IRRIGATION REPORTS. 

The following list contains the titles and brief descriptions of the principal reports 

relating to water supply and irrigation prepared by the United States Geological 

Survey since 1890: 

1S90. 

i<'irst Annual Report of the United States Irrigation Survey, 1890, octavo, 123 pp. 

Printed as Part II, Irrigation, of tho Tenth Annual Report of the United Slates Geological Sun•ey, 1888-89. Contains a statement of the origin of the Irrigation Survey, a preliminary 

report on the organization and proserution of the survey of the arid lands for purposes of irrigation, and report of work done during 1800. 

1S91. 

Second Annual Report of the United States Irrigation Survey, 1S91, octavo, 395 pp. 

Published as Part II, Irrigation, of the Eleventh Annual Repnrt of the United States Geolog- ical Survey, 1889-90. Contains a description of the hydrography of the arid region and of the 

engineering operations carried on by the Irrigation Survey during 1890; also the statement of 

the Director ot' the Survey to the House Uomruittee on Irrigation, a.ncl other papers, including a bibliography of irrigation literature. Illustrated by 29 plates and 4 figures. 

Third Annual Report of the United States Irrigation Suney, 1891, octavo, 576 pp. 

Printed as Part II of the Twelfth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1890-91. Contains a report npon the locatic.n and survey of reservoir sites during the fiscal 

year ending June 30, 1891, by A. H. Thompson; "Hydrography of the arid regions,'' by F. H. 

Newell; ''Irrigation in India," by Herbert M. ·wnson. Illustrated by93 plates and 190 ligures. 

Bulletins of the Eleventh Census of the United States upon irrigation, prepared 

by F. H. Newell, quarto. 

No. 35, Irrigation in Arizona; No. 60, Irrigation in New Mexico; No. 85, Irrigation in Utah; No. 107, Irrigation in Wyoming; 1\o. 153, Irrigation in Montana; 

No. 157, Irrigation in Idaho; No. 163, Irrigation in Nevada; No. 178, Irrigation 

in Oregon; No. 193, Artesian wells for irrigation; Ko. 198, Irrigation iu Washington. 

189~. 

Irrigation of western United States, by F. H. Newell; extra census bulletin Ko. 23, 

September 9, 1892, quarto, 22 pp. 

Contains tabulations showing the total number, average size, etc., of irrigated holdinl?s, the total area an<l average size of irrigated farms in the subbumid regions, the percentn~e ol num. her of farms irrigated, character of crops, value of irrigated lands, the average cost of urigution, the investment and profits, together with a r6sum6 of the water supply and a description of irrigation by artesian wells. Illustrated by colored maps showing the location and relative extent of the irrigated areas. 

1S93. 

Thirteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1891-r2, Part III, 

Irrigation, 1893, octavo, 486 pp. 

Consists of three papers: Water supply for irrigation, by F. H. Newell; American engineering 

and engineering results of the Irrigation Survey, by Herbert M. 1Yilson; Construction of topo- graphic maps and selection and survey of reservoir sites, by A. H. Thompson. Illustrated by 

77 plates and 119 figures. 

A geological reconnoissance in central Washington, by Israel Cook Russell, 1893, 

octavo, 108 pp., 15 plates. Bulletin No. 108 of the United States Geological 

Survey; price, 15 cents. 

Contains a description of the examination of the geologic structure in and adjacent to the 

drainage basin of Yakima River and the great plains of the Columbia to the east of this area, with special reference to the occurrence of artesian watero. 

(Continued on third page of cover.) 
DEP A.RTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

WATER-SUPPLY 

AND 

IRRIGATION PAPERS 

OF THE 

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

No .. 6 

\VASHINGTON 

GOVERN::.\IEN'I' PRINTING OFFICE 

1897 

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

CHARLES D. WALCOTT, DIRECTOR 

UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS 

BY 

ERASMUS HAWORTH 

WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1897 

CONTENTS. 

Letter of transmittal _ . __ . __ .. _ .. _ ................ _ ... _ .. _____ - __ .. - -.. -- . 

Introduction _ .. ___ . _______ . __ . _____ .. __ . _ . _____________ ... __ -....... ---- .. -. 

Source and disposition of water_ . __ . _ . __ . __ . ____ . _ . ______ ...... -. - . - - . 

Surface evaporation _ .... ______ . _. _________ . _. __ ... _ .. _. ______ . __ .----

Run-off _. __ . ____ .. __ . __ . ___ .. ______ . __ . _________ -____ . ___ -- __ . _ .. -.-.. 

Soil moisture _____ ... _ . _ ... __ .. ___ . ________ . _____ . ______________ - - - __ _ 

Available ground water ______ . __ . ___ . ___ . _. _. __ .. __ .. ____ . _____ .- . -----

Geologic conditions governing ground water_ .... ____ . _____ . ________ _ 

Locating ground water_. __ ._._ .. _________ . ___ .. __________ . __ . _ _ _ _ __ _ 

Geography of the area._ . __ . _. ________ . ________ ... _________ -. ------------. 

Physiography of the area_._. _____ .. _. ______ .. _. _ . __ -. _________ . __ ... _- __ _ 

General conditions __________ . __ . ______ . __ ... __ ... __ . ________ . __ . ___ ... 

Cimarron River Valley _____ . _ .... _ . _____ .. ___ .. _ ... ________ . - -... ~ __ . 

Crooked Creek Valley and fault_ . _ ... ___ . ___ .. _ _ _ _ . ___ . -. - __ -. -. - - _ .. 

Sand dunes. __ ._._ .. _ . __ ......... _ ... __ .. _ .. _. _. _ .. --.. -.--------------

Peculiar arroyo erosion_. _____ . _______ .__ _. __ . __ ... ____ --------.. ------ Geology of the area. __ . __ . ________ . _ . _. __ .. ___ .. _ . __ . ___________ . ___ - _____ _ 

Red Beds _____ . _________ .. _____________________ . - - . - -- -. -- ---- -- -. - - --

Dakota _ .... __ . ____ . _____ .. _________ . _ . __ . _ - . - _ - - - - -.. -- -. --- .. -- -. ---- -

Benton ___ .. ______ . _ .... ____ . _ . _·. ___ .. __ . __ ... _ c __ ••••• _ .•• ___ • _ •• _ • __ _ 

Tertiary ___________________________________________________ ---~------

Water supply of the area ___ . ______ ..... _ . ___ . _ .. _ .. _ . _ . _. ______ . _ .... ___ _ 

Dakota sandstone water. ___ .. __ . _______ . __ .. __ "" __ . __ . _______________ _ 

Character and occurrence of Dakota water_ ... _________ . _________ . 

Artesian properties of Dakota water __ . __ .. _ .. ______ . ___ . ____ ~ ____ _ 

How to find the Dakota sandstone_ .. ___________ .. __ .~ __ . ____ . ____ _ 

Tertiary ground water._______ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . __ . ___ . _________ . ____ .• ___ _ 

Depth of Tertiary ground water_. __________ . __ . __ . ___ "' ___ .. ______ . 

Level of Tertiary ground water ________ . _ .... __ . _____________ . ___ .. 

Meade County wells_ .... ____ ... ____ . __ . _________ . ___ . ___ . ___ . ____ _ 

Quantity of Tertiary ground water_ ______________________________ _ 

Difficulty of estimation ___ . ___ .. ______ .. _. _ ... ___ . ___ . __ . ____ _ 

Sources of Tertiary ground water ____ . _______ .. ______ . _______ . ___ _ 

Summary _ . ______ . _ . ____ . ____ . ___ . __ . _ . _ .. _ ... _ .. _ . _ . ___ . __ . _ .. __ .. _. 

Irrigation development ___ . _ . ___ . _____________ · ___________________________ ~ 

Index __ ••••.. _ .. _ ...... _ . ~ ••. _ ............. _ ..... ~ .•••••.•• _ ••.•... _____ . 

5 

Pa_ge. 

9 

11 

11 

11 

12 

14 

14 

15 

17 

19 

20 

20 

21 . 

22 

24 

25 

26 

27 

30 

31 

32 

37 

38 

39 

41 

42 

43 

43 

45 

48 

56 

56 

57 

62 

62 

65 

ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PLATE I. Geologic map of area covered by this report ____________ :. _______ _ 

II. View of Red Beds Bluff, capped with Tertiary, on Johnsons Creek, near Cash, Meade County, Kansas ____________________________ _ 

III. Tertiary bluff and spring-fed pool, Duck Creek, 5 miles north of 

Dodge, KanRas ______________________________ . ____ . -. -- __ --. --. 

IV. Geologic sections of the area discussed in this report. ___________ _ V. Map giving depth of ground water _______________ . ______________ _ 

VI. View of Marr's artesian well, Meade, Kansas _ _ _ _ . ___ . _________ _ 

VII. View of Vick's artesian well and reservoir, north of Meade, Kansas_ 

VIII. Head of irrigation ditch supplying the ''Crooked L " ranch, Meade 

County, Kansas. ______________________________ . ______________ _ 

IX. Windmill and reservoir at Garden, Kansas _________ . _______ . ___ . 

X. St. Jacob's well, Clark County, Kansas--------------------------

XI. Head of Perry irrigation canal, Cimarron River, near Englewood, Kansas .- . _ . ___ . __ . __________________ . ______ . _________________ . 

XII. Map of Clearmont ranch, near Englewood, Kansas, showing how 

water is drawn from the Cimarron and the principal laterals. __ 

FIG. 1. Diagrammatic section of hill at Lawrence, Kansas _______ .. ______ _ 

2. Reservoir and windmill pumping water from Dakota sandstone, 

about 18 miles south of Dodge, Kansas.---- ____ ..• ________ . __ ..• 

7 

Page. 

26 

28 

32 

42 

44 

50 

52 

54 

56 

60 

62 

40 

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, 

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, 

DIVISION OF HYDROGE,APHY, 

TVashington, April 9, 1897. 

SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith a paper entitled Underground Waters of Southwestern Kansas, by Erasmus Haworth, 

geologist of the University Geological Survey of Kansas, and to recommend that it be published as the sixth number of the series of 

Water-Supply and Irrigation Papers. 

The field work upon which this report is based was carried on by Professor Haworth during the summer of 1896 in connection with the investigations of the Division of Hydrography. Its object was to obtain 

detailed information concerning the amount and quality of the nuderground waters, in order to throw light upon the problems connected 

with the utilization of these in the development of agriculture upon 

the Great Plains. Although the investigations were of necessity confined to a somewhat limited area, the conclusions have a general 

value in showing the limitation to which .similar areas of the public 

domain are subject. 

Very respectfully, 

Hon. CHARLES D. WALCOTT, 

F. H. NKWELL, 

Hydrographer 1'n Charge. 

Di,rector United States Geological Su;n~ey. 

9 

UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHWESTERN 

KANSAS. 

By ERASMUS HAWORTH. 

INTRODUCTION. 

SOURCE AND DISPOSITION OF WATER. 

All terrestrial water comes primarily from the ocean, whence it is 

taken byevaporation. It may then be carried by the winds to the farthest portions of the dry-land areas and deposited on the surface of the 

ground, principally as rain, but partially as snow, mist, fog, or dew. 

No ground water available to man in any portion of our globe has had 

or can have any other ultimate source, whether we consider the wat'i:r 

near the surface or that more deeply buried. 

Water thus left upon the dry land deports itself in a variety of ways, 

dependent upon the different conditions under which it is placed. A 

large portion is evaporateddirectlyfrom the surface before it has had 

an opportunity to run off or to be absorbed by the soil or to penetrate 

to greater depths. Of that which is absorbed, large portions are 

ultimately dissipated by evaporation from growing vegetation. A second portion runs from the plains and hillsides down into the streams 

and rapidly returns to the ocean whence it came, while a smaller portion more gradually works its way into the same streams byseeps and 

springs and reaches the same destination. Other portions soak into 

the soil and ground and serve as a permanent supply of moisture in 

the soils and surface coverings; while still other but lesser parts sink 

below the surface soils and below the roots of vegetatiov, where they 

remain a constant source of available water existing in sufficient quantities to more than saturate the ground, and hence become available 

when drill or spade penetrates it. Each of these several methods of 

deportment is important to the student of hydrology, and may therefore briefly be considered here. 

SURFACE EVAPORATION. 

A large but varying proportion of the total rainfall is evaporated 

from the surface before it has had an opportunity to run off or to be 

absorbed by the ground. The proportion thus evaporated varies 

greatly in different parts of the world and under different conditions 

of season and tillage of the soil. The dry, hot winds, the scorching 

11 
12 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS. [~o.6. 

1·ays of sunshine, and often the hot soil Hself cause evaporation. 

Summer seasons and arid climates are most favorable for rapid evap-

<>ration. In countries where the rainfall is light, the climate warm, 

and the soil barren of vegetation the little rainfall that does occur is 

largely evaporated, but in the lowlands adjacent to large bodies of 

water in cool climates, where the precipitation is abundant, the evaporation is very light. The character of soil and soil covering also has 

a great influence upon the rate of evaporation. A mulch of any character whatever greatly retards the evaporating action. In cultivated 

fields a thin mulch of dust or of straw or other lit,ter has this retarding influence, making the condition of tilth an important factor in 

determining the extent of evaporation. 

RUN-OFF. 

The water which flows from the plains and hillsides down into the 

streams has been called the "run-off." The percentage of total pre-

-cipitation thus.disposed of depends upon a number of conditions, such 

as aridity of climate,. amount of moisture already in the soil, rapidity of precipitation,. and the general character of the ground upon 

which the precipitation falls. 

Other condHions being equal, the drier the soil the greater its 

absorptive powers. An ordinary rain falling upon a dry, cultivated 

field will be almost entirely absorbed; but if the ground is already 

-charged wit,h moisture nearly all the rain will run off the surface and 

be carried away through the ordinary drainage channels. The per 

cent of the total rainfall which joins the run-off in humid climates is 

therefore much greater than in arid climates unless other conditions 

modify the results. In general, therefo1·e, the proportion of the total 

rainfall which may be counted on for filling reservoirs in arid and 

semiarid climates is much less than in humid climates. 

The rapidity of precipitation is an important factor in the calculation of the relative percentages of rainfall and run-off. A mild rain 

continued through many hours will give but little run-off, while the 

same amount falling in a fourth or an eighth the time will give a 

greatly increased run-off. Unfortunately the climatic conditions are 

such in nearly all the ariel portions of the world that what little rain 

does fall comes in the form of hard, driving storms. On the Great 

Plains of America it is by no means unusual for a 2-inch rain to fall 

in as many hours, while instances are of yearly occurrence in which 

4 inehes or more falls within one hour. Under such conditions almost 

all the water runs off, except in the most sandy places. 

The most important of all the conditions named affecting the runoff is the eharacter of the ground upon which the water falls. A 

loose, porous soil will absorb a large portion of a rainfall, as will also 

a sanely soil, while a close, compact, soil sheds the greater part of it. 

Here the geologic conditions of a country become important. An 
HAWORTH.] RUN-OFF. 13 

area composed principally of a close-grai!led shale, and a soil resulting therefrom, which generally has a compact clay subsoil, has inferior 

.absorptive properties, while one composed principally of sandstone 

and sand will let but little water run away. 

The flood plains of rivers frequently have little power of absorption. 

In times of overflow a thin layer of a fine-grained sediment is deposited~ which is partially cemented by an organic mucilage produced by 

the decomposition of organic matter of one kind .or another. This 

material is almost entirely impervious to water, a thin layer of it 

being sufficient to prevent downward percolation, no maUer how sandy 

the soil is below. Illustrations of such conditions may be found in 

many places along t,he valleys of the Arkansas River, the Rio Grande, 

and other streams, particularly those which rise at high elevations 

and have a strong velocity throughout their. upper course and a low 

velocity farther downstream. 

In times of freshet the muddy water drawn from th.e streams into 

irrigation ditches always deposits a film of sediment over the bottom 

of the ditch, provided its fall is not, too great,. This fills the little 

spaces between the grains of sand in the soil and renders the ditch 

water-tight. Likewise, when suc.h a stream overflows its banks the 

muildy water deposits a corresponding film of fine mud over nearly 

the whole of the valley covered by t,he water, a filling-in process which, 

continued from century to century, forms an important part of the 

alluvial soils of the valley. Along the Arkansas Valley such an accumulation of silt has produced beds varying from 1 to (1 or more feet, 

in thickness, a covering that will scarcely let water pass through it 

until it is loosened by cultivation. 11he common method of making 

reservoirs in the valley is based upon the impermeability of the soil 

to water, and such reservoirs require much less puddling to make 

them water-tight than those in localities where more sand is present in 

the soil. 

Along the Rio Grande the well-known adobe soils are of the same 

general character. The adobe is a thin covering, generally from 1 to 

3 feet thick, along the river flood plain, resting upon a mass of sand 

or sandy soil. A pool of water in such an adobe soil will remain in 

place until evaporated; but should a hole be'made through the adobe 

covering into the sand below, the water will quickly sink. 

:Many of the upland areas in different parts of the 'Yorld were at 

one time the flood plains of rivers, and were more or less covered 

wit,h such fine sediments, and now constitute close-grained, compact 

soils, allowing but a small amount of water t,o penetrate them. 'Vind 

action, too, often helps to produce an impervious soil by blowing the 

finer part,ieles of dust, away from some localities and lodging them in 

others. Generally there is a compensating action here, for the 

coarser materials left behind form a covering with a high degree of 

absorptive power, and therefore decrease the amount of run.,off. 
14 UNDERGROUND WA'rERS OF SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS. [N0.6. 

SOIL MOISTURE. 

A portion of the rainfall is consumed in keeping the soil moist. 

The ground can yield no water unless a portion of it is more than 

moist. It is not the amount of wat.er a soil or stratum holds that is 

important, but the amount it will give up when penetrated. In 

recent years considerable work has been done in determining the 

capacity of different soils to hold moisture. This is an important 

investigation in connection with agriculture, and in calculating the 

percentage of run-off, but, in connection with the problem of available 

underground water supply it is of less value, because it does not 

show the proportion of water t.hat will be given up when the materials are punctured by the drill. In fact, the best character of 

ground for producing a good water supply is one which will not admit 

of a high percentage of soil moisture, but rather a soil that will 

readily yield i\lmost all its moisture to the general water reservoir 

below. A sandy soil or a loose, open sandstone will gather large 

quantities of water from the rainfall and pass it down to the reservoirs below, where it is held available, while a ~oil wit'h a greater 

capacity for holding moisture will yield less to the pump. 

AVAILABLE GROUND WATER. 

Throughout the humid regions of the world, with few exceptions, 

water can be found everywhere within a few feet of the surface, so that 

it is the common experience to obtain water for domestic uses by digging from 5 to 100 feet. This condition is so common that the masses 

of mankind throughout the humid areas of the world have come to 

look upon it as certain, and rarely give it any special consideration, 

and the industries and operations of civilized man are based upon a 

belief in the perpetual continuance of such condition. 

The available ground water in all localities and under all circumstances is the residue of t~he rainfall after the portions mentioned 

above-the evaporation, the run-off, and the soil moisture-have been 

deducted. Each of them must be supplied, in whole or in part, before 

any available ground water can exist. In many places there is an 

underground movement·, so that the available water under a given 

area may have fallen only in part as rain upon the surface at t~hat 

place; yet somewhere and sometime it must have fallen as rain, some 

· of which was evaporated, some carried off by the drainage, some held 

as soil moisture, and the remainder sunk below the surface, below the 

reach of growing plants, and held in an underground reservoir, inviting the spade or the drill t.o discover· it and the pump to lift it to the 

surface. But even yet the wastes are not satisfied, for portions of 

this underground water are carried by underground drainage to the 

surfaces of ravines and bluffs~ bursting forth as springs, and thus joining the general body of the run-off. 
HAWORTH.] GROUND WATER. 15 

GEOLOGIC CONDITIONS GOVERNING GROUND WATER. 

The stratified rocks of the earth are a heterogeneous mass of matter arranged in layers one above another. The strata are not coextensive with the surface of the earth, but some of them occur at one 

place and others at other places, each lapping under or over its neighbor, quite like shingles on a roof. Some of the strata are· composed 

of loo.se, porous material, such as sandstone or badly fractured limestone, so that water can readily pass through them. Others are formed 

from the accumulation of finer sediments, such as clay and the finest 

of silt, while still other parts of the earth are composed of the crystalline rocks, such as granite, porphyry, and syenite. No substance 

known forming a .constituent part of the earth is entirely impervious 

to water. The solid granite and the compact limestone and marble 

alike have moisture within them, commonly called "quarry sap," 

showing that water penetrates them. Compact, plastic clay is perhaps 

about as good a nonconductor of water as is known, while beds of sand 

and gravel are at the opposite extreme, allowing water to pass through 

them with relatively little resistance. The surface of the ground 

almo8t everywhere has a covering of residual soils, sands, and clays, 

varying from a few inches to many feet in thickness. This usually 

has high absorptive power for water, so that a large amount is received 

from the rains as they fall. 

When the surface water comes in contact with the porous strata it 

is absorbed and immediately begins moving downward, or as nearly in 

that direction as possible. Sooner or later it comes in contact with an 

impervious stratum below, and thereafter can only move laterally 

down the incline of that surface. The rapidity of motion will now 

depend principally upon two conditions-the angle of inclination of 

the impervious surface and the degree of porosity of the material 

through which the water moves. Should this be a mass of gravel or 

sand or porous sandstone, the motion will be sufficient to be easily 

detected, and somewhere farther down the water will reappear as 

springs or seeps, supplying the streams with "living" water. It 

matters not whether this porous stratum is on the surface of the 

ground in the form of a soil covering or whether it is deeply buried 

by impervious layers, the water movement within it will be practically the same. When the latter condition prevails and a sufficient 

head is produced, a well drilled through the upper and impervious 

layers allows the water to rise through the drill hole, and an artesian 

well results. Where the porous layer is on the surface, as is often 

the case on the Great Plains, no pressure or head can be produced, 

for the water is simply running down an inclined surface with nothing 

above to prevent it from rising, so that it would be comparable to 

water flowing down a wide open trough. 

A good illustration of this latter condition is found near the University of Kansas, at Lawrence. In 1893 the university authorities 
16 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS. [NO.6. 

decided to own their own water supply. An investigation was therefore made to ascertain whether a sufficient supply could be had within 

a reasonable distance of the buildings. It was found that on the south_ 

side of the hill a large amount, of clebris produced by the decomposition of the limestone and shales of the hill had accumulated on the 

hillside, and that it was well charged with w·ater. Fig. 1, drawn to· 

scale, shows the conditions. The hill is composed principally of a. 

fine-grained impervious shale, with a limestone mass (A) on top. At 

the boiler house, 300 feet south of ·the brow of the hill, the debris was 

found to be JO feet deep. A well dug here (B) during the driest part of 

a dry year showed that the amount of water was not very considerable. 

At points farther clown the hillside the water was more abundant. 

Finally, a large well was put clown at the point C, 1;000 feet south of 

the brow of the hill, and galleries about 6 feet in height were run both 

east and west, just on top of the undecomposed shale, to -intercept the 

FIG. I.-Diagrammatic section of bill at Lawrence, Kansas. 

water as it moved down the slope and drain it into the well. It was 

reasoned that this greater distance from the summit of the hill was 

necessary because the gathering area above the boiler house was so 

limited that an insufficient amount of water would be obtained at that 

point, but that with the added distance to where the well was finally 

located a gathering area of sufficient extent was passed, considering 

that the average rainfall at Lawrence is a little more than 35 inches 

annually. Southward the thickness of the debris gradually decreases, 

so that a mile away it is only an ordinary soil above the unclecomposed 

shale. 'Vere the debris a mass of coarse sand, similar to that so often 

found in the western part of the State, without doubt the water would 

soon all run down the hillside and appear as springs in many places; 

but the debris from a mass of shale is principally a clay, which lets the 

water through it very slowly, and therefore its southward movement 

is so slow that little reaches the extreme southern limit of the debris. 
HAWORTH. GROUND WATER. 17 

Yet in the vicinity of the well a water supply is found sufficient to 

produce 5,000 gallons a day almost all the year, and 10,000 in wet 

weather, an amount w~ich could be increased indefinitely by extending 

the east-west galleries. 

Here we have a good illustration of the underground water plane 

having a very concave surface facing upward. Instead of the water 

lying in the form of an underground lake, with a level surface, it is a 

·mass of water held in the clay in such a manner that its upper surface is nearly parallel with the highly inclined surface of t,he ground. 

We may speak of the clay within the body of water as being more 

than saturated, using the term saturated to mean holding a water 

content just equal to the largest amount the clay can hold without 

being compelled to give up a part of it whenever an opening is made 

into it. When the clay is in this condition and more water is added 

to it, this extra amount will run out into the opening made. 

As the well at the point C was being dug it was noticed that the 

clay was moist almost from the surface, but that no water came into 

the well until it had reached to within about 6 feet of the undecomposed shale. Here the point of saturation was reached, and any 

greater depth passed clay which was more than saturated, that is, 

had more water within it than it eoulu hold back from running into 

the well. This extra amount in excess of saturation is the available 

water in all cases. It is that which has an underground movement, 

and which is available in so many parts of the world as supply 

for man. 

In the area under consideration, in the western part of Kansas, we 

find conditions remarkably similar to those just described for Lawrence. We have a broad expanse of country on which rain falls, and 

has been falling since the close of Tertiary time, and possibly longer. 

The surface of the ground is usually well adapted for the absorption 

of large amounts of this rainfall. After absorption the water obeys 

the laws of gravity and moves downward, except such portions as 

are used by the gt·owing vegetation and for moistening the soil. The 

remainder continues downward until it meets with a stratum which 

is so nearly impervious that it is almost entirely arrested, after which 

it moves slowly along the upper surface of the impervious floor in a 

manner similar to the water in the clays at Lawrence. This floor 

lies at varying depths in different parts of the C-heat Plains area, 

sometimes so deep that the upper surface of saturation can not be 

reached within 200 feet, while at other places it comes entirely to the 

surface of the ground. -

LOCATING GROUND WATER. 

The ability to locate ground water is. a qualification desired by 

many and possessed by few who do not understand the principles 

governing ground-water movement. The "open sesame" of mythical times gave way to the wand of the wizard, an instrument still 

IRR 6--3 
18 UNDERGROUND WATERR OF SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS. [N0.6. 

employed in many parts of the civilized world, usually in the form of 

a forked twig from the bough of a tree, but occasionally a branch, 

forked or otherwise, from the bough of some particular tree or shrub. 

In a majority of cases, predictions in humid climates made. by the 

use of the wand prove to be correct unless impervious material is met 

with in digging, for the whole ground is mo~e or less saturated with 

water. 

As above stated, the 'vater which falls as rain or snow is partially 

absorbed by the surface materials and starts on its downward course 

under the influence of gravity. The laws governing its movements 

are identical with those which govern the movement of surface water. 

When impervious material is reached the water is arrested in its 

movements unless it can pass down an inclined plane, the surface of 

the impervious mass. If limestone or granite or other solid rock is 

reached, the water will follow the fissures in the rock, and will often 

ultimately be brought to the surface as springs along ravines and 

hillsides. 

The proper way of considering the matter is to look upon the 

whole of the subsurface part of the ground as containing available 

water except where impervious materials exist. If a heavy bed of 

shale is found which is close-grained and compact, it is useless to look 

for water within H. Many examples are met with in mining operations which illustrate this, a few of which may be cited. In mining 

for rock salt at Lyons, Kansas, a mass of loose surface material was 

found to extend downward for nearly 300 feet. This was so thoroughly 

charged with water, particularly near the bottom, that it interfered 

seriously with the mining. Below this a bed of fine-grained Permian 

shale was reached, in which the salt is found.· This shale is particularly impervious to water, as is shown by the fact that no water has 

come into the shaft since the surface water was shut out, although the 

shaft is 1,000 feet deep. Similar conditions are found in drilling for 

oil and gas in Kansas and elsewhere. Often a heavy bed of shale or 

a solid body of limestone is met which has no water whatever within 

it. The gas fields of Indiana likewise have similar conditions. Here, 

after passing through a few hundred feet of water-bearing materials, 

a 300-foot bed of fine-grained solid shale is found lying immediately 

over the Trenton gas-bearing limestone. This shale is impervious to 

water, and lets none of the surface water pass downward through it, 

and none of the deeper-seated water pass up',V'ard. It is so dry that 

water has to be added whil~ drilling in it. 

The existence of such shale beds, or beds of other impervious 

materials, can generally be recognized by the geologist by surface 

conditions if he is familiar with a sufficiently wide range of country; 

otherwise the drill is the only means of discovering it. Wherever 

large masses of such materials, or of granite or other solid and impervious crystalline rock, cover a wide extent of country, the only hope 
HAWORTH.] GEOGRAPHY OF THE AREA. 19 

of finding ground water is along the ravines and hillsides, where a 

sufficient amount of surface debris has accumulated to hold the local 

rainfall, as already explained for Lawrence, Kansas. 

Where limestone is the prevailing rock it usually has so many fissures that water finds its way into them and works downward and 

out through openings along the creeks and bluffs, so that much of it 

finally .joins the run-off. Under such conditions well digging is hazardous, often resulting in failure. It is here that the term "vein" 

of water is applicable, a term which is generally used indiscriminately, whether the water occurs in veins or in broad beds of waterbearing materials. Here the "water witch" is in most demand. 

In such countries careful observation of surface conditions will 

usually yield good results. The water slowly but surely dissolves the 

limestone, so that a falling in of the materials above to an appreciable degree is frequently noticed, often resulting ultimately in the 

production of a ravine of considerable size. The number of fissures 

along the bluffs will give some idea of the abundance of fissures generally, and therefore of the probability of one being found where a 

well is desired. But best of all and surest of all in such localities is 

it to search for places where the surface covering is heavy enough to 

hold the surface water. Few places in humid climates can be found 

where this is not sufficient for all ordinary purposes. By far the 

greater proportion of all the well water and spring water of the world ~ 

comes from this source. On the great plains of western Kansas the 

surface covering is generally abundant and heavy, and holds surprisingly large quantities of water. To give a detailed description of the 

water supply of a limited portion of the plains of Kansas is the object 

of this paper. 

GEOGRAPHY OF THE AREA. 

The area discussed in this report is located in southwestern Kansas, 

and covers 1 degree each of latitude and longitude. It is bounded 

on the east by the one hundredth meridian west from Greenwich, on. 

the west by the one hundred and first meridian, on the south by the 

thirty-seventh parallel, and on the north by the thirty-eighth. It 

includes all of Meade County, nearly all of Seward, Haskell, and Gray 

counties, about one-third of Ford County, and one-fourth of Finney 

County. Its eastern limit is approximately the line between ranges 

24 and 25 west of the sixth principal meridian, and that on the west 

side near the middle of range 34. Its south line is about the middle 

of townshi.P 35, and the north line is the line between townships 23 

and 24. It is, therefore, approximately 56 by 69 miles square, equal 

to about 3,864 square miles, or about two and a half million acres. 

It corresponds to. four of the l!nited States Geological Survey quadrangles, known as the Meade, Dodge, and Garden, and the one south 

of the Garden, not yet surveyed. 

The Arkansas River enters this area at the northwest and flows 
~0 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHWE::;TERN KANSAS. [N0.6. 

across it in a E\OUtheasterly direction, passing out 16 miles south of the 

northeast corner. The Cimarron River passes across the southwest 

corner of the area, leaving the State near the middle of the southern 

boundary, but flows near the south line throughout the remaining distance to the one hundredth meridian. There is but one other stream 

of any considerable consequence in the area, Crooked Creek, a stream 

which rises near the central part and, after meandering in a manner 

indicated by its name, enters the Cimarron just south of the State 

line, near the southeast corner of the Meade quadrangle. Aside from 

these streams, a few lesser ones occur in the northeastern part of the 

Dodge quadrangle, which drain northeast into the Pawnee-such as 

Duck Creek, the Sawlog, and the Buckner. 

A fair idea of the elevations of the area under consideration may 

be gained from the following data: rr.he Arkansas River on the east 

border is 2,460 feet above sea level, and at Sherlock, in the extreme 

northwestern corner, its level is 2,860 feet, the river making an aggregate fall of 400 feet while crossing the area. The bluffs immediately 

north of the river at Dodge are 2, 600 feet high, while in the extreme 

northeastern part the elevation is only 2,460 feet, or the same as that of 

the river at Dodge. The southeastern corner of the Meade quadrangle, near Englewood, has an elevation of 1, 960 feet, and the southwest 

corner of the area, about 4 miles west of I...~iberal, has an elevation of 

approximately 2,900 feet. It is therefore a plain, or table-land, with 

the western edge nearly horizontal, sloping to the east with an average 

rate of about 7.1 feet per mile along the north end and nearly 17 feet 

per mile along the south. 

The eastern border, therefore, slopes toward the south, making the 

southeast corner much the lowest part of the whole area. The elevations immediately adjacent to the Arkansas River are greater than 

can be found either north or south, except those in the southwest 

corner of the area, where we have higher land than exists along the 

river. 

PHYSIOGRAPHY OF THE AREA. 

GENERAL CONDITION~. 

The general physiographic features are those of a broad peneplain 

sloping gentlY. to the east, into which, at different places, channels 

have been worn by recent processes of erosion. All the streams with 

their tributaries, except Arkansas River, appear to be mere channels 

cut down into the general plain. The Arkansas, on the contrary, 

throughout the most of its course within this area, seems to be a channel cut into a ridge extending from west to east, as though at one 

time the river had built its banks higher than the land on either side 

and had subsequently deepened its channel and produced a flood plain 

averaging more than 2 miles in width. Both east and west of here 

the conditions become more nearly normal, as is shown by tributaries 

entering the river from both sides. 
HAWORTH.) PHYSIOGRAPHY OF THE AREA. 21 

North of the river, where the surface slopes to the northeast-, the 

northeastern drainage often approaches to within a mile and a half 

of the Arkansas River. The almost complete absence of any tributaries entering the river from the north is remarkable. On the south 

the conditions in this respect are not quite so extraordinary. A strip 

of country varying in width from 4 to 18 miles is covered with masses 

of sand, which have been blown by the winds in recent times into 

exceedingly irregularly shaped hills. and hillocks. Throughout a part 

of this area tributaries of the river rise from 6 to 10 miles south and 

work their way through the sand hills to the river. In most instances, 

even on the south, the drainage toward the southeast approaches surprisingly close to the bluffs on the south side of the Arkansas River. 

In the northeast portion of the Dodge quadrangle the drainage is 

all to the northeast, the waters of which ultimately enter Arkansas 

River, near Larned, through t,he Pawnee. As the surface is inclined 

fully 10 feet to _the mile, these little tributaries have cut their channels from 100 to 150 feet deep, and present sometimes almost precipitous bluffs, which bound the narrow flood plains of the different 

streams. 

Over all the southern two-thirds of the area under consideration the 

drainage is entirely to the southeast. The inclination of the surface 

in this direction is quite rapid, averaging along the line from Santa 

Fe through Meade to Englewood more than 16 feet to the mile. The 

general appearance of the whole country is t,hat of a broad, level plain, 

with almost no variations of any kind, except here and there where a 

tributary of the Cimarron or of Crooked Creek has worn its channel 

downward into the plain. These channels are usually quite narrow, 

with very rugged bluff lines, produced by the channels being cut to 

depths of· 100 to 150 feet, and in extreme cases to greater depths. 

When one is standing on the plain the whole country appears to be 

level; but to one in a valley of a stream the bluff lines are so rugged 

and so varied that almost a mountainous aspect is presented. This 

is particularly the case along the Cimarron in the vicinity of Arkalon and along Crooked Creek and its tributaries almost anywhere 

below Meade. 

CIMARRON RIVER VALLEY. 

The valley of the Cimarron rarely exceeds 2 miles in width throughout its course across the Meade quadrangle, but it has scarcely passed 

beyond these limits when it suddenly widens to an unusual extent. 

Beginning a few miles above Englewood, it has a valley more than 5 

miles wide. North of Englewood is a valley, or an area which seems 

to be a valley of erosion, 10 or 12 miles wide, now covered to varying 

depths with sand which has a very little silt and soil intermingled. 

Such a wide valley appearing so suddenly along the course of a stream 

is very interesting, as its origin is hard to determine. The bluff lines 

forming the western and northern boundaries correspond remarkably 
22 UNDERGROUND WATERS 01!, SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS. [No.6. 

with those on·the south side of the Cimarron. The general appearance of the valley, only a small portion of which is west of the onehundredth meridian, is that of a valley of erosion, with the sandhills 

representing the residual sands left behind after the surface drainage 

had carried away the finer silt and clay. 

The Cimarron seems to have reached base-level and to have begun 

meandering across its flood plain. Beautiful oxbow curves are frequent, and a sluggish nature is ev.erywhere manifest during times of 

low water. The lesser tributaries usually have deep, narrow valleys, 

except near where they break through the bluff lines into the Cimar_ 

ron. Here they often widen into surprising forms, and generally have 

their flood plains strewn with residual sands retained from the Tertiary 

beds of sand and clay. 

CROOKED CREEK VALLEY AND FAULT. 

_Crooked Creek, the third largest stream in this area, has some anomalous features which make it interesting. It rises in the eastern part 

of Haskell County and flows almost due east to near the little village 

of Wilburn. Here it suddenly turns to the southwest, making an 

angle of about 60° with itself, to about 20 miles south of Meade, where 

it bears southeastward to its junction with the Cimarron River. The 

sharp angle in its· course at Wilburn and its southwestern course 

between Wilburn and Meade, across a country with a maximum inclination to the southeast, are anomalous for a stream in southwestern 

Kansas. The area in the southeastern part of Meade County is gashed 

here and there with lesser drainage channels, all of which drain to 

the southeast in lines approximately parallel with the lower part of 

Crooked Creek. Some of these lesser channels rise almost on the eastern bank of Crooked Creek, leaving an unaltered table-land alo\lg the 

eastern bank of the creek, often little more than a mile in width, as 

is well shown on the Meade topographic sheet. 

These peculiar physiographic conditions in the vicinity of Crooked 

Creek, in connection with geological data gathered from wells, led the 

writer to conclude that local deformation had produced them, and a 

preliminary notice of the same was published, 1 from which the following extracts may be t~ken: 

The bluff lines along Crooked Creek are quite interesting in character, particularly below Meade. Throughout the portion of its course where it flows east the 

bluffs on either side of the creek are not especially different from the ordinary. 

Tributaries from the north are most numerous, but quite a number are found 

entering the creek from the south in the northwestern part of Meade County. 

Farther east, opposite the artesian area, no tributaries of any consequence are 

found on the south, while arroyos of greater or less size are found every mile or 

two on the north. For 20 miles below the sharp angle at Wilburn scarcely a 

tributary as much as 2 miles in length enters from the east, while below Meade 

the drainage streams flowing southeast to the Cimarron rise almost on the Yerge 

of the eastern bluffs of Crooked Creek. Throughout this distance many tributaries 

1 Am. Jour. Sci., 4th series, Vol. II, 1896, p. 368. 
HAWORTH.] CROOKED CREEK VALLEY AND FAULT. 23 

enter from the west, the most important being Spring Creek, about 12 miles long, 

and Stump Arroyo, nearly as long. · 

The general character of the uplands is that of a broad plain inclined to the 

southeast about 10 feet to the mile. The various drainage channels are cut down 

into this plain, generally producing abrupt bluffs on each side. From Wilburn 

to Meade, however, the bluffs of Crooked Creek are far apart, with the whole of 

the artesian area between. Below Meade the bluffs on the east side of the creek 

are high and abrupt, often being almost precipitous in character. They have a 

decidedly new appearance, as though the erosion which produced them was very 

modern. Almost none of the rounded forms of old age are to be found, but the 

angular points and steep walls of recent formation are everywhere present. On 

the western side there is a gently sloping plain stretching from the creek to from 

1 to 5 miles away, producing an appearance scarcely duplicated within the State. 

The general upland plain from 8 to 12 miles to the west of Crooked Creek both 

physiographically and geologically corrEosponds with the plain on the east of the 

creek, which approaches to within less than a quarter of a mile of the creek valley. The general appearance from Meade southward is that of a fault, with the 

western wall dropped and Crooked Creek occupying a position over the fault line. 

Northward the whole artesian valley seems to have been dropped downward, 

leaving an abrupt wall on the west and a more gentle wall on the east. Standing· 

anywhere in the valley, one can see the wall all around. On the west it is con~ 

siderably over 100 feet in height, while to the east it is somewhat less, but still 

very perceptible. We have here a valley occupying about 60 square miles which 

is so different from anything else known in this part of the country that it is 

exceedingly difficult to explain its origin by attributing it to erosion. The peculiar 

position of the creek is likewise hard to explain by ordinary erosion. The sharp 

angle at Wilburn and the southwestern direction for nearly 20 miles across a 

plain sloping to the southeast are certainly very remarkable, and probably have 

a cause different from that which ordinarily determines the location and direction 

of streams. But if in post-Tertiary times a triangplar area equaling in size and 

position the present artesian area could have dropped 100 feet or more, with a 

single fault line extending southward to beyond the limits of Kansas, thereby 

changing the direction of Crooked Creek into the present channel below Wilburn, 

the general physiographic conditions coulcleasiJy be accounted for. 

It should be added that there is a· chain of wet-weather lakes reaching eastward 

from Wilburn to the north of Minneola which may represent the former channel 

of the eastward extension of Crooked Creek. An examination of the country 

lends more color to this view than can be gained from the United States topographic sheets, for 20-foot contour lines often fail to represent physiographic 

conditions of great importance in such studies as these. 

Along the upper part of Crooked Creek, from a few miles above 

Wilburn, the general eondit.ions are those of a stream that has not yet 

reached base-level. In the artesian area and at all points below, th,e 

creek has a valley of considerable width and the general appearance 

of a stream which has long ago reached its base-level. The numerous 

ox-bow curves, due to the migration o( the channel, are everywhere 

present. In addition to this, it is generally found that i~ has built up 

its banks until they are higher than the adjacent valleys. This is true 

to a perceptible degree almost entirely through the artesian valley, and 

is also true, but to a less extent, in the valley below Meade. 

The general uplands of the area under consideration have the appearance of a broad peneplain which has been ·so elevated that a new set 

of flood plains is now being produced along the various channels. In 
24 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS. [N0.6. 

the western part the inclination of t.he surface is uniform and gentle, 

and but few channels of any description are found. The rapid inclination of the surface to the southeast throughout nearly all :Meade 

County and the southern part of Seward County gives so great a fall 

to the streams that their erosive action is more pronounced, and consequently the surface has been changed to greater depth and a corresponding rugged topography produced. The rainfall is so meager that 

few of the streams have water in them as much as a quarter of the 

year. Those which have worn their channels deep enough to come 

into contact with the general underflow water have springs and seeps 

in great abundance along them, and pools of living water throughout 

the entire year. This wearing down probably has occurred, however, 

since the main part of the erosion was done, and consequently has 

exerted· but a limited influence on the general physiographic features. 

SAND DUNES. 

One of the interesting topographic features frequently observed is 

that produced by the sand hills or sand dunes. On the south side of 

the Arkansas, throughout its entire length in this area, a st.rip of 

country varying from 4 to as much as 15 or 18 miles in width is covered by loose sand which has been blown by the winds into the hills 

and hummocks so common in sandy countries. The area is exceedingly irregular in its southern boundary. In some places it is not 

more than 3 or 4 miles across, while in others the distance is much 

greater. Near the western side of the Garden quadrangle the sand 

hills reach southward from the river almost uninterruptedly to within 

Haskell County, a distance of from 18 to 20 mile~. Immediately 

south of Garden the sand hills extend only about 7 or 8 miles, where a 

strip of country is reached on which there is but little sand. But 

farther east, through the eastern tier of townships in Haskell County 

and Finney County, another southern projection of the sand hills area 

reaches from 12 to 15 miles south of the river. Still farther east, in 

Gray County, south of Ingalls and Cimarron, the sands likewise 

extend from 12 to 18 miles south of the river, or to within 5 or 6 miles 

of J\fontezuma. East of this area again, throughout the remainder 

of the Dodge quadrangle, the sand hills area gradually contracts in 

width, so that immediately south of Dodge it is only 4 or 5 miles in 

width. The extent and location of the sand hills are well represented 

on the topographic sheets of the United States Geological Survey. 

In most places, both north and south of the river, outside. of the 

area of river sand hills, relatively little sand is found on the upland~"\. 

In the vicinity of Wilburn and Fowler, however, east of Crooked 

Creek, an area of sand hills exists, covering 50 square miles or more, 

which has a general appearance similar to that of the river sand hills 

area. The character of the sand is practically the same, and in most 

respects the conditions south of the Arkansas River are duplicated. 
HAWORTH.] SAND DUNES. 25 

Again, in the southeast part of Meade County, in the broad Cimarron 

Valley to the north of Englewood, an area of from 12 to 18 miles in 

width is covered with sand dunes which are practically the same as 

those on the south side of the Arkansas.- The whole face of the country here for many miles up and down the Cimarron River, except 

some irregularly shaped areas, is covered with the sand. The exceptions referred to are peculiar and interesting. The greater part of . 

the valley occupied by Colonel Perry's ranch has but few sand hills. 

Here we have an area 4 or 5 miles across, lying between the sand hills 

proper and the Cimarron River, the general character of whose soil is 

that of the alluvial soil common to the flood plains of rivers. Farther down the river to the east the sand hills approach almost to the 

river bank. 

To the north of Englewood, where the sand hills are best developed, 

a portion of which territory lies within the Meade quadrangle, the 

sand practically covers the whole face of t,he country. It is blown 

into hills and valleys, irregular in outline and position, with no 

apparent indication of t.he directions from which the principal winds 

came. Here and there the sand is still blowing, producing barefaced 

hills with no vegetable covering, showing that the movement is still 

in progress. The greater part of the surface, however, is well covered with vegetation, which implies a cessation of the sand movement. The principal sand dunes seem to be residual in charactermasses of sand left behind after the finer parts have been carried 

away by wind and water. For a fuller treatment of this subject the 

reader is referred to a discussion of the Physical Properties of the 

Tertiary, bythe writer, in Volume II, University Geological Survey of 

Kansas. 

PECULIAR ARROYO EROSION. 

A peculiar form of valley erosion is noticed throughout western 

Kansas, a form thus far unobserved elsewhere by the writer, and one 

upon which no literature seems to exist. The lesser tributaries to 

the principal drainage channels in their uppermost course frequently 

are quite void of water almost the entire year. As a result of this, 

buffalo grass or blue stem entirely covers the bottom of the arroyos. 

Such arroyos usually are from 50 to 200 feet in width, even to their 

very sources. The peculiar and characteristic feature of such arroyos 

is the shape of the bank at the margins. In almost all instances over 

the whole western part of Kansas such arroyos have a vertical wall 

at the outside part of the bank, varying in height from 2 to 3 feet to 

a minimum of only a few inches. The whole bottom of the arroyo is, 

as a rule, covered with grass, and seems to have no corrasion marks 

along it. But on the outer borders the arroyo is separated from 

the main upland plain by the vertical wall. This feature is sometimes noted to a limited extent along the little sink holes which are so 

abundant in this part of the country. Some of these depressions, 
26 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHWESTERN KANSNS. [No.6. 

measuring no more than 10 or 15 feet across, have the buffalo grass 

growing all over them, and have their walls assuming this vertical 

character, in every respect similar to the walls of the arroyos. 

These interesting features of the physiography of the Tertiary plains 

seem to have been caused by the underground creeping of the looser 

sands and clay which are not held together by the grass roots of the 

sod. As water is so rare in the arroyos, the conditions are as favorable for the growth of vegetation in the bottom of the arroyos themselves as on the uplands. When the rains come, the ground is softened 

probably more in the arroyos than elsewhere, and is thereby made 

more easily movable. The existence of the water is of so short a 

duration that the mechanical action of its flow is not sufficient to corrade the surface. But as the inclination is generally quite steep, and 

as the water softens the clays and sands, gravity will cause a slow, 

but constant creeping downstream of the material which is not held 

in place by the grass roots. In this way the effect is similar to that 

which would be produced were a blanket spread from bank to bank 

of the arroyo, a blanket which was not removed or carried away by 

the drainage, but which would allow the grounds beneath to become 

softened and creep downstream by the influence of gravity. The 

blanket in question would move vertically downward as the material 

beneath it was carried away, and the vertical walls at the outside of 

the blanket would be maintained, constantly growing higher as the 

materials from beneath were removed by the downward creeping. 

GEOLOGY OF THE AREA. 

The general geology of this part of the State is now fairly well 

known. Excepting a few small portions in the southeast, the whole 

area is covered with Tertiary sands, gravels, and clays. The lowermost formation is the Red Beds, which are exposed along a few of the 

bluff lines and in some of the lowest valleys in the extreme southeastern part of the JHeade quadrangle. Farther to the east, in Clark 

County and beyond, the Comanche overlies the Reel Beds. This 

formation thins westward, however, so that only a few feet of the 

black Comanche shales is found anywhere within the Meade quadrangle, and that in the extreme eastern part. It seems entirely to 

disappear westward, as no traces of it have been found. Above the 

Comanche lies the Dakota, a formation consisting largely of sandstone. It is not exposed at the surface anywhere within this area, 

but has been reached frequently by wells, and is known to exist both 

to the east and to the west, so we are sure it is spread over the whole 

of the northern and central parts. The Dakota is followed by the 

Benton, which is largely a limestone formation consisting of beds of 

limestone alternating with black shale. It is found exposed at the 

surface in a few of the arroyos of Crooked Creek and along the Saw-
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 6 PL I 

----6-·--·-

v G R A 

Ivanhoe 

v 

~ 

I 

I 

L-- ------:::::::::::::::]... ..:::b-~\l-- 1 

i9.N LIMIT loF BENTON 

-1 

I 

5 E 

Ark a 

RED BEDS TERTIARY AND PLEISTOCENE BENTON 

GEOLOGIC MAP OF AREA COVERED BY THIS REPORT. 
HAWORTH.] GEOLOGY OF THE AREA. 27 

log in the northeastern part of the Dodge quadrangle, and it probably 

underlies the northern part of the Meade quadrangle. Covering the 

whole of these is the thin mantle of the Tertiary sands and gravels. 

RED BEDS. 

The Red Beds cover wide areas in south-central Kansas. They 

occupy the surface over the greater part of Clark, Comanche, and 

other counties to the east as far as Sumner County. They extend 

westward into Meade County, and are found at or near the surface 

over five or six townships in the extreme southeast corner of the 

Meade quadrangle. The broad valley around Englewood, which 

reaches northwest almost to Cash City, has the Red Beds for its floor. 

The Tertiary sands and gravels are irregularly scattered over this valley, in some places as much as 50 or 100 feet thick, while elsewhere 

the Red Beds are exposed on the surface. They constitute the main 

mass of the hills and bluffs to the west and northwest of Englewood, 

but on account of the Tertiary capping of the hills and the Tertiary 

sands and gravels in the valley below, when represented on the map 

they appear as narrow strips winding back and forth through the 

course of the various lesser tributaries, unless, indeed, the thin covering of the Tertiary in the valley should be neglected, and the whole 

represented as the Red Beds. They are exposed in the bluffs on both 

sides of the Cimarron at Englewood and on both sides of Crooked 

Creek as far up as Odee post-office, the farthest northwest exposure 

known covering a small area on the east bank of Crooked Creek about 

3 miles above Odee. 

The character of th~ upper surface of the Red J?eds is interesting 

on account of the great irregularities which it presents. An examination of section 1 of Pl. IV will show that the surface of the country 

drops rapidly southward from near Minneola, and that the surface of 

the Red Beds likewise drops, inasmuch as it is about parallel to the 

general surface of the country. Aside from this rapid inclination 

southward there are other local irregularities. In the Cimarron Valley, where the whole surface is covered by a layer of the soil and 

silt from 10 to 15 feet deep on an average, occasional places have been 

found in well drilling where great depressions exist. At one farmhouse, on the land of Colonel Perry, a well was sunk to the unusual 

depth of 175 feet without reaching the Red· Beds, while less than a 

half mile away they are exposed almost at the surface. Such irregularities are probably due to surface erosion·in pre-Tertiary time. 

Another irregularity is present which is probably of a different kind. 

As just stated, the Red Beds constitute the main part of the bluffs 

on the eastern bank of C1·ooked Creek from Odee to its junction with 

the Cimarron, and on the left bank of the Cimarron a few miles below. 

On the west bank of Crooked Creek the Red Beds are not found. 

Neither are they found on the south side of the Cimarron until a point 

is reached near the mouth of Crooked Creek, or almost in line with 
28 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS. [No.6. 

the trend of the lower part of Crooked Creek, when suddenly they 

appear on the south side of the Cimarron in forms as massive and 

prominent as those on the north. This remarkable condition of the 

location of the Reel Beds along Crooked Creek has already been 

referred to in these pages, and has been explained by assuming a 

fault line to exist along Crooked Creek, with the strata on the western side dropped to an unknown distance, at least 100 or 150 feet. 

In constitution the Reel Beds differ from anything else known in 

Kansas in a few important respects. Their bright color is their most 

striking characteristic. Wherever they are found they are readily. 

recognized by this feature. No samples of them have yet been 

analyzed to determine their chemical composition, but it is evident 

that their brilliant color is due ~o the presence of large quantities of 

red oxide of iron intimately intermixed through the whole mass. 

They vary considerably from place to place, but seem to be composed 

ent.irely of clay and sand, very imperfectly bedded, but always colored 

with red iron oxide. In places far to the east we find beds of sandstone sufficiently cemented to form a low-grade building stone. 

Elsewhere the sands are entirely wanting. Many samples of the red 

clay have been examined which apparently contained not even traces 

of the fine sand. 

Gypsum is another constituent, which assumes great prominence· 

in the vicinity of Medicine Lodge and farther to the west. It seems 

to be well stratified in the vicinity of Medicine I~odge, forming heavy 

layers from 5 to 10 feet in thickness. These strata have a lateral 

extent of many miles, and have been important agents in the production of the peculiar and varied physiography for which portions of . 

Barber and Comanche counties are noted. Gypsum has also been 

formed in many fissures, large or small, which cut the Reel Beds in 

various places. These forms of gypsum are secondary in origin, and 

seem to have been deposited by infiltrating water probably long after 

the Reel Beds themselves were lifted into dry land. 

Salt is likewise scattered irregularly through the Red Beds. It is 

leached out by the water and is deposited along the salt marshes so 

common in the Cimarron River Valley to .the south of the State line. 

Probably the salt is irregularly disseminated throughout the material; 

possibly heavy deposits ·of rock salt may yet be found beneath the 

surface, although no positive indication of such has yet been observed. 

It is certain, however, that in some way, while the Red Beds were 

forming, conditions were favorable for the accumulation of salt to so 

great an extent that in the aggregate the amount deposited is very 

considerable. 

Thus far no fossils of any kind have been found anywhere in the 

Red Beds within this State. Those of Texas have yielded fossils of 

Permian character, and it is probable that they are of the same age 

as those of Kansas, although they have not yet been positively shown 
U. S. GEOL031CA L SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 6 PL. II 

VIEW OF RED BEDS BLUFFS, CAPPED WITH TERTIARY, ON JOHNSON'S CREEK, NEAR CASH , MEADE COUNTY, KANSAS. 
HAWORTH.] RED BEDS . 29 

. to be connected. Little true stratification can be noted in the Red 

Beds in places where their principal component is clay, but when 

sand becomes more abundant, so as to form a sandstone, the bedding 

planes are more strongly marked. In the southeastern part of the 

Meade quadrangle, immediately at the summit of the Red Beds, is a 

tolerably well defined sandstone from 3 to 6 feet in thickness, called 

t.he Basin sandstone, on account of its being so prominent in the walls 

around the great basin in Clai·k County. At the southwesternmost 

exposure of the Red Beds at Odee this sandstone seems to be wanting, 

while the clay composing them is so entirely free from sand that no 

grit can be detected by the teeth. 

This absence of local stratification is almost lost sight of when we 

contemplate the Reel Beds as covering wide areas. They form a 

marked horizon between the Comanche or Dakota above and the 

black shales ·and buff limestone of the Permian below. Through all 

western Kansas they incline to the east or northeast or southeast, 

as is well shown by noting on the map their elevations at different 

places where found. Where exposed at Oclee they have an elevation 

of nearly 2,400 feet, while in the bluffs near Englewood, in places 

where we know t.he measurements are made on the unerocled upper 

surface, their elevation is but little more than 2,100 feet, making ~ 

dip of the upper surface to the east of fully 250 feet in a distance of 

15 miles, or an average of near 17 feet to the mile. The same Red 

Beds were reached in a deep well at Santa Fe years ago at an elevation considerably greater than where they are exposed at Odee, showing that as they extend westward their upper surface rises. 

The origin of the Reel Beds is ·pretty well indicated by their character. The large amount of iron oxide, of gypsum, and of salt which 

they contain, and the total absence of fossils, imply that they ar~ the 

result of the accumulation of sediment in a concentrated ocean water. 

Many characteristics of the formations in central Kansas in the Upper 

Permian point to the existence of an inland ocean which was evaporating more rapidly than it was filling from surface drainage, thus 

producing a stronger and stronger brine. The large deposits of rock 

salt in what has heretofore been called the Upper Permian-the salt 

beds supplying the mines at Hutchinson, Lyons, and other places in 

the south:central part of Kansas-have probably been formed by the 

desiccation of an inland ocean. The dark-colored shale which is 

embedded with the salt in these places likewise implies that sufficient 

organic matter, either from sea or land, was accumulated with the 

earthy masses which constitute the shale to give them their black 

color. As time passed the accumulation of. organic matter from all 

sources was finally prevented. As a result, the surface oxidation of 

the iron compounds leached from the adjacent land was carried on to 

an extent sufficient to produce the red color in the sands and clays of 

the Red Beds. 
30 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS. (N0.6. 

An important lesson may be gathered from these considerations by 

one studying the water problem in western Kansas. Should a well 

penetrate the Red Beds, their fine-grained, compact, argillaceous 

character makes it extremely doubtful whether water in any considerable quantity can be obtained from them; and still worse, should 

water be obtained it is almost certain to be so mineralized with salt 

and gypsum and other soluble products that it will be entirely 

unsuit.ed for either domestic purposes or for irrigation. Therefore, 

should anyone when using the drill in the search for water anywhere 

in the southwestern part of the State penetrate the Red Beds, he 

should immediately discontinue boring, lest he spoil the character of 

the water he may have already obtained.----

DAKOTA. 

The Dakota formation underlies about three-fourths of the area 

covered by this report. Its position is well shown in the accompanying geologic sections (Pl. IV, p. 42). From these it will be seen that it· 

gradually thickens to the north and thins southward until it entirely 

disappears. The southeastern limits of the Dakota can not be outlined in detail on account of the heavy mantle of Tertiary which 

. conceals it from view in most places. 

In character the Dakota is largely a sandstone formation, so much 

so, indeed, that it is frequently spoken of as the Dakota sandstone. Every deep well which has penetrated it in southwestern 

Kansas shows that shales are embedded with the sandstone. The 

extent of these shale deposits is not known, for nowhere can we find 

any exposure of the Dakota at the surface. Farther east, in other 

parts of Kansas where they come to the surface, it is seen that a 

considerable proportion of the thickness-probably more than halfis shale of some kind. In most places where exposed at the surface 

in Kansas the sandstone is colored brownish red by iron oxide, and in 

some places in this area the drill has brought up the same brownishcolored sand. Farther west in Kansas and Colorado the brown color 

is not so prominent. 

The Dakota formation has an unusually great extension. It reaches 

from the Dakotas southward into Texas, and probably beyond; from 

central Kansas westward to the ''Hogback," near the eastern foothills 

of the Rocky :1\'Iountains, and northwestward into Montana and Wyoming. As a sandstone it is characterized by great uniformity of texture and a small amount of cementing material to bind the grains 

together. The latter property makes it an open and porous rock, so 

that it can serve as a great underground reservoir capable of holding a high percentage of water or of allowing a relatively free transmission of water from one place to another within it. Westward from 

Kansas it is found sometimes at the surface, where it can absorb the 

rainfall, sometimes in contact with the Tertiary, so that the under-
HAWORTH.) BENTON FORMATION. 31 

ground water of that formation mingles with its own, and sometimes 

buried beneath the Benton and higher Cretaceous formations. It 

seems to have an unbroken continuity from its exposure in Kansas 

westward almost to the mountains, throughout which distance it has 

an average dip to the east of from 5 to 8 feet to the mile. It is, therefore, a most important formation to anyone studying the water problem in Kansas, and will be recalled for a further discussion later in this 

report. 

BENTON. 

Above the Dakota lies the Benton, a formation composed of alternating beds of limestone and black or dark-colored shale. The 

-proportion of shale to limestone is probably about as 1 to 4 or 5. 

The limestone is generally a light buff in color, sometimes inclined to 

a bluish hue on unweathered surfaces. It is usually much softer 

than ordinary limestone, but fragments exposed at the surface show 

perceptible hardening. It always contains large quantities of fossil 

shells. 

'rhe Benton formation is exposed at the surface in the northeastern 

part of the Dodge quadrangle along Sawlog Creek and some of its 

deeper tributaries. It is again exposed over small areas in places 

along the northern tributaries of Crooked Creek in the southern part 

of Gray County. Aside from these two limited areas it. is entirely 

concealed from view by the overlying Tertiary sands and clays. However, we know from the records of different wells and from its occurrence elsewhere that it underlies the Tertiary formations over the 

whole of the northern part of this area, reaching southward to the 

banks of Crooked Creek, and probably farther on the western side. 

}'!any wells reached .it at different places in township 29, in the 

southern part of Gray and Ford counties~ some of which penetrated 

it 150 feet and more without. passing through it, while others, farther 

east and south, proved that its thickness there was much less. The 

city well at Santa Fe is reported to have found but 13 feet of the 

Benton limestone. It would seem, therefore, that there is a considerable thickening east from Santa Fe, as shown in the geologic section. 

Farther west, in the vicinity of Hartland, Kendall, Syracuse, and 

Coolidge, the Benton is exposed in the bluffs along the north bank of 

the Arkansas River, furnishing a limestone which is quarried at 

different places. There is little room to doubt, therefore, that the 

Benton underlies the whole of the area north from the southern limits 

along Crooked Creek to Santa Fe, as already described. 

Neither the Benton limestones nor shales are water bearing. Not 

a single well has yet been drilled in the shales which found water in 

them. The limestone is a fine-grained mass, capable of holding or 

transmitting but little water, while the shales are so close and compact that they are entirely incapable of permitting any considerable quantity of water to pass through them. The Benton, therefore, 
32 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS. [N0.6. 

furnishes a floor impervious to the water of the overlying Tertiary sands, a floor preventing the Tertiary ground water from passing downward and the water of the Dakota sandstone from passing 

upward. 

TERTIARY. 

The Tertiary formations in Kansas are com posed principally of 

gravel, sand, black sand, clay, and silt, with a small amount of 

material usually called ''volcanic ash." These materials are mixed 

together in an irregular manner, so that the same relation does not 

exist between them in different localities. The gravel consists of 

pebbles varying in size from 4 or 5 inches in diameter to the finest, 

grading into sand. They are composed principally of the ordinary 

rock-forming minerals, and seem to be fragments of granite, syenite, 

porphyry, andesite, rhyolite, basalt, and not infrequently of pure 

quartz. Their character leaves little room for doubt that they were 

carried here from the naountains to the west. 

The relative position of the gravel beds is variable. In some places 

they seem to be near the bottom of the Tertiary; elsewhere they are 

on the summit of the highest hills. A good example of the latter is 

found along Spring Creek, in Meade County, about 4 to 8 miles southwest of Meade Center. Here the so-called mortar beds-a mass of 

gravel and sand cemented with calcium carbonate-cap the top o{ 

the highest hills in the country. Some of them have the butte form 

so common where hills of erosion have a hard covering rock on top of 

a larger mass of soft material. 

The sand is composed of sand grains ranging in size from the ordinary 

coarse sand which grades into gravel down to the finest of sand. The 

grainE are principally of ordinary quartz, but are usually intimately 

associated with feldspar particles, confirming .the teachings of the 

gravel regarding their origin. The sand is about as well stratified as 

the gravels already mentioned. In places beds of sand are found 

well stratified., while elsewhere it is so intimately mixed with elay or 

gravel that the formation can hardly be called sand beds. 

Almost everywhere in the Tertiary are found small accumulations 

ofblacksand, which have been slightly segregated by rain water carrying away the finer materials and leaving these little grains behind. 

Originally they are intimately mixed with the clay and finer quartz 

sand. The little rivulets of water on the hillside carry away the 

lighter particles of clay and silt and let the black sand grains accu,.. 

mulate along the wagon tracks of the country roads and the eddies· 

of the small ravines. These black grains are found to be composed 

entirely of black oxide of iron, principally magnetite, but partially 

dark hematite. Doubtless they were original constituents of the 

crystalline rocks of the mountains to the west. When the rocks 

were disintegrated by weathering and the debris was transport,ed 

eastward by water, the iron oxide grains were carried along with the 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 6 PL. Ill 

TERTIARY 13LUFF AND SPRING-FED POOL, DUCK CREEK, 5 MILES NORTH OF DODGE, KANSAS. 
HAWORTH.] 'l'ERTIARY. 33 

other material and lodged here and there wherever the current velocities permitted. 

The clays and silts vary in character from place to place and at 

different depths. Occasionally almost pure masses of clay are found, 

beds almost entirely free from admixtures of sand, clay with a high 

degree of plasticity and in every respect resembling the purest known, 

except that it contains sufficient impurities to modify its color. Frequently such masses of clay seem to be colored with decaying organic 

matter, as tho11gh during its accumulation such matter in one form 

or another was present, at least in limited quantities. Elsewhere the 

-color of the clay seems to indicate the absence of organic matter of 

any kind. 

The stratigraphic property of the clay is interesting. In places it 

exists in broad layers, apparently extending for miles in unbroken 

beds. Elsewhere it forms lenticular masses, ol;llong in horizontal 

dimensions and irregular in peripheral outlines. Sometimes it is 

interbedded with the heavy gravel and sand beds, and elsewhere 

seems to be relatively distinct from them. 

Along the Arkansas River Valley, near the bluffs north of Garden 

City, a heavy bed of clay nearly 100 feet thick extends up and down 

the valley for 4 or 5 miles. Its north-south diameter is usually about 

half a mile. South of the river 12 or 15 miles from Garden City is 

another locality in which occur irregularly shaped clay beds or clay 

bowlders, as they are locally called. During August, 1896, a well was 

drilled about three-fourths of a mile south of Atwater, in Meade 

County. It went to the surprising depth of 288 feet, passing thrm:igh 

nothing but ·a light-blue plastic clay almost the entire depth. Other 

wells on every side of this one, from 1 to 2 miles away, found the 

usual amount of water-bearing sand at from 20 to 40 feet. Such illustrations coulu be multiplied until the whole of the Tertiary of Kansas 

was covered. Everywhere such irregularities exist. Few wells have 

been made which did not pass through both sand and clay. Even in 

the sand hills south. of the Arkansas River the few wells dug or bored 

invariably found clay. The State well in the sand hills just south of 

Cimarron may be taken as an example. At a depth of 23! feet a bed 

of remarkably compact plastic clay was reached, about 5 feet in 

thickness. · 

In many places in western Kansas and elsewhere on the plains a 

small amount of a fine-grained matter is found, which is generally 

called volcanic ash. A few deposits of the same material have been 

found in this territory. The best exposure known is along a tributary to Crooked Creek, about three-fourths of a mile west of Meade 

Center, although other lesser deposits are known in Meade Co~nty 

and elsewhere. 

Over a large portion of the whole Tertiary area of the plains the surface is covered with a fine-grained soil which has so high a percentage 

IRR6--3 
34 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS. [No.6. 

of clay within it that it has a relative high plasticity and other properties that have given it the name "Plains marl." It covers more 

than half of t,he surface, but by no means all of it. Neither is it confined to the surface, for often the same kind of material is found interbedded between layers of other materials. It is probably composed 

of the finest silt and clay particles which migrated eastward during 

Tertiary time and were lodged here and there wherever the conditions 

of water velocity dictated. In recent times, also, the winds have 

exerted a sorting action on the surface materials, which has helped to 

make the Plains marl more characteristic. The strong winds pick up 

the finest dust and c.arry it for miles and deposit it wherever a suitable 

lodging can be secured. This not only concentrates the finest materials together by movement, but also leaves the coarser soils and sands 

behind, so that the same process produces sand dunes and sandy soils 

which are often mer.e residual products after the finer silt has been 

blown away. 

The structural relations of the different Tertiary materials are far 

from regular. It is doubtful if there can be any definite stratigraphic 

relations established covering a considerable scope of country. The 

gravel and sand are frequently cemented into a moderately firm rock 

by the presence of a variable amount of a calcium carbonate cement. 

This cement is sometimes found in the clay as well, but it is most 

abundant in the sand and gravel, producing a sort of sandstone or 

conglomerate to which the name "mortar beds" or "grit" is generally 

applied. Some of the varieties of this are the so-called "nat,ural 

mortar," which is extensively used throughout the West for making 

a mortar to plaster with and to roof houses. These mortar-bed horizons are p~ominent features in many places and constitute the only 

hard and resisting strata in the Tertiary. The idea so frequently 

expressed, t,hat they are located near the base of the Tertiary, is correct for some localities, but incorrect for others. 

Along the Buckner, in the southwestern part of Hodgeman County, 

the sand and gravel are as firmly cemented as at any place known 

to the writer. Here they form a tolerably ~olid rock which lies at the 

top of the bluffs on the south side of the Buckner. They are in beds 

from 10 to 20 feet thick, varying much more than ordinary sandstone 

beds do. Below them in this locality the bluffs are composed of a 

looser and finer material. At other places along the Sawlog, near 

by, the mortar beds are found near the bottom of the Ter-tiary, and 

not infrequently resting immediately upon the Benton limestone. 

The north bluff line of the Arkansas River from some distance 

below Dodge westward almost to Garden is protected by a well-developed mass of mortar beds, Throughout the most of this distance 

three distinct layers of mortar beds can be traced, while in ot,her 

places four or more may be found. They are composed of cemented 

sand and coarse gravel, and are separat,ed from each other by beds 

of clay and fine sand. The weathering processes wear away the soft 
HAWORTH.] TERTIARY. 35 

clay beds more rapidly than the mortar beds, producing a series of 

narrow terraces along the bluffs similar to those generally observed 

in places where the limestones and shales alternate with each other, 

as so frequently occurs in the eastern part of the State. 

South of the Arkansas River but little of the mortar-bed material 

is to be seen until the vicinity of Crooked Creek and the Cimarron is 

reached. Here we have the same lack of regularity so noticeable 

elsewhere. The most pronounced form of the mortar beds is often 

found at the very summit of the bluffs, but by no means always so. 

In other places they occur midway up the bluff, and not infrequently 

near the base. The bluffs of Crooked Creek below Meade are good 

examples of this. On the eastern side of the creek they are very 

rugged, with frequent instances of mortar beds being well developed, 

but hy no means do they form a constant stratum continuously along 

the bluff. On the western side the b~uff line is not so abrupt, and 

consequently there is not so good an opportunity for· observing the 

mortar-bed masses. To the southwest of Meade, along the upper 

portion of Spring Creek, however, some of the hilltops are very distinct, and the erosive forms are significant of hills with a protecting 

cap of hard material covering softer materials. These can well be 

studied from the Meade topographic sheet. A few of these hills are 

particularly noteworthy. On the north bluff of Spring Creek, about 

4 miles above Crooked Creek Valley, the mortar beds are found lying 

at the summit of the hill. The sandy clay underneath is worn away, 

so that quite frequently the mortar-bed rock projects several feet, 

forming an overhanging cliff. South of Spring Creek a similar condition obtains. Hill point after hill point stands out in the landscape 

as a prominent feature, on the top of which a horizontal mass of 

mortar-bed rock serves as a protection to the soft and easily eroded 

sandy clays beneath. 

Along the Cimarron River from some distance above Arkalon to 

where the river encount~rs the Red Beds near Englewood its valley 

is cut downward into the broad plain to a depth of nearly 200 feet. 

As one stands on a prominent point on either side <;>f the valley and 

looks up and down the stream, it is easy to see the line of light-colored 

mortar beds lying almost at the summit of the bluffs, with the darker 

colored shales and sands beneath. A more careful examination 

shows that for many miles along the stream relatively firm rock 

covers the topmost part of the bluffs, and it is largely to this that 

the precipitous character so pronounced on either side of the river 

around Arkalon is due. Beneath !Jte mortar beds are found masses of 

sandy clay, which constitutes the main mass of the bluffs. At other 

places, particularly along some of the tributaries of Spring Creek near 

:Meade Center, the mortar beds in a we11-developed form are found 

on low ground more than 100 feet below those capping the hills a 

mile or so away, with no connection between them. 

During th() h~~t two years the Kansas State Board of Irrigation has 
36 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS. [N0.6. 

sunk twenty wells in western Kansas, the greater portion of which 

are confined to the Tertiary. One of the provisions in the contract for 

the drilling of each well was that a carefully selected and accurately 

labeled suite of samples should be preserved and delivered to the 

board, such samples to be taken with sufficient frequency to accurately represent the character of the material passed through. These 

samples from the different wells were turned over to the writer by 

the Board of Irrigation and have been carefully examined. This is 

the first time it has been possible to examine the Tertiary materials at 

any considerable depth below the surface, except where they are found 

along the bluff lines of the various drainage streams. They are therefore of more than ordinary importance, and are worthy of notice in 

this connection. 

It was found that little relation existed between the distance from 

the surface and the size of the gravel. Gravel beds of a considerable 

degree of coars.eness were frequently found near the surface, and the 

finest sand and clay and silt were not infrequently found near the 

base of the Tertiary. There was such an irregularity of position shown 

with reference to any one material, and such a lack of definite relation 

between the different kinds of material, that it seemed as though but 

little if any dependence could be placed in any older classification. 

In studying the physical properties of the Tertiary it is necessary 

to emphasize the ~tatement that the so-called mortar beds are simply 

the sand and gravel and clay materialf cemented usually with calcareous cement. The real stratigraphic conditions probably do not 

depend upon the presence or absence of cementing material, but 

rather upon the continuity of beds of like material. A stratum of 

gravel which is not cemented should be considered as important as 

though it had chanced to have its individual constituents held 

together by a cementing material of some kind. Yet in our study of 

the subject we are usually inclined to erroneously regard the beds 

which are cemented into a firm rock as more important than softer 

materials. It has been suggested by the 'Yriter t.bat the formation of 

the cementing material has occurred since the deposition of the beds, 

and that it represents a process of weathering and desiccation still in 

progress. The ordinary weathering agents produce calcium carbonate 

near the surface, which is changed to the acid carbonate by rain 

water containing carbon dioxide washed from the atmosphere. It is 

then dissolved and carried downward until the dryness of the ground 

absorbs the moisture, precipitating thereby the neutral carbonate in 

whatever position it chances to be. As the beds of gravel and coarse 

sand more freely permit the passage of water through them than do 

other materials, naturally there would be a greater deposition of 

calcium carbonate in such beds. 

It is doubtful if there can l;>e any regularity discovered .between the 

beds of the different kinds of Tertiary material in western Kansas. 

The mortar beds occur at all. positions from the base to the summit, 
HAWORTH.] WATER SUPPLY OF THE AREA. 37 

as do also the sands and the clays. It has been found impossible 

to trace a bed of any one materiaJ very far in any direction. 'rhe 

records of the State wells add to this difficulty rather than lessen it. 

Neither does the assistance of paleontology lessen the difficulty, but 

rather increases it. In Phillips County the mortar beds contain 

skeletons of the rhinoceros and other animals, indicating that they 

should be correlated with the Loup Fork beds of Nebraska, and that 

they are about the oldest Tertiary beds in Kansas. To the southwest, 

in Meade County, a mass of conglomerate, which is as typical a mortar 

bed as can be found, is rich in fossil horses, llamas, elephants, etc., 

which paleontologists class as Pleistocene fossils. We therefore have 

the mortar beds with Loup Fork fossils at one place and with Pleistocene fossils in another, not only showing a lack of stratigraphic 

continuity., but showing that, after all, the so-called Tertiary of the 

State may be part Tertiary and part Pleistocene. 

W .ATER SUPPLY OF THE .AREA. 

In the discussion of waters on the Great Plains it is well to bear in 

mind the different conditions under which water exists and the different classes into which the ground waters may be divided with refer-

. ·ence to the geologic character of the materials in which they are 

found. Geologically we have two great classes of ground waters. 

One exists in the Dakota sandstones. It probably has a slow movement eastward, has principally been gathered from the rains falling 

in the eastern part of Colorado and farther to the north over areas 

where the sandstone is exposed at the surface, and in its eastward 

movement passes underneath the Benton, Niobrara, and other. superior· Cretaceous formations, so that in most places it exists under a 

pressure sufficient to cause it to rise an appreciable distance above 

the level at which it is found by the drill, giving art.esian wells, or 

wells decidedly artesian in character. 

The other water is that which is commonly known as ground water, 

sheet water, or underflow, as these expressions are understood by the 

people of western Kansas. It is confined to the Tertiary sands and 

gravels. It lies immediately above the impervious Cretaceous or Red 

Bed floor, and is sufficient in quaJ?.tity to more than saturate the materials in which it exists for a distance above the floor varying from 5 

to more than 100 feet. Throughout the greater part of the plains 

area, therefore, these two classes of water are separated from. each 

other by all of the Benton and higher Cretaceous deposits. In rare 

cases, however, the Tertiary rests immediately on the Dakota sands, 

permitting the Tertiary water and the Dakota water to commingle. 

Could we exhaust the supply of either one to an appreciable degree, 

the other would doubtless be drawn upon and a movement would be 

set up from one into the other. Still, for convenience of discussion 

and clear presentation of the water conditions, it is desirable that the 

two classes should be discussed separately. 
38 -UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHWES'fERN KANSAS. [No.6. 

DAKOTA SANDSTONE WATER. 

The Dakota formation consists largely of beds of sandstone the 

grains of which are generally but poorly cemented together, leaving 

spaces between them which may well serve as recepta~les for water. 

This sandstone, as before stated, underlies the greater part of the 

plains area from the British possessions on the north to Texas on 

the south. Throughout this entire distance it extends westward to· 

the mountainous area, lapping upon the foothills along the eastern 

slope of the Rocky Mountains or capping the ridge generally known 

as the "Hogback," lying just east of the mountains in Colorado, as 

has been so well shown by Gilbert in his recent article on water conditions in eastern Colorado. 1 In this vast area are many localities 

where the Dakota is exposed to the surface, so that it c~n gather 

water from the rains and melting snows and occasionally from rivers 

which pass over it. The water which is absorbed passes eastward or 

southeastward or northeastward, the direction depending upon the 

inclination of its strata in ·different localities. 

This great geologic formation is a continuous underground sheet 

for thousands of miles in extent, and has been imbibing water from 

the rains and snows perhaps for thousands of centuries. It has thus 

become a great reservoir filled with water, the leaks from which are 

known in the form of springs and seeps along its eastern borders in 

many places where it is brought to the surface, and also along the 

banks of streams which have cut their channels downward until the 

Dakota has been reached. 

In a general way it may safely be said that all that is necessary to 

obtain water on the Great Plains is to penetrate to the Dakota sandstone. This proposition, although true in a general way, may not be 

verified in every instance. It is reasonable to suppose that a rock 

mass covering so wide an area is not perfectly uniform throughout. 

Here and there may be areas where the cementing material is more 

abundant than ordinary, or where the grains of sand are finer, or 

where the sand beds in their original form had silt and clay intermingled to a sufficient extent to pro<luce a relatively impervious mass. 

We know, in part, that such conditions obtain at irregular intervals, 

and that consequently a drill hole made in such a place will yield but 

little if any water; not because the great Dakota beds were not 

reached, but because they were reached at a place where the open 

spaces between the sand gra_ins had been filled with clay or mud or· 

cementing material so that water could scarcely flow through. 

Experience in drilling for water in the Dakotas, in Nebraska, in 

Colorado, and in Kansas abundantly verifies the statement just made,, 

that in a general way one may confidently expect to obtain water in 

large supplies wherever the drill penetrates the Dakota sandstone. 

1 The underground water of the Arkansas Valley in eastern Colorado, by Grove Karl Gilbert:: 

Seventeenth Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Survey, Part II, 1896, p. 582. 
HAWORTH.] DAKOTA SANDSTONE WATER. 39 

CHARACTER AND OCCURRENCE OF DAKOTA WATER. 

The character of the water obtained from the Dakota sandstone is 

variable. Underground water is pure or is mineralized, according to 

its opportunities for dissolving soluble mineral salts. Could water be 

confined continuously in a perfectly pure mass of sand or sandstone 

which had no soluble materials within it, and into which no soluble 

salts could be taken by infiltrating waters, its character would always 

remain pure. But nature rarely accumulates a mass of sand without 

having at least traces of soluble materials along with it.· Few terranes 

are known anywhere in the world which can permit waters to percolate through them for hundreds of miles without giving up mineral 

matter to the water somewhere throughout the course. It is so with 

the Dakota sandstone, yet not universally so. For some reason which 

has not been determined, water which is lifted from the Dakota at one 

place may have a greater or less amount of dissolved mineral salts 

than water obtained from the same sandstone 50 or 100 miles away. 

The natural processes by which the impurities are gathered from 

the rocks by the water are such that it is exceedingly difficult for one 

to give an approximate statement regarding the charaoter of the water 

that may be found at any locality, unless one can be guided by the 

water which has already been found near by. This, likewise, is substantiated by our limited experience in drawing water from the Dakota 

sandstone. The wells at Rocky Ford, La .Junta, and other places in 

Colorado are all mineralized to a similar extent. The springs which 

burst forth from the banks of the creeks and rivers near by are likewise mineralized. 

In Kansas the few wells which have been drilled in the Dakota 

sandstone have produced different degrees of mineralized water, differing materially in composition from one another and ·from many of 

the wells of Colorado and Dakot.a. The artesian water at Coolidge, 

which is a Dakota sandstone water, is relatively fresh, carrying little 

more than 24 grains of solution to the gallon. It has but little odor 

of hydrogen sulphide, and is in every way a desirable water for all 

domestic purposes. Farther north, in the vicinity of Oakley, a well 

reached the same horizon and likewise obtained water, but this was 

so heavily charged with common salt and other soluble minerals that 

it was pract"ically worthless. An artesian well east of Oakley, in 

Saline County, drawing large quantities of water from the same 

Dakota sandstone, produces a water which is somewhat different from 

either of those, but which is so salty that it· is of but little value for 

domestic purposes or for irrigation. 

In the vicinity of Ness City, Larned, and other points near the 

Arkansas Valley, the few wells which have reached the Dakot.a have 

uniformly obtained water of a high degree of purity, well suited for 

domestic purposes. These examples are suffici~nt to show the varied 

character of the water obtained from the Dakota sandstone; in some 
40 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS. [NO. B. 

places the water is of good character, while in others it is highly mineralized. 

Thus far but few wells in the special area discussed in this report 

have penetrated the Dakota sandstone. Not one is known to the 

writer to have done so north of the middle of the area, and but few 

to the south. In northeastern JVIeade County and the southern part 

of Ford County, four or five different wells are known to have passed 

through the Benton and reached the Dakota. In every instance the 

water obtained seems to be very abundant, rises to a height of from 

Fm. 2.-Reservoir and windmill pumping water from Dakota sandstone, about 18 miles south 

of Dodge, Kansas. . 

50 to 150 feet above where it was first reached, and is of so high a 

degree of purity that no mineral properties whatever are noticeable 

to the taste. At. Santa Fe, likewise, the city well passed through the 

Benton into the Dakota and obtained a good supply of water of as 

high a degree of purity as anyone could desire for domestic purposes. 

These Dakota waters have not been analyzed, largely because their 

purity is so apparent that analysis has seemed unnecessary. 

By referring to the accompanying map (Pl. I) it will be noticed that 

the southern limit of the Dakota formation passes from a line near 

Minneola, on the east, to a point a few miles south of Santa Fe, on the 
HAWORTH.] ARTESIAN PROPERTIES 0}, DAKOTA WATER. 41 

west. It may confidently be stated that the Dakota sandstone extends north ward from this boundary under t.he whole of the area, 

and that it is water bearing throughout its whole extent. Therefore, a well put down to a depth sufficient to reach the Dakota sandstone will be supplied with abundance of water.· 

These predictions are based upon the well-known extension of the 

Dakota sandstone and its property as a water-bearing formation. The 

depth to which wells at different places will have to be carried to reach 

the waters of the Dakota sandstone can only be given approximately. 

By referring to the different geologic sections on Pl. IV it will be seen 

that the Dakota deposits to the north lie at a similar angle. Our knowledge of this subject is only fragmentary. A deep well at Garden is 

reported to have reached the Dakota at a depth of 461 feet. This 

information is all that was available from that part of the area, and 

. section 3 was based upon it . 

. North of Dodge the Benton is exposed on the surface. Its thickness 

at this place is not known, but different wells have passed into it from 

100 to 200 feet. Farther south, in southwestern Ford County, the 

Benton is known to be at least 150 feet thick, while farther to the 

northeast, where it is exposed at the surface, it is estimated to have a 

thickness of about 400 feet. ]~rom these data it was estimated that 

its thickness at the northeast corner of the Dodge quadrangle is about 

400 feet, and section 1 was drawn accordingly. 

The areas lying between sections 1 and 2 and 2 and 3 will have the 

Dakota at about the same distance from the surface. If, therefore, 

anyone should desire to estimate the depth he would have to go at 

any particular place to reach the Dakota sandstone, he could obtain 

an approximate idea by referring to these sections. 

The representations here made should be regarded as only approximations, but the best that can'be made with our present knowledge. 

Should a few wells be drilled north of the Arkansas deep enough to 

reach the Dakota sandstone, corre~tions could then be made which 

would make it possible to estimate the distance below the surface at 

which the Dakota would be reached over the whole area. 

ARTESIAN PROPERTIES OF THE DAKOTA WATER. 

The Dakota water in all· places has artesian properties to a greater 

or less degree; that is, the water rises through a varying number of 

feet from the level at which it is found. At Coolidge different wells, 

when properly cased, gave a constant flow of from 40 to 50 gallons per 

minute from a 3-inch well. Farther east, at Syracuse, like wells have 

reached the Dakota and have produced water, but not one has yet 

been properly cased to determine whether or not the water would rise 

to the surface. 

Northward, in the vicinity of Ness, where the surface elevation is 

slightly less than the uplands in the vicinity of Dodge, the waters 
42 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF' SOU.'rHWESTERN KANSAS~ [No.6. 

from the Dakota sandstone rise to within from 35 to 7 5 feet of the 

surface. It is probable that wells of this character could be sunk in 

the area under discussion in which the water would rise nearly to the 

surface, and possibly in some instances an artesian flow might be 

obtained. Y~t one should not depend too much upon obtaining an 

actual flow, for it is doubtful if such would be obtained anywhere 

except in the lowest ground. There can be no good reason, however, 

for doubting that the water would rise to a point rarely more than 100 

feet below the surface, and in many instances much higher than this . 

. The constant drainage along the eastern borders of the Dakota 

decreases the water pressure to so great an extent that the height to 

which it will rise is materially reduced in the Dakotas 1 and Minnesota. 

The decrease in pressure is frequently as great as 4 feet to the mile 

· near the eastern border of Dakota, a decrease which is attributed 

largely to leakage. No observation has been made in Kansas to determine the rate of decrease in pressure. Such, in fact, could not be 

done to any satisfactory degree without a larger number of wells upon 

which observations could be made. 

HOW TO FIND THE DAKOTA SANDSTONE. 

Many inquiries have been made by citizens in various parts of 

Kansas regarding the means by which they could determine how to 

find the Dakota by boring. As already stated, t.he whole of the ar~a 

covered by this report north of the south limit of the Dakota is underlain by the Dakota sandstone. When one drills a well expecting to 

reach this formation, the Tertiary sands, gravels, and clays will probably first be passed through, and whether or not the Tertiary water is 

found will depend upon a number of conditions which obtain in the 

vicinity of the well. Below the Tertiary, limestone and black or 

dark shale alternating will probably be found. The shale is the 

rna terial commonly called ''soapstone" by the most of the well drillers. 

In all such cases, as long as the drill is in the shale or limestone the 

driller should keep on going deeper. Finally the drill will pass 

through the Bent.on shales and limestones and enter the Dakota 

sandstones and clays. 

If for any cause or combination of circumstances the desired supply 

of wat~r is not obtained, he should go deeper, for the Dakota sandstone exists in two or more different layers, separated from each other 

by clay or shale of varied characters. The only condition which should 

cause him to stop drilling before the desired amount of water is 

obtained is that the drill has reached the Red Beds exposed on the surface in the southeast part of Meade County. We do not know how 

far north these Red Beds extend, but probably they reach far beyond 

the limits of the territory to which this report pertains. They can be 

1 Preliminary report on artesian waters of a portion of the D3kotas, by N. H. Darton: Seventeenth Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Survey, Part II, 1896, p. 666. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 6 PL. IV 

I 

t?Y:r(:DJ 

TERTIARY AND PLEISTOCENE BENTON DAKOTA RED BEDS 

GEOLOGIC SECTIONS OF THE AREA DISCUSSED IN THIS REPORT. 
HAWORTH.] rrER'fiARY GROUND WATER. 43 

recognized wnen reached by the drill in a number of ways. They are 

generally free from sand, but not always; they are usually slightly 

salty or in some other way mineralized, so that they may be recognized 

by the taste; and they have mixed through them small masses of 

gypsum, a property rarely observed ip. the Dakota clays or shales 

lying between the Dakota sandstones. As soon as the driller becomes 

satisfied that his drill has entered the Red Beds, operations should be 

stopped immediately. There is no evidence favoring a hope that the 

Red Beds will produce water in 1arge quantities, while there are many 

reasons for believing that the small amount which may he obtained 

from them will be so highly mineralized as to be entirely unfit for use 

of any kind. 

TERTIARY GROUND WATER. 

Under this heading are placed the waters drawn from the Tertiary 

formations. They include all water that may be found in Tertiary 

sands, gravels, and clays; that is, all available water lying above the 

uppermost Cretaceous formation. It is the water which is generally 

known in the West by the terms '' underflow" or ''sheet water," names 

which reflect the popular idea regarding the extent and character of 

the ground water of the plains. The water is found in greatest 

abundance just above the Red Beds or the Cretaceous floor. The 

lower portion of the Tertiary sand and gravel is more than saturated, 

and.available water results. The thickness of the water-bearing beds 

is variable, sometimes being more than 100 feet, and elsewhere being 

less than 5, but always the water-bearing horizon rests on the impervious Cretaceous or Red Bed floor, or on a like impervious floor of clay. 

Almost all the area comprised in this report is underlain by large 

quantities of water. In the Arkansas Valley and the low grounds 

along other streams the water is usually found at depths varying from 

5 to 12 feet. On the higher uplands its distance below the surface is 

greater, in some places even reaching 200 feet, and possibly more. 

The water is everywhere present except in a few small areas, such as 

the area in the northeast corner of the Dodge quadrangle, where the 

Benton limestone is exposed at the surface, and similar areas in the 

southeast part of the Meade quadrangle, where the Red Beds come 

close to the surface. Elsewhere, speaking in a general way, a well 

put down at random on any quarter section will produce water if carried to a sufficient depth. 

DEPTH OF TERTIARY GROUND WATER. 

An [attempt has been made to represent graphically the distance 

below the surface at which water may be found for the whole area. 

Extensive examinations were made during the past summer, which 

included an investigation of almost every well outside the Arkansas 

Valley. Mapping the location of the wells and noting the depth from 

which water had to be pumped, it was possible to draw a series of 
44: UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS. (N0.6. 

lines on the surface of the map which may be called the water contours. These lines divide the area into a number of little groups, 

so that those similarly marked have water at at>out the same depth, 

somewhat as the contour lines on an ordinary topographic map represent areas of equal altitude. The results obtained by this method of 

representation are shown on the accompanying map (Pl. V), on which 

the different areas. represented by the same pattern have the water 

lying at about the same depth from the surface. . It may be said that 

too much confidence should not be placed in this map. When the 

long distances between wells on the uplands are considered, and the 

relatively large proportion of the uplands over which wens· have not 

been drilled, it will be seen that it is necessarily impossible to construct 

a map of this kind which will be entirely accurate. Yet it is believed 

that the one here presented has a fair degree of accuracy, and that 

confidence may be placed in it to a moderate extent. 

By an examination of the map it w:lll be seen that along the principal river valleys the water may be found at a depth of 50 feet or 

less. Over the whole Arkansas Valley, aggregating 200 square miles 

or more, th.e depth varies from 5 to 12 feet: Likewise in the Meade 

artesian valley, along Crooked Creek, the surface water rarely exceeds 

12 or 15 feet in depth. The valley of the Cimarron to the southwest 

is another place, where water can generally be obtained at a depth of 

less than 20 feet. An area to the north and northwest of Dodge, along 

the Sawlog and Buckner, covering many square miles, likewise ·has 

the water less than 50 feet in depth, while still another area in the 

southeast corner of Meade County, an area equal to 75 square miles 

or more, has water, when found at all, generally at a depth of less 

than 50 feet. This area, however, is one of the most uncertain ones 

in the county. The Red Beds are near the surface, with an irregular 

covering of sand and gravel. Sometimes the well will pass into the 

Red Beds without obtaining water in any considerable quantity, while 

perhaps less than a mile away water is found in apparently inexhaustible supplies. This variation· of conditions seems to be due to the 

irregularity of the surface of the Red Beds, a condition which can not 

be foretold and which can be determined only by the extended us~ of 

spade or drill. 

_The areas over which water may be found at depths varying from 

50 to 100 feet are greater in the aggregate than those just given. 

Nearly the whole of the country lying to the north of the Arkansas 

River comes under this division, although the high bluff lines along the 

Arkansas are not included. South of the river a strip reaches from 

west of Garden eastward entirely to the east side of the Dodge quadrangle. There is another area of like depth through the high divide 

between the Arkansas and Crooked Creek, covering the main portions 

of the south part of Ford and Gray counties and reaching far into 

Meade County on each side of the artesian valley and along Crooked 
U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 6 PL~ V 

Do-soft· ~50-lOOft. - 100·150ft. 1111 !50-200ft. 200-250ft. 

MAP GIVING DEPTH OF GROUND WATER. 
• 

HAWORTH.] LEVEL OF TERTIARY GROUND WATER. 45 

Creek, with irregular areas in the east-central par.t of Meade County 

and lesser outlying areas elsewhere. 

The next contour, with a depth varying from 100 to 150 feet., covers 

a like area and includes a portion of the high divide from Dodge westward almost to Garden, a portion of the divide between the Arkansas River and Crooked Creek, and a large portion of the high uplands 

in Meade County and a considerable part of Haske1l and Finney 

counties. The area covered by the next contour interval, that of 

from 150 to 200 feet, covers nearly all the remaining territory. North 

of the Arkansas River it is represented by a small, irregular strip near 

Dodge. Southward it covers the remainder of the high divide between 

the Arkansas River and Crooked Creek and a small portion of Meade 

County to the southeast of Meade. It likewise occupies a large territory north of the Cimarron River, in the vicinity of West Plains and 

Springfield, reaching northward to beyond Santa Fe, thus occupying 

nearly all the broad, apparently level plain from Santa Fe to Springfield. The contour interval greater than 200 feet is represented in 

but few places in this area so far as we know. A few miles to the 

north of West Plains wells were found which were more than 200 feet 

deep, likewise in the southwestern part of Seward County and in an 

area northwest of Santa Fe. Could a larger number of wells be drilled 

over the high plains of Seward and Haskell counties, it is quite possible that this contour interval would be extended. 

LEVEL OF TERTIARY GROUND WATER. 

The water contours cross and recross the elevation contours in an 

irregular manner. In one respect they are independent of the elevation contours, and yet over small areas they bear a close relation to 

them. Thus on a given farm a well in the valley will have to be 

sunk a much less depth than on the uplands near by, and the difference in depth can usually be closely estimated by obtaining the difference in the surface elevation. For example, water in the Arkansas 

Valley at Cimarron can be had at a depth of from 6 to 12 feet, while 

2 miles to the north, on the uplands, 140 feet higher, a well would 

probably have to be sunk 150 feet before water could be reached. 

We may cover much wider areas and still find the same condition 

obtaining in a general way. If a closer scrutiny of the conditions 

over wide areas be made, it is found that the upper surface of the 

available water is by no means on a level, but that it has marked 

variations of elevation which in a general way agree or correspond 

with the upper surface of the Cretaceous formations which lie buried 

beneath the Tertiary sands. 

'rhese conditions are well illustrated by the six different geologic 

sections crossing the area to be described. By reference to them {Pl. 

IV) it will be seen that the water level in the various wells is almost 

independent of the distance below the surface of the ground, but that 
46 

• 

UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS. (N0.6. 

it. is largely dependent upon the distance above the impervious floor. 

· In directions along which the floor lies in a horizontal position the 

water level is likewise approximately horizontal. In directions along 

which the floor varies greatly in elevation the water level likewise 

varies. Thus in section 1, passing north and south along the one 

hundredth mm;idian through Dodge, the same as in sections 2 and 

3 having a north-south direction, the water level is approximately 

horizontal wherever the Cretaceous floor is horizontal. Along the 

southern portion of section 1, where the upper surface of the Red 

Beds dips so rapidly to the south, the water level correspondingly 

falls at the same rate. 

In the Cimarron Valley, in the vicinity of Englewood, the water is 

found at less than 2,000 feet above the sea level, while 25 miles to 

the north it is found at nearly the same depth below the ·surface, 

which makes it fully 2,400 feet above sea level, or 400 feet higher. 

We therefore have an average inclination of the water level southward along the one hundredth meridian, from Minneola toward 

Englewood, of more than 25 feet to the mile. In east and west direcUons we likewise find perceptible inclinations of the water level. 

Section 5, drawn east and west through Santa Fe, shows a fall of 

fully 200 feet in 56 miles, while section 6, passing east and west near 

Garden, shows a decline of the water surface of fully 300 feet in the 

same distance, or a fall of over 5 feet to the mile. 

The same conditions are found to obtain over areas much wider 

even than that covered by this report. The water in the Arkansas 

River Valley at Coolidge is no farther from the surface than at Dodge, 

although the latter is about 860 feet lower, or at Great Bend or Hutchinson or Wichita or Arkansas City, although all the latter points are 

much lower than Coolidge. Similarly, the water of the high uplands 

anywhere in western Kansas, in general, is found at about the same 

depth, whether near the western side of the State or near the eastern 

limit of the Tertiary, although the difference in elevation may be a 

thousand feet or more. It is, therefore, correct, in a general way, to 

speak of the upper surface of the ground water as being approximately 

level when limited distances are considered, or when a distance extending in a direction which chances to cover a level surface of the underground Cretaceous floor is considered. The elevation contours are 

consequently of great value in determining the depth to which a well 

would have to be carried ·to obtain water if located near a well of 

known depth. But if the prospective well is to be drilled 5, 10, or 20 

miles from any known well the elevation contours would be of but 

little if any value. 

The existence of such vast quantities of water in an arid and semiarid portion of the Great Plains appears very remarkablP. Could the 

thousands of pioneers who traversed these regions prior to the operation. of the transcoutinental railway line~:~ have known that the purest . 
HAWORTH.] LEVEL OF TERTIARY GROUND WATER. 47 

and sweetest water existed in such unlimited quantities at so short a 

distance beneath the surface, how many of them in a few hours' time 

with spade and shovel would have supplied water to slake the thirst 

and maintain the life of man and beast throughout the course of 

those perilous journeys!" But the idea of such quantities of water 

existing within easy reach rarely entered their minds. It took years 

of occupancy of the Great Plains by thousands of citizens for si1eh an 

idea to become well established. Even now, after almost ten years of 

active agitation of the subject, few people outside the immediate 

localities where such water exists realize the extent to which water 

may be found. 

As already explained, the whole country is underlain by a mass 

of impervious material, the Cretaceous formations, or the Red Beds. 

This impervious floor prevents the downward movement of water which 

may be above it. The Tertiary sands, gravels, and clays furnish a 

thin and moderately even covering on the top of this floor, a loose, 

porous covering, well adapted for absorbing all precipitation that may 

fall upon it and well suited for the transportation through it of water 

from one part of the country to another. It is not necessary, therefore, that the water under any particular area should have fallen as 

rain or snow immediately upon that area, but it may have been precipitated tens or hundreds of miles away and traveled by the slow movement now known to exist. Nor is it necessary to assume that all this 

water must have been precipitated within recent times. There is no 

reason for believing that climatic conditions on the Great Plains have 

sensibly varied for thousands of years. The rains t,hroughout this 

long period have been falling as at present, and such portions of them 

as were not carried away by the run-off or by surface evaporation or 

held as soil moisture have sunk to the floor and there await the drill 

and the pump. As the water accumulates above the impervious floor 

it first moistens the sand to the degree of saturation, and any excess 

is held under such conditions that it can be drawn off by proper 

methods. 

As the downward percolation continues, the level at which available 

water exists gradually rises, so that in the true sense of the term we 

may speak of the ground being saturated upward, meaning thereby 

that in the natural order of the events of accumulation the level at 

which the ground water first became sufficiently abundant to yield a 

supply was immediately above the impervious floor, and that, with the 

increase of water from above and from the sides, this level of avaiLable water gradually rose in a manner similar to the way the upper 

surface of water in a vessel rises when water is added. The upward 

saturat,ion of the sands and gravels, therefore, is dependent upon the 

;l,ccumulation of a larger ~upply of water from precipitation or from 

underground movements. 

W ~ may think: of thi~ boQ.y of undergrorrnd wft,ter ~s ~~isting in 
48 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS. [No.6. 

the form of a lake or pool; not a lake with a perfectly level surface, 

nor one filled entirely with water, but an underground lake the upper 

surface of which is inclined in any particular direction, dependent. 

upon the relative conditions of supply and exhaustion and the rapidity 

with which water may move through the sands. I...~et us again refer 

to fig. 1, explained in the introduction, the figure representing the 

underground conditions at Lawrence, in the vicinity of the State 

University. Here we have a lake in one sense of the term, an area 

holding an excessive amount of water, so that the smallest opening 

made in it is instantly filled by the water flowing into it from all sides, 

just as an opening in a body of water will be filled by the movement of 

the adjacent water from all directions. But the upper surface .of this 

lake is not level, because the water movement is so retarded that in 

the lower portio:p.s of the ground it can move neither upward nor laterally as rapidly as the supply is brought from above; consequently 

there is a piling up of the water similar to the way grain may be 

piled up in a bin. 

This represents the conditions in the western part of Kansas, the 

only essential difference being that the Tertiary sands and gravels 

permit a more rapid movement than can be obtained in the clays at 

Lawrence. This great underground lake or sheet of water is consequently uneven of surface and variable in depth. A depression in 

the floor will be filled or partially filled, so that the water-bearing 

sands in the valley of the depression will be thicker than on the sides . 

. And yet we may have a floor inclined 10 or 20 feet to the mile, with 

the water-bearing sands uniformly distributed over it, so that the 

water will lie at about an equal distance above the surface of the floor 

over the whole plane. 

MEADE COUNTY WELLS. 

The Meade· artesian area is located in the valley of Crooked Creek, 

to the northeast of Meade Center, extending from Meade Center to 

Wilburn. This gives it a length of about 20 miles, with a width in 

places of nearly 6 miles. The area over which artesiati'. water has been 

found to a greater or less extent covers from 60 to 80 square miles. It 

is a broad, flat valley, apparently almost level, with scarcely any irregularities of surface within it, except here and there small drainage 

channels which are cut downward from 5 to 8 feet, almost like an artificial ditch. On all sides and in every direction from the valley the 

ground is higher, so that there appears t•o be a natural wall all around 

it. On the east and southeast the wall is from 50 to 100 feet high, 

with gently sloping sides, and the surface is largely covered with sand 

hills. On the north is a gentle rise toward Crooked Creek, producing 

a maximum elevation of about 75 feet between the main part of the 

valley and Crooked Creek itself. But at the northeast, toward Wilburn, the wall is much more abrupt, rising rapidly to a height of 100 

to 140 feet. A few drainage channels originate in the high ground to 
HAWORTH.] MEADE COUNTY WELLS. 49 

the west and pass across the artesian valley to Crooked Creek. Such 

channels present the appearance of mere ditches throughout their 

whole length within the valley, usually having their banks lifted 

higher than the ground some distance back, showing the filling-in 

process to have been carried on by them, as is so commonly done by 

rivers after reaching their base-level. Crooked Creek is, throughout 

the valley, scarcely distinguishable from some of its tributaries just 

described. It is almost insignificant in appearance, generally but a 

few feet wide, and Gan rarely be observed in the landscape until one 

is within a hundred feet of it, so closely does it resemble an artificial 

ditch in its general characters. It has also lifted its banks higher 

than the adjacent land to so great an extent that in some instances 

the surface a quarter of a mile away is lower than the top of t:.te bank 

immediately at· the creek. 

The uplands to the west of the artesian valley increase in height 

rapidly, so that the plains to the north and northwest of Jasper, as 

shown by the Meade topographic sheet, are more than 2, 700 feet high 

not more than 10 miles away, while the general elevation of the artesian valley is between 2,400 and 2,500 feet. rrhe Tertiary ground 

water of the high plains to the west is found at a depth of from 125 to 

150 feet; conse.quently the level of the water 10 miles to the west of 

the artesian valley is from 100 to 120 feet above the surface of the 

valley itself. 

The artesian valley throughout is covered with Tertiary or Pleistocene deposits. The thickness of these formations is not known; the 

different artesian wells vary from 50 to 250 feet in depth, and no one 

of them has yet passed through the formations. To the north, beyond 

Crooked Creek, the Benton is shown at the surface in a few places and 

has been reached in many of the wells. To the northeast, a few miles 

beyond Wilburn, the Dakota was found by different wells. South of 

the valley the Red Beds appear at the surface, as the Benton and 

Dakota gradually grow .thinner at the south until they disappear. It 

is further believed that the strata were here faulted so that the Meade 

Valley was sunk to an ~nknown distance, at least. 100 to 150 feet, and 

t4at it has since been filled in to a considerable extent, probably in 

Pleistocen~ time. The character of the materials, as shown in the 

borings from different wells here and there over the valley, can not 

be distinguishe<J. from the rrertiary materials adjacent on all sides. It 

is composed of silt, clay, sand, and fine gravel, quite irregularly mixed, 

so that there is no greater continuity of the bedding planes than may 

be found in the Tertiary deposits elsewhere. 

The mortar beds produced by the cementing of the coarse sand 

seem to be almost wanting, but here and t.here the finer sand and 

clay are frequently partially cemented by calcium carbonate, producing a certain degree of hardening similar to that observed in the mortar beds elsewhere. In character the cement so frequently assumes 

IRR 6--4 
50 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS. [No.6. 

a concretionary aspect that it seems probable it was deposited in the 

sands and clays by infiltrating water after they were placed where 

they are now found. The artesian water is drawn from the Tertiary 

or from Pleistocene beds composed of materials in every respect similar to the Tertiary materials surrounding the valley upon all sides. 

It seems sharply distinguishable from the Dakota artesian water 

known to exist to the north and northwest. 

The whole of the artesian valley is supplied with the ordinary underground water, which may be found at from 5 to 15 feet below the surface. Its abundance is not known, as no one cares to use it. It would 

seem that it is sharply distinguished from the deeper-lying artesian 

water, as it has no apparent artesian properties. But at the same 

thne it must be admitted that we are in relative ignorance regarding 

the reasons why the two are not connected. · 

The artesian wells at present in successful operation number considerably more than 300, an exact enumeration of them not having 

yet been made. In depth the wells vary greatly, some of them being 

but little more than 50 feet deep, while others are as much as 250 feet. 

There is a strong similarity between the materials passed through by 

all the wells if considered in a general way, but a lack of similarity if 

considered in great detail. Each one passes through the surface soil, 

below which it encounters alternations of clay, sand, and soil. The 

sand is frequently partly cemented, so that the well drillers speak of 

it as rock, but the layers thus cemented are rarelymore than 12 inches 

thick, and frequently not more than 6 inches. Two wells within 40 

1·ods of each other found a great variation in the number and relative 

position of t,he beds of clay, sand, and rock, but all of them passed 

through the same materials. So far as could be learned, there is no 

particular stratum which must be reached before artesian water is 

obtained. A mass of bluish clay, the color showing that considerable 

unoxidized organic matter is contained within it, frequently rests on 

the top of a bed of uncemented sand, stained yellow-with iron rust. 

Such sand always contains water, generally the artesian "\vat,er, and 

indicates by the degree to which the iron oxide is produced that the 

artesian water is a ~urface water which has not yet been robbed of its 

supply of oxygen gathered from the atmosphere. 

But few wells have been studied carefully while being drilled. In 

August, 1896, the writer had a well put down especially for making 

au examination. It was located on the land of Mr. W. F. Foster, 

near the center of section 6, township 31 south, range 27 west. The 

drill used was one rented from Mr. Cooper, a well driller living in the 

valley. In addition to the bit on the end, a pump was attached so 

that water was forced down through the drill pipe, causing a constant 

flow upward outside of the pipe, the current bringing up the cuttings 

of the drill. In this way it was impossible to tell within a few inches, 

o:r possibly a foot or two, of the depth at which a change of material 

was made unless there was a change in the degree of hardness of the 
.. U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER - SUPPLY PAPER NO. 6 PL. VI 

VIEW OF MARR 'S ARTESIAN WELL, MEADE, KANSAS, 
~A WORTH.] ·MEADE COUN'fY WELLS. 51 

material, so that the one turning the drill could detect the difference. 

The well was carried to a depth of 1G7 feet and obtained a moderate 

flow of water from a loose, yellow sand. 

lVell of JJir. TV. F. Fo:5fer, un section 6, township Sl south, range 27 'West. 

Tbick- N o. of ness of Description of str'iitum. stratum. stratum, 

feet. 

L _______ _ 2 ________ _ 

3 ________ _ 

4 .. ------- 5 .. ------- 6 .. ------- '--------- 8 ... ------ 9 ________ _ 

10 _______ _ 

n _______ _ 

12 _______ _ 13 _______ -

14 .... ---- 15 .. _____ _ 

16 -------

17 .. -----

18 .. ------ 19 -------

7 I Soil and subsoiL_~--·· ______ ............ -------- ___ ... ____ __ 1:3 I Mortar beds, almost entirely free from sand or gravel, 

I ~~~~l~d~it};\ohea~la~~~~ -~~ _c_~~-~~~~. ~~-r-~~~~~~ _i_~~~~-~- 11 Light-colored clay, grading into gray and grayish-blu<' in color _______ ..... ___________________ .. ________________ _ 

5 Blue clay which grades into No. 5 .. ___ .. __ .. ______ .. _____ _ 4 Light-colored clay which grades into No. 6 __ .. ___ .. __ .. _ 10 Blue clay ______ .... ____________________ .. __ ... ___ .. ____ ...... 

2 Mortar beds similar to No. 2 ____ .. ___________ .. __ .. ______ _ 1-l I Blileclay ________________________________________________ __ 

19 • At depth of 66 feet began striking thin layers of hard : 'I substance, which seemed to b3 layers of ~'<and sufficiently cemented with calcium carbonate to produce 

considerable resistance to the drill. Three or four of 

these were passed during 19 feet. They were sepa- rated from each other by beds of blue clay _____ --------~ 3 A fine white sand at the top, grading into bluish sand at the bottom, and which was sufficiently cemented 

with calcium carbonate to produce a relatively solid rock ____ .. ____ .. ____ ... _ .. _____ .. __ .. _________________ ... __ ' 

3 Blue clay, at the bottom of which was a bard sandrock ! 

similar to those above __ .. _____________________________ ... i 

11 C~ay, with sand intermingled ....... ----------------- ------1 

t ~;1r~i7t~_o;;~'li~~~iit-0 w0· i5::·_-_ ::~~:~:~:~:~~--: ::~~~~~::::I 6 Alternating layers of clay and sand sufficiently ce- I 

mented to benoticeable __________ ------------------------1 18 At 113 feet struck unusually (for this well) hard sand· 

rock less than 1 foot thick, below which there was a frequent alternation of elay and sand partially ce- mented, the layers being from 2 inches to 6 inches thick _________ .. _ .. ______ . ____ .. ____ .. __ .... _____ ........ .. 

20 At ab:mt 130 ··e~t a fine sand with day was struck, a lig-ht bluish-yellow in color, which was 20 feet thick .. _: 

10 Atl50feet the color changed to more of a reddish-brown.-~ 7 At 160feet the sand became coarser and the clay redder 

in color. The drill gradually sank of its own weight. 

occupying less than two minutes in sinking 3 feet, I 

while the pump was kept running. At the bottom of I 

this formation the clay seemed to disappear almost ~ntirely, and the artesian flow came from the coarse, 1 

~ ellow1sh saud .. __________________________________________ ,

1 

'--------~------~-------------

Total 

depth to bottom of 

stratum, 

feet. 

20 

31 

36 

40 

50 

52 

66 

8.') 

88 

91 

102 

105 

lOti 

112 

130 

150 

160 I 

_ _d 

It was learned from Mr. Foster and the parties who did the drilling 

that a well previously drilled, located not over 40 rods to the west, 

struck almost none of the harder material. The house well of :Mr. 

Marrs, a quarter of a mile to the east, one of the best wells in the 

valley, likewise struck none of the harder materials. Each of these 

two wells 1vas drilled in about four hours' time, which furt,her shows 

the soft character of the materials passed through. It was reported 

that a few wells not more than 50 feet deep have produced considerable amounts of artesian water. From this they increase in depth to 

a maximum of 250 feet, the depth of a well drilled on Mr. Cooper's 

place, about 2! miles to the southwest of the Foster well. 

"'rith but one exception, no well has yet been drilled in this valley 

large enough to admit more than a· 3-incb pipe. The drills that 
52 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS. [N0.6. 

have been available for use have been owned locally, and have been 

handled by men who have had but little experience in well drilling 

outside the valley. Usually a gas pipe from 12 to 18 feet long is put 

down to shut off the first water, after which no piping is used. In a 

few instances wells have been piped almost their entire depth. The 

best now flowing gave but little water when first drilled. They had a 

mild flow bringing up sand, the flow increasing as more sand was 

brought out. In some cases two or three wagonloads of sand have 

thus been thrown out by the water, after which time the flow reached 

a maximum amount and the movement of sand almost ceased. Little 

experimenting has. been clone to determine whether or not an increase 

of water could be produced by properly piping the wells, or by pumping them vigorously until all the loose sancl was removed. It is 

quite possible that flows could be greatly increased by these methods. 

An artesian flow may be found almost anywhere over the valley. 

Yet there are many instances in which wells have been drilled that did 

not yield a sufficient quantit,y of water to be of value. It is difficult 

to decide, with the nata at hand, why some of the wells are successes 

and some are failures. In a few places the surface elevation seems 

to be a little too high. A well in the bottom of a ravine will yield a 

pretty good flow, while in one drilled. on the banks near by, the water 

will rise almost to the surface, .but not high enough to flow. In other 

instances two or more wells may be close together wit,h the surface 

elevation the same, some of which will be good flowing wells and 

others not. It seems probable that this difference is due to two 01~ 

more causes. The great diversity in the character of the material 

passed through in drilling the different wells makes it certain that 

the clay beds are irregular in formation and distribution. One can 

well understand how the disposition of these beds may cause a variation in the results obtained. A mass of clay may carry the water so 

deep that the drill can not reach it. Or it is possible for a mass of 

sand to be entirely surrounded by an impervious c~ay, so that a drill 

penetrating the sand will receive no flow because there is no pressure 

on the water the sand contains. The heterogeneous character of the 

clay beds, therefore, may be one of the main causes for such differences in wells so close together. The experience with wells which 

are of little value for weeks, or. even months, after which time they 

become ·strong flowing wells, shows that in some way they become 

choked with sand, permittil1g only a mild flow until the sand is 

removed by pumping or otherwise. 

It seems that the northern and western sides of the valley are the 

more productive. At present the best wells are in the northwestern 

portion of the valley, but flowing wells have been obtained all the 

way from Wilburn, on the northeast, to J\!Ieade, or possibly a mile or 

two south of Meade, to the southwest. The flow of the wells varies 

from a pailful in five minutes t,o 45 gallons per minute. Approxi-
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 6 PL. VII 

VIEW OF VICK'S ARTESIAN WELL AND RESERVOIR, NORTH OF MEADE, KANSAS. 
HAWORTH.) MEADE COUNTY WELLS. -53 

mate measurements have been made of twenty or more of the strongest wells. A large bucket was accurately measured and filled by the 

flow a number of times, one person handling the bucket, the other 

holding a watch to determine the number of seconds required for 

filling the bucket. The test was repeated a number of times to eliminate errors of observation as far as possible. ln this way it is believed 

the probable error of measurement is not greater than 1 or 2 per cent. 

}1"'ive or six different wells were found to yield 45 gallons per minute. 

Twenty or thirty exist which yield 30 gallons per minute or more, 

from which the wells grade downward to the minimum flow. 

The water obtained from the wells is largely used for irrigation 

purposes. Many of the wells were simply left flowing, and the water 

allowed to waste, without any attempt to use it. The number of acres 

irrigated is far less than the estimated possibility. 

From data already given regarding elevations in the artesian valley 

and the uplands to the west, it will be seen that the water level from 

5 to 15 miles to the west of the valley is considerably higher than the 

surface of the ground within the valley. The wells along the arroyos 

to the west of the artesian valley have artesian propertiet which gradually decrease westward. The depth ~f the water on the uplands to 

the west is nearly as great a mile away as it is 5 miles away, excepting where the well is located in an arroyo of considerable depth. It 

will not do, therefore, to consider the water on the uplands as moving 

eastward under favorable conditions for creating a pressure throughout the whole distance, but rather it should be considered that the 

impervious Cretaceous or Red Bed floor slopes to the east at nearly 

the same rate as the surface, and that, the water is gradually moving 

clown this gentle incline toward the east. Here and there, however, 

it passes under local clay beds,_ which carry the water to lower levels 

than it otherwise would occupy, and a corresponding pressure is set 

up. In some way, as the large artesian area is approached, the water 

descends, and in the descent passes underneath the clay beds of the 

valley, so that a limited pressure is established. 

A few experiments were made to test the height to which water 

would rise in an open tube at the well. All such experiments show 

that the rise is only a few feet, perhaps always less than 20. The 

pressure which causes the flow from the wells, therefore, can not be 

clue to the extra height the water has 10 miles to the west, otherwise 

the head would be much greater and the flow correspondingly stronger. 

It would seem rather that the pressure is due to the head generated 

by the gentle dipping downward of the water level as it passes under 

the clay beds near the west border of the artesian area, perhaps rarely 

extending farther away than from 2 to 4 miles. The water in the 

artesian wells seems to be continuous with the general upland water 

to the west. It is like it in character, and the two areas are connected 

by various wells. 

Springs throughout the artesian valley are by no means unknown. 
54 UNDERGRCJUND WATERS OP SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS. [No.6. 

A few are located in arroyos along the western border. The most 

noted area for springs is in the vicinity of :Mr. Simms's ranch, a mile 

and a half north of Fowler. On the eastern side of Crooked Creek, a 

fourth of a mile or more away, a large area is so abundantly supplied 

with springs and seeps that hundreds of acres of land are rendered 

worthless. The springs are principally located just along the border 

line between the valley propei· and the higher larids to the east. The 

rank growth of vegetation produced by the moisture has provided a 

tough and heavy sod which protects the softer ground beneath, so t,ha~ 

the ran~e animals can pass over it with safety, except in the immediate vicinity of the strongest pools. Here the upward movement of 

the wat-er is so rapid and the sand which is frequently brought up 

with the water accumulates to such an extent that vegetation does not 

grow for a few feet around the springs. Such areas are death traps 

to range animals. :Ylr. Simms stated that numerous instances have 

come under his observation of animals becoming ingulfed in the mud 

and sinking out of sight, or, if not out of sight entirely, sinking the 

full length of the body. In many of the springs, by using a long pole, 

one can feel bones at a distance of from 8 to 15 feet below the surface, · 

presumably those of buffalo and other wild animals which lost their 

life in the springs. It seems probable that these springs and the 

artesian wells rec_ei ve their supplies from the same source. The character of the water is the same; the location in general is the same; for 

artesian wells can be obtained in the immediate vicinity of th.e springs, 

and the whole character of the surroundings implies that there is no 

essential difference between the sources of the two classes of water. 

The location of the la1·gest springs is near the southeast valley line, 

along the eastern side of the valley. If the valley has been dropped 

by faulting, the water-bearing sands ii1 the valley are doubtless on a 

level with the Red Beds, or the underlying Dakota on the east. This 

condition would cause springs to be more abundant along the east 

line -than elsewhere. 

Fart,her south, along the western tributaries to Crooked Creek and 

in the valley of Crooked Creek itself, springs and seeps abound. 

The largest, amount of spring water flows through Spring Creek, a 

stream about 3 miles south of :Meade. Springs are abundant throughout almost the entire length of this stream, but are particularly so 

about 3 miles south of :Meade, in section 21. Here most beautiful 

springs exist. At one place with an area of not more than 10 square 

rods, the cold, clear water comes bursting forth from under the mortarbeds bluff, forming a stream like a mill race. Au approximate 

measurement from this one area gave fully 3 second-feet, which is 

equivalent to more than 2,000 acre-feet, or enough to irrigate more 

·than 2,0CO acres with 12 inches of water each year. This is one of the 

most remarkable groups of springs anywhere in the West. H would 

seem that there is an abundance of water, however, in this one little 

stream to irrigate more than 3,000 acres 12 inches each year, provided 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATFR-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 6 PL. VIII 

HEAD OF IRRIGATION DITCH SUPPLYING THE "CROOKED L" RANCH, MEADE COUNTY, KANSAS. 

Ditch to left; Spring Creek to right. 
HAWORTH.] MEADE COUNTY WELLS. 55· 

it were all used for irrigation purposes and proper care taken to guard 

against waste. About a mile below this group of springs a ditch 

draws water from Spring Creek to irrigate the alfalfa fields on Crooked 

L ranch. The remainder of the water passes on down the creek, and 

is principally used for stock ·water, although here and there small 

amounts are taken for irrigation. South from Spring Creek the next 

most important i1ributary from the west is Stump Arroyo, a stream 

along which frequent springs occur, but which does not yield nearly 

so much water. One principal ditch draws water from this creek to 

farms below. All these springs are in the true sense connected with 

the artesian area to the nort,h, and the discussion of them is relevant 

here, because they throw light on the origin of the water in the 

artesian valley. 

Reviewing the whole matter regarding the origin of the water in 

the artesian wells and artesian springs, it must be admitted that it 

seems the water is continuous with the ordinary underground water 

to the west, and that it, is therefore a part of the same. It is certainly 

distinct from the Dakota water, and is so deep that we can not think 

it lies above the ,eastern.extension of the water plane on the west. 

It is of great practical importance to arrive at some conclusion 

regarding the amount of available water in the artesian valley, and 

to decide whether or not the continued m;e year after year is liable to 

destroy the supply. It will hardly do to assume that wells could 

he put down every few rods oyer the entire valley, each one of which 

would flow independently of the others. Artesian water in almost 

all places thus far observed in any part of the world has been found 

in wells which acted sympathetically with one another. When a 

strong-flowing well is closed, ordinarily adjacent wells have their flow 

accelerated. Few experiments have been thus far made in the Meade 

artesian valley to determine the influence of one well upon another. 

Many inquiries were made of citizens here and there in the valley, 

and conflicting statements were given on these subjects. Some individuals were positive that the rapid flow of one well sensibly diminished the flow in weaker ones near by, while other farmers as 

emphatically stated that on their farm the flow of one had no influence on the flow of another. It is probable that the former class of 

reports are correct; in fact, it would be quite remarkable were they not. 

This condition need not necessarily argue against the large supply 

of water in the valley. In all cases where wells are close together 

they mutually influence one another, provided the rate of flow 

through the water-bearing strata-sand, gravel, or whatever it may 

be-is not sufficiently great to maintain the flow as long as the supply 

lasts. But most" beds of sand and gravel are so close grained that 

there is an appreciable check in the rate of movement of the water in 

t,he sand, which in most instances will result in the sympathetic 

action of adjacent wells. 
56 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS. [No.6. 

It appears to the writer, therefore, that the question of supply of 

water for artesian wells depends more on the source of the water 

than it does on the mere rapidity of the flow from any well or from a 

group of wells. rrhe facts already given certainly imply, as has 

·been seen, that the source is the ordinary ground water to the west 

and northwest. If this is correct, the question of supply is essentially the same as the question of the supply in ·the upland areas. 

So long as water exists on the uplands from 5 to 20 or 40 miles 

away, it is probable that it will likewise exist in the artesian wells. 

Could a sufficient number of wells be drilled, and could the flow be 

continued from all of them a sufficient length of time, it seems reasonable to suppose that a diminution of t,he supply of water on the 

uplands would first be observed, and later of that in the Valley. It 

is probable that the small area, less than 100 square miles, in the 

artesian valley and the valley of Crooked Creek below Meade, could 

drain the whole of the uplands to the west, and that their supply of 

water would not become exhausted so long as there was any available 

water anywhere in the broad plains to the west or northwest. We 

are therefore brought to the consideration of the amount of this 

ground water, a subject discussed later in this report. It is sufficient 

to say here that, in the judgment of the writer, water enough could 

be obtained, ·were it properly husbanded, to irrigate such parts of the 

JHeade artesian valley as anyone is likely to want to irrigate during 

the next half century. 

QUANTITY OF TERTIARY GRO'C'ND '!VATER. 

DIFFICULTY OF ESTIMATION. 

No one can give more than a mere approximation of the amount of 

Tertiary ground water in western Kansas. The wells which thus far 

have been drawing their supply from it, with but few exceptions, have 

shown no indications of failing. A few wells which were located on 

the outer margin of the ·water area have been known to become 

exhausted by rapid pumping. Others whi<>h haye only penetrated 

the water-producing sands a few inches, or a foot at, most, have likewise been known to fail. But no instances have yet been found of a 

well failing, or seeming to be in failing condition, provided it was 

unquestionably within the water-producing area and had a depth of 

5 feet or more in the water-bearing sand. Of course this does not 

necessarily mean that the supply is inexhaustible, in the true sense of 

the term. But it may well be taken to mean that with any moderate 

amount of pumping-even an amount several times greater t,han has 

yet been pumped-the supply will not be found wanting. 

It is supposed, and perhaps correctly, that water is more abundant 

in the Arkansas River Valley than on the uplands either north or 

south. More decisive pumping tests have·heen made here than at any 

place on the uplands. The city well at Garden represents the severest 
U. S. GEOLOOICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 6 PL. IX 

WINDMILL AND RESERVOIR AT GARDEN , KANSAS. 
' HAWORTH.) QUANTITY OF TERTIARY GROUND WATER. 57 

test made within this area, a supply sufficient for a town of 2,000 

inhabitants being furnished. The largest pumping plant within the 

State is located in ·the Arkansas Valley, at Hutchinson. Here the 

Hutchinson Packing Company have three pumps which have been 

running constantly for several months, pumping at the rate of about 

1,300 gallons per minute, the equivalent of 5,616,000 gallons per day, 

without appreciably affect,ing the water supply. This is almost 3 second-feet, an amount approaching the flow from the big springs already 

described along Spring Creek. There is no reason for believing that. 

the amount of water here is any greater than anywhere else in the 

valley from Coolidge to Arkansas City. A like amount, probably, 

could be pumped from every quarter section of land within the whole 

valley. Should such pumping be done all at once, it doubtless would 

decrease the supply, but no fear need be entertained that the water 

will not be sufficient for all demanas that will be made upon it for a 

long time in the future. 

Could the water level in the valley be appreciably lowered, it is 

quite evident that water would be drawn into the valley from the 

upland areas to the sout,h, and to some extent from those to the 

north. The rapidity with which the movement toward the river 

would be made would depend upon a number of conditions, such as 

the degree of exhaustion and the character of the material through 

which the movement takes place. Should the draft be sufficient 

to lower the water in the valley 20 feet, there would result a high 

angle of inclination on the upper surface of the water at either side, 

tending to set up a rapid movement from both sides into the valley. 

Still, a gradient of 20 feet to the mile is less than now exists under 

normal conditions in the area to the north and west of Englewood, 

and yet the water is not drawn away so rapidly hut that it is almost 

everywhere present. Should any other area be appreciably exhausted 

by the excessive pumping from a well, or a group of wells, so that the 

upper surface of the water would be materially lowered, water would 

flow in from all directions to supply t,he deficiency, and in this way 

the one well would drain a considerable area. 

Is is therefore exceedingly difficult to draw decisive conclusions 

regarding the sum total of the water in the Great Plains of the West, 

judging from the amount that any given well or series of wells may 

produce, so long as the pump does not entirely exhaust the area. All 

that can be said with certainty at the present time is that, with the 

large amount of pumping which has already been done, no indications of exhaustion have yet been observed. 

SOURCES OF TERTIARY GROUND WATER. 

It is of great importance to consider the sources of the supply and 

the rapidity with which the supply can be transmitted to different 

localities. Should we look upon the ground water as constituting a 

great reservoir, it is evident that the amount. would become entirely 
58 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS. (N0.6. 

exhausted unless there were a corresponding continuance of the supply. Should pumping be begun from Lake l\Iichigan, it would sooner 

or later entirely exhaust that vast body of water were it not for the 

large additions to its volume every year by the surface drainage of 

adjacent territory. It is possible to determine the amount of pumping that could be done without appreciably lowering the water in the 

lake, by an estimation of tp_e amount of water added by the surface 

drainage year by year. Likewise the question of the supply of water 

for western Kansas is largely one of the rate of the renewal of the 

ground water. Any estimation on the subject which neglects this 

factor will in practice prove to be faulty, should the time ever come 

when the sum total of exhaustion is more rapid than the rate of supply. Enough is known on the subject to demonstrate that pumping 

from the underground reservoir must be many times greater than that 

which has yet been done before ti1e exhaustion will nearly equal the 

rate of supply. In many places throughout the country springs of 

great strength abound, and lesser seeps supply water to pools and 

living streams. Should the exhaustion by pumping be appreciable,. 

it would first be noticed in the rate of flow of the springs and seeps. 

Nothing of the kind has yet been observed. 

The original source of all the Tertiary waters is precipitation. 

'The areas over which this precipitation falls are large and varied. 

In lVIeade County the average rainfall is about 18 inches per annum,. 

a rainfall which varies from year to year and from month to month. 

Sometimes heavy falls are known, reaching from 3 to 4: inches or more 

at a single storm. \Vith such storms an undue proportion of the 

water runs off through the drainage channels, leaving perhaps less. 

t,han half to be absorbed by the ground. At other times the rain is 

so light that it will wet the ground for only a few inches, and entirely 

evaporate within a few days or weeks, so that perhaps no appreciable 

part of the lighter rain joins the general ground water. 

~rhe character of the soil has a great influence on the run-off. In 

the sand hill area to the south of Arkansas River and to the east of 

Crooked Creek, and in the southeastern corner of lVIeade County, it 

requires an unusually heavy rain for any of the water to join the runoff, the whole of it being absorbed and held by the porous sands. On 

the uplands, where the Plains marl is abundant, as well as in the 

river valleys, where a similar soil exists, ihe character of the soil is 

such that only a small amount of the rainfall is absorbed, while a 

correspondingly large proportion joins the run-off. The conditions 

of the rainfall and the character of the surface soil over the whole of 

the Tertiary of western Kansas and eastern . Colorado are about the 

same on the average as in the area covered by this report. Probably 

more than half of the total precipitation falls in severe storms, or in 

light rains. 'Ve have, therefore, unfavorable conditions for the 

absorption by the ground of a high per cent of rainfall. No one has 
HAWORTH.) SOURCES OJ!~ TERTIARY GROUND WATER. 

made any accurate observations on this subject with a view to determining the per cent of the total rainfall which is absorbed by the 

ground; but, as seen in the Introduction, it is only a small part of the 

total amount absorbed that ever becomes available as water supply. 

The Tertiary formations extend west, in some places reaching almost 

to the Rocky Mountains, but in other places they are separated from 

the foothills by the high ridge known as the "Hogback," and by the· 

high divide farther north. Toward the 1iwuntainous area generally 

the rainfall increases, so that the average annual precipitation is. 

greater than in the west of Kansas. 

A great deal has been said and written regarding the probability 

that precipitation in the mountainous region will reach western Kan-· 

sas. It may be added that little, if anything, is positively known on . 

the subject. 'Ve have the Arkansas River carrying its waters all the· 

way from the mountains through the Great Plains. The eastward 

inclination of the surface is such that the water in the bed of the 

stream at one place is higher than the uplands only a few miles below. 

Here and there throughout its course the Benton or Dakota bluffs hem 

the water in, so that it is confined to the channel of the stream. At 

other places such impervious bluffs do not exist, and the loose, porous 

Tertiary sands and gravel spread from t.he uplands directly clown intothe river valley. There are many places where, so far as the elevation of the underground floor itself is concerned, underground watermay be drawn from the Arkansas River and spread over all the vast 

plains lying below. 'Vhether this actually occurs or not can be determined only by a c.areful and detailed study of the water levels north 

and south of the river. At present we have so few wells in the great. 

sand-hill area south of the river in Kansas and Colorado that no conclusion of value can be reached in this discussion. The level lines 

have shown that the water in the wells 6 or 8 miles south of the rive1~ 

at Garden is at a little lower level than the water in the river itself. 

The same in a general way is true at Dodge. 1 Later investigations 

have added but little information on this subject for the areas covered 

by the sand hills, thedifficulty being that so few wells here exist. 

From the meager data at hand, we are forced to conclude that at. 

different places throughout its course, so far as the water gradients. 

are concerned, ground water might be deflected from the river valley 

southward in its eastward movement and ultimately become a part of 

the great body of ground watet~ on the plains only a few miles farthereast. If su~h deflection ever occurs, we have a mass of water gathered 

from the rains and melting snows in the mountainous area being 

carried across the divide by the Arkansas River and ultimately spreading over the high uplands to the south of the river. This is only oneof the conditions which are possible, so far as the information now at 

I Report on Irrigation, 1893. Artesian and Underflow Investigation. Fifty-second Congress~ 

first session, Senate Ex. Doc. 41, part 2, pp. 20-27, pis. 10 and 11. 
UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS. (N0.6. 

hand indicates. It is entirely improbable, however, that any considerable proportion of the water in the plains south of the river 

comes from the river itself. It is probable that if a detailed examination were made it would be found that the water in the sand-hill 

~·egion is a little higher than in t.he river. This statement is made 

because it is customary for rivers to serve as drainage channels rather 

than as supply channels. The usual condition is for underground 

-drainage to be from the uplands into the rivers, the same as the 

.surface drainage. 

Should a considerable proportion of the water be deflected from the 

Arkansas River Valley to the plains at the south, we_ should find a 

much larger amount of water south of the river than exists to the 

·north, unless there is a similar deflection in places to the north. There 

-are some reasons for thinking that this may be true. - Farther east, 

in Clark, Comanche, Kiowa, Pratt, and Stafford counties, and the level 

lands to t,he east toward 'Vichita, there is a larger proportion of 

springs and streams with living water in them than we find in general 

·to the north of the Arkansas. But it must be confessed that with so 

few absolute data as are now available regarding the actual amount 

-of ground water, arguments pro and con on this question are of little 

wort.h. A careful study of the subject would be of value. 

At different places along the Arkansas, where the bluff lines of the 

valley are composed of Tertiary ·material, both in Colorado and Kansas, soundings should be made at frequent intervals to determine 

ae<:mrately the level of the ground-water surface both north and south 

,of the river. If it should be found that there is a uniform rise of 

the level outward from the rh~er, this would show that the under-

:ground drainage is uniformly toward the river rather than away from 

it. If, on the contrary, at any time during the year in periods of 

high water it should be found that the ground water at or near the 

rh~er is higher than at localities farther back to the south or north, 

this would seem to show the possibility, and even the probability, of 

water being deflected from the river toward the general uplands. The 

·direction of the movement need not be at right angles with the river, 

nor nearly so, but probably would be in directions somewhat similar 

to those usually followed by drainage channels which draw water 

from the :river. If such lateral deflections of ground water are made 

to appear probable, there can be no doubt that at least a portion of 

the precipitation over the mountainous areas drained by the Arkansas 

.and the Platte rivers may become spread out over the great upland 

plains and furnish an essential part of the plains ground water. If, 

·On the other hand, such deflections of ground water in the river valleys are shown to be impossible, it may well be doubted if any of the 

mountainous precipitation joins the ground water of the plains. 

It must be remembered that the underground movement is gov-

·erned largely by the character of the surface of the underground 
U. $. GEOLOGICAL SURV£Y WATFR-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 6 PL. X 

ST. JACOB'S WELL, CLARK COUNTY, KANSAS. 
HAWORTH.] SOURCES OF TERTIARY GROUND WATER. 61 

Cretaceous floor which has already been described. There are strong 

geologic reasons for believing that this Cretaceous floor in most 

places east of the foothills has a greater elevation than the underground water level in the great trough-like area trending nort.h 

and south to the west of the "Hogback" and the high divide, so 

that the eastward motion of the water would be impossible, except 

here and there where there might be a channel or depression in 

the Cretaceous floor similar to those along the Arkansas and Platteo 

rivers. 

Whatever conclusion may ultimately be reached regarding the 

possibility of an eastward underground movement from the mountains themselves, the rate of the movement of the water through the 

sand is, after all, of the most importance. When water is being 

pumped from a well, it is not so important to know the amount of 

water 10, 50, or 100 miles away, as it is to know the rate of movement through the sand of the water immediately adjacent the well. 

The maximum supply that the well can furnish will be dependent. 

upon the rate of the inflow to the well, and only remotely upon the 

sum total of the water over the whole area. The rate of movement 

is likewise of great importance in considering the total amount of 

available water .on the plains as a whole. 

Should the precipitation and the proportion of the precipitation 

which joins the ground water be greatly increased, unless the possible rate of underground movement '~ere correspondingly increased, 

available masses of water would tend to pile up where t.he precipitation occurs, without sensibly affecting the supply in other parts of 

the country. Those who ·believe in a mountainous source for a part 

or the whole of the plains water must therefore be able to show 

that the rate of eastward movement is sufficiently rapid sensibly to. 

increase the available water at different places on.the plains. Otherwise the increased precipitation in the mount,ainous areas would beof no avail. 

It is doubtful if laboratory tests are of much value in this discussion,. 

because the conditions governing them are not applicable. The inclination of the surface, t.he porosity of the strata, the ease with which 

water may pass from one stratum into another as the strata become discontinued, are some of the questions which must be considered. In 

any experiment neglect of any one of these conditions, and probably 

others not yet fully understood, will cause the results obtained to be. 

of little if any value in this consideration. We may have a mass of 

sand or gravel largely composed of coarse grains or pebbles, so that 

at first thought it would seem that water would flow freely through 

it. If, however, there is a small amount of silt or clay disseminated 

through the mass, this will have a most important influence. The 

coarse masses of gravel in such cases not only do no good, but do 

harm; for each grain, being impervious, renders just that much space 
()2 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS. [N0.6. 

impervious. It is probable that the rate of flow through a heterogeneous bed of this charact,er is governed by t,he finest materials in 

the bed. Investigations of the subject, thm:efore, must consider the 

detailed geologic conditions of the area studied. 

SUMMARY. 

In summarizing the foregoing discussions regarding the amount of 

water, it may be concluded that there is a surprisingly large amount 

of water in the Arkansas Valley, and a similarly surprisingly large 

amount on the uplands, although perhaps smaller than in the valley. The springs along Spring Creek are the best single evidence 

we have of the large amount on the uplands, and the pumping tests 

in the valley, particularly at Hutchinson, are the best tests we have 

{)f the amount in the valley. These, combined with the almost universal presence of water, and the meteorologic and geologic conditions already explained, furnish good reasons for believing that the 

.amount of ground water under the area here described is sufficient to 

meet any demands that will likely be made upon it, even should 

industries spring up in the 'Vest which will-use many times as much 

water as now seems probable. The greatest needs for ·western Kansas now, and for the whole plains area, are better methods of raising 

water from beneath the surface, and better methods in using it. 

IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT. 

Irrigation is now practiced to a considerable extent in the Arkansas 

Valley and along the Cimarron River and Crooked Creek. Numerous 

.small reservoirs and irrigation pumps are also established on the 

uplands, some of which have proved t,o be surprisingly successful. 

In the valleys the principal crops raised by irrigation are alfalfa and 

fruit, but on the uplands little is irrigated besides gardenE and. fruit. 

'rhe water in the Arkansas River is so low during the greater part 

of the year that the canals are dry, but in times of freshets they are 

used to a considerable extent, and the thousands of acres of alfalfa and 

orchards and other crops are quite thoroughly irrigated once a year at 

least,. and upon the average two or three times. This is sufficient to 

produce a moderate crop of alfalfa during a dry year, while in an ordinary season it will give from three to four cuttings of hay. 

The acreage varies from year to year, depending upon many matters 

which affect the prosperity of the farmers in that part of the State. 

Several hundred acres are also irrigated in the valley from pumps. 

In most places the water is raised less than 12 feet, so t,hat windmills 

are very efficient, a 14:-foot wheel furnishing ample power to run an 

8-inch pump that will throw from 5 to 8 gallons at a stroke. Irrigation 

from mills is on the increase, as it frequently happens that dry 

weather in the spring and early summer is disastrous before water 

from the river is available. 
WATER- SUPPLY PAPFR NO. 6 rL XI 

HEAD OF PERRY IRRIGATION CANAL, CIMARRON RIVER , NEAR ENGLEWOOD, KANSAS. 
HAWORTH.] IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT. 63 

Cimarron River carries a large amount of water during a pai·t of 

the year and is rarely dry in this part of the State, as it is fed by 

springs from the ground water. Irrigation is practiced to a con~ider­

.able extent in different places along the valley. The largest tract 

under water from the river at present is the Clearmont ranch of Col. 

C. D. Perry, at Englewood. This ranch at present has about 1,100 

acres under ditch, but Colonel Perry's plans are to reduce. this amount 

to 800 acres, as he thinks the same amount of labor expended on a 

smaller acreage will give better returns than when spread over a 

larger piece of land. Fornwrly general farming was conducted at 

this ranch, but it has been found that with the markets as they have 

recently been it is more profitable to raise feed for stock and to market the animals. During the summer of 1896, therefore, no field crops 

-of consequence were raised except alfalfa, sorghum, and kaffir corn, 

each of which grows with great luxuriance. Pl. XII is a map of Clearmont ranch, showing how the water is drawn from the Cimarron and 

the principal laterals employed in distributing it over the ranch. 

At certain times in the year the water in the Cimarron is slightly 

salty, particularly in dry weather. This apparently produces no bad 

soil effects, principally because the most irrigation is done at ti~es 

when the river is flush and consequently the water least salty. 

The large amount of water furnished by the springs of Spring Creek 

is partially used on the Crooked L ranch, which lies in the valley at 

the junction of Spring Creek and Crooked Creek. Here about 500 

acres are under irrigation, devoted principally to alfalfa, the water 

for which is drawn from Spring Creek. Pl. VIII is reproduced from 

a photograph, showing the head of the supply ditch. Below the mouth 

of Spring Creek a few small fields are irrigated from the creek, but 

none so large as the Crooked L ranch. 

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 6 PL. XII 

26 25 h.34$. 

. 

! 

R.zs.w. 

16, 14 

21 23 

28 

34 35 

MAP OF CLEARMONT RANCH, NEAR ENGLEWOOD, KANSAS, SHOWING HOW WATER IS DRAWN 

FROM THE CIMARRON AND THE PRINCIPAL LATERALS. 
INDEX. 

Page. 

Area considered, limits of------ _______ .... 19 

Arroyo erosion, peculiarities of ..... _..... 25-26 

Artesian properties of water derived 

from the Dakota sandstone ....... 41-42 

Artesian waters, areas of···-··-·-·--· .... 48-56 

Artesian wells, number and depth of.... 50 

Benton formation, character and occurrence of .... ------------•............ 31-32 

Black oxide of iron, deposits of. ___ . . . . . . . 32-33 

Cimarron River, irrigation from--------- 63 

Cimarron River Valley, features of ...... 21-22 

Clay deposits, occurrence of._____________ 33 

Clearmont ranch, irrigation at----------- 63 

Crooked Creek Valley and fault, description of ...... __ ................ _----- 22-24 

Crooked L ranch, irrigation at------- ____ 55,63 

Dakota sandstone, features of. ..... -----· 30-31 

water of------------ ...... ____ ------ ____ 38-43 how to find __________________ ---------- 42-43 

Darton, N.H., cited.---------------------- 42 

Evaporation, observations on-----·------ 11-12 

I<'oster, W. F., well of. ______________ ...... 50-51 

Geography and limits of the area discussed _________ ------ ________ .. ____ 19-20 

Geology of the area _______________________ 26--37 

Gilbert, G. K.,cited ----------------------- 38 

Gravel beds, occurrence of_______________ 32 

Ground water, facts concerning __ .... ____ 14-19 

geologic conditions governing ________ 15-17 

methods of locating ___________________ 17-19 

Gypsum, occurrence of ___ ------------.... 28 

Hutchinson, pumping plant at____________ 57 

Iron oxide, deposits of ____________________ 32-33 

Irrigation development. __________________ 62-63 

Lawrence, Kansas, peculiar conditions 

governing digging of a well at._ 15-17, 48 

IRR 6--5 

0 

Page. 

Limits of the area considered • ___ .. _ ... _ _ 19 

Lyons, Kansas, water conditions in salt 

mine at-----------·---------------· 18 

Meade County, wells in.------------ ______ 48-56 

"Mortar beds," occurrence of------ ______ 34-3.') 

geologic place of _____________ ------- ___ . · 37 

Perry, C. D., irrigation by----·-------____ 63 

Physiography of the area.------------ ____ 20-26 

Plains marl, occurrence of. _______ .. _. __ . _ 33-34 

Pumps', irrigation by______________________ 62 

Red Beds, features of------------------ ____ 27-30 

Run-off, discussion of.·----------- ________ 12-13 

influence of character of soil on ______ 58-59 

Salt deposits, occurrence of. ________ ------ 28 

Simms's ranch, springs near ________ . ___ .. 54 

Sand deposits, occurrence of_ .... __ . _. _ _ _ _ 32 

Sand dunes, occurrence of ..... _ .. __ ..... _ 2-i-25 

Soil moisture, observations on .. __________ 14 

Springs, occurrence of .... ____ ..... ------- 53-55 

Tertiary formations, character and occurrence of ____ ------ __________ .... 32-37 

Tertiary ground water, discussion of. ___ 43-62 

depth and level of. ......... _____ ------ 43--48 

wells from ........ _________ ........ ____ 4-8-56 

quantity of------- ---------- --------- 56 sources· of ______________ ...... __________ .t)7-62 

Underground level of water .... ____ ...... 45--48 

"Volcanic ash," deposits of ______ ..... ____ 3'3 

Wat.er su11ply of the area ___________ ------ 37-62 

Wells, artesian, number and depth of.___ 50 

Wells, Lawrence-------------------------- 16-17 

Atwater------------------------------- 33 

Cimarron------------------------------ 33 

Coolidge ________ ------------- ____ .----- 39-41 

Santa Fe _________________ ... ------ ____ 40 

Meade County----_.----- ......... _ ..... 48--06 

65 

1S94. 

Report on agdculture by irrigation in the western part of the United States at the 

eleventh census, 1890, by .F. H. Newell, 1894, quarto, 283 pp. 

Consists of a g-eneral description of the condition of irrigation in the United States, tho area irrigated, cost of works, their valne and profits; also describes the water supply, the value of 

water, of artesian wells, reservoirs, and other details; then takes up each State and Territory 

iu order, giving a general description of the condition of agriculture by irrigation, and discnsses 

the physical condition and local peculiarities in each county. 

Fourteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1892-93, in two 

parts, Part II, Accompanying papers, 1894, octavo, 597 pp. 

Contains papers on potable waters of the eastern United States, by W J McGee; natural 

mineral waters of the United States, by A. C. Peale; results of stream measurements, by F. H. 

Newell. Illustrated by maps and diagrams. 

1S91i. 

Sixteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1894-95, Part II, 

Papers of an economic character, 1895, octavo, 598 pp. 

Contains a paper on the public lands and their water supply, by F. H. Newell, illustrated by a large map showing the relative extent and location of the vacant public lands; also a report on the water resources of a portion of the Great Plains, by Robert Hay. 

A geological reconnoissance of northwestern Wyoming, by George H. Eldridge, 1894, 

octavo, 72 pp. Bulletin No. 119 of the United States Geological Survey; price, 

10 cents. 

Contains a description of the geologic structure of portions of the Big.Horn Range am! Big 

Horn Basin, especially with reference to the coal fields, and remarks upon the water supply and 

agricultural possibilities. 

Report of progress of the division of hydrography for the calendar year 1893-94, by 

F. H. Newell, 1895, octavo, 176 pp. Bulletin No. 131 of the United States 

Geological Survey; price, 15 cents. 

Contains results of stream 1neasurements at various_ points 1 mainly within the arid region 

and records of wells in a num her of counties in western Nebraska, western KauBas, and eastern Colorado. 

1S96. 

Seventeenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1895-96, Part II, 

Economic geology and hydrography, 1896, octavo, 864 pp. 

Contains papers by G. lL Gilbert on the underground water of tbe Arkansas Valley in eastern Colorado; by Frank Leverett on the water resources of Illinois; and by N. H. Darton on a reconnaissance of tho artesian areas of a portion of the Dakotas. 

Artesian-well prospects in the Atlantic Coastal Plain region, by N. H. Darton, 1896, 

octavo, 230 pp., 1!) plates. Bulletin No. 138 of the United States Geological 

Survey; price, 20 cents. 

Gives a description of the geologic conditions of the coastal region from Long Island, N. Y., to Georgia, and contains data relating to many of the deep wells. 

Report of progress of the division of hydrography for the calendar year 1895, by F. 

H. Newell, hydrographer in charge, 1896, octavo, 356 pp. Bulletin No. 140 of 

the United States Geological Survey; price, 25 cents. 

Contains a description of the instrnments and methods em'l'loyed in measuring streams and 

the results of hydrographic investigations in various parts o the United States. 

Survey bulletins can be obtained only by prepayment of cost as noted above. 

Postage stamps, checks, and drafts can not be accepted. Money should be transmitted by postal money order or express order, made payable to the Director of the 

United States Geological Survey. Correspondence relating to the publications of 

the Survey should be addressed to The Director, United States Geological Survey, 

Washington, D. C.