DEPARTMENT OF THE INTEKIOK

WATER-SUPPLY

IEEIGATION PAPEES

OF THE

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

No. 13

UNDERGROUND WATERS OF A PORTION OF SOUTHEASTERN 

NEBRASKA. DARTON

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1898
IRRIGATION REPORTS.

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

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

Survey since 1890:

1890.

First Annual Report of the United States Irrigation Survey, 1890; octavo, 123 pp.

Printed as Part II, Irrigation, of the Tenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 188&-89. Contains a statement of the origin of the Irrigation Survey, a preliminary report on the organization and prosecutio_n of the survey of the arid lands for 

purposes of irrigation, and report of work done during 1890.

1891.

Second Annual Report of the United States Irrigation Survey, 1891; octavo, 395 pp.

Published as Part II, Irrigation, of the Eleventh Annual Report of the United States 

Geological Survey, 1889-90. Contains a description of the hydrography of the arid region 

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

the statement of the Director of the Survey to the House Committee on Irrigation, and 

other papers, including a bibliography of irrigation literature. Illustrated by 29 plates and 

4 figures.

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

Printed as Part II of the Twelfth Annual Report of the United Spates Geological Survey, 1890-91. Contains 1 

fiscal year ended 

by F. H. Newell; 

and 190 figures.

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

by F. H. Newell; quarto.

No. 85, Irrigation in Arizona; No. 60, Irrigation in New Mexico; No. 85, 

Irrigation in Utah; No. 107, Irrigation in Wyoming; No. 153, Irrigation in 

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

178, Irrigation in Oregon; No. 193, Artesian wells for irrigation; No. 198, 

Irrigation in Washington.

1893.

Irrigation of western United States, by F. H. Newell; extra census bulletin No. 

23, September 9,1892; quarto, 22 pp.

Contains tabulations showing the total number, average size,ete., of irrigated holdings, 

the total area and average size of irrigated farms in the subhumid regions, the percentage 

of number of farms irrigated, character of crops, value of irrigated lands, the average cost 

of irrigation, the investment and profits, together with a resume of the water supply and 

a description of irrigation by artesian wells. Illustrated by colored maps showing the 

location and relative extent of the irrigated areas.

1893.

Thirteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1891-92, Part 

III, Irrigation, 1893; octavo, 486 pp.

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

irrigation engineering " and "Engineering results of the Irrigation Survey," by Herbert 

M. Wilson; " Construction of topographic maps and selection and survey of reservoir sites," 

by A. H Thompson. Illustrated by 77 plates and 119 figures.

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

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

Survey; price, 15 cents.

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

the drainage basin of Yakima River and the great plains of the Columbia to the east of 

this area, with special reference to the occurrence of artesian waters.

1894.

Report on agriculture by irrigation in the western part of the United States at the 

Eleventh Census, 1890, by F. H. Newell, 1894; quarto, 283 pp.

Consists of a general description of the condition of irrigation in the United States, the 

area irrigated, cost of works, their value and profits; also describes the water supply, the 

value of water, of artesian wells, reservoirs, and other details; then takes up each State 

and Territory in order, giving a general description of the condition of agriculture by irrigation, and discusses the physical conditions and local peculiarities in each county.

Fourteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1892-93, in two 

parts; Part II, Accompanying papers, 1894; octavo, 597 pp.

Contains papers on " Potable waters of the eastern United States," by W. J. McGee; 

"Natural mineral waters of the United States," by A. C. Peale; "Results of stream 

measurements," by F. H. Newell. Illustrated by maps and diagrams.

(Continued on third page of cover.)
DEPARTMENT OP THE INTERIOR

WATER-SUPPLY

AND

IRRIGATION PAPERS

OF THE

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

No. 12

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1898
U.S.GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 12. PL. I.

<->-h- f> ' \\ =^~\ " '"Tv^S. ' I" ' -

Tif t\R,j M? r" A

LEG END

Area described in this report

Note: The broken lines are 

hypothetical.

CONTOUR MAP OF NEBRASKA, COMPILED FROM U. S.GEOLOGICAL SURVEY MAPS AXD RAILROAD DATA

BY N. H. DAKTO>T 1897. 

Scalo

Contour Interval 250 feet.
UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SUEVEY

CHARLES" D. WALCOTT, DIRECTOR

UNDERGROUND WATERS

A PORTION OF SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA

BY

NELSON HOEATIO DAETON

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING- OFFICE

1898
CONTENTS.

Page.

Letter of transmittal.--.-. ................................................. 9

Introduction ..............._.__._____.__._.._.____...._._..-._..____--.- 11

Topography.................................. ........................... 12

Geology--.---,-..--.-......-......-.....-.----.--....-...------.-.-..-.-.- 14

General structure...-...........-....--..----.-----_...-.......-..-.- 14

Formations ..._......._......___.__...--.--.._-__-._.. ._......---..... 15

Carboniferous formations...........--------..---.--.-----.-----.- 15

Dakota sandstone.-.-,--.-...--....-.....-----....-....---------.-- 16

Benton and Niobrara formations.......-.---..-.--...._-.--....--. 19

Pierreshales.............,.....-..----...-.....--.......--- .-..-- 20

Neocene formations .-_______.._.__..--....-----_-.-.._-...--..--. 20

Earlier Pleistocene deposits..................----_-..-.----.--...- 21

Loess. ......^...................................................... 22

Alluvium.................. ....................................... 23

Dune sands.--.-.-..-.--_...-.....-..-.-.-..--------------.------. 23

The water horizons....................................-....-..-....------ 24

Lancaster County........._.._.......-..-.--.--........-.....-._-.---- 27

Seward County..-.. .................................................. 30

Northern Saline County-........._.......--..-..---..-.--.-.--------.-- 32

York County......................................................... 32

FillmoreCounty..................... ............._....----..---.-- 34

Hamilton County........................................-.-.-..-..---- 35

Clay County.-.-....-......-..... .................................... 36

Hall County-_-___...___......_..._ .................................... 36

Adams County............ .................................. ....,.-_- 37

Buffalo County........--....................;........................ 39

Gage wells at Kearney .-...---............_...---...-..--....-. 40

Kearney County...................-._...-........_.........--.--....- 42

PhelpsCounty.-..-........................................._........- 42

Dawson County --._..__....____________....__._...---...-_..---.---_-- 43

Northern Gosper County..---........---...-.--.---.-.--..-..-.-----.- 44

Prospects for deeper-seated waters -.---..---.-.-...-..----.--...---.-..--.- 45

Irrigation by underground waters ... ......-.-.....--.-,.--.-..--.---.-.- 48

Lancaster County .........----......_..-.. ...--..-._.--.----.-....-. 48

Seward County. ....---....-................-...---.--.....---.- ----._ 49

Fillmore County.................................................._. 50

York County,........................................................ 50

Hamilton County....___.____.._.___.____._._..-_._.__._._.._._..._._._ 50

Buffalo County. ...................................................... 50

Dawson County _....-.._.___._._.._...._..____.____________... ______ 51

Index_--.-....-.._..--................................................... 55

5
ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page. 

PLATE L Contour map of Nebraska .................. ...^................ 1

II. Platte River near Ashland, Nebraska, showing stream deposits - - 10

III. Geologic map of a portion of southeastern Nebraska ____.__--.-.. 12

IV. Section from the Rocky Mountains across Wyoming and Nebraska. 14

V. Juratrias red sandstones, sands, etc., at entrance to Garden of the

Gods, near Manitou, Colorado .......... ............^......... 16

VI. Dakota sandstone lying on Carboniferous limestone, west bank of

Missouri River, at month of Platte River.._._.__.__....-_.. .. 18

VII. Dakota sandstone ou west bank of Missouri River, at mouth of

Platte River.... ......................................^....... 18

VIII. Exposure of Dakota sandstone on Antelope Creek in southeastern

portion of Lincoln, Nebraska ..........--..-.-.-.._-_...--..-. 20

I.. Dakota sandstone overlain by glacial drift, near Bennett, Nebraska. 22

X. Dakota sand in quarry just southeast of Bennett, Nebraska...-.- 23

XI. Niobrara limestone on Coon Creek, in southern portion of Milford,

Nebraska..---.-...,...................... .................... 24

XII. Typical fossils of Niobrara limestone.. .......................... 24

XIII. Typical stony drift surface, northern Lancaster County, Nebraska. 26

XIV. Glacial drift on Dakota clay in pits southwest of insane asylum

near Lincoln, Nebraska ....................................... 28

XV. Loess on glacial drift and Dakota clay in clay pits southeast of

insane asylum near Lincoln, Nebraska .---......_..-.-.-..---. 28

XVI. Recent valley deposits along Salt Creek, in eastern portion of Lancaster County, Nebraska...-.--........-.--.-,.-..--.--..------ 30

XVII. Map of a portion of southeastern Nebraska, showing the depths

to water-bearing formations..........-----.-..-......--.-.--_- 32

XVpI. Sections illustrating some special conditions affecting underground waters in south-central Nebraska............ .......... 34

XIX. Spring from Dakota sandstone along Missouri River near mouth

of Platte River, Sarpy County, Nebraska..................--._. 36

XX. Map showing contour and relations of surface of Dakota sandstone in the vicinity of Lincoln, Nebraska..................... 38

XXI. Cross sections showing relations of Dakota sandstone in the

vicinity of Lincoln, Nebraska ...._....---.............--._.--- 40

FIG. 1. Typical sand dune with "blow-out".............._..._...-.-. 13

2. Section of Carboniferous beds in quarries near Roca, Nebraska.. 15

3. Cross section at Bennett, Nebraska..--.....__..--..-.....----_-.- 18

4. Glacial formations in railroad cat near Prairie Home, Nebraska. 22

5. Ideal section showing the usual relations of underground waters in

the central plains region of Nebraska....---_-.----....--.-.-.-. 25

6. Ideal section from the Platte Valley to and down the valley of

West Blue River, to show the probable cause of the flow -------- 26

7
8 ILLUSTRATIONS.

»

Page. 

PIG. 7. Record of deep boring of salt well near Lincoln, Nebraska........ 39

8. Record of deep boring at Seward, Nebraska...._,.----........... 31

9. Record of deep well at Pairmont, Nebraska -.....- ......... .... 35

10. Record of deep boring at Hastings, Nebraska. .......--..-.. .... 38

11. Map showing location of gage wells at Kearney, Nebraska........ 39

12. Profile of line of wells along Central avenue, Kearney, Nebraska.- 40

13. Diagram of apparatus for illustrating the declivity of head of

liquids flowing from a reservoir...-...-..-.-...-.-. ........... 46

14. Record of deep boring at Dannebrog, Howard County, Nebraska. 47
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, 

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY,

DIVISION OF HYDROGRAPHY,

Washington, June 14, 1897.

SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith a manuscript prepared 

by Mr. N. H. Darton, assistant geologist of this Survey, relating to 

the underground or well waters of a portion of the State of Nebraska. 

The facts £iven are the results of field work in this State during the 

season of 1896. Beginning in the vicinity of Lincoln, Nebraska, Mr. 

Darton not only made a detailed examination of the surface geology, 

but carried on a careful search for all wells, both shallow and deep. 

As far as possible, information was obtained concerning the depth of 

the wells, the character of the strata penetrated, and the volume 

and quality of the water supply. This work was conducted westward 

to the vicinity of Lexington. In this work Mr. Darton was assisted 

by Mr. Joseph E. Macfarland, a young man whose untimely death at 

the end of the field season deprived the Surwy of the services of one 

of its most promising and energetic junior geologists.

To a discussion of the geologic formations and their water contents 

Mr. Darton has appended a statement as to the possibility of obtaining artesian water, adding such facts as were procurable concerning 

the utilization of the available water supply in irrigation. In this 

particular area agriculture is not regarded as dependent, to any considerable extent, upon the artificial application of water, but the examples cited show that in many localities irrigation on a small scale can 

be employed with profit. It is proposed during the coming field season to extend this investigation westward into the areas where the 

necessity for irrigation has long been recognized and where water 

supplies have a still greater value. The field work is confined largely 

to the areas of which topographic maps have been prepared, as without such maps studies of underground waters are necessarily vague 

and inconclusive.

Very respectfully, F. H. NEWELL,

Hydrographer in Charge.

Hon. CHARLES D. WALCOTT,

Director United States Geological Survey.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 12 PL. II

PLATTE RIVER NEAR ASHLAND, NEBRASKA, SHOWING STREAM DEPOSITS.
UNDERGROUND WATERS OF A PORTION OF SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA.

By NELSON HORATIO DARTON.

INTRODUCTION.

TMs report relates to underground waters in Lancaster, Seward, 

northern Saline, York, Fillmore, Hamilton, Clay, Hall, Adams, Buffalo, Kearney, Phelps, northern Gosper, and eastern and central 

Dawson counties, an area of about 6,700 square miles. 1 It is tlie 

result of observations made with the assistance of Messrs. J. E. Macfarland and C. A. Fisher in the summer and autumn of 1896. It 

deals mainly with waters occurring at moderate depths, but also 

briefly reviews the probabilities of obtaining water supplies from 

deeper-seated sources.

The region is one in which the average annual rainfall is not sufficient to insure full crops every season, even in the eastern part of 

the area, where the rainfall is considerably greater than in the western counties. Fortunately, very nearly all of this region is underlain 

by water-bearing deposits, which in most districts yield good supplies 

of water to pump wells. The depth to this water varies from less than 

10 feet in the valley of Platte River to somewhat over 300 feet in the 

higher plateau areas of Dawson and Gosper counties and in a few 

instances in the high drift hills of Lancaster County. The supply is 

also variable in amount, but in most cases the average windmill does 

not lower its level. The waters have been used to some extent for 

irrigation, and the results have been entirely satisfactory, so far as 

the crops are concerned. In most cases a single windmill has not 

proved adequate to supply water for the irrigation of over 15 acres, 

under the most favorable conditions, and in the deeper wells, or 

where the water is more scanty in supply, the limitations are greater. 

This acreage is, however, sufficient for the cultivation of a profitable 

diversified crop, large enough at least to carry a family over a dry 

season. It is not the purpose of this report to discuss the efficacy of

1 The greater part of this area is covered by topographic atlas sheets of the Survey, as follows: 

Lincoln, York, Grrand Island, Wood River, Kearney, and Lexington, of which those in italics are 

now ready for sale at 5 cents each.

11
12 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. [NO. 12.

windmills, which it is believed can be greatly increased, nor the prospects for irrigation in the district. The location and extent of the 

underground water will be set forth mainly by maps, which will also 

give information in regard to the conditions of its occurrence.

TOPOGRAPHY OF THE DISTRICT.

The region to which this report relates lies on the eastern slope of 

the Great Plains which extend from the Rocky Mountains toward the 

Mississippi River. It comprises several types of land forms. The 

greater part of the area is a smooth plain, sloping gently eastward 

from an altitude of 2,700 feet near the one hundredth meridian to 

about 1,400 feet in the vicinity of the ninety-seventh meridian a 

slope of about 7 feet to the mile. Westward this plain is widely 

trenched by the broad valley of Platte River, which lies from 80 

to 160 feet below the plains surface. There are also other valleys of 

moderate width, of which the largest are those of the Big and Little 

Blue rivers and their branches, South Fork of Loup River, Wood 

River, and Plum Creek. To the east, in eastern Seward and Lancaster counties, the smooth plains give place to a region of high drift 

hills, deeply intersected by wide valleys. Another characteristic 

feature of the region is the sand-dune areas, mainly along the south 

side of the valleys of Platte and Loup rivers.

The valley of Platte River is 20 miles wide in Hall County, but it 

narrows considerably toward the west. East of Kearney, where it is 

also occupied by Wood River, a branch of Platte River, the valley is 

12 miles wide. At Kearney the width rapidly diminishes to 8 miles, 

and this width continues some miles westward. In Dawson County 

the valley widens to 15 miles. The floor of the valley of Platte River 

is a very smooth plain, sloping gently toward the east. The river 

flows in channels but slightly depressed below the valley floor, and in 

dry seasons the water meanders through these channels in small ramifying rivulets, with intervening sand banks of various sizes. The 

character of these sand banks is shown in PI. II.

There are some islands which are submerged only in times of high 

water; the principal one, known as Grand Island, has a length of 42 

miles and owes its isolation to a narrow channel which passes around 

its northwestern side. The river usually does not occupy the center 

of the valley, but has a general disposition to hug its south side. In 

Hamilton County the principal channel is at the bottom of the slope 

which rises to the higher plain. East of longitude 99° 30' the valley 

of Platte River is depressed from 80 to 100 feet below the surface 

of the adjoining plains, but the depth gradually increases in Dawson 

County to over 150 feet. Wood River has a level-floored valley, 

which merges into that of the Platte just north of Kearney. The 

South Fork of Loup River flows in a valley which averages about a 

mile in width in the northern part of Buffalo County.
U.S.GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER No. 12 PL. III.

it- - b ^ r' ' *barw>rja sVw

GIIANU I SI AND

HAM

EXPLANATION

Dune sands

airmont

MXO

I [ ' i Alluvial sands, gravels and loams 

A I Loess

Glacial drift, clays, sands and boulders 

(merges upward into Loess?) 

Drift, partly covered by loess talus and alluvium 

(consists mainly of gravelly stratified sand)

GEOLOGIC MAP

OF A PORTION OF

SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA

BY N. H. BARTON

TOPOGRAPHY GENERALIZED FROM D. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY ATLAS SHEETS

1897

of

O J 2 3 * .5_________________10________________ 15

Drift (?) (mainlyapinklshargUlaceonssandwlthsoinepebblybflds) 

w"1*8! marls "magnesia:1 etc.; both mostl cov 

by Ioes8 ^jjjg ftnd alluvium)

Niobrara limestone on Benton shale 

Dakota sandstone

J Carboniferous limestone and clays

Contour interval 50 feet.

JUUOS OltN & l/J. Lf I H. N.Y.
DABTON.] TOPOGRAPHY OF THE DISTRICT. 13

In Seward, Saline, York, Fillinore, Hamilton, Clay, Adams, Kearney, 

and eastern Phelps counties the plains present very broad areas of 

smooth surface, and often extend uninterruptedly for many miles. 

They are, however, more or less deeply trenched by the branches of Big 

and Little Blue rivers, and toward the west, where the land rises higher 

above the adjoining valleys, the plains are very much cut up by small 

branch brooklets, so that much of the higher region of Buffalo, Dawson, and Gosper counties consists of narrow ridges, usually with steep 

slopes, separated by numerous narrow valleys. In Gosper County 

these valleys assume a canyon type, particularly along the steep 

slope on the south side of the Platte Valley and in the slopes extending southward toward the Republican Valley.

FIG. 1. Typical sand dune with "blow-out" In its top.

In the drift-hill region of Lancaster and adjoining counties another 

type of topography is presented. There are high, rolling hills in long, 

irregular ridges separated by wide, level-floored valleys, of which the 

Salt Creek Valley with its branches is the most extensive. Lincoln is 

built at a confluence of a number of branches of Salt Creek and along 

the adjoining slopes of the drift hills. The drift surface rises to an 

altitude of about 1,550 feet in the eastern portion of Seward County, 

but the altitude to which the higher summits rise eastward gradually 

diminishes to from 1,300 to 1,400 feet in the eastern portion of Lancaster County. The bottom of the valley in which Lincoln is situated 

has an altitude of about 1,150 feet.

Areas of sand dunes are very frequent in the" Platte and Loup valleys in Hall, Buffalo, Adams, Kearney, and Phelps counties. Some 

smaller areas also occur in Dawson County and on the high plains
14 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. [NO. 12.

and slopes about the head waters of Little Blue River in western 

Adams and eastern Kearney counties. The areas are characterized 

by their irregular, hummocky contour and loose sand surfaces, Some 

of the higher mounds rise 100 feet above the adjacent lowlands and 

are conspicuous features in the landscape. There are many basins 

among the hills and meandering valleys which have no outlets. The 

largest bodies of the sand extend for 50 miles along the south side of 

the Platte Valley south of Kearney, lying mainly against the slope 

which rises to the higher plains. There are also extensive deposits 

south of the South Fork of Loup River in northern Buffalo and Hall 

counties. The width of the wider portions of these sand-dune belts is 

about 3 miles. A "blow-out," a characteristic feature in some of the 

sand-dune areas, is shown in fig. 1 (p. 13.)

GEOLOGY. 

GENERAL STRUCTURE.

Southeastern Nebraska is underlain by Carboniferous and Cretaceous formations bearing a superficial mantle of Pleistocene deposits. 

The older formations have a gentle slope toward the west, and the 

overlying deposits are in general conformable to the eastward slope 

of the land. In PI. IV is given a cross section from the Rocky Mountains to the Missouri River at Omaha, showing the general structural 

relations.

East of the longitude of Lincoln the limestone and associated rocks 

of the Carboniferous formation reach the surface, and they are frequently exposed in the valleys in the southeastern corner of the State. 

Toward the west their gentle dip and the rapid rise of the land carry 

them far beneath the surface, so that in the vicinity of the ninetyninth meridian they appear to lie at a depth greater than 3,000 

feet. Farther westward they may or may not increase in depth, but 

they rise in approaching the Rocky Mountains and outcrop high on 

the slopes of these mountains in Colorado and Wyoming.

The series of Cretaceous formations which lie on the Carboniferous 

beds comprises the Dakota sandstone, the Benton shales, the Niobrara 

limestone, and the Pierre shales. The lowest member, the Dakota 

sandstone, reaches the surface, to the eastward, in a zone which passes 

near Lincoln.

In the slopes of the Rocky Mountains the Dakota sandstone is 

separated from the Carboniferous beds by the Jiiratrias red sandstones, sands, and clay, which probably extend for some distance 

eastward, no doubt under the western portion of Nebraska, but they 

do not reach the surface in the eastern portion of the State. A characteristic exposure of these beds on the eastern slope of the Rocky 

Mountains is given in PI. V. Near the ninety-seventh meridian the 

Dakota sandstone passes under the thin series of Benton shales and 

Niobrara limestones, and these in turn soon disappear beneath a mass
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

Alluvium Loess, underlain by dfif K

|loaep borings Glacial drift. 

Horizontal Scale. ?*. V

Sandstone 

SECTION FROM THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS ACROSS WYOM
DABTON.I GENERAL GEOLOGIC STRUCTURE. 15

of Pierre shales, which attain a thickness of over 3,500 feet under the 

central and western portion of the State. The Carboniferous and 

Cretaceous formations in the eastern part of the State are heavily 

overlain by Pleistocene deposits, comprising a large mass of glacial 

drift and a thick mantling of loess. West of longitude 98° 30' there 

intervenes between the Pleistocene deposits and the Cretaceous formations a series of Neocene deposits, which gradually thicken toward the 

west, and finally, rising above the slope on which the loess lies, become 

the dominant surface formations in the western portion of the State. 

The glacial drift is a thick mass in Lancaster County. It thins rapidly 

toward Missouri River and westward, its attenuated margin passing under a thick sheet of loess in both directions. Toward the west 

the larger mass of glacial drift presents an obscure morainal front 

along the eastern side of Seward County, from which a continuous 

thick mantle of loess extends far westward. Under this loess mantle 

there is a thin sheet of drift materials extending out from the front 

of glacial drift. West of latitude 98° 30' a thin wedge of calcareous

FIG. 2. Section of Carboniferous beds in quarriee near Boca, Nebraska.

and siliceous sediments, of Neocene age, comes in between the loess 

and drift and the Pierre shale surface, gradually thickening toward 

the west. The loess mantle is widely trenched by the valley of Platte 

River and more or less deeply excavated by the other valleys, which 

are often cut through to the underlying Pleistocene and Neocene 

formations.

The loess has a thickness of from 60 to 90 feet in greater part. 

Flooring the large depressions that traverse the region are deposits of 

alluvial formations, which are of great width along Platte River. In 

some portions of the area there are accumulations of dune sands of 

greater or less extent, and these, aside from sand banks in the rivers, 

are the most recent formations of the region.

THE FORMATIONS.

Carboniferous. Carboniferous limestones reach the surface in 

southern, central, and eastern Lancaster County. They consist of a 

variety of limestone beds with intercalated shales and clays. The 

principal exposures are in the vicinity of Roca, near Hickmau, and
16 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. [NO. 12.

about Bennett. At these localities the rocks have been quarried, 

notably about Roea, where they have furnished large amounts of fine 

building stone. A columnar section of the rocks at Roca is given in 

fig. 2 (p. 15), which comprises all the members exposed in the quarry 

just north of Roca station and in the Warner quarries and depressions a mile north of the village.

From the beds in Warner's quarry Mr. Macfarland collected the 

following fossils:

Enomphalus rugosus. P. cora.

Setopora biserialis? P. nebrascensis.

Marginifera splendens. Chonetes flemingi.

Spirifer cameratus. C. granulifera.

Meekella striatocostata. Fusilina cylindrica.

Seminnla subtilita. Ambocoelia planoconvexa.

Derbya crassa. Orthis (Bhipidomella) carbonaria.

Bhombopora lepidodendroides. Pugnax uta.

Productus semireticularis. Orbiculoida sp.

At Bennett some different members of the formation are exposed, 

and so far it has not been possible to ascertain the relative positions 

of the rocks of the two areas. Probably in the region between Roca 

and Bennett and toward the south the Carboniferous beds are not 

far beneath the surface in the deeper hollows, but they are covered by 

the general heavy drift mantling. In the deep borings at Lincoln the 

Carboniferous beds were penetrated to a depth of over 1,000 feet. 

They appear to begin at a depth of about 269 feet. The section given 

in fig. 7, page 29, illustrates the general succession of deposits. 1

Dakota sandstone. In eastern Nebraska the Carboniferous formations are overlain directly by the Dakota sandstone, without trace of 

the Juratrias deposits intervening. At a point a mile and a half due 

north of Roca station the contact may be seen; at Bennett the two 

formations are in immediate proximity; and in the wells at Lincoln 

the contact lies about 269 feet beneath the surface. A finely exposed 

contact is shown in PL VI. The contact line between the Dakota 

sandstone and the Carboniferous beds in eastern Nebraska presents 

many steep slopes, indicating an irregular shore line against which 

Dakota sediments were deposited. The materials of the Dakota formation are mainly gray and brown sandstone, but there are also 

intercalated clays of various colors. Portions of the sandstone are 

highly ferruginous, so much so as to be frequently mistaken for iron 

ore. The sandy character of the formation is, however, prominent 

throughout. Where the amount of iron is large the rock is very apt 

to have a highly concretionary structure. The coarser sandy members are usually cross bedded. A characteristic outcrop is shown 

in PI. VII. The texture of the sandstone varies irregularly from

1 A more detailed description of the beds is given by Mr. B. P. Russell in the Sixth Biennial 

Report of the Commissioner of Public Lands and Buildings to the Governor of Nebraska, 1888, 

pp. 57-84. Lincoln, 1888.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 12 PL. V

JURATRIAS RED SANDSTONES, SANDS, ETC., AT ENTRANCE TO GARDEN OF THE GODS, NEAR MANITOU, COLORADO.
THE DAKOTA SANDSTONE. 17

rock which is quite firm to sand which is hardly consolidated. In 

most cases the material is a soft sandstone which can be easily excavated with the pick. Some of the firmer beds contain fossil leaves in 

considerable abundance.

In the region covered by this report the exposures of Dakota sandstone are confined to Lancaster County and the vicinity of Pleasantdale in eastern Seward County. They occur at intervals along the 

sides of depressions of branches of Salt Creek, and at Bennett at the 

head of the Little Nemaha River. They are mainly very small and 

quite widely scattered, and are due chiefly to the excavation of depressions which have been cut through the glacial drift. Their location 

is shown in PI. Ill (p. 12). In some cases belts of exposures mark the 

presence of a ridge of Dakota sandstone under the drift. The most 

extensive outcrops occur at intervals along and near the Burlington and 

Missouri River Railroad from Lincoln nearly to Roca, on the western 

slope of the ridge on the east side of Southeast Salt Creek. There are 

quite extensive exposures about the penitentiary and in the vicinity 

of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad crossing. Just east 

of Saltillo gray sandstones appear halfway up the slope, and they are 

again exposed on the point of the next ridge 2 miles farther south, 

lying against the Carboniferous limestone. The brown sandstones 

appear on Antelope Creek in the southeastern corner of Lincoln, as 

shown in PI. VIII, at the "cave" in the southern margin of the city, 

and at the crossing of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad 

and Burlington and Missouri River Railroad, Nebraska City branch. 

Between Emerald and Pleasantdale the Dakota sandstone rises as a 

moderately high ridge under the drift and is exposed in a number of 

railroad and stream cuts. The beds are extensively cross bedded, and 

in some of the exposures consist of a highly ferruginous sandstone 

with complex concretionary structure. There are several exposures 

on both slopes of Haines Branch Valley and along the hollow beginning 2 miles southwest of Rokeby. They are of the usual brown 

sandstone. At the brick and tile works a mile southwest of the 

insane asylum the formation is represented by clays mainly of mottled 

pink, brown, and gray colors, with streaks of sand and sandstone 

and a bed of dark-gray clay containing a large amount of organic 

material. The clays have been mined extensively at this place for 

brick and tile, for which they appear well suited. They are overlain 

by a small amount of drift and a considerable mass of fossiliferous 

loess. Some of the features of this exposure are shown in Pis. XIV 

and XV.

There is another excavation in a similar mass of clay in the southern edge of West Lincoln, just east of the lake. The exposures of 

Dakota sandstone north of Lincoln are along Little Salt Creek and 

some of its branches south and southwest of Davey, along Rock Creek 

north of Waverly, and in depressions along the head branches of Rock 

1KB 12 2
18 UNDERGROUND WATERS OP SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. [NO. 12.

Creek northeast of Davey. In all of these exposures there is seen 

brown sandstone, excepting in the railroad cut northeast of Davey, 

where a mottled clay is exposed. The only exposures discovered east 

of Lincoln are in a small branch of Stevens Creek 6^ miles east 

of the Lincoln post-office, at an old quarry in the north side of 

Stevens Creek a mile and half above its mouth, and in the hollow 

just north of the railroad a mile west of Prairie Home. The exposure of the Dakota sandstone just south of Bennett, at the head of 

the Little Nemaha River, is very interesting. The formation consists of quite regular beds, from 1 foot to 2 feet in thickness, of 

beautifully cross-bedded sands hardly sufficiently cemented together 

to be classed as sandstone. The exposure is across a depression 

from limestone, as shown in fig. 3. The relations indicate that probably there was here a steep shore of the limestone during the deposition of the Dakota sandstone, although possibly the two formations 

are separated by a fault. In Pis. IX and X there are reproduced 

photographs of portions of the exposure, showing the cross bedding 

very clearly. In PI. IX the overlying glacial drift is also shown.

Fia. 3. Cross section at Bennett, Nebraska; looking north.

The Dakota sandstone has been reported in many of the wells in 

Lancaster County, and in fact it is one of the principal sources of 

water supply in the deeper wells.

In the boring made by the State near Lincoln in 1886 the lower.portion of the Dakota formation was penetrated. According to Mr. B. P. 

Russell, 1 the materials covering the Carboniferous limestone were as 

follows:

Feet.

0-4 ........Sandy loam.

4 - 20 .........Angular greenish sand.

20 - 24f ......... Coarser whitish sand.

24f - 48J ........ Coarse gravel.

48J - 52 ....... .Sand, whitish, even grained, in part rotinied.

52 -5? ........ Coarse gravel.

57 - 74 ........ Fine yellow sand.

74 -100 ........Lighter sand.

100 -112^ -.--... .Coarser, dark-yellow sand; gravel and iron pebbles.

112| -133f .... ....White sand and gravel, with brine at 119 feet.

133f-135 ........ Yellowish-white sand.

135 -147f ........Yellow sand; small pebbles.

1 Sixth Biennial Report of the Commissioner of Public Lands and Buildings, December 1,1888, 

pp. 65-68. A slightly different record is given in the Fifth Beport, 1886, p. 19.
U. 6. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

DAKOTA SANDSTONE LYING ON CARBONIFEROUS LIMESTONE, WEST BANK OF MISSOURI RIVER, AT MOUTH OF PLATTE RIVER.

(.The arrows indicate the plane of contact.)
U. S. GE&L63ICAL SUftVEV WATER-SUPPLY PAPE.R NO. 12 PL. VII

DAKOTA SANDSTONE ON WEST BANK OF MISSOURI RIVER, AT MOUTH OF PLATTE RIVER.

Shows cross bedding and beds of coarse materials.
BARTON.] BEOTON AND NIOBRARA FORMATIONS. 19

Feet. 

147£ -164J ........ Coarse yellow sand and gravel.

164J -179| ......... Yellow sand.

179f -195 .......... White sand; gravel.

195 -202 _---.--- Very coarse gravel. ) Containing brine 35°; strong 

202 -205 _----..,Coarsegravel and conglomerates. } flow.

205 -206£ ._.._..- Coarse conglomerate with chalky, flinty .pebbles. 

2Qty -208f ........ Soft gray sandstone.

208| -209^ .........Reddish clay.

209J -214£ ........ Light-drab clay.

214|- -244|- .... ....Fine-grained, gray, very soft sandstone.

244£ -247£ -.-.--.- Greenish-drab clay.

247£ -267^........ Fine-grained, reddish, very soft sandstone.

267^3-269^........ Arenaceous gray clay lying on chert, shale, and limestone.

It is thought that the top of the Dakota formation was entered at a 

depth of 48£ feet, but the evidence is by no means conclusive.

From the data of wells and outcrops in the Lincoln region it has 

been possible to prepare a map (PI. XX) with contour lines showing 

the altitude of the surface of the Dakota sandstone under a portion 

of Lancaster County and adjoining area. These lines are intended 

to indicate the contour of the sandstone surface on which the drift 

deposits lie. An endeavor has also been made to differentiate the 

valleys cut into the sandstone in areas from which the drift has 

been removed, as, for instance, along the center of the Salt Creek 

and Southeast Salt Creek valleys. A further explanation of the relations is shown by cross sections in PI. XXI. The irregularities of 

contour are probably mainly due to preglacial erosion, but there is 

some evidence that the elevated area about Pleasantdale is due in 

part to an upward arching of the beds.

In PL XVII the depth of the Dakota sandstone below the surface 

is shown for each 50 feet, as a guide to the contained water supply.

Benton and Niobrara formations. The Benton formation, in its 

typical development, consists of dark shale lying conformably on the 

surface of the Dakota sandstone. Owing to the heavy drift and loess 

covers in the region in which the Benton formation should be expected 

to reach the surface, only one exposure of that formation has been 

found. This is in the bed of Big Blue River just below Milford, 

where a few inches of black shales of supposed Benton age are to be 

seen under the Niobrara beds. As it was not possible to obtain 

evidence as to the depth at which the Dakota sandstone lies in this 

vicinity, no definite statement can be made of the thickness of the 

Benton deposits, but it is thought they will prove to be less than 100 

feet thick. The boring at Seward, of which a record is shown in 

fig. 8, page 31, found 100 feet of dark clay lying between "sand and 

gravel" and the top of the supposed Dakota beds. If the "sand 

and gravel" are drillings from Mobrara beds, which is probable, the 

underlying clay would be Benton. The probable location of the eastern margin of the formation is shown in PI. XX.
20 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. [NQ.12.

The Niobrara formation is represented by impure siliceous limestones, which outcrop at a number of points in the eastern and southern part of Seward and Saline counties. The beds are usually thin, 

but owing to their hardness and the ease with which they can be 

quarried, they have been employed to some extent for foundation and 

other rough work. There are some quarries near Pleasant Hill, along 

the west side of the North Fork of Turkey Creek, on the east bank 

of Big Blue River 4 miles north of Crete, and in the upper portion of 

the valley of Middle Oak Creek, northeast of Germantown. The formation is also exposed for some distance along Beaver Creek near the 

southern margin of Seward County, and along Big Blue River just 

below Milford, notably in a small branch just south of the Soldiers' 

Home at Milford, as shown in PL XI; and it is said to appear in the 

bed of Big Blue River in the vicinity of Camden.

The rock is characterized by impressions of the fossil oyster known 

as Inoceramii'S lahiatus and possibly some other species. In some of 

the beds, also, we may expect to find the characteristic fossil Ostrea 

congesta. The general aspect of these fossils is shown in the two figures on PL XII. These fossils are here figured because it is very 

important to be able to distinguish them from the Carboniferous fossils in the limestone which underlies the Dakota sandstone. Their 

occurrence is a guide to the progress of a deep boring west of longitude 97°, for the water-bearing Dakota beds may be expected in regular order below. The thickness of the Mobrara formation can not be 

definitely stated, as none of the exposures were complete, and we have 

no well records which are sufficiently definite to afford a basis for precise estimation. It is believed, however, that the formation will not 

prove to be over 40 or 50 feet in thickness, and probably it is considerably less.

Pierre shales. This formation consists of a great mass of shales, 

predominantly dark gray in color, which thicken rapidly westward 

under central and western Nebraska. Owing to the heavy mantle of 

loess and drift, and, to the west, of Neocene deposits, there are no 

exposures of these shales at the surface. They have, however, been 

deeply penetrated by a number of well borings. At Kearney it is 

claimed that they are over 2,500 feet thick; at Hastings they extend 

from 224 feet to 1,346^ feet; at Dannebrog they extend from 135 feet to 

1,011 feet, and at York they were penetrated for several hundred feet. 

It is probable that the thickness is 4,000 feet under the western portion of the State, as shown in PL IV, but the actual amount is not 

known. The shales contain occasional thin beds of sand, iron pyrites, 

and heavy dark clay.

Neocene formations. The representatives of the Neocene formations which are so prominent in the western portions of Nebraska are 

found underlying the Pleistocene deposits in the central portion of 

the State, where their thickness gradually decreases until finally they 

thin out entirely.
LOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 12 PL. VIII

EXPOSURE OF DAKOTA SANDSTONE ON ANTELOPE CREEK, IN SOUTHEASTERN PORTION OF LINCOLN, NEBRASKA.

Also shows glacial drift.
BARTON.] NEOCENE AND PLEISTOCENE DEPOSITS. 21

The materials consist of siliceous and calcareous sediments, mainly 

of a sandy texture and chalky aspect. They are often called "magnesia." Portions of the beds are light-colored, very sandy clays containing chalk-like nodules. The eastern margin of these depositshas 

not been definitely located in the area to which this report relates. 

South of the South Fork of Loup River there is no evidence of their 

existence east of longitude 98° 30', but north of that river they may 

extend somewhat farther east. They are exposed in depressions 

northeast of Kearney, and from thence westward in Buffalo, Dawson, 

Phelps, and Gosper counties, where many of the deeper canyons cut 

into them. Owing to the manner in which the loess rolls down or 

eaves along the slopes of the wider depressions, exposures are relatively rare, and so far it has not proved practicable to map the Neocene formations very satisfactorily, owing to their being thus concealed 

for long intervals in depressions in which they might otherwise be 

expected to outcrop. To the west the exposures increase in abundance and a greater thickness of the formation is exposed. The most 

extensive exposures in the area to which this report relates are along 

the upper portions of Plum Creek.

Earlier Pleistoc&tie deposits. These deposits comprise a mass of 

glacial drift in Lancaster and eastern Seward counties, and a thin 

sheet of gravelly sand, which extends far westward under the loess 

mantle of the plains region, and appears to be contemporaneous with 

the glacial drift. The glacial drift constitutes a very irregular mass 

of bowlder clays, sands, gravels, and bowlder beds, covering the greater 

part of Lancaster County. It constitutes high hills, which are-traversed by the deep, wide valleys of Salt Creek and its branches in the 

region about Lincoln. The glacial drift ends toward the west in the 

slope which descends quite steeply to Big Blue River from Seward 

southward. Its precise western limit could not be definitely determined owing to the overlapping of loess and the frequent lack of distinctive outcrops. The greater portion of the glacial drift consists of 

blue and gragr bowlder clays. There are also beds of blue and gray 

clay nearly pure or containing a little mixture of fine sand, but scattered bowlders of pebbles occur almost everywhere through it. There 

are included sand beds, ordinarily containing bowlders, but locally 

quite free from them, and numerous lenses of bowlder beds, consisting 

mainly of bowlders. The pink Sioux quartzite, often in very large 

masses, is a conspicuous feature of the drift, but there are many other 

rocks associated. Wide areas of clay surface with only a few scattered bowlders occur, and other areas of light-colored sandy clays, 

particularly on the higher, level lands, which appear to be loess merging into the glacial drift. A characteristic bowldery surface is shown 

in PL XIII.

No order of succession has yet been determined for the glacial 

deposits. Instructive exposures are very rare, and well records have
22 UNDERGROUND WATERS OP SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. [NO. 12.

thrown but little light on the relations. In fig. 4 is given a sketch of 

some features exposed on the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad cut near Prairie Home, in Lancaster County.

The central mass is an oxidized, ferruginous clay of brownish-buff 

color, with scattered pebbles and soft calcareous concretions. The 

overlying sheet of bowlders contains many masses of pink Sioux 

quartzite, mainly angular, with some fragments of other crystalline 

rocks. This is overlain by pinkish sandy clay, with a few pebbles, 

mostly of small size. On the top is a mantle of pale-buff loam, with 

ferruginous and calcareous concretions somewhat like loess in aspect, 

but more argillaceous and lacking the typical texture.

The thin drift sheet which extends far westward from the glacialdrift margin, under the loess, underlies a wide area of central Nebraska. 

It is usually a thin sheet of sandy clay, commonly of pinkish color. 

Eastward it becomes more sandy, thickens, and is often represented 

by coarse sand. Pebbles of a great variety of rocks of Rocky Mountain origin occur, both in the pink sandy clays and in the more sandy 

portions to the east. These pebbles are characteristic of the deposit 

as far westward as I have traced it, which is in the vicinity of OgalPIG. 4. Glacial formations in cut one-quarter mile west of Prairie Home station; looking north.

lala. The precise relation of this formation to the glacial drift can 

not be ascertained in the area examined, but it appears to merge 

into glacial-drift deposits in eastern Seward County.

Tlie loess, The loess is a great mantle of light buff-colored loam, 

which constitutes the surface of the plains of south-central Nebraska 

over thousands of square miles. It abuts against and overlaps the 

thick mass of glacial drift to the east in eastern Seward County, but 

extends westward in a vast tabular surface. From the eastward 

there is a lower-level phase which extends up the depressions of Salt 

Creek and Little Nemaha River, but does not reach an altitude much 

above 1,250 feet in the Lincoln region. The most extensive development of the formation is in the wide plains west of Big Blue River, 

where it covers all of the surface between the large drainage depressions. A wide trench is cut through the formation by the valley of 

Platte River, and many smaller streams have cut through or deeply 

into it.

In the upland portions of Buffalo, Dawson, and Gosper counties 

the surface is deeply invaded by numerous small valleys, which 

become steep-sided canyons as the land rises to the west, particularly 

in Gosper County.
DAKOTA SANDSTONE OVERLAIN BY GLACIAL DRIFT, NEAR BENNETT, NEBRASKA. 

(LOOKING WEST.)

Shows cross bedding.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER N6. 12 PL. X

DAKOTA SAND IN QUARRY JUST SOUTHEAST OF BENNETT, NEBRASKA.

Shows regular and cross bedding.
DABTON.] LOESS AND ALLUVIUM. 23

The materials of the loess consist of fine sandy loam, somewhat 

calcareous, and chiefly of a pale brownish-yellow color. Occasionally 

a streak of sand is found, and some portions are slightly more argillaceous than usual. The material is of remarkably uniform texture, 

compact, but perfectly soft. Water falling upon its surface is absorbed 

in some measure, but on steep slopes the material is rapidly excavated 

wherever a rivulet gets a fair start.

In the lower part of the formation, possibly underlying it and 

entirely separate, are deposits of volcanic ash, usually mixed with more 

or less fine sand, but often so pure as to be of brilliant white color, 

and consisting almost entirely of fine shreds of volcanic glass. The 

purer material is very serviceable as a polishing powder. The occurrence of this volcanic-ash deposit has been reported at two localities 

within the area, but owing to lack of knowledge as to the conditions 

under which it occurs, no description of it will here be offered.

The loess is generally fossiliferous, containing scattered fossils of 

quite a variety of species, often represented by numerous individuals. 

These fossils were found throughout the area represented as loess in 

PI. III. It also contains calcareous concretions, especially toward the 

east. An outcrop of loess in Salt Creek Valley is shown in PL XV.

Alluvium. The wider, deeper valleys are floored with alluvial 

deposits which have been brought from greater or less distances by 

the streams now occupying these valleys. Along the smaller drainage ways the materials are of such local origin that it has not always 

been possible to differentiate them satisfactorily, but in the larger 

valleys they are well-defined alluvial accumulations of considerable 

thickness. The most notable deposits are those in the wide valley of 

Platte River, which has a width of 20 miles at' Grand Island, 12 miles 

at Kearney, and 15 miles at Lexington, and is floored to a considerable 

depth with alluvial deposits.

Along the South Fork of Loup River and Wood River there are 

also narrower alluvial deposits, which are confluent with those of the 

Platte Valley. There are deposits also along Little Blue River, Big 

Blue River and its branches, and in the depression of Salt Creek 

and its branches.

A large amount of the alluvial deposits consists of loess-like material containing streaks of clay and gravel, but usually lacking the loess 

texture and fossils. In the immediate vicinity of Platte River, along 

its channel and islands, the deposits are mainly coarse sands with 

more or less gravel, but there are extensive admixtures of loam and 

some clay. In the valley of Salt Creek the material is largely loesslike, but there is also a great deal of dark mud, and this is in greater 

part the characteristic which is presented along Big Blue River and 

its larger branches.

Dune sands. The area to which this report relates lies southeast 

of the great sand-hill region of Nebraska, but it includes a number of
24 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. [no. 12.

small local sand-dune areas. The largest of these extends along the 

south side of the Platte Valley from opposite Elm Creek to opposite 

Wood River. There are several small dune areas along the south side 

of the valley of the South Fork of Loup River near Sartoria and Pleasanton, and the southern extremity of an extensive area is found, just 

west of Cairo. There are some small detached areas of dune sands 

southwest of Kenesaw, in Adams County, and south and southwest 

of Holstein, in the same county, and in the eastern part of Kearney 

County. These dune sands are wind blown and derived mainly from 

alluvial deposits of the river bottom, which have traveled along the 

valley and accumulated where changes in the trend of the valley 

were favorable for stopping them, or where some minor obstructions 

arrested their progress. The belt south of Kearney has a width of 

about 5 miles where it is widest.

The sands lie on the pebbly or sandy floor of the river bottom, but 

are usually banked up against the edge of the loess upland, and in 

some places extend up onto the plains surfaces. The dunes present 

great varieties of form, cones, ridges, mounds, and basins being the 

most general. Over much of the area there is no movement of the 

sand, and the surface is covered with sod. There are, however, many 

bare places from, which the sand is traveling. In windy weather more 

or less sand is blown all over the region, and loose sand is mixed 

with the soil of the loess plain adjoining, usually for some distance 

from the margin of the sand-dune area. A characteristic sand dune 

is portrayed in fig. 1, on page 13.

THE WATER HORIZONS.

The underground waters of southern-central Nebraska occur in 

several geologic horizons. In the region west of Big Blue River the 

various beds of coarse material lying between the loess and the Pierre 

shales afford a general water supply which is of large volume at nearly 

all localities. The eastern edge of the Neocene deposits and the 

drift sands which lie just below loess are the principal reservoirs of 

these waters.

In the wide valley of Platte River nearly all of the coarser materials, 

especially the basal beds of the alluvium and the coarser portions of 

the alluvium near the stream, are filled with water, which is obtainable 

from shallow wells. Although in dry weather the Platte River shows 

very little water at the surface, just below the dry sand and shingle 

in its bed there is a sheet of water which extends widely under the 

alluvial flat on either side. These permeable alluvial materials and 

more or less underlying coarse material of Neocene and Pleistocene 

age contain a large aggregate supply of water.

As the valley of Platte River is somewhat higher than the adjoining 

valleys of the branches of Blue, Republican, and Loup rivers, (the 

waters that lie in its bottom flow out laterally through the coarse mate-
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 12 PL. XI

NIOBRARA LIMESTONE ON COON CREEK, IN SOUTHERN PORTION OF MILFORD, NEBRASKA. (LOOKING NORTH.)
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATFR-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 12 PL. Xtl

TYPICAL FOSSILS OF NIOBRARA LIMESTONE.

Ottrrn rrmncvtn Pnnrad / Flg" 1 'nterior view of the upper valve, slightly enlarged (after Meek).

Ust) ea congesta Conrad, j Fjg 2 Three gma|| |ower ^^ attached to ^ she( , of a , arge | noceramus (after Meek).

Inoceramus labiatu? Schloth / Fig 3l Right valve of an elongated specimen (after Meek). inoceramus laoiaius bcnioui. ^ |Rg 4 Sma|| rjght ya|ve w|th unusua||y smns concentric ridges.
DAETON.] THE WATER HORIZONS. 25

rial underlying the loess and issue as springs or underground seepage 

in these deeper depressions. In the vicinity of Grand Island the evidence is very clear that the Platte waters pass under the loess-covered 

divide and emerge in the deep valleys of the head waters of branches 

of Big Blue River, which are considerably lower in altitude than the 

bottom of the Platte Valley. There is also underground leakage to 

the north into the depression containing the South Fork of-Loup River. 

This is very clearly shown at Kearney, where, in a series of gage wells 

sunk for the Division of Hydrography, the water level is shown to gradually decline to the northwest a very appreciable amount within the 

city limits of Kearney, as shown by fig. 12, on page 40. The wells in 

the valleys and high lands northward show a continued diminution in 

altitude of the water surface, which indicates an_underground flow 

to the north. There is excellent evidence that under Phelps and 

Kearney counties there is underflow from Platte River toward the 

Republican Valley. This underflow is rendered possible by the pervious nature of the great sheet of materials which lies between the 

loess and the top of the impervious Pierre shales. These conditions 

are illustrated in fig. 5.

FIG. 5. Ideal section showing the usual relations of underground waters in the central plains

region of Nebraska.

The valley on the left is that of Platte River, and the depression on the right is similar to the depressions of the branches of Big 

and Little Blue, Republican, and Loup rivers. The rate of this underflow is exceedingly slow, for careful experiments have shown that 

underground water moving through sands, even-if the sands are relatively coarse, does not progress over a mile or two a year.

As the water-bearing beds under the loess thicken westward, .their 

upper portions rise higher above the bottom of the Platte Valley in 

western Dawson and Gosper counties, and it is usually found necessary 

to go to considerable depth in them to find sufficient water supply.

Some of the exceptional relations which are often found locally in the 

region west of the ninety-eighth meridian are illustrated in the cross 

sections in PL XVIII. In section A there is shown a condition which 

is quite frequent in Buffalo and Dawson counties. A well at B has 

to go to the general underflow in the water-bearing bed A A; but at 

C, at much less depth, a local water supply of greater or less volume 

is found in a shallow basin underlain by clay. In section B a condition is illustrated which is found in some of the shallower valleys on 

the high loess plains. Here the underflow conditions are continued
26 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. [NO. 12.

under a valley without interruption, and the beds yield water to wells 

at Gr G. They are also reached by wells at E and F, but at E a water 

supply may be obtained from the gravels flooring the valley bottom. In 

section Care shown the relations of two water-bearing sands separated 

by a bed of clay. In some areas both horizons are drawn on for water, 

and either one may contain the greater amount. Ordinarily the deepest wells obtain the largest supplies of water, but in other cases the 

largest volumes are in the upper bed of sand containing the underflow from the river valleys. A well at H would find abundant supplies of water in the gravels and sands flooring the valley.

Section D illustrates a relation which may account for some observed 

inequalities in the volume of water in the same bed of sand on either 

side of a river valley. A well at J would yield a good supply of 

water, but one at K would yield less because the water escapes into 

the river bottom on the one side and a local deposit of clay seals off 

the entrance of a continued underflow on the other side of the valley 

toward K.

Section E illustrates a change of material from coarse to fine pervious to impervious in the same bed. Thus, a well at L would

 d

FIQ. 6. Ideal section from the Platte Valley to and down the valley of West Blue Biver, to 

show the probable cause of the flow.

obtain a water supply from sands which merge into clay toward M, 

where the clay would have to be penetrated to underlying sands at 

greater depth.

The geologic relations of the water-bearing stratum in the Beaver 

Crossing region are not as yet fully ascertained. The waters lie in 

sands which are overlain by a heavy bed of tough, impervious clay, 

but the depths are so moderate that it can hardly be thought that 

these sands are of the Dakota formation. It is much more probable 

they are in the western extension of the drift deposits. The head is 

due to the elevation of the intake area of the waters westward, and it 

is sustained locally through the protection afforded by a wide extent of 

the overlying mantle of tough, impervious clay. In fig. 6 is given an 

ideal section to show the probable relation. This should be compared 

with the section in fig. 5 (p. 25), which shows the usual conditions in 

other areas where there is no flow.

In Lancaster and eastern Seward counties the principal supplies of 

underground waters occur in the Dakota sandstone and sands. In 

the drift deposits waters are often abundant in supply and satisfactory in quality, but their occurrence is so exceedingly irregular that
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 12 PL. Xlll

TYPICAL STONY DRIFT SURFACE, NORTHERN LANCASTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA.
WATER HORIZONS IN LANCASTER COUNTY. 27

no definite idea could be formed as to their relations. A large number of wells have been sunk to the Dakota sandstone, which is usually 

so porous as to yield an excellent water supply. In the lower lands 

it lies at very moderate depths, but in the higher lands a deep boring 

is often required to reach it. On account of the definiteness of this 

water horizon it has been made the basis of water prediction in the 

Lancaster County area, as shown on PI. XVII.

The waters of the Carboniferous limestone have been tested at Lincoln, and found to be highly saline. In a portion of this area the 

waters in the Dakota sandstone, also, are quite saline, owing, it is 

thought, to impregnation from springs or seepage from the underlying Carboniferous limestone. It is probable that these springs existed 

during the deposition of the Dakota formation, and have continued 

in greater or less volume since, for the present superficial deposits 

of the valley are highly impregnated with salt.

In the sand hills, especially those in northern Kearney and northeastern Phelps counties, more or less water is often found in the base 

of the sand accumulations, especially where the sand lies on a less 

permeable portion of the alluvial deposits. Quite a number of shallow wells in the sand-hill region find a satisfactory domestic supply 

of water without having to sink to the underlying alluvium or loess.

LANCASTER COUNTY.

Lancaster County lies within the area of glacial drift, which is 

underlain mainly by the Dakota sandstone. There are also wide valleys, mainly those of Salt Creek and its branches, filled with loess 

and alluvium. The principal water-bearing formation is the Dakota 

sandstone, but waters also occur among the drift deposits. The 

waters in the drift are of very irregular occurrence, but they furnish 

supplies for many scattered wells. As their distribution is governed 

by laws at present not well understood, it is almost impossible to 

make a general statement regarding them which would be of any value. 

In some cases, also, waters supposed to be derived from the drift 

may possibly accumulate through leakage from the underlying Dakota 

sandstone. This sandstone appears to carry water supplies throughout the area of Lancaster County, excepting about Roca and along 

the LittleNemaha River, where the limestones come to the surface, and 

at a few local points where the rock is less permeable than usual. 

The surface of the Dakota sandstone slopes, as a rule, gently eastward, 

although the general dip of the beds of the formation is toward the 

west. The contour of its surface under the heavy drift mantle is 

by no means regular, for it presents numerous ridges and mounds of 

various sizes, separated by irregular depressions, as shown in Pis. 

XX and XXI. The larger depressions of the county have been excavated through the drift, and in places more or less deeply into the 

Dakota formation, which gives further complexity to the contour of 

its surface.
28 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA, [wo. 12.

As the Lancaster County region is one of high hills and ridges, the 

irregular surface of the Dakota sandstone lies at depths which vary 

greatly. These variations, however, are not too irregular for representation on a map, and in PL XVII there is shown the depth to the 

surface of the sandstone for each 50 feet from 50 to 250 feet. This 

representation is based on observations of the outcrops, which give a 

fairly good idea as to the surface configuration of the formation, and 

on the records of numerous wells which draw their waters from it. 

It will be seen that the depths are quite closely related to the altitude 

of the land above the principal valleys, and that there is also a 

somewhat general increase of depth to the north and northwest. In 

the area in which waters are shown to be obtainable at less than 50 feet 

below the surface the supplies are derived mainly from the Dakota 

sandstone, into which the depressions are excavated. In many portions of these depressions waters are available at considerably less than 

50 feet below ground, but there is great irregularity in this regard.

The water supplies for the city of Lincoln are obtained from three 

pumping stations within the city limits. The Rice well, at Twen.tyfourth and N streets, has a main well 50 feet deep and 40 feet in diameter. In its bottom there are seven wells 6 inches in diameter and 140 

feet deep, from which the water flows up into the large well to within 

15 feet of the ground when the pumps are not in operation. The 

water is almost perfectly fresh. The supply is augmented by six 

6-inch gang wells, 140 feet deep, situated 150 feet south of the main 

well. The total product is stated to be 200,000 gallons a day. At 

the Park well, on F street near Sixth, there is a 50-foot well 75 feet in 

diameter. It contains three 6-inch tubular wells 40 feet deep. The 

water, which is somewhat salty, rises to within 10 feet of the ground, 

and the supply is 200,000 gallons a day. At South and Seventh 

streets there is a supplemental plant, from which the water is quite 

salty. It consists of a gang of 24 points, 55 to 58 feet deep, 4 inches 

in diameter, and yielding 150,000 to 200,000 gallons a day. The 

salinity of the waters used by the city of Lincoln from these three 

plants increases gradually-f rom east to west toward the center of the 

salt-niarsh area which lies along the western margin of the city. 

As the Dakota sandstone contains abundance of fresh water to the 

east and north of Lincoln it seems quite unnecessary that the city 

supplies should be in part drawn from the salt-basin area. Several 

deep borings made in Lincoln and vicinity obtained only salt waters. 

They passed through the Dakota sandstone, which furnishes the 

waters for the shallower wells, far into the Carboniferous limestones 

and underlying formations. The record of the well sunk by the State 

at the southern edge of the Salt Lake, now Burlington Beach, is given in 

fig. 7. This record was drawn mainly from the statements published by 

Mr. B. P. Russell, 1 the geologist who was placed in charge of the well.

1 Sixth Biennial Report of the Commissioner of Public Lands and Buildings to the Governor 

of Nebraska, December 1,1888, pp. 57-84.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 12 PL. XIV

GLACIAL DRIFT ON DAKOTA CLAY IN PITS SOUTHWEST OF INSANE ASYLUM NEAR LINCOLN, NEBRASKA.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPEB N6i 12 PL xv

LOESS ON GLACIAL DRIFT AND DAKOTA CLAY IN CLAY PITS SOUTHWEST OF INSANE ASYLUM NEAR LINCOLN, NEBRASKA.

Loess extends to level of tramway, which is on the thin layer of glacial gravel.
DAKPON,] SECTION OF WELL NEAR LINCOLN.

DAKOTA....... ... ....

C A RBOM IFERO0S .....

Age unknown. ....... ... ^

TRENTON'... ......... J

Gravelly beds and clay ......

Limestones anu shales, with < occasional beds of sandstone.

Magnesian limestones ......<

Very Jine blue limestone ...... 

Heavy dark magnesian limesto

Brine 12". ......

Coal, 4 inches....

Lowest fossils...

Sandstone, 15 ft. 

Red shale, 13ft.

SAINT PETER?.. ...... Sandstone, 60fe feet............... ............

LOWER MAGNESIAN ? . Magnesian limestone, 113 feet

SIOUX QtJARTZITE ? ..

Kea sandstone, 71 *g teet.....

Qnartzite and metamorph 

quartz veins. Color dark red

f

<-

Oaed shale a ad

' it:'3'-:£ t:'''"&'&*

&?"%$$:$

: <? -. 9.". *>'-:6*. -o--

:i'~-s'r-?:Y£:-'-&':

1 \'~T~

-.1 . l lrJ-

-r i i

II LI

"i Trr

~-^_.. ..,. .,,..,,.,,, .,. i 

S 1 i'

==r 77=

i i \ t

U__ i- j.

-' .1 .' ^

=. II '" 1 

^r-V F

J~rL

i t

i i

1 L

1 1

t \

i t 1 i

1 1

^

i >

i i

1 1 ..!_

rV^T"

i i i

1 1 !

 ".'." " f ,''.'.',

Feet.

48 >4

119 

196

 WrrV

600 1&

942

l,918}<i 

1,203^

1,427^

1,813J

1,847^ 

1,867^

2,008

., ml.

2,19234

2,463

FIG. 7. Section of salt well 1 mile west of Lincoln, Nebraska.
30 UNDERGROUND WATERS OP SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. [NO. 12.

The borings were deposited in the museum at the State University, 

in Lincoln. So far as can be judged, the Dakota sandstone began at 

a depth of about 48 feet and extended to a depth of 269 feet 1 inch.

The clays at 208-214 feet, and the sandstone at 214-244 feet and 

248-267 feet appear to be typical Dakota beds. The principal flow of 

water is from a reddish sandstone in the Carboniferous limestone at 

600 feet. It is very saline. A similar flow is obtained at a depth of 

570 feet at the sanitarium in Lincoln, and at 560 feet in the 1,050- 

foot well in the Post-office Square. In the State well another saline 

flow was found at 828 feet. The head of the water at the sanitarium 

is about 1,210 feet above sea level, its pressure being 15 pounds to the 

square inch.

SEWARD COUNTY.

The wells of Seward County draw their supplies from several 

sources. In the valley of West Blue River, in the vicinity of Beaver 

Crossing, there is a considerable area in which artesian flows are 

obtained. In the adjoining plains region the water is in gravels and 

sands underlying the loess. In the drift hills east of Blue River, 

waters are found in sands among the drift deposits and also in the 

underlying Dakota sandstone; and in the valleys of Big Blue River 

and some of its branches there are waters in the basal portions of the 

alluvial beds and in the underlying sands and gravels in which the 

valleys have been excavated. In most areas the supply of water found 

is very abundant, but at some points in the drift hills and about 

Seward the volume is small, so far as now developed.

The artesian area in West Blue Valley has been extensively explored 

by many wells. It begins about 6 miles below Beaver Crossing and 

extends to the western margin of the county on Beaver Creek and 

some distance into York County, up the South Branch Valley. Laterally the area of flow is limited by the lower slopes in the valley. 

About Beaver Crossing the head is sufficient to afford a flow to from 

18 to 23 feet above the bottom lands. The head gradually diminishes 

up and down the valley as the ends of the artesian area are approached. 

The wells vary in depth from 90 to 140 feet, the shallower ones drawing from an upper stratum of water-bearing beds known as the '' first 

flow." In Beaver Crossing the wells are mainly from 102 to 110 feet 

deep. The water is obtained from a bed of sand which lies under a 

sheet of clay extending from 40 to 90 feet. The wells in this artesian 

area are of various sizes, from 1 inch to 4 inches in diameter. The 

flows vary from 10 to 150 gallons a minute. The supposed geologic 

relations in this artesian area are shown in fig. 6, page 26.

It is said that flowing wells have been obtained at Ruby, and in 

one of the attempts to find deep-seated waters near Seward. The 

water at Seward was found at a depth of 336 feet, and, it is claimed, 

flowed out of a pipe 12 feet above ground, but only in small volume. 

This boring was four blocks east and four blocks south of the court-
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 12 PL. XVI

RECENT VALLEY DEPOSITS ALONG SALT CREEK, IN EASTERN PORTION OF LANCASTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA.
DAKTON.] WATER HORIZONS IN SEWARD COUNTY. 31

Black soil.......

house. In a boring reported to have attained a depth of 365 feet, a

half-mile northeast of the court-house, a supply of water was found

which is said to have coine within 10 feet of the top (within 40 feet

according to another authority). In another attempt to find deep

water at Seward a boring was sunk to a depth of 610 feet, where it

was abandoned in a mass of "red ocher" without obtaining a flow.

From a partial record furnished of this boring the diagram, fig. 8, has been drawn.

The red ocher reported in this boring is

probably a highly ferruginous phase of the

Dakota sandstone. If this is the case, it

indicates that at Seward the upper portion

of the Dakota formation is too fine grained

to yield a water supply. It is unfortunate

that the boring was not continued to lower

beds of the formation, for, as they are

usually coarser, they would no doubt have

furnished a water supply.

The principal wells about Seward have a 

depth of about 60 feet and obtain a fair 

supply of water in gravels and sands. At 

Taniora wells average 70 feet in depth and 

contain about 7 feet of water; at Utica the 

average depth of wells is 80 feet and the 

water rises from 1 foot to 2 feet in them. 

Similar conditions prevail over the greater 

part of the plains region in the central and 

western portions of Seward County. At 

Groehner wells are from 82 to 100 feet deep 

and contain 15 feet of water. At Cordova 

they are 105 feet deep and contain 10 feet 

of water. In the valley of Big Blue River, 

in the central and northern portion of the county, the water level is 

usually somewhat less than 50 feet below the ground; at Staplehurst 

it is 10 to 12 feet; at Bee wells average about 50 feet deep; at Germantown, far up among the drift hills, the wells are from 30 to 50 

feet deep and contain from 10 to 15 feet of water.

Through much of the drift-covered country in the eastern portion 

of Seward County waters are obtainable within 50 feet of the surface 

in beds of sand and gravel in the drift. In some cases, however, the 

supplies are scanty and it is necessaiy to sink deeper wells. The 

experience with these deeper wells is exceedingly variable. A few in 

the vicinity of Pleasantdale have been sunk to the Dakota sandstone, 

which usually yields a satisfactory water supply at depths of 50 to 

250 feet, depending upon the altitude of the land. One boring just 

south of the railroad, halfway between Pleasantdale and Milford,

FIG. 8. Record of boring at 

Seward, Nebraska.
32 UNDERGROUND WATERS OP SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. [NO. 12.

penetrated the Dakota sandstone for 40 feet, but found it exceedingly 

hard and almost dry. This, however, appears to be a very exceptional 

condition.

NORTHERN SALINE COUNTY.

Only the northern half of this county was included in the area 

examined in 1896. It is a region in greater part of plains, traversed 

by the North Fork of Turkey Greek, and, near its eastern margin, by 

Big Blue River. East of the wide alluvium and loess plain in the 

valley of this river rise the slopes of the hills of glacial drift which 

are so prominent in the adjoining county of Lancaster. The underground waters which supply the plains region are found in a sheet of 

sand and gravel which underlies the loess. This water-bearing 

stratum lies between 60 and 90 feet below ground over the greater 

part of the plains portion of the county, and yields water to a large 

number of wells. At Friend the water level is 90 feet below ground. 

At Dorchester the town well is 110 feet deep, and the water rises to 

within 98 feet of the surface of the ground.

Along the valley of Turkey Greek and Big Blue River water supplies of greater or less amount are obtained at depths mainly of 30 

to 40 feet. The shallower wells at Crete have a depth of about 40 

feet, with a water surface 15 feet below ground. In deep wells, 

sunk for larger supplies for the city, a depth of 155 feet is attained, 

probably to the top of the Dakota sands. The wells contain 139 

feet of water, the water level being 16 feet below ground. On the 

slopes of the drift hills east of Blue River the waters occur in a very 

irregular manner. Many of the wells are between 40 and 80 feet in 

depth, and obtain satisfactory water supplies. Other wells have 

been sunk to depths of from 120 to 180 feet, notably in an area at the 

head of Salt Creek, 4 miles southeast of Crete.

The Dakota sandstone underlies this county at no great depth, and 

might be expected to furnish water supplies, but few attempts have 

yet been made to reach the formation, as usually sufficient water for 

local use has been obtained in overlying deposits.

YORK" COUNTY.

The greater part of York County is underlain by formations containing large supplies of water, which are in greater part available 

for wells less than 100 feet in depth. In two small districts on the 

higher plains the depths to the waters are slightly over 100 feet. 

These are south of McGool and on the north side of Lincoln Creek 

north of Braclshaw, where the wells are from 110 to 140 feet in depth, 

and contain from 10 to 30 feet of water, bringing the water level not 

much more than 100 feet below ground.

In the depressions of Blue River and its branches and of Beaver 

and Lincoln creeks it is only necessary to sink from 20 to 40 or 50 

feet for abundant water supplies, which come from the same water-
DABTON.] WATER HORIZONS IN YORK COUNTY. 33

bearing l^eds as those which lie at greater depth beneath the higher 

lands. The greater number of wells in York have a depth of about 

35 feet and contain 12 feet of water. In the higher land in the northern part of the town the waters lie about 30 feet deeper. 

The following are a few representative wells of York County:

Wells in York County.

Locality.

McCool ___.._.... _.,_....______._._

Lushton ___..__.--.-_._. ____.__

Bradshaw . .............^. ........

Benedict-... - -.. ......... . . .

Graham.. ..-....,....._..... . ...

Waco town wells.--.-.. -- .........

Waco ...... _- .........-...... .

Depth.

Feet. 

15-25

110

80

94

90-106 

100

120

102

Depth of 

water in

wells.

Feet. 

2-5

20

r

4

15-20

30

8-10

In the wide plain between McCool and York the water surface averages about 80 feet below ground, but it presents some slight variations. 

The greater number of the wells are from 80 to 100 feet deep. At 

Lushton another bed of water-bearing material also occurs, at a depth 

of 65 feet. On the plains between Beaver Creek and Turkey Creek 

the wells are 85 feet deep, and contain 15 feet of water. At Houston 

the water does not rise above the gravel in which it is contained.

North of Lincoln Creek the conditions are somewhat more variable, 

but the greater number of wells obtain abundant supplies of water, 

which rises to within 80 feet of the surface of the ground. In Arborville, which is on relatively low laud, the town wells are 35 to 50 feet 

in depth, and the water rises to within 30 feet of the surface of the 

ground. In the adjacent higher lands the wells are from 50 to 100 feet 

in depth. At Waco the water rises 4 to 5 feet above the point where 

first reached.

The western extremity of the Beaver Crossing artesian area extends 

up the lowlands in the valley of South Branch of Blue River, in the 

extreme eastern part of this county. There are only a few flowing 

wells, but they obtain a fair supply of water from depths varying 

from 110 to 134 feet. Ascending the river, one finds the head gradually decreasing until no flow is obtainable; descending, an increased 

head is found, which at its greatest is sufficient to give a flow at 10 

feet above the level of the bottom, land.

Some years ago an attempt was made to obtain an artesian flow 

just south of York, at the Russian mill, where a depth of 590 feet 

IRE 12 3
34 UNDERGROUND WATERS OP SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. [NO. 12.

was attained. It is stated that a flow was found at a depth of 530 

feet, which spouted 2 feet above the top of a tube extending 14 feet 

above ground; but this statement could not be authenticated satisfactorily. A small flow was reported at 290 (or 390?) feet. There 

also appears to be uncertainty in regard to the record of the boring, 

but according to the most consistent statement, there was fine-grained 

material to 93 feet, sand and gravel from 93 to 100 feet, shale from 

199 feet for a considerable depth, and sandstone at the bottom, in 

which the drill stuck at a depth of 590 feet. The sandstone may possibly be the Dakota formation.

A deep boring was started at McCool, but it was abandoned at a 

depth of 150 feet. The following record was furnished by Mr. D. C. 

Kirns, the borer:

Feet.

0- 30......'.Loam.

30.. ....Water.

30- 70......Sand.

70-100..... .Yellow clay.

100-107......Soft white rock.

107-118 ------ Blue sand and water.

118-150......Tough blue clay, with a 2-foot rock layer.

FILLMORE COUNTY.

In this county the conditions are very similar to those of York 

County. There are fewer deep valleys, and over the wide, level plains 

area the wells find abundant water supplies, which usually rise to 

within from 60 to 90 feet of the surface of the ground. Some of the 

wells have gone deeper to secure larger volumes of water, but the 

level to which the water rises is nearly constant over the area. Some 

representative wells are as follows:

Wells in FUlmore County.

Locality.

Fairmont ....___......._...--..-.__

Railroad station... ........__...

Sawyer ......._.... ......__....

Saronville, town wells. ---......-.__

Exeter ___._-_.____.___._.._._._..__

Martland ......... _ ____________ .

Shickley ___ __.________.._._ ._.-_-

Depth.

Feet. 

30-70

237

130

65-75

140

80

80-100

40

96

85-100

Depth of 

water in 

wells.

Feet. 

15-20

157

35

12-20

60

15

15-30

15

5

5-10
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 12 PL. XVIII

7^^

sS^ai^^

IV^T^S-"^- e^ ns~r "-^^nT^SSarrttb^?

11 _ » CLAV- -^

SECTIONS ILLUSTRATING SOME SPECIAL CONDITIONS AFFECTING UNDERGROUND WATERS 

IN SOUTH-CENTRAL NEBRASKA.
DAETON.] WATER HORIZONS IN HAMILTON COUNTY. 35

3 sand .

Light-yellow and gray clay .

Fine sand.

Light-yellow clay .

A record of the well at the railroad station at Fairinont is given in 

fig. 9.

Some tubular wells in the neighborhood of Saronville are from 140 

to 150 feet deep, with large volume of water. At Exeter the waterbearing beds are exceptionally near the surface of the ground.

HAMILTON COUNTY.

«

This county comprises a wide area of plains, its northwest corner 

extending, however, part way across Platte Valley.. It is underlain 

by a sheet of water-bearing gravels and sands that are exposed in the 

deep valleys of several branches of Blue River which traverse the central and eastern portions of the county. On the plains surface lying 

between these valleys the water-bearing stratum, is covered with loess 

to depths of from 50 to 80 feet. In the valley of Platte River the 

principal water supplies are in the allu- Feet 

vial gravels and sands at depths less 

than 25 feet.

In the greater part of the plains area 

the water-bearing beds lie from 60 to 90 

feet below ground. In a few small areas 

about Aurora and northwestward the 

water level lies deeper than 100 feet, but, 

so far as ascertained, good supplies are 

always obtainable within 125 feet of the 

surface, the water usually rising to within 

100 to 110 feet of the surface of the 

ground. At Aurora the principal wells have a depth of 110 to 125 

feet, with the water level 100 feet below ground. About Bromfield 

(Giltner post-office) the wells average from 75 to 95 feet in depth and 

generally contain from 6 to 15 feet of water. About Phillips the water 

level averages about 90 feet below ground. At Marquette the wells 

vary in depth from 100 to 130 feet. The town well is 130 feet deep, 

and the water rises to within 97 feet of the surface of the ground. In 

another well, 105 feet deep, the water level stands within 99 feet of the 

surface. At Hampton wells average from 85 to 105 feet in depth, with 

the water level at about 80 feet below ground. In the valley of Platte 

River the water level lies from 5 to 8 feet below ground in the vicinity 

of the river and for a mile and a half westward, beyond which for a 

wide area the water level seldom exceeds a depth of 15 or 20 feet 

below ground. In the depressions along the branches of Blue River 

which traverse the central and eastern portions of this county there 

are usually excellent water supplies to be had within 30 or 40 feet 

of the surface, and there is considerable running water in the stream, 

derived partly from the outcrops of water-bearing beds which furnish supplies of water for the moderately deep wells on the higher 

lands.

Gravel with water..........

Hard clay, 1 j£ feet.........

Coarse gravel, with water ..

Pia. 9. Record of deep well at Fairmont, Nebraska.
36 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. [NO. 12.

CLAY COUNTY.

This county lies altogether on the high plains, and wide areas of its 

surface have only a gentle, uniform slope toward the east. In the 

northern portion of the county there are broad troughs cut by branches 

of the South Branch of Blue River, and the southwestern corner of the 

county is crossed by the valley of Little Blue River. The relations 

of the underground waters are very simple, the water-bearing stratum 

consisting of gravels and sand lying beneath the loess and dipping 

gently eastward at a rate very little less than the slope of the plains 

surface. The water level is about 60 or 70 feet below ground over 

wide areas, and it is rarely necessary to sink a well to a depth of 

more than 120 feet to obtain an abundant supply. A large number 

of wells have a depth slightly less than 100 feet and contain from 10 

to 15 feet of water. In the vicinity of Inland and Truinbull there are 

a few wells in which the waters lie a little deeper than 100 feet.

In the depressions of Little Blue and the branches of Big Blue 

rivers, waters are obtainable at depths of 20 to 40 feet in greater part. 

At Fairfield the wells vary from 80 to 100 feet in depth and contain 

large supplies of water, which rises about 10 feet above the bottom.

At Harvard the wells are generally slightly less than 100 feet deep, 

but a few have gone somewhat deeper to obtain larger volumes of 

water. At Clay Center the wells average 100 feet in depth, with 

the water level at about 85 feet below ground; at Inland, 120 feet, 

with the water level 110 feet; at Truinbull, 115 to 120 feet, with the 

water level 110 feet^ at Glenville, 103 feet, with the water level 97feet; 

at Saronville, 80 feet, with the water level 65 feet; at Button, 140 feet, 

with the water level 80 feet. At Deweese the wells average from 

40 to 50 feet in depth and contain from 10 to 15 feet of water. At 

Edgar the wells are 88 feet deep, with 8 feet of water. At Ong the 

wells average 80 feet deep, with from 1 to 3 feet of water.

HALL COUNTY.

The greater part of this county lies in the valley of Platte River. 

In its southwestern corner there is a level area of plains country 60 

to 80 feet higher, and in the northwestern corner an area of plains 

ridges and sand dunes, with the valley of the South Fork of Loup 

River beyond.

In the wide valley of Platte River the relations of the underground 

waters are very uniform. The supplies are large and the depth to the 

water surface is very slight. In the immediate vicinity of the river 

there is a narrow belt of country in which the water level is less than 

10 feet below ground. About Grand Island and westward it lies 

from 15 to 20 feet deep in greater part, but in some of the lower areas 

it is nearer the surface of the ground. In the plains region about 

Doniphan and southwestward the waters lie between 60 and 100 feet
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 12 PL. XIX

SPRING FROM DAKOTA SANDSTONE ALONG MISSOURI RIVER NEAR MOUTH OF PLATTE RIVER, SARPY COUNTY, NEBRASKA.
DABTON.] WATER HORIZONS IN ADAMS COUNTY. 37

below ground, the depth increasing somewhat in the higher land west 

of Hansen. The tubular wells in this vicinity are usually sunk to a 

depth of 130 feet, but have the same water level as the shallower borings. In the higher ridges southwest of Cairo the wells ordinarily 

obtain satisfactory water supplies, but have to be sunk to a depth of 

120 to 140 feet. At the waterworks in Grand Island there are thirtysix 2-inch driven wells, 54 feet deep, in which water rises to within 

16 feet of the surface of the ground. There are pumped from these 

wells 1,000,000 gallons per day. Moderate supplies of water are found 

within 20 feet of the surface, but it was necessary to go considerably 

deeper to obtain the town supply.

About Abbott the wells are from 25 to 40 feet deep, with the water 

level at about 18 feet below ground. At Cairo the wells on the 

higher land are 60 feet deep and contain 35 feet of water.

In the Loup Valley the conditions are similar to those in the Platte 

Valley eastward.

ADAMS COUNTY.

The underflow from Platte River passes southeastward under 

Adams County through sands and gravels which present everywhere 

relatively uniform relations. The waters are more or less free to 

 escape into the valley of Little Blue River, which quite deeply 

trenches the plains region in the southern portion of this county. 

The depth to the waters varies closely in relation to the altitude of 

the land, making due allowance, however, for the uniform slope of 

both the land and the water-bearing beds to the east and southeast.

In the higher portion of the plains separating the valley of Platte 

River from that of Little Blue River the water level lies between 100 

and 125 feet beneath the surface over considerable areas, as shown 

in PL XVII. On the less elevated areas adjacent, the depths are considerably less usually from 60 to 80 feet; while in the valley of Platte 

River, in the extreme northwestern corner of the county, and in the 

depressions of Little Blue River and its branches to the south, the 

waters are very near the surface of the ground. At Hastings a large 

supply of water for city use is obtained from seven wells sunk to a 

depth averaging 140 feet and containing about 20 feet of water. An 

attempt was made to obtain water from a deeper source (300 feet), but 

the 120-foot horizon was found to be the most serviceable.

Some years ago a deep boring was made at Hastings for oil or gas, 

which has thrown some light on the deeper underground geology of 

the region. A record published by W. W. Follett 1 is here reproduced 

in graphic form in fig. 10 (p. 38).

From another authority it was learned that the total depth was 

1,346^ feet, the lower 370 feet being reported as " soft shale limestone,

1 Report on Irrigation, 53d Gong., 1st sess., Senate, Ex. Doc. 41, Part II, Washington, 1893, 

PI. XXV.
38 UNDERGROUND WATERS OP SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Uto.il

Alluvial soil and clay.

Gravel and sand, foil of wate 

Clay with boulders; very hard

Gravel and sand, fall of water 

Yellow clay...... '.........

Gray ocher; darter below ....

sand, and gravel, with seashells at 1,300 feet." Hard limestone 1£

feet thick was reported 

at 775 to 776 feet, soft 

limestone and shale from 

776 to 801^ feet, and light 

shale and lime rock from 

930£ to 976| feet. The 

shale was stated to be 

hard from 250 to 500 feet 

and soft from 500 to 775 

feet.

At Juniata wells are of 

somewhat variable depth, 

but they average slightly 

less than 100 feet and 

contain about 10 feet of 

water. At Kenesaw, wells 

from 90 to 115 feet deep 

have their water level 

at about 80 feet below 

ground. At Prosser the 

town well has a depth of 

115 feet, with the water 

level 112 feet below 

ground, slightly deeper 

than in the adjoining region to the north. At 

Hansen the water level 

lies about 70 feet deep. 

At Roseland the wells 

average from 80 to 105 

feet in depth, with the 

water level about 80 feet 

below ground. At Hoistein the wells are 130 feet 

deep, and contain 25 feet 

of water. At Pauli-ne 

wells vary from 85 to 105 

feet, with the water level 

at from 80 to 90 feet, depending upon the proximity to Little Blue River. 

At Ayr a fairly satisfactory supply of water is 

found at a depth of 30

Strouge vein of salt water to 300; 50 per cent salt..

Blue shale\

fine, round sand; water probable. 1.144

1.145

PIG. 10. -Record of deep boring at Hastings, Nebraska.

above the bottom of the boring, and the supply varies with the weather.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 12 PL. XX

Carboniferous, etc., under drift. Dakota outcrops. Carboniferous out: Niobrara outcrops.

MAP SHOWING CONTOUR AND RELATIONS OF SURFACE OF DAKOTA SANDSTONE IN THE 

VICINITY OF LINCOLN, NEBRASKA.

The heavy black lines indicate altitudes above sea level of the surface of the Dakota sandstone. The broken lines 

indicate depressions cut in this surface since the Glacial period, the dotted lines showing the original configuration. 

The arrows point to the direction of slope. Present drainage shown by broken-and-dotted lines.

L

E.

Sx.

Wv.

Pr.

Ct

F

Lincoln.

Emerald.

Saltillo

Waverly.

Prmceton.

Cortland.

Firth.

W.

xxP.

Ci.

M.

D.

R.

C

Woodlawn,

Pleasantdale.

Crete.

Malcomb.

Davey.

Raymond.

Cheney.

B.

Pn.

G.

hi.

R.

sl

Bennett

Panama

Germantown

Hallam.

Rokeby

Sprague.

He.

A,

Pe.

H.

P.

W.

Hickman.

Asylum.

Penitentiary.

Havelock.

Prairie Home.

Walton.
DARTON.] WATER HORIZONS. 39

BUFFALO COUNTY.

Buffalo County comprises portions of the Platte and Wood River 

and South Fork of Loup River valleys, with wide areas of intervening 

high plains. The depths of the underground waters are closely related 

to the altitude of the land above Platte River, the water-bearing 

strata sloping eastward at about the same degree of inclination as the 

slope of the general surface. As the valley of South Fork of Loup 

River is somewhat lower than the 

bed of Platte River, and there 

are beds of permeable material 

extending under the high plains 

from one to the other, there is a 

sheet of water under Buffalo 

County which is probably moving toward the northeast. This 

sheet of water furnishes a large 

volume to many wells in all parts 

of the county. _ Immediately 

along Platte River the wells are 

very shallow, the water rising to 

within from 5 to 9 feet of the 

surface of the ground. This area 

of shallow wells widens considerably in the vicinity of Gibbon, 

and extends for some miles, nearly 

to the Union Pacific Railroad. 

At Gibbon the water level is 

within 10 feet of the surface and 

furnishes large supplies to wells 

from 25 to 35 feet in depth.

.Next north of this zone and 

occupying the remainder of the 

wide valley of Platte River, with 

an extension up the valley of 

Wood River, there is a wide area 

in which the water surface lies 

between 15 and 40 feet below 

ground, and similar conditions 

exist along the valley of the South Fork of Loup River. At Kearney the principal supplies of water are obtained 20 feet below ground 

in wells from 25 to 35 feet deep in greater part, the depth increasing 

somewhat and the altitude of the water surface decreasing notably 

from south to north across the city.

At Odessa wells are 20 feet deep; at Elm Creek 14 feet. At 

Riverdale, in Wood River Valley, wells 102 feet deep contain 77 feet 

of water, but other shallower wells in the vicinity have water at the

FIG. 11. Map showing location of gage wells at 

Kearney, Nebraska.
40 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. [NO. 12.

same level. At Amherst the water level is 25 feet below ground. 

At Watertown the wells are 85 feet deep. At Miller the town wells 

are 73-J- feet deep and contain 40 feet of water. At Sartoria wells are 

22 feet deep and contain 12 feet of water. At Pleasanton they are 15 

feet deep. At Ravenna it is found necessary to go to a depth of 60 

feet for a good flow, but the water rises to within 20 feet of the surface. Surface waters of relatively poor quality are found at a depth 

of 30 feet, which rise to the same level.

Over the greater part of the ridge south of the South Fork of 

the Loup River the water surface is generally from 100 to 150 feet 

below ground toward the valleys. Along the central ridge north of 

Arnherst is a tract in which it is found necessary to go somewhat 

deeper, the wells having a depth of 170 to 250 feet, with the water 

level about 150 feet below ground. In the ridge extending northwest of Kearney between the Platte Valley and the valley of Wood 

River the conditions are similar to those in the land north of Wood 

River, and they are the same along the northern edge of the county, 

north of the South Fork of Loup River.

zoo

FIG. 13. Profile of line of wells along Central avenue, Kearney, Nebraska. 

GAG] 3 WELLS AT KEARNEY.

A series of wells were sunk under the direction of Prof. O. V. P. 

Stout during the spring of l;896. These were located in a nearly northsouth line, at distances of ^ibotit one-half mile from each other. The 

first, or No. 1, is in the sand hills 2^ miles south of the bridge across 

Platte River at Kearney, on the main road. Nos. 2, 3, and 4 are successively one-half mile apart north from No. 1. No. 5 is on the sotith 

bank of the river. There is also near this a gage rod, marked in the 

table "S. R.," this being the southerly gage, showing the height 

of open water. About the middle of the bridge is a well, known as 

" 5a," T3unk in the low island, submerged at high water. At the north 

end of the bridge is th,e gage rod marked in the table "N. R.," about 

one-half mile from well No. 6, on the north side of the river. This 

well was tampered with and subsequently replaced, readings being 

begun on Atigust 17. The remaining wells, Nos. 7, 8, 9, and 10, are
U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

WEST

:''. 'Dakota '.-'.Sandstone ' '.'.' * '.' . ' ' '

 .'.'Dakota-:Sanaston"e.- .' : .. ..'. 

.' *.".'! *.'.' '. -.' '. '. Dakota''san'dston~e. '-' ." '." '." "'«1I;'^'. . ; .' 

.'«'.*.' .' '.''. '.*'.'.' .'. ' .''.'.' .' '. ' .'' Dakota.Sandstone .' '. '.-.' ^^ ?'

Dakota-Sandstone'. .'. '. ' 

 . ' . . . . . '?^f*

lL_*_,i, i- i . ~ / '. > -.- - -^^ ^ r-rr~-I-IZ______-~ 

T: : ':'. .;.'. ' . I ' .'. . '.' '. ..' ; Dakota -.Sandstone ; ,\\- ; '; /-; *.' - /

-.- . ^-r^-~ . . . r-r-; ."..' ',.' ' 

. / : ' ', Dakota. Sandstone'.' ." 1* . ' .' .:; ... 

HORIZONTAL SCALES

i i 4

VERTICAL SCALES =J°°FEET. 

MILES

CROSS SECTIONS SHOWING RELATIONS OF DAKOTA SANDSTONE IN TH
DABTON.] WELLS HEAR KEARNEY. 41

on Central avenue in Kearney, Nos. 9 and 10 being a short distance 

north of Midway Hotel. The elevations of the tops of the well casings, 

as determined by careful leveling, and of the zeros of the two rods, 

are given in the following list, referred to the Union Pacific datum:

Elevation of top of tvell casing ; wells near Kearney.

Well.

No.l.......

No.2..._._.

No.3_..-._.

No. 4.......

No.5. ..__-.

No.S.R..--

No. 5a _ . . . .

Elevation.

Feet. 

2,157

2, 148. 96

2, 145. 97

2,143.01

2,141.88

2, 137. 57

2,139.99

Well.

"NO.N. B-...

No. 6.. ......

No.7.-----_.

No.8._......

No.9_ ....

No. 10.......

Elevation.

Feet. 

2, 137. 49

2, 139. 50

2, 142. 66

2, 146. 31

2, 149. 82

2,154.85

The following table gives the reading of distance of the water surface below the top of the well easing:

Distance of water surface belotv top of well casing; uiells near Kearney.

Date.

April .-

May ...

June.--

Jnly 

Aug ...

Sept...

Oct ...

Nov ...

Dec ....

Day.

19

36

3

10

18

25

1

8

18

23

30

9

16

13

17

&

39

5

13

19

38

4

11

18

36

31

8

15

31

30

7

13

19

29

1.

16.50

16.04

16.85

16.50

16.55

16.43

16.40

16.80

15.39

15.50

15.43

15.69

15.71

15.75

15.80

15.84

15.88

15.91

15.93

At>. 1H tFVOK

15.97

16.00

16.03

16.05

16.08

16.11

16.13

16.16

16.14

».

9.90

9.50

9.10

9.40

9.36

9.45

9.05

9.28

9.56

9.60

9.61

9.38

9.85

8.65

8.78

8.75

8.84

8.85

8.89

8.94

8.67

9.01

9.05

9.06

9

11 

. .i-i.

9. AO1*1 

9.18

9.20

9.23

9.24

9.27

9.39

9.33

9.35

3.

7.00

6.40

6.10

6.85

6.45

6.63

6.55

6.62

6.83

6.90

6.70

6.61

7.10

6.36

6.42

5.81

6.53

6.56

6.60

6.65

6.68

6.72

6.76

6.77

6.70

6. 7Q l«7

6.74

6.69

6.73

6.76

6.65

6.57

6.53

6.54

4.

3.30

3.80

3.10

3.40

3.10

3.38

2-93

3.10

3.85

3.45

3.15

3.18

3.61

4.09

4.00

4.02

4.16

4.20

4.24

4.18

4.07

4.05

4.05

3.97

3.94

3.90

3.82

3.76

3.76

3.72

3.65

3.59

3.54

3.55

5.

2.90

3.00

3.90

3.00

3.85

3.05

3.83

3.02

3.40

3.50

3.12

3.15

3.72

2. 76

2.81

2.93

3.95

3.87

3.96

2.75

2.81

2.84

2.81

2.78

3 on . oil

3

tiK 

. DO

2.54

2.71

2.55

3.39

2.50

2.52

2.46

2.45

S.R.

1.11

0.98

0.89

-0.52

 0.17

0.84

1.07

1.03

0.95

1.01

1.03

1.03

1.15

1.82

1.13

1.39

1.35

1.29

1.52

1.36

5a.

1.94

1.70

2.49

2.53

1.57

1.39

1.35

1.40

1.49

1.42

1 A9 I. %4

1.10

1.25

Frozen

0.98

Frozen

Frozen

N.R.

1.20

1.36

1.09

-0.43

 0.23

 0.07

1.23

1.18

1.16

0.79

1.C6

0.68

1.34

1.94

1.38

1.58

0.86

1.45

1.51

1.53

«.

1.30

1.94

2.15

2.61

2.69

2.63

1.95

1.96

1.99

2.13

1.89

1.75

1.39

1.28

1.95

2.04

1.82

1.87

1.55

1.75

2.00

V.

6.70

6.20

6.50

6.20

6.55

6.80

5.90.

6.01

5.81

5.89

5.68

5.59

6.01

6.08

6.25

6.11

6.35

6.30

6.41

6.27

6.16

6.12

6.15

6.04

6.06

6.06

6.08

6.11

6.08

6.13

6.15

6.06

6.00

5.98

8.

11.50

11.00

11.40

11.15

11.80

11.37

10.92

11.10

10.75

10.80

10.61

10.35

10.98

10.56

10.59

10.94

10.63

10.67

10.73

10.76

10.80

10.75

10.79

10.85

10.76

10.98

10.80

10.82

10.77

9.

17.70

17.10

17.60

17.35

17.10

17.36

16.95

17.10

16.98

17.10

16.76

16.68

17.30

16.05

16.05

16.08

16.16

16.13

16.15

16.21

16.25

16.35

16.29

16.30

16.33

16.30

16.36

16.38

16.41

16.45

16.40

16.43

16.45

16.41

1O.

33.10

23.70

23.10

23 90

33.50

23.65

23.15

23.28

32.95

23.20

22.65

23.83

23.31

22.06

32.14

22.13

23.15

22.12

22.14

23.23

32.25

22.25

22.29

22.30

22.33

23.30

32.32

22.36

22.39

23.47

22.40

23.39

22.40

22.43
42 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. [NO. 12.

KEARNEY COUNTY.

Kearney County extends from Platte River far southward across 

the divide between the Platte and Republican rivers. The greater 

part of its area is high, level plains, terminated northward by the 

Platte Valley along a zone bordered by sand hills. Little Blue River 

heads in the eastern part of the county and has cut a moderately 

deep valley north of Norman. The underground waters lie in a sheet 

of gravels and sand which slopes gently to the east and southeast. 

Under the higher land in the central and southwestern portion of 

the county they lie from 100 to 155 feet below ground. To the 

north and east the depth diminishes gradually, and in the lower 

lands along Platte Valley they are only a few feet below ground. 

At Minden the water level is 80 feet below ground, but ordinarily 

wells are sunk 40 or 50 feet into the water-bearing beds.

As the land rises to the southeast the underground waters lie deeper, 

but as the water-bearing horizon also rises gradually to the west the 

increase in depth does not correspond precisely with the increased 

altitude of the land. At Keene the water level is about 105 feet 

below ground, and wells are sunk to a depth of 120 to 160 feet. 

North of Wilcox the water level varies from 110 to 135 feet in a rather 

irregular manner; and to the south, as the land rises rapidly in the 

southwestern corner of the county, the water level is found to be considerably over 150 feet below ground. At Axtel the water level 

closely approximates 100 feet below ground, being a little less to 

the north and a little more to the south. At Norman the town 

wells have a depth of 100 to 125 feet, with the water level at about 95 

feet below ground. About Hartwell the water level is about 65 

feet deep, but is somewhat deeper than this in the village. Along 

the belt of sand hills the waters are obtained at various depths, but 

often fair supplies are yielded by moderately shallow wells. On the 

lower lands in the Platte Valley the waters are rarely over 45 feet 

below ground, the depth gradually decreasing toward the river. 

About Lowell the water surface is from 6 to 9- feet below ground; at 

Newark it averages about 8 feet, but wells ordinarily are sunk 8 or 

10 feet into the water-bearing beds.

PHBLPS COUNTY.

The configuration and relations in Phelps County are similar to 

those of Kearney County, but the fiat-topped divide between the 

Platte and Republican valleys is a somewhat more elevated ridge. 

Along the southern margin of the county.the land slopes toward 

Republican River, and in the southwestern corner of the county, 

which was not investigated as to its water resources, there are deep 

canyons which contain head waters of small lateral branches of
WATER HORIZONS IN DAWSOtf COUNTY. 43

Republican River. The underground waters lie in a sheet of gravel 

and sand, which dips southeastward, but presents some local variations in the regularity of its inclination. The dip of the beds to the 

southeast is slightly legs than the upward slope of the land southwestward, so that to the north and east the waters lie at a less depth 

than they do farther west. In the highest area of the plains, southwest of Holdrege, the water level lies over 200 feet below ground. 

The depth decreases regularly northeastward to the edge of the plains 

south of the valley of Platte River. In the valley of Platte River 

there is a narrow strip of land along the river in which the water 

level is less than 10 feet below ground, but southward, through the 

belt of sand hills to the edge of the valley, the waters lie mainly 

within 25 feet of the surface of the ground.

At Holdrege the city wells have a depth of 200 feet and contain 60 

feet of water. The 'water level in the vicinity is very uniformly at 

140 to 160 feet below ground. At Atlanta it is 180 feet below ground; 

about Sacramento it varies from 120 to 140 feet; at Funk it is 125 

feet; at Axtel, 100 feet; and at Loomis, 180 to 190 feet.

DAWSON COUNTY.

The underground waters of Dawson County present a wide range 

of variation in their depths, from very near the surface in the immediate vicinity of Platte River to over 300 feet in the high lands in the 

northwestern portion of the county.

The water level corresponds quite closely in altitude with the bed 

of Platte River and has a similar gentle inclination to the east and 

southeast. The exceptional depth of the waters in the northern portion of the county is therefore mainly due to the altitude of the land 

above the river, but it is in some measure increased by a diminished 

quantity of water in the upper beds of the water-bearing series^ The 

zone in which the water surface is less than 10 feet below ground is 

narrow along the south side of Platte River, but extends ^o and 

beyond the Union Pacific Railroad at some points east of Lex|ngton, 

and it is unusually wide in the vicinity of Cozad. In Cozad an excellent supply of water is obtainable at depths of 6 to 8 feet below 

ground in wells from 20 to 30 feet deep. About Lexington the water 

surface is from 21 to 22 feet below ground, and wells average from 

25 to 35 feet in depth. Similar conditions prevail over n wide 

belt extending northward to the base of the slopes which rise) to the 

table-land lying between the valleys of Platte and the South Fork 

of Loup rivers, the depths gradually increasing as the land gains in 

latitude.

North from Cozad, where the bottom of the valley has a relatively 

rapid rise, there is a considerable area within the valley where the 

water surface is over 50 feet below ground and wells are between 

100 and 120 feet deep. In the high ground lying between the valleys
44 UNDERGROUND WATERS OP SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. t»o.l2.

of Platte and Wood rivers, and again on the north side of the valley 

of Wood River, the waters lie at a depth below ground in proportion to the increasing height of the land. Eastward in this region 

there are wells which obtain water supplies within 200 feet of the 

surface of the ground, but westward the water surface rises less rapidly than the land surface, and it is necessary to go considerably 

deeper for water supplies. In this portion of the county the greater 

number of wells are sunk in depressions, to avoid the necessity for 

sinking them to the depth necessary on the higher ridges. Wells on 

the higher lands are over 300 feet deep.

In the valley of Wood River the water surface lies from 25 to 35 

feet below ground in greater part, and yields satisfactory supplies 

to many wells of moderate depth. At Sumner the principal supplies are obtained from wells 93 feet deep, in which the water surface 

is 25 feet below ground.

In the south-central portion of Dawson County there are abundant 

water supplies at moderate depth in the valley of Platte River, 

obtained in wells from 25 to 30 feet deep jiear the river and from 35 

to 45 feet deep back toward the foot of the upland. Southward, on 

the top of the table-land, the water surface lies from 220 to 250 feet 

below ground in greater part, but there are a few local exceptions. 

The wells are mainly tubular and have depths of 222 to 285 feet.

NORTHERN GOSPEE COUNTY.

The greater part of this region is an elevated plain, invaded from 

the south by many canyons at the heads of branches of the Republican River, and traversed northward by the wide, deep valley of 

Plum Creek. Its northeastern corner extends to Platte River and 

covers a small area along the south side of the valley of Platte River. 

The underground waters lie at approximately the same altitude as the 

bed of Platte River, with a gentle general slope to the east and southeast. The waters are in a great sheet which is probably flowing very 

slowly to the east, and in some measure to the south into the deep 

valley of Republican River. The depth to the water surface is closely 

related to the altitude of the land above Platte River.

Along the central area of plains constituting the divide between 

Plum Creek and waters draining into the Republican River the water 

surface lies from 180 to 280 feet below ground, the increase being quite 

regular to the west. About Smithfield wells have a depth of 240 feet 

and contain 18 feet of water; at El wood the depth is 320 feet and the 

wells contain 20 feet of water. On the high lands between Plum 

Creek and the Platte Valley the water surface lies 150 feet below 

ground north of Smithfield, and between 200 and 220 feet north of 

Elwood and in the extreme northwestern corner of the county. Along 

Plum Creek, waters are usually obtained within 150 feet of the surface 

in the western part of the county, and within 50 feet of the surface in
DABTON.] PROSPECTS FOE DEEPEE-SEATED WATERS. 45

the eastern part of the county, the rate of decrease being fairly regular as the valley is descended. In the valley of Platte River, in 

the northeastern corner of the county, the water surface lies within 

6 feet of the ground surface immediately adjoining the river, and 

within from 20 to 30 feet toward the foot of the highlands. '

PROSPECTS FOR DEEPER-SEATED WATERS.

Although a number of deep borings have been made in the central 

and western portions of the area to which this report pertains, they 

appear not to have gone to a depth sufficient to reach the formations 

in which water supplies might be expected. A boring at Kearney 

attained a depth stated to be 2,460 feet, where it was discontinued, far 

down in the Pierre shale. One at Hastings reached a depth of 1,145 

feet; one at Dannebrog a depth of 1,000 feet; one at York, 590 feet; 

and one at Seward was bored to a depth of 610 feet. At the latter 

place the Dakota sandstone appears to have been penetrated, but it 

did not yield a flow. In the other borings this formation was not 

reached.

In South Dakota the Dakota sandstone carries a very large volume 

of excellent water under high pressure which is available over a wide 

area in the eastern part of the State and in the depressions of the 

Missouri and confluent valleys. This water passes into the formations 

along the foothills of the Black Hills and the Rocky Mountains at 

altitudes of from 3,000 to 5,000 feet, and has a great pressure and high 

head in the eastern part of South Dakota. This pressure and head 

diminishes gradually toward the southeast, and finally in the extreme 

corner of the State flowing water can not be obtained. This is due 

to the fact that the formation reaches the surface along Big Sioux 

River and the Missouri River below Vermilion, so that the waters 

are free to escape and thus lose their volume and pressure. Precisely 

the same conditions are found in the northeastern corner of Kebraska, 

and it is reasonable to believe that they may be found to be essentially the same over a wide area in central Nebraska, especially on 

the lower plains and along such valleys as the Platte, where the land 

is not elevated much higher than in the eastern part of South Dakota.

The Dakota sandstones outcrop in Lancaster and adjoining counties, where they are free to lose their water, and this is also the case 

with the upper members of the Carboniferous formations which outcrop extensively in the counties east and southeast of Lancaster. 

In this area the Dakota sandstone is seen to be full of water in hundreds of wells which have been sunk in it, and from its outcrops flow 

innumerable springs, which do much toward filling the small streams 

of Lancaster County. These waters are in all probability largely 

derived from, an intake zone along the western outcrops, and it is 

believed that much of the water passes under the entire length of the 

State of Nebraska, as shown in PL IV, to the wells and springs which
46 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. [NO. 12.

extend along a zone of outcrop of Dakota sandstone in Lancaster, 

Gage, Saunders, Dodge, Burt, Thurston, and Dakota counties. A 

typical spring in this belt is shown in PL XIX. Of course these 

waters have but very slight head in Lancaster County, but they nearly 

all rise at least a few feet in the wells which are sunk to them. Westward, however, away from the zone of leakage, we should expect the 

pressure to gradually increase, as it does to the north and west in 

South Dakota. Whether the increase would be at a sufficiently rapid 

rate to give flows at the surface in the central and western portion of 

the area to which this report relates can not be predicted from our 

present means of calculation.

In the following diagram I have introduced a sketch of a piece of 

physical apparatus which illustrates the increase of head away from 

the leak toward the source of pressure, representing closely the relations which appear in the South Dakota artesian basin, and probably 

in a measure also those of central and eastern Nebraska. It will be 

seen that the gradient is a relatively rapid one, but we must bear in

FIG. 13. Diagram of apparatus for illustrating the declivity of head of liquids flowing from a

reservoir.

minS. that the distance from eastern Nebraska to the Rocky Mountains 

is very great and much of the intervening land slopes up to a fairly 

high altitude. There is another condition which may be adverse. 

The Dakota sandstone is exceedingly variable in physical character. 

In Lancaster County and in the belt extending northward to the 

Missouri River at Dakota City the sandstone is porous, clay is not 

predominant, and the conditions are favorable for the transmission 

of large water supplies. It may be that westward the formation 

becomes finer grained over a greater or less area in such manner as 

to choke out water. Of this, however, there is no definite evidence. 

In the outcrops in Jefferson County there is considerable clay admixture, but many of the beds are sufficiently porous to carry the water. 

The outcrops are found far westward in Kansas, not far south of the 

Nebraska boundary, and they appear to be coarse a,nd suitable for 

bearing water.

In the next underlying formation, the Carboniferous limestones, 

flowing water has been obtained in considerable volume in the wells at
DA.B.TON.] PROSPECTS FOB DEEPER-SKATES- WATERS. 47

Feet.

8

Sandy elay..... 

Redcl»7U feet. 

Sand udgrarei.

Sand and gr»rel 10 feet.. .. . . 

Soft dandy lime rock.... .. .....

Soft red sand rock........................ I

8hale4feet........., ...............

Sand 3 feet...........................

Shale, yellow, stfcky..................

1118 

ilSS 

1136

Shale, bine..

Shale, black..

Sandy shale, gray; small flow at 426 feet.. I

Lincoln, but it is so salty that the wells are more likely to prove 

useful as sources of salt supply than for anything else. 

It is probable, however, that 

this saline water is of relatively lOCal OCCUrrenCe, OC- Cl«y,y»llowandd»rker

cupying a basin under eastern 

Nebraska, and that farther 

westward the waters in the 

Carboniferous formation may 

be perfectly fresh, or at least 

only slightly mineralized. It 

would hardly be safe to offer 

this as a prediction, but it 

is worth bearing in mind as 

as a possibility. At Omaha, 

northward in Dakota, and 

eastward in Iowa excellent 

waters are obtained from 

Carboniferous limestone. It 

is therefore desirable to point 

out the advisability of sinking deep wells in the region 

west of Seward and Saline 

counties to test, in the first 

place, the water resources of 

the Dakota sandstone, and 

if these are inadequate, to 

drill deeper to the underlying 

formations. The depth to 

which it would be necessary 

to go can not be definitely 

calculated from data now on 

hand. AtKearneythe Pierre 

shales were reported to extend from a depth of 71 feet to 

2,460 feet, the bottom of the 

boring; but it is believed 

that the top of the Dakota 

formation was not far below. 

Eastward the thickness of 

Cretaceous shales diminishes 

gradually as the Dakota and 

underlying formations rise 

toward the surface and the 

land decreases in altitude. 

Some of these relations are 

further illustrated in PL IV.

Shale, bine.

Shale, light bine.

Shale, soft, sticky, black..

Shale, harder ....... . .,

FIQ. 14. Record of deep boring at Dannebrog, 

Howard County, Nebraska.
48 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. [NO. 12.

Owing to the difficulty of sinking a boring in the overlying clays 

of the Cretaceous formations, expert well drilling will be necessary, 

and borings should be very large at the top. The experiments will be 

expensive, but it is hoped that at some such point as Grand Island, 

Hastings, Kearney, or North Platte an attempt will eventually be 

made to ascertain the resources of the Dakota sandstone and, if necessary, the underlying formations.

IRRIGATION BY UNDERGROUND WATERS.

At many points in this region the underground waters have been 

employed for irrigation. In the Beaver Crossing area the artesian 

flows have been used, but elsewhere the supply has to be lifted to the 

surface with windmills. In greater part the irrigated areas have been 

only a very few acres or a garden. Under most of the region there 

are ample supplies of water for extensive irrigation, but with windmill pumping it usually has not been found practicable to irrigate 

properly over 10 to 15 acres from one mill. When the waters lie over 

75 or 100 feet below ground the amount available is less, for the 

efficiency of pumping rapidly decreases beyond a moderate depth. 

Very few irrigators regard artificial watering as profitable for large 

field crops of low market value, but for small, diversified crops for 

family subsistence and local sale, and some special crops, such as 

potatoes, pump irrigation is certain to be appreciated as a necessity 

in dry seasons and a useful adjunct even in the more rainy ones.

In traveling over the area to which this report relates an endeavor 

was made to obtain some data in regard to the methods and results of 

farm well irrigation in the various counties. Information was also 

gathered in regard to irrigation in the Beaver Crossing artesian basin. 

The results of these inquiries are set forth in the following pages.

LANCASTER COUNTY.

«,

In this county there is considerable irrigation in a small way, mainly 

of garden areas. Some experiences of irrigators are as follows:

Mr. H. Gr. Weber, gardener, west ®f Lincoln, irrigates garden truck, 

including onions, radishes, lettuce, spinach, asparagus, pieplant, eggplant, pepper, cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, and other vegetables. His well is 60 feet deep, but the water rises to within 26 feet 

of the surface. The pump has a 3-by-10 cylinder. The reservoir is on 

the highest land and has a capacity of 1,000 barrels. In a good wind 

the pump supplies 10 to 12 barrels per hour. Mr. Weber states that, 

although his plant is small, the results have been very satisfactory.

Mr, E. H. Cushman, near Lincoln, states that he has been irrigating a masket garden for two years. He has a 12-foot aermotor windmill, whieh runs a pump with 6-inch cylinder and a 12-inch stroke, 

raising about. 2 gallons of water to the stroke. The well is about 32 feet

deep. with approximately 14 feet of water, in large supply. The reser-
DABTON.] RESULTS FROM WELL IRRIGATION. 49

voir is 50 by 100 feet and 4 feet deep. Can irrigate 10 acres. Has 

also built a " Jumbo" mill to run two pumps with. 3-inch cylinders, 

12-inch stroke.

Mr. E. E. Smith, near Lincoln, irrigates 5 acres, mainly of garden 

truck. He has a well 25 feet deep, containing 12 feet of water. His 

reservoir is 50 feet square. Water is pumped with a 5-foot aermotor.

SEWARD COUNTY.

In the artesian area along Blue River, in the vicinity of Beaver 

Crossing, the waters have been used by a number of farmers for irrigation of small areas. The results have been very satisfactory, and 

the disposition to introduce irrigation in this area is growing in a 

most encouraging manner. . Only a few facts have been obtained in 

regard to irrigation plants and results.

Mr. J. T. Godding has a well which is 105 feet deep, 3 inches in 

diameter, and yields 125 gallons per minute, which will rise to 25 feet 

above the surface. He irrigates, with good results, a field 40 rods 

square, which is flooded directly from the wells.

M. M. Martson, near Beaver Crossing, irrigates 10 acres with artesian waters in dry seasons. He has a 3-inch well, 100 feet deep, and 

the water rises 20 feet above ground. The reservoir is 2 rods wide 

by 40 rods long and 8 feet deep.

Messrs. Homey and Evans have two flowing wells, with water at 

depths of 90 to 100 feet, which rises 15 feet above ground. They 

are 3 inches in diameter and flow 100 gallons each per minute. In 

dry seasons they irrigate potatoes.

Mr. Thomas Wilson, near Beaver Crossing, has a 4-inch flowing 

well, 125 feet deep. The water rises 5 feet above ground. His reservoir is 40 by 60 feet. Three acres of potatoes irrigated in 1896 yielded 

twice the product obtained from adjoining fields not irrigated.

Mr. Thomas Trilzman, near Beaver Crossing, irrigates from a flowing well. His reservoir is 100 by 50 feet and 6 feet deep. His ,corn 

yielded 85 bushels and prairie grass 2 tons per acre. Sugar beets 

were found to be greatly benefited by the water.

Mr. F. M. Dimery, near Beaver Crossing, has nine flowing wells on 

his farm, of which the average depth is 100 feet. Four of them are 

3-inch pipe, and flow about 150 gallons per minute. Two of the wells 

have been used for irrigating 60 acres of land direct from the wells in 

small ditches made with a plow. Mr. Dimery has also irrigated a 

2-acre garden and 6 acres of meadow.

On the Fountain Head Experimental Farm, near Beaver Crossing, 

Mr. T. C. Ferguson has irrigated extensively by artesian waters.

Mr. J. W. Arasmith has wells near Beaver Crossing, and a halfacre reservoir with 4-foot banks, but has not as yet irrigated.

Mr. M. Powell irrigates a small area of bottom land from bis flowing well.

IRK 12 4
50 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. [HO. 12.

FILLMORE COUNTY.

Mr. J. H. Little, near Fairmont, has irrigated to some extent. He 

has two bored wells, 70 feet deep. His pumps are 8^ by 16 inch cylinders, and 1^-inch pipe is used. A 12-foot windmill works both 

pumps, yielding from 10 to 20 barrels per hour. He irrigates 5 acres 

of orchard in the autumn and winter, and estimates that the yield 

was about doubled by irrigation. His reservoir is 30 by 150 feet.

YORK COUNTY.

Mr. L. D. Stilson, near York, is irrigating from two small ponds. 

One is 25 by 40 feet, carrying 30 inches of water, supplied from the 

overflow of house well, 40 feet deep, pumped by windmill. The 

overflow is used for lawn and shrubbery. The other pond is 40 by 

100 feet and contains 4 feet of water, supplied by a 4-inch pump with 

windmill from a well 40 feet deep. During January and February 

he pumped water directly onto a little more than an acre of strawberries, with very satisfactory results. He is planning to put in a 

third pond, 75 by 200 feet, pumping the water 75 feet, to supply 

apple, peach, and cherry orchards.

Mr. F. E. Porter, at McCool Junction, has irrigated from a pond 70 

feet in diameter, 5 feet deep, and capacity of 4,000 barrels. He 

employs a 12-foot Eclipse mill, with 5-inch cylinder, which pumps 

1,000 barrels in twenty-four hours, in a good, steady wind. He 

employs hose of 10-ounce oiled ducking for distribution of water. 

His results in irrigation of garden truck have been most satisfactory. 

Many other persons irrigate small truck patches with ordinary windmill pump.

HAMILTON COUNTY.

Mr. G. L. Cushman, near Chapman, is irrigating with considerable 

success. He employs a Dempster vaneless 16-foot mill, with 8-inch 

cylinder and pipe. It is 32 feet from surface to bottom of screen, 

and the water level can not be pumped down. The* reservoir is 110 

feet in diameter, and is located on a portion of the land which is 

slightly higher than the adjacent fields. His ditches are dug, with 

banks of the excavated material. Potatoes have been the crop, but 

the plant as it now stands will hardly supply water enough for 5 

acres in dry seasons. Irrigation was found to increase the crop to a 

very notable degree, but no precise figures are offered.

BUFFALO COUNTY.

Mr. Joseph Buck, near Shelton, irrigated about 1 acre of potatoes 

in 1895. His well is 25 feet deep, and with his present pumping 

arrangements yields about 150 gallons per minute in a fair wind. The 

supply appears to be inexhaustible. His reservoir is one-half acre in 

size.
DASTON.] RESULTS FROM WELL IRRIGATION. 51

Mr. W. K. Wright, near Gibbon, irrigates from a reservoir 1 acre 

in area,^vith banks about 5 feet high on the outside. The water supply is from two 12-inch pumps operated by two 16-foot windmills, each 

pump delivering about 130 gallons per minute in a fair wind. The 

water level is 1Q| feet below the surface. One of the pumps draws 

the water from eight 3-inch pipes radiating from a chamber which 

fastens to the bottom of the cylinder. Each of the radiating pipes 

is 4 feet long, the outer ends connecting with elbows to perpendicular pipes with gauze points driven 12 feet into the water. The 

other pump is supplied from an open well 54 feet deep, 16 inches in 

diameter, with 700 three-quarter inch auger holes, covered with gauze, 

near the bottom. The largest volume of water is in gravel 18 feet 

thick, beginning 10^ feet below the surface. Below this the water 

contained too much quicksand. Mr. Wright has found that flooding 

the land in the autumn and winter is very beneficial to the crops of 

the ensuing season. In 1895, 20 acres of corn were irrigated once, at 

earing time, with the gratifying result of doubling the crop over that 

of adjoining nonirrigated lands. He has raised 150 bushels of potatoes per acre. His main ditches are 2£ to 4 feet wide, according to 

the slope of the ground. The land does not carry water well for long 

distances. He thinks he can depend on irrigating 25 acres, with water 

to spare some seasons for the further irrigation of from 15 to 20 acres 

more.

Mr. R. M. Jones, near Elm. Creek, irrigates with a Dempster mill, 

16-foot wheel, pumping from eight 3-inch points driven from the bottom of a hole 8 feet deep, 11 feet in diameter, into water-bearing 

gravels below. He has been able to wet about 25 to 30 acres by running the water out over the frozen ground. Corn, wheat, barley, and 

oats yielded very fine crops, which, however, were seriously damaged 

by hail before harvesting.

DAWSON COUNTY.

Along the valley of the Platte in this county irrigation from shallow 

wells by windmills has been practiced at several localities. Injformation could be procured from only a few of the irrigators. The following statements are representative:

Mr. G. Malchow, near Lexington, irrigates from a 20-foot well with 

pumping outfit and reservoir situated on a low knoll, which is about 8 

feet higher than adjoining portions of the farm. The pump consists 

of an 8-inch pipe, 20 feet long, with two laterals, 2 inches in diameter, 

driven down 19 feet deep into the water-bearing beds. The first 

water is 21 feet from the top of the knoll, in a bed of gravel 2 feet 

thick, underlain by 10 to 12 inches of clay and sand, below which are 

other water-bearing gravels. The reservoir is 6 feet deep, 150 feet 

long, and 100 feet wide. In 1895 the wind had sufficient force to keep 

this reservoir about full from March to the 1st of July. Two acres 

were planted in potatoes and 1 acre in a variety of garden truck,
52 UNDERGROUND WATERS OF SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. [NO. 12.

including lettuce, ouions, beets, carrots, cabbage, etc. The water 

was turned into these fields about twice a week, and the products 

were large and fine. Owing to lack of market, however, the operation was not a profitable one. In the middle of June, Mr. Malchow 

irrigated 2 acres of potatoes, and these yielded, on harvesting, about 

100 bushels to the acre. Potatoes in the adjoining fields not irrigated 

made practically no crop at all. There were also irrigated 2 acres of 

oats, which made 40 bushels to the acre, while other oats in the 

vicinity made only 10 bushels. By comparing results with neighbors 

who apply the water direct from the wells, it was found that storage 

in reservoirs is very necessary, both to gain sufficient volume for 

irrigation and to allow the water to acquire the proper temperature.

Mr. G. Ballmer, near Gothenburg, has a Dempster irrigation outfit, 

consisting of 8-inch pump, 30-foot tower, and 16-foot open wheel. 

The well is 40 feet deep, 8 feet wide, and has six 2-inch pipes 29 feet 

long, with sand points which are driven down into the gravel. They 

connect in the bottom of the well with an 8-inch cylinder. He estimates 

that by running the pump continuously he could irrigate 20 to 30 

acres. His reservoir is 60 by 200 feet, with banks about 4 feet high. 

At present he is irrigating only in a small way fruit trees, truck 

patch, a few acres of potatoes, and 5 acres of corn.

Mr. Alex. I. Johnson, near Lexington, makes the following statement: He has an 8-inch pump with six 2-inch pipes attached. The 

water level is 14 feet below the surface and the supply is very 

large. With a 10-inch stroke his mill pumps about 100 gallons per 

minute. The reservoir is 100 feet long by 60 wide, and holds water 

sufficient for about 2 acres at a time. From this plant he has irrigated from 10 to 12 acres, which have yielded good crops during seasons when the crops failed completely on nonirrigated land. His 

potatoes have yielded 110 bushels, corn 40 bushels, while in nonirrigated areas only 15 bushels were obtained last season.

Mr. L. A. Lewis, near Cozad, gives the following particulars in 

regard to his irrigation operations: His well is 20 feet by 8 feet, with 

six sand points driven 10 feet below and connected with an 8-inch cylinder. The water level is 22 feet below the surface. His windmill is 

16 feet in diameter and has a 10-inch stroke. He believes that with 

a sufficiently large reservoir, in a moderately windy season, he could 

irrigate from 50 to 60 acres. He has not, however, built a reservoir. 

During the last two seasons he has raised potatoes, onions, and other 

vegetables. In the season of 1896 he raised 250 bushels of onions on 

30 square rods. His potatoes yielded 250 bushels per acre in 1895. 

On adjoining fields not irrigated the potato crop was practically nothing. He realizes the necessity of having a reservoir to furnish the 

water in sufficient volume and at the proper temperature.

Mr. Oliver Miller, near Cozad, has a plant to irrigate about 5 acres 

in the Platte Valley. His well is 45 feet deep and contains the usual
DABTON.] RESULTS FROM WELL IRRIGATION. 53

large water supply. His windmill raises about 25 gallons per minute 

under a favorable wind. The reservoir is 5 rods square and holds 4 

feet of water. His crops have been potatoes and garden truck, of 

which the yield is about doubled by irrigation.

Mr. A. F. Velt, near Lexington, irrigates from 10 to 15 acres in dry 

seasons. His well is 62 feet deep and the windmill a 16-foot Deinpster. 

The reservoir, 60 by 100 feet in area and 4 feet deep, can be filled in 

about four days with a 6-inch stroke. Mr. Velt reports very satisfactory results with potatoes, onions, cabbage, corn, and miscellaneous 

garden truck.
INDEX.

Page. 

Abbott, water level at.................... 37

Adams County, hydrology of..._.__ 37-38 

Alluvium, features of..__ .............. 33

Amherst, water level at....__..._.... 40

Arasmith, J. W., irrigation by __........ 49

Ashland, view showing stream deposits

near.._.-..-. .......__........ 10

Atlanta, water level at............__... 43

Aurora, water level at and near.......... 35

Axtel, water level at.-..-..._... ..._ 42.43

Ayr, water level at..._......__........ 38

Ballmer, G., irrigation by.........._.... 53

Beaver Crossing, irrigation near...... _ 49

wells at and near ..._ .-..._ ......._ 30

Benedict, water level at ,__._..___...__._ 33 

Bennett, plate showing Dakota sand in

quarry near -..-__............... 23

plate showing Dakota sandstone overlain by glacial drift near.......... 23

section at (figured) ...............__ 18

Ben ton formation, features of......-- _. l!J

Blow-out, figure showing_.............. 13

Bradshaw, water level at.............. 33

Brotnfield, water level at............ .. 35

Buck, Joseph, irrigation by...__ .... __ 50

Buffalo County, hydrology of............. 39-41

irrigation by underground waters in. 50-51 

Cairo, water level at....._.._......... 37

Carboniferous rocks, features of___ 14,15-16

fossilsof ................. .............. 16

section of (figured).................... 15,89

Chapman, irrigation near.............__ 50

Charleston, water level at................ 33

Clay Center, water level at..._........- 36

Clay County.hydrology of........ ....-.- 36

Cozsad, irrigation near.._........_..... 53-53

water level at and near.__._..-.. 43 

Cretaceous rocks, features of. __. 14,16-20 

Crete, water level at._.... -...._...... 33

Cushman, E. H., irrigation by............ 48-49

Cushman, G. L., irrigation by............ 50

Dakota clay, plates showing.............. 38

Dakota sandstone, features of......... 14,16-19

plates showing exposures of......... 18,20,

23,36,38,40

section of.............................. 39

Dannebrog, deep well at.... ........... 45

section of deep well boring at (figured)........................ 47

Dawson County, hydrology of...... 43-44

irrigation by underground waters in. 51-53 

Declivity of head of liquids flowing from

a reservoir, diagram showing .... 46

Deep wells, accounts of.._. ____..... 45-48

Deweese, Water level at.--.--....-... 36

Dimery, F. M., irrigation by.............. 49

Doniphan, water level at .... .... 36

Dorchester, water level at....__........ 32

Page. 

Drift, glacial, occurrence and nature of.. 21-33

plates showing .- ..... ........ 26,38

Dune sands, features of. ............... 33-24

Edgar, water level at.. . ........ 36

Ellwood, water level at and near .... 44

Elm Creek, irrigation near .-. _....... 51

water level at -...... ................ 39

Exeter, water level at __.......-..-. _- 34

Fairmont, irrigation near-._............ 50

record of deep well at.------ --.... . 35

water level at...... .................... 34

Ferguson,T. C., irrigation by ............ 49

Fillmore County, hydrology of _......___. 34-35

irrigation by underground waters in - 50

table of wells in ....................... 34

Fisher, C. A., aid by....................... 11

Follett.W.W., cited....................... 37

Fossils, Carboniferous, list of.....-.-....- 16

Friend, water level at ..-..-....-._-.-.-.. 33

Funk, water level at...............-... 43

Garden of the Gods, Colorado, Juratrias

rocks in (figured)---.-. .. - 16 

Geneva, water level at. ................ 34

Geology of the area, features of ...... 14-34

Gibbon, irrigation near ...... . ...... 51

water level at............ ...... 39

Giltner, water level at. -. ...-.-..... 35

Glacial drift, occurrence and nature of.. 31-33

plates showing ....... ..-.-.-.-. 30,38

Glacial formations, characters and extent of ---.... -. -...- 15,21-23

figure showing... . ... -.. 23 

Glenvllle, water level at_.......-. ---. 36

Godding, J. T., irrigation by ............. 49

Gosper County, hydrology of...-_...----. 44-45

Gothenburg, irrigationnear.-..-. ...- 53 

Graham, water level at -.-._..--...------_ 33

Grand Island, water level at.-.-.--.- 36,37 

Hall County, hydrology of................ 36-37

Hamilton County, hydrology of .......... 35

irrigation by underground waters in_ 50 

Hampton, water level at.... ........_ 35

Hansen, water level at.... .. --...- 38

Hartwell, water level at ..........._ 43

Harvard, water level at ................ 36

Hastings,deep boring at ........... 37-38,45

record of deep-well boring at (figured)..... .......................... 38

Henderson, water level at ............ 33

Holdrege, water level at. .............. 43

Holstein, water level at. ............... 38

Horney and Evans, irrigation by......... 49

Inland, water level at- ------- . .. 36

Irrigation by underground waters, accounts of........................... 48-53

Johnson, A. I., irrigation by . ........ 53

Jones, E. M., irrigation by ... ...... 51

Juniata, water level at ....... .__ 38

55
56 INDEX

Page. 

Juratrias rocks, Garden of the Gods,

Colorado (figured)..:..._____ 16

Kearney, data concerning gage wells at- 40-41

deep well at............................ 45,47

map showing location of gage wells at 39 

water level at- ....... - .... 39

Kearney County, hydrology of....... . 43

Keene, water level at-- ..__ __..... 43

Kenesaw, water level at.....___.__ 38

Lancaster County, irrigation by underground water sin...... __...- 48-49

topographic, geologic, and hydrologic

conditions in.. _ ........ 27-30

Lewis, L. A., irrigation toy. . . 53

Lexington, irrigation near.._.._...--.. 51,53-53

water level at.._........._.._- 43

Limestones, Carboniferous, features of.. 15-16 

Lincoln, cross sections showing relations

of Dakota sandstones near ... 40 

depth to Carboniferous rocks at. 16 

irrigation near - ..._........_ 48-49

map showing contour and relations of

surface of Dakota sandstone near. 38 

plate showing exposure of Dakota

sandstone at..............._..... 30

plates showing glacial drift resting on

Dakota clay near....... ..... 38

section near... ... ..._....... 18-19

section of well near (figured)......... 39

water supply of.. ...._ _. .... 28-30

Little, J. H., irrigation by... __ ...... 50

Loess,features of-...................... 15,33-33

plate showing.._ .....-.. ....-. 38

Loomis, water level at. __............ 43

Lowell, water level at.. .. __...... 43

Lushton, water level at.._.__....--.. 33

Maefarland, J. E.,aid by.................. 9,11

Magnesian limestones, section of......... 39

Malchow, G., irrigation by.... _. __.... 51-53

Manitou, view showing Juratrias rocks

near__-__......._._.__. 16

Marquette, water level at.._........ 35

Martland, water level at......... .. 34

Martson, M. M., irrigation by ............ 49

McCool, record of well at. .._. 34

water level near .. ... 33,33

McCool Junction, irrigation near ..... 50

Milford, plate showing exposure of Niobr ar a limestone near.......... 34

Miller. O., irrigation by................... 53-53

Miller, water level at . . .... 40

Minden, water level at... . . .. 43

Nebraska, contour map of (frontispiece). 1

section across (figured) ... . 14

(southeastern), geologic map of.. __ 13

Neocene rocks, features of......... . 15,30-31

Newark, water level at ......._. .____ 43

Newell, F. H., letter of transmittal by.. - 9

Niobrara limestone, features of. __ _. 30

fossilsof ._...___.......___._ 30

plate showing exposure of. __...... 34

plate showing fossils of.__.__... 34 

Norman, water level at ___..._.._. 43 

Odessa, water level at ................ 39

Ong, water level at. ................__ 36

Pauline, water level at. . ___,.____.... 38

Phelps County, hydrology of __._..-.. 43-43 

Phillips, water level at....... __.......... 35

Pier re shales, features of__. __.. _... 20 

Platte River, plate showing ....... . 10

features of valley of................... 13

Pleasantdale, water level at.., ........ 31

Pleasanton,water level at...... ....... 40

Pleistocene deposits, character of..... 15,31-34

Porter, F. E., irrigation by.... -.-. 50

Potsdam sandstone, section of........ __ 39

Powell, M., irrigation by__.............. 49

Prairie Home,drift near.................. 33

Prosser, water level at... . -....- . 38

Ravenna, water level at ....--....-..--... 40

Riverdale, water level at __............. 39-40

Roca, section of Carboniferous beds near. 15 

Roseland, water level at...... _ ........ 38

Russell, B. P., cited-.... -__...._........ 16,18,38

Sacramento, water level at--.... .. 43

Saint Peter (?) sandstone, section of-. 39 

Saline County, geology and hydrology

of................................... 33

Sand dune with blow-out in top (figured) 13 

Saronvillf, water level at...-.-.-..... - 34,36

Sartoria, water level at..._....-....---. 40

Sawyer, water level at.................... 34

Seward, deep well at......... .......... 45

section of well near (figured)-.. .. 31

wells at and near.---...-.-..---------- 30-31

Seward County, hydrology of............ 30-33

irrigation by underground waters in. 49 

Shelton, irrigation near.... .-..-----... 50

Shickley, water level at........ --.....- 34

Sioux quar tzite (?), section of - ........ 39

Smith, E. E., irrigation by...-.-...-... 49 

Smithfield, water level at and near ...... 44

Stilson, L. D., irrigation by... - . 50 

Stout, O, V. P., gage wells bored at Kearney by ... -.-- . . 40,41 

Strong, water level at..... .....--.-... 34

Sumner, water level at .....--....-.-. 44

Sutton, water level at.... -------- 34,36

Topography of the area, features of...... 13-34

Trenton (?) limestone, section of.-------- 39

Trilzman, Thomas, irrigation by.--.. 49 

Trumbull, water level at...... .... 36

Underground waters, ideal section showing relations of -....- . .--- 35

irrigation by.--.----_..--. .......... 48-53

Velt, A. F., irrigation by.................. 53

Waco, water level at and near -------- 33,33-3*

Water-bearing formations, plate showing

depths from surf ace to..-..-.. 33 

Water horizons, data concerning-.. -. _. 34-45

plates and figures showing . 35,36,33,34 

Watertown, water level at.-... --....- 40

Weber, H. G., irrigation by....... __.... 4?

Wilcox, water levels near .-..__-..---.. 43 

Wilson, Thomas, irrigation by....-.-..-.. 49

Wright, W. K., irrigation by .. .-.... 51

Wyoming, section across (figured)... . It 

York, deep well at.- ..................... 45

irrigation near-.....-..--....-..-. 53 

York County, geology and hydrology of _ 3i-3i

irrigation in ....... . 50

table of wells in .___._.-_..,. _--_, 33
1895.

Sixteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1894-95, Part II, 

Papers of an economic character, 1895, octavo, 598 pp.

Contains a paper on the public lands and their water supply, by P. H. Newell, illustrated 

by a large map showing the relative extent and location of the vacant public lands; also a 

report on the water resources of a portion of the Great Plains, by Robert Hay.

A geological reconnoissance of northwestern Wyoming, by George H. Eldridge, 

1894; octavo, 72 pp. Bulletin No. 119 of the United States Geological Survey; 

price, 10 cents.

Contains a description of the geologic structure of portions of the Big Horn Range and 

Big Horn Basin, especially with reference to the coal fields, and remarks upon the water 

supply and agricultural possibilities.

Report of progress of the division of hydrography for the calendar year 1898-94, 

by F. H. Newell, 1895; octavo, 176 pp. Bulletin No. 131 of the United States 

 Geological Survey; price, 15 cents.

Contains results of stream measurements at various points, mainly within the arid region, 

and records of wells in a number of counties in western Nebraska, western Kansas, and 

eastern Colorado.

1896.

Seventeenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1895-96, Part 

II, Economic geology and hydrography, 1896; octavo, 864 pp.

Contains papers on "The underground water of the Arkansas Valley in eastern Colorado," by G. K. Gilbert; " The water resources of Illinois," by Frank Leverett; and "Preliminary report on the artesian waters of a portion of the Dakotas," by N. H. Darton.

Artesian-well prospects in the Atlantic Coastal Plain region, by N. H. Darton, 

1896; octavo, 230 pp., 19 plates. Bulletin No. 138 of the United States Geological Survey; price, 20 cents.

Gives a description of the_ geologic conditions of the coastal region from Long Island, 

N. Y., to Georgia, and contains data relating to many of the deep wells.

JJeport of progress of the division of hydrography for the calendar year 1895, by 

F. H. Newell, hydrographer in charge, 1896; octavo, 356 pp. Bulletin No. 140 

of the United States Geological Survey; price, 25 cents.

Contains a description of the instruments and methods employed in measuring streams 

and the results of hydrographic investigations in various parts of the United States.

1897.

Eighteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1896-97, Part 

IV, Hydrography, 1897; octavo, 756 pp.

Contains a "Report of progress of stream measurements for the calendar year 1896." by 

Arthur P. Davis: "The water resources of Indiana and Ohio," by Prank Leverett; "New 

developments in well boring and irrigation in South Dakota," by N. H. Darton; and 

" Reservoirs for irrigation," by 3. D. Schuyler.

Water Supply and Irrigation Papers.

This series of papers is designed to present in pamphlet form the results of stream measurements and of special investigations. A list of these, with otherinf ormation, is given on 

the outside (or fourth) page of this cover.

Survey bulletins can be obtained only by prepayment of cost, as noted above. 

Postage stamps, checks, and drafts can not be accepted. Money should be transmitted by postal money order or express order, made payable to the Director of 

the United States Geological Survey. Correspondence relating to the publications 

of the Survey should be addressed to The Director, United States Geological 

Survey, Washington, D. C.
WATER-SUPPLY AND IRRIGATION PAPERS.

1. Pumping water for irrigation, by Herbert M. Wilson, 1896.

2. Irrigation near Phoenix, Arizona, by Arthur P. Davis, 1897.

3. Sewage irrigation, by George W. Rafter, 1897.

4. A reconnoissance in southeastern Washington, by Israel C. Russell, 1897.

5. Irrigation practice on the Great Tlains, by E. B. Cowgill, 1897.

6. Underground waters of southwestern Kansas, by Erasmus Haworth, 1897.

7. Seepage waters of northern Utah, by Samuel Fortier, 1897.

8. Windmills for irrigation, by E. C. Murphy, 1897.

9. Irrigation near Greeley, Colorado, by David Boyd, 1897.

10. Irrigation in Mesilla Valley, New Mexico, by F. C. Barker, 1898.

11. River heights for 1896, by Arthur P. Davis, 1897.

12. Water resources of southeastern Nebraska, by Nelson Horatio Darton, 1898.

13. Irrigation systems in Texas by W. F. Hutson, 1898.

15. Operations at river stations, 1897, Part I, 1898.

16. Operations at river stations, 1897, Part II, 1898.

In press:

14. New tests of certain pumps and water lifts used in irrigation, by O. P. 

Hood, 1898.

In addition to the above, there are in various stages of preparation other papers 

relating to the measurement of streams, the storage of water, the amount available 

from underground sources, the efficiency of windmills, the cost of pumping, and 

other details relating to the methods of utilizing the water resources of the country. Provision has been made for printing these by the following clause in the 

sundry civil act making appropriations for the year 1896-97:

Provided, That hereafter the reports of the Geological Survey in relation to the 

gauging of streams and to the methods of utilizing the water resources may be 

printed in octavo form, not to exceed 100 pages in length and 5,000 copies in number; 1,000 copies of which shall be for the official use of the Geological Survey, 

1,500 copies shall be delivered to the Senate, and 2,500 copies shall be delivered to 

the House of Representatives, for distribution. [Approved June 11,1898; Stat. L., 

vol. 29, p. 453.]

The maximum number of copies available for the use of the Geological Survey 

is 1,000. This quantity falls far short of the demand, so that it is impossible to 

supply all requests. Attempts are made to send these pamphlets to persons who 

have rendered assistance in their preparation through replies to schedules, or who 

have furnished data. Requests made for a certain paper and stating a reason for 

asking for it are granted whenever practicable, but it is impossible to comply 

with general demands, such as to have all of the series sent indiscriminately. 

Application for these papers should be made either to Members of Congress or to 

THE DIRECTOR,

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY,

Washington, D. C.