeak (480 feet above sea level) drilled wells 90 to 125 feet deep obtain 

water from the Pliocene sand and gravel.

Obion is on the second bottom. The city has a municipally owned water 

supply, obtained from three 6-inch wells 70 feet deep. The wells are pumped 

by force pumps, which deliver the water to a 75,000-gallon reservoir, from which 

it is pumped by a centrifugal pump to a 75,000-gallon elevated tank. The 

average daily consumption is 75,000 gallons.

Log of well 1 of the city of Obion 

[Authority, J. B. Saunders]

SoU.... --- -. -- .... . ._.. __ -. .- _ 

Blue clay __________________________________________

Medium coarse sand . .. .. ... ................ .... __ ... ___ ............... _ ....

Thickness 

(feet)

4

12

20

34

Depth 

(feet)

4

16

36

70

The water is moderately hard and contains enough iron to make its removal 

desirable. (See analysis 53.)
240 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Rives is in the valley of the North Fork of the Obion. Shallow driven wells 

30 to 40 feet deep obtain ample water for domestic use, but the water is hard. 

Water can be obtained from wells 100 feet deep. Glenn 98 gives the following log:

Log of Illinois Central Railroad well at Rives

Sand, water-bearing _____________________________ _ _________ .-

Thickness 

(feet)

40

20

82

18

540

Depth 

(feet)

40

60

142

160

760

Troy has a municipally owned public supply (see analysis 38), obtained from 

a 12-inch well 200 feet deep, pumped by a turbine centrifugal pump that delivers 

the water to a 50,000-gallon elevated tank. This well ends in good coarse sand. 

Many people in Troy still use their own wells, which range in depth from 30 to 

65 feet.

The municipal water supply at Union City is derived from two 8-inch wells 

560 feet deep. (See analyses 19a, and 19b.) The wells are pumped by an air 

lift that delivers the water to a 255,000-gallon reservoir, from which it is pumped 

by two centrifugal pumps and discharged under direct pressure into the mains. 

The average daily consumption is 600,000 gallons. The Citizens Coal & Ice Co. 

obtains water from an 8-inch well 120 feet deep. This furnishes abundant 

water but it is hard.

Log of well of Union City waterworks 

[Authority, C. B. Alien]

Clay.- . . ..

Thickness 

(feet)

90

fifl

Depth 

(feet)

90

325

Thickness 

(feet)

1

164

70

Depth 

(feet)

326

490

560

*s Glenn, L. C., Underground waters of Tennessee and Kentucky west of Tennessee Eiver and of an 

adjacent area in Illinois: U. S. Qeol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 164, p. 103,1906.
> to CO d». Cn O> GO CO H*O to 

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Depth s § §ss g (feet) well of 

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NOISO iiNHOO 
242 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

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Troy, 500 feet east of highway 3 ...

2 miles east of Troy ________

2.5 miles southeast of Beeves on

road to Kenton. 

5 miles southeast of Reeves on

road to Kenton. 

 do 

Folk, 6 miles southwest of Beeves

on Illinois Central R. B. 

.....do.......... . ...........

2.2 miles southeast of Troy on

highway 5. 

2.2 miles south of Troy on highway 3. 

2.7 miles no'th of GJa^s. u

3.1 miles south of Hornbeak on

road to Glass. 

5.3 miles north of Gratio _____

2.7 miles north of Gratio ........

3 miles east of Eldridge ...........

Eldridge.. _____________

Glass......... . .............

.... .do... .. . . ........

Obion... __ ... ___ ..... .....

.. do.. .......................

.....do ...... . . . .......

4.7 miles southeast of Troy on

highway. 

7.2 miles southeast of Beeves ......

1J-6 miles northeast of Kenton __

2.1 miles west of Kenton on highway. 

3 miles northwest of Kenton ......

Mason Hall, 35 miles west of

Kenton. 

1.9 miles northwest of Mason Hall.

2.4 miles south of Gratio _____

City of Troy ......

W. B. Andersen. .

W. W. Hamilton. .

G.T.Philips-- 

.....do ..........

Polk School .... 

K. H. Polk ... ..

T. O. Wilson......

Mount Moriah

School. 

J. B. Faust.. ......

.....do.............

. .do 

M. A. Hall.. _ ...

B. McClough. .

Mason Hall School

T. H. Erwin ......

School.

O. P. Sanford __

.....do.......

Hilltop 

Upland. ....

Hillside. 

torn. 

Hilltop 

Hillside.....

 do 

bluffs. 

..... do _

 do 

torn, 

 do- 

 do 

 do ....

torn. 

..... do .

Hillside 

Hilltop 

torn. 

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torn. 

 doDrilled..- .

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do _ . .

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Drilled. 

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...do -

 doDug. .

 do.......

 doDrilled 

Drilled. 

 do 

DriTlail

 do -

do .......

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do ...__--

...doDrilled. 

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Drilled 

Drilled 

200

18fl

150

80

40

110

flO

210

109

fi9

50

103

60

3«5

204

3fl

70

70

70

50

fifi

134

580

100

55

100

110

87

40

275

50

286

13

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36

2

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2

3fi

10

2

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6

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 do 

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Grenad

1 Capacity of pump, 150 gallons a minute. d Flowing 2 gallons a minute. i Flowing 1 gallo
244 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Analyses of waters from Obion County

[Parts per million. Numbers at heads of columns refer to corresponding well numbers in preceding table. 

Analyses 1,17b, 19b, and 57 by Margaret D. Foster; the rest by D. F. Farrar]

Silica (Si02). _-_.... . .--. . .._....._.. 

Iron (Fe)_- _ ....... __ .. __ .. ......... ___

Calcium(Ca) . ... _._____.......

Sodium(Na) ..- . .......-.. _

Potassium (K)___ ___________________

Bicarbonate (HCO3 ) _____ __ _ ..-- ......

Sulphate(S04) -. - .-.-.._ 

Chloride (Cl)-._. ..._... ...........................

Nitrate (N03) . ...... ........... ..........

Total hardness as CaOOs (calculated) ... ............

Date of collection, 1929..... __ . ____ . ____ . ...

Silica (SiOt).. ........... .............................

Iron (Fe) _ . ____ . _________ .... ____ ..

Calcium (Ca) ______________________

Magnesium (Mg) ____________________

Sodium (Na).. ___ . _________________

Potassium (K)___ ....................................

Bicarbonate (HCOO- . ... 

Sulphate(SO4). ................. ....... _ ..

Chloride (Cl)..... ........ ............. _ ............

Nitrate(NO3) _ -

Total hardness as CaCOs (calculated) _ .............

Date of collection, 1929 __ . __ . _______ . .....

1

11

.03

3.7

2.0

4.2

1.0-

22

6.7

2.1

.10

35

17

Sept. 27

33

7

1.3

74

4

} '

244

2

.5

.1

218

201

Sept. 17

17b

22

15

7.2

3.4

7.0

1.0

44

6.3

3.5

.15

69

32

Sept. 12

35

1.8

.8

113

16

4

407

12

6

.4

365

348

Sept. 14

19c

7

.4

65

7

\ 8

/ 8

227

3

12

.3

218

191

Sept. 13

38

6

2.1

63

6

219

1

4

.2

198

182

Sept. 12

19b

13

.79

16

8.1

( 7.4

\ 1.6

98

7.5

2.1

.05

99

73

Sept. 13

53

6

' .9

58

8

205

8

15

.2

213

178

Sept. 12

24b

8

1.1

132

11

\ A

/ 6

452

2

10

.4

408

375

Sept. 17

57

8.2

3.5

13

6.3

/ 3.2

I 1-4

71

3.1

2.5

.0

69

58

Aug. 12

SHELBY COUNTY

[Area 801 square miles. Population 306,482] 

GEOaRAI'HY

Shelby County, in the southwest corner of Tennessee, is bounded 

on the west by the Mississippi River and on the south by the State 

of Mississippi. It consists largely of gently rolling uplands, which 

slope slightly toward the northwest and end abruptly at a line of 

bluffs that mark the edge of the Mississippi alluvial plain. The 

uplands have been dissected by three large streams, the Loosahatchie 

and Wolf Rivers and Nonconnah Creek, and their tributaries. All 

these streams have wide flood plains or "bottoms," as well as old 

flood plains or "second bottoms." The alluvial plain of the Mississippi River is not very wide in this county, the maximum being 6 or 

7 miles at the Mississippi line; at Memphis the river washes the foot 

of the bluffs. The average altitude of the county is 300 feet. The 

highest part is at the southeastern edge of the county, where an 

altitude of 400 feet is probably attained. Memphis is about 270 feet 

above sea level.

Shelby County is the most thickly settled part of western Tennessee. Cotton growing, dairying, and trucking are actively carried on. 

Many towns are scattered over the area, and Memphis, the largest 

city in Tennessee and an industrial and railroad center, is situated 

in the western part of the county.
SHELBY COUNTY 245 

GEOLOGY

Alluvium, loess, Pliocene gravel, and Jackson and Grenada formations crop out in Shelby County, and these are underlain by the 

formations of Eocene and Cretaceous age that crop out to the east. 

Of these older formations the Grenada and Ackerrnan are important 

as sources of water and will be discussed here.

The alluvium is found in the river bottoms, being the reworked 

material from the older formations which has been brought down by 

the streams. It is of variable composition, consisting of clay, sand 

of different sizes, and gravel.

The loess covers most of the county. It is well exposed in the west, 

where it forms the top layer of the bluffs. Here it has a maximum 

thickness of 100 feet, but it thins to a feather edge toward the east 

and disappears before reaching the eastern boundary of the county. 

Its fine texture, lack of structure, and property of standing in vertical faces are very characteristic.

The loess is underlain by Pliocene gravel, but the gravel was locally 

removed by erosion before the deposition of the loess and is not everywhere present. It includes some sand, but the gravel phase has wider 

distribution. In some places it is from 30 to 50 feet thick and consists of coarse gravel, boulders over 6 inches in diameter being reported. 

The Pliocene gravel is underlain by sediments of Jackson age, consisting of clay, fine sand, and lignite. This formation has a maximum thickness of 200 feet. It is exposed in the bluffs but has not 

been seen to the east, though it probably underlies much of the county.

The Wilcox group of this area includes the Grenada, Holly Springs, 

and Ackerman formations. The Grenada and the upper part of the 

Holly Springs consist throughout of sands of different age with intercalated lenses of clay. The Holly Springs, however, becomes more 

argillaceous in depth and contains in its lower part beds that are 

dominantly clay. The Ackerman formation is chiefly lignitic clay 

but contains some beds of sand. Though it is impossible to differentiate these formations in well records, for reasons given on page 283, 

it seems reasonable to assume that the sand below 1,300 feet belongs 

to the Ackerman formation, and it is so classified in this report. The 

Wilcox group dips about 25 feet to the mile toward the west and 

attains a thickness of about 1,900 feet in western Shelby County.

The Kipley formation is separated from the Holly Springs sand by 

about 300 feet of the Porters Creek clay and Clayton formation. 

These formations all dip.about 25 feet to the mile toward the west. 

Very little is known about the Ripley formation in Shelby County, 

The log of the 2,600-foot well of the Memphis Artesian Water 

Department (p. 284) gives a general idea of the character of the 

first few hundred feet. The character of the Kipley formation as 

found in the outcrop is fully described on pages 76-86.
246 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

"WATER RESOURCES

There are but few springs in Shelby County, and these yield hard 

water. Shallow wells in the alluvium furnish abundant water. Both 

dug and driven wells are used. The water-bearing capacity of the 

loess is very low and the water is hard, and in areas where it is thick 

deep wells or cisterns are used.

The Pliocene gravel will furnish small supplies of water for domestic 

use. In places where the thicker reefs of gravel are found large supplies of water can be developed from it. The Jackson formation is 

a poor source of water, for it is difficult to exclude the fine sand from 

the wells, the specific yield of the sands is not high, and the proximity 

of the lignitic beds gives an unpleasant taste to the water, thus rendering it unpotable. The Wilcox group contains lenses of coarse sand 

which are excellent sources of water. These lenses are as much as 150 

feet thick. They may extend over several square miles and within 

smaller areas may seem to be continuous beds. This is not the case, 

however; they are discontinuous large lenses occurring at the same 

general horizon. Hence, the exact depth at which they are to be 

found is variable, and some wells will not encounter them at all. One 

such lens is the 400-foot sand (150 feet below sea level) at Memphis, 

which at Collierville, at the eastern edge of the county, is found at a 

depth of 230 feet (154 feet above sea level). The static head of the 

water in this lens at Memphis is 235 feet above sea level. At Memphis 

the Ripley formation is separated from the Wilcox group by about 

400 feet of Porters Creek clay and Clayton formation. This places 

the top of the Ripley at a depth of about 1,950 feet (1,700 feet below 

sea level). From 2,371 to 2,634 feet the Ripley contains a good 

water-bearing sand. This sand has not been penetrated elsewhere 

in the county but would be reached at about 1,100 feet below sea 

level at the eastern edge of the county and progressively lower 

toward the west, with 1,700 feet below sea level at Memphis as a 

limiting figure. The static head of the water in the Ripley formation 

is 265 feet above sea level. At Memphis the water from the Ripley 

formation has a high mineral content and is not fit for domestic or 

industrial use.

Impervious clay lenses of small extent may, if properly situated, 

form local artesian basins. (See p. 42.) Such basins have a small 

capacity and should not be drawn upon by many wells. Such a 

basin occurs at Brunswick.

Though dug and bored wells are still used in some places in Shelby 

County, they are being replaced by drilled wells throughout the county. 

All the larger farms have drilled wells. Some of the drilled wells 

may go as deep as 600 feet in search of a coarse sand, but the average 

depth of the wells listed is 243 feet.
SHELBY COUNTY 247

LOCAL SUPPLIES

At Arlington, in the valley of the Loosahatchie River, shallow dug or driven wells 

obtain sufficient water from the valley alluvium. The town has a public water 

supply derived from one 4-inch well 291 feet deep. (See analysis 8a.) This is 

equipped with an electrically driven centrifugal pump which delivers the water 

directly into the mains. Inasmuch as there are no facilities for storage and the 

cost of pumping continuously is too great, water from the public supply is available 

for only a few hours a day. Therefore, most of the homes still use their private 

wells.

Log of town well, Arlington

[Authority, Dean Leak, driller (from memory)]

Mud.. .............................

Thickness 

(feet)

65

25

165

Depth 

(feet)

65

90

255

Thickness 

(feet)

5

31

Depth 

(feet)

260

291

The Louisville & Nashville Railroad obtains water from a 10-inch well 221 

feet deep. This well is equipped with a duplex steam pump which delivers 250 

gallons a minute. The water level is 8 feet below the ground.

An oil test hole drilled for the Arlington Oil & Gas Co. on the Garrett farm 

showed the following section:

Log of well No. 1 of Arlington Oil & Gas Co., Garrett farm, Arlington 

[Authority, V. E. Hines, driller]

Wilcox group:

White clay. _______ . ......

"PlTiA plorr

Thickness 

(feet)

20

2

12

31

35

20

10

19

1

20

10

25

295

Depth 

(feet)

20

22

24

65

100

120

130

149

150

170

180

205

500

Wilcox group Continued.

Clay..... . ......

Lignite.. ... ... ...........

Thickness 

(feet)

35

160

15

28

2

40

1

119

1

3

6

13

2

Depth

(feet)

535

695

710

738

740

780

781

900

901

904

910

923

925

At Bartlett (altitude 263 feet) water is obtained from the Pliocene gravel at 

depths of 50 to 100 feet or else from the Grenada formation, which has a coarse 

lens at 275 to 340 feet. The Pliocene gravel in this locality is confined to a reef 

a few hundred feet in width. Outside of this area it is necessary to put in deep 

wells for good supplies of water.

Log of well of A. R. Appling, Bartlett 

[Authority, Mr. Martin, driller (from memory)]

Soil....... . ._-. - - .- . - ..--.- .- _. -.-

Thickness 

(feet)

25

100

150

65

Deptb 

(feet)

25

125

275

340
248 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

In Capleville (altitude 307 feet) shallow and deep wells are in use. The shallow 

Wells obtain water at 20 to 40 feet; the deep wells obtain water from the Grenada 

at 200 to 345 feet.

Log of well of J. T. Tuggle, Capleville 

[Authority, Dean Leak, driller (from memory)]

Sand growing coarser with depth _________________________ ....

Thickness 

(feet)

15

15

100

95

Depth 

(feet)

15

30

130

225

In the high land west of Capleville small supplies of water can be obtained 

just below the loess from a bed of sand 10 to 20 feet thick, found at a depth of 

60 to 80 feet. Larger supplies of water can be obtained from a coarse sand lens 

in the Grenada at a depth of 350 to 450 feet.

Collierville (altitude 387 feet) has a public water supply which obtains water 

from two 6-inch wells 270 feet deep, spaced 10 feet apart. (See analysis 24a.) 

These wells are equipped with double-action lift pumps, electrically driven. The 

water is pumped into a 25,000-gallon elevated tank, from which it is distributed 

by gravity.

Good springs are found at the foot of the ridge on each side of the town, and 

wells in the lowlands of either the Wolf River or the Coldwater River average 

about 20 feet in depth.

Log of well of H. W. Mann Ice Co,, Collierville 

[Authority, Dean Leak, driller (from memory)]

Interlaminated sand and" pipeclay ".

Thickness 

(feet)

30

60

50

60

Depth 

(feet)

30

Oft

140

200

Thickness 

(feet)

25

5

14

Depth 

(feet)

225

230

244

At Cordova (altitude 365 feet) water is obtained from the Pliocene gravel at 

depths of 10 to 55 feet, also from a thin lens of sand at 95 to 106 feet, and from 

a deeper sand at 300 feet.

Log of well of C. A. Chaffee, Cordova 

(Authority, Mr. Chaffee (from memory)]

Soil 

Thickness 

(feet)

24

11

25

Depth 

(feet)

24

35

60

Thickness 

(feet)

Oft

1 5ft

15

Depth

(feet)

150

300

315

Eads is in hilly country in the eastern 'part of the county. In this area the 

loess is absent. Shallow dug or bored wells obtain water at depths of 35 to 65 

feet, and a coarse white sand is found at 175 feet.
SHELBY COUNTY 249

Log of well of Charles Richmond, Eads 

[Authority, Dean Leak, driller (from memory)]

Thickness 

(feet)

35

30

95

Depth

(feet)

35

65

160

Thickness 

(feet)

15

33

Depth 

(feet)

175

209

At Forest Hills (altitude 369 feet) the first good water sand is found at a depth 

of 160 feet and another sand at 275 feet. On the high ground east of Forest 

Hills the Pliocene gravel has a thickness of 40 feet and is tapped by shallow wells.

Germantown (altitude 379 feet) has a public water system (analysis 21) 

obtaining water from two wells one 6 inches in diameter, the other 8 inches. 

These wells are equipped with reciprocal pumps driven by electric motors. The 

water is pumped into a 25,000-gallon elevated tank, from which it is distributed 

by gravity. The average daily consumption is 15,000 gallons.

Log of town well, Germantown 

[Authority, H. S. Williams]

Clay.. _ _.. .. _ .. 

Sand. . __ - __ . ... _ _ . . 

Thickness 

(feet)

25

38

68

150

Depth

(feet)

25

63

131

281

At Kerrville (altitude 335 feet) dug wells obtaining water from the Pliocene 

sand and gravel supply domestic needs. These wells are from 30 to 50 feet 

deep, according to topographic position.

Log of well of DeSoto Oil Co., Kerrville 

[Authority, J. Sullivan, driller]

Sandy clay - - -

Thickness 

(feet)

10

4

386

100

35

Depth 

(feet)

10

14

400

500

535

Locke is in the northwest corner of Shelby County. The loess is rather thick in 

this vicinity, in some places as thick as 100 feet. Water is obtained from the 

Pliocene gravel, which underlies the loess, but as this water is hard many people 

prefer to use cisterns. Deep wells would obtain water from the underlying 

Grenada formation at about 500 feet.

The conditions at Memphis are described in detail on pages 267-311.

119722 33 17
250 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Millington (altitude 272 feet) has a public water system (analysis 6a) consisting 

of two 6-inch wells 250 feet deep spaced 10 feet apart. These wells are pumped 

by electrically driven reciprocating pumps, which deliver the water into a small 

reservoir. Thence it is pumped by a centrifugal pump into a 50,000-gallon 

elevated tank and distributed by gravity. The average daily consumption is 

40,000 gallons.

In the vicinity of Mullins small supplies of water can be obtained from wells 

about 90 feet deep.

At Oakville the well of the Oakville Memorial Sanatorium found water at two 

good horizons one in the Pliocene from 85 to 105 feet, and the other in the 

Grenada formation from 200 to 339 feet. The lower sand probably corresponds 

to the 400-foot sand at Memphis. At present most of the wells in Oakville are 

obtaining water from the shallow bed.

Log of well of Oakville Memorial Sanatorium, Oakville 

[Authority, Layne Central Co.]

Thickness

Ft. in.

on n

OK n

20 5

15 3

4

13 0

24 3

13 0

5 6

30 5

Depth

Ft. in. 

vt n

65 0

85 5

100 8

104 8

117 8

141 11

154 11

160 5

190 10

Jackson formation Continued.

Clay.. . ................ 

Sand.... - .

Thickness

Ft. in. 

9 0

65 10

12 3

26 3

40 9

39 8

21 3

19 7

64 5

17 10

Depth

Ft. in. 

199 10

265 8

277 11

298 2

338 11

378 8

399 11

419 6

483 11

501 9

In the region around Raines (altitude 290 feet) drilled wells from 38 to 90 feet 

deep obtain sufficient water from the Pliocene gravel.

At Rldgeway (altitude 325 feet) small supplies of water are obtained from wells 

15 to 118 feet deep, which end in Pliocene gravel. Larger supplies are derived 

from the Grenada formation at about 350 feet.

Log of well of Clarence Sounders, Ridgeway 

[Authority, Layne Central Co.]

Clay. . .-.-_ ....-_.. -___.. _ - .-.__ . _._ _ ...........

White clay __ ... _ . ___ .-.-.-. __ .. __ --------- _ -------------- _ ..-. _ ... ...

Thickness 

(feet)

15

103

172

10

40

45

Depth 

(feet)

15

118

290

300

340

385

At Rosemark dug wells range in depth from 30 to 50 feet, drilled wells from 

100 to 125 feet and from 500 to 530 feet.

Woodstock (altitude 246 feet) is in the valley of the Loosahatchie. A good 

water sand is found at a depth of 40 feet. ,
Records of wells in Shelby County

No.

la 

Ib

1C

2a 

2b

3

4

5 

6a

6b

7 

8a

8b

9 

10

11 

12 

13a 

13b 

13c

Location

Rosemark _________

.....do 

.... .do .

Kerrville, 200 feet west of 

railroad station. 

Kerrville, 2,000 feet east of 

railroad station. 

3 miles west of Sloanville ... 

Locke ......................

Sloanville. _______ ...

Millington. ................

Intersection of highway 3 

and crossroads to Millington. 

Hanson Hurst _____ ...

Arlington. .. _ .. _ .. ....

.....do-...- .............

Woodstock .................

4.5 miles south of "Woodstock on highway 3. 

0.6 mile north of Ridgeway.

Memphis, Rayleigh road _

Bartlett,250feet west of railroad track on highway. 

Bartlett - __ ..........

-...do. ..................

 Pumpage, 40.00C

Owner

S. B. Moffatt ._ _

School ____ . ..

Mrs. A. Thompson. 

DeSoto Oil Co....

M. Jefferson .....

County School ....

C.T. McClellan.. 

CityofMillington.

Oliver Brank...

0. C. Hanson. 

City of Arlington. .

Louisville & Nashville R. R. 

Chas. N. Smith 

J. W. Alexander. .

Shelby County 

Post House. 

National Cemetery. 

A. R. Appling-. 

John M. Jenkins 

Chas. H. Schwan. 

gallons a day.

Topographic 

position

Valley...... 

.. do.....

.....do......

Hillside..... 

Hilltop. ..

-....do......

.....do.......

ValloTT

Hillside ..

Valley- .

Valley bottom. 

 do 

 do 

.....do ....

Hilltop......

Valley bottom. 

 do 

Hill slope. .. 

» C

Altitude (feet)

.....

340 

370

260

m

310

263 

260

280

ipacii

Type of 

well

Dug.......

Drilled 

 do 

...do....... 

Dug 

Washed 

Drilled -

Driven 

Drilled .

 do.......

 do 

 do.......

 do ...

Driven _ . 

 do 

Drilled 

 do ....

 do.......

 do...... .

... do....... 

y of pump, (

'w

£

"8 1g

a

a

S ®

0

44

125 

528

535 

45

96

75

69 

250

90

400 

291

221

50 

90

537 

388 

340 

50 

100 

>00ga

Diameter ofwell

(inches)

36

3 

3

2H 

36

2 

2

2 

6

4

4 

4

10

1» 

2

3

4 

4 

4

2H 

Ions

Water-bearing b

Character 

of material

Gravel..

 do 

 do ..

Gravel., 

 do.....

 do ..

 do 

 do 

 do .

 do 

 doGravel.. 

Sand....

 do 

 do.....

 do... -

Gravel..

Geolo

horiz

Pliocene 

Holly Sp

Pliocene

... -do..

... ..do..

...-do 

... -do..

 do 

 do 

 .do..

 do..

 .do..

... ..do 

Hn

a minute. 
Records of wells in Shelby County Continued

No.

14 

15a 

15b

16

17 

18 

19 

20a

20b 

21

22a 

22b

23

24a

24b

25a 

25b 

26 

27

Location

0.5 mile south of Eads. _ ..

Cordova, 600 feet east of 

railroad station. 

Cordova, 600 feet east and 

2,000 feet south from railroad station.

0.8 mile north of Mullins ... 

East of Whites .... ......

1,000 feet east of railroad 

station at Bidgeway. 

0.7 mile west of railroad station at Bidgeway. 

1.0 mile south of Brookfleld.

200 feet east of railroad station at Forest Hills. 

0.25 mile west of railroad 

station at Forest Hills.

C ollierville ... ...........

1,700 feet west and 600 feet 

south from railroad station at C ollierville. 

North side Pigeon Boost 

road, Oakville. 

Oakville--- .......

Nonconnah, Peebles Avenue. 

3 miles south of Nanconnah 

on highway 14.

Owner

Chas. Richmond 

J. E. Humphreys.

County workhouse. 

W. L. Brackett...

Colonial Country 

Club. 

1/6W Tisdsl6

Bidgeway Country Club. 

Clarence Saunders 

City of Germantown.

W G Keller

City of Collierville. 

H. W. Mann Ice 

Co.

Oakville Memorial Sanatorium. 

Bailway Ice Co...

W. E. McLardy...

Topographic 

position

 do 

..... do 

Hillside -

 .do.......

Valley......

Altitude (feet)

365 

365

365

385

3?0

310

300

379

364

<?<U

400

390

375

300

230

Type of 

well

Drilled. 

...doBored .....

Drilled 

... do 

 do.......

 do ...

... do ...

... do .

 do 

 do 

--dodo

 do. 

Bored ..... 

...do... ....

Drilled - 

do . .

!

of

«M a~~^

Q, 

05

Q

208 

315 

106

350 

385 

220 

425

386 

281

180 

308

225 

270

244

65 

501 

360 

60

Diameter ofwell

(inches)

2 

3 

2M

3

4

m

6

8 

6

2H 

6

3 

6

VA

2 

8 

15}£ 

IK

Water-bearing b

Character 

of material

Sand_ _ 

 do.....

... do 

 do.....

 do 

 do 

...do 

 do 

...do.....

 do.....

...do.....

 do.....

... do 

...do.....

...do.....

...do.....

 do.....

 do.....

Gravel..

Geolog

horizo

 do.

 do.. 

 do...

 .do..

 do... 

 ..do...

 do...

 do... 

. .do...

..-.do..

 do... 

.....do..

..... do 

.... . do..

.....do 

 do 

 -do 
28

9On

29b

30

31

OOfl

32b

QQo

33h

34a

34h

railroad station, 500 feet 

west of tracks.

on Mississippi-Tennessee 

line.

1,000 feet west of railroad

station at Capleville.

tion at Capleville.

Q. T. Banks......

J. W. Hale. 

H. Farris __ --

 do ... 

R. R. Hall . ....

Hillside 

Hilltop 

.....do.......

.....do.......

-....do.......

Valley- 

 -do... .

3W)

330

350

4fiO

401

370

360

300

300

 do 

do.. ...

... do 

...do 

 do.... ...

...do... ....

 do ..

 do 

 do 

 do 

... do ...

38

fiO

64

7?

SfiS

90

401

440

40

?48

W5

?:

3

3

2^

2^

?:

2H

2K

2

2H

2M

... do .

 do .

...do. ...

 do.....

Sand...-

Sand .

 doSand ....

... do .

.. do 

 do..

do

do

... ..do 

 .do

<< Capacity of pump, 20 gallons a minute. 1 Capacity of pump, 350 gallons a minute. 
254 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Analyses of waters from Shelby County

(Parts per million. Numbers at heads of columns refer to corresponding well numbers in preceding table. 

Analysis 8a by D. F. Farrar; the rest by Margaret D. Foster]

Silica (Si Oj). .......... ........... _.-.._.__.__ __

Iron (Fe). ___ . ____ ...... __ . ___ ........

Calcium (Ca)_ . __________ . ___ ........

Sodium (Na) ____________________ . ...

Potassium (K).._._ ____ ..... ____ . __ ......

Carbonate (COa)... __ . __ ... .. _____ . _ ......

Bicarbonate (HCOs).. ___ .. _______ . _ ......

Sulphate (8Ot). ................... ... . __ ..........

Chloride (CD............... ..........................

Nitrate(NO») 

Total dissolved solids _________________

Date of collection, 1928 ................................

6a

19

.05

65

35

15

1.0

0

387

8.6

5.0

.74

333

306

July 25

8a

9

.8

29

4

23

3

0

76

16

40

1

177

89

July 28

21

13

2.6

5.4

2.1

5.6

.6

0

34

3.2

2.9

0

49

22

July 23

24a

15

.41

2.8

1.0

3.3

.8

0

18

2.6

1.8

.10

36

11

July 24

28

20

.48

65

37

13

1.1

0

402

3.5

5.6

3.0

340

314

July 23

TIPTON COUNTY

[Area 442 square miles. Population 27,498] 

GEOGRAPHY

Tip ton County abuts upon the Mississippi River, the western 

boundary of Tennessee. Most of the county consists of a gently 

rolling or level upland surface with an average altitude of 325 feet 

which rises slightly toward the west until it attains about 375 feet 

(Randolph 378 feet) at the Chickasaw Bluffs, where the surface drops 

abruptly to the Mississippi lowland. From Randolph to Richardsons Landing the Mississippi River washes the foot of the bluffs, and 

at no place in this county does the alluvial plain attain an appreciable 

width. The Hatchie River, which forms the northern boundary of the 

county, has a broad flood plain. Above this lies the terrace of the 

second bottom.

Agriculture is almost the only occupation of this region. Some 

timber is cut in the swampy bottoms of the Hatchie.

GEOLOGY

The geology of Tipton County is very similar to that of Shelby 

County, to the south. The loess forms a covering for the whole 

county, and the sunken roads that develop in this formation are a 

striking feature of the area. The Pliocene is a sandy and gravelly 

formation that in general underlies the loess but has locally been 

removed by erosion. The Jackson is exposed in the bluffs, but though 

it undoubtedly underlies much of the county it does not crop out elsewhere. The Grenada and Holly Springs underlie the Jackson and 

can be penetrated by drilling.

WATER RESOURCES

Stock ponds supplement the streams for watering stock. In the 

lowlands along the rivers shallow driven wells obtain abundant water.
TIPTON COUNTY 255

As the loess does not yield water, it is sought in the underlying Pliocene gravel. As the gravel is in places very thin, dug wells are more 

satisfactory, for they have a larger capacity and thus allow a certain 

amount of storage in the well. For this reason dug wells are still 

largely used.

The water from the Pliocene gravel is hard, owing to the fact that 

water seeping through the overlying loess dissolves considerable calcium carbonate. For this reason many people prefer to use cistern 

water, and many cisterns are found throughout the county. In the 

eastern part of the county the Jackson and the top of the Grenada 

formation consist of very fine sand, locally called quicksand. Though 

this sand contains water it offers unusual difficulties to well drillers, 

who find it almost impossible to finish a well so as to check the sand. 

For this reason bored and drilled wells are not common. Although 

coarser sand can be found at greater depths the cost of a well 300 or 

400 feet deep is too much for many farmers.

LOCAL SUPPLIES

At Atoka (altitude 424 feet) dug wells obtaining water from the Pliocene 

gravel are used. The depth to the gravel ranges from 35 to 80 feet.

At Brighton shallow dug or bored wells are most common. These obtain sufficient water at about 30 feet. A few wells about 100 feet deep have been drilled.

The country around Charleston is high. Bored wells from 50 to 110 feet deep 

obtain water from the Pliocene or the Jackson formation. These wells are not 

permanent, running dry during the summer, so cisterns are used to a great extent. 

In this region drilled wells about 300 feet deep would obtain large quantities of 

water.

At Covington (altitude 393 feet) water is obtained at two horizons, one at a 

depth of 60 to 90 feet, another at 500 to 600 feet. The shallow water-bearing 

bed consists of fine sand, and only relatively small quantities of water can be 

developed from it. Thus a well (analysis 9a) owned by the city of Covington, 22 

inches in diameter and 98 feet deep, with 60 feet of strainer and gravel-wall finish, 

has a drawdown of 35 feet when pumped at 150 gallons a minute. The 500- 

foot sand is an excellent source of water. The city of Covington's 12-inch well, 

587 feet deep (analysis 9b) develops 800 gallons a minute with only an 8-foot 

drawdown. The static head is 33 feet below the surface. The city wells are 

equipped with turbine centrifugal pumps driven by electric motors. The water 

is pumped into a tank and thence into the mains under direct pressure. Storage 

is provided by an 85,000-gallon reservoir and an 85,000-gallon tank. The daily 

water consumption is 400,000 gallons. To the southeast and west of Covington 

cisterns are largely used. The farms that do not use cisterns have dug wells 

from 30 to 60 feet deep, which obtain water from the Pliocene gravel.

In the region around Detroit water is obtained from the Pliocene gravel at 

depths of 60 to 80 feet.

At Drummond the loess is as much as 100 feet thick. To reach the underlying 

Pliocene wells must exceed this depth.

In the region around Gainesville dug wells averaging 40 feet in depth are used. 

Two miles north of Gainesville a well was drilled to a depth of 242 feet but encountered nothing but fine sand and so was abandoned. The gin at Gainsville, 

owned by John D. McCallahan, obtains water from a 3-inch well 425 feet deep. 

(See analysis 44.) The water rises within 40 feet of the surface. Throughout
256 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

this section drilled wells from 400 to 600 feet deep would obtain ample supplies 

of good water.

At Giltedge dug wells averaging 40 feet in depth obtain water from the Pliocene 

gravel. Along the creek water is obtained from the alluvium.

At Leigh Chapel dug wells obtain water at 60 feet and drilled wells at 100 to 

150 feet.

At Mason water is obtained from dug or bored wells averaging 30 feet in 

depth. Drilled wells from 160 to 230 feet in depth obtain water from the Grenada 

formation.

Log of well of Mason Ginning Co., Mason

[Authority, J. H. McCraw, driller (from memory)]

White clay... ______ . _ . __ .... _ .......... ___________________

Sand and clay. ___________________________________ . __

Thickness 

(feet)

30

15

50

135

Depth 

(feet)

30

45

95

230

At Munford and in the surrounding country the depth to the bottom of the 

Pliocene gravel ranges from 46 to 75 feet. Dug wells end in this formation.

At Quito most wells are about 60 feet deep. Two miles to the west, along the 

bluffs overlooking the Mississippi alluvial plain, springs are abundant.

Randolph is on the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River. Dug wells averaging 40 feet in depth are used. In the lowland along the bluffs springs are 

common.

Rialto is in the valley of the Hatchie River. Shallow driven wells furnish 

ample water.

At Tabernacle dug wells 30 to 40 feet deep are used. Glenn M reports a 4-inch 

bored well sunk to a depth of 225 feet. The water was abundant and soft and rose 

within 106 feet of the surface. The section down to 184 feet, where the water 

rose 78 feet in the pipe, was chiefly alternating sand and clay. This was followed 

by a thin sand-ironstone layer, then 21 feet of thin clay, and beneath it another 

sand, which was entered to a depth of 225 feet from the surface. The water in 

this sand rose within 164 feet of the surface only, and so the casing was pulled 

back and the well made at 184 feet. This well is no Iqnger in operation.

At Tipton (altitude 342 feet) dug wells from 30 to 50 feet in depth furnish hard 

water. Bored or drilled wells go to a depth of 130 feet.

» Glenn, L. O., op. cit., p. 117.
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road.

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 do - 

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 do. 

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J. W. Fizer 

W. H. Baxter 

Illinois Central

R. R.

J. D. McCallahan

Co.

..... do 

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Hilltop.. 

 do ..

Hilltop 

Hillside .

Hilltop 

__ do _ ...

... ..do.... 

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..... dotorn.

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450

390

475

440

450

450

430

420

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440

370

340

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380

330

307

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 do 

--.do. ..

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70

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---.do 
260 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Analyses of waters from Tipton County

{Parts per million. Numbers at heads of columns refer to corresponding well numbers in preceding table.

Analyzed by D. F. Farrar]

Silica (SiOj) --- - -- 

Potassium (K)._ __________________ _

Carbonate (COs)...-- _ .... _ ... __________

8ulphate(SO4) . .-

Cnloride(Cl)...- __ ........ .......... ..............

Nitrate(NOs). . ...... .

Total hardness as CaCOj (calculated).. _______

Silica(SiOi) .._ 

Iron(Fe) - __ ................

Calcium (Ca) ________________ ...........

Sodium (Na)...... ....................................

Potassium (K) ........................................

Bicarbonate (HCOs)-. ___ . _____ . __ ... __ .

Chloride (01). ........ __ ........................ _ .

Nitrate (NO3) .. ........ .................. 

Date of collection, 1928 ______ ...................

6

6

.7

17

3

\ ,

/ 3

0

60

5

5

.6

72

55

Aug. 28

da

3

.1

25

3

7

0

86

2

12

.2

94

75

Sept. 8

33

9

1.1

56

7

\ <?

/ 3

0

198

5

3.5

.6

187

168

Sept. 7

9b

7.5

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20

4

0

74

5

3

.2

81

66

Sept. 8

39

9

1.3

132

5

( n

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416

3

21

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398

350

Sept. 8

23b

5

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2

0

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4

2.5

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61

48

Aug. 28

44

12

.8

17

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60

4

6

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79

55

Sept. 8

25

11

1.3

138

18

/ 20

1 9

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466

29

34

1

494

418

Aug. 29

45a

8

.5

38

5

( 29

i 3

0

37

77

51

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248

115

Aug. 27

WEAKLEY COUNTY

[Area 580 square miles. Population 29,262] 

GEOGRAPHY

Weakley County is in the middle of the northern part of western 

Tennessee. Farming is the only activity. Though cotton is the 

main crop, the growing of early vegetables is actively carried on, with 

Greenfield and Sharon as the shipping points. There is considerable 

dairying.

Weakley County is drained by the North, Middle, and South 

Forks of the Obion River and their tributaries. These streams all 

flow to the west. The region is gently rolling with the exception 

of a high area in the eastern part of the county north of Dresden. 

The highest altitude precisely known in Weakley County is 415 feet 

above mean sea level at Martin; the lowest is 320 feet at a point 3.6 

miles north of Greenfield, on the Middle Fork of the Obion River. 

The hills north of Dresden may attain an altitude of 500 feet. The 

average altitude throughout the county is between 400 and 450 feet.

GEOLOGY

' The Wilcox crops out over the whole of Weakley County. Except 

in a small area in the southeastern part of the county, where the Holly
WEAKLEY COUNTY 261

Springs sand is found at the surface, the Grenada formation of the 

Wilcox group occurs everywhere. The Grenada is composed of sand 

of variable size and color, with intercalated lenses and layers of clay.

WATER RESOURCES

Cattle in Weakley County are watered from streams or where 

these are not convenient from stock ponds. During dry periods 

recourse is had to wells. Water in sufficient quantities for domestic or industrial use can be obtained from the Grenada formation at 

any place. Clay lenses may be encountered, but these nowhere 

exceed 100 feet in thickness and by passing through them water will 

be obtained. In some places in the formation fine sand may be encountered but deeper drilling will reach coarser sands below. The 

average depth of the 65 bored wells listed in the table is 61 feet. The 

drilled wells average 241 feet. This difference is due to the fact that 

drilled wells are used when large supplies are needed; also a drilled 

well may go deep in search of a coarse sand. The average depth to 

the water table is 56 feet, but on the high hills it is as much as 140 

feet.

iLOCAL SUPPLIES

Dresden, the county seat of Weakley County, has a public water supply owned 

by the city. Water is obtained from two 6-inch wells, one 275 feet and the other 

460 feet deep. (See analyses 41a and 41b.) The wells are pumped by air lift 

and the water is delivered to a 85,000-gallon reservoir, from which it is lifted to 

a 50,000-gallon elevated tank by means of a centrifugal pump yielding 100 gallons 

a minute. The city consumes on the average 75,000 gallons a day. There is 

no need for drilling deeper than 275 feet at Dresden, as the well of that depth 

is quite satisfactory. Wells of the same depth properly spaced would supply 

all needs.

A layer of clay underlies Dukedom, and to obtain permanent water wells must 

be drilled through this clay. Wells 175 to 200 feet deep will penetrate to sand. 

In the lowland shallow wells 40 feet deep furnish sufficient water for domestic 

needs.

Gardner is situated in low land, and very shallow wells 20 to 30 feet deep obtain abundant water. On the high land to the north of the town drilled weBs 

are used and are as much as 150 feet deep.

At Greenfield (altitude 433 feet) the city water supply (analysis 70) has two 

wells, a 6-inch well 286 feet deep and an 8-inch well 436 feet deep. Both wells are 

pumped by an air lift to a 100,000-gallon reservoir, from which it is lifted to a 

50,000-gallon overhead tank by a centrifugal pump having a capacity of 400 gallons a minute. The average consumption is 150,000 gallons a day. Underlying 

Greenfield and to the east there is a layer of lignite. This lignite at Greenfield 

is found at a depth of about 90 feet, and water obtained from sand just below it 

has a high iron content. A fine sand is found at 145 to 200 feet, but below this 

there is a coarse sand. It is needless to go deeper than 300 feet at Greenfield. 

Abundant good water can be obtained 200 to 300 feet below the surface.

Martin, at the junction of the Illinois Central and the Nashville, Chattanooga 

& St. Louis Railroads, is the largest city in Weakley County. The public water 

supply is owned by the city. (See analysis 37.) Water is obtained from three 

wells a 3-inch well 320 feet deep, a 6-inch well 550 feet deep, and a 10-inch well
262 GEOUND-WATEE EESOUECES OF WESTEEN TENNESSEE

537 feet deep. The first two wells are pumped by air lift and the third by a 

centrifugal pump. The water goes into a reservoir, from which it is pumped to 

an elevated tank. The city uses about 600,000 gallons a day. Good water-bearing sand is found at 100 to 125 feet, but water from this horizon attacks boilers 

vigorously. Another layer of good sand is found between 300 and 400 feet, and 

a third from 480 to 555 feet. The depth of water at Martin is 75 feet.

At Palmersville the depth to water is about 70 feet. Bored wells 80 to 100 

feet deep and drilled wells as much as 110 feet deep obtain sufficient water. Owing 

to the considerable depth to water in the area a few miles south of Palmersville 

cisterns are exclusively used, but wells from 100 to 200 feet deep should obtain 

plenty of water.

The public water supply of the city of Sharon (analysis 58) is equipped with 

two wells, both 6 inches in diameter; one is 267 feet deep and the other is 496 feet 

deep. The wells are pumped by force pumps, and the water is delivered to a 

50,000-gallon elevated tank.
Records of wells in Weakley County

No.

1 

2 

3

4a 

4b 

5

6

7

S 

9 

10

11 

12

13

14 

15 

16 

17a

17b 

IS

19

20 

21 

22 

23a 

23b 

24

Location »

4 miles east of Dukedom. _ __ _

 do 

4.3 miles southwest of Dukedom. 

5 miles southwest of Dukedom, 

5.7 miles southeast of Dukedcun. 

7 miles southeast of Dukedom . 

9.3 miles east of Dukedom __ . 

3.2 miles northeast of Palmersville. 

5.2 miles northeast of Lantham.*1 

2.5 miles northeast of Lantham.*1

4 miles northeast of Martin .... 

Latham.. ____ ... _____ 

4 miles west of Palmersville 

- do... ......................

2 miles east of Palmersville on 

Cottage Grove road. 

2.7 miles east of Palmersville 

on Cottage Grove road.* 

7.2 miles north of Dresden .....

.....do ............. .........

Gardner., ___ .... _ _ 

Owner or name

J. C. Glass...... .... 

C. Fields . .......

J. L.Foy.. ... ...

E. H. McClain ...

W. B. McConell ...

E. H. McClain ...

W. J. McClure... ...

W. S. Winstead 

W. H. Legans... ....

Cooperative cheese 

factory.

N. Hawks.. ......... 

W. M. Pierce .....

J. C. Gray .

T. A. Futrell... .....

C. C. Talleson ......

J. Bryan... _ ._ ...

Topographic 

position

Hillside. ... .

.... .do ...

.. do ....

Hillside ..

Second bottom. 

Hilltop 

Hillside 

 do... ....

 do... 

Hillside. 

Lowland-...

 do 

 . .do ....

Lowland __ 

 do 

 ..do -

Type of 

well

 do -

Drilled 

 do 

.-do. ...

Drilled 

Bored 

 do .

do

... do .... 

 do 

... do 

...do .

-.do. .

 do ...

... do... ....

Drilled 

Drilled 

Bored ... .. 

...do... ....

 do .

Drilled 

Bored 

 do. ...

 doDepth of well(feet)

81 

26 

100 

190 

176 

42

135 

40

48 

60 

38

65 

32

60 

40 

30 

86 

110

82 

100

30

75 

82 

156 

32 

32 

26

Diameter ofwell

(inches)

6 

6 

2 

2 

2 

6

2 

6

6 

6 

6

6 

6

6 

8 

6 

6 

2

8 

2

6

6 

6 

2H 

6 

6 

6

Water-bearing 

Character 

of material

Sand 

 do 

 do 

 do 

...do 

 do.....

 do 

 do 

-.do .

 do 

 do 

. do

 do -

 do 

___ do -

 do 

... do 

...dodo

 do -

... do 

 do .

-.do ..

 do 

 do 

...do.....

---do--

Geol

hori

 . do.

 do 

 do 

..... do 

do 

--.do 

 do 

 do 

 -_d

 .do 

..... do 

_ __ do. 

do

 do 

Alluviu

do.

 do 

 do

 do 

 . -do 

 .d

..... do 

 .-do 

. do 

 do 

Distances scaled from State map except as otherwise noted. * 
264 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

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46

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50

51 

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56ft

56b

57

58a

58b 

59

60

61

6?,

63

64

65

66

67

68

Paris road. »

Paris road. »

Paris road. *

Paris road. b

on road to Gleason. »

on highway 22. b 

On highway 43, 3 miles north 

of Sharon. b

Obion County line. *

2 miles east of Illinois Central 

E. R. at Hillside.*

6.3 miles southeast of Sharon- - 

2 miles southeast of Dresden ...

on highway 22. » Gleason, east side of railroad

track. 

..... do .... . ... - 

field.

3 miles southeast of Sharon' _

County on highway 22. »

2.5 miles east of Greenfleld on

Dresden road.

County line on road between 

Greenfleld and Forks of the 

Eiver. 

2 miles west of Greenfleld » ....

W.T. Milton... ....

J. F. Taylor.. _ ...

J. H. Bills ... 

C. T. Brooks. ...

A. D. Anderson 

M. Levy __ _ .. ... 

M. E. Chandler....

City of Gleason. . ..

 do ...........

G. B. Oliver. .......

- . do..- ..... ... 

W. O. Eoyster ...

Wm. Hillis. ........

J. J. Higgs ... ...

W. L. Finch 

J. C. Phillips . 

Wm. Baker .........

L. D. Holder .......

L. E. Daniel ........

Hilltop. 

Hillside 

 do... ...

Hilltop. 

 do 

 do 

HillsideLowland .... 

 do 

 do ..

 do... 

Hillside 

 do 

.....do... 

Hillside -

Hillside 

Hillside .

..... do ...

..... do 

... do 

... do 

 do---..

... do 

Drilled 

Bored--.. 

 do......

Drilled....

Bored ..... 

Drilled 

Bored. .... 

Dug......

Drilled....

... do 

Drilled 

 do 

Drilled....

do

 do .

 do 

 do 

 do 

 do ...

... do 

Drilled -

Bored _ .

» Distances as given by speedometer.

« Pumpage, 575,000 gallons a day.

d Pumpage, 75,000 gallons a day.

«Capacity of pump, 270 gallons a minute.

108 6

75 6

30 6

36 6

38 6

85

93 6

44 6

100

80

180

23 6

30

30 6

110 6

110 6

16 6

276 6

493 6

85 6

40 6

55

96

35 6

60 6

120

40

100

75

i Capacity of pump, 270 gallons 

« Capacity of pump, 50 gallons 

* Capacity of pump, 700 gallon

do

...do -

... do -

... do .

 do -

 do . 

 do .

 do -

 do 

 do .

 do .

 do -

... do .

... do 

... do .

 do,---

... do...-

... do-.--

... do--'.

 do... .

. do 

 do---

 do -

 do-.--

 do---

 do -

 do . 

...do 

...do 

.....do 

..... do 

 do

- d

 ..do 

..... do

..... do

 do

..... do 

 do 

 -do

 ..do-

... _ do' 

 do 

 do 

 do

 . do 

..... do

 do 

 do

do

 do

 do 

.....d

.....d

. d
Records of wells in Weakley County Continu

N.o.

69 

70a

70b 

70c

71a

71b 

72

73

74 

75 

76

77 

78

79 

80 

81 

82 

83a 

83b

Location

2 miles southwest of Qreenfleld 

on Trenton road. & 

Greenfleld, 200 feet north of 

railroad station. 

- .do . _

Greenfleld, 900 feet south of 

railroad station. 

Rinda, 3.5 miles east of Greenfleld. 

.. do 

8.3 miles west of McKenzie on 

Greenfleld road. * 

5.4 miles west of McKenzie on 

Greenfleld road. * 

2.9 miles west of McKenzie on 

Greenfleld road. & 

2 miles northwest of Oarroll 

County line on highway 22. ' 

7.7 miles southeast of Greenfleld. 

7 miles southeast of Greenfield4.5 miles southeast of Greenfleld. 

2 miles southeast of Greenfleld 

on Trezevant road. 

0.6 mile north of Gibson 

County line on highway 43. * 

4.0 miles southeast of Greenfleld on Trezevant road. » 

7.5 miles southeast of Greenfleld on Trezevant road. 

10.2 miles southwest of Greenfleld on Trezevant road. 

. do . _. 

Owner or name

City of Greenfleld . 

 do-- 

 do - -

R. E.Williams---

Mrs. D. Witworth.. 

J. B. Hall 

R. Featherstone. - 

E. Coats ______

T. Z. Ellinder .-_

T Galey

R. W. Cunningham 

 do..-. ..... .

Topographic 

position

Upland.--.. 

- do-- 

 do----~

 do 

Hillside .____

Upland. .... 

Lowland ....

Upland. ....

Upland. ....

.... -do 

Hilltop.. 

Hillside 

Upland- _ . 

Bottom.. _

 do 

 do--- 

 do 

Type of 

well

Dug 

Drilled 

 do -

 do 

Bored ..... 

Dug.- .

 do 

 do 

 do 

 do.---.

 do 

 do--- 

Drilled 

Bored. _ .

 . do 

 do-.. 

... do 

Drilled 

Depth of well(feet)

40 

286

436 

222

25

36 

21

115 

130 

58 

45

87 

62

150 

33 

90 

40 

48 

80

1

og

a

31o N '

a 

.$

0

36 

6

8 

6

6

24 

6

6 

6 

6 

6

6 

6

2H 

6 

6 

6 

6 

2H

Water-bearing 

Character 

of material

 do -

 do -

 do----

 do..--

... do -

 do -

 do -

... do---

.-do-.--

... do.--- 

 do.---

,-do----

 do----

 do---

...do----

_-do---- 

-__do_---

 do----

Geolo

horiz

Holly S

-- do 

- do

 do.

 do

Holly S

 ..do 

 -do.

- do

.... .do

- do

Holly S

_ do

 do

* Distances as given by speedometer.

 Capacity of pump, 100 gallons a minute.

' Capacity of pump, 100 gallons 

* Pumpage, 50,000 gallons a day
MEMPHIS 267

Analyses of waters from Weakley County

(Parts per million. Numbers at heads of columns refer to corresponding well numbers in preceding table. 

Analyses 17a and 41b by D. F. Farrar; the rest by Margaret D. Foster]

Silica (SiOj)-- ~-

Iron(Fe)--.- . . -

Calcium (Ca) . .. .. , ... __ ....... ... . ....

Sodium (Na) _ . _ __ .-.---..--..

Potassium (K) _ .-...-...-.. _ ..... _ ..... __ ...

 Sulphate (SOO 

Chloride(Cl) ... __

Nitrate (NO»).... . . ......

Total dissolved solids. _______________ ..

Silica (SiO2) ........ _ 

Iron(Fe) 

Calcium (Ca) _______ f .........................

Sodium (Na)-._ ____ . .... .. .. . 

Sulphate (SOt). ........ ..............................

Chloride (Cl) _ .

Nitrate (NOi)...-.. 

Total dissolved solids _________________

Date of collection, 1929. ... ______________

4a

12

3.6

4.2

2.4

6.1

1.3

74

5.5

2.2

0

"79

<>46

July 20

37

12

.02

2.8

2.1

4.5

1.1

26

4.1

1.6

.10

36

16

July 25

17a

3.2

.4

11

3

I 3

( A

27

16

5

.3

58

40

July 26

41a

13

.02

2.2

1.8

2.5

2.2

17

4.1

1.4

.10

32

13

July 23

23b

21

.50

33

18

f 76

\ 2.0

290

20

35

18

368

156

July 23

56

3.4

.5

12

| .

25

7

19

.4

58

34

July 26

24

36

.12

28

13

93

5.8

114

15

108

83

454

123

July 23

58a

12

.08

3.1

2.1

f 2.6

1 -8

20

4.6

1.0

.05

34

16

July 24

36

16

.93

6.2

2.7

10

2.9

27

3.6

11

12

83

27

July 23

70b

14

.06

2.8

2.6

2.7

1.3

20

5.2

1.6

.10

36

18

July 22

0 Includes 24 parts per million of zinc (Zn); may be from we llcasing. 

* 46 parts per million due to zinc (Zn).

MEMPHIS

Memphis is in the southwest corner of western Tennessee, on the 

east bank of the Mississippi River. At this point the Mississippi 

washes the foot of the bluffs. The Wolf River lies on the northern 

edge and Nonconnah Creek on the southern edge of the city. With 

the exception of the lowland along those two streams, the city is 

situated above high flood-water level of the Mississippi River.

The area of the city in 1930 was 50.7 square miles and the population 253,143. Ten trunk-line railroads serve Memphis. The city 

is a large cotton market, 186 firms being engaged in the cotton business. Next to cotton comes lumber, especially hardwood. Thirty 

hardwood sawmills and 60 additional offices of firms dealing in hardwood are located in Memphis.

The city water supply and the private water systems of industrial 

plants in Memphis constitute the largest ground-water development 

in western Tennessee. Among the cities of the United States that 

use ground water listed hi 1928, 1 Memphis ranked third in gallons 

of water pumped, and it is to be classed among the ground-water 

developments in this country which have a very large pumpage per 

unit area. The average daily pumpage of the Memphis Artesian 

Water Department for 1928 was 17,600,000 gallons, and that of the

i Water-supply statistics of American municipalities, reprinted from American Municipal Index, 1929>
268 GROUND-WATEE RESOURCES OP WESTERN TENNESSEE

private plants about 21,000,000 gallons. Ground-water conditions 

at Memphis are of primary interest not only locally but also throughout western Tennessee, for the area affords both the most complete 

data on ground-water conditions and an opportunity to study the 

behavior of the water-bearing beds under heavy pumping. Hence 

considerable time has been given to the accumulation of data in thia 

city and to the study of the problems that were encountered.

Through the cooperation of the Memphis Artesian Water Department it was possible to install two automatic water-stage recorders 

over representative observation wells, which give continuous records 

of the depth to the water level in these wells and thus show with much 

precision the relation between the withdrawal of the artesian water 

and the subterranean inflow of new supplies to recharge the artesian 

reservoir that underlies the city of Memphis. It becomes continuously more apparent that any quantitative study of the groundwater supply in an area must be made from data accumulated over & 

considerable period of tune, and that the longer the record the more 

accurate are the resulting conclusions. Any deductions as to quantity 

of water made from measurements taken during a brief period are 

likely to be premature and may lead to erroneous conclusions. For 

this reason it is planned to continue observations at Memphis for aperiod of years.

Though the field work for this report was done largely in the summer 

of 1928 and terminated in the fall of 1929, it has seemed advisable to 

bring the record of pumping, well draft, and river stage up to April 1, 

1931, for the purpose of ascertaining if the prolonged low stages of 

the Mississippi River during the last two months of 1930 and the first 

three months of 1931 would more clearly reveal the relationship 

between these factors. Furthermore, there have been incorporated 

in this report the results of partial chemical analyses made on samples 

from wells scattered throughout the city which were collected in 

August, 1930, and January, 1931, for the purpose of detecting any 

change in the chemical character of the waters in the Wilcox group 

of formations due to inflow of water from the Mississippi River.. 

It has been impossible, however, to bring all the data up to 1931, and 

for this reason some of the discussion will relate to the date 1929.

HISTORY OF ARTESIAN WATER DEVELOPMENT

The early history of the development of the municipal water supply; 

at Memphis is given by Lundie x as follows:

Prior to 1870 Memphis relied wholly for its water supply on cisterns and shallow 

wells. In 1867-68 an investigation as to a general system of water supply was 

made by Charles Hermany, C. E., a report on which was presented to the board 

of commissioners of the city July 15, 1868. In this report Mr. Hermany reccmi Lundie, John, Report on the waterworks system of Memphis, Tenn., Memphis, 189&.
MEMPHIS 269

mended that a supply be taken from Wolf River near its mouth. This led to 

the formation of the Memphis Water Co., which in 1870 secured a charter from 

the State legislature to supply water to the city. The company erected a pumping plant on the south bank of the Wolf River about 2 miles from the center of 

the city and laid 17 miles of pipe through which the city was supplied with water 

pumped from the river. The enterprise was a financial failure, and the plant was

 sold under foreclosure proceedings in the United States circuit court in December, 

1879, to the reorganized Memphis Water Co. for $200,000, the company's statement of cost being $472,278.

The yellow-fever scourge in 1878-79 aroused the citizens of Memphis to a 

thorough sense of the crying demand for improved sanitary conditions, which 

resulted in the adoption of a sewerage system, the first sections of which were built 

in 1879-80, under the direction of George E. Waring, jr., C. E. These sewers

 called for an extension of the water pipes to supply the flushing tanks which are 

an integral part of the system.

The Memphis Water Co. in May, 1882, concluded a contract with the taxing 

district of Shelby County (now the city of Memphis) for public water supply; the 

contract to remain in force for a period of 20 years from May 1, 1882. Rapid 

extension of the piping system followed this contract.

In 1885 a citizens' movement was instituted with a view toward securing a 

better water supply, the principal objection to the supply, urged at that time, 

being its turbidity. A committee was appointed by the legislative council of the 

taxing district to investigate and report on the question. Gen. Colton Greene 

made a preliminary report to this committee in February, 1886, and in December, 

1886, the committee presented its report to the council.

The committee considered three principal sources of supply which seemed 

.available viz, the Mississippi River, South Horn Lake, and Wolf River at a 

point near the Louisville & Nashville Railroad crossing about 8 miles east of the

 city. All projects involved methods of filtration.

Prospective supply from wells had been brought to the attention of the committee, but evidence at that time seemed to cast doubt on the practicability of 

such a system of water supply for city purposes, after the failure of several experi- 

.mental wells was reported, which had been sunk at the instance of the Memphis 

Water Co. * * *

While the report of this committee was in preparation, the late Mr. R. C. 

Graves, then superintendent of the Bohlen-Huse Ice Co., had a well sunk on 

the company's property on Court Street near the bayou, primarily for the object

 of obtaining water for condensing purposes, to a depth of 354 feet. After having 

passed through a stratum of clay 150 feet thick, water-bearing sand the source 

of the present supply was reached, and a flowing well was the result, the water 

from which rose several feet above the surface of the ground.

A company was organized for the purpose of supplying the city with water 

from this source, which, after some further experimentation, entered into a 

contract with the taxing district on July 30, 1887, under the name of the Artesian Water Co., covering terms of public and private supply and anticipating a 

consolidation of the interests of this company with those of the Memphis Water 

Co., then under contract for public supply.

Both water companies then proceeded to sink wells, but consolidation of their 

interests was consummated in April, 1889, shortly after which the Wolf River 

plant was abandoned and dismantled, a temporary station having been erected 

near the present station (the Auction Avenue station), connecting with such wells 

as were then operative.
270 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

In 1903 the interest of the Memphis Water Co. was purchased by 

the city, the Memphis Artesian Water Department was organized, and 

a board of water commissioners was formed for its supervision.

Forty-two wells were drilled during 1888 to 1889, and the Auction 

Avenue pumping station was put in operation in 1890. The Auction 

Avenue plant consisted of a tunnel 5 feet in diameter and smaller 

branching tunnels situated 75 to 80 feet below the surface. Wells 

discharged directly into these tunnels, and the water flowed by gravity 

to a central well at the pumping station. Three vertical compound 

condensing high-duty pumping engines pumped the water from the 

central well and delivered it under pressure directly to the service mains.

New wells were drilled from time to time as old wells failed and as 

additional supplies of water were required, but no change was made in 

the system until 1907. By this time the Auction Avenue plant had 

become inadequate, and a new pumping station was built at Central 

Avenue during 1907 and 1908. The Central Avenue plant consisted 

of six wells pumped by compressed air and had a capacity of about 

5,000,000 gallons in 24 hours.

Prior to 1907 the Artesian Water Department had done some experimenting with segregated pumps. By 1910 the feasibility of these 

pumps had been demonstrated and several installations were made 

at different points around the city. Ultimately 14 such installations 

were available for use. They served to handle peak loads and heavy 

local drafts.

Realizing that the existing plant was becoming inadequate and that 

the system was liable to pollution by seepage of sewage into the tunnels 

the water commissioners contracted with the firm of Chester & Fleming, hydraulic engineers, in 1919, to make a thorough study of the 

water-supply system and to submit recommendations for future development. Chester & Fleming submitted their report in April, 

1920. A further study was made by the firm of Fuller & McClintock, 

hydraulic engineers, who submitted a report to the commissioners 

in March, 1922. This report considered the various methods of 

developing a larger water supply and recommended a new plant that 

would obtain water from wells pumped by compressed air. The 

recommendations were approved by the water commissioners, and 

Fuller & McClintock undertook the construction of the new plant, 

which was put into operation in 1925.

The supply in 1928 was obtained from 23 wells 375 to 575 feet deep 

and 9 wells about 1,400 feet deep. The 375 to 575 foot wells are 

located at intervals of 500 feet along North Parkway (see pi. 11, 

wells marked C-6 to C-24); the 1,400-foot wells are at the same well 

houses as wells C-l, C-2, C-3, C-4, C-5, C-20, C-21, C-22, C-23, 

and C-24.

The wells are pumped by compressed air under a pressure of 90 

pounds to the square inch at the pumping station and 60 to 70 pounds
MEMPHIS 271

at the wells. The air is delivered to the well houses by three 10-inch 

lines, which drop to two 10-inch lines, and the last few wells are supplied by one 6-inch line. The water discharges into surge tanks, 

from which it flows by gravity through a duplicate system of mains 

to a 1,000,000-gallon raw-water reservoir at the pumping station at 

North Parkway and Dunlap Streets. The raw water is pumped from 

the reservoir to the aerator by four secondary centrifugal pumps, 

three having a capacity of 9,000,000 gallons a day and one of 15,000,- 

000 gallons a day, driven by hydroturbines, which in turn are propelled by the water as it passes from the pumps to the city mains. 

The water is aerated by flowing over coke, and from the aerator it 

flows by gravity through the rapid sand filters and into a 9,000,000- 

gallon reservoir. The water is pumped from the reservoir into the 

city mains by two compound reciprocating pumps and two centrifugal 

pumps driven by turbines. Each of the four pumps has a capacity of 

15,000,000 gallons a day.

Work on a new plant to duplicate the present Parkway unit, several miles to the east, on a tract of land just east of the Western State 

Normal School (see pi. 11), is now under way.

Records of wells of the Memphis Artesian Water Department 

[Except as noted measurements of depth to water were made on Mar. 15,1929]

No.

C-l... -

G-Z. ......... .

C-3. ... .......

C-4. .... .

C-5-. 

C-6.. ...

G-7. ..........

C-8-. ...... ...

C-9- 

C-10-... ...

C-ll. .........

C-12.. ........

C-13.. _.

C-14. .........

C-15. .........

C-16- 

C-17. 

C-18. .........

C-19.. ........

C-20 .......

C-21. .........

C-22... .......

C-23.. . 

C-24-.- ....

C-25... ....

C-26.. ........

C-27_. ........

C-28. .........

C-29.. ........

C-30.. . ....

C-31.. . ....

C-32.. ........

C-33. ......

C-50. .........

C-51. .........

Altitude 

above 

mean 

sea 

level 

(feet)

359.4

355.8 

356.0 

356.5 

356.6 

357.1 

356.6 

358.3 

358.7 

358. 4 

358.1

360.5 

363.9 

355.7 

350.6 

357.5 

358.6

290.3 

287.0

Depth 

of well 

(feet)

425 

453 

409 

519 

1,400 

504 

522

544 

495 

525 

518 

510 

479 

495 

527 

522 

527 

371 

371 

345 

357 

393 

369 

2,656 

1,400 

1,400 

1,400 

1,400 

1,400 

1,400 

1,400 

1,400 

513 

1,370

Diameter of 

well (inches)

Top

12 

12 

12 

12 

10 

12 

12

12 

12 

12 

12 

12 

12 

12 

12 

12 

12 

12 

12 

12 

12 

12 

12 

10 

10 

10 

10 

10 

10 

10 

10 

10 

10 

10

Bottom

10 

10 

10 

10 

8 

10 

10

10 

10 

10 

10 

10 

10 

10 

10 

10 

10 

10 

10 

10 

10 

10 

10 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

10 

8

Geologic horizon

 ..do... . .......... .. .

 .. do... .................

 -do...-. ...... -...-..-

Ackerman formation ___ .

 ..do.. ..................

 -.do......................

 .. do... ... ..... ....... ..

 do.... .. ......... .....

 ..do... .. .... ...........

 -do. ..........

... ..do.... .. . ..........

~ do - . 

~ do 

 . do ... .... ....... .

 ..do . 

 do 

- do 

 do 

- do 

 ..do . ..... ......

 do 

 - do .... ... .... ...

 do.. .... ... .... ....... 

 do 

 .do ... ... ... .... .... ..

 .do. 

 ..do 

 do 

Grenada formation __ ___ 

Ackerman formation.. .......

Depth 

to water 

(feet)

23.6

22.3 

24.9

11.4 

8.3

9.2

8.3 

6.4

» 51.7

» 54

Yield with 

air lift 

(gallons 

a day)

1,440,000 

1,440,000 

1, 440, 000 

1, 440, 000 ""i,"i4o7o66

1, 440, 000

1,440,000 

1,440,000 

1, 440, 000 

1,440,000 

1, 440, 000 

1, 440, 000 

1,440,000 

1,440,000 

1,440,000 

1, 440, 000 

1,440,000 

1, 440, 000 

1, 440, 000 

1, 440, 000 

1,440,000 

1, 440, 000

............

------

Date of measurement Mar. 11,1931.
272 GKOUND-WATEK RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE 

PRIVATE WJKUD SUPPLIES

The first deep well in Memphis was drilled for the Bohler Huse 

Ice Co. in 1886, but no interest was aroused in the artesian water 

supply until another well drilled for the same company in 1887 on 

Court Street proved to be a flowing well. Immediately wells were 

drilled for other industrial plants in Memphis, and Safford 2 reported 

57 wells exceeding 185 feet in depth in the city in May, 1889. Of 

these wells, 32 were city wells and 25 private wells.

Although no records exist of the number of wells drilled or the quantity of water pumped by private concerns during subsequent years, 

information gathered from old drillers in the region indicates that practically every plant requiring a supply of water of more than 10,000 gallons a day was equipped with its own well. Chester and Fleming, in 

their report made in 1920, listed 58 private plants with large yields. 

The writer, in 1928, listed 86 private plants. The location of these wells 

is shown in Plate 11, and data in regard to them are given in the 

accompanying table. From the first well drilled in Memphis until 

the present time pumpage from private wells has equaled or exceeded 

the pumpage of the Memphis Artesian Water Department.

Most of the private wells are pumped by compressed air, because 

pumping by air lift serves to aerate the water, thereby precipitating 

the iron that is in the solution and also liberating the free carbon 

dioxide. The installation of an air lift is simple; there are no wearing 

parts, and overhauling is easy. Some of the more recent pumping 

installations are equipped with turbine centrifugal pumps. These 

pumps give a very compact installation, and the cost of pumping is 

slightly less than with an air lift. Most of the sawmills use reciprocating pumps. These mills do not consume much water about 

25,000 gallons a day and as the iron content of the water is immaterial and the power consumption is of no importance to them, reciprocating pumps give satisfaction.

* Saflord, J. M., The water supply of Memphis: Tennessee State Board of Health Bull., vol. 5, p. 102 , 

1890.
Records of drilled wells in Memphis, Tenn,

Section 

in Plate 

11

I

No.

1 

2 

3

4

5 

6 

7 

8a 

86 

9

Owner

Fisher Lumber Co. 

 do. .-

James C. Clark.. .. 

James E. Stark Co.

Turner, Faber & 

Lovel Co.

Anderson Tully Co. 

American Snufl Co .

Bannon Ice & Coal 

Co.

.... . do .... -

James E. Stark Co.

Location

North Second St., well 1_ 

North Second St., well 2..__ 

100 feet north of Plum Ave., 

150 feet west of Illinois 

Central R. R. 

150 feet north of intersection 

of North Seventh St. and 

Illinois Central R. R., 20 

feet west of track. 

100 feet north of Seventh St., 

75 feet east of Illinois Central R. R. 

200 feet north of intersection 

of Illinois Central R. R. 

and North Second St.

190 feet west of Seventh St., 

125 feet south of Auction 

Ave. 

200 feet west of Seventh St., 

75 feet south of Auction 

Ave. 

75 feet north of Plum Ave., 

75 feet westof Illinois Central R. R.

Altitude abovemean sea

level (fet) «

220 

220

225

225 

230 

235 

240 

240 

230

Depth of well(feet)

422 

414 

445

450

480 

450 

388 

408 

396 

445

Diameter of 

well (inches)

&E-i

12 

16 

6

4

6 

4^ 

10 

8 

10 

6

Bottom

12 

16 

6

4

6 

4^ 

6 

8 

10 

6

Depth to whichell iscaed 

(feet)

422 

414

450

480 

450 

388 

408 

396 

445

Water level

Depth below surface 

(feet)

33 

43 

35

33 

45 

45 

28

Date ofmeasurement 

(1928) »

Rept--- 

--do .. 

Oct. 12

Rept. ... 

 do 

 do ..

...do .

Me

Ce

 

A

 

Re

A

Re

w

h

A

...

 

 Altitudes were determined from positions on the TJ. S. Geological Survey topographic map, whioh has a 10-foot 

* Kept., information given by engineer in charge of the plant. Est., estimated; for water level and drawdown the 

the air lift; for daily pumpage the figures given were computed from ice production or pounds of steam used. 

< Drawdown when pumping at capacity of pump unless otherwise noted.
274 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Quality wate

aed

spisa) noij p9Aios 

-sip jo

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(suone3) eSBdnmd A'jrea:

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« CO

(!}99J) 

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doj, COCO^CO 00 CO

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 °

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& £10

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Ill

IV

V

m

23

24

25

26

27

?8«

28"

28«

29

30

o-i

32 I

33

34

35

3fi

37

38

39

40

41

42

Hartwell Bros _ ..

Forest Products

Chemical Co. 

Dixie Cotton Oil

Co. 

Cudahy Packing

Co. 

Wood Lumber Co. .

Louisville & Nashville R. R. 

Buckeye Cotton

Oil Co. 

 -.do .. ... 

 ..do 

Chickasaw C o o -

perage Co. 

Memphis Ice Co.. .

Shelby County

Workhouse. 

National Cemetery

Memphis Cold

Storage Co. 

Swift & Co 

Oayoso HotelOliver Finnie Co 

Tennessee Brewing

Co.

tion. 

Chisca Hotel. __ .

& Trust Building.

25 feet west of Fairfax St. . ..

Speed Ave.. _ __ .....

775 feet west of Illinois Central R. R., 600 feet north 

of Speed Ave. 

500 feet north of Speed Ave 

300 feet south of Speed Ave..

500 feet east of Leewood St.,

125 feet north of main 

track. 

Raleigh Road, 50 feet east of

Louisville & Nashville 

R. R.

 do 

Scott St. near Phillips Ave~

Summer Ave. and Union

R. R. 

Old Raleigh Road _____ .

section with Louisville & 

Nashville R. R. 

99 South Front St. __ - __ .

75 feet east of Front St., 100

feet north of McCall St.

sidewalk at west end.

gia Ave., west of South 

Main St.

sidewalk, 75 feet south of 

Linden St.

sidewalk. 50 feet north of 

Main St.

270

270

260

280

275

255

260

250

260

m

565

500

438

*40

435

377

426

290

520

388

510

468

420

500

520

498

490

475

448

500

6

10

8

16#

24

24

24

4

8

4

8

8

8

10

12

6

10

10

6

10

8

8

12

24

24

24

4

6

2

8

8

8

10

12

6

8

10

39S

565

500

438

40

435

377

426

290

520

388

510

468

420

500

520

490

475

MSI

500

1Q

23

40

20

25

36

30

60.5

52

90

60

70

80

70

65

50

62

Oct. 13

 do -

 do 

 do 

 do 

 do 

 do 

... do 

 do 

 do .

...do ....

..do 

 do 

...

 

...

-.

 

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A

 

A

 

... 

 

 

A

Tu

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a Altitudes were determined from positions on the U. S. Geological Survey topographic map, which has a 10-fo

* Rept., information given by engineer in charge of the plant. Est., estimated; for water level and drawdown th

the air lift; for daily pumpage the figures given were computed from ice production or pounds of steam used. 

«Drawdown when pumping at capacity of pump unless otherwise noted

* Pumping 100 gallons a minute.
< 

£ fc £ 6 § So-gSS £ SSg £8S 

.... ..do-..... Southern United 

Co. Ice(formerly Ice Coal &Valley 

Co.).

Ave. Walnut St.Union ad

north of100 feet Alston Ave., feet ofPorter S. east 200

I a 

. . 

^

.....do............ Ice Co..Broadway Coal &Consumers Co. Ice_Creamo IceLily TTpftiis niftanftrs On

.....do......... . ... . 100 feetofLauderdale west 

50 rail- south offeet St.,

road. 

75 north feet ofBeale Ave., 

feet ofitsnter- 100 west with Southern section Ry.

658 Ave. Madison ___ 726 ___ Madison Ave Beale Ave.and Manassas 

St. 

_ do__... ____ ... .

g* g> Q g g 

g ?s | §5: oi- 

§ M w Q hd ? 

r, c^ o cj ? 9 

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f a I § * 

. 282-290 AveMadison _ Court 308St.. .......... 50 Fourth feetwes ofSt.,

feet northof 100WashingAve. tonfeet southof Calhoun 1,000 

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££ Top 

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(feet)

_ surface below Depth 

^ (feet) P

5" measurement of Date 

5 (1928) 

e?

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(gallons pump of Capacity 

minute) a 

(feet) Drawdown 

(gallons) pumpage Daily 

data of Source 

£ (1928) sampled Date 

"f ^ s- i d of Content 

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K

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VI

VII

VIII

IX

55 

56

57

58 

59

60

fil

62 

63

64 

65 

66

fiS

fi9«

70

71

7?

73 

74 

75 

76

77 

78

Crescent Laundry 

Co.

Laundry. 

Success Steam 

Laundry.

ture Manufacturing Co.

Flooring Co. 

Model Bluff City

Laundry. 

Lamar Steam 

Laundry.

Oil Co. 

Blumenfeld Ice & 

Coal Co. 

East End Ice & 

Coal Co.

Chemical Corp.

Club.

State Normal 

School. 

 do ... ....

Hoe Co. 

Weis & Lesh Plant 

Motorwheel 

Corp. 

DeSotoOilCoMemphis Power & 

Light Co. 

Liquid Carbonic 

Corp. 

Wabash Screen 

Door Co. 

Ford Hardwood 

Lumber Co. 

Gayoso Lumber Co

Pioneer Pole & 

Shaft Co.

Dunlap St. near Beale Ave 

Jefferson Ave... ............

Jefferson Ave. and Pauline 

St. 

Dudley St... __ . __ - __

St. 

Lemar Ave. opposite Redclifle PI.

Lamar Ave. and Haywood 

St. 

Central Ave. and Cooper

St.

yette Ave.

Ave. 

Wisconsin Ave. and Pennsylvania St.

998 Kansas Ave .............

McLemore Ave., 1,000 feet 

west of Florida St. 

Florida St., 200 feet north of 

McLemore Ave. 

Florida St. and Triggs Ave..

McGeher Ave. and Florida 

St. 

Florida St. and Fay Ave ....

1197 South Third St., 200 

feet west of street.

275 

265

240

255 

300

305

260

270 

315

305 

295

300

300

285 

285

270 

296 

285 

285 

260 

280

390 

490

463

460 

417

 90

487 

498

495 

400 

449

361

100

515

461

420

680 

548

485 

435 

400 

«*5 

460 

545

6

6

6

6 

4

6

6 

16

10 

8 

6

14

8

8

6

6

6

8 

8

6 

4 

6

6 

6

6

6 

4

6

4

8

8 

8 

6

5

8

8

4

6 

6

8 

6 

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6 

4 

6

390

490

463

460

417

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487

498

495 

400

361

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515

420

580

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435 

400

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460 

545

77

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74

74

80

60

73

90

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a Altitudes were determined from positions on the U. S. Geological Survey topographic map, which was a 10-foot c

& Kept., information given by engineer in charge of the plant. Est., estimated; for waterlevel and drawdown th

the air lift; for daily pumpage the figures given were computed from ice production or pounds of steam used.

«Drawdown when pumping at capacity of pump unless otherwise noted. d Pumping 100 gallons a mi
M M 

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to o » i to co »f»> ocji 

Memphis Country 

Club. 

Ice Co._._ Railway R. Illinois Central 

Nonconnah R.,

Yards.

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 -Ave _ Peebles of Horn westLake feet 1,500 

Road.

88

Laun- Steam Apex

dry. Swift OilMill- Co. Southern For-By., 

rest Yards. St. Louis-San Fran-cisco Yale By.,Yards, _ .do -__

Ave. andSt.... Lamar Kyle

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Ton

Bottom

of Diameter well (inches)

cased is well which to Depth 

(feet)

surface below Depth 

(feet)

measurement of Date 

(1928)

Water level

a>

e?

o

8,

(gallons pump of Capacity 

minute) a 

(feet) Drawdown 

(gallons) pumpage Daily 

data of Source 

(1928) sampled Date 

- s i d of Content 

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of Quality water

S5-

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MEMPHIS 279 

GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS

The geologic setting of Memphis is given in the description of 

Shelby County (p. 245). The formations encountered from the surface down are loess, Pliocene gravel, Eocene deposits (the Jackson 

formation, Wilcox group (including the Grenada, Holly Springs, and 

Ackerman formations), Porters Creek clay, and possibly the Clay ton 

formation), Cretaceous deposits (Kipley, Selma, Eutaw, and Tuscaloosa formations), and consolidated Paleozoic rocks. Figure 11 gives 

a section at Memphis.

The loess has a maximum thickness at Memphis of about 70 feet 

but thins out in the lowland. The base of the loess is about 230 feet 

above mean sea level. The loess does not yield water.

The Pliocene gravel has a maximum thickness of about 55 feet, 

but commonly it is from 25 to 40 feet thick or even less. The coarseness of the gravel and the amount of admixed sand vary considerably 

from place to place. The gravel is found from about 185 feet to 230 

feet above mean sea level. Where it is thickest the Pliocene gravel 

is used for supplies of water as great as 10,000 gallons a day.

Beneath the gravel occurs the Jackson formation, the nature of 

which is best determined from the well logs of the Memphis Artesian 

Water Department. It is dominantly a hard blue clay, though in 

places it contains mterlaminated beds of fine gray or white sand, 

brown clay, and lignite. That it is practically a continuous clay formation is shown by the logs of 200 wells drilled by the Memphis 

Artesian Water Department. These logs show that the formation 

contains about 10 per cent of sand. Although the sand is irregularly 

distributed, as shown in Plate 12, continuous passageways of sand 

through the clay may exist. Such passageways, however, must be 

few and very tortuous. The Jackson formation is from 150 to 200 

feet thick and is encountered from about sea level to 200 feet above 

sea level. It is not a source of water, the sand layers being too thin 

and the sand too fine grained to yield water to wells, but it forms a 

confining bed for the water in the Wilcox group formations.

Below the Jackson formation occurs the Wilcox group, which consists of sand of various sizes and clay. The log of well 109 of the 

Memphis Water Department gives a detailed and representative section of the Wilcox. As the well was drilled with clear water the 

descriptions are good.
280 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

_MeanjseaJeye/__ 'T^^-^2

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_> 43 > Loess ("Pleistocene)

t

, - Pliocene ,

Jackson formation 

- ?

Wilcox gfroup 

(including Grenada, formation, Ho//y Springs sand, 

and Ackerman formation)

- ?

Midway group 

. (including Porters Creek c/ay 

aridC/ayton -format/on)

 Ripley formation 

Bottom of hole, 2656 '

FIGURE 11. Log of well O-25 of Memphis Artesian Water Department. Depth 2,666 feet
i Wel1 Nb.l25.MAWa

V:9 ^ *'LZ*" s iwar----? Wel) No.i26.MAWD,

Wel.lNo.l27.M.A.W.O.

^=BWellNo.lZ9,M.A.W.D.

= ^WellNo.l63,M.A.WD.

gj^F^Memphis Cold Stor^^e

MEMPHIS 281

Log of well 109, Memphis Water Department

Loess: Feet

Yellow clay...________________-__________- 0- 27

Hard brown clay_______.___-_-__________-__-__--_ 27- 37

Slightly soft brown clay_____-----_--__----__-_--_--_--__--- 37- 45

Pliocene: Gravel and sand______-------_---------_-_----------- 45- 49

Jackson formation:

Soft brown clay and shale.----.---------------------------- 49- 63

Slightly harder brown clay.________________________________ 63- 76

Stiff blue clay....__________________________ 76- 79

Soft blue clay.. _-__-_______ _--________ _-____- 79- 83

Stiff blue clay_____._____-_-__ _-__-_____-__-_-___ 83- 86

Soft brown clay____.__.__ ________________________ 86- 89

Very hard brown clay.___________________________________ 87- 89

Hard reddish clay_____________________ ----- 89- 90

Hard blue clay_______________________-_-___ 90- 106

Soft blue clay.__.___._.__.' _.__.._____ _-___.__- 106- 121

Stiff blue clay.....________________________________ 121- 122

Soft brown clay..____-_-_____-___-____-__-_--_____-_. 122- 126

Slightly hard brown clay____________________________ 126- 127

Hard brown clay_________-._____________________ 127- 196

Hard blue clay____________________________- 196- 223

Sandy blue clay_____________________ _ ___ _ _ _ __-_. 223- 276

Wilcox group:

Fine sand and clay.-.-_-_-________________ ___ __ 276- 303

Fine sand---------------------------------------------- 303- 338

Fine sand and lumps of clay______--_--_--_--_-_-------_-_-- 338- 370

Coarse sand and lumps of clay________-_--__-__-_---_------- 370- 390

Soft blue clay----------------------------------------- 390- 407

Sandy blue clay --------------------------------------- 407- 417

Fine sand and clay..--.---------------------------- ---- 417- 432

Sandy blue clay..._________________-_-________ 432- 445

Fine sand and clay..____________________________ _____ 445- 452

Sandy blue clay. --------------------------------------- 452- 474

Fine sand.______________ ________ _______ __ __ 474- 476

Sandy blue day____ ___ -' 476- 483

Fine sand_____________________-_________-_- 483- 484

Coarse sand and clay_-------.---_--------------------_---- 484- 490

Soft blue clay_____---- - ----_______ _ ______ 490- 492

Fine sand and clay_---------_-------- -- ----- __ 492- 510

Very fine sand.______________________________-_____- 510- 535

Very fine sand and clay_---_------_------------------------ 535- 575

Very fine sand-------------------------------------------- 575- 590

Very coarse sand_________-_-___-______-_-_--__-__--_-___ 590- 598

Lignite and iron pyrite.______________-_____-_--__-_-___-__- 598- 600

Fine sand and lignite--.-..- -------------- ----------- 600- 630

Very fine sand.---- ----------------- -------- ------- 630- 795

Soft white clay____________________ ________- 795- 812

Very fine sand______________-___-________ ___ 812- 865

Hard brown clay..__________________ _ _____ ________ 865- 896

Hard white sand --------------------------------------- 896- 926

Hard brown clay___________________________________ 926- 950

Fine sand_______________________________----- 950-1, 000

119722 33 19
282 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Wilcox group Continued. Feet

Stiff brown clay_________________________ 1,000 -1,025

Very hard substance____- __-_____________ 1,025 -1,026

Very stiff blue clay___________________.____ 1,026 -1,058

Blue clay, slightly sandy___- _ _._________ 1, 058 -1, 160

Shale. --_.___ _.__.________... 1, 160 -1,

Sandy clay ________________..________ 1, 160/2-1, 164

Gravel... ______________.___._______ 1, 164 -1, 170

Blue clay and sand________________________ 1,170 -1,196

Sand and rock______ _____ _____________ _ 1,196 -1,203

Sand and blue clay______________________ 1,203 -1,209

Sand and clay and rock_____ _______ __- _ ___ 1,209 -1,232

Fine sand and clay________________________ 1,232 -1,240

Blue clay and sand -_-__________________ 1,240 -1,286

Sand and clay.______________.___________ 1,286 -1,365

Fine sand..._____________.__________ 1, 365 -1, 400

White sand (water flowed to surface)_________ _______ 1, 400 -1, 404

White sand____________________________ 1,404 -1,442

Blue clay____.-.______.__._.____.__.___ 1, 442 -1, 537

Good sand._...________-___.._-__.__.___ 1,537 -1,557

Black sand_ ___ ________ _ __ ________ _ 1, 557 -1, 563

Blue clay and sand______________________ 1,563 -1,566

Clay___.___._____________________.__ 1, 566 -1, 582

Fine gray sand____.____________________ 1, 582 -1, 583

W. C. Spooner,2a who has compiled and correlated logs of wells in 

Arkansas, places the base of the Grenada at Memphis at a depth of 

1,172 feet, the bottom of the Wilcox at about 2,000 feet, and the 

bottom of the Eocene at 2,450 feet.

The log of the Spring Creek Development Co.'s well (see p. 76) 

shows a thickness for the Cretaceous of 1,080 feet. Allowing for 

thickening of the Cretaceous from Hardeman County to Memphis, as 

is suggested by data to the south, in Mississippi, would make the total 

thickness of Eocene and Cretaceous more than 3,500 feet.

The 1,400-foot wells at Memphis show that a continuous bed of 

tough blue clay about 300 feet thick persists over many square miles. 

Evidence of the continuity of this clay layer is given by the fact that 

the static level of water below the clay is quite different from the static 

level of water above the clay. Water from the sand overlying the clay 

bed differs markedly in chemical character from water from the sand 

below the clay bed. The water below the clay is a sodium bicarbonate water (see analysis 9), whereas the water from the sand overlying this clay layer is a normal calcium bicarbonate water. The 

water below the clay is similar in character to water from a well at 

Louisville, Miss., which derives water from the Ackerman.3 These 

facts would indicate that this clay bed represents the transition from 

the dominantly sandy Holly Springs formation to the dominantly

8a Personal communication.

' Stephenson, L. W., Logan, W. N., and Waring, G. A., The ground-water resources of Mississippi: 

U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 576, p. 492,1928.
MEMPHIS 283

clayey Ackerman formation. Although no definite correlation can be 

made, the differences in lithology and in static level and chemical 

composition of the contained water make it advisable to regard the 

material below 1,300 feet as Ackerman formation.

A more detailed description of the physical character of the Grenada 

and Holly Springs formations is given on pages 91-106. They are 

about 1,300 feet thick at Memphis and are found at depths from sea 

level to 1,300 feet below sea level. These formations are the principal 

water-bearing formations at Memphis, and from them is derived all 

the water consumed, with the exception of a few million gallons a day 

pumped by the Memphis Artesian Water Department from the Ackerman formation.

The Ackerman formation has a thickness of about 600 feet and is 

encountered from 1,050 to 1,700 feet below sea level. It is predominantly clay, though it contains in its upper part about 200 feet of 

medium-grained sand which yields water freely, and it is from this 

sand that the 1,400-foot wells of the Memphis Artesian Water Department obtain water.

Very little is known about the Midway group at Memphis. The 

wells that penetrate it furnish only meager and indefinite information 

about the lithology. It is probably a calcareous or arenaceous mudstone containing some fossils and probably exceeds 350 feet in thickness. It is impervious to water and forms a confining bed for water in 

the Kipley formation below.

Cretaceous. The thickness and nature of the Cretaceous formations 

at Memphis is not definitely known. Well 25 of the Memphis 

Artesian Water Department attained a depth of 2,656 feet and was 

still in unconsolidated material. From the generalized log of this well, 

which follows, it seems as if the Cretaceous is dominantly clay, though 

some sand is present. Wells drilled in Crittenden County, Ark. 

(see pp. 27-29), corroborate this conclusion.
284 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Log of well 25 of Memphis Artesian Water Department 

[Authority, W. G. Lanham, about September, 1927]

Loess: 

Yellow clav

Clay....... .....................

Clay............................

Clay... .......

Clay.... .... .-.-. ....... .....

Clay. ....... ..... .......

Clay..... . .................

Sand... - .. 

Clay.. 

Clay 

Clay........ ...............

Rock.. . . __ - __ - ........

Clay. .... .......

Rock.. ___ . __ -.-- __ ..

Clay.. ... _

Clay... ... ...

Clay.... ........ ..... ... .....

Clay...... . .......

Clay _ _

Clay (muck)... ................

Rock __ ... ... _ ....

Clay............................

Rock. _ -.-..---. .............

Clay........ -.... . .

Rock. .... ...... .

Clay......... ...................

Thickness 

(feet)

JQ

68

18

24

15

1QQ

72

117

5

8

94A

31

20

2

87

45

6

10

2

6

4

1

3

31

6

48

16

20

77

16

90

256

5

39

2

38

4

36

4

Depth

(feet)

43

101

103

121

145

160

358

430

547

552

560

800

831

851

853

940

995

1,001

1,002

1,012

1,014

1,020

1,024

1,125

1,128

1,159

1,165

1,213

1,229

1,249

1,251

1,328

1,344

1,434

1,700

1,705

1,744

1,746

1,784

1,788

1,824

1,826

1,830

Wilcox group Continued.

Clay.. 

Clay 

Clay ..... 

Rock _______ __ . 

Clay 

Rock. ______ .. ___ 

Clay.... 

Clay_.__ 

Clay. ... ......... 

Rock. ..

Clay....... ... .... ... .... ... ....

Black shale or lignitic clay.

All cuttings below 2,200 feet

seemed to be more of a black

Rock ___ , _ 

Clay .... 

Sand.. .... ....... ... 

Clay...... _ 

Clay ... 

Rock 

Sand. ______ ..............

Thickness 

(feet)

6

11

12

11

2

13

5

6

2

102

2

42

1

38

1

26

15

4

20

51

22

100

15

16

24

4

6

24

27

13

2

7

41

3

12

2

20

Depth

(feet)

1,836

1,847

1,859

1,870

1,872

1,885

1,890

1,906

1,908

2,010

2,012

2,054

2,055

2,093

2,094

2,120

2,135

2,149

2,169

2,220

2,242

2,340

2,355

2, -371

2,395

2,399

9 401

2,429

2,456

O KCQ

2,571

2,578

2,619

2,622

2,634

2 fi^R

2,656

 Before setting a strainer at 2,169-2,220 feet about 40 gallons of sand flowed out. When strainer was set 

found nothing but black clay or shale.

Well 25 of the Memphis Artesian Water Department encountered 

sandy water-yielding material at 2,371 to 2,395 feet, 2,429 to 2,456 

feet, and 2,578 to 2,634 feet. Strainers were set in these sandy beds, 

and the water rose to an altitude of 360 feet. The water has a high 

mineral content and is not suitable for domestic or industrial use. 

(See analysis 10.)

Nothing is known of the Eutaw and Tuscaloosa formations at 

Memphis. If they would yield water to wells the water would probably have a very high mineral content and be unsuitable for domestic 

or industrial use.

QUALJTY OF WATER

The chemical quality of the water pumped from the Grenada and 

Holly Springs formations at Memphis is not essentially different from 

that of the average water derived from them throughout western Ten-
MEMPHIS 285

nessee, as can be seen by comparing the analysis of a representative 

water from the Wilcox group given in the following table with the 

analysis of a sample from a well in Memphis. The total dissolved 

solids in the water from Memphis are about 20 parts per million 

greater than in the representative sample from the Wilcox group. 

This increase is distributed in small amounts throughout the mineral 

constituents.

In order to determine whether there was any relation between the 

chemical character of the water from different wells in Memphis and 

their location with reference to the Mississippi River 51 samples 

were taken from wells throughout the city and were examined for 

iron and sulphate. No such relation was found. In addition 21 

of these wells were selected for further study; samples were collected 

August 22, 1930, and examined for iron, calcium, bicarbonate, sulphate, chloride, and hardness. The calcium ranged between 16 and 

6 parts per million, the bicarbonate between 126 and 60 parts, and 

the hardness between 106 and 40 parts. For comparison with these 

a sample was collected from the Mississippi River just above the 

Harriman Bridge and was found to contain 36 parts per million of 

calcium, 128 of bicarbonate, and 144 of hardness. A comparison 

of these analyses with the analysis of an average water from the 

Wilcox group (see analysis 2) shows that the water from many of 

the wells deviates widely from the normal water from the Wilcox and 

approaches in chemical character the water from the Mississippi 

River. It can not be said, however, that there is a definite relation 

between the location of a well with reference to the river and the 

chemical character of the water, for though all the wells within \% 

miles of the river show more than 90 parts per million of bicarbonate 

and those at a greater distance usually show less than 70 parts, yet 

certain distant wells show a very high bicarbonate, for example, 

wells 59 and C-82, which show 92 and 107 parts per million, respectively. Such high bicarbonate might be due to leakage of water 

from a higher bed into the lower sand, either at the well itself or 

from other near-by abandoned wells. Furthermore, it may be that 

the bicarbonate is due to the inflow of water from the Pliocene gravel, 

which (see p. 109) has a high* content of calcium bicarbonate. To 

determine whether the mineral content of the water changes to any 

marked degree 6 of the wells showing high bicarbonate were sampled 

on January 22, 1931, and partial analyses of the samples were made. 

(See table, p. 286.) Such variations as appear fall within the limits 

of error of the analyses.
286 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Approximate partial analyses of waters from Memphis and vicinity

[Parts per million. Numbers in first column refer to corresponding numbers in table of well records on 

p. 251. Analyzed by Margaret D. Foster]

Well

No.

M-l

1 C-3

7

7

8b C-16

23 C-24

32

36

36

39

39

47b

52a

56

59

64

69a

71

77

77

82b

82b

84

A

B

C

Date of collection

Aug. 23, 1930 __ 

Jan. 22. 1931 __ ...... ........ _ .

Aug. 23, 1930 

Jan. 22, 1931 __ ... ........... 

Aug. 23, 1930 

 do....... ..................

.....do __ - ... ..

 ..do. _ ... ....... ....

Aug. 22. ......................

Jan. 22, 1931 

Aug. 22, 1930 

Jan. 22, 1931.. 

Aug. 22, 1930 

 do.... ...................

 ..do.... ..... . ... ... .... ... ..

 do. ___ .... ..... ......

 -do.. ............. .............

 ..do.. _ . .

 do.... . 

Jan. 22, 1931 

Aug. 22, 1930. 

Aug. 22, 1930.. ....

 do.. _ ... ...

Aug. 23 _____ ......... __ . ...

Iron (Fe)

1.8

5Q

1.1

1.0

.39

1.4

.63

.75

.86

.83

.86

.25

1.3

.45

2.4

.18

.66

.49

.68

1.4

.45

Calcium 

(Ca), by 

turbidity

11

20

13

16

14

14

12

14

10

13

13

16

14

12

15

15

14

14

6

10

13

14

12

14

14

12

15

36

6

Bicarbonate 

(HCOj)

103

102

80

126

128

92

71

77

68

104

94

87

94

90

86

66

89

92

60

61

90

92

88

107

79

61

84 "158

27

Sulphate 

(S04), by 

turbidity

3

7

2

3

1

3

3

2

3

3

3

2

3

5

3

3

3

2

5

4

3

3

3

7

4

2.5

3

60

3

Chloride

(CD, by 

turbidity

3.5

3.0

1.5

2

2.5

2

1.2

2

1.5

1.7

1

1.6

2.7

1.8

2.7

2

.8

1.7

2.7

.7

2.2

1.8

2.3

3

10

1.5

3.5

1.8

Total 

hardness 

asCaCOi

93

80

52

106

90

66

46

64

40

76

63

68

63

62

60

57

60

52

63

32

63

60

60

64

64

56

60

144

20

0 Includes equivalent of 15 parts per million of carbonate (COj).

A similar study of the alkalinity of water samples from several 

wells made by Chester & Fleming shows a relation between the chemical character of the water and the location of the well with reference 

to the Mississippi River. The relation is well brought out in Plate 

13, on which are drawn lines bounding areas of equal alkalinity. The 

alkalinity ranged between 54 and 126 parts per million. The minimum is equal to the alkalinity of the average water from the Wilcox 

group. For water of this type the alkalinity may be taken as practically a direct measure of the hardness.

The water at Memphis is soft enough for most uses and gives no 

trouble with boilers, but laundries and industries using large amounts 

of soap find it necessary to soften the water.

The iron content of the 51 samples taken throughout Memphis by 

the writer ranges from 0.4 to 2.5 parts per million. This is considerably more iron than is desirable in a water supply for general use, but 

the excess is easily removed by aeration followed by filtration or sedimentation. The water is pumped from many wells by air lift, which 

accomplishes the necessary aeration while raising the water. Separation of iron may take place to some extent in the wells by deposition 

on the casing. A sample from such a well will show less iron than is 

present in the water in the ground. Analyses 3 and 4 in the following 

table indicate the improvement as regards iron resulting in aeration
MEMPHIS 287

followed by rapid filtration of water for the public supply of Memphis. 

The reduction from 0.61 to 0.08 part per million of iron much improves 

the appearance of the water on standing and its suitability for laundry

use.

Analyses of ground waters from Memphis and other places in western Tennessee

and Mississippi

[Parts per million]

Silica (SiOj)__._....__. _..__..._.___....

Iron (Fe) __________________ 

Calcium (Ca) _______________ 

Magnesium (Mg) _____________ 

Sodium (Na) _________________ 

Potassium (K)_______________ 

Bicarbonate (HCO»)____________ 

Sulphate (SO4) . _.........

Chloride (Cl).............................

Nitrate (NOj)...-... ..................

Total dissolved solids..__________ 

Total hardness as CaCOj (calculated).....

Date of collection.........._...... ......

Analyst <

19

.05 

65 

35 

15 

1.0 

387 

8.6 

5.0 

.74 

333 

306 

July 25,

1928. 

M.D.F.

13 

1.6 

8.9 

3.9 

5.0 

1.6

50 

5.2 

2.8 

0

65

38

Aug. 8,

1929.

M.D.F.

21

.61 

11 

5.5 

6.5 

1.6 

74 

3.7 

1.8 

0

83

50

July 26,

1928. 

M. D. F.

16 

.08 

8.6 

4.2 

15 

1.2 

80 

4.4 

1.8 

.07 

87 

39 

July 26,

1928. 

M. D. F.

5.5

1.2

20

4.0

3.0

68 

9.0 

4.5 

.2 

85 

66 

June 1,

1929. 

D. F. F.

13 

1.2

15 

6.8 

6.8 

1.6

89 

4.0 

3.6 

0

91

65 

July 19,

1928. 

M.D.F.

10 11

Silica (SiOj).......--.- ......

Iron (Fe)___________. 

Calcium (Ca)________. 

Magnesium (Mg)______. 

Sodium (Na)-____.. ... 

Potassium (K)________. 

Bicarbonate (HCO»)____.. 

Sulphate (SO4)................

Chloride (Cl) ............

Nitrate (NO»).................

Total dissolved solids____. 

Total hardness as CaCOj (calculated)________._. 

Date of collection. __. _. 

Analyst«.. ...

27

.35

40

12

6.6

4.9

137

54

2.7

.0

217

149

June 22, 1928 

M. D. F.

4.0 

.7 

7.0 

1.0

\ 2.0

17

9.0

.8

1.2

39

22

Aug. 1, 1929 

D. F. F.

20

1.6

3.0

1.0

r 35

I 2.7 

104 

5.5 

1.0 

.55 

124

12

July 26, 1928 

M. D. F.

16 

.4 

3.2 

1.0

[ 432

»1,068 

1.8 

16

.02 

1,026

12

Sept. 26,1927 

F. A. M.

6.9

17

1,101

166

8,070

16

119

14

14,990

24,750

3,430

June, 1930

S. K. L.

« M. D. F., Margaret D. Foster; S. K. L., S. K. Love, U. S. Geological Survey; D. F. F., D. F. Farrar, 

Tennessee Geological Survey; F. A. M., F. A. Mantel, Memphis Artesian Water Department. 

*Includes equivalent of 71 parts of carbonate (CO»).

1. 250-foot well owned by town of Millington.

2. 296-foot well owned by city of Dyer.

3. 475-foot well at southwest corner of pumping station, owned by city of Memphis.

4. Treated water from wells comprising public supply for city of Memphis.

5. West Tennessee State Teachers' College well, 515 feet deep, Memphis.

6. 350-foot well owned by Railroad Ice Co., Nonconnah, Memphis.

7. 230-foot well owned by Hugh Carter, Bolivar.

8. 145-foot well owned by Harris Bros., Luray.

9. 1,400-foot well, No. 27, at southeast corner of pumping station, owned by city of Memphis.

10. 2,656-foot well of Memphis Artesian Water Department, Memphis.

11. 3,434-foot well in NE. U sec. 21, T. 7 N., R. 16 E., Lauderdale County, Miss., owned by Lauderdale 

Oil & Gas Co., water from 3,300-foot level.

Samples 1 to 6 are from the Grenada and Holly Springs formations; 7 to 9 from the Ackerman formation; 

10 from the Ripley formation; 11 from the Tuscaloosa formation.

Water from the Ripley formation at Memphis differs markedly from 

the water from the Ripley in its outcrop area. The water at Memphis 

is a sodium bicarbonate water; it has a very high mineral content 

and is unfit for domestic or industrial use.

Though the water from the Eutaw formation hi its outcrop area is 

fairly soft and has a moderately low content of dissolved solids, the
288 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

water from deep wells in Mississippi contains sufficient dissolved 

solids to be noticeable to the taste and is unsuitable for domestic 

and industrial use.

There is no definite information concerning the chemical character 

of the water from the Tuscaloosa formation at Memphis, owing to 

the fact that no well penetrates the formation, but it seems probable 

that the water would have a high mineral content. Analyses of 

water from the Tuscaloosa formation in Mississippi show increasing 

mineral content with increasing depth. The only available analysis 

of water from the Tuscaloosa formation at a depth comparable to 

the depth of the Tuscaloosa at Memphis represents water from 

Lackey well 1, an oil test in the NE. % sec. 21, T. 7 N., K. 16 E. 

Choctaw meridian, Lauderdale County, Miss., at a depth of 3,300 

feet (correlation by E. N. Lowe). This water is a sodium chloride 

water (see analysis in preceding table) high in calcium and containing 

17 parts per million of iron and 24,750 of total dissolved solids. 

Such a water is unfit for any use.

Care should be used in sealing off wells in order to prevent flow of 

water from the overlying Pliocene gravel into the Wilcox group. In 

water from Pliocene gravel overlain by loess (see p. 109) the total 

hardness ranges from 110 to over 400 parts per million. Such water 

needs treatment before it can be used for most industrial purposes, 

and it is only by preventing pollution through leaky wells that the 

present low mineral content of the water from the Wilcox group can 

be maintained.

HEAD OF GROUND WATER

SEASONAL FLUCTUATION OF HEAD IN WELLS

A continuous record of the position of the water level in any well 

will show fluctuations resulting from many causes. In order to determine the nature and. magnitude of the fluctuations of the pressure 

head at Memphis and to deduce their causes, two continuous waterlevel recorders have been installed one in the Auction Avenue "wet 

well" and the other in the Central Avenue well. The level of the 

water in the "wet well" represents the static level in about 100 wells 

scattered over a rectangular area of 5,000 by 3,000 feet. These wells 

flow into tunnels that lead to the "wet well." An examination of 

Plate 11 will show that this well gang is within 400 feet of the Wolf 

Kiver at the nearest point and that it is near the center of all pumpage 

that derives water from the upper Wilcox. A record of the water 

level in the Auction Avenue "wet well" taken at 8.30 a. m. has been 

kept since April, 1927, and a continuous recorder has been operating 

in the well since October, 1928. (See pi. 14.) The well at Wills 

Park, on Central Avenue, is 4 miles from the Mississippi Kiver
MEMPHIS 289

and 2 miles from the nearest pumping well of the Memphis Artesian 

Water Department and is in a section where there is but little private 

pumping.

Since the completion of well C-50, in March, 1930, a measurement 

of the static level in this well has been made every other day. The 

well is at the eastern boundary of the city, about 8% miles east of 

the Mississippi River and 3K miles east of the Artesian Water 

Department's well gang. There is practically no pumping near this 

well, and it is far enough from both the main city pumpage and the 

Mississippi River not to be directly affected by either.

The data obtained from the continuous recorder, and the measurement of well C-50 are graphically shown in Plate 14. Prior to 1928 

the point given is the daily reading; after this date the level given 

is the lowest reading of the 24 hours, midnight to midnight, on the 

continuous recorders.

For comparison, curves of the altitude of the Mississippi River of 

the daily pumpage of the Memphis Artesian Water Department from 

the upper Wilcox, and of the rainfall at Bolivar have been plotted in 

Plate 15.

The pumpage of the Memphis Artesian Water Department from the 

upper Wilcox is derived by subtracting from the total daily pumpage 

the amount pumped from the Ackerman formation. The curve is 

plotted in reverse sense, a larger pumpage being lower on the graph 

than a small pumpage, in order that the water level and pumpage 

can be readily compared. It should be borne in mind that the pumpage of the Memphis Artesian Water Department represents only 38 

per cent of the total pumpage from the upper Wilcox, the remainder 

being pumped by industrial plants. However, as the factors that 

necessitate an increase or decrease in the pumpage of the Memphis 

Artesian Water Department have somewhat similar effects on the 

industrial pumping, the total roughly parallels the pumpage for the 

city waterworks, with the following exceptions. Industrial pumping 

is cut by at least 3,440,000 gallons on Sundays. This figure represents the cut of laundries, sawmills, and such plants as stop completely 

on Sundays. Other plants may run at lower capacity on Sundays, 

so that the total Sunday cut of industrial pumping is probably more 

than 3,440,000 gallons. The pumpage of the Memphis Artesian 

Water Department on Sunday shows no such cut but increases or 

decreases according to the weather. It is possible for the city to 

meet increase or decrease in the demand for water by increasing or 

decreasing the amount taken from the Ackerman formation. This 

is illustrated by the increased pumpage from the Grenada formation 

during February and March in both 1928 and 1929, which was due 

to cessation of pumping from the Ackerman formation and does not 

indicate an increase in total pumpage. Any sudden peak in pumpage
290 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

such as that for January 16, 1928, can be accounted for in this way. 

Thus changes in pumpage may not show in the graph of the pumpage 

from the upper Wilcox, but as a rule the ratio of the pumpage from 

the Ackerman formation to the pumpage from the upper Wilcox 

remains about the same, and it can be assumed that the graph of the 

pumpage from the upper Wilcox represents in a general way the 

variations of the total pumpage in all Memphis.

The stages of the Mississippi River at Memphis given by the 

Memphis River Commission have been used in plotting the altitude of 

the river.

The rainfall at Bolivar, Tenn., which lies almost due east of Memphis in the outcrop area of the Wilcox group, has been plotted. 

Except for local summer rains precipitation usually occurs over the 

whole of the outcrop area of the Wilcox group during the same days, 

so that when it rains at Bolivar rainy weather can be assumed throughout the area.

An examination of the graph of the water level in the Auction 

Avenue "wet well" shows that the water level usually attains its 

highest point in the early summer, either May or June. It drops off 

rapidly during the summer, reaching the lowest point in August or 

September, after which it starts to rise. The rise is continuous during 

the fall and early winter but the water level may fall a little in February and March before rising to its spring high point. The maximum 

variation from May 1, 1927, to April 1, 1931, is 13.6 feet; the yearly 

variation is 8.3 feet May 1,1927, to May 1,1928; 7.6 feet May 1,1928, 

to May 1, 1929; 12.6 feet May 1, 1929, to May 1, 1930; and 10.8 feet 

May 1, 1930, to April 1/1931. The average yearly variation for the 

period of nearly four years is 9.8 feet.

The record at Central Avenue is incomplete and covers only twoyears. The graph parallels in a general way the Auction Avenue 

curve, showing a high point in May which drops off rapidly to a low 

point in August or September and October. Likewise the water 

level rises rapidly in the fall and early winter, but unlike that in the 

Auction Avenue well it reaches its highest point in January. The 

maximum yearly variation as determined from the fragmentary 

record was 9.5 feet, during the year October 1, 1929, to October 1, 

1930, but the variation was only 5 feet during the preceding year, 

October 1, 1928, to October 1, 1929.

The record for well C-50 covers only one year, March, 1930, to 

March, 1931, and unfortunately that was a year of exceptional 

drought. The graph shows that the water stood at an almost constant high level during March, 1930. Beginning in April it fell slowly 

but almost uninterruptedly until September and remained at this low 

point until March, when it rose slightly. The total greatest difference 

in level was 3 feet.
MEMPHIS 291

In accordance with the variation in water level the graph of pumpage shows that the period of lowest water level (August) usually corresponds to the time of maximum pumping. Pumpage diminishes 

rapidly from September to December and remains small from January to April, the minimum occurring some time within this period. 

Pumpage increases again in May and June and reaches a maximum in 

August. Thus the greatest pumpage and lowest water level in the 

Auction Avenue "wet well" coincide, but the least pumpage and 

highest water level do not, as can be clearly seen by comparing the 

pumpage and water level in November, 1928, with the pumpage and 

water level in May, 1929. An explanation of this difference can be 

found by comparing the water level in the Auction Avenue "wet well" 

with the altitude of the Mississippi River. The river is at high stages 

from March until the end of June, the maxima usually occurring in 

April and May, although they may occur any time during these four 

months. The river falls rapidly in July and remains low until 

October, when it begins to rise. This curve roughly parallels the 

water-level curve, and the maxima and minima of the two curves are 

coincident. Further proof of -the influence of the river on the water 

level is given in Figure 12. In this graph the water level in the Auction Avenue "wet well" continues to rise as the river rises and the 

pumpage increases. Because there was no rain, the rise of nearly 

2 feet in the water level in spite of the increased pumpage can only be 

attributed to the influence of the rise in the river level. This is further 

shown by studying the following table, which gives the average daily 

pumpage, the average river level, and the average water level in the 

Auction Avenue "wet well" for June and August, 1927, and June, 

1928. Though the pumpage is nearly the same there is a difference 

of 4.2 feet in static level.

June, 1927... _ -._.. ._..-.-...-..,. _ -.._.._.-._.- . 

August, 1927--. __ ... _ ..... __________ . _ .... __ .....

June, 1928 _ . ___ . _____ . __ .. _______ .... _____ . __

Pumpage 

(gallons a 

day)

12, 350, 000 

12, 280, 000 

12, 270, 000

Altitude (feet above 

sea level)

Water level 

at Auction 

Avenue 

well

204.5 

200.3 

,203.8

River

220.0 

200.1

212.8

The lack of synchronism between the drawdown and pumpage 

might be attributed to the effect of lag. It has been observed in 

other artesian areas that the water levels in wells do not respond 

immediately to the starting and stopping of pumpage in adjacent 

wells, but there is a time interval, or lag, before adjustment takes 

place. The curves given by Lundie 4 (see fig. 13) show that when

4 Lundie, John, op. cit., p. 19
FEET GALLONS

225

224

223

222

221

MARCH IS 16 17 16 19 

FIGURE 12. Rise of water level in Auction Avenue "wet well" with rise in the Mississippi River a
MEMPHIS 293

pumpage was stopped at the Auction Avenue plant the recovery of 

head was very rapid for example, in the first hour after the shutdown on October 25, 1891, the head recovered 30 feet. Chester & 

Fleming state that the water level at the Central Avenue pumping 

station returned to normal 35 minutes after the cessation of pumping. 

Further proof of the rapid recovery of wells after the cessation of 

pumping is given in Plate 16, in which is graphically shown the rate of 

rise of water level in several wells of the Memphis Artesian Water 

Department on cessation of pumping from the upper Wilcox for a 

period of 13K hours, from 4.30 p. m. March 7 to 6 a. m. March 8,

Midnight

TIME IN HOURS 

2 3

170

FIGTJBE 13. Rate of rise of water level after shutting down pomps at Aaction Avenue station October

25,1891, and March 6,1808

1931. The wells showed different amounts of rise, from 8.2 to 19 feet, 

but all responded within 12 hours.

These facts would indicate that the head responds very rapidly to 

changes in pumpage and that the failure of the water level to respond 

in the cases given can not be explained on the basis of lag.

From March 1 to April 10, 1930, the pumpage of the Memphis 

Artesian Water Department from the upper Wilcox remained about 

constant, showing a maximum variation of only 1,000,000 gallons a 

day, and when averaged over 5-day periods varying by only 100,000 

gallons. The Mississippi Kiver rose about 6 feet and fell about 

12 feet during this period; the water level in the Auction Avenue 

"wet well" remained about constant during the rise of the river but 

fell about 2 feet when the river fell, and the water level in the Central 

Avenue well remained constant during the rise of the river and fell
294 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

about 1 foot when the river fell. If, in order to exclude minor 

fluctuations, 5-day averages are taken, it is found that the river fell 

10.1 feet during this period, the water level in the Auction Avenue wet 

well fell 1.7 feet, and the water level in the Central Avenue well fell 

0.5 foot. Well C-50 was unaffected. Thus it is clearly seen that the 

Mississippi River influences the static level of water in the upper 

Wilcox and that the influence is greatest next to the river, the water 

level in the Auction Avenue wet well varying about 1 foot for every 

6-foot change in the river, and the variation diminishing away from the 

river until at well C-50 it is negligible. Furthermore, the water level 

in the upper Wilcox does not respond immediately to changes in river 

level but lags by several days.

Another factor that may influence the water level is the rainfall 

over the outcrop area of the Wilcox group. A large part of the yearly 

precipitation occurs from January to June, and the period from July 

to October is relatively dry. During the growing season most of the 

precipitation is taken up by the vegetation, and therefore very little 

of the rainfall reaches the zone of saturation. Hence the period of 

principal recharge is from November to March, and it may be assumed 

that in the outcrop area the water level reaches its highest level in the 

early spring and its lowest in the late summer and early fall. These 

variations in water level at the outcrop represent variations of load on 

the confined portion of the water-bearing beds and should cause 

changes in the artesian head. Data are not available to prove this 

assumption, and the variations are so small that they are possibly 

concealed by the more prominent factors. The record of well C-50 

(see pi. 13) is too short to give conclusive evidence as to the fluctuations in water level at a distance from the Mississippi River and from 

heavy pumpage. Unfortunately the period of the record has been one 

of unusual drought. This is shown in the almost continuous decline 

of the water level, but the rise in March, 1931, indicates that in normal 

years the water level in the well would rise during the wet period of 

winter and spring.

It has been shown that the water level varies with pumpage, river 

level, and possibly rainfall. The records thus far obtained are so 

short that it is impossible to evaluate definitely the several factors, 

but figures which are believed to be fair approximations have been 

obtained. From these it is found that pumping is the major factor, 

producing 1 foot of drawdown in the Auction Avenue "wet well" for 

every 1,000,000 gallons of pumping (see p. 300), and the Mississippi 

River is the second large factor, producing about I foot of variation at 

the Auction Avenue "wet well" for every change in stages of 6 feet. 

In any consideration of drawdown or of specific yield these two factors 

must be borne in mind.
MEMPHIS 295 

ORIGINAL STATIC LEVEL

Glenn 5 gives the original static level at Memphis as 225 feet above 

mean sea level. Safford 6 was the source for Glenn's figures, but 

Safford does not state definitely when this measurement was made, 

and it is probable that this figure is not the original static level but the 

level at the time Safford made his investigation, which was after 

several wells had been drilled. The altitude of the collar of the first 

successful well is not definitely known. This well was drilled for the 

Bohlen-Huse Ice Co. in the bayou at Court Street and had a large 

flow. The bayou is now 230 to 240 feet above sea level, and there is 

no evidence of filling.

Chester & Fleming state that in 1908, when the first well at Central 

Avenue was drilled, the water level from March to May averaged 

232.7 feet above mean sea level. The average water level in well 

C-50 (see pi. 14) from March 15 to March 31,1930, was 241 feet above 

sea level. Though the level fell to 238 feet during the summer of 

1930, this was probably due to the exceptionally dry weather, so 240 

feet can be taken as the average static level at this well. As the well 

is 6.6 miles east of the original well on Court Street, its static head 

would have been higher than the original static head at the Court 

Street well. If a hydraulic gradient of 1.5 feet to the mile (see 

p. 308) is used it would give 230 feet as the original static level at Court 

Street. All these facts indicate that the original static level in the 

vicinity of the Auction Avenue wells was more than 225 feet, probably 

about 230 feet.

QUANTITY OF WATER

PUMPAGE

The daily pumpage of the Memphis Artesian Water Department 

during 1930 showed a maximum of 28,859,000 gallons, a minimum of 

15,926,000 gallons, and an average of 19,750,000 gallons. These figures include the pumpage from the 1,400-foot stratum, which amounted 

in 1930 to a maximum of 8,947,000 gallons a day and an average 

of 6,145,000 gallons a day. The average daily pumpage during 1930 

was 4,858,000 gallons more than the average for 1920. The population of Memphis in 1930 was 253,143; in 1920, 162,351. On the 

basis of these figures the average daily per capita consumption in 1930 

was 78 gallons; in 1920, 91.7 gallons. This decrease in per capita 

consumption of 13.7 gallons is contrary to what would be expected 

and is probably due to the extension of the corporate limits of Memphis in 1929, thereby including within the city several thousand 

people who do not yet receive city water. Otherwise the per capita 

consumption has probably remained about constant.

« Glenn, L. O., op. cit., p. 110. « Saflord, J. M., op. cit., p. 102.
296 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

The pumpage of the water department represents only a part of the 

pumpage from the upper Wilcox formation in Memphis. Soon 

after the drilling of the first deep well in Memphis many of the local 

industrial plants developed private water supplies from deep wells. 

Owing to the ease of obtaining a good well and the cheapness of operation, private plants, even those with small water consumption, found 

it most economical to have their own wells. Another factor that 

favored private wells was the fact that air-lift pumping reduced the 

iron and carbon dioxide content of the water considerably, and the 

water so pumped was therefore superior to city water from the 

Auction Avenue plant. For these reasons virtually all the industrial 

plants and large buildings had private supplies.

As there are no records of the amount of water pumped by individual concerns in Memphis prior to 1920, it is impossible to determine whether this pumpage has steadily increased, whether it has 

reached a high point and remained constant, or whether it has reached 

a maximum and declined. The normal growth of the city could lead 

to an increase in the private pumpage, which might be assumed to 

parallel the increase in city pumpage. The following factors, however, would tend to decrease the private pumpage:

1. Effective treatment of the water furnished by the city waterworks since 1925 has greatly improved its quality and made it better 

than the water that is pumped privately by air lifts.

2. The necessity of renewing wells and pumping machinery has 

induced many small water consumers to use city water.

3. The need of having a city connection for fire protection involves 

a minimum fixed charge, and if the amount of water consumed is only 

slightly greater than that covered by the minimum charge it is not 

economical to have a private supply.

4. In many small power plants one engineer had charge of both the 

plant and the pumping machinery, and the replacement of such a plant 

by electrical power has displaced the engineer, as it is not profitable 

to employ one simply to supervise the pumps. Centrifugal pumps 

could be operated by electric motors without much supervision, but 

owing to the iron content of the water air lifts are preferred to 

centrifugal pumps.

5. Formerly, Memphis manufactured large quantities of ice for 

shipment to outlying points, but the development of small, simple 

machines for producing ice has resulted in the establishment of local 

ice plants at these points, and at present Memphis ships very little 

ice. The consumption of water in Memphis ice plants has therefore 

decreased.

6. The use of spray ponds for cooling condenser water has diminished the amount of condenser water used. The quantity of water 

used for condensing by the Memphis Power & Light Co. (Memphis
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 656 PLATE 13

UllSAVeterans Hospital

ipoo o I II 1 . spoo IQOOO FEET

MAP SHOWING AREAS OF EQUAL ALKALINITY IN MEMPHIS 

In parts per million. After Chester & Fleming.
u. s. GEOLOGICAL'SURVEY WATEH-StTPPLT PAPER 656 PLATE 14

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EXPLANATION

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Altitude of water level in Auction Avenue "wet well" 

Monthly average altitude of water level in Auction Avenue "wet well" 

Altitude of water level in Central Avenue well

Monthly average altitude of water level m Gf 

Pumpage of Memphis Artesian Water Depai 

Monthly average pumpage of Memphis Arte 

from the Wilcox group 

Altitude of the Mississippi River at Memphis 

Monthly average altitude of the Mississippi F 

Rainfall at Bolivar. Tenn. 

Altitude of water level in well No. 50 of Mem 

Department 

Total monthly rainfall

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 tment from the Wilcox group

Tenn.

phis Artesian Water

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APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG. SEPT OGT. NOV DFG. JAN. FEB. MAR. APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG. SEPT OCT. NOV DEG. JAN. FEB MAR. APR, MAY JUNE JULY AUG. SEPT OGT NOV DEG. JAN. FEB. MAR.

1927 " 1928 1929

ALTITUDE OF WATER LEVEL IN AUCTION AVENUE "WET WELL," CENTRAL AVENUE WELL, AND WELL C-50; PUMPAGE OF MEMPHIS ARTESIAN WATER DEPARTMENT FROM WILCOX GROUP; AND RAINFALL AT BOLIVAR, TENN.

1015202530 5 1015 2025 31 5 1015202530 5 1015 202531 5 101520 31 5 1015202530 5 1015202531 5 1015202530 5 10 15 2025 31 5 10 15202531 5 10 152025 5 10152025 31

APR. MAY JUNE JULY AUG. SEPT. OGT. NOV. DEG. JAN. FEB. MAR.

1930 1931

tT. S. GEOLOGICAL, SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 656 PLATE 15

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MAY JUNE JULY AUG S£P^ OCT NOV DEC JAN. FEB. MAR APR. MAY JUNE JULY 'S"A.U. G-''' SEPT OCT NOV DEC. JAN. FES. MAR APR. MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC JAN. FEB MAR. ]/"' MAY " 

1927 1928 1929 ApR-

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MONTHLY AVERAGE ALTITUDE OF WATER LEVEL IN AUCTION AVENUE "WET WELL" AND CENTRAL AVENUE .WELL, MONTHLY AVERAGE OF DAILY

WILCOX GROUP, AVERAGE ALTITUDE OF MISSISSIPPI RIVER, AND TOTAL MONTHLY RAINFALL AT BOLIVAR, TENN

PUMPAGE OF MEMPHIS ARTESIAN WATER DEPARTMENT FROM 

., MAY, 1927, TO MARCH, 1931

119722 33. (Face p. 296.)

U. 6. GEOLOGICAL SUEVEY WATER-SUPPLYJfpAPER 656 PLATE 16

X

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6 7 8 9 10 11 12 

P.M.- MARCH*?. 1931

RATE OF RISE OF WATER LEVEL IN WELLS C-4, C-11. C-17, C-23, 

FROM WILCOX GROUP BY MEMPHIS ARTESIAN WATER

t 23456 

A.M.-MARCH 8.1931

i iND C-37 ON CESSATION OF PUMPING 

DEPARTMENT, MARCH 7-8,1931

MEMPHIS 297

Electric Co. and Memphis Street Car Co.) has decreased about 

10,000,000 gallons per 24 hours since 1920.

It is impossible to evaluate these factors; factors 2, 3, and 4 involve 

small supplies, and the total amount was probably not large; the 

amount represented by factor 5 may be considerable. The combined 

influence of factors 1 to 5 probably did not compensate for the normal 

increase in consumption due to increase of population but only served 

to lessen the total increase. Factor 6 represents a considerable 

decrease.

Chester & Fleming, in their report of 1920, list 58 private plants of 

large consumption with an aggregate estimated average daily pumpage 

of 21,740,000 gallons. This list was not complete, and the pumpage 

given is an estimate, which is, however, sufficiently accurate for the 

present purpose.

The pumpage as here used is the estimated average daily pumpage 

for periods during which a plant was running continuously at full 

capacity. Therefore, the average given is probably considerably in 

excess of a daily average determined by dividing the total pumpage 

throughout the year by 365. Inasmuch as the figures for private 

pumpage are estimates derived by various methods, they are not 

exact, and any attempt to arrive at an average daily pumpage that 

would be a true daily average of the pumpage throughout the year 

would be attempting a precision that the data do not justify.

In 1928 the writer listed 86 private plants with an aggregate estimated average daily pumpage of 21,000,000 gallons. Although this 

list did not include every pumped well in greater Memphis, it is 

believed to have included every plant with a pumpage of 50,000 gallons 

or more in 24 hours. Many of the figures of pumpage are estimated. 

Of the wells listed by Chester & Fleming, eight, with a combined 

production of 290,000 gallons a day, are no longer in operation. Of 

the wells listed in 1928, six, with a present combined production of 

1,255,000 gallons a day, were in operation in 1920 but were not 

listed by Chester & Fleming. A study of 37 plants listed both by 

Chester & Fleming and the writer shows increase in pumpage of 

32 per cent since 1920. As these plants are distributed among the 

various industries the increase in pumpage from their wells can be 

considered representative of the general trend of private pumping, 

other than the pumping which has been decreased for reasons previously given. On the assumption that there has been an increase of 

32 per cent in private pumping since 1920, the total pumpage of the 

six wells not listed by Chester & Fleming in 1920 was 853,000 gallons 

a day at that time. This brings the estimated total daily pumpage 

by private plants in 1920 to 22,593,000 gallons. 

119722 33 20
298 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

The average daily pumpage of the city water supply from the 

Grenada formation in 1920 was 14,982,000 gallons a day,'which 

added to the private pumpage of 22,593,000 gallons made the total 

pumpage from the upper Wilcox 37,575,000 gallons a day. In 1928 

the estimated pumpage from private wells, all derived from the upper 

Wilcox, was 21,000,000 gallons a day, and the city pumpage from 

the upper Wilcox was 12,984,000 gallons a day, making a total of

MILLIONS OF GALLONS

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FIGUBE 14. Average daUy pumpage in Memphis, 1897-1930

33,984,000 gallons a day, or 3,591,000 gallons less than in 1920. 

This decrease was due to two factors the development of wells in 

the sand of the Ackerman formation by the Memphis Artesian Water 

Department and a cut of 10,000,000 gallons a day by the Memphis 

Power & Light Co. during the years 1920 to 1926. In 1928 the 

Memphis Artesian Water Department pumped an average of 

4,616,000 gallons a day from the Ackerman formation. The cut made 

by the Memphis Power & Light Co. was effected as follows: In 1921 

the introduction of a spray point cut off 5,000,000 gallons a day; there
MEMPHIS 299

was a gradual cut of 2,500,000 gallons a day in 1924; the shutdown of 

the Beach Street plant in January, 1926, involved an immediate cut 

of 1,500,000 gallons a day and a gradual cut of 1,000,000 gallons more. 

It is estimated that from 1920 to 1928 the other plants in the city 

increased their consumption 32 per cent, and in addition about 

5,000,000 gallons a day was developed by new plants. These two 

factors nearly compensated for the cut of the Memphis Power & 

Light Co.

The total average daily pumpage, the average daily pumpage from 

the upper Wilcox, and the average daily pumpage from the Ackerman 

formation by the Memphis Artesian Water Department are shown 

graphically in Figure 14. As the Memphis Artesian Water Department obtained all of its water from the upper Wilcox prior to 1925, the 

curve for its total pumpage and the curve for its pumpage from the 

upper Wilcox coincide for the period 1897 to 1925. In 1925 a small 

amount of water was pumped from the Ackerman formation by the 

Memphis Artesian Water Department, and in succeeding years this 

pumpage has increased. This is shown by the bifurcation of the 

curve beyond 1925.

Figure 14 also gives a graph of the total average daily pumpage 

from the upper Wilcox in the city of Memphis from 1920 to 1928. 

Only two points on this curve are definitely known 1920 and 1928; 

the intermediate points were determined by deducting the known cuts 

in pumpage and distributing the normal increase and new pumpage 

over the eight years. This curve is therefore not accurate, but it 

shows the general trend of the fluctuations in the total pumpage. 

An examination of these curves shows that the pumpage of the Memphis Artesian Water Department reached a maximum in about 1920 

and has never reached this point again; also that the total pumpage 

from the Wilcox group reached in 1920 a maximum which it did not 

exceed between 1920 and 1928 and probably has not exceeded since 

1928. This is due to two facts that private pumpage, all of which 

is derived from the upper Wilcox, was greater in 1920 than in 1928, 

and whereas the total pumpage of the Memphis Artesian Water 

Department was greater in 1928 than in 1920 the amount pumped 

from the upper Wilcox was less because an average of 4,616,000 gallons 

a day was obtained from the Ackerman formation. These two facts 

should be borne in mind in any studies of the influence of pumping 

in lowering the water level.

RELATION OF PUMPAGE TO REGIONAL DRAWDOWN

The average altitude of the water level a|t the Auction Avenue plant 

for the year 1928 was 202 feet above mean sea level. This is 28 feet 

lower than the assumed original altitude, 230 feet. Taking 34,000,000 

gallons for the average daily pumpage from the upper Wilcox in 1928
300 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

makes the yield of the group about 1,200,000 gallons a day for each 

foot of drawdown as measured at the Auction Avenue well. Another 

figure for drawdown at the Auction Avenue "wet well" for each million 

gallons of pumpage by the Memphis Artesian Water Department 

can be obtained by comparing the drawdown and the pumpage when 

influencing factors other than pumpage are either not operative or constant. Such a condition existed from August 15 to September 15,1930. 

During this interval the river showed a maximum variation of only 1 

foot. There were two heavy rains, one at the beginning and one at the 

end of the period, but inasmuch as these rams caused only very slight 

changes in water level hi well C-50 it is probable that their influence 

at the Auction Avenue well was negligible. It is found that for this 

period the static level in the Auction Avenue "wet well" showed a 

drawdown of 1 foot for each increase of pumpage of a million gallons 

by the Memphis Artesian Water Department.

In succeeding pages it is shown that the drawdown is not everywhere the same, so it is desirable to determine the drawdown and the 

yield per foot of drawdown at a point within the present well gang of 

the Memphis Artesian Water Department. A continuous record 

of the static level in well C-ll during 1930 is available. The average 

altitude of the water level in this well during 1930 was 194 feet above 

sea level. The average daily pumpage by the Memphis Artesian 

Water Department from the upper Wilcox was 13,605,000 gallons. 

On the assumption that the average private pumpage was 23,400,000 

gallons a day, the yield of the upper Wilcox per foot of drawdown 

in well C-ll was about 1,000,000 gallons a day. This compares 

closely with the drawdown in the Auction Avenue well, and inasmuch 

as well C-ll is practically in the center of the heaviest pumping it 

probably represents the maximum drawdown in Memphis. These 

figures for yield must be accepted as only approximate, because the 

original static level is not known exactly, "because the water level has 

a considerable seasonal variation, and because the figure for total 

pumpage is an estimate and may be somewhat hi error.

If a well in an artesian water-bearing bed is pumped at a given rate, 

the pressure-indicating surface, as determined by measuring the depth 

to water at the pumped well and in other wells located in various 

directions and at various distances from the pumped well, will be 

found to conform in shape to the surface of a solid of revolution 

determined by an exponential curve, the vertex of which is at the 

pumped well. Such a surface is called a cone of depression. A 

group of closely spaced wells distributed approximately uniformly 

throughout a circular area and having about the same pumpage can 

be likened to one well with a pumpage equal to the combined pumpage 

of the individual wells, and the pressure-indicating surface for such 

a group of wells is similar in a general way to the cone of depression
MEMPHIS 301

of a single isolated well. Under most conditions the drawdown, or 

lowering of the pressure-indicating surface, at a pumped well is directly 

proportional to the rate of pumping for instance, if the rate of pumping is doubled the drawdown is doubled. This is also true of the lowering of the pressure-indicating surface at any well in a group of wells, 

such as the group described above, so long as the distribution of the 

wells remains the same and the rates of pumpage from each remain 

in the same ratio. If, however, new wells situated at a distance are 

pumped or if the ratio of pumpage of the wells relative to each other 

is changed, the drawdown in any well is not proportional to the total 

pumpage. Without changing the total pumpage, it is possible to 

change the drawdown in any well in a group by changing the location 

of pumpage relative to the well. Also total pumpage can be changed 

without changing the drawdown in any well by changing the location 

of pumpage relative to the well.

Prior to 1907 most of the pumping in Memphis was concentrated 

in the downtown sectipn of the city and the pressure-indicating surface was a conelike depression, with its apex at the Auction Avenue 

"wet well." The slope of the cone was steep in the downtown section but was almost flat a short distance away. Increases in pumpage 

were all in the same area and the drawdown at the Auction Avenue 

"wet well" was in general proportional to pumpage. This can be 

seen by comparing profiles of the water surface in 1898 and 1902 as 

given by Lundie and Hider. 7 (See fig. 15.)

In 1907 pumping for the city waterworks was started in the Central 

Avenue plant, and in 1910 pumping from segregated wells was started. 

Private pumping showed a similar scattering. The influence of 

scattering of pumpage on the water level in the Auction Avenue 

"wet well" can be seen by comparing the figures of pumpage and 

water level in the following table:

Year

1898.. .- . .. - . - 

1923.- .--.- --.- __.____. _-_-__._ _._-

1928 - . . .. .__. 

Average 

static 

level in 

Auction 

Avenue "wet well" 

(feet above 

mean sea 

level)

175.5 

175.7 

202.0

Average daily pumpage of 

Memphis Artesian Water 

Department from upper 

Wifeox (gallons)

At Auction 

Avenue

9,400,000 

5, 697, 000 

None.

Total

9,400,000 

13, 510, 000 

13, 000, 000

Thus, though the pumpage has increased, the water level in the 

Auction Avenue "wet well" has risen, owing to a change in the location of the pumped wells. There has been a lowering of the pressureindicating surface, however, over the rest of the city, as is clearly 

shown in Figures 16 and 17.

7 Hider, Arthur, Omberg, J. S., jr., and Bell, S. T., Engineers' report on the waterworks system of Memphis, Tenn., Memphis, 1904.
302 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Further evidence is given in well 172, in which the water level had 

an altitude of 208.5 feet on September 13, 1916, and 204.9 feet on 

October 30, 1928. Chester & Fleming state that the wells drilled at

DISTANCE FROM AUCTION AVENUE "WET WELL^-

FIGUBE 15. Profiles of pressure-indicating surface along line A-A in Plate 11, 1898,1902, and 1928. 

Levels of wells in 1898 from Lundie, in 1902 from Hider, both correlated to present datum. Distances are scaled from plat of Memphis and do not agree with distances given by Lundie and Hider

Central Avenue in 1908 had water levels at an average altitude of 

232.3 feet from March to May, inclusive. The water level in well 157, 

in the same location, had an altitude of 226.2 feet on April 10, 1916,
MEMPHIS 303

and 225.4 feet on June 18, 1916. From March to May, 1929, its 

average was 220.6 feet.

In considering any figure for drawdown in Memphis, such as that 

given above, or in estimating what effect increased pumpage will have 

on lowering the water level it should be borne in mind that the 

lowering of the water level is very largely dependent on the location of 

pumpage. By distributing pumping over a very large area the quantity pumped can be greatly increased with only slight lowering of the 

water level over the whole area. 1SS2

The pressure-indicating surface has been considerably lowered over 

a large area, and its lowest point has moved slightly east from its

220'

210'

U 

o

D 1-200'

H

< 

190'

180'

poj

October

j ^ 

1

* 

X

*/yAversgt

3O.I928

S

draft, A

'/

/g., 1914

^

-S

^ 

1

4: 

3 

1

I7t, Well 

f- 

$ 

§ £

¥ 

§ 

V.

.<o

-K» 

&

"Q

/

s'

^

*-"''

August 7, &I4 

.S

'October

-""

30,1928, 

ft'

\

I

}' 2000' 4,OOO' 6,000' 8.OOO' 10,000' I2.00O' 14,000* I6.OOO' 18,000"

DISTANCE 

FIGURE 16. Profiles of pressure-Indicating surface along line B-B in Plate 11,1914 and 1928

former position at the Auction Avenue "wet well," but the maximum 

drawdown has not increased. The present pressure-indicating surface roughly resembles a trough, the sides and ends of which are 

determined by parabolas and the bottom of which is a level line. 

The long axis of the trough parallels the river. The drawdown has 

increased only slightly since about 1900. The farther north, south, or 

east a well is from this axis the higher is the static level in the well and 

the less is the pumping lift. This fact shows that a wider distribution 

of pumping will allow increased pumpage without increasing the 

pumping lift.

The above discussion of the lowering of the pressure-indicating 

surface demonstrates that the present pumpage in the city of Memphis 

can be considerably increased in the outlying areas without materially 

increasing the drawdown in the downtown area. Also, in view of the 

large amount of pumping in the city, the drawdown at the Auction
304 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Avenue "wet well" is not great, and it is believed that additional supplies can be developed in the downtown part of the area. If more

ELEVATION IN FEET ABOVE MEAN SEA LEVEL

4reragee/erat/on4pr./32/ Qdrera^ee/eraf/on Fe6.23fo14fH./,/$3o Auction Ave. wet well

Well NO.C-II.M.A.WD.

Well No. 170, M.A.W.D.

Urania Petroleum Co. 

Well off tine'of section

FIGURE 17. Profiles of pressure-indicating surface along an east-west line through Auction Avenue 

"wet well" and well 170 of Memphis Artesian Water Department, April, 1921, and March, 1930

water is pumped, the head will doubtless decline, but for any increase 

anticipated in the immediate future the decline will not be excessive.
MEMPHIS 305 

FACTORS THAT DETERMINE THE QUANTITY OF GROUND WATER AVAILABLE

The factors that determine the quantity of ground water which can, 

be derived from a water-bearing formation are primarily the area! 

extent of the formation and the rainfall over the outcrop area. The 

outcrop area of the Wilcox group hi Tennessee is roughly 5,000 square 

miles. The outcrop area hi Kentucky, Missouri, and Arkansas is negligible. The rainfall over this area averages about 48 inches a year. 

Even if only a small fraction of the rainfall reaches the zone of saturation the amount of recharge must be very large. The other factors in 

the problem are the cross-sectional area of the formation, the permeability of the formation, and the hydraulic gradient.

Thickness and character of the upper and middle Wilcox. The thickness of the upper and middle Wilcox at Memphis has been given as 

1,300 feet. Only a part of this, however, is sand. There are five 

wells of the Memphis Artesian Water Department which pass completely through the upper and middle Wilcox and for which logs are 

available. Some of these logs list sand, sandy clay, and clay; others 

simply sand and clay. The three wells listing sand and clay have 

34 per cent sand and 66 per cent clay. Of the other two wells one 

has 34 per cent sand, 30 per cent sandy clay, and 44 per cent clay; 

one has 50 per cent sand, 24 per cent sandy clay, and 20 per cent 

clay. The log of the third well, No. 109 of the Memphis Artesian 

Water Department, is given on page 281. This log is more detailed 

than those of the other wells and represents more truly the material 

encountered. It can not be assumed, however, that the materials in 

the other wells are identical. If it is assumed that the material 

classed as sandy clay is interstratified sand and clay, as seems probable from a study of the outcrop, and further, if it is assumed that half 

of the "sandy clay" is sand, the sand makes up 50 per cent of the 

upper and middle Wilcox, which gives a thickness of sand of 375 feet.

Permeability. The coefficient of permeability may be expressed as 

the quantity of water, hi gallons a day, at 60° F., that is conducted 

laterally through each mile of the water-bearing bed under consideration (measured at right angles to the direction of flow) for each foot of 

thickness of the bed and for each foot per mile of hydraulic gradient.8 

The coefficient of permeability was determined hi the laboratory on 

48 samples collected throughout the outcrop area of the Wilcox group 

(see p. 100), and the average of these determinations was 514. The 

samples of sand probably included fine material containing clay which 

would not be classed by a driller as sand. As in any computation of 

quantity of water at Memphis the thickness of the water-yielding sand 

is involved and as such figures of thickness are derived from drillers'

1 Stearns, N. D., Laboratory tests on physical properties of water-bearing materials: U. S. Qeol. Survey 

Water-Supply Paper 596, p. 148,1928.
306 GROUND-WATER RESOUKCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

logs, it is probable that the average figure for the coefficient of permeability given above is too low, for in it are included determinations of 

the coefficient of permeability of materials which would not be classed 

as sand by a driller and which have low coefficients. A better figure 

can be obtained by averaging the coefficients of samples obtained 

from wells 51 and 50 of the Memphis Artesian Water Department. 

Well 51 passes through the upper and middle Wilcox, and the method 

of sampling is described in connection with the physical properties of 

the upper and middle Wilcox (p. 105). The average coefficient of permeability of 3 samples from well 50 at depths between 285 and 343 

feet and 12 samples from well 51 at depths below 390 feet is 875.

A field method for determining permeability is given by Thiem. 9 

If the drawdown in two wells within the cone of influence of a pumping well and at different distances from the pumping well, the quantity of water being pumped, and the thickness of the formation are 

known, it is possible to determine the coefficient of permeability by 

the following formula :

 Si) 

in which

P = coefficient of permeability as defined by Meinzer, 

g = quantity of water pumped, in gallons per 24 hours, 

a = distance of near well from pumping well, in feet, 

fli = distance of far well from pumping well, in feet, 

s = drawdown in near well, in feet, 

Si = drawdown in far well, in feet.

This method was applied in Memphis to wells 22, 23, and 24 of the 

Memphis Artesian Water Department. First, well 24 was pumped 

and the drawdown in wells 22 and 23 was measured; then well 22 

was pumped and the drawdown in wells 23 and 24 was measured. 

The nearest pumping well was well 16 of the Memphis Artesian Water 

Department, 2,850 feet west of well 22. With an assumed thickness 

of 375 feet for the sand in the upper and middle Wilcox, the coefficient 

of permeability was determined as 148 when well 24 was pumped and 

230 when well 22 was pumped.

The difference between the two results and the fact that both are 

in error due to drawdown caused by general city pumping can best 

be explained by considering a diagram of the conditions found in 

these wells during the tests. In Figure 18 AA' is the original pressuremeasuring surface, but owing to general city pumpage this surface is 

lowered to some surface such as BB' '. When well 24 was pumped 

this surface was further lowered to CO'. The correct drawdowns for 

use in Thiem's method, s and si of the formula, were aa" and W .

 Thiem, Q., Hydrologische Methoden, pp. 6-12, Leipzig, 1906.
MEMPHIS 307

The values for s and Si actually determined were a' a," and 6' 6" 

than the true values by the amounts aaf and 66', respectively.

Thejlifference s sr was therefore too large, for it can be readily 

seen*!that the value 6' 6" was different from the correct value 66' by a

\

\*

greater amount than the value a' a" was different from the correct 

value aa". As the difference s s' is too large and as it goes into the 

denominator of the equation, the resulting value for the coefficient of
308 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OP WESTERN TENNESSEE

permeability (P) was too small. Likewise, when well 22 was pumped 

the difference between the true drawdown and the measured drawdown aa' was greater than the difference between the true drawdown 

and the measured drawdown bbf ; hence the value of s s' was too 

large and the values for P too small. This diffierence was not as 

great as when well 24 was pumped, however, for well 24 was less 

affected by. city pumping than well 22; consequently the error was 

not so large. This fact indicates that the city pumping introduced 

errors into the results, and as they are not in accord with all other 

evidence they may be rejected.

To summarize, the average coefficient of permeability as determined 

on 48 samples from the outcrop was 514; on 15 samples from wells 

passing through the upper and middle Wilcox at Memphis, 875. The 

writer is of the opinion that the result obtained from the well samples 

more nearly represents the actual coefficient of permeability of the 

upper and middle Wilcox at Memphis, but it should be used with 

caution, for it is always uncertain whether samples from a well are 

true samples free from contamination. The figure 514 is certainly a 

safe minimum for the coefficient of permeability, but it probably is 

much too low. If the total thickness of sand of the upper and middle 

Wilcox is used the quantity of water that will flow through each mile 

of cross section for each foot of head is 328,000 gallons a day.

Hydraulic gradient. The small number of precise level lines in 

western Tennessee and the difficulty of obtaining access to wells has 

limited the determinations of the altitude of the water level. Unfortunately where such levels were most desired it was quite impossible 

to obtain them. The original water level at Memphis is not definitely known, and as it has been shown that the water level varies 

with the stages of the Mississippi River, it is impossible to arrive at 

any accurate determination of the original hydraulic gradient in 

Memphis. It was possible to determine the altitude of the static 

level at the deep well of Clarence Saunders (p. 252), near Brookfield, 

4 miles east-southeast of well C-50, and at a deep well of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad at Arlington (p. 251), 19 miles northeast 

of well C-50. The water level in Mr. Saunders's well was 255.6 feet 

above sea level and that in the railroad well 270.8 feet above sea level. 

If 241 feet above sea level is taken as the altitude of the water level 

in well C-50, the hydraulic gradient is 3.9 feet to the mile toward 

the east and 1.6 feet to the mile toward the northeast. If 230 feet 

is taken as an average altitude for the static level at Court Street 

prior to the drilling of the first well and if 241 feet is the average 

altitude of the water level at well C-50 the hydraulic gradient between these points is 1.6 feet to the mile.
MEMPHIS 309 

ACKERMAN FORMATION

The Memphis Artesian Water Department obtains part of its 

water from the Ackerman formation. Since 1925, when water was 

first pumped from the Ackerman, the total daily pumpage has increased from a few thousand gallons to an average of 6,145,000 gallons 

in 1930, and undoubtedly increasing quantities of water will be derived from this formation in the future. Unfortunately the original 

static level in the formation is not definitely known. After a complete 

cessation of pumping from February 14 to March 15, 1929, the static 

level at the Parkway station was 239 feet above mean sea level. 

After a shutdown of 44 days in the spring of 1930 the water level in 

well C-51 was 240.6 feet, and it had remained at this altitude for 6 

days. It would seem that 239 feet is probably very close to the original static head in the Ackerman at the Parkway station.

For the 15 days just before February 14, 1929, 6,765,000 gallons 

a day was pumped from the Ackerman formation, and this average 

rate of pumping had been maintained for several months. The 

drawdown in well 27 was 27.4 feet. This gives a figure of 247,000 

gallons for each foot of drawdown in well 27 with the present distribution of wells.

The average coefficient of permeability of six samples from the 

Ackerman formation (p. 91) is 802. Theim's method was applied on 

wells 5, 29, and 27 of the Memphis Artesian Water Department and 

gave a coefficient of permeability of 1,050. These two results are 

of the same general order of magnitude and are probably a close 

approximation to the true condition.

Very few data exist on which to base any estimates of the thickness of sand in the Ackerman formation. Well 25 of the Memphis 

Artesian Water Department, which passes through the Ackerman formation, shows 106 feet of sand; well 109, which stops in the Ackerman, 

shows 182 feet; and the well on the Overton lease, which probably 

traverses the complete thickness of the Ackerman, shows 268 feet. 

'The average of these three is 164 feet. Many of the 1,400-foot wells 

of the Memphis Artesian Water Department show more than 100 feet 

of sand in the Ackerman, and as the sand occurs mostly in the top of 

the formation the average figure 164 feet is probably correct.

If the average thickness of sand in the Ackerman is taken as 164 feet 

;and the coefficient or permeability as 800, 131,000 gallons of water 

.a day flows through each mile of formation for each foot of head.

It has been shown that about 328,000 gallons of water flows through 

each mile of the upper and middle Wilcox for each foot of head. This 

is two and a half times the rate of flow through the Ackerman formation. The permeability of the upper and middle Wilcox and the 

Ackerman are about the same, 875 and 802, respectively, but the 

.sand in the Wilcox is about three times as thick as the sand in the
310 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WESTERN TENNESSEE

Ackerman. The yield per foot of drawdown in well 11 of the Memphis 

Artesian Water Department, which ends in the upper and middle 

Wilcox, is 1,000,000 gallons a day, whereas the yield per foot of 

drawdown in well 27 of the Memphis Artesian Water Department, 

which draws water from the Ackerman, is 247,000 gallons a day. It is 

interesting to compare these yields with a similar result obtained at 

Atlantic City, N. J.,9a where the thickness of the water-bearing bed is 

80 feet and the coefficient of permeability is practically 2,800. The 

yield per mile for each foot of drawdown is 224,000 gallons a day.

RELATION OF MISSISSIPPI RIVER TO WATER IN WILCOX GROUP

The fact that a relation exists between the stages of the Mississippi 

River and the static level in the Auction Avenue "wet well" was recognized many years ago. This relation has been discussed in the 

section on seasonal fluctuation of head in wells. There are two possible explanations of the relation: either the water in the Mississippi 

River has access to the Wilcox deposits and is in hydrostatic equilibrium with it, or else the increased weight of the river water at high 

stages compresses the underlying formations and thereby increases the 

water levels in the wells. 10 The nature of the Jackson formation, 

which consists predominantly of a tough clay (see pp. 106-107), and 

the fact that the original static level of the water in the upper 

Wilcox stood many feet above the level of the river seems to 

preclude the first explanation.

Though a study of the relation between river level, water level, and 

pumping does not yield conclusive evidence, a longer record may 

eventually do so. The drop in the static level in the Auction Avenue 

"wet well" often lags behind the drop in the river level. An example 

of this is seen on Plate 14. On December 27, 1927, the river started 

to fall, but the water level in the Auction Avenue "wet well" continued to rise until January 1, 1928, even though the pumpage was 

increasing. This may be explained as due to the fact that the flow 

from the river into the upper Wilcox continued after the river began 

to fall; or it may be explained as a lag in the elastic recovery of the 

Wilcox formations. The fact that at times the river level is much 

higher or much lower than the static level in the Auction Avenue 

"wet well" indicates that any connection that may exist must be very 

tortuous and of low permeability and small capacity.

Chester & Fleming found a relation between the distribution of the 

concentrations of alkalinity of water from the upper Wilcox and the 

Mississippi River. Their map of areas of equal alkalinity (pi. 13) 

shows that these areas have a relation to the Wolf River and Nonconnah Creek as well as to the Mississippi River. The minimum

*> Thompson, D. Q., Ground-water supplies of the Atlantic City region: New Jersey Dept. Conservation and Development Bull. 30, p. 93,1928.

1° Meinzer, O. E., Compressibility and elasticity of artesian aquifers: Econ. Geology, vol. 22, pp. 263-291, 

1928. k,m .
MEMPHIS 311

alkalinity corresponds to the average of 60 parts per million for the 

waters of the upper Wilcox. The maximum is 110 parts per million. 

The average alkalinity of the Mississippi River water is 129 parts per 

million, and the alkalinity for the late winter and spring, when the 

river is high, is 100 parts per million.

In order to verify the conclusions of Chester & Fleming samples for 

partial analyses were collected from wells throughout Memphis in the 

summer of 1918 and again in August, 1930. A discussion of the results 

is given on page 285. The conclusion was reached that though water 

of high bicarbonate content had gained access to the Wilcox formations it could not be definitely proved that such flow had not taken 

place through old leaky wells. The consistent higher bicarbonate 

content of water from all wells adjacent to the river indicated, however, that a small quantity of water from the Mississippi River had 

entered the upper Wilcox.

INDEX

A Page"

Abstract- . . - 1-2 

Acacia Development Co., log of well of.. 231 

Ackerman formation, artesian conditions in.. 43

occurrence and water-bearing properties

of . . . - 89-91

physical properties of sands from wells in. 90-91

quantity of water in, at Memphis..... 309-310

Acknowledgments for aid_.. . . 8-4 

Adamsville, water supply of...__.. 230 

Agriculture._____________.. 9 

Alamo, water supply of__......___ .- 135-136

Alien, water supply of ... 185 

Alluvium, analyses of water from__....... 113

deposits of, occurrence and water-bearing

properties of.__..___. 112-113 

Aluminum, occurrence of, in natural waters.. 47 

Arlington, logs of wells at______ .. 248

water supply of._________.. 247 

Arnheim limestone, occurrence and waterbearing character of..._ 69 

Arp, water supply of..._ __ 213 

Artesian conditions__________ 42-43 

Ashport, log of boring at_______ 211

water supply of__________. . 213 

Atoka, water supply of._____............. 255

Atwood, water supply of.._____ 122 

Augers for boring wells, features of..». 61-52

B

Bailers, method of constructing wells by

means of _________ 52-53 

Barttett, log of well at__._____....... 247

water supply of . . . . 247 

Baskins Drilling Association, log of well of- - 160 

Bath Springs, water supply of _ 141-142 

Bear Branch limestone member of Olive Hill 

formation, occurrence and waterbearing character of_____ 64 

Beech Bluffs, water supply of.____ .. 222 

Beech River shaly limestone member of 

Brownsport formation, occurrence and water-bearing character 

of _ . 62 

Bemis, logs of wells at __________ 222 

water supply of_______________ 222 

Benton County, analyses of waters from..... 120 

geography of _______________ 113 

geology of. ..--.--.__ -___ 113-114 

ground water in. ___ _____ ___ 114-115 

local water supplies in________ 115-116 

records of wells in...__._______ 117-119 

Bethel Springs, water supply of.__-.,. 230 

Big Sandy, public water supply of___..... 115

119722 33 21

Page 

Birdsong shale, occurrence and water-bearing

character of.... a......_. 6*

Blytheville, Ark., log of weH at_.._.__ 213 

Bob crystalline limestone member of Brownsport formation, occurrence, and 

water-bearing character of....... 62

Bogota, water supply of. ....._... 149

Bolivar, analysis of water from_______ 287

Bolivar, log of city well of..*__._____. 170

rainfall at. ....... pis. 14,15

water supply of ....___ 169-170

Bored wells, construction of.._______. 51 

Braden, water supply of ______. ___. 155 

Bradford, water supply of..__.............. 161

Brassfleld limestone, occurrence and waterbearing character of.....___i 60

Brighton, water supply of.____*_...._ 25S

Brownsport formation, occurrence and waterbearing character of_.......__. 61-62

Brownsville, logs of wells in and near...... 185-186

water supply of_____.__^..... 185-186

Bruceton, water supply of...__.........._ 122

Buchanan, water supply of . ._........ 201

Buena Vista, water supply of...___«_... 122

Cades, water supply of. _____._____, 161 

Calcium, occurrence of, in natural waters.... 44

Camden, public water supply of_._._. 116

Camden chert, analyses of waters from* _.. 66

gravel pit in...___________...... pi. 8

occurrence and water-bearing character

of .... ,...t.. 66-66

Capleville, log of well at. ............. 248

water supply of...___________. 248 

Carbonate, occurrence of, in natural waters.. 45 

Carbon dioxide, occurrence of, in ground

waters_ ___________ 48 

removal of, from solution in water___ 50 

Carboniferous rocks, occurrence and waterbearing character of_______ 67 

Carroll, water, supply of... _..._. 222 

Carroll County, analyses of waters from__ 130 

early stages of erosion in..__...___. pi. 4 

geography of.._..__ ___.__. 120 

geology of.________________ 120-121 

local water supplies of..________ 122-124 

records of wells in...___._____ 125-129 

water resources of___________. 121-122 

Cashtown, log of oil test well at..._.__ 215-238 

Cedar Chapel,.water supply of-.______ 171 

Cenozoic rocks, occurrence and water-bearing

properties of__________ 86-11*

313
314 INDEX

Page

Chambers, water supply of_________ 230 

Chester County, analyses of waters from__ 134 

geography of-_______________ 130 

geology of . -.-...__.__ 130-131 

local water supplies of-._______ 131-132 

records of wells in._______ ____.. 133 

water resources of.____________ 131 

Clayton formation, occurrence and waterbearing properties of- _ _____ 87-88 

Charleston, water supply of..________ 255 

Chattanooga shale, occurrence and waterbearing character of._______ 67 

Chemical analyses of ground water, expression of results of-.,_______- tn 

Chemical character of natural waters____ 43-49 

Cherts, water in________________ 33 

Chestnut Bluff, water supply of. ______ 136 

Chewalla, water supply of__________ 230 

Chloride, occurrence of, in natural waters_ 46 

Clarksburg, water supply of._______.. 122 

Claybrook, water supply of_________ 223 

Climate..._.....__...................... 11-16

Coffee sand member of Eutaw formation,

lithologic character of______ 72 

Collierville, log of well at____....___ 248

water supply of______________ 248 

Colwick, water supply of__________ 142 

Coon Creek tongue of Ripley formation,

lithologic character of.______ 78-79 

water-bearing properties of _______ 84 

Cordova, water supply of__________ 248 

Cornersville, water supply of ________ 207 

Cottage Grove, log of well at. ________ 201 

water supply of______________ 201 

Covington, water supply of._________ 255 

Cretaceous formations, occurrence and waterbearing character of- -_ ____ 69-86 

regional dip of______________ 26-29 

water in relatively uneonsolidated___ 33-40 

Cretaceous time, events of_ ________ 23 

Crockett County, analyses of waters from... 139 

geography of _______________ 134 

geology of -.__________ 135 

local water supplies ot. ________ 135-136 

records of wells in.-._________ 137-138 

water resources of. ____________ 135 

Curve, log of well at_____________ 214 

water supply of_____________ 213-214 

Cypress, section of Kipley formation near_ 80

D

Dancyville, water supply of..________ 187 

Darden, water supply of.___________ 194 

Deanburg, water supply of...________ 131 

Deeatur County, analyses of waters from__ 147 

geography of ______________ 139 

geology of.....__....._....__... 138-141 

local water supplies of..._______ 141-142 

records of wells in. ___________ 143-146 

water resources of..___________ 141 

Decatur limestone, occurrence and waterbearing character of..______ 62 

Deeaturville, water supply of.________ 142 

Decaturville chert, occurrence and waterbearing character of.-______ 64-65

Page

Denmark, water supply of_ __ - 223 

DeSoto Oil Co., log of well of._ .._. 249 

Detroit, water supply of______-_____ 255 

Development of the area.... 8-10

Devonian or Carboniferous rocks, occurrence

and water-bearing character of . 67 

Devonian rocks, occurrence and water-bearing

character of__..... 63-67

Dixon earthy limestone member of Wayne 

formation, occurrence and waterbearing character of.._____ 61 

Double Bridges, water supply of_-.. .. 214 

Dry Hill, water supply of._________ 214 

Dresden, water supply of.- 261 

Driven wells, construction of. . 53 

Drummond, water supply of _____- 255 

Dug wells, construction of. 50-51 

Dukedom, water supply of..- 261 

Dunbar, C. O., quoted.___________ 25-26 

Durhamville, log of well at..____.- .. 214 

water supply of._ __ . 214 

Dyer, analysis of water from_.__....... 287

water supply of._ 161

Dyer County, analyses of waters from..._, 154

geography of . 147

geology of_ . -..- 147-148

local water supplies of... 149-151

records of wells in_ 152-153

water resources of.__- 148

Dyersburg, water supply of-_ 149

Dyersburg Water Department, log of well

of.- - 149

E 

Eads, log of well at._..____... .... 249

water supply of 248 

Eaton, water supply of 161 

Edith, log of well at__ . -. 214 

water supply of._ . .. 214 

Elbridge, water supply of _____ . 239 

Enville, water supply of- 131 

Eocene rocks, occurrence and water-bearing

properties of.-_______... 86-108

Eocene time, events of . 23-24

Eocene to Recent time, events of.. 24-25

Eutaw formation, analyses of waters of... 74

distribution and thickness of.._ - 71

general features of.-. -- 70

lithologic character of. ... 71-73

quality of water in.. ... 73-74

water-bearing properties of_- - 73

Eutaw sand, artesian conditions in.------ 42, pi. 5

Eva, water supply of__.__ - 116

Farrar, D. F., chemical analyses by..-- 66, 

120, 130, 134, 139, 154, 159, 167, 175, 

192, 199, 206, 210, 228, 244, 254, 260, 

267,287

Fayette County, analyses of waters from 159 

geography of..-.- .= 154 

geology of..______------ 155

local water supplies of... <. 155-156 

records of wells in.- ..- 157-158 

water resources of...________ 155
INDEX 315

Ferguson farm, log of well on________ 150 

Fernvale formation, occurrence and waterbearing character of __.__ 60 

Finger, water supply of 230 

Finley, water supply of_._ _ 150 

Five Point, water supply of _________ 223 

Flat Gap limestone member of Olive Hill 

formation, occurrence and waterbearing character of..._ _ 64 

Forest Hills, water supply of __. __ _ 249 

Forked Deer, log of well at..________ 187 

water supply of._ . 187 

Fort Payne chert, occurrence and waterbearing character of..__ _ 68-69 

Foster, Margaret D., chemical analyses by.. 66, 

120, 130, 134, 139, 147, 154, 159, 167, 175, 

184, 192, 206, 220, 233, 244, 254, 267, 

286,287

Friendship, water supply of... .... 136 

Friendship Light & Power Co., log of well of- 136 

Fulton, Ky., water supply of_____ _ 239 

Fulton, Tenn., water supply of_______ 214

G

Gadsden, water supply of-.__.__ ... 136 

Gainesville, water supply of 255-256 

Galloway, water supply of_ _. 155 

Gardner, water supply of___ ~ __ 261 

Gates, water supply of. _ .. 215 

Geography________________._ 6-16 

Geologic formations, generalized section of.. 18-21 

Geologic history_______________ 22 

Geologic map of western Tennessee.. 4-5, pi. l

(in pocket)

Geologic structure .. _ 25-30 

Geology . 16-30

Gennantown, log of well at.. ___.__ 249 

water supply of_ __...._____ 249

Gibson County, analyses of waters from__ 167 

geography of .. . 159 

geology of....... ...__ 159-161

local water supplies of__.____... 161-162 

records of wells in_.___.___... 163-166 

water resources of_.__ .... _. 161

Giltedge, water supply of.__________ 256 

Glass, water supply of_________ ___ 239 

Glimp, log of well at ... _ 215 

water supply of__________. _. 215 

Grand Junction, water supply of ______ 171 

Gravel Hill, water supply of_________ 230 

Greenfleld, water supply of._________ 261 

Grenada formation, occurrence and waterbearing character of._______ 94-95 

Ground water, developments of, in western

Tennessee..-.__________ 57-58

quality of... . .__._.. ... 43-50

relation of, to geologic structure.____ 41-42

to land forms.. __________ 40-41

source and occurrence of _ ______ 30

Guys, water supply of. __________ 230

H

Halls, water supply of __. _______ 215 

Hardeman County, advanced stages of erosion in_______.______ pi. 4 

analyses of waters from_________ 175

Page 

Hardeman County Continued.

geography of... - 167-168 

geology of_.._. .. . ... 168-169 

local water supplies of._ _ 169-172 

records of wells in. 173-174 

sand pit in..... .._ ... pi. 9

water resources of. . 169 

Hardln County, analyses of waters from. 184 

geography of._. . 175-176 

geology of_____._ ... 176-177 

local water supplies of... 178 

records of wells hi.. 179-183

water resources of 177-178 

Hardness of water _ _ 48 

Harriman chert, occurrence and water-bearing

character of__ _ .. 65 

Haywood County, analyses of waters from.. 192 

geography of.__ . . 184 

geology of____ . ... ... 184-185 

local water supplies of_ _ ... 185-188 

records of wells in-.... -- 189-191

water resources of 185

Hazel, water supply of .. . 201

Henderson County, analyses of waters from. 199

geography of._ . 192

geology of..-. . ... 192-193

local water supplies of.... ._. 194-196

records of wells in... . 197-198 

water resources of _ i 193-194 

Henderson, water supply of __ 131-132 

Henning, log of well near._... 215 

water supply of. 215 

Henry County, analyses of waters from 206 

clay pit in..._ ... pi. 9 

geography of___ .. __ 199 

geology of ___. _. __ 199-200 

local water supplies of... ..__ 201-202 

records of wells to_ ___.. ___ 203-205 

water resources of. . .. 200 

Hermitage formation, occurrence and waterbearing character of.__ . 59 

Hickory Valley, water supply of___ 171 

Hickory Withe, water supply of___. __ 155-156 

Hillville, water supply of.......___ ._ 187

Hinson Springs, water supply of... 194 

Holladay, water supply of. .. 116 

Hollow Rock, water supply of __ .. 122 

Holly Springs Church, section of Ripley formation east of.-. __ 80 

Holly Springs sand, clay conglomerate in,

Hardeman County____._ pi. 6

distribution and thickness of..__.__. 91-92

lithologic character of___.__ 92-94

Hornbeak, water supply of._.___.-_-- 239

Hornsby, water supply of......______. 171

Humboldt, water supply of_____.._ 161-162 

Hunter farm, log of well on. 28-29

Huntersville, water supply of... . 223 

Huntingdon, water supply of 122-123 

Huron, water supply of_ .... 194

Hydraulic gradient at Memphis.. 308 

Hydrogen sulphide, occurrence of, in natural

waters_ 48
316 INDEX

I Page

Illinois Central Kailroad, logs of wells of. _ 214,240 

Index map of Tennessee showing areas covered by ground-water reports__ pi. 3 

Industries___________________ 9 

Investigation, purpose and scope of_____ 2 

Investigations, previous___________ 3 

Iron, occurrence of, in natural waters____ 46-47 

removal of, from solution in water. ___ 49

Jacks Creek, water supply of ___ _____ 132 

Jackson, logs of wells at and near _____ 221,223 

water supply of____________ 223-224 

Jackson formation, distribution and thickness

of..........____........... 106-107

lithologic character of__________ 107 

quality of water of___________ 107-108 

Jeanette, water supply of.__________ 142 

Jetting process, method of constructing wells

by... ...._.................. 53

Johnson Refining Co., log of well of _____ 123 

Jones, water supply of..___________ 187 

Juno, water supply of._________ __ 194

Keeling, water supply of.._________ 187

Kenton, water supply of___________ 239

Kerrville, log of well at ____________ 249

water supply of______________ 249

Laconia, water supply of._______,__ 156

La Grange, section at______"...____ 94

water supply of._.____________ 156

Lake, F. W., quoted-___. ............. 55-56

Lake County, analyses of water from____ 210 

geography of.._ ___________ 206 

geology of_ __ _________ 206-207 

local water supplies of_________ 207-208 

records of wells in _ ____________ 209 

water resources of.._______.. 207

Lauderdale County, analyses of waters

from......._................. 220,287

geography of. ._ ___________ 210 

geology of.____..___________ 210-213 

local water supplies of_________ 213-216 

records of wells in. _________.. 217-219 

water resources of..-_____..___ 213 

Laurel limestone member of Wayne formation, occurrence and water-bearing character of ____,. _ 61 

Lavina, water supply of._____..___ 123 

Law, water supply of __________ 194 

Leapwood, water supply of_____,___ 230 

Lego limestone member of Wayne formation, 

occurrence and water-bearing 

character of_______ . __ 61 

Leigh Chapel, water supply of____-_. 256 

Lenox, log of well at_____________ 150 

water supply of_ .._______.. 150 

Lexington, logs of wells at..______.__ 194-195 

water supply of_____________ 194-195 

Life, water supply of._____________ 195

Limestones, occurrence of water in_____ 32 

quality of water in____________ 62-63 

Lobelville shaly limestone member of Brownsport formation, occurrence and 

water-bearing character of. __.. 62 

Locke, water supply of. _____.____.. 249 

Louisville & Nashville Railroad, logs of wells

of... -, . 124,201,202 

Love, S. K., chemical analyses, by_, __ 287 

Lowryville, water supply of.________ 178 

Lumbering. .-...__._______ .. 9 

Lundie, John, quoted- ________,__ 268-269 

Luray, analysis of water from ....... 287

water supply of ,._ .. 195

M

Mack, log of well near . , ., . 216

water supply of , 216

Macon, water supply of. .... . ... 156

Madison County, analyses of waters from 228

geography of.' 220

geology of_______-- __ 220-221

local water supplies of.. ____ 222-224

records of wells in_____..__..,_ 225-227

water resources of. ,. ... 221-222

Magnesium, occurrence, of, in natural waters. 44

Malesus, water supply of., 224

ManleyviUe, water supply of - 201

Mansfield, water supply of. _.. 201

Mantel, F. A., chemical analyses by__ 287

Martel, E. A., quoted__ ..__ 31

Martin, water supply of. . . .. 261^262

Mason, log of well at 256

water supply of. , 256

McKenzie, water supply of . 123-124

McLemoresville, water supply of. 124

McNairy, water supply of ... . 23G

McNairy County, analyses of waters from... 233

geography of . 228

geology of....._.__ . , . 228-229

local water supplies of . ... 230-231

records of wells in,.... ,... 232

water resources of___ 229-230

McNairy sand member of Kipley formation,

lithologic character of. 79-81 

quality of water of.__..... . 85-86 

water-bearing properties of... . 84 

Mechanical analysis of samples of granular

materials__...._.....__.. 38-39 

Mechanical analysis of sands of the Ripley

formation___ 83 

Medina, water supply of 162 

Medon, water supply of 224 

Memphis, altitudes of water levels, in wells

in.______________ pis. 14.15 

analyses of waters from.--__-___ 286,287 

geologic formations in. 279-284 

head of ground water at 288-295 

history of artesian water development

at___.... _.____ 268-272

map of, showing areas of equal alkalinity- pi. 13

showing location of wells pi. 11

original statio level in wells at,.. 295
INDEX 317

Page 

Memphis Continned.

private well supplies in.... __... 272-278

quantity of ground water available at.... 205

factors that determine . 305-308 

rate of rise of water level in wells in_... pi. 16 

records of drilled wells in_______ 273-278 

seasonal fluctuation of head in wells at.288-294 

sections through _ __~ pi. 12 

water supply of____________ 267-311 

Memphis Artesian Water Department, logs

of wells of. - .... 100,103,280,284

records of wells of_____ ..____ 271

Memphis Water Department, log of well of. 281-282

Mercer, log of well at 224

water supply of.... ... 224

Mesozoic rocks, occurrence and water-bearing character of___ ____ 69-86 

Middleburg, water supply of _______ 171-172 

Middleton, water supply of_________ 172 

"Middleton formation," correlation of_ 86-87 

Midway group, occurrence and water-bearing

properties of rocks of ______ - 86-89 

Mifflin, water supply of___________ 132 

Milan, water supply of._________,_ 162 

Milledgeville, water supply of. ...__. 230 

Millington, analysis of water from...___. 287 

water supply of______________ 250 

Minerals of the area , 10 

Mississippi River, altitudes of, at Memphis.pls. 14,

15 

analyses of water from....... ____. 113

relation of, to water in Wilcox group_ 310-311 

Mississippian rocks, occurrence and waterbearing character of __-. 67-68 

Mitchie, water supply of ___ ____. 230 

Montezuma, water supply of.________ 132 

Morris Chapel, water supply of_______ 178 

Moscow, water supply of __________ 156 

Mullins, water supply of___,_______ 250 

Munford, water supply of..._ .... 256

N

Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway,

logs of wells of... ........... 123,195

Neelys, water supply of.__________ 224

Newbern, logs of wells at and near____ 150,151

water supply of____________ 150-151

Nitrate, occurrence of, to natural waters__ 46

O

Oakville, log of well at... ..........._ 250

water supply of______________ 250

Obion, log of well at_____________ 239 

water supply of.______________ 239

Obion County, analyses of waters of____ 244 

geography of..___ ____ 233-234 

geology of _ ______________ 234-238 

local water supplies of _________ 239-240 

records of wells in ___________ 241-243 

water resources of.___________ 238-239

Olive Hill, water supply of _________ 178

Olive Hill formation, occurrence and waterbearing character of_______ 64

Ordovician rocks, occurrence and water-bearing character of_. _______ 59-60

Page 

Orysa, log of well at........ .... 216

water supply of.___ __ 216 

Osgood earthy limestone member of Wayne 

formation, occurrence and waterbearing chaiacter of..__ 61 

Owl Creek tongue of Ripley formation,

lithologic character of.___, 81 

quality of water of. ,-.-. 85-86 

water-bearing properties of..__ 84

Paleozoic rocks, folding of_....___ 25-26 

occurrence and water-bearing character

of.-..... . 59-69

water in consolidated. - 30-38 

Paleozoic time, events of _ _ 22-23 

Palmersville, water supply of...._.- 262 

Paris, logsof wells at......... _ 201-202

water supply of.._ . - 201-202 

Parsons, water supply of.... . . 142 

Pattersonfarm, log of well on.. _.. 27-28 

Pegram limestone, occurrence and waterbearing character of.._--- 67 

Permeability of granular deposits. 37-38 

Perryville, water supply of .-_.. 142 

Phillippy, water supply of-.- 207 

Pinetop, water supply of 172 

Pinson, water supply of 224 

Piper, A. M., quoted _.. 35-36 

Pittsburg Landing, water supply of. _ 178 

Pleistocene loam, occurrence and waterbearing properties of 111-112 

Pleistocene loess, occurrence and waterbearing properties of... 1H 

Pliocene gravel, distribution and "thickness

of___....... _ . 108-109

lithologic character of 109

quality of water of... . 109-110 

Pocahontas, water supply of 172 

Porosity of granular material- __ 33-36 

Porters Creek clay, exposure of. pi. 6

occurrence and water-bearing properties

of...__._....._.___.__ 88-S9 

Potassium, occurrence of, in natural waters 44 

Proctor City, logofweUat.--.. .__ 207 

Pumpage, general features of, at Memphis.. 295-299

relation of, to regional drawdown at

Memphis. - 299-305 

Punched wells, construction of __ 52, pi. 7 

Purdy, water supply of...-. __ 231 

Puryear, water supply of.. _. 203 

Pyburns, water supply of - 178

Q

Quail limestone, occurrence and waterbearing character of . 65

Quaternary deposits, occurrence and character of . 111-113 

water in relatively unconsolidated... 33-40

Quito, water supply of... _ -- 256

R

Raines, water supply of... . 250 

Rainfall... . 11-15
318 INDEX

Page

Earner, water supply of___________ 231 

Randolph, Haywood County, water supply

of...._.......______.__ 187

Tipton County, water supply of____- 256 

Reelfoot Dome Oil Co., log of well of___. 207 

Began, log of well at_____________ 195 

water supply of______________ 195 

Resources of western Tennessee_______ 10-11 

Rialto, water supply of___________ 256 

Eidgely, water supply of.__________ 208 

Bidgetop shale, occurrence and water-bearing

character of___________ 67-68 

Eidgeway, log of well at___________ 250 

water supply of______________ 250 

Ripley formation, artesian conditions in__. 42 

distribution and thickness of.._____ 76-78 

lithologic character of__________. 78-81 

physical properties of sands of______ 81-84 

quality of water of____________ 85-86 

sections of __________________ 80 

water-bearing properties of _.______ 84-85 

Ripley, water supply of.-_....______ 216 

Rives, log of well at._____________ 240 

water supply of______________ 240 

Rockhouse shale, occurrence and water-bearing character of_________. 63 

Rogers Springs, water supply of- _____ _ 172 

Rosemark, water supply of. ___._____ 250 

Ross limestone member of Olive Hill formation, occurrence and water-bearing character of__________ 64 

Rossville, water supply of._________. 156 

Routes of communication__________ 9-10 

Rutherford, water supply of_________ 162

S

St. Louis limestone, occurrence and waterbearing character of_______ 69 

Saltillo, water supply of..__________ 178 

Sampling of granular deposits, problems of. . 39-40 

Sardis, water supply of____________ 195 

Saulsbury, water supply of._.._____. 172 

Savannah, water supply of...________ 178 

ScottsHiU, log of well at.... .... ... 196 

water supply of._.________ 142,195-196 

Screens, use of, in wells ending in loose sand- 54-57 

Sections across western Tennessee, southeastern Missouri, and northeastern Arkansas..________ pi. 5 

Selma clay, occurrence and character of_.. 75-76. 

water-bearing properties of..______- 76 

Selmer, logs of wells at____________ 231 

water supply of._____________ 231 

Shady Hill, log of well near.....--__..__ 196 

water supply of__ __________ 196 

Shales, water in..______________ 32 

Shandy, water supply of___________ 172 

Sharon, water supply of.___________ 262 

Shelby County, analyses of waters of.___ 254 

geography of________________ 244 

geology of.________________ 245 

local water supplies of. ________ 247-250 

loess and Pliocene gravel and sand in railroad cut in..___________. 10 

records of wells in..._________ 251-253 

water resources of......________ 246

Page 

Shepards, log of well at____________ 187

water supply of. 187 

Silerton, water supply of . . 172 

Silica, occurrence of, in natural waters __ 47 

Silurian rocks, occurrence and water-bearing

character of___________ 60-63 

Slumping____________________ 29-30 

Sodium, occurrence of, in natural waters_ 44-45 

Solid rocks, openings in..________ 30-32 

Southern Utilities Co., log of well of____ 208 

Spring Creek, water supply of. ____ . 224 

Springville, water supply of.._______ 202 

Stanton, logs of wells at and near______ 188

water supply of . 187-188 

Somerville, log of waterworks well of. 156

water supply of....._______ 15ft 

Specific yield and specific retention of water

in unconsolidated materials 36-37 

Spring Creek Development Co., log of well of. 76-78 

Stantonville, water supply of. ___ 231 

Stratigraphy, summary of . 16-21 

Sugartree, water supply of_______.. 142 

Sulphate, occurrence of, in natural waters. -. 45 

Surface features._________..--- 6-8 

Surface warping 29 

Suspended matter, occurrence of, in natural

waters_ 44 

Swallow Bluffs, water supply of.. 142

T

Tabernacle, water supply of__ 256 

Teague, water supply of. 172 

Temperature.. 1ft 

Tennessee Property Co., log of well of 122 

Tertiary beds, occurrence and water-bearing

properties of_ . ... 86-110 

regional dip of __ . .... 26-29

water in relatively unconsolidated- . 33-40 

Thiem's method for determining permeability-... ........ ............ 306

Tigrett, water supply of-...-- 151

Timber, resources of______ - 11

Tipton, water supply of. - 256

Tipton County, analyses of waters from 260

geography of. ... 254

geology of..... 254

local water supplies of____.__... 255-256

records of wells in_________... 257-259

water resources of_.-- 254-255

Tiptonville, water supply of. 208

Tombigbee sand member of Eutaw formation,

occurrence and character of. 70

Toone, water supply of.. 172

Trenton, log of city well of.. 162

water supply of . 162

Trezevant, water supply of 124

Trimble, log of well near__.. 151

water suppy of.... 151

Troy, water supply of...- ... 240 

Turbidity, occurrence of, in natural waters.. 43-44 

Tuscaloosa formation, occurrence and waterbearing character of. 69-70

Union City, log of well at waterworks of 240

water supply of__... 240

Uptonville, water supply of__ 224

Utilization of ground water. 50-58
INDEX 319

V Page 

Veatch, A. C., quoted______ _ . 53 

Vildo, water supply of. 172

W

Wade, Brace, quoted___________. 79

Waldron clay member of Wayne formation, 

occurrence and water-bearing 

character of__________... 61 

Water-bearing formations, occurrence and

character of___________ 58-69 

Wayne -formation, occurrence and waterbearing character of___. 60-61 

Weakley County, analyses of waters from_ 267 

erosion of clay lens in_________... pi. 4 

geography of_ ..____.__.. 260 

geology of_______________. 260-261 

local water supplies of _________ 261-262 

records of wells in. ___________ 263-266 

water resources of.____________ 261 

Well-drilling apparatus used in western

Tennessee_________.__ pi. 7

Wells, construction of.____________ 50-54

location of..... ., 5-6, pis. 2 (in pocket), 11

Western State Hospital, log of'well of..__.. 171

West Tennessee Power & Light Co., logs of

wells of...____________ 132

Whiteville, water supply of._______ 172 

Wilcox group, mechanical analyses of sands

of-.. . 98-99,101,102-103,104 

occurrence and water-bearing properties

of rocks of...___ .. _- 89-106 

permeability of beds of.....___ 305-308 

physical properties of sands of ____ - 95-105 

quality of water in beds of 106 

relation of Mississippi River to water

in.,.. .. .. 310-311 

thickness and character of upper and

middle beds of 305

water-yielding properties of beds of 105-106

Wildersville, water supply of._ ___ 196

Woodstock, water supply of _____ 250

Yorkville, water supply of ..... 162 

Yuma, water supply of 124

Zach, water supply of , ., 116

o