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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DiKKCTOB

WATEE-STJPPLY PAPER 317

GEOLOGY AID UNDERGROUND WATERS

OF THE

WICHITA REGION, NORTH-CENTRAL TEXAS

BY

C. H. GORDON

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1913
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SUKVEY

GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR

WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 317

GEOLOGY AND UNDERGROUND WATERS

OF THE

WICHITA REGION, NORTH-CENTRAL TEXAS

BY

C. H. GOEDON

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

1913
CONTENTS.

Page.

Introduction_........................................................... 5

Location and area..................................................... 5

Purpose of the investigation............................................ 5

Field work and acknowledgments...................................... 6

Literature................................................................ 6

Physiography............................................................... 7

Climate.................................................................. 8

Surface waters............................................................ 9

Deep waters.............................................................. 10

Occurrence............................................................ 10

Relation to rock structure.............................................. 11

Quality of underground water........................................... 11

Fluctuating wells............. ................. ........................ 12

Geologic formations and their water-bearing capacity......................... 13

General relations....................................................... 13

Carboniferous system.................................................. 14

Pennsylvanian series............................................... 14

Classification.................................................. 14

Strawn formation.............................................. 15

Geology.................................................. 15

Water resources............................................ 15

. Canyon formation.............................................. 16

Geology.................................................. 16

Water resources............................................ 17

Cisco formation................................................ 17

Geology.................................................. 17

Water resources............................................ 21

Permian series....................................................... 21

Classification.................................................. 21

Wichita formation............................................. 22

Geology.................................................. 22

Character................................................. 22

Fossils.................................................... 23

Copper.................................................... 25

Oil....................................................... 25

Conditions of sedimentation............................... 26

Thickness................................................. 27

Water resources............................................ 27

Clear Fork and Double Mountain formations..................... 28

Geology.................................................. 28

Water resources............................................ 29

Cretaceous system..................................................... 29

Comanche series.................................................. 29

3
4 CONTENTS.

Geologic formations and their water-bearing capacity Continued. Page.

Quaternary system..................................................... 30

Pleistocene series................................................. 30

Seymour formation........................................... 30

Geology...................................................... 30

Water resources................................................ 32

Recent series...................................................... 32

Geology...................................................... 32

Water resources................................................ 34

Summary and recommendations........................................... 34

Description by counties.................................................... 35

Montague County..................................................... 35

Clay County.......................................................... 44

Wichita County........................................................ 50

Archer County......................................................... 55

Wilbarger County...................................................... 57

Hardeman and Foard counties.......................................... 60

Knox County......................................................... 63

Haskell County........................................................ 64

Baylor County........................................................ 67

Throckmorton County................................................. 70

Young County......................................................... 72

Jack County.......................................................... 78

Index.................................................................... 87

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page. 

PLATE I. Geologic sketch map of the Wichita region, north-central Texas...... 5

II. A, Outcrop of gypsum at Acme, Tex.; B, Spring from the Canyon

formation at Jacksboro, Tex..................................... 60
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 317 PLATE I

LEGEND

Base compiled from R. T. Hill's map of Texas 

in Topographic Folio 3, U. S. Geological Survey, 

and U. 5. Post Route map of Texas -,

Strawn formation 

(Alternating beds of sandstone 

and clay, with some conglomerate 

and shale; the lower 1000 feet

sandstone, or sandy shale, and at 

the top a coal seam)

50 Miles

Contour interval 250 feet

1912

GEOLOGIC SKETCH MAP OF THE WICHITA REGION, NORTH-CENTRAL TEXAS.
GEOLOGY AND UNDERGROUND WATERS OF THE 

WICHITA REGION, NORTH-CENTRAL TEXAS.

By C. H. GORDON.

INTRODUCTION.

Location and area. The region considered in this report is a part of 

north-central Texas. Red River forms its northern boundary, and 

it comprises Montague, Clay, Wichita, Wilbarger, Hardeman, Foard, 

Knox, Baylor, Archer, Jack, Young, Throckmorton, and Haskell 

counties. Its area is approximately 11,139 square miles, and its population, according to the census of 1910, is 158,046, an increase of 

78,215 over the population in 1900.

The United States Geological Survey has prepared atlas sheets covering Montague County and the tier of counties bordering the Wichita 

region on the south (Palo Pinto, Stephens, Shackelford, and Jones), 

but for the remaining portion no accurate base maps are available. 

Plate I is based chiefly on Hill's map of Texas.

Purpose of the investigation. This region depends for its water supplies almost wholly on surface waters, which are insufficient, so that the 

problem of finding underground sources of potable water in sufficient 

quantities is of great importance. The field investigations were 

directed to the determination of the geologic conditions with a view 

to locating water-bearing formations that might be available sources 

of water. The region is one of interest to geologists because of the 

stratigraphic problems occurring within its boundaries. On these 

problems numerous papers have been published, in which wide differences of opinion are expressed concerning the stratigraphic relations 

of the beds. The explanation of the discordant views concerning the 

stratigraphy of the region is found (1) in the diverse character of thet 

formations and the lack of satisfactory exposures, which render the 

tracing of formations and their correlation even at points not far 

distant from each other difficult or impossible; (2) in the lack of 

detailed investigation and of accurate maps; and (3) in the lack 

of knowledge in regard to the life and relations of the American

Permian.

5
6 UNDEKGEOUlirD WATERS OP WICHITA REGION, TEXAS.

Field work and acknowledgments. Portions of the field seasons of 

each of the years 1906 and 1907 were devoted to investigations for 

this report. During the first season the work was done by the writer 

alone. During the second season he was assisted by Messrs. Leon F. 

Russ, of the University of Texas, and Frank Brock, of the University 

of Kansas, to whose efficient services he is much indebted. The 

necessity for rapid work in a region so difficult of study makes the 

adequate treatment of the stratigraphic problem impossible, but it 

is believed that the results of the investigation constitute an important if small contribution to the solution of the problem connected 

with the much-discussed "Red Beds" of Texas.

LITERATURE.

Much of the literature relating to this region is widely scattered, 

and no attempt is made to present here a complete bibliography of it. 

The effort has been made, however, to compile a list of the writings 

of chief importance on the problems involved in the preparation of 

this report. For a more exhaustive record of the publications relating 

to the geology of Texas the reader is referred to the excellent bibliographies of Hill 1 and Simonds.2 

ADAMS, G. I., StratigrapMc relations of the Red Beds to the Carboniferous and Permian

in northern Texas: Bull. Geol. Soc. America, vol. 14, 1903, pp. 191-200. 

BEEDE, J. W., Invertebrate paleontology of the upper Permian Red Beds of Oklahoma

and the panhandle of Texas: Sci. Bull. Kansas Univ., vol. 4, No. 3, March, 1907,

pp. 115-172. 

CASE, E. C., New or little-known vertebrates from the Permian of Texas: Jour.

Geology, vol. 11, 1903, pp. 394-402.

 The osteology of Embolophonis doloviamis, with an attempted restoration: 

Jour. Geology, vol. 11, 1903, pp. 1-28.

 The character of the Wichita and Clear Fork divisions of the Permian of Texas: 

Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 23, 1907, pp. 659-664.

 The Permian of Texas: Am. Jour. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 43, 1892, pp. 9-12.

On the value of the evidence furnished by vertebrate fossils of age of certain

so-called Permian beds in America: Jour. Geology, vol. 16, 1908, pp. 572-580. 

COPE, E. D., Description of extinct Batrachia and Reptilia from the Permian formation of Texas: Proc. Am. Philos. Soc., vol. 17, 1878, pp. 518 et seq.

 Contributions to the knowledge of the fauna of the Permian formation of Texas 

and the Indian Territory: Proc. Am. Philos. Soc. (various papers).

CUMMINS, W. F., The Permian of Texas and its overlying beds: First Ann. Rept. 

Texas Geol. Survey, 1889, pp. 183-189.

 Report on the geology of northern Texas: Second Ann. Rept. Texas Geol. 

Survey, 1890, pp. 357-552.

 Notes on the" geology of northwest Texas: Fourth Ann. Rept. Texas Geol.

Survey, 1892, pp. 177-238.

Texas Permian: Trans. Texas Acad. Sci., vol. 2, 1897, pp.'93-98.

DRAKE, N. F., Report on the Colorado coal field: Fourth Ann. Rept. Texas Geol. 

Survey, 1892, pp. 355-460.

i Hill, R. T., The present condition of knowledge of the geology of Texas: Bull. TT. S. Geol. Survey 

No. 45,1887.

* Simonds, F. W., A record of the geology of Texas for the decade ending Dec. 31,1896. Trans. Texas 

Acad. Sci., vol. 3,1899, pp. 17-296.
LITEEATUKE. 7

BUMBLE, E. T., Existence of artesian waters west of the ninety-seventh meridian: 

S. Ex. Doc. No. 222, 51st Gong., 1st sess., 1890, pp. 99-102.

 Localities and horizons of Permian vertebrate fossils in Texas: Jour. Geology, 

vol. 16, 1908, pp. 737-745.

FONTAINE, W. M., Fossil plants from the Permian of Texas: Bull. Geol. Soc. America, 

vol. 13, 1891, p. 217.

GOULD, C. N., Geology and water resources of the western portion of the panhandle 

of Texas: Water-Supply Paper U. S. Geol. Survey No. 154, 1907.

GORDON, C. H., GIETY, G. H., and WHITE, DAVID, The Wichita formation of northern Texas: Jour. Geology, vol. 19, 1911, pp. 110-134.

HILL, R. T., Classification and origin of the chief geographic features of the Texas 

region: Am. Geologist, vol. 5, 1890, pp. 9-29; 68-80.

HYATT, ALPHEUS, Carboniferous cephalopods: Second Ann. Kept. Texas Geol. Survey, 1890, pp. 327-356; Fourth Ann. Kept. Texas Geol. Survey, 1892, pp. 377-474.

MARCOU, JULES, On the classification of the Dyas, Trias, and Jura in northwest Texas: 

Am. Geologist, vol. 10, 1892, pp. 369-377.

PROSSER, C. S., The anthracolithic or upper Paleozoic rocks of Kansas and related 

regions: Jour. Geology, vol. 18, 1910, pp. 125-161.

ROESLER, F. E., Location of wells within the area of the ninety-seventh meridian and 

east of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains: S. Ex. Doc. No. 222, 51st Gong., 

1st sess., 1890, pp. 243-319.

SCHMITZ, E. J., Copper ores in the Permian of Texas: Trans. Am. Inst. Mm. Eng., 

vol. 26, 1896, pp. 97-108.

TARR, R. S., Superimposition of drainage in central Texas: Am. Jour. Sci.. 3d ser., 

vol. 40, 1890. pp. 359-362.

 Preliminary report on the coal fields of the Colorado River: First A tin. Kept. 

Texas Geol. Survey, 1889, pp. 199-216.

THOMPSON, R. A., Soils, water supply, and irrigation of the Colorado coal field: Fourth 

Ann. Kept. Texas Geol. Survey, 1892, pp. 477-481.

WEITZEL, R. S., The coal field of Texas (extract of a paper read before the Ohio Institute of Mining Engineers): Eng. and Mm. Jour., vol. 50, 1890, pp. 214-216.

WHITE, C. A., On the fauna of the Permian of Baylor, Archer, and Wichita counties, 

Tex.: Am. Naturalist, vol. 22, 1888, p. 926.

 On the Permian formation of Texas: Am. Naturalist, vol. 23, 1889, pp. 109-128.

 Administrative report, Mesozoic division of invertebrate paleontology: Tenth 

Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 1, 1890, pp. 162-165.

The Texas Permian and its Mesozoic types of fossils: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey

No. 77, 1891, p. 51; Trans. Am. Philos. Soc., vol. 16, pp. 285-288. 

WHITE, I. C., Fossil plants of the Wichita or Permian beds of Texas: Bull. Geol. Soc.

America, vol. 3, 1892, pp. 217-218. , 

WILLISTON, S. W., New or little-known Permian vertebrates: Jour. Geology, vol. 17,

1909, pp. 636-658.

 Dissorophus Cope: Jour. Geology, vol. 18, 1910, pp. 526-536.

 New Permian reptiles: Rhachitomous vertebrae: Jour. Geology, vol. 18, 1910, 

pp. 585-600.

 Restoration of Seymouria baylorensis Broili: Jour. Geology, vol. 19, 1911, pp.

232-237.

PHYSIO GRAPHY.

The surface of the region constitutes in the main a gently eastwardsloping plain dissected by well-marked systems of drainage. It has 

an elevation of about 1,000 feet above sea level at the east and about 

1,600 feet at the west, showing an average eastward slope of about 

5.5 feet to the mile. The valleys are relatively wide and are bounded
8 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF WICHITA REGION, TEXAS.

by abrupt escarpments within which the rivers flow in broad, shallow 

channels. During stages of high water the channels may be filled 

from side to side, but in dry seasons the streams may shrink to the 

dimensions of brooks and may wind about through the sands of the 

wide flood plain.

Extending through Shackelford, Throckmorton, and Baylor counties, from Albany north to the vicinity of Harrold, is a series of rock 

terraces along which the surface descends in a succession of escarpments 150 to 250 feet in height. These scarps mark the outcropping 

edges of limestone strata which constitute a prominent feature of the 

Wichita formation toward the south. Scattered over the plain surface in the western part of the area are many eminences rising from 

100 to 200 feet above the general level; they are remnants of an 

older plain surface, the main portion of which lies to the west of the 

area.

Owing to the change in the character of the formations in the 

terrace belt in their northward extensions, the contrast in relief that 

is notable in the western and eastern portions of the region becomes 

less well defined in the northern portion and appears only in the 

increase of gradient in the surface level, as shown, for example, in 

the profile of the Fort Worth & Denver City Railway.

The plain lying to the east of the terrace belt is moderately dissected by the streams and their tributaries, but the relief on the 

whole is not so marked as in the higher surfaces on the west; in general 

the stream valleys are wider and shallower and the interstream areas 

more worn and rounded. Instead, therefore, of level interstream 

areas trenched by narrow and deep channels, as in the western part 

of the region, the eastern part has an irregular rolling surface of moderate relief. The explanation of these physiographic features is to 

be found in the effects of erosion as determined in large part apparently by the character of the rocks.

CLIMATE.

The region lies at the border of the semiarid portion of the United 

States. The mean annual rainfall ranges between 32 inches in the 

eastern and 23 inches in the western part of the region. The mean 

annual temperature is 64° F. in the eastern part and 60° F. in the 

western part.

The line of 20 inches of annual rainfall, which is the approximate 

limit, of agriculture without irrigation, follows closely the foot of 

the Llano Estacado, about 60 miles west of the region here discussed. 

The average annual rainfall in the Wichita region is 29 inches. In 

the eastern half of the region the average is nearly 31 inches; in 

the western half it is about 26.5 inches. The westernmost tier of 

counties, Hardeman, Foard, Knox, and Haskell, have an average
SURFACE WATERS. 9

of 25 inches. The maximum precipitation occurs in the easternmost counties, Montague having 35 inches, Clay 32 inches, and 

Jack 33 inches. The records show in general a regular decrease in 

rainfall from the east toward the west, but Wichita County departs 

from the rule in having an average fall of only 25 inches, which is 

less than that of any of its adjoining counties Wilbarger and Baylor on the west having 28 inches each, Archer on the south 30 inches, 

and Clay on the east 32 inches. The rainfall in this portion of the 

State comes mainly from the Gulf of Mexico and descends most 

abundantly in the winter.

SURFACE WATEKS.

The drainage of the region is toward the east and southeast, in 

the direction of the general slope. The northern half is drained 

by tributaries of Red River, chief of which are Wichita, Little 

Wichita, and Pease rivers. The southwestern portion is drained 

by the Brazos through its two main tributaries Salt and Clear 

forks and the southeastern portion is drained by the West Fork 

of Trinity River. Only the large streams have permanent supplies 

of water, and in dry weather even these dwindle to mere brooks.

The unindurated character of the formations over considerable 

portions of the district favors rapid erosion during times of freshet 

and the larger streams are choked by the abundance of material 

supplied to them by their tributaries. They partake, therefore, of 

the nature of overloaded streams. Except in times of freshet the 

bottoms of the wide channels are covered with sand bars, and much 

of the water sinks below the surface. Owing to the treacherous 

character of these beds of sand, the fording of the streams often 

becomes a matter of considerable difficulty and even of danger.

Interesting examples of the physiographic development of valleys 

are presented in the streams of the region, especially by the Brazos 

and its tributaries, Salt and Clear forks. Tarr 1 has called attention 

to the superimposed character of the drainage of the region and to the 

differences in the work accomplished by the Brazfcs and the Colorado. 

He remarks that the Brazos, owing to the accidental selection of a 

region of softer rocks, has had the advantage in the struggle for 

drainage territory and has been enabled "to push the divide close up 

to the Colorado in territory which under more favorable circumstances 

should belong to the latter stream." The general course of the Brazos 

and its tributaries has been selected without reference to the structural character of the beds upon which it flows; nevertheless, the 

effect of variations in the hardness of the rocks is clearly registered 

in the differences in the work accomplished by the streams in the 

different parts of their courses. Both the Clear Fork, from the point

1 Tarr, R. 3., Superimposition of tbe drainage in central Texas: Am. Jour. ScL, 3d ser., vol. 40,1890, pp. 

359-362.
10 UNDEBGBOTJND WATEES OF WICHITA BEGION, TEXAS.

where it enters Skackelford County to its junction with the main 

stream, and the Brazos itself, to and beyond the point where it leaves 

the region, flow with serpentine courses in comparatively narrow 

valleys with more or less prominent rock escarpments. In this portion 

of its course the Brazos has been working upon a series of rocks in 

which hard limestones are conspicuous. On the other hand, the 

Salt Fork flows throughout most of its course upon softer beds in 

which it has excavated a valley much wider than that of the Clear 

Fork or that of the main stream below the junction. The serpentine 

course so characteristic of the Clear Fork and of portions of the Brazos 

is not a feature of the Salt Fork. West of Seymour the stream flows 

in a valley 2 to 4 miles in width which has been excavated to a depth 

of 50 to 60 feet below the general plain level. An important stage in 

its physiographic history is recorded in the remnants of a terrace 

which occurs about 25 feet above the present flood plain. At Seymour 

the river crosses a belt of limestone and for several miles is confined 

within a rock-walled valley not exceeding a mile in width. After 

passing this obstruction the valley again widens to 4 or 5 miles. The 

25-foot terrace probably finds its explanation in the obstruction at 

Seymour, but their relation has yet to be determined.

DEEP WATERS.

Occurrence. The water which permeates the rocks has its source in 

the rainfall. It does not come wholly nor, it may be, mainly from the 

'local precipitation, but may be derived from some far-distant region 

where the rocks come to the surface and form catchment areas for 

the rain. This is especially the case where deep-lying rocks are 

overlain by impervious strata which effectually prevent the water 

falling locally from finding its way into the strata below. Shallow 

wells derive their supplies from the rainfall of the immediate locality 

or from closely adjacent regions.

The upper surface of the ground water, called the water table, 

conforms in a general way to the surface of the ground, being higher 

under elevated areas than under valleys. The depth to the water 

level is, however, generally greater under the hills than under the 

valleys, Where the streams have cut their valleys to the level of the 

water table, springs and seeps abound along the valley sides. The 

fact that the water obtained from shallow wells comes from the 

surface suggests the dangers involved in their use, especially where 

they are most liable to contamination, as in towns and cities. Many 

people suppose that any contaminating elements absorbed at the 

surface by the water will be soon removed in its course through the 

ground, but this is not invariably the case. Some deleterious substances go into solution and can not then be removed by filtration, 

and certain injurious microbes sometimes present along with harmless
DEEP WATEES. 11

ones in the soil waters may find their way for long distances underground. The waters obtained from deeper sources are rarely subject 

to surface contamination.

Relation to rock structure. The distribution of underground waters 

depends on the character and the arrangement or geologic structure of 

the rocks. A knowledge of the geology of the region is therefore 

necessary in order to understand the underground water conditions. 

Rocks which have had their origin as sediments at the bottom of some 

body of water are arranged in a succession of layers, varying according 

to the character and abundance of the materials supplied and the conditions under which they were deposited. Normally the different 

strata would lie hi regular succession, the oldest being at the bottom 

and the youngest at the top. The strata were not laid down in a perfectly horizontal position and, moreover, in most places they have 

been somewhat tilted since they were deposited. In view of this 

inclination of the beds and of the fact that erosion has modified the 

surface of the land, each stratum is likely to make its appearance at 

the surface somewhere, under conditions determined by the character 

and thickness of the rock bed, the dip of the strata, and the surface 

relief. A rock sheet, therefore, consists of two related parts, the outcrop, or exposed portion, and the embed, or portion which is concealed. 

As a rule the embed is by far the larger part of the stratum. In a 

water-bearing stratum the outcrop is its mam catchment area and 

the embed constitutes the storage reservoir.

The capacity of rocks for absorbing water varies greatly. Ro'cks 

of open texture, like sands, sandstones, and gravels, imbibe water 

freely. Rocks of close texture may be nearly or quite impervious. 

Thus slate, marble, and granite imbibe very little water unless they 

are fractured. Limestones may become water bearing through the 

development of spaces and channels by solution. The conditions 

which determine the availability of deep-lying water are (1) the 

presence of a water-bearing stratum capped by an impervious stratum 

whereby the water is prevented from being dissipated into the adjoining beds; (2) a sufficient outcrop or catchment area in a region of 

sufficient rainfall to furnish a water supply; (3) an inclination of the 

water-bearing bed not so great as to carry it too quickly beyond the 

reach of the drill; (4) the absence of openings which will permit the 

escape of the water at a level below the well; (5) such relation between the elevation of the outcrop and that of the top of the well that 

hydrostatic pressure will bring the water to the surface or so near to 

it as to be economically available by pumping.

Quality of underground waters. All underground waters are mineralized to a greater or less extent. The composition of the waters is 

determined by the character of the rocks through which they pass 

and the kind and proportion of mineral ingredients which they take
12 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF WICHITA REGION, TEXAS.

into solution. Moreover the quantity of mineral matter taken into 

solution is likely to be greater in proportion to the distance from the 

point of entry. Hence water from shallow wells in the catchment 

area of formations which contain much soluble mineral matter may 

be fairly good, while that from the same formations under cover may 

be too highly charged with deleterious mineral matter to be used.

To yield abundant and satisfactory supplies of water the water-bearing stratum should be sufficiently porous to permit the free movement 

of the water and should contain only a small proportion of readily soluble 

mineral compounds which render the water bad for use. The most 

abundant of such substances in this area are the carbonates and sulphates of calcium, magnesium, and sodium and the chloride of sodium, 

or common salt. The prevailing type of water from the Permian beds 

is highly charged with sulphates, carbonates, calcium, magnesium, 

and sodium, and the water of the Carboniferous rocks is for the most 

part strongly impregnated with salt. The mineral ingredients of. 

rocks are not uniformly distributed, and hence wells at different places 

in the same formation may yield water very unlike in quality. For 

example, at Graham and Jacksboro wells in close proximity to each 

other yield water that is wholly unlike in quality. (See analyses Nos. 

2 and 3, p. 77.)

Fluctuating wells. According to G. A. Stafford, of Belcherville, 

who has put down a number of wells in Montague County, water in 

many wells in the county whose depth is from 60 to 120 feet is lowered 

when the wind blows from the north. On the other hand, it is 

said that the watei in some shallow wells is lower when the wind is 

from the south. The probable explanation is that the ground-water 

level is affected by changes in barometric pressure. With decrease 

in barometric pressure the water will rise, and with increase in pressure it will descend. Such wells are often called " weather wells," 

from the fact that they indicate the change in weather which is also 

indicated by the change in barometric pressure. With this phenomenon is sometimes associated a clouding or boiling of the water. 

This also is probably due to change in barometric pressure, which 

affects the water surface over a large area and causes a movement 

whereby the water gathers up the fine clayey material in the sandrock and thus becomes cloudy. In some wells there is a daily fluctuation, the rising and falling accompanying the daily change in 

pressure, or it may be the changes of temperature. The fine material 

in the water of this region contains a considerable percentage of iron 

oxide, and cloudy water taken from a well requires a considerable 

time to settle. This appearance is sometimes taken as an indication 

of oil, and some persons even assert that the water smells of oil. 

Although it is not improbable that oil exists in small quantities in
GEOLOGIC FOEMATIONS. 13

the rocks of this region, it is the opinion of the writer that the supposed indications of oil are due to the presence of the iron, a very 

small quantity of which is sufficient to give the appearance described. 

In favor of this conclusion is the statement of Mr. Stafford that the 

water, after standing for some time, tends to clear at the top by 

settling, whereas if oil were present it would remain at the top.

GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS AND THEIR WATER-BEARING

CAPACITY.

GENERAL RELATIONS.

All the rocks of this region are of sedimentary origin, except possibly a deposit at Ked Bluff, near Vernon, which is said to be volcanic 

ash.1 Except in the Cretaceous area in the eastern part of Montague 

County the basement rocks are all of Carboniferous age (Pennsylvanian or Permian). They consist of limestones, clays, shales, 

sandstones, and conglomerates. The shales and sandstones in 

many places are soft and yield readily to erosive agencies. The 

limestones are harder and more resistant and appear in outcropping 

ledges and rock terraces, which in some localities constitute notable 

features of the topography.

The Carboniferous strata have a general west-northwest dip of 

about 25 to 30 feet to the mile, though locally they are horizontal or 

dip in the opposite direction. No faulting or extensive folding was 

observed within the region. That the formations have suffered 

pronounced erosion is shown by the present configuration of the 

surface and by the indications that hi former times the region was 

covered to a considerable depth by rocks of which only traces remain. 

Triassic and Jurassic beds are not known in this region, though 

formations of Triassic age doubtless supplied much of the material 

composing the Pleistocene gravel beds hi the Seymour formation. 

Hill 2 and Tarr 3 have shown the former extension of Cretaceous rocks 

over large areas hi central Texas from which they have been removed, 

though Comstock 4 takes an opposite view with reference to the 

"central mineral region." The only Cretaceous rocks in place within 

the region here considered are in the eastern part of Montague 

County, which belongs to the main Cretaceous area lying farther 

east. In the region south and west of this area remnants of Cretaceous formations occur as isolated knobs and buttes, which indicate 

the former extension of the Cretaceous over the Carboniferous area 

as far north as Wichita Kiver and possibly into Oklahoma. Cum-

»Soil survey of the Vernon area: Field Operations Bur. Soils for 1902, U. S. Dept. Agr., p. 369.

* Hill, R. T., Geography and geology of the Black and Grand prairies, Texas: Twenty-first Ann. 

Kept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 7,1901, p. 108.

* Tarr, K. S., Am. Geologist, vol. 9,1892, pp. 168-178.

« Comstock, T. B., Second Ann. Kept. Texas Geol. Survey, 1890, pp. 663-661.
14 UNDEEGEOTJND WAO^EBS OP WICHITA REGION, TEXAS.

mins * is of the opinion that the Cretaceous extended in a narrow belt 

across the southern border of the Carboniferous, but not as far north 

as Wichita River. The presence of worn Cretaceous fossils in abundance in the surficial gravels and sands in Haskell and Knox counties indicates the former extension of Cretaceous beds far beyond 

their present limits. The Tertiary appears to be unrepresented in 

this region, but the character of part of the material composing the 

Seymour formation (Pleistocene) suggests that some of it was 

derived from Tertiary beds whose remnants outcrop in the escarpment of the Llano Estacado to the west of this region. In the valley 

of the Wichita, in Wichita County, there are some gravels which 

may possibly be of Tertiary age. Prior to the Cretaceous period the 

Carboniferous strata suffered great erosion, and upon the beveled 

edges thus produced the Cretaceous sediments were laid down. As 

the Cretaceous beds dip toward the southeast, the rainfall in the 

Cretaceous area of this region is drained away in the same direction 

through the porous beds. The principal catchment area for the 

Carboniferous terranes probably lies west of the boundary of the 

Cretaceous formations.

As the surface of the land rises to the west, in the direction of the 

dip, the prospects of obtaining flowing wells are poor except in 

localities near the outcrop of the water-bearing beds where erosion 

has locally lowered the surface level below that of the artesian heads. 

Such localities exist in the southeastern part of Stephens County, the 

western part of Jack County, and the western part of Montague 

County. ' CARBONIFEROUS SYSTEM.

PENNSYLVANIAN SERIES. 

CLASSIFICATION.

The undoubted Pennsylvanian rocks of the region are divided into 

three formations, the division being based on differences in lithologic and stratigraphic character. From above downward these 

formations are as follows:

Section of Pennsylvanian formations in Wichita region, Texas.

Feet. 

Cisco formation (clay, shale, conglomerate, and sandstone with

some limestone and coal)..................................... 800

Canyon formation (alternating beds of limestone and clay with 

some sandstone and conglomerate)........................... 800

Strawn formation (alternating beds of sandstone and clay with 

some conglomerate and shale; the lower thousand feet consists 

of blue and black clay locally containing beds of limestone, 

sandstone, or sandy shale, and a coal seam at top)............ 1, 900

* Cummins, W. P., Second Ann. Kept. Texas Oeol. Survey, 1890, pp. 370-371,
CAKBONIFEKOTJS SYSTEM. 15 

STE.AWN FORMATION. 

GEOLOGY.

The upper three-fourths of the Strawn formation as here defined 

consists of sandstones alternating with beds of blue clay. It contain 

some conglomerates and shales, but they are not abundant, and 

limestones are rare. The sandstones are usually massive, of a light 

gray color, which changes very little on exposure, and they afford a 

very good building stone. The rock consists largely of angular grains 

of white quartz with some red grains and some mica. It contains a 

little cement, which is mostly siliceous, though calcareous and argillaceous materials occur in some of the beds. The thickness of these 

upper beds is estimated to be 800 to 900 feet in this region. They 

thicken toward the south, in central Texas, where they are said 

to have a thickness of 3,000 feet. The lower portion, about 1,000 

feet thick, was originally called by Cummins 1 the Millsap division, but these beds were late'r included by him in the Strawn formation, from which, he states, they are inseparable to the south. It is 

his later definitions of the Strawn formation that are here recognized, 

and "Millsap" is abandoned. 2 These lower beds have a comparatively small outcrop, being largely concealed by an overlap of the 

Cretaceous to the east. This overlap makes a very definite determination of their thickness impossible, but it is estimated at about 

1,000 feet. The beds appear at the surface only in the extreme southeastern part of the region, the westerly dip carrying them below the 

surface in the remaining portion. These lower beds consist largely 

of blue and black clay, with a few beds of shale, sandstone, and limestone. The limestones are compact and hard and according to Cummins have been used for macadam on the streets of Dallas. Toward 

the south these beds, if present, are completely concealed from view 

by the Cretaceous. They reappear in the northern part of Erath 

County. According to Cummins* a deep well at Thurber passed 

through 1,000 feet of blue clay, with some sandstones and limestones, 

belonging to this division. At the top of the beds is the coal seam 

which Cummins designates No. 1.

WATER RESOURCES.

Portions of the lower beds of the Strawn formation are porous and 

water bearing and are reported to contain gas in some localities. 

At Gordon and Thurber gas and water are found in this part of the

s, w. F., Second Ann. Kept. Texas Geol. Survey, 1890, pp. 372-573.

* Prof. Cummins, being asked for his opinion regarding the usefulness of the term "Millsap," writes as 

follows, under date of November 18, 1912: "It was my intention to abandon the name 'Millsap ' and include 

the strata in the Strawn division. In all my publications after the first and second reports the name 

Millsap was not used. I thought it the better plan. The beds referred to the Millsap in the northern 

field could not be separated from the Strawn in the southern field. The name Millsap for the Texas field 

ought to be abandoned."

a Cummins, W. F., Second Ann. Kept. Texas Geol. Survey, 1890, p. 374
16 UNDERGROUND WATEKS OF WIOHITA REGION, TEXAS.

formation. The water contains too much salt to be of general use, 

and hence these beds can not be utilized as a source of water supply. 

The sandstones in the upper part of the formation likewise contain an 

abundance of water, and in the area of its outcrop water is obtained 

in shallow wells at depths ranging from 15 to 50 feet. Several 

flowing wells in Palo Pinto County derive their supply from this 

formation. In one of these, at Gordon, in the southern part of the 

county,1 the water-bearing stratum was found at a depth of 485 feet. 

The well is reported to have a flow of 1 gallon a minute of salt water 

accompanied by some gas. Another well, 4 miles north of Gordon, 

is 498 feet deep and has approximately the same flow of water.

It is not probable that in their extension under cover westward 

these beds would undergo any change in character that would improve 

the quality of the water, and hence there is little likelihood that wells 

sunk to this horizon would furnish potable supplies.

CANYON FORMATION. 

GEOLOGY.

The Canyon formation consists of alternating beds of blue limestones 

and blue clays, with some sandstones and conglomerates. The 

limestones for the most part are massively bedded and constitute the 

distinguishing feature of the formation. Many of the beds are rough 

and irregular in texture and unsuited for building purposes, but 

some ledges furnish a stone of good quality. The few sandstones 

are more or less friable and porous. The formation has a thickness 

of about 800 feet. It outcrops in a narrow belt extending northeastward across Jack County. The west boundary of the formation 

enters at the southwest corner of the county, passes northeastward 

through Jacksboro and beyond, and thence curves eastward and 

meets the west boundary of the overlapping Cretaceous in the northern part of Wise County.

A general section of the upper part of the Canyon formation follows:

Section of upper part of Canyon formation.

1. Sandstones and clays (Cisco formation). Feet.

2. Limestone.............................................. 20-25

3. Sands, sandstones, and conglomerates..................... 100±

4. Limestone, massive-, with thin beds of sand............... 20

5. Shales................................................... 80-125

6. Sandstones with water and in places oil................... 10-20

7. Shales................................................... 15-20

8. Limestone............................................... 35

»6. Ex. Doc. No. 222, 51st Cong., 1st sess., 1890, p. 257.
CAEBONIFEEOTJS SYSTEM. 17

WATEK EESOUBCES.

Limestone rocks as a rule are too dense to permit the free movement 

of water, but some limestones are sufficiently porous to absorb it in 

considerable quantities. Limestones are usually intersected by fractures, however, which offer passageways, and these the water by its 

solvent action enlarges, the rate at which enlargement takes place 

being determined by the amount of water, its character especially 

as to the carbon dioxide contained in it and the solubility of the 

rock. Underground channels and caverns are thus a characteristic 

feature of limestone regions. Near the top of the Canyon formation 

is a series of massively bedded limestones whose outcrop extends across 

the eastern part of Stephens County and the western part of Palo 

Pinto County, continues northeastward past Finis and Jacksboro, and 

disappears beneath overlying formations near the boundary between 

Jack and Wise counties.

In the area where the Canyon formation crops out springs are 

numerous and water can generally be found in shallow wells. The 

water is found chiefly in the sandstone beds. The second of these 

from the top (No. 3 in the section) appears at the surface on Little 

Ca4do Creek and at Finis and Jacksboro. Most of the wells, however, 

derive their supplies from the sands (No. 6) below the second limestone. This is the horizon of the water-bearing stratum in the wells 

* at Jacksboro. The character of the water differs greatly in wells in 

close proximity. In many of the wells good water is found, but not 

far away from a well of good water may be one in which the water is 

wholly unfit for use. To the west the Canyon formation is overlain 

by the Cisco formation. The depth of the beds increases in that 

direction because of the dip of the strata and the rise in the land surface. At Breckenridge, in Stephens County, the water-bearing beds 

of the Canyon formation can be reached at afeout 250 to 300 feet, and 

at the west boundary of Stephens County at about 1,000 feet. In 

neither place are flowing wells likely to be obtained, though at Breckenridge the water would doubtless rise within 50 or 100 feet of the 

surface.

With increasing distance from the outcrop the water tends to 

become more highly mineralized, and it is doubtful if good water 

can be obtained from these beds at distances greater than 10 or 15 

miles from the outcrop.

CISCO FORMATION.

GEOLOGY.

With the close of Canyon time the clear waters of that epoch gave 

place to shoal water and swamps, with a corresponding change in the 

character of the sedimentation limestones becoming less conspicuous; 

70056° WSP 317 13 2
18 UNDERGROUND WATEBS OP WICHITA REGION, TEXAS.

conglomerates, sandstones, and sandy clays increasing in importance; 

and coal being formed here and there. These beds constitute the 

Cisco formation. The limestones are usually hard and irregular in 

texture and occur in thin isolated beds, chiefly in the lower and upper 

parts of the formation. About 200 to 250 feet above the base is a 

bed of coal called the Chaffin bed, which outcrops in the Colorado 

Valley, to the south, but is not found in the region here described. 

Near the top of the formation thin seams of coal and an abundance 

of plant impressions eccur in bluish and gray sandy clays and sandstones, along with a few thin beds of limestone. The main seam of 

coal, however, designated No. 7 in the Texas reports, is somewhat 

above the middle of the formation. This coal is usually from 30 to 

40 inches thick, with several partings of clay or shale. The outcrops 

of this bed of coal appear in a belt which enters Young County 8 or 9 

miles east of the southwest corner, extends northward past old Fort 

Belknap, bears eastward to the northeast corner of the county, 

thence extends eastward across the north end of Jack County, and 

makes its last appearance in the vicinity of Bowie, Montague County. 

Near Belknap it is underlain by 25 to 30 feet of shaly sandstone, 

beneath which is a bed of limestone underlain by another seam of 

coal 12 to 15 inches in thickness. This seam appears to be local, as 

it has not been found elsewhere.

A feature of importance in the Cisco formation and one which itshares with the next succeeding formation is the series of changes 

observed as the formation is traced northward along the strike. 

These changes relate both to variation in lithologic character and 

to thickness of beds. In the Colorado Valley, interstratified with 

the sandstones, clays, and conglomerates, are six or more beds of 

limestone, each from 5 to 25 feet thick and all aggregating a thick1 

ness of 100 to 150 feet. In the southern part of the Brazos Valley 

the calcareous divisions are only about half as thick as they are 

farther south, and the clays show a corresponding increase in thickness. In Young County the calcareous material diminishes northward at an increased rate until at the northern boundary of the 

county the limestones have practically disappeared, and beyond that 

point they are represented apparently by irregular nodular masses of 

earthy limestone in a matrix of clay. With the thinning out of the 

limestones the shales and sandstones increase in thickness. In 

Stephens County and farther south the shales are prevailingly blue 

and the sandstones gray. Red beds are dispersed sparingly through 

the formation. The blues gradually give place to reds until in the 

vicinity of Red River the red color dominates. In this part of the 

region the rocks consist, for the most part, of red sandstones, clays, 

and sandy shales, with a few beds of blue shale and bluish to grayish 

white sandstones. Limestones are conspicuously absent.
CAKBONTFEROUS SYSTEM. 19

The thickness of the Cisco formation in the southern part of the 

region is estimated to be 700 to 800 feet. As to its thickness in the 

"Red Beds" area no very definite statement can be made. The 

transitional character of the sediments offers a serious obstacle to 

the determination of dip. In the main the formations appear to 

dip slightly west-northwest. Locally the dip may reach 40 feet or 

more to the mile, but for the formation in general it is believed that 

25 to 30 feet to the mile is a fair approximation for both these beds 

and the overlying beds of the "Red Beds" area. Toward the south 

the strata have a slightly steeper dip.1

The area underlain by the Cisco is about 25 miles wide at the 

southern boundary of Young County, but widens somewhat to the 

northeast. In the southern area the boundaries are clearly defined 

by the prominent ledges of limestone that mark the top of the Canyon formation on the east and those at the base of the Wichita 

formation on the west. Owing to the changes that take place in 

the formation toward the north, the boundaries are not so clearly 

determinable in that part of the region. In northern Wise County 

and in Montague County the Cisco is in part covered by overlap 

of the Cretaceous. As the conditions of sedimentation were apparently much the same at the close of the Cisco epoch and the beginning of the Wichita epoch, no clear line of division can be made out 

between these formations in this area. It is to be understood, 

therefore, that north of Young County the boundary as indicated on 

the map is an approximation only. In Stephens and Young counties 

the Cisco is in general highly fossiliferous.

At Graham Salt Creek flows at the base of an escarpment which 

gave the following section:

Section on west bank of Salt Creek, Graham, Tex.

Feet.

1. Coarse conglomerate of siliceous pebbles in a matrix of sand; 

locally the rock varies to a white or ferruginous sandstone: forms 

top of prominent ridge....................................... 10

2. Blue shale, highly fossiliferous................................. 50

3. Layer of hard blue fossiliferous limestone...................... 1J

4. Dark-blue shale, darker and carbonaceous below; a layer of sandy 

shale 3 feet thick 10 feet above the base....................... 50

5. Blue arenaceous shales and soft shaly sandstones................ 15

6. Bluish-white sandstone, irregularly indurated; bedding irregular 

and surface uneven; more or less conglomeratic and containing 

numerous impressions of plants, also iron concretions of brown 

iron ore; in places this bed resembles the upper conglomerate 

(1); exposed................................................. 5

i In a study of the oil and gas fields of Wichita and Clay counties, made for the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology since this report was written, J. A. Udden (Bull. Univ. Texas No. 246,1913, pp. 61,62) 

records a series of detailed observations on the attitude of the strata, from which he concludes that the 

strata lie essentially horizontal in an east-west line but are affected by minor flexures constituting shallow 

and wide anticlines and syncllnes trending east-southeast to west-northwest.
20 UNDERGROUND WATEKS OF WICHITA REGION, TEXAS.

The shale underlying the upper bed of conglomerate is filled with 

excellently preserved fossils which strew the surface of the weathered 

slopes. The following is a list of the forms collected, a number of 

which are new. They were identified by George H. Girty:

Cyathaxonia n. sp.

Cyathaxonia n. sp. var.

Lithostrotion ? sp.

Syringopora ? sp.

Polypora 2 sp.

Fenestella sp.

Synocladia biserialia.

Fistulipora sp.

Rhombopora lepidodendroides.

Crania sp,

Lingulidiscina sp,

Derbya sp.

Chonetes n. sp. aff. geinitzianus.

Productus semireticulatus.

Productus nebraskensis.

Marginifera lasallensis.

Marginifera wabashensis.

Spirifer cameratus,

Ambocoelia planoconvexa.

Hustedia mormoni,

Pugnax osagensis.

Pugnax n. sp,

Cummins 1 made a section in the same locality, which is practically 

identical with the section given above, though arranged in reverse 

order. The following is a list of the fossils reported by him 2 from 

bed No. 2:

Nucula ventricosa. 

Leda bellistriata. 

Conocardium sp. 

Deltopecten sp. 

Solenomya sp. 

Edmondia gibbosa. 

Astartella vera. 

Patellostium montfortianum. 

Bellerophon percariaatus. 

Eupbemus nodicarinatus. 

Trepospira sphaerulata. 

Pleurotomaria conoformis? 

Pleurotomaria subconstricta? 

Pleurotomaria 2 sp. 

Meekospira sp. 

Meekospira ? sp. 

Sphaerodoma sp. 

Euomphalus catilloides. 

Orthoceras rushense. 

Cbonetes sp. 

Crijioidal fragments.

Allorisma subcuneata. 

Bellerophon percarinatus. 

BeU.eroph.on carbonariua. 

Euomphalus rugosus. 

Lophophyllum prolif erum. 

Pinna peracuta. 

Pleurotomaiia sphaerulata. 

Pleurotomaria tabulata. 

Productus cora. 

Productus costatus. 

Productus longispinus. 

Productus nebrascensis. 

Schizodus wbeeleri.

Beds of red clay make their appearance south of Young County, 

but they increase notably to the north, especially in the upper part 

of the formation along with the diminution of the limestones, and 

they constitute the dominant feature of the formation in eastern 

Clay and western Montague counties.

Spirifer cameratus. 

Spirifer lineatus. 

Spirif erina kentuckyensis. 

Zapbrentis spinulif era. 

Hemipronites'crassus. 

Nucula ventricosa. 

Rbynchonella uta? 

Myalina subquadrata. 

Chsetetes milleporaceua. 

Orthoceras rushensis. 

Conocardium obliquum. 

Aviculopecten occidentalis.

iCummins, W. F., Second Ann. Kept. Texas GeoL Surv^, lS90,p. 378. * Idem, p. 362.
f CARBONIFEROUS SYSTEM. 21

WATER RESOURCES.

Most of the sandstones of the Cisco formation are water bearing 

in varying degree, but there appear to be few persistent waterbearing strata. An exception is a sand in the lower part of the 

formation, which is the source of supply for a large number of wells 

in eastern Stephens and Young counties and western Jack County. 

The flowing wells at Wayland, in Stephens County, and those west 

and northwest of Jacksboro probably draw their supplies from this 

sand. In some wells of this area water is found in a limestone associated with the sand.

The water from surface wells in the lower beds of the Cisco is in 

general good, though in some wells it is strongly mineralized. The 

water from the higher beds is usually too strongly mineralized for 

general use, but there are some exceptions to the rule. The contrast 

in the character of the water from wells in this part of the formation 

is shown by the analyses of water of wells at Graham, given on page 

77. On the west the Cisco formation is overlain by the Wichita 

formation, and the basal water-bearing beds can be reached only 

at considerable depths. In the vicinity of Albany, in Shackelford 

County, the depth to these beds is estimated to be 1,300 to l,400^eet. 

Moreover, with increasing distance under cover, the water of these 

beds is probably too highly mineralized for use.

PERMIAN SERIES. 

CLASSIFICATION.

Although much has been written concerning the beds between the 

Cisco formation and the Triassic beds which underlie the "Staked 

Plains," much detailed stratigraphic work remains to be done in this 

region before authoritative statements can be made about the classification of these beds. On the evidence of fossil remains found 

chiefly in the lower beds in Baylor and Archer counties, these strata 

are now assigned by most geologists to the Permian. These rocks 

as they exist in the Wichita region were subdivided by Cummins J into 

the Wichita, Clear Fork, and Double Mountain formations. The 

lowest formation, the Wichita, consisting mainly of red clays and 

sandstones^ is seemingly a near-shore or delta deposit, and in it are 

found the remains of reptiles and plants of Permian age. Interstratified with the clays and sandstones in the upper part of the formation 

are beds of limestone containing marine invertebrates, of which a large 

proportion are Pennsylvanian types and few, if any, are considered 

characteristic of the Permian of Europe. South of Baylor County the 

Clear Fork formation rests conformably upon marine strata, consisting mainly of blue clays and shales, including considerable thicknesses

i Cummins, W. ¥., Second Aim. Kept. Texas Geel. Surrey, 1890, pp.
22 UNDEEGROUFD WATBES OP WICHITA REGION, TEXAS.

of limestone containing marine invertebrates. Neither reptilian nor 

plant remains have been reported from these beds. The Pennsylvanian aspect of the fauna led to the assignment of these beds, 

under the name "Albany," to the Pennsylvanian in the earlier 

reports, although they were recognized by some as being possibly of 

Permian age.1

Subsequently Cummins 2 asserted the equivalency of the Wichita 

and the "Albany" formations and recommended the abandonment of 

the name "Albany." Adams 8 corroborated Cummins's conclusion 

as to the equivalency of the beds included in the Wichita and 

"Albany" formations, but recommended the abandonment of all the 

names, Wichita, Clear Fork, and Double Mountain, as "having no 

stratigraphic significance." In a paper by the writer and others * 

Cummins's conclusion as to the identity of the "Albany" with the 

Wichita and likewise the Permian age of the formation is confirmed. 

It is shown also that the definition of the Wichita as a formation is 

sufficiently established to warrant the retention of the name, and that 

usage is followed in this report. It is to be noted, however, that some 

limestones in Baylor County which Cummins regarded as belonging 

to the Clear Fork are the equivalents of the upper beds of the 

"Albany" and are here included in the Wichita. The upper Permian beds included under the names Clear Fork and Double Mountain in the Texas reports have had very little study and no attempt 

has been made to determine a definite line of division between the 

two formations. In this report these beds are classed as undifferentiated Clear Fork and Double Mountain.

WICHITA FORMATION. 

GEOLOGY.

Character. The Wichita formation underlies practically the whole 

of Wichita, Baylor, Throckmorton, and Shackelford counties, a 

considerable part of Clay and Archer counties, and a small part of 

Young County. In Shackelford County it consists of blue clays and 

shales with thick beds of limestones which, on account of their 

greater resistance to erosion, crop out in a series of eastward-facing 

rock scarps. The limestones, which constitute about a third of the formation, are blue, gray, and yellowish and for the most part massively 

bedded. They are generally hard, semicrystalline to compact, but 

some beds are friable and chalky and others are rough and earthy 

in texture. Thick beds and thin and shaly beds alternate. The

i Drake, N. F., Fourth Ann. Kept. Texa<» Geol. Survey, 1893, p. 371. Tarr, R. S., Bull. Texas Geol. 

Survey No. 3,1892, pp. 14-18.

* Cummins, W, F., Trana. Texas Aoad. Sd., vol. 2,1897, pp. 93-98.

 Adams, O. I., Bull. Geol. Boo. America, vol. 14,1903, p. 198.

« Gordon, C. H., Glrty, G. H., and White, David, The Wlohlta formation of northern Texas Jour. 

Geology, vol. 19,1911, pp. 110-134.
CARBONIFEROUS SYSTEM. 23

remainder of the formation consists of blue, gray, and black shales. 

The limestones contain an abundance of marine fossils, but wellpreserved specimens are difficult to obtain.

Farther north there is a marked diminution in the proportion of 

calcareous sediments with a cor esponding increase in argillaceous 

and arenaceous materials. Some of the clay beds in Shackelford 

County are sandy, but toward the north the sandy sediments become 

more and more prominent, many of the layers taking on a red color. 

Red, white, and yellowish sandstone beds also make their appearance 

and constitute a marked feature of the formation in Archer and 

eastern Baylor counties. The red sediments increase in amount 

northward until in northern Throckmorton County and beyond the 

red color dominates in the formation.

Throughout the northern area the clays are red or red mottled 

with bluish-white and drab colors. The red clays contain an abundance of nodular concretions of irregular shape, ranging from those 

the size of a pea to masses 4 or 5 inches in diameter. Many are 

elongated or subspherical, and some are flattened and stand vertically in the clay, suggesting their origin from the filling of fissures. 

They consist of clay, iron, and lime, and some of them are either 

hollow or have their interiors filled with calcareous clay. Here and 

there is a bed that consists of rounded lumps of hardened clay 

cemented together by ferruginous matter, which Cummins called a 

"peculiar conglomerate." It is suggested that this deposit may have 

had its origin in the breaking up of a thin bed of clay soon after 

deposition, by the action of running water or waves.1

Fossils. Traces of plants appear locally in the sandstones, and in 

one place the large frond of a fern was obtained. David White, of 

the United States Geological Survey, has collected a considerable 

amount of plant material from these beds at two localities, one in 

Cassil Hollow, 2J miles south of Fulda station, on the Wichita Valley 

Railway, and the other at the breaks of the Little Wichita, 4 miles 

southeast of that place. These collections include the following forins 

as provisionally identified. The species listed in italics are characteristic of the Permian.

Cassil Hollow:

Pecopteris arborescens. 

Pecopteris hemitelioides. 

Pecopteris densifolia. 

Pecopteris grandifolia. 

Pecopteris mertensioides. 

Gigantopteris sp, (of. nicotianifolia). 

Neuropteris (cf. lindahli), 

Aphlebia sp, 

Tsemtopteris multinenrfs.

Cassil Hollow Continued. 

Annularia spUcata. 

Sphenophyllum? sp, 

Sigillarioatrobu8 hastatua, 

Walchia schneiderit 

QompJiostrobus bifldua, 

Cardiocarpon n. sp. 

Carpolithes sp, 

Peleeypods, 

Estheria and flsh scales,

» Men-Ill, G. P., Booka, rook weathering, and soils, pp. 33, 34, Gardner, J, H., Jmir, Geology, vol. 19, 

1908, pp. 463-468.
24 UNDERGROUND WATERS OP WICHITA REGION, TEXAS.

Breaks of Little Wichita: 

Pecopteris hemitelioides. 

Pecopteris grandifolia. 

Pecopteris candolleana. 

Pecopteris tenuinervis. 

Diplothmema? sp. 

Odontopteris fischerit 

Odontopteris neuropteroides. 

Nenropteris cordata. 

Tseniopteris coriaceaf 

Tseniopteris dbnormis 

Tseniopteris n. sp. 

Sphenophyllum obovatum.

Breaks of Little WicMta Continued. 

SigiUaria sp. (leaf). 

Gomphostrobust sp. 

Cordaites principalls. 

Poacordaites cf. tenuifoliu*. 

Walchia pinifonms. 

Aspidiopsis sp. 

Araucarites n. sp. 

Cardiocarpon n. sp. 

Insect wings. 

Estheria. 

Anthracosia. 

Ostracoda and fish scales.

At Cassil Hollow the plants occur in a bed of blue and yellow 

laminated clay and sandy shales which crops out on the west side of 

a small tributary flowing into the north branch of Little Wichita 

River from the south. The following section was obtained at this 

place:

Section of Wichita formation at Cassil Hollow, %\ miles south of Fulda, Tex.

Feet

1. Sandstones, thin- bedded, shaly, with a fine exhibition of ripple 

marks. Represents the top of the section and grades into No. 2 . 6

2. Blue and yellow laminated clay and sandy shale, grading horizontally into white shaly sandstones same as No. 1 . The plants 

were found in a thin shale stratum near the middle of this division ....................................................... 6J

3. Hard bluish limestone which weathers to a brown. Apparently 

the equivalent of a limestone which outcrops on the Wichita 

nearly due north from this locality at the Bar X ranch. Contains 

an abundance of fragments of vertebrate remains, but all in such 

a comminuted condition as to be indeterminable. ............ 2

4. Blue clay shales. .............................................. 3

5. Bed clay shales; same as No. 4, except in color. ................ 4

6. Gray sandy shales and sandstones to bottom of ravine ........... 15

The limestone (No. 3) is made up of several layers, some of which 

are composed largely of fragmental remains of vertebrates, including plates, spines, fish teeth, etc. The stratification of the argillaceous and arenaceous sediments is very irregular, the sandstones 

and shales grading into each other both vertically and horizontally. 

Moreover, there is a monotonous likeness in both the sandstones and 

the shales throughout the area, which in the absence of persistent, 

clearly recognizable strata renders the correlation of beds, except 

within very narrow limits, practically impossible.

Some of the most prominent limestone divisions of the southern 

area persist, although in diminished thickness, as far north as Red 

River, perhaps farther. The limestones so well developed on Clear 

Creek, in the southwestern part of Throckmorton County,
CAEBONIPEEOtrS SYSTEM. 25

northward through Seymour, are crossed by Wfchita River about 3 

miles east of the Seymour-Vernon road, and are last seen on Beaver 

Creek, in the eastern part of Wilbarger County. The transition of 

limestone into sandstone is well marked in an exposure in the bluffs* 

of the Salt Fork of Brazos River, about a mile west of Spring Creek 

post office, in the northwest corner of Young County. A bed of 

limestone 3 feet thick and an overling bed of blue shales 5 feet 

thick, both filled with fossils (chiefly Myalina permiana), are replaced 

within a distance of 200 yards by a light-colored cross-bedded calcareous sandstone having a maximum thickness of 15 feet. The 

transition is rather abrupt in appearance, but the sandstone contains 

much lime and also some fossils. Farther along the limestone reappears as before.

The limestones of the Wichita formation are for the most part 

highly fossiliferous, though in many of the beds good specimens are 

hard to obtain. A list of the invertebrate fossils obtained from these 

beds has been published elsewhere.1 Collections of vertebrate remains 

have been made at various times in Archer and Baylor counties. 

A list of localities where the earlier collections were made is given by 

Cummins.* In many places the remains are found at the surface, 

having weathered out of the clays or lime beds. Certain strata, 

called the "bone beds," have furnished most of the material. A 

chalky friable limestone exposed in a railway cut just west of Mabelle station, in Baylor County, is filled with fragments of vertebrate 

remains allied to Eryops, mostly indeterminable. In a recent paper 

Williston 8 announces the discovery of a new genus and new species 

of amphibian allied to Eryops, which he names Trematops miUeri, 

This specimen is said to have been found on Craddock's ranch, near 

Seymour. The figure of the skull given by Williston shows a close 

correspondence to one found by the writer in the friable limestone 

at the railway cut near Mabelle, which was unfortunately broken 

and in part lost before opportunity was given for identification. It 

seems probable that both came from nearly the same horizon.

Copper. In places the bluish clays are copper bearing, but efforts 

to mine the deposits have not proved successful. The ore occurs in the 

form of small nodules in the clays and also as a replacement of pieces 

of wood. It is the copper oxide chiefly.

Oil. Mention has been made of indications of the presence of oil 

in the Wichita formation in different localities. In 1907 the only 

producing field in the area was atPetrolia, in Clay County, where there 

were several producing wells. Later the Henrietta fiel^, in .the same 

county, was brought in. (See p. 47.) In a well put down for water

1 Jour. Geology, vol. 19, 1911, pp. 131-134. 

* Cummins, W. F., Jour. Geology, vol. 16,1908, pp. 737-745. 

lWiUiston, S. W., Jour. Geology, vol. 17,1909, pp. 636-658.
26 TJNDEBGBOTJND WATEES OP WIOHITA REGION, TEXAS.

at Electra a number of years ago by Mr. Waggoner oil was struck at 

about 600 feet. The well was extended to 1,790 feet. The water, 

most of which was found below 800 feet, rose within 15 feet of the 

top. The oil which covered the surface of the water was dipped out 

and used locally by the cattlemen, and also to burn, but no further 

attempt had been made to determine the existence of-oil in commercial quantity. Most of the wells in this neighborhood show oil in 

small quantities. On January 17, 1911, the Producers Oil Co. 

brought in the second producing well on its No. 5 Waggoner tract, 

about 2 miles north of the town of Electra. This well yielded 50 

barrels a day at a depth of 1,825 feet. From this time drilling was 

extremely active, particularly by the Producers Oil Co., the Clay 

County Oil Co., the Magnolia Co., and others. The oil is found in 

sands from 10 to 30 feet thick, lying at 580, 965, 1,035, and about 

1,900 feet in depth. The wells yield from 50 to 1,200 barrels by natural flow. Natural-gas pressures are light, compared with those in 

the Petrolia and Henrietta pools. In September, 1911, the Electra 

field was credited with a production of 6,000 barrels a day.

A well put down in 1899 on the farm of Mr. Carmack, 1 mile northwest of Murray post office, in the southwestern part of Young County, 

struck gas at about 360 feet. In 1907 the escape from this well was 

sufficient to form a blaze from 1 to 2 feet high. As this well is located 

near the eastern border of the Wichita formation, it may be that the 

gas comes from the topmost beds of the Cisco formation.

Conditions of sedimentation. The character of the sedimentation 

and the contents of the strata in the "Red Beds" area suggest that 

the region was a tidal flat or a low, swampy area subject to overflow 

and adjoining the open area which lay toward the south and west. 

This view is maintained by Case, 1 who states that u the whole formation seems to be very clearly the result of deposition, either in the form 

of a wide delta or in very shallow water." He adds, further, that'' the 

remains which are found on or in the sand layers were evidently 

washed there by currents from a distant shore, and they are generally more or less imperfect, having been dispersed by the action of the 

current or by predatory animals, while those found in clay were evidently animals which mired down on wide mud flats or were drifted 

out on the surface of the stagnant lagoons."

The clays and the sandstones are separated in some places by 

unconformities which are considered by Case 2 to be the result of 

currents that eroded channels in the clay in which the sands were 

afterward deposited. They do not represent apparently any considerable time interval between the two deposits. Moreover, the conglomerates containing concretions of ferruginous clay are evidently

1 Case, E. C., Bull. Am. Mas. Nat. Hist, voL 23,1907, pp. 659-664. 2 Idem, p. 661.
CARBONIFEROUS SYSTEM. 27

additional indications of transitory currents in an ordinarily quiet 

lagoon or over the tidal flats of a wide delta.

The red sediments evidently had their source in the degradation of 

the Wichita Mountains, which lie directly to the north of this region, in 

Oklahoma. These mountains were uplifted during or at the close of 

the Pennsylvanian epoch and are now, together with their accompanying elevations on the east, the Arbuckle Mountains, partly buried in 

the sediments they have furnished.1

The fact that in this region, as shown by their outcrop toward the 

east and by the strata penetrated in deep wells, the upper beds of the 

Cisco formation consist of sediments corresponding in character to 

those of the Wichita formation, suggests that mud flats may have 

characterized the closing stages of the Pennsylvanian epoch in this 

region.

Thickness. In Shackelford County the thickness of the Wichita 

formation is estimated to be 1,000 to 1,200 feet. Two-thirds or more 

of the formation consists of blue clays and shales. Farther south, in 

the vicinity of Colorado River, limestones constitute the major part 

of the formation. To the north from Shackelford County the calcareous sediments diminish, and before reaching the Oklahoma border 

they practically disappear. No reliable estimate can be made of the 

thickness of the formation in this part of the region, though it is 

probably not less than 1,500 feet.

WATER RESOURCES.

As shown in the foregoing description of the geology of the region, 

the stratigraphy of the Wichita formation in the southern or " Albany " 

area presents a marked contrast to that in the northern or typical 

Wichita area.

In the southern area there are limestones at several horizons, some 

massive and others thin bedded, alternating with blue clay and sandy 

shales and sandstones. Though the shale beds greatly exceed the 

limestones in thickness, the latter, owing to their hardness, resist 

erosion better, and hence are found capping the elevations and constituting a series of parallel benches or escarpments that may be 

traced for long distances from the northeast, toward the southwest. 

About two-thirds of the formation in Shackelford County consists of 

blue and gray clay shales, interbedded with which are some red clays 

and beds of sandstone. No good water-bearing bed is known to exist 

in the Wichita formation in the southern area. Locally the limestones and sandstones contain water, but it is usually saline.' When 

followed northward the beds of the Wichita formation show marked 

diminution in the proportion of calcareous sediments and a corre-

> Case, E. C., op. cit., p. 664. Beede, J. W., Jour. Qeolog7, vol. 17,1909, p. 714.
28 tTNDEEGEOtJNT) WATEES OF WICHITA BEGIC% TEXAS.

spending increase in sandy shales and sandstones. Moreover, the 

blue and gray colors of the shales and sandstones are in large part 

replaced by reds and browns, -thus giving rise to the designation " Red 

Beds." In Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties the sandstones of the 

Wichita formation are locally porous and contain water, but owing 

to their transitional character and lack of persistency no correlation 

can be established between the sandstone beds of different localities. 

There are probably no persistent water-bearing beds in this region, 

the reservoirs being for the most part local. In Baylor and Wilbarger 

counties, where the upper beds appear, there are fewer sandstones 

and more limestones and shales, but no water-bearing beds of any 

importance. As a whole the Wichita formation is destitute of good 

water, but salt water is found at several horizons. A hole put down 

near Geraldine hi Archer County struck water at 106, 298, 346, and 

540 feet from the surface. The first water rose within 60 feet of the 

top and the others within 20 feet. All these waters were salt and 

unfit for use.

CLEAR FORK AND DOUBLE MOUNTAIN FORMATIONS. 

GEOLOGY.

Overlying the Wichita formation conformably are red and blue clays, 

sandy shales, and sandstones, including deposits of gypsum and a few 

beds of earthy magnesian limestone. These rocks were subdivided by 

Cummins * into the Clear Fork and Double Mountain beds, but, as 

stated by that author, "no attempt has been made to determine a 

definite line of division between the two," and in view of the character of the sediments it is evident that the determination of such a 

line, if it can be made at all, will require much detailed work. Hill 2 

proposed the term Brazos series to embrace "all those rocks of Texas, 

Oklahoma, Kansas, and New Mexico between the top of the conformable Coleman division of the Carboniferous beds below [and] the base 

of the unconformable Cretaceous above," but the suggestion has not 

been elsewhere adopted. According to Gould 3 these beds correspond 

to those in Oklahoma which he has termed in ascending order, the 

Enid, Blaine, Woodward, Greer, and Quartermaster formations.

In the lower beds red and blue clays predominate, but the upper 

beds are characterized by an increase in the proportion of arenaceous 

constituents and also of limestone and gypsum. The sandstones and 

limestones are friable and, together with the clays, yield readily to 

eroding agencies and supply a large amount of detritus to the streams, 

which are heavily charged with the red sediments brought down by 

their tributaries. In the lower beds the gypsum occurs as thin layers

1 Cummins, W. F., Second Ann. Kept. Texas Geol. Survey, 1890, pp. 401-402. 

* Hill, R. T., Twenty-first Ann. Rept. U. 8. Geol. Survey, pt. 7,1901, p. 100. 

» Gould, 0. N., Water-supply Paper U. &. Geol. Survey No. 164,1906, p. 17.
OEETAOEOUS SYSTEM. 29

and lenses in the clays. Beds of massive gypsum 2 to 3 feet thick 

crop out in the hills south of Quanah. At Acme, where the material 

is quarried, the deposit is from 10 to 20 feet thick. In many places 

fibrous gypsum fills cracks which cut the alluvial clays in every 

direction.

The massive gypsum does not constitute persistent strata but thins 

out or is replaced horizontally by clays or limestones. J. J. Cyrus, 

a well driller of Quanah, states that the wells of that city derive their 

water from a porous limestone stratum at a depth of 75 feet and that 

no gypsum occurs in the overlying beds, which consist mostly of clay. 

A well put down a mile south of Quanah passed through a thick bed 

of gypsum at 40 to 65 feet and another at 75 to 83 feet, the latter 

apparently the equivalent of the limestone found in the city wells.

Except where overlain by fluviatile deposits of Quaternary age, the 

Clear Fork and Double Mountain formations constitute the surface 

rocks west of the Wichita formation as far as the escarpment that 

marks the eastern extension of the Triassic in Texas.

The age of these beds is generally recognized as Permian. Fossils 

are scarce and are confined chiefly to the limestones. The meager 

collections thus far made from these beds in Texas are not sufficient 

to warrant definite conclusions concerning them.

Cummins has assigned to these beds a total thickness of 3,900 feet, 

1,900 feet to the Clear Fork and 2,000 feet to the Double Mountain. 

Only the lower beds of the formations are exposed hi the Wichita 

region. Red gypsiferous shales and sands, with beds of gypsum and 

some limestones hi the upper part, represent the formations as they 

appear here.

WATER RESOURCES.

Water is found in the shales and sandstones and to some extent in 

the limestones of the Clear Fork and Double Mountain formations. 

That which occurs hi the shales and sandstones or near beds of gypsum 

is almost invariably strongly gypseous, but that in the limestone or 

closely related sandstones may be fairly good. Locally these waters 

yield supplies that are used for household purposes, but more generally 

they are available only for stock.

The character of the formations precludes the hope of finding potable water supplies at any general horizons.

CRETACEOUS SYSTEM. 

OOMANCHE SEEIES.

East of the region the Carboniferous is overlain unconformably by 

the Cretaceous, patches of which also appear west and southwest of 

the region. Worn specimens of undoubtedly Cretaceous shells are 

found hi the gravel escarpments along Wichita River in Knox and
30 TJNDEBGBOUND WATEES OF WICHITA REGION, TEXAS.

Foard counties. The conclusion seems warranted, therefore, that the 

Cretaceous formerly extended over a large part if not the whole of the 

region. The only portion of the area, however, where Cretaceous 

rocks are now found in place is in the eastern part of Montague County, 

where the Trinity sand and the overlying Goodland limestone are 

recognized. The Trinity here consists of compact but easily eroded 

sand, usually called "pack sand," whose thickness ranges from a 

knife-edge at the border to 500 feet in the southeastern part of the 

county. Pebbles in varying amount are scattered through the formation, but only in the basal zone are they abundant enough to constitute a conglomerate. The Goodland limestone, which represents the 

Comanche Peak and Edwards limestones to the south, consists of a 

white limestone of dull or chalky texture and luster intersected with 

layers and seams of semicrystalline material. The thickness of the 

Goodland is about 15 to 20 feet.

QUATERNARY SYSTEM.

PLEISTOCENE SEEIES.

SEYMOUR FORMATION.

GEOLOGY.

Over the western part of the region, including I£nox and Haskell 

counties, portions of Foard and Jones counties, and probably adjoining areas on the west, is a deposit of fine silts, sands, and gravels 10 to 

50 feet thick except where removed by denuding agencies, to which 

the name Seymour beds was given by Cummins.1 The sands are 

mostly red varying to white and are interstratified with lenses of 

gravel and red clay, In Knox County Brazos River and branches of 

the Wichita have removed this formation over wide areas and cut 

their valleys down into the underlying Clear Fork and Double Mountain formations. In the breaks of these streams the gravels are well 

exposed. On the south side of the valley of the South Fork of the 

Wichita, 5 miles north of Benjamin, the gravels with their accompanying sands and clays have a thickness of 25 feet. The pebbles are wellrounded and consist of quartz and crystalline rock, mostly of igneous 

origin. Silicified wood is common, as are also waterworn Gryphaea 

shells of Lower Cretaceous age. The character of the material suggests that it was derived from the Tertiary beds whose remnants outcrop in the escarpment of the Llano Estacado west of this area. 

Gould 2 has referred to the presence of waterworn GryphsBa shells ot 

Lower Cretaceous age in the gravel beds at the immediate base of the 

Tertiary.

i Cummins, W. F., Fourth Ann. Rept. Texas Geol. Survey, 1893, pp. 181-190. 

 Gould, C. N., Water-Supply Paper U. S. Geol. Survey No. 154,1906, p. 29.
QUATBBFAEY SYSTEM. 81

The area known or believed to be covered by this deposit is shown 

on the accompanying map (PL I). In the region between the North 

Fork of Wichita River and Pease River the flat interstream areas are 

underlain by 6 to 8 feet of fine dark-colored silt resting upon a bed 

of gravel 2 to 3 feet thick. These beds, which evidently belong to the 

Seymour formation, overlie the red Permian clays. The western 

limits of the Seymour formation are not known.

At several places east of the indicated boundary of the formation, 

patches of conglomerate were observed which may be related to the 

Seymour. Some of these patches cap the higher gravel terraces of the 

Brazos below Seymour. Half a mile south of Round Timber the 

river bluff, which is about 60 feet high, is capped by a bed of gravel 

and sand in which the pebbles consist chiefly of quartz and quartzite. 

This material is also spread over considerable areas in the vicinity of 

the river to the south, where it forms a thin veneer of sand and pebbles. 

In places it is consolidated into a fine conglomerate. The principal 

deposits of this character lie about 90 feet above the river. Pebbles 

of quartzite, quartz, and other siliceous rocks evidently derived from 

this bed are scattered ever the surface of the lower terraces and along 

the river bed. Another locality where deposits of the same kind 

were observed is in the vicinity of Mabelle station,, in Baylor County. 

The determination of the stratigraphic relations of these deposits 

and their connection, if any exists, with the Seymour formation must 

await more detailed observations with the aid of good maps. A 

valley conglomerate found on Concho River at San Angelo and elsewhere in Tom Green and Concho counties evidently corresponds to 

the formation here described. In that locality it is composed chiefly 

of fragments of chert derived from the Lower Cretaceous beds.

Cummins,1 who first described the Seymour formation, asserted 

its Pleistocene age and gave a list of fossils collected from beds presumably of this horizon, though the correlation was not definitely 

made. Fossils other than the worn fragments of extraneous source 

already mentioned are not abundant. The fragments of bones of 

Pleistocene mammals occasionally found include Mastodon and 

Equus. At Knox City Mr. C. A. Benedict showed the writer the tooth 

of a mastodon which was found in a well at a depth of 40 feet, also 

a femur of the same species which was found in a ravine in the vicinity. 

Cummins 2 states that 14 miles east of Benjamin he collected fragments of the bones of Mastodon and Equus, among which was a femur 

4 feet 2 inches in length.

Cummins considered these beds to have been formed in an inland 

lake which extended from Seymour westward to the range of gypsum 

hills bounding the formation on the west and which was drained

i Cummins, W. F., Fourth Ann. Kept. Texas Geol. Survey, 1892, pp. 181-190. * Idem, p. 182.
32 UNDEEGEOUND WATBES OP WIOHITA REGION, TEXAS.

when Brazos Kiver cut through the limestones at Seymour. The 

character and general relations of the sedimentation, however, 

suggests deposition by streams rather than in a lake. As shown by 

W. D. Johnson,1 the heterogeneous distribution of clays, sands, silts, 

gravels, and conglomerates such as characterizes the Quaternary in 

the High Plains is the result of branching streams of desert habit. 

From Haskell north to the Brazos the formation has a thickness of 

40 to 50 feet and is composed of about 30 feet of reddish calcareous 

silt or clay, with some sand and gravel, resting upon about 10 feet 

of sands and gravels. In the upper 1 or 2 feet the formation contains 

a large amount of lime which has partly consolidated to form an 

impure limestone or conglomerate. Calcareous deposits of this 

character, which have a wide distribution in arid regions, are known 

as caliche. The deposit is harder and more regular in structure at 

the top than below and is usually hidden from view by a slight covering of soil. The caliche surrounds and includes sand grains, gravels, 

and earthy materials, cementing them together, but does not usually 

become sufficiently hard to constitute a solid rock. Blake,3 who 

has described such deposits in Arizona, states that "the formation 

is clearly the result of the upward capillary flow of calcareous water, 

induced by constant and rapid evaporation in a comparatively 

rainless region."

WATER BESOURCES.

An abundant supply of good water is usually found in the gravel 

beds that constitute the basal part of the Seymour formation. Where 

these lower beds are exposed by erosion under favorable conditions 

springs may be found, as at Haskell.

In the vicinity of streams which cut through the formation into 

the underlying Permian the supply is largely lost through seepage. 

In places in the upland areas also the beds are destitute of water, 

many wells extending through the gravels into the Permian beds 

called "Birdseye" by the drillers. The localization of the water 

in the gravels may be due to collection in basins in the unevenly 

eroded surface of the Permian.

The water is in general of fair quality and in places very good. It 

usually contains some gypsum, the amount differing with the locality.

EECENT SERIES. 

GEOLOGY.

The stream valleys are floored throughout the greater part of their 

courses by gravels, sands, and sUts which have been transported from 

higher levels to their present position by the present streams. The

i Twenty-first Ann. Kept. U. S. GeoL Survey, pt 4,1901, p. 655.

* Blake, W. P., Trans. Am. lust. Min. Eng., voL 31,1901, pp. 220-226,
QTJATEBNABY SYSTEM. 33

valleys of the larger streams, such as Wichita, Brazos, and Pease 

rivers, are usually wide and along their sides may be found remnants 

of terraces to a height of 60 feet. These terrace deposits consist of 

gravel, sand, and silt of recent origin and are not to be confounded 

with the somewhat similar Pleistocene materials composing the Seymour formation and the apparently related high-level Pleistocene 

gravels and conglomerates mentioned on page 31. The bottom lands 

of Brazos and Wichita rivers are in places from 1 to 2 miles wide 

and are covered over large areas by sands that have been exposed during low stages of the river and on drying'have drifted into mounds 

and ridges along the adjoining flats. Outside of the ordinary flood 

plains there are in places wide belts of excellent farming land, as seen 

on the Wichita north of Holliday and on the Brazos in southeastern 

Baylor County. Being derived for the greater part from the Permian red beds, the alluvial clays are in many places reddish in color.

In certain areas there are accumulations of sand of greater or less 

extent caused by the action of the wind. As to their mode of origin 

these sands are of two kinds those blown from the stream channels, 

as already noted, and those derived from the disintegration of rocks 

in place and heaped up by the winds. The dunes of the first kind 

occur along the flood plains of practically all the larger streams and 

are composed of white or nearly white rather fine sand grains. For 

the most part they are barren of vegetation, but in places they are 

covered with a scanty growth of grass and bushes.

Sand hills of disintegration occur chiefly in the northwestern 

part of the region, in Wilbarger and Hardeman counties, and appear 

to be confined mostly to the areas underlain by the Seymour formation. They are best developed in the uplands north of Pease 

River, where they constitute ridges 6 to 8 miles long and 3 to 5 miles 

wide. Corresponding ridges of less extent occur along the south 

side of Pease River. Gould 1 states that the material of these upland 

sand hills has been derived largely from the disintegration of the 

underlying rocks. As the Tertiary and Pleistocene deposits are 

especially susceptible to the action of weathering agencies, sand hills 

of this character are most common in the regions to the west and 

north, where rocks of these ages are best developed. As the clay 

and silt present in the formations are removed by the action of water, 

the sand and the gravel remain behind and the finer materials are 

then rearranged by the action of the wind. As to the deposits of 

Pease River, however, the view has been advanced 2 that they were 

formed before the rivers had reached their present levels, and were 

blown out from the adjacent mud flats of the wide river or estuary,

i Gould, C. N., Water-Supply Paper TJ. S. Qeol. Survey No. 154,1906, p. 30.

* Lapham, J. £., and others, Soil survey of the Vecnon area, Texas: Field Operations Bur. Soils for 1902, 

D. S. Dept. Agr., pp. 369,372,373.

70056° WSP 317 13 3
34 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF WICHITA REGION, TEXAS.

and have been left behind by the recession of the streams. There can be 

little doubt that the sands were derived through the disintegration 

of the underlying rocks. It is not necessary to infer, however, the 

presence of a former large river or body of water from whose shores 

the sands were drifted inland. The disintegration of the rocks under 

the effects of weathering, the removal of the clay and silt through 

rain wash, and subsequent heaping of the sand by the winds would 

seem to offer an adequate explanation of the phenomena.

On Red River at Red Bluff, northeast of Vernon, there is said to 

be a deposit of volcanic ash,1 the sole indication of igneous action 

so far as known within the area. It occurs near the top of the bluff 

and is overlain by fine sandy loam which is evidently of eolian 

origin and has apparently been modified more or less by the volcanic 

ash. The writer had no opportunity to examine this deposit, the 

source of which is wholly conjectural.

WATER RESOURCES.

In the vicinity of the main streams the alluvial sands and gravels 

usually contain ample supplies of good water. In the valleys of 

Wichita and Brazos rivers an abundance of good water is generally 

obtained at depths of 18 to 25 feet. Wells on the higher filled 

terraces have to go deeper, being from 40 to 60 feet deep, according 

to location.

In general the water in the valley deposits is of good quality, but 

locally, especially in the Permian area, it may be affected by the 

intrusion of waters from the adjoining beds.

SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS.

The present investigations have shown the occurrence of abundant 

supplies of underground water in this region, but almost invariably 

the water was found to be highly charged with mineral matter. 

This is especially true of most of the supplies obtained in beds belonging to the. Carboniferous period. Exceptions are found in wells 

located near the outcrop of certain sandstone beds occurring near 

the contact of the Canyon and Cisco formations. Throughout a 

considerable area in the western part of the region good water is 

found in sands and gravels of Pleistocene age (Seymour formation) 

and is reached by wells from 20 to 50 feet in depth. Some of these 

beds furnish springs, as at Haskell. To these sources are to be 

added the shallow wells hi the valleys, which derive their supplies 

from the alluvial deposits of Recent age.

Over a large part of this region the surface waters constitute the 

chief source of supply, both for domestic use and for stock. Away 

from the main valleys the rainfall is stored in surface tanks for use

I Jjapham, 3. E., op. cit, p. 369.
MONTAGUE COUNTY. 35

during the dry part of the year. Owing to the generally friable 

character of the rocks, the surface waters are charged with fine 

reddish silt which settles very slowly. The large amount of this red 

silt in the surface waters makes it desirable that the water be cleared 

in a settling tank before being used. Wichita Falls derives its supply 

from an artificial lake 7 miles long outside of the city. This water 

is decidedly red in color before it is filtered. An analysis of this 

water is given on page 54.

In view of the importance of surface waters as a source of domestic 

supply in this area, especial care should be exercised for the preservation of these supplies against pollution by animals or other means. 

"It is now universally recognized that the degree of prevalence of 

typhoid fever in a given community is a reliable measure of the 

extent to which sewage is an ingredient of its drinking water. The 

prevalence of typhoid in cities is a true index of the quality of the 

water supplies." 1

Shallow wells and springs are especially susceptible to contamination from vaults, cesspools, broken sewers, slops thrown on the 

ground, pigpens, stables, and other sources of filth which readily 

passes into the ground. For the elimination of such contamination 

the location and care of a surface tank are important considerations. 

The tank should be placed at a considerable distance from any 

known source of contamination, in an open, clear drainage- basin, 

preferably grass covered, from which stock and other agencies of 

pollution are rigorously excluded. Moreover, it should be frequently 

and carefully inspected to guard against the accidental access of 

contaminating substances.

Although the fine red silt so abundant in the waters of this region 

is not especially harmful to health, its presence in domestic supplies 

is objectionable and means should be employed for its removal. 

This may be accomplished in cities by the use of settling tanks in 

which the water is clarified before it enters the city mains. In 

smaller places recourse may be had to niters.

DESCRIPTION BY COUNTIES.

MONTAGUE COtTNTY. 

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

Montague County lies along the State boundary line. It has an 

area of 976 square miles and its population according to the census 

of 1910 was 25,123. The mean annual rainfall is 35 inches.

There are two drainage systems in the county separated by a divide 

which extends from the southwest corner northeastward past 

Bowie to St. Jo. The area on the north and west of this line is drained

1 Ann. Kept. Connecticut State Board of Health, 1896, p. &,
36 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF WICHITA REGION, TEXAS.

by several small northward-flowing tributaries of Red Kiver, and 

that on the south and east by dear Creek, Denton Fork, and other 

tributaries of Trinity River. Most of the streams which head in the 

sands near the divide cany perennial though small supplies of water. 

Those tributaries of Red River which lie wholly within the area of 

the Carboniferous rocks are for the most part wet-weather streams. 

In this area the relief is moderate and belongs to an advanced stage 

of dissection of a preexisting plain, the interstream areas being 

reduced to irregular hills and knobs of the more resistant sandstones. 

 The altitude of the general plain surface is about 875 to 900 feet 

above sea level. Along the boundary of the Cretaceous the surface 

rises rather abruptly from 50 to 200 feet, with here and there irregular 

knobs and hills composed of the more resistant conglomeratic phases of 

the Cretaceous sands. Several elevations of this character, known 

as Cougar, Grindstone, Norton, and Rattlesnake mountains, exist 

near and to the southwest of Bowie. Queens Peak is a rather prominent elevation about 4 miles north of Bowie, and to the northeast of 

it are the Belknap Hills. Southeast of this range of hills is a belt 

of rolling sands, which toward the northeast is much dissected by the 

streams flowing northward into Red River. The southeastern 

boundary of this sandy area is marked by an escarpment, and sandstone knobs are noticeable features of the landscape. One of the 

most prominent elevations is Gordon Mountain, a narrow limestonecapped ridge 4 or 5 miles long just north of St. Jo.

GEOLOGY.

The geology of the county is simple. Underlying the whole area 

are rocks of Carboniferous age, and resting unconformably upon these 

in the southeastern part of the county are sands and limestones 

belonging to the Cretaceous. The Carboniferous rocks lie nearly 

horizontal or dip toward the west; the Cretaceous rocks dip southeastward. The boundary of the Cretaceous crosses the south line of 

the county about 6 miles east of the southwest corner and passes «/ A

northward through Bowie and thence northeastward to the northeast 

corner of the county. The boundary as thus delineated is irregular 

and serrate, as a result of the erosion of the formations which once 

undoubtedly covered the whole of the county.

The Carboniferous rocks which constitute the surface formation 

over the northwest half of the county belong to the upper part of 

the Cisco formation and consist of variegated red, brown, and blue 

sandy shales and shaly sandstones that grade horizontally and vertically into cross-bedded yellowish and white sandstones. The sandstones are locally conglomeratic and, owing to their greater resistance to erosion, in places cap elevations or project in ledges above 

the general surface. Coal which Cummins regards as his coal seam
MONTAGUE COUNTY. 37

No. 7 crops out about 4 miles southwest of Bowie, and attempts 

were at one time made to mine it at this locality. A tunnel 400 

feet long was driven into the side of the hill, and 1£ miles farther 

north shafts were put down to coal, which was reached at a depth 

of 150 feet. In all the shafts water was encountered in the sandstone above the coal. The following section was made by Cummins * 

at the mouth of the tunnel:

Section at mouth of tunnel near Bowie, Tex.

Ft. In.

Sandstone................................................... 6

Clay........................................................ 20

Slate...............................

Coal.................................

Slate...............................

Coal.................................

Fire clay. ..........................

......................... 3

......................... 2

.................. ....!.. 6

1 4

......................... 10

48 2

The dip of the coal, according to Cummins, is to the northwest. 

The coal shaft of the Max Edser mine, now abandoned, is reported 

by the owner, C. H. Boedeker, of Bowie, to be 160 feet deep and the 

coal to be 48 inches thick, including a slate seam of about 4 inches. 

A hole drilled 200 feet deeper failed to show other beds of coal. The 

records of this drill hole were not obtainable. Six miles northwest of 

Bowie, on the north side of the track of the Fort Worth & Denver City 

Railway, is an abandoned coal shaft whichis nowfilled with water within 

30 feet of the top. This shaft is reported to be 412 feet deep, but no 

reliable data concerning it could be obtained. The dump shows a 

considerable amount of black carbonaceous shales as the last materrial taken out. The only other occurrence of coal in the county of 

which information is at hand is in a well 4 miles north of Bowie and 

1 mile east of the Peak schoolhouse. The well starts in sandstone 

of the Cisco formation and is said to have reached coal at 62 feet. 

The seam is 6 inches thick. When the coal was reached, water was 

encountered which probably came from the overlying sandstone. 

It rose within 25 feet of the top of the well. On the assumption that 

the coal in these several localities belongs to the same seam, which 

is probable, it is estimated that the northwest dip of the beds is about 

70 feet to the mile.

The southeast half of the county is underlain by sands and conglomerates belonging to the lower division (Trinity sand) of the 

Cretaceous. Overlying these sands and capping the higher elevations in the eastern part of the county is a limestone which in Oklahoma is known as the Goodland limestone. It represents the formai Cummins, W. F., Second Ann. Kept. Texas Geol. Survey, 1890, p. 508.
38 UNDERGROUND WATEBS OF WICHITA REGION, TEXAS.

tions to the south called the Comanche Peak and Edwards limestones. The Trinity formation in Montague County consists of 

compact but easily eroded sand, usually called "pack sand," whose 

thickness ranges from a knife-edge at the borders to 500 feet in the 

southeastern part of the county. Pebbles in varying amount are 

scattered through the formation, but only in the basal zone are they 

abundant enough to constitute a conglomerate. In this zone the 

pebbly beds are locally of considerable thickness and are in some 

places loosely consolidated and in others indurated to form a hard, 

resistant rock. The Belknap Hills, Queens Peak, Brushy Mound, 

and other elevations along the border of the Cretaceous area owe 

their relief to the resistance to erosion offered by these beds. As 

shown by Hill 1 the Goodland limestone is exposed along the western 

border scarp "of the Grand Prairie and in the numerous inlying areas 

of the valleys of the many tributaries of the Trinity and the streams 

which score its surface. It is a white limestone of dull or chalky 

texture and luster, intersected with layers and seams of semicrystalline material. The thickness of the limestone is about 15 to 20 

feet.

WATER CONDITIONS.

WELLS. 

CARBONIFEROUS AREA.

Most of the water supply of the county is derived from shallow 

wells. In the Carboniferous area water is found in the sandstones 

at depths varying from 30 to.250 feet, and throughout a large part of 

the county water may be reached at 20 to 50 feet. The water in 

these shallow wells is usually hard and often impregnated with 

objectionable salts. The supply is rather scanty, and it is necessary 

in some areas to go deeper for satisfactory quantities. Other horizons are reached at depths ranging from 50 to 200 feet, but owing 

to the varying character of the formations no correlation can be 

made between the wells at different horizons.

At Nocona water is found in the northeastern and southwestern 

parts of the town at 20 to 40 feet in depth. The wells in a belt 

extending through the town from northwest to southeast are 

reported to be from 100 to 250 feet deep. The most common depth 

is 100 to 130 feet. In the shallow wells the water stands about 18 

feet below the surface and in the deep wells, according to the principal of the public schools, it stands at about 80 feet. A well put 

down by G. A. Stafford for Carmichael Bros, yields when pumped 

7,000 gallons a day. It is cased with 6-inch pipe for 217 feet and 

with 4-inch pipe for the remaining 42 feet. The water varies in

»Hill, R. T., Twenty-first Ann. Kept. U. 8. Geol. Survey, pt. 7,1901, p. 217.
MONTAGUE COUNTY. 89

quality, being good in some wells and poor in others. In general, 

the water from the deeper wells is soft and that from the shallow 

wells is hard.

About 2£ miles north of McCallums, on the farm of John Morris, 

a well 134' feet deep was put down in 1892. For a time the water 

was fairly good, but later it became so highly charged with mineral 

salts that it could not be used. Another well 84 yards to the northeast struck water at 137 feet. The record of this well, given by Mr. 

Morris, is as follows:

Record of well on farm of John Morris, near McCallums, Tex.

Feet.

1. Surface sand and clay.......................................... 28

2. Soft sandstone.................................................. 36

3. Black clay.................................................... 8

4. Mixed clay, sand, and lime, in part concretionary................. 15

5. Pack sand...................................................... 40

6. Dark-red clay, almost black.................................... 6

7. Hard rock..................................................... 4

8. Sand with gravel and water.

Nos-. 1 to 5 represent the basal portion of the Trinity sand; Nos. 6 

to 8 belong to the Cisco formation of the Carboniferous. The water 

in this well is fairly good.

At Belcherville the public well is 165£ feet deep; the water, which 

is of fairly good quality, rose rapidly, when the bits were drawn, 

within 90 feet from the surface. The water of other shallow wells in 

the vicinity is said to differ considerably in quality, but no analyses 

have been made. In 1895 a well put down by John Witherspoon 

was extended to a depth of 961 feet. William M. Cassel, the foreman 

in charge of the work, makes the following statement concerning it:

The principal water-bearing stratum was reached at 600 feet. Several other waterbearing strata were passed through above this, but they were cased off. The water 

from the 600-foot level rose within 100 feet of the surface. Deposits of coal, "granite," 

sulphur, and salt were passed through, but nothing definite is now known concerning 

them. Analysis was made of the water, but this has been lost. It is known, however, that the water was highly charged with salt and sulphur.

At Ringgold water is obtained at depths of 20 to 200 feet. The 

water in this vicinity is predominantly brackish. Cisterns constitute 

the main source of supply, the statement being made by residents 

that there is "no good water outside of cisterns."

In the vicinity of Stoneburg water is found in shallow wells at 

depths of 25 to 40 feet. In these wells the water rises within 10 to 20 

feet from the surface. At depths varying from 72 to 160 feet water 

is struck which supplies flowing wells in favorably situated localities. 

A. S. Jamieson's well, located 200 yards south of the Chicago, Rock 

Island & Gulf Railway Station, is 160 feet deep. The water flows
40 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF WICHITA REGION, TEXAS.

out in a small stream and is said to be fairly good for general use, but 

hard on boilers. The elevation of the top of the well is about 930 

feet above sea level. The drill is reported to have passed through 

5 to 6 feet of soil, about 8 feet of white sand containing plenty of soft 

water, and blue shale and sandy clay with alternating beds of sandstone down to about 145^ feet. Water was found in a clay or quicksand formation underlying a '''honeycomb" rock, probably a sandstone. The fine material pumps up and chokes the well.

About 200 yards south of the Jamieson well is one put down by the 

Chicago, Kock Island & Gulf Railway Co., the following record of 

which was furnished by Mr. Paul Friesen, acting chief engineer:

Record of Chicago, Rock Island & Gulf Railway Co.'s well at Stoneburg, Tex.

Clay....................................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

2

11

11

34

12

10

26

12

11

13

3

*

Depth.

Feet. 

2

13

24

68

70

80

106

118

129

142

145

145J

The water was struck at 143 feet. The well flows at the rate of 

1,000 gallons a day and affords about 17,000 gallons a day when 

pumped. The rocks penetrated in this well belong wholly to the 

Cisco formation. At this place the elevation of the water beds is 

approximately 890 feet above sea level.

About 1J miles south of the Stoneburg station a flowing well was 

obtained by James Anderson at a depth of 981 feet. Hie exact 

elevation of the top of this well is not known, but an estimate based 

on the contour map of the region indicates that the water is reached 

here at a level 40 feet higher than at the station.

Three-fourths of a mile farther south W. T. Small has a flowing well 

72£ feet deep. The top of the well is possibly 10 feet lower than that of 

the railway well. It is estimated that water is reached in this well 

at about 835 feet above sea level, or 63 feet higher than at Stoneburg. 

It seems probable that all these wells terminate in the same stratum, 

which has a northward inclination of about 32 feet to the mile. As 

the real dip of the strata is to the northwest, the data here given 

harmonize with others showing the dip to be about 70 feet to the 

mile (p. 37). The character of the water from the Small well is 

shown by the following analysis, by Walton Van Winkle, of the 

United States Geological Survey:
MONTAGUE COUNTY. 41

Analysis of waterfront well of W. T. Small, near Stoneburg, Tec.

[Parts per million.] 

Sili*a(SiOa).................................................. 4.8

Iron (Pe).................................................... .08

Calcium (Ca).................................................. 32

Magnesium (Mg)............................................. 8.2

Sodium (Na) and potassium (K)................................ 121

Carbonate radicle (CO3)....................................... .0

Bicarbonate radicle (HCO3).................................... 365

Sulphate radicle (SO4)......................................... 49

Chlorine (Cl)............................c.................... 61

Nitrate radicle (NO3).......................................... 1.06

Total solids.................................................. 457

This analysis shows that the water comes within the limit of ordinary river water in the proportion of calcium and magnesium, but 

is higher in chlorine and bicarbonates. It is used for household purposes and for stock and would apparently do well in boilers.

Water from the well of C. M. Chase, near the Small well, May, 1907, 

gave the following results according to the same analyst:

Analysis of water from well of C. M. Chase, near Stoneburg, Tex. 

[Parts per million.]

Silica (SiO2).................................................. 7.2

Iron (Pe).................................................... .3

Calcium (Ca).................................................. 6.4

Magnesium (Mg)............................................. 10

Sodium (Na) and potassium (K)................................ 174

Carbonate radicle (CO3 )....................................... .0

Bicarbonate radicle (HCO3).................................... 381

Sulphate radicle (SO4)......................................... 25

Chlorine (Cl)................................................ 36

Nitrate radicle (NO3).......................................... .97

Total solids................................................... 458

This water, although slightly higher in alkalies and lower in chlorine, 

corresponds fairly with that from the Small well. The flow is small 

but constant.

About 3J miles east of Stoneburg, on the farm of C. H. Bacon, 

are two wells 113 and 96 feet deep. Both are flowing wells and when 

cased up the water stands 2 feet above the level of the ground. These 

wells are located near the border of the Cretaceous at the northwest 

base of the Belknap Hills. Their flow is small but regular. A 

bucketful taken from the basin will cause the flow to cease for a 

few seconds.

Bowie is situated near the southwest corner of the county, just 

within the border of the Cretaceous area. The thickness of the 

Trinity sand here, as shown by well records, is about 40 feet. The 

increase in thickness toward the east is rapid and in that part of the
42 UNDEBGBOUND WATEBS OF WICHITA REGION, TEXAS.

county, so far as known, no wells extend through the Trinity sand. 

There are several deep wells in the town which extend through the 

Trinity into the underlying Cisco formation. The Bowie ice plant 

and the Bowie Oil Co. each have wells about 500 feet deep. The old 

well of the city waterworks derived its supply from a depth of 540 

feet, but this proving insufficient, a new well was finished in 1907 at 

a depth of 640 feet and gives, according to Mayor C. H.Boedeker, 

"an inexhaustible supply of good water." 

Its record is as follows:

Record of new well ofctiy waterworks, Bowie, Tex. 

[Elevation at top of well, 1,145 feet above sea level.]

Trinity sand (Cretaceous) :

Cisco (Carboniferous);

4. Hard soapstone rock ............................................................

8. Shale............................................................................

10. Gritty shale, ''hardpan" ........................................................

12. Red shale.... ...................................................................

13. Sandstone.......................................................................

14. Red shale................... ....................................................

15. Hard shale, "hardpan" .........................................................

17. Sand with water................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

30

10

38

18

4

8

132

11

54

75

55

13

32

18

12

9

9

69

1Q

Depth.

Feet. 

30

40

78

96 ieo108

240

251

305

380

435

448

480

498

510

519

528

532

601

620

The water in bed No. 20 stands 180 feet below the top when 

pumped. This water was analyzed by Walton Van Winkle in March, 

1907, with the following results:

Analyses of water from new city well, Bowie, Tex. 

[Parts per million.]

Silica (SiOa)............................................... 5.4

Iron (Fe)................................................... .3

Calcium (Ca)............................................... 21

Magnesium (Mg)............................................ 9.5

Sodium (Na) and potassium (K)............................. 772

Carbonate radicle (C03)...................................... .0

Bicarbonate radicle(HC03 )................................... 382

Sulphate radicle (S04)...................................... 129

Chlorine (01)................................................ 972

Nitrate radicle (N03)....................................... 1. 86

Total solids................................................. 2,119

This is a soft water high in chlorine and alkalies.
MONTAGUE COUNTY. 43

CRETACEOUS AREA.

. In the Cretaceous area water may be obtained as a rule at depths 

of 20 to 150 feet. Most of the wells are from 30 to 80 feet deep. 

The differences in the depths of the wells are-due in part to the character of the relief as related to the position of the water table, and in 

part to the changes in the'character of the beds themselves, the sands 

in places containing more clay or being finer grained and more compact. For the most part water for domestic purposes is obtained 

from shallow wells. There are no deep wells within the area except 

near the border, as at Bowie (p. 42). At that place the deep wells 

find water in the underlying Cisco formation. The water in the 

Trinity sand is generally mineralized to a greater or less extent, and 

hence it is in many places necessary to rely upon cisterns both for 

domestic use and for stock. Owing to the compactness of the sands, 

the movement of the ground water in them is slow and generally the 

supply from these beds is small. E. B. Sizemore put down a well at 

Newharp, near the southeast corner of the county, and says that it 

is 129 feet deep, is nonflowing, and furnishes about 10,000 gallons a 

day. The water is used for running a large gin. The drill passed 

through the following beds, according to Mr. Sizemore:

Record of well of E. B. Sizemore at Newharp, Tex.

1. Soil..................................................................................

5. Red bottom clay .....................................................................

8. Sandstone. ...........................................................................

Thickness.

Ft. in.

4

40

41

2

27

2

26 10

Depth.

Ft. in. 

2

44

85

87

112

112 2

129

The beds to and including No. 4 are Trinity and those below No. 4 

are evidently Cisco. Water is reported, from the Trinity at 44 and 

80 feet. No mention is made of water ill the Cisco formation.

Four miles southeast of Nocona is a well 235 feet deep. The 

record of this well is not available, but it was learned that the drill 

passed through sandstone, red sandy shale with some hard rock, and, 

near the bottom, soft sand with water which rose within 60 feet of 

the top. This well is situated on a hill near the border of the Trinity 

sand. The water is soft and evidently comes from the underlying 

Cisco. The elevation at the top of the well is1 1,050 feet above sea 

level. About a quarter of a mile northeast of this well is an old well, 

73 feet deep, in which the water is hard. The top of the old well is 

about 20 feet lower than that of the other well, and the water in it 

is evidently in the basal part of the Trinity.
44 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF WtCSlTA REGION, TEXAS.

Montague, the county seat, is located on the Trinity sand, in which 

water is found at depths of 60 to 80 feet. The water contains a 

considerable but varying amount of mineral matter, wells near together showing marked differences. The courthouse well is 60 feet 

deep, as is also the parsonage well, located 600 feet farther south. 

The "old well" on the square, which is 80 feet deep, contains somewhat better water than either of the other two. About 500 feet 

west of the cojurthouse well is the "wagon house" well, which is about 

40 feet deep. All these wells derive their supply from the Trinity. 

Analyses of the waters are given below.

Analyses of water from wells at Montague, Tex. 

[Parts per million. W. M. Barr, analyst. Samples collected December, 1906.]

Silica (SiO*).... ..........................................................

Iron(Fe).................................................................

Calcium (Ca).. ...........................................................

Carbonates (CO3 ) ........................................................

Bicarbonate radicle (HCO3 ).... . ..........................................

Chloride (Cl).... .........................................................

Nitrate radicle (NOa)...................................................-.

Total solids..............................................................

Courthouse 

well.

19

Tr.

327

74

284

.0

442

262

653

102

2,075

Parsonage well.

26

3.6

96

27

26

.0

334

54

43

Tr.

446

Wagon 

house 

well.

21

.05

270

29

88

.0

249

104

186

334

1,272

Owing to the large proportion of iron the water from the parsonage well has a disagreeable taste and is not used. The porous 

character of the sandy formation underlying the town is decidedly 

favorable to the contamination of the ground waters by sewage.

SPRINGS.

Springs in Montague County are few and are for the most part 

small and unimportant. Most of them are in the Trinity sand area 

and along its border. Near Gladys and Forestburg are small springs 

and one near Forestburg is reported as yielding a "never-failing" 

supply of warm water. The springs supplying cold water usually 

run dry in summer. The water of these springs is hard. A few softwater springs occur in the Cisco area, notably near Stoneburg and 

Ringgold. Their flow is small.

CLAY COUNTY. 

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

Clay County has an area of 1,250 square miles, and its population 

in 1910 was 17,043. The mean annual rainfall is 32 inches. The 

county is drained chiefly by Little Wichita River, which flows north-
CLAY COUISTY. 45

eastward through the middle of the county into Red River. The 

Wichita flows through the northwestern part of the county.

The surface is for the most part a timberless, moderately dissected plain. The soils consist of fine sand or sandy clays derived 

from the underlying sandstones and shales.

GEOLOGY.

The rocks outcropping in this county consist of white, brown, and 

red sandstones and red sandy shales, the colors in places varying to 

blue. Except in a small area of the Cisco formation in the southeastern part of the county the indurated rocks belong to the Wichita 

formation. Owing to their apparently conformable relations, their 

lithologic correspondence, and the lack of good exposures the boundary between the formations is nowhere clearly defined and can therefore be indicated only ^approximately.

The Cisco consists of sandstones and shales, mostly red, the sandstones appearing here and there over the plain surface in outcropping 

benches and low escarpments. Just over the line in Jack County, 

near Postoak, the upper part of the formation consists of 25 to 30 

feet of conglomerate overlying red shales grading into sandy beds. 

The conglomerate is composed of partly worn subangular fragments 

of siliceous limestone and chert in a matrix of sand. In places it 

grades into brown ferruginous sandstone. In general the fragments 

are of the size of peas or navy beans, but locally they are larger or 

smaller. This conglomerate is apparently identical with that seen 

at Graham, in Young County, and it is believed to represent about 

the same horizon. No exposures of this bed were seen in Clay 

County, but the indications are that it is present in the southeast 

corner of the county and across the boundary in Montague County.

In the area underlain by the Wichita formation the exposures are 

mostly low ledges of sandstone scattered over the plain capping low 

elevations and stream slopes. The main part of these ledges is composed of red and variegated shales with intercalated lenses of sandstones. The thickness of the Wichita in Clay County is not known.

A short distance west of Henrietta copper is said to occur in the 

red sandstones and shales, chiefly in the shales. The ore, which consists of small nodules disseminated through the shales, according to 

reports, assays about 60 per cent of copper.

At Petrolia oil is found at depths of 278, 358, 438, 650, and 750 to 

800 feet. The principal supply is derived from beds at the 278-foot 

and 438-foot horizons. The deepest bed supplies one well only. The 

first 10 wells in this district were put down by J. L. Jackson, of 

Jackson & Moore, of Wichita Falls, from whom the following record 

was obtained;
46 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF WICHITA REGION, TEXAS.

Record of oil wells in the Petrolia oilfield. 

[Elevation of top of wells, 1,025 feet above sea level.]

7. Oil sand.............................................................................

9. Blue shale. ..........................................................................

13. Sand, with oil...... .................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

100

5

75

8

75

15

15

40

10

15

72

8

10

Depth.

Feet. 

100

105

180

188

263

278

293

333

343

358

430

438

448

The first oil produced in the field came from the sand (No. 7) at 

278 feet. When first put down, in 1903, the wells produced from 5 

to 55 barrels a day; in 1907 the wells had declined to about 3 barrels 

a day. Later wells were extended to the sand at 448 feet, from 

which in 1907 the chief production was obtained. The oil from the 

lower sand is said to have a higher specific gravity than that from the 

upper sand.

Well No. 1 of the Corsicana Petroleum Co., of Corsicana, Tex., is 

located on the farm of Byers Bros. It is the deepest hole that had 

been put down in the field at the time when this investigation was made 

(1907). No oil or gas was found. The well is located about 3 miles 

northeast of Petrolia. It is cased with 6-inch pipe down to a depth 

of 367 feet and with 4-inch pipe to 1,002 feet. No notice was taken 

of water horizons. The following record was made by M. W. Bahan:

Record of well No. 1 of Corsicana Petroleum Co., near Petrolia, Tex. 

[Elevation of top of well, about 1,025 feet above sea leveL]

2. White sand, with small show of oil ..................................................

6. Hard red rock. ......................................................................

Thickness.

'Feet. 

243

6.

118

629

9

49

5

33

51

157

Depth.

Feet. 

243

249

367

QOfi

1,005

1,054

1,059

, 1,092

1,143

1,300

Neither of the records obtained gives any satisfactory evidence as 

to the location of the plane of separation between the Wichita and 

the Cisco formations. From Mr. James Darling it was learned that 

in some of the wells a conglomerate bed 12 feet thick was found at a 

depth of 490 feet. If this is upper Cisco, then the Wichita is probably
CLAY COUNTY. 47

penetrated at a depth of 263 feet. The major part of the development of the field is in an area less than 3 miles in diameter, the center 

of which is about If miles southeast of Petrolia.

WATER CONDITIONS.

In the valley of Red River, at the north end of the county, plentiful 

supplies of potable water are found at a depth of 25 feet. Along the 

bluffs bordering the valley there are numerous small springs, but no 

deep wells are reported from this or any other part of the county, 

except as already mentioned.

In,the upland areas water is found in the sandstones at depths 

varying from 30 to 130 feet. Shallow wells and cisterns furnish 

water for domestic use. Water for stock is obtained from artificial 

pools and to some extent from wells.

At Henrietta the wells are from 25 to 40 feet deep. A few miles 

out of town it is necessary to sink to a depth of 72 to 100 feet. The 

town supply is obtained from two wells located in a draw about 

three-fourths of a mile south of town. The supply is insufficient to 

meet the demand during portions of the year when the gins are in 

operation, and it is then supplemented by pumping from a surface 

tank near by. At the time of the writer's visit the surface of this 

tank was covered by slime and the water appeared to be unfit to 

drink. No record is kept as to the amount of tank water that is 

mixed with that of the wells in ,the mains. If a sufficient quantity 

of water can not be obtained by sinking other wells, steps should be 

taken to construct a tank in a location where it will be free from the 

danger of contamination. In some wells the water is brackish or 

alkaline; in others it is fairly good.

In the vicinity of Bellevue two water horizons are reported, the 

first at 30 to 35 feet and the second at 100 to 110 feet. The water in 

the shallow wells is soft and that in the deeper wells is hard. There 

is no public supply of water for the town of Bellevue, but a supply 

may be obtained from a lake in the vicinity covering 40 acres, which 

is fed by underground springs and is said to be practically inexhaustible.

Since 1907, when this field was examined, there has been a marked 

development in oil operations, especially in the vicinity of Electra, in 

Wichita County. The region including Clay and Wichita counties 

is said to be now producing 10,000 barrels of oil a day.1 The principal 

oil area is in Wichita County and the principal gas area is in Clay 

County. According to the report cited, which is based on investigations made by J. A. Udden, the oil and gas have accumulated in 

lentils of sand that were originally bars and beaches in the Cisco and 

Wichita seas. ' 'The Henrietta-Petrolia gas and oil field is an irregular 

elongated dome about 200 feet high, having an area of 6 or 7 square

! Press letter, Bur. Boon. Geology, Univ. Texas, W. B. PhiBips, director, Mar- \6, 1913.
48 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF WICHITA REGION, TEXAS.

miles. It is about twice as long as broad, and the longer axis extends 

in a west-northwest and east-southeast direction." The author quoted 

considers that the oil and gas bearing sands of this field occur in the 

upper part of the Cisco formation or the lower part of the Wichita 

formation, and that they are contemporary in deposition with the 

coal beds occurring at this horizon farther south. This places the plane 

of separation between the Cisco and Wichita formations here at 700 

to 900 feet from the surface, a position which accords with the 

writer's view.

Two logs of borings kindly furnished by Mr. Udden are given below. 

In each of these borings six water-bearing sands were noted. I*L the 

Byers well No. 3 a fresh-water sand was found at 137-172 feet which 

was not encountered in the Myers farm well No. 1, and the latter 

well shows a water sand at 9.55-975 feet which did not appear in the 

former. The correlation of the other water beds seems to be fairly 

well established, but it should be remembered that in formations of 

such irregularity in lithologic character the determinations are provisional only. There is probably little doubt that all the waters 

except that at 137 to 172 feet in the Byers well were saline.

Log of Myers farm well No. 1, near Henrietta, Tex.

Elevation of Henrietta, 915 feet above sea level (Weather Bureau). Began drilling 

May 27,1909. Finished drilling December 31,1909. Set 176 feet of 12J-inch casing, 

589 feet of 10-inch casing, 1,310 feet of 8-inch casing, 1,924 feet of 6-inch casing. 

All pipe pulled when well was abandoned.

White slate.... .........................................................................

White salt sand................. ....................:...................................

White slate and shell....................................................................

Gray shells.......... _ .................................................................

White sand.......... _ ................................................................

Water sand (E)... _ ...................................................................

IJgntzjlale.. ........................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

280

20

15

10

75

25

10

15

10

10

15

25

21

19

20

10

15

5

5

25

10

10

45

10

10

5

20

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

Depth.

Feet. 

280

300

415

425

500

525

535

550

565

575

590

615

636

655

675

6S5

700

705

710

735

74S

755

800

. 810

820

825

845

855

865

875

885

890

900

910
CLAY COUNTY. 

Log of Myersfarm well No. 1, near Henrietta, Tex. Continued.

49

Thickness. Depth.

Feet.

Bed bed................................................................................ 15

White sand............................................................................. 15

Ked rock................................................................................ 15

Gray water sand (X)?................................................................... 20

Blue slate................:.............................................................. 5

Red rock................................................................................ 25

Blue slate............................................................................... 5

White salt sand......................................................................... 10

Red marl; streaks of blue shale.......................................................... 10

Light-gray sand......................................................................... 10

Red marl............................................................................... 15

Dry gray sand.......................................................................... 5

Red marl............................................................................... 25

White salt sand......................................................................... 15

Broken sand............................................................................ 15

S oft white sand......................................................................... 10

Broken sand............................................................................ 15

Blue slate............................................................................... 10

Dry white sand......................................................................... 5

Dark-blue slate......................................................................... 25

Sand; streaks of shale................................................................... 20

Red marl............................................................................... 25

Gray sand.............................................................................. 5

Red marl............................................................................... 40

Brown shells............................................................................ 10

Red marl............................................................................... 50

Brown sand <F)T........................................................................ 20

Blue slate............................................................................... 30

Red marl; streaks of white sand......................................................... 90

Brown slate............................................................................. 25

White slate............................................................................. 11

White salt sand......................................................................... 22

Blue shale.............................................................................. 20

White salt sand......................................................................... 15

Blue shale.............................................................................. 37

White shale............................................................................. 15

White salt sand......................................................................... 12

Black gumbo........................................................................... 10

Gray sand.............................................................................. 7

Blue shale.............................................................................. 46

Sand; streaks of blue shale.............................................................. 20

White salt sand......................................................................... 10

Blue shale.............................................................................. 20

Gray sand.............................................................................. 10

Blue slate; streaks of black slate........................................................ 80

Blue slate............................................................................... 243

Gray salt sand.......................................................................... 7

Feet. 

925 

940 

955 

975 

980 

1,005 

1,010 

1,020 

1,030 

1,040 

1,055 

1,060 

1,085 

1,100 

1,115 

1,126 

1,140 

1,150 

1,155 

1,180 

1,200 

1,225 

1,230 

1,270 

1,280 

1,330 

1,350 

1,380 

1,470 

1,495 

1,606 

1,628 

1,648 

1,663 

1,700 

1,715 

1,727 

1,737 

1,744 

1,790 

1,810 

1,820 

1,840 

1,850 

1,930 

2,173 

2,180

Log ofByers well No. S, Petrolia field, Tex.

Elevation of Petrolia, 967 feet above sea level at station. Began drilling October 

20, 1908. Finished well April 14,1909. Set 127 feet of 12-inch casing, 697 feet of 10- 

inch casing, 1,466 feet of 8-inch casing, 1,789 feet of 6-inch casing, and 1,959 feet of 

4J-inch casing.

Thickness. Depth.

Red clay.................

Sand shell................

Blue mud................

Red cave.................

Big fresh-water sand (A). 

Red and blue mix........

Red mud................

Dry sand................

Sandy blue mud.........

R ed mud................

Water sand (B)..........

Red and blue rock.......

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

Shale...................

Feet. 

75

2 

20 

40 

35 

35 

20 

15 

20 

40

8 

175

8

4

Feet. 

75 

77 

97 

137 

172 

207 

227 

242 

262 

302

. 310 

485 

493 

497

70056° WSP 317 13 4
50 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF WICHITA REGION, TEXAS. 

Log ofByers well No. 8, Petrolia field, Tex. Continued.

Water sand (D). ........................................................................

Water sand (E)... ...................................................................... Phftifl hard >.,,.,.

Blue shale ........... .. ....... . . ...... ................... ......

Dark-blue shale .................... . ............... ...................... .........

Abandoned.

Thickness.

Feet. 

60

8

40

10

45

5

28

12

38

3

50

91

50

5

15

64

45

25

17

35

20

15

00

10

10

10

25

60

1 15

30

8

6

2

24

15

36

1

43

2

8

8

7

4

85

30

17

97

i

16

11

2

4

37

27

A9

10

536

Depth.

Feet. 

547

555

590

600

645

650

678

Ron

7OQ

731

781

871

091

926

941

1,006

1,051

1,076

1,093

1,128

1,148

1,163

1,201

1,211

1,221

1,231

1,256

1,316

I

qqi

1,361

1,369

1,375

1,379

1,381

1 405

1,420

1 ulMi

1,457

\ 1,500

1,502

1,510

1,518

1,525

1,529

1,614

1,615

1 645

1^662

1 7QQ

1 790

1,806

1 817

l'fi1O

1,823

1 fifift

i sa7

1 959

1,964

1

Q7A

2,510

WICHITA COUNTY. 

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

Wichita County has an area of 606 square miles, and its population 

according to the census of 1910 was 16,094. The mean annual rainfall is 25 inches.

The surface is an eastward-sloping plain incised on the south by 

Wicnita River and its tributaries and on the north by a few insignifi-
WICHITA COUNTY. 51

cant tributaries of Red River. The general surface rises toward the 

west or northwest at the rate of about 7 feet to the mile. The main 

valley of Wichita River is a wide alluvial plain about 60 feet below 

the general surface. The river flows hi a narrow channel sunk 25 

feet below the valley bottom. According to the railway profiles the 

station at Wichita Falls, the lowest point in the valley, has an elevation of 946 feet above sea level. The stations at Iowa Park and 

Electra are on the plateau level and have elevations, respectively, of 

1,037 and 1,229 feet.

GEOLOGY.

The rocks exposed at the surface in Wichita County belong wholly 

to the Wichita or lowermost formation of the Permian series. Exposures within the county are not abundant and are confined chiefly 

to the gullies and ravines along the sides of the Wichita Valley. As 

noted elsewhere the rocks consist of red and variegated shales and 

sandstones. The shales are generally sandy and in places contain an 

abundance of ferruginous concretions. The sandstones are of varying hardness. In places the strata are 5 to 10 feet thick and grade 

horizontally and vertically into the associated shales. Owing to the 

nonpersistent character of the sandstones it is difficult to correlate 

rocks of different localities. With the disappearance of a sandstone 

in its horizontal extension, new beds of exactly similar constitution 

appear at higher or lower levels, and these in turn give way to others. 

About 3 miles west of Wichita Falls the following section was obtained 

in the breaks of the Wichita:

Section near Wichita Falls, Tex.

Feet.

1. Red clay filled with, ferruginous concretions........1............ 10

2. Red and variegated sandstones, cross-bedded, and for the most

part in thin layers.......................................... 8

3. Red nodular clays to bottom of ravine........................... 20

This bed of sandstone (No. 2) can be traced three-fourths of a mile 

to the west and then disappears below the bottom of the valley. The 

transitional character of the sandstones is well shown hi a mound 

about 4 miles northwest of Holliday. The top of the mound, which 

covers about an acre, consists of soft gray sandstone resting upon red 

concretionary clays. On the north side the sandstone is about 10 

feet thick and 25 feet of clay lies below it. On the south nearly the 

whole side of the hill is composed of sandstone in place, only about 5 

feet of the clay being exposed.

Limestones representing higher horizons make their appearance in 

the bluffs of the Wichita about 5 miles north of Dundee station, 

on the west side of Horseshoe Lake, where the section following is 

exposed;
52 UNDEBGBOUND WATBES OP WIOHITA BEGI03ST, TEXAS.

Section in bluff on west aide of Horseshoe Lake, TFteA&a County, Tex.

	Feet.

1. Limestone, hard, dark blue, brown on exposure, cavernous. ... 4

2. Blueclay...................... ............................ 4

3. Red concretionary clays.'. .................................. 25

4. Softredshaly sandstone............................... ....... 15

5. Red concretionary clay. .................................... 4

6. Red shaly sandstone... ...................................... 9

7. White and red variegated sandstone, more massive than Nos.

4 and 6. ................................................. 6

8. Nodular clay ("conglomerate")...... . ....................... 1

9. Red concretionary clay. .................................... 15

10. Nodular clay or "conglomerate "............................ J

11. Red concretionary clay. .................................... 25

108J

Scattered over the upland surface in the vicinity of Electra are 

fragments of limestone that were weathered out of the clays, but no 

limestones were seen in place in the northern part of the county. 

About three-fourths of a mile southwest of Electra some thin nodular 

limestones are exposed, interbedded with blue nodular clays, calcareous shales, and sandstones.

Recent deposits are represented in the main valleys by considerable thicknesses of alluvial sands and gravels. In the valley of the 

Wichita these deposits are from 20 to 30 feet thick. Their thickness 

in the valley of Red River is not known. Traces of the presence of 

similar but older deposits appear in the upland areSs in the form of 

rounded pebbles of quartz and other crystalline rocks scattered over 

the surface. In places small patches of these gravels have been 

consolidated into a conglomerate a few feet thick. They are possibly of Tertiary or early Pleistocene age.

A prospect well for oil was put down at Electra some years ago by 

W. T. Waggoner, but no authorized record of this well can be obtained. The hole is located near the railroad station, which has an 

elevation of 1,229 feet above sea level. The driller was B. P. Gates. 

Information concerning this well was supplied by Mr. Estes, who 

assisted in the sinking of the well. He states that the drilling was 

extended to a depth of 1,790 feet, passing through the following strata:

Record of the Waggoner oil well, Electra, Tex.

5. Sand with some oil; water struck at bottom of sand rose within 15 feet of the surface..

Thickness.

Feet. 8-10

50

45

645

50 

990

Depth.

feet, 

10

60

105

750

800 

1,790
WICHITA COUNTY. 53

Water was first reached in quantity at 800 feet. Above this there 

was only a slow seepage. The water at the 800-foot horizon is salty 

and mingled with a small amount of oil, which stands at the surface 

and is dipped out for use locally by cattlemen.

Since 1907 borings in the vicinity of Electra have revealed the 

presence of extensive deposits of oil in that region. As stated elsewhere (p. 47), the principal oil area is in the western part of Wichita 

County, in the vicinity of Electra. The region as a whole now produces about 10,000 barrels of oil a day, the larger part of. which is 

derived from the Electra field. There are several oil-bearing sands, 

of which the one most explored lies 900 to 1,000 feet below the surface, in the lower part of the Wichita formation. Below this are 

others with which have been correlated some that occur in the Henrietta-Petrolia field.

WATER CONDITIONS.

WELLS.

In the alluvial flats along Wichita and Red rivers plentiful water 

supplies are found at depths of 20 to 25 feet.

In the valley of the Wichita supplies are obtained generally from 

wells varying from 18 to 25 feet in depth. At the Tom Jones ranch, 

northwest of Holliday station, an abundant supply of very good 

water is obtained from a well 22 feet deep. The section ig as follows:

Section ofwett on Tom Jones ranch, near Holliday, Tex.

Sandy clay.. .........>............ ......................................................

Sand with a plentiful supply of good water. .............................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

8

4

6

4

Depth.

feet. 

8

12

18

22

In the upland areas few good wells are found. The water in these 

wells is derived from the red shales and sandstones of the Wichita 

formation and is usually too highly mineralized for use. Some of the 

shallow wells yield supplies for stock, but few of them are available 

for domestic use. The depth of these wells is from 16 to 50 feet, the 

principal supplies being obtained at about 45 feet. The water from 

these shallow upland wells is rich in salt and gypsum, as is shown in 

analysis No. 2 of the subjoined table. The water from the deeper 

horizons shows a much greater content of mineral matter, as indicated 

by analysis No. 3. This water is absolutely unfit for domestic or 

industrial use or for irrigation.

The character of the water from the wells at Wichita Falls is shown 

in the following analyses:
54 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF WICHITA REGION, TEXAS.

Analyses of well waters from Wiehita Falls, Tex. 

[Parts per million.]

Silica (SiOs)..... ..............................................

Iron (Fe).... .................................................

Aluminum (A1), , .

Calcium (f!»V '_ , , 

Mapnosinm (Mg)t -

S«fium (Na).... ..............................................

Potassium (K).... ......... . . . ...

Chlorine (01)..................................................

Nitrate radicle (NO3). ........................................

Turbidity.....................................................

1

9.6

Tr.

28

42

} 252

19

395

292

102

Tr.

2.8

927

5

2

12

.05

187

86

739

.0

289

294

1,380

33

2,953

3

7

.05

1,397

411

/16,611

1 43

.0

93

512

29,077

.02

48,726

4

117

6.4

34

18

IS

I »

.0

60

20

22

.88

120

310

166

1. Elevator well in alluvial deposits. Depth, 20 feet. W. M. Barr, analyst. Sample collected Oct. 1, 

1906.

2. Edson A. Chamberlin's well, Bluff Street. In red shales and sandstone of Wiehita formation. Depth, 

40 feet. Walton Van Winkle, analyst. Sample collected in 1906.

3. Well owned by F. D. Keona (?). Depth, 220 feet. J. B. Bailey, analyst. Sample collected June 8, 

1911.

4. City water from artificial lake. W. M. Barr, analyst. Sample collected Oct. 1,1906.

According to R. B. Dole, of the United States Geological Survey, 

the water of the Keona well will yield on evaporation a residue containing 86 to 88 per cent of sodium chloride (common salt), the chief 

impurities of which would be calcium chloride and calcium sulphate. 

He considers it worth investigating as a possible local source of salt. 

The percentage composition of the anhydrous residue computed from 

the analysis is as follows:

Percent/age composition of anhydrous residue from water of Keona well, Wiehita Fatts, Tex.

Chlorine (01)................................................ 60.5

Sodium (Na).................................................. 34.5

Calcium (Ca)..........

Magnesium (Mg).......

Sulphate radicle (S04).. 

Potassium (K).........

Carbonate radicle (C03).

2.9 

.8

1.1 

.1 

.1

100.0

In the upland areas cisterns and tanks constitute the chief source 

of water supply for domestic use and for stock. The water thus stored 

holds in suspension a large amount of red sediment derived from the 

adjacent soils. This matter settles very slowly, and the rivers and 

ponds are rarely clear. The city of Wiehita Falls is supplied from a 

reservoir 7 miles long. The character of the water, as shown by 

a sample taken from the pipes before filtering, is indicated by analysis 

No. 4. The water is red-brown in color and is not clear after filtering. The high content of silica, aluminum, and iron is due to the ferruginous clay held in suspension.
ABCHEE COUNTY. 55 

SPRINGS.

There are a few springs in the county along the sides of the valleys 

of the main streams or their tributaries. Most of them are the result 

of the deepening by erosion of the valley to the level of the water table 

in the alluvial deposits. One of these springs is located about 4 

miles northwest of Electra, in the valley of a small tributary of Red 

River. The water issues from the west bank of the stream for a distance of 100 yards. The main spring is about 25 yards back from the 

stream. It yields a considerable flow of slightly brackish -water.

ARCHER COUNTYPHYSIOGRAPHY.

Archer County has an area of 960 square miles. The population 

according to the census of 1910 was 6,525; the county seat is Archer 

City. The county lies at an altitude of 1,000 to 1,200 feet. The mean 

annual rainfall is 30 inches.

The northern and southern portions of the county consist of extended rolling plains. The middle portion of the county is dissected 

by Little Wichita River, which flows from west to east directly across 

the county.

GEOLOGY.

With the possible exception of a small area in thex extreme southeast corner of the county the rocks appearing at the surface belong 

to the Wichita formation of the Permian series. They consist for the 

most part of the red shales and sandstones characteristic of the formation in this part of the State. Near the western boundary thin 

beds of limestone appear at wide intervals, alternating with blue and 

red clays and sandstones. These strata constitute the lower portion 

of a series of limestones which belong to the upper part of the formation. The bones of vertebrates and the remains of plants that have 

been collected at different places in the middle and western parts of 

the county have contributed to the determination of the Permian age 

of the Wichita formation.

Deposits of copper have been found in the county, and at one time 

development was attempted, but the results were not satisfactory. 

The ore occurs in the form of nuggets and masses (some due to replacement of wood) distributed in beds of blue clay which are themselves 

highly impregnated with copper.1

WATER CONDITION'S.

There are very few wells in this county. Water supplies -are drawn 

chiefly from cisterns and artificial ponds or "tanks." D. M. Segler, 

a well driller, states that he has drilled many wells in this region and

i Cummins, W. F., Second Ann. Kept. Texas Oeol. Survey, 1890, pp. 449-455. Schmitz, £. J., Copper 

ores in Permian of Texas: Trails. Am. lust. Min. Eng., vol. 26,1896, pp. 97-108.
56 UNDERGROUND WATERS OP WICHITA REGION", TEXAS.

has found but one good well in the northern part of Archer County. 

The water from shallow wells is in general strongly mineralized, but 

some wells yield water that can be used. These wells are from 16 to 

30 feet deep. At depths between 60 and 600 feet from the surface 

are found four or five beds which contain an abundance of water, 

but it is invariably salty and unfit for use. The water from these 

beds rises on being struck by the drill, but usually fails to reach the 

surface.

In 1906 three wells were put down in the vicinity of Geraldine by 

the Geraldine Coal & Oil Co. in the search for oil, of which only traces 

were found. The record of one of these wells was furnished by the 

driller, Mr. F. D. Kerns:

Record of well No. 3 at Geraldine, Tex.

Red day... .............................................................................

Yellow day .............................................................................

Red day........................................................ ........................

Tied Rftalfi - . . .

Thickness.

Feet. 

90 

16 

2 

20 

15 

55 

30 

24 

28 

18 

22 

18 

8 

4 

2 

178 

10 

30 

2

Depth.

Feet. 

90 

106 

108 

128 

143 

198 

228 

252 

280 

298 

320 

338 

346 

350 

352 

530 

540 

570 

572

At Archer City several attempts were made to find potable water 

in the deeper beds. The courthouse well is said to be 480 feet deep, 

and salty water was found in it at 125 and 180 feet. The following 

is the record of a well put down at Archer City, according to F. E. 

Roesler: 1

Record of well at Archer City, Tex.

Red day.............. ..................................................................

Sandrock....

Black soil. . .............................................................................

Light-red days.. ........................................................................

Sandrock (water).... ...................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

25

10

500

5

30

,«,*

int

14

7

5

6

11

1

12

Depth.

Feet. 

25

35

535

540

570

6704

681

695

702

707

713

724

725

737

»8. Ex. Doc. No. 222,51st Cong., 1st sess., 1890, p. 262.
WILBAEGER COUNTY. 57

The water found in the gravel and sandrock at the bottom rose 

but did not flow out at the top. Elsewhere in the same report 1 

mention is made of salt water occurring at 500 feet.

No wells have been put down in the vicinity of Holliday, water 

being obtained from ponds and cisterns.

At Dundee also cisterns and ponds constitute the source of supply 

both for domestic use and for stock. There are no wells in the town 

and very few in the surrounding country. Small supplies are found 

at depths of 18 to 24 feet.

At Windthorst wells range in depth from 16 to 170 feet. The most 

common depth is 40 feet, but the largest supplies are found at a 

depth of 65 feet. In the shallow wells the water is mostly soft, and 

in the deeper wells it is alkaline. In this vicinity wells and cisterns 

are relied on for water for domestic use and ponds for stock.

At Geraldine water is found in shallow wells at depths of 20 to 40 

feet, but cisterns and ponds are the most satisfactory source for all 

uses. In the borings made for oil (p. 56) water was found at 90-106, 

280-298, 338, and 530 feet. The water from the lowest bed flowed 

6^ feet above the surface and would probably rise higher. In all 

the borings the water was strongly salty.

WILBABGEB COTTNTY. 

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

Wilbarger County includes the area between Baylor County and 

Red River and is bounded on the east by Wichita County and on 

the west by Hardeman and Foard counties. It has an area of 932 

square miles and a population of about 12,000 (census of 1910); the 

county seat is Vernon. The mean annual rainfall is 28 inches.

The relief of the county is that of an eastward-sloping plain, or 

high rolling prairie, intersected by the wide, flat valleys of Pease 

River and Beaver Creek and their tributaries. The northern half 

of the county is drained chiefly by Pease River, which flows northeastward across the county into Red River. Beaver Creek drains 

the southern part of the county; it has a general eastward course 

and empties into Wichita River in Wichita County. From Electra, 

in Wichita County, to Harrold, in Wilbarger County, the Fort 

Worth & Denver City Railway runs along the crest of the divide 

between Beaver Creek and Red River. The elevation at Harrold 

is 1,235 feet above sea level. Vernon is situated on the south side 

of the Pease River valley, and the elevation at the St. Louis & 

San Francisco Railroad station is 1,205 feet. A prominent physiographic feature of the northern part of the county is a high sand 

ridge which runs northeastward about 6 miles north of Pease 

River. This ridge is several miles wide and rises about 100 feet

>S. Ex. Doc. No. 222,51st Cong., 1st sess., 1890, p. 298.
58 TTlirDEBGBOUND WATEBS OP WICHITA REGION, TEXAS.

above the surrounding prairie, which, is estimated to be from 100 

to 120 feet above the level of Pease River at Vernon. Pease 

River flows in a rather wide valley, following closely the northern 

bank and in places cutting into it. The valley plain on the south 

side of the river is about 1£ miles wide and is bordered on the 

south by terraced slopes. Within this valley the river flows in a 

channel about one-fourth of a mile wide. The water of Pease River 

fails entirely during times of extreme drought, and the same is true 

of Red River above the North Fork. The water of both streams, 

more especially of Pease River, is saline, because of the salt received from the beds through which it passes near its source. The 

great cattle trail leading from central Texas to Dodge City, Kans., 

passed through the present site of Vernon and crossed Red River at 

Doans. In 1885, according to J. E. Lapham,1 there were driven 

through Vernon 300,000 head of cattle, 200,000 head of sheep, and 

190,000 head of horses. The same writer says:

The climate of the Vernon area is comparatively dry and is characterized by high 

winds and light annual rainfall. The temperature during the summer months is 

generally pretty uniform, averaging about 80° for the months of June, July, and August 

with a few sudden changes. In the fall and winter months, however, considerable 

fluctuation is noticed. Cold winds of great severity sweep down from the north 

without warning, changing the temperature through many degrees in the space of a 

few hours and causing at times much suffering to men and animals exposed to their 

force. During the months of July and August the winds sometimes carry with them 

the other extremes of temperature, the hot blasts at times resulting, in the course of 

a few hours or a day, in the total destruction of a crop of com, wheat, or cotton.

GEOLOGY.

The rocks constituting the substructure of the county belong to 

the Wichita, Clear Fork, and Double Mountain formations of the 

Permian series. The southeastern part of the county is underlain by 

rocks of the Wichita, consisting of red clays and red sandstones 

interstratified at certain horizons with white and gray earthy magnesian limestones. These limestones represent the northern extension of the strata exposed in the bluffs of the Wichita north of 

Seymour. The most northerly exposures of these limestones occur 

on Beaver Creek 9 miles southwest of Electra. The diminution in 

the proportion of limestones in the formation and the change in the 

character of the beds themselves toward the north, as noted elsewhere (p. 23), is readily seen by comparing these exposures with 

those on the Wichita and at Seymour.

The western half of the county is underlain by sandstones, red 

clays, and conglomerates belonging to the dear Fork formation. 

Limestones are few and mostly of earthy magnesian type. Irregular 

conglomerate beds constitute a noticeable feature of the formation. 

These beds appear to be composed of a mixture of day and limestone

i Soil survey of the Vernon area: Field Operations Bur. Soils for 1902, U. 8. Dept Agr., pp. 365-381.
WILBAEGEE COUNTY. 59

constituents, the proportion of lime carbonate being sufficient to 

give decided effervescence with acid.

The Quaternary deposits are represented by patches of the Seymour formation (Pleistocene) which cover the higher areas between the 

streams and the alluvial deposits in the valleys. The sands and gravels 

of this formation are from 30 to 40 feet thick in the western part of the 

county but thin out almost entirely in the eastern part. A line drawn 

from the northeast corner of Wilbarger County southwestward 

through Seymour will mark approximately the eastern limit of the 

Seymour formation. East of this line the formation seems to be represented only by small isolated patches of coarse conglomerates. 

The streams have cut entirely through the formation in that part of 

Wilbarger County in which it is found, and it appears therefore only 

as finger-like extensions in the interstream areas.

The bottoms of the main valleys, such as those of Pease and Red 

rivers, are covered to a considerable depth by alluvium, the product 

of the rivers themselves, and along the bluffs in the lower part of the 

Pease River valley and in adjacent parts of the valley of Red River is 

a deposit of sandy loam which may be of eolian origin and considerably older than the alluvium. Underneath this sandy loam at Red 

Bluff and near Doans Crossing is a bed of volcanic ash.1

WATER CONDITIONS.

In the valleys of Red and Pease rivers water is obtained in wells 

from 12 to 60 feet deep. In the Red River valley the most common 

depth is 12 to 20 feet. In the sandy areas adjoining the main valleys 

the depth is somewhat greater. The water in these wells is somewhat 

gypseous but as a rule is fairly good. The springs found in some places 

along the borders of the valleys have their origin in the old alluvial 

deposits now found as terrace remnants along the sides of the valleys 

or at the base of the Seymour formation. A notable spring of this character occurs at Doans. The flow here comes from a cluster of springs 

which yield a small stream that persists throughout the year. It 

does not reach the river on the surface, but sinks into the sands about 

a mile from its source.1 Another notable spring is Condon's Spring, 

situated 2 miles west of Vernon at the south side of the Pease River 

valley. Tlie flow here comes from several springs which issue from 

the base of the Seymour formation. The water is good, and a good 

flow is maintained throughout the year.

In the upland areas north of Pease River and south to the breaks 

of Beaver Creek water can be obtained in wells usually at depths of 

20 to 30 feet, except where the Seymour formation has been removed 

by erosion. The eastern boundary of the Seymour formation is 

about 5 or 6 miles east of Vernon, and beyond this boundary good supplies of water in shallow wells seem not to be common.

1 Lapliam, J. B., op. cit^ p. 368. ' Idem, p. 370.
60 TJNDEBGBOUND WATBBS OF WICHITA BEGION, TEXAS. 

HARDEMAN AND FOABD COUNTIES. 

PHYSIOGEAPHY.

The area of Hardeman County is 532 square miles and that of 

Foard County is 636 square miles. The population of Hardeman 

County is 11,213; that of Foard County 5,726. The mean annual 

rainfall for the two counties is about 25 inches.

The relief of the area resembles that of Wilbarger County in its 

essential features, comprising a high rolling eastward-sloping plain 

dissected by a number of eastward-flowing tributaries of Red and 

Wichita rivers. The elevation of the plain surface at Quanah is 

1,568 feet above sea level and at Acme, 5 miles west, it is 1,578 feet, 

according to railroad profiles. The northern part of Hardeman 

County is drained by the tributaries of Red River and the southern 

part by Pease River, which constitutes in part the boundary between 

Hardeman and Foard counties. The North Fork of Wichita River 

drams the western part of Foard County; the eastern part is drained 

by the upper tributaries of Beaver Creek. In general the streams 

have wide valleys, but considerable tracts of level land make up the 

interstream areas.

GEOLOGY.

These counties are underlain by rocks belonging to the Clear Fork 

and Double Mountain formations of the Permian series. Over considerable areas these beds are covered by later formations, but exposures 

are numerous along the sides of the valleys and in the ravines tributary to them. In the eastern part of the counties the rocks consist 

of red clays, red sandy shales, and red sandstones, with a little gypsum 

in thin scattered seams. The slight westward dip of the strata, combined with the eastward slope of the surface, brings later beds to view in 

the western part of the counties, where the rocks consist of red clays and 

sandstones alternating with blue clays and sandstones, beds of gypsum, and some limestones. The gypsum occurs in lenses from a few 

inches to 8 or 10 feet thick. The lack of persistency in the gypsum 

beds and their associated magnesian limestones and the varying position of the beds vertically render ineffectual any attempt to correlate 

the different deposits except within small areas. A composite section 

taken between Crowell and Quanah shows the following formations:

Section showing rocks exposed between Crowell and Quanah, Tex.

Soil, dark; thins out on approaching breaks of Pease Elver. Feet.

Limestone...................................................... 5

Blue clay........................................................ 15

Gypsum......................................................... 3

Ked and blue clays, with thin layers of limestone................ 10

Gypsum......................................................... 2

Blue clays...................................!.................... 15 «

Gypsum......................................................... 2
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 317 PLATE II

A. OUTCROP OF GYPSUM AT ACME, TEX.

B. SPRING FROM THE CANYON FORMATION AT JACKSBORO, TEX.
HARDEMAN" AND FOABD COUNTIES. 61

Feet. 

Red and blue clays, with some thin beds of red sandstones.......... 20

Red sandstones, cross-bedded..................................... 4

Bed clays, with thin beds of sandstone.............................. 10

Bluish-white sandstones, cross-bedded............................ 5

Red clays, with seams of gypsum....... ....................... 15

The uplands south of Pease River in the vicinity of Crowell and 

south to the breaks of North Fork of Wichita River are covered by fine 

black silt 6 to 8 feet thick underlain by gravel (Seymour) 2 to 3 feet 

thick. The gravels rest upon red joint clay of the Permian. A 

well drilled in the southeastern part of Quanah by J. J. Cyrus gave the

following section:

Section of well at Quanah, Tex.

[Elevation, 1,570 feet.]

1. Black dirt..... ......................................................................

4. Limestone..........................................................................

6. Red and blue clay.. .................................................................

7. Red and blue clay ..................................................................

9. Thin bed of gravel with water ................................:.....................

Thickness.

Feet.

5

5

5

5

20

25

10

8

2±

10±

Depth.

Feet.

5

10

15

20

40

65

75

83

85±

95±

In the center of town bed No. 6 is all clay and No. 8 is replaced 

by limestone. ^

Gypsum is quarried at Acme (PI. II, A), 5 miles west of Quanah, 

and also at Gypsum, 10 miles west.

The Seymour formation appears in the interstream areas in thin 

beds of gravel resting upon the eroded surface of the Permian red 

clays. These clays when struck in wells are called "Birdseye" by 

the drillers, from their variegated appearance. In Foard County the 

Seymour formation is about 10 to 15 feet thick and consists of gravel 

below and a dark silt above. This formation was apparently deposited 

in a small body of fresh water, which long ago vanished.

The wide bottoms of the streams are covered by alluvial deposits 

of considerable depth. The rivers are constantly at work upon these 

deposits and change their channels from tune to time, making the 

maintenance of bridges expensive and troublesome. Hence bridges 

are few and the streams are usually crossed by fording.

WATER CONDITIONS.

In Hardernan County the Seymour formation is thin or absent, and 

supplies of well water are found in the Permian rocks at depths of 

40 to 150 feet. The water obtained in these wells differs greatly in 

quality, but in general it is highly mineralized. For the most part 

cisterns .are relied upon for domestic supplies.
62 UNDERGROUND WATEES OP WICHITA REGION, TEXAS.

At Quanah water is found in the center of town in a porous limestone (No. 8, p. 61) at a depth of 75 feet. Locally this limestone is 

replaced by gypsum and the water occurs in a thin stratum of grave] 

below the gypsum bed. The city supply is drawn from this zone. 

The limestone is not uniformly porous and considerable differences 

exist in wells put down to this horizon. The water found hi limestone 

is of fairly good quality, but that in other rocks is gypseous.

At Acme wells and creeks supply water for general purposes. Most 

of the water for drinking is shipped in, and the supply for other domestic uses is obtained from cisterns. The wells are from 60 to 160 feet 

deep, the most common depth being 100 feet. Acme is situated on 

South Grosbeck Creek, a perennial stream supplied from springs.

In Foard County water for domestic use is derived mostly from 

shallow wells and cisterns. Over a considerable part of the county 

water is found in the Seymour formation at depths of 10 to 20 feet. 

Elsewhere the Seymour formation is thin or altogether absent, its 

water supply is small, and in places it is dry. Springs which derive 

their supply from it occur in many places along the sides of valleys 

where the streams have cut through the formation. Some wells 

extend into the Permian clay below. The water from these wells 

is usually too highly mineralized for general use. Some of the water 

from the gravels of the Seymour formation is fair, but as a rule it 

is more or less mineralized.

At Margaret water for domestic use is obtained from wells about

20 feet deep. Artificial ponds furnish water for stock. 

. . . . $* In the vicinity of Thalia both wells and cisterns are used for domestic supplies, the water being found at depths of 12 to 50 feet.

At Crowell most of the water used is obtained in the gravel underlying the black soil at 12 to 20 feet. This supply is inadequate, however, and is supplemented by cisterns and tanks.

Analyses of water from wells at Quanah are given below:

Analyses of water from wells at Quanah, Tex. 

[Parts per million. Analyst, B. L. Glascock.)

-

Silica (fACti)...*.. ..........................................................

Sodium (StL............... ...............................................

Potassium (K). .......... ........ . ... ... . ...........................

Bicarbonate radicle (HCO3 ) ................................................

Nitrate radicle (NOa ;. ......................................................

Chlorine (Cl)...,.. .........................................................

Turbidity..................................................................

I. Well of Bert Abbott. Depth, 65 feet. Upper Permian. 

2. Well at ice plant. Upper Permian.

I

16

.6

2.2

406

70

46

13

.0

249

1,141

5.0

60

1,983

0

Sept. 12,1907

2

is

1 2

1.0

252

85

74

12

.0

151

816

19

173

1,618

0

Sept. 24, 1907
KFOX COUNTY. 63

The following note has been prepared by R. B. Dole:

Both waters are too high in mineral content, and especially in sulphates, to be 

very good for domestic use, though they are drinkable. They would be corrosive 

and, contain too great quantities of scale-forming ingredients to be suitable for boiler 

use. The chemicals necessary to correct the scaling and corroding tendencies would 

render them likely to foam badly in boilers.

KNOX COUNTY. 

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

Knox County, which adjoins Foard County on the south, is rectangular in outline and contains an area of 947 square miles. Its population is 9,625. The county seat is Benjamin. The mean annual 

rainfall is 25 inches.

The surface consists of a rolling eastward-sloping plain intersected 

by the wide valleys of the Salt Fork of Brazos River and the North 

and South forks of Wichita River. Considerable areas between the 

drainage systems remain undissected. The soil in these upland 

areas is generally of excellent quality and well suited to agriculture. 

The bottom lands, where not subject to overflow, offer favorable 

conditions for farming, but at the sides of the valleys there are considerable areas of badlands due to the erosion of the Permian shales 

and sandstones. The present valley of the Salt Fork has a depth of 

about 75 feet below the general plain level, which ranges from 1,475 

to 1,525 feet above the sea. The valleys of Wichita and Brazos 

rivers are 3 to 4 miles wide, the main valley plains having a depth 

of about 50 feet below the. general surface. Within these older 

valleys and about 10 feet below their level the rivers have cut later 

valleys with terraced slopes. The rivers flow in channels about 10 

feet deep in the bottoms of these*later valleys.

GEOLOGY.

The substructure of Knox County consists entirely of the red clays 

and sandstones, with their associated blue shales and gypsum, belonging to the Clear Fork and Double Mountain formations of the 

Permian series. These formations outcrop extensively along the 

valleys of the streams, but in the upland areas they are covered by 

the sands and gravels of the Seymour formation. A section taken 

in the breaks of the South Fork of the Wichita near the road leading 

north from Benjamin sliows the following formations:

Section in breaks of the South Fork of Wichita River, 

Pleistocene: Feet. 

Sand and gravel with lenses of red clay. Gravels contain 

numerous worn shells of Gryphaea (Seymour formation)...... 25

Permian:

Red clay with white spots ("Birdseye'' of drillers)........... 10

Bluish-white clay grading horizontally into magnesian limestone .................................................... 1-5

Red clays mottled with white ("Birdseye" of drillers) with 

lenses of limestone and gypsum......... .............. .. 15
64 UNDERGROUND WATEES OP WICHITA REGION, TEXAS.

In the southern part of the county the surface formations consist 

of 30 feet of the sand and red silts underlain by gravels (Seymour 

formation). In these are often found the bones and teeth of mammals, 

Mastodon and Equus, as noted elsewhere (pp. 31).

WATEE CONDITIONS.

Where well developed the Seymour formation usually contains 

water of good quality. The supply is not everywhere abundant, 

however, and some wells extend through the Seymour into the Permian beds before obtaining water.

The red clays of the Permian constitute the source of supply in 

many wells, but the water from them is always mineralized, so much 

so in places that it can not be used. The wells are of varying depth, 

usually more than 50 feet.

The deep-water conditions are not such as to warrant the expectation of finding potable supplies of water within the range of practicable drilling.

HASKELL COUNTY.

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

The surface of Haskell County consists of a high rolling plain which 

rises toward the west. The county has an area of 843 square miles, 

and its population in 1910 was 16,249, an increase of over 500 per 

cent in the decade since 1900. The county seat is Haskell. The 

mean annual rainfall is 25 inches. There are few streams in the 

county, and these are small and unimportant. The eastern part of 

the county is drained by Paint and Millers creeks, the former flowing 

eastward into the Clear Fork and the latter northeastward into the 

Salt Fork south of Seymour. In the western part of the county the 

Double Mountain Fork of the Brazos swings eastward into the county, 

but leaves it again before reaching the northern boundary..

At Haskell the elevation at the station of the Wichita Valley Railway is 1,574 feet above sea level. At Rule, on the open plain about 

10 miles west of Haskell, the elevation is 1,672 feet at the Kansas 

City, Mexico & Orient Railway. Carney, near the northern boundary 

of the county, nearly due north of Rule, on the same railway, is 1,560 

feet above sea level.

GEOLOGY.

The geology of Haskell County does not differ essentially from that 

of Knox County. The Seymour formation has a thickness of about 

30 feet over the eastern part of the county but thickens toward the 

west to 50 or 60 feet. For i lie most part the streams cut through 

this formation into the red beds of the Permian below. The larger 

part of the Seymour formation consists of fine red and yellow calcareous clay or silt containing a varying amount of sand. The red
HASKELL COUNTY. 65

clays, which are 20 to 30 feet thick, rest upon about 10 feet of sand 

and gravel. In places the calcareous clays are consolidated in their 

upper portion into an irregular deposit of impure limestone, the 

caliche of the semiarid regions (p. 32).

WATER CONDITIONS.

At Haskell water is obtained from the gravel bed at the base of the 

Seymour formation. The wells are generally from 20 to 35 feet deep 

in the vicinity of the town. As the formation thins toward the south, 

the wells are shallower in that direction. Where the streams have 

sunk their channels through the gravels, springs may appear, as, for 

example, the Eice spring at Haskell.

West of Haskell the wells in the gravels increase somewhat in 

depth, owing to the thickening of the formation. On approaching 

the Double Mountain Fork, whose channel extends considerably 

below the level of the gravels, tfyese beds appear to be bereft of water 

and the wells extend some distance into the red clays (Permian) 

before striking water, which, as elsewhere in this series, is of poor 

quality.

The following table gives several analyses of Haskell County waters:

Analyses of ground waters in Haskell County, Tex, 

[Parts per million. Analyst, B. L. Glascock.]

Silica (SiO»).. ...............

Iron (Fe)... ........... ......

Sodium (Na)... .............

Carbonate radicle (CO»). . .... 

Bicarbonate radicle (HCO3 ). 

Sulphate radicle (SO<). ......

Nitrate radicle (NO»). .......

Chlorine(Cl). ...............

Turbidity...................

1

23

.35

5.6

464

301

2,377 

25

19 

571 

3,512

1.06

2,512

9,469

0

Sept. 6, 1907

2

29

.6

.4

30

16 133' 

6.5

19 

283 

134

26

102

626

0

Sept. 6, 1907

3

20

1

3.8

311

120

190

8

4.8 

202

1,237

4

169

2,320

0

Sept. 24,1907

4

37

.3

.8

70

30

72 

8

2.4 

373 

50

11

21

446

0

Sept. 24, 1907

5

20

.2

.4

OCQ

106

195 

25

0 

150

1

1 JO

2.5

174

2,065

Sept 12, 1907

1. Well of 3. W. Westbrook, at Haskell, Tex.; depth, 10 feet. Seymour formation.

2. Courthouse well at Haskell, Tex.'; depth, 20 feet. Seymour formation.

3. Well "Harder water," at Rule, Tex.; depth, 75+ feet. Upper Permian.

4. Well, "Softer water," at Rule, Tex.; depth. 40-50 feet. Seymour formation.

5. Foster & Jones's hotel well at Rule, Tex.; depth, 60 feet. Seymour formation.

The following note regarding the usefulness of these waters has 

been prepared by K. B. Dole, of the United States Geological Survey:

The first water is so strong that it is unfit for use. Analyses 2 and 4, of calciumcarbonate waters only moderately mineralized, represent the best supplies. These 

two waters are fairly well adapted to irrigation and to use as boiler feed and are acceptable for domestic service. The waters represented by analyses 3 and 5 are similar to 

each other, being sulphate waters of too high mineral content to be very acceptable 

ford omestic use, though they are drinkable and may be classed as fair for irrigation; 

they are unfit for supplying steam boilers. 

70056° WSP 317 13 5
66 UFDEBGBOUFD WATERS OF WICHITA REGION, TEXAS.

At Rule the well of Werner Rule, located in the southwestern part 

of the town, gives the following record, according to the driller,

E. F. Heller:

Record of Rule well, at Rule, Tex.

Soft dark sandy soil...... ....... .......................................................

Hard white marl.............. .........................................................

Hard reddish rock. ......................................................................

Hard" white day. ........................................................................

Hard red day , water bearing. ...........................................................

Hard red day ...........................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

3

24

14

2

2

2

17

2

Depth.

Feet. 

3

27

41

43

45

47

64

66

The well of Mr. Williams, located on the north side of the town, is 

105 feet deep, with the following record:

Record of Williams ivell, at Rule, Tex.

Thickness.

Feet. 

3

27

10

2

1

12

2

28

2

8

5

5

Depth.

Feet. 

3

30

40

42

43

55

57

85

87

95

100

105

Ten miles northwest of Rule, on the farm of W. E. Pyeatt, is a 

well whose record, according to the driller, E. F. Heller, is as follows:

Record of Pyeatt well, near Rule, Tex.

Soft dark sandy soil .....................................................................

TFfa^d g^y marl

Hard red clay ...........................................................................

Hard red clay. ...........................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

5

15

5

52

5

1

24

1

4

Depth.

Feet. 

5

20

25

72

82

107

108

112
BAYLOK COUNTY. 67

About 12 miles southwest of Rule, on the farm of C. Boardner, is a 

well 70 feet deep, with the following record, according to the same

authority:

Record of Boardner well, near Rule, Tex.

Reddish soft sand. ......................................................................

White soft sand........................... ..............................................

Hard red clay .............................:.............................................

Hard white sandstone. ..................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

3

9

4

3

2

31

1

16

Depth.

Feet. 

3

12

16

19

21

52

53

69

70

The water in the Boardner well is said to rise within 40 feet of the 

surface.

Many wells in the western part of Haskell County derive their 

supplies from the Seymour formation at depths of 40 to 50 feet. 

The water from this horizon is reported as "soft" and fairly good. 

The water in the deeper wells' is obtained from the Permian beds and 

is more highly mineralized.

BAYLOR COUNTY.

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

Baylor County has an area of 957 square miles and'in 1910 had a 

population of 8,411. The mean annual rainfall of the county is 38 

inches. The altitude of the county is approximately 1,500 feet above 

sea level. The north half of the county is drained by Wichita River, 

formed by the junction of the South and North forks in the western 

part of the county. The Salt Fork of Brazos River flows in a southeasterly direction across the southern part of the county. For the 

most part these streams flow in rather wide valleys. At Seymour 

the Salt Fork cuts across a belt of limestone, and in this part of its 

course its valley is narrower.

The surface of the county in the interstream area is a high rolling 

plain. In the valley of the main stream and over portions of the 

uplands the soil is fertile and capable of producing abundant crops.

GEOLOGY.

The indurated rocks of the county belong to the Permian series. 

The Wichita formation crops out over the eastern half of the county, 

and in this area some of the most interesting Permian fossils have been 

found. The rocks, which consist of blue and red shales and white 

to bluish-gray magnesian limestones, constitute the upper portion
68 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF WICHITA REGION, TEXAS.

of the Wichita formation. At Seymour, where the river has cut into 

the formation, the following section was obtained:

Section at Seymour, Tex.

Light-reddish sandy soil at surface, underlain by dark-red Ft. In.

sandy soil............................................. 20 to 25

Blue shale, with thin ledges of magnesian limestone........ 6

Limestone in massive beds, passing horizontally into shaly

beds................................................... 5

Dark clay shale.......................................... 1 6

Concretionary calcareous shale and limestones............... 6

Limestone in two massive ledges separated by 1 to 4 inches

of blue clay shale....................................... 3

Blue shale............................................... 10

Argillaceous limestone and dark-blue shale................. 3

Limestone with varying proportions of shale................. 4

Blue clay................................................ 3

Ked clay................................................. 5

Blue clay................................................ 2

Limestone................................................ 2

Blue clay shale.......................................... 5

Limestone................................................ 6

Blue clay shale.......................................... 4

Limestone................................................ 1 6

Blue shale, with lenses of limestone....................... 3

Blue clay shale, interbedded with thin limestone.......... *2

Limestone................................................ 16

102

These limestones outcrop in a belt extending southward from this 

point across Throckmorton County and beyond. North of Seymour 

they were observed in the valley of Wichita Kiver, east of the Seymour-Vernon road, and also on Beaver Creek. In their northward 

extent the limestones diminish in thickness, and there is a corresponding increase in the proportion of red clays and shales. Many of the 

limestones are white and chalky and in beds of this kind near Mabelle abundant fragments of vertebrate remains were seen, among them 

being the piece ot a jaw of a vertebrate, but vigorous search failed to 

bring to light remains sufficient for identification. Williston l has 

recorded the discovery hi 1909 in Baylor County of the remains of 

vertebrates, among which are several forms new to science. Some of 

these were found about 6 miles east of Seymour and others on West 

Coffee Creek.

The Seymour formation constitutes the formation at the surface 

over the upland areas west of the town of Seymour, which lies upon 

the sand of this formation. The formation does not occur generally 

east of Seymour, but in some places, as near Mabelle station, there 

are patches of conglomerate which possibly represent outliers of the 

formation.

i Jour. Geology, vol. 17,1909, pp. 636-658; vol. 18, 19ft, pp. 526-536, 585-600; vol. 19,1911, pp. 232-237.
BAYLOE COUNTY. 69

WATER CONDITIONS.

In the eastern parjt of the county cisterns are in common use for 

supplies of water for domestic purposes, but tanks are the chief 

resource for stock. Some wells are used hi the upland areas, where, 

however, the water is not generally of satisfactory quality. In the 

western part of the county fairly good water is found in the Seymour 

formation, and in the sands and gravels along the main valley. The 

depth of the wells in this area is from 15 to 45 feet, the most common 

depth being 20 to 25 feet. Some wells extend below the Seymour 

formation into the underlying formation, but these invariably yield 

gypseous water.

The character of the water obtained from the Seymour formation 

at Seymour is shown by the following analysis of the water from the 

roundhouse well:

Analysis of water from roundhouse well, Seymour, Tex. 

{Parts per million. W. M. Barr, analyst. Sample collected Nov. 1,1906.]

Silica (Si02).................................................. 22

Iron (Fe).................................................... .05

Calcium (Ca)................................................ 61

Magnesium (Mg)............................................. 32

Sodium (Na) and potassium (K).......................'......... 183

Carbonate radicle (CO3)....................................... .0

Bicarbonate radicle (HCO3 ).................................... 401

Sulphate radicle (SO4)....................................:.. 86

Chlorine (Cl)................................................. 152

Nitrate radicle (NO3).......................................... 9. 7

Total solids.................................................. 746

Suspended matter............................................ 0

Along the valley of Salt Fork water is found in the sands and gravels 

at depths of 15 to 25 feet. In some places the water is of good quality, 

but generally it contains a considerable amount of mineral matter.

The following are analyses of water from two wells at Round Timber:

Analyses of water from wells at Round Timber, Tex. 

[Parts per million. Samples collected Oct. 9,1906.]

Silica (SiO»)...... ..............................................................

Magnesium. (Mg). ...............................................................

Sodium {Na) and potassium (K)

Carbonate radicle (COt). ........................................................

Sulnhate radicle f SOj^i

Chtortne(Cl).... ................................................................

NitrateradioleCNOt)........................................................... Total solids.... .. .. . ..... . . ..... ...

Turbidity.......................................................................

Gin well; 

depth 

about 

20 feet.

24

.6

139

51

79

.0

437

172

130

4.3

839

0

Well 200 

yards 

northeast 

of the store; 

depth 40 

feet.

28

.4

82

54

323

.0

414

173

401

40

1,318

5
70 UNDERGROUin) WATERS OF WICHITA REGION, TEXAS.

The differences in the analyses of these waters are probably due to 

the fact that the well at the store derives its supply in part from the 

Wichita formation. The character of the water, considered in connection with the depth and location of this well near the side of the 

valley, indicates that the bottom of the well is in the shales of the 

Wichita formation.

At Shady, in the southwestern part of the county, water is obtained 

chiefly from open wells, ranging from 15 to 40 feet in depth, the most 

common depth being 35 feet. These wells have their source of 

supply in the Seymour formation. The well of J. F. Jones is 93£ 

feet in depth, and evidently finds water in the Permian clays underlying the Seymour formation.

Springs are rare in the county. They exist chiefly where streams 

have cut their channels to the level of the ground water in the Seymour 

formation. The most notable spring in this region is owned by Albert

Par, of Shady.

THE.OCKMOBTON COUNTY.

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

Throckmorton County lies south of Baylor County and east of 

Haskell. It has an area of 821 square miles and a population, 

according to the census of 1910, of 4,563; its county seat is Throckmorton, situated near the center of the county. The mean annual 

rainfall is 28 inches.

The surface is high and rolling and there are few streams of importance. The dear Fork of the Brazos cuts off a small triangular area in 

the southwest corner and the Salt Fork a like area in the northeast 

corner of the county. The county is drained by these two streams 

and their tributaries. The interstream areas, which are either flat 

or gently rolling, constitute remnants of an extensive plain into which 

the tributaries have cut wide and shallow valleys. The topography 

is characterized by a benchlike structure resulting from the resistance 

offered to erosion by a series of heavy beds of limestone. The eastward-facing scarps of these limestones constitute a series of rock terraces that extend in a north-northeastward direction through the 

middle of the county. These terraces have their best development, 

however, farther south in Shackelford and Stephens counties.

GEOLOGY.

Except in small areas in the northwestern part of the county and 

along the eastern boundary the rocks outcropping in Throckmorton 

CoTinty belong to the Wichita formation. The beds strike nearly 

north and south and dip slightly to the west. The upper part of the 

formation is made up of heavy beds of hard limestone alternating with 

thicker beds of blue and red shales and sandstones. The limestones
THEOCKMOBTON COUNTY. 71

appear about 8 miles east of Throckmorton and cap the higher levels 

throughout the middle and western portions of the county. These 

beds outcrop in prominent escarpments on the north side of the dear 

Fork and farther north wherever the streams have eroded their 

channels through them.

The limestones vary in color from grayish white to blue and in 

texture from earthy and granular to hard and compact. Some of the 

layers are thick and massive, and although the limestones constitute 

the minor part of the formation, their resistance to erosion makes 

them, in the area of their outcrop, the dominant features of the landscape. The character of some of these exposures will be seen from 

the following section of the bluff facing the Clear Fork:

Section of Wiehita formation on north side of Clear Fork.

Soil, from a few inches to a few feet in thickness. Feet. 

Blue shales and thin beds of limestones............................ 30

Hard earthy limestone............................................ 1

Blue shale........................................................ 2

Fossiliferous limestone, earthy and containing more or less gypsum. Upper 4 feet hard, blue, and full of remains of brachiopods 

and gastropods, mostly changed to gypsum or calcite............ 10

Blue and red shales, some portions grading locally into sandy 

shales and sandstones. The upper part contains considerable 

gypsum; the lower has an abundance of iron concretions. Contains also thin lenses of limestone and gypsum; exposed........ 40

Three miles north of Throckmorton a 10-foot ledge of limestone 

yielded the following fossils:

Derbya cymbula. 

Myalina deltoidea. 

Aviculipinna peracuta. 

Pleurophorus aff. calhouni. 

Annelid n. g., n. sp.

The eastern part of the county is underlain by lower beds consisting 

mostly of sandy shales and sandstones with some limestones. Some 

hills in the southeastern part carved out of these formations by erosion 

are known locally as Fane Mountain. The section obtained here 

shows chiefly sandy shales and sandstones, blue clay shales, and 

scattered lenses of blue limestone. In some of the beds there is a 

profusion of Myalina permiana. Some buttes in the northern part 

of the county, on the Throckmorton-Seymour road, apparently 

belong to this horizon. They consist mostly of shales with a few thin 

beds of limestone and some sandstones. Many specimens of Myalina 

' permiana are scattered over the surface. Red colors dominate over 

blue in the shales of this locality, but at Fane Mountain the reverse is 

true.

Beds of upper Permian age appear in the extreme western and 

northwestern parts of the county.
72 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF WIOHITA REGION, TEXAS.

With the possible exception of a small area of Seymour formation 

in the western part of the county, the only deposits later in age than 

the Permian are the alluvial deposits along the valley bottoms.

The soils are exceedingly fertile in the limestone areas and only 

slightly less so in the more sandy areas.

WATER CONDITIONS.

Except in the valleys, the principal water supply is derived from 

pools and cisterns. Here and there a well on the upland areas furnishes good water. /

Two wells in Throckmorton find water that is said to be soft at a 

depth of 50 feet. Few wells in the county reach a depth of more than 

100 feet. Plenty of water may be found at different depths in the 

underlying rocks, but it is more or less mineralized and unfit for use. 

There is little prospect that good water can be obtained in the deepseated beds. A few good springs occur in the county.

YOUNG COUNTY. 

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

Young County adjoins Throckmorton County on the east. In 

shape it is rectangular (approximately square) and has an area of 

821 square miles. Its population according to the 1910 census was 

13,657. The county seat is Graham. The mean annual rainfall is 

30 inches.

The surface of this county is more or less irregular and broken and 

may be characterized topographically as a plain in which denudation has proceeded to the extent of removing a large portion of the 

original surface and has developed a moderately mature system of 

drainage. The underlying rocks include several series of hard beds, 

whose resistance to erosion is expressed in a succession of escarpments 

extending from southwest to northeast. The heights of these escarpments vary according to the relative thickness of the hard and soft 

formations. The creeks and rivers have transected them in many 

places, leaving isolated hills and elevations, some of considerable size. 

The highest of these hills are locally called mountains, as the Belknap 

Mountains, near old Fort Belknap, and Flat Mountain, in the northeastern part of the county.

The county is drained by the Salt Fork of Brazos Eiver and its 

tributaries, except a small area in the northeast corner, which is 

drained by small tributaries of the West Fork of Trinity Kiver. The 

Salt Fork enters the county near the northwest corner, and after 

making a wide detour toward the south, receiving the Clear Fork 

from the southwest, passes out at the southeast corner. The principal tributary lying wholly within the county is Salt Creek, which, 

with its affluents, drains the northeastern portion of the county.
YOUNG COUNTY. 73 

GEOLOGY.

By far the larger part of the rocks outcropping in Young County 

belong to the Cisco formation, but the Wichita formation occupies a 

narrow belt along the west side of the county. In the extreme 

southeast the Salt Fork has cut through the Cisco, exposing the canyon 

formation in the immediate vicinity of the stream.

The beds exposed in the western part of the county consist of 

sandy shales and sandstones, blue shales, and a few limestones, representing the lower division of the Wichita as seen in eastern Throekmorton County. The surface is covered with a mantle of residual soil 

which hides the indurated rocks more or less completely. Moreover 

a close correspondence in lithologic character exists between the lower 

beds of the Wichita formation and the upper beds of the Cisco, and 

hence the boundary line between the two formations as shown on the 

accompanying map is to be considered as approximate only.

The Cisco, which underlies the larger part of the county, consists 

chiefly of sandy shales and clays, sandstones, and conglomerates, with 

a few beds of limestone and two or more beds of coal. The conglomerates are made up of waterworn siliceous pebbles in a sandy 

matrix, with numerous concretions of iron ore, often in hollow 

nodules. They pass locally into pebbly sands and coarse-grained 

sandstones. Owing to their resistance to erosion, the conglomerates 

cap many of the hills and escarpments. The sandstones are mostly 

coarse grained and yellowish to red and white. The clays are blue, 

yellow, and red, or in places variegated. There is a transition in 

color from blue, which prevails at the south side of the county, to 

red, which is the predominating color at the north. The limestones 

are scattered through the formation, but are more characteristic of 

the upper part. They range in thickness from a few inches to about 

2 feet. The banks of the Salt Fork expose several strata of limestone, 

one of which is underlain by a bed of coal. This coal appears at 

the bridge crossing, west of Graham, and at Millers Bend crossing 

several miles above. The combined section obtained in these two 

places is as follows:

Section between Millers Bend crossing and bridge crossing. 

Soil. " rt. to. 

Limestone................................................... 10

Shales, blue, some layers sandy................................. 70

Limestone ................................................. 1

Blue shales................................................ 2

Limestone, fossiliferous.......................................... 2

Coal; not well exposed; thickness estimated at about 1 foot.

Fire clay filled with brown iron ore.......................... 6

Blue clay shales with alternating layers of red clays containing 

iron concretions............................................ 10

Sandy shales and sandstones................................ 15

106 10
74 UHDBBGEOUNT) WATERS OP WICHITA BEGION, TEXAS.

In the vicinity of old Fort Belknap coal is mined from a seam lying 

above the one indicated in this section. In 1907 Williams & Merrill 

were taking out coal from the bed of a small stream about a mile north 

of Fort Belknap by stripping. The coal is exposed for some distance 

in the bed of the stream and at the place worked has a thickness of 3 

feet. Within a distance of 25 yards upstream it thins to 20 inches 

of impure shaly coal. About 150 yards north of this point at Clark 

& MerruTs mine, the same seam is reached by a short slope. The 

coal here is 3 feet thick and is overlain by 20 feet of sandy shales with 

a thin seam of coal near the top. Above these are sandstones 30 to 

40 feet thick. A detailed description of the coal formations of 

Young County is given by Cummins.1

A section of the rocks exposed in the bank of Salt Creek opposite 

the gin at Graham is given on page 19.

A well put down at Graham a number of years ago gave the following section: 2

Section of well at Graham, Tex,

Gravel ana sand..... ....................................................................

Hard yellow sandstone. .................................................................

Coal

Fire clay, bluish. .......................................................................

Clay and slate.. .........................................................................

Black " slate" with gas. .................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

16 

3 

8 

16 

8 

10 

5 

1 

4 

13 

42 

5 

5 

9 

8 

148 

70 

8i 

10 

U

Depth.

Feet. 

16 

19 

27 

43 

51 

61 

66 

67 

71 

84 

126 

131 

136 

145 

153 

301 

371 

3791 

389J 

391

The record of a prospect hole 3£ miles southwest of Belknap was 

kindly furnished by the owner, Judge R. F. Arnold, of Graham. 

This hole is located in what is known as Sugar Hollow, on Gibbon 

Creek. The drill began near the top of the Cisco but did not penetrate the full thickness of that formation.

i Cummins, W. F., Second Ann. Kept. Texas GeoL Surrey, 1890, pp. 492-502. «Idem, p. 60S.
YOUNG COUNTY. 

Record of Belknap well, 3% miles southwest of Belknap, Tex.

75

1. Rock concrete (conglomerate). . ......................................................

2. Yellowclay...... ............. .................... . ..............................

3. Carbonaceous limestone..... . .......................................................

4. Grayclay... .................................. . .............................

5. Limestone...........................................................................

6. Fireclay...... _ ............................ .... ........................

7. Rock (?).... ......................................... ..............................

9. Sandstone. .......................................... ..............................

10. Slate........................................ . . ..........................

11. Coal (" Belknap coal").--...-... .................... .............................

1 4. Soapstone ...........................................................................

16. Blue clay.. ..........................................................................

17. Carbonaceous limestone.. ............................ ...............................

18. Soapatone... ............ .............................. ............... .............

19. Slate................................................................................

20. Fireclay......................................... .. . ..... .. ...................

21. Carbonaceous limestone..... . ....................... ................................

22. Blue clay. ........................................ ............................

23. Carbonaceous IhnestmiP.. .....

25. Carbonaceous clay. ..................................................................

26. Coal, "of good quality".. ............................................................

29. "Mineral" clay... . ................................. ............................

30. Blue rock (very hard) ................................. .............................

32. Carbonaceouslimestone............................ . .....:......................

33. Sandstone ("contains some gas")- ...................................................

34. Shale............................................... .............................

35. Blue rock.. ..........................................................................

37. Blue rock... ...... ...................................................................

39. Sandstone (gas)...... . ...............................................................

40. Green shale.. ........................................................................

42. Dark shale.. ........................................... .............................

44. Carbonaceous limestone. .............................................................

46. Sandstone. ..........................................................................

48. Gray rock (gas).. . ............................ .«. ....... ............................

49. Blue shale....... ....................................................................

51. Blue clay. ...........................................................................

53. Blue shale. ..........................................................................

54. Black gumbo. .......................................................................

55. Blue shale. ..........................................................................

56. Gray sandstone.... . .................................................................

57. Saltsandrock...................... ................ .. ............................

58. Shale................................................................................

59. Roflc <water). .......................................... ............................

60. Blue clay... . ........................................................................

61. Rock(oU).. ............ .............................. . ............................

62. Dark-blue clay. .....................................................................

63. Hard sandstone.. ....................................................................

64. Soft rock (water).. ..................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

3

4

4

2

Hqi ?*

5

8

3

2|

71

3

5

3

1

2

61

?

2

1

21

1142.-

10

6

10

2

11

20

42

12

3

2

3

13

7

25

7

6

33

5

6

21

37

13

45

5

16

5

. 5

6

191

41

22

22

2

S

8

18

6

Depth.

Feet. 

3

7

11

13

14J

18

20

25

33

36

384

46

49

54

57

58

60

661

7T

76

78

79

81J

83

881

91

101

107

117

119

130

150

192

204

207

209

212

225

232

257

264

270

303

308

314

335

372

385

430

435

451

456

461

467

4891

504

526

662

684

686

694

702

720

726

The upper coal (No. 11) is the one mined near Belknap, and the 

lower seam (No. 26) is probably the stratum seen in the banks of the 

river (p. 73). Beds 47 to 56 are believed to represent the outcrop 

shown in the banks of Salt Creek at Graham. (See section, p. 19.) 

Indications of gas and oil were reported at several horizons, but 

not in commercial quantities.
76 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF WIOHITA REGION, TEXAS.

One mile northwest of Murray post office a well put down in 1900 

struck gas at a depth of 364^ feet. Pressure has decreased since the 

well was first opened, but in 1907 the escape was sufficient to furnish 

a blaze about 18 inches high.

In the eastern part of the county the indurated beds consist 

principally of sandstones and some conglomerates interbedded with 

blue and yellow clays. At a number of places outcrops of thin beds 

of limestone were observed. These belong near the base of the Cisco 

formation. There are several of these limestone beds, ranging from 

a few inches to 1 or 2 feet in thickness and interbedded with shales. 

The southeastern part of the county is underlain by sandstones and 

conglomerates and a few thin beds of limestone interbedded with 

blue and yellow clays. These rocks rest upon the limestones of the 

Canyon formation, small exposures of which appear in the banks of 

the Salt Fork of the Brazos, in the extreme southeast corner of the 

county. The country is much dissected by erosion, the hills being 

for the most part capped by conglomerate.

WATER CONDITIONS.

Water for domestic use is obtained largely from cisterns and shallow 

wells. The wells derive their supplies from the residual sands or 

upper portions of the sandstones. In many places the underground 

waters are unsatisfactory and supplies are difficult to obtain. Creeks 

and storage tanks are relied upon for stock.

Many of the sandstones of the Cisco are porous and contain abundant supplies of water, but for the most part the water is more or less 

impregnated with sodium chloride and other mineral salts, although 

a few wells of moderate depth in the sandstone furnish water of fair 

quality. Salt Creek owes its name to the fact that during dry seasons 

salt was found incrusting the rocks and gravel in the bed of the 

stream. The water found in quantities in the deep well put down 

at Graham (p. 74) is reported to contain 22 to 25 per cent of salt. 

The largest supply of water is found at a depth of 200 to 300 feet. 

No flowing wells are known in this locality, the water in the dteep 

wells rising no higher than 30 feet from the surface.

Samples from a number of wells were analyzed in the Survey 

laboratory, with the results shown in the following table:
YOUNG COUNTY. 77

Analyses of water from welltf'in Young County, Tex. 

[Parts per million.)

Silica (SiOj).........................................

Iron (Fe)........... .................................

Magnesium (Mg)

Bicarbonate radicle (HCO8 ). .........................

Sulphate radicle (SO*)--- ............................

Chlorine (CI)........................................

Nitrate radicle (NO3).. ..............................

Turbidity ........................................ .

Total solids..........................................

1

7.6

4.0

898

230

7,316

164

42

13.580

2.2

(«)

22,579

ber,1906

2

13

1.8

554

534

166

445

2,934

293

8.2

65,334

February,1907

3

12

Tr.

83

16

70

339

55

56

4.2 ' 5

451

ber, 1906

4

8.4

.45

504

222

295

242

1,887

158

16

(«)

3,223

ber, 1906

14

Tr.

116

46

164

.0

354

154

245

28

.0

945

11, 1906

<* A slight turbidity, probably due to precipitation of iron after collection of sample. 

* Phosphate radicle (PO«), 0.0.

1. Judge R. F. Arnold's well, Graham; depth, 110 feet. W. M. Barr, analyst

2. Barber shop well, Graham; depth, 61 feet. H. S. Spaulding, analyst.

3. John C. Kay's well, Graham; depth, 65 feet. W. M. Barr, analyst.

4. Well on lot 10, block 11, Graham. W. M. Barr, analyst.

5. Pandy's well, 3 miles southeast of Spring Creek; depth, 20 feet. W. M. Barr, analyst

The following notes on the quality of these waters have been 

furnished by R. B. Dole, chemist, United States Geological Survey:

1. Probable scale-forming ingredients, nearly 3,000 parts per million; foaming 

ingredients, 20,000 parts; water is probably corrosive. This is a sodium-chloride 

water, unfit for boiler use, for irrigation, or for water supply.

2. Probable scale-forming ingredients, 2,500 parts per million; foaming ingredients, 

450 parts; water is probably corrosive. This is a calcium-sulphate water, which would 

be bad for domestic use on account of its high mineral content. Its high scale-forming 

content and the probability of corrosion make it very bad for boiler use; if it were 

purified by the use of lime and soda ash, the foaming ingredients would thereby be 

increased to a degree almost prohibitive. The water could be called only fair for 

irrigation.

3. This seems to be the best water. It is a calcium-carbonate water of moderate 

mineral content and fair for boiler use. It could be improved by softening. The 

probable scale-forming ingredients are 280 parts per million; foaming ingredients, 

190 parts; water is noncorrosive. It would be entirely acceptable for use in irrigation.

4. Calcium-sulphate water of high mineral content; probable scale-forming ingredients, 1,800 parts per million; foaming ingredients, 800 parts; water is probably 

corrosive. This water is unfit for boiler use without purification and softening, which 

would increase the foaming ingredients and render the water likely to foam badly. 

It is potable but would probably have a distinct "gypsum" taste. It probably 

could be used for irrigation on loose sandy soils where there would be good opportunity 

for thorough undefdiainage.

5. A water of fairly high mineral content; probable scale-forming ingredients, 430 

parts per million; foaming ingredients, 440 parts; corrosion uncertain; water bad for 

boiler use in its raw state, but could be purified. It would be acceptable for domestic 

use but would be considerably harder than No. 3. The remark on No. 4 regarding 

its use for irrigation applies to No. 5.

There are few springs in the county, and none of any importance 

as a source of water supply.
78 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF WICHITA REGION, TEXAS.

There is scarcely any probability that flowing wells can be obtained 

in this county, except possibly at a few localities in the eastern part. 

Wells put down to the basal beds of the Cisco formation find supplies 

of water which in a few places may reach the surface. The limestones 

of the Canyon formation should be reached in the eastern part of the 

county at depths of 250 to 500 feet. Farther west they lie at greater 

depths from the surface, possibly at 800 to 1,000 feet. Aside from 

the fact that the water would probably not rise to the surface, the 

unfavorable prospects for obtaining desirable deep-seated supplies 

in this part of the county are enhanced by the probability that with 

the increased distance from the outcrop the water would become too 

highly impregnated with mineral matter for use.

JACK COUNTY. 

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

Jack County, which adjoins Young County on the east, is rectangular in shape and has an area of 858 square miles. Its population 

is 11,817 (1910). The mean annual rainfall is 33 inches. The county 

seat is Jacksboro.

The surface of the county is made up of hills and ridges, interspersed 

with broad valleys and plateaus. The striking features of the topography of this county are the broad, flat prairies, flanked by hills and 

ridges, a result of the varying resistance offered to erosion by the 

different rock formations. Northeast of Jacksboro the hills are 

capped by sandstone and conglomerate; the valleys are located upon 

the more easily eroded limestones.

The larger part of the county is drained mainly by the West Fork 

of Trinity River, which enters at the northwest corner and flows in a 

southerly direction across the county. A small area in the southern 

part of the county is drained by small tributaries of the Salt Fork of 

the Brazos.

GEOLOGY.

All three of the formations of the Pennsylvanian in Texas, the 

Strawn, Canyon, and Cisco, outcrop within the boundaries of Jack 

County. The Strawn underlies a small triangular area in the southeast corner of the county; the northern and western portions, constituting more than half of the county, are underlain by the Cisco. 

The intervening belt is occupied by the Canyon formation. All these 

formations dip toward the northwest at approximately 30 to 40 feet 

to the mile.

The character of the Cisco is much the same as in Young County. 

Sandstones, shales, and conglomerates, with a few limestones, constitute most of the formation. Coal outcrops in places in the valley 

of the West Fork in the northern part of the county. A drill hole 

put down in 1900 to a depth of 340 feet on the land of D. L. Knox on
JACK COUNTY. 79

Lost Valley Creek, near Squaw Mountain, failed to penetrate the Cisco 

formation. Three water-bearing beds were passed through, the first 

at a depth of 130 feet, the second at 189 feet, and the third at 228 feet. 

The water, which is of fairly good quality, flows out at the surface. 

Shales and sandstones make up the larger part of the section, as 

shown by the following record furnished by the owner, Mr. D. L. 

Knox, of Jacksboro:

Record of well on Lost Valley Creek, near Squaw Mountain, Tex.

Coal..................................................................................... Blue clay.. ......... ..... ........

Blue "soapstone" and sandstone... . ....................................................

White sandstone: second flow of water ..................................................

White sandstone ; third fl ow of water ....................................................

Blue sandy "soapstone." with vegetable matter, and thin layers of sandstone one-half

Thickness.

Ft. in. 

8 

16 

8 

14 

9 

24 

8 

3 

8 

7 

4 

6 

8 

15 

2 

6 

7 

8 

10 

2 

13 

11 

9 

30

111 4

Depth.

Ft.in. 

8 

24 

32 

46 

55 

79 

79 8 

82 8 

90 8 

97 8 

101 8 

107 8 

115 8 

130 8 

132 8 

138 8 

145 8 

153 8 

163 8 

165 8 

178 8 

189 8 

198 8 

223 8

340

The well starts below the coal, which outcrops at the foot of Squaw 

Mountain. The coal has been mined to some extent for local use.

The following record of a boring made for oil on the Bazette ranch, 

10 miles a little east of north of Jacksboro on the Postoak road, has 

been furnished by Mr. Charles A. Lee.

Record of boring for oil on Bazette ranch, 10 miles north of Jacksboro, Tex.

Thickness. Depth.

1. Surface soil..........................................................................

2. Black shale..........................................................................

3. Sand with some oil; in other near-by wells this sand appears to be 10 to 12 feet thick; 

yielded 3 gallons of oil a day........................................................

4. Sand with salt water................................................................

5. Shale and some sand................................................................

6. Running sand, with salt water.......................................................

7. Unknown, record missing...........................................................

8. Hard sandrock; oil with salt water under it..........................................

9. Shale with shells....................................................................

10. Hard crystalline limestone...........................................................

11. Conglomerate, soft...................................................................

12. White crystalline limestone..........................................................

13. Sandstone and shale.................................................................

14. Sandstone saturated with oil and gas................................................

15. Black shale.........................................................................

16. Shale and "rock"...................................................................

17. Unknown...........................................................................

18. Sandstone with gas; pressure sufficient to throw water over derrick shed; not penetrated.............................................................................

Feet. 

5 

95

6

10

134

10

230

10

100

50

5

100

35

10

50

40

10

30

Fed.

5 

100

106

116

250

260

490

500

600

650

655

755

790

800

850

890

900
80 UNDEEGEOUND WATERS OF WICHITA EEGION, TEXAS.

The upper 600 feet of this section apparently belongs to the Cisco, 

and the remainder (Nos. 10 to 18) to the Canyon formation. Several 

borings were made in this vicinity in the search for oil. A small 

amount of oil and some gas were found.

Jacksboro is located on the western margin of the outcrop of 

the Canyon formation. The limestone beds exposed are about 20 

feet thick arid belong to the upper series (No. 10) shown in the foregoing section. In the Texas reports 1 they are called the Campophyllum beds, from the great number of the cup coral (CampopJiyllum 

torquium) that they contain. These beds are underlain by 5 to 75 

feet of sandy clays and sandstones, locally conglomeratic, called by 

Drake the Bluff Creek bed. Below this in the Colorado coal field, 

as shown by Drake, are five series of limestones, each 25 to 75 feet 

thick, separated by corresponding thicknesses of clays and sandstones. 

The wells put down at Jacksboro show a greater proportion of clays 

and less limestone than in the region farther south. A quarry, 

located near the track of the Chicago, Rock Island & Gulf Railway 

at Jacksboro, is operated by the railroad company for ballast material. 

The beds furnish a good building stone, which has been used for some 

of the most prominent structures in the town. The rock is a hard 

bluish-gray compact fossiliferous limestone. The upper strata are 

rather irregular in bedding. The lowest stratum quarried is a darkblue limestone about 15 inches in thickness, and from this stratum 

the best building stone is obtained.

A number of wells have been put down in the town, the records of 

some of which follow:

Record of well of Judge Horton, in the western part of Jacksboro, Tex.

Blue stale (not penetrated).

Thickness.

Feet. 

35

15

16

139

20

2

27

Depth.

Feet. 

35

50

66

205

225

227

254

Record of well of M. W. Cooper, near center of Jacksboro, Tex.

Plflv

Clay....................................................................................

Shale.................:.................................................................

Shale. ..................................................................................

Thickness.

Feet.

52

22

25

14

20

10

57

12

3

Depth.

Feet. 

52

74

99

113

133

143

200

212

215

i Drake, N. F., Report on the Colorado coal field: Fourth Ann. Bept. Texas Geol. Survey, 1892, p. 400.
JACK COUNTY. 81

A well put down in 1899 about 12 miles south of Jacksboro for 

D. L. Knox, by W. F. Nawatny, gave the following record:

Record of drill hole 12 miles south of Jacksboro, Tex.

8. Soft blue "slate" (caving). . .........................................................

9. Blue flinty limestone........ ........................................................

11. Blue flinty limestone ................................................................

12. Blue soapstone ......................................................................

IS. Soft blue soapstone (caving)........ .................................................

18. " Limy " sandstone. .................................................................

20. Sandstone ...........................................................................

21. Flinty limestone.....................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

6

20

2

42

20

188

76

13

2i

7

16

30

12

22

15

21

6

79

2

4

12

Depth.

Feet. 

6

26

2K

79

90

27S

354

367

3711

37f

381

397

427

439

461

476

497

603

585

584

588

600

This well evidently starts in rock below any shown in the Jacksboro 

wells. In comparing this record with Drake's section1 the following 

correlation can be fairly well established:

Correlation of Drake's section and record of Knox drill hole, near Jacksboro, Tex.

Knox drill hide.

.Not represented.

Drake's section (Canyon division)

12. Campophyllum bedl 11. Bluff Creek bed.. J --- 

10. Home Creek bed [limestone] ........1 -,. « f ft

0. Hog Creek bed [claysand sandstones]] -- - 

8. Chert bed [cherty limestones]......................Nos. 9 to 14.

7. Bed No. 7.........................................Nos. 15 to 18.

6. Clear Creek bed [clay, some limestone]............ No. 19.

5. Cedarton bed [sandstone].........................No. 20.

4. Adams Branch, limestone......................... No. 21.

8. Brownwood bed [upper sandstone]................. No. 22.

On the Lee farm, 9 miles north of Jacksboro, on the West Fork of 

Trinity River, the Amber Petroleum Co., of Pittsburgh, Pa., sunk a 

well 2,200 feet deep in prospecting for oil. This well was begun in 

February and finished in July, 1907. The drillers were Joseph Kerr 

and Edward Wasson. The record as given by Mr. Kerr follows.

i Fourth Ana. Eept. Tessa Geol. Survey, 1882, p. 380* 

70056° WJH> 317 13 6
82 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF WIOHITA REGION, TEXAS.

Record of prospect hole of Amber Petroleum Co., 9 miles north of Jacksboro, Tex. 

[Diameter of well at mouth, 13 inches; at bottom, 5& inches.]

2. Soft black "cement" rock... ........................................................

14. White sand; salt water (third), and oil ..............................................

15. Soft black slate................................. .....................................

17. "Asphalt" rock.....................................................................

18. Soft white sand......................................................................

19. Hard black "asphalt".. . ............................................................

20. Soft white sand (show of red oil). ....................................................

21. Soft dark "asphalt". ................................................................

22. Soft white sand; salt water (fifth) ...................................................

23. Soft black slate (thin stratum). 

24. Soft white sand; salt water (fifth)...................................................

33. Soft black slate........... ...........................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

30 

80 

10 

85 

30 

25 

90 

10 

40 

175 

15 

45 

15 

52 

48 

100 

10 

30 

10 

60 

194| 

30

70J 

43 

6 

80 

88 

103 

25 

75 

40 

85 

30 

50 

80 

30 

110

Depth.

Feet. 

30 

110 

120 

205 

235 

260 

350 

360 

400 

575 

590 

635 

650 

702 

750 

850 

860 

890 

900 

960 

1,154} 

1,1841

1,255 

1,298 

1,304 

1,384 

1,572 

1,675 

1,700 

1,775 

1,815 

1,900 

1,930 

1,980 

2,060 

2,090 

2,200

The rock called "asphalt" by the driller was so named because of 

its "smell and from the fact that it mixed with water." It was 

probably clay impregnated with oily matter. A clearly recognized 

bed in the record is the "cherty limestone" of the Canyon (No. 30). 

Beds Nos. 11 and 12 are apparently the top beds of the Canyon; and 

if so, the section would be interpreted as Cisco from 1 to 10, inclusive, 

575 feet, and Canyon for the remainder. The sandstones of the 

Strawn were not reached. Two facts of interest in this section are 

the great increase in thickness of the Canyon (from about 800 feet on 

the Colorado to over 1,645 feet on the West Fork of the Trinity) and 

the thinning out of the limestones, their place being taken by clays. 

It is of interest to note also that the "cherty bed" of the Canyon 

(No. 8 of Drake's section) is an excellent guide in the classification of 

well records in this region. The large amount of chert contained 

makes it the despair of the driller and leaves little doubt of its identity. 

It seems to have been the source of the cherty pebbles so abundant in 

some of the conglomerates of the Cisco.
JACK COUNTY. 83

In its northeastward extension the Canyon formation passes from 

sight beneath overlying beds several miles east of Cundiff.

The Strawn formation occupies all that part of the county southeast of the Canyon area. The formation has a thickness of about 

4,000 feet and consists principally of sandstones alternating with 

thinner beds of blue clay.

WATER CONDITIONS.

Over a considerable part of the Cisco area the water conditions are 

essentially the same as in Young County. Water for domestic use 

is obtained from wells of moderate depth, generally in a porous 

sandstone, though locally in the overlying residual sands and clays. 

The water is likely to be charged with mineral matter, especially in 

the deeper wells. The part of the county underlain by the Cisco 

contains three areas in which flowing wells may be obtained. One is 

in the vicinity of Squaw Mountain, where there is a flowing well, the 

record of which is given on page 79. The second is at Gertrude; and 

the third is in the vicinity of Jeannette, 7 miles west of Jacksboro. 

In none of these wells is the flow strong. The wells all draw their 

supply apparently from a sandstone near the base of the Cisco formation. Flowing wells in the southeast corner of Stephens County are 

supplied essentially from the same horizon. Whether flows could be 

obtained in the intervening belt has not been determined, but such 

data as are available indicate that they could not. In most wells in 

the region the water rises less than 50 feet above the bed in which it 

occurs. In the Cisco belt, however, it rises from 100 to 350 or 360 

feet. For example, the Squaw Mountain well is 340 feet deep and the 

water is said to have overflowed from a pipe 18 to 20 feet above the 

curb. The flowing wells at Gertrude are from 118 to 130 feet deep; 

how far the water from them will rise above the surface is not known. 

At Jeannette two flowing wells are reported, one 96 feet deep, the other 

105 feet.

In the vicinity of Antelope dug wells are from 20 to 60 feet deep, 

and larger supplies are found at depths of 90 to 150 feet, but there 

are no flowing wells. In wells 150 feet in depth the water is said 

to rise within 70 feet of the surface. The water of some of the shallow 

wells is of good quality; in others it is too highly mineralized for use. 

The deeper waters usually show a higher content of mineral salts, 

and some of them are so salty that they are not available for domestic 

use or even for stock.

Springs are of rare occurrence in the Cisco area. In the vicinity of 

Antelope there are several springs in the sandrock, one of which, on 

the farm of Mr. Adkins, is reported to he of considerable size.
84 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF WIOHITA REGION, TEXAS.

The Canyon formation constitutes the most important waterbearing formation in the area studied. The limestones contain water 

in caverns and underground solution channels. These are the source 

of numerous springs which appear along the outcrops of the beds, at the 

contact with the underlying shale. (See PI. II B p. 60.) The occurrence of suclp. cavities and passages, however, is very irregular, and 

although deep wells in limestone regions are likely to strike one or 

more such passages there is much uncertainty as to the outcome.

Most of the wells in this area find water in the sands that are interbedded with the limestones. The principal water bed at Jacksboro 

is reached at depths of 145 to 230 feet. This is between the second 

and third limestones from the top of the Canyon formation. The 

beds included between the first and second limestones are locally 

water bearing, and some wells find their supplies at this horizon. 

M. W. Cooper, who has drilled many wells in this vicinity, states that 

the records will average about as follows:

General section of deep wells at Jacksboro, Tex.

Thickness.

Feet. 

4

8

20 4-20

18-28

80

10-16

5-W

40

Depth.

feet. 

4

19

32

52

80

160

176

231

The water rises within about 75 feet of the surface in the deeper 

wells. In early days, according to Mr. Cooper, many of the wells 

flowed, but there are now no flowing wells in the town. The average 

depth of the wells is from. 160 to 175 feet, depending on the location 

of the top and the differences in thickness of the beds. The waterbearing sand (No. 9) is not uniformly developed and is reported to 

thin out toward the east and north. In some wells the second 

limestone (No. 7) is replaced by sands and shales impregnated with 

oil, and the water found at this horizon is usually of bad quality. 

In some wells located on low ground the water flows out at the 

surface.

The water in many of the wells at Jacksboro shows marked differences in quality within short distances. A black oily substance is 

sometimes encountered in the upper part of the sandstone formation, 

but in the lower part of the beds good water may be found. The 

only attempt to find water supplies in deeper beds in this vicinity
JACK COUNTY. 85

was that of D. L. Knox, who sunk a well at his residence to a depth 

of 550 feet. The main water bed appears to be absent here, and the 

water at deeper horizons was found to be highly impregnated with 

salt. Although the amount of potable water available at the main 

horizon is considerable, it is insufficient to meet the demands made 

upon it by the growth of the town, and this, coupled with the fact 

that in so many wells the water is unfit for use, will soon make it 

necessary to consider the possibility of other sources of supply. As 

to this problem the data at hand offer little light. So far as known 

the Jacksboro water horizon is one of the best in' the series. As in 

beds at other horizons, however, the water is affected locally by 

injurious ingredients, and as the beds dip westward under coyer 

the water doubtless becomes more highly mineralized. As to water 

from deeper horizons, the data in hand indicate that though abundant, 

it is almost sure to be saline.

In the western part of the Canyon area the conditions will be 

found much the same as at Jacksboro. Throughout most of this 

belt the Jacksboro water horizon will doubtless yield ample supplies. 

The conditions as to depth and pressure will manifestly vary with 

the locality. On the east this belt is bounded by the outcrop of 

the cherty limestone beds.1 The areas farther east were not included 

in the present investigation, but the data available indicate that 

the water from deep wells in that region is likely to be more or less 

affected by mineral salts.

Thomas Owen, living 2 miles southeast of Adieu, has a well 300 

feet deep. He reports the following record:

Common earth, about 15 feet, aoapstone for about 82 feet, and struck a gray sandstone 

with water, which, came up about 36 feet in the well. Continued borag but found 

no more water and finally struck a hard white rock into which the borfag was continued for 20 feet.

This water-bearing sandstone was doubtless the same as that in 

the wells at Jacksboro and the "hard white rock" the cherty limeatone which underlies it.

Gibtown is situated in the southeast corner of the county, on the 

outcrop of the Strawn formation. In this vicinity water for domestic 

use is obtained from open and drilled wells ranging in depth from 

20 to 65 feet. The supplies are found in the superficial portion of 

the sands of the Strawn formation. The water is said to be hard, 

and the supplies are ample for the present needs of the community.

Analyses of waters from a number of wells in Jack County are 

given on page 86.

»These beds are those designated No. 8 in Drake's report on the Colorado coal field (Fourth Ann. 

Kept. Texas Geol. Survey, 1892, p. 395).
UNDERGROUND WATERS OP WICHITA REGION, TEXAS.

Analyses of ground waters in Jack County, Toe. 

[Farts per million. Analyst, B. L. Glascock. Samples collected Sept. 24,1907.]

Silica (SiO,)... ........

Iron (Fe). ............

Calcium (Ca)..........

Mftgnesivm (Mg) .

SoeQum(Na)..........

Potassium (K)........

Carbonate radicle 

(CO,)...............

Bicarbonate radicle 

(HCO,). ............

Sulphate radicle (SO<) 

Nitrate radicle (NO,)..

Total solids.. .........

Turbidity.............

1

12

.94

2.0

10

3.0

330

8.0

14

517

137 

l.S 

139

907

0

2

20

.9

3.0

20

3.5

963

13

22

610

166 

1.33 

1,040

2,568

0

3

32

.62

2.4

105

54

114

7.8

7.2

439

303 

.44 

55

922

0

4

15

.7

.5

197

138

i fun

13

7.2

756

1,590 

4.9 

795

4,190

0

5

14

.75

1.3

224

153

1,109

15

.0

766

1,758 

1.33 

870

4,595

0

6

10

.75

2.3

8.5

3.0

291

5.3

4.8

659

80 

1.33 

37

758

0

7

2.5

.8

1.3

9.0

11

293

34

29

669

100 

3.1 

50

844

0

8

10

.8

2.0

26

11

cua

12

7.2

549

231 

3.1 

1,125

2,766

0

9

5.0

.85

1.0

102

31

664

132

.0

224

1,603 

.44

181

2,806

10

6.6

.8

1.3

96

33

689

15

.0

266

^1 

115

2,613

1. Well of J. R. Edmondson at Jeanette, Tex.

2. Wen of the postmaster at Finis, Tex.

3. Vineyard mineral water at Vineyard, Tex.

4. Helm's well. 12 miles east of Jacksboro, Vineyard, Tex.

5. Well of W. L. Vesner, at Vineyard, Tex.

6. Well of W. F. Worden, 1 mile west of courthouse, Jacksboro, Tex.

7. Well of H. Hensley, 1J miles west of courthouse. Jacksboro. Tex.

8. Wen at Phipp's place, 2 miles northeast of courthouse, Jacksboro, Tex.

9. Hensly & Johnson's farm weU at Hess, Tex.

10. Wen at Hannible Pass place, Hess, Tex.

The following notes regarding the usefulness of these waters 

have been prepared by R. B. Dole, chemist, United States Geological 

Survey:

1. Estimated scale-forming ingredients, 50 parts per million; foaming ingredients, 

900 parts; water is noncorrosive, but would foam in boilers. It is high in mineral 

content, especially in alkalies, and would be poor in irrigation; it is potable.

2. Very high in mineral content and unsuitable for use.

3. A sulphate and carbonate water of rather high mineral content but notably 

lower in alkalies and in chlorides than most of the other waters. Estimated scaleforming ingredients, 450 parts per million; foaming ingredients, 350 parts; water is 

noncorrosive; good for irrigation; hard, but potable.

4 and 5. Sodium sulphate waters of very high mineral content and unfit for use 

except possibly for irrigating land where thorough drainage and other precautions to 

prevent accumulation of alkali have been adopted.

6 and 7. Sodium carbonate waters of moderately high mineral content and similar 

composition; poor for irrigation; low in scale-forming ingredients but too high in 

foaming ingredients to be suitable for boilers.

8. A water of very high mineral content; unsuitable for use in boilers or for irrigation, and too salty to be good for domestic use, though drinkable.

9 and 10. Sodium sulphate waters of very high mineral content and similar composition; would foam in boilers; potable but not very good for domestic use; poor for 

irrigation.
INDEX.

Adams, G. I., quoted........................ 22

"Albany" formation, discussion of.......... 22

Analyses of waters...... 41,42,44,54,62,65,69,77,86

Archer County, geology of................... 55

physiography of....... .............. 55

waters of................................ 55-57

B.

Baylor County, geology of................... 67-68

physiography of......................... 67

waters of................................ 69-70

Beede, J. W.( quoted........................ 27

Bibliography, selections from........... .. 6-7

Blake, W. P., quoted....................... 32

Brazos River, description of................. 9-10

C. 

Canyon formation, geology of................ 16

spring from, plate showing.............. 60

water in.......................... ... 17

Case, B.C.,quoted.......................... 26,27

Cisco formation, geology of.................. 17-20

water in................................. 21

Clay County, geology of..................... 45-47

physiography of......................... 44-45

waters of................................ 47-50

Clays of the Clear Fork and Double Mountain

formations...................... 28-29

of the Seymour formation............... 30-32

of the Wichita formation................ 23

Clear Fork and Double Mountain formations,

discussion of.... . ..... 22

geology of............................... 28-29

water in................................. 29

Climate, description of....................... 8-9

Coal, occurrence of, in Jack County.......... 78,79

occurrence of, in Montague County...... 36-37

in theCisco formation............... 18

in the Strawn formation.......... 15

in Young County.................... 73-75

Comanche series, rocks of.................... 29-30

Comstock.T.B., quoted.................... 13

Conglomerates of the Seymour formation.... 30-32

Copper, occurrence of, in Archer County..... 55

occurrence of, in Clay County............ 45

in the Wichita formation............ 25

Cummins, W. F., quoted.................... 14,

15,20,21,22,25,28,30,31,37,74

D.

Dale, R. B., quotation from................. 77,86

Double Mountain formation. See Clear Fork 

and Double Mountain formations. 

Drainage, description of..................... 9-10

Drake, N. F., quoted..................... 22,80,81

7. Page.

Foard County. See Hardeman and Fosrd 

counties.

Fossils in Jack County............ . ... 80

in the Cisco formation................... 20

in the Seymour formation............... 30-32

in Throckmorton County................ 71

in the Wichita formation................ 23-25

G.

Gardner, J.H., quoted...................... 23

Gas in the Strawn formation................ 15

in the Wichita formation................ 26

in Young County........................ 75-76

Girty, G. H., fossils identified by............ 20

quoted.................................. 22

Gould,C.N., quoted..................... 28,30,33

Gravels of the Recent series ................. 32-34

of the Seymour formation................ 30-32

Gypsum of the Clear Fork and Double Mountain formations.................. 28-29

outcrop of, plate showing ............... 60

H.

Hardeman and Foard counties, geology of... 60-61 

physiography of......................... 60

waters of.................. ........... 61-63

Haskell County, geology of.................. 64-65

physiography of......................... 64

waters of................................ 65

Hill, R.T., bibliography by................. 6,28

quoted......................... ...... 13

I. 

Igneous rock, reported deposit of............ 34

J.

Jack County, geology of..... ............. 78-83

physiography of....... .......... 78

waters of................................ 83-86

Johnson, W. D., quoted..................... 32

K.

Knox County, geology of.................... i3-64

physiography of......................... 63

waters of................................ 64

L.

Lapham, I.E., quoted................ 33,34,58,59

Limestones of the Canyon formation......... 16

of the Cisco formation................... 18,19

of the Clear Fork and Double Mountain

formations....................... 28-29

of theComancheseries................... 30

of the Strawn formation................. 15

of the Wichita formation.... 22-23,24-25,26-27

87
88 INDEX.

Page.

M.

Merrill, G. P.,quoted....................... 23

"MiUsap" formation; abandonment of name. 15 

Montague County, geology of................ 36-38

physiography of............. ........ 35-36

waters of................................ 38-44

O.

Oil, occurrence of, in Clay County........... 45-47

occurrence of, in Jack County......... 79

in the Wichita formation............ 25-26

in Wichita County.................. 52-53

in Young County.................... 75

P.

Pennsylvanian formations, occurrence of..... 14

Permian series, formations of................ 31-22

Physiography of Wichita region............. 7-8

R.

Recent, series, geology of................. 32-34

gravels of................................ 32-34

Bocks, relation of, to underground waters... 11

water-bearing capacity of................ 13-14

Roesler, F, A., quoted....................... 56

8.

Sands of the Recent series................... 32-34

of the Seymour formation............... 30-32

Sandstones of the Canyon formation......... 16

of the Cisco formation................... 18

of the Clear Fork and Double Mountain

formations....................... 28-29

of the Comanche series................... 30

of the Strawn formation................. 15

of the Wichita formation.......... 23,24,26-27

Seymour formation, geology of.............. 30-32

water in................................. 32

Silts of the Recent series .................... 32-34

of the Seymour formation............... 30-32

Bimonds, F. W., bibliography by........... 6

Springs in Baylor County................... 70

in Hardeman and Foard counties....... 62

in Montague County.................... 44

in Throckmorton County................ 72

in Wichita County...................... 55

in Wilbarger County.................... 59

Page. 

Strawn formation, geology of................ 15

water in................................. 15-16

T.

Tarr, R. S., quoted.......................... 9,13

Throckmorton County, geology of........... 70-72

physiography of........................ 70

waters of................................ 72

U. 

Udden, J.A., quoted........................ 19

V. 

Volcanic ash, reported deposit of............ 34

W.

Water, insufficiency of...................... 6

hi the Canyon formation................ 17

in the Clear Fork and Double Mountain

formations...................... 29

in the Recent series .................._ 34

in the Seymour formation............... 33

in the Strawn formation................. 15-16

in the Wichita formation...__......... 27-28

See also names of counties.

Waters, deep-lying, occurrence of............ 10-11

deep-lying, relation of, to rock structure. 11

Water resources, summary of................ 34-35

Waters, underground, quality of............ 11-12

Wells, fluctuating........................... 12-13

See also under names of counties.

White, David, quoted....................... 22

Wichita County, geology of.................. 51-^53

physiography of...................... 50-51

waters of................................ 53-55

Wichita formation, geology of............... 23-27

limestones of........................ . 22-23

water hi................................. 27-28

Wichita region, geologic sketch map of...... 5

location of............................... 5

Wilbarger County, geology of................ 58-59

physiography of........................ 57-58

waters of................................ 59

Wiluston, S. W., quoted.................... 26,68

Y. 

Young County, geology of................... 73-76

physiography of......................... 72

waters of................................ 76-78

O